Semsephiel will insist on taste-testing everything, in case it's been poisoned.
Evalee eats quietly, thinking.
The group begins to eat their celebratory meal somewhat more somberly than intended. Some time later, Gregor Maleffect returns with Nathaniel in tow. The knife thrower doesn't look any worse for the wear physically (Doc does indeed know his trade), but the usual levity of his demeanor is all but gone. He explains, in as few words as possible, that he thinks it would be best for everyone if he did not join the carnival. He is evasive when asked about the details of what happened, but his face and voice show more signs of shame than of the fear or anger you might expect. Though nobody is counting, you figure he speaks less than 20 words before taking his leave.
Gregor isn't any more forthcoming with details. Though he doesn't actually apologize for anything, he expresses regret that these events soured what should have been a celebration.
Over the next hour or two, several other members of the carnival filter in to join in the subdued reception, though neither Ashyr nor Zeera make an appearance. Doc arrives and claims a mostly-full bottle of wine for himself. Once it's gone, he grabs two more to take back to his private carriage.
Shorty enters and leaves right on Doc's heels. His face remains a disturbing grin, but his high-pitched voice is not as chipper as usual when he engages in conversation.
The slender, long-haired tiefling boy who smells of cigarette smoke enters, walking with a strangely fluid movement, his weight staying on the balls of his feet and his heels never quite touching the ground. He tells you his name is Ivaan in a soft, smooth voice, but doesn't stick around long before excusing himself to go smoke some more.
When the bald, muscular man with the incongruously white beard arrives, the monkey from the bigtop is riding on his shoulder. He introduces the monkey as Jojo, and himself as Stanley Strongbeard. Though there is intelligence in his eyes and his speech is unaccented, his command of the common tongue suggests that he learned it later in life than most.
Halador enters, bending low to fit through the tent's doorway. He partakes in the meal, but doesn't really speak to anyone. He keeps mostly to the corner of the tent, and his massive frame makes it look like the tent is barely large enough to contain him.
The goblin speaks only in short, sharp sentences, apparently speaking worse common than Pogug. He never bothers to introduce himself, but around the third time he mentions "Da Bosun", you realize that he's referring to himself in the third person.
The carnival's third female halfling (Erin makes four), the one who gleefully tagged Nathaniel out with her rapier on both of the previous nights, is more gregarious, though she seems disappointed that Nathaniel is gone. She calls herself "Dutch", and she welcomes each of you warmly to the group, with a hug for those who are willing. She is quick with a smile, and even jokes around with some of you. You can't help feeling that she would have gotten along well with Nathaniel if the two had gotten a chance to know each other better. Though she talks freely and openly about most subjects, she always manages to change the subject when anyone tries to ask about her life before she joined the carnival. She stays with you all throughout the night, talking and telling jokes, until you all eventually fall asleep in chairs or on the floor in Gregor's tent.
---
You wake up in the morning, having stayed up too late and likely having had too much to drink, with sunlight streaming through the tent's flaps. The four of you are alone in the tent, and there are sounds of work being done outside. When you peel back the flaps and squint against the midmorning light, the bigtop is missing, and many of the smaller tents are also gone, or are in the process of being struck and loaded onto the wagons lined up at the far end of the carnival grounds. All of the carnival members (besides the four of you), even those who were up late drinking with you, seem to be lending a hand (though Gregor, and Doc especially, are doing so mostly in supervisory roles).
You are surprised to see another familiar face. Someone you haven't seen since your little battle the day after your initial auditions. It's an obese, bald-headed man with dried spittle around the edges of his mouth. Little rings in his skin create awkward bumps under his shirt, which does not cover him nearly as thoroughly as one might wish that someone of his weight and lackluster hygiene would be covered. As you exit, he is loading what looks like an extremely heavy bundle of tent poles onto one of the wagons. It looks like more than any two of you could carry.
Clyde huffs as he loads the tent poles and wipes his head. Although his debut had gone poorly, he was't completely out of luck. A strong back and arms were always welcome and lugging around boxes, poles and other circus equipment had ensured him a warm place to sleep and food for his belly.
He hadn't really made any friends though and knew his somewhat disturbing stage act gave people shivers. A rather skinny and mean-tempered cat had began hanging around him though, gnawing on scraps and stealing his blanket whenever it could.
With so many people in the tent eating, Evalee quickly feels overwhelmed and excuses herself on the pretense of going to sleep.
Sitting outside, under the stars (Goodbye clouds, she says her farewells to the floating lakes in the overcast sky, only now blowing off to blind some other half-elf.) Evalee sets to work.
Earlier tonight, it would have been really damn useful to know how to turn invisible.
Invisibility isn't an incredibly difficult spell to learn. Elven wizards have been turning invisible since before humans invented language. The principles are well understood, and the collective pursuit of wizardry has had an epoch longer than civilization to refine the spell, to learn how to cast it with the least possible expenditure of energy.
All of it less useful to Evalee than it should have been.
Because I'm trying to invent a spell that does the exact same thing as invisibility, in the exact same way as invisibility, except without invoking the Isugumarimium effect because apparently my screwy sorcery can't calculate Otkius conjunctions and I have to math every little thing out myself.
She heaves a heavy sigh while rummaging through her things for On the Conjuctions of the Outer Planes and the Nature of the Otkius. She'd given up on the overly verbose tome after reading the preface less than a week ago. But last night reminded her how much she stands to learn, so she flips to the table of contents.
Page IV: Preface . . . Page LXIV: Preface II . . . where does the actual book start? Ah, page one. That's helpful. It's really helpful the way they switch number systems right there. Awright. Page one is . . . an introduction to the concepts introduced in this book. But where does the actual book start??! She flips forward a few pages in the Table of Contents.
Chapter forty-eight, page three hundred-twelve: Spontaneous Spell Casting and the Otkius; Ruminations.
Evalee Ribbinz reads chapter forty-eight. And then she reads it again. A third time, just to make sure she's reading it right, and then she skims it a fourth time. And then she throws her head back and laughs.
This makes everything easier.
"Clyde! Hiya! Oh! And you have a cat! Isn't it gorgeous?" Evalee jerks her hand back, put pressure on it until it stops bleeding holding her hand under her armpit. "Is it a boy or a girl? What's it's name?"
Why hello there Evalee! Heard there was some unfortunate events the last few nights but you have been rather successful in your efforts. Clyde looks at the cat. Oh that one. Pest, thief, possible cat pie. Seems to prefer gnawing on my table scraps than going after mice.
The cat glares and farts before slinking off.
Clyde loads the lats of the poles onto the wagon.So what will you and your friends be doing? Managed to join the circus?
Erin goes to sleep with a vague aching throughout her body and wakes up with a very specific one in her temple. She stumbles around for a moment in the bright morning light before spotting Clyde. "Oh, hey. Yeah. We're - well, we... some of us are joining." She frowns, looking around the deconstructed carnival. "And you? What are you up to?"
Well since I was lacking in funny but overflowing in strength, they gave me a job lugging things around for a sleeping space and some food. I think I will have the chance to work on my skills here and maybe earn a place in front of the crowd.
Pogug is the last to exit the tent, diligently stringing his Vween-Maker. It had been slowly going out of tune with the events of the last few days, and the goblin had only realized it at last night's gathering.
"Big man!" Pogug says excitedly. "Good see again. Now Pogug look even smaller." It seemed Pogug had switched his resolve completely from being large to being small.
Hello my hungry friend! Perhaps I will have the chance to try to make some jerky for you.
"People!" Evalee announces, gesticulating wildly. "I figured something out last night."
With a word murmured in Infernal, Evalee fades from view. "Check it out! I'm invisible! And I can see too, which is a problem I was having earlier, the light passing through my eyelids . . . turns out I had pretty much everything wrong but that's ok now no need to dwell on it we're moving forward, onward and outward, following the call of adventure and all that jazz. I'm excited!"
Clyde nods. In the way of someone who has no idea what someone has been talking about but just nods to show he is paying attention.
So being able to vanish from sight will no doubt be very useful. Perhaps a magician's trick of flying objects when you are really running around with them.
As the members of the carnival are finishing loading the carts, some of you begin to wonder how they plan to move them. There don't seem to be any horses around to pull them.
When they're done, they link up the carts all in a row, with Doc's carriage at the front of the line. Shorty climbs on top of the wagon and folds out a bench on the front of it. Underneath is a mechanism with a shiny brass lever. Doc and Shorty take their places on the bench, and Doc takes hold of the lever. Thick, dark smoke begins to pour from the stovepipe behind him, then when he pushes the lever forward, the cart begins to move, pulling the others behind it.
The train of wagons snakes forward, turning toward the road, then following it toward the gates of the city as the assorted carneys walk alongside. When they reach the city, the gates open, allowing the group to pass. You proceed through the street along the docks until the wagon train turns, driving out onto one of them, coming to a stop next to a ship with a wide base and a thick keel. Its bright red sails are junk-rigged, and the front of the ship bears a gilded figurehead that looks like a woman wearing only a flowing sheet. Her arms are feathered wings, folded back along either side of the hull. Her eyes are closed and her mouth open, with her head thrown back around the ship's bowsprit, making it look like she is singing (or perhaps engaging in some more lewd behavior).
Carnival members begin to climb aboard the ship. The goblin who calls himself "Da Bosun" climbs the rigging and unties a spar attached to the main mast that then swings out over the dock, dangling a rope below. One by one, the crew uses it as a crane to lift the wagons and load them into the ship's hold through a large grating that they open up in the deck.
"Big boat! Now Pogug is owner of big stick."
What a fascinating machine Clyde walks aside of the train with some new facepaint on him as he waves to the crowd. Upon reaching the boat, he gazes at the figurehead.
A new experience for me! Ho ho! I have yet to set foot on such a craft and perhaps I'll be free of my shadow due to so much water.
A pair of evil yellow eyes glint amongst the boxes on the train.
"A new experience for me! Ho ho! I have yet to set foot on such a craft and perhaps I'll be free of my shadow due to so much water."
"Oh!" Evalee turns to investigate the boxes on the train. "It followed us. Huh." She reaches a hand towards the cat, and hold it there for a moment before letting her arm drop. "Have fun being alone then," she tells the asocial animal.
Well it looks like our work will not be done this day. Let us get hauling and driving. We still have to sing for our supper. Clyde will look to get back to work.
When everything is loaded and everyone is aboard, the crew releases the ropes binding the battens, allowing the sails to unfurl, and the wind begins to carry the carnival out to sea.
While Gregor was clearly in charge of the carnival, his authority aboard the ship is even more absolute. So, when he tells Ashak to go meet Doc below decks, nobody even considers asking why. When he rejoins the group several hours later, he is shirtless and barefoot. Fresh tattoos are visible around his ankles, and another set that goes over his shoulders and extends partway down his back.
He demonstrates the shoulder tattoo's function for you. The flowing runic symbols glow faintly for a moment, then appear to fade away as his skin changes from green to pink. He still looks like Ashak, and yet he doesn't. His distinctive burns are gone, or at least hidden, and he appears as a human version of himself. Transforming back, he indicates the tattoos around his ankles, and explains that Doc says they'll magically enhance his acrobatic abilities.
How amazing! The tattooed people I have met spend long hours in the chair for normal ink that eventually blurs into smudges after a scant few years. You have gained something that will last a lifetime!
Hmm..I wonder if flayed skin will keep the magic? Clyde ponders.
Not having much idea how to be of help on a sailing ship, you've all been sitting around for most of the day, and the sun is now getting low over the water. You may be beginning to wonder how long this journey will last, and where you are going.
While you're all admiring Ashak's tattoos (and perhaps wondering what the carnival folk have in mind for the rest of you), the goblin who refers to himself as Da Bosun descends the stairs to join you below decks. Without a word, he flops down into a hammock, apparently tired from a hard days work among the ship's rigging and sails. Almost as soon as he's out of sight within the folds of the hammock, a noise like exaggerated snoring begins to emanate from it. You have just long enough to begin to dread putting up with the noise, when it ends as abruptly as it began, and the goblin's bulbous head pokes up, looking over at you. He cocks an eyebrow in consideration as he stairs for a prolonged moment.
Da Bosun rocks his hammock, making it spill him out onto the floor. He catches himself and waddles over to your group. You want to play game?
Hoho! I am very interested. Anything to help pass the time on this voyage.
Though the question was clearly addressed to you all as a group, the goblin doesn't wait for a second response. A huge grin full of pointed teeth spreads across his face, and he runs to the far wall. When he returns, he is pushing a large, flat-topped chest, nearly twice his size. When he gets it close, the stops and wipes his brow, then lifts the chest's lid enough to stick his head inside.
A moth flutters out, and he lets the lid fall closed, and jumps around for a moment trying to catch the moth. He finally manages to wrap his hand around it, crushing it, then licks its smeared remains off his palm, smiling.
Once his hand is mostly clean (of moth parts, at least) he returns to the trunk and opens it again. He has to climb halfway inside to reach the contents, and his short goblin legs swing and kick in the air behind him as he tosses game pieces and scraps of paper out onto the floor. Some of the pieces of paper look like crude maps drawn in charcoal, while others are covered front and back with scribbled words, some of which are upside-down or written up the side of the page. He climbs out and shuffles through the pages, then climbs back inside to find a few more.
When he's finally retrieved the entire set, he closes the chest and begins spreading things out on top of it. In addition to the papers, there are dice carved from knuckle bones, and wooden tokens similar to the ones you received on the night of your initial audition. Rather than the intricately-carved stylized letter S, these are crudely carved with barely recognizable images of animals: a pig, a chicken, a frog, a rabbit, and a raccoon.
Choose your characters! the goblin instructs, excitedly. He holds up the token with the picture of a pig. This am Boar! He am Sword Guy! He slams that one down on the table and picks up the chicken. This am Chicken! He am Singer! Slamming that token down and picking up the next, he says This am Frog! He am Magic Do-er! And the next, This am Rabbit! He am Thief! And finally, This am Raccoon! He am Heal Guy! Now go, choose! When he slammed each token down, he put it on top of one of the scribbled pieces of paper, each bearing additional information about the character. Boar, for example, has 17 Strengths, 6 armors, and a Big Sword, while Frog has 18 smarts, no armors, and knows magics like "Snot Wad", "Magic Glow", and "Spit Fire".
Boar
Chicken
Frog
Rabbit
Raccoon
Clyde plucks up the boar A fitting role for me! I shall squash all before me.
"Oh, cool!" Evalee bounces excitedly. "Uh, I choose Frog, naturally, wait, actually, let me read them all." She has no idea which one is strongest, which stats are most important. "I guess . . . I'll play Am Raccoon, since it sounds simplest, and I haven't played before and I'll need to learn the ropes wait actually, Sephy, why don't you play the healer?"
Semsephiel raises an eyebrow. "Funny, how you brilliantly deduce the easiest character to play, and then suggest I play it." Semsephiel takes the character sheet anyway.
"Ok then . . ." Evalee thinks about it. "Frog," she decides.
Pogug picks up the rabbit token, resisting the desire to put it in his mouth. "Pogug want this one!" The statement was both in conclusion of his lunch and as his character. "Bunny is fast, like Pogug, after all. Also tiny."
Ashak tries to read one of the sheets, and is suddenly struck by motion sickness from the rocking of the boat and goes to lie down.
Will we be trying to escape the dinner plate at a farm? That might be interesting
While Erin is pondering the chicken-faced token. Da Bosun slams his palm down on the top of the chest to draw everyone's attention. Yous is summoned! Yous grovels at da feets uh da great king, Him says... the goblin straightens his body, standing upright and lifting up on his toes to appear taller, and holding his arms out to either side in a manner that is clearly meant to make his short goblin frame look more imposing, ...I has important mission for yous! My's kingdom been threat-ed by da great menace too longs! I wants yous ta go climb da hill over there 'n' 'n' Yous be great heroes when yous does, 'n' I, da great king, Big Chief Bosun, gives you all da golds for rewards! What yous says? Big Chief Bosun look down at yous from him's big chair made uh golds 'n' rubies 'n' diamonds 'n' stuffs. Him waits ta sees who uh yous talk first.
Anyone who has read the sheet for the raccoon will notice that in Da Bosun's imaginary world, he is not only the king, but also a deity. Whether this should be taken as an expression of vanity or lack of imagination (or both) remains to be seen.
Oink! Oink! Clyde snorts and wiggles his flab. I'll gore dat horse with my tusks, yer majesty!
"Yes sir, Big Chief Bosun sir!" Pogug does a small salute. "Pogug - Um, Rabbit - will do all he can to burn down the stoopid horse house."
This is inane.
"I will slaughter the terrifying horse menace with my . . . healing racoon powers. Fear not, Big Chief Bosun, your loyal racoon minion is . . . loyal. And a racoon. We'll burn down him's horse house, don't fret."
Evalee looks up from Semsephiel's character sheet. "Hey, Sephy, it says here that the Big Chief Bosun is your characters god."
Does it? Semsephiel reads the paper. "So it does. I suppose that just makes burning down him's horse house all the more important."
Da Bosun looks around to each of you in turn as he speaks in a lower voice. Yous goes out ta try ta find da horse's horse house, but yous has no map. How yous gonna finds da way 'n' not gets lost?
Oink! Oink! I start sniffen for horse sense..err..scents
Da Bosun looks around to each of you in turn as he speaks in a lower voice. Yous goes out ta try ta find da horse's horse house, but yous has no map. How yous gonna finds da way 'n' not gets lost?
"I will keep a prayer in my heart," Semsephiel clasps one hand to his chest, "and trust in my god not to lead us astray."
Oink! Oink! I start sniffen for horse sense..err..scents
[dice=Survival]1d20+5
Da Bosun consults the sheet with Boar's information scribbled across it, then rolls one of the knuckle bone dice. Boar sniff for horse scents, but Boar never smelled horse before, only horse poops. Him lead yous da wrong way, 'n' yous finds a pile uh da horse's poops, 'n' Boar gets some on him's nose! Da Bosun bursts out laughing, clearly pleased with himself. Yous gotta try sumpfin elses.
"I will keep a prayer in my heart," Semsephiel clasps one hand to his chest, "and trust in my god not to lead us astray."
Dat not how yous plays! Da Bosun snaps, Yous gotta DO sumpfin.
Oink! Get dis poop offa my nose! Maybe we go find some rats dat live in da barns and see if they know somethin.
"Rabbit goes to find rats, but not eat them cause that be bad. He ask where horse house is."
Rabbit try talk to rats, but rats just says Squeek Squeek! 'n' ignores hims 'cause hims not nice enough. Anybody elses tries?
Oink! The boar isn't really good at talking so I cna't help
"Enough of this."
Semsephiel unfolds his two mantis-like appendages and slams them into the table. He stands up, towering over the bosun. His eyes emitting a baleful red glow, he locks gazes with the Bosun and speaks in a deadly whisper. "In the name of my god, rodent, you will comply. You will act in a manner becoming one of your position, or you will face the wrath of Raccoon, agent of the divine, the wrath of hell itself. Raccoons are not patient creatures, rat, and when we get frustrated we are liable to eviscerate. Tell me what you know."
Sitting abruptly, forearms still embedded in the furniture, Semsephiel uses another arm to pick up a die twenty and roll it.
The Godscourge rips his claws out of the table, leaving splintery furrows in the surface. "I have a seven total. I assume that is sufficient."
Clyde blinks at the display and then laughs. I think our good boson should reward him for his bravado! But Chicken sighs and shakes his head. "We shouldn't make enemies! We are heroes, I think Please please Rats. Help us
Everyone is sitting, stunned at Semsephiel's outburst, when Clyde speaks up for Erin's character and breaks the tension. Da Bosun is too distracted by fear of Semsephiel to realize that Erin was not the one who narrated Chicken's action.
Squeek Squeek! Da rats draws yous uh map to da horse house!
Oink! Oink! Onwards to da horses!