"What? You gonna make us?" Ruanna asks with a sneer. "Nothing illegal about what we're doing. Just offering more fun at a cheaper price."
“We are the ones leasing this location, not your circus. You are disrupting our entertainment. Since a portion of our earnings go to the city, you are interfering with their tax income.”
“Please leave without causing further disruption.”
As much as Clover would love to try and follow the creeper she's more concerned about the animals and whatever the tiefling might have been trying to do. She hurries over to the pens and begins giving them a good once-over to see if there's anything amiss.
"Snowy, keep your eyes, ears, and nose peeled, okay? In case there's anything or anyone else strange lurking around."
Clover checks on the circus' animals. Fortunately, she finds that they all appear healthy and unmolested. Unfortunately, this gives the tiefling ample time to escape and disappear among the crowd.
----
Meanwhile, Rulean and the rest of the management are have a pickle of a time trying to get rid of their unwanted guests.
"Yeah," Delamar chuckles. "That's not a legal argument."
"Well, since you said please," Ruanna says with a bow and then turns her back to you and starts hawking her tickets loudly. "Tickets to the Celestial Menagerie at a discount! Pennies on the weight! Get a ticket to the best and oldest standing circus in Escadar cheaper than ever! Tonight only!"
Delamar clicks his tongue. "You're not going to last long in this game with an attitude like that." He too turns his back and moves on to hawk the competition's tickets.
Ephie rolls his eyes; he won't even acknowledge to their accusations of cheating machines as it is below his dignity. I HOPE audiences can attend both; it's the best way to truly know which circus is superior.
Rulean comes up on Ruanna as she turns her back and attempts to shove her into the dirt.
“This is me no longer saying please.”
As Ruanna crashes to the ground, Oolong swoops down.
"Can I eat her eye? Please?"
“No eating the trash, Oolong.”
"Nope. I don't want her giving you a disease," Song states.
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This is so stupid. Why are people like this?? Argh, it makes me SO MAD!
Though happy to see that the animals all appear to be okay and that nothing seems to have been disturbed, Clover's just about had enough with people and their meddling. As such, she can't help but take some glee in passing back through the crowd just in time to see Rulean give the elfin woman a hearty shove.
HAH!
"Oh hey, I didn't know we were holding clown auditions," she remarks brightly as she comes walking up.
“Our lease said we had to clear away all the debris. I found some that needs to be removed.”
Chani looks rather distressed as the confrontation degrades into a physical altercation. He pulls his amulet from around his neck and starts fidgeting with it, but doesn't really know what else to do yet.
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Largely removed and selecting an outfit to provide re-assurances to the acrobats, Leaf-On-Wind has been mostly absent from this recent discussion.
That is, of course, until the rumblings start indicating that a guest politely asked to leave might not be.
Townies may want to see an epic fight between carnivals at no or little cost, but as a medical expert Leaf-On-Wind doesn't want to spend all night patching everyone up.
He whips over to Rulean and Ruanna with a physician's kit. His first attention is to the iruxi Kurgesian.
"Oh goodness, did you get hurt picking up trash? Do you require medical attention?"
It's unlikely that Rulean's injuries are of anything near the scope of what the troupe has faced thus far. Provided a negative response, the tengu will turn to Ruanna.
"Oh, no! It looks like someone fainted from all the excitement! Here, let's get you outside and to some fresh air so you can recover!"
The physician will offer a hand up to Ruanna with a polite and professional air, ready for any shenanigans and also ready to defend himself if needs be.
"Ah!" Ruanna shouts as she crumbles to the ground, rolling in the fetal position while holding the back of her head. "Ow! Ow! He hit me from behind." She pulls her hand away to reveal a wet, red mess--obviously colored corn syrup to a performer's or physic's eye--but probably real enough to the average bystander. "Oh! The pain!"
This gets some confused attention from the crowd. When Leaf-on-Wind kneels down to "minister" to Ruanna's "wounds," she begins to flail and cry out in real pain. "Ow! I'm not fainting, you're trying to kill me! Ow! Get off me you idiot! Ow!"
Meanwhile, Delamar rolls up his sleeves and takes a boxer's position. "You all saw they attacked first, right?" he shouts at nobody in particular. "Ruffians they are!"
However, with his companion currently pinned to the ground to receive expert "medical" attention, the instigator is finding the prospect of facing the rest of you at once rather daunting. He charges at Ephraim but stops short and throws himself backwards. As he whips his hand behind himself, he returns with a bloody cut on his hand, which he slaps on his sleeve and brow. "Oh! He cut me! Orcish fiend!"
Around this time, all of you notice a heavily tattooed tiefling--the pattern of the tattoos makes him appear scaled--sneaking through the crowd toward you. However, Ruanna breaks free of Leaf-on-Wind with an indignant (and relieved) gasp. She and Delamar make a break for the road. As they run away, the tiefling tries to slip back into the crowd.
This commotion has not gone unnoticed.
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Song pulls out her fan, dances with it, and then says flirtateously to the audience, "Everyone, please clap for our friends from the Celestial Menagerie, who agreed to liven up our first performance! If you're holding one of their silver tickets, you can go see them, but we would love it if you stayed for our show! We have dashing animals, throwing dwarves, magic, mayhem, danger and derring-do!"
She continues to dance with the fan, inviting the crowd to follow her into the tent -- after they purchase a ticket.
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Chani watches, still uncertain and insecure, as the two performers from the Celestial Menagerie do their act.
Once they leave, he goes and inspects the ground where Ruanna's 'blood' spilled. He scoops up a bit of the stuff onto his fingers and sniffs at it. "Hah," he announces to the crowd. "It appears that they were attacked by a pastry." He approaches one of the bystanders. "Here, smell for yourself. Though I don't recommend licking it."
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Rulean says “They really need to use a better quality fake blood.” as he shakes his head.
If Ruanna or Delamar left any tickets on the ground, he yells at them to not leave the tickets behind.
Looking towards the others in the circus, he asks “Anyone want to help me chase down the other one without a ticket?”
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"That's the one I saw lurking around the animal pens a few minutes ago," Clover answers quietly. "I'll go with you."
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Rulean nods in response to Clover and the two of them pursue the tattooed tiefling.
Still talking with the crowd, Chani notices Rulean and Clover heading away. He doesn't entirely know who they are following, but he again doesn't want his friends to confront someone alone. He excuses himself from the people he is talking to and hurries after them before they get completely out of sight.
While her comrades trail after the tiefling, Song-of-Air continues to lead the crowd in, starting a conga line. Someone has to carry on the show!
Song-of-Air and Chani distracted and redirect the crowd. The poor gentleman offered Chani's sticky fingers looks flustered and embarrassed, but this only makes his children laugh at him.
Meanwhile, Rulean and Clover break off to tail the tiefling.
After picking up his medical gear which had been strewn about during Ruanna's protests Leaf-On-Wind looks up and joins the conga line to back his sister up.
Mr. Splinters perches on Ephie's shoulder, laughing and smiling as he looks down upon the humanoids.
Rulean goes vaulting over crates as he pursues the tiefling.
Following along behind, Chani has to dodge people and other obstacles while trying to keep up and keep Rulean and Clover in view.
While Rulean bounds over crates ahead of her and Chani dodges people behind her, Clover tries her best to keep track of the tiefling's tracks - no small task in a crowd!
Rulean vaults over the crates and bypasses much of the crowd funneling toward the big top. As a result, he beats the tiefling to the other side of the crowd and his intended escape. Clover leads Chani through the crowd and arrive momentarily.
"Ah, uh, hello?" the tattooed tiefling says. His purple skin has been extensively tattooed with a scaled pattern and some subtle tricks of shading coupled with his wide sweeping horns that give him a draconic appearance. "Afraid I couldn't afford a ticket, so, I'll, um, miss the show. The circus be around for a while?" He tries to sound nonchalant. He wears a functional leather jacket and pants. His belt holds a single dagger.
"From the look of it you were trying to be part of the sideshow going on a couple of minutes ago," Chani says in a low tone. He isn't entirely sure why Clover reacted so suddenly to the appearance of this particular person, though he did notice the suspicious sneaking he was doing that the rest of the crowd wasn't doing.
"Ah, no, no," the tiefling says. "I thought there was a fight about to break out, and those kind of distractions are good for bus--um, I mean, nothing. Nothing. Nope."
"Street brawls are certainly good for nothing. That may be the first honest thing you have said since we met you." Chani glares at the tiefling and fidgets with his amulet. "Let's try another. What is your name?"
Chani also looks to Clover and Rulean hoping that they know something that he doesn't.
“That doesn’t explain what you were doing earlier around the animals.”
Crossing his arms over his chest and looking at the tiefling, he says “Think very carefully before lying again.”
"Oh, um, I don't--Eh," his voice suddenly shifts from that of an earnest but bumbling rube to a bored tone and his shoulders slump. "Whatever. My name is Avies. Aives the Smoke Dragon when I'm on stage," he blows three smoke rings in a row to emphasize the point, though you know you did not see him inhale from anything. "Delamar grabbed me to help him ruin your big opening, but you chased him off, so I'm heading back home."
“Buy a ticket and come watch the show. You should know what a show is like before Interfering with it.”
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"And you thought messing with our animals might be a good way to do it?" Clover glowers, arms folded over her chest. "Hawking discount tickets to sway customers is one thing but actually hurting people - or animals - is something else! Mistress Dusklight can't handle the fact that some of us left and proved that we don't have to rely on her to get by - that's all any of this is, a balm for her hurt pride!"
Clover's shoulders slump and she heaves a big sigh. "She'll never admit it, though. Never ever."
"Look...Rulean's right. If you have the time and the coin, come watch the show sometime. As long as you behave yourself, there won't be any problems. Besides, competition's supposed to make both sides stronger, not get them to tear each other down."
Chani crosses his arms and glares. He growls softly, "I still don't trust him. Especially if he is harassing animals. But there are plenty of other pickpockets that come to these events and we can't do much about them either."
Aives shrugs. "Well, Delamar was going to pay me a bonus, but that's gone now, so I won't be affording a ticket anytime soon. Not thrilled at the idea of messing with animals--or anyone--but you guys know better than most what disobeying the mistress gets you."
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“Leaving her circus was the best decision I ever made. Might want to think about that.”
Ephie nods in agreement. If you do think about it — sincerely — let us know.
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Song leads the conga line into the tent, then encourages people to find seats while she starts up a dance number introducing some of the acts.
She's a little thrown off by the Celestial Menagerie's shenanigans, but she's a professional. She carries on. Allowing the dwarves to throw her into the air, she gets swung around by the Featherfall Five before doing an aerial dance near the top of the tent where she gets lowered down slowly and steadily while the ysoki newcomers set off a few minor fireworks.
She casts the bullhorn cantrip so that she can be heard from every seat under the big tent.
"Welcome to the Circus of Wayward Wonders!" Song proclaims. "Are you ready for our show?" As the audience starts to cheer, Song asks again, "I can't hear you. I asked... ARE YOU READY FOR OUR SHOW?"
As the audience roars, she says, "First up, near the top of the big top, the Featherfall Five, and my very own brother, Leaf-on-Wind! Watch them fly, leap and defy gravity itself!"
"Hmm. Well, if I can find a way to leave without finding a knife in my back while walking down some alley," Aives says. He then blows out an impossibly long stream of smoke that takes on the shape of a flying dragon. The smoke dragon circles around Aives, obscuring him from sight. Once the smoke clears, the tiefling is nowhere to be seen.
If he could disappear that easily, you wonder why he let himself be caught in the first place. However, you do not have much time to wonder. You hear Song-of-Air beginning to work up the audience and start the show.
"Some things are worth getting knifed for," Chani says softly after the tiefling vanishes.
Hearing Song starting the show and working up the crowd, Chani heads back as well. He finds a booth to set up in and spends the day doing cold readings and other minor bits of entertainment.
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Ephie his newest copper arcade machine is titled Celestial Tragedie.
It's a diorama of a circus that looks more than familiar. First, a clown on a unicycle tumbles over equipment that had been carelessly out, he falls head-first into a bucket and drowns. The lion escapes and maul their whip-wielding master before fleeing into the forest. Three acrobats tumble to the ground in a tangle of twisted limbs when a poorly-rigged trapeze unravels. The cannon baller misses the net and gets pancaked against a brick wall. The ringmaster tries to flee but is crunched under a wagon when its axle falls off, her boots sticking out from underneath. Finally the whole big top collapses, covering the entire diorama. Magical flames begin to flicker along the canvas, filling the scene with smoke… Fin.
When the smoke clears a minute later the machine is reset, ready for another gruesome go.
Maybe it's a little grim but Mr. Splinters thinks it's hilarious. Sometimes Ephie chuckles in Mr. Splinters voice when he puts a copper in himself.
Thinking of circus safety, and how big of a danger fire is, Ephie locates a scroll of Resist Energy and copies it into his spellbook.
In the evening, after the last of the major shows have ended, the booths have mostly closed, and the guests are finding their way back to their homes, Chani finds a target range and practices with his crossbow some more. Eventually, after many different attempts and plans, he figures out a way to load the crossbow without getting his amulet chain tangled in the crossbow's pull rope, or dropping the bolt he is trying to load.
Rulean wanders the circus, talking to people and encouraging them to see the acts or try some of the side events. He makes some animal sculptures for kids in order to hopefully increase their interest.
The wandering also allows him to keep an eye out for trouble should a brawl or something break out.
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Leaf-On-Wind goes to a hidden alcove in the wagon that he and his sister use, releasing a catch and removing a black bag with things he'd promised he'd never use again.
And he had *kept* that promise but with Nabi vanishing...
Along with some more formal accessories for dealing with folks at higher levels of society, the black bag contains a discreet set of picks and tools that he unfolds to verify proper condition.
He leaves a note by Song-Of-Air's pillow so she can see it when she wakes up.
Sis,
I don't see much option -- I'd put away the sneaky stuff after we'd gotten away from the Menagerie but now... well, it looks like I need to lean on some of the old skills that we relied on to keep us alive in the lean times between that and the new family.
Please don't hate me for it?
Leaf
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Now that Snowy's hit a growth spurt and is easily as big as Clover, the pair are able to put on a proper wrestling show for the audience - complete with rolls, tumbles, and one or two supposed 'close calls' meant to leave the audience on the edge of their seats!
With the extra time to practice the acts and timing, and with the unwelcome guests driven away before they could manage any mischief, your grand opening goes off extremely well. The crowd leaves buzzing with chatter, and you are left tired and with the usual cleaning left to do before you gather around the bonfire for dinner.
There is no sign of Mistress Dusklight or her meddling over the next few nights and performances. However, as the days slowly pass, you begin to wonder about the things you saw and experienced in the Tower of Erran. The sucubus, Balenni's journal mentioned that the xulgath had come at the orders of more powerful xulgath from a place called the Moonstone Hall. You wonder if that place might be something closer to the surface.
During the night, dreams--and maybe nightmares--creep into your sleep.
The following morning at breakfast, Chani is rather distracted. He is trying to both eat his food and shuffle cards. But each time he turns over a card, it is blank.
Finally he approaches any of the people who he went to the tower with and asks, "Do you know - are there more than one of those towers with the orbs? I had never even heard of the one before last week. But for some reason, I think there may be as many as six. But I know of no others."
“I don’t recall mention of other towers.” Rulean says, and then pauses. “Still, it might be worth the effort if a couple of us went into town and tried to do some research on Aroden and what he did on this island. I believe he is credited with lifting the island out of the sea.”
“My own dreams suggest that we are in a race against a Xulgath. It worries me that I have such dreams.”