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As sunset approaches, a young man from the carnival goes through the midway shouting that it is almost time to unveil the majesty of the sphinx. Seeing Castiel, the boy rushes to him and bows deep saying, "Your Majesty! Of course, you will be allowed first entry to see the sphinx, free of charge! Your entourage may join you as well, naturally!"
He leads you directly to a large tent, dwarfed only by the big top itself. The southern side has no wall, just a tall curtain pulled across its front. Two guards stand on either side of the curtain. Despite their lack of formality, you can gauge these men are not to be trifled with. With a great fanfare which sounds kinda like a kazoo, the curtain opens.
Just inside is a large metal cage with no floor and bars running across
the top. A single large door is set on the north corner of the west
face, secured by a heavy lock. Strewn about the grass beneath the
cage are silk sheets and piles of cushions and satin pillows.
Among these furnishings, a sphinx walks leisurely across for all to get a good view. And a good view is what she gives. Modesty has not seemed to enter into the equation much when it comes to her attire .
She regards you with mild interest. "Ah, your royal highness. To what do I owe the privilege of your presence?" she asks of Castiel.
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Castiel's eyes go wide, he has never seen a Sphinx before and in Osirion they are quite the rarity.
After he catches himself he takes a bow and introduces himself.
"Greetings my fair lady, my name is Castiel and I hail from the desert lands of Osirion. I never imagined to meet one of your kin in these lands and it pains me to see you in captivity. I came here mostly to satisfy my curiosity, but now that I see you here, I would wish to know more about you. Please tell me how you got here...
and how your king could be of service." He adds with a wink and a toothy grin.
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The sphinx merely chuckles at Castiel's offer and statements. "I am no more their captive than you are that crown's. These bars are but to make our visitors more at ease."
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The sphinx does not even pause to think before responding, "They are both in the middle of water. If it is simple riddles you wish: I have skin but no bones, fingers but no hands. What am I?"
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Zinkyudo waits for the sphinx to resond to Castiel's non-riddling question, and ponders the most recent riddle. Well, I've seen other archers wear those silly little three-fingered gloves when they shoot, and they're usually made of animal hide, or skin. Maybe that's it?
Though he's no fool, Zinkyudo's training has never focused on such puzzles. He nervously says, "A glove?"
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"The way you are dressed I can see most normal men would enjoy just seeing you my lady, hehehe.
Well if you are happy here I have no trouble with leaving you. I was hoping you would be the pretty princess this king would have to rescue." Castiel jokes around a bit, making conversation with the Sphinx.
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The sphinx just lounges on a pillow. "Only the weak need saving. Though you seem noble enough, I am certain you will find your pretty little lady. Now, I do believe there are others awaiting to see me, your majesty." She bows and it seems your time is up.
Not to worry, however, as there is quite a distraction worthy of your adventuring selves!
Suddenly, screams erupt from near the zoo area! Apparently, the baby dragon has escaped from its cage! Carnival-goers of all ages bolt for the exits as the guards around the sphinx's cage usher people out and close the curtain to safety. Shortly, you see the dragon come galloping around a tent and into view. It sees you, too and moves right toward you!
Behind it is a youngish looking male with seriously large ears. He shouts that "it's only a baby! Don't hurt it!" though all attempts of his to recapture it have gone south.
The dragon charges its way up to Teric to bite him!
With a howl of pain, Teric drops! The lizard hangs on!
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Castiel shifts again, looking more like a dinosaur. The scales on his armes and face thickening. (Sauran totem transformation, now +2 NA and can talk to dinosaurs and reptiles)
While formed like this Castiel emits strange noises to the others, however his own companion and the "dragon" listen intently.
"Stop hurting my friend, he has done you now harm, and we do not mean to do you harm either. Please stop attacking us or you will force us to attack and kill you! If you go back to your cage I will give you some nice beef jerky! And I will make sure you get nicer bits of meat every day, like a nice bit of mutton! Much juicier then smelly humans."
As he takes out a bit of beef jerky in his pocket and tosses it near the "dragon" hoping it releases his friend.
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Borax, recognizing the creature for what it is calls out to his companions,
"It only has a bite and with it's mouth full, it cannot attack us. Castiel's attempts at empathy are rendered useless if we all attack it. But then again, Teric may be dead before the druid succeeds. Fortunately, this creature is not very smart."
Borax pulls out his wand of Infernal Healing and attempts to heal Teric..
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The man with the large ears rushes forward. "Please don't hurt him! He's probably just scared!"
Borax reaches out and touches Teric with his wand to aid the man.
The dragon, seeing its route blocked by a larger lizard, releases the downed caster before stepping around Torg and snapping at him with his jaws.
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"Very well, you leave me no choice." Castiel says in lizard speak as he grabs his big hammer and tries to whallop the lizard with it.
"Betsy attack him, but do not kill him. Maybe we can scare it off." Castiel says to his companion.
Betsy roars at the lizard and attacks it, trying not to draw blood.
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Xan-Tie is unable to hit the dragon with his aimed shots.
Borax studies the beast and tries to wrap his whip around one of its legs.
Castiel tries to bonk the beast but is equally unsuccessful.
Torg manages to pop the dragon on the noggin, putting into a nice sleep. Or coma. Who knows?
The freak of a man runs up and quickly checks on the dragon. "Oh thank you for going easy on him! You are a noble breed we don't normally see 'round here."
"" a burly voice shouts. Its owner is a Taldan man in overly stylized nobles garb. With a whip on his hip, he is clearly the zoo keeper. "What in the blazes happened here?! I slip off for a moment and entrust the animals to you and this happens?" He seems to notice you for the first time. "We'll discuss this later. Ah, my friends. I cannot thank you enough for aiding the recapture of this wondrous beast. I am Berthold Flavion, caretaker of the Umbral Zoo."
"And I am Almara Delisen, proprietor of the carnival." A somewhat attractive woman greets you as she walks up beside Berthold. "Please, feel free to enjoy the festivities for the rest of our time here in Ilsurian on the house. No charge for games or admission, and no begging for donations. Also, please take this as a small token of our appreciation." She hands you a pouch of 50 gp to split amongst you.
With the visitors fled and the unconscious dragon being taken back to its stall, it seems that the carnival is ended for the night. If you have any interactions you wish to partake in before getting some kip for the night, feel free to do so now. Otherwise, we'll go on to the next morning.
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Borax eyes the paltry sum and mumbles to himself,
"Oh joy. Now I can retire and live like....a gutter rat begging for scraps."
Having identified the monitor lizard for what it was and thus it's poison, Ajax takes a minute to try and neutralize the poison that has infected Teric using his knowledge of poison lore and his skill with alchemy.
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After a minute, Teric wakes up, but he's still severely injured. He casts a healing spell on himself, but is clearly in a sour mood. "Where the hell are the healers in this god-forsaken village?" He begins ranting and shouting as he stumbles about, looking for someone to direct him to a healer.
He turns back and glares at Almara. "You have the worst luck. I hope you have better control over your circus animals. Trust me, I can end your little operation with the right words."
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Poison Lore: An investigator has a deep understanding and appreciation for poisons. At 2nd level, he cannot accidentally poison himself when applying poison to a weapon. If the investigator spends 1 minute physically examining the poison, he can attempt a Knowledge (nature) check to identify any natural poison or Knowledge (arcana) check to identify any magical poison (DC = the poison's saving throw DC). Lastly, once a poison is identified, he can spend 1 minute and attempt a Craft (alchemy) check (DC = the poison's saving throw DC) to neutralize 1 dose of the poison. Success renders the dose harmless. The investigator has no chance of accidentally poisoning himself when examining or attempting to neutralize a poison.
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As Teric rouses from his pain-induced nap, his body is able to vigorously shake off the effects of the lizard's venom.
The circus folk are taken aback by the bitter response by the Pathfinders, but still hold you in some regard for putting yourself in harm's way to keep the animal from causing more havoc.
As for the amount, this is a circus, earning money by the copper piece. 50gp may not seem a lot to you, but to them it is almost everything.
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"Well I'm just happy noone was mortally wounded. It would have ruined the festivities."
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As you discuss the pros and cons of the night's events, you retire to an inn with which Osprey has already made the arrangements for.
It is a peaceful night, though the morning sees some commotion in the streets. Once again, the talk is all about the circus, but the tones are much less friendly and genial. It seems there was a murder last night, and everyone suspects the travelling gypsies as the culprits!
More specifically, you find that Archivin Walder, a respected moneylender and pawn broker, was found dead on the side of the road on the road from the circus. The local sheriff is investigating.
Shortly after, a young boy, likely from the circus, sneaks in and hands you a note before running off. The note simply reads that your assistance is required at the circus.
Heading over, you are greeted by the startings of an angry mob. They let you pass without much incident and you are approached by the owner of the circus, Almara.
"I appreciate your efforts yesterday in the regrettable incident with our dragon. I fear I could also use your help with another matter. You may have heard there was a murder in town last night. The circumstances, I am told, implicate people from my circus - something I find very hard to accept. I'd like to contract you to represent the Umbra Carnival to determine who is really responsible and preserve our reputation. Any questions, my friends?"
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Borax is unable to resist and replies with obvious sarcasm,
"Hire us? Why with another 50gp split six ways, seven if we give the beast a portion, I could move out of the gutter and purchase my very own crate in an alley corner. How soon can we start?"
Borax, obviously amused with himself, folds his arm and gives Almara a dry look.