Simon Cold is an Unseelie Grump and one of the oldest Redcaps in the Kingdom of Apples.
Overview[]
Old doesn't mean "slow" or "tired" or "well-behaved." In fact, he's one of the wickedest souls the kith has ever spit out into the world and he's working hard to remove 'one of' from the description. He lives in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, a huge tract of pine forest, swamp, and bog that stretches over 1/6th of the state. Most of the Barrens are impenetrable forest, dotted here and there with communities of greater and less repute, old ironworks, and the occasional state park. The rest of the Barrens is left to wild animals, wilder people, and legends... including Simon.
You have to go deep into the Barrens to get to his place, though there's no good reason to want to do so. He lives in a shack way of the few roads that cut through the thickest part of the Barrens, but the cabin is just the center of his domain. The forest for miles around is dotted with snares and traps, both real and chimerical, and the woods are filled with animals he's found, named, and tamed. Tamed may actually be the wrong word. "Broken to his will" may be more appropriate. Every Friday, Simon calls the critters to his cabin and then follows them on his own version of the Wild Hunt. Heaven help anyone who gets in the way.
Cold is also fond of inspecting what he's caught in his traps and letting the meat "age properly," as he puts it. A traveller caught in one of his snares can expect to see Simon within the hour, but may not be released for days but considering what Cold does to those who stumble into his web, being caught and hung upside down by the ankle for a week may seem kind.
It's been said that Simon got his name for his habit of leaving the Barrens during winter to go trading and hunting. Since others only saw him in the wintertime, he picked up the name "Simon Cold." A more intriguing (and only slightly less believable) tale has him bringing winter winds with him out of the heart of the forest but even the most persistent eshu has trouble finding anyone who admits to believing that tale anymore.
Fortunately, Cold doesn't venture outside the Barrens often. He's content to let folks come to him, though no one is sure why they do. There was interest in some sidhe circles in putting an end to him for a while but any attempt failed. The knights' spurs and other accoutrements were returned home, eventually, but no trace was ever seen of the fae again.
References[]
- CTD. Kithbook: Redcaps, pp. 64-65.