Finn looks on in horror at the scene of pure violence occurring right in front of him.
”What is going on out here?! Cayden’s pub!” The halfling points off toward one of the bleachers. ”Did that butcher just leave that entire cart of beer unattended?”
Now sufficiently distracted , Finn deftly moves across the stage and pulls out a strangely-shaped bowling pin from his bandolier.
Honey rubs the bruise on her cheek gingerly. For a moment she is shocked that the woman would hit her, then her face contorts to rage, and all semblance of diplomacy vanishes.
You dare! Rrrraaaaaaa!
Honey pushes the horrible woman to the ground. She straddles her and begins pounding on her face.
Hush looks at the scene before her -- an iruxi wrestling a man in the stands, and Honey Wasp acting like a psycho as she pounds a woman's face repeatedly.
She wasn't sure if she should attack her fellow performers or the patrons.
The performers, definitely.
But, circus-folk stick together. She snaps her fingers, then beckons to her mother. If there was a time to send in the clowns, this was it.
Hush focuses her magic, extending her mental reach, then mimics walking on something slippery, waving her arms as if she might fall at any moment. She makes a silly face, points at the patrons, and over-acts a silent belly-laugh.
Finn approaches with Panache.
Honey Wasp quickly trips the woman that hit her, straddles her and punches her twice!
Hush then greases the area, trying to knock over the man and keep the woman on the ground.
He attempts to balance on the now slick ground, and he succeeds for a moment. He flashes a toothy smile at P'oxtan before completely losing his balance and falling prone.
Initiative - the BOLD may act!
Active effects:
-----------------------------------------------
Honey Wasp (-6)
P’oxtan
Drunk Woman (-13)
Drunk Man (Grappled; 4 temp HP; Drunken Rage)
Finn
Hush
P'oxtan tries his best to keep his grip on the man but can't quite manage to.
The drunken man slips out of P'oxtan's grasp as he hits the floor. The man crawls off to the side before standing up and Striding around to Honey Wasp!
"Get off of Jaleen! GET OFF OF HER!" he shouts.
Jaleen (the woman) shouts at the top of her longs. "Rhovo she's got my hair! OW OW OW!" She angrily takes the empty flagon that had landed next to her and smashes it into Honey Wasp's face!
Bludgeoning.
With the opening, the woman attempts to stand up.
But she merely flops around like a fish out of water.
Initiative - the BOLD may act!
Active effects:
-----------------------------------------------
Honey Wasp (-13)
P’oxtan
Drunk Woman (Jaleen) (-13; 4 temp HP; Druken Rage; Prone)
Drunk Man (Rhovo) (4 temp HP; Drunken Rage)
Finn
Hush
EDIT: some numbers and terminology on the attack.
”HEY!”
Finn glares at the fallen woman with an uncharacteristically sinister look in his eyes.
”THAT’S ENOUGH!”
Putting all of his energy into his hand, Finn chucks the club in his hand straight at the drunken woman! The juggling club spins rapidly as it flies straight at Jaleen!
Finn closes the distance against the drunken man pulls out a second club that he flips in his hand.
Blood drips down Honey's face from the gash she received from the rusty mug. "That hurt!"
Honey whispers a prayer to Calistria and touches her chest with one hand, healing her wounds. And with her other hand, she throws another punch at the woman below her.
"P'oxtan, what are you doing? You're supposed to be the muscle here. I'm taking all the hits."
P'oxtan steps to the side before grabbing the man he'd held onto before. He then tries the smack the man attacking Honey, without his claws of course.
Hush adjusts her positioning, waggles a finger at the drunks as if scolding a child, then flicks her wrist, sending the broken flagon remains flying at the face of the drunk man.
Finn throws his club at the woman on the ground, smacking her in the face not once, but twice as it rebounds off of the ground back on top of her.
The woman growls back at Finn as Honey Wasp heals herself, and with one final swing, Honey knocks the woman unconscious.
P'oxtan grapples the man again and just slaps the man across the face!
"Why you little--" THUNK! The man's eyes go wide before turning inside his skull as he drops to the ground.
The crowd audibly gasps at the site as blood begins to pool under his body.
The crowd begins getting in an antsy uproar, as they may have just witnessed somebody's death.
After the crowd is taken care of, the second act is able to start. You're free to begin rolling for the act.
Finn snaps out of it and looks back and forth between the audience and the drunkards.
”This isn’t what it looks like!” The halfling looks toward the other circus performers that are on stage, his eyes desperately screaming Help me!
Honey Wasp covers the man's wounds with a cloth and tries to staunch the bleeding, but clearly has no idea what she is doing. While Honey has innate healing magic, she has never been trained in medicine. She whispers to the others, "Can any of you stop the bleeding? Also, get these two out of the tent. NOW!"
She looks up to see the panic in Finn's eyes as he tries to distract the crowd. She stands up and attempts to aid. "It's just an act folks. Just some red corn syrup. We're working on a new act that isn't quite show-worthy yet. You were all just treated to a preview. Please turn your attention back to the center stage. The next performance is about to begin."
Hoping that was enough, Honey takes the drenched man backstage and true to her word, finds a spare tunic for him to change into and provides complimentary refreshments and a closer seat.
Honey doesn't manage to staunch the man's bleeding, but she does manage to deceive the group.
He does stabilize on his own as Honey drags him off. P'oxtan also carries away the woman, and guards quickly arrive from the stands to take the troublemakers elsewhere.
Finn coughs.
”Well, with that bit of excitement out of the way, it is my pleasure to present the Battle of the Beasts and the Dwarven Throwers!”
After getting the patron settled, Honey returns backstage and finds Hush. "Wow, Hush! That was quite the throw you did back there. You are badass! I was taking a clobbering until you came to the rescue. Thanks. Speaking of which, I better go thank Finn too."
"Hey Finn!" Honey waves down the halfling. "Thanks for the assist with those drunks. That was an impressive club toss. But I guess I shouldn't expect anything less from a master juggler like you. You're doing great with the audience so far too. Master Thunder's had large shoes to fill. I wish I had the confidence you do. You stand up there and make it look effortless. I am so afraid that I'm going to freeze in place when my turn to perform comes up. I mean its not like I haven't performed before but tonight is different...more important. P'oxtan's up next though. I'm going to check on him quick to make sure he's okay. The brawl we got into could easily shake someone up."
Honey skip-jumps her way over to wherever P'oxtan is preparing and jumps onto his back. "Grapple attack! Hey, P'oxtan. How are you holding up? If you grapple your beasts like you did that drunk man, you're going to put on an amazing show. I know a lot has happened tonight already. Stay focused. Whatever happens, you'll have my support."
Hush disappears back behind stage where she belongs, watching the show in silence from the sidelines.
Without looking up from his preparations he says, ”As I sssaid before, I am an excellent wresstler. Why would I not be focusssed? I did my duty before, I will do it again.” He’s quiet for a moment, lost in thought before saying, ”I thank you though, for your concern.”
Hush tilts her head toward the crowd outside, clearly indicating to P'oxtan, 'you're on.'
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Several roustabouts wheel two carts out onto the stage. One one, a caged crocodile, well-trained of course. On the other, P’oxtan, bedecked in elaborate, if barely accurate, tribal iruxi ornamentation. The band starts, a drum-heavy and ominous song as the cage door swings open. The two reptiles advance on each other, the drums mounting in intensity.
The crocodile lunges at P’oxtan and he dodges, leaping onto the beast. Caught in a seemingly fatal struggle, the drums reach a fever pitch. For a moment, silence, as the crocodile’s jaws loom over the iruxi warrior’s head. He grabs onto the beast’s jaws and the drums resume.
Pinning the crocodile, he lifts the beast over his head and lets out a final roar as the curtain lowers.
Three stocky dwarves parade onto the stage, outfitted in leotards, goggles, and padded caps. P’oxtan follows along behind them, doing his best not to overshadow the three dwarves despite standing several feet taller than them. Two of the dwarves and P’oxtan get into position, forming a platform with their hands, with the last dwarf standing on the “platform”. On the count of three, they hurl the middle dwarf into the air. He does a flip before plummeting down to earth. P’oxtan scrambles to catch the dwarf, but the other two dwarves beat him to the punch.
P’oxtan stands back, ready to help again if necessary. The three dwarves form up again, hurling the middle one again. It’s another successful maneuver, and the three dwarves bow as the curtain closes on the second act.
After the act, P’oxtan goes to the crocodile and kneels down, muttering a prayer to the Crocodile Spirit, one of countless beings in the animistic belief of the iruxi. ”Mighty timeless one, I give thanks that this manifestation of your spirit walks the earth, and that your endless fury does not find its way to me.” He grabs a handful of fish from the croc’s feed bucket, and feeds it to his reptilian costar before going to take off his slightly ridiculous costume.
Honey is waiting backstage for P'oxtan. She bounces on her heels and claps. "Oh my gosh, P'oxtan. You nailed it! You looked so confident and strong out there. I'm up next and I'm so nervous. If I just had a tenth of your confidence I'd feel better."
He tilts his head sideways when Honey mentions the tenth of confidence before saying, "I know my skills are sufficient. Yours are considerable as well. I am sure you will succeed."
He gives a slight nod and awkwardly places a hand on Honey's shoulder. "Warmbloods often take comfort in physical contact. I will do what I can, if it helps."
As if on queue, Finn walks out to introduce the third act only to see a few snakes underneath the largest of the bleachers.
Finn confidently walks out onto the stage as several roustabouts begin setting up a net and a trapeze.
”Well, I hope you all enjoyed that…uh…” The halfling’s eyes sink to a set of bleachers. ”T-that…that wonderful performance by our reptilian friend and our high fliers. Now, for the pièce de résistance. Everyone!” The halfling points upward toward the sky. ”Direct your gaze high above your heads! For tonight, I am proud to present the Wasp’s Flight! Don’t blink, or you might miss the most important part!”
Finnace leaves the stage to Honey as he hurriedly rushes off stage. Once backstage, he grabs P’oxtan and drags him along. ”Problem! Big problem!”
The halfling stops in front of one of the performers, panting from lack of breath.
”Elizia…please tell me…that you’ve misplaced your…16-foot snake…”
"I will do what I can."
With that, P'oxtan tries to creep under the stands. Unfortunately, a hulking lizard man who just got off the stage isn't the most conspicuous.
Once reaching the snakes, P'oxtan begins to murmur a prayer to the Snake Mother, another one of the iruxi animal spirits. "Children of the Sssnake Mother. You are lossst among warmbloodsss. I shall bring you back to where you mussst be."
Looking a bit distraught at Finnace, Elizia looks around for a moment before sighing in relief. "No. He's here. He's just feeling a bit sick."
---
P'oxtan draws the attention of the crowd, unfortunately, as he sneaks under the bleachers to the snakes. They his menacingly at him before P'oxtan whispers to them. They seem to get the hint and scurry away.
The crowd erupts in cheers for P'oxtan!
---
Act III may now begin without issue.
Honey Wasp zips up the back of her striped leotard and silently enters the arena. She climbs up the ladder to the top of the pedestal high above the crowd. She tunes out the sounds of the audience and focuses only one one hand then the other. One, two. One, two. Over and over until she reaches the tiny square platform at the top. She is completely oblivious to the snake situation and looks down from her dizzying height for Finn’s cue to begin. She long ago got over her vertigo and the net beneath her is a precaution she was not previously afforded. Nevertheless, Honey puts a hand to her collar and feels the cold metal of her hidden holy symbol against the skin of her chest as she issues a prayer to Calistria for protection and good fortune.
Time seems to slow to a standstill and after what feels like an eternity, she hears Finn call her name. Honey thrusts her arms into the air and stands tall on her tippy toes. She holds the “Y” pose for a few seconds building anticipation. She starts off with a few simple swings back and forth to build excitement. Then the time finally comes for the finale of her act. Back on the starting platform, she forms the hand symbols and touches the button on the small of her back, casting the light spell. Suddenly four beams of golden light, two on each side, jut from her shoulder blades like amber insect wings. She tightly grips the trapeze bar until her knuckles turn white. And then without thinking, she is accelerating through the air. There is no turning back now.
When the swing reaches its apex, she releases her grip and flips backwards once in the air. Her feet spin over her head and her sweaty hands reach out to grab the waiting bar of the second trapeze. With a gratifying slap, she nails the landing and soars over to the opposite platform. Honey’s heart is pounding with adrenaline but she hides her emotions and bows gracefully to the crowd’s cheers. I did it!
Her act complete, she falls backwards off the pole into the waiting net below. She stares straight up into the air as the wind buffets her body, a feeling of complete serenity encompassing her. The rough netting catches her and she safety rolls off onto the circus floor. Back on the ground, she returns backstage to enjoy a well earned respite.
As honey holds the Y pose, the crowd goes wild, and as the crowd quiets Honey reaches for the bars and begins the flip, the crowd goes silent.
"How much ya wanna bet our pretty little wasp is gonna come plummetin to tha ground!?" shouts a person in the stands.
"Taking bets! Easy money folks!" rings from another.
Interestingly, the group does get a few to participate, most placing bets that Honey won't fall, as the people seem to be pushing in that direction.
Honey completes the main event as the men grumble to themselves. But, as she keeps going, the bets get more and more preposterous! "How much ya wanna bet the trapeze is gonna snap!? I'm willing to put 2sp down on one a' dem wings goin' out before she's done!"
The general reaction from the crowd is, well, bad. Boos erupt from the crowd, mixed with the cheers of seeing Honey Wasp perform. Until finally, Honey takes her bow and plummets to the net below in the final part of her trick. But, something seems to go wrong in the air. Honey's not sure what, but it was almost as if a stray bolt of wind knocked her into an unanticipated spin, and instead of landing in the center of the net like anticipated, Honey crashes into the side, causing an unceremonious thud, followed by a shriek, to echo through the crowd.
Nobody, except the barkers, say anything as Honey gets up. "Does...does that count as fallin'?" one of 'em shouts.
Honey's bruised, but nothing seems to have been permanently damaged. Honey sends the signal to get the clowns out, and the crowd erupts into cheers as the clowns storm the stage.
”Go go go!”
Finn rushes the clowns out onto the stage when he sees Honey give the cue. When the half-elf leaves the stage he motions for her. ”Nasty fall. Come here.” Finn stands onto a table as he begins looking over the Calistrian for any cuts or bruises as he simultaneously begins reading off of a clipboard.
”Flamboni, Hush, Feather Fall, you all are going on next act. The clowns will distract the crowd for a bit, but we still don’t have much time. Y’all got everything you need?”
Hush nods, a little miffed that everything seems to be going wrong tonight. She decides to check on the other acts. Better safe than sorry.
"Flamboni. Are you ready?"
"Oww! What happened? I know I didn't drop off center. Something supernatural is in the air. And with Thunder's death still looming over us, this bodes ill. You know what, I'm going to go keep an eye on Thunder's body now that my act is over to make sure nothing happens to it. If another problem comes up, come find me, or more likely, I'll hear it. I'm keeping my eyes and ears open."
The Flamboni sisters look at eachother with determination in their eyes. "Yeah. We're ready. Torches are full, and we've rehearsed enough to almost do this with our eyes closed."
At that point, a shriek rings out from the Feather-Fall Five. "NO!" shouts the lead of the family, decked out in a white leotard and a bushy head of brown hair. "The nets! Our nets! They...SHOO!"
The Heroes hear the sounds of the family stamping, before one of 'em runs over, an obvious cut across her arm. "Please! They're gnawing at the nets! You must help!"
Initiative - the BOLD may act!
Active effects:
-----------------------------------------------
Hush
Giant Rats (red and purple)
Finn
Honey Wasp
P’oxtan
Initiative - the BOLD may act!
Active effects:
-----------------------------------------------
Hush
Giant Rats
Finn
Honey Wasp
P’oxtan
Hush positions herself between her companions and acts out creating a wall. "Stay close!" A magical dome of energy expands out from Hush, encompassing her companions.
Hush goes defensive.
Two of the rats (red and purple) continue gnawing on the nets. The other two, though, charge forward into battle, both straight for Finn!
The first rat bites forward quickly, but misses the mark completely. It turns around rapidly and returns with another bite. It digs deep into Finn's thigh, as it begins to burn.
The second rat launches forward, but Hush reacts just fast enough to bump the creature's jaws away. (missed because of Protective ward. ) The confused rat attempts again, only to be thwarted by Finn finally realizing what's going on.
Initiative - the BOLD may act!
Active effects:
-----------------------------------------------
Hush
Giant Rats
Finn (-5)
Honey Wasp
P’oxtan
Hush mimes pushing her barrier out further, causing the magical dome to extend its reach. Then she points at a nearby hammer, points at the orange rat, and suddenly jerks as if she hit herself in the head! She laughs, clutching her tummy in silent guffaws as the real hammer flies at the rat of its own accord.
”Wait, what’s gnawing at—ME! THEY’RE GNAWING AT ME!”
Finn is caught completely off-guard by the rat the size of him biting at his thigh!
The halfling knocks the rat off before it can do any significant damage. The halfling reaches into his coat and pulls out a specially-balanced knife from his bandolier and swings toward the rat!
Still shaken by the fact that he’s face to face with a rat that’s bigger than he is, the halfling’s fake-out is lackluster at best. Deciding against anything else, Finn simply moves to stab the monstrosity!
I hate rats. I hate rats. I HATE rats!
Honey hugs Hush's perimeter. "Eww! Those rats are gigantic. Get off of Finn, you filthy beasts!"
Honey speaks an arcane word and a ball of flame grows into existence in her palm. She winds up like a pitcher and lobs it as hard as she can into the giant rat biting Finn.
P'oxtan focuses on the rat by Finn, his hunter's instinct kicking in. He runs forward, leaping onto it and raking it with both of his claws.
He's fairly out of practice however, and doesn't manage to get any purchase on the oversized vermin.
Hush telekinetically throws a hammer, but it thumps at the rat's front feet.
Finn tries to feint the rat, but as Finn's knife approaches the rat, it follows it closely with its eyes and dodges out of the way before screeching, sufficiently drawing the attention of the other rats.
Honey throws fire at the orange rat, charring it in a spectacular explosion of flame (yep. That was a crit. He's very very dead). (I'm also making an assumption that you were aiming for orange like Hush.)
P'oxtan runs forward and slashes helplessly at the cyan rat.
The other two rats rush over and attack! Cyan joins in!
As Finn and P'oxtan dodge out of the way of the rats biting at them, Hush focuses a bit too much on her spells and misses the rat charging at her. It bites into her leg with an audible crunch.
Initiative - the BOLD may act!
Active effects: Protective Ward
-----------------------------------------------
Hush (-4)
Giant Rats
Finn (-5)
Honey Wasp
P’oxtan
P'oxtan begins to tear into the rat he'd attacked previously, his hunter's training coming back as his war-crest flares above his head.
Upon seeing the explosion, Honey cheers. "Woo! See that!"
Safely behind her allies, Honey throws another ball of fire over Hush's head and into the (red) rat. "I guess playing all those carnival games paid off. Do I win a stuffed bear?"
Hush suffers in silence and ignores the rats. She takes a Step back and focuses on her spell, causing the dome to spread a little further.
She glances around, points at the hammer again, and sends it flying at the red rat.
Then tosses up another magical barrier to protect herself.
”Well, then. That works, I suppose.”
Finn pulls out a second knife as he moves to do a fake-out against the nearest rat .
P'oxtan tears into the rat in front of him. With a quick set of tears, P'oxtan easily dispatches the cyan rat, directing his third slash to the other rat in reach, but he doesn't quite get it (because the multi-attack penalty increased from 4 to 8 because he wasn't attacking his prey).
Honey incinerates the red rat.
Hush plays defense.
Finn feints at the one remaining rat, making it flat footed, which is just enough to get an attack on the rat! Unfortunately, he does nothing more than smash it's hand into the ground, angering it.
The rat lets out a nasty SCREECH as it attacks Finn, favoring the paw he'd hit.
The rat manages to bite Finn's arm as he retracts it from his attack, but Finn deftly dodges out of the way of the other attacks.
Initiative - the BOLD may act!
Active effects:
-----------------------------------------------
Hush (-4)
Giant Rats
Finn (-8)
Honey Wasp
P’oxtan
The halfling weaves between the rodent’s attacks despite the wound on his arm.
”Enough of this!”
The halfling straightens up as he does a fake-out…
…but Finn ends up being too stylish (go figure) as he attempts to feint by balancing on one foot and nearly losing his balance in the process!
As the halfling nearly falls, he attempts a stab into the rat—partially to attack it, partially to try grabbing it to right himself.
Surprised by the power of his strike, Finn’s momentum sends him flying forward as he barely manages to get a hold of himself and finally regain his balance.
He sheepishly turns back and clears his throat.
”I, uh, I meant to do that!”
"I can be stylish too."
Honey stands on one foot, bends forward, and sticks the other out straight behind her. She spins her arm forward to back and underhand tosses a fire ball, arching up over her head (and P'oxtan's), that lands on top of the final rat (purple).
Exasperated with all the noise and bragging, Hush repositions, points at a mug some roustabout left behind, and sends it flying into the purple rats snout with a gesture.
The Heroes manage to slay the remaining rat, but the damage to the net has been done. Without the net, it will take some convincing to make the family perform, and it would also give the trick the Injury trait.