The Carnival at Moonbright

“Markus! What a delight to see you again,” Elysium practically shouted as he stood and hugged the man.

“It’s been almost a decade, and you still look the same age, Elysium. How do you do that?” Markus replied, turning to take Orin’s hand and shake it. “Archmage Orin. Still testing to see if you can make birds breathe underwater?”

“No, that was a short-lived experiment, and I still say it was a success, as none of the birds were harmed in that.”

“Well, it seems like everything is working out well here. I don’t have much more to do while I’m here, but I would like to see Nix before I leave. I imagine her child is taller than me by now!”

“Nix’s daughter is a joy to have at the Emporium. She’s not that tall yet, but I daresay she’s been growing fast.” Elysium stated.

“Well, I’ll be there if you have any further need of me.” He said, waving at the rest of them before heading towards the door. “It was a pleasure meeting you all.”

“Before you go,” Elysium asked, “Can you take Ramona and Shaynth with you? I’d like someone to let everyone know that we are all safe and will be back soon.”

“Of course!”

Markus helped Ramona up, and with Shaynth on the other side of her, they exited the audience chamber.

Rhokhishi listened, trying to understand the relationship between the three men. It seemed like they had a history together, but as to what, she couldn’t tell. Maybe that was a question for later, though.

“I’d like you all to be on your best behavior as always and do as the Archmage asks of you,” Elysium stated, looking at the party.

“I’m sure they’ll be just fine with me. With someone like you acting like a father figure, I’m sure they all know how to behave.” Orin joked back.

Rhokhishi followed Archmage Orin with the group. As they made it to the broken castle gates, Elysium said farewell before turning east, away from the carnival. She wondered if he would check out the other places attacked today, considering the Athenaeum was in that direction.

Rhokhishi took a breath in and smelled the almost evening air. While it was warm just an hour ago, it was already starting to build a chill as the sun moved further west towards setting in a couple of hours. She slowed her walk, trailing behind everyone but keeping close.

It had been only a few years since she joined the Emporium, after multiple tries at other lifestyles since leaving the Eternal Pillars. Sir Ulric’s showing up reminded her heavily of her reason for leaving the religion, but it was hard not to think back on the teachings and use them today. She thought of her many days sitting before Narena Valatar, her teacher in Luffari who taught many in the village the ways of Zarin the Just. It was still hard to believe that something that pushed so heavily for good in the world could be so corrupted. Stopping Sir Ulric was a step in the right direction towards finding justice for those she cared about, but more would have to be done in the future. She needed more allies who could fight. She needed more funds. So, she stayed at the Emporium this whole time, trying her best to build and ready herself in case the time came sooner than expected.

She wondered if Zarin knew what was happening in his name. Though very few have met the celestial form that fell from the heavens over five hundred years ago, maybe he doesn’t know what’s happening, and the entire temple isn’t to blame. Her mind spun with questions that she didn’t have a way of answering right now. Before she knew it, she was already in front of the Archmage’s Tower, being ushered in by the Archmage himself.

The space was small and cozy, from what Rhokhishi could see. There were no extra rooms but a single rounding staircase that went up and down to other floors. She saw a fireplace, chairs around a table, and shelves and cabinets lined the walls.

If the Archmage gets to sit here and enjoy themselves all the time, I may have taken the wrong profession. She thought to herself.

Taking a seat with the others at the table, she watched as the Archmage waved his hand and doors appeared along the walls around them.

“If you have a need for a bath, follow through this way. If you need rest, you can sleep in any of these rooms. I want your time here first, though.” He said as he moved towards one of the cabinets, pulled out a glass orb about the size of Rhokhishi’s head, and brought it over to the table, where it sat in a small recess in the middle. Leaf immediately appeared from one of the doors and brought trays of food for anyone to eat.

“This is a memory orb—an easy enough device to explain. One person can place their hand on the orb at a time and think back to a specific time. The orb will pull the memory and save it, allowing me to view it completely from the person’s point of view without taking the memory away from the person who originally owned it. It’s much safer and easier than taking memories in some other, rather forceful ways.” the Archmage explained.

Rhokhishi watched as Leaf sat down and immediately reached for the orb. She watched as the glass sphere turned opaque as a cloud emerged inside and started swirling around. Watching the circular motion made her dizzy, so she looked away. She watched as the rest of the party found their place to rest, sitting down and eating the various foods that were brought out. When everyone else had taken a seat and touched the orb, she stood up, walked over, took a deep breath, and placed her hand on the smooth glass.