The Carnival at Moonbright

Lyla, Myla, and Leaf sat around the table on the first floor of the Archmage’s Tower. Though the food was there, it had barely been touched. Their silence was broken regularly by Mr. Muffins, who had been in the room offered to him all morning and afternoon. The occasional grunts, slamming of tools, and shouts would loudly pierce through the main room.

The three of them jumped in their seats at the sound of someone knocking on the door. Leaf waved his hand, and the door became window-like, and they saw the Rhokhishi standing on the other side, a paper bag in one hand and a handful of folded paper in her other. Lyla stood and walked over to the door, and opened it.

Rhokhishi walked in, and the door closed behind her. She set the paper bag on the table and then handed the papers to Leaf.

“A messenger arrived right as I made it to the door. He handed me these. It looks like it has your name on the one letter, but all of our names are also on separate ones.”

Leaf looked at the sealed envelopes and handed one to Myla, Lyla, and the one back to Rhokhishi, setting the rest down on the table. Lyla could feel a heft to them, as if something hefty was inside. She opened her letter and read.

The bottom right had an adhesive holding the stone item with the gem inside. It was pretty, but it didn’t look expensive in any way. She peeled it from the paper, and on the back, it said, “For entry to Haron’s Castle.” She looked over at Rhokhishi as she sat down.

“What’s in the bag?” She asked her.

“That’s why I’m here. They’re holding a funeral beforehand for Nix at the castle as well. It’ll be about an hour before this one starts.”

“Oh…” Myla said quietly, her hand shaking slightly.

Lyla could feel the tension in the room grow as everyone sat quietly. It was broken quickly as Mr. Muffins burst out of his room, holding a leather satchel in his hand, and pieces of azurite in his other.

“Rhokhishi, do me the favor of standing up for a second.”

“...Okay?”

Mr. Muffins pulled the satchel around Rhokhishi’s body and placed the azurite into a front pocket. He pulled a very crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her.

“Do me the honor of putting that in the bag.”

Rhokhishi did as he asked and placed the paper into the bigger section of the pouch, staring at him, confused.

“What is this?” She asked him.

“It’s a satchel! Look!” Mr. Muffins replied as he excitedly threw his hand into the satchel and pulled out the wadded paper. Immediately, his excitement became disappointment on his face.

“It’s close. I just need to work out the details,” He said as he pulled the satchel off Rhokhishi and placed it on the table.

“We have invitations to both funerals, Mr. Muffins,” Lyla said as she handed him one of the letters.

“Well, I guess we should all get dressed then.”

Over the next hour, the carnival troupe headed back to the carnival to gather what clothes they had, then met back up with Gisela so they could all meet again at the Archmage’s Tower to change. Lyla didn’t have clothes that would probably be appropriate for a funeral.

Do you have-

Myla handed her a one-piece suit as if she had already planned for it. She smiled at her sister, and they all left to get ready.

Lyla looked at her friends and was astounded at how nicely everyone could dress up. She was used to all of them being in carnival attire or comfortable clothing, so she hadn’t seen this too much.

Lyla looked in the mirror at herself. The “romper,” as her sister called it, fit comfortably around her, but the lower portion of the pants flowed out, giving her more room to move. Most everyone else had attire that looked almost official. Mr. Muffins, Rhokhishi, and Leaf had clothing similar to their regular attire, but they looked less worn, fit a bit more tightly around their body, and gave them a more noble look. Gisela had cleaned her armor recently, in the little amount of time she had had, and wore it. The only one who did not look like their regular self was she and her sister.

Lyla wasn’t exactly one to focus on clothing, but Myla was. It was one of the many things they taught at VerdantKnoll when it came to etiquette and always dressing the part of an expert in their craft and being a good merchant.

“I’m not one for fashion, more functionality, but I’m not sure how intentionally having holes in your pants is useful,” Lyla stated, trying to hold back a smile.

“It’s just a few items that go well together, and I don’t have a lot of options for when I can wear this.”

“Do you want to explain what all this is?” Lyla asked, gesturing to her sister.

“It’s dual-layer, olive-colored silk pants, with gatherings at the ankle and slits on the sides for comfort. It gives me more room to move around than regular pants. I also have a silk, slate-colored tunic shirt, a purple sweater, asymmetrical bottoms, and overlong sleeves.”

“Plum or eggplant purple?” Leaf asked, joining in on the fun.

“It’s like purple henna, which I like a lot. Plus, these black, leather wrap shoes are super comfortable and don’t get a lot of use.”

“And the fanny pack?” Rhokhishi asked.

Myla pulled out her two daggers from the camel-colored pack, smiled, and then put them back in.

“I’m not sure if we’re allowed to have weapons, but I didn’t want to take any chances, considering how this week has gone,” She added in a matter-of-fact tone.

“Well, they really can’t do much about that with me unless they want to take my hands,” Lyla said, holding her fists up.

“It’s a pretty formal affair for a wizard, so I imagine some other mages will be there too, and you can’t just place their magic in a holding bin,” Mr. Muffins replied.

Lyla stood, looking out the mirrored walls of the Archmage’s Tower. The sun was reaching past some of the two-story buildings. She grabbed her things and turned to the party.

“It’s probably time. We should go.”