Nyah~ I'm feelin' alive! Tonight is the night of our long awaited festival~ It's been so long. The last time we had one, I think it was when we were introducing Rei and Milton to the Goblin Village. There's been a lot of new arrivals since then, so it's long overdue! Besides, we need to get on that whole ordeal of properly clothing the Goblin Villagers. They need more if they truly hope to become a Goblin Village worth mentioning. They need proper food, shelter, and clothes. They also need a better Goblin Hooch Distillery, and maybe some sort of recreational activity while we're at it. Maybe we should build a pool or something? Something to let the young Goblin children have fun. It would be phenomenal if that wretched lochness monster would keel over and die right about now. We could have a fantastic Beach resort. The water is a bit too cold for my tastes, though.
I was thinking such things as I painstakingly got dressed. Making my way into the Throne Room, I decided to create some new level 1 pieces of clothes. It's all about quantity for this donation. I added them to the pile of level 1 to 2 clothes. It's getting kind of big. It almost looks as big as a regular shipment to Clive. No, it's definitely at that point now that I look closer. It even surpasses some of my shipments to Clive in terms of sheer quantity. There are probably almost 400 pieces or more among the level 1 to 2 pieces that I currently possess. I'm feeling confident. I might add a little bit to top it all off later, but it's good for now.
Making my way into the Foyeur, I found that everyone else has already begun with their breakfast. I'll just grab one of these, and maybe one of those... And take a seat right over here, in my master seat. Yosh! Tonight's the night, people! Get ready! It's happening! Cetilla told me that Leshi, Kitsune, Cloaked Monk, the Rabbit, and Rifaleesi had all been informed that we would be holding the festival tonight and so they all went to sleep early in order to prepare. Vana told me that Milton was making a good recovery, and that he should at least be able to enjoy the festival; but he probably shouldn't go swimming. Poor guy~
Goddin Village Neith Sama told me that the Villagers had all been informed to expect the 'Hallowed Howl', signalling the beginning of the festival. The Hallowed Howl, you say? Apparently it's what everyone has started to call the moment that all of my Clansmen let out their varying sounds at once, as loud as they can. It's become something like a rare church bell only sounded in the event of a festival. Huh. Okay~ Moving along, Miu appears to have dropped in unannounced. I didn't notice, but she's been sitting at the table this entire time. I'm getting an odd sense of deja vu to my time with Elliot. She's been listening to everyone giving these reports to me that I honestly didn't even ask for, so she probably knows that I'm hosting some sort of event. I suppose I did technically give her a greenlight, so it's truly fine. I'm honestly glad that she chose to suddenly arrive on the night of one of our prestigious festivals.
"Welcome to my home, the Wailing Keep. I hope you did not have any trouble finding it. I would like to introduce you all to a friend of mine, Miu. She is a Witch whom I met in my time traveling to the Forest of Witches." [Nero] said happily while looking at the young black haired lady.
"Thank you, I had no idea that it would be so nice… But it truly stood out from the Village so I found it quite easily." [Miu] said with a smile while bowing her head slightly.
"My name is Cetilla, it's nice to meet you." [Cetilla] greeted.
"I'm Rei~" [Rei] chimed in.
"Nero calls a lot of us by different names, but we don't actually possess names ourselves. He calls me Goddin Village Neith Sama. I'm the Chief of this Village. This is one of my two most trusted retainers, whom Nero last called… Goblin Funk if I recall correctly." [Goddin Village Neith Sama] introduced himself and Goblin Funk.
"I'm known as White Beef Lady." [White Beef Lady] claimed with a grin.
"...Everyone around here calls me Cyclozard." [Cyclozard] while looking somewhat uncomfortable.
"They call me Budget Dragon!" [Budget Dragon] proclaimed while holding his head high.
"I'm Mr Scarecrow. This is my partner, Mrs Scarecrow." [Mr Scarecrow] said in a deep and terrifying voice.
"The others don't really have names yet, and we kind of just call some of them by their races." [Nero] confessed while looking somewhat embarrassed to have been outed for unofficially naming only some of his residents.
"Oh... I see~ It's kind of strange to meet others who don't hold names though, don't you think?" [Miu] asked while tiling her head.
"You're absolutely correct." [Nero] exclaimed while sighing before continuing.
"Alright~ By the end of tonight; I will have personally chosen a name for each and every single one of the residents within the Wailing Keep as well as Halloween. This actually brings me back to the main topic at paw. Tonight, we will be holding the most grand festival that we have ever held before. We will not only allow, but will encourage entry into my Town within Halloween. Anyone within the Goblin Village will be invited, and we will feast on yet another Meglacommon. We'll need to move our fireplace into Halloween in order to properly serve it, and it will be stationed at one of the corners of the Town. The main event will actually be taking place near the Hallowed Gates, but will be audible for the entire Town to hear. No one will be permitted to exit the vicinity of the Town fence gates for their own safety, but they're free to explore anywhere else." [Nero] explained his plan for tonight's festival.
"I'll get a name?" [Wolfenrine] asked as if shocked
"Indeed. It's not official or anything, but it's something?" [Nero] replied.
"Thank you." [Male Lamia] said with a smile. To which, the Female Lamia and male Flutterfairy both began to smile as well.
"Mhm." [Bear] curtly chimed in.
"I'm so excited! The Bandsmen are finally going to perform their secret songs!" [Budget Dragon] exclaimed with a voice filled with passion.
"Don't forget the festivity bath!" [Goblin Funk] clamored.
"I would never!" [Budget Dragon] proclaimed while raising his head to the side as if flabbergasted at the sheer thought.
"..." [White Sheep Lady] let of a terrifying glare at Budget Dragon and Goblin Funk.
"Drinking by the fire is by far the best part." [Vana] chimed in with a smile.
"What?!" [Budget Dragon and Goblin Funk]
"...Halloween?" [Miu] asked.
"It's what you would call the place you came across when you stepped through my portal." [Nero] replied tactly.
"Ahhh~" [Miu] sighed.
"We should encourage the Bandsmen to practice their performances while on the stage, without the Scaraoke." [Cetilla] chimed in thoughtfully.
"You're right. Clansmen, Vana, Rei, and Cetilla; please go over how you wish to perform your number of 'I Put a Sp*ll On You', as well as the other songs on our list from the top of the fountain. Feel free to experiment with flying or jumping from roof to roof, or even joining the crowd at points throughout the songs. As long as the main singers for each song hold one of the microphones, any other Bandsmen are free to add their own bits and pieces to the songs from varying places of the Town without the use of microphones. Just make sure that you don't break anything, and you'll be fine. Weeping Angel should definitely avoid jumping from roof to roof, and remain at ground level." [Nero] added, to which he received a lot of nods and all of the nearby Bandsmen took their leave.
"They're going to be performing songs?" [Miu] asked for clarification.
"Yes. Though they may not look it, all of my Clansmen are quite musically talented." [Nero] replied with a smile.
"Awesome~ I've only heard songs from taverns before." [Miu] explained while visibly excited.
"White Beef Lady performs her songs for me all the time. It's heartwarming." [Wolfenrine] shared his personal experience with Miu.
"Eh? What may I call you?" [Miu] asked.
"You may call me Wolfenrine for now." [Wolfenrine]
"Just to help you out, those two are Lamias, he is a Flutterfairy, he's a Bear, and you've already been acquainted with Budget Dragon, Cyclozard, Goddin Village Neith Sama, and Goblin Funk. Everyone else is either asleep or now practicing in Halloween... So feel free to stay here, eat your fill and get to know everyone else before the festival begins. If you would like, you can join me as I make my final preparations as well." [Nero] referenced each individual remaining at the Dining Hall while talking to Miu before offering with a smile.
"Thanks! I'll stay here for a bit and eat, but where should I find you after I'm finished if your preparations aren't done yet?" [Miu] thanked Nero before asking for clarification.
"Hmmmm~ I'll be going to count Fish and meeting with the Goblin Hooch Distillery first and foremost... Actually, I think I'll need your help with that if you aren't too busy, Goblin Funk. But after that, I'll most likely be in the Throne Room or in Halloween." [Nero] explained to Miu while also asking for Goblin Funk's help with carrying Fish and Hooch.
"You can count on me!" [Goblin Funk] replied while flexing his arms.
"...I'll join you." [Miu] decided.
And with that, we set off to the Kitchen while bidding farewell to the remaining people still in the Dining Hall. We're counting out a gross amount of Fish. 200 Common Fish to be precise. The Goblin Hooch Distillery always tries to force me into paying 12 to 15 Common Fish per bottle. We aren't doing that tonight. I refuse. I'm putting in the largest order I have ever placed from them, and I'm doing it after not placing any orders for a very long time. I'm hoping that they're desperate enough for a sale to agree to 10 Common Fish per bottle. There are 19 non Clansmen living in this Wailing Keep. Miu is a plus one for tonight, so I'm treating her as if she lives here. She's getting a bottle too. We don't need to pay to feed our drunken selves so long as there's a Meglacommon, so it should be fine.
After counting out the 200 Common Fish, we still probably had around 100 left. It's not too bad. It's around enough to feed our residents for an extra day or two if add the extra types of somewhat larger Fish into the pile. I'll just need to make up for it the night after the festival. I feel like for the next Festival, I might just need to purchase alcohol from a more reputable source. They make good Hooch, but I can't keep continuing to fund their Distillery if they refuse to take Coins as payment. It's just not feasible for I, who lives off the land in terms of food as it is. I would much rather begin spending Coins on Hooch than continue with this nonsense of barely being able to afford it at all. I could probably attain alcohol much easier if I just began going through Reygid instead. Sorry, Goblin Hooch Distillery; you're going to need to lower your price drastically or you're losing this customer. Soon.
We're currently stuffing all of the Fish into the large green cloth sac donated to me by the Koalakin Candy Man. This thing sure is handy. Now that I think about it, I probably didn't need Goblin Funk's help at all. Thank you anyways, though. Adding all of the Fish into the sac only ended up taking a few minutes. It's done. We're going~ Goblin Funk's pulling the sac of Fish while riding behind me on my Broom. Miu is also flying on her Broom. To be frank, we're moving quite slowly. Enjoying the scenery and stuff. It feels strange to be flying a Broom with another individual who is also flying their own, separate Broom. I kind of like it. Her Broom appears to be emitting a different color to my orange. Her color is yellow. Just like her eyes. Miu has somewhat shorter black hair and yellow eyes. It's an interesting combo, but I think she might be Human. She has dark, natural looking skin. I realized that I could probably ask her to help heal Milton, so I gave it a shot. Turns out, she's a Lightning elemental… It won't work. Shucks~
"Listen here, sir! I've got 200 Common Fish with me tonight and I want 20 Bottles of Goblin Hooch! I won't take no for an answer, in fact I might not ever even purchase your Hooch again on account of it being far too expensive!" [Nero] called out while pointing at the Goblin Hooch Distillery Owner.
"Too expensive?! We offer the best Goblin Hooch around! You won't find higher quality elsewhere! Explain yourself!" [Goblin Hooch Distiller Owner] roared back while slamming a fist down on a nearby table.
"I need to feed 19 individuals every single night, and my primary source of food is Fish. I can be a considerably wealthy individual if I want to, but I can't increase the number of Fish that I capture. It's not possible. I'm capturing them all. Almost every single one of them, every night. Even then, I can't adequately afford your Hooch for all of the individuals that I feed nearly as often as I wish to. I also don't feel like needing to figure out a new meal plan, considering I personally enjoy my Fish. At this point in time… I can attain much more Hooch from a separate Kingdom for less of a hassle by using Coins and I am inclined to do so." [Nero] admittedly explained his predicament to the Goblin Hooch Distillery Owner.
"..." [Everyone present]
"...Why not just feed low quality Hooch to the others, and purchase my Hooch for yourself?" [Goblin Hooch Distillery Owner] asked while tilting his head.
"...It wouldn't be fair." [Nero] replied while looking down, seemingly as though he had already thought of the idea on several occasions.
"Alright, listen. I'll give you the deal this one time… But if you can get the local Goblin Villagers off of eating berries all day, then I can lower the price of my Hooch for you permanently. The main issue is that we can't find enough berries, because they're always being eaten." [Goblin Hooch Distillery Owner] confessed.
"What if I were to purchase berries from different Kingdoms and bring them to you? Would you be able to give me a portion of the results for an even lesser cost?" [Nero] asked with a smile.
"Well, it would still take a considerable amount of time before they were ready; but yeah." [Goblin Hooch Distillery Owner] replied with a small laugh.
"Okay then~ I already planned to help get the Goblins off of berries, but my plan will take a bit too long; so we'll go with it this way in the meantime?" [Nero] asked while extending a hand to shake the Goblin Hooch Distillery Owner's hand.
"You have yourself a deal. Don't forget to save me a piece of that Meglacommon I keep hearin' about~" [Goblin Hooch Distillery Owner] agreed while accepting Nero's hand with a smile.
"Be there on time!" [Nero] instinctively shot back.
"I wouldn't be late~" [Goblin Hooch Distillery Owner] laughed.
And like that, we were able to procure 20 bottles of Goblin Hooch. The reason for the price being so absurd was because the other local Goblins are only ever eating berries?! Yesh… I see. It all makes sense meow... I really need to solve this food shortage issue around here. It's becoming problematic for my festivals. I really wouldn't mind purchasing alcohol from a different Kingdom, but I also really want to choose how I spend my profits from Clive carefully. The last thing I want would be my Coins ending up back in the hands of pesky nobles. A noble family could own a distillery for all that I know. Now that I think about it, I should really do a background check on Clive and Rudou. I need to know just who I'm supporting here.
Up until now, I simply chose Rudou for my intelligence gathering of other Kingdoms due to him being a prominent Catkin Merchant who does not specialize in any sole type of good. That's kind of dangerous, but it's also helpful for what I need him for. I couldn't gain all too reliable of information from a Merchant who does not trade within multiple Kingdoms. Clive is also a Merchant, but he only runs one store. It's not an enterprise or anything, whereas Rudou manages a Trading Company. It's entirely different. Even if Clive turns out to be from a noble family, there's no way that he's too powerful of an individual. He doesn't even open his establishment during the day time. Rudou could be a different story.
Now that I think about it, I totally forgot to inform Clive of my deal with the Candy Man. That Koalakin is going to show up unannounced to Clive's store and unload a whole lot of Candy onto him, expecting him to keep it safe for me. Yikes. Thankfully, Clive's store has a few floors so he should have plenty of storage. The main storefront is on the main floor, while there's a backroom in the basement. Clive's office is on the second floor, and there's a kitchen as well as some cleaning tools in a separate room. On the third floor are rooms for the staff to rent, and the fourth floor is storage. It's a pretty tall building for this day and age, but it isn't built too well. It's mostly made from wood as far as I can tell. There are quite a few buildings like that in the market and residential area of Reygid.
When we arrived back at the Wailing Keep, we went to store the Goblin Hooch in the Throne Room. I would put them in one of the fridges, but I genuinely don't want them to get in that sloppy mess of Fish. The freezers are no different, as they possess the Meglacommon. Oh, right... Lets just take those out to thaw now~ After slamming down the large Fish onto the ground, I decided to ask the others if they would like to join me in quickly going to Reygid. Goblin Funk seemed quite excited, as he had never come along with me to Reygid before. I suppose this is one of the perks to being an official Cat Crewman? We should get him fake Cat ears from the Cat's Costumery Clothing Brand. We can stick them in his fake afro. Yosh!
I was thinking about things such as we flew to Reygid. Wait a second! No! We can't go like this as things are now! Miu isn't wearing a full set of Cat's Costumery Clothing Brand apparel! We can't show up there looking like this! I won't have it. I need to be like the regional boss coming in for a quick check up to speak with the store manager about stuff and things. In order to present that vibe, I need to be wearing the best of the best, unreleased products that are unattainable. I'm already succeeding in this department, and so is Goblin Funk and the rest of my Cat Crew(o)men. Miu can't be any different. We need Miu to be wearing the best of the best as well. Otherwise, she will ruin our whole image. I've worked tirelessly to attain this image. I can't lose it now. I always made sure that Cetilla, Rei and Milton were wearing Cat's Costumery Clothing Brand apparel when on official Cat's Costumery Clothing Brand business. It won't be any different for Miu. It can't be. All of my plus ones need to be decked out to the max. I was thinking such things as I quickly turned us all around. We're going back home real quick.
They seem confused, but I'll give myself a brain aneurysm trying to explain my whims to them without relying on other world terms… So I'm ignoring their confusion. Thankfully, there are some spare clothes among the level 15 to 20 pieces in the Throne Room. I should be able to scrape together an outfit for Miu if I really try. It's only temporary, but she can have it if she really wants… I guess. I'm kind of conflicted about it considering these pieces are rather valuable if one were to attain them on the market... No, it's currently impossible... But it's a festival and she's my friend? I guess? I kind of just met her a little while ago, but she's decent enough…? I'm probably being too rash here. Oh well~ It would feel strange to give her clothes to wear without explaining my reasoning only to ask for them back later on. It's a festival. She can keep them. It's a gift. All yours~
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There were slim pickings, so she ended up with a costume somewhat similar to my own... In no way in particular. It's just an amalgamation of several different costume pieces. She's wearing a black leather blazer, a tight fitting jester shirt underneath which basically is just a pattern of black and white diamonds and vertical lines. To go with the jester vibes, I picked out some white stiletto heels with embellished fake diamonds on the back. To top it all off, we went with a simple black skirt and a mini top hat headband. The headband hides beneath her hair and there's a mini top hat fixed to it to make it appear as though it's magically sitting on her head. The top hat has a yellow ribbon on it, which goes nicely with her eyes. I think it's a pretty cute outfit for her. I picked it out, as she was just going to aim for a costume while taking pieces from the level 1 to 2 pile. No! That defeats the purpose!
Setting back off on our journey, we made our way to Clive's humble establishment. We flew much faster this time around, as I wanted to get back in time. I want to start the festival some time before midnight. I still couldn't fly at max speed on account of Miu though, so it took us around half an hour to arrive. It's an okay speed. She might have 40 AGI if I'm being honest. It's not great, but it's not absolutely terrible. Mr Scarecrow only has 24 AGI, so… Yeah. It's like that. By the time that we arrived at Clive's establishment, she seemed quite worn out. I suppose I might have pushed her too far. After all, she did fly here earlier from the Forest of Witches. She probably wasn't ready to make a return trip. My MP regeneration is rare, so I guess that's it. I take it for granted. According to Cetilla, it's Time Magic. A mere Human Thunder Elemental Witch with generally only 40 AGI simply can't keep up. I'm way too much of a busy body. I do too many things. I take too many spontaneous trips across territories as if they're nothing at all. Expecting her to be able to keep up with that is just ludicrous. We're definitely returning by Hallowed Gate. I was thinking such things as I approached and opened the doors to Clive's Clothing Store.
"Surprise~ I'm here! It's not a shipment or anything, but I was hoping that I could quickly speak with Clive…" [Nero] shouted as he opened the doors with a smile before he and his two companions entered the establishment.
"Welcome back!" [Female Staff #1] dropped what she was doing to greet Nero and his ensemble.
"Who are they? They look just as fashionable as the others who normally lead the carriages!" [Male Staff #1] excitedly chimed in while gesturing to the two companions, Miu and Goblin Funk.
"Clive is currently in his office. I can take you to meet him~" [Male Staff #2] ignored the previous comment of the younger gentleman and began to show Nero up the stairs. To which, Nero was able to catch a glimpse of several staff members beginning to flock around Miu and Goblin Funk as he was led away.
Entering Clive's office, it would appear as though he's currently working on the ledgers. The staff member left me after guiding me to the door. I suppose he doesn't want to interrupt Clive. It's fine work. You're doing wonderfully! I'll just sit down right here for a moment and wait~ A minute or two later, he finally noticed that I was present and jumped from his chair. I guess I was quiet? I really didn't mean to surprise him…
"Sorry about that, I noticed that you were busy and I didn't want to interrupt." [Nero] confessed while looking at the jumpy Cheetahman.
"Ahem! It's fine. I wasn't expecting you so soon, so I haven't finished preparing the ledgers though. I hope that you can understand." [Clive] cleared his throat before saying, having regained his composure.
"Oh, that's fine. I'm not actually here for a new shipment or pick up. I'm just stopping by to inform you that I'm in need of your assistance. I recently purchased a rather large sum of Candy, and I had it arranged to be dropped off here as I'm not usually within Reygid. I apologize for any inconvenience, is it alright?" [Nero] apologized before asking.
"...Candy? I can't imagine that it's too much trouble given my amount of space, I understand why you chose me for the task… But why Candy and just how much?" [Clive] asked.
"You remember those buckets that I carry around from time to time?" [Nero] asked while tilting his head.
"You almost always carry them around, actually." [Clive] sighed.
"I'm expecting the equivalent of almost 57 more of them filled with varying types of Candy." [Nero] said calculatingly.
"MORE?! Than 57?! Why!?" [Clive] asked while flabbergasted.
"I ordered 7 Gold Coins worth of it. I need it." [Nero] confessed.
"What could you possibly need that much Candy for?" [Clive] sighed.
"This might come as a shock to you, but Candy is the main reason why I can procure so much clothes for our shipments. It's a necessary expense if I'm to remain in business with you." [Nero] side while averting eye contact.
"...I would like to help you procure more Candy." [Clive] said after a long silence.
"What a coincidence. I would like to know if you are of noble blood." [Nero] shot back bluntly.
"...Noble blood? I'm of no such thing. My mother made clothes, and my father sold them. I inherited the store, and that's all there is to it." [Clive] explained while tilting his head.
"Who was supplying the clothes for the store before I appeared?" [Nero] asked while glaring at Clive.
"There are several Clothiers in Reygid. I usually purchased their finest creations before selling them back for higher prices. I purchased them for higher prices than other stores could afford to manage, so the Clothiers would never refuse my offer. Due to this, my store was always regarded as the most high end in Reygid." [Clive] explained while seemingly proud.
"Fine. I'm currently already working with the Candy Man on Una Street... So what did you have in mind?" [Nero] gave up and explained his own circumstances.
"I was in a tavern the other night while meeting up with some other members to the Reygid Merchant's Guild. Your friend, the Koalakin was also there. He claimed that he had purchased some goods from a Human Candy Man in order to help supply a wealthy new client of his demanding a rather large sum of goods. Given what you just said, I believe he was talking about you... It might be in your best interest to meet with the Human Candy Man in the future should your current connection not actually have the goods on hand..." [Clive] said with a smile.
"Ahhh~ So he's not just purchasing ingredients to fill out my order, but also Candy itself?" [Nero] asked with a smile.
"That would seem to be the case." [Clive] replied while taking a sip from his tea.
"Well, it might help me save time if nothing else. I wouldn't blame him altogether if he charged higher rates due to the costs of shipping goods, honestly the Candy is quite cheap in my opinion. Even so, thank you for the information. I'll definitely make use of it. Anyways, I have a festival to go host; so I'll see you for the next shipment." [Nero] said with a smile before thanking Clive and bidding him farewell.
"Throwing a party, are we? Well I won't keep you~ Run along now and make it count." [Clive] said with a grin.
"Always~" [Nero] called as he left.
On arrival back to the main floor, it seems that Goblin Funk and Miu have made friends among the staff. It's time to go, people! We've got a party to throw! We literally just spent 200 Common Fish to make this happen. We've got to go! Meow! Arriving at the Beach took less time. I was holding my Broom with one hand while running beside it. Goblin Funk and Miu were both riding my Broom as I ran. I ran as fast as I could, but it felt awkward to run in that way; so it probably didn't even break the rate of 120 AGI. It was still much better than Miu's flying though. At this point in time, she probably can't even fly at all due to lack of MP.
We walked through a brand new Hallowed Gate, and cancelled it once we had returned to the Throne Room before I replaced it. We were able to catch a glimpse of Crowli and Mr or Mrs Scarecrow performing 'Freaks C*me Out at Night', so I quickly continued running as fast as I could with the two remaining atop my Broom. No peeking! Up until now, we've been keeping a sharp leash on people hearing a full list of the concert track list. White Beef Lady cracked and showed Wolfenrine 'Spo*ky' without any instruments aside from her voice, but other than that… It's totally all been kept hush. 'M*nster Mash' has already been performed publicly multiple times though, so that one's a freebie. 'I Put a Sp*ll On You' was only ever performed once. Tonight's its first re-appearance, and both of those songs might sound much better than before with the help of the Scaraoke machine monster. It's now time to begin moving the fireplace into Halloween and cooking the Meglacommon. We want it to be edible by the time that we call the Goblin Villagers over via the 'Hallowed Howl'. On that line of thought, I decided to position it at the southwest corner of Halloween Town. I ended up needing to just let Goblin Funk and Miu overhear the songs. I'm ashamed of myself for cracking, but these two have been spending the entire night with me; so it really can't be helped.
The northeast corner of Halloween Town is filled with the Arcade, but the other three corners are all just empty small grass fields. I say grass, but the grass isn't very green. It's like… Dark, and lacks color. It's almost brown, but it still looks somewhat yellow at least... By far, the most vibrant part of Halloween is the sky. The jack-o-lantern speaker monsters are also pretty vibrant, I'll give them that much. I asked some lesser Scarecrows to help us with moving the fireplace. It's really just a bunch of rocks, logs to sit on, and a bit of wood that we had slowly gathered in order to burn. There are also two sharp and long sticks. Sometimes, I ask Crowli or the Scarecrows to cut down trees for me and return the logs. I'd like to think that I'm not horrible, but I should definitely procure and plant those apples that I keep thinking about. The area around the Wailing Keep is starting to look less like a forest as time goes on. We've probably cut down 20 or so trees. I'm sorry, Leshi.
After finishing, Goblin Hunk helped us start a fire, and we were able to begin our cooking. I say that, but we've basically just stabbed half of a Meglacommon with a sharp stick and are now rotating it above a fire. Each of the Meglacommon halves have their own sharp stick. Goblin Hunk and I both have adequate STR, so it's really not too difficult to lift half a Meglacommon this way. We're both sitting on opposite ends of the fire while holding up the Meglacommon from each side of the stick. Holding the Fish sideways is where it starts to get difficult. The shape of the Meglacommon's body just makes it feel wobbly. Sometimes the Meglacommon tilters off to the side, rotating on the stick due to gravity. It's a pain. I need Cetilla to put an end to this at once. She only dabbled in Gravity Magic, but even just that much might be enough to solve my problems.
I don't understand how someone can just go off and 'dabble' in a form of magic. I seem pretty freaking hard wired to remain under the war potential tab... So I wonder how she did it? I should ask her some time. I can't live with this amount of uncertainty on my mind. I need to know. This Cat seeks knowledge. I was thinking about things such as we cooked our Meglacommon. The first half seems ready to eat, so I guess it's fine. I gathered my Clansmen and informed them that I was about to begin the festival. First off, I explained that I would need their help to perform the [Weeping Howl] near the entrance to the Wailing Keep before they were to all return to Halloween and assume their positions. I explained to them that when the Hallowed Gate disappeared and reopened, the Goblins would begin to emerge into Halloween. After this point, I would ascend high into the sky and continue with my announcement to which Weeping Angel would reply and begin the introduction into 'I Put a Sp*ll On You'. After 'I Put a Sp*ll On You', I decided that the second performance would need to be 'This is H*lloween', followed by 'Freaks C*me Out at Night', 'I Want C*ndy', 'Sc*ry Monsters (and Super Creeps)', 'Z*mbie', 'Boog*e Monster', 'Sp*oky', and then finally... 'M*nster Mash'.
I decided on this lineup for numerous reasons. First off, Cetilla, Rei, and Vana aren't Clansmen. They'll get tired, and will want to have time to enjoy the festival without performing. Cetilla and Rei are only each in one song, so it's no big deal having them perform the opening. Vana is also in a second song though, but I can't neglect 'This is H*lloween'. In all honesty, we should probably perform it first as a way to introduce all of the Goblin Villagers into the Town... But 'I Put a Sp*ll On You' also has a powerful opening best used after making an announcement. I can't ignore it either. It's best to get their performance out of the way first along with the announcement, as it's a song that most of the Goblins should recognize. They'll probably think that it's just going to be the 'M*nster Mash' after, but will be surprised by 'This is H*lloween' and the following new songs. Mr and Mrs Scarecrow also have a lot of parts, but they love to perform so I wanted to spread their roles out. They're the true stars of this concert if I'm being frank. It's like every second song, at least one of them is performing. Mr Scarecrow was my very first Clansmen. He deserves it.
Exiting the Hallowed Gate with Miu, Goblin Funk, and my Clansmen, I asked Goblin Funk to go and gather all of the Wailing Keep Residents. We all met up near the Wailing Keep entrance, but I asked everyone aside from Goddin Village Neith Sama, Miu, and my Clansmen to go into Halloween and get into position. It's important that it appears as though all of the Bandsmen and Residents were awaiting us in Halloween. It's part of the performance. I'll be making half of an announcement out here, and resuming it in there. During the second half of the announcement, I'll be personally introducing not only each of the Bandsmen, but also every single resident of the Wailing Keep. I'll be finishing the introduction with Weeping Angel, which is where her song comes in. After asking my Clansmen to perform the 'Hallowed Howl', I also asked them to grab the level 1-2 clothes on the way into Halloween and stack them in the southeast corner of the Town. They seemed somewhat frantic, probably because I waited so long to ask them... But it's fine. There's a long announcement to make, and the Goblins will take a few minutes just to gather here. Well, the Clansmen sped off in a hurry. I used this time to ask Goddin Village Neith Sama of the specific races to the Flutterfairies, and Lamias. I didn't want to mess up their introductions. Vana was a Monarch Flutterfairy, her partner was a Swallowtail Flutterfairy. The female Lamia was a Lavendacorn Lamia, while the male Lamia was a Bandoral Boamia Lamia.
Ah~ We're finally ready. I probably could have done this a lot faster without Miu and Goblin Funk tagging along all night, but I had an enjoyable time with them anyways. It's nice to not feel alone while doing daily matters, but tonight is not exactly a daily matter. I'm coordinating the largest festival I have ever held. I need to be on my A game tonight. I'm feeling kind of stressed. We almost didn't make it on time. It's midnight. I was thinking such things as I looked around at the growing crowd of Goblins appearing beneath me. It's a good turnout. It might just be the entire Village. Looking around, I don't see a single Villager without at least one piece of visible clothing donated from the Cat's Costumery Clothing Brand. I think we made it. They all have something. Next is getting a full outfit. Yosh! Cancelling my Hallowed Gate, I began the first half of my speech.
"Come one, come all~ I am Nero, the one True Halloween Cat! Welcome to my home... The Wailing Keep! On this fine night, we shall celebrate and feast on another Meglacommon! I have prepared a pile of clothes for some of you to gain a new piece from, and I will also be formally introducing you all to several of the Wailing Keep's newest residents. The Bandsmen have been diligently practicing to show you all a wonderful time, and so I welcome you all to enter through my [Hallowed Gate]. Bare witness and explore my wondrous Halloween Town!" [Nero] proclaimed while raising his Lantern high and casting the spell before continuing on to enter through the large Gate which appeared moments later.
Entering Halloween, I gained a view of all the Residents and Bandsmen lined up in front of the allegedly trick blood fountain. Ascending above them on my Broom, I waited and watched as hundreds of Goblins and a Miu joined by Goddin Village Neith Sama appeared and began to spread out among the town circle. A vast majority already saw Halloween during the Orc Invasion, but plenty were still taken aback by their surroundings. After a few minutes, I noticed that the portal was no longer bringing in Goblins so I began.
"Now that everyone has gathered, I would like to start the night by going over some ground rules and then introducing each of the Wailing Keep Residents, followed by my Clansmen! First off, you will find that the Meglacommon is being served at the southwest side of Town while the clothing pile should be located at the southeast side of Town. Surrounding the Town, you will see a gated fence. For your own safety, I would heavily advise against attempting to pass over the fence. Moving along to introductions of the Wailing Keep Residents, we have your very own proud Village Chief; or as I currently like to call him… Goddin Village Neith Sama, the Goblin Shaman! Second and third, we have his proud retainers, or as I currently like to call them… Goblin Funk the Goblin Warrior and Cloaked Monk the Goblin Caster! Following after, we have the One Eyed Lizard, Cyclozard. Here, we have the Drake, Budget Dragon. Next, we have varying Catkins, Cetilla Vellisroi; the Sorceress… Rei, the Knuckle Master; and Milton the Spearman! Making our way into the newer faces among us, we have the Monarch Flutterfairy Vana and the Swallowtail Flutterfairy; Hugo. Here, we have the White Rabbit; Rustle… The Black Bear; Ben… The Rifaleesi; Rita… The Wolfenrine; Wilson… The Lavendacorn Lamia; Lora… The Boreal Boamia Lamia; Boris… The Leshi; Lillian… and last but not least, the Kitsune; Kendra. Moving along to my Clansmen, we have the (Tier 5) Scarecrows; Mr and Mrs Scarecrow themselves... The Werewolf; currently dubbed White Beef Lady… The Crowli; Conrad… The (Tier 5) Bat; Benji… The (Tier 3) Crow; Connor… The (Tier 2) Crow; Con… The (Tier 2) Scarecrows; Fred and Daphne… The (Tier 1) Scarecrows; Cosmo and Wanda… The (Tier 2) Bats; Vivian and Edward… The (Tier 1) Bat; Robert… And last, but certainly not least we have the one and only Weeping Angel... Wendel!" [Nero] proclaimed while gesturing to each and every individual as he stated their own newly formed and unofficial names or current nicknames before dramatically passing it off to Wendel, the Weeping Angel.
I feel bad, because i didn't really put much effort into their names… Especially some of my Clansmen. Even so, I don't expect all of these names to be permanent. Maybe the ones for the Wailing Keep Residents, but many of these will certainly change in the future. I need to give a genuine name to the Goblins, Mr and Mrs Scarecrow, and to Cyclozard and Budget Dragon. They're the ones most desperately needing a real name. I kind of like Cyclozard's name though... A lot. I also really like to call on Mr Scarecrow while saying 'Mr Scarecrow'. It just feels right to me. For now, this will need to do. It's too late to undo what's already been said. Yosh! After I finished making my speech, Weeping Angel took it all away and performed beautifully. Everything was a success. The jack-o-lantern speaker monsters roared loudly, and I had an amazing time. The Goblin Villagers took it upon themselves to explore Halloween Town and find the feast, the clothes, and some of them even ended up trying the arcade games. I needed to have one Clansmen stationed by the Scaraoke machine monster all night in order to properly choose the songs, so it ended up being a task that was passed off on rotations.
I must say... All of the songs were fantastically performed. Even 'This is H*lloween', which I thought to likely be the most challenging ended up being wonderful. They deserved and were given a standing ovation potentially due to a lack of chairs. Truly. Well done~ After the second song of the night, I started to physically walk the streets and joined the crowd to get a first hand perspective. Having the lesser Tier Bandsmen performing at various spots of the Town worked splendidly. I truly felt as though the performance engulfed every direction that I would turn. By the time that Vana's second song ended, I decided that it was time to unveil the Goblin Hooch to the Wailing Keep residents and to Miu. Only the Clansmen are scheduled to perform for the rest of the night, so it's fine. I had some of the others help me gather everyone to meet up near the Meglacommon. After they all arrived, I handed everyone their own bottle and made a toast to the festival.
We continued on to dance along to the songs held by the Bandsmen until the final song on the tracklist had played. At this point, I asked for an encore of 'This is H*lloween' a second time before the Bandsmen continued on to perform whatever they liked. They happily accepted the request and we enjoyed one last dance alongside all of the Bandsmen as they performed it with vigour, joining the crowd as they did so. After the song has ended, the Bandsmen continued on to perform their own original songs and after around an hour; we made our way to the Lake for our festivity bath~
The splash fight was grand. There were a lot of participants, but Kendra the Kitsune was incapable of joining us. She's a Fire type. It couldn't be helped. She was extremely dejected, but I told her that White Beef Lady is the same way... And she perked up a little bit at the thought of not being alone in the ordeal. Really though… How is it that among all of us, there are only two who have a main element of Fire? I have a sub Fire element, but I guess it's not prominent enough to incur the wrath of the lochness monster? Oh well~ I'm not complaining. Milton also wasn't capable of joining us on account of his injuries, so he stayed at the Beach. Mrs Scarecrow joined us this time, but Mr Scarecrow and Conrad the Crowli needed to stay back to handle performing.
After finishing our splash fight, we dried off by the Lake and spent some time talking as we drank. It was a fine time. I learned from Lillian the Leshi, that the Deer had originally come from the Forest of Fae. It figures, considering the Leshi is a walking bundle of roots. Honestly, I think Sophia's reign left a considerable impact on this side of the continent. There are a lot of Easter type Clansmen around here, even 500 years after the fact. It might also have something to do with the climate around here though. These lands might just be optimal for Easter types. Really though, judging by Halloween's landscape… I don't really think swamp lands are actually optimal for anyone. I can't imagine being forced to actually survive within Halloween indefinitely. It makes sense why the Crows would live in the swamps to avoid predators, because no one else would even bother trying to live there. Even then, they still needed to venture out into other areas in search of food. There's probably just about nothing to eat in the wilderness around my Halloween Town. It's almost like all of Halloween is just some wasteland with a pretty sky... And overly daunting monsters. Those too.
After we arrived back at the Wailing Keep, we entered through the Hallowed Gate to return to the concert. It was still going strong~ Several of us gathered near the Meglacommon while others went out to dance with the Bandsmen near the fountain. I was among the ones near the fountain for a considerable amount of time. I had a chance to listen to several of the original songs by the Bandsmen, so that was nice. I had heard most of them already in the past, but there were a few new ones. They sadly don't have names as far as I can tell. I would name them myself, but I don't really think that I have the right to. I don't even think I had the right to give unofficial nicknames to everyone either, I totally did that… But this is different! This is like their own artwork! I need to respect their own pacing with coming up with their own name for it. Truth be told, anyone here could have come up with their own name... But they waited so damned long that I came up with names for them. Miu convinced me to do it! Blame her.
By the time that dawn was approaching, the Bandsmen bowed to their remaining audience and I rose above everyone one final time to inform them that the festival was coming to an end. Thanking everyone for coming to celebrate alongside us, I bid them all a farewell and requested that they vacate Halloween at their own leisure before explaining that I would be moving the Hallowed Gate to be situated within the Wailing Keep and that anyone left inside would need to exit the Wailing Keep in order to return to the Goblin Village. Saying goodnight to the residents and praising the Band's performances, I left Halloween and moved the Hallowed Gate back to its preferred position. I made sure to let Miu know that she could find an empty room in the basement to spend the night in. I probably should have told her sooner, but thankfully she doesn't seem as though she's about to fall over or anything. Making my way into the Treasure Room, I cast [Daily Candy], got undressed, and went to sleep in my smallest Cat form. Good morning~