The Tomtom Hunt

Parish returns to the others. Grackle had offered some fertilizer as a fortifying snack, but Parish had declined when he realized there were no worms or other bugs in it.

Upon rejoining, he senses Yazeba's foul mood and decides leaping into action is the best way forward.

"Have we cornered the faerie fellow? Into yon clearing forwith!" he says as he jogs into the clearing. Once he discovers the tracks disappear, he brandishes his shovel. "Hide under the snow will you? I will clear this whole clearing and dig you up like a weed from the garden!"

Parish begins frantically shoveling snow from the clearing but is quickly out of breath. "Yes. Root and stem... you shall be... removed," he huffs. The clearing appears mostly the same despite his clanging effort.

Parish’s digging proves fruitless. However, when you retrace your steps back to the B&B, Amelie is horrified to see their tidy tarp-covered lawn furniture on the patio has been scattered, along with an upended bag of charcoal that streaks the snow black!

Incensed at the destruction of his carefully prepared and organized charcoal, Parish again brandishes his shovel and charges after the black streaks in the snow.

"Your goose is cooked now, vandal!" he yells.

"It's a fake trail" Yazeba says "Obviously..." rolling her eyes. Then her head turns towards the barbeque that's stood on the patio. Suspiciously, it's the only thing that didn't get knocked over. Of course, someone should have put that thing in the shed months ago when it was still autumn, but she'll just have to get angry about that later.

She walks to the snow-covered BBQ and lifts the lid in one quick motion. "I got you now, you pest!"

The Tomtom is not under the lid of the BBQ. However, there is a charming little wooden heart that looks like it is freshly whittled. A cute little fairy blessing for Yazeba!

Amelie has this nagging feeling she went the wrong way a long time ago—

—but they decide north is as good a direction as any!

"ARF ARF ARF," says FoPTooL as it runs ahead while everyone else is looking at the wooden heart.

The trail wends onwards, but Amelie can once again here the clomping of the Tomtom's clogs from somewhere nearby. You're hot on his heels!

Amelie looks looks west and east… they decide east has many places to the tomtom to run and hide.

Then she thinks about the grill. "Steak sauce!"

Yazeba slams the lid down again, giving it a new permanent dent. "Foes fire! I was sure of it!" She looks like she's fuming and could explode at the drop of a hat.

"I know, we need more light!" She points her finger up to the sky and a bright flare shoots up into the night, illuminating the immediate area. Unfortunately, the flare is so bright that it blinds everyone who looks at it for half a minute as their eyes try to adjust to the intensity.

Amelie surges forward, and there in the clearing ahead stands the Tomtom! The little gnome's eyes widen and he holds up his hands in a gesture of peace, a sheepish grin spreading across his features.

"I am Amelie. This is my employer, owner of Yazeba’s Bread and Breakfast, Yazeba and our esteemed chef, Sir Parish."

Amelie does not know what to do with the funny little man.

"Why do you play tricks and leave hearts and whatnot?"

Somewhere behind you, you hear a weird yelp as Yazeba, blinded by her own spell, trips and falls off the patio into a pile of snow which subsequently melts away by the pure heat of rage coming off the witch.

When her eyes finally adjust again and she gets back up, she sees Amelie standing in front of ... is that ... It couldn't be ... the "TOMTOM!" She yells. Her fists crackle with the sound of thunder as she strides across the lawn. "You will not mess with my B&B or anyone who lives under its roof again!" She shouts from a distance.

Someone might have to calm her down before she gets there.

The Tomtom shrugs and smiles at Amelie’s question. He points to his mouth and shakes his head as if to indicate that he is unable to speak.

At Yazeba’s shout, the Tomtom turns pale. He cowers in the snow, fearful of the angry witch!

Amelie says (mostly to quell the boss’ anger) to Tomtom, "I am going to have to process you…

"As a Registered Guest." They say that… but then she thinks she should add, "Would you like to stay as our guest?" For Yazeba’s benefit, they use their projector to display the B&B rules.

The Tomtom's fear turns to wonder at the offer. He nods eagerly, then looks carefully from Amelie to Yazeba to gauge the witch's reaction.

"Now Yazeba, let's not do anything rash. We have captured the knave and he'll do no more harm," Parish says as he moves to stand in front of the witch.

"As a matter of fact, what better way to curtail and control the mischievous miscreant than to keep him at the B&B under your watchful gaze. I could put him to work as a scullion peeling potatoes and teach him the value of a hard day's work! You could even think of it as community service for his trickery."

Luckily, Parish' words manage to sink in. "That's true. None of the guests would dare to do any such mischief and risk being kicked out." She concludes, probably quite naively as she seriously underestimates the amount of mischief that people get up to in her B&B. With this, her rage lowers back to the standard level.

"Very well." She says reluctantly. "You can stay in my B&B." Then she turns to Parish. "Parish, I'm putting you in charge of this gnome and will hold you accountable for any damages!" With this she turns and heads back inside. As she's walking back, she calls out "Oh and Amelie, there's a thermos that I need to take with me tomorrow morning and it's still filled with hot cocoa. Make sure it's empty and clean by the time I wake up!"

Amelie dares not say anything to contradict Yazeba, now that Parish has won her over.

"Yes, ma’am," the maid-bot replies with a hint of unrobotic enthusiasm.

The Tomtom silently cheers as Yazeba walks away. He smiles up at Amelie, then offers his hand to Parish (who is the same size as the gnome), eager to start his tenancy as a new guest of the B&B!