Hello, Everyone!
Last time my dear Mary had to deal with the consequences of having lost the lower half of her right foot during their last fight. Her friends were supportive but she kinda started making sad plans of retirement from adventuring. Then, there was a knock on the door and Granny Gretel came in as if she was expected.
"I came back, as promised," Granny Gretel said. She was leaning on her walking stick, her freakishly long fingers tapping on the handle. She scanned each of them, holding her eyes on Aurum a bit longer than the others. Mary shuffled so that her missing foot wouldn’t be in the woman’s immediate field of vision.
"Hello, Granny!" Aurum said with a smile. He always smiled at her, as if she was his real grandmother or something. For some reason, it bothered Mary.
"So,” Bruno said, “can you do it or not?"
"I can,” the woman said.
Granny Gretel came in and let Aurum close the door behind her.
"What are you talking about?" Mary said. “What can you do?”
"While you were sleeping, we called for Granny," Bruno said. "We asked her for a way to fix your leg."
Mary took a sharp breath.
"Are you serious?!” she said. “Last time we called her for help, she requested a human life as payment!"
"What? What are you talking about?"
"The assassins in Pamagos!" Mary said. "We asked her to heal them and she asked for one of them in return!"
"I wasn't going to take his life!" Granny scoffed.
"Yeah, right!" Mary said.
"At least hear her price," Bruno said. "It might be something we can afford."
Mary hugged the stump of her leg, more apprehensive than hopeful. She thought for a bit.
"So?" she said, finally. "What will it cost?"
"A hundred gold coins," Granny said.
It was Mary's turn to scoff. No WAY that was the actual price! She glanced at her friends to see their reaction. Bruno seemed just as surprised as her, but Aurum was really calm. Why was he always so trusting of Granny Gretel? Had she enchanted him or something?!
“What…” Mary said. “What’s the catch?”
“There’s no catch, Mary Windfiddle!” Granny said, sounding indignant. “It’s a simple deal, like everything else I’ve ever offered to you.”
“But why? A leg can’t cost a mere hundred gold pieces!”
“Look, I just want to help my favourite granddaughter,” Granny said. “Plus, you three go to the most fascinating places. I have an interest in keeping you on your feet.”
“So there IS a catch!” Mary said. “We’ll be indebted to you and you’ll ask for something awful in the future!”
“I will do no such thing.” Granny rolled her eyes. “Come on, don't tell me you wouldn't like your foot back."
Mary went quiet. That was the real question, wasn’t it? Did she want to be able to walk again, or was she too scared to take the risk? She looked at her friends. They looked back without saying a word. But of course they wouldn’t. They didn't have to. Mary could imagine what they were thinking. Aurum and Bruno were good people. They wouldn’t make her feel like she had to take the deal. But she’d seen the lenghts they’d had to go to accommodate her today. The way Bruno had watched over her like a mother hen, and… the toilet thing.
Her face flushed at the memory.
She didn’t want to be a burden to her friends. But at the same time, she didn’t want to make a deal that would make her a hag’s slave.
Mary didn’t know what to do. She desperately needed advice from someone different from her friends. Someone whom she trusted, and was at least a little bit familiar with a hag’s dealings.
“Give me a few minutes to think about it,” Mary said. Granny nodded and settled on the second bed.
Mary sat with her back to the woman and took out her Book of Shadows. She wavered, hovering her pen over the page.
she wrote, finally.
The answer came swiftly.
Mary hesitated.
Is that deal loaded with some hidden
stipulation that I’m not seeing?”
“I think she has a use for you three going
on your adventures. And I also think she
has the means to do what she says she can.
She can make your leg grow back.“
suddenly filled with hope.
It took a long time for the answer to appear on the page.
She stood still, pen over the paper. She imagined Gillean in his hut, clutching a cup of tea in his hand, worrying about her. Or-- she felt a shiver down her spine--worrying that if she didn’t get up on her feet, his trees wouldn’t be planted? Was that it? Would she disappoint Gillean if she wasted Granny's offer?
Mary felt tears trying to find their way out of her eyes. There she was, a weak, stupid, crippled girl, being given a chance few people could possibly get… and she was so ungrateful as to refuse it?
“You should be weary of such a deal.
A person like Granny Gretel can be dangerous.”
So… he didn’t want her to accept after all? Mary felt a sudden drop and realised that all that time she’d been hoping for a permission to take the deal.
Another message appeared on the page.
100 gold pieces and nothing more.”
She raised her head, heart beating fast, with excitement and fear all in one.
Oh, my goodness! Is my dear Mary going to have her leg back? Or is it a trick that Granny Gretel is playing on her? I hope Gillean can protect her!
See you next time
Take care and be well!
(Also, here's a link to the Chapter Guide, the Glossary and the Map for the series. You're welcome!)
An important disclaimer: These are my notes from a D&D game turned into a narrative. All the worldbuilding and NPC encounters belong to our DM, and all the actions of the other main characters (Aurum and Bruno) belong to my co-players. My contribution to the story is only everything Mary-related (actions, reactions, inner thoughts), as well as the writing itself.