Aaravos adored games, especially when those games involved real risks and consequences. Every sparkling fiber of his being would vibrate with excitement as he carefully ushered each pawn into place to create a grand masterpiece that he alone could see unfolding. At times, one of those pawns might start to shift out of alignment, operating of its own accord instead of by the will of its master, but it never took more than a few polished half-truths to lure the insurgent back into place. Patience was the key to success, and if being imprisoned for longer than he cared to calculate had taught him anything, it was patience.

Things may have seemed placid in Viren's cell, but as his grub-like vassal clung to the shell of the mage's ear, Aaravos sensed that the castle was still abuzz even at this late hour. He could feel the reverberations of marching feet through the stone floor and walls, and he could faintly hear the whispering of a gentle wind overtop of Viren's muffled snores. Most importantly, however, he could sense the baleful nip tainting the air as something wicked steadily closed in on the dungeon where it sensed its master's presence.

"It would seem that your phantoms have returned." he crooned smoothly, fully aware that Viren could not hear him from the realm of dreams. "Do not fret. I will take care of everything."

Peeling itself off of Viren's ear, the little caterpillar inched its way across the mage's cot and then up the cell wall until he reached the grate in the ceiling. After wiggling through with ease, it only had to wait a moment or so in the deserted courtyard above before being blanketed in shadow as four pairs of blank, glowing, purple-tinged eyes peered down at it from within towers of churning smoke that vaguely resembled the shape of elves. To anyone else, these creatures of shadow would've been terrifying, but the little caterpillar raised itself up and stared right back at them with an air of haughtiness.

"Your master is resting, but it is not yet time for you to do the same. You still have work to do." Aaravos crooned without a hint of hesitance even though the phantoms could easily trample the caterpillar beneath their heels if they wished too. Why? Even though they could, he knew that they wouldn't, for just like the mage who had summoned them, they were also drawn to the power emanating off of him.

"Your master's possessions have been scattered across the land in an attempt to control him, and one of these relics could be your and his undoing. Bring back the coin in which your leader is imprisoned, the leader who in his pride led you all to your deaths, and you will soon have your rest."

Though their faces showed no expression as the shadows continued to listlessly sway back and forth in the wind, Aaravos could sense their reluctance. It seemed even as phantoms, traces of past loyalties and autonomous thought still lived on inside them; this, however, was not a major problem for him.

"Why do you hesitate? Does it not anger you that the one responsible for your demise now has a chance to return home to the open arms of his family while yours grieve your loss? He made the call to move forward with your mission knowing full well that your chances of survival were slim, and now he simply gets to walk away from that while your blood, the blood of those who trusted him, stains the floors of this palace? Should he not suffer a fate worse than death?"

One by one, a change swept over each ghost, their eyes glowing brighter as their previous uncertainty was burned up by the flames of bitterness; it was a light and a heat that Aaravos never grew tired off as he drank it in again and again.

"Go. Find your leader's coin and its brothers. Justice will not be denied."

"Can I skewer him?"

"No."

"What about mildly maim him?"

"No."

"...Can I at least give him a bad enough gash that he'll need stitches?"

"No! The last thing we need to do is draw attention to ourselves by being petty and starting a fight."

"He kidnapped Callum and Maddie!"

"And we are going to discreetly get them back. We fight only as a last resort."

"Ugh, fine!"

It wasn't that Anora couldn't understand Rayla's desire for payback, but retribution never just ended once the scores were even. Having to worry about a vengeful party pursuing them would only further complicate their already complex quest, so for now retaliation, though tempting, was not an option.

It hadn't exactly taken the two elves long to realize that something was wrong, but true to the stories Madeleine had told Anora about Midan, the blacksmith's son indeed proved to be a slippery serpent to catch. Despite managing to procure adequate disguises and sneak into town fairly quickly, Midan was already gone by the time they found the shop and discovered the note that Madeleine had managed to tuck amongst the tools in the back room without getting caught. The fact that they had to ask around about the location of the artisans' fair before finding someone that actually knew only added further to Midan's head start, and while Anora and Rayla probably could have caught up with him if they were on their own, Zym's restlessness meant making occasional stops during their journey, thus allowing the scoundrel to remain one step ahead of them.

By the time they arrived at the fairgrounds, the festivities were already in full swing with more humans crowding around exhibits and mingling between stalls than either elf had seen in her whole life. From this resulted their current situation of hiding in a dense thicket of shrubs not too far off from the line of tents, Rayla keeping watch while Anora attempted to coax Zym into a basket that the younger elf had "borrowed" from the back of an unwatched cart.

"It's only for a little bit, cutie, I promise. Come on! You want another treat?" Grabbing one of the fresh figs from the rations in her bag, Anora placed it inside the basket. "There, now you've got a fig, an apple, some berries, and some milkfruit, a feast fit for a prince. What do ya say, Zym?"

After a moment of thinking as critically as a baby dragon could, Zym tentatively sniffed the mouth of the basket before apparently being won over as he hoped inside with a happy trill. Once she had secured the lid of the basket in place and carefully shrugged the case onto her back, Anora fixed her hood and cloak and stuffed her hands into her gloves, Rayla following suit.

"I still don't see why we can't just split up and meet back here. We'll cover more ground that way." Rayla grumbled as she fiddled with the pink finger of her gloves that had been stuffed with leaves and a twig to mimic a fifth finger. A surprised sputter sprayed from her lips when Anora suddenly appeared in front of her and began smudging dirt over her markings to complete her disguise.

"Midan is smart. If he notices the same two hooded figures frequenting his booth, he might become suspicious, and the longer we're here, the higher our chances of getting caught become. We need to find them, come up with a plan, execute it, and then leave as quickly and quietly as possible." With her and Rayla's tattoos concealed beneath a layer of grime, Anora briskly exited the safety of the shrubs and beckoned Rayla to follow her with a small jerk of her head. "Come on!"

Zym thankfully stayed contently quiet in the basket as the girls crept past the outermost tents and into the fray, heads down and senses alert. After passing several stalls from all of which the heavenly smell of baked goods wafted, it dawned on them that the booths were probably arranged according to trade, meaning they would not have to scour the entire grounds so long as they found the designated area for the blacksmiths. The density of the crowds and the scarcity of maps or directional signs to promote more sales as s wandered aimlessly about ensured that their task remained somewhat difficult, but the smell of burning timber and the ringing of many mallets hammering away at different metals eventually drew them to the right place. As the fourth stall on their left came into view, Rayla was the first to catch a glimpse of those familiar green eyes beneath that mop of fluffy, brown hair, and it didn't take long for them to lock back onto her.

Callum pretended not to notice the two elves until they had crossed over to the stall, and he bit down hard on the inside of his cheek to keep himself from smiling as he made his way over to the booth's counter as casually as he could. Casting an apprehensive glance back at Midan, who was busy chatting with two reasonably attractive dames at the other end of the stand, he made sure to grab a few odd bits and baubles as he went.

"Hi ladies! What can I help you with?!" he announced quite loudly, depositing the knickknacks onto the counter with a harsh clamor, and to his relief, Midan didn't even spare him a look of disdain. Picking up one of the miscellaneous trinkets scattered in front of him, he held it out as if showing it to the two elves, his voice dropped to a whisper as he leaned over the countertop. "I can't talk long without Midan becoming suspicious. Where's Zym?"

Rayla jerked her head toward the basket while Anora took the trinket from Callum and turned it over in her palm. "Are you alright? Where's Maddie?"

"She's in the back and we're both fine other than being a little tired. In fact, she's been tinkering with something since our arrival last night that she believes will distract Midan long enough for us to slip away."

Pride dressed Anora's lips with a lustrous shimmer like the most beautiful of rouges. "Why am I not surprised? Is there anything that we can do to help?"

"There's one more thing that we need but haven't been able to get since we're constantly being watched."

"What do you need?"

"Wildflowers. Lots of 'em."

Rayla's nose wrinkled at the absurd request. "Flowers? What are flowers going to do?"

"He's allergic." Anora muttered, nodding at Midan as theories about Maddie's plan began to take form in her mind. "He obviously can't see us giving them to you."

"Bring them to the back of the tent and toss a rock through the back entrance to let Maddie know that you've made the dropoff. She'll tell you the rest of the plan, and I'll do what I can to keep Midan busy in the meantime."

Rayla groaned under her breath. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Why do you always assume that I'm going to do something stupid?"

"Because you usually do something stupid!"

"You two are cute, but let's save the flirting for a less precarious time, yeah?" Out of the corner of her eye, Anora noticed the two maidens who had been preoccupying Midan's attention were departing, meaning that the louse would be on them in moments if she and Rayla stuck around for too much longer. Setting the trinket that she was still holding back down on the counter, she extended her hand to Callum, who shook it as soon as he realized what she was doing.

"Don't push yourself too hard. You'll need whatever energy you have left for hightailing out of here."

Callum's eyes remained locked with Rayla's until she and Anora were swallowed up by the throng of festival patrons. Gathering up the samples that he had brought out, he spun on his heels and beelined for the curtains separating the front of the tent from the workspace in back. However, just before he could cross the threshold and disappear, he was yanked to a stop by Midan's hand firmly clamping down on his shoulder.

"Don't tell me you spent all that time talking to those two clients and didn't sell anything?"

Callum swallowed thickly to push down the anxious butterflies fluttering in the back of his throat. "They...They said that they had some other errands to run first and would come back if they had the money."

"Let me handle the transaction when they return. I want to make sure that the payment is...authentic given their haggard appearance. Business is going to slow down as the crowds congregate at the indoor attractions to escape the heat of the day, so go wash off and polish those samples. I trust the cleanliness of those bums as much as their money."

The sun hung just above the tops of the tents on the far west side of the festival grounds, painting everything with a golden glow.

"Blasted sun. No matter where I stand, it's shining in my eyes." Midan grumbled sourly, shielding his face with his hand as he stumbled about half-blind. "Clem!"

"Um, it's Callum."

"Whatever. Go scrounge around in the back and see if you can find anything to block out that darn sun!"

"Uh, you got it!"

As Callum slipped through the curtains in the back room, Madeleine raised her head from the two small metal tubes sitting in her lap and locked eyes with him. At his nod, she rose, handing him one of the cylinders and held the other to her chest as she left her comrade to gather both their things.

"Midan?" She winced as she poked her head through the doorway right into a particularly bright ray of sunlight.

"Why aren't you working?"

"I'm waiting for the last order to cool down enough so I can polish it." Raising one hand to shield her face while blinking rapidly to quell the tears that welled to defend her eyes from the bright assault, Maddie just barely made out the Midan's silhouette and strode over to him. "I just wanted to talk to you about an idea I had for a new product."

"You're being unusually considerate. You heatsick or something?"

"No. You and I may not like each other, but your dad is still my business partner. He's going to need all the extra cash that he can get for his medical expenses, right?"

"Touché. Tell me what you've got."

"I can do better than that. I built a prototype during my lunch break!" Tucking the braided cord attached to the bottom of the tube beneath her thumb to hide it from sight, Maddie held out the gadget for Midan to see. "I haven't decided on an official name yet, but for now I'm calling them celebration starters!"

Midan squinted at the cylinder. "...It's an embellished pipe."

"Wrong! It's much more than that!"

"Is that so? How does it work then, little genius?"

"Like this!"

Without missing a beat, Madeleine pulled the string attached to the celebration starter as far as it would go and then released it, aiming the barrel directly at Midan's face. Wildflowers of all colors shot into the air with a pop, and the noise was soon followed by three others just like it as more flowers filled the air. The festival-goers all gasped in delight as the fragrant petals rained down on them, but Midan's reddening eyes had bugged out in horror.

"You little-" His exclamation was cut off by a thunderous sneeze, Madeleine springing just beyond the reach of his fingers when he made a mad grab from her.

As much as she would've liked to stick around and relish over her fine work, Maddie speedily vaulted herself over the counter and sprinted into the crowd. Catching a flicker of Callum's scarlet scarf in the evening light somewhere off to her right, she veered off in that direction, focusing all of her strength into her legs until she had caught up with him, and together they ran towards the chosen meeting place: the eastern entrance of the grounds. Their feet had already begun to burn like they were running over a bed of hot coals by the time the pillars decorated with many colorful banners and other ornaments rose into few, and just as they flung themselves down at the base of the one columns in order to catch their breath, Anora and Rayla burst forth from the sea of people, panting heavily as they refused to slow even slightly.

"Get up! We gotta go!" the latter shouted, eyes wide and frantic.

Before Callum could ask what was wrong, the crowd parted for a portly man with a crimson face marred by an angry scowl as he charged after the two elves with his son and daughter flanking him.

"Thieves! Thieves!" he bellowed.

Anora grabbed Callum and Maddie by their arms and more or less dragged them to their feet while Rayla continued to run, her fist pressed against her chest as something glittered inside. The prince's mouth hung agape, his eyes darting from his friends to their pursuers.

"What did you guys do?!"

Moments earlier…

It was a beautiful sight that Anora would've liked to enjoy, the flower petals dancing through the air like snow after being launched from Madeleine's invention, but she and Rayla dutifully slipped the now empty gadgets into their belts and ducked behind a wall of stalls. Keeping their heads down and bodies low to the ground, they zipped along their predetermined course completely unnoticed aside from catching the attention of the occasional small child who was quickly shushed by a preoccupied parent, and the steady sinking of the sun created many long shadows that stretched out to offer them additional cover. However, it soon became apparent that they had forgotten to consider one particular detail when it came to their seemingly seamless plan: Zym.

Having been startled out of a deep nap by the loud pops of the celebration starters, Zym clawed quite furiously at the lid of the basket, and with a few good swipes, he managed to tear a hole just large enough for him to wiggle out of. His little feet scarcely touched Anora's back before he unfurled his wings and sprang into the air, giving neither elf much time to react as he glided through the air and scampered through the back entryway of a large, deep indigo tent as soon as he touched the ground.

When their minds finally processed what had just happened, Rayla and Anora dug their heels into the dirt and swerved in the direction of the tent, halting just a few inches shy of the opening in the wall of cloth.

"Zym! Come back here! You can't be in there!" Rayla called as she peered into the darkness, searching for any sign of white down or icy blue scales that should've stuck out like a sore thumb against the shadows of the tent. All she was met with was a soft, anxious whine from the dragonling, the origin of which she couldn't quite pinpoint.

"I don't think he's coming out on his own," Anora muttered, sliding the basket off of her back. Taking the lavender scarf that hung around her waist and laying it out flat on the ground, she placed the busted lid on top of it and wrapped it in the soft but fairly sturdy material, tightly tying the ends to ensure that it didn't come loose. Tucking the lid under her arm, she handed the barrel of the basket to Rayla. "I'll try herding him back towards you, but you'll need to be completely silent if we don't want him to bolt. Think you can do that, Moondrop?"

"...You're kidding, right?"

"I know, I know. I'm just trying to lighten the mood."

Hearts hammering against their ribs, they slunk into the belly of the pavilion, their soft, careful footsteps sounding more like the stomping of elephants to their own ears. When their eyes adjusted to the dimness, they found that the inside was mostly filled with an array of colorful tapestries decorated with what had to be the most degrading depictions of different kinds of elves that either girl had ever seen. Towards the center of the room stood three ornately carved, wooden pedestals topped with soft pillows, and above each one hung a series of banners that could just barely be read from where they stood if they squinted.

"...Haunted Coins from Xadia?" Rayla scoffed with blatant disgust, "Are you serious?! We don't even have haunted coins! Who would actually believe this nonsense?!"

"You'd be surprised," Anora remarked absent-mindedly, having already dismissed the laughable exhibit and resumed her scouring for the baby dragon. As soon as she noticed a pale shape crouching behind the base of pillar closest to them, she pointed it out to Rayla followed by drawing two arcs in the air that eventually met at a point in front of her. Rayla immediately understood and began to close in on the pillar from the left while Anora took to the right.

"Zym," she called when she was close enough to see the tip of the dragonling's nose poking out from behind the pillar. "I know you're a bit spooked right now, but we have to go before we get caught. There will be no more loud, scary noises, I promise."

Zym's answer was a shrill, suspicious yip, nostrils flaring slightly when Anora entered his line of sight. Slowly dropping down into a crouch, the elf held her hand out to him as she inched closer, not daring to glance at Rayla to ensure she was ready and risk Zym realizing what they were up to. Fortunately, Zym's attention remained fixated on Anora as he shuffled his feet uncertainly while Rayla tiptoed up behind him, basket held out in front of her. They had him cornered, and when Anora lunged forward, Zym spun on his heels and fled straight towards the mouth of the basket. At the last moment, however, he spread his wings and splayed out his little limbs, his front claws grabbing onto the rim, and using the edge as a foothold, he propelled himself upward at a slight angle. Anora leaped into the air before he could get very high, wrapping her arms around the prince's middle and pulling him to her chest. Unfortunately, she hadn't paid much thought to her trajectory in her haste, and thus she came crashing down on top of the pedestal, which proved to be much flimsier than it looked as it crumbled beneath her weight.

"Yep, that's definitely going to leave a mark." she groaned, rolling onto her side and then up into a sitting position all while Zym flailed in her arms. Rayla was by her side in the blink of an eye where she held the basket steady so Anora could place Zym inside.

"He's a little fighter; I suppose that's a good thing though." the Oceancry elf remarked as she secured the lid once more and slipped her arm through one of the vessel's straps, hoisting it up onto her back again. Shifting onto her knees so she could stand back up, she jerked to a stop when something resting on the bed of splinters beneath her snagged her eye.

"Rayla...you said Xadia doesn't have any haunted coins, right? Then why does that one have a moving face on it?"

"You mean your reflection? Besides, that isn't even a Xadian coin…"

"Rayla?"

The color drained from Rayla's already pale face and her eyes widened to the size of two full moons as she stooped down, unable to believe what she saw. Staring back at her was a face she knew all too well despite being clouded with a fear that she had never seen adorning those features before, and as she gently scooped the coin into her trembling hand, she watched the terror melt away and sheer relief rise up in its place.

"Runaan..." she whimpered, hand clamped over her mouth as she fought back the urge to break into tears. Suddenly, it felt very hard to breathe, as if the weight of the entire world was pressing down on her lungs. "...how did you...what...who did this to you?"

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Anora's head snapped up to behold a middle-aged man and four children of varying maturities looming in the main entrance of the tent. The man, obviously the owner of the tent, glared at them with two small, beady eyes that peered out from behind bushy brown brows and bulging cheeks, grinding his feet into the dirt as he prepared to charge. Snatching up the pillow from the remains of the pedestal, she hurled it at the man, nailing him in the face.

"Rayla, run!"

With their father momentarily disoriented, the two eldest children, a boy and a girl, rushed at them. Glancing upwards, Anora noticed how the weight of the numerous tapestries was causing the roof of the tent to sag, so she grabbed the closest one and yanked it as hard as she could. This proved to be just enough strain as the center of the tent caved inward, cutting them off from their assailants. Brought back to her wits by Anora's shout, the commotion, or a combination of the two, Rayla closed her fist tightly around the coin and barreled back out into the open with Anora close behind her.