The Carnival at Moonbright

“What is that?”

Gisela sat on Rhokhishi’s right shoulder and pointed up at the sky. Above them, the bell rang out, but there was something else there. Above it, a crack seemed to form in the sky, growing larger and larger.

As some people emerged from shock, they immediately turned to fear. They stood up, some screaming, some pushing others to the side as they tried to move under trees or make it out of the castle grounds.

Rhokhishi pointed out the human that introduced himself to Leaf earlier. Gisela could see that he had a small book in his hands and was muttering something while laughing. As Balk and Dalia moved closer to Darion, he stopped the incantation and put his book away before standing and meeting with the other alums.

“It seems like the Dean wanted a little fun, causing panic,” Rhokhishi said to Gisela.

“We need to get out of here before it gets too crazy,” She answered.

Gisela, Rhokhishi, and Mr. Muffins moved away from the crowd and towards the castle. The castle’s front doors slammed shut as they passed, with Lyla and Myla standing outside. They turned and saw the party and joined them.

Across the castle grounds, they moved back towards the gate, then out into the crowd who did not have invitations to be inside the grounds. Gisela could see people of all races and ages standing together, a lit candle in their hands, looking through the gates to see the commotion. Gisela flew up a few feet above the heads of those around and headed straight for the Archmage’s Tower with the party.

As they reached the front door, it opened on its own, inviting them into the building to see Leaf sitting at the table reading a letter attached to a package. As Gisela got closer, she could see multiple packages already there, all in the same wrapping, with all their names on them. She looked for the package with her name and held it up to examine.

The packages themselves weren’t very big. Wrapped in a type of brown paper, it had a wax seal on it from the Queen and was tied in an extravagant red bow.

“Does everyone have a key to this tower, and we weren’t around that day?” Lyla asked, pointing to the package with her name on it.

Leaf held up a small key, which Gisela assumed was to the front door.

“The Queen. She says that she commissioned Markus to make us something and wanted to give me her key to the tower as a sign of trust between us.”

“Well, let’s open them then,” Gisela said as she carefully ripped around the wax seal and removed the brown paper.

Gisela pulled out a small, almost coin-sized item. It was made of a stone on one side, with lettering in a language she didn’t know etched into it. A gem was set into the other side, almost made into the stone. Looking around, she saw that the jewels differed for nearly everyone else. She had an amethyst, the twins had emerald gems, Rhokhishi had a diamond crystal, Mr. Muffins had a sapphire, and Leaf had a topaz stone.

“The letter states that each stone will enhance our abilities, giving us an edge if we ever need it. It doesn’t say exactly what they do, but Markus was sure we would figure it out quickly enough.”

“It was nice of Markus to make these. They seem to have some feature instilled in them.” Mr. Muffins said while looking at the markings with a small magnifying glass.

The night grew late as they ate and rested on the first floor of the Archmage’s Tower. After an hour or so, Gisela watched as they all got up and walked to the rooms they had been provided over the last few days to sleep. Gisela flew up and over to her door, which was considerably smaller, and walked in.

Inside, she could see the room hadn’t changed too much since she was here this morning. Across from her, Gisela saw the practice dummy that she had already slashed into yesterday had “healed” and was ready for combat again. To her left, she saw a set of weights. She could see the stand for her armor on her right and immediately moved to take hers off and place it there. In a small pile under it were tools and a rag in a water basin for her to fix and clean her armor.

Gisela took a few minutes, looking over her armor as it stood before her. It was a simple room, but it was all she needed. Lifting her wings to carry her up, she soared to a loft space with a bed and a small placeholder for her sword.

It’s been a long day. Take rest.

It’s been a long week.

I know, little Gisela. But it is over now. Rest, and we’ll decide on things tomorrow.

Gisela turned away from the sword, exhausted. Her eyes closed, and she fell asleep.