The Grimbriar Gazette | Issue No. XV

15 hours ago

4 min read

Weather

The weatherstone is dry and cool; therefore, it is cloudy. There is a mysterious absence of toads in the area, so a storm is imminent. Expect cool, damp weather for the remainder of the week. Should any owls fly northwest, prepare for snow.

Lost & Found

Lost: A copper spoon with ten eyeballs of various colors. Will stare, but doesn't mean to be rude. Leave at front entry if found. Do not use to eat!!
Found: A drifting thought in the shape of a scribble. Keeps muttering "I can't believe she said that."
Lost: A stone in the shape of a top hat. It's awfully special to me. Return to Wilbur at lunch.

Gossip

Grimbriar's Unwelcome Intruder

A wandering spirit has been terrorizing the younger students of Grimbriar each night this past week. According to the terrified students, it arrives once they’ve drifted off to sleep and lingers at the foot of their beds. Reports say that the students can sense something there, a heavy, watchful presence that turns the air cold, but they see nothing. After a few moments, the spirit combusts into a cloud of shrieking dust that scatters across the floor and vanishes before anyone can light a candle.

"It was like someone was standing there, just staring at me," says Oliver Brisk, who has taken to sleeping with his blanket pulled over his head. "And then it screamed. Not loud, exactly. More like a scream from very far away."

"Spirits of Grimbriar are well aware of the rules about entering students’ rooms at night," says Headmistress Hennenthorpe. "Whatever this is, it’s not one of our own."

Students are advised to pour lines of salt across their doorways and windowsills until the culprit is apprehended. The kitchens have already reported a shortage.

Lisa Spellheim, in her final year, is rumored to be in talks with professors as we speak. According to her roommate, who shall go unnamed, "Lisa has been meddling in the old section of the library. She thinks I don’t notice, but the books she brings back to the room feel cold. They feel wrong. And last Tuesday, I woke up and she was whispering to the corner of the room. There was nothing there."

Has Lisa invited an unwelcome guest to Grimbriar?

Rumors

Blooming Confusion

A plant no one can name has sprouted from between the stones on the wall just inside the Enchanting classroom. It appeared overnight on Monday as a curling green stem no thicker than a pencil. By Friday, it had crept nearly three feet along the wall. Its leaves are shaped like tiny hands, and students swear they wave whenever a spell is cast inside the classroom. Stranger still, the plant hums along to incantations. Plint Wintle of the Society of Plant Sympathy has visited daily with a watering can and a notebook, but admits he’s stumped.

"I’ve never seen anything like it. I think it’s learning."

Students are asked not to pick the leaves. The last one plucked held on to a first-year’s thumb for an entire afternoon.

Familiar Faces

Meet McCary Dreary, Ghost of Grimbriar's Attic

On rainy evenings, when the windows of the dining hall fog over and dinner begins, a ghostly figure sometimes appears at the small table in the far corner. He sits alone with a bowl of spectral soup, sipping slowly, and gazes out the window at the rain. Then, as quietly as he came, he fades away. This is McCary Dreary, the ghost of Grimbriar's attic. He is seen so rarely outside of the attic that many students believe he is only a story.

For years, students have whispered that McCary perished after being trapped in the attic, locked away and forgotten. Grimbriar historians would like to set the record straight. McCary was never trapped. He simply liked it up there. Very much. During his life, he befriended a family of dust sprites living among the old trunks and rafters, and he never saw much reason to come down.

"He’s kind," says fifth-year Wren Holloway, one of the few students to have visited him. "He doesn’t say much. But you can tell he’s glad you came."

Students who wish to visit McCary are welcome to climb the attic stairs, so long as they bring something dusty. Old books, forgotten hats, and neglected candlesticks are all gladly accepted. McCary will clean each item with great care, then offer the gathered dust to his sprites, who use it to make their nests a little cozier.

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: Cinnamon pear oatmeal, buttered raisin toast, hot vanilla chai

Lunch: Roasted tomato and white bean soup, cheesy herb biscuits, cranberry fizz

Dinner: Garlic herb roast pork, brown butter carrots, spiced apple cider

Tuesday

Breakfast: Cinnamon French toast, crisp bacon, warm hazelnut milk

Lunch: Grilled ham and gruyere sandwiches, creamy butternut soup, apple ginger fizz

Dinner: Sausage and white bean stew, crusty rosemary bread, hot honey lemon tea

Wednesday

Breakfast: Blueberry cornmeal pancakes, maple glazed sausage, warm oat milk

Lunch: Cheese and bean enchiladas with green salsa, cilantro lime rice, cinnamon horchata

Dinner: Beef pot roast with onions, garlic mashed potatoes, cranberry tonic

Thursday

Breakfast: Soft scrambled eggs with chives, crispy hash browns, orange spice tea

Lunch: Mushroom and spinach quiche, apple walnut salad, sparkling pear lemonade

Dinner: Pomegranate walnut chicken stew, saffron rice, cardamom rose tea

Friday

Breakfast: Cheddar and chive omelet, buttered rye toast, spiced pumpkin latte

Lunch: Smoked salmon bagels with dill cream cheese, pickled red onions, sparkling lemonade

Dinner: Honey mustard baked ham, scalloped potatoes, warm cinnamon pear tea

Saturday

Breakfast: Gingerbread waffles with whipped cream, stewed apples, hot cocoa

Lunch: Chicken and wild rice soup, warm parmesan rolls, orange fizz

Dinner: Chicken satay with peanut sauce, coconut rice and cucumber pickles, warm ginger tea

Sunday

Breakfast: Brown sugar cinnamon rolls, soft scrambled eggs, warm vanilla milk

Lunch: Turkey and cranberry sandwiches, buttered corn, sweet iced tea

Dinner: Savory mushroom and thyme pot pie, buttered green beans, plum tonic