When the three brave little ones returned to the workshop, still captivated by the strange thoughts left by the footprint in the snow, Groubelin nearly lost his balance. His foot had caught on something lying there, right in the middle of the floor. He looked down and discovered a light-up tablet, abandoned as if by magic.
The screen shone in the early morning gloom.
A page was open, vibrant with colors and shapes they had never seen before.
Images scrolled by slowly: hats, more hats, in every texture, every shade. Unfamiliar words appeared at the top of the screen, mysterious and elegant:
"QUELLO – Your style. Your hat."
The elves approached, at first taking small steps, as if the tablet might fly away. Pipette leaned forward, fascinated by the changing reflections of light on the screen. Ludo's eyes widened, his ears twitching. Groubelin, for his part, observed the object as if it were a precious artifact escaped from another world.
"What is this?" asked Ludo, his voice almost trembling.
"It looks like... a human magic catalogue," replied Pipette, amazed.
She gently ran a finger across the screen. The images slid by like water.
"With... hundreds of hats?!" exclaimed Groubelin, his mouth wide open.
Their hearts beat in time with the flashing images. Then the screen froze on a hat. Red, soft, perfectly rounded. The exact color. The exact shape. Even the tiny hint of magic that seemed to cling to it.
Pipette felt her breath catch.
"It's there," she murmured before her emotion became too overwhelming. "It's QUELLO. The hat has to be there!"
A shiver ran through the three elves.
For the first time since the beginning of their quest, hope was taking shape.
Quello's Christmas Calendar continues tomorrow, with a clue that could change everything.