The Shadows of Thistledown

The Curse Unveiled

In the village of Thistledown, whispers of an ancient curse threaded through the air like the morning fog. It was said that the old crone, Elda, who lived deep in the forest, possessed a magic that could bend time itself. Her power was feared, for she could summon shadows from the past and bring nightmares to life.

One cold autumn evening, as the leaves turned to gold and crimson, the village elders gathered in secret. They had found a clue, a fragment of a spell that could bind Elda's dark power forever. The spell was incomplete, but they knew they had to act quickly, for Elda had grown bold, and children had begun to vanish.

The key to the spell lay in an old rhyme, passed down through generations:

By the rose your time grows
pair some of her hair
the snip of a puppy dog tale
along with the doll of twins and souls of past children unaware
cast into the cauldron
the brew will ignite
a doll is prepared
but must be harmed by the spike
the witch must not prevail

The elders understood that each line held a clue to the items needed for the spell. They dispatched four brave villagers to gather the components.

First, they sought the rose. In Elda's garden, where no human dared tread, grew the Time Rose, a rare flower that blossomed once a century. Under the cover of night, a young woman named Eliza crept into the garden. She picked the rose just as the moon reached its peak, feeling time itself slow as she did.

Next, they needed a lock of Elda's hair. This task fell to Marcus, the village blacksmith, who was as stealthy as he was strong. Disguised as a beggar, he visited Elda's cottage, offering a trinket in exchange for a night's rest. When the witch was distracted, he snipped a strand of her silvery hair.

The snip of a puppy dog's tail came from the village hound, Bramble. With a heavy heart, the baker, Tomas, performed the task. He comforted Bramble, knowing that this small sacrifice was for the greater good.

The most daunting task was to find a doll of twins and the souls of past children unaware. The village seamstress, Mabel, created a doll resembling the twins who had vanished the previous spring. As for the souls, the elders whispered an ancient prayer, calling upon the spirits of the lost children to inhabit the doll for a short while.

With all the items gathered, the villagers approached the cauldron, hidden in a cave known only to the elders. They cast the rose, the hair, the tail, and the doll into the cauldron. The brew bubbled and hissed, filling the cave with a dark, swirling mist.

As the potion ignited, a doll rose from the cauldron's depths. It was a crude figure, but its eyes glowed with an eerie light. The villagers knew what had to be done. Eliza took the iron spike, a tool used in ancient rituals to bind spirits, and drove it into the doll's heart.

At that moment, a chilling scream echoed through the forest. Elda felt the spell take hold, her powers wrenched away by the force of the ancient magic. The curse was broken, and the shadows that had plagued Thistledown dissolved into the night.

The village was saved, but the cost was high. The children who had vanished would never return, but their souls were at peace. Thistledown rebuilt, and the tale of Elda and the brave villagers who defeated her became legend, a warning to those who would dabble in dark magic.

And so, by the rose their time had grown, and the witch had not prevailed.

The village of Thistledown celebrated their triumph over the witch Elda, but shadows lingered in their hearts. For weeks, the villagers spoke of nothing else, recounting the bravery of Eliza, Marcus, Tomas, and Mabel. The children who had returned spoke of strange dreams, where they saw the old crone's twisted face, but their parents dismissed these as lingering fears.