The hammering of metal filled the air as they entered the enclosed forge. A bulky toad looked up from his work upon their entry and gave them a big, friendly smile. He was the size of a full adult and very broad shouldered. He had no problem seeing them over his relatively tall counter while the children, Valerie and Snickers included, would require a stool to get so much as their whole head over.

"Ah, new customers." He placed his work down and removed his gloves and protective apron. "Adventurers are always welcome in my shop. What can I do for you?"

The children started to look around at the many weapons. Bluey, Chloe, and Bingo admired the swords. Rusty, Snickers, and Jack were looking at the axes and maces, but Indy stayed at Valerie's side while staring at a rack of polearms in the middle of the shop.

"Is there a fletcher employed here?" Valerie asked standing on a provided stool so she could see over the counter better.

The toad shrugged. "No, but I've dipped my hand in the profession. I can assure you, I am well versed in arrows. How many will it be?"

"Fifty," Valerie replied, "Swallow tail heads, steel, long bow length, red feathering, wide; wooden nock, and red oak shaft please."

The toad chuckled. "Very specific. I see I have a connoisseur on my hands."

"It's part profession, part personalization if I am to be honest. I do have a request before you work on them… I must ask that is..." Valerie pulled her broken bow from her quiver and placed it on the counter. The Toad already knew what she wanted and scratched his head. "Can you fix this?"

He hummed grimly at first but after a bit of contemplating he nodded, "Well… supposedly. I can use a repair spell, but I'd need a weapon of similar material and quality."

"A spell?" Chloe asked excitedly. "To fix her bow?"

"That's good!" Bingo said, beaming at Valerie. "That means you can keep your friend's bow."

Valerie smiled sadly at Bingo. "It would… yes. But not this time."

The toad sighed. "Ah, I see you don't have that kind of item. No other bow? How much do you have, maybe you can purchase one."

"I don't have that kind of money," Valerie said hiding her face in her hands, which here latched onto the counter.

While the other children felt bad for Valerie, Rusty had suddenly remembered his sword. He took it from between his back and backpack and examined it. It was simple in design, sharp as any blade, which was surprising, and had served him only once to kill a stone giant. He was hoping to use it again… but he felt it would be better used to help Valerie.

"Will this work?" Rusty struggled to place his sword on the counter but accomplished giving it to the smith.

"Ah, that's perfect!" He smiled. "This will do just fine." The smith picked the sword up and examined it. "Been a while since I've seen a blade like this."

"Wait!" Valeire placed a hand on her bow to stop him from grabbing it. "Rusty, your sword will be broken. You need a sword. I'm not sure what class you are, but your abilities may depend on this weapon."

"I have some good quality clubs," the toad advised as he pointed behind him. "They're cheap. May not be a sword, but they'll hold you over. If he's a marshal class then it'll be no problem for him to use, I'm sure."

"But that sword was made for you," Indy said, sadly gripping his arm. "Are you sure you want to give it away?"

Rusty frowned but gave an affirmative nod. "I'm sure. I'll take a club, don't worry, Valerie."

Valerie hesitated but took her hand off her bow and gave the toad a nod. "I appreciate this, Rusty. I will replace it with something better when we get to Watchveil."

"You always were very brave, Rusty," Smiled Indy. Rusty smiled back and sheepishly scratched his head.

"Here you are, lad," The toad placed a plain looking stick with a smooth body and thick, neat head on the counter. "I'll throw this one in for free. For a good deed." The toad gave a proud nod and then got to work.

"Wait," Jack said as he spotted a blade that caught his eye. He ran to the rack of swords, then picked the one with a handle made of a fat root and a black and bumpy looking blade. "What about this one?" He brought it to Valerie to check.

"Ah," The toad chuckled after turning his head from his worktable to see. "There's a fine choice. Sturdy, but also cheap. That's a black iron blade. It's not an adventurers first choice, but… I pride myself with my cheap, sturdy weapons such as this. It'll do you better than the club, I imagine."

"How much?" Valerie asked examining the blade.

"Sixty shekels," He replied. "As I said, cheap."

"I have a little over enough," Valerie said under her breath. She messed with her coin purse and bounced it in her hand. "Can we settle for fifty if the leftover of my friend's sword remains with you?"

The toad shrugged. "I can make do with that. It saves me from having to form a hilt and cross guard. I may be able to use this blade as well... It's a deal. Fifty shekels. Not every day you see orichalcum wood anyway."

"Right," Valerie smiled then handed the blade over to Rusty. Rusty excitedly took the sword and smiled at it as he easily and skillfully swung it. It had a little more weight than his wooden blade, but he didn't care that much about it. It was a real sword after all. "I hope that serves you well, Rusty. But it's not what I promised. When we get to Watchveil, I'll replace it with something better."

"You don't have to," Rusty shook his head. "This is fine. Snickers can you put this in my backpack?"

"Sure," Snicker took the club then stuffed it in Rusty's backpack the best he could.

Shortly after, there was a loud crack and everyone's heads turned toward the toad. His broad body blocked off the work but the shimmering light in front of him was hard not to notice. Suddenly there was a whoosh followed by another crack and the toad lifted the bow then drew it back. Seeing the weapon whole again and sturdily taking the toads tests, Valerie let out a breath of relief. One she didn't realize she was holding.

"There you are," The toad smiled giving her the bow. "What do you think?"

Valerie took hold of the bow and stroked the brownish red curves. It was like a whole new bow. "It's beautiful. Thank you for your services. And for the arrows?"

"I'll get to work right on it," the toad replied, "It'll be twenty shekels for fifty. They'll be ready in a few hours."

"I'll come back with the money," Valerie nodded, "Thank you."

"Until then," The toad waved, then got back to work.

"Where are we going next?" asked Bluey.

"Not far," Valerie replied, "I need more money, so I'm going to sell off a few of my scrolls at the pawn shop. Then I'll visit the healers to fix my leg, the apothecary to restock on healing potions, and… we'll see from there."

"Can we get anything?" Bingo asked.

"Well… if you have the money," Valeire replied sheepishly. "I'd love to get you something, but I just don't have enough."

"Could I sell some of my stuff?" Rusty asked as he bounced his backpack.

"Of course," Valerie nodded, "The pawn shop will buy just about anything. We can see about getting you some armor too. Maybe nothing extensive, but you'll at least stand a better chance with some kind of armor rather than none."

Rusty fixed his bag excitedly. "Alright. I hope this stuff sells for a lot. I'm gonna need armor." It was all exciting for the children. Real armor and weapons like in the fairytales! It was as if they were living in a dream.

Valerie smiled. She couldn't help but find their enthusiasm endearing. "We'll just hve to see what we find."

X

Honey and Coco found themselves near Victor's cage once again. He was laying down again, his tail flicking ever so often. They stood at a distance, without tools this time since the cages only needed cleaning once a day. Honey still felt bad over the argument she had with Mackenzie.

Coco stared at the cage for a while beside Honey.. She turned her gaze and saw her looking down, probably lost in thought. "Honey?" She didn't answer. "Honey?"

Honey looked up and at Coco. "Huh?"

Coco fiddled with her hands then gestured at the cage. "Victor is looking hungry. Aren't you going to feed him?"

Honey sighed glumly. "Yeah… I guess I should… It's just…"

Coco understood even though Honey didn't finish. She hugged Honey and gave her a sympathetic smile when she let go. "I'm sure he forgives you. Mackenzie not a meanie like that."

"But what I said was really mean." Her eyes were getting misty. "What if I hurt him too bad and he doesn't want to forgive me?"

"He does forgive you," Coco replied confidently.

Honey sniffled and wiped her nose. "Then why didn't he let us help him clean the water tubs?"

"Well, sometimes boys like to be alone when they get hurt. They don't like it when others see them cry. And Mackenzie didn't push us away. So, that's how you know he forgives you."

"Really?" Honey asked, cleaning her face. "How can you tell?"

"I have a lot of brothers and sisters. And my brothers always liked to be alone when they're upset. So, I just leave them alone and they came and played when they wanted to. My mom says it's best to give them space when they're sad. It lets them process things and helps them feel better."

Honey felt a little better now. Understanding what Mackenzie was probably doing helped improve her mood. She finished cleaning herself up and smiled. "Thanks, Coco."

"You're welcome." Coco smiled back and they hugged again. "So, ready to feed Victor now?"

Honey nodded. "Ready."

The girls approached the cage. Victor's ears perked and his head lifted as the girls approached. Coco stopped at a certain point, not yet confident enough to accompany Honey to the meat box.

"What's wrong?" Honey asked when she noticed she stopped.

"I… think you should do it on your own. I don't like the way he's looking at me," Coco replied. Victor was staring at her but with no particular kind of emotion. He just laid down and stared at the poodle for a long time.

"He's not gonna hurt us," Honey assured. "He's in the cage anyway."

"I'll just stand right here," Coco smiled nervously.

The nerves were contagious. Honey had fed the leafine once, but it was still scary. And recalling the memory only made her more nervous. Still, she could at least get the easy part done. She opened the meat box and placed a slab on the box. The sound made the leafine jump up. Coco gasped at the sudden action and jumped back but Honey had yet to notice. She mixed the sleeping draught in then turned to face Victor. He was staring at her and bobbing his head, eagerly looking for a way to get the food faster.

"Okay." Honey took a deep breath. "I can do this. I can do this." She approached the cage slowly but jumped back when Victor reached out and grumbled. "Whoa!"

Coco gasped and covered her eyes with her ears. She didn't want to watch, but her curiosity made her peek through to see.

Honey sighed in relief. Victor sat up and frustratedly let out a noise similar to a meow but more like a roar. Honey jumped back again and wasn't sure she could go through with it. "Maybe we should get Oliver. I don't think I can do this!"

"But Oliver doesn't like to feed Victor," Coco replied, "And if you don't feed him he'll be hungry. And we won't be able to change his water. Then he'll be hungry and thirsty!"

She was right. Honey whined and swallowed hard. She started moving closer, slowly but surely. Victor started pacing around the cage, looking for a way out. Honey finally reached the cage then quickly tried dropping the meat in the cage floor, but it fell off when she bounced back. Victor tried to catch it and nearly swiped Honey in the process. Had she not jumped back, she'd have been caught. Victor made another frustrated roar, making the girls close their ears, and tried to fit through the bars to get the food.

"I'm sorry!" Honey apologized to him. "I-I'll…try again." She picked the meat up. it was covered in dirt, but since he was an animal he was probably not gonna mind. She again tried to quickly hand him the meat and this time his paw managed to grip it. Her arm was so small compared to his paws that it was trapped between his claws. He pulled, pulling her in the process then slammed her against the cage and dropped her. Coco and Honey screamed but Honey was mostly unscathed as she dropped to the ground with a thud and a grunt.

"Honey!" Coco ran to her side. Victor was now distracted by the food, making her feel a little more comfortable approaching the cage. Honey crawled back and Coco pulled her the rest of the way. Both girls watched as Victor gobbled the meat down then cleaned his paws and maw. "That was super close!"

"Yeah," Honey huffed and gripped her chest as she regained her breath and recovered from the shock. Both girls stared at him as he started looking for more. Honey squinted and fixed her glasses so she could see him more clearly. "He's acting… like he's starving."

"He only gets that one big chunk of meat then he falls asleep. He probably doesn't eat much," Coco frowned.

Honey gripped the ground beneath her. She knew what the right thing to do was, but she was so scared to go through that again. They could wait and play it safe then he'd fall asleep. Or she could feed him again… He might remember her for that. And that made the thought more enticing. She gathered her resolve and stood up and dusted herself off.

"He needs more. That's not enough. I'm feeding him again!" She started marching towards the box.

"Honey! No!" Coco pulled her back. "He almost bit your arm off. You already have a bump on your head. What if he gets you this time?"

Coco was right, Honey thought. It was a narrow escape. But Honey didn't reply. She simply wiped her nose as she sniffed and marched again.

"Oh, I can't watch," Coco covered her head again.

Honey grabbed another slab of meat and glared at Victor who was eagerly waiting for the second helping. Honey approached then she reached out again. She jumped back then shouted, "No!" then stood in place and stomped. "I'm not gonna feed you if you keep trying to grab it. You be a good leafine and stay. I'll give it to you." Victor let out a pitiful growl as he lay on his side. Both his arms hung outside the cage while he growled and complained. "No!" Honey glared. "Sit!" He didn't respond. Honey took a few steps further. "Sit! You were a circus lion. I know you know what that means. Now sit!"

Coco peaked over her ear and gasped. Victor slowly got into a sitting position. "No way…"

"Now stay!" Honey commanded. She marched right up to the cage and placed the meat on the cage ground. Vector nearly dove for it. "No!" She pulled it back. Victor roared frustratedly and tried to swipe it. Honey again jumped back, but seeing as Victor was apparently capable of listening to her commands, she wasn't so scared anymore. "I said no!" She pulled the meat away and glared. "You wait for me. Understand? You," She pointed at him, "Wait for me," She pointed at herself then nodded and put her free hand on her hip like a disappointed parent.

Victor and Honey stared into each other's eyes. Neither of them budged for a while. Coco looked back and forth for the one who'd buckle first.

"Now, sit!" Honey commanded. Coco watched as Victor again took a sitting position and waited. Honey approached slowly. "Stay!" She went to place the meat on the cage ground again, but Victor nearly lunged for it once more. "No! Stay!" Victor stopped and seemed to bitterly sit again, his head tucked this time like a vulture's and an annoyed growl escaped him. Honey managed to place the meat on the ground then stared at Victor. She backed away. "Okay. You can eat now." Victor slowly approached the meat and began to eat his extra meal and finished it shortly. When Victor finished, he let out a yawn. The sleeping draught was taking effect. "See? Your not a bad lion… I mean, leafine at all. You're just grouchy. Probably because they don't feed you enough." Coco sighed in relief. Victor laid down and started to drift off to sleep.

"I can't believe he listened to you," Coco smiled, "That was amazing, Honey!"

Honey smiled as she placed her hands on her hips. "Yeah… it was..." Honey stared at Victor intently and slowly reached her hand through the bars to stroke his head. The sleeping droughts stopped him from reacting, but he twitched in his sleep. His head felt like normal fur, but the mane was soft and just like what one would expect if they tried petting a branch full of fuzzy leaves. "You are amazing, Victor…"

Coco smiled as Honey was fondly petting Victor. But eventually she knew they'd have to act soon. "We should probably get the water so we can clean his water dish. It's pretty warm out today.

"Okay," Honey agreed. "I'll get the water bucket."

"And I'll go get the key to his cage."

Both girls separated to get their item. But Honey stopped to look back at Victor once more. "Thanks for listening, Victor. You're a good leafine. Just like I knew you were…"

X

Mackenzie had long finished the tubs and filled them. He huddled next to the watering barrel, out of sight of the tent flap entrance. He had knees tucked into his chest and he was picking the grass and tossing it. He finished crying some time ago, but he still didn't feel like getting up or eating.

He could hear whistling in the distance. It was getting closer and louder. He hoped it would move on, but eventually, the whistler entered the tent and ended his tune on a high note. "Hm, now where did the… oh!" Oliver peeked around the corner with a big grin on his face. "Peekaboo! Now what are you hiding back here for? Where'd the girls run off to?"

Mackenzie stoically looked away and towards whatever was in front of him. Then he looked down at his knees as he frowned. "They went to go feed Victor… Honey and I got into a fight."

"Oh yeah?" Oliver scratched his head, "What about?"

Mackenzie picked another blade of grass and flicked it away. "It was about Victor. He's all she cares about now. I just wanted to eat after we were done. I knew we had to feed him but every time I brought up something else she'd keep saying we had to feed Victor. I just yelled at her."

"Oh, ah." Oliver fell silent. He wasn't very good at this, and Mackenzie could tell. Oliver and Mackenzie sat in awkward silence for some time. Oliver started to stammer, looking for something to ask or say, "Well… uh… what… um… how did she uh… well what was said? What did she say, I mean."

He seemed to have stuck a nerve since Mackenzie's head rested on his knees and her started to tear up. "I said Victor was just a mean lion… well… I meant leafine but I said lion."

"Yeah, I get it," Oliver nodded.

"She said that… I wasn't any better than the lion tamer. Because I pretended to be a mean lion tamer when we played circus in real life. In the real world, I mean."

"Oh?" Oliver arched his brow, "O-kay… I guess that's pretty bad too."

Mackenzie looked at him with a tilted head. He was really bad at this. "It hurt. I was only pretended to be mean; I wasn't actually mean in the game. Not like Victor."

"Well, what makes you think Victors mean?" Oliver asked in a chuckle. After seeing Mackenzie even more confused he realized what he had just asked. "I mean… yeah, Victor is bad it… he…I mean he's…" Oliver stammered again and paused frustratedly. He looked for better words, maybe something to change the subject but he let out a sigh.

Mackenzie watched things unfold curiously. Oliver was always saying how vicious Victor was, then suddenly he has to ask why Victor is vicious? Something wasn't right. And as Mackenzie thought about it, Oliver was oddly mild when talking about Victor. He wanted to start interrogating him about it, but instead, Mackenzie waited.

Oliver was quiet for a good ten seconds. "Look, kid, lying just isn't in my nature… To be honest, Victor isn't as bad as he seems."

Mackenzie tilted his head. "What?"

Oliver sighed again. "The truth is, Victor and I actually had a bond. We were very close. After every act, I visited him and gave him a reward. Some extra meat, a toy, I don't know, just stuff a leafine would like. The boss… Shefield. He couldn't tame Victor the same way he tamed the other leafines… not as easily anyway. Mostly though, Victor listened to me. He could even walk around town without a leash because we were so close. The boss tried to get him to listen to him but eventually he needed me to take over… you see… Victor is actually very docile. He's more calm then the average leafine. Extremely talented too. Wouldn't have known that by how hard he was to cage, but… even still. When the boss figured out he could disappear he tried using that to his advantage. He got me included and we pulled off a show or two. Then the boss gets an idea to get Donna involved, but Donna is… well, you saw." Mackenzie nodded.

"Heh, yeah… she threw one too many insults, thinking Victor didn't understand. But he does…" Oliver picked a blade of grass and flicked it, just he saw Mackenzie doing. "He does. And then the boss kept whipping him and… eventually he lashed out. He almost scratched Donna, then took a swipe at the boss." Oliver sighed and leaned back into the water barrel. "Everyone tried to jump in and control him… Then I came in and tried to calm him down… and that's how I got this." Oliver tapped his temple on the same side where his eyepatch was. "Victor didn't mean to. I knew. He calmed down right there and then and tried to… apologize I guess." Oliver covered his face and wiped it. The next time he spoke, his voice had slightly changed. "I started beating him. I was just… so angry with him, even though I knew he didn't mean to hurt me. I beat him into his cage with the boss's whip… and he never trusted me again…"

Mackenzie looked down at his feet then at Oliver. "So, that's why your afraid of Victor… And he's not really a mean leafine… he just doesn't trust anyone…"

"And he's alone… And that's my fault," Oliver scoffed, "When I went back to feed him, he nearly scratched my other eye. I tried to fix things, but he just wouldn't listen to me anymore. The boss wasn't so happy with me either for losing that bond. He almost kicked me out, but I've been kissing up to him and taking care of the animals. He figured that's where I was most useful. I need this job; I've got nothing else and nowhere else to go… I've always had a way with animals…" Oliver smiled. "I know all of them by name. I know what they like, what they don't like, and even how to motivate them to preform… But I'd give it all up just for Victor to trust me again…"

Mackenzie's back straightened. An idea had come to him. He stood up and patted himself clean then smiled at Oliver. "Oliver, could you teach Honey how to bond with Victor?"

Oliver arched a brow. "Heh. Mackenzie, I don't think that's a good idea…"

"It's important to her!" Mackenzie quietly exclaimed. "Maybe… she can help you. Honey is trying really hard to be Victor's friend… maybe if she succeeds, he'll know how to forgive you. Maybe he doesn't push you away because he's angry at you. He just doesn't want to hurt you again."

Oliver scoffed and shook his head. "That's quite a leap in logic."

"You said it yourself!" Mackenzie shot back, "You're the one who said Victor understands… So?"

Oliver stood up and brushed off his rear with a sigh. He and Mackenzie stared at each other then Oliver shrugged. "Alright, kid. Fine. I'll teach Honey everything I know. But I still expect you three to help me feed the other animals. We don't have all day with Victor. The Circus is the day after tomorrow. Until then, we keep to the other animals. I care about them too."

"It's a deal!" Mackenzie shook hands with Oliver.

Just then, Shefield, Donna, and a few other performers entered the tent. "Oliver!" Shefield shouted, "There you are! What are you doin' muckin' about? I've been tryin' to find you and here you are wasting time with the livestock. You've got a duty to every animal here, not just them, and I don't care how…"

Donna, impatiently interrupted, "Oliver, why is Lucy's cage so abysmal! It absolutely stinks!"

Oliver erected himself. "I don't know… I cleaned it this morning. Like I do every day."

Donna waved her hand. "Pspspsps! I don't want your excuses! If it smells, you clean it!" She began poking her finger into his chest harshly. "I don't care if you cleaned it this morning or five… minutes ago! Clean it until it sparkles. My Lucy will not put up with living in a stinky, nasty cage!"

"Aye, what she said," Shefield pointed as he placed his hands on his hips. "You hear her speakin,' don't you?"

"Y-yes, boss," Oliver saluted. "I'll get right on it."

"You'd better!" Donna glared deep into Oliver's soul then looked right at Mackenzie who was hidden behind the water barrel. She gasped and her mood had vastly improved. "Oh! What an a-dor-able little collie! What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Huh?" the entire room itched their head or tilted it to the side.

"Uh…" Mackenzie gulped quietly. "Mackenzie?"

Donna giggled. "What an absolutely wonderful name for such a cute little kid like you. You'll make for an excellent assistant. Shefield! Fire my last assistant and give me this adorable little girl!"

"What?" Mackenzie shook his head.

"What?" Shefield dropped his shoulders. "But Donna… love…"

"But I'm a boy!" Mackenzie pointed at his chest. "And I don't want to be your assistant!"

"Mm, no matter," Donna waved her hand, "You're still adorable and you'll make an excellent assistant! Come come, I don't' take no for an answer," She sing-songed, not even waiting for Shefield to approve of the decision, "Let's get you washed up. I think you'd look excellent in a bow tie."

"But… I don't want to," Mackenzie replied bluntly.

Oliver cleared his throat, getting his attention. "Best do what she says, kid, she's got a short fuse, and a temper to prove it. Besides, this could be good for you, you never know."

"But…,"

Before Mackenzie could argue Donna stomped her foot. "Asisstant! Come!"

Oliver motioned with his head for Mackenzie to get going. "O-okay…"

Oliver gave a big smile and waved him goodbye. "Movin' up in the world, kid. Everyone wants to be Donna's assistant. You're a lucky one. Have fun!"

Mackenzie frowned and gave Oliver an unsure look. But then mouthed two words. "Help. Honey."

Oliver gave a curt nod in response then upkept appearances but grinning dumbly at Shefield. Donna and Mackenzie were gone, and things went awkwardly silent. Even the performers and staff behind Shefield were awkwardly shifting. Meanwhile Shefield was standing there, jaw on the floor as his girlfriend had done yet another out-of-pocket thing. Eventually Oliver filled the silence, "So…uh… anythin' else?"

Shefield sighed and ribbed his temples. "I don't know… get perfume and spray the cage, I don't care, just get it done… I need a holiday."

"Got it," Oliver smiled and nodded, "Alright then…"

X

Bluey and Bingo ran around the market, giggling. The children split up Since Valerie was stuck haggling with the pawn shop owner. Rusty had just finished getting a great deal with all of his things, so now he was buying new gear with Jack and Snickers. Meanwhile, Chloe, Indy, Bluey and Bingo were running around the rest of the market. Indy was trying to experiment with her ability to talk with animals, but unfortunately it all ended in failure. Cat-like creatures that were giant in size with fluffy coats were the easiest to run into. Indy tried to stroke up a conversation with a few but none of them responded.

Meanwhile, Chloe, Bingo, and Bluey ran around the market, ahead of her. "Over here! Look, Bluey, Look!"

Bingo and Bluey caught up to Chloe as they saw what she was pointing at. It was a small shop with three columns. They were lined and filled with lamps with different colored lights and fish, real-looking fish, flying around them and swimming all together. Some of them were very extensive with at least three different kinds flying around in a pattern. Others were simple and small, with a single small line of fish following head to tail after one another. Then there were others where the fish simply flew around without a care in the world, as if the lamp was its home. The girls watched with wide eyes and wonder.

"Hello, dears," an elderly frog greeted them. "Are you interested in a lamp? Only a hundred shekels for this one." She lifted a red, blue, and yellow lantern with fish that swam in lines opposite of each other.

"I'd love one," Bluey replied, "But I don't have any money. Sorry."

"Oh, what a shame," The old frog smiled, "I thought you were adventures. Do pardon me." She sat down. "Feel free to admire my lamps."

"How do you make them?" Chloe asked. "Is it magic?"

The old frog laughed. "Why yes, dear, a very rare kind. These aren't real fish, as you might think, it's an illusion spell. See?" the old frog swept her hand across the largest lamp and the large fish barely reacted as her hand passed through them. The other fish lamps reacted to dodge her as she passed through her selection to demonstrate the illusion of this one big lamp.

"Whoa!" the girls said in admiration.

"It's beautiful," Bingo said as she admired one of the smaller lamps in front of her. She reached out and the fish flew away. She started to walk down the aisle and tag the fish but they all swam away from her and resumed their pattern or disappeared only to reappear near their lantern. It made her giggle and start attempting to catch them.

The old frog laughed with the girls and watched Bingo prance around. The other girls joined in and tried to catch larger and smaller fish in the shop, but also being careful not to knock any over.

"Ho ho," The old frog laughed, "You must be adventurers with such curious nature."

"Not really," Chloe replied as she stopped playing. "We haven't discovered our classes yet… We don't even know if we have one…"

"Patience, my dear, patience," The old frog smiled. She picked a small lamp with the tiniest fish. "Even illusionary fish must learn to grow. Some of them started very small when I made these lamps. The thing that made them grow was simply waiting for the right person to carry them to a dark place. And when that person emerged from the other side, they grew in size, because they know their purpose. Maybe, like these fish," The old frog chuckled as she motioned at some of the fish swimming around their lantern, "you simply need to help someone else find the other side of a dark place." She placed the lamp in Chloe's hands. "Perhaps, you should take this. I expect you will need to light a dark place one day."

"But… I don't have any money," Chloe frowned.

The old woman laughed and placed her hands on her cheeks. "I didn't ask for money, love." She kissed her head. Chloe closed her eyes then opened them and the old frog was gone.

"Huh?" Chloe looked around, the lamp still in her hands. "Where did she…"

"Hey, Chloe!" Bluey laughed, "Look at this one! He's so chubby!" Bluey pointed at a fat, blue fish that had large eyes and puffed cheeks. It inflated suddenly like a puffer fish, but it wasn't spikey. It was just like a blue balloon. The fish floated away and then deflated, blowing out a cloud of blue then swimming through it back to its lamp's safety.

Chloe giggled and looked down at the lamp she was given. It was blue with silvery yellow fish not even the size of a pinky swimming about in one direction in perfect lines. It was very small as lamps went, only slightly bigger than the width of her forearm. She didn't know where the old frog went, but she was glad to have one of these lamps. Even a simple one.

"Where did the old lady go?" Bingo asked as she ran out of the shop.

"Yeah, she was right next to Chloe," Bluey pointed as she looked around.

"I don't know what happened. She was in front of me then she suddenly disappeared," Chloe said, looking around. It was then she realized her hands were empty. "Huh? Wait! Where did…"

"What are you doing?" Bluey asked, tilting her head.

"I… don't know," Chloe dropped her hands. "I thought I was… never mind."

"Let's go see what other cool stuff we can find!" Bingo pointed deeper into the market.

"Okay!" Bluey and Chloe agreed.

Bluey ran ahead, but Chloe stopped and turned to look at the mystical lamp shop again. The old frog stood there, her hands behind her back and a large smile on her face. She waved goodbye, and as a gentlemanly toad passed in front of Chloe, the frog disappeared again. Chloe gasped and looked around for her, but she found no trace of the old frog. With nothing left to do, she followed after Bluey and Bingo.

The girls ran ahead, looking left and right till suddenly both spotted a sight to behold. They inhaled deeply in surprise and placed their hands on their cheeks. Chloe quickly caught up to them. "Okay, girls, what's next?" She turned her head and gasped.

"It's… the circus!" Bingo threw her hands up in surprise.

"Wow! A real circus!" Bluey exclaimed.

"It's so big!" Chloe exclaimed, "And colorful!"

"It's like a dream come true!" Bingo bounced in place. "Maybe we can see the circus today!"

Indy caught up. She threw her arms down and huffed. "I don't understand what's so difficult about this! Hmph! Stupid powers. Hmph!"

"Indy, what's wrong?" Bluey asked.

"I keep trying to talk to the animals, but none of them are listening to me! It's like a can't do it anymore."

"Well, maybe you can't," Bluey shrugged.

"But why not?" Indy huffed.

"Maybe because," Bluey looked up at the sky for answerers, "they don't have anything to say."

"Oh…" Indy hummed. "Maybe…"

"Or," Chloe said, wiggling her finger, "It only works on big animals."

"Oh, yeah," Bluey agreed, "Maybe that's it!"

"We're going to go see the circus. Maybe you can talk to those animals," Bingo suggested.

"The circus?" Indy asked grumpily. "No way! The circus is mean to animals! My mum says that the circus cages animals and whips them when they're frustrated. And they don't feed them very well. I'm not going anywhere where people are mean to animals."

"But it's only for the show. Don't you want to see monkey's juggle?" Bluey asked.

"Uh uh," Indy shook her head. "No way!"

"But they're all the colors of the rainbow. Rainbow means happy things," Bingo frowned.

"Rainbow?" Indy asked and turned her head to see the giant tents of the circus. While most tents were red and white, this one was indeed rainbow patterned. Indy gasped and took a big step back. "The colorful people… The colorful people! The one's Beauty was talking about!"

The girls all gasped. It made sense to them all. The colorful people had to be the circus performers!

"We gotta tell Valerie!" Bluey exclaimed.

"Look!" Bingo pointed at the circus again. Walking out of the circle of tents was a red coated Irish terrier, and six performers all dressed in different colors. Next to the terrier there was a short haired bearded collie with a button up shirt and yellow vest. They moved out of the way as they heard them talking.

"…But there's only one problem," The collie finished.

"Problem?" The terrier didn't like the sound of that. "What is it?"

"Er…" The bearded collie moved his bangs out of the way and read his notes on his clip board. "We… only sold a third of the tickets."

"Only a third?" The terrier asked with a light irish accent. "Ah, great. I-I don't know, figure something out. Granny's get in free with every purchase, I don't care just sell the rest! Make incentives! I want us to meet quota. No empty chairs this time! We only have till after tomorrow! Make it happen!"

"Yes sir! Yes sir!" The collie replied. He ran into a store's pole and shook his head then fumbled back to the circus lifting his bangs in one hand and carrying his clipboard in the other.

The Irish terrier groaned and rubbed his head. "I really need a holiday… Let's go, lads, the pub awaits… I need a drink."

The girls looked at each other. Bluey hummed as she examined the terrier's clothes. "That must be the ring master."

"See?" Indy pointed at his hip where a black whip with a purple jewel imbedded in gold sat wrapped on the side of his hip. "I told you they whipped animals."

"Let's go tell Valerie," Bluey whispered hoarsely, "She'll know what to do!"

"Okay!" the other girls agreed then scurried along to find Valerie. They finally had a lead on the colorful people.