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Every year, there is the inevitable grumping by evil residents that there is not enough evil in the Frostfell offerings. Perhaps they'll appreciate the ending to this little tale, perhaps not. Perhaps it just goes to show that Mum is just as prone to everyone else at making mistakes in judgement. Names may/may not have been changed to protect the guilt-, erm, innocent, guildmates. ;D

A pair of overlarge feet sticking out of the top of an open tinkered personal harvest depot were all that could be seen of her Aunt Niami when Fennory Flitterbidget came bursting into her home that blustery December day. All thoughts of her news temporarily slipped from her mind, as she rushed forward to save her beloved aunt from being "eaten" by the hungry depot.

She stopped in mid-reach, however, as Niami's voice echoed up from within the depot.

" ... 27 sugar an' spice mix, 48 snips an' snails, some dried-out an' obsolete dye ..."

With those last words, the offending containers started flying out of the depot, barely missing the bemused Fennory. "Eeep!"

"Och! Fen-lass, is that ye? Jus' a moment." Niami's feet gave several odd wiggles before the depot reluctantly regurgitated the rest of her well-fed halfling body. "Sorry aboot that, lass. I was trying tae get th' auld Frostfell ingredients all sorted out tae be ready when th' Wonderland Village opens up in a couple days."

"That's why I came by Aun-" Fen's excited voice was cut off by an upraised hand.

"Now, lass, what did I tell ye aboot callin' me Aunt? Ye're an adult now, an' ye're making me feel auld! Jus' call me Mum like everyone else does!" Mum's slightly exasperated grin took the sting out of her words.

Fen grinned unrepentantly. "Sorry, Mum. Frostfell is why I stopped by. It is already here! The village is open, Gardy is sending out candycane mail, McScroogle seems to have given up on that annoying Frostfell card spam, and -"

"WHAT?!! That cannae be! I double-checked th' schedule an' it is nae due frae twa more days! But -" Mum spluttered as she dived for her calendar, just to be sure she hadn't lost track of two days somewhere.

"It seems to have surprised almost everyone Au- ... Mum. Folks are scrambling all over the place to be the first to find things."

"Bah, let them scramble, lass. Ye go explore now, if ye wish, but there will be plenty o' time frae me tae enjoy th' festivities later. Be a dear, though, will ye, an' save me some time in three days? I need help wi' a gift frae someone."

Fen readily agreed to help. Mum always had the most interesting adventures when she got that plotting glint in her eyes, and there was sure to be delicious baked goods as a thank you for any who helped her.

After mailing out notes to a few guildmates, also asking for their help in three days time, Niami dove into a flurry of activity. Delicious goodies were baked in abundance, then packed up for various gifts, projects and deliveries. Shopping expeditions to odd places, including Lavastorm, ensued, with Niami paying extra to have certain items delivered to a specific address in three days time. Strange noises came from her attic as she dug out some furniture that had been stored away. She was seen scribbling at odd times on a piece of parchment that looked like floorplans or such.

And nobody could get her to explain what was up. "Jus' a surprise frae someone who needs some holiday cheer," she'd say. And that was that.

The designated day arrived, and several guildmates trickled into the guildhall to find Niami finishing off the frosting and decorating of a gingerbread cake. Near her, sat a pile of gifts, all tidily wrapped and labeled.

The oldest member in the guild, the warden Tirein, tried to steal a fingerful of frosting and got his knuckles rapped with Mum's mixing spoon for his troubles. "None o' that, dagnabbit! Ye get yuir sweets AFTER ye help ou- Och!" Mum broke off her scolding as another guildmate used her momentary distraction to snitch a bit of frosting from the bowl instead.

"It be a guid thing I like ye so much, tallstuff!" Hands on hips, the tiny flame-haired halfling stared up at the blonde barbarian who'd managed the successful swipe. "Now, nae more. I'll have plenty frae ye an' the others after ye help out, Aayrn!"

"Fine, I'll just chew on my dollie, then!" Grinning down at her, he suited actions to words, and started gnawing on the foot of a ragged hex doll.

"Pfft, silly zerker!" Giggling, Mum started organizing everyone.

"I need five o' ye, including a healer an' a tank, tae do a couple runs through th' Icy Keep, an' then pick up a couple last-minute items frae me from th' vendor. I need a couple more tae put these gifts under th' guild tree, an' do a bit o' holiday decorating. Ngranna, I need ye tae help lug some stuff o'er tae Freeport, an' tae summon me once ye're in place o'er there."

Aayrn interrupted. "I thought being in two places at once was supposed to be my job, Mum. Call me a dumb barbie, but how do you expect to be in the Icy Keep and in Freport at the same time?"

"Easy, lad. I'll nae be in th' Icy Keep wi' ye. Triptych will be th' sixth in yuir group, as I need her away frae a bit while I work on her home. Durn bookworm is ne'er away long enough frae me tae do what needs tae be done."

"Triptych? But she's ..."

Mum tried to interrupt Tirein before he finished his comment, but his old lungs still had some decent volume to them. "EEEEEEVIL!"

At the same time, Aayrn piped in with "Squishy!"

"Enough, ye auld coot!" Shooting Tirein an exasperated look, she nodded at Aayrn's comment, before continuing to grumble at Tirein. "She's neutral, nae evil! I do nae care if she's a dark elf, an' lives in Freeport, she's ne'er done anything evil that we know aboot, an' she's had more patience wi' ye than most would! She's a bookish wizard, barely gets out at all, an' I'll nae hae ye ruining one o' th' first grouping experiences she's had in a couple years!"

Just then, the subject of their conversation arrived, wearing her normal look of dreamy distraction on her dark face as she twirled a lock of white hair absently. "All right, Mum. If it was anyone but you, I'd not tear myself away from Fizwidget's treatise on the use of opposing elements in wizardy. I've free up three hours for you."

As she marshaled everyone out the door, she could hear Tirein stage-whisper "Eeeeevil!", and Triptych's much put-upon sigh in response.

Mumbling as she and Ngranna prepared to leave, Mum said, "I swear, one o' these days, she's going tae snap an' gie tha' curmudgeon what he's been asking frae all these years."

"Yup!" The large ogress gave a gap-tusked grin, as she thought, privately to herself, that she hoped she'd be there to witness the event, when it happened. Then she hefted the heavy pile of boxes that Mum had given her and teleported back to Freeport. Somehow, she wasn't surprised to see a moving crew waiting outside of the entrance to Triptych's new Skyblade Skiff home.

The three hours passed quickly for everyone involved, and by zipping around like a demented dervish (and bossing the moving crew around like a miniature general), Mum actually beat the adventuring party back to the guildhall by a few minutes.

The group arrived in the hall to find plates of baked goodies laid out on a long banquet table. There were cookies of all kinds! Holiday fruitcake, figgy pudding, steaming roasts, spiked eggnog, and so much more! The table was practically groaning from the weight of it all. Mum grinned tiredly at her guildmates. "All o' ye but Triptych, fill up a plate wi' goodies, then go speak wi' th' guild strategist tae go tae th' rally point. Trip-lass, come wi' me first, an' we'll get ye some snacks later."

Beckoning, she dragged the cross-looking wizard with her to see her new home. Mum was sure she'd hear allll about whatever went wrong that put that scowl on her face, but was hoping that her surprise would more than make up for it.

Sure enough, Triptych's scowl quickly disappeared as she looked around the skiff in wonder. The entire place was done in a fire and ice theme that was perfectly suited to her personality. One half contained dark red Gorowyn floor tiles and room dividers, all sorts of fire-related, or outright flaming items from Lavastorm and other locations. The other half contained a mix of ice and snow-related items from the Icy Keep, New Halas, the Frostfell Wonderland Village and more. A hallway connected two libraries, one cold, one hot, containing the appropriate wizardly tomes that Triptych loved so much. The rest of the middle area between the two elemental sides, though, was a bathing area, where the elements had been allowed to mingle so that a large pool had ice on one side, hot water on the other side, and a steam-filled mix of the two in the middle.

Mum could see the tension bleed off Triptych in waves, and gave herself a mental pat on the back for her inspiration. If anyone needed some Frostfell cheer, it was the reclusive wizard who kept to herself and barely noticed the passing of the seasons.

Just then, the various guildmates arrived via the rally banner, to take a tour of the newly-designed home, and Niami's good spirits plummeted at the first words out of Tirein's mouth.

"I told you she was evil! She waited until I was in the middle of casting a heal spell to fire off her de-aggro, just so the yeti would attack me instead of her!"

Catching Trip's violet eyes, Mum rolled her own blue ones expressively and mouthed "Crabby old coot!"

Despite the rocky beginning, the impromptu housewarming and holiday party was a rousing success.

~~~~~

Several hours later, however, when it was time for several folks to be involved in a raid, Tirein was missing. The general consensus was that he'd gone for a nap after all the excitement of the day and overslept.

Meanwhile, on Triptych's skiff ...

"Evil, am I? Well, now that I have this lovely home for conducting proper experiments in, instead of my old two-room hovel, we'll just have to see about finally earning that reputation, won't we? I promise it won't hurt you ... much. After all, what's a few singe marks, and some frostbite, between guildmates, eh, T?"

Panicked shrieks were her only response.

Frostfell 2010 runs through January 6, 2011

Oh what a feast for the eyes we have in store for you this Frostfell, with items to make, others to buy, others to quest for, and even some just for the asking! There is, in fact, so much eye-candy that even without all the screenshots of it ready for you to devour, the page was so huge that I split it into several pages. (Don't panic when you see a spot with a missing image - the item names have been put in as placeholders so that it is easier to slip in the missing bits as able.)

Without further ado, let's dive into the goodies, shall we?

Yours for the Asking

Santa Glug is back this year in the Frostfell Wonderland Village, at his usual post near the giant decorated tree. He's feeling a bit speedier than past years, so once every 18 hours, per character, you can run up and hail him to get a random free present. (If you come back before 18 hours are up, he's just going to tell you you're out of luck.)

This year's gifts include:

Blue Glass Bauble	Enchanted Snowman (fluff pet)	Green & Silver Oblong Bauble	Gigglegibber Frostfell Stocking
Green Glass Bauble	Ornate Frostfell Snowflake	Red & Green Oblong Bauble	Red Glass Bauble
Sack of Coal	Santa Glug Plushie	Snowfall Tapestry

Decorative Frostfell Gift Wrap

Regal Gift Wrap

Feeling Crafty?

Quested Goodies

This is a small sampling of some of the quest rewards. As time and energy permit, more images may be added. Meanwhile, you may want to check out the Zam Frostfell page for actual quest details.

Santa Glug's Sleigh Frostfell Fanatic Quest	Thrice-Polarized Frostotron Raiding the Gifty Storehouse (repeatable daily)	Festive Gigglegibber Tapestry 2nd run of: A Gigglegibbers Work is Never Done
A Goblin Popsicle Covering Your Snow Tracks (repeatable without limits)	A Goblin Popsicle Covering Your Snow Tracks (repeatable without limits)	A Goblin Popsicle Covering Your Snow Tracks (repeatable without limits)
Frostfell Tree 1st run of: A Gigglegibbers Work is Never Done	Green starry Frostfell Elf Cap A Frosfell Favor	Regal Snowfall Cape A Frosfell Favor
Frostfell Wreath 2nd run of: A Gigglegibbers Work is Never Done	Holiday Mistletoe Guide Quest: Lost Frostfell Gifts	Gigglegibber Snow Generator Guide Quest: Lost Frostfell Gifts

Shop Till You Drop

Blue and Gold Prefabricated Gift Box	Blue and White Frostfell Gift Box	Blue Frostfell Gift Box	Cheerless Snowwoman
Coal Dusted Frostfell Elf Cap	Fancy Blue Prefabricated Gift Box	Fancy Red & Gold Prefabricated Gift Box	Fancy Red Prefabricated Gift Box

Icy Keep

Not yet shopped out? Gerbi Frostfoot, down near the bottom of the first rainbow bridge in the Frostfell Wonderland Village, will be happy to turn your frozen tokens of e'ci into lovely house items, if you so desire ... providing you have completed at least the "Mission Improbable" quest. Below is just a tiny sample of his offerings this year. You can find a full display of his goodies, including a breakdown of token costs over at this link)

Armored Ice Sculpture

Dark Frozen Tile

Glistening Ice Bauble

Icy Books