Getting ready to go somewhere with four people who have completely different relationships with the concept of punctuality was its own kind of dungeon. The obstacles were different. The chaos was comparable.
Tessa had been awake since dawn. I knew this because when I opened my eyes there was a small paper parcel on my nightstand with my name on it in her handwriting, which meant she had been in our room while we were sleeping, which I chose not to think about too hard. Inside was a thin woven bracelet with a small charm pressed into it — a shape I didn't immediately recognize but that felt significant in the way Tessa's gifts always did.
There was a note folded underneath.
"It's a traditional halfling charm! Supposed to bring good luck for the season ahead. I made one for everyone. Don't lose it. — T"
I put it on without thinking about it. As I did, my eyes went to the silver ring on my finger and then to the copper pendant from Hask around my neck. I was apparently collecting jewelry. I wasn't upset about it.
Kael's identical package sat unopened on his nightstand. Kael himself was still a blanket with hair. "Hey. Wake up. We gotta get ready for the festival."
He rolled over and mumbled sleepily. "Just five more minutes, mama. I'm not ready for swim class…"
I held back a laugh and nudged him again. "Kael."
He responded by pulling the blanket up over his head.
I sighed. Every morning with this.
I inhaled and shouted in my best Hask impression. "LITHWELL! OUTTA BED, NOW, OR IT'S FIVE HUNDRED PUSH-UPS!"
He shot up in bed like a cannonball. "Sorry, Sir! Let me get dressed and –"
He looked at me, and his face went from a look of terror to one of indignation. "That was supremely uncool of you."
"Well, start being easier to wake up. Tessa's waiting."
He rubbed sleep from his eyes and grumbled. "Right. Festival. Okay."
Once we had dressed in our civilian clothes, we headed to the mess hall for breakfast. The main breakfast crowd had filed out for the day, judging by the guild employees clearing trash and wiping tables.
Ojola gave me a grin as I approached the food line, empty tray in hand. The orc woman waved her ladle in my direction. "Mornin', Lorne. You're eating after dawn. Hask give you the day off?"
I set my tray down, trying to pretend that the food that awaited me was all I could think about. "Yeah, we're going with Tessa to the Swiftfoot festival."
Ojola nodded sagely. "She mentioned that. She's excited to go with you."
Something in her tone told me she was saying less than she wanted to. "Go with the team, you mean."
She grinned. "Sure."
She didn't even bother to ask what I wanted; she had come to know me well enough. She piled my tray high with boar sausage and potatoes. "Make sure you eat quickly. If Tessa's energy this morning tells me anything, it's that she might explode if she doesn't get to the festival soon."
I looked around and couldn't find my halfling companion. "Did she say where she was headed when she left?"
"She said she had to go talk to that Alara girl."
I exchanged glances with Kael, but we said nothing.
Once we were seated at our usual spot, Kael poured some milk and sugar into his coffee and stirred thoughtfully. His brain was working.
I sipped from my own steaming mug. "What are you working on?"
He didn't give any sign of hearing me for a moment, nor did he look at me when he spoke. "The prototype."
I didn't know if I liked the sound of those words. "The prototype?"
He nodded. "Yeah. For the flaregun."
"Wait…you have something built?"
"Sort of."
"That was three days ago!"
"Well, I'm excited about it."
"When did you have time? We've been working."
"Meal time. After you go to sleep. In the privy."
"Remind me never to touch the prototype."
He reached into his belt pouch and brought forth a mechanical object that looked vaguely familiar — a modified flare gun chassis with a new barrel assembly and what appeared to be a small hopper mechanism attached to the side. It looked like something that would end an argument permanently. "You're not bringing that."
He looked up. "It's not finished."
"You're still not bringing it."
"I just want to see if the hopper feeds correctly under—"
"Kael. Halfling festival. Children will be there."
A pause. "...Fine."
After breakfast, he informed me that he was going back to the dorm to put the prototype away. I let him go and headed to the foyer, where I assumed we were meeting.
I was surprised to see that Alara was already waiting there.
She didn't see me right away, and I stood there and watched her for a moment.
She was seated on a stone bench across the way, near one of the large windows that let actual, non-magical sunlight into the building. Her long golden hair was meticulously braided into a plait down her left shoulder.
She wore a well-fitted, emerald green dress and an elegant-looking silver circlet that I guessed was of elven design. Hask's pendant hung around her neck, resting gently above her collarbone. She had a woven bracelet with a halfling charm on her left wrist.
What really kept my attention was her face. It was relaxed. No tension, no sadness, no anger. Her blue eyes reflected the sunlight in a way that made her look like something that had been made rather than happened — the kind of face a sculptor would spend months trying to replicate and still feel hadn't been fully captured.
Placid. Peaceful.
I found it hard to look away.
She must have felt me watching. Her head turned, and we locked eyes from across the room. She furrowed her brow and looked intensely irritated.
Back to normal.
As I approached her, she didn't even give me a moment to say hello. "You're late."
"I'm not late. We didn't set a specified time."
"I set a specified time."
"You told no one about the specified time."
"Well, I had assumed a modicum of competence. A mistake on my part."
I sighed. The antagonistic banter had become a regular thing lately. But considering that when I met her, she wouldn't even look at me, she may as well have hugged me.
I tried again to be diplomatic. "How long have you been waiting here?"
"Two hours."
"Just staring out the window?"
"No, idiot. I brought a book."
She waved a volume unenthusiastically at me.
I tried again. "I didn't think you'd even want to come to something like this."
"Tessa asked me to."
"She asked you to come to the bathhouse with us the other day."
"Mhm."
"And she asked you to come to the Yak with us last week."
"What's your point?"
"Why come to the festival with us?"
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She began a rejoinder, but stopped for a second, and I could swear I saw a flicker of something resembling hurt on her face. But just for a second. Then the mask settled back into place. "Tessa said there would be food."
I realized that I had taken the banter too far.
To keep the silence from getting too awkward, I tried yet again. "...so elves and halflings come from the same place, right? The Verdant Expanse?"
She eyed me warily. "How do you know that?"
"I read about it in the library."
She raised an eyebrow at me. "So you can read? That's reassuring."
I gave an exasperated sigh and made to turn away. "Yes. The Verdant Expanse. My family is from the Moonglaive Forest."
I looked back over my shoulder. She sat there, watching me, looking perfectly neutral. "I'm pretty sure Tessa's family is from there, too, though I've never met them."
"So you're familiar with halfling culture?"
"Mhm."
I looked around. No sign of Kael. It had been long enough for him to get to the room and come back. "I should go get Kael. I'll be right back."
"Mhm."
As I began to walk away, I let myself speak again, knowing it was against my better judgment. "I'm glad you're coming with us this time."
Her reply was delayed. "As you should be. I'm a delight."
I suppressed a snicker. "Mhm."
I found Kael in our dorm room, poring over his prototype flare gun. It was situated on a leather mat on the floor, and he had scattered tools all around him. SCRUB was nearby, handing him parts and beeping enthusiastically. "Kael."
"Yeah?"
"It's time to go."
"Yeah, give me like, five minutes."
"You've been up here at least twenty."
"Just five more."
I pressed my thumb and forefinger against the bridge of my nose in frustration. "Kael. If we don't get to the festival when it starts, Tessa will cry. You know how much this means to her."
I watched him stop what he was doing and freeze. He didn't look up.
After a long moment, he set the tool in his hand down. SCRUB booped again. "You're right. I'm sorry. Let me put this stuff away and I'll meet you in the hallway."
I nodded. "And leave the prototype here."
Another pause. "Yeah. I'll leave it here."
I left him to it and waited outside the dorm room. After a few minutes, he emerged, looking slightly more put-together; clothes smoothed out, utility belt fastened neatly, hair combed. "Kael."
I could tell he knew something was up. "Yeah?"
"C'mon man."
He looked offended, as if I had accused him of murder. "What?"
"It's in your belt pouch."
"What is?"
"The prototype."
He looked down and saw what I had seen. A singular pouch on his belt was far bulkier and much more flare-gun-shaped than the others.
I closed my eyes and tried to speak patiently. "Look. Today is for Tessa. I know you're excited about a new project. That's okay. It's gonna be awesome. I know it. But for today, you need to focus on our friend. She's also awesome. Right?"
Kael looked guiltily at his feet. "Yeah. Sorry."
"It's alright. It'll be here when you get back."
He went and deposited the prototype in his chest. I watched him do it. "Come on. Alara's waiting in the foyer."
"Alara's coming?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, now I can't go."
"Kael."
"I'm kidding!"
Upon reconvening, Alara told us that Tessa had arrived while we were gone and was distraught that Hask wasn't there. She had gone to find him. And so I, in turn, went to find her.
I had guessed correctly that she would be at Hask's office. She stood against his closed door, banging on it with both fists, which was her version of being polite. "C'mon Uncle Hask! The festival starts in an hour! There's going to be food, and music, and scrimshaw, and I really wanted you to -"
"No, Tessa."
Hask's voice, muffled by the door, didn't sound angry or flustered. It just carried the patience of someone who had been saying the same thing for a while.
"But! But! What about the ale and the lantern ceremony?"
"I'm working, Tessa. Go have fun. Bring me something back."
"But-"
"No."
Tessa slumped against the door. "I made you a bracelet!"
There was a long silence. Longer than I had expected. "Leave it in front of the door."
Tessa's face went through several expressions before settling on something that was almost a smile. "Okay."
She set the small parcel down and turned, surprised to see me. I gave an apologetic shrug on Hask's behalf. She beamed and took my hand. As we walked down the hall back toward the foyer, I heard the door open. We didn't look back.
After reconvening and double-checking we had our gold, we left the Guild Hall forty minutes behind whatever time Alara had set in her head.
It was, given everything, a minor miracle.
The Swiftfoot Festival had taken over the lower city entirely, and no one seemed to be upset.
In the daylight, it was color and noise and the productive chaos of several hundred halflings who had been looking forward to this for a very long time and intended to make full use of it.
Stalls lined every street. Fabric in every shade imaginable hung between buildings. The smell of cooking reached us before we even turned the corner into the festival proper — something with lamb, something sweet underneath, and something else I couldn't identify that made my stomach immediately express an opinion.
The crowd was shorter than I was used to. Significantly shorter. Moorhaven's halfling population had apparently been saving itself for this specific occasion and had arrived in full force. I could see perhaps thirty feet in any direction before the crowd became impenetrable. Kael was managing. Alara was not managing, but was refusing to show it. Tessa had disappeared into the crowd approximately four seconds after we arrived and had reappeared just as quickly, vibrating. "OKAY. Okay. Here's the plan."
She unfurled a shockingly long roll of parchment.
She had a list.
Of course she had a list.
"Food first — there's a vendor on the east side that does a traditional halfling lamb stew that I have been thinking about for weeks. Then scrimshaw — there's a woman who does bone carvings that are apparently extraordinary, and I want to see if it's true. Then the main stage for the singing at sundown, and then—"
I held up a hand with a grin. "Tessa."
"Yes?"
"Breathe."
She took a deep inhale. "Okay. Yes. Food first."
It was at this point that I heard, from somewhere behind me, a sound like a small earthquake introducing itself. "TESSA MORIAN."
I turned around.
Wading through the crowd like a small mountain jutting from the sea was a familiar, shaggy-faced minotaur.
Vlod.
It would take three halflings standing on top of one another even to meet his gaze straight-on. The sight of it made me laugh. He seemed to be having a bit of trouble getting around the many, many halflings that crowded him, but he was doing his best. He would frequently stop to wait for passing groups or pick up a giant hoof and step over them.
Tessa beamed at the sight and bolted straight for him. She disappeared into the throng for a moment before Vlod reached down and scooped her up with one hand. She hugged his muzzle as he continued his way toward us. "If it ain't young Mister Callister! And Kael and Miss Alara as well! Fancy meetin' you all here."
I looked up at the towering man. "Hi Vlod!"
Kael shook the massive hand proffered to him – which meant he shook Vlod's index finger.
Alara waved politely but said nothing.
Tessa was, by now, sitting on Vlod's shoulder. "Is Hulda here?"
He nodded. "Yep! She's off getting food. She's better with the crowds than I am. I'm surprised I haven't trampled anyone by accident."
"What things have you seen already?!"
"Well, we went down the way to see the jugglers…"
"JUGGLERS?! YOU MEAN BRAMBLEBUCK'S ROLLING MORELS?"
Vlod gave a very bull-like snort of amusement. "You know 'em?"
"Of COURSE I know them! They're only the oldest halfling acrobat troupe on the continent! I see them any time they come to town! Uncle Hask took me to see them in Stoneguard once too!"
Her whole body seemed to be quaking with excitement. "What else?!"
He scratched his head. "Well, the fire guy was pretty fun…"
"WE MISSED DANDY DAN! FUCK!"
Kael pointed to a slightly rickety-looking sign nearby that had various names and times written on it. "Tess, the sign says he's performing again after sundown."
"YAY!"
She scrambled up onto Vlod's blocky head. "What else?!"
I looked around the festival briefly before calling up to her. "Tessa, let's go look around and see for ourselves! Vlod's got a lunch date."
She nodded fervently. "Right! Vlod, find us later?"
Vlod chuckled as she tumbled nimbly off of his head. "Of course! If nothin' else, we'll be at the Lantern Lighting. We're helpin' with the ceremony."
That caught my attention. "You're in the big ceremony, Vlod?"
He spread his arms wide dramatically. "Of course! Hulda and me are honorary halflings, doncha know?"
I nodded like I knew exactly what he meant, while having no clue.
Tessa rejoined us, and we bid the big bull man farewell.
She looked at us all imploringly, her enthusiasm somehow even more obvious. "Okay! Food! The Grub District is on the other side of the festival. We'll go grab lunch and then check the schedule for shows! I'm SOOOO excited for you guys to see Dandy Dan! And–"
I took her hand. "C'mon, I'm starving."
Her eyes twinkled in that way I never failed to notice. "Yeah!"
The "Grub District" was a hodgepodge of colorful tents, from which the smells of every food imaginable were wafting. Even Alara seemed more present, and we all heard her stomach growl, which she said nothing about.
Tessa had no problem giving her opinions on everything we should try, and maybe twenty minutes later, we all had various bowls, cups, and paper cones filled with food and sweets.
We found a somewhat clear spot to sit on a patch of grass nearby. Just in case we wanted more food.
Conversation could not stand in the way of four hungry bellies. We said not a word as we devoured everything with the fervor of a starving wolf.
I couldn't decide what I liked more – the lamb and veggie skewer, the miniature squash and carrot pie, or the truffle-potato fries.
I noticed Alara didn't have a smidgeon of meat; I had read that elves did not partake in flesh, but some enjoyed milk and cheese. Alara seemed to have a particular thing for the latter, as she had exactly fourteen different types of cheese on a plate in front of her. While her expression held no smile, I could tell she was enjoying herself.
Kael's selection was extremely him: every item on its own plate or in a different bowl. Even things that were supposed to go together, like the juicy pork sandwich, he had requested to be served separately. He expertly balanced everything, piecing together his own dishes from everything he had purchased.
I felt like he had unlocked some sort of secret to life as I watched him.
Tessa finished the last bite of a massive pancake and flopped back on the grass. "That was sooooooo good."
I mumbled agreement, my mouth full of lamb.
Kael patted his stomach and belched.
Alara glared. "Disgusting."
Tessa giggled. "It's a compliment for halflings."
I lay back in the grass as well, watching a singular fluffy cloud drift quietly across an otherwise perfectly blue sky. It was nice to truly relax – dungeons, conspiracies, danger, drama; those things were still quite real, but today felt like taking a big exhale after holding my breath for too long.
Tessa hopped up energetically. "Okay! So I think Balthazar's Burden is performing soon. OOOO-we gotta see One Eyed Pete!! OH! OH! And Twice the Trouble! They're SOOOO funny."
She stopped suddenly and looked thoughtful. "But first…"
We all looked up at each other and spoke at the same time, even Alara. "Booze!"