The Lutin Chronicles
Chapter 13
The Goblins Who Saved Solstice
By Oren Otter

Hamal was a very happy badger.  It had been three months since he'd come to the Alpha Omega Federation with a large number of the citizens of Furbluffs.  And while he did miss his old home, this one was also extremely nice.  The people here were of widely varied species, much as his own were.  They were also unusually friendly.  the majority of the people here were some type of goblin, but where normal goblin society was rather cutthroat in its squabblings and scrabblings, these goblins were very different.  They had respect for all life and practiced a lifestyle of virtue.  Hamal was pleased to be a part of such a nation.  And of course being part of the governing council didn't hurt.  Over the last three months, Hamal and his animal friends had been part of a construction project.  With the help of the goblins and their assorted allies, they had built themselves a new town right next to the highway, halfway between Singing Pony and North Hunger.  At the heart was an enormous storehouse, home to a great food bank.  The harvest had been kind this year, and the storehouse was filled to overflowing.  This day, Rugi and Jun were preparing the final component of the storehouse: a freezing charm which would allow them to store raw meat and vegetables infdefinitely.

"These charms are very hard to come by." said Rugi in his slurred speech.  Having been stone deaf until very recently, he still wasn't quite used to speech.  "They have to be a very specific type of quartz, of a very specific size and shape, and they have to pass through the digestive tract of a snowman."

"That's very interesting." said Hamal.

"So be very, very CAREFUL with it, because it can't be replaced."

"I understand."

Rugi installed the charm at the apex of the ceiling with the help of an elephant.  Jun prepared his spell.  He had to be careful to get it just right.  Ever since the Sondshara capstone had been installed at the Sky Valley castle, the entire federation had become more magical, and Jun found every spell he cast was stronger than usual.  He didn't want to freeze the entire room.  Not directly anyhow.  With very precise hand gestures and a very deliberately spoken incantation, Jun cast his spell, which was absorbed by the crystal, turning it into a working freezing charm.  The air in the room became very cold and the walls began to frost.

"We did it!" exclaimed Rugi.

"It's all done!" proclaimed Hamal.  There was only one thing left to do.  Stepping outside, Hamal climbed up a set of stairs to a second story balcony.  "Ladies and gentlecreatures," he addressed.  "It gives me great pleasure to announce that the cold storage room is now operational!"

The crowd, mostly talking animals, cheered wildly.

"And with the completion of the food bank, it is my privilege to dedicate to the service and wellbeing of our new friends of the Alpha Omega Federation, the new city of Bounty!"

Again, great cheering.

Quargle the bugbear goblin met Hamal on the way down.  "I thought you were going to call it 'New Furbluffs'."

"Some wanted to." said the badger mayor.  "But it just didn't seem right when the old Furbluffs is still there."

Kayrok was there, clapping merrily in celebration of the completion of both the food bank and the town.  Sopok was there as well, perched on his father's shoulder in bat form, as many of the werebat children prefered when among the talking animals.  The speech booster which Nashira the potion making rabbit produced had made the bat form all the more preferable, as the children no longer needed to become lutins to speak to one another.

"Hey, Sopok!" one of the bats called from a nearby tree.  "Wanna go to Sky Valley with Grackle and me?  We're gonna look for treasure in the mountains."

Sopok turned to Kayrok.  "Can I, Dad?"

"Be home in time for supper." said the Captain.  "And take a scarf.  It's cold up there."

"Thanks, Dad!"  And with that, Kayrok's adopted son went off to play with the other bats.

Marcus, the human trader, approached Kayrok.  "I've seen many things in my day." he said.  "I've seen flying whales and trolls the size of a pea.  But I've never seen anything like this new country you have here where children turn into bats and nobody even blinks."

"We've been blessed." said Kayrok.  "Vertarbna has enriched us by bringing us all sorts of wonderful things and people, not the least of which is yourself."

"Well, I thank you, Mister Chairman."

Kayrok still wasn't comfortable with that title.  "I still prefer 'Captain'." he said.

"Can you be a captain when the old army is dissolved and you outrank everyone in the new one?"

"I came here as a captain." said Kayrok.

"But you're a king now.  And a high king at that.  Would you call a private 'private' once he made corporal?"

"I see your point, though those functions are rather flexible in our military.  Or rather, they were."

Algene came to stand next to Marcus.  "He's right, you know.  Now that Nasoj is out of the picture, the people need a strong leader.  Embracing a new title may help preserve hope for the future."

"Noted." said Kayrok.  "But that's a matter for another time.  Today is a day for celebration, and I hear that Naos the camel has a cafe which serves a mean mulled cider."  And the three men, human, lutin and cyclops, walked off together to share a drink.

Meanwhile, Booli was headed through town in a different direction.  On his shoulders, clutching his ear with one hand, sat Kara, another of the werebat children.  "Are you feeling hungry?" Booli asked.

"Uh huh!" Kara replied.  "Can we have some nuts?"

"Anything for you, my dear."  He let Kara steer him toward an otter who was selling roasted chestnuts.  "A big one." said Booli.  "To split."

"Hey, I know you!" said the otter.  "Kara Fireeyes.  Isn't it?"

"Nope." said the girl with a giggle.  "My name is Charlie."

"Oh, well... I happen to know Kara has a birthday coming up, so I was going to give here some candied almonds, but if you're not her..."

"I'm really Kara!" said the girl with a laugh.

"Are you, now!  Trying to pull a fast one on old Stitula, are you?  There, now." said the otter, handing up a cone full of confections as Booli bent down.  "Happy Birthday, lass."

"Thank you!" said Kara, brightly.

"We're headed to Prijipati's toy shop next." said Booli.  "To pick out something really special for the birthday girl."

"I'm sure it'll be extra special if it's for a princess like her." remarked Stitula.  "Bye, now, and don't get any sweeter, little lady, or you'll melt when you get wet."

Prijipati's shop was a wonder to behold, especially for goblin children.  Toys for goblins tended to be crude and violence oriented.  Most of the werebat children had never seen a toy in their lives, having been raised very spartanly.  In point of fact, no one actually knew when Kara's birthday was, as the Yarasa did not celebrate, nor even mark birthdays.  Booli had given her the opportunity to pick any day of the year for her birthday.  Cleverly, she picked three days before winter solstice so that everything would be festive and decorated for her birthday.  Prijipati was a beaver and an expert gnawer.  She enjoyed carving all sorts of intricate toys for the children, from dolls to trains to musical instruments to monsters to games.  She also had a son about Kara's age, and thus was very familiar with children's tastes.  Nobody didn't like going to Prijipati's.

"Welcome!" said the beaver warmly to the lutin and his daughter.  "Oh and isn't this the birthday girl, now?  Hello, Kara!"

"Hello, Mrs. Beaver." replied Kara.

In the next room, Prijipati's son became curious about the unfamiliar voice.  He liked to meet new people, especially kids.  Adjusting his glasses to see her better as Booli set her on the floor, the beaver boy said "Hi!  My name is Tsze.  What's yours?"

"I'm Kara." said the girl, extending her left hand.  Tsze extended his right and immediately noticed that on her right was only an empty sleeve.

"Whoa.  What happened to your arm?" asked Tsze.

Kara suddenly became self-conscious.  "I was born this way."

"Tzse!" Prijipati chided.  "That's not polite."

"I'm sorry." said the beaver boy.  "I didn't mean anything bad by it.  I think it's cool.  I mean, if you don't have an arm on one side, you can replace it with any kind of arm you want, right?"

"Makes sense." said Booli.

"Hey, do you like trains?"

"Yeah." replied Kara.  "Especially the fast ones."

"I got a really cool train set my Mom made.  Let's play with it!  It really runs on steam and everything!"

* * *

Angu was delighted to be on the detail assigned to go out and find the perfect solstice tree.  Tiro was likewise feeling jolly about it.  Mumbor, not so much.  The cold air played havok with his nasal congestion.  As for Splin, he was here because he knew the trees better than anyone.  Surely, he would be able to find the grandest, most beautiful solstice tree ever.  Tiro especially was feeling good this day.  The constant exercise he'd been getting in the employ of Kayrok had slimmed him down and buffed him up.  He was now an excellent specimin of a goblin, and with his axe on one shoulder, he felt very manly indeed, far from the fat, out-of-breath fellow he used to be.  Even Angu, who, while female in form was still not attracted to men, had to admit that Tiro did have a certain appeal.  Mumbor, on the other hand, had no appeal.  The lutin was always irritable.  "What about this one?" he asked at the first tree they came to, hoping to get home quickly.  He'd put his hand on a birch tree.

"Oh, that would be beautiful!" said Angu.  "A tall thin trunk with high branches... we can hold the feast directly underneath it."

"Terrific idea." Tiro agreed.  He placed his axe at the base of the tree and pulled back.

"Wait!" shouted Splin.  "You don't want this one."

"Why not?"

"It's got termites.  You'd be infesting the building and all the furniture."

"Well, we don't want that." said Angu.  "Let's keep looking.  There's plenty of time, yet."

* * *

Point wandered slowly through the aisles of the trading post.  He wanted to find the perfect gift for his dear friend, Kayrok, but was at somewhat of a loss.  Jora, seeing that the cyclops seemed a little lost, asked "can I help you find something?"

"Yeah...  I'm looking for something for the Captain for solstice.  I'm really not sure what he'd like."

"Hmm.  Well, how about a game set?  Maybe goblin chess or jackals and hounds.  I just got this one in from Caralore.  You go around Galendor conquering different countries and then charging taxes from everyone who lands on your spaces."

"No.  I happen to know he never learned goblin chess, and he doesn't really have much time for board games.  His jobs as commander, father, mine owner and council chair keep him pretty busy."

"Ah.  Well then, perhaps an item of clothing.  A nice pair of sandals, maybe?"

"Kayrok always wears boots."

"Then perhaps he'd like a nice pair of socks."

Point frowned.  "I can't give someone socks for solstice."

"Right.  What was I thinking?  Oh... How about a necklace?  Tamara Greenstar just brought in these lovely hand-made necklaces."

"Kayrok makes it a point to never wear jewelry.  Part of keeping himself humble."

"Yes.  I see.  Maybe some nice cookware.  He does eat, after all."

"He eats all his meals either in the chow line or at Splim's."

"I have these flutes I made myself..."

"He can't play one."

Jora held up a set of frilly lingerie.  "How about these?"

"He's not even married."

"I know.  I figured since you're going to shoot the idea down anyway, why fight it?"

* * *

"I'm gonna get there before you guys!" shouted Grickle as he pulled into the lead.

"Nuh-uh!" Grackle called back.  "I'm gonna get there first!"

"I'm gonna beat both of you guys!" yelled Sopok, beating his wings as hard as he could.

It was difficult to tell who actually came in first as all three bats touched down in Sky Valley at the same time, changing into three lutin boys as they lit, much to the amusement of the local humans.  "Whew!" said Grickle.  "That was fun!"

"Beat you to the river!" Grackle goaded.

"You're on." said Sopok.

"On foot."

Grickle, Grackle and Sopok, who had been out of breath a moment ago, sprinted toward the river, nearly knocking an old lady over on the way.  "Sorry!" Sopok called backwards, unwilling to fall behind the others.

* * *

Marcus seriously enjoyed the hot cider at Naos'.  The camel was a very gracious hostess and surprisingly deft at pouring using only her head.  She kept the drinks full and hot.  "I love this time of year." said the human.  "Oh, this brings back memories."

"Do tell." said Kayrok.

"Well, first off, winter solstice comes in the middle of summer down in Irombi."

"Hunh?"

"What I mean is when it's winter here, it's summer there, so our celebrations are a little backwards.  We'd have a solstice tree with all the leaves still on it.  We'd have presents wrapped in bright paper, garland hung everywhere, and every year, mom and dad would take us kids to see Shanar."

"Who's Shanar?" asked Quargle. 

Marcus sputtered.  "Don't tell me you've never heard of Shanar!"

"Okay.  I won't.  Who's Shanar?"

"Shanar is one of the great heroes of old in Irombi and Fan Shoar.  He's got a long, red robe and a long, white beard.  Every year, he comes along in a sled pulled by magical goats to spread solstice cheer to all the good little girls and boys.  He gives gifts to everyone, especially the poor on solstice eve night.  Don't you guys have someone like that?"

"Kind of." said Quargle.  "We have Kallas."

"Does he bring solstice presents, too?"

"Not exactly.  He's this big, fat ogre who wears animal hides.  He comes on solstice eve to kidnap the naughty children and eat them."

"That's horrible!" said Marcus.

"That's bugbear parenting."

* * *

Rugi and Jun nearly ran into each other on the way into the school building in Mountainshade.  With apologies to one another, they hurried to their seats.  Today, a new teacher started teaching a class that neither of them wanted to miss.  The teacher's desk had been pushed all the way up against the blackboard.  On that desk was a weasel.  As the clock struck three, the weasel picked up the chalk.  "Good afternoon, everyone." she said.  "My name is Almach Weasel."  She wrote her name on the board in big letters.  "Beyond these walls, you may call me Almach.  But in class, I expect you to address me as Mrs. Weasel.  I will tolerate no nonsense in this class.  It is my custom to reward hard work, but it is also my custom to punish failure.  Try very hard not to be the worst student in the class, because one of you will be going home today as a pig.  That said, welcome to Transformation Spells 101."

* * *

"Now read that all back to me." Splim told his new helper.

"Five hundred turkey cubes." said Morgle the norker, who had only just learned to read and write and was still having some trouble.  "One hundred... no... thousand potatoes.  Eight hundred yams.  Twelve hundred loaves of bread."

"Better make that an even fifteen hundred."

Morgle changed the number.  "Sixty sacks of flour.  Two hundred pumpkins.  One hundred gallons of milk.  One barrel of salt.  Two thousand ears of corn.  A hundred pounds of chotaberries.  Five hundred onions.  Two hundred pounds of green beans.  One hundred pounds of mushrooms.  And last but not least, one jellied cranberry sauce shaped like a jar."

"Add fifty pounds of mint to that."

"Sir, I think it's wonderful that we're cooking the solstice feast for the entire federation, but how are we going to cook all these?"

"With those." said Splim, opening the back door of the restaurant.  An addition had been built onto the building, and in that addition were twenty ornos- dome-shaped ovens the height of a human.

"Where did those come from?" asked Morgle.

"From Alnalam, the giant.  He was trying to re-invent the umbrella.  Now go get those supplies from the food bank.  Take your time.  Don't try to get it all in one trip."

"Yes, Sir."  This was the part of the job which Morgle liked the most.  He loved being out in the open air, even if it was the middle of winter.  The loading and unloading was hard work, but the ride made it all worthwhile.  When Morgle arrived and handed his list to the bank keeper, a squirrel by the name of Bali, the squirrel whistled and said "That sure is a lot."

"Can you fill it?"

"This is Bounty!  Absolutely we can fill it!"  Bali scampered to the doors to the storage area.  When he opened them, he was shocked to find the entire warehouse completely empty.  Morgle soon found himself trying to revive a fainted squirrel.

* * *

Kara enjoyed playing with Tzse.  He wasn't like the werebat children.  They would invariably take to flying at some point during play, leaving Kara, with her one wing, alone on the ground.  Tzse not only was always on the ground, he loved things which travelled on the ground.  With his mother's help, he had carved replicas of every one of the steam locomotives, from the old ones with their stark, utilitarian look, to the newer ones which the dwarves had built to look like dragons, rhinos and other animals.  There was even the one which Smallbeard himself had built to look like a castle.

"I love riding the trains." said Kara.  "I love it when they go really fast."

"Me too." said Tzse.  "My favorite is this one."  He picked up a locomotive which reselmbled a flying eagle with its wings raised.  "This one is called the Aquila Queen.  I heard that they're going to build a new set of tracks all the way around the federation just for the Aquila Queen so that it can go really, really fast."

Booli had spent an hour chatting with Prjipati, during which time he'd selected a toy completely unseen by Kara, paid for it and had it wrapped.  "Come, Kara.  It's time to go."

"Okay, Daddy.  Thank you for playing with me, Tzse.  Would you like to come to my birthday party tomorrow?"

"Sure!"

"Is that okay, Daddy?"

"Of course."

"It's at five O'clock.  Bye bye."

Prijipati and Tzse waved goodbye as Kara and Booli walked out, hand in hand.

In the distance, bells were ringing.  Booli had completely forgotten.  Today was Sunday.  The followers of Vertarbna were having their evening worship.  Booli and Kara would be late if they went now, but perhaps they could make the last part of the service.  "What do you think, Kara?  Should we try to make it to the church?"

"Yes." said Kara brightly.

"Okay, but we have to run if we're going to catch the train."

"You have to be a horsie." said Kara with a grin, invoking the special game she and her father would play when in a hurry.

"Okay.  You know what to do.  Say the magic spell."

Kara giggled.  "Daddy gladdy morsey horsie!"

Booli stretched his neck and hunched his shoulders, pretending he was changing into a horse.  He then pawed the air with his fists and began galoping towards the train station with his daughter laughing all the way.

* * *

"Okay, this one is perfect." said Angu.  "You can't go wrong with a traditional oak tree."

"No, ma'am." Tiro agreed.  "And it's just the perfect size.  Don't you agree, Mumbor?"

"Let's just get this over with."

Splin bit his lip.  He knew this tree personally.  He'd had long conversations with it about the ethical implications of pruning.  "Not this one!" he shouted.

"What's wrong with this one?"

"There's a family of opossums living in this one.  We can't use it.  Just think of what it would be like if those opossums came out of the tree in the middle of the feast."

Angu and Tiro sighed and continued looking.  Mumbor just said "I hate you."

* * *

"Hey, check it out!" exclaimed Grackle.  "I found gold!"

"That isn't gold." said Grickle.  "It's just fool's gold."

"Then it ought to make YOU rich, fool."

"I'm gonna belt you!"

"Guys!  Guys!  Let me see it."  Sopok examined the rock carefully.  "Yeah, it's gold all right."

"Told ya! I found treasure before you did." Grackle goaded.

"So what?  Our parents are all rich.  They have tons of gold."
"Hey, check this one out." said Sopok, holding a small crystal.  "This looks just like the one that Rugi put in the food bank."

"Hey," said Grickle.  "Do you think he can make another ice stone?"

"No.  It has to get eaten and pooped by a snowman." Grackle answered.

"That can't be right." said Sopok.  "There's no such thing as a snowman."

"Uh huh." said Grickle.  "Our mom and dad said they live way up north by Loskei."

"No they don't." Sopok insisted.  "That's just a story grown-ups made up to scare little kids.

"They do too." Grackle insisted just as adamantly.  "They're ten feet tall and they're made of snow and ice."

"Snow and ice aren't even alive." Sopok pointed out.

"Neither is rock but the people from North Hunger used to be rock monsters."

"That's different."

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is."

"Is not."

"Is too!"

"Not!"

Sopok crossed his arms confrontationally.  "There's no such thing as snowmen."

"Yes there is."

"Are you calling our mom and dad liars?" Grickle asked.

"Maybe I am."

Grackle cocked a fist back.  "You take that back!"

"Make me."

Grickle thought it best to step in at this point.  "Why don't you prove that there are no snowmen?"

"Why should I do that?"

"Are you chicken?" Grackle taunted.

"No!"

"You are too chicken."  Grackle turned into a bat and walked around, clucking his head and bobbing like a chicken.

"Nobody calls Sopok Fireseed a chicken!  I'll show you!"  With that, Sopok transformed and flew off in search of proof of the absence of snowmen.

* * *

"So I was thinking." said Marcus.  "We ought to have someone dress up as Shanar and pass out presents to the kids.  It'll be a real Solstice treat."

"Shanar?  Come on." said Quargle.  "Nobody here has even heard of Shanar.  Now a visit from Kallas, that would be exciting!"

"Kallas?  The idea is to make the kids happy, not terrify them."

"Actually," said Kayrok.  "I doubt many people here have heard of Kallas either."

"You're kidding."

"Nope.  Lutins don't have anything like that.  At least not that I've ever heard of."  The church bells began ringing at that moment.  "Oh, is it time for service already?" said Kayrok.  "Where does the day go?"

Both men watched the commander leave, then commenced arguing.

"It should be Shanar."

"Shanar's a human.  This is goblin country.  It should be Kallas."

"Kallas is a kidnapper.  Shanar."

"Kallas."

* * *

Point was looking in the window of the Mountainshade tack store when he heard the bells ringing.  On display in the window was a gorgeous saddle with gold inlay against a dark leather background.  How magnificent Kayrok would look seated on that.  Point imagined him seated on his horse. He tried at least, until he realized that Kayrok did not own a horse.  He either walked or took a train everywhere he went.  Oh well.  Might as well get to church.

* * *

The service was already well underway when Booli and Kara finally arrived in Mountainshade.  As Kara looked at the church building, she turned to her father and asked, "Daddy, when is Vertarbna's birthday?"

"Nobody knows." Booli replied.  "It's just not something we celebrate."

"How come?"

"I don't know.  We just never have."

"We should." said Kara, thoughtfully.  "You love me, so you gave me a birthday.  We love Vertarbna, so he should get a birthday, too."

"And how shall we celebrate it?  We can't give him presents because he's in Stormhaven."

Kara thought about that.  "Vertarbna loves everybody.  So if we're really super-nice to everybody, that will make Vertarbna happy."

"And when should we celebrate it?"

Kara thought some more.  "It should be the most special day of all.  So it should be on winter solstice."

"Then that is what we shall do.  We shall be extra nice to everyone on solstice and wish Vertarbna a happy birthday."  As Booli said this, they arrived at the doors of the chapel.  "Oh, wait, you have to turn me back!" Booli exclaimed, bending down.

Kara giggled and tapped his head.  "Horsie morsey gladdy daddy." she incanted.

Booli did a quick impression of a goblin turning into a man.  "Oh, that's better.  I was starting to crave grass just now."

Into the building went the father and daughter, joining in the goblinish hymn which was being sung.

They had barely gotten through a stanza when Morgle burst through the door and ran straight to Kayrok.  The entire place fell silent, leaving Morgle extremely self conscious.  "Captain," whispered Morgle into Kayrok's ear.  "The food bank has been robbed."

"How much was taken?" Kayrok inquired.

"All of it."

"WHAT?" shouted Kayrok.  Then politely, excuse us, everyone."  Quickly, he rushed the norker out the door.  Once the singing had resumed, he asked, "What do you mean all of it?"

"I mean the entire thing is empty!  There isn't a scrap of food in the place!"

"How did this happen?"

"I don't know, Sir.  The keeper never saw anyone enter.  Just one minute it was there, and the next minute, it was gone."

"All right.  Don't tell anyone about this." said Kayrok.

"Can I tell Splim?"

"Of course you can tell Splim"

"He's not going to be happy."

"You can tell him I'm already on the case.  And... Morgle is it?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good work, Morgle."

* * *

"What about this one?" asked Tiro.  "Surely there's nothing wrong with this one."

Splin looked up at the sleeping elm.  "This one has a weak core.  It will split if we cut it."

"That's it." said Mumbor.  "We have been out here all day.  Every time we've found a good solstice tree, you've found something wrong with it.  I'm beginning to think you just don't want us to have a solstice tree."

"No!" Splin insisted.  "Everybody wants a solstice tree.  It's just..."

"Just what?"

"I don't want us to kill one." Splin mumbled.

"Splin," said Tiro.  "How are we supposed to bring a tree back to Mountainshade if we don't cut it down?"

"I don't know."

"Enough is enough." said Angu.  "It is freezing out here.  My fingers, toes and ears are completely numb, now.  I don't think I could hold an axe to swing it.  Let's go home for tonight and come back in the morning.  WITHOUT SPLIN."

The speaker-to-trees felt horrible as he watched hs friends storm off back to town without him.

* * *

"I can't believe they took everything." said Kayrok.  Behind him, Point, Sytet and Hamal were all agape.

"How?" asked Point.

"Teleportation spell." said Sytet.  "It's the only explanation."

"But who would do such a thing?" asked Hamal.

"I can think of a few people.  Our harvest was pretty good, but some of the neighboring areas weren't so lucky.  Fargone experienced crop failure due to hail.  The slave mines might be trying to get revenge on us.  There's the wood elves who just plain hate us.  Or maybe something is going on in Marai-Uthra or Prendor because of the curse Dupris put on the river."

"I'm going to have to do a lot of flying, aren't I?" asked Sytet, rhetorically.

"You take the river cities." said Kayrok.  I'll ask some of the ponies to investigate the slave mines.  They can travel fast and snoop around without arousing suspicion."

* * *

Booli's house was out in the forest, on the road between Mountainshade and Spiritfell.  Taking his daughter's hand as they left the chapel, he began the long walk.  Kara yawned.  "Are you feeling tired?" asked Booli.  Kara nodded.  "Would you like to ride on my shoulders?"  Again, Kara nodded.  Booli picked his daughter up, put her legs astride his neck and said "You know what to do."

Kara tapped the top of his head and said "Daddy Glad..."  She was interrupted by an explosion.  Something shot through the roof of Rugi's workshop and flew in an arc to land at Booli's feet.  A second later, Rugi followed.  "Sorry." said the thurge, picking up the object and returning to his workshop.

"Daddy Gladdy Morsey Horsie." said Kara.  As always, Booli mimed his transformation into a horse and galloped off.  This left Rugi scratching his chin for a moment before shrugging and going back inside.

* * *

Kayrok had just sent several of his best soldiers on a mission to find the missing food.  He himself had another concern.  It was seven O'clock.  The sky had already become quite dark.  He had instructed Sopok to be back by supper.  The boy should have met him at Splim's.  Kayrok scanned the sky, but there was no sign of him.  "Probably just lost track of time." the anxious father told himself.

* * *

Tiro, Angu and Mumbor were chatting animatedly among themselves as they rode up the street into Mountainshade on their way to look for a solstice tree.  As they passed through the square, they fell silent and stared.  there in the town square was an enormous and gorgeous tree.  Instead of the normal deciduous tree, it was a pine.  Instead of cut, it had been planted in the ground, with a number of paving bricks removed to make it possible.  It had been fully decorated from tip to trunk, and at the base, snoring loudly, was Splin.  Angu walked over and shook him awake.  "Splin, did you do this?"

"Yep." Splin said with a nod.

"How...?"

"I got some help from some friends in bounty.  After you left, I thought for a while.  I thought that solstice is a celebration of making it halfway to spring.  It's a celebration of life.  So wouldn't it be better to have a live tree instead of a dead one?  And instead of one that's asleep, why not one that's awake?  So I talked to the evergreens and explained what I wanted to do.  That was the hard part.  Trees have a hard time grasping concepts beyond light, water and soil.  But I found a pine tree that was willing to make the move.  I got some gophers and moles to help me dig it up, some ponies to help me move it, and then some squirrels, opossums and pine martins to decorate it.  Oh, and a rat.  The rat put the topper on.  He wanted me to make sure you knew that."

"You did good, my friend." said Tiro.  "Now we can go get a hot cup of cider instead of spending the whole morning in the cold."

"I'm alergic to apples." Mumbor complained.

* * *

Marcus and Quargle were both at Splim's for breakfast.  It wasn't long before the two of them were arguing again.

"Shanar is good.  He gives presents to people."

"The kids need to know their goblin heritage.  It should be Kallas."

Splim came over to refill their mugs with fresh chota.  "Gentlemen, if I may make a suggestion, why don't you compromise?"

"Compromise?" said Quargle and Marcus in unison.

"Yeah.  Both of these guys are made up anyway, and nobody here has ever heard of either one.  So put them together.  Have one guy who gives presents to the good kids and for the naughty ones, I don't know... gives them rocks or something."

Marcus slowly turned to look at Quargle.  "Shanar-Kallas?"

"He's got to have Kallas' belly." said Quargle.

"And Shanar's beard."

"Dressed in fur."

"Red fur."

"And he's got to laugh a lot, the way Kallas does."

"And ride in a goat-drawn sled."

Quargle grinned.  "This just might work!"

* * *

Sytet circled Marai-Uthra once again before lighting in a tall redwood.  There was certainly something going on down there.  He changed into lutin form in order to access the bracelet he now wore.  This was Rugi's greatest invention yet.  Each bracelet in the set was equipped with a small section of crystal ball, much like the one he'd used to communicate with Kayrok from Lavamist.  With these, users could see and hear one another across great distances.  "Sytet to base." he said into the bracelet.

"Kayrok here.  Go ahead, Sytet."

"There's a great deal of activity in Marai-Uthra this morning.  Something is happening in the square.  The elves are giving out parcels of... That's our food, Sir.  They have meat cubes."

"Good work, Sytet.  Return to base."

Sytet was about to respond when his nose picked up the smell of roasting meat.  To the northwest was a plume of smoke.  "With your permission, Captain, there's something else I feel I should investigate.  Call it a hunch, but I think there's more to this mystery."

"Permission granted.  Be careful, bat."

"Thank you, Sir.  Sytet out."  With that, he transformed and took off.

* * *

Sopok was extremely tired.  He had been flying all night.  Loskei was much farther away than he'd originally thought.  His wings were cold and getting numb, but he was determined to keep going.  No one called him a chicken.  He would prove there was no such thing as a snow man.  As the sun rose to the southeast, Sopok welcomed its warmth.  On he flew to Loskei, oblivious to the worry his father was experiencing at that moment.

* * *

"What in the world is this thing?" asked Point as he examined one of the more curious items in Marcus' shop.  It bore a passing resemblance to two horses attempting to create a third.

"That's a fertility charm from Zumasa." replied Marcus.  

Point dropped it like a hot potato. "Not the sort of thing Kayrok would be interested in."

"Have you thought about a book?" Marcus suggested.  "I've got this really interesting novel from Tazwa.  It's about a farm boy who gets turned into a rat, then sails the world looking for his true love who was abducted by pirates."

"That does sound like something he might enjoy.  Let me see it."

Marcus took the book from the shelf and handed it to Point.  The cover was beautifully illustrated, with an incredibly realistic picture of a rat in nautical garb.  "Eight slips of silver if you're interested."

Point opened the book.  "This is in Tazwan."

"Oh.  Well, I do have a translated version of the book."

"Let me see that one."

"Only it's translated into Khumari."

"Never mind."

* * *

Jun slipped quietly into Rugi's workshop.  He knew that the thurge was not used to his new sense of hearing and loud noises could easily startle him.  He waited a moment for Rugi to acknowledge him, then asked "How is your special project coming?"

"I think I've got it." replied the charm maker.  Placing a ring on his finger, he concentrated.  Everything in the room, including Jun, began to float.  Everything but Rugi.  The lutin slurred some curse word as he carefully willed the furniture back to the floor.  "I was hoping to have this ready by tonight."

Jun rolled up his sleeves.  "I'm no thurge." he said.  "But I do know magic.  Let's see how much damage we can do in one day."

Rugi hoped the joke wasn't prophetic.

* * *

"Happy birthday, special girl!"  Booli beamed at the waking face of his daughter.

"Hi, Daddy!  It's my birthday!"

"Yes it is!  Exactly three days before solstice, just as you requested."

"I'm having a birthday!  My very first ever birthday!" Kara sang, dancing around the room.

"I need to go to Bounty today." said Booli.  "There's a bowl of fruit for your breakfast downstairs."

"Can't I come too?" asked Kara.

"I'm afraid not." said Booli.  "This is something special I have to do by myself."  

Kara pouted.  "I'll miss you." she said.

Booli thought for a moment.  "I wasn't going to do this." he said.  "I was going to save this until the party tonight, but perhaps it would serve you better now.  Come to my room."  Kara followed obediently.  Sitting on Booli's bed was a wooden horse on wheels.  It was painted brown with white speckles on its neck and a long, black mane.  It was exactly the right size for a bat to ride.

"Oh, Daddy, thank you!"

"Just wait." said Booli.  "You haven't seen the best part."  He moved some parts of the horse, tucking its tail into its body, swinging the horse head into the chest to reveal a lutin head in its place.  Hands and feet flipped out of the hooves.  The horse now looked just like Booli in his brown shirt and pants.

"I love it!" said Kara, hugging her father's leg with her one arm.  "And it's a double nice present because it's you!"

"You be good now.  I've asked Micho to come by later and check on you.  I should be home in a few hours."  He kissed his daughter on the head and went downstairs on his way to Bounty.

* * *

Grickle and Grackle were both extremely nervous.  When they got pulled off of their jobs creating air vents in the pass, they knew exactly what it was about.  Both of them had their heads lowered when they came into the office.  Kayrok immediately knew something was very wrong.  "Boys, Sopok hasn't come home since yesterday.  You were the last ones to see him.  Do you know where he is?"

"Well..." Grickle hemmed.

Yes?"

"We didn't think he'd really go." Grackle hawed.

"Go where?" Kayrok demanded.  "Boys, where is my son?"

Grickle and Grackle exchanged glances, neither wanting to speak first.

"Boys, I am concerned about Sopok's safety.  If you truly are his friends, you need to answer my question so that if he's in trouble, I can go and help him."

"He's in Loskei." said Grickle.  "Sopok and Grackle got into an argument and Grackle dared him to prove that snowmen aren't real so Sopok's going to Loskei to prove they aren't."

"Loskei?  That's nearly a thousand miles away!"

"We didn't tell him to go!" said Grackle.

"Actually, you did." said Grickle.

"Shut up!"

"Dismissed." said Kayrok.  "And you can bet I'll be talking to your parents later."  Turning to Point, he said "Bring me Tripe, Foxtooth and Redfoot.  And Gitch as well.  Then go saddle up four ponies."

* * *

"What do you think?" asked Marcus.  He had just emerged from the back room of his store.  He was covered from head to foot in red fur.  A big, bushy white beard covered most of his face, and pillows were stuffed beneath his jacket to make him look fat.  "How do I look?"

"Like a black human with a fake beard and pillows under his belt."

"Maybe you should try wearing the suit."

"You kidding?  I'm skinnier than you are."

"We need someone who's naturally fat." said Marcus.

"And bearded."

"And it wouldn't hurt if he were green."

It was at that moment Splim walked through the door.  "Hey, Splim!" marcus greeted.  "We don't usually get to see you this far north."

"I have a lot of time on my hands today." said the chef.  "I'm supposed to be making preparations for the solstice feast, but I can't."

"Why not?"

Splim hesitated.  "There's been a problem." was all he would say.

"We're having a problem, too." said Marcus.  "We need someone to play the part of Shanar-Kallas at this year's solstice party."

"Guys, I'm going to be cooking the whole time.  Besides which, who in the world is Shanar-Kallas?"

"Aw, come on." said Quargle.  "It's only for a little bit, and it's for the kids."

Splim had a soft spot for children.  "Well, I guess I could take a break.  But you still haven't told me who Shanar-Kallas is."

"He's a very important guy on solstice." said Marcus as he ushered Splim into the back room.  "By the way, can you do a maniacal laugh?"

"Ho ho ho!"

"It'll have to do."

* * *

Tzse very carefully put his gift in a bright, red box and closed the lid.  Kara would love this.

Into the store came Sualocin, a young reindeer who liked to browse Prijipati's creations.  "Hi, Tzse." he greeted.

"Hi, Sual." replied the beaver.

"Hey, it's starting to snow outside." said the reindeer.  "You want to go outside and play in it?"

"Thanks, but I can't.  I have to get ready for Kara's birthday party.

"A birthday party!  Can I come?"

"It's up to Kara, but I'm sure she won't mind.

"I should get a present for her.  What does she like?"

"She likes trains." said Tzse.  "And dolls.  And horses.  We have a lot of those things."

Sualocin looked around at the many enticing playthings.  "I can't afford any of those.  I'll have to find something else."

Tsze saw the reindeer out, then went upstairs to begin brushing his fur.

* * *

"Thank you for seeing me, Mrs. Weasel." said Booli.  

"Please, I'm Mrs. weasel in the classroom.  Here, you may call me Almach."

"Thank you, Almach.  I'm Booli, of course."

"Yes, I remember you.  You're the student from my magic class who kept drawing small animals on his paper.  I almost turned you into a pig."

"Thank you for not doing that."

"Don't thank me.  Thank Zib.  It was his fidgeting and nonstop talking that earned him the snout instead of you."  The weasel took a sip of her chota, not taking her eyes off of Booli.  "Now then, what may I do for you?"

"It's about my daughter.  Kara."

"One of the werebat children, isn't she?  The girl with one arm?"

"That's her.  I was wondering if there was some spell which could restore her missing limb."

"Certainly there is, but it would only be temporary."

"Why so?"

"Because of the simple fact that she is a werebat.  In the first place, such deformities do tend to carry over from form to form.  It is possible to override that by employing a fully-formed template within the spell.  However, it would only last until her next transformation."

"I don't understand."

"You daughter's missing arm is the result of a birth defect.  It must be, or her arm would have regenerated by now.  She is a werebat.  She must change periodically between bat and lutin.  If she does not, her body will do so on its own.  At that time, whatever spell has been placed on her, unless it is of a variety which I absolutely will not employ, will be negated.  She will return to one of her two natural forms, and when she does, her arm will once again disappear."

"What about a charm?  that would make the change permanent, right?"

"Yes, but it would be devastating to her health.  As I said, she must transform.  If she does not, her body could become very ill, even injured.  I'm sorry, Booli.  I'm afraid there is nothing we can do."

* * *

"Sytet to base.  I'm currently at the gnurl village.  The gnurls have got several bonfires going, in which they're roasting a large number of meats.  Cubical meats.  I've also recognized a couple of loaves of bread with Splim's signature cut.  It seems that both the drow elves and the gnurls have taken our food."

"It gets worse." said a voice on the bracelet.  "Norebo here.  The same thing is happening in Wadogo."

"How did you get to Wadogo so fast?" asked Sytet.

"Hardy here." said a third voice.  "I can't get a really good look from here.  I can't get close to the mines because of tightened security, but it looks like they've got chicken cubes.  I think I also see oranges."

"Good work, everyone.  Sytet, do you feel up to flying to Furbluffs?"

"Not a problem, Sir."

"Drop in and see if they know anything.  Everyone else, head on back."

"Captain," said Norebo.  "You should be aware that there is severe weather here in Wadogo, and it seems to worsen to the north.  There is a good chance that the path will become extremely dangerous."

"Thank you for the heads up."

"Aye, Sir.  Norebo out."

* * *

"Hya!  Hya!" shouted Splim, cracking the reins.  The goats in front of him merely bleated.

"I told you this was a dumb idea." said Smallbeard, who owned the animals.  "You can't pull a sleigh with goats.  They're way too independently minded.  You can crack the reins all day.  They'll do what they want."

"This stinks." said Marcus.  "Shanar-Kallas can't just walk into the feast.  He has to make an entrance."

Down the road came Sualocin the reindeer, a small package in his mouth.  Walking behind him a short distance were his parents.  He looked curiously  at the sled, put his package down and asked "Whatcha doing?"

"We've just trying to get this sled moving." said Quargle.  "The goats are being a little stubborn."

"Oh.  You should use reindeer.  We reindeer are good at pulling things."

The three men exchanged glances as Sualocin went on his way.

"Good afternoon." said the adult reindeer as they reached Splim and the others.  "Why are you looking at us like that?"

"How would you like a job?"

* * *

Sopok was finally willing to admit that maybe this was a stupid idea.  It was so cold out here, and the wind and the snow were worsening.  He'd been forced to abandon his wings and return to lutin form in order to preserve body heat.  His clothes, besides his scarf, were hardly suited to the task this far north.  Snowmen be hanged.  He didn't care about them, anymore.  Now he just wanted to find some sign of civilization.  Huddled against the wind, he wrapped his scarf more tightly around his face and trudged on in what he hoped was the direction of Loskei.

* * *

Kara was delighted.  The house was full of friendly faces, and they were all here to celebrate her birthday.  Her father had gotten the cake from the baker's in Bounty, and not only was it beautiful, but it tasted wonderful, too.  The baker used a combination of raspberries and chotaberries to produce an exquisite flavor.

Sualocin had been welcomed warmly.  Kara liked making new friends.  Most of the children were werebats, save a couple of ponies and a handful of non-transforming goblins.  And of course, there was Tsze.

The gifts were breathtaking.  One boy had given her a diamond necklace.  Another, a wind-up bird that really flew.  There was a golden flute and an entire set of crystline pony figurines made of glass in every color of the rainbow.  When it came Tsze's turn to present his gift, Kara opened the box to find an Aquila Queen toy locamotive.  "But Tzse, isn't this your favorite?" asked kara.

"Yeah.  That's why I wanted you to have it.  I can always make another."

Kara hugged the beaver.

Finally, it was Sual's turn.  The reindeer gave Kara his packet.  When she opened it, there were two small pieces of taffy inside.

"That's it?" said one of the other children.

"What a gyp!" said another.

"A stupid gift from a stupid reindeer!" said a third.  Everyone was laughing.  Tears in his eyes, Sualocin ran out the door.  

Booli was about to step in when Kara shouted "STOP IT!"  Everyone stopped and stared at the sweet little girl whose green face had become quite red.  "You're so mean!  Today is supposed to be a happy day!  Why do you have to make my new friend feel bad?"  Then she, too, went out the door.

Sualocin sat on the porch sniffing and trying not to cry.  "I'm sorry I gave you a bad present." he told Kara.  "It's all I could afford.  I only had a penny."

Kara put her hand on the reindeer's shoulder.  "Really?"

Sualocin lowered his head and nodded. "My family doesn't have a lot of money."

"You gave up all the money you had to buy a present for me?"

"uh huh."

Kara embraced Sualocin in a one-armed hug.  "That's so sweet!  Everybody else gave me expensive gifts because their parents are really rich.  But you gave me everything you had.  That's why I like your present best!"

"You do?"

"Uh huh.  I'm going to eat one piece of candy and then I'll save the other to remind me of you forever."

* * *

"Sytet!" called Procyon, the raccoon.  "Welcome back to Furbluffs!  How have you been?  What news is there from the federation?  Is Hamal well?"  many other animals were starting to gather around.

"Please, this isn't a social visit.  Procyon, who is your chief, now?"

"That would be me, actually."

Sytet wondered if he ought to ask Procyon for a private audience, but decided instead that he should get as much information as he could from as many people as he could.  "I'm here looking for information about a crime.  All of the food stores in the federation have been stolen."  There was a collective gasp.  "Has anything strange happened around here.  Anything at all that might give us a clue how it happened?"

There was a lot of murmurring, but no one claimed to know anything.  Then a voice came from the back of the throng.  "I have."

The crowd parted to reveal a small penguin.  "What do you know?" Sytet asked him.

"My sister lives in Prendor.  She told me that a few days ago, a wizard came by, riding on a unicorn.  He told the mayor that for a hundred gold, he could magically create enough food to see the entire town through the winter.  The next day, the same wizard and unicorn came to the ice caves and made the same offer."

"And was the offer accepted?"

"Yes.  In both cases.  The week without water was really hard on the crops in Prendor.  Those that got watered died of poison.  Those that didn't get watered died of dehydration.  The harvest was pretty awful.  As for the were-penguins, What can I say?  We live in an ice cave."

"Thank you." Sytet looked at his wrist, intending to report his findings, then realized he was still a bat and his bracelet immaterial.  He didn't like to go lutin in front of other talking animals.  Something about it just didn't seem right, so he flew off into the forest to find a place to change.  Across the canyon, he changed and reported his findings.  When he was finished, he looked down the road and saw a couple of animals walking up the path.  Curious.  He hadn't seen these two before in Furbluffs, and they were both standing upright as they walked.  Sytet suddenly realized what he was looking at.  "Keepers!"

* * *

"I think I've solved the problem." said Jun as he handed Rugi the charm he'd been enchanting.  "Try it now."

Rugi concentrated.  The charm glowed in his hand.  Then he fell.  Up.  Rugi sat on the ceiling, rubbing his head.  "I don't think that's quite right, either."  He set the charm on the ceiling and promptly fell to the floor, then immediately was hit on the head by the falling charm.  "Ow."

* * *

Kayrok could not sleep that night.  He was worried sick about Sopok.  The wind was howling outside and the air was turning bitter cold, which only made him all the more worried.  The house seemed so empty.  Sopok was halfway to the north pole by now.  Point had gone home for the night.  Sujan no longer lived here and Sytet was in Furbluffs.  Kayrok thought idly that maybe he ought to get a dog.  He lay staring at the ceiling for hours, and eventually did fall asleep, but it was a fitful sleep.

In his dreams, Kayrok stood looking up at a statue.  "It's almost finished." someone told him.  And indeed, it was.  Only the very top of the head remained to be completed.  Once it was finished, people would be able to climb up inside the statue of Sopok and look out over the wide and beautiful country which Kayrok had helped to create.

But something was wrong.  A crack appeared in the base of the statue.  It went up toward the head.  Chunks fell out.  Kayrok watched in horror as the statue's fingers fell off, followed by the hand and the arm.  Where the pieces fell, they burst into flame, setting fire to everything around them.

Onju oplaced his hand on Kayrok's shoulder.  "If I were you, I'd move." he said.

Kayrok took the advice.  Suddenly, he was in another time and place.  The room was completely white and empty, but for Kayrok and Onju.  "Where are we?" asked the commander.  "Am I dead?"

"Does this look like Stormhaven?  No, you're very much alive.  I'm the dead one.  As for this place, this is a room that just got painted and doesn't have any furniture, yet."  Onju opened the door.  He led Kayrok down a hallway and toward an outer door.  Kayrok now found himself in a city.  Turning around, he saw that he had just emerged from a castle.  It was high and well fortified.  The bottom was built like a fortress while the top was more like a palace.  The castle filled the space between two cliffs.

"Welcome to the city of love." said Onju.

"What is this place?" asked Kayrok.

"This is your home, Captain."

"This is Camp Dimtorch?"

"No.  And I'm very sorry about what happens to Camp Dimtorch."

"Why?  What happens?"

"I don't think you really want me to spoil it for you." said Onju.  "And really, it would only depress you.  But I have brought you here to show you this.  This would be impossible if not for you, and if not for the federation you built."

Kayrok suddenly realized that the sun was behind him as he faced the cliffs.  "We're on the south side of the mountains.  This is the other end of the pass!"

"That's right.  And you're going to love it here."

"We made it!  We dug all the way through!"

"Now Kayrok, I'm going to tell you something very important.  There is a seed."

"A seed?"

"A seed that will allow what was destroyed to grow back.  When the war is over, you must find the seed."

"What war?  We're at peace."

"Trust me.  There will be war."

"Onju, do you know about my son?  Is he alive?"

"Don't worry.  He's cold, but he's alive.  He's going to lose a few fingers and toes before he comes home, but they'll grow back."

"Oh, Sopok." said Kayrok in dismay.

The dream changed again.  Onju was gone.  Kayrok was in a garden.  Before him was a freshly dug hole.  In his hand was a seed.  "It's time." he told the seed.  "Spring is here, and you must be planted."

"I don't want to go down there." said the seed.

"But you must.  Seeds belong in the ground."

The seed cried and pleaded.  "Don't bury me!  Please!  It's cold and dark in the ground."

"It's only for a little while."

"But I will die!"

Kayrok's heart was breaking fior the little seed.  It's crying and pleading tore at his heart.  Nevertheless, he put the seed into the ground and covered it with dirt.  His hand on the ground, he could feel the seed's heartbeat slow and stop.  Then something wonderful happened.  The seed sprouted into a tree.  The tree spread its branches wide, and they quickly became laden with fruit.  "You see?" he told the tree.  "You died as a seed, but now you have become a great tree."

"Thank you.  I never should have doubted you.  I was afraid, but it was worth dying to become this."

"What is your name, friend tree?"

"Captain Kayrok Fireseed."

Kayrok's eyes were suddenly wide open.  He found himself back in his bed, looking sat the ceiling.  It had all been a dream.  But now, somehow, he felt calmer.  He felt sure now that he would see Sopok again, and soon.

* * *

The following day, the weather was horrid.  A terrible blizard had hit the dark forest.  Sytet found himself holed up in a tree in Furbluffs.  Most everyone in the federation was trapped indoors.  The snow was three feet deep by sunrise, and most of the doors were jammed shut.  The trains couldn't run through snow so deep.  Even Cephas was feeling the effects of the blizard, for though it was sheltered, it was still very cold.  Only refuge was unaffected, save for some very impressive icicles where their waterfall had been.

In Mountainshade, a few did manage to make it out of their houses.  They all came right to Splim's.  The fires there were always hot, which was very attractive today.

Splim opened the pantry to see what there was available.  The food supplies were getting low.  He had been depending on the food bank for replenishment.  There was almost no meat, only a few eggs, and the milk, which had to be delivered fresh each day, was completely gone.

Feather the waitress also saw how grim the situation was.  "What do we do, boss?" she asked in a somewhat hopeless tone.

"Do we have oats?"

"Plenty of oats."

"Butter?"

"Lots of butter."

"Syrup?"

"yes."

"Morgle, how are we doing on flour?"

"Lots of flour, boss."

"Here's what you do, Feather.  Go out and tell everyone that today, they are going to be treated to all-you-can-eat apple oatmeal flapjacks, and it's on me."

Feather went into the dining room to carry out her orders.  Splim heard cheering.  He smiled to himself and got to work.

* * *

Sopok had spent the night in a hole he had carved in a snowbank.  The boy could no longer feel his toes.  Nor his fingers, for that matter.  He knew that he had to get up and keep going, but he was so very sleepy.  Just a few more minutes...

* * *

Alnatak felt fantastic!  The cold air felt incredibly invigorating.  The blowing snow was like a summer breze to him, and three feet of snow didn't even come up to his knees.  For a giant, this was the perfect day to play.

"Hey, brother," said Alnalam.  "Send some of that cold air in here!"

Alnatak waved the front door back and forth, sending refreshing waves of freezing air to his brother inside.  "Isn't this great?" said the older brother.  "I don't remember when we've seen this much snow."

"I do." said Mintaka as she came up the walk.  "When we were up near the glaciers."

"Good morning sister.  Isn't it a beautiful day?"

"For us, maybe.  Not for our little friends.  There's so much snow that they can't get out of their houses."

"That's not good." said Alnalam, sticking his head out the door and peeking around.  "Can we fix it for them?"

"I'll be right back." said Alnatak.  He disappeared into the pass, then came back several minutes later with three large sheets of metal, each welded to a length of rail.  "Brother and sister, we are now snowplows."

At Ponytown, Mintaka saw all of the ponies standing shoulder deep in the snow and felt sorry for them.  She stepped into their field and began shoveling, forming the snow into a wall, creating an enclosure with Urik's house as one side.  But what to do for a roof?  Then she got a brilliant idea.  Running back to Dimtorch, she procured a large number of tent sections from the supply house.  With a mighty punch, she broke the surface of the frozen drinking pond, exposing the liquid water beneath.  She then dipped each section of canvas into the pond and laid them over the top of the snow coral.  As they froze, they turned into a solid mass capable of keeping out the wind and snow.  When Mintaka left, the ponies were cheering and stamping their hooves for her.

* * *

Little work was done that day, except by the giants.  Once they were able to leave their homes, many people went directly to the communal areas of their towns, such as the mess tent, the trading post, the local tavern, and of course, Splim's.

"It's nearly lunch." said Feather.  "And I think everyone is tired of flapjacks."

Splim looked in the pantry.  There was a tiny amount of ground beef from last night which was still usable.  There were onions, garlic, peppers and hotroot, a few tomatoes, and lots and lots and lots of beans.

"This afternoon, we have a chili feed." Splim announced.

"What's a chili?" asked Feather.

Splim simply smiled and said "Just make sure we have plenty of cold water."

* * *

Marcus was more than a little disappointed in himself.  He had meant to go shopping, but forgotten, and now he had nothing to eat but baking soda and dried chota.

Quargle entered the shop just as marcus was fixing to leave.  "Hey, man.  I thought I'd better come see how you're doing."

"Hungry." replied the human.  "Man, there is not a scrap of food in this house."

"Yeah.  There's a lot of houses like that today."

"I'm going to Splim's.  You want to come?"

"Are you kidding?  All I have at home is three oranges and a bell pepper, and the pepper is the least green thing of the four."

"And you came here hoping I'd have something cooking."

"It's always worked before."

"Come on, you freeloader.  My treat."

* * *

Alone at home with nothing to do, Kayrok sat in an easy chair and stared into the fire while he sipped a hot cup of tea.  He was starting to doze when he heard a voice.  "Redfoot to Kayrok.  Come in, Kayrok."  The captain jumped into wakefulness and answered.  "Kayrok here.  Have you found Sopok?"

"I'm afraid not, Sir.  In fact, we're stuck halfway between Wadogo and Chai Enu.  An avalanche has closed off the road ahead and the snow has reduced visibility to almost zero."

"Understood.  Find shelter and resume your mission when travel is once again possible.  Kayrok out."

The captain sank into his chair and began to drift to sleep again.  Not because he was calm, but because the worry he felt was making him feel exhausted.

* * *

Marcus and Quargle were so happy to get out of the cold and into the warmth of Splim's restaurant.  "Hey, Feather!" called Quargle.  "I'd like a slice of hotroot pie, extra hot!"

"I'm afraid we don't have any pie." said feather.

"No hotroot pie?  Hey, Splim, what's the deal with no hotroot pie?

Splim, who could be seen through the window to the back room, did not reply, but stood there, looking down at the counter.

"Yo, Splim!  Are you okay?

Again, no answer.  Quargle went back to the kitchen.   "Splim?  You got a hungry bugbear with pockets full of money out here."

"There's no food." said Splim.

"What do you mean there's no food?"

"It's all gone.  All I have left is some vegetables.  What am I going to do, make a salad?  I can't serve salad to goblins."

Quargle thought for a moment.  "How big is your biggest pot?"

Splim pointed with his thumb to indicate a gigantic cauldron which could easily double as a bathtub.

"Fill it up halfway and start some water boiling."

Splim did as Quargle suggested.  Quargle then took several handfuls of savory herbs and tossed them into the pot.  "Now wait, and trust me."

Out in the dining room, Feather was explaining the situation to Marcus.  "So if you want some ale or meade, that's not a problem, but we just don't have enough food to go around."

"What about chota?" asked Marcus.

"Chota we can do, as long as you don't want milk in it."

"Cup of chota, then.  Extra hot."

"Make it two." said Quargle, emerging from the kitchen.  Several children ran by him, nearly knocking him over.

"I do wish folks would get a handle on their children." said Feather, making her way back to the kichen.

On the far end of the room, someone was sniffing audibly.  "Something sure smells good." said a gnome.  "Hey, Splim, what have you got cooking back there?"

"Oh, that's something I asked him to fix for me." said Quargle.  "He's making me some soup as a special favor."

"Are you going to eat it all yourself?"

"Well of course I am.  I't my soup.  Oh.  You wanted some?  I'm sorry, man.  There's only enough for one."  Everyone in the room looked disappointed.  "Well, I suppose I could be persuaded to share with someone if they had something to make it stretch."

The gnome pulled a hard roll from his pocket.  "I have some bread." he said.

"Hey!  Nothing thickens a soup like yesterday's bread.  You've got yourself a deal."

"I have some potatoes at home." said one of the lutins.

"I've got some carrots I was going to feed to my horse." said another.

"I think there's a little chicken left from last night's dinner." said a dwarf.

"How about wild mushrooms?"

"I caught a trout yesterday."

"My husband bought some leeks last week and I don't know what to do with them."

Quargle raised his hands.  "People, people, please.  This is my soup, after all.  I can't just share with the entire town."  He paused for just a moment.  "Oh, what the heck!  Go get your stuff, everybody!  We'll make this a soup to remember."

From the window to the kitchen, Splim said "I could kiss you."

"Please.  I thought you guys were supposed to be lawful good.  Don't threaten me with torture."

The children took advantage of the sudden shortage of adults to become even more rowdy.  The werebat children were engaged in an aerial game of tag before too long.

"Hey!" cried Feather, nearly spilling the pot of Chota as one flew over her head.  "No flying inside the restaurant!"

"The kids are bored." said Marcus.  "Hang on.  I've got something that'll quiet them down.  Hey, kids, how would you like to hear a story?"  All the children cheered and gathered around.  "All right, then, let me tell you sthe story of a very special man named Shanar-Kallas."  The young ones all listened with rapt attention, but none moreso than Kara and her new friend, Sualocin.

* * *

Just a few more gnaws and the project was finished.  In her hand, Prijipati the beaver held a lovely flower which she had just carved out of birch.  Adding it to the other pieces which she'd carved earlier that day, she now had a complete potted plant which was secretly a kinetic sculpture.  With a little tap, the plant began to dance.  Prijipati felt extremely pleased with herself.  Looking around the shop, she sought a home for her new toy.  The shelves, however, were completely filled, two and sometimes three items deep.  Taking it into the back room, she looked for a spot, but here, also, there was no space to be found.  Even the work table was littered with her wooden creations.  Prijipati climbed the stairs into her home.  But even here, the shelves were starting to fill up.  The beaver placed the wooden plant on an end table and sighed.  She didn't want to admit it, but she had simply made too many toys.  She would have to stop.  Prijipati returned to her shop feeling utterly depressed.

* * *

Sopok was dead.  He had fallen asleep and never woke.  His heart, having fought hard against the cold and exhaustion, had finally been overcome and frozen.  The mist from his last moments of breath formed a sheet of ice which sealed his eyes permanently closed.  But the body of the poor frozen werebat would not be lost here.  A pair of icy arms picked Sopok's body up and cradled it compassionately.  They then carried him away into the desert of snow.

* * *

Despite the heavy snowfall, the easing of the weather in the Forest of Darkness saw two individuals trudging northward along the highway.  One was dressed in wizard's robes and rode on the back of the other, a talking unicorn.

"How much farther is it, Rog?" asked the unicorn.

"Not very far.  There's a halfling settlement about two miles from here.  Rumor has it they had their crops completely wiped out by vandals.  They'll be willing to pay extra handsomely for the services of Spectaculo the wizard."

"I still don't get why you're calling yourself that." said the unicorn.

"Because image is everything." said the wizard.  "I mean, would you pay two average joes from Prendor named Rog and Blotchet to solve your problems?"

"What's wrong with the name Blotchet?"

"Nothing, my friend.  But it doesn't exactly scream 'trust me'.  But Spectaculo the wizard and Pureheart the unicorn, that's what sells!"

"How much longer are we going to do this, Rog?"

"Just a few more stops, buddy.  Then we'll retire to Chai Enu as filthy rich men."

"As long as I don't have to stay a unicorn."

"Oh, come on, Blotchet.  You make a great unicorn!"

"I'm cold and I'm naked and I'm tired.  Why don't you be the unicorn for a while and I'll be the wizard?"

"Because I'm the one who knows the spells."

"Oh.  Yeah."

At that moment, a snowbank exploded.  Norebo the lutin burst onto the road from his hiding place.  Pointing a finger at Blotchet, he ordered "Revert".  The unicorn was instantly transformed into a young man who stumbled backwards and fell naked into the snow with only a saddle and a bridle upon him.  Norebo grabbed the wizard by his collar and hoisted him over his head.  "You have about thirty minutes before your friend begins to lose his toes to frostbite." said the lutin.  "If I were you, I would start telling me what I want to know."

"What?  What do you want from us?" cried the human, wriggling within his robes.

"Are you the ones giving food to all the area villages?"

"Yes." said Rog.  "Did you want to hire us?"

"Not exactly.  I want to hear your whole story.  All of it.  Right now."

"All right!  All right!  Just put me down.  You're starting to choke me."

Norebo looked into the man's eyes and saw no deception.  Putting Rog down, he said "You're no wizard, are you?"

"Sure I am.  Well, sort of."

"Explain."

"Blotchet and I are from Prendor."  As he said this, Rog took off his outermost robe and gave it to Blotchet.  "Back there, we were just a couple of guys.  Not really good at anything.  Except one thing.  I was a great diver.  You probably heard about how the lake was cursed.  Well, who do you think was among the first to get turned into a fish?  I was a koi for nearly a week.  But while I was down there in the lake, I found the old wizard's workshop.  There were all his magic books.  The water hadn't even made them wet.  After the curse wore off, I went down there and got one.  I started reading it.  Most of it I couldn't make heads or tails of, now could I?  But I learned a few really good ones.  Like I figured out how to turn a man into a unicorn."

"Obviously."

"But the one I got really good at was the conjuring spell.  A whiz at that one, I am.  No pun intended.  So I got this idea.  It's been a pretty bleak harvest all over these woods.  So what I'd do is go around conjuring food for each village for a reasonable fee.  Then me and Blotchet, here, would take our earnings and retire to Chai Enu and live the high life where money can buy you anything."

Norebo scowled.  "Rog, what do you think 'conjure' means?"

"Uh... to make something.  You know, create it out of thin air."

"That may be the modern usage.  But when that book was written, it meant to teleport something."

It took a moment, but when the implications of this hit, Rog's eyes went wide.  "You mean... all this food I've been making..."

"Is stolen.  The food bank at Bounty is completely empty because of you two."

"I... I don't know what to say." stammered Rog.  "I don't know what to do."

"I do.  You're going to reverse that spell."

"I don't know how."

"I do.  I know a thing or two about magic.  I'll teach you how to do it.  You'll return all the food to the federation.  You will then write a series of letters containing an apology and explaining what happened.  In these letters, you will include an invitation to come to the food bank at Bounty and BUY what they need.  You will then teleport a letter to each village along with a full refund."

"Chak." Rog swore.

"Walshing chak." Blotchet expounded.

"And if we don't?" Rog inquired.

"You can always go back to being a koi.  Perhaps you might find some liquid water in the halfling village, two miles away, assuming your naked friend deigns to take you there."

"You wouldn't dare." said Rog.  Norebo pointed a finger.  "All right!  All right!  We'll do it."

* * *

Down the road trotted Booli with Kara on his shoulders.  When they arrived at home, Booli nickered and shook his pretend mane.  "Time to change me back." he said.

"Horsie morsey gladdy Daddy." Kara incanted with a tap on Booli's head.  

Miming his transformation back into a lutin, Booli said, "Oh, that's much better.  It get's cold when all your wearing is horse hair."  This made Kara giggle wildly.  The living room was softly illuminated by the glow of the lamppost outside.  Taking a candle from the table, Booli lit it and took his daughter upstairs to her bedroom where he helped her undress and tucked her in beneath warm, cushy blankets.

"Daddy?" said Kara.  "Is Shanar-Kallas real?"

"I don't know." Booli replied.  "But Marcus is usually pretty reliable about such things."

"I hope he is."  said the girl.  "Because Sualocin is a really nice reindeer and he deserves a solstice present.  He says he never got one before."

"Maybe that's because Furbluffs is hidden."

"I think that's why." Kara agreed.  "Shanar-Kallas couldn't find it because he's not a talking animal.  But now he lives in Bounty and he's sure to get found now."

"I'm sure he will." said Booli, who kissed his daughter good night and blew out the light.

* * *

Rugi turned his latest charm over in his hand, examining it for flaws.  There was, indeed, a small crack in the crystal embedded in the gold locket.  This was upsetting, as it meant an entirely new crystal would have to be enchanted.  The thurge poured two ounces of crystal juice onto his anvil and began beating it into a solid.  This was far from how crystals were normally formed, but Rugi was dreaming, and in dreams, one never considers such odd processes.  One merely follows them.  The hammer fell in silence, for hearing was a new experience for Rugi, and his subconscious was not yet used to it.

As he worked, Rugi became aware of a presence in the room.  He turned to see Brang, having just entered, quite covered in snow.  "Evening." Brang signed.

"Good evening." Rugi signed back.

"I was wondering if my pillow was ready." signed Brang.

"The minute sleep pillow." signed Rugi.  "I have it over here."  He led brang over to a counter where there sat a red velvet cushion.  "I know this is supposed to give you a full night's sleep in one minute." said Rugi.  "But I've been having trouble with it.  I haven't been able to get the sleep time down past an hour."

"What have you stuffed it with?" asked Brang.

"Leaves." replied Rugi, not even noticing that he was now speaking aloud.  "The softest ones I could find."

"You should use feathers." said Rugi.  "Feathers work better."

"I can do that." said Rugi.  "But it will be another three days to enchant the feathers."

"It's okay." said Brang.  "I don't really need it since I died.  I just wanted to make sure I paid you for your work."

Realization washed over Rugi.  "You died." he recalled.  "In the battle with the elves."

"That's right."

"Then you can't be here.  I must be dreaming."

"I am.  But you're right.  You are dreaming."

Rugi flung his arms around his fallen comrade.  "We've all missed you!" he declared.

"I've missed you too." said Brang.  "But I've kept myself busy with my work in Stormhaven."

"You must tell me, what is Stormhaven like?"

"Better than anything you have ever imagined.  And there are a surprising number of non-goblins there.  Onju sends his greetings, by the way."  With that, the deceased lutin turned to leave.

"Don't go." Rugi begged.

"I'm afraid I must.  I don't live here anymore.  Good bye, Rugi.  Don't forget to use those feathers."

The waking world intruded into the dream as Rugi regained consciousness.  Had any of that been real?  As he thought about the dream, a grin broke across his face.  Feathers.  Of course!  Up until now, he had been using crystals and medalions.  These were totally wrong for a flight charm.  Feathers relate to air and to flight.  Why hadn't he thought of it before?  Throwing on some work clothes, Rugi went into his workshop to enchant some feathers.

* * *

Sopok's eyes slowly opened.  At first, he thought he was back in his father's house in Camp Dimtorch.  That was not so, however.  The room was a strange one, with pelts hanging from the walls and furniture made from antlers and bone.  Sopok was laying naked in a tub of warm water, which he only knew by looking, for he had lost feeling in most of his body.

"Ah, you're awake." someone said.  "How are you feeling?"

Sopok found it difficult to move his jaw to answer.  "Sleepy." he said.  "And numb.  Where am I?"

"You're in my home." said a dark-skinned human who had moved into his view.  "I'm Ikumok.  And you are?"

"Sopok."

"You're not from around here, are you, Sopok?"

"No, Sir."

"You were frozen solid when you were brought here.  I was afraid you wouldn't make it, but after nearly an hour of trying, I was able to start your heart beating again.  What were you doing out there in that terrible cold?"

"Thank you, Sir.  I was trying to find out whether snowmen are real."

Ikumok laughed aloud.  "I'm sorry." he said after a moment.  "It's just a tremendous irony.  You see, it was a snowman that brought you here."

"But how is it even possible?  They're made of snow.  They're just water."

"So is an aquahorse." said Ikumok.  "But they're very much alive.  So are lava slugs, which are only melted stone."

"Have you ever seen one."

"No.  But I've seen the snowmen.  They're compassionate creatures and often rescue humans who have been stranded in the snow.  Goblins too, apparently.  If you need proof, take a look at the floor."  Sopok struggled to sit up straight and look where Ikumok had indicated.  There was a huge puddle soaking through the floorboards.  "Snowman droppings." Ikumok explained.  "They're compassionate, but not housebroken."

Sopok craned forward and saw a shiny stone on the floor.  "Is that quartz?" he asked.

"What?  That?  I think it is.  They sometimes eat quartz by mistake because it looks so much like ice."

"I know someone who would be very interested in that."

"You can have it if you want.  I don't know why anyone would.  Seems a bit like having a beaded moose turd to me."

Sopok looked out the window where the snow was still blowing.  "I need to get home." he said.  "My father will be worried about me."

"You're not going anywhere." said the human.  "You've been dead most of the day.  You wouldn't make it a mile in your condition.  And with the way this weather is tonight, you'd be frozen again in ten minutes.  You're staying here and regaining your strength."

Sopok sank back into the tub.  The big solstice celebration was in two days, and his father would spend it not knowing whether he was alive or dead.

* * *

Feather envied her dwarven friends this morning.  The long, pointy ears with which goblins were blessed were wonderful for hearing, but on days like this, they were the first things to get unbearably cold.  She hadn't been able to find her hat before she left the house, and really wasn't willing to go all the way to Singing Pony to do her Solstice shopping without it.  Perhaps she had left it at work.  Splim's was closed today.  Obstensibly, it was to give Splim time to prepare for tomorrow.  In reality, it was because there was nothing to serve.  The waitress let herself into the darkened restaurant.  Surely enough, there was her hat on a peg near the door.  Placing it on her head and making sure it was snug against sudden winds, she smiled to herself and made to leave, when she was stopped by a sound.  It seemed as if someone was crying.  Feather looked around, but could see no one.  Cautiously, she moved toward the kitchen.  There, she found Splim sitting on the floor, sobbing in a most ungoblinly way.  She had never seen him like this before, and it was disconcerting, to say the least.  "Splim?" she said as she moved to his side.  "Are you all right?"

"There's nothing left." cried Splim.  "I'm supposed to make a feast for tomorrow, and there's no food.  I don't know what to do."

Feather didn't say anything for a while, then she asked "Do you believe in Vertarbna?"

"I guess so.  It's not like I'm one of his followers or anything."

"Well I am.  And I've learned that Vertarbna always provides.  I'll tell you what you're going to do.  You're going to get everything ready.  You're going to stoke the ovens.  You're going to set the tables.  You're going to set the kettles to boiling, and then you're going to wait for a miracle."

"That's crazy talk, Feather." chided the cook, without conviction.

"Do you have a better idea?"

"No.  Fine.  I'll do things your way.  But don't ask me to expect a miracle."

"That's okay, boss.  You just get everything ready.  I'll do the believing for both of us."

* * *

Five miles south, Point shivered in the cold as he knocked on Urik's door.  It was a very long, very cold walk out here to ponytown.  The sooner a train stop was put in here, the better, thought the cyclops.  Urik opened the door and gave him a warm welcome.  "Sorry it took me so long to answer the door." said the lutin.  "It's just now  dawn and I was a sloth when you first knocked."

"Thank you.  Is Mara here?"

"She's out back." replied Urik.  "I'll get her for you."  He started toward the back door when Mara entered from outside, Algene beside her.

"Good morning, Point." said the seer.  "Mara was just showing me this amazing igloo which Mintaka built for the ponies.  Quite an amazing thing.  I rushed here as soon as I got your message.  I knew it was urgent, but I tried not to look ahead and find out what the matter was.  Politeness and all that."

Point smiled at his fellow cyclops, though the look in his eye remained grim.  "I have a special favor to ask both of you." he said.  "Mara, if Algene can locate Sopok with his special sight, could you teleport to his location?"

"I can teleport anywhere in the world if I know where I'm going." said Mara.  "But I've never been to Loskei.  I wouldn't have any frame of reference, and it's not like Algene can show someone else what he sees."

"What if you had a map?" asked Point.

"That would help.  I could take you to the general area, at least.  But then we'd be out there in the snow with no way to get to where Sopok is."

"I know what to do." said Urik.  "Wait here."  He dashed out the back door and came back moments later with his daughter, Rose.  "My daughter is a nightmare." he said, indicating the equine's telltale bat wings.  "She's telepathic.  Rose, can you allow your mother to see what Algene is seeing?"

"Sure.  That's easy."

Algene closed his eye and cast his mystic vision northward.  It appeared to he and Mara as if they were flying at very high speed.  Northward they went, zooming in on the spot where Sopok had collapsed.

"Tracks!" Mara pointed out.

"I see them.  Those aren't goblin tracks.  Let me back up."  The snow in the scene slowed, stopped, and began falling back up into the sky.  After a while, a large, white figure appeared, walking backwards.  In his arms, a small, green boy.  The scene stopped and spun so that they could better see his face.  It was indeed Sopok.  His lips, nose and eartips were blue.  Running the scene forward, Algene followed the snowman to a small cabin far outside the southern edge of Loskei.  Looking within, the seer and the unicorn watched as a human man worked to revive the boy.  Coming up to the present, they saw Sopok laying in a tub of water, softly crying as feeling began to return to his body.

"He's alive." said Mara.  "I can go there whenever you're ready."

"How many of us can you take with you?"

"I can take three or four people with me without help."

"We'll need to leave room for Sopok to come back with us." said Algene.

Mara kissed her husband goodbye.  "I won't be able to come back for a full day." she said.

"Go on." said Urik.  "This is important.  I'll hold down the fort here."

"Whoever is coming, but your hands on my back." Mara said.  The unicorn concentrated and in a flash, was gone, the two cyclopses with her.  In less than a second, the three of them were standing outside Ikumok's cabin.  After a quick knock on the door, they were let in and greeted warmly by both Ikumok and Sopok, who was tremendously relieved to see them.

"May I have my clothes, please?" said Sopok, standing up with difficulty.  "I'm going home, now."

"No you're not." said Mara.  "I can only teleport once per day.  I'm afraid we'll have to wait here until my power is rested."

"You are certainly welcome." said Ikumok.  "It's rare that I get visitors who aren't out to rob me, ever since the Lom Shi'Un took over."

Point helped Sopok to put his clothes on, since the boy's fingers were not working properly, and sat next to him on Ikumok's sofa, giving him occasional sips of hot tea which the human graciously prepared.  Algene settled himself in an comfy-looking chair and snuggled down in a stack of blankets.  It was going to be a long wait.

* * *

The feathers on the work table in front of Rugi glowed briefly as the spell which the thurge had cast over them sank in.  Experimentally, he picked one up.  If this didn't work, he didn't know what else he could do.  Gripping the stalk tightly with one hand, he slowly, lifted one leg, then slowly lifted the other.  The thurge smiled to himself as he hovered in the air.  Then, bit by bit, he began to rise, willing himself higher and higher, until he bumped his head on the ceiling.  Rubbing his noggin, Rugi lowered himself toward the window, which he threw open.  With the feather held tightly in his hand, the magic maker soared into the air.  Rugi laughed aloud with delight and performed aerial sommersaults, barrel rolls and loop-de-loops.  Then he returned for another feather.  Jun had to try this!

The whooping and wheeling of two flying magicians caught the attention of Sytet, who flew in for a closer look.  While he didn't like to spend much time in bat form when it was this cold, the joy which Jun and Rugi were experiencing was so infectious, he simply had to join in their aerobatic play.

* * *

When Marcus and Quargle entered the Singing Pony trading post, they were engaged in an argument that followed them in.  "All I'm saying", said Quargle.  "Is that we should have thought this through a little better.  You told all the kids that Shanar-Kallas was going to come in and deliver presents tonight while they're asleep.  When they see Splim tomorrow, they're going to demand to know why he didn't come tonight."

"I know!  I know!" Marcus shot back.  "You've told me at least six times already.  What do you want me to do?"

"Problems, gentlemen?" asked Jora.

"Yeah." said Quargle.  "Marcus here told all the Mountainshade kids that a magical fat man was going to come tonight and leave them presents."

"Oh.  That does... sound like a... problem?"

Marcus went back to the tavern area and ordered a pint of ale.  As he sipped his drink, he looked over and noticed a rather sad-looking beaver nursing a cup of tea and some wood shavings.  "Prijipati?" he said.  "What's got you looking so down?"

"Nothing.  You'd think it's silly."

"Try me."

"My shop is full.  I've made so many toys that I have no room for any more.  I have to stop making them."

"That's not silly at all." said Marcus.  "You're an artist.  Creating is in your blood."

Splim came out of the kitchen, carrying a small plate with a corn cob on it.  "Here you are, Prijipati." he said.  "Compliments of the cook."

"Splim?" said Quargle as he entered the tavern.  "What are you doing here?"

"Next to nothing." Splim replied.  "I would normally be making preparations for the feast, but with no food, there's nothing I can do.  So I came here to see how I could help out."

A cold wind blew through the building as Jun, Rugi and Sytet entered and left the door open a bit too long.  The three were laughing merrily, and Rugi ordered a round of drinks for everyone.

"What's got you so jolly?" asked Quargle.

"Rugi has been working for weeks on a flight charm." Jun explained.  "He hoped to have it done three days ago.  But now he finally has it perfected."

"What was three days ago?" asked Splim.

"Kara's birthday." replied Rugi in his slurry speech.  "I wanted to have it ready for her birthday present.  I suppose it will have to be a solstice gift."

Marcus' brain was suddenly alight.  Looking from one to another of the assembled faces, he said "Friends, I have an idea!"

* * *

The snow continued to fall harshly as Mara stared out the window.  It was nearly midnight, now, and would soon be solstice eve.  She would not be able to teleport again until almost noon.  She would miss Solstice morning with her husband and children.

"Homesick already?" asked Ikumok, offering her a bowl of hot tea.

"Thank you, friend." said the unicorn.  "Just impatient.  I wish I could be with my family for solstice morning."

"It must be a special time for you." said the human.  "Out here, it's little more than a time for getting drunk.  I usually spend the day alone, here in my cabin, so as to avoid the whole thing."

"Where I live, it's a beautiful time of family and friendship, as well as making excuses to spoil our children."

"I think I would like to see that." said Ikumok, sipping his own tea.  "You do make it sound appealing."

"And it's going to be very special this year." said Algene.

"Why do you say that?" asked Point.

"Because at this very moment, Marcus and his friends are conspiring to make it extra wondrous.  And there are some wonderful surprises coming tomorrow morning."

"What sort of surprises?"

"If I told you, they wouldn't be surprises, now would they?"

"I suppose not."

Ikumok fished around in a cabinet and pulled out some blankets.  "These are all I have." he said.  "I've given the boy my bed for tonight.  The rest of us will have to sleep on the floor."

"Not a problem." said Mara.  She continued to gaze at the storm as her eyes became heavy and the fire slowly quieted down to a few dancing tongues of flame.  "Oh Scarred One." she prayed.  "Please let us be reunited with our loved ones this night."  She then lay down in front of the fire, gravity and exhaustion finally overcoming her, and slept.

* * *

Sualocin was jarred from his sleep by the sound of the door.  Rising from his straw bed, he walked out into the main room of the house.  There in front of the fireplace was the most wonderful toy he'd ever seen.  It was a castle carved from pine wood.  It had a working drawbridge, secret passages and a trap door into the dungeon.  There were knights, a princess, horses, belfrey bats, a dragon and even a moat monster.  Upon one turret was a tag that read "For Sualocin, a very good reindeer."  Shanar-Kallas had been here!  Heart leaping, Sualocin ran to the front door to see if he could catch a glimpse of the departing sled.  Indeed he did.  There was Shanar-Kallas with his enormous bag of gifts.  And pulling the sleigh, his own parents.  They said nothing, but gave him a nod as they took off and pulled the sled into the air.  "Happy Solstice!" called Shanar-Kallas.

At that moment, Sualocin felt as if he, too, could fly.  Not only was Shanar-Kallas real, not only had he left a gift tonight, but Sualocin's own parents were on his team!

* * *

Splim was careful to be quiet as he tried the door at Booli's house.  "Locked." he reported.

"That's okay." said Sytet.  "That's why I'm here."  Shrinking to full bat form, he took a small package in each foot and spiraled upward.  Reaching the chimney, he dove in.

Hearing someone moving around downstairs, Kara came to the top of the stairs and peered down.  There was someone there indeed.  He was dressed in red fur, and he was putting something into the socks which had been hung in front of the fire to dry.  Looking back, he gave Kara a wink, then turned into a bat and flew back up the chimney.  "I knew it!" Kara cried in delight.  "Shanar-Kallas is a werebat just like me!"  The girl ran to her father's bedroom.  "Daddy!  Daddy!" she exclaimed.  "He was here!  Shanar-Kallas was here!  I saw him!"

"Who?" asked Booli, still mostly asleep.

"Shanar-Kallas!  He was downstairs!"

Instantly, Booli was awake.  Someone was in his house!  Carefully, he crept toward the stairs.  He almost cried out when Kara blew past him and dashed down the stairs.  "He was here!" she called back, hopping excitedly.  "He left presents in our socks and then he turned into a bat and flew up the chimney!"

Booli looked around.  Seeing nobody, he examined the socks.  Inside them were two small boxes.  Opening one, he found a feather on a gold necklace.  "There's a note in here." he said.  "For Kara Fireeyes.  Instructions: 1. Put on necklace.  2. Fly."  He placed the chain over Kara's head.  Kara turned into a bat and waving her one wing, she rose into the air and began zipping about the house.

"Look, Daddy!" she shouted.  "I'm flying!  Just like all the other bats!"  She was sure she could never be happier than she was at this moment.

Booli opened the other box and found a second chain, this one quite long with a horse-shaped charm.  "Oh, Rugi, you didn't." he said as he read the accompanying note.  "Kara!  Come here, Kara."

The little one-winged bat obediently landed in front of him and changed back into a little goblin girl.  "Yes, Daddy?"

"Come outside.  I have something to show you."  He placed his daughter on his shoulders once they were through the door.  "We have to do a little travelling, so you'd better say your spell."

"Daddy gladdy morsey horsie!" said Kara with a tap upon her father's head.  Immediately, the horse charm upon his chain began to glow.  Booli then grew.  His clothing vanished, replaced by fine white hair all over.  Fingers and toes turned into hooves.  A tail flaired from his rear.  His neck stretched and his face became long and narrow.  Booli was transformed into a horse!  As he went galloping down the road with Kara clinging tightly to him mane and laughing for joy, they both saw Shanar-Kallas flying away toward Moondark in his reindeer-drawn sled.

* * *

Mara was very cold.  She could no longer feel the fire, and a harsh wind was blowing through the house.  Had some idiot left a window open?  The unicorn opened her eyes.  The house was gone.  Taking a moment to process what she was seeing, Mara realized that she was laying in the open square in the middle of Camp Dimtorch.  Beside her were Point, Algene, Sopok and Ikumok.  Gently, she woke each one.

"How did we get here?" asked Point.  "Did we teleport?"

"It's too soon for her to teleport." said Sopok.

"It's a solstice miracle." said Mara.  Even as she spoke, Kayrok emerged from his house.

"Sopok!" cried the captain, who ran and embraced his son.

"Father... I'm sorry..." said Sopok through tears.

"It's all right, son." said Kayrok.  "Welcome home, Sopok.  Welcome home."

* * *

It was Solstice morning.  Children across the federation were waking up to find elaborately carved wooden gifts left for them.  If anyone realized they looked surprisingly similar to those in Prijipati's shop, no one said so.  Splin's tree sparkled in the morning sun, making all of Mountainshade seem more festive as families came one by one for the feast.  The tables at Splim's were set for the feast.  More tables had been set up in the church and the school, and for those brave enough to weather the cold, there were even tables set up in the square under the tree.

Splim was beside himself.  It had been a thrill playing Shanar-Kallas last night, but the adrenaline had worn off, and now he was just exhausted.  It was crunch time.  People were arriving in expectation of a feast, and there was no food.  Earlier that morning, Algene had stopped by on the way home.  "Fire up the ovens."  he'd said.  "And wait."  Splim had done so, trusting that the seer knew something, but here it was, time for the feast to begin, and there was still no food.  There was nothing else for it.  He would simply have to tell the truth.  Screwing up his courage, he went out to address the crowd.  "May I have your attention please?" he shouted.  Waiting for the crowd to shush, he continued.  "As some of you already know, the food bank in Bounty was robbed clean several days ago."  A loud murmur arose.  Motioning for quiet, Splim went on.  "I was asked not to make this public yet, but I have no choice, now.  There is no food."

Alnalam turned to his brother.  "A Solstice feast with no food.  That's the third sign!"

"Shush." said Alnatak.  "Splim's still talking."

"I'm very sorry that you came all the way here for nothing, but..."

"But the problem has been solved!" someone shouted.  Everyone turned to see Norebo walking into the town square with a wizard and a unicorn.  "Everyone, I want you to meet Spectaculo the wizard and his companion, Pureheart the unicorn.  They have come to solve our food problems at their own personal expense."

Rog and Blotchet were surprised.  Both had expected Norebo to completely blow their cover, not go along with it.  "Uh, yeah!" said Rog.  "I, the amazing Spectaculo shall cause your food to reappear from whence it has been spirited away... to!"  He performed the spell exactly as Norebo had instructed him.  Several letters disappeared from Blotchet's saddlebag.  All of the gold they had accumulated disappeared.  Then, one by one, food items began to appear.  Meats, fruits, breads, bottles of wine, vegetables fresh and frozen, tubs of berries, cheeses, cakes, bags of flour, sugar and salt, candies of every sort.  The people cheered wildly as Splim called out to his staff and volunteers.  "Come on, everyone!  We have a feast to prepare!"

While Splim cooked, Feather kept everyone from starving by spooning up berries and chunks of fruit into small bowls and passing them out to everyone.  The fruit got them waiting.  The succulent smells coming from the kitchen kept them waiting.

Point stood by Kayrok's side.  Sitting between them on a hastily crafted wheelchair and bundled up in both blankets and bandages was Sopok.  Frostbite had done a number on him. Hornbeam had been forced to remove a great deal of dead tissue in order to prevent gangrene from setting in.  Sopok now had only one finger and thumb on his right hand.  The left was completely bare.  All of his toes had been lost, as well as the tips of his ears and nose.  They would all grow back in time, of course.  That was the wonderful thing about werebats.  In the meantime, he looked rather pathetic.  But he was alive.

"Captain..." said Point.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I didn't get you a gift.  I really looked for just the right one, but I just couldn't find..."

"But you did." said Kayrok.  "You gave me my son.  That's the best present I could have ever asked for."

The ground began to shake at that moment.  Everyone looked around, confused at what they were feeling.  Then they saw them.  Four enormous beasts were barrelling down the road with fearsome-looking riders.

"Soldiers, to arms!" shouted Kayrok.  "Everyone else, get inside!"  All of the military personel drew their weapons and stood ready to fight off the invaders.  The beasts, gigantic elephant-like creatures covered in shaggy fur, stopped at the town gate.  The lead rider pulled a scarf from his face and said "Permission to join the celebration, Sir?"  It was none other than Foxtooth!

"Granted!" Kayrok replied.  "Sheathe your weapons, men.  "Foxtooth!  Tripe!  Redfoot!  Gitch!  It's wonderful to see you all home.  But what's all this?"

"Gifts from Wadogo, Sir.  These rare beasts are called mastodons.  And..." he called everyone's attention to four wagons which were hitched to the beasts.  "A bounty of treasure and fine foods for the people of the federation."

"Not that I'm complaining, but why?" asked Kayrok as Foxtooth dismounted.

Foxtooth spoke in a more hushed voice.  "Because, Sir, the Lom Shi'Un Dynasty has been pushing its borders outward.  Wadogo is afraid that they may be attacked in the near future and absorbed into the dynasty.  They wish to establish an alliance with us, and have sent these gifts in hopes of putting themselves in our good graces."

"That is heavy news indeed." said Kayrok.  "But today is not a day for heaviness.  Tomorrow is for war and battle.  Today is for celebration."

The first plates of food were being served, now.  As Rog stood in line waiting for his portion, he turned to Norebo and said "Thank you for not ratting us out, man.  We really owe you."

"Indeed." said Norebo.

"So if you ever need us, I guess we'll be back in Prendor."

"No, you will not."

Rog blinked.  "Say what?"

"I told everyone that you were Spectaculo, the wizard." said Norebo.  "And you are going to make good on the claims you made repeatedly.  You will study magic here in the federation under the tutelage of Jun and Rugi, who will insure that you do not again use your skills for selfish purposes."

"But Blotchet will be lost without me."

"He will not.  He claimed to be your unicorn companion, and that is what he shall be.  He shall live in Ponytown and study to acquire skills which will compliment yours."

"He's right you know." said Algene, who was going the other way with a loaded plate.  "Your families will jump at the chance to get you a free education.  in time, you even get to like it."

Blotchet heard all of this.  He wanted to go bang his head against a tree in frustration, and might have, had he not feared that his horn would get stuck.  Then he saw Rose passing by.  She smiled at him and gave a soft nicker.  Blotchet reconsidered his fate.  Maybe being stuck as a unicorn wasn't so bad after all.

Kara was showing off for everyone, performing all the aerial stunt which she didn't know Jun and Rugi had performed the day before.  Sualocin's mother gave him the charm which she had been using the night before, and the reindeer and the bat girl played and gamboled in midair, much to the delight of all assembled.  So distracted was everyone that they almost didn't notice the two strange creatures walking into town.  "Keepers!" someone cried.  Instantly, everyone was on their feet.  Weapons, where they were worn, were drawn.  All eyes were on the pair of strangers.  One was a male, humanoid otter.  The other, female, and an anteater.  Both wore the blue vests of the Hipocci guard.  The otter held a staff in a combat stance.  The anteater had a bow drawn and ready to fire.

Pentagruel, the half-ogre king of Rider, stepped forward.  "You are currently surrounded by every goblin, dwarf, giant, human, gnome, cyclops and talking animal for fifty miles.  It would seem that surrender is really the only option."

"very well." said the otter.  "I ppprrrrrrr accept."

"Oren?"  Kayrok stepped forward, showing no fear and without a weapon raised.  "Oren of Hipocc, is that you?"

"Captain Kayrok?

The captain walked up to the otter and pumped his hand vigorously.  "I never expected to see you in the Forest of Darkness.  Welcome!  Everyone, it's okay.  I would like you to meet Oren, son of Nerr from Hipocc.  He is an honorable warrior.  He saved my life at the battle of Devil's Strand.  Lower your weapons.  Today, you are my guests."

"Thank you." said Oren.  "I would rather not need to prove I can take a thousand lutins in a fight."

"Likewise." said Kayrok.  "After Devil's strand, I think perhaps you could.  How is Vitra?  Is she well?"

Oren lowered his eyes.  "Vitra was killed in the winter assault.  However, she left me twin daughters.  This is my new wife, Fnaire."

"Pleasure." said the anteater.

"What brings you to Mountainshade, friend?" asked the captain.

"We're searching for one of our own.  A unicorn named Mara.  Our sources say she is here."

"Indeed, she is.  There, at the south end of the town.  That's her."

Many of the locals had gone back to eating or talking, many still watched cautiously as Oren and Fnaire walked across the town square.  There was Mara, the unicorn, with Urik and several of her foals.  "Mara!" said Fnaire.  "It's so good to see you again!"

"It's good to see you, too." said Mara.  "I see the curse of Metamor has been kind to you."

"Indeed, she's much prettier than she was in Hipocc." said Oren.

"We've come to take you home." said Fnaire.  "The thurges at Metamor have devised a way of limiting the effects of your charm to only you.  You don't have to wander any more."

"Thank you so much." said Mara.  "But I'm no longer wandering.  The lutins have come up with their own system to counteract my charm.  Besides, I'm married, now.  This is my husband, Urik."

Oren reached out to shake Urik's hand.  "A werebeast, I see."

"How did you know that?" asked Urik.

"I've been trained to look for the signs."

"Don't you want to see your friends and family back at Metamor Keep?" asked Fnaire.

"Of course I do.  But I have friends and family here, now.  This is where I belong.  These people are good people.  They're not like the lutins who have attacked us in the past.  I'm happy here.  I really am."

Oren and Fnaire exchanged a glance.  "Well, that's that, then." said the otter.

Urik smiled and pat Oren on the shoulder.  "All that's left then, is for the four of us to go get some of that wondrous food."

"Tell me about your daughters." said Kayrok as the former enemies dined together.  "Are they like you?"

"Yes, actually." Oren replied.  "It seems that otters and zorillas are similar enough that our children were born as half-animals.  One is an otter and the other a weasel.  They are two beautiful girls.  You would enjoy meeting them."

"Perhaps I will, someday."

"You will!" called Algene from the next table.

* * *

Norebo had begun walking southward into the snow, needing a break from the hubbub of the feast.  He stared silently into the heavens for a few minutes.  Then after a moment, said "I know you're there."

"Of course you do." said Onju.  "Hello, Norebo."

"Hello, Onju.  Brang.  Should you two even be here?"

"Stormhaven isn't a prison.  We can come and go as we like." said Onju.

"Though most would choose not to.  The world of the living is a sad, tragic place by comparison." said Brang.

"Then why are you here?"

"It's solstice." said Onju.  "And this place holds many happy memories for us."

"I see." said Norebo, who went back to gazing at the sky.

"Norebo," said Onju.  "You haven't told anyone who you arem yet, or why you're here, have you?

"No." replied Norebo.

"They need to know." said Onju.

"They deserve to know." said Brang.

"They deserve to be happy." said Norebo.  "I can't bear the thought of the pain I would cause if I told them the truth."

"Don't wait too long." said Brang.  Then he and Onju departed as Foxtooth came walking down the path.

"Norebo?  Who are you talking to?"

"Old friends long departed." said Norebo, honestly.  "Have you come to bring me back to the feast?"

"Unless you'd rather miss everything.  Jora is going to start an epic tale in a few minutes."

Norebo smiled.  "I suppose I do not.  The holiday will soon be over.  Let us enjoy these happy times while they are still upon us."