Song bows to the bureacrat. "Indeed, I am she, and this is the greatest show on Kortos! We are lately come from Abberton, where our show had multiple weeks of command performances, and where we commendation from an Abbot!" Spong peers at the Constable. "I was just on my way to speak with Andera Paldreen. Is there a problem of which we should be aware, Constable Darricus? We just arrived in town and haven't heard all the local news."
"Ah, no!" Constable Stallit says with a bright smile. His teeth are very white. "Of course not! The Chief Constable sent me to escort you so that you did not get lost. Escadar is quite a large town with confusing architecture." The young constable does not appear to know about your history in the city.
As he leads you through the streets, he prattles on. "Escadar has a bit of a reputation," Constable Stallit says in a conspiratorial stage whisper. "Far too many smugglers' warehouses, illicit brothels, and gladiatorial pits. Chief Constable Paldreen is working very hard to legitimize the city's entertainment businesses and takes her position very seriously."
He points to a building and jumps to another random subject. "Here you'll notice the distinct architectural style of the Arodonite renaissance. Conclave Square has become virtually a single structure of combined architecture over the centuries..."
You reach Andera Paldreen's office--and reach the end of Darricus' innocently patronizing city tour--approximately twenty minutes late. The constable raps twice on the wooden door and then opens it.
This circular office, paneled with rich brown wood, contains a writing desk, shelves stacked with records, and a row of chairs positioned near the door for visitors. A framed painting of a kestrel in flight hangs in a place of prominence behind the desk. A metal stand to the west displays an ornate falchion and a battle‑worn breastplate polished to a brilliant shine.
A small, muscular human woman sits behind the desk, dressed in a dark‑blue uniform with a golden badge of office pinned to the left shoulder. The shield‑shaped badge bears an engraving of an osprey with a fish clutched in its talons.
The woman listens intently to the individual sitting across from her, a smarmy human man in a striking, royal‑purple suit only a few buttons and ruffles shy of garish. The woman’s hawk-like gaze darts to the opened door, and she holds up a hand apologetically to the man in purple.
"Thank you, Delamar, for bringing this issue to my attention. If that’s all, though, it appears that I have another appointment."
"Please come in. Quickly now," she says to you. "Delamar, you stay. I insist."
Constable Stallit smoothly moves to stand at attention behind the chief constable.
"Present your request," she curtly instructs. You explain the size of the land you require and your reason for needing the space. Delamar seems to be holding his tongue about something with quite a bit of effort. His eyes twinkle maliciously.
"Thank you," Chief Constable Paldreen says when you finish in a succinct fashion. "We have the space to loan, but Mister Delamar has brought some details to my attention that suggest that your circus poses a danger to my citizens. Facts such as your trained bear escaped his wagon and went on a rampage, injuring several of your performers, and, worse, you let your venomous snakes escape and one of your patrons was killed when bitten by one of those snakes."
"Indeed! And it is not just carelessness!" Delamar bursts out a little too eagerly. "Their own leaders started a fight inside the temple of Abadar in Abberton. The temple's beautiful mosaic--over a hundred years old--was destroyed and the temple a shambles when they left."
Andera gives him a sidelong glance but still frowns at the story.
Social Encounter. Round 1.
Delamar
Clover
Song-of-Air
Rulean
Ephie
Nabi
Leaf
Looking at Delamar, Rulean asks “When you say the fight in the church, are you referring to our fight against a quasit and another larger demon?”
Turning to address Andera, he says “The events in Abberton were quite unfortunate. The ones you mention were the work of a halfling named Nemmia Bramblecloak sabotaging our circus. It was much later that we found out that she had been tricked into it by a succubus who used a human identiy of Balenni.”
Perhaps he should have left some of the harder to believe details like the demons.
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I hate to say it but Jelico the sadistic clown is known to whistle backstage, while cruel Danika is oft seen entering the ring with her left foot. These wanton acts are known to bring calamities upon any big top.
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Who is this a%&!#~&? Some crony of Madame Dusklight, I'd wager.
"You know...if you really have all these worries about us, you could always write to Mayor Abber himself and ask for what happened, instead of listening to someone that wasn't even there," Clover remarks, with a pointed look at Delamar. "He'd have no reason to lie in anyone's favor. A lot of things happened but not in the way this guy's saying."
Delamar looks ready to interrupt, but Andera raises her hand. "Let everyone have a chance to speak in turn." She nods to the next person.
The silver tongued Nabi speaks, showing deference to the authority and appealing to her sense of justice
I am sure you want to be impartial, and you can't judge what you haven't seen. We were victims of sabotage, and we have done everything we could to right the wrongs that had be done to our circus and to the crowd. Let us put a show, just one night, watch our circus and be entertained, and see by yourself every care is taken to ensure the safety of the crowd. If you are pleased, we'll stay, paying our taxes in Escadar. If not, our circus will go to another town, whose coffins will fill with gold and silver. We are a traveling troupe, after all.
The chief constable's face is terribly inscrutable as you make your points. At least she's keeping Delamar--whose face is becoming increasingly purple--from interrupting.
Social Encounter. Round 1.
Delamar (discredited 1 round)
Clover
Song-of-Air
Rulean
Ephie
Nabi
Leaf
With Nabi pleading with Delamar and Paldreen to allow the circus to perform, Song executes a beautiful dance in the tight little office.
The furniture and the enclosed space get in the way for showing off her full talent, but she ends with a dashing sweep of her cape and fluttering of her fan, balancing on a single tip toe.
"This is what we can do in an office. Imagine what we can do in a much larger space, with all our props, equipment and lighting."
"Feeding a great cat feathers and offal does tend to give it an appetite for the flesh of tender ancestries. Not, of course, that one would EVER suggest that the cough 'esteemed' Madame Dusklight would perform such a dastardly deed to such a fine feline."
"Yes. Very nice," Andera says to Song-of-Air with a hint of sincerity. "But let us remember that my office is not a circus."
"I have no idea to what the good tengu is referring except perhaps their circus' own practices," Delamar says. "Speaking of poor Jelico and Danika, respectable employees of Mistress Dusklight's Menagerie, goons from the Circus of Wayward Wonders assaulted them while they were scouting for potential new entertainment. Out of fear that their skilled and respectable entertainers might want to seek safer employment, most likely. They even locked Danika away for days!"
Social Encounter. Round 2.
Delamar
Clover
Song-of-Air
Rulean
Ephie
Nabi
Leaf
"Jelico and Danika attacked us, unprovoked," Clover counters. "Danika also had her lion Leandrus with her. We were well within our rights to defend ourselves and that's what we did. Now, he's right about Danika being locked up - we did do that, but we did it with the permission of the Abberton authorities. We couldn't separate her from Leandrus and we couldn't leave Leandrus to just roam around loose on his own."
Wphie one again disscusses curcus lore to discredit the competition. This time he tells a stor of a faulty clip that caued a hair-hanging aerialist to fall to the ground. Luckily they survived but Madame Dusklight stints on engineers and craftspeople like Ephie.
I may not be a performer myself but I help keep things safe. (For no, Ephie has a feeling that presenting Mr. Splinters may not be helpful to their argument).
Delamar rolls his eyes at Clover's revision of the story but wisely keeps his mouth shut.
Social Encounter. Round 2.
Delamar
Clover
Song-of-Air
Rulean
Ephie
Nabi
Leaf
Do you have some codex of rules we should abide too? Are some specific acts of circus prohibited? Maybe, as you know what can best please the local crowds, you can give us some hints, and see how well, how hard we work to accomodate the public: of course we need money to live, honest money, but we are driven to entertain, we enjoy the roar and cheers of the crowd. You won't find another circus willing to bring smiles on the faces of everybody, and it's easier, I guess, to rule over happy people. The Menagerie is nothing more than a parcel of rogues, thugs and liars only some of them talented enough to be walking into the sandy ring, bound to bring trouble into your town, willing to do anything to anyone for a few more coins, because their show don't draw enough people. If you want real professionals, law abiding entertainers, look no further than the glorious Circus of Wayward Wonders
And Nabi manages to stay straight faced.
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"Nabi is right. We're not troublemakers, we're performers. We perform and we leave the communities we visit better than we find them. Ask Abberton, ask the Abbot. Or just let us perform, and see what we can do."
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“On the topic of Danika and Leandrus, you might want to ask yourself who decides when an offense is worthy of jailing someone. It wasn’t a member of our circus that made the decision. None of us were asked to spend jail time.”
Gesturing toward Delamar, he says “If it had really happened as he tells it, wouldn’t you have put our people in jail rather than Danika and Leandros?”
“We are sorry that Leondrus spent time there, but he is loyal to Danika so separating them did not seem feasible.”
Social Encounter. Round 2.
Delamar (discredited)
Clover
Song-of-Air
Rulean
Ephie
Nabi
Leaf
Resistance Points: 1
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Leaf decides it might be time to talk up The Circus of Wayward Wonders.
“There is so much to see in our circus! Eliza and Mr. Tickles have their charming snake act. Mordaine the Magician with her incredible underwater escape act. The Dwarven Throwers really throw themselves into the act, tossing each other with abandon. Few are as light on the wire as the Featherfall Five. Clover and Snowy are always popular with their wrestling demonstrations, and you’ve already seen my sister dance. Are you sure you want to miss out on all of this?”
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"I have heard enough," Chief Constable Andera says after Leaf-on-Wind finishes his argument. "Thank you, Delamar. You may leave."
Delamar opens his mouth to speak, "Bu--!"
"I said, 'Thank you, Delemar. You may leave,'" she repeats coolly. The man bites his tongue and bows to the chief constable before turning for the door. He shoots you a sneer before closing the door behind himself.
Andera turns her eyes to you. "I will approve your request to perform," she says as she pulls out a tray with a seal and wax. "Please do not make me regret it." As she begins to warm the wax, she continues, "All entertainment companies in Escadar are required to pay five percent of all earnings as tax. You have two weeks to set up and prepare. After that you will either need to start performing and bringing in an income or move on.
"Before you get overly excited about the generous time to prepare, it is not that generous. The only land I have to lease you is on the outskirts of town. It is easily accessible from the city, but it is horribly overgrown. The ground is treacherous, and rumors hold that beasts have taken refuge within the brambles. Obviously, leasing this land to you is also to the city's benefit. I do not need to risk my guards clearing the land, and once you move on, the city has the cleared land to put to productive use. Any questions?"
She slides a series of official documents toward you.
“Thank you.” Rulean says with a nod.
“What sort of beasts?”
”I couldn’t say with any certainty as these are rumors carried by itinerant folk,” the Chief Constable answers. ”But I gather the kind that growl and howl in the night. There’s also the nearby swamp.”
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"GIVE US A DISCOUNT IF WE ARE GOING TO MAKE LITTLE TOWN SAFER."
— Ephie tries to shove Mr. Splinters into his backpack and winces as he holds in a cry of pain. Somehow the doll has carved a sharp little knife!
“Swamps aren’t very good for our purpose, but there might be some reptiles in the area that can tell us something of it. How close is the swamp to the area we will be clearing?”
"It marks the southern bound of the valley you're leasing," Andera says. "You don't need to--nor would you have time to--drain the swamp. I recommend using the valley field after you clear it. There should be plenty of room."
“What will the leasing fee be, and when would we have to pay it?”
“Assuming we cleared the path, how far from town is it? How long would it take someone to get there?”
"Hmm...there's always a catch, but I guess I can't blame you," Clover sighs, folding her arms across her chest. "Thanks for being willing to put your faith in us. If you hadn't guessed, we've got some, uh, history with the Celestial Menagerie and I guess Delamar must be one of their new workers or talents. We'll do our best to keep the city out of it though, since it's not your problem."
The little halfling uncrosses her arms and leans forward; she's got a question or two of her own. "So, I'm guessing we'll need to use our own gear - or come up with some - to clear the land, right? Oh and you said you weren't sure what sort of beasties might be lurking out there but have you had any problems with anything in particular in the past? That could help narrow it down a bit."
"Your taxes will cover the lease of the land: five percent of your earnings, paid weekly beginning in two weeks or as soon as you begin performing, whichever is sooner," Andera answers Rulean. "The valley is one mile past the city gate but it is right off of the road."
"Yes. You will need to use your own equipment or purchase it in the city," the Chief Constable says. "Some of farmers have had to drive off wolves. The occasional rumor of a bear makes its way to our reports, but Erran is not a big island. No wild bears live here."
Rulean looks around, checking if anyone objects.
“I think this is reasonable. Do any of you object?”
"Nah. Like I said, it makes sense," Clover remarks. "And if it's wolves or something like that, that's not *great* but it's better than some of the other stuff we've tangled with lately..."
Ephie nods in assent.
No objection here, fair deal .
Rulean nods.
“Seems we are in agreement.”
Once everything is settled with Andera, they make their way out to the area they need to clear.
The permits in hand, you return to your waiting circus and make your way to the assigned plot. The land that you have leased is a valley off of the dirt road a mile north of Escadar. It is an easy walk from the city. The mouth of the valley is mostly flat and screened by old growth trees, a rather attractive entrance. The sheltered valley is spacious and will be an ideal place for the circus once it is cleared of brambles and rocks. The valley is bounded to the east and west by hills, and a river runs to the south. You cannot see the swamp from here as trees in the southern end of the valley shield it from view.
You make short work of clearing the space to part the wagons and build your cook fire and other necessary out buildings. It will take more time to clear the space for the big top and the other attractions. Nothing exciting happens. You experience neither sabotage from your former employer and competitor nor any trouble with beasts larger than the occasional mosquito.
Ephraim spends his shift relatively uneventfully with Mr. Splinters and Gidarron, the Bearded Man. How could any period of monotonous activity spent with the sarcastic spirit be uneventful and splinter free? He rouses Clover when it is her turn.
The first half of Clover's shift is unexciting. Tahala, the Tattooed Woman, keeps watch with the halfling and her badger. Eventually, Clover hears a snap of wood in the distance. Turning, she sees a pair of eyes reflected in the bonfire light that quickly disappear. Later, she spies a four-legged shadow dart out of sight just as she turns her head. Tahala notes a few suspicious sounds and shadows during the watch, but nothing malign happens and you hand over your shift.
Forewarned by the Clover, Rulean keeps his eyes and ears sharp, but he notes nothing during his shift. Song-of-Air's shift is equally undisturbed. Morning arrives. All staff and animals are accounted for and unbothered during the night. A quick patrol of the edge of your camps reveals canine tracks in the dirt.
Must have been a lost dog
"Mm...not quite," Clover murmurs as she kneels down to examine the tracks the next morning. "They're too big. These are wolf tracks. It's hard to say for certain but it looks like there's at least four of them that were prowling around last night. Looks like they lead out into the swamp; probably where their den is."
You spend the rest of the day with your fellow performers working on clearing the valley as well as making temporary defenses to protect your food stores and the more vulnerable working animals. Instruction is passed around to be sure everyone returns to the camp before sunset and that nobody wander outside the camp during the night.
The first watch passes uneventfully. The second watch passes uneventfully. There are no signs of prowlers at the outskirts of the camp.
However, as Clover and Nabi get ready to hand over their duties Nabi spots a shadow moving away from the edge of the thicket. Clover sees two wolves creeping toward them in the shadows.
Nocturnal Visitors! Round 1. Bold may act.
Clover
>Snowy
Nabi
Wolf 1
Wolf 2
I guess wolves run faster than a human, right Clover? Well, as long as I can outrun you, it shouldn't be a problem..Any tactical hint you could share before they attack?
Nabi readies her short sword
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"Outrun me? I'd like to see you try," Clover whispers to Nabi. "I'm gonna try something...if it doesn't work, don't let them surround you."
She eyes the wolves with caution as a series of yips and growls issue from her throat...
<"Our pack is strong and we are not your food. Our pack eats from beyond the walls of stone and wood. We will not take from your hunting grounds. Leave us alone and we leave you alone. Fight us and we fight back. We are not afraid.">
She tries to make her tone as neutral as possible. She'd really rather avoid fighting the wolves but she's also not about to sit around and be eaten without putting up a fight. Her grip tightens on her weapon, ready to strike if it comes to that.
______________
The wolves pause in their creep forward and glance at one another as Clover conveys her intention to them. One of them growls quietly at her and then speaks to her understanding only, <"We see you have sharp claws. We will leave you alone tonight. Tomorrow all two-legs must go. The great leader is not happy. He will kill you if you stay.">
With that, that wolves bound away into the darkness.
Encounter Over
Clover slowly lowers her weapon and glances at Nabi. "Guess we'll have to have that race another time - not that I'm complaining."
"Normally I wouldn't do this, but we should wake the others," she adds, running her hand through her hair in a distracted manner. "I got them to back down - for tonight - but they want us all out of here tomorrow. Their pack leader isn't happy with our presence."
She sighs. "We may not have much choice but to fight them if this is the only place we can set up shop, but I'd like to at least talk it over with everyone else before we make our choice."
Barring any objections from Nabi, Clover moves to start waking the others for an impromptu midnight meeting.
So you can talk with wolves now? Since when? how?
Nabi seems baffled by Clover's talents
Perhaps we can track down this 'great leader.' Who knows maybe it's a Lycanthopics wolf person who can join the circus!
“Isn’t lycanthropy a curse?”
"We can try," Clover answers. "It shouldn't be a problem to track them to wherever their lair is. They definitely won't like it but if it has to come to blows then maybe it's better if we keep it as far away from the others as we can."
"And, um, we're probably just dealing with an experienced alpha, but stranger things have happened..." she adds with an awkward shrug when the conversation turns to lycanthropy.
______________
“Think I would like to wait until daytime before we pursue them.”