.--†*$#@@# #@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@# #@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@# #@@#$*†--.
.--†***##@ @##***†--.
.--†*$#@@# #@@#$*†--.
....-†$$## . . . ##$$†-....
...--††$#@ . . . . . . @#$††--...
.--†*$#@## - - - - - - - - ##@#$*†--.
....-*$$$# - - - - - - - - - - - #$$$*-....
.--†*$#@## †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† ##@#$*†--.
..----**#@ @#**----..
.--†*$#@@# just off the coast to the baltic sea #@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@# there's a freshwater pond, secluded #@@#$*†--.
.....-**$@ among ashen and juniper. a cleft in the @$**-.....
....--†$$@ limestone bedrock, sharp-cut from the @$$†--....
.---††$$@@ surrounding plains, a ninety degree @@$$††---.
...---*$@@ drop down, down, to the midnight-black @@$*---...
.--†*$#@@# water. #@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@# #@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@# ----********---- #@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@# --** **-- #@@#$*†--.
.--†*$@@## -----** fairies live here. **----- ##@@$*†--.
.--†*$#@@# --** **-- #@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@## ----********---- ##@#$*†--.
.....---*# #*---.....
.....--†$@ they speak to the sloane, caress it, @$†--.....
.--†*$#@@@ urge it to grow thicker, tangled, with @@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@# longer and sharper thorns. they tell it #@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@# to stay just below the grass, so that #@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@@ the animals what come to drink the @@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@# water cannot see it before it draws #@@#$*†--.
..----†*$@ their blood. closer to the pond, the @$*†----..
.--†*$#@## sloane can grow taller, being able to ##@#$*†--.
.--†*#@@## hide also in the juniper. ##@@#*†--.
.....-**$@ @$**-.....
.....--**# the fairies will beckon the animals to #**--.....
..---***$# push forward, tell them that they're #$***---..
....--†$@@ almost at the water, that they may @@$†--....
.--†*$#@@# drink soon. and they will tug on the #@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@# sloane to make sure that the thorns cut #@@#$*†--.
.--†*****# deep. when they finally find the path #*****†--.
.--††***$# down between the rocks, away from the #$***††--.
.--†*$#@@# bushwork and into the cleft, they are #@@#$*†--.
.--†****#@ bleeding from a thousand wounds. as @#****†--.
.--†*$#@@# they drink from the dark water, it is #@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@# in turn drinking the animals blood. #@@#$*†--.
.--††**#@@ @@#**††--.
...---†*$@ the circle is complete, the contract @$*†---...
....-†††$# carried out; the animal is abandoned to #$†††-....
......-*$# find its own way back. the bushes roots #$*-......
.--†*$#@@@ drink the nutrutious water. the fairies @@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@@ dance in the sunbeams. @@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@# #@@#$*†--.
.--*$#@@## †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† ##@@#$*--.
.--†*$#@@# - - - - - - - - - - - #@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@# - - - - - - - - #@@#$*†--.
....--†*$# . . . . . . #$*†--....
....-†*$## . . . ##$*†-....
.--†*$#@@# #@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@# #@@#$*†--.
.--†*$#@@@ @@@#$*†--.
....-*$##@ @##$*-....
.-----†$## ##$†-----.