The Carnival at Moonbright
Strong Minds and Muscles

“Just keep it right there.”

Barthemus took his ratchet to the bolt and rotated it around several times. Scratching at the fur on his tabaxi arms, he examined over the blueprints again.

“How long do you need me here for, Mr. Muffins? I’ve still got a few things to finish up.” said the fairy. She was holding the cannon at the top lip, seemingly bored, looking around at the area around them. Her arms tensed slightly at the weight, but the heavy cannon did not bother her.

“Almost done, Gisela. I just need to tighten these down, and it’ll be ready.” Barthemus stated, reaching further to the back of the cannon’s trunnions and rimbases.

Glancing around at the rears of the tents, Gisela waited patiently for Barthemus to complete the task. After being here for the past five days, the carnival was almost ready, but she knew there were always one or two last-minute things that needed to be finished, and for safety alone, she hoped she could get to them all. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the (ꜰind)ɴʘvel.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Gisela looked down at Mr. Muffins working on the cannon, his fur blowing as the wind caught it occasionally. But, not just wind, Smoke! Looking over, she saw that the toolbox was open, and the magnifying glass was tilted in such a way as to send the sunlight right at the wick of the cannon. Just as she went to speak out, she watched it catch and burn.

“Move!” She yelled as she dropped the barrel and moved toward Mr. Muffins to get him out of the way.

A short, reddish, leathery ball rolled out from the cannon’s bore. The ball unfolded, and the creature stood up. Nuv, a kobold, shook its fist toward Mr. Muffins and Gisela, clearly not knowing what was happening. Just as Nuv moved away from the barrel, the wick met the ignition chamber, full of powder, and a low BOOM echoed across the field. Another leathery figure came sprawling out from the bore, ejected from the cannon and into the air roughly forty feet before impacting the ground with a sharp screech. Kiks, the other kobold of the cannonball act, had not had time to escape the cannon before its detonation. Nuv ran over to Kiks, screaming in Draconic and checking to ensure its friend was alive. Not too worried, Barthemus chuckled and returned to work since kobolds are incredibly resilient.

“I think that’s all the help I’ll need right now, Gisela. Thank you.”

“Of course! Always happy to help!” the fairy waved and returned to her duties.

Gisela grabbed the tent poles and proceeded to finish the orange tent she was working on for Madame Moontremble. Her ears still ringing slightly from the cannon, she swore she heard the sound of chains rattling for a moment. She shook it off and became lost in thought for a moment.

Always an adventure, isn’t it, with Mr. Muffins?

“Yes, it definitely seems so,” Gisela spoke aloud, seemingly to herself, as she smiled and returned to work.

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