Festival of Masks
by Wasuremono

	"Do not panic," the cryptic letter from the Tenda Chief had read, and as Ness entered the stone halls of the Deep Darkness Tenda Village, he suddenly understood why. In the few times he'd returned to the village since the Tenda had been cured of their shyness, the atmosphere had always been lively and bustling, full of all the conversations stored up over years of silence. Today, though, the caverns were quiet, the only sounds the occasional shuffling of small feet on stone. Ness couldn't help assuming the worst, and as he glanced at the faces of his friends, he saw his concern echoed. What could have happened to return the Tenda to their solitude?

	After a few minutes of Ness's growing impatience, a pair of Tenda finally emerged from the cavern to meet them. The small, green figures looked just like Ness had remembered -- except for the masks they wore, garish and a little frightening in the half-light. The one on the left wore a long, toothy bluish-grey mask, resembling the maw of some nightmare crocodile; the one on the right's mask, in contrast, was a bright yellow, with the curling horns and wicked grin of a demon. "Welcome," said the crocodile-masked Tenda in hushed tones. "Enter."

	"Hi," said Ness, copying the whisper of his apparent hosts. "Uh, what's going on? We weren't told anything..."

	"Festival," said the demonic-masked Tenda. 

	"That'd explain the masks," said Jeff as he stepped out from behind Ness into the marginally-better light of the entrance chamber. "But why the quiet? Is everything all right?"

	The crocodile-Tenda gave Jeff a long, solemn look. "Tradition. Accept. Important." Ness had to wonder: important for what?

	Paula was the next to comment. "Well, no matter that, it's a pleasure just to be invited. What precisely do we do?"

	"Masks. Wear. Procession. Acceptable?"

	"I guess so," Ness replied, a bit at a loss. He still wasn't feeling at ease here, but the least he could do was try not to offend anyone until he'd gotten to the bottom of this.

	***

	As Ness and his friends stepped inside the main cavern of the Tenda Village, he took a moment to appreciate the sight in front of him: a long single-file line of Tenda, all in masks and dark ceremonial vestments, walking in a meandering circle through the village. The only sounds breaking the silence were the soft footsteps and, just under them, hushed voices.

	Ness still hadn't come up with anything resembling a satisfying explanation by the time the Tenda led them to a side chamber and the table where the robes and masks lay. There were four outfits, all identical: formless, many-pocketed black robes and grey-silver, featureless masks. 

	"Dress," said the crocodile-Tenda. "Important. Guests. Honored."

	The robes, once slipped on over their clothes, turned out to be one-size-fits-all (and, of course, one-size-fits-nobody-well; Paula spent a good five minutes rolling up her over-long sleeves and hem, and Poo's robes looked nearly skintight on his shoulders), and the masks more or less fit as well. At least, Ness could see out the eyeholes a little, and he could breathe; that was about all he'd reasonably expected. Never mind, for a moment, how heavy the mask felt on his face. How long could he possibly be wearing it?

	"Ready?" said the demon-Tenda once the four were dressed, and Ness nodded for all his companions. "Good," continued the Tenda. "Follow. Procession."

	***
	
	They stood outside the side chamber for several minutes, each one making Ness how aware of just how heavy his mask was and exactly where his robe didn't fit, until finally the end of the long line of Tenda reached them, and they trailed behind it as directed. The Tenda in front of them were going slowly even by their short-legged standard, and he found it difficult at first to match their pace, but eventually he managed to settle into a shuffling gait that kept him moving at about the pace of the line. 

	While he knew better than to break the silence, Ness couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer, and he decided telepathic conversation was the only solution. Paula, he broadcast, what do you make of this? Kinda weird, isn't it?

	More than kinda, replied Paula. I've been talking to Jeff about it, and he's not sure what to make of it either. It's definitely a ritual of some sort, but it doesn't seem like something humans would have a place in. And these costumes... it reminds me of the Happy-Happyists! Poo, what do you think?

	Poo's telepathic voice had always been a bit less childlike than theirs, and Ness wasn't surprised to hear him be the voice of reason again. I sincerely doubt they wish harm. Let us see what becomes of this; if anything untoward happens, we are more than capable of defending ourselves.

	Well... three of us are, interjected Paula. Jeff said he didn't bring a gun, and so he hopes you don't mind if he stays just a little worried. A pause. And, she added to Ness alone, a little on edge about this telepathic-interpreter business, unless I miss my guess. He's nervous, and that worries me.

	Fair enough, broadcast Ness. Guess we've all just got to stay calm. That was, he thought to himself as he took in the subdued near-silence of the cavern once again, if calm wasn't the entire problem. 

	***

	It was almost a minute of slow, silent half-walking before the line finally snaked around to the entrance to one of the chambers. The masked Tenda in front of the group stopped at the door, clearing its throat in a sound that echoed unusually in the eerie calm. Ness quietly shuffled a few steps closer; he suspected the true purpose of the festival was about to be revealed, for better or for worse, and he wasn't going to miss it. 

	The Tenda in front of him spoke, voice a hoarse whisper: "Request. Tribute. Curse."  

	The response from within the cavern was similarly soft: "Tribute. Enter." With that, the Tenda disappeared into the darkness of the cave. Ness gritted his teeth; it looks like they'd hit a dead end. Still, that password...

	A minute later, the Tenda emerged again, gait just a touch slower than it had been. It merged back into the line seamlessly, and the procession moved on, depositing Ness and the others in front of the cavern entrance themselves. Now, he knew, was the moment of truth.

	After a brief telepathic ready? okay to his friends, Ness stepped forward to the cavern entrance. How had it gone? Ah, yes... "Request. Tribute. Curse." His voice, lowered to the level of the Tenda around him, hardly sounded like his own.

	There was a deathly pause from the cave -- a moment of hesitation? -- before the reply. "Tribute. Enter." 

	Ness gritted his teeth and led the way in.

	***

	The cavern beyond was as poorly lit as it had seemed from outside, the darkness broken only by a few sputtering torches. The Tenda inside wasn't dressed in a mask or any ritual vestments, and somehow that made Ness even more nervous than the dim light did. Their host sized them up carefully, and at last, it made its pronouncement.

	"Costumes. Frightening. Admire."

	The Tenda walked sedately over to a low table, from which it retrieved a bowl made from hewn stone. It stepped towards Ness, nodding first at him then at the bowl. Slowly, Ness looked down, only to see...

	... a pile of wrapped candy?

	"Take. Moderation. One only," said the Tenda, and realization slowly dawned on Ness. Either the Tenda Village had just played the joke of a lifetime... or they had a awfully, awfully strange way of trick-or-treating around here. Oh, well. At least there was still candy, right? They couldn't have messed up that part --

	Ness's hand was halfway to the bowl before the distinctive odor wafting from the candy hit him. No, it couldn't be, and yet it was... and he couldn't keep his thoughts from broadcasting to his friends.
	
	Tendakraut candy? Seriously?

	Could be worse, broadcast Paula. Could be a toothbrush.

	As he compelled himself to reach into the bowl and receive his aromantic bounty, Ness had to admit that she had a point there. Even the Tenda, with their awkward shyness and their ability to make anything smell like it was boiled in gym socks, couldn't be messed up enough to give away toothbrushes, right?

	Man, he hoped so. Otherwise this night could only get longer.