The Carnival at Moonbright

From the Iredale district, right outside Haron’s Castle, the party moved northwest to Ghostway. With Leaf in the lead, guiding them, they made a quick pace. Mr. Muffins took his time to check on the citizens as they moved further and further from Haron’s Castle. At first, they looked worried, closing doors and hiding inside as they kept watch over the broken gates, but as they moved further away, the only people who seemed to know what had happened were the guards, as they moved in the opposite direction of the group, and towards the castle’s walls.

Barthemus pulled his cloak’s collar up, sensing stares from those around him. He was used to being seen in front of large crowds, but the panic of an attack always gives people a reason to worry about creatures unlike their own. Because tabaxi typically stayed on the western side of Cecela, many of the people here probably have never seen more than a handful.

On the main thoroughfare, he could see many shops he had passed earlier today to get to the Lasthold Bakery. The Jaded Tavern to his left, with its emerald-painted wooden door, and the Pleasant Lord Inn to his right, a place known for not only its clean and comfortable sheets but the women and men there who sell companion services. He saw the wooden sign of their destination jutting out above the door, separating the Iredale and Ghostway districts. The front of the building was very symmetrical, with a large rectangular window on both sides of the wooden red door.

“Before we go in, I do want to mention it again,” Leaf said, looking around at the group. “The ripped paper inside the elven creature’s pocket did have the writing on it, but it also was an invoice from this place. While I’ve bought from here many times, I don’t know how I feel about just interrogating the owner.”

“What do you suggest then?” Mr. Muffins asked.

“I want to give it to Orin and Elysium first. They have all the information up until this point, and they may have arcane ways of asking that would ensure the truth, which I do not have.”

“Wouldn’t it make sense to have the information first? We can buy our items, find out what’s going on, and take that information to them.” Lyla mentioned.

“I agree with the idea, but the owner is probably a highly skilled mage if they can make magical items. I don’t know if we can handle taking them in our current state of health.” Rhokhishi gestured to the party, pointing out cuts and bruises that were already starting to form.

“Well, let’s get what we need, then skedaddle out of here.” Mr. Muffins said, pulling his cloak around him tighter, hiding Jimbo in its holster.

The sun passed its highest point in the sky and descended to the west. During autumn, Mr. Muffins had worn warmer clothes over his skin and fur to prepare for the cold, but the midday heat crept up his body, making him feel the need for hydration. Leaf nodded to the party, put the piece of paper back in his pocket, and they moved toward the door.

As they had gotten closer, Mr. Muffins realized there was no handle on the door, but Leaf walked confidently to it, and he watched it move on its own as if welcoming the group inside. The room itself was rather dark, even with the window blinds open, and the only source of light in the back of the room was a large candle on a desk at the end of the narrow and long space. Sitting at the desk, a red-scaled creature inhaled from a lit pipe, then pushed the smoke through its nostrils. The dragonborn’s eyes were focused, his glasses falling down his snout, as he dipped a quill in ink and continued to write in a book. As the door moved to close, Mr. Muffins took a large branch that had fallen outside, next to the door, and placed it quietly to stop it from closing all the way, but enough not to raise any suspicion.

The dragonborn placed the quill into the ink bottle, pushed his glasses higher with his long, clawed hands, and stood up to examine the party. His black cloak’s front was filled with small coins of silver and gold, as if stitched in such a way to hold it all in place, giving a slight glare from the cleanly polished metal. The sides of his mouth moved back and curled upward, with large, sharp teeth baring back at the party. Mr. Muffins recognized a smile when he saw one, but this was a smile from a man who did not smile often. It was strained, tired.

“Welcome to Moonbright’s Magic Mixtures. Purveyor of potions, items, and weapons of various arcane design. My name is Eralasar of the Nesvarax Clan, but you can call me Nes. How may I help you, travelers?” He looked down at the group, recognizing Leaf. “Ah, it seems we meet again, apprentice Leaf. I hope the book I sold you has been useful?”

“Yes, Nes. It has done me well. It may not hold my old information, but it will protect the new.” Leaf replied, walking forward and bowing his head slightly in Nes’ direction. Leaf pulled the elf’s sword from his bag, showing it to Nes. “I am curious. Do you happen to have a pearl that I may borrow?”

Mr. Muffins took a look around the room. While narrow, it seemed more vast on the inside than the outside would allow. He kept Nes in his peripheral vision but couldn’t help but be elated with the variety of items here. Potions on stands lined the lower walls, with weaponry and armor adorning the top. He saw Nes pull a pearl from a shelf of components as Gisela walked over with two healing potions to buy. As the money exchanged hands, he saw a small hole appear where the potion was, and a new one rose to take its place. Curious, he walked over to inspect it further. He pulled the stand back slightly using his claws and saw small pouches hanging inside.

Bags of holding, but much smaller. Mr. Muffins thought to himself, disappointed that it was more of a display than something more arcanely interesting. He listened to the party as they made various purchases and even got curious as Rhokhishi pulled her juggling balls out and started showing them to Nes, asking about some magical enhancements that could be added to them. Mr. Muffins looked around one last time to see if he had missed anything, then saw Leaf move away from the desk and towards the group.

“Thank you for letting me use this pearl, Nes,” Leaf said, returning it to the dragonborn. “It seems that we’ve come into contact with a magical weapon, slightly used, that you may want to polish up and sell.”

“It does seem slightly used, but it is a beautiful longsword,” Nes stated, walking closer to inspect it. Lyla moved over, picked up the sword, gave Leaf a discrete wink, and began moving it around, showing off its balance and use.

“I do say. I could probably buy this off of you for… 350 gold?”

Mr. Muffins snorted, hearing such a low price for the item.

“This weapon has a few very slight scratches that you could polish easily. This would go for 450 gold at any other shop in Cecela. I’m sure you could offer better, especially for someone who has shopped here before. It is an enchanted item already, which would make it easy to sell to those looking for money to spend.” Mr. Muffins said, trying to persuade the dragonborn.

Nes stared at the weapon for a moment, then turned to Leaf.

“It does seem to be quite beautiful, and you’re right. I could clean this up easily enough. 400 gold. That’ll give me at least 100 in profit, and that’s not counting any enchantments I can add to it later.”

“Deal, Nes. As always, you are kind and helpful.” Leaf said, reaching out his smaller, gnomish hand to the dragonborn’s large, scaled, and sharply-clawed hand.

After making their purchases, the party left, waving goodbye to Nes. Mr. Muffins kicked the branch away from the doorway as he passed through, and they all walked into the sunny world outside. They walked away from the front of the shop, moving over towards a bench, where Leaf pulled out small pouches and handed them out to everyone. Mr. Muffins looked, saw gold and silver in his purse, then looked up quizzically at Leaf.

“Since the sword wasn’t mine, and we all received it and worked to raise the price to sell it, I feel we should share the coin. Nes gave me the pouches, and we went ahead and separated them evenly. There’s roughly 50 gold for everyone.”

“Well, I won’t say no to that.” Mr. Muffins stated, putting the pouch in his pocket.

Looking up, he saw small groups of people moving back and forth from shops as they made their daily purchases. At the end of the street, he saw the more stunted form of Humboldt and the tall and slender Shaynth.

“We have company.” He said, taking a few steps from the huddled group and giving a slight wave their way.

“We were asked to come find you all,” Shaynth said as they walked up, a look of relief falling onto their face.

“By whom?” Myla asked.

“The Queen herself, if you could believe it,” Humboldt stated. “We had just been to see her and were asked to come find you all after what happened at the Athenaeum.”

“I guess we’d better not keep her waiting.” Mr. Muffins replied, pulling the cloak’s collar back up.

From Ghostway, they traveled back to their destination, Haron’s Castle, tired and trying their best to prepare for what was next for them.