Missteps V.2

Chapter 51 – Festival Day

In the morning, everyone was up bright and early due to the sounds of the festival. Just outside their windows, vendors got warmed up and went about trying to out-do each other with their cries. Music filtered in and out as hired musicians worked to draw in crowds.

The members of M.A. gathered together over a breakfast of french toast and mulled breakfast wine. Hadarai stumbled down with Carric and joined them. He seemed to be even less of a morning person than his sister as he stayed half-awake at the table. Once everyone had gathered, Jun got their attention.

"Lia and I were talking, and we had an idea." Jun set a heavy sack on the table. "This is the money we got from Loiwin. How does everyone feel to getting ten gold pieces, and then using the remaining thirty as party funds?"

Iados raised his hand. "What exactly would the 'party funds' pay for?"

Lia leaned forward. "Expenses such as group meals, room costs, and upkeep for the horse and cart."

"I can get behind that." Elaine nodded. "Who's going to carry it?"

Kerri pointed at Jun. "I think someone would have to be crazy to try to pick pocket someone who looks like him."

Iados shook his head and nodded towards his choice. "Nah, I say we let Elaine do it. I know a lot of thieves who wouldn't dare lay a hand on a priest. Not to mention the fact that she's already been carrying around those jewels with no issue."

Elaine sighed. "Why don't we split it up between the two of us? Jun can carry the coin, and I'll handle the jewels. That way in case anyone is dumb enough to rob us, there's a better chance of us not going fully broke." Everyone agreed to that plan.

As Jun counted out everyone's ten gold, Lia proposed her second idea.

"What do you mean by 'gift exchange'?" Iados tilted his head.

Lia smiled wide. "Everyone draws a name randomly, and then they have to give a gift to that person. This way no one goes broke trying to do seven presents each."

Ander cocked an eyebrow. "You're just assuming that we'd give out presents to each other?"

Jun shook his head with a smile. "That is a part of the holiday. We just wanted to make sure that everyone got something, and no one went broke. When the names are drawn, you'd keep the name secret until tonight. We figured we'd gather later and do the exchange as a group thing."

Kerri grinned. "I think it's a great idea. Is there a limit on how much we can spend?"

Jun shook his head. "It's your money."

"Count me in." Kerri reached into her bag and pulled out a sheet of parchment. She started to rip it into strips. "Is it just us, or is Hadarai joining in as well?"

Hadarai held up his hands. "I'd rather not. This is a team exercise, and I'm not a part of your team." He reached into his robes and pulled out a small charcoal pencil. He handed it to Kerri, who used it to write down names. "This whole affair is bringing back memories."

"Oh?" Elaine reached over and started to fold up the strips. "What kind?"

"When we were smaller, our parents would do something similar like this with us kids." Hadarai looked over at Lia with a large grin. "Do you remember that year Niall got you a hamster? The moment you opened the bag, that thing launched itself and tangled itself in your hair. It took three of us to finally get it out."

Lia didn't smile. "I remember how it pooped in my hair and you all laughed. I was miserable as you guys pulled out clumps of my hair to get it."

The grin fell from Hadarai's face. "I don't remember that. I remember Theren suggesting that we cut it out, but you told us not to. You even named the hamster Jumper, and you used to carry him around in a basket."

Lia narrowed her eyes. "That hamster hated me. You and the others named him Jumper, and would hide him in my things to terrorize me."

The elven brother visibly deflated. "Oh, well I guess time made me see it differently. Sorry." He turned his attention back to his nearly empty plate of food. The air at the table was tense, with the other occupants all throwing glances at the two siblings.

Elaine finished the folding and shook the seven pieces of parchment in her hands. She cleared her throat. "Alright, draw a name, and if you draw your own put it back." Everyone drew a name. Shortly after, Kerri and Iados were the first to leave the table, and then Ander a short time later. They all agreed to meet up in the main square for lunch.

A few hours later, Iados groaned as he ruffled his hair. Kerri, who sat beside him on the lip of a frozen fountain, looked up at him. "We're never going to get customers that way."

"It's not the customers." Iados shook his head and held up the hand-written sign a little higher on his chest. "I was just trying to think of something to get Carric for the gift exchange."

"At least put a smile on as you think." Kerri demonstrated her own smile at a passing couple. Her fingers strummed lightly on the lute in her lap.

Iados smiled and held his sign above his head. "What do you think I should get him?"

"Are you looking for something functional, sentimental, or funny?" She caught the eye of a passing male and pointed up at the sign. The man slowed and read over the price list for various types of kisses or songs.

"Which one do you think he'd prefer?" Iados flashed a smile as the man walked over.

Kerri shrugged. "No idea." She turned her attention to their customer. "How can we help you today?"

The man pointed at the sign. "Don't you think four silver is a little steep for a kiss?"

The akudaem inclined their head towards a small bowl on the fountain lip. The bowl held quite a bit of coin, mostly silver with a few gold pieces. "No one's complained so far."

The man crossed his arms. "What makes the two of you so special from anyone else? I can get a kiss for a free if I try long enough at a tavern."

Iados stood up, and put his arm over the man's shoulder. "That four silver pays for the privilege of either kissing the mouth of a demon," he pointed to himself, "or kissing the lips that once captured the heart of an actual prince." He gestured grandly at Kerri.

The man stroked his chin and considered it for a minute. Finally he grinned and nodded. "Why not, I'll take a kiss from her." He dug into his coin purse and pulled out four silver.

Kerri walked over, took the coins from him, and then kissed him. It lasted less than a minute, but the man had a very happy grin on his face when it was over. Kerri lightly pushed him away. "Make sure you tell your friends. We'll be walking around the festival all day."

The man nodded. "Oh I will, I promise."

Iados pouted as he watched the man walk away with a bounce in his step. "How come everyone keeps picking you?"

The bard dropped the coin into their bowl. "Maybe you'd be picked more if you didn't act so much like my pimp." She turned and sat back down on the fountain lip. "Now, back to Carric's present, how about getting something for Shomma?"

"Maybe, I just don't know." Iados took a moment to look around the square.

This square was much larger than the one Flyta's inn sat in. Whereas that one was for locals, this one was for the Summer People. The End of Year Festival was the only time in the winter that it was used. Right now, the square was surrounded by different market stalls and barkers. The fountain that the two of them had set up shop at was surrounded by other entrepreneurs. Some of them were entertainers who performed juggling or musical acts, while others hawked jewelry and other shiny baubles. Along one end of the square, different carnival games including axe throwing, ring toss, and target practice games had been set up.

"What kinds of gifts did you give your crew mates on The Howling King?" Kerri reached over and took the sign from him.

Iados sighed and sat down heavily next to her. "Honestly? I just gave them coin to spend on whatever they wanted the next time we went to shore."

"I'm sure we'll find something that'll catch your eye." Kerri spotted a familiar face in the crowd and waved them over.

Jun laughed as he saw their sign. "So this is what you guys have doing. Business been good?"

"More so for Kerri than me." Iados stood up. "What have you been doing all morning?"

"Bit of shopping, and then swung by the inn for Flyta." Jun grinned. "I passed by Lia and Ander on my way here. They're at Chaxelle's booth up near the entrance to the square."

Kerri stowed her lute away. "Lead the way." The three of them headed off with Jun in the lead.

Chaxelle stood with Ander out front when they approached. Under a large tarp, seven bookcases had been set up around the interior of the booth, with two more back to back in the middle. Each bookcase was filled with books.

Iados whistled. "I don't remember you having this many books when I visited your wagon."

The dark-skinned human man smiled. "Not that you saw. Glad to see you looking better. I hope you don't hold that little 'knocking you out' thing against me."

The akudaem walked up to the bookseller. "Thanks for the reminder." He socked Chaxelle across the jaw. Startled gasps went up from passing patrons, but Jun waved them off.

Chaxelle pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at his now bleeding lip. "Are we even now?"

Iados clapped the man on the shoulder. "Yep." He spied Lia in the back corner of the booth and headed over. Jun wandered over to a bookcase.

"You ok?" Kerri asked Chaxelle.

The bookseller nodded. "It was my fault for asking. Never did learn to just keep my mouth shut." He gave a small chuckle and turned back to Ander. "Anyway, the booth is set up near Piedmont Street if you want to check it out."

Kerri tilted her head. "What booth?"

"Chaxelle says that the Circle has a booth set up to evaluate magical items." Ander explained his arms crossed. "I don't really believe it though."

"What's not to believe?" A voice said from behind him. Ander turned, and saw that Hadarai, Carric, and Elaine had joined them. Hadarai continued. "Last I checked the Circle wasn't picky on how they got their goods."

"Exactly what I've been saying." Chaxelle chuckled. He held out his hand to the new face. "Chaxelle."

Hadarai smiled and took the hand. "Hadarai, this your booth?"

"It is indeed." Chaxelle grinned. "My usual inventory consists of tomes of the magic and rare variety. What's here are just some other titles that I've picked up. Are you looking for anything specific?"

"Possibly, but this isn't the right environment to discuss it." Hadarai suggested.

"Completely understandable," Chaxelle drew a card out of a coat pocket. "Look me up after the festival, and we can have a more private chat."

Hadarai took the card with a smile. "Sounds like a plan, I do plan on being in town for a couple of weeks at least."

"We're actually on the hunt for some lunch; do you want to join us?" Carric asked the bookseller.

The bookseller sighed. "I would, but the girl I hired to help out just stepped out for lunch a few minutes ago and won't be back for about an hour."

Carric sighed. "Oh well, maybe next time."

Lia, Iados, and Jun came up to join the rest of them. Lia had about six books in her arms, while Jun had one.

Chaxelle's face lit up. "Ah, I see you found something." He reached out for Jun's book first. "The Dowry Wars¸ nice choice," The bookseller flipped through the well-worn book. Several of the pages inside had creases or were folded, while the cover had seen better days. "What do you say to ten silver?"

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Jun nodded. "I can do that." He handed over a gold piece.

Chaxelle took the coin, and then turned his attention over to Lia. He took the books and scanned the titles. "Got a thing for history, don't you." He joked as he walked over to a small desk and made some notations on a scratch piece of paper. "Ok, so the diaries and journals all together will run you about 30 silver, except for Throne Divided." Chaxelle held up a large five-hundred page book with no cover. "This one is about 220 silver."

Lia gasped. "Seriously? Is there any sort of discount for the missing cover?"

"That's including the missing cover." Chaxelle set it down and picked up a medium-sized leather-bound book. "This one, A Stranger's Loyalty, is 183 silver. Don't know if you noticed, but it's got the Dwarven and Elvish versions in it." Chaxelle thumbed through the pages to show her. "The alternate history book, My Own Beginning, is only 15 silver. Total for everything is 448 silver, or about forty-five gold pieces."

Lia's face fell as she sighed heavily. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off.

"I've got it," Hadarai said with a smile. He reached into a small bag at his waist and began to pull out gold coins and count them. "Can you throw in a bag as well? I don't want her to have to carry them all day."

"For an extra five silver I can have my helper deliver them to Flyta's." Chaxelle said as he took the coins.

Hadarai nodded. "Much appreciated."

Lia walked over to her brother. "Hadarai, you don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do. Consider this as repayment for emotional damages from the hamster incident." Hadarai smiled, then reached out and lightly ruffled Lia's hair.

The group said their goodbyes to Chaxelle, and headed off in search of food. There was no shortage of food vendors, and soon enough everyone had found something to their liking. After they ate, the group decided to check out the carnival games.

"Five copper gets you three throws of the axe!" The barker yelled as the group drew closer. "Get two axes in the middle of the ring and you get a prize!" He held up a small doll made out of straw.

Kerri nudged Jun. "Wanna give it a try?"

Jun nodded. "Why not, I'm sure Kai would love the doll."

"I'll try too!" Ander said as he followed Jun over. Everyone else murmured in agreement and headed over. They all paid and took turns at the game.

Carric stepped up first, and though he did hit the target twice with the axe, neither of them managed to stick in the wood. Either the metal head bounced off, or it was the handle that hit instead.

Elaine's first axe stuck, but the rotation was wrong on the final two attempts and it was the weapon that bounced off each time.

Hadarai only had one hit, and his other two throws didn't even hit the target.

Lia fared even worse than her brother.

On Jun's attempt, when the axe handle hit the board it actually splintered. His other two attempts were less successful.

Kerri came close when she got a hit and stick on her second attempt, but her final axe fell short of the board.

Luckily, the Barker had smaller axes for Ander to use, though he almost reconsidered after Ander succeeded in the task in only two throws.

Eager to repeat the success, Iados stepped up. His first throw hit the target, but didn't have enough oomph to stick. On his second throw, the axe stuck, but it was only centimeters outside the ring. Luckily, or unluckily, the third hit didn't stick either.

"How is it that Ander, the smallest and arguably the least combat experienced of the group, is the one walking away with a doll?" Iados argued as the group walked away from the axe game.

"Probably because the game is rigged for those of human height, not halfling." Carric reasoned. "We probably would have had better luck if we'd gotten to use the hand axes too."

Ander huffed. "Did you ever stop and think that maybe I just have skill?" The wizard handed the doll over to Jun. "This is for Kai, her first gift from M.A."

Jun smiled as he took the gift. "Thank you, I'm sure she'll love it."

"What does M.A. stand for?" Hadarai asked.

"Minions of Age," Kerri stated.

"Million Aces," Iados added.

"Merry Acolytes," was Elaine's answer.

Carric shrugged. "Master of Anteaters."

Lia laughed. "We're still workshopping on a new name. Technically the Circle gave us one, but we all hate it."

The group wandered around together for another hour or so before they split up again. Some still had a gift to find, while Ander had a shift with Flyta.

Hadarai stuck with Carric and Elaine as they both shopped the various booths for their respective gifts. "Elaine, can I ask you a question?"

Elaine set down the pot she'd been examining, and turned to look at Hadarai. "Sure, what is it?"

"I've heard that clerics have the ability to restore people, is that right?"

Elaine narrowed her eyes. "It depends on what the issue is, or what needs to be restored. Is this a problem you have?"

Hadarai shook his head. "Not me, but I think Lia does."

Elaine's eyes widened. "She hasn't said anything."

"I don't think she realizes." The elf sighed. "You remember that story I told this morning, about the hamster?" She nodded. "Well, that's not the first time she and I have remembered something completely different."

The cleric shrugged. "Sometimes that happens, especially in memories as children."

Hadarai shook his head. "In every memory we've come across, her version is worse. Her versions have her isolated or being the target of a cruel prank by my brother's and me. It doesn't even make that much sense, because we barely saw Lia when we were kids. We didn't know her enough to want to bully her."

"What do you mean you barely saw her?" Carric asked as he came closer to the two of them.

"When she was very young, she went to stay with my uncle Himo. It was only supposed to be for a few weeks. A storm had blown through and caused major damage to our home, so we were all kind of separated while it was repaired. Afterwards, Lia didn't want to come home." Hadarai sighed. "It was like a switch had been flipped and she suddenly preferred our uncle to her own parents. My parents tried to get her back, but Uncle Himo petitioned the courts to make Lia legally his heir."

Elaine's jaw dropped. "Wait, he wanted the courts to just take Lia from your parents?"

Hadarai nodded. "And it worked. The courts gave him custody of her."

"Just like that?" Carric questioned.

Hadarai nodded. "My parents already had four male children, while my uncle, who by the way outranks my father, was childless. So, the court decreed that it was my father's duty to support his brother and to provide him with an heir." He went to sit on a nearby bench, and his audience duo followed. "After that, our uncle didn't let us see her. When we did manage to see her around town or at functions, she wasn't anything at all like we remembered. I only joined the Sanctum to get close to her again. That's when I started to notice the discrepancy in our memories. I got surer that something was wrong after she was in jail and we truly got to talk."

Carric held up a hand. "Wait, Lia was in jail?"

Hadarai nodded again. "She woke up one morning next to her then-boyfriend's dead body. We eventually proved her innocence, but she was in jail for nearly a year. The more we talked during that time, the more I realized just how much Himo had poisoned her against us."

Elaine crossed her arms. "Wow, no wonder the two of you are so frosty with each other. But, why do you think I could 'restore' her memories?"

"I think Himo did something to them." Hadarai clenched a fist. "We tracked down an ex-girlfriend of the dead boyfriend. At first she said that she didn't do anything, so Himo sent me out of the room because he wanted to speak to her alone. I figured he was going to bribe her to say something different. I looked in through the peephole, and I watched the ex-girlfriend recount the story. As she did, Himo reached out and touched her head, and a stone on one of his rings began to glow. The light from the ring circled her head, and the story she told began to change. Himo had her recount the story three times, and each time details changed until by the end she'd confessed to the murder."

Carric reached up and scratched his chin. "So, you think he changed the ex's memories. And that he did the same thing to Lia to poison her against you and your parents."

Hadarai nodded. "I've been looking for a way to prove it, but Himo is careful." He looked up at Elaine. "Can you restore a person's memories?"

Elaine reached up and fingered the necklace around her neck. "I'm not sure if I can or not. If you're right, then this has been going on for years. If we restore the memories all at once, it could break her mind."

"There has to be something we can do." The elf shook his head and didn't speak for several moments. Finally, he stood up. "If you could, please do what you can. In the meantime, I'll continue my search. I'm going to head back to the inn, and I'll see you guys tonight." He turned to leave, but paused and turned back. "Also, don't tell Lia what I've said. I don't know if she'd believe me or not, but she's already breaking off from Himo in her own way. I don't want to do anything that will drive her back to him."

Elaine nodded. "I can reach out to some of my church contacts, and see if they have any advice."

"We'll do what we can to keep that Himo creep away from her." Carric added.

"Thank you." Hadarai left.

The rest of the day passed uneventfully. Just after dusk, the group members gathered back at the inn. It was practically empty as they huddled around a table, gifts in hand.

"Alright, who's first?" Carric reached out and grabbed a cookie from the plate in the middle. The cookies were Flyta's gift for them.

"I'll go." Elaine handed a small cloth-wrapped bundle over to Jun.

Jun quickly discarded the cloth, and revealed a very plain flask. He opened the top and took a sniff. "Oh, you got the good stuff." His eyes twinkled as he took a small sip, and grinned. "This'll keep me warm on the road. Thank you."

"Me next," Ander pushed a small box over towards Lia.

Inside was a small vial of liquid. She carefully removed the stopper, and immediately the aroma of jasmine and mint wafted out. "Can I safely assume that this is perfume?" She replaced the stopper.

Ander nodded. "My sisters used to go crazy for it, so I thought you'd enjoy it."

Lia smiled gratefully at the halfling. "I do love it, thank you. Actually, I ended up drawing your name." She carefully passed over a medium-sized box.

Ander pried off the lid, and instead was a coffee percolator, with a small bag of beans nestled underneath it. He grinned as he held up the device. "This is going to make mornings so much better."

"You're going to share, right?" Carric asked.

Ander flicked his eyes over to the half-elf. "I'll think about it."

Jun chuckled. He picked up a mess of fabric and lightly tossed it over to Iados. The akudaem started to unravel it, but soon discovered that there wasn't anything in the fabric. He looked at the berserker confused.

"Your present is the fabric. It's a hammock." Jun explained. Iados's eyes widened, and he began to stretch out the fabric. "I thought it might remind you of your pirate days."

Iados grinned. "Oh, I can't wait to try this out. Thanks!"

"My turn," Carric gave Kerri a large paper-wrapped item. "Just so you know Hadarai and Elaine helped me pick this out."

Elaine scoffed. "All we did was say 'yes' when you asked if it looked nice."

Kerri unwrapped the item, and inside was a dark green, winter wool coat with a fur-lined hood. She quickly stood up and put it on. The length of the coat ended just past her knees. "It's perfect!" She gave Carric a huge hug.

The ranger laughed. "I'm glad you like it. Now, the sleeves are also removable, you just undo the ties at the shoulders." He smiled as Kerri excitedly revealed the ties under a flap of fabric.

Kerri gave Carric another hug. "I love it, thank you!" Kerri then reached under her seat, and took out a wooden box.

"I remembered how much you used to love this." She said as she handed the box over to Elaine.

Elaine opened the box. On the underside of the lid was a checkered board. Simple wooden figures in two different colors were packed inside. Elaine smiled and looked up at her friend. "Thank you."

Kerri settled down next to her. "You're welcome; just remember that I'm rubbish at the game, so you'll have to get one of these guys to play you."

Ander raised his hand. "I will gladly crush you anytime, anywhere."

Elaine replaced the lid. "We'll see who does the crushing."

Iados sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Man, I really should have gone first." He handed a long wooden box over to Carric.

Carric opened the lid, and laughed. Inside was an assortment of different lures and fishing lines. He picked up a bright green fuzzy lure and examined it. "These are actually pretty nice." He looked at Iados. "Thanks."

Iados reached over and tapped the inside of the lid. "There's a fishing pole stashed there." Carric opened the compartment and revealed a three-segmented pole. He removed the segments and attached them. The Ranger then stood up and took a few practice swings, a huge grin on his face.

Kerri leaned over to Iados and whispered. "Good call."

Lia looked around the group. "Alright, is that everyone?"

"Actually, we've got one more." Ander held up a small cloth bag. "This was waiting for me when I stopped by the Circle booth. My Master sent a gift for the group, with a note." Ander pulled out a small yellowed envelope. He broke the seal and pulled out the small note and read it aloud. "'This should keep you all alive. It's only a loaner, so don't go breaking it. Ander knows the password. Good luck. Also, might I recommend that you guys stay away from the following for a bit longer: ocean, Esterwill, and Nydag. I hear Winter Horn is nice this time of year.'"

"Not much of a sentimentalist is he?" Elaine said as she watched Ander put the note back in the envelope,

Ander shrugged. "Sometimes he is, it just depends on if he cares or not." Ander started to untie the knot on the bag. "We should heed the warning and stay away from those three places though. My Master is skilled with predicting the future."

Iados scowled. "I don't like that Esterwill is specified. It makes me think that the situation there is only going to get worse."

Jun crossed his arms. "At least you've got an idea what's going on there, I've no idea why Nydag is on that list."

Ander finally got the knot undone and opened the bag. His mouth dropped as he saw what was inside. He reached in and pulled out a small stone cube. "I can't believe he sent this."

Kerri leaned forward and peered at it. "What is it?"

Ander's eyes twinkled. "Follow me." He left the table and headed out to the small yard area behind the inn. He set the stone down in the middle of the yard, and backed up.

"Ok, so to activate it, you have to say the password, which is actually a phrase." Ander reached out his hand and uttered a short phrase in elvish. Lia snorted and quickly hid her grin behind her hand. Kerri, Carric, and Elaine all had similar grins and laughter. There wasn't time for explanation, as the cube began to expand. First, the one-inch by one-inch cube stretched out along the ground until it was twenty feet on every side. From there, it began to rise thirty feet in the air. The walls were composed of different size stones stacked upon one another. A wooden door faced the group.

Ander skipped forward and opened the door. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Wordlessly, the group entered the space.

Inside, wall sconces flared to life as the group entered. On the wall next to the main door was a large desk with a bench big enough for two to sit comfortably. Above the desk, was a map of the continent. It showed not only Marblebrooke, but the Kingdom of Acadym, the Nydag Empire, Kingdom of Pryria, and Stonepine across the Great Divide. On the adjacent wall stood a large, empty bookcase, and an empty wardrobe.

In the back corner was a small kitchen area that included counters, cupboards, a wood stove, and a barrel full of water. Nearby was a large table that would seat all of them, and two wooden benches.

Iados was the first up the ladder to the second floor.

The second floor consisted of a small fireplace, an empty cupboard, and three doors. Through the first door, was a small privy that consisted of a singular enclosed bench, and a wooden seat. A bowl and pitcher sat on a small pedestal next to the door.

The other two doors led to two small bedrooms, each with two sets of bunk beds. Underneath the beds, were four trunks. In addition, stacked wooden lockers were jammed into corners. Already, each of the seven members had one locker and one trunk with their names inscribed on them.

Everyone took their time exploring the tower. Except for the furniture and map, the tower was empty. Eventually everyone made their way to the parapet-ringed roof.

"This place is great." Iados clapped Ander on the back before he settled on top of the wall.

Ander grinned. "I can't believe my Master is letting us use this. This is going to save us a ton of money."

"What's the deal with the toilet? Are we going to have to empty it?" Kerri wrinkled her nose.

Ander shook his head. "There's a simple disintegration spell at the bottom. On that note, I highly advise that you don't go sticking any body parts in."

"Not much food storage, especially for fresh meat." Carric advised.

The halfling shrugged. "We'll just have to improvise."

"Can this thing be set up anywhere?" Elaine asked.

Ander nodded. "As long as it's a relatively flat ground and the place has room, sure. Only place I've really seen it have issues with are hillsides."

"Do you know what the phrase you said means?" Lia smiled as Ander shook his head. "You said, 'pancakes make me dance'." Ander groaned and rolled his eyes.

"I could have sworn this wasn't here this morning." A voice yelled from the ground. Everyone looked over the side, where Hadarai stood.

Iados grinned and yelled down. "Course it was, you're just blind."

Hadarai laughed and shook his head. "Well come on down, they're setting up a concert in the square."

Kerri perked up. "I almost forgot about that!" She was the first one down the ladder. Everyone followed after and joined the town of Yeabrook as they welcomed in a new year with music and laughter.v