Chapter 684 Fall Festival Begins
While Wolfe watched a bonfire, Cassie and Ella were doing the same, but with a much different atmosphere. The Fall Festival was upon them, and the Demons and Fae had joined the locals of the Frozen Wastes in celebration at Forest Grove.
Even the reason for the gathering had remained the same, trading the excess of their harvest for things that they would need through the winter, as well as hunting for an appropriate spouse.
The Demons had taken a particular liking to the locals of the Frozen Wastes, as the animal features so closely mimicked some of their species, and gave them a look that was more Demonic than Human. The Fae were rather picky in their life partners, but with so many Fae from so many nations gathered in this world, the Fall Festival had also become a dating event for them.
They were going to be forced to expand the city again very soon, though they were hoping that Wolfe would be back by then, but for now, everyone was sharing bunks, sleeping on floors, and even setting up tent cities in the forest around the town itself.
Not that the Fae minded that, they were happy to turn the entire forest into a party if they had enough people. But it did make things somewhat awkward when the crowds shifted to see an event and the overcrowding made it impossible to move.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtEven the local Fairies were complaining that it was becoming difficult to fly with so much air traffic.
The amount of power in the air was intoxicating, a blend of Unholy and Nature Magic that felt oddly comforting to the beast kin, as it was so similar to the Frozen Wastes themselves. It seemed like everywhere that Cassie looked, there was a Rank Five or higher magic user, and if they weren't looking for entertainment, they were probably making out with someone.
Trying to explain the concept of modesty to some of these people just wasn't working. Half of the Fae preferred to be naked, the Succubus group thought that anything more than shoes was accessorizing, and the Wrath Demons liked to wear nothing but shorts to show off their muscles when they weren't in armour, and they were gender-neutral about their clothing options.
Cassie didn't normally consider herself a prude, just a bit traditional, but after meeting all these exhibitionists, there were no two ways about it: she was the prudish one.
Little did she know that Wolfe's experience was entirely different. Everyone was on their best behaviour at the Palaces, instead of treating this entire world like a vacation trip, where they could just cut loose and relax. Sure, they had been sent here by their leaders to claim territory and represent interests, but it was a holiday, and nobody worked on a holiday.
"Miss Cassie, there is an incident which, we think, could use your touch." One of the Bunnies called as he came running over.
"What happened now? Another brawl? Drunkenness? Perhaps it's a dick measuring contest this time?" Cassie sighed.
"No, we broke that one up peacefully. Well, technically we just got them to move indoors, but that's close enough. There is a shortage of Garden Charm collectible amulets at the stall, they forgot to order more last night, and they got really popular this afternoon." The Bunny explained.
"And you need me to cast another load of spells on the painted amulets that they've made?" Cassie guessed.
"Exactly. The Demons love them, and they can't easily get them at home, so they're buying them up as fast as we can make them. It's going to get violent soon if we can't find a witch with time to make more. Everyone is so busy today that we had to come to you."
The Bunny paused, then raised his hands in a placating gesture. "Not that you're not busy, but it's not normally your job."
"Nice save. Now, let's see what we can do for the souvenir shops."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmWhile Cassie went to save the shops, Ella had a different issue on her hands. The Demons had heard about the rifles, and what had originally been a curiosity that the guards carried became a topic of great interest among the weaker Demons who had come to accompany the Envoys and more powerful staff members.
Most of them were chosen for looks or particular skills, and that particular skill was definitely not combat. For example, there were a dozen more Kitsune in town now, much to the joy of Kira. But they were all under Rank Three, and the idea of being able to carry a pistol loaded with attack magic was incredibly attractive to them.
The standard policy was that the enchanted weapons were not for sale. There were a dozen human kingdoms on the continent, roughly half of which were controlled by the Demons, and they could get regular rifles there and enchant them themselves.
Of course, almost none of them could actually do that. They didn't have the elemental proficiencies for it. But it would cause a huge issue with the Fae if she just started allowing the sale of dangerous magical items. They were already nervous around so many Demons, and while the [Kind Intentions] spell was holding up well enough now that the higher Ranked Envoys had helped bolster it, they still didn't trust it to stave off all assassination attempts.
Being able to relax around the lower ranks was one of the great luxuries of this place. They weren't Fae, they weren't even from the Fae Kingdoms, so there was no political infighting, and they were unlikely to be hiding dangerous poisons that would target the dignitaries.
Plus, it was the fluffiest of Demons that wanted all the firepower, and that went directly against the Fae policy of treating them like living pillows. It had gotten so common now that nobody even commented when a small Fae was riding on a Bunny's head, or tucked into a Kitsune's tails. The worst that would happen was a flick of an ear, or a tail swish to knock them free when the pillow in question needed to move.
The Fall Festival was turning out to be absolute Chaos, and it was only the second day.