The Fablehaven adventure 2011-2012 season
THANKS FOR A GREAT SEASON!
Hard to believe but JNP 2011 season is over. We had a great year about 140 kids in JNP this year, which is about a 25% increase from last year. Amy and Libby's popular Treasure Trails program was full to the gills with 25 Treasure Trailers in session 1 and 28 in session 2. It was great to see the Treasure Trailers at the Jamboree races, and remember that our Freeheelers (and some of our instructors!) were there just a few years ago. Little Nords had 6 groups, a record for us. Our middle school and high school enrollment doubled this year, and we had 2 Freeheeler groups and 2 Trail Blazer groups for the first session.FINALE of the Fablehaven adventure: The kids have solved the puzzle from the fairies, collected jewels for trading with centaurs and nymphs, and defeated a revenant, narcroblix, fog giant, and Muriel the witch. Now they were very close to getting the artifact and this was their final chance to save SnowSphere Fairy Reserve. From Muriel, they had found out that the wood nymphs had stolen the artifact, and they had a map showing that the nymphs were somewhere on Cold Creek trail.
All the Little Nord groups stayed low to search for the wood nymphs on Cold Creek, while the Freeheelers headed up top to ski the Hidden Valley Loop and return on Cold Creek from the top. It wasn't looking too good for awhile, but then the Commandos 7th Team (Josh) saw some tracks down a side road. The kids armed themselves with swords and went off to investigate. The wood nymphs!! They were hiding in the woods! Unfortunately, they didn't speak English but spoke wood nymphese, a strange language with lots of ssss sounds. Fortunately, one of the older Little Nords was fluent in wood nymphese, and we soon discovered that they wanted jewels in exchange for the artifact. After much trading of jewels, they finally gave up the artifact!
With a full guard escort of kids on either side of the artifact, we skied in a procession back to the lodge. After lunch, it was time for the JAMBOREE! First, the kids did a food delivery to satiate Olloch the Glutton, and thus recover the kids who were cursed in the 2nd week by eating the little Olloch demons that had looked a lot like gummy bears. After that it was game time. The chariot races (2 horse + rider) were very popular and thrilling. Then the kids played tag, and we finished with the annual JNP tug-of-war. After that it was time for the JNP Bazaar; this year manned by the wood nymphs.
Week 7 of the Fablehaven adventure: This week the kids down low searched for messages from the fairies that would clear up what is going on with the wood nymphs. The wood nymphs say they are helping us, but the fairies left messages saying not to trust them. The low down kids also found some pieces of paper that looks like parts of a map??? They also collected jewels which Perspis says they'll need for the grand finale next week.
Up top, the older kids were attempting to get the artifact which they believed Muriel had. But first they would need to defeat a fog giant who was protecting her. Two Warriors were used as bait and Eli put out magical cow blood, which strangely smells like cocoa. Anyhow, the two Warriors were bolstered by some courage potion and the rest of the group left them with two other Warriors with swords. The younger kids listened in using radios and were ready to come help if needed. After a bit the fog giant showed up and we could hear yelling over the radio! "Come help! It's getting away!" The younger kids raced back up the hill and followed the tracks of the fog giant. Here's the breathless report from one of the trackers (age 8): "We tracked the fog giant into the woods! You know it was kind of freaky because well you know it could jump out at you at any time!"
After that the kids returned to staging area, and there was Muriel, the witch, by her hut!! The kids surrounded her using their swords and demanded the artifact. Muriel wasn't very pleased with their attitude and started turning some of the kids into frogs and monkeys. But then the kids gave her a bunch of jewels, and she was happier. Then she said she would give them the artifact if they untied her magical rope that was keeping her captive. There was much debate over this, but finally the kids untied her. Then she said she didn't actually have the artifact!!?! She said the wood nymphs stole but that she had part of a map that showed where the wood nymphs live. Then she skied off into the woods....
So now we have a map to the wood nymphs. Looks like it is down on Cold Creek and we'll need all the help we have to get the artifact from them.
(photos are just of the groups coached by Eli, Alan, Josh, Karel and Pico, but hopefully I'll get some pictures of the low down groups later in the week)
Week 6 of the Fablehaven adventure: Last week we solved the message written on the puzzle, and our task was clear. We had to defeat the narcoblix. While Eli was discussing this with the group, one of the possessed Warriors tried to tell us something. "Wait are you going to attack the narcoblix? No, she's protected by a re....". The Warrior stopped in mid-sentence and looked a bit confused. "She's protected by what?", Eli asked. "Oh. Nothing. She's not protected by anything. You'll have no problem defeating her.", responded the Warrior in a strangely sweet voice. This was very suspicious so Eli sent them off on a trip around the Mt. Catherine loop so that they would be out of the way. While Josh, Alan and Eli's groups headed up top, the younger Nords were sent to search for jewels which would be needed to bargain with the wood nymphs. Not sure why we need to bargain with them, but Perspis assured us that we did.
Josh's group headed to Silver Fir and searched for the narcoblix around Grand Junction. Meanwhile, the Eagles and Demons headed to Union Station. The Demons found the narcoblix off the Sunrise Trail and discovered that she was guarded by a revenant. A revenant is a type of zombie, so this was alarming information. Around 1pm, the Eagles and Demons (and maybe more, I kind of lost track of who was there) gathered to battle the revenant and narcoblix. With some courage potion, a pair of pliers, and a bell, Eli headed into the woods to take on the revenant alone. The kids discovered her later with her hair turned white next to a human-shaped pile of dust. One demon down. One to go.
First all the kids had a Vampire Repelling Garlic Mint for protection. Then the kids found the narcoblix nearby mixing something disgusting in the snow. The kids surrounded her using their swords for protection, and then touched her with each fairy arrow. At first the arrows didn't have much effect, but they she was getting weaker. With the 4th arrow, she collapsed on the snow! And that was the end of the nacroblix. On Week 7, the kids will take on Muriel and the fog giant. That should be interesting!
Week 5 of the Fablehaven adventure: This week, Perspis reported that we required only one more item to take on the narcoblix---some medicine to repell it during our assault. Chris's group was assigned this task, and they found it somewhere out Cold Creek! We now have Vampire Repelling Garlic Mints! I tried one, they taste disgusting, but Perspis says they'll work against nacroblixes since they are related to vampires. The other down-low groups found the last of the puzzle message from the fairies and found more treasure filled eggs from the magical chicken. Perspis also reported that a number of fairies had been turned into imps (which look a lot like plastic spiders). The kids found many of these and Perspis says he can save them.
Up top, Perspis had some alarming news. The centaurs did not think the kids paid nearly enough in gold for the swords they took. In retribution, the centaurs captured one of the Warriors and turned her into a half-horse(!) The Eagles and Demons had to find the poor creature, corral her, and cure her with a counter-curse---before her parents found out what had transpired. The kids searched the whole morning and found many horse prints, but no horse-child creature thing. Then during lunch, while Tony was giving a lesson on the four parry positions for sabre fencing, the creature skied by Grand Junction!! Everyone came out to see and the kids tried to catch her but she skied off. It had a kid body but a horse head!!
With renewed vigor, the Eagles and Demons went searching. The Eagles found many battle scenes with fairies-turned-imps and the Demons found many messages (and puzzle pieces) from the fairies. The fairies are communicating with the kids via Valentine hearts. They send many notes of encouragement, like "You Go Girl", "Ur 2 hot", and "Ur cool". Clearly spelling is not the fairies' strong point, but the kids are thrilled with the fairies' efforts. Anyhow, just as we were about to head down, the Eagles discovered and trapped the horse-child at Union Station! The Demons soon arrived with swords and surrounded it. Eli threw a jacket over its head to calm it, which caused it to lay down. Then the kids laid hands and shouted the counter-curse: "What Fools these Mortals Be! In the Name of the Fairy Queen, Begone!" With that, the horse-head was no more and a slightly disoriented Warrior emerged. She however was not happy and gave the Demons a stern lecture about not underpaying centaurs. The Demons immediately returned to the centaur's arms depot and left all the gold they had. Hopefully that will be enough.
Week 4 of the Fablehaven adventure: This week the magical SnowSphere chicken found a stash of dwarf jewels, ate them, and has been laying eggs filled with jewels. The kids collected these so they can be used for trading later. Each younger group also went in search of the arrows for the Fairy Queen's bow. They were successful! Now the up top groups will be fully equiped to fight the narcoblix that has been causing so much chaos up top.
Speaking of which, the Warriors are now all possessed by the narcoblix. When they get close to Hyak, they fall asleep and the nacroblix takes control of them. As expected, they all suspiciously disappeared shortly after the morning exercises. The Eagles and Demons went up top with the aim of immediately aquiring weapons to protect themselves. They planned to do this by raiding the centaur arms depots which are hidden (kind of) up top. By the end of the day, each group had found a depot and successfully raided it despite it being guarded by goblin dogs. The kids used their ski poles to ward off the invisible goblin dogs. Later, the Eagles were ambushed by the possessed Warriors, but the Eagles brandished their swords, yelled loudly, and gave a fearsome chase that scared off the Warriors. We still have not figured out what to do about Olloch the Glutton, but the kids who were cursed have been avidly eating the snow-maggots which are giving them temporary protection.
Week 3 of the Fablehaven adventure: This week, the younger Little Nords had to find the eggs of the magical SnowSphere chicken in order to collect troll gold. The gold will be used later for battering with the centaurs. Josh's group also was sent on a mission to find the bow of the Fairy Queen, as this will be needed to defeat the narcoblix that is wreaking havoc in the upper area.
Speaking of the upper area, the Warriors (Karel's) group ran into more trouble with the narcoblix. The nacroblix sabotaged the Silver Fir lift, necessitating that the Warriors ski up Creek Run to return the upper area to help the Eagles (Alan) and Demons (Eli). In their tired state, they were easy prey for the nacroblix and most were bitten and became possessed. The possessed Warriors set up an ambush for the Eagles and Demons at Union Station, but fortunately the Demons stumbled upon the centaur's armory and were able to repell the possessed Warriors. The Warriors escaped, largely though not entirely unscathed. On the way down, the Eagles and Demons found more strange star symbols and some odd beads.
Week 2 of the Fablehaven adventure: This week, the kids found out that an important magical artifact is on the SnowSphere reserve and the Society of the Evening Star is trying to steal it. The JNPS-C (JNP Spies and Commandos) must retrieve the artifact so that it can be hidden in a safer place. Unfortunately, only the fairies (and the Society) know where it is hidden. The fairies have written the location on a puzzle. The JNPS-C must find all the puzzle pieces to find the secret location. The Little Nords have been searching throughout the lower area for the pieces. While searching the lower trails, Josh's group also came upon the eggs of a giant magical chicken kept in the SnowSphere reserve. Fablehaven has a giant magical cow, so it makes sense that SnowSphere would also have magical farm animals.
The Blue Lightning Demon's and Alan's group joined the Warriors of Light and Shadow to search the upper area. Perspis warned them that they may find little animal statues, and NOT to eat these as they are demon-lings of Olloch the Glutton. Unfortunately, some of the kids could not resist and they are now cursed. No worries. We will figure out how to cure them. On other news, one of the Warriors was bitten by a nacroblix and possessed. The other Warriors managed to entrap the possessed one in a fairy dust star. Then the Blue Lightning Demons and Alan's group arrived and pelted the possessed one with fairy dust snowballs. The possessed one appeared to recover and was escorted down the mountain by the other Warriors.
See the slide show for pictures and details of the excitement.
Week 1: After the Trailblazers and Freeheelers-A headed off with their groups, the Little Nords and Freeheelers-B heard some exciting news regarding a request for their services. Here's the letter that Eli received:
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To the supervisor of the elite mountain junior division of the Hyak ski spies and commandos!! I am writing to request your services for the Fairy Reserve Network International, otherwise known as FRNI. In your vicinity is hidden one of the most secret of the reserves---SnowSphere. (DON'T TELL ANYONE the name!). The "Society of the Evening Star" (bad guys) is operating and we are sure they will try to destroy SnowSphere. FNRI needs your expert services! Please respond IMMEDIATELY if you are available!
Desperately yours, |