CHAPTER 36: ENJOYING THE FESTIVAL

Dragging my two companions away to the nearby stalls I begin my hunt for something fun to gift the two of them, whilst they both stand around awkwardly clearly not enjoying shopping quite as much as me.

I first approach a stall that seems to be selling jewelry and other accessories. Looking over the available stock I am saddened that most of it seems quite poor quality but then I notice that only the stuff at the front of the stall is like this and the expensive and higher quality goods are stored at the back, likely to avoid anyone stealing the good stuff.

Seeing my appraising gaze over the more expensive items the stall owner speaks up, he is an older human male maybe in his 60’s or 70’s based on earth logic so he could easily be much older depending on how strong he is. "Welcome young miss anything catch your eye?" His voice is supprisingly kind with a hint of raspiness.

"Hmm maybe." I say before looking up at him more, he is wearing a clean yellow and green tunic which somehow doesn’t look awful and has a kind smile on his face. "I’m looking for something for those two grumps." I say whilst geeking my head in the direction of the two clearly unhappy women behind me.

He chuckles at that clearly seeing that they don’t enjoy shopping. "Haha well I think we can find something that will suit them both, are you looking for something that you all can wear and matches or individual pieces for each?" He asks.

"Hmm if you have it yeah something for the two of them that matches would be ideal!" I happily state.

"Oh just for the 2 nothing for you?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.

I sigh and shake my head. "Nothing for me saddly I have an ability that limits the amount of items I can wear and I’m already maxed out." I say slightly dejectedly. Seeing his supprised look at that I hastily continue. "But please don’t worry I just want something that they both can wear."

He nods at that and begins to go through his collection before plucking out two necklaces they are both shapes like a flower with one having crimson petals and a violet centre and the other being the reverse. My eyes widen at that and I cannt help but smile at how prefect they seem! "Oh yes they look perfect! How much for the two of them?" I eagerly ask. I do quickly check over my shoulder and thankfully both women are gazing around slightly listlessly and are not paying me any attention. I turn back around when I hear the man speak up.

"These will be 2 Iron coins each dear, a bit on the pricey side but I’m sure the quality speak for itself!" He explains whilst puffing his chest out slightly in obvious pride.

I smile at this and nod my head whilst pretending to reach into a pocket and summon the coins from my necklace. "The quality does Indeed speak for itself, I’ll take them! Thank you for your help!" I say.

Smiling he takes the coins and hands over the two necklaces to me. "That you for your patronage do enjoy the rest of the festival!" He pauses for a moment before continuing. "And might I suggest you take them both to Agatha’s Brews down at the end of this row, she serves some lovely drinks and that might help relax your two friends some." He says with a chuckle.

Laughing with the old man I smile. "I think that might just have to be my next stop! Thank you again mr!" I smile as I turn around whilst waving to him. Getting the attention of my two companions I drag them both off to the side before presenting them both with the new necklaces choosing the one with violet petals to give to Amanda and the crimson petals to Kana. "I bought these for you both! I hope you like them!"

Seeing their supprised looks I smile and gesture for them both to take them. "Thank you Lilly I love them!" Lana says once she picks it up and investigates the flower.

Amanda nods to this before speaking up herself. "Can you help put it in for me?" She asks somewhat shyly. Smiling at her I take it back only to unclasp it and place it around her neck and redoing the clasp. It rests just at the base of her clavicle and matches wonderfully with her dress. I repeate this with Kana although I have to get up on my tip toes whilst she has to crouch down for me to reach up easily earning a chuckle from Amanda at the sight.

With the two women now adored with their new jewelry I once more claim a hand each and pull them along to Agatha’s Brews stall were we are greater by a lively crowd in front of it as they all seem to be enjoying a frothing mug of some kind. We make our way to the front and quickly order a glass each of her brew. Taking my first sip I am momentarily stunned as I can taste magic on my mouth as the flavours explode from just my first sip. It tastes like an ale but it has some wonderful spices mixed in and they just pop with the addition of the magic! I have to restrain myself from downing my entire drink in one go.

Kana however is unable to stop herself from doing just that and quickly drains her glass before looking up slightly sheepishly and muttering. "It was too tasty I couldn’t help myself." Laughing at that I decide to join her and down my own drink seeing as Amanda follows suit. We quickly order another round of drinks this time taking out time to savour the taste.

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly with us going from between the various food and drink stalls getting a taste of the local cuisine on offer. I definitely gained a new approach for how tasty some foods could be and it supprised me how maybe of the foods on offer had that telltale taste of mana showing that the cook had the mana cooking skill like me but probably at a higher level than my basic version just based on how tasty each dish was!

As the sun lowered in the horizon we and the rest of the crowd made our way back to the central plaza and watched the small performances that were being shown on the stage. There were some acrobatic dancers some enacted small plays and one man even brought up some tamed beasts and had them perform some basic tasks, this on got a lot of attention from the children gathered. And I’m not going to lie when he brought out a baby owl I did feel my heart melt just a little at his cute and fluffy it looked!

Eventually though the sun did set and the latest act left the stage only for the mayor once more walked out and greeted the crowd. "Greetings once again all I hope you have been having a delightful day!" Some cheers were heard from both the children gathered and the particularly drunk adults. "But it is now time for the tournament to be underway! The format is quite simple, we have 8 contestants this year, they will take turns showcasing one spell or magics and based on the crowds cheers we will decide a winner the first to 3 victories wins the round and they move on to the next round! Without further ado let me welcome out first two competitions! Please welcome up Jolie the ice mage!"

Walking up onto the stage a slim woman, a demon of some kind based on her red skin and horns climbed up to the stage. "And her opponent Eric the Baker!" Then out walked a pudgy human male but he looked more jolly than fat and he obviously was well known and liked based on the roudy cheers that went up for him! "First round Eric will go first!" The mayor announced.

Following this Eric summoned a flame in his palm before tossing it into the air where it hovered he then quickly pulled out a couple balls of dough and tossed them into the fire ball. The red flame undulated and flared up before it exploded into a shower of flickering sparks and released the small loaves of perfectly baked bread that Eric swiftly caught and tossed out into the crowd to their obvious delight, a load cheer quickly followed this!

"Haha a lovely performance by Eric! But please no more bribing the audience with food now!" The mayor said with a laugh! "Now it is Jolie’s turn!" She seemed much more serious than the jolly baker and swiftly summoned a cloud of ice above her making some gestures she swifty shaped and altered the ice to take the form of a humanoid ice golem that landed on the stage and proceeded to strike a pose in from of the adoring crowd. Applause broke out for this just about matching what Eric recived!

Their match continued on with Eric showcasing his various flames whilst Jolie showcased a true mastery over her ice creating different sculptures and other ice creations. By the end their was no doubt that she had won but Eric took the loss with grace and even handed her one of his min loaves of bread as he walked off the stage.

Then the next pair came onto the stage. This time it was an earth mage and another fire mage they showcased more fallen than Eric but clearly less that Jolie, eventually the earth mage won out by summoning a Collin of earth that he lept onto a dn I shot him up into the air only for it to catch him as he was about to crash down into the ground!

Next their was an air mage against another fire mage, it seems like fire magics are quite common. This time the air mage handily beat the fire mage showcasing her beautiful control that was the the point that she could fly around in the air with her winds.

The last pairing was a light mage against another earth mage and this was even more of a wash out with the light mage winning 3 straight bouts with ease.

In the following two round Jolie won against the earth mage and the light mage won against the air mage. Leaving it down to the light mage a catkin male wearing bright and clean robes called Gerald vs the ice mage Jolie.

Their match was a true sight to behold with both of them summoning their golems of each respective element and then had their golems do various tricks. Jolie won the first round. The second round when to Gerald as he summon light platforms which he stood upon and floated above the crowd whilst projecting images in the air above. The third round once more went to Jolie as she made it snow but somehow the snow wasn’t cold, it gathered near the children who quickly scooped it up and began an impromptu snowball fight! The 4th round was also won by Jolie who seemingly inspired by the snowball fight offering to have their respective golems fight it out with the first to land a clean blow the victor. Gerald accepted this and both golems were summoned and began a dance on the stage swiftly attacking and dodging around until Jolie’s golem managed to land a clean hit on the light construct ending the match in her victory.

As the crowd cheered on the impressive final bout the mayor once more walked into the stage and called out. "Congratulations to Jolie the ice mage! You can collect your prize shortly. As for the rest of you all I now announce the official festival over! But don’t worry I’m sure plenty of stalls will remain open for you all ! Please enjoy the rest of your night and once more happy Hatvest Festival!" As the crowd cheered once more people slowly started to meander off. Feeling slightly tired myself we made our way back towards Amanda’s home where the 3 of us fell asleep in each others arms too tired for any extracurricular activities that night.

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How’d you all find the festival? Would you have preferred anything to have been expanded on?