Head to the event.

As the sky dims, the city beneath becomes the opposite. Lanterns, both magic or by flame, illuminate the streets leading up to the central park of Avana--a location where many events take place. There are tents erected to either protect against the weather or to advertise all manner of products or games, with ribbons and banners of every colour. It isn't unusual for the queen to visit, though this is the first time since the Demon King's invasion of Tivera, so people have come from afar to hear news and to celebrate their victory. The air is filled with the scent of food, and the sound of musical instruments and voices singing in every direction.

From what you gather, the attack didn't spread beyond Tolis and Avana, which is great to hear given the neighbouring towns would have likely fared far worse against it. You forcing Elok Daven's hand saved many lives. He wasn't yet ready to invade, and you had able bodies positioned with the best strategy you could muster in the time given, with the tools you had. It wasn't only you of course, but the skill of many, whether that be the army of your own, or the adventurers and guards who rose up against such an unknown, dangerous threat.

It was truly not just a victory for the Empire of Tivera, but humanity as a whole.

Eyes are upon your group rather quickly. Lady Tesgella, naturally draws the attention of those around her ordinarily, but in such an extravagant gown, it's impossible to look away. Though nobody knows Xiaoqing, she's a beautiful young woman dressed up in a lovely dress of her own, and with a theme that not only allures interest, but curiosity as to whether or not she's somebody important they've never heard of before. And then there's yourself. Not only do you look both handsome and regal in the garb you wear, but as whispers carry through the crowd, more people catch on to who you are--the Demon King, the Hero King, the Ero King, Kyle Warren the ruler of the sovereign nation known simply as Castle Phoenix.

Though you wear no crown and you don't sit upon your throne, people seem to recognize your authority. It might be how you carry yourself, or your reputation may precede you. It likely helps as well that walking close to your left and right are stunning beauties.

The park itself is rather large. It's near the center of Avana, and directly in the middle of that is a stage of solid wood, with its own tent above. There are many lights surrounding it, and while the queen isn't yet present, soon she'll be under the spotlight of a thousand eyes. From what you've seen, however, she can more than handle such a thing. When she arose after being ill for so long, all she wanted to do was retrieve her position as ruler, and once again protect all of those within her empire. If the residents of Tivera are her pups, then she stands strong as the queen of wolves--further by the symbol which represents her nation.

"Step right over here, good sir!" calls a voice nearby. It's a man with a striped cap. His moustache is quite impressive, with curled tips, and he's dressed to impress. "Win a prize for one of your ladies? Or perhaps both. We wouldn't want one to get envious, would we?"

"It looks like a balloon game," says Nyllia. "How fun."

"They have carnies in Abso too, huh?" Xiaoqing comments.

The man continues. "One silver for two throws, two silver for five. Pop even one balloon and you get a prize. Pop two of them, and a grand prize is all yours!"

"Can... Can I try a round, Kyle?" asks Xiaoqing.

You smile and retrieve a silver coin. "Of course you can. How many throws do you want?"

"Two is all I need."

"Ooh-ho, confident. Come right over here, girlie. Let's get you started," says the man.

You place down the coin, and Xiaoqing takes her position in front of the stall. Past the man is a wall of balloons. Beneath that is a row of tiny, insignificant prizes, though above are what he likely wants you to admire--a shelf of large plushies, definitely the reward for popping two as he said.

The man places down three kunai throwing blades.

She plucks one up and pokes the flat of her finger with the tip. "They aren't that sharp."

"Of course not!" explains the man. "Children play this game too. But don't worry. They're just balloons. They'll pop with ease if you hit them right. Now I'll step out of your way. Whenever you're ready, young lady, have your first throw. I recommend the blue balloons. They say the material is thinner. But it's up to you of course."

She fingers the weapon in the hand. Then without any hesitation or fanfare, she whips it with incredible precision through the air to strike a pink balloon around middle of the wall. The strike is perfect. It collides with the center of the target, though just as quickly as it was thrown, it bounces off and lands to the ground near the man's feet.

He sighs. "So close. But don't worry! You have one more throw. You can't win the big prize, but... ah, that frown pains my heart. I'll tell you what. If you throw in a second silver now, not only will I give you the five throws, but I'll let you redo that one. How does that sound?"

She looks to you suddenly with a piercing stare. Something is wrong.

"Hmm. That looked like a direct hit to me," you say. "This game is totally possible, right?"

"Of course it is!" assures the man. "I wouldn't dare run a scam at a gathering for the queen. I'm no fool."

"Let's make a deal then. Let her rethrow that last one. Another chance for a grand prize. If she does it, she wins two instead. But if she loses, I'll personally give you three additional silver coins."

For once, the carny is let quiet. He ponders deeply for a moment. Then he smiles wide. "Make it five, and you have yourself a deal, good sir. I'm always willing to make a bet."

"You've got it."

He places another kunai down. Once again, Xiaoqing is given two shots for a victory beyond a cheap reward that isn't close to worth the price of admission.

She lifts one, and peers as it closely. Her eyes stare focused at a red balloon directly across from where she stands. Then as she brings it down, you notice a wisp of frosted air rise from her fingers. The kunai is slowly coated in a thin layer of ice, forming a tip sharp enough to kill. Then with one rapid flick of her wrist, the balloon pops, and the weapon remains stuck in the wood behind it.

The man jumps in surprise. "Oh! Haha, wow. You must have quite the throwing arm on you, ma'am. At least you'll win something!"

"More than just something," she mutters as she picks up the next. "So if I pop another, I get two grand prizes, right?"

"Y-Yes. Of course. Though if you lose, your poor boyfriend is going to be out some real coin."

"Mmm. Boyfriend. You're making a lot of strange assumptions. And I guarantee that I'm about to win those prizes."

As she readies herself, you can tell the man is getting increasingly nervous.

"I'll tell you what!" he suddenly interjects. "If this final balloon you pop is blue, I'll throw in an additional small prize."

"Done." She says, and in the same breath, sends the kunai flying straight to the blue balloon closest to the man's head. It pops, sending him stumbling backwards both in distress at his loss and panic that the blade landed so close. Then she looks straight into his eyes and simply waits.

"How--" he starts to say, but then he clears his throat. "Your aim is incredible, young lady. I'm happy for your victory."

Nyllia bows her head politely. "And I am happy we are not in need of reporting you to the guard. Yet. I do hope that if we come back around, however, we do not hear any rumours about your game being rigged. The queen would be rather saddened to hear of such things."

His breath shakes as he looks over Nyllia. Slowly, he starts to understand who she is, and perhaps your identity as well. "You would never! N-Now please select your prizes. I was just about to close up for dinner anyhow. Maybe I'll uh, reopen another time."

But Xiaoqing is left staring for a time. "... I'm not sure what to pick. I was mostly focusing on winning."

Nyllia chuckles. "May I choose then?"

"Yeah. That sounds good to me."

So the elf selects the group's prizes herself.

For Xiaoqing, she picks an adorable, overly fluffy polar bear with dopey eyes and an orange scarf. The plushie is a little bigger than a basketball, so she wraps her arms around it and holds it tight against her chest. She smiles with pink in her cheeks. Though she doesn't say anything, she appears overwhelmed with joy at the polar bear's adorable face and soft fur. If it were alive, it would certainly be struggling for air with how firm her grapple is around it.

Next, Nyllia selects a strange dark creature with long claws. You realize after a moment that it's supposed to be a gremlin demon--odd reward, but also an odd choice, which seems to be a sentiment shared by the man who handed it over, though for your group such a thing isn't really strange at all--though made to look far cuter than the real deal. She holds it up to you, and pokes you with its blades. "Woosh, woosh. Now all your clothes are going to fall off."

"Aw man. How embarrassing," you respond.

With a bright smile, she then hands you the smaller reward. It's a little wooden carved slime painted bright green on a short chain.

"It's really cute," you say.

"I wonder how pleased Jelly would be to see it," she says.

You clip it to your belt. You and the two girls, now overjoyed by their prizes, continue past the stall which seems to be rapidly shutting down for the evening as you depart.

"It seems something is happening on the stage," says Nyllia as you go.

"Then let's get a good view," you say. "Maybe the queen is coming."