Summer Festival

Intro The town gathered in the square for what was supposed to be just another Hollowford’s Summer Festival. Nina Calder spun mellow tracks from her booth, her voice honeyed and calm, though her eyes flicked often toward the fountain. Milo Ferris, trench coat flapping as he balanced a stack of lukewarm pizzas, swore he’d intercepted a strange coded message in Nina’s midnight broadcast. At the fountain, Barnaby Quill shouted about “fountain taxes,” ignored by Giorgio the duck and his goose ally, who lounged in victory. Mara nervously handed out cones to children while Captain Beakman cawed, dropping seashells like payment. Saffron Bale snapped a photo of Marmalade, the town cat, striking a regal pose on the mayor’s podium. “Another headline,” Saffron muttered, “Mayor or Monarch?” Near the benches, Liora soothed Ezra Cole, who was frantically sketching chalk sigils he swore weren’t his own. Juno Reyes carved through the crowd on her board, nearly colliding with Theo “Snapper” Larkins, who was hiding in the shrubs with his camera, convinced he’d catch the scandal of the year. In the arcade glow spilling from the side street, Mira Hunt whispered to Peter Carrow, who clutched a wooden staff. “Something’s in the machines tonight,” she said. Peter only grinned. “Another quest, then.” Julian Crest scanned the air with a battered radio, catching bursts of the Archivist’s hidden voice: “They know. Watch the podium.” And there, behind the cheer and chatter, Mayor Bellamy lingered. His hands rested not on speeches or ledgers, but on a small black case set behind the podium. No one noticed the faint humming sound, except Amara Quartz, who froze mid-incantation, crystals slipping from her palms. “The grid is wrong,” she whispered. “Something is being called.” The music, laughter, and small-town chaos rolled on, but beneath it all, a secret pulse waited to break.