Chapter 2 - Orb Post - 1st of Rebirth's Decline

[consultmybooks]

There is an actual candy house.

[The Orb shows Giles, in the bright, sunlight, idyllic version of the Two Faced Forest quite unlike what several of you had to put up with last night. He's settled himself into a sitting position at the base of a tree.

He does not look at all pleased. In fact, he has his head in his hands, and looks quite tired, for a ghost]

There is an actual sodding candy house in this sodding forest. I, I didn't believe it when I heard it. Had to come and see for myself.

[You know it's bad when the normally quite soft spoken former Watcher is reduced to swearing.]

I confess, I waited around a bit just to check that no idiot children were about to come along and, and start snacking. Hung around long enough to see that there was actually a witch living there. At least, um, I assume she's a witch. Didn't stop to chat. [Yet. Give him time. Curiosity will almost certainly get the better of him.] Is that a story anywhere else? The, um, the candy house, and the idiot children who come along to eat it and they get out because the, the witch won't just tidy up the place a bit? Because it is back home.

But, um, that's...not important. Sorry. I know that I'm still frightfully new to this place, and a lot of this, um, really shouldn't be surprising. I'll adjust. I'm good at that, if nothing else.

And, and I know a lot of you are probably sick of hearing this, by now, but...about last night. I was wondering what the rest of you, um, might have seen, a-and what you think about it. Including the business with the thorns not showing up. Do they really block off this forest at night normally? I, I suppose that at least has the benefit of keeping us from, um, spending the nights beating off monsters. I suppose what I'm asking is, um, is if this place normally goes this mad at night, or were we just unfortunate?

Olindra and I came across a hideously large bird, for what it's worth. I'm inclined to call it a roc, but, um, I didn't exactly get a good look.

Comments

[consultmybooks]

To be fair to you, it, um, it might not even be a story that exists in your world. Not in this specific incarnation, at least.

[shorterinperson]

Tales of children being stolen away in the night are certainly common enough.

[consultmybooks]

Oh, um, these two weren't stolen. They were abandoned, actually, and just...well, wandered into trouble, I suppose. They came across the house, as they were working to find their way home.

[shorterinperson]

And how did they escape, in the story?

[consultmybooks]

I hadn't even gotten to the bit when they'd been caught by the witch to start with.

She, um, she didn't notice them immediately, when they came across her house. But, having been wandering the woods for hours on end, and, um, not having had very much to eat to start with, the children soon began eating the place.

Although she lured them in with the disguise of a kindly old woman, she, um, she soon got them both locked in a cage, with the intent of feeding them until they were fat enough to eat. She, um, intended to start with the boy.

[shorterinperson]

And did she?

[consultmybooks]

She certainly meant to. She just, um, meant to wait until he was fat enough to, to give her a decent meal out of it.

But the cage she'd left them in, as it happens, ah, still contained the bones of some of her past meals. Hansel managed to, to dig up a finger bone of a child about his size. Every day, when the witch asked him to stick out his finger for her to test, he'd stick out the bone instead. She was quite blind, you see, so as a result he bought them a bit more time.

[shorterinperson]

What manner of being eats humans? [ This is why she doesn't read much. :/ ]

[consultmybooks]

Most of the antagonists in fairy tales, actually. It's, um, one of the things that makes them antagonists to start with.

[shorterinperson]

Is she some sort of immortal?

[consultmybooks]

Immortal? Oh, no. Well... [You never can tell, in stories like this.] I suppose it's possible that she was, um, using the children to prolong her lifespan, symbolically devouring their youth, a-as it were, thus making her effectively immortal as long as she could maintain her supply of victims.

So, um, symbolically, possibly.

[shorterinperson]

She sounds like one of the creatures from the old stories, who were banished to the realm of the immortals.

[consultmybooks]

There's an actual realm for the immortals, in your world?

Good lord. Wish we had that.

But, um, yes. The, the cannibalistic old witch is, um, a popular enough being, in our old stories, that she, um, probably qualifies as a being in her own right.

[shorterinperson]

According to the stories it was a grand effort by a great many powerful sorcerers.