Caelen walked back into the plaza, standing beside his father, Robert, who looked uncharacteristically fancy.
He wore a high-collared tunic and sleeveless surcoat, on his back he was wearing a strange leather case.
Those are the clothes he told me to sell a couple of weeks ago, I refused them since I didn't want him to lose such precious clothes, after all it was custom made by mom.
She sure was an amazing tailor.
"Woah…!" Exclaimed Caelen, looking back to the lantern's wild colors.
They had been set ablaze with a strange powder, which caused the fire to gain a strange multicolored hue, akin to a rainbow.
Someone poked his shoulder, it was Louis, who now also fancied different clothes.
He now wore a deep green tunic tied with a thin red sash at the waist, clearly something he had been saving. His boots had been scrubbed clean, and his hair was combed back in a way that did not entirely suit him.
Robert looked back at them.
"Ah Louis you're here! I'll take my leave then, you both wouldn't want to hang around an old man like myself" Then he looked back to Caelen "Anything you need I'll be hanging with my bud Holstein, I'll see you around!" He said happily, as he walked away.
I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried about him, but he insisted he was feeling good enough to come to the celebration.
Both Caelen and Louis looked around, settling on sitting on a bench they found.
"It sure feels nice, doesn't it?" Asked Louis,
"What does?"
"The festival, it's been a while since I've seen people in here so happy, that's nice, don't you think so?"
I haven't really thought about how other people must have reacted, while I lost my mom in the incident, there are still people who lost way more, I can't imagine the pain they went through and the relief it must have brought the fact their families were avenged.
"It definitely is," he replied, vague in thought.
Then after a second, they noticed from a couple of feet away came a small creature, it waddled on six ridiculously small legs and had a furry coat, its eyes were black and round, it was definitely a sort of bug but with certain charm to it.
Named Furball, they both had found him a couple of years ago, it usually eats small bugs and grass so it has a small hut nearby the outskirts of town made by them, it likes to sometimes wander inside town to cuddle up with either of them, nobody's really bothered by it.
He's technically a magical beast since Louis said he detects some degree of magic inside of him, so long as it doesn't cause any harm he won't be categorized as a maltheon.
Although the maltheon categorization tends to be iffy in general, being dangerous and just looking dangerous can end up meaning the same.
Regardless, he's too cute.
Louis then picked Furball up.
"Ahh! I've been meaning to find him! you know I've been reading the town's bestiary a little more deeply and I realized, his species isn't catalogued! Can you believe it?" He excitedly said, while pulling out a small journal and began frantically making annotations.
While we both like discovering new things, he certainly has a passion I don't match nearly, his dream is to become an explorer and discover new species of animals, magical beasts and even maltheons.
"Really? Guess there goes your own first discovery as an explorer!"
"Guess it really could be...!"
Then silence settled in, only disturbed by the frantic writing and drawing of Louis.
Caelen took a moment to look around the festival, he kind of felt out of place, his own clothes were definitely better than what he usually wore yet it didn't completely sit right with him.
He had ditched the cloak and instead wore a dark wool overshirt. The fabric was rough but brushed clean. The stitching along the shoulder was uneven, and one sleeve had been patched with a slightly lighter cloth, but it was the closest thing he had to "formal."
Suddenly, a voice called out to both of them, recognizable.
"Caelen!..Louis!" It was Asha's voice.
They both turned around to the voice, and were immediately stunned by her appearance, she now wore a blue medium dress, her hair fluffy and luscious, her face showed a bit of awkwardness and reluctance but she didn't back down.
Furball jumped out of Louis lap and began waddling away.
"I guess Furball still doesn't like me…" she said with a defeated tone.
They all greeted each other, then stepped deeper into the plaza.
The noise surrounding them grew louder. Multiple musicians were performing in unison, people chattered and laughed, while dozens of vendors shouted about their goods.
Louis stopped, pointing his finger excitedly towards one stall.
"We should definitely try these!" he exclaimed.
The vendor of the stall lifted a skewer of roasted corn from the coals, the kernels blistered and shining. He brushed a thick layer of warm cream over it, then rolled it through a mound of grated white cheese.
"Fresh off the coals!" The vendor exclaimed.
Caelen noticed the way it was prepared. Most vendors didn't roast the corn this hard. Tourists tended to complain about the tough texture.
Still, it was the way locals preferred it.
Caelen stepped forward and bought three of them, handing one to Asha and Louis.
It's been a while since I have eaten this kind of grilled corn.
Asha carefully blew on her cob before biting into it, while Louis immediately took a large bite and yelped as the heat burned his mouth.
Asha burst into a brief laughter.
"Louis, you really have to be more careful when you eat" she said as she seemed to resist her urge to laugh out loud.
Caelen let out a small chuckle, then he looked down at the cob in his hand. It carried a smoky scent. The cream ran slightly along the kernels, while the cheese was unevenly spread but finely grated.
He bit into it carefully, making sure not to take more than he could handle, unlike certain someone. The kernels were tough at first, but the juice inside burst with flavor. The mix of cream and cheese gave it a salty taste with a faint tang.
It's really good.
He took a look around, other stalls also had some interesting options, cassava mixed with pork rinds, fried ripe plantains with chicken on top and a sort of plate made up of multiple legumes with fried eggs and cheese.
As Caelen was about to grab a second bite from the cob, someone grabbed him by the arm, he accidentally dropped it to the floor as he looked up to see who was pulling him so aggressively.
It was Asha, "Caelen, you eat too slow!"
"Wha- "he let out, barely processing as he awkwardly walked along.
There they stood now, in front of a game's stall, apparently Louis had found this game, throwing horseshoes it seemed.
A small sign sat beside the game's barker saying "Playing costs twenty cuprim, depending on what pin your horseshoe lands and if you land three consecutive horseshoes you can gain up to two agrim!"
That was the premise at least, Louis went ahead and started playing, after three rounds he gave up, utter defeat.
Asha went afterwards, she did fairly better than Louis after two rounds and managed to snatch up one agrim coin.
Caelen went last, did a single round, he did worse than Asha but better than Louis, didn't win money but didn't lose either.
"It must have been rigged, there's no way I could lose that many times…"
"Then how did I win an agrim, huh?" she said cockily as she fiddled with a coin between her fingers.
"The barker probably just saw your cute face and decided to gift you that one!" He spurted out.
"Just admit you're a sore loser- wait. What do you mean cute?"
"Eh-Erm-Ah-Well- Uh- Just. Forget about it okay?"
"No, I won't" she teased.
Guess these two are back on with their old ways.
"Hey why don't we give this one a shot?" He said, pointing at the stall next to the last one.
The stall beside it had three wooden shelves stacked with clay pots arranged in towers of three. A bucket of smooth river stones sat on the counter.
"Five cuprim a round, knock them all down and double your money!" shouted the barker.
Louis immediately reached into his pocket.
They each took turns. Louis threw with more enthusiasm than accuracy, his first stone clipping the edge of a pot without toppling it, his second missing entirely. He stared at his hand afterward as if it had betrayed him personally.
Asha knocked two towers down clean on her first try. She didn't say anything remarkable, just stepped aside.
Caelen cleared all three.
Louis pointed at him. "That one was definitely rigged in your favor."
"What, you going to say I got a cute face too?" Caelen said, pocketing his winnings.
"Ugh. I hate you" grumbled Louis.
They drifted further into the plaza. A ring toss stall caught Asha's eye next, colored rings stacked on a peg board behind a grinning vendor. She dragged them both over.
Louis managed one ring on his fourth throw. He celebrated as if he had won a tournament.
Then they found the trivia host, a wiry man in a tall hat seated behind a lectern, calling out questions to whoever stopped long enough to listen. A small crowd had gathered.
"Name the four provinces bound under the crown!" he announced.
Ah I think I know this one, Rabith,Walmon, Pinet and-
Louis answered before the man finished the sentence.
"Radish, Watermelon, Pineapple and Coconut!" He shouted confidently, the host looked offended and the crowd fell silent.
"It's Rabith,Walmon,Pinet and Cokut." The man let out, with second-hand embarrassment.
Louis only smirked awkwardly.
"Say the full name of the national hero of our country, Astrunia"
Oh! I remember this one! Dad used to tell me tales about him all the time!
"Rael Alcra Mit-Sora Herman"
The wiry man smirked intensely while turning to Caelen, maybe smirking a little too much, his smile was unsettling.
"Correct"
The man turned back to the audience
Two questions later, another about which creature's hide was most resistant to fire that Louis answered with unsettling specificity, Asha quietly answered a question about the founding of Ralbow that neither of them had even processed yet.
They both looked at her.
"What?" she said flatly. "I read, sometimes."
They left there, satisfied with their answers for now.
Suddenly, both Louis and Asha who were walking in front of Caelen stopped.
"What?" He asked trying to stretch over either of their heads to see what's ahead.
Both of them looked back at Caelen.
"Yep, we should enter" Louis said, affirming.
"Definitely" she agreed.
The poster was for a… Archery competition?!