After several days of travel, the landscape finally began to change.
The mountains gradually faded into the distance.
The snowy forests beca less dense.
And after crossing frozen trails, sleeping in caves, and surviving thanks to Audrey’s hunting, they finally found sothing they had been searching for for quite so ti.
Civilisation.
Claws walked calmly along a road while Nox observed the area from his back.
Ahead of them stretched a small fishing village built beside a massive frozen lake.
Dozens of wooden houses lined the icy shoreline.
Smoke rose from chimneys.
And for the first ti in a long while, they could see people living relatively normal lives.
Tessa looked at the village.
"I know this place."
Nox turned his head.
"Oh yeah?"
The inquisitor nodded.
"I passed through here on my way to the mountain for my mission."
Her expression turned bitter.
"I think we’ll be able to find sowhere to spend the night."
"That sounds wonderful."
Nox opened his bag and carefully pulled sothing out.
Another bark mask Audrey had made a few days earlier.
He stared at it for a mont before putting it on.
Then adjusted his hood around his horns.
And sighed.
"I don’t like doing this."
Audrey smiled.
"But it prevents problems."
"Exactly."
Nox crossed his arms.
"It’s very difficult to be an elegant man when you have to hide all the ti."
Audrey shook her head.
Then patted Claws’ fur.
"Co on."
The enormous bear started walking toward the village.
◇◆◇
The first surprise ca as soon as they entered the main streets.
There were far more people than they had expected.
The streets were brightly lit.
Lanterns hung between buildings.
There were food stalls.
Fishern.
Children playing.
And rchants selling all kinds of goods.
The atmosphere was surprisingly cheerful.
Nox looked around curiously.
"I thought it’d be more depressing."
"Why?"
"Because almost everything we’ve seen so far has been cold and abandoned."
Audrey considered that.
"Fair point."
Then they heard sothing.
Music.
And applause.
Nox raised an eyebrow.
"What’s that?"
Audrey listened as well.
The music was coming from a nearby square.
A huge crowd had gathered around sothing.
And like any person blessed with excessive curiosity and very little common sense...
Nox decided to investigate.
"Let’s go take a look."
Audrey smiled.
"I knew you were going to say that."
Behind them, Tessa raised her head.
"What?"
"We’re going to watch a show."
"And what about ?"
Nox pointed at Claws.
"You stay with him."
Tessa’s eyes widened.
"No."
"Yes."
"Don’t leave here!"
Nox was already walking away.
"We’ll be right back."
"YOU DAMN DEMON!"
The inquisitor looked around.
And then she noticed sothing horrifying.
A few tres away stood a stall overflowing with fish.
Buckets.
Crates.
Boxes.
Mountains of fish.
The sll was unbearable.
Tessa went pale.
"Please don’t leave here!"
Claws didn’t even hear her.
The bear was completely srised by the fish, as if he had just discovered paradise.
"CLAWS!"
The bear drooled.
"CLAWS, DON’T DO THIS TO !"
◇◆◇
anwhile...
Nox and Audrey reached the crowd.
The people were watching the centre of the square intently.
And when they finally managed to see what was happening...
Nox’s eyes widened.
"Oh."
Several dancers occupied the centre of the square.
All of them wore masks and outfits of different colours.
They moved in ti with a lody perford by a young boy playing a lyre.
The music was beautiful.
Hypnotic.
And among them all, one person imdiately stood out.
A woman with black hair, a white mask, and a black dress adorned with golden details.
Her movents were impossible to ignore.
She spun, leapt, and danced as though the music completely controlled her body.
Nox watched, fascinated.
"Wow."
Audrey looked equally impressed.
The woman perford another spin.
Moving with flawless grace.
Then sothing even more impressive happened.
The dancer leapt and landed directly on the roof of a nearby building.
The crowd gasped.
The music stopped.
The boy lowered his lyre.
And the entire square fell silent.
The woman gave an elegant bow from above.
Nox watched closely.
"That was incredible."
But she wasn’t finished.
The dancer took a step.
And jumped again.
The audience held its breath.
The woman spun so many tis that Nox lost count.
Ten full rotations in midair.
And finally descended.
Landing on the tip of one foot.
Perfectly balanced, like a ballet dancer.
The entire square froze.
Not literally.
Nobody seed capable of processing what they had just witnessed.
The woman gave another bow.
And for several seconds, nobody reacted.
Until...
CLAP.
Nox started applauding.
Everyone turned to look at him.
Then Audrey started applauding as well.
And the next mont...
The entire square erupted into applause, cheers, and celebration.
People praised the dancers.
So even threw coins.
The woman simply lowered her head again in gratitude.
Audrey continued watching her.
"Incredible."
Nox nodded.
"Yeah."
"I’ve never seen a performance like that before."
"I’ve seen plenty of performances by won."
Audrey raised an eyebrow.
"Similar ones?"
Nox fell silent for a few seconds, thinking about strippers.
"No."
"Very different?"
"Extrely."
Audrey decided not to ask any further questions.
It was probably better for everyone involved.
The music started again.
The dancers waved to the audience.
And then the boy with the lyre stepped down from the small stage.
He picked up a hat.
And began walking through the crowd.
"A coin for the artists."
He smiled kindly.
"Any contribution is appreciated."
People began dropping coins inside.
So only a few.
Others much more generous.
Nox watched the boy approach.
Then looked at the dancers.
And finally turned his attention back to the mysterious woman in the white mask.
Sothing about her caught his attention.
He wasn’t exactly sure what.
But he had the feeling that she wasn’t just a dancer.
He was completely captivated.
And the woman seed to notice.
Their gazes t through their masks.
Until the boy reached him and tapped him on the arm.
"A coin, Mr. Masked Man...?"
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