"Anyone who hurts Yuri is going to have to get past Tiff and me as well."
Angalia links arms with Nath again.
"Sorry about this my love, but here and now, we're betrothed and planning our wedding. Let's look as if we're planning a party here at least."
"Oh..."
"We could perhaps remain around here until nightfall, let us see what else this carnival has to offer"Tif seems to be more at ease here among the carnies and the crowd. "By chance does anyone else wish to see the oddities?"
Angalia grins.
"I'll give you plenty of chances to back out, Nath. Don't look so panicked. Oddities it is."
As you make your way through the carnival, a nearby organ grinder strikes up a tune on a long-suffering instrument. His bizarre music is disorienting, but his talent is evident.
Nik continues to keep an eye on you from a distance, but after a while he seems to lose interest and moves on.
As you work you way across the grounds to the sideshow, you see a sword swallower, a few acrobats, and clowns entertaining the patrons. A seedy looking man offers passers-by an opportunity to win money at games of chance, and a woman hawks some foul-smelling meat on a skewer.
As you reach the sideshow, you again hear a barker inviting patrons inside. "Come see the mysterious, the frighening, and the odd. One copper piece gets you inside!"
"Ah, here we are Nathaniel. You've been sheltered in that small town too long. It's time to see another part of what this world has to offer," Res jokes. He reaches into his pouch and pulls out 6 copper pieces and hands them to the barker. "Come, let us see the odd and the frightening. Perhaps it will be a green meadow with daisies, a warm inviting sun, and a gentle breeze with butterflies flitting about. Now that would be odd wouldn't it?" Res enters the tent.
Angalia grins.
"I'll give you plenty of chances to back out, Nath. Don't look so panicked. Oddities it is."
"It's just been such a whirlwind romance," jokes the ranger, trying to get into the spirit of things despite his concern at what might be happening in this place.
The barker gladly takes your coins and lifts the flap to the sideshow tent.
A few flickering lanterns hanging from posts cast a dim glow over the exhibitions. In the first stall, a tiny woman, smaller than a halfling but clearly human, strikes a pose from where she is perched on a stool, and in the next a larger woman in a revealing dress sporting a bushy beard reclines in a chair. A man stands by a small table with a tentacle hanging at his side (although closer inspection suggests this one may be a fake).
In the fourth stall, a small boy stands wearing nothing but short pants, displaying a pattern of leopard-like patches on his skin. He has a wistful, resigned look on his face as he passes the time in boredom.
Opposite these sentient displays, a series of drawings and specimen jars are displayed on a shelf, including preserved mutated fish, a seven-fingered hand suspended in fluid, and even a deformed human stillbirth.
At the end of the aisle furthest from the entrance, two attractive women in their 20s sit on a bench, side by side. As they see you come in, the stand and step apart, still connected at the hip. They give sultry smiles and begin to sing a haunting, mesmerizing song.
Angalia looks away, feeling uncomfortable.
"This is worse than the animals."
"Oh my, you are precious." Tif comments to the primordal dwarf, smiling as she does. She seems at ease with the nature of these people, smiling and waving to them as she stops for a moment before each of them before moving on... avoiding the pickled displays, which she finds distasteful.
Her eyes glint at the sight of the two women, as if remembering someone from before meeting the rest of her new friends.
She seems somewhat taken aback by Angalia's remark, "How so sweet?, I grew up among these people."
The exception is the twins, who possess an air of confidence. You recall Yuri saying they are viewed as trusted leaders of the carneys by the manager, Sergei; that may explain why they do not seem as defeated as the others.
"Yes, Tiff, but these people are caged. They're not happy doing this. If they were, I wouldn't say a word. To be honest, I want to pull this whole place down, but that's not very constructive."
Keeping her eye on the twins, the young gypsy wanders over to the dwarf, "Excuse me precious one, would it be possible to meet with you after your shift? It's been so long since I left my own carnival, and I could use some time with someone normal."
The expression on the small woman's face sours. "The copper piece just gets you a look, not a meet later. I don't know where you think you are, but this is not a gypsy carnival." Her disdain is apparent.
Res takes in the sights of the tent. He finds himself drawn to the seven fingered hand suspended in fluid. As he stares at the jar, he suddenly shudders as he recalls the Surgeon's laboratory and the disembodied hand grasping at his throat. Whirring quickly, he announces to the group, "I've seen enough, let's go." He begins to head to the exit, his face drained of color, and his breathing labored.
The expression on the small woman's face sours. "The copper piece just gets you a look, not a meet later. I don't know where you think you are, but this is not a gypsy carnival." Her disdain is apparent.
Momentarily taken aback by the diminutive woman's response, Tif's eyes narrow slightly, "Very well then, forgive me if I somehow offended, I have just one question... how does so much foulness reside in such a small frail b$%&$? Nevermind, let's leave that a mystery shall we?", with that Tif spins, her skirt whirling as she does, and strides towards the Twins.
The small woman sneers as Tiffana turns away. The twins stop their singing and regard the exchange with interest.
Angalia decides to hold her ground. This is Tiff's world after all, and they may learn something.
"Sorry Tiff, just got a little spooked. I really didn't mean to offend anyone."
Nathaniel glances about, not really meeting the gazes of any of the ‘displays’ until the conjoined twins stand and begin to sing. He gazes over at them in surprise, taken aback at the haunting beauty of their song.
He is dimly aware of Tiff having some sort of a conversation with the tiny woman (which appears to get quite heated) and Res announcing that he is leaving, but despite his initial hesitation and embarrassment, and his disgust at the non-living displays, he makes no move to leave right at this moment, seemingly enchanted by the song.
Res slips back out of the tent and feels the cool breeze on his face. He stands just beyond the entrance of the tent and tries to regain his composure. He looks about the rest of the carnival and watches the other patrons absently.
Eliva seems to get quieter and sadder as they step through the carnival. The sight of the animals makes her shoulders slump, and the hopeless state of the displays make her look down at the ground and close her eyes.. Her own memories of being labeled a freak or monster are particularly drawn to the surface.
"I really want to break things right now," she muttered to herself, "but I should find a way to fix them instead."
Nathaniel slips two silver coins from his pouch and approaches the twins, slipping the coins into their hand. It occurs to him that these are people earning a living just like anyone else ... only the possible ways they might earn their living are extremely limited. He doesn’t know how much of the meagre entry fee these people actually receive, but such beautiful music deserves recognition, whether it was produced by a minstrel in a fine tavern or these strange, sad women in this strange, sad tent.
Res attempts to back away into the tent all while keeping an eye on a figure hurrying through the crowd. Once back in the tent, he calls out curtly, "It's getting late, I think we all need to be leaving right now." He then hurries back out of the tent hoping to catch another glimpse of the figure.
Res tells them that he spotted Nik hurrying through the crowd. Nik spotted Res but kept on going. Res has a bad feeling about this. Something is up.
"You may be right, Res."
Angalia pauses by the door.
When Res comes back out of the tent, he does not see Nik anywhere.
“I don’t see him about, but I’ve no doubt he’s up to no good,” says Nathaniel, emerging from the tent with the others. “Let’s see where this funhouse is, and how we might gain access to it when we come back tonight. We shouldn’t linger in the vicinity though, people might be watching us.”
The funhouse sits rather close to the freak show tent, so you are able to reach it quickly. The front of the building is garishly painted, but the paint masks years of weather and age. The building appears to have been a farmhouse at one point, but shows signs of long neglect and disrepair. It has been painted in bright colors and expanded with a huge warehouse-like addition in back, easily three times the size of the original house. The windows of the original structure have been securely boarded up and similarly painted, while the addition is entirely devoid of windows or doors.
There is a single point of entrance to the structure; the front door has been painted with red and gold scrollwork, decorated with the faces of smiling clowns. The door is blocked with several wooden boards. Examining closely, you can see the nails on the boards are loose, and show signs of being frequently removed and re-hammered. You surmise that entering the building through the front door would be a simple affair.
As you examine the structure, Nik circles back into view accompanied by another carney and watches with disapproval at your investigations. He hurries off in the other direction with great speed and purpose, leaving his companion behind to keep an eye on you.
“Keep walking,” Nathaniel murmurs to the others. “We don’t want to look too interested in this place ... I think it might be time to leave.”
Unless there is dissent he leads the way past the funhouse, then back in a wide circle around the fair grounds back to the entry point.
Angalia babbles happily about wedding plans, doing her utmost to look and sound like an idiot.
"Don't look so miserable! My brothers won't really coat you in honey rolls and tie you to the elephant! Anyway, the really important thing is to decide on a colour scheme."
The party is able to leave the carnival grounds without incident.
"Yes dear," Nathaniel answers absently, patting Angalia's hand as he glances about for signs of pursuit.
Nathaniel does not see any signs that the party is being pursued.
Angalia lets out a sigh of relief once she's well out of sight of the carnival.
"I hate to say it, but being that idiotic was sort of fun. For five minutes, anyway. What's the plan? Go back discreetly tonight and find out what's happening in the funhouse? We can break in easily."
"That's the plan," agrees Nathaniel. "Let's head into the town for now, I'd Luke to buy a crowbar or clawed hammer to take care of the nails on that door quietly."
Erfan toddles about through the whole ordeal, mumbling about one thing or another or simply staring in slack-jawed awe at something at the carnival until the movement of his party mates catches his eye and snaps him out of his absent-minded reverie. He remains quiet, content to simply watch and listen, interjecting only when it seems relevant or when addressed.
Hearing Nathaniel mention buying a crowbar, Res speaks up. "No need for that Nathaniel, I have a crowbar in my backpack. However, it may be worthwhile to go to town anyway. We may be able to pick up some more information about the carnival. I am curious how long it has been here. That funhouse seems like a very permanent structure. If the carnival has been here much longer than the start of the plaque, then what prompted the change?"
The small hamlet of Tillich is a dreary place. Ramshackle wooden structures line dusty streets, and there is a subdued air among the populace.
As Res takes in the town, he tries to start up some idle conversation with some locals after a few minutes of conversation he asks, "How long has the carnival been around?"
Finding an inn with a bath, Angalia asks the landlord when the carnival arrived in town.
In dire need of a hairwash, and slightly exhausted from discussing imaginary wedding plans all day, Angalia's usual fleetness of tongue deserts her.
Tiff follows along quietly, lost in her own thoughts.
"A bath would be splendid, I was thinking perhaps someone could go with me later, and see if we can speak to the twins alone. You'd be surprised just how much the so called "freaks" know about things."
From talking with the locals and the innkeeper, you find out the carnival arrived about 6 weeks ago. When it first arrived, the carnival manager Sergei was regularly seen around Tillich promoting his carnival. About 2 weeks later, he stopped; some say he retreated into privacy. It was around the same time the first victims came down with the plague, so some people suspect he may have shut himself up so as to protect himself.
"Who did he talk to in Tillich?" Angalia wonders aloud. "Do any of them have the plague?"
It seems he talked to a great many people, and while some caught the plague, some did not. There are villagers who recall personal interactions with him, and they are alive and well.
Despite knowing that Res already has a crowbar, Nathaniel figures another can’t hurt. He tries to find a local hardware store, general store or lumber yard or similar to buy a crowbar and a hammer.
After that he retires to the inn that Angalia found, washes up and falls onto the bed to catch a few hours sleep, before meeting the others in the inn’s common room for an early dinner and to discuss strategy for tonight’s foray ... assuming events do not conspire against such a relaxed afternoon ...