The Carnival at Moonbright

Leaf walked over to Lyla’s motionless body. He had seen many corpses before, but seeing one he knew before death was irregular. The emotions rose from beneath him, out of the land, and pulsed an icy chill through his body. A hand arose beside him, and a white-haired woman kneeled beside Leaf.

“Oh dear, I’m certain it is not your time.” The dwarven woman articulated in nearly a whisper, clutching a ring fastened to a small chain about her neck.

The woman began praying over Lyla, and Leaf observed as the world became brighter around them. The dark, rainy night seemed to have left them for a moment. Sparkling energy flickered around the woman’s hand as she placed it on Lyla’s cheek. As if rousing from a nightmare, Lyla choked on air, coughed, and then opened her eyes to see Leaf and the dwarf kneeling over her.

The three of them sat together in the middle of the street for a few minutes before Leaf and Lyla stood up and walked over to the man. Checking his pockets, Lyla found the few other silver pieces and gave them back to Belria. Leaf, though, was unable to find his spellbook. It could not have been thrown to the side or slid away. The man may have had some sense of metaphysical ability and had gotten rid of it. Unsure of what had transpired, they returned to the tavern, where Karmak and Belria worked together to bandage and heal Leaf and Lyla.

After a brief rest, the two said their goodbyes to the dwarves and left. Lyla returned to the carnival, hoping her sister would not catch on to the night’s events. Leaf went to the Athenaeum, picked up the books, and took a slight detour to check on the bodies. He had hoped to get another look at finding his spellbook but was unsuccessful. Sentries had already arrived and were arresting a few of the thugs and putting the dead bodies of the others into a pushcart to be taken away. Glancing about, Leaf did not see the body of the drunken man lying around.

Trying not to raise suspicion, he threw the hood of his cloak over his head and turned back to the Archmage’s Tower down the alleyway.