Chapter 44 The Verdantvale Festival

Elowen was still nowhere to be found, and colorful silk streamers had blossomed quietly overnight.

Bright red, soft golden yellow, and ocean blue draped from the branches and rooftops. Sometimes, an early bird would swoop by, its claws snagging a streamer edge and setting off a cascade of tinkling bells.

Stalls stretched along the road. An old woman selling honey pancakes set her griddle atop an o