#The Christmas Seed: A Quest for Water
All the last Christmas Trees withered into extinction centuries ago, and your world has been dull and unfestive ever since. Christmas is long-since forgotten by everyone... almost.
There's one last seed of hope.
For years, your family has lived here at your planet's North Pole, looking after the final Christmas Seed. You've spent years imbuing the ground with festive spirit, priming it with the love and generosity that defined the Christmas celebrations of old. The soil is ripe now, and as midwinter approaches, you're just about ready to plant -- to send down the roots of Christmas into the earth once more.
But there's one final step. The ground, nourished with love as it may be, remains dry as bone. You can't plant the seeds just yet.
You need [[water->Home]].###LOCATION: HOME
Home, physically, is a wide hole dug into the (link-reveal:"frozen soil")[. It took years to cut past the permafrost to unfrozen, usable ground. Mere days before winter set in, you and your family exposed enough fresh soil to grow the Christmas Tree. The process of digging has left a huge hollow in the earth, with frozen walls rising like skyscrapers around you. It's suitable enough for living in, day to day].
It's more than just that, though. Christmas is nothing without Christmas spirit. To keep that alive, you needed to make memories, and many of those were made around the (link-reveal:"fireplace")[. On many a cold, dark night, you and your family have exchanged stories of the old Christmas. Those stories are all long before your time, but they tend to change a little in the telling, overwritten in your memories to grow into something new. What you've ended up with is a sort of mythology — a shared lore for your little clan. The same few stories have become infinite].
(if:visits is 1)[(more:)[(if:(history: where its name contains "What?")'s length is 0)[Your brother Noel is sitting by the fireplace now.
[[You could talk to him.->Talk to Noel]]]
The site designated for the Christmas Tree is at the centre of your icy hollow.
[[Inspect the site.->Christmas Tree Site]]
Possible sources of water:
[[Your personal supplies->Your personal supplies]]
You'd probably be better off looking elsewhere.
[[Leave home->Leave home]]]]
(if:visits >= 2)[(if:(history: where its name contains "What?")'s length is 0)[Your brother Noel is sitting by the fireplace now.
[[You could talk to him.->Talk to Noel]]](if:(history: where its name contains "What?")'s length >= 1)[The fireplace crackles, built into the icy wall.
[[You could go over there.->Go to the fireplace]]]
(if:(history: where its name contains "Leave home")'s length is 0)[The site designated for the Christmas Tree is at the centre of your icy hollow.
[[Inspect the site.->Christmas Tree Site]]](if:(history: where its name contains "Leave home")'s length >= 1)[You can see Klaus and Chrissie around the site of the Christmas Tree.
[[Go talk to them.]]]
Possible sources of water:
[[Your personal supplies->Your personal supplies]]
(if:(history: where its name contains "Climb")'s length is 0)[You'd probably be better off looking elsewhere.
[[Leave home->Leave home]]](if:(history: where its name contains "Climb")'s length >= 1)[If you're ready, you should go back to Eve.
[[Go back and help]]]]You head over to the fireplace cut into the frozen soil, where (link-reveal:"a fire is presently raging")[. It's not too often you have one lit. You try to conserve your fuel supplies as best you can; your creators set you up here with a lot of fuel, but it's far from infinite. But it's crucial, all the same. Warmth in the cold is a vital part of the Christmas spirit, and every story feels more like magic when lit by the fire's warm glow].
Noel is sitting alone by the fireside, and (link-reveal:"you can tell that he's busy from his glazed-over eyes")[. You guys were created with a wealth of ancient content downloaded: music, movies and media from through the centuries, back in the days when Christmas was still alive. You all have things you enjoy, but Noel in particular is an absolute media fiend.
You wonder what he's up to right now.
Scrolling through online arguments, formulating his own opinions even though he can't get in on it?
Clicking repeatedly on one tile in a game just to make the numbers go up?
Listening to fifty different versions of the same song, because he queued them all up by mistake and is now too stubborn to stop? Who knows].
Whatever it is, you could ask him for help — or you could just let him be.
[[Disturb his trance]]
[[Go back->Home]]###LOCATION: SITE OF THE CHRISTMAS TREE
You've come across your wide hollow in the ice and permafrost to get to this (link-reveal:"tiny patch of dry, crumbly soil")[. It doesn't look like much, but this is the result of years of your family's hard work. The hole you've dug is //deep// — the frost here in the North took millennia to set in, and getting past it took you miles beneath the surface].
Beside it is a tiny box, tied with a red ribbon, which currently houses (link-reveal:"the treasured Christmas Tree seed")[. For years, that's where your family has kept it, barely daring to peek inside in fear of it getting lost. That's your reason for being, right there. That's what you've worked for, all this time. It cannot, //will// not, go to waste].
(if:visits is 1)[(more:)[This close to your goal, you're tempted to take a peek...
[[Go on, then]]
There's not really anything else to do here for now.
[[Go back->Home]]]](if:visits >= 2)[This close to your goal, you're tempted to take a peek...
[[Go on, then]]
There's nothing much to do here now.
[[Go back->Home]]]###LOCATION: SUPPLY STORAGE
Your family doesn't actually need a water supply. Humans do, as do other living beings — as does your Christmas Tree, of course — but as for you guys? You were built to last, and the repair kit meets all those needs. With an oil change and a recalibration every so often, you guys get by just fine.
There's also the fuel you use for fires: an oily substance, kept in vats. You've got a few vats left after years of campfire Christmases, and you take an effort to be as careful with your remaining supply as possible. You can't imagine a Christmas without the campfire.
Even your fire extinguisher is a powder spray, without a trace of liquid. Fires are rare up here in the frozen north, but Chrissie has danced too close to the fireplace more than once, and... well, it's thanks to that powder that you still have a younger sister.
You could spend a full day reminiscing over repair sessions gone by, chatting casually as you all get your scheduled maintenance... or you could just take what you need and go.
(if:(history: where its name contains "Take repair kit")'s length is 0)[ [[Take repair kit]]]
(if:(history: where its name contains "Take fire extinguisher")'s length is 0)[ [[Take fire extinguisher]]]
(if:(history: where its name contains "Take fuel")'s length is 0)[ [[Take fuel]]]
[[Go back->Home]]###LOCATION: HANDHOLDS
Time to venture out. It's not often these days that you leave home. For years, your top priority has simply been digging directly down. Going //up//, into the frozen wasteland beyond, has not been much of a priority.
Regardless, you made sure to construct a way out. There's firm little handholds in the wall, dug out from the frozen ground, leading all the way up to the surface.
(if:visits is 1)[Eve is here, keeping an eye on Chrissie. She's wearing a backpack much like your own. "Can you look after Chrissie?" she asks you. "I want to head out, see if there's any water to be found."
"I was about to do that," you say.
"Hm." She bends down, and rests both hands on Chrissie's shoulders. "Can you go play with Klaus? Mama's on Tree business."
"Okay!" Chrissie skips merrily off, in whatever direction Klaus might be.
"She'll find him," Eve says. The twins always do. "All prepared?"](if:visits >= 2)[Eve's been waiting, checking the items in her pack. On seeing you, she swings it back on her back.
"All ready?" she asks.]
[["Yes."->Climb]]
[["Not quite. I'll see if I can get anything else."->Home]]You grab the repair kit. It's generally for hardware wounds only — you've reattached missing legs with this before — but it'll do you good should you sustain any injuries on your water quest.
You load it into your backpack.
[[Back to the supplies->Your personal supplies]] The extinguisher itself is pretty light; you have reserves of extra powder for refills, so the main container with its spray nozzle won't weigh you down very much.
Not that it'd really weigh you down at all. Your hydraulic arms were built for lifting chunks of the ground ten times your own size.
You load it into your backpack, for convenient carrying.
[[Back to the supplies->Your personal supplies]] Here he goes.
"You know this! That's how you survive in the desert. Waterskins all empty? Go slash a cactus, that'll fill 'em right up. Course, it's a whole lot colder up here, but there's no precipitation here, so that makes it a desert, right?"
You look back and forth at the flat, frozen ground. Shockingly, there is not a single cactus in sight.
Noel is still looking at you as if this makes perfect sense.
"Thanks, Noel," you say, and you start to walk away —
"Hang on! Wait," he says.
You turn back by merely a degree.
"Yeah, there's no cacti here, obviously. But think about it from there. A cactus can't get water from its surroundings too easily, so it's gotta store it or get it from some weird source. Organic life's clever like that, yeah? Look for the plants, maybe even animals if you're lucky. If there's life, there's water."
"I've never seen any organic life around here."
"We weren't looking for it until now."
He has a point.
"You've been helpful," you let him know, as genuinely as you can. "Good luck on whatever you're playing, yeah?"
[["Thanks," he says. "Gonna need it."->Go to the fireplace]]###LOCATION: FIREPLACE
You head over to the fireplace cut into the frozen soil, where (link-reveal:"a fire is presently raging")[. It's not too often you have one lit. You try to conserve your fuel supplies as best you can; your creators set you up here with a lot of fuel, but it's far from infinite. But it's crucial, all the same. Warmth in the cold is a vital part of the Christmas spirit, and every story feels more like magic when lit by the fire's warm glow].
Noel is sitting alone by the fireside, and (link-reveal:"you can tell that he's busy from his glazed-over eyes")[. You guys were created with a wealth of ancient content downloaded: music, movies and media from through the centuries, back in the days when Christmas was still alive. You all have things you enjoy, but Noel in particular is an absolute media fiend.
You wonder what he's up to right now. Scrolling through online arguments, formulating his own opinions even though he can't get in on it? Clicking repeatedly on one tile in a game just to make the numbers go up?
Listening to fifty different versions of the same song, because he queued them all up by mistake and is now too stubborn to stop?]
There's not much else to do by the fireplace. Noel's absorbed back in his media, and the flames flicker on.
You've tried using flame to melting through the frost before. (link-reveal:"It's no use")[. As Noel said, there's no precipitation here, no rain or snow to soak the soil since who knows how long ago. There's next to no moisture in this soil. What little you can inefficiently melt is nowhere near enough to be useful. You can't keep a Christmas Tree alive on drips alone].
Whatever source of water you find, it'll have to be better than that.
[[Go back->Home]]You kneel by the box and take it gently into one hand. As carefully as your metal fingers will allow, you undo the ribbon that holds it together...
And there it is. That's what you've worked for all this time. A tiny green seed, nestled in its padding, kept safe and secure for years upon years.
It looks so small and insignificant. But it'll grow into so much more.
You wrap it back up in absolute reverence, returning it to its rightful place.
[[Go back->Home]]You approach him quietly, wanting to break his trance as gently as you can. A tap on the shoulder and —
He jolts. "Sec," he tells you.
He's looking at his internal screen with some consternation now. You hope you're not interrupting some big game achievement or whatever.
It takes a minute or so, but eventually he slumps a little; his attention on his screen now broken, he turns his head to you.
"Not winning?"
"Yeah, you could say that."
You nod. "Well, any chance you can help with getting us water for the Tree?"
"Oh, man. I got this." He's snapped into confidence all of a sudden. You wonder where this is going. "You ready?"
[["... sure."->Cactus]]Noel grins. "Cactus."
(after:3s)[[["What?"->What?]]]There's a weird, gloopy texture to this substance. It's not quite liquid, not quite solid, but it sure works a treat on making a fire.
You scoop some of it into a container, and load that into your pack.
[[Back to the supplies->Your personal supplies]] Eve nods, and cranes her neck to look at the long journey ahead of you. "Up we go, then."
She places a hand in the first indentation, follows it up with the second, and hoists herself upwards. You do the same.
You climb on and on, onwards and upwards. There's no way around it: this is gonna take a while...
[["Nice weather we're having."]]
[["How are the twins lately?"]]
[["Have you heard about the Mining and Smithing rework?"]]Klaus and Chrissie are poking at the dry and crumbly soil, digging idly at it.
"Making soilcastles?" you ask.
"Yes!" shouts Chrissie.
"No!" shouts Klaus.
"No?" This should be fun.
"Chrissie might be, but I'm not," Klaus insists. "I'm leaving it alone, because Mama might be angry."
He says this, but he's still drawing little shapes in the dirt.
"It'll be fine," you say. "We can reshape the soil however we want before the seed is planted. It's just //after// we've planted it that you'll need to leave it alone."
Chrissie takes the opportunity to give Klaus a gentle elbow jab. "I //told// you," she says.
"Just as long as you leave the Christmas Seed alone."
"I haven't touched it!" Klaus shouts.
"Me neither!" Chrissie concurs.
At least there's something they can agree on, and you're glad that it's [[the most important thing of all->Christmas Tree Site]].(after:8s)[[["How are the twins lately?"->twins2]]
[["Have you heard about the Mining and Smithing rework?"->ms2]]
](after:5s)["A real North Pole classic."
](after:2s)["Mmm, yes. I love the constant subzero temperatures, non-existent humidity, and complete lack of variation."
]"Nice weather we're having."(after:10s)[[["Nice weather we're having."->weather2]]
[["Have you heard about the Mining and Smithing rework?"->ms2a]]
](after:7s)["Not a care in the world, as ever. Klaus has a lot to learn from her."
](after:5s)["And Chrissie?"
](after:2s)["Klaus seems oddly skittish around me these days. I think he's nervous that we're planting the seed so soon."
]"How are the twins lately?"(after:16s)[[["Nice weather we're having."->weather2a]]
[["How are the twins lately?"->twins2a]]
](after:13s)["You've got me there."
](after:10s)["Tell you what, though. I wish digging this huge hole in the ground had been as effortless as the new Mining is."
](after:7s)["I can't believe you."
](after:5s)["Yeah... bit of an old one, that."
](after:3s)["Oh my god. Really?"
]"Have you heard about the Mining and Smithing rework?"(after:10s)[[["Have you heard about the Mining and Smithing rework?"->ms3]]
](after:7s)["Not a care in the world, as ever. Klaus has a lot to learn from her."
](after:5s)["And Chrissie?"
](after:2s)["Klaus seems oddly skittish around me these days. I think he's nervous that we're planting the seed so soon."
]"How are the twins lately?"(after:16s)[[["How are the twins lately?"->twins3]]
](after:13s)["You've got me there."
](after:10s)["Tell you what, though. I wish digging this huge hole in the ground had been as effortless as the new Mining is."
](after:7s)["I can't believe you."
](after:5s)["Yeah... bit of an old one, that."
](after:3s)["Oh my god. Really?"
]"Have you heard about the Mining and Smithing rework?"(after:8s)[[["Have you heard about the Mining and Smithing rework?"->ms3]]
](after:5s)["A real North Pole classic."
](after:2s)["Mmm, yes. I love the constant subzero temperatures, non-existent humidity, and complete lack of variation."
]"Nice weather we're having."(after:16s)[ [["Nice weather we're having."->weather3]]
](after:13s)["You've got me there."
](after:10s)["Tell you what, though. I wish digging this huge hole in the ground had been as effortless as the new Mining is."
](after:7s)["I can't believe you."
](after:5s)["Yeah... bit of an old one, that."
](after:3s)["Oh my god. Really?"
]"Have you heard about the Mining and Smithing rework?"(after:10s)[[["Nice weather we're having."->weather3]]
](after:7s)["Not a care in the world, as ever. Klaus has a lot to learn from her."
](after:5s)["And Chrissie?"
](after:2s)["Klaus seems oddly skittish around me these days. I think he's nervous that we're planting the seed so soon."
]"How are the twins lately?"(after:8s)[[["How are the twins lately?"->twins3]]
](after:5s)["A real North Pole classic."
](after:2s)["Mmm, yes. I love the constant subzero temperatures, non-existent humidity, and complete lack of variation."
]"Nice weather we're having."(after:16s)[ [[You reach the top.]]
](after:13s)["You've got me there."
](after:10s)["Tell you what, though. I wish digging this huge hole in the ground had been as effortless as the new Mining is."
](after:7s)["I can't believe you."
](after:5s)["Yeah... bit of an old one, that."
](after:3s)["Oh my god. Really?"
]"Have you heard about the Mining and Smithing rework?"(after:8s)[ [[You reach the top.]]
](after:5s)["A real North Pole classic."
](after:2s)["Mmm, yes. I love the constant subzero temperatures, non-existent humidity, and complete lack of variation."
]"Nice weather we're having."You reach the top.
There's a whole lot of nothing for miles on end.
[[Walk.]](after:10s)[ [[You reach the top.]]
](after:7s)["Not a care in the world, as ever. Klaus has a lot to learn from her."
](after:5s)["And Chrissie?"
](after:2s)["Klaus seems oddly skittish around me these days. I think he's nervous that we're planting the seed so soon."
]"How are the twins lately?"You walk.
"I've been reading up," says Eve. "I've attuned my vision to be on the lookout for icier patches, which we could harvest and turn into some decent amount of meltwater."
"Pass me the info?"
She does; you download her transfer, and the terrain transforms. As you walk by, you can see a coloured overlay representing the exact amount of moisture in the soil... which is to say, not very much so far.
(if:(history: where its name contains "What?")'s length is 0)[ [[Keep walking]]](if:(history: where its name contains "What?")'s length >= 1)[ [[Tell her about the cactus]]]You walk for a whole bloody lot of time, and see a whole bloody lot of nothing.
"I'm turning back," you find yourself saying, halting Eve in her tracks.
"We've barely just started," she insists.
"There must've been something I missed," you tell her. "I'll retrace my steps. You keep going."
"If you're sure," she says, looking askance.
[[Return home]]"Cactus," you say.
(after:3s)["What?"](after:5s)[
"It's something Noel was telling me about. Living beings need some kind of water source or storage. If we can find anything living, we can find where they get their water."
"Huh." Eve slows down, then comes to a stop. "In that case, we're heading in the wrong direction."
"What do you mean?"
"I have a very old memory of..." She stops talking, whirls around, and simply hurries off the way you just came.
[[You run after her.]]]After some time walking back, you once again reach the great big hole in the ground you call home.
You use the handholds to lower yourself down, bit by bit.
(after:3s)[Nothing to discuss this time round.]
(after:6s)[No one to tell about the Mining and Smithing rework. How tragic.]
(after:8s)[You reach the ground, and [[return to the others.->Home]]]Eve sure is excited about something; she's almost hard to keep up with, now.
You end up travelling a lot further than you did originally. She leads you past home again, then down into a shallow valley.
"It must've been..."
You can see her racking her brains. None of you quite have the processing speed you used to.
"Here!" she exclaims all of a sudden. It's like a switch has flipped: she's on the ground now, digging desperately downwards.
"Why there?"
"Because I remember seeing it, the very first time I explored beyond the dig. There was the tiniest little leaf..."
You jump down and help, both of you digging barehanded. It's what you were designed for, though; your hands are perfectly shaped, perfectly constructed for the task. One last dig. That should be all it takes... and then, if luck is on your side, you'll have the water to start Christmas up all over again.
[[Dig!]]You and Eve both dig for your life, unspeaking, consumed by your own action. No part of the ground goes unexplored.
Sure enough, Eve hits upon a leaf. It's long-dead, brown and crackled and buried, but it is — or //was// — some sign of life.
She holds it up close. "Thank you," she whispers to it.
She's more careful now, following the long trail of withered roots as they snake in downwards, fingers prising the soil apart...
And you see it just as she does. It's long-since frozen, but once, long ago, there was an underground stream here.
You and her both look at each other, eyes glowing brighter than ever.
She pulls her pack off her back, and takes out a sturdy metal bottle.
"We'll need to get this melted," she tells you.
(if:(history: where its name contains "Take fuel")'s length is 0)[ [["I don't think I have anything I can melt it with."]]](if:(history: where its name contains "Take fuel")'s length >= 1)[ [[Use the fuel]]]You pull out your small container of the fuel.
"Oh!" Eve exclaims. "Smart thinking!"
"I wasn't really thinking, in all honesty," you admit. "It was there, and I took some."
"Well, good opportunism. The outcome is the same. Here, I'll light it..."
She takes the container from you, and unscrews the lid. Then, she takes one of her own fingers into her hand, and angling it into the container...
... //yanks// it off, metal snapping, wires crackling, and a spark flying in to light the fuel. It blazes into life.
"Eve?!" You stare at her, the stump of her finger still sparking.
"First thing I could think of. Hardly the worst injury I've had," she says, ragged. "You didn't bring the repair kit, by any chance?"
(if:(history: where its name contains "Take repair kit")'s length >= 1)[ [["I did."]]](if:(history: where its name contains "Take repair kit")'s length is 0)[ [["I didn't."]]]"Me neither," she says, a little desperate laugh in the signal of her voice. "I was so fixated on merely //finding// it..."
[["I'll go back home and look for something."->Return home]]You should be good to go now, you think.
Back to Eve it is. Back to the handholds, one by one, the same old deal.
(after:3s)[You know the drill by now.]
(after:5s)[(if:(history: where its name contains "Dig!")'s length >= 1)[After some time, you reach the surface again, and run to where Eve was digging.
You encounter her again, at last, knelt over the precious frozen stream.
"What have you got?" she asks you.
(if:(history: where its name contains "Take fuel")'s length is 0)[ [["I don't think I have anything I can melt it with."]]](if:(history: where its name contains "Take fuel")'s length >= 1)[ You pull out your small container of the fuel.
"Oh!" Eve exclaims. "Smart thinking! Here, I'll light it..."
She takes the container from you, and unscrews the lid. Then, she takes one of her own fingers into her hand, and angling it into the container...
... //yanks// it off, metal snapping, wires crackling, and a spark flying in to light the fuel. It blazes into life.
"Eve?!" You stare at her, the stump of her finger still sparking.
"First thing I could think of. Hardly the worst injury I've had," she says, ragged. "You didn't bring the repair kit, by any chance?"
(if:(history: where its name contains "Take repair kit")'s length >= 1)[ [["I did."]]](if:(history: where its name contains "Take repair kit")'s length is 0)[ [["I didn't."]]] ]](else-if:(history: where its name contains "Keep walking")'s length >= 1)[After some time, you reach the surface again, and run to catch up with Eve.
She's still wandering in search of... //anything//, really. Anything but the dry, depressing ground you've been past so far.
"Any help?" she asks, still trudging on.
(if:(history: where its name contains "What?")'s length is 0)["Not really, I'm afraid."
[[Keep walking]]](if:(history: where its name contains "What?")'s length >= 1)[ [[Tell her about the cactus]]]]]"Thank goodness."
You unpack it for her, and she gets right to reconnecting her wires.
(after:3s)[Over the next few hours, you have the flaming metal container on the ground, radiating heat and slowly melting the frozen stream. With Eve's bottle, you collect the rivulets of water, watching it slowly fill.
Eve tends to her broken finger as best she can, all the while.]
(after:9s)[Finally, your bottle fills to the brim. You screw on the cap, keeping safe your precious cargo, and stash it away in Eve's pack.
[[The two of you return home.->Victory]]]"Well. Don't worry about me, then. I'll fix it when I get home, or... or this can be a testament to the day we found water."
She cradles the snapped-off finger in her one good hand.
(after:3s)[Over the next few hours, you have the flaming metal container on the ground, radiating heat and slowly melting the frozen stream. With Eve's bottle, you collect the rivulets of water, watching it slowly fill.
Eve tends to her broken finger as best she can, all the while.]
(after:9s)[Finally, your bottle fills to the brim. You screw on the cap, keeping safe your precious cargo, and stash it away in Eve's pack.
[[The two of you return home.->Victory]]]###LOCATION: CHRISTMAS TREE SITE
Back home, all of you gather around the site you've prepared, soon to play host to the Christmas Tree.
It feels like almost a sacred ritual, unwrapping the ribbon on the box and revealing the seed within.
Klaus and Chrissie have been drawing in the soil with their fingers, making shapes of imaginary Christmas Trees. They'll see the real one soon. You're careful not to disturb their art as you poke a hole for the seed... and softly, gently, place the seed inside. You brush the soil back over the top.
Now to make the magic happen.
You unscrew the cap on the bottle, and tilt it ever so slightly over the site. Water dribbles out of the opening, making contact with the soil, filtering its way down...
You //feel// the moment the water hits the seed.
[[Something is different in the world.]] Somewhere in the world, an adult is struck by a thought: how long has it been since they last [[saw their family?]]It affects all of you, as well. Sure, you're robots, but you all carry that Christmas spirit — the role you were designed for, which you've embraced in dedicated unity.
Yes, every interaction you have is artificial in a literal sense -- it's all a trick of electronics, transmitted from sender to receiver. Your interpersonal network is nothing but a collection of radio waves.
But there's far more to it than that. There's years of shared history, of in-jokes and context, of fun and laughter and genuine love.
And when you all band together to use your collective power for good?
(link: "There's no limit to what you can achieve.")[(goto-url: 'https://tiltify.com/+clan-quest/clan-quest-advent-2021 ')] All around the world, people become just a little more likely to set aside their differences: [[today is a day to come together.]]
(Hey, maybe they'll still fight. But you've done your best to ensure that's out of love.)Someone else, somewhere else, remembers the last time they brightened someone else's day. They put their project aside for now, and put together plans to [[bring a little joy]].It's the first Christmas in many hundreds of years. [[The spirit flows through the soil, and reaches us all.]]