Horizon

After days of travelling over snowy hills and barren plains, a bit before noon, they caught sight of a small village in the distance, and a message came down from the front of the convoy.

"We're heading for the village"

The message was passed down by the teamster, and Kristoph looked towards the village in question; small, simple, probably less people than the circus itself.

Charming, a cozy town seems nice, hopefully all'll go well...

The caravan turned along a diverging path, making towards the village. The two clowns had been without their makeup since leaving Aurellus, and were asleep. Sleep itself had been a difficulty for everyone, seeing as the circus' focus had been on swift movement, they did not stop often, and instead slept in their wagons, which were as peaceful as one might expect. They bundled up well, and the three in this wagon, instead of separately on the seats, slept in a huddle on the wagon floor; Kristoph envied those in covered carriages; it was a miracle the cold had not sent him ill; although, those in the covered carriages were most likely in them as to not get ill themselves; perhaps the weak and the elderly, much deserved. Enchanters and other magic-folk had often gone around casting endurance spells upon the horses, and the drivers of the wagons, who rotated with a crew of other drivers. It was by far the worst job in the caravan; the job had enough to do to keep one awake, but not enough to occupy them. The clowns; who Kristoph had discovered were named Benjamen and Leonard; Benny and Lenny; and Kristoph had taken it upon themselves to entertain the drivers on rotation, telling stories, singing, occasionally moving up next to them to keep them company over long nights, but it was quickly growing old; this was probably one of the longest stretches of the journey, save for the oceanic voyages and the return home.

Kristoph slowly shook the clowns awake from the floor; if they were going to the village to entertain, they should have their things on.

"Hey, hey, wake up."

"Wuh... wha..."

Benny slowly opened his eyes, rubbing them as he moved himself to a slouch.

"ngh... what time is it?"

Lenny woke up slightly after the first.

"Are we there yet?"

"No, no. We're headed for a village,"

Kristoph pointed to the village, growing ever closer.

"You should probably get your makeup on, chances are, we'll be doing a little show for them."

"Oh, goodie!"
“Finally, something to- yawn –do!”

The clowns brought their carry-ons out from underneath them and took out their assorted makeups, powders, and other clown dresswear. As they got ready, Kristoph himself took out his neatly folded jacket, wearing the white garb over his blue vest, straightening it out as he took Terry out the same box.
He put Terry on his hands, practicing a few movements and vocals, making sure he had the voice right.

The village grew closer in the distance, and Kristoph lounged back in his seat, wondering what to do. There was nothing really, other than wait, and so he did. A jester on horseback moved down to ride aside Kirstoph's wagon, a large sack on the back of the saddle.

"Hark! The King sends his gifts to give to the village folk!"

He grabbed a small bag from the saddle, and tossed the closed bag into the wagon, before slowing down again to meet with stagecoach behind them.
Kristoph caught the bag and looked inside; it was full of all sorts of wrapped lollies; chews, hard candies, lollypops.

Oh, these must be for the children, how nice.

The convoy eventually reached the village, the villagers themselves were in awe, though mostly at the animals further up in the convoy; he couldn't blame them; even he was in awe of the elephants, he had no clue where in the realms they could've come from.
As his section of the convoy approached the main street, Benny and Lenny; now in full dress; stood up to begin their tricks. Benny juggled his seven beanbags, whilst Lenny twisted balloon animals, floating them into the crowd of awestruck children.
Kristoph began waving to the crowd with Terry,

"Hullo! It's so nice to meet you! Hi! My name's Terry! You look amazing!-"

As he did this, with his other hand, he threw handfuls of lollies into the crowd. Lenny eventually stopped his performance, sitting down into the wagon, grabbing handfuls of treats and throwing them out to the crowd.

"This is so fun!"

"You know it is!"

The two continued tossing candies into the cheering crowd, eventually, the crowd began tossing coins back, Terry catching one in his mouth. The coins landed in the cart with light thuds against the cloth-covered wood. Kristoph was laughing with delight now, and eventually, sank back into the wagon along with Benny, who had finished his juggling. Coins continued to rain down on them, much to Kristoph's delight, in awe of their effect on the group. Until now, he had only performed for small groups of people, and at most, families at parties.

"They- They really love us!"

"You get what you give, I suppose"

Kristoph smiled as the procession reached a plot of open land near the edge of the village. What a wonderful world.

By the time night fell, the circus had set down their wagons and pitched some simple tents to spend the night in. They gathered around a large bonfire, twinkling into the night. Over the fire there stood a large pot of stew, and around the area were tables, courtesy of the villagers. Around the nearby tables were an assortment of food platters, both from the village and from the circus. Villagers and Circun alike shared stories and food, joyously celebrating the night; Kristoph had since lost Lenny and Benny, and was sitting with a villager by the name of Audrey, and a member of the band named Winston.

Kristoph himself was eating a bowl of the beef stew; a piece of sourdough dipped in the side of the hearty meal. He gulped it down, not having food this good since the night before the journey.

Gods, this is good...
I could get used to this...

Audrey had an assortment of lavish meats and cheeses, this was probably the first time she had tried any of them, and so with each bite, her eyes widened more and more. Contrary to the neatness of the platter, Winston had a sort of stew sandwich, it was very messy, but it allowed him travel between the tables and talk with more people; he seemed a very outgoing person.
Kristoph and Audrey engaged in some small talk as Winston moved tables again.

"What's it like? Living in a circus?"

"It's fun, very-very fun. It's a bit exhausting on the open road, but it's very rewarding. I like it. Performance is my life, I couldn't imagine it being any different now."

"Oh? That sounds... Freeing."

"It is."

Audrey nodded intently as she ate a strip of pastrami, she was considering something. As this happened, Kristoph glanced over to the stew pot, where he saw Garrathen residing; talking with a group of people; various circun and villagers.

He's... Here?

Kristoph moved closer, slowly approaching the monarch, the waft of a sweet, vanilla-y scent mixed with the smell of the stew. He felt a trance of peace and relaxation come over him.

My lord, what is this I'm feeling..?

He was almost over there, and empty spot was right next to the King. He walked around the group of benches surrounding the fire, and was meters from the seat.
Then, a group of four children rushed past from behind, knocking him off his feet. They jumped around next to Garrathen, showing various trinkets and shiny rocks to the king. Garrathen laughed with the kids as he inspected their goods, joking with them, much to their amazement and joy.

Kristoph recovered, sitting up from the ground, looking to the fire. The calm over him faded away, Garrathen was on the move towards one of the temporary tents. He debated whether to follow after him or not, but decided against it. The kids were long gone, and now that he was over here, he instead helped himself to a bowl of soup, bitter at the missed chance to talk with his idol.
He sat in the seat Garrathen sat, eating his soup with a forced smile. He wasn't happy at all, and went to his tent early, drowning out the celebrations in a deep, much-needed sleep.

Early in the morning, the Circus began packing again. They bid farewell to the villagers, and mad their way to the vehicles. Kristoph, still peeved about his failure the night before, was set on at least something going right, and so, he made the acquaintance of an elderly animal whisperer by the name of Stávi, helping him with packing, supplies, and other menial tasks. This kindness landed him a position in a large stagecoach. He helped Stávi up, and got in himself, packing his items into underbed storage.
About an hour passed as the rest of the parade finished packing, during which he got to know Stávi more. Kristoph was adjusting a light in the coach, before hearing a familiar voice call out from next to him.

"Hey! Anyone up there!"

"Yeah? Wait- Audrey, is that you?"

"How do you know- Oh, are you the puppeteer from last night? Uh, what was it, Kris- Kristoph!?"

"Yeah!"

"Amazing! I've decided to join the circus!"

"Great! Need help up?"

"If you could open the door, thanks"

"No problem."

Kristoph opened the door to the stagecoach, and Audrey climbed up, a small bag in tow.

"There's compartments in the floor for your things."

"Great"

Kristoph closed the door as Audrey moved to the back of the coach. He looked back at the village as the procession continued its journey.

"Are you sure about this? We probably won't return to your village..."

"I, uh.. I Don't have any family there. And besides, it's like you said, it'll be my life. And now, I can't imagine it being any different."

Kristoph smiled and laughed.

"Glad you see it that way..."

"mm?"

"We're in for a long ride."