The Carnival at Moonbright

Over at one of the larger tents, Rhokhishi stood just outside the souvenir shop. She finished the construction by placing the sign outside the door as she watched the first few families entering the festival. While parents were more intimidated by the half-orc’s large visage and dark-colored chain mail, the children happily waved as Rhokhishi presented herself with a smile.

“Phily! Can you come to help me real quick? This is so heavy!” Rhokhishi heard from Lopper inside.

She walked in to see Lopper and Rags, two satyrs, moving around and arranging the finishing touches on the inside of the shop tent. Lopper carried a large chest and placed it into Rhokhishi’s hands.

Instantly, she was a bit confused, as Lopper had stated it was heavy, but it was actually relatively light to her. Lopper reached over and unclasped the front as a puppeted clown jumped out from the box. Lopper started laughing at his joke of trying to scare her a little, but Rhokhishi only smiled back, not petrified as Lopper had hoped.

Rhokhishi inspected the area, ensuring the shop was ready, then hugged Lopper and Rags before heading to the main tent to ensure everything was also prepared. She saw the finished tents around her as she walked, which made her happy. For a world with so much darkness, she was glad to be a part of something good.

Almost to the tent, waving at Gisela as she went by, she heard the sound of chain mail. The royal guards of Moonbright typically didn’t wear such heavy armor during these festivities, and no one would wear it regularly unless they had armor similar to hers. But her armor made no noise and was much lighter than regular chain mail.

Grabbing at both her battle axe and warhammer for a moment, she focused inward and tried to sense anything around her that was off. After a few seconds, her eyes went white as she used her divine sense to reach around her. Other than the central tent, it appeared that everything was routine. The tent always had that divine feeling, though, since Master Elysium put the runes in himself and had shown it to all of the troupe at one time or another.

Master Elysium was energetic, passionate, fun, and intelligent. He knew that circus folk weren’t invited or welcomed everywhere. So, he worked hard and learned how to bless the tent, protecting those inside from evil. Rhokhishi recalled when Master Elysium told her about it a few years ago.

“It was the hardest thing I ever learned to do, and I’ve done a lot in my life. The spell will always work as long as I’m alive and this tent stays intact. Those who wish for peace will be kept safely here from any harm. There are ways around it, but not many people would know. Even better, people can’t just teleport to and from inside this area. That way, if someone does attack, we can place them in here, and they won’t be able to leave through magical means.”

Rhokhishi was content to know that security was a large part of this community. Always willing to take in and find the best in others. These were good people. She turned about and got back to work.