A pleased smile flits across Yattle's face as their terrible flame is praised, but their mid-air spinning comes to an abrupt stop when Zassrion's plan is revealed. "Can only mortals leave this place?"
Lokhir remained quiet, and kept a close eye out for any traces of magic that might betray a trap.
Quietly, though, he beamed with pride at the praise. He decided that if at all possible he’d keep the human alive.
Grunting as the coin took hold, Kaldwell had collapsed for a short time while Eirnar had healed him. Still, it had come as a shock to be hit so hard, so fast. He'd been around for sometime and had rarely been beaten so...completely, even against multiple foes. With a sigh and a grunt he finally managed to get back to his feet, nodding his thanks to Eirnar for the healing.
Moving along with the others, Kaldwell took a moment to focus as the man became coherent, he began to use his Cloak to Detect Magic on the area as well. It was a useful trick even for an old fighter to know if there was magic in play.
"Greetings, friend. I'm Kaldwell, when I'm not bein eviscerated by the birdies. Are you a native of this place or did you get pulled into this place as well?"
"Ahh, you see, that is part of the problem: the Striding Fortress, well, it strides about. It's almost impossible to find as it's constantly moving, but I've heard if you gather enough tokens, they might help you find it." Biyo trails off as Eirnar breaks off the conversation to wander back over to the circus tent, a slightly puzzled look on his face.
The look immediately clears as other people pick up the conversation. "I have no idea why Zassrion wants mortals or why he would leave. But he seems to think the two are related. And of course I'm a native! I'm not a mortal like all of you. I'm just a Storykin. I'm here looking for heroes to help Lord Zassrion's most recent victim. I'm afraid his fortress is hard to find though as it's constantly moving about the world. That is, of course, unless you have enough tokens. Each of the Conspirators who rule one of the nine territories has one, taken from Sonnorae's kapenia*. It's said the pieces long to be whole once more, and if enough are gathered together, they tug towards the fragment of the kapenia Lord Zassrion kept for himself. Do you think you can help? I can draw a map to help you navigate the territories." He reaches into a bag, pulling out some paper and a quill before starting to sketch something for all of you.
"Right here where we are is the Midnight Circus, overseen by Bernaditi. This area around us is the Briar. That's Brambleson's domain, though he tends to wander throughout it. Here we have The Demon's Fen, where Radiant Sunrise lives. Over here is The Manmolds where Marzalee the Weaver creates her art. And then we have The Prophet's Garden and the Sanguine Playhouse, though I've heard Balimar's plays aren't that great. The Ticktock Man keeps things running from the Smith's Caldera. And then surrounding all of this is the Trackless Dearth where The Nightpeddler roams."
Lokhir listened, feeling somewhat concerned about where this was going. It seemed like they were in over their heads, as the powers at play sounded out of their level. He just hoped that their skills, together, would be enough to overcome what lay ahead.
As Lokhir thinks upon the clowns they had just defeated, he looks at the tattoo depicting several bird-men around a table. The tattoo glows briefly before floating off as small motes of light.
Eirnar practices the skill of listening to two things at once, listening to Biyo from afar and for if Delroy gets into trouble inside the tent.
”There’s a juggler and bears on unicycles in the tent, with a big crowd of hecklers.” Delroy says to the others as he lowers the tent flap, straightens up, and steps away from the big tent.
Eirnar suggests a course of action,” Sounds like we need 9 tokens, and Bernaditi here at the Midnight Circus has one. Lets go see if he is in that tent.”
"You're figuring that Bernie is going to be in the Big Top?"
"Hmm ... none of my tattoos have bears, unicycles, jugglers, or a big tent on them."
I have a juggler... I'll try to will it to do something to the juggler, if a fight breaks out. My ancestors usually help with the fates anyways. Anyone have a unicycle or a bear? Lets go inside and see if they are more cooperative, I doubt they can be less.
Kaldwell grunted as he looked down his own arm, trying to find one that match. It took him a moment to twist it in enough directions. After a second he said, "Does this one look at all like what was occuring?" He tapped one finger on The Carnival. It lacked the bears, but otherwise seemed to fit.
As the group prepares to enter the large tent, Biyo waves goodbye to everyone. "Good luck collecting the eight tokens! I'll keep looking for more heroes to help you in your quest." He then starts trundling off.
As he enters the main tent, Kaldwell contemplates his carnival tattoo. Much like Lokhir's, as soon as he does so, it glows briefly before fading in a swirl of small lights.
The shabby circus tent seems larger inside than out, curving upward in nauseatingly bright patterns and disappearing into darkness far overhead beyond a tightrope and trapeze. Two precarious bleachers flank a large performing space littered with half-eaten food and cheap novelties. The bleachers are currently filled with a dozen or so bored-looking people who seem to be heckling the current act: a large, gray-skinned man currently juggling a variety of objects while surrounded by bears riding unicycles. Towards the back of the tent, you see a smaller, enclosed area.
When you enter, the crowd immediately perks up and begins yelling at you.
"Oooo, mortals!"
"Throw something at them, Rogg!"
"Save us from these terrible acts!"
"Acts against all of Storykin kind, that is!"
"Give us a show mortals!"
Seeing an opportunity to win back the crowd, the juggler and bears charge you. Having expected such a thing, Eirnar immediately focuses on his tattoo of a juggling man, which vanishes in another puff of light.
Identifying his foes and wanting to collectively curse their luck, but not wanting to remain in range of them, Eirnar flys overhead of them saying, " Ancestors curse them!". He finishes his turn by ducking behind his allies.
These are a surprisingly violent people, what the hell is a storykin anyways? Bears on unicycles?!??!
"Huh." Yattle glanced down at the fresh tattoo of a unicycling bear on their forearm. "I expected that would be less literal."
Wait... "Did you just call me a mortal?!"
Special attacks: Grab
Special defenses: None
Special abilities: Unicycle Riding: The bears gain Spring Attack as a bonus feat while they're riding their unicycles. They must make a DC 10 Acrobatics check upon using this feat to avoid falling prone at the end of their movement.
SLA: None
Special attacks: Rock throwing (180ft)
Special defenses: Improved Rock Catching: +4 racial bonus on Reflex save when attempting to catch a thrown rock. This ability otherwise works as Rock Catching
Special abilities: Funny Juggler: Rogg is adept at throwing random items. These attacks inflict damage as per rock throwing even when not made of stone
SLA: None
The crowds oooos in appreciation as Eirnar flies up in the air and gives his dramatic declaration. This is quickly followed by more yelling.
"Knock 'em down Rogg!"
"Yeah, we wanna see something fun!"
"Finally put that juggling ta good use and throw something at him!"
This is then followed by a large amount of boo'ing and hissing as he flees the tent once more.
"Coward!"
"Come back ya old coot and give us a show!"
"Haha, Rogg, yer ugly mug scared him away!"
Meanwhile, Yattle looks down at their tattoo. Like those before it, the tattoo glows before fading in a small shower of light that seems to make the bears sneeze and wobble on their unicycles.
Yattle feels very little desire to perform for the insultingly rude crowd, and decides to try to bring the house down another way... Then they decide on another-another way that doesn't involve setting everything on fire.
"Be damned if that isn't a stone giant." Delroy says as he recognizes the juggler for what he is.
"He's gonna be pretty deadly at throwing missiles."
Shifting his stance to prepare for the oncoming attack, Kaldwell glanced around at the others for a moment and considered what to do.
"I'll try and clear these bears from the path, if you fine folk can deal ranged damaged to our large friend." There was no way to get between the bears right now, but with a few less he could close on the giant.
Bear near Kaldwell: 19
Yattle destroys the central support structure, causing part of the tent to fall down. However, other poles throughout the end prevent it from collapsing entirely. The crowd seems mixed about their feelings on this. Some seem delighted at the destruction, while others can be heard complaining about their blocked view. A couple have started chanting. "Do it again! Do it again!"
As that is going on, Kaldwell tries to figure out what a "Storykin" is. It's not a word he's ever heard before, either in his long life or in any of his reading. From context though, it appears to be what the natives of this realm refer to themselves as. He then quickly switches his attention back to the task at hand, making use of the distraction to draw his blade and slam it into the closest bear, who gives a roar of pain but remains standing. The few members of the crowd yell at the old man.
"Boo! That's boring!"
"Yeah, do something more interesting!"
"Knock it off its unicycle!"
Their cries are interrupted by Rogg, bellowing out from his semi-obscured position beneath the partially collapsed tent.
He struggles free of the collapsed portion of the tent, grabbing a discarded concessions cart and throwing it at the half-elf. But the item merely crashes against the far side of the tent.
Delroy narrows his one good eye and studies a couple of the bears.
Swift action studied target on the two bears to the left of the one Kaldwell engaged.
His flail comes out into his right hand as he starts to move.
Delroy clumsily moves past Kaldwell and the bear the front of the tent. (drawing an AoO)
Taking a cue from the suggestion the crowd made about knocking a bear down, he engages the bear to the left of the one Kaldwell attacked, sweeping low at the unicycle to try and trip the animal and knock it prone.
(+9BAB, +2Imp Trip, +4Str, +2 Gauntlet, +2Flail, +2Studied Target)
Bear near Kaldwell: 19
Bear near Delroy: No unicycle
Delroy lashed out with his flail, tangling it in the unicycle and ripping it out from underneath his chosen ursine enemy. The half of the audience able to see the action give a roar of approval even as the bear gives a dismayed growl and starts flailing about in the cloth of the circus tent roof.
The fallen furry foe struggles against the fabric on the tent, eventually managing to at least stand. She takes one look at the awkward unicycle and seems to say Nope! Resorting to the bare necessities of (circus) life, she simply lashes out with one claw at the Delroy.
Seeing Baloo try to slash at the half orc, Baby awkwardly trundles forward on her own unicycle and claws at him as well before springing back.
Yogi lashes out at the annoying half-elf who slashed him as Boo Boo comes to his aid, using his unicycling skills and long, bear-arms to slash before jumping back. All in all, the bears seem to be demonstrating that they're surprisingly good at staying upright on their unicycles but very bad at actually attacking people.
Meanwhile in the far back, Smokey just trundles away from the collapsed portion of the tent and tries to entertain that half of the audience, who merely jeers and starts throwing trash at the creature. Smokey's ear's droop as he makes a very sad bear noise.
Seeing that these foes are not particularly adept at hitting, Eirnar flys in, above the bears, and curses Rogg further. He says to the crowd," Why place your bets on Rogg, when the newcomers seem so much more agile. Surprising for such old ones eh? The fates seem to deny Rogg the ability to hit anything."
As the bear slams into the ground and the crowd roars it's approval, Delroy raises both arms high and exclaims: "Are you not entertained!!!!"
As the bear struggles to its feet, Delroy grabs his flail in two hands and brings a punishing blow down upon the beast.
(power attack, 2h)
With a burst of speed, Lokhir was once again a blur. He moved around the circus at a blinding pace, trying to dodge any attacks that came his way. He went around Kaldwell, around the bear savaging him, and got around to its back. His sword turn lashed out...
Well, this fight was going better than expected. Storykin suggested that this place had something to do with tales, and stories. Were these things linked the stories of this place, somehow? Or even the stories that were in their world? Sonnorae had been a bard, no? Maybe the beats of a story would draw them in "Ack, surely you have heard the tales of heroes and the fall of clowns? No fight begins with the hero's victory, but it awaits the dramatic moment. Observe!"
We'll, he'd best not miss...
Yattle tries to gauge whether one of their eruptions could be used within the tent without setting the whole thing ablaze, but while thoughts of infernos bubbled away, instead oozes a fist-sized orb of magma from their pores, and sends it zipping forwards to splatter against one of the bears that was rightly cowering from their might!
Rogg -4 attack, 9 rounds
Bear near Delroy: 40 No unicycle (Baloo)
Delroy takes advantage of the Baloo standing up to slam his flail again into her. Meanwhile, Eirnar, feeling safer seeing the bear's less than stellar combat, flies back into the tent. Their performance seems to strengthen this belief as three of them take swipes at the shaman, all of which he easily avoids. He further jinxes Rogg's already bad luck, though the audience mostly seems to ignore his attempt at a rousing speech in favor of watching the far more interesting Kaldwell and Yattle.
The audience seems to be eating up Kaldwell's tale of falling clowns. But the part they love best is the flurry of strikes he delivers to the bear in front of him. Yogi gives a howl of pain before collapsing, body not moving.
When the bear falls, it gives Yattle a much better view into the tent. They briefly consider large, beautiful gouts of flame, but quickly decides that having a burning ceiling a mere 30ft above them may not be the best of decisions. Settling for a smallest orb of molten goo, they toss it at where Boo Boo lurks in wait on his unicycle. The blast was meant to entangle the creature. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?), Yattle seems to have once again underestimated their own power and knocks the bear off of his unicycle, where it promptly begins melting much as the tengu had. With his blocked line of sight, Rogg is thankfully spared from seeing another one of his beloved bears fall.
As all of this is going on, Lokhir dexterously leaps into the tent, slamming his blade into the unsuspecting hide of Baloo. Baloo gives out a cry of anguish but somehow manages to remain standing, though she appears to be on her last legs.
Rogg bellows. He slams a club into the side of the bleachers, picking up the resulting debris even as the audience members on that side scuttle away from the damage. He starts to throw them with all his might at the closest and most visible of his foes: Eirnar. However, his rage causes the items to fly far from their mark.
Delroy takes a 5' step under Eirnar to set up a flank with Lokhir.
He slams Baloo in the face, aiming for the eyes to blind him.
(power attack, 2h, flanking)
Free Dirty Trick instead of Sneak Attack Damage
(BAB +9, Dirty Fighter +4, Imp Dirty Trick +2, Buckler +2, Bounty Hunter Trade Sneak for Bonus +2, Studied Target +2)
Blinded for (32-CMD)/5 (rounded down) rounds
"Right in the eyes!" Delroy calls out.
Then he follows up with his second attack to finish the blind bear.
(power attack, 2h, flanking)
(+6 2h str dmg, +2 flail, +2 studied, +9 2h pw atk, +3d6 sneak)
"MELTY BEARS FOR ALL!"
Rogg -4 attack, 9 rounds
Delroy lashes out as the already grievously injured bear, killing it. His second attack is directed at the other bear, but without Lokhir to distract it, he misses.
Though Yattle does their best to sway the audience further in favor of their group, it seems they're far more interested in just seeing more melting bears. As the Smokey moves to a more central location and continues to try to win the audience over, they start pointing at the creature.
"Melt this one too!"
"If you get rid of them, we won't have to watch their act anymore!"
"Only you can prevent bear fires!"
Meanwhile on the other side of the tent, Baby gives a roar of pain as Delroy strikes her. Shes lashes out a the mean half-orc with her claws, but both slide harmlessly off his armor.
As the bear drops, Delroy stands tall and whirls his flail above his head.
"We're officially revoking your right to Arm Bears!!!" he shouts.
Delroy gets a hearty laugh from the audience, which has started craning forward to get a good look at how he next plans to decimate his opponents.
At the laughter, Delroy waves.
"Thanks folks!!! We'll be here all night!!!"
Eirnar shows his prowess dodging the flying objects sent his way. He hovering mid air and addresses the crowd,” See, Rogg can’t even hit old men. Look at Delroy and Kaldwell, they’re twice as old and much better performers! You guys want to see our fiery spirit melt another?! He gestures at his allies, seeing if he can further whip the crowd to their side.
Lokhir ran to get around the bear fighting Kaldwell. He knew that they were large creatures and that they could thus reach him before he could close in. But how could they do so when he was so fast? Well the answer was simple. When one doesn’t take their foes seriously, mistakes happen. And as it was Lokhir didn’t even bother staying out of it’s sight, and merely charged straight in.
Rogg -4 attack, 9 rounds
Baby: 17
Lokhir zips around to the other side of the bear. While he's not fast enough to avoid the bear taking a slash at him, he is fast enough to avoid the blow itself. Baby roars once more in pain as Lokhir's blade digs in deep.
Meanwhile, Eirnar is just playing to the crowd and they are loving it. They start cheering for the group.
Rogg turns to them in dismay. "No, don't cheer for them! Cheer for Rogg!"
The audience ignores him as they organize into a chant.
"Old Folk! Old Folk! Old Folk!"
Rogg counters by trying to start his own chant. "Rogg! Rogg! Rogg! Rogg!"
This merely prompts the audience to get even louder.
Rogg tries in vain to get the audience to switch sides but eventually, his shoulders slump in defeat. Barefly audible above the crowd, he calls to his bears. "Baby, Smokey, come! We must go practice more so they will like us too!"
“ Glad you folks like it! Yattle, show em that fire juggling trick. Anyone in the audience seen Bernaditi, the master of this carnival ?” Eirnar attempts to ask the now friendly group as he flies overhead, performing his aerodynamic tricks.
Lokhir watched the giant leave with his bears with a sense of guilt. He quietly prestidigitated his sword clean, while telling himself that they didn’t have a choice in the matter.
Delroy looks down at the bear he killed and sighs heavily.
"Damn shame..."
He pulls his flask from his belt and takes a hit of whiskey.
To Kaldwell, Delroy asks: "So, are they real or are they not real? They seem to talk and think and act like real people...."
"I don't know," Kaldwell replied slowly. "Storykin makes it sound like they're connected to stories, but whether they are creatures who have been linked to stories, stories that have been given life or beings brought forth to play out stories, I am uncertain. All I can say is that this seems to be there home." None of them were especially good. "I think, though, that they have at some free will and there own natures. Good enough to consider being alive. We should look for less violent options when we can."
Rogg slinks away, head down and shoulders bowed. Baby whimpers in pain, and he pats her gently. Smokey mostly just seems happy that the audience is happy. The three of them exit the ring.
The audience members continue to enjoy the show being put up for them, yelling back their responses.
"Ugly-snout is in the back tent!"
"Yeah, he doesn't come out that often."
"He thinks he's better than us."
"Maybe you should drag him out and beat him up too."
"Why hello there, mortals. Please, won't you come in? I am called Bernaditi, ringmaster of the Midnight Circus. I must say, that was quite the show you put on out there." He gives you all a smile full of sharp teeth.
"I rather enjoyed how you proceeded to humiliate Rogg even after killing half of his act. Poor fellow just wanted to get the audience to like him. I suspect it'll be quite some time before he accomplishes that after that whole spectacle. May I offer you all some tea?" He gestures to a tea set with five freshly brewed cups sitting out for you. Next to the cups are a small pitcher of cream and a sugar pot.
"He probably should have realized his mistake. It's not often that we get mortal visitors, and the crowd does certainly enjoy novelty. Speaking of, what brings you all to my humble entertainment establishment?"
"So you know that they're mortals?" Yattle had decided not to annihilate any more bears into strange melty puddles, but did want some tea. "How often do mortals and glorious eternal spirits of vibrant life come to your show?"
Kaldwell felt a pang of guilt at the description of poor Rogg's suffering. Killing off his pets was...not ideal. "It was not entirely our idea to come here," the old fighter said slowly. "We have heard that your people are Storykin, but we have never encountered them before. Would you be willing to speak on them?"
Eirnar remembers Thats right, they do pay me to talk pretty....
Greetings Bernaditi. We came here looking for a fellow mortal, with no intention of disrupting your fine circus. We were told that to recover him the Striding Fortress, we need a token from each Conspirator such as yourself. Would you be willing to give us a token so that we can recover the missing mortal and return to our plane?
"Given what I just saw, apparently not nearly often enough. But alas, if coming here was not your own doing, I imagine I'll have to wait quite sometime before I get to see more. As to what a Storykin is, what is there to say? It's a name we who live here have chosen to call ourselves just as those from not-here are mortals, eternal spirits or not. If you wish for me to speak more on Storykin beyond that, I certainly can, but I must warn you..." Bernaditi's smile widened, showing a little too many teeth. "...I almost invariably lie."
The crocodile-headed man's eyes light up as Eirnar speaks of his token. "Oh, you're after my token, are you? Excellent, most excellent! Allow me to propose a game of wits. If you are the victor, I shall hand my token over without a fuss. But if I win, one of you must stay here with me as my pet. You've shown yourselves to be quite entertaining, and I would ever so hate to see you leave on your little 'quest'."
"The game is quite simple really: you must catch me in a lie. I will let each of you ask me a single question. No more, no less. Though you are more than welcome to discuss your questions amongst yourself before directing them to me. You must be able to prove irrefutably that I have lied, simply saying that you believe I have lied or that you 'have a hunch' is not sufficient."
"Given what I just witnessed, I must also warn you: attempting to take my token by force will do you little good. You see, I have hidden my token quite cleverly, so even if you do manage to vanquish me, I'm afraid you might never find it on your own."
"So what do you say? Would you like to play a game?"
As Bernaditi starts getting spun up, Delroy butts in: "Pardon me for interruptin' but it seems like you're aiming to ramble on for a while. Is there any chance you've got a bottle of some spirits back here with you in yer' tent?"
Bernaditi pulls out a small container from his jacket pocket and pours some into one of the teacups. "I believe that one might be more to your taste."
Eirnar challenges him immediately," I detect a lie! You had no idea we were coming, no idea what we wanted, and thus had no reason to hide your token. The safest place to keep something is on your person, or at least nearby. I bet if we search this tent we'll find it! If what I'm saying is true, you'll permit a thorough search, and if we find it, we've already won."