On Kampa Island in the haunted Green Eagle Tavern, ghostly spoks carouse and recite poetry:
“On the poplar tree above the lake/ The Vodník sat, at dusk/ Shine, moon, shine/ So that the thread can sew/ Oh, don't go, don't go to the lake/ You must stay home, my daughter/ Last night I had a bad dream/ Don't come near the lake, daughter.”
“The wave gushed from below/ In great circles it expanded/ And on the poplar tree near the rock/ A little green man applauded.”*
* From the poem 'The Vodník' by Karel Jaromir Erben (1811-1870), unpublished translation by Livio Fiorica.
“These aren't your verses, Vladimir. It's 'The Vodník' by Erben.”
“Yes, unlike you Gustav, I've never written about golems and ghosts. But something tells me that these verses were right for our buddy Nikolaus tonight. We poor shadows act and speak, after all, according to his wishes.” (Because it is the power of Nikolaus that gives earthly form to these deceased souls.)
“Not entirely, Vladimir. Not entirely.” (i.e. the spoks can operate semi-autonomously.)
(Nikolaus) “... Although Vodník really did appear in Prague and dragged a girl with him into the Vltava River.”
“Like in the poem? How evocative!”
“Not for the girl and her friends, whose company I share. And now they're on the front lines, perhaps in trouble, while I've been forbidden from acting by the platinum blond guy himself.”
“Here, drink some more red wine, Nikolaus. I'd like to help you, but I've never been a man of action. Not even when I was alive.”
“Hmm...”
“Can a spok have independent desire, Nikolaus? And is he allowed to express it?”
“I wholeheartedly grant that, Gustav. What is your desire?”
“To make myself useful, like when I searched for those Russian vampires for you, if I remember correctly. Is that really my own desire, or did I just formulate an unexpressed thought of yours for you?”
“I have no idea, Gustav, seriously. But... but in any case, thank you, old friend, because this is a really excellent plan.”
Gustav Meyrink (1868-1932) was an Austrian fantasy author known for his gothic novel "The Golem" (1914). We first saw Meyrink's spok hanging out at the Green Eagle Tavern in Dampyr #5, which was also Harlan's first visit to Prague, including the introduction of the characters of Nikolaus and Caleb Lost.
Vladimir the poet may be Vladimir Holan (1905-1980).
Sometimes the spoks leave the Green Eagle Tavern, but because they are partly projections of Nikolaus' mind, when apart from him, they tend to lose track of what they were supposed to be doing.
