Character Analysis
This little dude is a limberjack, which is sort of like a wooden puppet controlled with a rod and string that Muriel can play with and make move. Except when Muriel gets loose, she somehow transforms Mendigo into a human-sized version of itself that can move around and follow her orders. Unsurprisingly, human-sized Mendigo is downright creepy:
Instead of proper joints, the wooden parts were connected by golden hooks […] The head made Kendra think of a wooden hockey mask, though that was not quite right, because it was cruder and simpler. The unusual mannequin was dancing a little jig, arms swaying, feet tapping and shuffling, gazing toward the far end of the basement. (16.31)
Yep, definitely creepy—and his appearance fits his behavior. When Muriel sends Mendigo after Kendra, he can't even touch Kendra at first since she hasn't used magic or violated any laws… but as soon as Kendra makes a gamble and unhooks Mendigo's arms as a preemptive move, Mendigo kicks her to the ground:
A crushing force pressed against her back, pinning her down. She could hardly breathe. (17.113)
The problem with having an inhuman wooden man doing your dirty work is that it clearly doesn't have any kind of conscience. Fortunately for Kendra, her idea of tossing Mendigo's arms in the naiad lake means that Mendigo has to get close to the water to retrieve them… and that's when a naiad pulls Mendigo under. Phew. That's the last we see of the creepy puppet.