.
The Circus of Wayward Wonders rolls into Abberton on creaky wheels. The unfortunately wet day has covered many of the usually bright carts in sticky mud. Though the sun may finally have peeked through the clouds by the time the town officials finish talking with Myron "Thunder" Stendhal -- The current head of the circus -- the dirt roads and campsite are all but covered in shallow puddles. Nevertheless, you persevere! After all:
Months of rehearsals have led to this show. While those in the circus are no stranger to performing, the last time you performed for a crowd of any reasonable size was with the Celestial Managerie; that's a time you'd rather forget about. Now is the time for celebration, not recollection. It's time to set up camp, as well as the tent, for performance!
Master "Thunder" claps to gather attention after the wagons stop. "Please, everybody. Gather 'round!" he shouts, his massive stage voice billowing through to the entire camp much like his nickname. He quickly rolls a barrel into a makeshift podium and jumps on top of it. "This is it, everybody!" he says, not missing a beat. "This may not be the largest city you've ever performed for, and this place may be a podunk, but I've been told everybody in town is anticipating this performance! Even the mayor plans to attend! From what I've heard, only the crotchety old ladies won't be making it. Even then, most of 'em will be here! I've been informed they plan to leave their plethora of cats back home with the rats!"
The crowd cheers and guffaws as "Thunder" raises his hands into the air. "Let's do this! We've got less than 24 hours to get all set up! Wonders on three! One! Two! Three!"
"WONDERS!" shouts the crowd.
It's at this point you finally meet your compatriots; after all, you've stuck to yourself since beginning to rehearse. It's taken months of fully dedicated practice to get to where you are now. Everybody here is a stranger to you. Well, all but "Thunder" and the wise old man known as The Professor. It just so happens you've all been assigned the simple duty of setting up the bleachers within the tent. After a few minutes of waiting, the main pole of the tent goes up, and you may begin your preparations for tomorrow's show!
"Wonders!" Honey shouts. After the announcement, Honey worms her way through the crowd towards the big tent. Her heart is pounding with excitement. She doesn't care that this city may by podunk; she is just happy to perform again. She can't wait to begin her final rehearsal for the show but first she was assigned to set up the bleachers and she isn't about to shirk her work before the first show. While she kept to herself during practice, her outgoing personality bursts forth while working with her compatriots now.
Honey talks to whoever will listen, "Hi! I'm Honey Wasp. Aerialist extraordinaire! I am flexible and charming." She bends over backwards into a perfect handstand and then spreads her legs into an upside-down split before gracefully returning to an upright position and finishing with a flirtatious wink. "So...Abberton, huh. I don't know anything about it, but we are going to give them a show to remember. You can count on me to dazzle and if you need any help, I got your back. Oh my gods, my heart is beating so fast and I'm blabbering on so much." Honey puts a hand over the three dagger holy symbol on a necklace tucked beneath her sparkling black and yellow leotard and whispers, "Calistria calm my passion."
”Wonders!”
The halfling with two bandoliers full of knives, hatchets, and clubs yells at the top of his lungs with excitement, but inside is panicking.
Okay, you just have to do well here, that’s all, Finn!
Nervousness overtakes Finn for the briefest of moments until he pulls out a pair of beanbags and tosses them around as he inexpertly practices his juggling routine.
Alright, I should be good…as long as I don’t have to juggle more than two things at a time…
Finn’s attention is broken by the sight of the flexible half-elf across the way making a not-particularly-appropriate show of herself. The halfling gawks with a tinge of red on his cheeks that quickly deteriorate as the beanbag that he forgot to catch bounces off his back. A sharp pain splinters through him, bringing him back to reality. He rubs where the beanbag hit him as he turns to pick it up.
”Well, at least it wasn’t a knife that time…” Finn avoids the urge to look at the scar on the palm of his left hand.
Finnace pockets the two beanbags as he spies a nearby roustabout. ”Hey! Need some help with that?!” The halfling then scurries off to assist his colleagues.
"Wondersss!"
The creature who shouts would be out of place even in the most horrendous circus freakshow. He is, essentially, a six foot tall bipedal lizard. Even to those unfamiliar with iruxi anatomy, he is heavily muscled. Standing at six feet and four inches, he towers above most.
He occupies his time helping the roustabouts. Though the strongman and exotic attraction for the circus, he was more comfortable helping to set up the stage than properly being on it.
Though it takes a bit longer than anticipated, P'oxtan, Finnace, and Honey Wasp all manage to get the job done, minus the fourth person that was supposed to help. A bit confused, the Circus Heroes have a bit of time to themselves. They think back a bit to Thunder's training, and one particular phrase comes to mind:
"If you don't have anything better to do, get some practice in with those around you. After all, you never know who you may be sharing the spotlight with."
Honey wipes the sweat from her brow and looks around at her coworkers. Two stand out from the rest and are complete contrasts to each other. One is a giant reptile and the other is a short halfling. She scrunches her face at the lizardman not quite sure how to relate. Then she recalls seeing the halfling performing some impressive juggling earlier so she decides to approach him first.
"Hi there! What's your name? I go by Honey Wasp. Thanks for the help on the bleachers. It was strenuous work but we got through it. Hey, I saw you juggling before we started and I was impressed. I'm sure the crowd will love it. I don't have a talent for that. My specialty is aerial acrobatics. I can't quite practice that until the trapeze is set up. But maybe you can show me a little bit more of what you do."
The halfling, despite his size, helps out as much as he can setting up the bleachers until he is approached by the woman in the black-and-yellow leotard. He hopes the pink on his face is hidden with the redness from working on the bleachers. He holds out his hand to the woman in front of him.
"Finnace Cailean—no relation. You can call me Finn, though. Couldn't help but notice your ahem display from before. Impressive work. I'm still trying to hone my craft."
Finn takes out a pair of beanbags as he begins tossing them.
"I haven't been able to do more than two, though, so I'm definitely still practicing. What about you? What does a pretty thing like you plan on doing so high in the air?"
Honey claps at Finnace's trick. "Not bad. Not bad at all."
"Cailean, huh. Like the god? Those are big shoes to fill, relation or not. As for my trick, I'm a trapeze artist. Although, I basically can just jump from one swing to the other. I've been working on mixing a somersault into the jump but I don't always succeed on the landing. However, for our grand opening, I think the risk is worth trying. At least, the Circus of Wayward Wonders invests in nets. The Celestial Menagerie did not. Honestly, it's a miracle I'm not dead. That's part of the reason I've taken up the faith. Calistria watches over me."
"While, it is more impressive in the air, I can do a standing flip as well. Watch."
Honey Wasp leaps up into the air, tucks her knees in tight, spins once, and lands on her feet. "Tadaa!" Honey beams.
P’oxtan passes by Honey as she mentions the Celestial Menagerie and sets down the crate he was carrying. Once she finishes her flip he nods and says, ”Impresssive. You travelled with the Celessstial Menagerie? You may have sssseen me. Then again, you might have not. I wasss kept with the beastss. Treated like a common animal.”
"Oh you poor thing. The Menagerie was just awful. No one deserves that kind of treatment. If I had known, I would have tried to help. You certainly stand out but I can't say I have seen you before. I guess we were different parts of the show. But it's nice to meet you now...umm...I'm sorry I don't think I caught your name. I'm Honey Wasp by the way."
”I am P’oxtan Chimbaal Ahk-Tzacal-Cha’ak. In your tongue it would mean Wandering Ssson of the Ssstorm Father. You may call me P’oxtan. Most do not have the patience to ssspeak the tongue of the iruxi.”
He is quiet for a moment, staring off into space before looking back at Honey Wasp, ”It isss good to meet you then.”
"P'oxtan works. For me, it's not a matter of patience but intelligence. I've never been able to master any language beyond Common. For that matter, I grew up in the circus and never received any sort of formal education besides performance training. So, are you performing too, P'oxtan?"
Finn groans and grabs his beanbags mid-air, shaking the fist clenching one of the bags at the sky.
”Curse that tyrannical feline, may my namesake smite her for her sins! You wanna know what that awful woman did to me?! Hold this, Ptaka.”
The halfling shoves his beanbags into the massive hands of the iruxi as he turns his back to his two colleagues. He takes off his jacket and drapes it over his arm, un-tucking the back of his shirt from his waistband as he does so.
I probably shouldn’t do this…
He lifts up the back of his shirt to reveal several long marks criss-crossing along the small of his back that climb up toward where the rest of his shirt covers the rest of his back.
”That damnable mistress saw to it that I was at the end of her lash like some common slip! You were at least treated like an animal because you look like one; what was her excuse for me?”
Finn’s eyes widen with a start at his own words. He sighs as he tucks in his shirt once again. ”Sorry, I shouldn’t’ve said it like that. We’re not fighting over who had the worst time—it isn’t a competition.” He puts his jacket back on and grabs the beanbags. ”It’s safe to say that all three of us have a grudge against that pussy for very different—but not invalid—reasons.”
P’oxtan narrows his eyes as clear membranes quickly flit in from the sides. Blinking, it seems, is a foreign concept for the iruxi. He says with a slight growl, ”Watch what you sssay little man.” He had held onto a beanbag and he clenches it in a large, very clawed hand, allowing it to burst and the filling stream out. ”You are lucky I am long to truly anger. I would hate for anything else to share the fate of whatever thisss isss.”
”Meep!”
The halfling jumps back as the iruxi destroys his beanbag.
”Ididn’tmeantoimplythatyouwereananimal, justthatyouhappentolooklikeone, becauseyou’rethisgiantreptilianthingtoweringovermeand —boythosearereallymassivemusclesthatcouldjustcrushmelikeagrapeand I’m just going to shut up now…”
Finn looks down as his face turns a shade of crimson.
"Perhapsss that would be wise."
He shifts his gaze over to Honey, though unmoving from holding the rapidly emptying beanbag and says, "Yesss, I will be performing. Back in my homeland, I was an...imax'palak. A wrestler of crocodiles. I will do sssomething sssimilar here. I will wrestle the beasts that the cirusss has. The Clash of Beastsss, I think it will be called."
A plain looking halfling with her hair in a pair of braids slips out from under the bleachers -- where had she come from? Had she been there helping the whole time?
She looks up with a pained expression, flinching at the noise made by her fellows. She lingers there for a time, hand pressed to her temple and apparently doing some kind of breathing exercises. Unobtrusive, she was easy to forget. But, something in the way she held herself -- a quiet confidence -- marked her as a performer.
When the bickering quiets, the halfling stands tall, smiles confidently, and approaches the trio with a bounce in her step. "Hello. I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. I prefer to work in silence. You can call me Millie. Pleased to meet you."
She gives the group a regal curtsy while clutching her simple cotton tunic.
"Not cool, Finn. I feel terrible about your suffering, but there is no need to take it out on us. The Circus of Wayward Wonders is different and we should treat each other with respect."
Honey addresses P'oxtan, "I think you are quite handsome. And your muscles are impressive." She runs a finger flirtatiously down the lizardman's chest. "Wrestling animals sounds dangerous. Danger does excite me so. Do take care not to get injured during your routine. But if you do manage to get hurt, come find me afterwards. I have a special healing touch that can patch you right up."
When the new voice introduces herself, Honey turns and smiles. "Welcome, Millie. Pleased to meet you too. I'm Honey Wasp. We were just getting to know each other and discuss our acts. Are you as excited as I am to perform tomorrow?"
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P'oxtan looks down at Honey as she runs her finger down his chest, completely unmoving save for "blinking". He says with a tone as flat as ever, "Unlikely. I am an excellent wressstler."
He abruptly shifting his gaze to Millie and nods, "I am P’oxtan Chimbaal Ahk-Tzacal-Cha’ak. If that isss too much to sssay, P'oxtan will sssufice."
Millie smiles, locks eyes with P'oxtan, and inclines her head in understanding.
To Honey Wasp, she nods enthusiastically, in a very exaggerated fashion. "I am," she admits. "I've been working on something new tomorrow. A reinvention of myself." She raises her hands, crosses her fingers, and waggles her eyebrows.
After a bit of final, nervous practice, the Circus Heroes bed down for the evening within their carts.
The following morning is abuzz with excitement and anticipation for that night's show. Performers of especially dangerous acts are brought within the tent for a discussion with Thunder, who urges everyone to begin their practice in the safest way possible. Trapeze with the net right below, make a daring escape from a partially filled container of water, practice the animal taming with the trained animal companions instead of the more wild animals. Everything to keep a single stone from being turned the wrong side up.
And then, the crowd starts pouring in. The Circus of Wayward Wonders performs in an enormous tent capable of holding hundreds of people--and that's a good thing, as it seems the entire population of Abberton has turned out for the show. Many of the town's most prominent citizens, including the mayor, are among the throng jostling for seats, peering at the three rings that fill the center of the tent, and waiting excitedly for the show to begin.
As the lights go down and the audience settles into their seats, the circus's performers take their places backstage, awaiting their cues. Suddenly, several of the performers closest to the curtain that separates the three rings from the rest of the tent leave their assignments, gathering in a small crowd to exchange frightened whispers and hushed gasps. Amid the group, his body contorted as if caught forever in the throes of terrible pain, is the corpse of ringmaster Myron "Thunder" Stendhal. Everyone in the circus knew Myron for his amazing, powerful voice that could bring instant silence to the largest crowd, and he knew everything there is to know about putting on a successful performance. Now he's dead, but the crowd is still out there, and they're expecting a show. After all:
As the other performers stare at the corpse, whisper to each other, and anxiously peer around the curtain, the Professor--a thin and frail veteran of the circus--looks up. "Well, what are you all standing around for?" he asks, his weak voice barely audible in the hushed silence. "Have you seen that crowd? We haven't ever had the tent packed this full. There's a show to put on, and we have to find a way to do it. So finish your makeup, get into your costumes, and send in the clowns!"
Quick to follow the Professor's advice, the circus's clowns immediately bound through the curtain and into the three rings. This buys the circus enough time for the Profressor to take our four heroes aside.
"You lot seem to be the only ones not shocked into direct inaction in the face of this. I can't do this myself, so I'm asking you this on behalf of everybody else here. You four. Run the show. While most people here may know how to do their job, there are still decisions to be made before the opening curtain! The order of the acts isn't set, Thunder liked to do them as he saw reactions from the crowd, and the poor man never wrote down a word from his head, so there's nothing to fall back on. Please, I beg of you, do what you can to make this a success!"
P'oxtan exhales heavily and his pupils dilate, as his war-frill begins to creep up. For an iruxi, this is a strong physical response. "He isss dead. Who hasss done thisss?" His eyes immediately dart to Finnace, before looking downwards. The halfling may have been a fool, but he was not a murderer. "I sssuppose that we mussst perform. It would have been his wish."
He finishes putting on his costume. More of an assortment of hide straps and vaguely tribal totems, he cuts a strikingly primal figure when fully outfitted.
Finn stays silent as Millie approaches the group, far too embarrassed to give a proper introduction before he slips away from the group into his cart.
------------------
Finn, dressed in a multi-colored coat with long coattails that makes his bandoliers of blades visible, slaps a hand over his mouth in pure shock.
Thunder…? Thunder is…
A melancholy shrouds over the halfling as the Professor pulls him and the others aside. He listens to the old man’s words with sorrow in his eyes—he doesn’t even notice the lizardfolk’s death glare in his direction. Finnace shuts his eyes and takes a long inhale.
Hold the line.
Finn exhales for longer than he inhales and his eyes open, a newfound determination spread across them. His hands grasp the sides of his coat as he looks at the other four standing near him.
”Okay, I know we got off on the wrong foot—and I am very sorry about that—but we have to make sure that this show goes well, even despite everything that has occurred. Honey, can you talk to one of the roustabouts and have the keep watch over Thunder’s…you know? The performance is happening right now and we don’t have time to figure out what happened to him, so we need to make sure that no one touches the body until after the performance is over. Professor, what performances have people prepared?”
Honey is shocked by the revelation of Thunder's death. This is not how things were supposed to go. She falls to her knees with shortness of breath. "Thunder..."
When she hear's Finn call her name, she snaps back into the present. "Oh, yes, yes. I'll find a roustabout. This will have to wait. But this means there could be a murderer still out there... Are we in danger? If someone wishes us ill, we cannot let them ruin the show. The circus will be finished if this performance doesn't go well. Keep your eyes open."
"I think the Professor meant our four performances. We should decide our order quickly. The crowd is waiting. My thoughts would be Finn, Hush, P'oxtan, then me (Honey). But I'm just a performer. I'm not cut out for making these kind of decisions. I was scared enough just to go out there. And now this!" She motions to Thunder's body.
"However, it seems like tonight's success is going to fall on our four shoulders. Whatever the order, I'll help support you three throughout the night."
"Now let me go find that roustabout. I'll be right back."
Millie falls silent at the sight of thunder.
Still.
...It's a shame the others don't.
She's not surprised. Not really. Not even death brings pause.
She catches the eyes of her parents, already tumbling out into the three rings to perform. Clowns. Always good for a laugh. Not that this was the time....
Or was it?
She sees her father's shocked expression, and her mother's trembling hands. They're shaken. But they look at each other, straighten, and smile.
...And they're off!
This was exactly the time for laughter. What was the circus, if not an escape? Excitement? Wonder?
Yes. The show must go on.
Millie noticeably straightens. She grabs the hem off her black and red clown costume, and pulls it down flat. She raises a hand and straightens her jaunty cap.
"Seven," she corrects Honey Wasp, counting the acts off on her fingers. "First act sets the stage. Second is build up for the main event and has two performers. Third act is the Big Number -- the most exciting stands alone. Act four is the finale: three acts at once."
She points at herself. "Act 1." She points at Finn, then P'oxtan. "Act 2:1. Act 2:2." She points at Honey wasp. "Act Three." Then she looks at the professor. "What other acts do we have?"
Turning back to the others she adds, "We need a ringmaster. Not me."
”Millie’s right. Seven performances for the entire show and we’re not seven people. I don’t suppose any of you know how to be a ringmaster?” Finn looks at the others around him for an answer.
"No, no. All of them, Honey Wasp. All of the performances. Miss Hush has it right."
He then lists off the six other performers who are ready to perform:
With this: There are now slides! The acts are summed up within the slides. Bonuses on the slides are the bonuses of the performers. Remember, costarring in a performance requires a PC to roll one of the checks required, so plan carefully. DCs for all tricks are 15 right now.
”Slow down Professor! Hold on…”
Finn grabs a nearby pen and paper and writes down the performers’ tricks as the Professor lists them off. The halfling thinks through the situation thoroughly.
”Millie, I think you might do well as the opening; the audience participation may be just what we need to get everyone invested in the show. The Dwarven Throwers can probably be the Big Number—they seem like they can handle themselves quite well without another performer costarring. We can figure out the other two acts from there. What do you guys think?”
Honey returns with a guard for Thunder's body.
"Seven acts!" She swoons. Looking over the other acts, she frowns. "I can't help but notice many acts are very similar to our own. We definitely want to keep our four acts, but then we only need to select 3 out of the 6 other options. Oh, I wish everyone could just act. How can we tell some of these people who have been practicing so hard that they don't get to perform on the big night? I wish Thunder was here to make that decision. But if we need to, I say we cut out the Flamboni Sisters (because they are similar to Flinn's act), and Elizia and Mister Tickles and Mordaine the Magician (because they share elements of P'oxtan's act). Axel's Amazing Aviary has crowd interaction like Hush's but is birds rather than miming so that should be okay. And the Feather-Fall Five are aerial like me, but use a tightrope instead of trapeze so that is different enough as well. Lastly, the Dwarven Throwers are completely different. There is nothing quite like that..."
"I think the biggest decision is who gets the big number. I'll do it if you think I should but I'm also probably more happy to not. That's a lot of pressure to succeed. If I failed..."
”I’m actually comfortable sitting out of this performance—I was still not completely prepared for my performance, anyway.” Finn thinks back to P’oxtan crushing his beanbag, but shakes the thought from his mind.
”I think we should do it as Thunder would have: send out performances based on how the crowd seems to be reacting. Their anticipation for the show is quite a lot—we need to be able to handle it all.”
The Professor (picture in the slides BTW) looks up at Finn before uttering a few more words to him. "You know. Now more than ever the circus needs a Ringmaster. You may not be ready to perform, but are you ready to introduce the acts?"
With that, the Professor simply smiles, nods, and begins a somber walk to his place near the curtain. He pushes the curtain aside lightly before gesturing to the circus rings with his other hand. "Break a leg!"
"I would wish to perform. A warrior cannot sssit idle for too long."
Millie nods. "I'll go first. Call me 'Hush.' "
Finn buttons up his coat to hide his bandoliers and takes a deep breath.
Let’s do this.
The halfling, as he’s moving, spies something on the prop table: a tall-ish top hat. Finn grabs the headwear out of impulse and places it on his head; finding it a bit too big for him, he tilts it back so that it more securely stays on the side of his scalp closer to his back. With a smirk, Finnace Cailean makes his way onstage.
”Alright, alright! That’s enough buffoonery for now.”
Finn makes his way out center stage as he begins shooing away the clowns onstage. He moves to the closest two clowns and pulls them close as he whispers to them.
Follow my lead backstage. Spread the word.
With a giggle and several honking horns, the clowns make their way offstage, leaving the halfling alone at the center of the stage.
You got this.
With a giant smile plastered on his face, Finn brings his hand to the brim of his top hat as he speaks in a loud voice.
”Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls…”
With a sweeping motion, the halfling takes off his hat and opens his arms wide, using his momentum to spin around to face all sections of the audience [ooc]I’m assuming it’s something like theatre-in-the-round and stops back at his starting position as be belts as loudly as his tiny lungs will muster:
Proud of himself, Finn moves to put his hat back on in one motion, but the force proved too much for the cap that was clearly made for someone bigger, and the halfling brings it down upon his own head and gets his head stuck inside of the top hat. He spends the next handful of seconds frantically pulling at the hat’s brim to get it off, only to force it off enough to nearly knock him off-balance. Finn looks out into the audience with a pink tinge in his cheeks.
”Well…I guess the buffoonery wasn’t quite over.”
With minimal reaction, the halfling’s face turns red as he chuckles quietly at his own joke in embarrassment.
Hold the line.
Finn clears his throat as he more-carefully places his hat back on his head.
”Sorry for the delay, but now we are ready. So, who’s ready for a spectacle to behold?! I am Ringmaster Finn, and I am proud to be the master of ceremonies for such a splendid audience. Now, keep your eyes on the center of the stage, for if you blink, you just might miss the magic of our first act: Axel, and his amazing aviary!”
Axel strides out onstage, cape billowing, as he stands next to Finn, towering at nearly twice the halfling’s height. The man bows upon his entrance, which Finn uses to sneak backstage.
At D: Axel does NOT stride out onto the stage.
Instead, he freezes. Unbeknownst to the Heroes, Axel has never had a successful performance -- due mostly to the fact that Thunder never allowed him to perform. (So, though Axel's never had a failed performance either, his nerves get the best of him as he focuses on the other part).
As other performers urge the young-adult human to go, he stands motionless, his cape billowing due to the birds within the cloak. All he manages to croak out in his nerves is, "...no..."
Heroes may attempt a Diplomacy check to Request he perform, or an Intimidate to Coerce him out.
Finn stands awkwardly at the center of the stage, waiting for someone to come out as his cue to leave the stage. After several seconds of holding the same position, arms outstretched toward the entrance to the backstage, he clears his throat and announces once more.:
”Axel, and his amazing aviary!”
Honey spots Axel frozen from backstage and rushes over to help him. She puts an arm around his shoulders and speaks warmly, ”Axel, honey, you got this. Listen, we’re all scared. I’m just as nervous as you are. Just focus on your performance. I’ve seen you perform your act during practice and it is amazing. And I know you’ve worked really hard on your act that you could probably do it blindfolded. Put your fears in the back of your mind, pretend the crowd isn’t there if you need to, and get out there and do your act just like you’ve done a hundred times before. Have confidence and there is no way you can fail. Your birds are going to be an explosive start to the night. I believe in you. Now get out there and show them what you’ve got.” Honey kisses Axel on the cheek. ”For luck!
Honey pushes Axel towards the entrance and cheers enthusiastically for him.
Success!
Axel's cheeks turn a deep red, though not nearly as red as Finn's currently are. He quietly utters to himself "I got this. I got this. I got this." as he jumps around and tries to shake off his nerves. He then darts into the ring.
Axel takes a deep breath and grabs at the sides of his cape. Like his practice, he rolls up his sleeves and uses one hand to grip one side of his cape and brings it close to him to cover his body. He wiggles his fingers and says several “magical incantations.” He clicks with his mouth softly to signal his doves as he snaps his cape away from his body!
The birds fly out from his cloak seamlessly and circle through the air. Axel, eyes shut out of fear of something going wrong, slowly opens them when he hears cheering, and is surprised to find the crowd’s reaction. His face beams as his trick goes off without a hitch! Finn uses this excitement to sneak offstage.
Axel whistles to the birds as he holds up a handful of candy!
The birds land on the man’s hand, but instead of picking up the candy to deliver, they start to peck at the treats. Axel begins to panic as he lets out a little chirp as a signal and prepares for his birds to “disappear” back in his cape.
Axel whips his cape over his hand that the birds are perched on, but only manages to spook the doves, sending them flying off in a fright—and certainly not into his cloak.
Panic and anxiety drench the performer and he freezes like a statue as he watches his birds go haywire.
Finn rallies the clowns backstage as he rushes them to get into position at a moment’s notice. He manages to find time to address the performers backstage.
”Alright, the crowd is liking Axel. We’re planning on the Dwarven Throwers and the Battle of the Beasts going next. Do you guys have everything set up for the roustabouts to take out? Anything else we should—”
Finn looks back onstage and cuts himself off and starts waving his arms frantically.
”Clowns! Go go go! Get him offstage now!”
As Axel stands frozen on the stage, a tiny car’s worth of clowns come onstage and start to distract the crowd with hijinks and buffoonery. Two augustes grab Axel by the arms and legs and literally carry the anxiety-frozen man offstage, while three other clowns desperately work to try and capture the startled doves.
”Okay, that should buy us some time. Do the next acts have everything?”
Honey is waiting for Axel when he returns to the backstage. "You did great!" she says encouragingly. "When you released the birds, it was magical. And I heard the crowd cheer. They loved you. It doesn't matter that you hit a few hitches on the ending. Overall it was a big success. Finn probably should have sent those clowns out at the first sign of trouble. But you know what, we are all learning. I think he's going a great job too given the unfortunate circumstances. Now that your act is over, let your nerves calm down and try to enjoy the rest of the show."
Who's up next? P'oxtan? Let's see how he's doing.
Honey searches the backstage until she finds her lizard friend. "Hi P'oxtan. You're up soon. Are you ready? I know we are all shaken by what happened to Thunder. How are you holding up? Is there anything I can do for you?"
While she waits for her moment to perform, Hush finishes applying her makeup and touches up her hair. She tries to ignore the roar of the crowd and the yammering of the other performers...
She closes her eyes...
She takes a deep breath, exhales....
Breathe in...
Breathe out....
Someone honks a blaring horn in her face then chuckles like a fool.
Hush pointedly clamps her eyes shut. She doesn't need to open them to know it's her mother.
"I'm fine." she replies.
There's a squeaking, then a tinkling of bells as her mother prances away.
Blasted clowns.
With a sigh, Hush rejoins the others offstage. Her time would come soon. She'd need to be ready.
The other performers rush Axel with congratulations just after Honey Wasp. He did great. Maybe...maybe a little too great with the opening. They still applaud him as they start eyeballing each other with suspicion.
Finally, somebody speaks up about the tension in the room. "Maybe we bit off more than we can chew?" shouts a stout dwarven woman in a comically over-sized dress. "I mean just look at tha crowd out there! If I had a silver piece for every person we're going to disappoint tonight, I'd have enough to move ta Absalom and live my days watching people jump into the Starstone's pit!"
Backstage goes completely silent as worried looks wash over the Circus of Wayward Wonders. To point the air in the room, a yell echoes through the tent from the bleachers: "It's just a bunch'a bloody birds!" shouts an obviously drunk man dressed in rags.
A woman next to him pipes up as well, lifting her cup of beer as she speaks. "Of course the birds are gonna be a hit for the parents! Candy for the kids. What about the 'dults like us!? Them birds gonna come back and give us some beer?"
"Shut up and enjoy the show." A man below the couple stands up and turns to face the couple.
P'oxtan and honey watch as the woman takes the remainder of her mostly full flagon of ale and dumps it over the man. Obviously, a fight's about to break out in the stands.
Honey points at the ruckus. "You see that, P'oxtan? Looks like trouble is brewing. I'll go see if I can talk them down. Can you back me up? If diplomacy fails, we might need your muscle."
Honey rushes over to the man and woman in the crowd. "Excuse me, lady and gentleman. I'm with the show and I couldn't help but overhear a commotion." She looks at the drenched man. "Oh my. Let me apologize profusely for this mishap. Come backstage with me and I will offer you a change of clothes, a full pint of beer, and I bet I could find you a front row seat away from this woman." She then addresses the man and woman above him. "And for you my good people. I'm sorry the first act was not to your liking but I assure you there are still many more acts to come and a good number of them are more adult in content. Coming up next, we have a pair of spectacular Dwarven Throwers and my good friend here, P'oxtan, will be wrestling with a dangerous beast. Any many more, but I won't spoil all the surprises. Perhaps those will be more to your liking. But if not, we hear at the Circus of Wayward Wonders will not stand for anyone starting a fight with other event goers. If you are dissatisfied, you are welcome to leave. Otherwise, please enjoy the show."
"Listen here little missy" the drunken man says as he begins descending the stairs of the bleachers. "My wife's gone and spilled her drink 'cuz 'a how much yur show STINKS!" he mumbles as he almost misses a step before his wife begins following him down.
The woman finally pipes up, "Yeah! My drink is gone and I request another one. And THIS MAN!" she points to the man she had dumped her beer on, "THIS MAN absolutley RUINED our experience here! We was just making noise when he had to come up and be rude to us!"
Hush and Finn begin walking out from backstage as the commotion appears to be growing. And just in time, too! The drunken man tries to throw a punch at the drenched man just as P'oxtan catches his arm.
Initiative - the BOLD may act!
Active effects:
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Honey Wasp
P’oxtan
Drunken Brawlers
Finn
Hush
"Good catch, P'oxtan! This is not good. We can't afford to have a brawl in the crowd. Let's put an end to this quickly! ...And without killing anyone."
To the two drunks, "You two are going to ruin the experience for everyone. It's time for you to leave!"
Honey strikes a pose and points a finger at the drunk woman, casting daze. "Honey Wasp sting!" An invisible needle pricks the woman's mind.
P'oxten tightens his grip on the man who's arm he's grabbed, trying to restrain him from any more violence. "Sssimmer down friend. It isss in your bessst interestsss."
Honey wasp points at the woman, who reaches for her head in agony, stunned. The damage doesn't seem entirely effective, though. (Odd resistance, but alright Paizo.)
P'oxtan manages to grapple the other man.
The man gives P'oxtan a look of almost pure rage. "Get your hand off me you filthy creature!" the man shouts. He then throws a punch at P'oxtan.
But he swings a bit wide in his drunken stupor. He tries again.
This time it goes even wider.
The woman grabs her head (Stunned 1 means 1 action is wasted on her turn). She then Strides up to Honey and throws a punch at the sorcerer!
Initiative - the BOLD may act!
Active effects:
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Honey Wasp (-6)
P’oxtan
Drunk Woman (-5)
Drunk Man (Grappled; 4 temp HP; Drunken Rage)
Finn
Hush