Gil looked happier than ever hearing that Elise didn't know about the traditions of the harvest festival. "Well, the basics. It happens every year after the first harvest. This brings a lot of merchants to the kingdom and many of the farmers celebrate. It's all about food." Midnight was sleeping by the fireplace and instantly hot her head up to listen. She had not been to a harvest festival either. Onyx soon followed from his own spot on by the fire place.
"We will have a lot of the local delicacies o display for adventurers, travelers, and even the nobles that come from the upper tiers. Many of the farmers that brew beer and mead set up their first batches to finish by the harvest so that they can sell them to taverns for extra income. It is a big pay day for many in the city."
Gil was sure that this was a commonly known fact. "The season is ending and many things start to wither and die.. The cold winter air will just start to frost now and again so many people are chilled and on edge. It's great for spreading the harvest season stories. Monsters that show up to try and steal away harvests. Ghosts and other undead moving to the city to visit relatives or fulfill last wishes. Even demi gods and gods visiting in disguise. They go on and on."
The proud look on Gils' face spoke volumes to how many of these stories he could tell. "So it's food and spooky stories? I'm alright with the food but I won't chase after any ghosts." Elise made it clear right away that she was not about to go ghost hunting and battling with the group against evil spirits.
"That's not all there is. There are games hosted by the shops to promote their items. The adventurers guild opens their training grounds for spear throwing competitions, sports demonstrations, even a magic show using fire and water! The main square becomes a dance floor and the fountain is dyed orange with flower oils. It's all very festive and exciting." Gil looked like he was hiding one last detail and Elise took the bait.
"What else?" She had to ask. The look on Gil's face was telling her there was one last part that was better than all the other.
"Some people even dress up in costumes so that they can play the part of a spooky spirit or a monster for the night. It's to apparently scare off evil spirits but I'm not sure how it scares them away when most people look like other professions and cute things." Gil couldn't help but remember the groups of children that roamed around dressed as their favorite jobs and adventurers from storybooks.
"Then I will get a matching costume with Stella! We are going to be the best dressed!" Stella had been silent watching became much more excited. She had been waiting for all the information to come out for her to react. But when she saw that Elise was excited her walls crumbled and she showed her true feelings on the matter.
Midnight and Onyx looked more excited about the food. Midnight was sure to eat every possible stall owner's supply by the end of the night while Onyx would be the translate and most likely end up assisting Midnight in her food retrieval.
"You didn't tell them about the sweets! There are gourd and pumpkin shapes candies and cakes. Then the sunflower cookies are the best!" Lisa had heard everything while she walked in and was not happy that Gil had forgotten her favorite part. "I've already made Midnight her costume but none of you have even asked for one so I had to make some things up a little. Not that I think you will wear them anyways but I figure there will be the option." Lisa did her best to look angry but the smile kept creeping on to her face.
"You made Midnight a costume already? Wait, what did you make everyone else?" Walker didn't expect his sister to make everyone costumes for it. Walker had been planning to just put on a big hooded robe and walk around mysteriously as a mage.
"I even made a pair of wings so a certain person can match with a certain harpy and be a pair of angles." Lisa was exposing too much but she knew that she would end up with Stella and Elise to try things on.
"You did!? Walker, your sister is the best! I am stealing her to go and try things on, byeee!!" Elise pulled Lisa from the room as they two giggles and talked about the details. Stella had no choice but to follow behind. However, it was clear she was more than happy to join them in the costume trying event.
"I think I need to give Lisa more next time we go out and visit somewhere. The rune fabrics were probably useful but now she's made us all costumes." Walker felt a little like a bad brother for taking so much from his sister .
"She does it because she loves to do it. I think that's enough for her. Plus she gets to watch the fashion show when we all put them on." Su pointed out the details and Walker couldn't argue in the least.
"Hey Gil, what happened to the demons that you were teaching?" Walker realized that they were nowhere nearby.
"Oh, I asked my father to bring them to a small group of hunter friends he has. They get together and compare what they hunt. I thought it would be a good place for them to learn about archery and arrow making." Gil had been sure that the group would be accepting but he also knew that the demons would fit in better with the small group than a large group.
"That's great! I'm glad you found them a good place to learn. I bet they will fall in to place with no problem with some time to adjust and heal." Walker knew that many still needed time to heal from what they faced. However, the hope that the new jobs and quests would guide them to heal faster was strong.
"Hey...what do you two think Lisa was thinking of dressing me up as?" Su sounded a little worried after this. It was as if she had a fearful premonition of giant orc costumes.