The town has never been happier.
The taverns are full.
The markets are full.
The streets are full.
Everywhere Sean looks, people are smiling.
Which is exactly what worries him.
The celebration should have ended days ago.
Nobody wants it to.
Another drink.
Another dance.
Another song.
Another day.
The festival keeps giving.
And nobody seems capable of saying:
“That’s enough.”
Travelers arrive from neighboring towns.
Merchants stay longer.
Musicians refuse to leave.
The crowds grow larger every day.
By evening the town feels swollen.
Almost bursting.
Then Eljara notices the birds.
Hundreds of them.
Perched across rooftops and chimneys.
Watching.
Waiting.
Not one species.
Dozens.
All facing the same direction.
The old festival grounds.
The standing stones.
The forest beyond.
The crowd never notices.
The music begins again.
The people cheer.
The birds keep watching.
Later that night a merchant raises his glass.
“To summer!”
The crowd roars in approval.
“To summer!”
Another voice joins.
“May it never end!”
Laughter.
Cheers.
Agreement.
Hundreds of voices repeating the wish.
A harmless thing to say.
Except this year.
This year something answers.
Nobody hears it.
Not consciously.
The music continues.
The celebration continues.
But Sean freezes.
For a brief moment—
beneath the laughter—
beneath the music—
beneath the cheering—
he hears another sound.
A horn.
Far away.
Deep within the forest.
Ancient.
Triumphant.
Welcoming.
As if something very old has just accepted an invitation.
The sound disappears.
Eljara looks at him.
“You heard that too.”
Sean nods.
Neither says another word.
The town keeps celebrating.
Nobody notices the birds.
Nobody notices the forest.
Nobody notices the guest approaching through the trees.
🜍 THE OLD BARGAINS — Week 2
The celebration wasn’t hiding the danger.
The celebration was the invitation.
If you remember what this felt like —
you already know what you’re missing.
Step back into it.
Or keep missing it.
👉 https://startplaying.games/gm/dunchan
Want to go deeper?
Then don’t stop at the surface.
The full stories. The dossiers. The things behind it —
they’re waiting. Or they’re not.
👉 https://www.patreon.com/c/mythveilchronicles_bydunchanhuntergames