Placeholder first post as I set things up.
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It's been a wonderful summer -- the sort that's felt like it's lasted forever, even though you were having the time of your life. It's almost hard to recall how things were before you all found Juniper.
You'd all been down at the lake to have a little swim and maybe catch a few fish or some frogs. Sammy had heard something splashing about in distress around a bend in the shore, and you'd all gone to check it out. There, tangled up in some aquatic plants, was a soaked and bedraggled baby owlbear. You freed her from the net of greenery, suffering a few defensive pecks from her beak as she panicked, and you took her to your awesome fort in the woods to dry her off and nurse her back to health.
She'd had a wooden tag around her neck that said "Juniper" so you knew that must be her name. Over the summer you've trained her to do all sorts of tricks -- she knows how to sit, shake paws, puff up her feathers on command, and even attack the little dummies you've made for her to fight. She's super warm for snuggling up and snoozing with and she follows the gang of you everywhere you go. The twins worked out a rotation, where each night one of you stays in the fort with her, so she doesn't wander in to town, while the rest of you cover for the missing friend if parents or grandparents come asking.
But, all good things must come to an end. The weeks wheel by, days turn shorter, and rain forces many of your games indoors. Sleeping in the woods in the cold rain with Juniper becomes less pleasant, and you all start wondering how you might sneak her into town and into your homes, as it gets colder.
Just when the leaves begin to turn, a carnival moves into the area, and not just any carnival. Colorful wagons soar down from the sky, pulled by horses wearing butterfly wings, landing and beginning to set up in a large meadow south of the city. Faerie dragons begin delivering invitations, and pixies slip into town at night to prank people by painting glowing advertisements on the back of their shirts or on their windows, with ink that fades the next morning. This is the fabled Witchlight Carnival, rumored to appear somewhere in the world only once every eight years -- and this year your very own home, Silverymoon, seems to be the lucky host!
News of the carnival spreads, and so, too, does a warning. Entry without a ticket is strictly forbidden. Again and again this point is emphasized, strongly. Tickets are pretty expensive, costing a gold for each person who enters, and you're all sitting on a hill looking down at the carnival, trying to decide how to talk your parents into giving you the money.
As you scheme and plot, the evening growing late, the sun setting on the horizon, you watch with dismay as Juniper squawks with excitement and runs toward the carnival. Scrambling through the fields, you all give chase, but she darts through the dense bushes that grew up magically around the carnival's borders, disappearing from sight. You all stand there, out of breath, hesitating. Trespassing without a ticket is forbidden...but Juniper has to be nearby, and you just have to find her before the carnival whisks her away on its magical journey, or you'll never see her again!
Vashrin glances briefly to the others with a look of desperation on his face.
"Come on, she has to have gone into the carnival...i..it can't be that bad if we get caught in there without a ticket. Besides it's not like we're there to have fun, we're just looking for Juniper..." he says, sounding as if he's trying to convince himself as much as the others.
"Vash, I love Juniper as much as any of us, but going in there without a ticket is a really bad idea." Celeste cautions.
Kubub is about to suggest that they tell an adult, before remembering that none of the grown-ups in Silverymoon are supposed to know about Juniper. Not that his mean-spirited old grandfather would lift a finger to help, even if he did know about the baby owlbear.
'Stupid, stupid!' Kubub chastises himself, grinding his tusks (which he often does when anxious), 'Think - what would Marmaduke Steel do?'
Marmaduke Steel was Kubub's favourite character, in his favourite book; 'Saga of the Singing Swordsman'. Marmaduke was a dashing swashbuckler who had sailed on ships, battled fearsome monsters and outwitted the wicked Cardinal Chaufourier on more than one occasion. Marmaduke would not be defeated by a bush, and neither would Kubub!
"Vash is r-r-right." Kubub says, "We have to get Juniper back, before she gets into any more trouble."
Willow returns Vashrin's look of desperation with a nervous giggle and then hides her face, nose down, in her tunic. She feels the hot pinpricks of tears forming in her eyes and sniffles noisily, not even bothering to hide her feelings at this moment. "We have to go rescue her! She's just a baby! What if someone steps on her!? Her voice gets higher and higher, raising to a squeak by the last question. She feels a deep panic twisting and writhing in her chest, her imagination flashing through a series of horrifying events, each worse than the last, that might be happening to Juniper right at this very moment!
There was no other option.
"Maybe one of the carnival workers would let us in if we promise to just look for Junie?"
"Juniper!"
Not even thinking about the consequences, Sam runs after their pet, truly worried about what could happen to her.
"Sammy, wait!" the twins yell out in unison, before turning to the others to see their reactions.
Vashrin begins to run off and follow but is grabbed by his sister. "Oh no you don't." she scolds, waiting to see what the others do.
Celeste sighs as the little halfling charges headlong into the uncertainty Sammy was heading into.
Vashrin gives his sister a wink and a grin, despite his previous nerves on the subject, and a rushes off after the pint-sized ball of chaos that is Karley. "Come on, sis, looks like we're doing this!"
Somewhat reluctantly, Celeste follows as well.
Willow doesn't even blink when Karley slams into the ground; the halfling's shenanigans are absolutely nothing new. She glances at the rest of the Defenders, shrugs, and then starts to bound after Karley and Sam.
"Don't fall, Karley!" She shouts. Her stubby little tail is whipping back and forth as she runs, arms pumping wildly at her sides. She keeps an eye on the halfling, ready to scoop her up should she fall.
"Wait for me!" Kubub shouts, trudging after the others.
"G-...G-...Guys!" Nuruk pants out, finally coming down the hillside towards where they had all gathered. The plump, iridescent form of Nuruk shimmered in the dark, reflecting the lights of the carnival that shined through the thick hedges. A bit slow and easily winded, he rubbed at his rotund belly for a moment while listening to the current crisis "Junie's...Junie's in there?"
The crew made their way through the hedge, a worried look spreading across his draconic features. It seemed that only Celeste had hesitated back with him. Putting on a brave face, he pushed out his chest which also pushed out the pudgy gut that he had as well. "Don't worry Celeste. Defenders never fail. Lets go and get Junie!" And following behind his friends, Nuruk was the last to trespass into the carnival.
Inside, Sammy's practicing what he's going to say if he gets caught trespassing. His eyes, though, look everywhere for Juniper.
If they find her now, there's still a chance to go back before it's too late...
"Juniper! Come over here!"
Celeste sighs, but follows the group, dreading the trouble you'll all be in if anyone is caught.
Sticking to the shadows, you push through the brush and sneak into the fringes of the carnival. Colorful stalls line a thoroughfare of trampled grass. Carnival guests mill around, laughing, while stallholders cry out their games. The music of a calliope drifts from afar, accompanied by assorted other instruments.
You spot that all of the carnival guests wear cloth butterfly wings on their backs and clutch printed tickets in their hands. Fantastical beasts prowl through the crowd: a giant, six-legged feline with barbed tentacles sprouting from its shoulders, pixies riding giant snails, and more. A bugbear wearing a belt of matted hair grumpily patrols the area, keeping an eye out for troublemakers.
There are plenty of places to hide around the backs of the carnival stalls. Shadows are deepening in the fading light of dusk, and various crates and barrels are stacked behind most of the tents.
A sign hanging from the window of the caravan reads: 'Knock for Candlefoot’s story hour. Cost: 3 Carnival Prizes'
"There!" Sammy points to one of the caravans. "She sneaked through the window!"
He doesn't know if it's better to knock and ask or to sneak in, but for now he's only focused on reaching the caravan with his friends. Maybe the clown will accept some fried corn in exchange for his silence? He's seen some adults give things to others to buy their silence, or some other things they shouldn't be supposed to sell or do.
Vashrin looks on the scene with wide-eyed amazement sufficient to over-come his fear of the situation - at least for now.
"Whoa...this place is amazing..." he says quietly to no one in particular.
"It's worth a try, I guess." he says to Sammy's suggestion.
Not quite as enamored with the situation as her brother is, Celeste cautiously looks around, keeping close to Nuruk.
Looking to the others she nervously says, "Alright, we're here now for better or worse, let's get Juniper and get out of here before we get caught."
Willow giggles nervously again, hiding her mouth with the neck of her shirt as she trails along beside Vashrin and Celeste - older, more responsible (in theory), might make better choices. "How are we going to get her back...? None of us have any carnival prizes."
"We're just going to have to win some then." Nuruk whispers to everyone, looking over the boxes to see what was out there. As worried as he was for upsetting his family and getting in trouble, there was also a bit of delight of looking at all the strangeness that was here before them. So many wonderful, amazing things that he would never have a chance to see even as a grown-up!
"There is some games along the way there. We just need to win three of them and then we can have that story time and get Junie back!"
Nuruk peeks around the boxes and brush he is hiding around, looking to see what it is that the stallholders take in order to play a game. The shining names and lights grab his attention as well, specifically the "Bash-A-Beholder" down the way.
Celeste looks at Nuruk, "Ummm...wouldn't we need to have a ticket to the carnival to be able to play the game?"
Vashrin muses aloud, "I wonder if we could steal tickets to get in?" hearing the "suggestion" Celeste scowls at her brother.
"We can always ask" Sammy suggests, though he leaves the potential asking to another one.
Willow nods at Sammy's suggestion. "Maybe if we just explain...that we're just looking for our friend who ran in...we won't get into trouble." She seems uncertain, but talking her way out of things with the sweetest smile she could muster and batting her eyelashes always worked before...Her dad would always break down whenever she used that tactic and grumble about how she had him wrapped around her little finger.
Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19 Looking for folks that might spot us or rat us out as we try to move to the wagon.
Vashrin scans the crowd, and a terrifying visage stares back for a moment. A mask, dark voids where the eyes should be, a slight smile carved into its haunting, pale face, framed by a crescent moon. The mask almost seems to hover in midair, in the shadows between two tents across the main festival avenue. But it moves, and Vashrin's keen eyes make out the body attached to the face -- a feminine form wearing a dress made from the shadows themselves, inky black hair floating around her as if she were underwater. Vashrin blinks, and the mysterious figure is gone. He feels cold, hair standing on end. It's clear none of his friends notice, all of them still looking at the festivities in awe.
Vashrin visablly shudders. "Wh..wh..what was that? D..d..did anyone else s..s..see that...thing?" When no one answers him, he asks, "No one else saw the creepy mask-shadow lady?"
"Ha ha real funny, Vash. You know a lot of us are scared right now...no need to make it worse." Celeste complains.
"We gotta be careful, we've been seen already." he adamantly states.
Surrounded by the sights and sounds (and smells) of the carnival, Kubub's anxiety melts away like candy floss left out in the sun. He doesn't know how Sammy can keep track of anything amid the bustle, let alone a baby owlbear, but trusts his friend when he says he saw Juniper climb into Candlefoot's caravan.
"Maybe he left the window unlocked?" Kubub suggests, "Sammy could stand on my shoulders and check the shutters."
Kubub glances all around, in search of the creepy-mask-shadow-lady that Vashrin spotted, but doesn't see anyone paying undue attention to their small group.
"I don't see anyone like that." he says slowly, although he can't shake the creeping sensation that something is watching them, "Let's just g-g-get this done. The sooner we get Juniper back, the sooner we can get out of here."
"Stop trying to scare the littler kids Vashrin." Nuruk grumbles, lightly punching his friend in the shoulder. He peeks his head out again for a moment as the rest talk about the plan, looking for either a place to grab those wings so they can fit in better or a good amount of cover so they can get across without being spotted.
Willow's eyes go wide with Vashrin's fretting and she hugs her tail close to her for comfort.
"What?! If we're caught, we're in so much trouble! We should find Juniper and just go..." Willow says, shoving the lower part of her face back into her tunic. Tears are forming in her eyes. She doesn't get into trouble and the thought of it is terrifying her. She stares around, trying to catch a glimpse of the shadow that Vashrin saw.
"Ow..." Vashrin complains as he rubs his shoulder where the dragonborn youth punched him. "That's not what I'm tryin' to do, Nuruk. I'm tellin' you there was a weird mask-shadow lady..."
Seeing that Willow is really frightened, Vashrin crouches down in front of the fretting tielfling. "I'm sorry, Willow. I wasn't tryin' to scare you, I just saw somethin' and got scared myself."
A queer look crosses the half-elf's face, "Where's Karley?" he asks, and nearly bursts out laughing when he sees the bold halfling in all of her disguised glory.
Sammy keeps looking at the caravan. "Guys, guys, guys, we need to do something. What if the clown is making Juniper stew? What if they take her to the zoo? What if..."
He turns his head in time to see Karley attempting one of her tricks. He stops dead, holding his breath, the spark of hope growing inside him at the sight of a well-thought plan.
Or at least a plan.
What could go wrong?
"It is alright Willow." Nuruk murmurs as he rubs Willow's back gently. He is distracted by the woman with the delicious drink, hiccuping and changing colors all the while. The thought of how yummy that drink must be makes the youth's tummy rumble as he considers when the last time he ate was. Softly, he begins to hum a deep, resonating tone to comfort his friend when Vash asks the most dangerous question of all; where is Karley?
"Oh no..." Nuruk says, stopping the pleasant, rumbling humming that left him. "...don't tell me she is doing the old man schtick again?"
Willow sniffles heavily, leaning in to Nuruk's comforting backrubs and resonant humming. "Sorry, sorry. I'll try not to be such a baby." She puts a brave face on, the effect somewhat hampered by her still-trembling lips and tear-stained cheeks. She wipes her eyes aggressively and then looks for where the others are watching the young halfling attempt her old man trick...the one that hardly ever worked.
"Um...should one of us stop her?" She whispers, looking at the older kids meaningfully. Willow didn't want it to be her, especially when the older (faster) ones were around, but if push came to shove...
Old man Karley waddled out into the thoroughfare. The tickets were sticking out of the pocket of a human man, who was indeed distracted since he'd purchased a special stretchy candied apple, with infinitely stretching caramel. Try as he might, the stuff just kept stringing, and it was honestly becoming a bit of a chore to eat.
There remained the problem of height. Karley was quite small, not even two feet tall, and the grown man's back pocket was out of her reach. Luckily, he was standing near a pile of crates that she could clamber up in order to reach him. Carefully, carefully, she climbed up the pile, reaching out to slip the tickets from his pocket, with him none the wiser.
As you turned to climb back down, you're startled badly by the sight of a creepy, gray-skinned girl standing stiffly, awkwardly, right beside the pile of boxes, between them and the stall where you didn't notice her before. She's wearing a pig mask that covers half her face, a shabby dress, and her jaw hangs slack, sharp teeth on display. She's holding an oversized lollipop in one hand. With the other, she reaches up as if to give you a hand down. Before you can decide whether or not to take it, a greenish beam of energy suddenly seems to shoot from her hand into your chest, and you feel a quick tearing sensation as ...something... is pulled from you. Another pulse and something else is put in its place...something cold. As quickly as it begins, the beam disappears, and the pig-masked girl darts with surprising quickness around the back of the tent.
"Look...s...she has got some of the tickets!" Nuruk exclaimed. He was having difficulty remembering something but what it was, he couldn't quite remember. It felt important though, very important, but he couldn't put a talon on it. "Lets get to that clown's booth. Maybe we can get back Junie!"
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"Fantastic!" Vashrin says, feeling more positive about this whole mess than he has previously. "Good job, K...umm...you." he says to the now suddenly unnamed halfling.
As the situation has seemingly gotten closer to being favor of retrieving Juniper, Celeste actually allows herself a smile as the group gets ready to head over to the wagon.
"We're gonna try and convince them to give her back, right?" Vashrin asks, trying to confirm the tactic the group intends to employ.
"Great job...um..." Willow hesitates, finding herself unable to remember the halfling's name. "...friend." She finishes, rather lamely.
"Are the tickets the prizes? or the punched holes?" Willow looks confused - such odd prizes that her halfling friend managed to nab. "If this is enough, then yeah! Let's give it a try!" She pumps her fists up dramatically, trying to psych herself up for a little boost of courage.
"Yay! Layla did it!" Sam quickly runs and gathers with the others. "Let's use them!" She gives Daisy a pat on the shoulder as a compliment.
Seeing the small girl's despair grabbed Willow's heartstrings and gave them a good yank, so she knelt down next to the little one and opened her arms wide to pull the halfling into a big hug (if the halfling consented, of course). "What's wrong, K...k...hmm, whattheheckisgoingon?" She mumbled the last few words, feeling momentarily puzzled by her memory loss. Well, whatever. Her friend's sadness was far more important.
Sam cools down a bit his desires to get into the caravan when he checks something's wrong with Rosie.
"Marge? You okay?"
With a concerned look on his face, Vashrin declares, "Alright, now we have two things we have to do here. Get Juniper back and figure out and fix what's going on with little miss halfling here." obviously growing more frustrated with the situation.
Celeste chimes in with, "Vash, that might be the first reasonable thing I've heard you say today."
Grabbing the tickets, Vashrin begins making a bee line for the wagon Juniper was taken into.
Willow gives Betty a nice pat on the back for comfort and then starts off after Vashrin and Celeste, feeling very anxious about this whole situation.
The group of you, concerned for your smallest friend, begin to make your way across the way to the shuttered wagon. The carnival is quite busy, and you’re all dodging this way and that, avoiding being stepped on by distracted adults.
”What do we have here, Star?” a deep, but kind voice suddenly purred from behind you. ”It looks like some cubs have lost their parents.”
As you turn, you see a massive six-legged panther with a pair of tentacles sprouting from his shoulders, each tentacle tied off with huge canvas painted to look like orange butterfly wings. The panther is draped with fancy barding edged with golden tassles, and has a golden bracer on each of its ankles. Trailing behind him is what can only be his child, an adorable panther cub wearing a similar costume. ”Papa, we should find their mammas and papas!” the cub says in an adorable little voice.
The grown panther gazes at each of you with narrowed eyes. ”My name is Dirlagraun. Where are your wings, my little wayward ones?”
"We don't have any, Dirlagraun." Vashrin says plainly, doing his best to keep calm and and not show just how in awe of the massive panther he truly is. Those two are amazing... he thinks to himself.
"We're not here for the carnival - don't get me wrong, we'd love to be here to enjoy it, but we're here to get our friend Juniper back."
Taking a deep breath, he continues, "You see, she wandered into here and got scooped up and put in that wagon over there." he says pointing to the group's intended destination.
"As soon as we get Juniper back, we'll be on our way...well that and as soon as we figure out what happened to k..k..ahh..our halfling friend."
Stepping beside Vash and squaring his shoulders up, the young dragonborn did his best to try and appear unafraid and make sure his friend knew he was supported. "What he said. We're looking for our friend Juniper. She's...small...and fuzzy...with a beak." It was the best description he could give without giving away the whole thing. He nodded in agreement with the fact that their halfling friend needed help, whoever she was. She was his friend. He loved names. What was her name.
Willow stares in awe at the giant panther-like creature and hides a little behind Nuruk. Junie being gone, her fellow Defender being afflicted with...something? It was all so, so overwhelming. Willow instinctively reaches for her tail, hugs it, and giggles nervously.
"Yes, very birdlike! Umm... like an owl! We're just trying to find her. She's alone and probably scared!!!" She adds to the group's explanation with wide, watery eyes and a trembling pout.
The massive bulk and impressive, feline shapes of the daddy panther keeps Sam's jaw wide open, while the tenderness of the baby panther almost makes him wet his eyes.
Before he can lie, Vash tells the truth - or at least part of it. Well, it feels as a kind of relief. Now they'll know for sure how the carnival guys will take their trespassing.
A sudden thought crosses his mind. What if they do to them what they did to Ashley? What if none of the Defenders remember each other's name?