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An elfess sneaks quietly up to the former Cromwell Villa at night, carrying a heavy bag over her shoulder. She looks up at the dark house with a crooked smile before setting about her work. She doesn't make a sound as she begins pulling items out of her bag... some fresh bones, taken just that day, from a most unwilling host along with the head of an ogre. She lays the bones out all over the yard, arranging them in a large X pattern, placing the ogre's head in the very center, which faces the door of the villa, about 15 paces away. Between the head and the door, she places a decanter of wine and two goblets. She leaves no note and no other message.

The elfess stands back, surverying her work in the silence of the night. She glances up at the house and speaks only a few soft words, "I've still not given up hope, Master. The gifts will not stop."

Giving up on sleep for the moment, as happens quite a few nights, Kyre stretches and quietly leaves the bed making sure everyone else is asleep. She moves to the front of the house and flicks her hand as ancient words are whispered while expertly flowing out the window then plucks an apple from the tree. Again speaking softly, Kyre calls a wind to remove any debris in the yard near the house as she continues on her way shaking her head muttering something about pixies and their strange parties.

Waking up early the next morning, I got my dimwitted mule, Valen, out of his cozy stall and set off with my friend to Northbridge to pick up some onions. I took them on a slight detour over to the former Cromwell Villa on our way back into town. As we approached the house, it was plain to see all my hard work of the night before was gone. I was worried an animal may have taken off with a bone or two, but everything was gone, including the bottle and goblets. Doubting an animal would have gone to such extremes, I looked up to the house to see if the occupants were even awake yet. The house was dark and quiet. Everyone was either still asleep or away. As it was very early, I was guessing asleep so, I was confused as to what had happened with my gift, but had concluded a thief had probably stopped by during the night.

In desperation, I felt a new gift was in order. As my elfess friend watched me in total surprise and confusion, I knelt down to the box my stupid mule carries for me and pulled out a large bag of small silver bells, some strong thread, and scissors. “Sister?” my friend muttered. I looked up at her and said, “We must keep quiet, but would you help me sister?” She stared at me and said quietly but vehemently, “If you tell me what we are doing!” I smiled a little, not that she could see in the darkness and replied, “A small gift for Master William is all, going to tie some bells to the tree branches.”

My friend agreed to help and we ran all over the area all the way from the house to the road and from river to river, tying ten bells onto each tree. There was a nice light tinkling whenever the wind blew just right. It was a pretty chiming noise, or at least, I thought so, something to remember me by. I grew a little excited at the thought of seeing the bells in the daylight as the sun would glisten off of them, making for a dazzling display. The whole area would sparkle like a diamond and the bells would ring whenever the wind blew through.

Frowning at the sound of tinkling bells waking up Corvus, Kyre reaches for her sleepy-eyed babe and takes her time feeding him...playing with his slightly pointed elven ears then tilts her head listening to the breeze and again that sound. Walking outside she sees the offending things and flicks her hand calling up a blast of fire to burn their ties off then a wind to blow away the debris including a few scorched leaves while becoming more and more irritated.

Well, not pixie's, they are too polite to wake up a babe and bother our home. Definitely someone without any regard for other people!

Moving swiftly to the nanny's with her playful yet obviously still sleepy babe, Kyre returns and lays out some apples carefully near her home in strategic places mumbling softly.

Only those that are selfish should feel the effects if eaten, hopefully Nargun will be laughing soon.

Before she leaves, Kyre makes a slow round of the house as she mumbles a few sentences while waving her wand...anyone listening wouldn't understand most of the words since they appear to be part elven, and part ancient with some other possibly older language mixed in.

As the sun rises, I walk with my elven friend to the former Cromwell Villa to see the sun hit the bells in the orchard. To my shock and dismay all the bells are missing. I run around the orchard looking to each tree, but no bells remain. I cry out, “No… no… no… Not again!”

I see an apple and stop just staring at it then suddenly shiver. He sees the apple too and picks it up from the doorstep. He looks up at the apple tree and then back to the apple in his hand, exclaiming, “This here looks definitely more delicious.” I cry out, “Glin, no! Stop!” I run up and gingerly take the apple from him between two fingers, placing it back by the front door.

I shiver again as my whole body tingles. “This whole area has an energy about it now. Something is… different.” He looks a little dumbfounded. I ask, “Can you not feel it?” He says, “Maybe it has to do with the strange noises they made yesterday” and shrugs, “I cannot feel anything special here.” I cry in outrage, “Probably made while removing my gift!” And I mumble something under my breath about a witch, “two gifts gone missing now, but she doesn’t know about the first ones he received.”

We begin to look around the building for an open door, but all doors we found were locked and I cry out again in frustration, cursing the witch. Glin warns me to be careful and I ask, “Of what? She will at least have to see me to send me to Cherga’s realm.” It seems to me that will be a step in the right direction at least. Glin comments on how the witch seems to be very jealous and I have to say I agree. I storm back into town, an elfess on a mission to find a new gift. I go to the halfling at the hospital and buy many tubs of dye in red and black and head back to the house to begin my work.

Glin and I discuss what to do with the dye once we are there and finally make our decision and begin our work. We work, kneeled down over the grass, using a comb to work the dyes onto each blade down to the root, meticulous and tedious work, taking a little time to get it done just right. When it is complete, we stand back and read the words written in a way as to be read from the windows of the house.
CHELAIN
DEDICATED

As I stand back, admiring our work, it occurs to me that the witch will probably just burn the lawn down to the root to be rid of it. I ask Glin if he knows a way to protect the grass from fire, which he does not, but suggests that perhaps an alchemist would. We return to town to find one, but have no luck in our search. So I march back to the house alone for my next plan and I take a cloth over my finger and hastily write my name in red and “dedicated” in black just to the right of the front door and below the window. It may never be seen unless someone visits, but I will know it is there.

I was sitting quietly fishing with my elfess friend when Tirrend walks up and we all sit through some rather strange idle chatter. Then Tirrend suddenly shouts, “Kyre!” I raise an eyebrow and look over at him while Tasha asks, “You know her?” Tirrend claims, “Oh, we’re good friends. She gave me a rash once, but I’ve forgiven her, yes yes.” He continues to ramble on for a bit about some other nonsense when I ask how the witch gave him a rash. He grins then says that she gave him an apple. My eyes grow wide with surprise and concern and Tasha quickly looks over her shoulder at me. I exclaim, “Apple!” He says, “That’s what I said. Don’t take apples from witches.” I tell him that she left an apple on her doorstep and I shudder from the memory. He wants to know if the apple is still there and I ask him why he wants to know. He says he’s hungry of all the strange responses so I reply, “Was the last time I looked, Tirrend, if you are that stupid.”

As I sit fishing, thinking about this apple problem, Tirrend continues to talk, “You know, you don’t even need to eat it to get cursed.” I’m distracted in my thoughts and his comment barely registered for a few moments. Tasha says, “Oh?” Tirrend said, “I touched it, is why.” He giggles. Tasha looks to me with great concern and asks me in elfish, “Did either of you touch the apple?” I nod in response to her. She then asks, “Both?” I nod again. She winces as I sit in shock.

After a long while, I ask, “How did you get rid of the rash?” He responds, “It wore off. But it was itchy! My skin was peeling off… and all bloody… At least I didn’t lose another finger.” I’m horrified and Tasha grimaces. I just sit there, finally saying, “Well, I told you where another apple may reside. You decide if you are fool enough to look for it or not.”

I sit there for a long while, thinking as I fish, when I suddenly exclaim, “That darned witch! Not fair hexing apples. And to leave them lying around where anyone can find them. It is probably still there!” Tirrend continues to babble on about the Gods only know what as I drop everything and vigorously begin to scrub my hands in the stream, like that could possibly make a difference. Tasha watches me closely with great concern as Tirrend begins to talk to Thargon, a dwarf that has come from the Fluffy Sheep tavern. I scrub my hands for a long while, until they nearly grow numb from the cold.

Tasha quietly asks me how I am feeling and I reply, “Like a fool.”

An elfess sneaks quietly back to the former Cromwell Villa at night with a full bag. She smiles as she sees her name still dyed in the grass and turns to her task as she looks out over the orchard. The elfess pulls out strong thread and scissors and begins tying bells on the branches of the trees of the orchard again, making haste. She is winded and tired when she is done, but each tree has ten bells from river to river and the house to the road when she is done. Satisfied, she hurries off to town to tuck the bag with the apple into her depot.