September 18th excerpt:

Dean finished scanning the area near the tree with nothing more than a low-level blip that meant nothing. “S’cuse me,” he murmured softly, leaning closer to the tree itself and beginning another scanning pattern to be sure he covered every inch. With the size of the sprites, it would be too easy to miss a clue like that.

Dean’s actions had a captive audience. Sprite faces peered out of the homes on the tree, watching his hand curiously. Most of them showed no trepidation, only interest in the object in his hand or hope that he’d find an answer in his sweeps.