"The traveling merchant has brought us a novice!" the fairy maid exclaimed.

"Oh?" asked a jolly voice. "Bring them in then!"

The maid guided ZipZing and the merchant past stacked bolts of colorful fabrics, tall frames with vast quilts draped over them, and a variety of mysterious tools. A plump fairy was bent over a broad table, snipping a swath of fabric with tiny careful cuts that left the fabric on either side of the cut perfectly straight.

"Greetings Mayor Bell," the traveling merchant said cheerfully. "This is ZipZing, a fairy dragon and a novice. I hope you can welcome her to the dell."

The mayor finished her cut before replying warmly, "Of course, all of the fair folk are welcome to reside within Windbur. Quite a few novices begin their adventures here."

"What's involved in becoming a resident?" Danika asked warily. "I don't think that I could afford a house."

"Most novices can't," the maid spoke up laughingly.

The mayor nodded and said cheerfully, "I'm sure we can find you an unclaimed branch somewhere. No storms are ever allowed to bluster around in our dell. To become a resident you simply need to sign the registry and agree to abide by our three simple rules."

"What if I want to move later?" Danika questioned.

"When you register as a resident somewhere else within the empire, your name vanishes from this registry. It's no trouble at all," the mayor answered cheerfully. Danika glanced at the traveling merchant who nodded reassuringly. The mayor continued, "The three rules are: Never draw a weapon within the dell, arguments here are settled with words. Never cast a spell upon someone within the dell without their permission. Never refuse to share your food, we won't let anyone starve here."

Danika only hesitated for a moment before agreeing, "All right."

The mayor turned and flitted upward to pull an enormous book down from a shelf near the ceiling. Danika blinked, as the mayor used a featherweight spell to carry the book to the table. She flipped the book open scribbled something beside the next blank line on the page and held out the pen. "Here you are," she said cheerfully.

Danika hovered over the page for a moment before signing ZipZing on the blank line beside the date the mayor had written in. As soon as she'd signed she thought of another question. "Can non fairies become residents?"

"Only the spouses and children of our residents," the mayor replied cheerily.

"What about familiars?" Danika questioned with a pink sparkle.

The mayor blinked at her and then replied, "Of course familiars and pets are allowed, but they must be kept under control, if they attack anyone it will be regarded the same as if you'd drawn a weapon." She waved to the maid and said, "Mirri will find you a branch to call your own. Don't be afraid to drop by anytime if you have any trouble in the dell."

The maid giggled and whispered as she led Danika back out of the maze of quilting and materials, "Welcome to the never never never land of Windbur."

The traveling merchant asked kindly as they exited the mayor's abode, "Is there anything else I can do for you before I continue on ZipZing?"

Danika thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Do you have any healing and energy potions? My friend said that her party had run into a group of surprisingly high level goblins on their way."

"Of course I do," he replied cheerfully. "And there are also a couple of healers who reside in Windbur."

The maid waited patiently while Danika traded the rest of her frogs teeth for three potions that looked identical to the ones Aishin had fed her while they trained, and three red potions that were supposed to have the same effect for health as those had for energy.

Her inventory was stuffed full again when she finished, although the embroidered pouch held only three items, since that was the most she had of identical things.

The merchant waved farewell and Danika followed the butterfly winged maid through the treetop city, to an oak near the edge of the village. Mirri turned to her and asked, "Would this tree suit you? Or would you prefer an evergreen?"

Danika watched the upper branches swaying in the breeze that had been blowing gently since she'd followed the merchant into the valley. She thought of the snow outside her apartment in the real world and asked, "Will it ever snow here?"

"Oh yes," the maid assured her, "but only gently during midwinter week for the health of the trees. The heavy storms are held beyond the boundary even during the worst winters. This tree turns lovely colors in the fall and has only three other occupants."

Danika looked at the tree and asked questioningly, "How can you tell which branches are occupied?"

The fairy maid flew closer and pointed to a leaf. "See how all the leaves on this branch have a thread of blue in the vein? That's the color the tree assigned to Torrent, and this is her branch."

Danika squinted at the leaves, and then nodded. She flew around the tree. It looked like none of the lower branches were marked. After a moment she pointed to a broad sturdy branch that she thought was low enough that Aishin could simply jump up to sit on it, and that Shrubbery or an elf could probably climb up to easily.

Mirri gazed at her with surprise and asked, "Are you afraid of heights ZipZing? If you're worried about falling out of the tree when you're asleep, there are several crafters who would trade services for nest building."

"I have wingless friends," Danika explained, just as SaltySiamese finally joined the party.

"Oh, I see," Mirri said cheerfully. "Well, if that's the spot that pleases you, simply place your hand upon the branch and say 'I'm home'. And if you want to move later just tell the tree, 'Thank you for sheltering me, but I'm ready for new sights'."

Danika had barely completed the small ritual and was watching a thread of brighter green spill through the leaves of her branch, when an elf with cream colored hair tipped in chocolate brown dashed up and shouted, "I found her! Come this way!"

Danika smiled and told SaltySiamese, "I'm surprised that you chose to play an elf instead of a cat half."

SaltySiamese grinned back at her and replied, "I almost chose to play as a tiger, but I decided that not having hands would be too frustrating. Besides, elves are pretty cat-like, we have pointed ears and can see invisible things! And did you look at the cat human cross?!"

"No," Danika admitted as the familiar figures of Justin, Quin, and Terri followed a short rotund creature with large round ears that was dressed in a bright yellow cloak over to where SaltySiamese stood.

"It was a sphinx!" SaltySiamese complained. "So creepy!"