Niklos nods and smiles widely. "What's wrong with a little darkness? All the better to see Desna's stars..."
As they start moving towards wherever their captive or the verbose rescuee direct them, Niklos makes pleasant conversation with—or at—the Tengu in his croaking tongue, all the while keeping the point of his rapier pointed at the scoundrel's back.
Noticing the Tengu's disappearance, the rogue shrugs and sheathes his rapier.
Or, rather, Niklos would, if not for the fact that while he was looking at Biyo, the tengu had stealthily turned tail and fled, leaving his coat propped up against a pole.
The circus tent seems larger from the inside, curving upwards in nauseatingly bright patterns. Two precarious bleachers host several humanoid figures, their features weirdly undefined, as if they were mannequins. If this is the best circus in the Realm, then the situation must really be depressing: the floor is littered with trash, and the sparse crowd is mumbling in boredom.
In the center of the tent you can see a stone giant juggling several household items and, weirdly enough, what look like custard pies. Around him, four bears are riding around on unicycles, waving at the crowd in desperate hope for attention.
The performers don't seem to have noticed you just yet, but the crowd has, and some excited voices rise. You can't make out the precise words, but you're sure that you heard someone shout "Fight!"
Remembering everything here is living harrow cards, Gisele mentally runs thru the cards taking stock of what they see. The Juggler and The Bear obvious performers in the ring. The Circus itself might be The Carnival, but the picture is usually a scared child running from a jester and a man on stilts. She doesn't recall seeing either of those yet. She flips thru the small stack of the cards from the magical deck that brought them here. None of my cards.
Basil looks over the inside of the tent, and his fur stands on end when he hears encouragement to battle. Looking around suspiciously, he draws one of his vials of holy water and keeps his thumb on the cork.
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Feeling sadness at seeing the bears, Edda is distracted from the rest of the environment. She tries to tell herself this land is a caricature of reality, and the cards are manifested as reality here. These bears could not stop performing like they are, as it is in their very nature to do so here whether she likes it or not. Quickly wiping away a small tear, she turns to the others.
"Where is the master of this Circus?"
For the first time, Biyo seems hesitant to speak. "Uhm... My lords and ladies, Master Bernaditi's room is on the other side of the tent, it's that circular room, but... uh, I hadn't considered that Rogg may, ehm, he may want to spice his show up... by attacking you. I'm so sorry, but, maybe, if you could get the crowd on your side, with your noble appearance and skill in combat, this could be your first step towards fame and glory! Probably."
The crowd grows more and more noisy, and Rogg turns to see the source of the agitation. As he spots you, the giant's mouth twists in a wicked smile. "Tryina steal my show, eh? Well, lessee if ya've got what it takes!"
Still juggling his items, he sends a pie flying towards Biyo, hitting the cook square in the face and sending him sprawling in the dirt, spread-eagled. The bears turn towards you on their unicycles, their claws ready to attack.
Gisele looks down at Biyo, "Combat by...pie?"
Trying to think how to 'play' to the crowd, she sees Basil's fluffy tail in her line of vision. "Hey Basil! Try doing something Prince-ly" Casting Dancing Lights she directs them over Basil's head like a floating glowing crown. Then draws her Harrow Deck in case the 'fight' the crowd wants is more than just pies.
Basil looks over at Gisele and twitches his nose. "I don't suppose you know how I should do that?" he calls back.
The lago says a prayer and pops the cork on his holy water, pouring it out onto his free hand. Instead of splattering through his fingers, the holy water starts to crystalize, taking on beautiful swirling ice patterns as a starknife forms. He gives the knife a twirl as the last specklings of water forms into a glittering edge.
You create a masterwork weapon that has the qualities of ice and holy water. This weapon must be a simple weapon or your deity's favored weapon. The weapon deals normal damage for a weapon of that type, plus 1 point of cold damage per caster level (maximum 10). In addition, any creature struck by the weapon is also hit by holy water, dealing 1d4 points of damage if the creature is susceptible to holy water. If the weapon leaves your hands for more than 1 round, it melts and the spell ends.
At caster level 6th, the weapon gains the returning weapon special ability when thrown, melting away after an attack and re-forming in your hand just before your next turn.
"I hope this suffices." He says calmly, the icy starknife glimmering with holy power.
Niklos does a mocking salute with his rapier, moving his other hand down across his face as if pulling on a nonexistent mask. He suddenly vanishes from sight, immediately moving along the edge of the tent away from his companions to—hopefully—avoid the bears and flank the giant.
That big fellow does seem awfully familiar, though...
Drawing on her innate shifter abilities she tries to reach out to the Bears through her magic to calm them.
The crowd gasps in wonder at Niklos' disappearance and Basil's spell. Trying to curry their favor, Rogg desperately attacks you throwing whatever passes in his hands. Basil effortlessly dodges a clay teapot, while Gisele ducks to avoid a washbasin. Among the crowd some cheers erupt for you, and some boo at Rogg as well, mocking him for his bad aim. However, most are still inciting him to attack.
As for Edda's spell, the bears look immediately confused and docile, only focusing on keeping their precarious balance on the unicycles.
Gisele will try and disrupt the Juggler's act when his pies are in the air, batting them down with a magic hand.
Fornwing at the bears predicament, she is at least glad they won't be a problem for now. Focusing her will on Rogg she Flicks her hand subtly ans uses her Misfortune curse on the unfortunate Stone Giant.
"Eat my curse giant. Try juggling with that!"
Niklos makes his way under the jeering crowd, finding a place where he can safely launch ranged attacks while having cover from both the stand and its occupants. The rogue draws a frayed harrow card from his sleeve, touches it to his lips, and flicks it out from under the bleachers. The projectile takes on a magical gleam, seeming to bend the light around it as it flies towards the giant.
Basil twirls the ice starknife in his fingers, jumping and spinning in the air as he releases it to arc right into Rogg's chest.
"Juggle this! Basil taunts. Before Rogg could grab the starknife, the ice weapon seems to melt away like frost exposed to fire, only to start reforming in Basil's waiting hand.
The crowd parts as Niklos passes through them, the faceless mob inciting him to go and fight Rogg, and he has a hard time trying to find someone to hide behind. His attack whacks against Rogg's hard skin, without penetrating his hide.
Gisele's cantrip displaces some of the items, but Rogg is watchful and manages to keep them spinning.
Edda's hex twists probability around the giant, but he shakes off the effect harmlessly.
Finally, Basil's starknife connects with Rogg, cutting where his stony skin is weaker and leaving a mark on him. However, focused on his attack, the rabbitfolk's dodge is one second to slow, and while he manages to narrowly avoid a suitcase, a wooden nightstand crashes against him, exploding in a cloud of splinters .
Gisele takes a diagonal step away from the rabbit, not wanting to get hit by the flying furniture and draws a card off her stack. Speaking a few words she lets the card fly.
Fearing for the Rabbit-man after the giant's last strike, Edda touches his shoulder and uses her healing hex on him. Then like Gisele, steps out a bit.
"Is that the best you can do? I've seen Frost Giants throw snow-balls harder than that!"
Niklos does his best to move back to the shadows under the bleachers, only to slip behind the giant as he pelts the others with assorted junk. He stumbles a bit as he ducks under the crossbeams of the stand, but still manages to be more silent than most as he starts skirting the edge of the tent towards the back.
Enraged by Edda's taunt, Rogg focuses her with his attacks, all while deflecting both Basil's starknife and Gisele's card on his stony skin. As she is avoiding a rhubarb pie flying at her face, the witch is hit square in the chest by a large flowerpot which shatters on impact, leaving her bruised, wet and covered in rotting rose petals .
The crowd howls in delight, stomping their feet and shouting Rogg's name. However, some are also booing and shouting at the bears, who are standing still on their unicycles, dumbfounded by Edda's magic.
Smarting from the thrown pot, Edda's pride takes a bigger hit.
"Fine! You wanna catch stuff stones-for-brains? Then catch this!"
Edda quickly casts another spell and spits a large amount of disgusting looking fluid at the giant!
"Try the duvet next time! I hardly felt that!" Basil boasts as he returns fire,
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Niklos launches himself at the giant from behind the curtained cage, striking at the backs of his knees with his rapier. He does his best to move erratically, trying to throw his lumbering foe off balance by slinking back and forth between his feet. As his weapon sinks into flesh, the rogue lets out a mocking laugh.
"Sorry," he quips up at the enormous juggler. "Does that tickle?"
Could this all be a Joke?
Gisele casts a quick spell, her hand turning cold, as she pulls 2 cards off the stack and lets them both fly.
The crowd hollers in delight at seeing Edda's spell, even if Rogg, with a speed uncanny for his size, dodges most of the awful mucus, and cheers even harder as the card is played, its magic resonating with them. Somehow, the indistinct figures in the crowd seem brighter and louder, their colors more vivid.
Trying to get them back on his side, Rogg draws several more household items and pies in the air, addressing the mob with an uneven smile. "I hope that you are enjoying the show, ladies and gentlemen! My amazing bears are not joining right now because these newcomers would be just too easy to-"
His speech is cut short by a barrage of attack. Basil's starknife and Gisele's cards strike him square in the chest, while Niklos' rapier strikes precisely to the back of his knees. Even if he manages not to drop a single one of the objects he's juggling, the crowd roars with laughter at his humiliation.
Basils next starknife throw goes terribly wide, possibly flying into the audience!
Dear Black Butterfly, please don't let me fall on my ass...
Gisele whistles sharply for Taru, waiting for the horse to come running in, then tries to grab the reins and swing up as he runs near without stopping with as much flourish as she can manage.
Edda sees herself as not having had much effect on the giant so far, and most of the rest of her magic would be near
worthless at the current moment as well, so she focuses on trying to confuse the creature with her sorcerer abilities.
Using his companions' attacks as a distraction, Niklos darts between the giant's legs, causing him to trip on his own feet. As he dances around the hapless juggler, he continues to find vulnerable spots to stab into. This time, he goes straight for the femoral artery...
Between Edda's mystical display, Gisele's acrobatics and Niklos' daring and accurate strike, the crowd goes wild. The Umbral Carnival hadn't seen such a show in ages, the faceless mob is cheering, yelling and howling in delight. Seeing the situation shifting against him, Rogg steps away from Niklos, and bows, deftly catching the objects he was juggling. "Thank you! Thank you!" he addresses the crowd. "Tonight, as special guests with us, these are the, uhm, Kaleidoscope Kompany, here for your delight and entertainment!" Then, looking sheepishly at you, he speaks in a softer tone. "Hey, guys, sorry I hit you, just tryina put up a good show, ya know, nuthin' personal... D'ya mind playin' along? I'll give ya a pie." His smile looks more like a grimace, but he seems sincere.
Basil sighs, "Fine." he replies. "Let me go check on the last man you gave a pie to."
Basil will go check on the man knocked down by high-velocity pie.
Niklos steps back and shrugs, pointing to the giant's bleeding wound.
"Sure," he says nonchalantly. "Might want to see to that, though. You're leaking like a sieve, mate."
Edda frowns, takes the pie, and offers to heal the giant using her Hex magic but is not happy about it.
"You would do well next time giant, to be sure of whom you are throwing pies at!...and FEED those bears!"
"If you really want to make it up to us...tell us about the master of the Midnight Circus! Should we be wary of him?"
Edda's hex stops the flow of the giant's ink-like blood, and he smiles gratefully. "Believe me, lady, my friends eat better than I do. The master... Master Bernaditi? Oh, he's very smart, he's the one who's keepin' this circus around. He's inside that cage, he's probably gonna want to talk with you lots. He's probably dangerous enough, but he's never been unreasonable. And thanks again."
With these words, Rogg limps towards the exit, followed by the bears, who are slowly coming to their senses.
As for Biyo, he's been knocked out cold by the large pie and he's covered in custard, but he seems to be otherwise unharmed.
Gisele speaks loud enough for the crown to hear, while both she and Taru give the crowd a bow. "Thank you for the warm welcome everyone. The Kaleidoscope Kompany has enjoyed performing for you tonight."
Trotting back to the group, "That's a lot of pie."
Gisele looks towards the cage Rogg mentions, curious why this Bernaditi hasn't shown himself yet, given the ruckus they all just made.
Dismounting, "How's Biyo?"
Basil surreptitiously runs a finger along the edge of the pie and tastes it, curious if the painted world's fare would even be edible at all.
The pie is lemon custard, and the flavor seems stronger than usual, in the same way as the colors are bright.
Biyo is simply knocked out, you can easily wake him up if you so wish.
Seemingly unconcerned about the unconscious Biyo, Niklos bows along with Gisele and then settles to cleaning his nails with a dagger as he inspects the cage.
"Anyone home?" he calls out. "We'd fancy a quick chat, if you'd be so kind as to oblige..."
Shrugging at Basil, Edda will examine Biyo's unconscious form.
"We'll cut it up for dinner. That way our rations will get extended. Assuming any food is safe to eat here. Ink doesn't exactly look appetizing."
Biyo sits up, shaking his head groggily, then perks up as he sees you. "Oh, my Lords! I'm so sorry that I was knocked out and I couldn't see your brave, glorious fight! I'm sure you bested Rogg, that rock-for-brains surely couldn't compare to you glorious heroes! What is your next, brave and brilliant move? Are you going to talk to Master Bernaditi?"
Meanwhile, a soft, purring laughter comes from inside the drapes. "Why, sure, come inside, the door's unlocked!" says a deep and mellow voice. "I was just waiting for you to join me, so that I might greet you properly."
Niklos swaggers over to the cage door, and opens it up for his companions to step through before him.
"Ladies first," he says with a bow and a grin.
Gisele leads Taru over towards the curtained cage, leaving him at the entrance she steps inside.
Sure, dragon in a cage? Possibly. Basil thinks. Holding his icy starknife as he enters.
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Edda crosses her arms across her chest defiantly.
"No. I'm not walking into a dark cage with who-knows-what. My mother raised me to listen to my instincts,
and my father taught me never to trust things I can't see directly. Biyo, what is that thing? The Circus Master?
But WHAT is Master Bernaditi? Is he dangerous? Why is the cage covered?"
Edda: Biyo tilts his head, looking curiously at you. "Uhm, my Lady, Master Bernaditi is Master Bernaditi, I don't much understand the question. He surely is dangerous, but he doesn't mean ill. I mean, he probably doesn't. And even if he did, my Lady, I'm sure that he wouldn't be a match you the skills of four brave heroes such as yourselves! About the cage, uhm, I think it's just for privacy... maybe?"
Others: The cage is covered in bright cloth and cushions, reminding of the tent of a Kelish prince more than a circus manager. It is furnished with overstuffed chairs and divans, and teacups and fine porcelain crowd every visible surface.
Next to the desk you see hat looks like a human with the head of a crocodile, sitting on a crouched human covered in tattoos. His hands are turned backwards and hold a full teacup, and his red eyes watch you inquisitively.
What is most unsettling, however, is that, unlike everything you saw up until now in this Realm, Bernaditi does not look like a drawing, but like a real-world creature.
The creature speaks with the low, purring voice that invited Niklos inside. "Ah, well met, and thank you for making my show a bit more enjoyable. I am Bernaditi, the Conspirator of the Midnight Circus, a pleasure to meet you. On behalf of all of the denizens of the Harrowed Realm, I welcome you. Please, take a seat, some tea if you so wish.
What brings you here? Were you trapped by that cartomancer as well? Or did you come of your own volition?"
You all, please make a Will save against mind-affecting. Your characters don't notice any spell effect.