The Carnival at Moonbright

1:20 AM

Gisela recalled a similar sensation through the portal when she had gotten lost in the woods over two years ago. The pull and push of her body, as if submerged deep underneath water, the pressure making it difficult to breathe for a moment, then landing on her feet as if nothing had happened.

Looking around, she saw Rhokhishi standing next to her. Still in the Astral Sea, on a platform over a mile above “ground,” the area amazed her. She saw shades from the other side of the small platform, these younger darklings not yet taken to their elite forms.

She grabbed her greatsword and flew over to the first creature while Rhokhishi moved to the other. As she got closer, she focused on the runic magic Bruna had taught her, and her form grew two feet… three… eight feet tall. She swung her sword through the air and into the shoulder of the creature. Gisela could hear cries from the other one but focused her efforts on the one in front of her.

As if the weave of magic was pushing from all directions, she saw ice form and rush past her. Turning around, she saw Leaf with his right arm out and his left holding his spellbook. As quickly as it started, it was over.

“Quick! Into the portal.” Leaf yelled out, holding a door connected to a frame and nothing else, with darkness inside.

Gisela watched as Rhokhishi jumped through and then followed.

1:22 AM

CRASH

Gisela felt the crate beneath her give way and shatter. Using her wings to stop her fall, she saw Rhokhishi lying on the ground next to her, covered in splinters and pieces of wood.

“What in the unholy hells are you doing, making that kind of racket?” Mr. Muffins yelled, brushing dust off clothes and fur.

“We just met with Leaf!” Gisela answered.

“It seems that the doors and stairs don’t always take you where you’re supposed to go as part of the defense,” Rhokhishi replied, picking herself up off the ground and pushing wooden pieces away.

Mr. Muffins walked over to them, holding the paper in his hands.

“Can either of you read this?”

“I can!” Gisela said as she took the paper from him. “Why are you handing me a random list?”

“A list?”

“Yeah. Six antidotes, five potions of climbing, one that lets you fly, and one that lets you swim faster. Then, there’s a bunch of random stuff here at the bottom. Something about combining some of these.”

“Well, this’ll help,” Rhokhishi said, pulling a large bowl from the shattered crate.

Mr. Muffins took the bowl and moved over to the desk.

“There seems to be a vial missing. One of these color-changing ones.”

“We’ll look around.” Gisela immediately started looking around. Flying up towards the ceiling, she tried to find any random nook or cranny that would have been hidden from the floor. After a moment of searching the walls, she found a small hole with what looked like a small tunnel inside.

“I found something, but it’s very small!”

“Good job, Gisela!” Rhokhishi replied.

Gisela looked over at Mr. Muffins, standing over the desk. Potions of different types sat there as he focused. Taking some of the vials, he poured them in one by one, watching as it fizzled, bubbled, and started to smell horrible. Once all of the potions were in, he looked up at her.

“One of us is going to have to take this.” He said, lifting it to his mouth before she could react.

A terrifying scream echoed through the room as Mr. Muffins set the bowl down.

“It sounds like it’s below us,” Rhokhishi said, looking at the stone around the stairwell.

“Well, we have to do something!” Gisela exclaimed, taking her sword and hitting the ground with it.

Rhokhishi pulled out her warhammer, and the two of them took turns hitting the ground, watching it crack, fully splinter, then crumble. Gisela reached down, pulled a slate of stone out of the way, and listened closely. It was dark, and she couldn’t see anything below, but she could hear noises that sounded like fighting. She turned back to say something to Mr. Muffins and Rhokhishi, only to find Rhokhishi staring at a small, fox-like creature with wings. It squeaked a few times as if trying to say something, but Gisela didn’t understand.

“Do you know what it’s saying?”

“I don’t speak that language, no. Is that… Mr. Muffins?”

“He’s a smart cat… ehm, fox? I’m sure he can figure it out.”

Rhokhishi turned towards Gisela, then back at the fox, before following her into the darkness below.

1:25 AM

“Ow!” Lyla cried out.

“Sorry! Didn’t know you were there!” Gisela moved out of the way, letting her wings move her off the crumpled form of Lyla, where she had landed.

“Gisela! Myla’s here, and there are shades everywhere in this place!”

Taking a moment to hear, she could tell a creature was near her, so she grappled it into her arms and flew away from the platform. After a few feet, the darkness disappeared, and she could see! It appeared that a dark spell of some sort had caused a spherical space of blindness. Now, out and away, she looked down to see one of the darklings in her grasp.

With a grunt, she threw the creature above her, swung her sword, and watched as its head fell away from the body, now falling away in the Astral Sea.