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How The Trolls Almost Stole Aina'era
Or, The Toymakers and the Cloth
Related by Esserae Estasi

I woke up late one winter morning, only to be kidnapped by a local bardess who exuberantly dragged me across the drawbridge to River Beach, where to my surprise and delight, I saw a rosewood sleigh.

I was even more surprised when said bardess, Brookwyn by name, began to lean against the rosewood sleigh. Her feet slipped out from underneath her and she fell on her tail! I clasped a hand over my mouth to keep from giggling. "They brought ice with them!" Brookwyn exclaimed, shuffling her feet.

Well, my delight continued to grow as we entered the sleigh. Verdant velvet lined the interior of the large sleigh. Well-polished rosewood panels along the high sides of the sleigh were carved with tiny images of children opening wrapped and beribboned gifts, their faces glowing with joy. A raised bench thickly padded with gold-fringed cushions provided a comfortable seat for the sleigh-driver as he handles his bundle of reins. We also saw a trapdoor.

While I looked around, amazed, Brookwyn walked over to the bench and plopped down on a raised bench thickly padded with gold-fringed cushions. I tried to enter the trapdoor. A strange magical force seemed to swirl before the trapdoor, and I found myself unable to enter! I could hear high-pitched elven giggling from behind the trapdoor.

"Giggling!" I exclaimed. "What are they doing back there? It sounds like Prata's house!"

"I wanted to give them some food," Brookwyn said. "Cause whatever they be doing they might be hungry"

"Has anyone met an elf here?" I asked. Brookwyn beamed! "Aye, someone did meet the elf. And there was snow all around her. Snow! Twas snowing wherever she went. And she gave someone a toy."

Suddenly, there was a faint jingle in the air as a tiny elf arrived, removing a frothy cup of eggnog from her leather satchel.

I took a good look at our new visitor. Teress Twinklytoes was a tiny Elven Toymaker, who appeared to be in her 100's, with ribbon-braided hair, sparkling ice-blue eyes, and snow-dusted skin. She was petite and slender, and was holding a perfectly rounded snowball in her right hand and a frothy cup of eggnog in her left hand.

The toymaker was wearing a pair of delicate snowflake-shaped crystal earrings, a toymaker's guild badge, a green velvet bodice laced with snow-white spidersilk ties, a white leather satchel stitched with golden trim, an ivory-colored skirt trimmed with emerald embroidery and a pair of green slippers with curly toes ending in jingling silver bells.

She giggled, smiled brightly and exclaimed, "Happy Aina'era!"

More from astonishment than anything else, I exclaimed back, "Aina'era!" Then I paused, and glanced at her. "What's Aina'era?"

She took a drink from her cup of eggnog, and promptly swooned. I pulled her to her feet as Brookwyn beamed at her and said, "Oh! This be a fine sleigh!"

Teress said liltingly, "It is...Hol.. Holi... a Holi...day in your tongue."

Brookwyn saw what Teress was holding. "Oh a snowball! A snowball in the Rest! Snow! Snow! Snow!"

The tiny elf grinned mischieviously and trilled, "I'se got to 'deliver' it to a smelly man on the commons! Come watch me!"

She disappeared with a small flurry of silvery snowflakes trailing her.

Brookwyn and I ran as fast as we could to the Town Commons, where we found Ravonprayer, Scaver, Silhouetta and Thallirn. We beat Teress with seconds to spare. She wandered down a dusty pathway and snapped her fingers. "You beats me," she trilled, sticking her tongue out at Brookwyn.

Thallirn, a dwarf, was sitting on the ground, smiling as he idly wrote, "Thallirn was here" on a block of stone with his lump of coal.

Teress delicately trilled, "Catch!" and hurled a perfectly rounded snowball towards Thallirn. At the last moment Thallirn tried to dodge the rounded snowball but ended up sticking his face right in its path. That had to hurt!

Silhouetta tapped her fluffy calico toy kitten.

Teress giggled. "You didn't catch!" She smiled wickedly and poked Thallirn mercilessly! "Silly dwarves!"

Thallirn wiped the wet slush from his face, and looked rather angry for a moment. He then burst into hearty laughter.

Scaver glanced at me and said, "Teress has enjoyed the cocoa and eggnog."

Teress, meanwhile, took another drink from her cup of eggnog. "Oh, this drinks is good," she trilled, swooning again. "Funny-tasting, but goods!"

Staring up from the ground, she melodically chimed, "How'd I get down heres? Interesting view."

Scaver said, "Perhaps you shouldn't be driving a sleigh anytime soon."

Teress delicately trilled, "Oberly drives the sleigh! Oberly is our fearless leader, but don't tell him that! Might go to his head. Actually, that would be good! Everything else seems to go in his belly."

Thallirn smiled as he idly wrote, "Dwarves smell funny" on a block of stone with his lump of coal.

Teress giggled and said, "He didn't takes a bath, so he got coal." She then smiled wickedly and poked Thallirn mercilessly! She then smiled gracefully and skipped about the area saying, "Blessed Mereth en i'Ilfirina!"

Brookwyn glanced at Teress again and suddenly looked concerned. "Snowball!" she shouted. Thallirn said, "Uh oh... I'm gonna get walloped again..."

But, no. Teress trilled, "Um...catch!" and hurled a perfectly rounded snowball towards me! At the last moment I tried to duck but ended up sticking my face right in its path.

Brookwyn laughed and I shrieked and shivered with shock! Teress delicately trilled, "You stood in the ways of him!" and poked Thallirn mercilessly.

Teress delicately trilled, "I was aiming for hims!", pointing at Thallirn.

"It's... cold!" I exclaimed, glancing at Teress and wailing. "Well a'course it is," she replied, smiling wickedly and poking me.

Brookwyn exclaimed, "Ye're all wet Esse!" Teress removed a colorful embroidered scarf from in her leather satchel and offered to me. "That's will warm you up," she said.

As I stood shivering, Teress delicately trilled, "I'se gonna tell you all from where I cames from! I comes from the highest peak in the DragonSpine mountains! And and and we alllll make toys all the time! And every Mereth en i'Ilfirina we comes down and gives all the toys away!"

She continued, "Ums ums ums...but we didn't always do this! Oh no. You sees, it all started back in the age of Chaos! People were sad then. And it wasn't good, cause they were all sad."

"So so so..." Teress stammered, continuing her tale. "A tailor whos name was Roth'aire started making toys for everyone! He started during the um...the Fe..Feast of...Immortals...we calls it Mereth en i'Ilfirina, though! He started making all the toys, alllll year! And then when the next Mereth en i'Ilfirina came arounds, he gave all the toys to all the sad people, and they were happies!"

I stared at Teress and asked her if all they did was make toys there. She nodded to me and tapped her badge proudly. As I leaned forward, Teress smiled wryly and waved her hand at me, causing a flurry of tiny snowflakes to swirl around me!

"If he gives toys to the sad people, what do the happy people get," I asked nervously, glancing at Teress and wailing. She replied, "The 'appy people get coal if they don' bathe... All the kinds people gets 'em! All you'se gots to do... Is wish us Happy Hol..hol...Holidays in our tongue!"

Teress smiled brightly and exclaimed, "Happy Ain'era!"

Calinnia asked, "What is Ain'era?"

Teress removed a bright green toy parrot from in her leather satchel, and said, "It is...Hol..iday in your tongue." She offered Murphey a bright green toy parrot. She gave Jerrif a cuddly silvery cow. She gave Brookwyn a lovely black toy bat. And she gave a very delighted Adinah a fluffy calico toy kitten.

Then she glanced at me and said, "Um um ums, a lil' birdie tells me yous were having man prollems! So you can have this guy! His name is Herb!"

I nervously accepted Teress's offer of a darling pink toy wizard.

You say, "Teress, do the toymakers have a need for any cloth to make toys with? I have 143 pieces I've been collecting and I don't know what to do with them..."

She peered at me. "Um, cloths... Oberly gots lots of cloths. But he makes the toys. You'se...gotta ask Oberly. He's the one that makes the toys!"

Then Thallirn asked if Oberly made the toys, who made the coal. "A very very mean woman," Teress replied.

After some more banter, Teress gave Calinnia a striped amber toy sprite, and asked Silhouetta to give Ravonsprayer a large silver toy dragon. The she dashed off.

Several of us wandered over to the sleigh, where Teress appeared moments later, walking right over to the bench inside and plopping down. She mimicked using the reins. "Oberly won't lets me drives no more," she said. "Too much eggnog. It was the roltons fault, I tells you! I didn't MEAN to drive into the cookiehouse!"

She paused for a moment in obvious reflection, then glanced up. "Ohs, I'm fresh out of toys. I gots to wait for Oberly to wake his fats butt up and make some!"

The day went on. That afternoon, I walked into the Commons to see another tiny toymaker.

I glanced over to see Aloro Merryen the tiny Elven Toymaker. He appeared to be in his 100's with short shimmering hair, sparkling ice-blue eyes, and snow-dusted skin.

Aloro was holding a small squirrel-hair paintbrush in his right hand and wearing a crystal amulet, a white leather satchel stitched with golden trim, a tiny green hat with a backswept silver feather, a toymaker's guild badge, a dark green velvet tunic cinched with a snow-white sash, some ivory tights trimmed with emerald thread and a pair of green slippers with curly toes ending in jingling silver bells.

I asked if he and Teress worked together.

"Oh!" Aloro piped loudly, "Teress makes wonderful toys! But I make better" He smiled gleefully as silvery snowflakes begin to dance to the movements of his hand. He then put a small squirrel-hair paintbrush in his leather satchel, and removed a tiny toymaker's hammer from in his leather satchel.

I gazed in amazement at him and exclaimed, "A hammer! For my nails!" I showed Aloro my exquisite valorrn-clasped nail-covered cloak.

He was unimpressed. "Nails puncture toys," he squeaked softly, shaking his head.

I then asked Aloro is Oberly was awake, and mentioned that I had some tattered cloths. I showed him my satchel with 120 pieces in it.

Aloro gasped and merrily chimed, "What are you doing with all this cloth?"

"I'm collecting it," I told him. "Now I need to find a use for it, Aloro."

Aloro piped loudly, "Well, you could build toys!"

Then, in one of the most ironic moments of the day, Aloro removed a cuddly white toy rolton from in his leather satchel. And he offered it to Scaver. "Scaver..." I muttered. "Cuddly..."

He handed Zigana a precious silvery toy giantman. Vallia asked for a rogue, "A rogue made from Esserae's tattered cloths!" she said. "She needs to seek help I think"

Vallia pressed on, "I'd love a tattered cloth rogue"

Aloro ignored her, and squeaked softly, "Only those who spread the joy of Mereth en i'Ilfirina recieve toys"

Zigana quickly exclaimed, "Blessed Mereth en i'Ilfirina!" And Aloro piped loudly, "Blessed Mereth'era to ya good lady!" and handed her a scarlet toy panther.

Seeking to escape the noise of the Commons, I took Zigana to see the toymaker's sleigh. Being a gypsy and easily impressed, she gasped and said, "Eet is a magical sleigh." Zigana walked over to the bench and plopped down on a raised bench thickly padded with gold-fringed cushions, yelling, "On leetle Dasher! On leetle Dancer!" She removed a leather whip from her traveller's cloak and cracked it loudly!

Teress arrived again, and we raced her to the Commons, where she arrived with a flurry of snowflakes. "Toymaker, her is so cute!" Zigana exclaimed. "Happy Aina'era to ze toymaker!"

Teress smiled wryly and waved her hand at Zigana, causing a flurry of tiny snowflakes to swirl around her! Zigana exclaimed, "Gypsy feels like one of ze toys in ze bubble with ze snow!"

Later that day, Rlen and I caught up with the head toymaker himself. Oberly was in the Sanctuary when we found him.

Oberly Rosenmerry is the elder Elven Toymaker, and appeared to be in his 200's, with short, curly snow-white hair, twinkling green eyes, and snow-dusted skin. He was a festively plump elf.

Oberly was wearing an oversized green hat trimmed with mistletoe, a crystal amulet, a white leather satchel richly embroidered with mistletoe and evergreens, a large green velvet coat with golden embroidery, a narrow leather belt fastened by a golden buckle, some green velvet pants and a pair of ermine-trimmed green leather boots with golden buckles.

We chatted briefly. I told him of my quest to collect tattered cloth and how I was searching for a good use for the stuff. I handed him the satchel I carried it in and he glanced inside.

"Woo!" he rumbled deeply. "Lots of cloth!" he boomed loudly! "To my sleigh!"

"I have only one reservation..." Rlen said, as he, Zigana and I dashed after to toymaker. "Only one?" Zigana asked. Rlen nodded. "Now what is she going to collect...?"

While I handed Oberly the 33 tattered cloths that were not in my satchel, Zigana continued on a very gypsy like quest of her own. "Meester toymaker," she said, "gypsy has a special request for a toy voodoo doll. She has been very good zis year."

Oberly blinked at Zigana. "Voodoos!? Wha's voodoos?"

"Eet's one of ze dolls in ze neutral form. Gypsy uses magiks on eet," Zigana said. "Zey have sometimes pins in zem and zey are usually fleshy coloured."

Oberly dashed off to check his stock of toys, returning a bit later. "Those voodoos doll?" he inquired merrily, "I's don't think I's got any in stock. I don't particular makes thoses."

Undaunted, Zigana pressed on. "Does heem have a monkey with a leetle fez hat on? Gypsy had one of zose zat did tricks in her home country."

Frijthof and his sister Vallia had arrived in the meantime, and Frij asked to see Vallia's latest toy. "I got an empath doll that I gave to an empath," Vallia said. "I was using it to soak up the blood from my tummy wound, then when she healed me, I let her have it. I told her it was special." "I'm sure it was," Frijthof replied, "with all your blood on it."

Well, Oberly dashed off to make some deliveries, promising to do something useful with all the tattered cloth. Myself, I wandered off for a long nap. I woke up some hours later, returning to the sleigh.

When I arrived, I almost ran smack into Teress, the first toymaker I met that day.

Teress delicately trilled, "Oos! I gots something for yous!" She began rummaging through her satchel. "I mades it meselfs!" she exclaimed, beaming proudly. Then she blinked.

"Oh, waits. I gots to get it froms me friend. Stays here!" she said liltingly, ducking through the sleigh's trapdoor. Scant seconds later, she returned with Aloro in tow. "It's the cloth lady!" Aloro piped loudly, throwing a perfectly rounded snowball smack into my face. I shrieked as the icy water ran down my neck.

Teress ignored the antics and said, "I mades it myselfs, but you can'ts tell anyone." Then she pulled a one-eyed ragged cloth doll from her leather satchel and offered it to me. I almost swooned, I was so delighted with the wonderful gift. Teress smiled brightly and exclaimed, "Happy Aina'era! You cans collect a button for his udder eye!"

"Oh, Teress! It is the loveliest!" I said. Zigana, like a good gypsy always looking for bargains, asked Teress if she had another doll like it. "Ohs, I couldn't makes anymore. I hads to sneaks the cloth out," she said.

Aloro showed me his toymaker's guild badge, which he was wearing. The writing embroidered in ornate script on the badge reads: "Apprentice in Good Standing of the Toymaker's Guild of Western Elanith."

Another toymaker had arrived while we talked, Wistrinia Dreamtoes. Wistrinia appeared to be in her 100's with ribbon-braided hair, sparkling ice-blue eyes, and snow-dusted skin. She was petite and slender, and was wearing a white leather satchel stitched with golden trim, a crystal amulet, an ivory-colored skirt trimmed with emerald embroidery, a green velvet bodice laced with snow white spidersilk ties, a pair of green slippers with curly toes ending in jingling silver bells, a pair of delicate snowflake-shaped crystal earrings and a toymaker's guild badge.

We stood for a while discussing the joys of Aina'era. Aloro squeaked softly, "The funny man with the viper staff wasn't joyous." He was, I thought, speaking of Armaxis. "Someone called him Sword," Aloro sqeaked. "No, wait, that was Blade. Blades."

"Oh, Blades. He is a grumpy one," I agreed. Aloro piped loudly, "He will be joyous!" Then, laughing, Teress delicately trilled, "I jumped on his backs! He was a spikey horsie!"

Aloro removed a small lump of coal from in his leather satchel, then put it back in the satchel. Aloro squeaked softly, "For the grumpy viper-staff man." I stared longingly at the satchel, wondering if perhaps I'd be lucky enough to get a lump or two. Teress noticed. "Ums... but you haven't beens bads!" she delicately trilled. "It rhymes with trolls, though," I protested. It was a mistake.

Aloro leapt up. "We should bless the trolls, too!" he piped loudly. Teress trilled with agreement, "Okies!" And they ran off. I raced after them, more concerned about the safety of a toymaker trying to befriend a troll chieftain than anything else. Cloth-doll in hand, I stumbled into the Troll Lair.

In almost no time at all, I felt the sudden death of a cheerful toymaker. My thoughts were as rapid as her death. "Eeps! Can someone locate poor Teress? She just died!" Just as quickly, Reniath thought back, "Teress is in the Sanctuary. She jes pops ups."

It was at this point that the troll chieftain that apparently hated Aina'era found me. He swung a battle axe at me, severing my left hand as it clashed against the doll in my right hand. Stunned, I fell to the ground and took an axe to the stomach. As my corpse twitched, I muttered, "Hmm. The rag doll is not as useful as I thought."

Fortunately, I was soon rescued and recuperating outside of the town Inn, I heard a faint jingle in the air as Teress arrived. "Those troll chieftains give out the worst Aina'era gifts ever," I said, to no one in particular. "Awws!" Teress trilled. "I gots your coal Missus Esserae! But ums... you dun look too well."

Teress tightened her grip on her lump of coal. I said, "Teress is making diamonds!" Then she offered me a small lump of coal, exclaiming, "Here's the rhymeythingie!"

Sarahoff said, "You must of been bad this year Ess." Teress delicately trilled, "No no, she's was goods! She gave us lots of cloth for next years batch of toys!" And off she raced, the toymaker, leaving a whirl of snow in her wake.

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