The Grimbriar Gazette | Issue No. XIII
Weather
The weatherstone is cold and coated in white frost, therefore it is snowing. The toads have burrowed beneath the weatherstone for a nap, so the snow will likely stay through Wednesday. A crow has left three acorns in a neat row atop the stone, so expect clear skies by the weekend.
Lost & Found
Lost: A carved, grinning turnip lantern. Its smile gets wider after dark. Please return to Juniper in the East Dormitories.
Found: A witch's hat, slightly too large, that whispers about the physical qualities of snails. Left in the dining hall.
Found: A bag of sweets that refills itself, but only with your least favorite candies. Found on the stairs of the West Tower.
Gossip
Musical Frames in the Portrait Gallery
"I am a duke, not a bowl of fruit!" bellowed the Duke of Ashmoor on Wednesday morning, much to the surprise of students passing through the Portrait Gallery. The stern, mustachioed gentleman, who has hung above the gallery fireplace for over two hundred years, had somehow woken up inside a still life of pears and grapes on the opposite wall.
He was not alone. Overnight, nearly every portrait in the gallery had swapped frames. A trio of ballerinas found themselves crammed into a tiny oval meant for a single baby. A sea captain was discovered in a field of sheep, and the sheep, in turn, were discovered aboard his ship, looking rather seasick. Lady Primrose Valentine, known for her enormous powdered wig, was wedged so tightly into a landscape that only her wig was visible.
Headmistress Hennenthorpe suspects the paintings did it themselves as an All Hallows' Eve prank that got out of hand. The paintings, for their part, are blaming one another.
"It was the sheep," the Duke insisted. "You can never trust a sheep."
Students are invited to help return each portrait to its rightful frame this week. Please be gentle, as many of them are quite cranky.
Rumors
The Thirteenth Step
The main staircase in the North Tower has exactly twelve steps. Students have counted them hundreds of times. And yet, on certain nights, a few unlucky climbers have counted thirteen. Those who step on the extra stair report a cold breeze on the back of their necks, followed by the distinct feeling of falling, though their feet never leave the ground. Moments later, they find themselves standing in a completely different part of the Academy. Second-year Hattie Greaves stepped onto the thirteenth step on Tuesday evening and found herself in the kitchen pantry, holding a wheel of cheese. Professors have yet to explain the phenomenon. In the meantime, students are encouraged to count carefully, and to take the East stairs whenever the fog rolls in.
Familiar Faces
Meet Madame Velour, Keeper of the Costume Closet
Tucked behind a velvet curtain at the back of the Theatre Hall, past racks of feathered capes and paper crowns, lives a moth the size of a large dog. Her name is Madame Velour, and she has been sewing, mending, and fitting costumes for the students of Grimbriar for nearly sixty years. Her wings are a soft, dusty brown, and she wears a pair of tiny spectacles perched on the end of her fuzzy face.
"Every costume is a story," Madame Velour says, threading a needle with two of her six legs. "The ones who wear it are the storytellers."
With All Hallows' Eve fast approaching, the costume closet has never been busier. Students line up out the door each evening, hoping to be fitted for the Harvest Masquerade. Madame Velour has already stitched together three dragons, a walking haystack, and a very convincing teapot this week alone.
Her one rule is simple : no wool. Students who have tried to sneak wool sweaters into the closet report that Madame Velour becomes "very distracted" and has, on more than one occasion, nibbled at a sleeve.
"She ate my favorite scarf," admits third-year Dorian Pike. "But she made me a knight's cape the next day to make up for it. A good trade, I'd say."
Word Search
This Week’s Menu at Grimbriar Hall
As always, every meal can be altered to meet the dietary needs of any student upon request.
Monday
Breakfast: Pumpkin bread French toast, maple butter, warm apple cider
Lunch: Potato and cheese dumplings with caramelized onions, sour cream, sparkling pear fizz
Dinner: Roast turkey with sage gravy, buttered green beans, spiced cranberry tonic
Tuesday
Breakfast: Soft scrambled eggs, toasted sourdough with fig jam, earl grey tea
Lunch: Savory cabbage pancakes with sweet and tangy sauce, pickled ginger, iced green tea
Dinner: Beef and root vegetable stew, warm crusty bread, blackberry juice
Wednesday
Breakfast: Oatmeal with stewed apples and walnuts, brown sugar cream, warm honey milk
Lunch: Grilled cheese toasties, creamy tomato bisque, chilled apple juice
Dinner: Chicken simmered in spiced tomato cream, fluffy basmati rice, chilled mango yogurt drink
Thursday
Breakfast: Cinnamon sugar donuts, fresh orange slices, hot chai
Lunch: Chicken pot pie soup, flaky biscuits, sparkling cranberry fizz
Dinner: Coconut pumpkin curry, steamed jasmine rice, iced lemongrass tea
Friday
Breakfast: Blueberry pancakes, whipped butter, warm spiced milk
Lunch: Roasted turkey and brie sandwiches, butternut squash soup, peach iced tea
Dinner: Herb-crusted salmon, roasted fingerling potatoes, sparkling elderflower tonic
Saturday
Breakfast: Sweet anise-scented bread dusted with sugar, thick cinnamon hot chocolate
Lunch: Ham and leek quiche, mixed greens, blood orange lemonade
Dinner: Bangers and mash with onion gravy, buttered peas, warm mulled cider
Sunday
Breakfast: Caramel apple sticky buns, crisp bacon strips, hot cocoa
Lunch: Roasted vegetable and goat cheese tart, crisp apple slaw, lavender lemonade
Dinner: Slow-braised beef short ribs, creamy polenta, warm spiced pear cider
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