A group of mortals pushed the sheets aside for the jewelled caravan to enter. Although he could see how filled the grounds were with people, stalls, and carts, that single opening in the cloth revealed even more. D’Argen straightened his spine, clenched his fists, and pulled his shoulders back. The heat under his robes was becoming unbearable, but he pushed aside his discomfort and then the sheer cloth to walk through into the area.

Hundreds of people were gathered between the pillars that served as a perimeter for the event and most of their stalls were either completely set up or in the process of being put up. The jewelled caravan turned in a narrow fork between the stalls and then disappeared into the crowd.

This was the first time in years that D’Argen was surrounded by so many people. Usually, the largest crowd he was in would be a small village gathering or a celebration in a small, distant kingdom. Most often, he was only surrounded by his three companions.

Within moments, he felt overwhelmed.

It was easy to spot the mortals that were there for the first time. The moment they noticed him, they bowed their heads, dropped to their knees, and some even touched their foreheads to the dirt ground. A young woman dropped her bag and then bent low to the ground. D’Argen rushed the three steps of empty space and quickly helped her up, afraid she would get trampled by the crowd around them. As a thanks, she fainted in his arms.

“Over here, over here,” a familiar voice made him turn. He looked right at Simeal, Court Physician and God of Healing, waving him over from a large tent near the entrance filled with cots.

D’Argen carried the young mortal over and then deposited her in the first empty cot he found. One of Simeal’s mortal staff went to her immediately and looked her over.

“It has been a while, D’Argen.” Simeal smiled at him and raised her chin in respect.

D’Argen noticed a metal band around her neck that was not there the last time he saw her. Outside of that, she was wearing a long open robe, dragging on the ground, and under it a simple dress that hung to her knees in pleats. Her long dark hair was pinched back behind her ears with tiny braids and multiple jewelled clips. 

D’Argen lifted his chin in a delayed response, though immediately dropped it to hide his neck, feeling too vulnerable around so many strangers, even if they were behind him and outside of the tent.

“It has been. I don’t remember the last time a mortal fainted in my arms.”

“I meant, seeing you with my own eyes. The fainting is happening a lot more this time around,” she said and motioned to the cots behind her. Most of the ones he could see were filled with mortals in various states of consciousness. “How long has it been?”

“What’s happening?” D’Argen ignored her question to ask his own quickly, eyes darting back into the crowd. The tent was so much calmer than the open field and he dreaded leaving it. Yaling, Abbot, and Lilian could find him even if he did not wander out. Maybe he could remain hidden with Simeal.

“Zetha is testing a modified version of his new spell,” Simeal replied and waved her hand in the air. “While it makes everybody hear everything happening on the stage, it also, unfortunately, makes all our scents much stronger when we use the mahee. Most of the mortals are not used to such high concentrations of our scents in one place, even the ones that come only for the high. Do you want a charm?”

D’Argen turned to face her with a raised brow. “Why not ask Yaling for help?”

Simeal was already rummaging through the bag at her hip and she scoffed at his question. When she looked up again, she had a bundle of leather cords with tiny stones hanging from her fist. “Has Yaling been around recently to make herself available to help?”

D’Argen immediately recognized the stones and flinched away.

“No, thank you.” He waved her offer away. “I’d rather stay in here, if you don’t mind.”

“Your choice.” She shrugged and shoved the bundle back into her bag. “Is Yaling with you? You should send her Zetha’s way. It has never been this busy for me before.”

“I sent her to look for Vain. I have to talk to him about something. Have you seen him around?”

“No. Not here. Well, if you see Yaling again, point her Zetha’s way. This is her spell actually, though modified. From the last time she was in Evadia. Which reminds me! When she was here last, Zetha had her working on quite a few new spells. I think he completed them only after she left though, so I am not sure if even she knows about it. There is now a communication array spell, which all of us can use regardless of aspect, and he has modified the distance communication spell.”

“Oh? Tell me more.”

“I will, as soon as I am free,” Simeal said with a wide smile. “I do have a job to do though. Sit around, make sure you do not get in my way.”

“Got it,” D’Argen confirmed with a smile.

Simeal once more raised her chin to him and then turned away.