After finishing their meal Celine and Sien went to check on Sam. The boy first knocked and then opened the door without Sam’s answer since it was his room too. Sam was sitting by the table, his food barely touched as he played with it more than actually ate.

“Is everything okay?” Asked concerned Sien as he noticed how much food was left on the plate.

“Yeah… I mean… I just feel a bit off while being in here…” Answered Sam, stabbing the potatoes with a fork.

“Oh… Maybe coming to a festival might brighten up your mood!” Said excitedly Sien as he ran up to Sam to grab his hand and drag him out of the inn.

Sam pulled his hand away before Sien could even grab it and took his eyes away from his companions. “No… I'd rather stay here… Wait to leave this village.”

“Oh… Okay… Then… See you later.” Said disappointed Sien as he slowly approached the doors, still looking at Sam who wasn’t about to make eye contact. Before closing the doors Sien added “If you get bored you know where to look for us.” with a last bit of joy he had.

Sam took a deep breath and covered his face with his shaky hands. “Sorry… Sien… I just can’t bear to watch those Peresia lunatics… I'd rather not destroy this festival for you…” Whispered Sam, an unpleasant feeling left in his throat after leaving Sien alone with Celine.

Celine and Sien went to see the festival ground as it was being prepared. The festival area was square in shape with a platform in the middle. The view to the inside was blocked by the curtains but there were a lot of people inside judging by the noise and slightly visible shadows. All around there were food stalls and occasional games for kids. There were lamps shining in a purple and white light. 

The event began with a band playing an energetic melody on guitars and harps. Over time the music brought more people to the festival ground. Most of the stalls were busy with new clients. The ground was covered by rich aroma of spicy food and sweet honey.

Sien really wanted to play one of the games. The elf knew that there was a trick behind every game but she didn’t want to kill the fun for the boy and agreed to accompany him. 

The first game he played was to knock the wooden cups down using a very light ball. He had to make them all fall within two throws. The first throw to the base of the pyramid made of cups did nothing. The second ball he threw closer to the top making only three out of seventeen cups fall. The boy was eager to try one more time.

“Wait a moment…” Celine grabbed Sien’s hand with a ball, freezing the ball to make it heavier. “Here. Now you can do it.”

“But that’s cheating.” Whispered a bit scared Sien so the stall owner wouldn’t throw him out for cheating.

“I wouldn’t say it’s wrong to cheat against a cheater.” Celine whispered, giving Sien a devilish smile.

“How does he cheat?” Asked Sien with a confused frown as for him the game was clear, without any ways to cheat.

“The cups are heavy and the ball is light, making it hard to push them, and the structure was made in a way that is impossible to collapse with only two throws. You would need four at least. It won’t guarantee you the highest prize but you’ll earn something at least. So try it.” Celine pushed Sien forward so he would throw the ball before the ice melted completely.

“If you put it that way…” The boy’s mind was completely changed once he heard about the possibility of winning a prize.

Sien threw the ball pushing the base a bit further than the last time. With a second throw, he was able to make the structure collapse leaving only five cups on the table.

“Congrats… You win this.” The man, clearly not happy with the amount of fallen cups, gave Sien a white mask. “You can paint whatever you want on the mask.”

“Are there any runes connected to the painting?” Sien asked as he turned his head to Celine.

“There might be. I haven’t tested them but it might be a good lesson about more advanced runes.” Celine answered with a shrug that was then changed into interest as she thought more about the possibilities of ruen usage, quickly writing it down in her book.

“Something as simple as painting is advanced?” The boy asked, waiting for Celine to answer.

Once she wrote down what she wanted she turned to Sien and answered “Yes. It would be a connection between two runes. Water runes and runes of color.”

“I can’t wait to learn that!” Declared Sien with a joyful shout.

The next game that attracted Sien was a sparring match with a teenage boy who had an arena set up with a few quickly made wooden fences. He was wearing thick leather armor and had a wooden sword. All of this was made so everyone could spar without the fear of getting serious injuries.

“Looking for a worthy opponent for a friendly sparring match! Who is up to the challenge!” The boy shouted as he stood on the fence, high enough for everyone to see him. The tip of his wooden sword moved around and pointed at each passing person.

“I want to try!” Sien ran to the arena, thrilled to spar with someone who might be closer to his abilities than Sam.

“Certainly. Put on the leather armor and pick up one of those wooden swords.” Said the boy as he pointed toward three swords each of a different length.

Sien took the sword that was of similar length as his saber. He swung it around trying to get used to the light weight. His opponent walked to the other side of the arena, waiting for him to get ready. Sien showed that he was ready by standing in front of the boy with a sword pointing toward him.

“May I know my challenger’s name?” The boy asked.

“My name is Sien.” Answered a bit hesitantly Sien.

“Thank you for challenging me, Sien. My name is Peter.” Said the boy with a light bow.

“Good. The perfect opponent for a warmup. First I’ll block some of his attacks and then try to attack him giving some space so the boy could block the attacks. I don’t want to make him cry or have a bad time. It’s a festival after all.” Peter thought out his next action as he approached Sien with his sword ready.

They walked around, waiting for some attack but none of them moved first, the boy didn’t attack because he wanted to make it more enjoyable for the kid rather than making it a one-sided fight, Sien waited for the attack as his master instructed. “It’s better to wait for your opponent's first move so you can assess his strength.” The words were stuck in his head as he stood there, focused on his opponent.

“You can attack me first. I won’t attack you at first. It’s just a sparring match for fun.” Peter said thinking that Sien was hesitating out of fear. Scared of attacking someone much bigger than him.

Sien nodded his head and approached the boy, throwing a first light attack that was blocked. The next attack was a bit faster making Peter flinch at the sudden movement but he blocked the swing without much problem. Sien slowly picked up speed trying to figure out the true strength of his opponent. 

“While his attacks don’t have much of a punch. His speed is amazing.” The arena master thought as he tried to keep up with Sien’s speed. He had to give his most to block the swift attacks. One attack was able to land and they stopped the duel for a moment. “Good! Now I will be attacking too. So expect some swings from me too.” Peter informed Sien so he wouldn’t get scared by sudden attacks.