Clank!

The prison gate opened with an echoing creak throughout the dark, dreadful, and uninviting Conformatorium. A tall figure of a woman emerges from sight wearing the traditional uniform of the coven guard's captains.

"Gilbert Anderson," her voice resounds through the cold concrete walls and iron bars.

Gilbert, who had been staying in the unpleasant place of the Conformatorium for almost a few weeks now, finally held a glimmer of hope in his heart as he stirred from the hard bunk bed.

After his encounter with you, he was delivered to the Conformatorium for a thorough investigation. Knowing that the emperor's underhanded methods of investigation, the truth of what he had seen to be unraveled was unavoidable as they had the ability to peek through his mind.

However, he stood firm and held on your words. He hoped that his life would be spared and that what you had promised will come true.

The captain assigned to his investigation gave him leeway on how to avoid telling the truth. His mind had been tampered with momentarily, making him plead innocent. As for why a captain with a formidable position in the emperor's coven would side with someone like you? Gilbert gave no heed.

"You are free to leave," the captain's words made Gilbert lose his balance and collapse on the ground with relief. "However, you are banished from the emperor's coven and is never to return."

"Thank you..." Gilbert said with a whispering tone, his voice shaking from the intense flow of emotion that cascaded his heart.

With heavy and shaking steps, Gilbert leaves the prison cage once and for all. Freedom was in sight.

A hand briefly collided to his.

He walked along the dark corridors with each step ringing loudly in his ears. The other prisoners watched him pass by, some with envy, while others with no care.

After processing his papers and leaving the nasty Conformatorium, Gilbert never felt so free in his life as he greeted the bright purple sky with a bright smile. Ah, he missed fresh air so bad.

Then he looked down at his hands to see a tiny piece of paper.

"Latissa Inn...?" Gilbert mumbled. "It wouldn't hurt to visit now would it?"

After all, he had nothing else to do in his life now that he was dismissed from the emperor's coven.

"-and he even stayed to apologize! Could you believe that?!" You threw your arms up in the air in disbelief.

The figure wrapped in a magical restrainer of some sort laughed nervously. "R-riiiighht..."

After the events yesterday, you woke up in such a good mood. Though, you couldn't really remember why you had woken up lying on the marble floor of the dining room or why Darius and the golden guard was sitting there with half-dead expressions seemingly like they had no sleep at all.

The whole kitchen was a mess by the way, it seemed like a big fight had happened.

You tried asking them what happened but... they just stared at you with a deadpan expression with the horrendous bags under their eyes. (The golden guard still wore his mask, that jerk)

So, here you are at the tavern retelling your stories to your favorite therapist friend, Timothy. He was a good listener.

"Do you think he considers me as is friend?" You glanced down on Timothy who was still wrapped up in magical restrainers sitting on the chair. You sat cross-legged on the table with an intent look of expectation as you waited for his response.

"Maybe...?" Timothy nervously said. He really just wanted to ask the Titans why you were always doing this to him. Being Raine's assistant was the worst promotion that ever happened to him considering that he became your favorite play mate in the tavern.

"(Name)!" Derwin's shout was heard from the far corner of the hallways of the tavern. "Leave the poor guy alone, he still has work to do!"

You turned to the figure on the chair. "Do you?"

Your smile creeped the poor assistant as he yelped and leaned a little farther away from you. "N-no. I don't have much work to do," he said and smiled as wide as he could.

"Look! He's smiling," you put a hand on the side of your mouth and shouted to Derwin, "He's fine!"

"He's smiling because he is terrified!" Derwin's voice echoed with hurried footsteps. Probably fixing some paper works hastily or something.

You laughed heartily watching pitiful Timothy smile squeamishly like an idiot. "You're so funny."

Tweet. Your palisman watched with uninterest as you kept pushing the pitiful assistant. It had already witnessed every horror you have done to the workers in this tavern and this was by far the least harmful thing you were doing.

You jumped off the table and patted his shoulder making him jump a little from his seat. "Thank you for listening, my friend."

As you walked away the magical restrainer that tied him up finally disappeared, allowing him to move.

Just as he turned around to see where you were leaving to... Swoosh! He caught a pink bottle in his hand.

"That's for your troubles by the way!" You waved and ran off to somewhere.

Timothy looked down on the glowing pink bottle. Oh shi- POOF.

Bang.

"Standing by and ready!" You twirled and struck a dramatic pose as you entered Raine's office.

"Do you always have to do that?" Katya asked as she watched the door move back and fort with loud creaking sounds from your initial kick. The screws that held the door were not going to last long at this rate.

"Knock, (Name). You always have to knock," Raine sighed.

Ignoring their remarks, you approached the back of the sofa with a smile. "So, what's the mission?" You asked curiously peeking behind Amber who sat on the couch and held the report.

"I think you should sit this one out, (Name)," Raine said.

You held your chest with a loud dramatic gasp. "But why?!"

"Katya, Derwin and I can handle this," Amber smiled apologetically at you.

Raine drew a circle with their finger and a copy of the report poofed its existence on to your hand. "This mission is a simple one. They only need to transport some important materials from the tavern to Latissa."

"That's not a mission, that's a chore!" You crossed your arms.

"Which is why you can sit this one out." Raine smiled.

"Oh please, the real reason why they don't want to include you is because of the disaster you had caused the last time you were tasked to deliver goods," Katya snappishly replied.

You tried to recall what disaster Katya had been speaking off as you scratched your chin. You have caused multitudinous disasters of every kind and remembering each was a strenuous task.

"What last time?" You asked with a tilted head.

"Remember the time when you guarded the wine carts be transported from Latissa to Bonesborough?" Katya said.

"Yeah and? I did a good job keeping the bandits away that time." You arched a brow as you finally recalled. However, you did not cause any kind of disaster that time though, except for defending the crates from bandits.

"Oh please. Getting the wine bottles become covered in pink glitter was not a good job," Katya sighed, remebering the horrible experience of cleaning twenty cases of wine bottles from top to bottom, all because of your 'fighting style' with signature glitter bombs.

"Now now," Raine made a calming gesture to the both of you with a skittish smile. " There's no need to fight over this mission. I'm sure (Name) here can understand, right?" Raine turned to you with a pleading face.

"Fine..." You grumbled with a sigh. You came to the tavern hoping for some entertainment and this is what you get?

Derwin finally enters Raine's office with a dejected expression. "Do I really have to go?"

"Yes, yes you do." Amber smiled over the skeptical appearance of the witch.

"And here I thought I could go to the carnival. I just got myself a ticket for today!" Derwin sat on the sofa with a loud sigh.

He stared at the colorful ticket on his hand as he thought of the fun things he could have done today if it weren't for his two partners dragging him to another mission.

You snatched the ticket away with your nimble hands. "A ticket?" Your eyes sparkled as you finally found something that may be able to entertain you for today.

"You can have that. It expires tomorrow anyway." Derwin rests his chin on his palm.

Raine smiled. "Then I guess it's all settled?"

"Damn right, everything is settled." You waved the glittering ticket on the air just to see the shine.

"Just don't cause trouble at the carnival, please?" Raine fixed their glasses from the side of their ear and glanced at you.

You chuckled lightly as you drew a circle in the air and poofed your concealment stone. "I won't."

"Lying through your teeth again." Katya rolled her eyes.

Raine prayed to the Titans that you won't become condemned as a criminal today.

"Bonesborough Carnival, what a wondrous place of fun, joy, and scams." You inhaled the fresh air permeating with the fragrant scent of crisp pop corns, cotton candies, and children's laughter.

Children along with their parents strolled over to the carnival filled with food stalls, mini games, and rides. As you trudged over to the joyous place of laughter, your eyes shot from corner to corner as you planned deviously in your mind of how to scam the tiny little gullible creatures known as children to paying you some good amount of snails.

"My my, what path of devilry shall I pursue." Your eyes landed on a conveniently empty stall.

Tweet. Your palisman rolled its eyes as it looked over to the delicious sweets displayed on the stalls. Unknowingly to you, the little bird had caught sight of three familiar figures from afar.

"Here we are kids. Would you look at the place." Eda placed one hand on her hip with a confident smile as she glanced upon the extensive carnival filled with the bright smiles of her soon to be victims of scams.

"This looks fun!" Luz exclaims with wide sparkling eyes.

Just like in the human realm, the carnival here was almost the same. It boasted traditional rides such as the Ferris wheel, the Mollarcoaster, and the Bumper Carcasses. The only difference was that this carnival had the potential to inflict some serious mental trauma.

But mental trauma? Pfft, who cares about that? Everyone has mental trauma anyway.

Hoot. The owl on Eda's staff started to twirl itself free. A hand halted its movements. "No games for you, Owlbert. We got scams to do."

The cute little owl on the staff looked down with a disappointed gaze as it longed for the enticing and entertaining games. Alas, it's owner cherished scams more as apparently, scamming demons was more entertaining than children's interests.

"Friends!" A tiny yellow piglet, or was it elephant jumps from nowhere. "I see you got my postcard." The elephant pig demon smiled impishly.

"Tibbles?" Eda squinted her eyes in suspicion as she took out from her puffy grey hair the post card they had received from Hooty's stomach. "You sent this?"

"Mhm," the tiny little elephant piglet smiled as it hummed, waving its twirly little tail around.

"Aren't you mad at us for destroying your stand?" Luz chimed in and tilted her head.

A few nights ago, during the blue moon, Luz, Willow, and Gus had a sleepover for the moonlight conjuring. And some things happened-like the house coming to life and wreaking havoc at the night market, causing quite a bit of property damage. Despite the chaos of animating the entire Owl House though, it was a night filled with unforgettable fun.

"Ooh! And destroying your life! That was the best part." King laughed.

"No no no, I should thank you. After my stall was destroyed, I reevaluated my life and found my true calling!" The tiny elephant piglet walked over to a nearby tent. "I am now ring master of Tibbles's tent of tiny terrors!"

The big and spacious tent that Tibbles called the 'Tent of Tiny Terrors' was similar to that of a circus show with the red and yellow color scheme, the size, and the display.

"Aww," Luz neared the glass cage displayed just outside the tent filled with alive miniature creatures. "It's like regular beasts but adorable small." She cooed as she stuffed her head on the glass cage to see the adorable tiny unicorn beasts inside.

"I don't buy it," Eda huffed as she walked over to the elephant piglet. "What kind of cons are you playing?"

Over the long years that Eda had been scamming others for a living, she knew the suspicious tactics that one would use to scam. After all, no one knows a scammer best than a fellow scammer themselves.

"No cons involved. In fact, why don't we toast our newfound friendship with this totally innocent bottle of water." Tibbles took an ominous purple bottle that had a glowing liquid inside, handing it over to Eda with an innocent smile yet one could see his eyes curve deviously.

Eda gladly took the bottle on to her hands. "Oh yeah sure! Why don't I just..." Swoosh! The bottle was thrown away, hitting a poor passerby on the head and knocking them out of daylight. Perhaps they were just unlucky today.

"I know poison when I see it. You can't scam a scammer!" Eda flipped her wild hair pompously as she turned to her heels.

"Now speaking of scams..." She grinned as she walked over towards an inconspicuous stall from the side. "Beat it loser!" She pushed the items out of the stall haphazardly and scared away the poor owner.

With a wave of her staff, the stall was then neatly decorated with items and displays that gathered around the curious onlookers.

"Step right up to Eda's Human Horror House!"

Seeing that Eda was having her own type of fun, Luz and King decided to explore the carnival on their own and have fun. The three dispersed soon enough as they pursued their own interests of scamming, playing, and eating at the carnival.

"Have a good time, friends!" The tiny elephant pig waved.

"While it lasts." The elephant pig laughed deviously.

"Will this potion really make me luckier?" The demon kid's eyes sparkled as he held a bottle filled with a shiny golden liquid.

"You bet! So, if you really want to win some luck-based games in the arcade..." You winked and looked over to the arcade games from afar.

"You got yourself a deal." The kid put the snails onto the counter as they excitedly left off to somewhere along with the bottle of shiny golden water.

"Hah! Kids are too dumb honestly," you said in amusement as you gladly took the snails onto your pockets.

You silently snickered at how humorous it would be if the little kid realizes that the contents of the bottle was just some cheap glowing water that you have bought from a store. Everyone is too easy to deceive. With just a few lies and a skillful charade, they would believe anything you say.

Tweet. Your palisman looks very uninterested. It wonders too how everyone was dumb enough to fall for your baseless words. It started to think that perhaps palismen were smarter than most demons and witches.

You watched intently with a devious smile as you looked for your next victim. As a passerby came, you started grabbing their attention. "Hey you! Want some of these enticing luck enhancing potions?" You winked.

"Uhh, sorry. But I gotta see something else," the passerby laughs nervously as they ran off to another stall just a few meters away from you.

The other stall seems to be more popular as there was a crowd gathering to buy their products. Your stall on the other hand... The wind blew as the dust danced in the air and landed towards the barren place where your booming customers should be.

Seeing that the other stall a bit farther from you was gaining more attention, you squinted your eyes in suspicion. "Eda's Human Horror House? Now that is something you don't see everyday."

You took out some goggles with magic and used it to spy better on the favored stall. You grunted. "Ugh, its the owl lady! And she's taking away my customers!"

"This means war."

You tip toed over towards the bustling stall in curiosity, making your way through the crown and onto the sidelines.

"And who would know? Humans actually shed their skin!" Eda stretched the net leggings gaining some 'ooh's and 'aahh's from the crowd.

"I'll buy one!"

"Me too! Me too!"

Soon enough, demons raised their snails as they eagerly gazed upon the 'human skin'. Even if you didn't know much about humans, you for a fact knew that the thing the own lady was holding was not human skin! It's literally just some ripped up leggings!

"Alright alright, the highest bidder gets the human skin!"

You face palmed. "That is definitely not human skin but dang, she is good at this."

Tweet. The hummingbird beside you looked at you impassively knowing what you had in mind.

"Noooo, what do you mean I'm planning to sabotage her? Pfff, I wouldn't do anything like that ever!" You laughed as you waved your hand.

Tweet.

"Okay, maybe a teensy weensy bit of sabotaging would do." You grinned playfully.

You scrutinized the owl lady's stall, trying to find something to distract the powerful old lady.

You found a cute little owl on the side which you assumed would be the owl lady's palisman. It looked over towards the whack a giraffe game with a longing face as it watched the demon children play with bright smiles.

Your eyes curved in mischievousness. "I have my eyes on the target."

Owlbert truly longed to go out and play the alluring games and have fun like King and Luz, but alas, his owner placed greater value on scamming more than anything. She'd take every opportunity to scam snails out of anyone.

The tiny owl wagered that Eda would even scam at a funeral if she had the chance to.

"Hey there little fella," a cloaked figure pops out from the corner. "You seem a little lonely do you?"

Hoot. The owl steps back defensively.

You laughed lightly as the cute owl became watchful of your presence. Who wouldn't though? If a witch suddenly pops from the corner and starts a conversation out of the blue, anyone would feel the need to be alert.

"No no, I'm not here to hurt you. I just noticed you seem down. You want to have fun and play games don't you?" You smiled kindly.

Hoot. The owl nodded with a sigh and looked back towards the preoccupied owl lady who was taking snails out of demons.

"Here," you handed a small ticket for free games to the owl. "You can go have fun if you want. Besides, the owl lady seems to be pretty busy with things," you encouraged.

And with that you left.

You took off your hood and snickered. The ticket of free games you had given was just