Moonlight Relic, Ch 36: Highfold Festival (Patreon)

Sam teleported down from the ruin with Crystal Passage in a series of hops as he headed for Highfold, using the essence regeneration from the moons to keep his energy topped off. Crystal Passage hadn’t advanced yet, but he didn’t expect it to. He was fairly sure that First Evolution abilities would take longer to advance than Initial ones.

He was going to have to get a better grasp on the spatial mechanics of the ability. With Crystal Focus at Epic, the new range on his short distance hops had reached a thousand feet. More than that required a very solid image of where he wanted to be, including the mana signature flowing through it, but it was possible.

A Far Sight spell would help, but it was something to work on later. He might be able to get Crystal Flame to refract a distant image that had the right details. Wind or Ice could work as well, if he practiced enough. Krana had a version of Earth Sight, which let her view things through the earth, so he knew there were elemental affinities that did what he wanted. It was just a matter of finding out how and then building the spell.

The city was a chaos of color and light as he arrived in front of it. He halted his teleport a half mile from the gate, just off the main road, and studied the walls. Energies in a thousand styles washed across his senses, many of them formed from the elements and in the colors of the moons. The walls sparkled with a deep blue as fireworks and the moonlight reflected from them, making it clear that whatever they were made from, it wasn’t normal stone. It looked more like densely frozen ice.

The walls were more than a hundred feet high and stretched for miles in both directions. With more than a million inhabitants, Highfold was not a small city. It took up the far corner of the valley as it touched the base of all three mountains. Deeply carved runes that had the geometric angles of dwarven work marked the broad gate and regular points along the wall, revealing who had built it. To his eyesight, they gleamed with a light charge of swirling blue and yellow mana. If something attacked, they would no doubt become much more intense.

The dwarves here were Ice and Earth aligned and still ruled most of the city’s day to day affairs as the Trade Council. They were some of the first settlers that the Ice Sylphs had allowed into the valley and they had built the city up over many years, maintaining their governance even as the number of races and the needs of the population expanded.

From this angle, the walls covered some of the shorter buildings right behind them, but the city was built up in layers as it advanced onto the slope of the mountains. The shining ice blue palace at the height towered over the rest. It was adorned with dozens of small towers, each of them like an icicle pointing upward. Those towers were where the Frost Bells dwelled, rippling forth with a silvery chime on every hour and for other major events. They were one of the major magical artifacts defending the city. It was said that they could summon wards strong enough to blow away an advancing army, although they hadn’t been used in a thousand years.

Strangely enough, no one actually lived in the palace. It was maintained as a public feature of the city, but the dwarves preferred their caverns and the governor was only allowed his own, much smaller mansion in the center of the diplomatic district, one tier lower than the palace. Some said that the palace was reserved for the Ice Sylphs, but none of them were inclined to live there instead of in their village.

He studied the fireworks bursting over the walls and how the moonlight was braiding its way along the palace towers as he slowed his pace and began to stroll toward the entrance. The gates were flung wide, but there was a triple-strength guard on them for the festival. He didn’t want to arrive too quickly, since his appearance was likely to cause a shock. Garild had supposedly warned them of his arrival, but he had to give them a chance to recognize him before he walked in.

Right now, it was the middle of the night and there were no other travelers heading into the city, and as he walked closer, it only took a few moments for the guards to see him. As soon as they did, there was a disciplined commotion. The city was alive with noise from the celebration inside, but he could still pick out the guards’ voices as shouts echoed out from one side of the gate to the other.

“Horned Hunter!”

“He’s here!”

It didn’t take them long to identify him as shouts passed back and forth. Garild had caught him up on some of the most recent rumors about him, including that the lights on the peak were being connected to him, but even before that his appearance on the mountain and at the battle over the Grand Flaw were enough to make him well known. Now, Siwaha had also spoken for him. Everyone in the valley who was paying even a sliver of attention was aware of him.

It was the main reason he had chosen to simply walk into the city.

He could have come in disguise, but he wasn’t sure it would have held up to the wards on the city walls, and he still had nothing to block a higher-tier Analyze. Anyone who looked at him would see Horned Hunter of the Moons, although the rest of his information was hidden.

That seemed to be a result of either the relic’s influence or his race.

It was a divine artifact and he had its signature wrapped through his spirit with the strands of moonlight. If someone wanted to read that, they’d need to be able to read the relic as well. As for his race, he had the feeling the World Core simply wasn’t going to release information on Astral Hunters or Astral Titans, not without more Marks than most people would ever see.

Since he couldn’t hide it, he’d decided not to bother.

The guards were stirred up enough by his arrival that he expected them to march out to greet him, but he was surprised when they formed up in ranks at the sides of the gate instead, leaving him a clear entrance to the city. They looked like a ceremonial guard that was giving him a formal greeting now.

“Welcome to Highfold, Horned Hunter of the Moons.” The sergeant of the guard called out as he came closer. His rank was a clear blazon on his chest plate with three bright blue slashes from the top left to the bottom right, and he saluted with his right fist pressed to his heart. “You honor our city with your presence.”

“Thank you for the welcome,” Sam replied, drawing on his astral energy to fill his words with a stronger sense of warmth than usual. Given how much he’d changed recently, he probably seemed very otherworldly to them, but it seemed that Garild had asked the guards to treat him respectfully, so he would do the same. He returned the guard’s salute by pressing his own much larger fist to his chest.

He was used to his father and the others being shorter than him now, but as he walked past the guards, it was strange to see the difference. Even the tallest of them only came up to his shoulders, and his shoulders were twice as wide as theirs. It was like the world had suddenly become populated by children.

Not all of the guards were human, however. There were a couple of dwarves, whose broad chests belied their even shorter stature, and as he entered the city, he noted the presence of two full-blooded Ice Giants standing just inside the gate. They were even taller than him by three or four feet and broader across the chest. Their bodies bulged with muscle as they stood beside the cranks to open and close the gate.

He’d seen a half Ice Giant before, but this was the first time he’d ever seen the real thing. Apparently, a clan of them dwelled in another part of the Western Reaches and they had a reputation for barbaric behavior, but these two were in the uniform of the city guard. Perhaps they had come to some agreement with the city.

In front of him, the streets opened wider, giving way past some low and tight buildings to a plaza that was flooded with people. As he entered the plaza, he caught sight of non-humans walking around too, from dwarves and Ice Giants to snake-scaled lizardkin, a wind elemental that looked like a translucent storm with vaguely humanoid limbs drifting along the street, and even a griffin, which was ambling carefully down a lane as it placed its eagle talons carefully on the cobblestones, turning its head this way and that as it kept its wings tucked close. For a moment, the sheer amount of movement blinded his senses as Crystal Focus picked up everything that was going on.

There were at least 10,000 people in the plaza, which was a quarter of a mile across, and all of them were celebrating. They were decked out in strange costumes that looked like monsters and World Spirits, from dragons to skeletal gnomes and flying serpents, as well as dryads, goblins, flame spirits, crystalline rainbows, rock golems, mages and sorcerers of every type, children dressed as barbarians with oversized toy battle axes, dwarves dressed like gnomes and librarians wearing spectacles that were too small for their laughing faces with beards that were braided with tiny scrolls and books.

There were warriors who were pretending to be druids and even beasts of various sorts, from two men wearing a pegasus costume with fake wings that they were flapping at passers-by to a group of seven women who were dressed up in a connected hydra costume that was striped in purples and greens. The central body joining them all together was an illusion of the ocean that constantly poured out rippling waves of mist-like water that soaked everyone close to them. They pretended to bite and snatch at any children in their way, only to leave them with pieces of candy instead.

Everything was overwhelming and filled with the shouts and laughter of the crowd.

Sam froze as he let the sensations wash over him, tilting his head back as he looked up at the moons hanging close above. Here, framed by the city walls, it felt as if they were descending between the towers of the Ice Palace and nearly touching the streets. He could feel the vague working of some massive illusion enchantment across the city that was making them appear even closer than when he was standing on the peaks.

The streets and the walls of the buildings and shops on the sides of the plaza were painted with moonlight, which rippled like the ocean as clouds and the people in the plaza moved through the night. It was almost like he had suddenly leapt into the heavens and was walking on the surface of the moons.

It was a madness where every individual action was part of a greater palette, like an artist’s brush had swirled the night, the city, and the moons all into one, splattering droplets in every direction with creative fury. Sound, color, and the living mass of humanity was all blended together, flung to every corner of the world as Crystal Focus sent him everything at once.

It took him a few moments to adjust as he pulled himself back, grounding himself in his own reality as he focused on his heartbeat, letting it form the foundation for his world, and by the time he did, the people celebrating in the plaza had noticed him. Even amongst the vast array of costumes and illusions, he stood out, partly because of the natural aura he radiated that was far more intense than any illusion. The shouts were immediate and joyous.

“Horned Hunter!”

“The Guardian of the Moons!”

“World Spirit!”

“Dweller on the Silver Peak!”

“Protector of the Valley!”

“Wild Lord of the Night!”

One voice blended into the next as a dozen names and titles were called out and then he was suddenly surrounded by people, as garlands of flowers, showers of candy, and fluttering bits of cloth filled the air, falling on his shoulders and horns.

There were disgruntled voices as well, along with those who turned and ran from him, and some children stared with wide eyes. Reflected in their pupils, he could see the tall, golden-skinned titan with curling horns and sapphire eyes that glowed with starlight. Streamers of moonlight bent naturally around him, flaring with streaks of astral silver and crystal flame. With the garlands and flowers adorning his horns like crowns, he was a natural symbol of the festival.

Perhaps if his Charisma had been lower, the reactions would have been less severe, but with 100 in the attribute, he radiated a natural and compelling attraction. Fortunately, it also gave him an insight into their characters and what they needed to hear.

“The moons protect all, from night to eternal night,” he spoke quietly but his voice rumbled through the crowd on a wave of sparkling essence. “Celebrate with the blessings of life, the elements, and wild passion.”

And then in a burst of swirling crystal flame, he was gone, slipping away from the crowd as he sought out a quieter side street and appeared again. This time, he drew a cloak of moonlight around himself, like camouflage as he blended into the stones. The moons were so intense that another streak of moonlight would draw little attention as it rippled past the buildings.

Behind him, he could hear the shouts of the crowd as they reached a fever pitch, and he turned away, gliding through the side streets as he matched up the impressions from Crystal Focus to a map of the city that he’d seen. Before long, he was away from the most densely packed plazas and closing in on one of the streets that held some enchanters’ shops.

The buildings here were ornate, built from carefully fashioned marble and even elementally-aligned ores that gave them enhanced durability and made them gleam with retained mana. Each of them was unique in their own way, but they all shared a basic palette of blue, green, and grey in some element of their design. The doors were thrown open and welcoming illusions and signs marked the entrances, as well as steaming vats of mulled wine, cider, and spices to welcome customers and keep them warm. The scents spread outward, giving everything a faint haze of cinnamon and apples.

It didn’t take long to find the shop he wanted and moments later, he ducked through the low doorway, which wasn’t high enough for his horns. Whoever had designed the shop, they hadn’t done it with large races in mind. Once he was inside, he dropped the moonlight concealment as he looked over the goods on display.

This was one of the higher-end enchanting shops, but he was not impressed. There were a few weapons and shields with Advanced and Expert enchantments, a handful of utility items to make life on the road easier, some defensive artifacts that could summon a last-minute shield, and a few single-use attack enchantments, like one that could conjure a wall of spinning blades. There were also the more standard assortment of wands and staves, which held the enchantment patterns for various spells, similar to the Wand of Ice Bolt that he’d modified for his sister.

Overall, however, it was a load of junk. There was nothing that touched on the edge of a natural concept, that dealt with rune formation, or that could channel large amounts of mana and aura at the same time, which was a requirement for essence. Using any of these items would be more of a hindrance than a help.

“Ahh, my good gentleman! How can I....” A man at the counter began to turn around when he sensed Sam’s arrival, but as soon as he saw him, the rest of his words froze in his mouth, leaving his jaw hanging open.

“Horned...Hunter!” He finally managed to spit out the first words that came to him as he staggered backward, grabbing onto the counter for balance. After a moment, he caught himself and fell into a familiar role. “How...can I help you? Would you like some mulled festival wine or to see the highlights of our shop? We have the finest enchantments in Highfold!”

“Do you have any lunar gemstones?” Sam ignored his reaction as he turned to what he was looking for. “Any variety aligned with one of the three moons, but the higher the tier, the better.”

The gems he wanted were natural crystals that had been bathed in the light of the three moons for several years, night after night. He had samples of a few in the bag that Garild had given him, but not enough to be truly useful. As far as he’d been able to tell, they had been set into a mana and moonlight-gathering enchantment and left there for a long time, until the crystal structure of the gems began to take on some of the qualities of the moons.

They were one of the more unique items that Highfold created for the Festival, as they were apparently popular for souvenir jewelry and some illusions. If he could find a few more of them, he had a much better use in mind.

“Ahh, that’s...” The man at the counter continued stuttering until Sam sighed and reached out, tapping the counter with a talon.

When he pulled his hand back, there were two Epic monster cores sitting there. In terms of wealth, each of them was worth enough to buy two or three of the most highly enchanted pieces of trash that were on display, if his estimate of the prices was right. The strongest core used in any of them was only Expert. He had plenty more cores, but no reason to show them off. The shopkeeper’s eyes were already fixed on those two.

“These are...not refined yet?” The man stammered out, his attention pulled away from Sam’s appearance.

“No.” The answer should have been clear at first glance. No enchanter should allow someone else to refine their materials for them and that was what Epic cores were. Offering refined ones would have been insulting, not to mention that it would have left his signature on them, which wasn’t something he was planning to do. “Now, the lunar gemstones?”

“Here.” The man pulled a lined tray out from below the counter, on which two dozen small gemstones were arranged in rows. They were in a variety of colors, but each of them glimmered with a trace of moonlight. “These have been expertly crafted over the last seven years to harness the light of the three moons. Each of them was bathed in a moonlight pool while high-grade monster cores and mana crystals constantly poured energy into them. Each is worth an Expert-level beast core on its own.”

The man glanced at the Epic cores again and coughed slightly as a light orange aura surrounded him and pushed toward Sam.

“At an exchange rate of three to one for Epic cores, surely you will find that it is a wonderful deal.”

The aura of the Persuade ability wavered as it tried to push closer to Sam, but it trembled as if it were facing a hurricane wind. An instant later, it shattered as it was swept backward, simply from the pressure of facing Sam’s Charisma.

“Two.” Sam pointed at the cores he'd placed down as he swept the tray off of the counter and emptied it into his spatial bag. He set it back down with a click on top of the glass. He ignored the man’s attempt at Persuade. He’d been expecting something like that from the merchants.

“Ahh, anything for such an esteemed guest.” The man was trembling slightly from the backlash of the broken ability and he didn’t try to resist as the gemstones disappeared.

The price of the lunar gemstones was far less than the man suggested and probably less than a single Epic core, which meant he was already overpaying. It might have taken seven years to create them, but during that time they had clearly been ignored and just sitting in an enchantment. They were each about as energetic as a Basic core, which meant they’d been fed by little more than ambient mana. Making them was just something for the enchanters to do while waiting for the next festival, to keep up their stock of toys to sell.

After leaving, Sam slipped back into the concealment of the moonlight and did the same thing with a handful of other enchanting shops, until he had nearly a hundred of the lunar gemstones. There were only half a dozen places that had the gems, and by the time he left the last one, barely an hour had passed.

The gems were varied, mostly made from sapphires, emeralds, and purple amethysts, although some diamonds with hues that tinted toward the color of one of the moons were present as well. There were even a handful of colorful, swirled opals that held the right combination.

As they were, the gems were useless. The long attunement process hadn’t instilled much real strength in them. They were meant to be toys that just gave off some moonlight for an illusion, and the energy of the moons was faint.

But he could fix that.