When the latest batch of Saintly Heros passed through the Eeel Infested Waters, seeking a certain item from Castle Alamos, they happened upon a small house just outside of the Castle, apparently abandoned. After coming back at dawn, noon, and on the first of the Month, they wandered elsewhere, found the item, and eventually the teacher they had been hoping to find in the empty house. This is the story they never learned, the reason why that nice little house was empty, and how some trees came to hold the the secret to the castle

Once Upon a Time, there lived in the small community of Alamos a young man named Jason Baird. 'Beard' to his friends and and 'Hairy' to his enemies, because he had quite a lot of it. He was the sort of man who had to shave before each meal, least he loose some choice tidbits in the growth. A large man, he stood a good six and a half feet tall, and was about as broad as he was tall. But as huge and hairy and seemingly scarey as the man was, he was very gentle at heart. Jason was a fisherman by trade, although if the truth be told, he spent more time in his garden than on his boat. And all to often a portion of his catch would end up as fertilizer. As a result, his garden was the largest and most bountiful on the island. And almost every day, Jason's lovely young wife would visit the neighbors, trading the bounty of the garden for some bread or fish. Everyone on the island knew them, and knew of their garden, which is most likely how they got tangled up in the unpleasent matters to come.

Following the defeat of Archibald in the Succession war, Castle Alamos became a haven for Warlocks and Sorcerers of the very best sort. Much wonderous research was done, mainly in the areas of Light Magic. The reknowned Master of Light Magic was occasionlly persuaded to give a lecture or talk on some paper or the other. The Mages were rather wrapped up in the work, and scarecly noted the disappearence of King Roland, and the growing Chaos. However, following the disaster at Castle Kreigspire, Alamos became one of the last bastion of Magical research in the land. The survivors from Kreigspire, minus a certain rabid bunch of Agar's students, were welcomed into Alamos with a smile and abstracted nod. Over the next few months, Alamos slowly changed. Determined to ensure their own safety, the exiles from Kreigspire hired a large troop of Magyar mercenaries. They wanted to make sure there were many bodies between themselves and anything that might shout 'DIE!' at them if it got angry. They were able to duplicate some of Agar's lesser work, producing the mishappen beasts that he had orginally created. As time went on, rather then relax, they became more and more paranoid, especially regarding their research. The more precious items were stored away in a treasure room, and the key tucked away in a safe corner. The most precious, and magical item of all (namely because they could not figure out what it did, other than hum) clearly required some special protection.

Kee Lo Ni gave a lecture one sunny afternoon on the enchantment of living things, and how it could be done using the specialized magic of Light. While the sun was still shinning, he departed, and per normal was forced to focus the power of the sun on a few of the Giant Eels that blocked his path. By the time he was home, comfortably meditationing while the smells of dinner filled his room, some ideas were hatching back in the Castle.

The most wonderous thing about the enchantment of living things, is that as the thing grew, and changed through its natural lifetime, so too would the magic placed upon it. This, one warlock thought, was a wonderful idea. What better than a magical barrier, whose password would change with time? Only the creators, or those who had reason to know, would know how the password would change, so the danger of a stolen password was remote. Of course, he had no intention of doing any of the work himself, that was what apprentices were for. And he knew just the person.

Rachel Baird, being a mother herself, found a naturally affinity with living things, and had been one of the first in the castle to put Master Ni's ideas to practice. She lived with her husband just outside of the castle, and helped him with his garden. They're daughter was still young, only six, and attended the small school in the village. She was flattered and delighted at the chance to work with a Warlock on a project, especially one so close to her interests. As an added bonus, her husband, Jason, was hired to help with the project, as everyone knew of his garden.

Over the next few months, the happy couple worked with great care to plant, enchant, and grow five wonderous trees. They grew and flourished inside of the castle itself, were the only light came from torches or magic lamps. The trees, in turn, supported the barrier that sealed off the crystal research room from prying eyes. Rachel and Jason were quite happy, until the Warlock decided to show off. Master Ni was visiting again, and the arrogant warlock wanted to boast about his project. The good Master was quite impressed, staying well past his normal departure time.

"And as you can see, the trees are quite healthy and in full bloom, thanks to my enchantements. Here, step away from that girl, be careful! Who let a child in here?"

'I did, she's my daughter."

"Hmph. Anyway, yes, Quite an achievement, if I do say so myself."

"ah, yes, i believe you already had. speak softer young man, my ears are not as young as my spirit."

"Of course, terribly sorry. Where was I?"

"you were describing how you enchanted the trees to cause these most wonderous clues to appear on the bark"

"Ah, yes, the clues, well, I don't want to take all of the credit, Rachel, why don't you explain how the clues wher-...? Clues? WHAT Clues?"

"Why, the ones that describe what the password is sir, what else?"

"You made clues??"

"It was my idea actually sir, thought it added a bit of mystery to the spell, you know."

"You weren't hired to have ideas, you were hired to move dirt and dig you, you, fisherman!"

"gently, it is a nicely balanced touch, now"

"BALANCED? It Endangerous the entire project! You Idiot!"

And with that, the Warlock incinerated poor harmless Jason. His ashes drifted down to coat the roots of one of the trees.

"Daddy!"

'Becky, no!' Rachel cast a spell, and a burst of acid coated the Warlock.

"ARRRGHHH, it burns! Witch! Die!" The warlock was, alas, only slightly injured by the spell, one of most powerful that Rachel knew.

Mother and daughter were crushed by a sudden implosion of air, just as Master Ni raised his eyes to the ceiling. There was a sound like trumphets, and a beam of sun filled the air from some wonderous sky. With a wild rushing of air, the family was healed, and stood together once again. Kee Lo Ni staggered as more wrinkles lined his careworn face. He made a motion with one hand, and the enraged warlock's cry was streched out as he began to move very slowly.

"RUN!" Ever the protector, Jason tacked the warlock.

"oh dear, i wish you hadn't done that"

Rachel grabbed her daughter raced from the building. Other magicians and warlocks arrived, and seeing a worker assaulting one their own, quickly came to his aid. "alas, my brave man, you should have left, and the sun has just set."

It was said about town that the Good Master nevered returned to Castle Alamos, and neither did Rachel or her daughter. Rachel disappeared, using her maiden name, and found a new teacher. One who nutured her desire for revenge, and the power to care it out. Their house stood empty, and the trees, coated again with Jason's blood, grew and evolved and changed, just as all living things did. And the warlock, all of the warlocks, found themselves locked out of their own research room, because they no longer knew the password, for it had changed in an unexpected way....