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Challenge #04708-L324: From Menace to Midwife

Trudy the Goose-Girl has become obsessed with travelling to a mountain lake and will not take no for an answer. Alas, there is a terrible danger around the lake, one Henkar and Molys feel ill equipped to face on their own. So they seek out Wraithvine, begging hir to aid them in reaching this place of strange magic. -- Deathshead419

[AN: Most recent previous installation of Trudy the Goose is https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-04636-l252-girl-goose ]

Trudy the Goose did not remain in an adult body. She needed to learn, and Wraithvine gave her the time. When she became Henkar and Molys' daughter, she was equivalent to a four-year old. And the twin mages' first question was, "Who's papa and who's uncle?"

They adapted well enough, all things considered. Raising a young lady who had once been a bird... but certainly proved never to have been bird-brained. Madrigal taught her music and dance, and every word and its purpose. Henkar taught her to read and Molys taught her spellwork.

And despite all that, the once-goose girl became a Druid.

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Challenge #04707-L323: Money Makes Me Talk

The Thief Oxisa has been hired to steal the crown jewels of the Kordisce Kingdom. Only, the Kordisce has become a republic and the new government hopes to put those treasures in a museum. Oh well, so long as Oxisa’s fee is paid, she doesn’t care. Caring about politics is a great way for a thief to make a fatal mistake. -- Deathshead419

Everything is money, when you get down to the root of it. Power? Money. Property? Money. Even

Challenge #04706-L322: Impediment Remedy

Their stutter was so bad they could only call the being "teuf". They would get to the f and the stutter would stop them from saying the full word Teufel. The being allowed the normally rude partial word because they understand the person couldn't help it, and helped them get their farm cleaned up and fixed regardless. At least the person was trying. -- Anon Guest

The woman in the straw hat and too-big boots had a jerky way of walking and

Challenge #04705-L321: Navigational Hazards and How They're Dealt With

What happens when a ship of former human military that has gone into psychosis and turned pirate, meets up and goes after a pax humanis ship? Worse, neither side really cares about their own lives, and barely cares about anyone else's lives either. -- Anon Guest

[AN: Pax Humanis agents aren't usually allowed loose because they're all serial killers and inherently dangerous]

It would have been too cliche to rename their ship the Bounty, and they all agreed on that. What they

Challenge #04704-L320: Midwinterfeast Tale

Two children, one human, one hellkin, were awake in their cold box-shelter when Greatfather Langeven arrived. They asked, please, to be taken in by him. "Let us help deliver gifts and help us find somewhere warm with love?" That is all they wish. -- Anon Guest

Traffic in cities flows like a river. All rivers have eddies and places were flotsam washes up. Some form something like a tosheroon. Others... hardly have a form at all. Dawn found Scrap on a midden

Challenge #04703-L319: Red Waves in the Morning

"Crap! We have a red tide."/ Shall I get the chocolate?

"No it's not that time yet. I mean we have a dead zone rolling in. Need to find out what is causing it before too much damage is done to this tidal sanctuary."

For those who are unaware of what a Red Tide is, I present you with this.

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/redtide.html -- Fighting Fit

Working at the Shoreline Wilderness Sanctuary was usually just watching a bunch

Challenge #04702-L318: High Volume of Problems

A small child tries to grab Bribid to carry off what they thought was a cute little gnome. The parental was distracted by trying to help two other children who were very sick. Fortunately, he and Wraithvine are very patient people. -- Anon Guest

"Small" is relative when including children. Gnomes tend to top out at three feet high, so their children are terrifyingly tiny when compared to -say- Humans and Elves. Or the large Harukh'a offshoot from the verdant valleys, the

Challenge #04701-L317: Follow the Bouncing.... Orb

Some children try to get Wraithvine, Birbid, and anyone traveling with them to come play. They had balloons that one of the kids' parents had enchanted so they wouldn't pop, so they could play catch and bounce the toys between them. -- Anon Guest

[AN: Balloons take a long time to exist in Alfarell because latex takes longer to launch so I'm handwaving some magic]

Someone had cast several iterations Tinrak's Bouncing Orb in the plaza. The brightly-coloured bubbles easily rebounded off

Challenge #04700-L316: Mercy For the Many

"They won't be changed or persuaded at all?"/ I'm afraid not, I'm so sorry.

"We both knew it might come to this."/ I know, but it's always sad.

"Don't worry, you know I don't make them suffer."/ If we want to save the people in those factories.....

"I know. Just, sometimes, there really is no other way. They'll simply fall asleep... and never wake up." -- Fighting Fit

It's easy to believe that ending the one badguy will solve a systemic problem.

Challenge #04699-L315: The Green Revolution

Is the difference between mad science and genius the success of the project? That’s what one researcher believes, for a new breakthrough could solve global warming. Or it could freeze the planet. Success or failure, genius or madness. Only results will tell which is which. -- Deathshead419

The saying goes, If it's stupid and it works, it's not that stupid. Some people feel inclined to test such expressions to the snapping point. Some have a mad idea and would rather seek

Challenge #04698-L314: Emperor's Folly

“The Haters said I was daft to build a castle in a swamp. And they were right. Honestly, great call from the Haters.” -- Deathshead419

Determination can make miracles. Well. Determination, a lot of money, and special powers. When you can pay for anything, you can make anything happen. Including the castle of the moor.

Behold, the magnificence. The work of so much earth shaping, stone shaping, and a veritable mountain of gold. A work of magnificence years in the making.

The

Challenge #04697-L313: An Unnerving Supply

Conglomerated Meat Products Limited has a rather infamous reputation, beloved by customers for low prices and hated by nutritionists for how those prices are achieved. At least they were, and those detractors would love more information. Alas, the last three health inspectors to visit the plant have vanished without a trace, the police somehow never finding evidence of foul play… -- Deathshead419

On paper, it looked like a very good business. It never ran out of supply, and could fulfill a great

Challenge #04696-L312: Important Gifts

A family gives Wraithvine a large pouch of catnip seeds for hir to grow the plant, not only as a medicinal tea, but a treat for Lilbit. -- Anon Guest

Gratitude comes in many shapes. Gifts as simple as a hug, or as complicated as an artefact that could prove useful in varied eventualities. This family could not spare much more than a small pouch of seeds. Of course they wished they could give more. Compared to how Wraithvine had changed their

Challenge #04695-L311: Remedied Choice

A traveling hellkin was a highly skilled medic who knew how to make most medicines, use magic to heal, and was an accomplished surgeon. They did not discriminate with their treatments, and only charged as much as a person was capable of paying. Even if it meant just asking for a simple meal, or, not asking for anything more, than a thank you. -- Anon Guest

If someone looked no further than first impressions, he looked like a wandering vagabond carrying a

Challenge #04694-L310: A Better Solution

They were born the only child in a family of immense wealth that had gained the ire of the local populace, and was taken from that place while still young and impressionable. The family were not killed, the local populace didn't want them to be able to have THAT much of an escape. Worse, the child, raised in a humble, poor, community with love, kindness, and knowing the values of a family that cared, was sent back to them older, and created

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Flash fiction fresh from my fingers to your mind!

Challenge #04708-L324: From Menace to Midwife

Challenge #04707-L323: Money Makes Me Talk

Challenge #04706-L322: Impediment Remedy

Challenge #04705-L321: Navigational Hazards and How They're Dealt With

Challenge #04704-L320: Midwinterfeast Tale

Challenge #04703-L319: Red Waves in the Morning

Challenge #04702-L318: High Volume of Problems

Challenge #04701-L317: Follow the Bouncing.... Orb

Challenge #04700-L316: Mercy For the Many

Challenge #04699-L315: The Green Revolution

Challenge #04698-L314: Emperor's Folly

Challenge #04697-L313: An Unnerving Supply

Challenge #04696-L312: Important Gifts

Challenge #04695-L311: Remedied Choice

Challenge #04694-L310: A Better Solution