The day of the festival saw the streets filled with visitors at their stands selling all sorts of wares, Jack and Dolph enjoyed the festival thoroughly. As Dolph wrestled with which pastry he wanted from the stand, Jack caught something out of the corner of his eye; a little girl running around with a panicked look on her face.
"I'll be right back," Jack muttered, Dolph nodded not really paying attention.
Jack pushed past the crowds until he was near the worried girl.
"Hey, are you okay," Jack asked softly. Much to his shock, the girl kept forward and clung to his pants leg tightly, sobbing a little. Extremely uncomfortable with the current situation, Jack knelt down to both look at the little girl in the eye and peel her off his leg. "It'll be alright... tell me what's the matter."
"I-I can't f-find my mom," she said through her building tears.
"Uh, let's try to find a guard. Maybe they can help you," Jack suggested, not comfortable with being responsible for the little girl.
"No," she protested, her tears finally flowing. "No one will listen to me. You are the first grown up to help."
"I...ok," Jack hesitated and then nodded, giving the girl a reassuring smile. "Come on, let's find your mother," he held her hand and they went searching, the little girl's sobbing dried up slowly as they searched.
-----
Jack's searching took until sundown before they found the little girl's mother, a visiting merchant, who was almost in tears herself until she heard her daughter's voice. Jack let go of the girl's hand and watched as she ran into her mother's open arms.
"I was so worried about you. How did you find me?"
"The nice man led me back here," the little girl pointed back towards the crowds and looked around in confusion. "Where did he go," she asked sadly.
High above the crowds, watching unseen, was a glowing, pulsating light that observed Jack as he tried to find Dolph again. It proceeded to follow Jack from high above, aware of the other lights hovering nearby.
----
"There you are! Why did you leave me," Dolph asked, his voice more amused than angry.
"Sorry, I had something to take care of."
"Well at least you're back, and hey I found some of your friends."
Jack was confused for a moment, did the others come to surprise him? He got his answer and wasn't thrilled with it when he heard a familiar voice.
"Hey, Jackie boy!"
"Oh no," Jack muttered under his breath before he put on a fake smile. "Adrian, it's been quite a while." 'Not nearly long enough.'
"What are you doing back here? Come for the festival maybe," came a second voice.
"Gerald, you're here too." 'oh fantastic.'
"We heard your friend here searching for you and offered our to help. So what sort of adventures have you been on? Saved any towns? Bedded any princesses?"
"You two do realize we aren't quite allowed to take jobs correct? It is next term that we can officially go on quests," Dolph tried to explain.
"Ahh, that's no excuse," Gerald waved his hand dismissively. "When he left, Jack swore he'd come back a great hero. So let's hear about your exploits," Gerald insisted, smirking slightly.
Jack smiled confidently and crossed his arms over his chest. "I helped destroy a large pack of werewolves."
Jack expected the two to look at him in awe, but what he got was underwhelmed shrugs.
"Is that supposed to impress us?"
"Excuse me," Jack's expression is one of bewilderment.
"We've killed more threatening things on our sailing journeys. I have personally killed dozens of sea trolls and a kraken," Adrian stated proudly.
"It was a giant octopus and you know it," Gerald corrected.
"The point is we still don't understand why you waste your time at the academy, when you could have accomplished more here."
"Ah, it won't really matter after tonight," Gerald said dismissively before Jack could respond.
"What's happening tonight," Dolph's eyes narrowed.
Adrian and Gerald looked back and forth between Dolph and Jack before they understood the confused expressions they wore.
"Oh. Well if no one has told you, then this should be a great surprise." Before he could say more the sound of drum beats echoing in the air. "Ooo, that would be the signal that the fireworks are about to begin, and then the main event," Adrian added before he and Gerald left.
"What do you suppose that meant," Dolph scratched his head.
Jack sighed heavily. "I'm not sure. Let's...just try to enjoy the show."
"Is there something wrong?"
"It's nothing," Jack grunted, starting off to find a location to watch the show. Dolph started after him, patient in the knowledge that Jack would explain later.
-----
The audience gathered near the harbor to watch the reenactment of the event that led to the defeat of the dreaded pirate lich. The ship, filled with fireworks, was already sailing to open water.
"What about the crew," Dolph asked.
"The crew jumps from the ship and merfolk will swim them away well before the bolt hits. It's starting," Jack pointed toward the cliff where the ballista bolt was being ignited. With the drumbeat increasing in intensity, the chosen herald approached the ballista with a torch.
As the bolt tip became engulfed in flame, the drums stopped. The onlookers watched as the bolt was hurled through the night sky like a shooting star, meeting the silhouette of the ship. A faint glow began to emanate from the ship deck as the flames spread through the decks. As the flames found the fireworks and ignited the payload the onlookers gasped in awe at the spectacle. The night sky was alight with a multitude of colors and explosions.
"Well? Are you happy you came along," Jack whispered to Dolph, his mood having lightened slightly since his run-in with Adrian and Gerald.
"Indeed I am. I may try to return for next year."
As the fireworks finished, Mama Helga amplified her voice with a quick spell to be heard over the crowds.
"And now we will finish this Windjammer Festival with our celebratory dance and obligations," she waved her hand and the stands set up in the city square were broken down and moved out of the way. But that wasn't all she did, she also cast a sleeping spell on all the children and the parents carried them away.
"Jack, you want to explain to me what is going on?"
"I don't know. I thought the fireworks was the end of the festival," Jack looked around at the rest of the people for some possible explanation. "I guess we should follow them."
-----
As they gathered at the town center a band finished setting up their equipment and began to play. Jack soon found himself being pulled along into the circle by a blond haired woman, a fog descending over his mind as he entered the area. In a trance like state, Jack began to join the dance unaware of what was going on around him.
Dolph, after being conditioned to resist mental manipulation spells due to his training, moved his hand to hover over his warhammer and be prepared for any surprises.
"You won't be needing that here paladin," a voice whispered beside him, causing him to tense up and nearly draw his weapon.
"What is the meaning of this? What have you done to these people," Dolph demanded.
Mama Helga chuckled slightly, as though a child had just told her a joke. "Oh calm down. Do you sense and malevolent forces here," she motioned to the merry crowds before them.
"Evil can hide in plain view, as we have been taught. Perhaps you could explain your actions," Dolph requested.
"Very well. Firstly, do you know how celestials and infernals come to be on our world?"
"A simple question everyone should know the answer to," Dolph raised an eyebrow, more curious where she was going with this than wary. "They are the results of a union between either angels or demons and usually humans, other races are more rare but not unheard of."
Helga smiled and nodded. "Good, good. And you know how the product comes to know their lineage."
"The offspring is born looking normal, but as they grow into adults their heritage begins to show. I have seen such changes in people as I grew up."
"The plan that saved the original settlers of Helmharbor was not the famous Captain Falk's idea, but delivered by two brings from beyond," she explained, "one being the dark god of war and the other being the light goddess of the oceans. Both hated how the lich Zotarn was disrupting their realms. Bryagh was having armies sunk before they could wage war, and Lyrin was distressed that her domain was being twisted into something horrible by the lich's power. So the two saw a chance to get rid of the problem when they saw our ancestors distress. The two offered aid, but asked a price. For their subtle manipulations of the events, they asked that every once in a while a few beings would come and produce offspring among our people. A small price to pay for salvation. To help our children grow up without being judged for who their parent was, a spell is placed on the child upon birth. Their heritage will be kept suppressed until released by this ritual," she tapped the faintly glowing runes that lined the large town center.
"But will the spell never be released if they never return?"
"It fades upon their twentieth birthday anyways, but that can be a bit confusing for them. This event allows us to help the children into their new life."
The runes were slowly growing brighter as the tempo of the music increased.