Dimitrie nods in agreement with Elanna's choice, his attention now focused on the arch of Crowns. "Always, let's begin here."
Turning to Natalya, he responds "And as for pork wraps, I can't say I've had the pleasure, but I'm willing to try them if you are recommending them."
He offers a reassuring smile as they prepare to step through the arch and into this unknown area of the Harrow Court.
The Arch of Crowns depicts what appears to be a partially constructed balcony seating area with billowing red and black curtains, which obscure the view of the main theater beyond. When you step through the portal, the tumultuous swell of an orchestra in full swing along with the sound of opera sung in Infernal becomes unmistakable.
Opening the curtains, you find yourselves in an upper VIP box of a grand Chelaxian opera house. Nobody notices your arrival, as all eyes are on the group of magnificently clad adventurers onstage in a singing duel against an immense linnorm. The beast is crafted from a clever framework operated by several technicians, all obscured underneath the linnorm’s deep green cloth exterior. Illusion spells further give the mechanical linnorm the appearance of life. The linnorm, as well as much of the stage scenery and the curtains that hang throughout the opera house, shimmers with a faint blue glow that gives the entire affair an appropriately chilly look reinforced by the fake snow that floats down from above and adorns the stage in periodic drifts.
As seasoned performers, Anna and Dimitrie recognize the opera as Linnorm’s Lost Legacy, a show that presents a revisionist history of how the first linnorm slain in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings was, in truth, slaughtered by an ancient ancestor of House Thrune (thus implying that the whole of this northern nation should belong to Cheliax). It is notorious outside of Cheliax for its blatant attempt to appropriate the heritage of the Linnorm Kingdoms. The “hero” facing the linnorm is a fictional character, Alangus Thrune, who is presented by the play as an actual historical figure from Cheliax who swept north to save the Ulfens from the notorious (also fictional) fire-breathing linnorm Bandraguzun. Regardless, the outrageous costuming of Alangus Thrune makes it difficult to look away.
Annanotices something startling—Alangus Thrune’s outfit incorporates, among his unwieldy amount of “adventuring equipment,” The Theater card, tucked into one of the many belt straps that adorn his leather armor.
Natalya seems quite impressed by the whole thing - even having known her for only a few days its clear to all her companions that she will neither know, nor care, about the history of the play. The lighting and the fake snow though completely enchant her and the look on her face is the innocent wonder of a child.
Clearly she is going to be of no use what-so-ever unless given clear instructions!
Anna's lips curl up into a smile as she watches the performance.
"I managed to get a role in Frazi's The Blacksmith a couple of years ago," she says quietly to the others, her eyes remaining glued on the stage below them. "I really wanted to play Constanta, but I'm sure you can imagine how little of a chance I had." The character of Constanta in Frazi's seminal work is described as a tall, willowy woman with flowing crimson locks. "The part was small, but so am I. That I was on the stage was all that mattered. It was amazing."
Her wonder fades to focus when she spots their target, tucked into the belt of the lead character.
"And there's the card we need," she continues, her tone indicating that she's ready to work. A small hand points out the card to the others. "So do we wait until the break and snatch it backstage or try for something really daring?"
Dimitrie listens to Anna's reminiscence with a fond smile, appreciating the glimpse into her past. As she points out the Theater card on Alangus Thrune's belt, he shifts his attention to the task at hand.
"It's quite a sight, isn't it?" he says, acknowledging Natalya's enchantment with the performance. "But we're here for a reason."
He contemplates Anna's suggestion for a moment. "Snatching it backstage might be the safer option, but..."
His mind starts digging into the possibilities of what it would take to do it while the show is happening. "We could attempt to steal it during the performance itself. It would require precise timing and coordination. What did you have in mind?"
The halfling ponders for a moment.
"Check me if I'm wrong, but we probably don't want to just blunder on down there. Subtlety should be our operational mode." She looks out over the audience.
"If some of us could create a distraction, I could probably literally swoop in and snatch our prize before anyone was wise to what's going on." She winks at Dimitrie and gives her cloak a meaningful tug. "I can be really small if the need requires it."
"I can fly over and take it." Natalya offers. "I can do it sneaky so no-one sees me too."
The air warps around the kineticist as she lifts into the air and then simply vanishes from sight.
"Distraction. I'm on it." Dimitrie says, shrugging off his pack and leaving it with the others. "I'm going to tell that cardholder a joke, and he's going to find it very funny. You should be able to snatch it from him after I deliver the punchline."
He uses his own invisibility spell and moves downstairs and towards the stage. He gives Natalya time to get into position and then pops out of invisibility on stage!
At first, he applauds the efforts of the cast, clapping his hands loudly and whistling as loudly as he can. Once he's sufficiently caused a distraction to stop the show, he holds up his hands and says "Forgive me, I could not miss the opportunity to tell this joke I heard about linorms!"
He turns towards the cardholder and tells a magical joke. "Why did the linnorm start a bakery business? Because it wanted to make some dough before it was turned into toast!"
You tell a magical joke and infect a target with laughter that spreads to those nearby. The first time you Sustain the Spell each round, you can target another creature you can see that is within 30 feet of an affected target. The new target need not be able to see or hear the affected target, as the humor spreads magically. You can't target the same creature more than once with this spell.
Critical Success The target is unaffected.
Success The target begins giggling and can't use reactions.
Failure The target is slowed 1 and can't use reactions.
Critical Failure The target falls prone and can't use actions or reactions for 1 round. It then suffers the failure effect.
The audience gasps and cries out as Dimitrie makes his dramatic arrival on the stage. The actors pause mid-sentence to stare at you with wide eyes.
Dimitrie tells his joke, and the actor playing Alangus Thrune suddenly bursts into laughter! He falls to the stage, cackling and rolling about with mirth. Thus distracted, it is a simple matter for the still-invisible Natalya to pluck the Harrow card from the man's belt!
Natalya retreats back to the balcony with her prize and presents the card to Elanna with a flourish.
"Ta da!" She says, "Shall we do another door?"
Elanna accepts the card with a slightly awkward smile and nods her agreement.
"Of course. How about the Arch of Stars?"
Since this door was dealt with without a fight she feels reasonable about tracking down the next card, even if there is almost certainly a hag involved.
"Sounds like a plan!" Natalya agrees cheerfully. The first job went very well and her plan was perfect - exactly as things should be! She whistles a jaunty and surprisingly birdlike tune as she follows the thiefling champion.
When you are ready, you step through the Arch of Stars. You find yourselves in an area of hills covered with scrub and short grasses poking up between patches of earth laced with the remnants of past snowstorms. An ancient road leads away to the east. Looking to the west, you see that you have appeared at the end of the road: no trace of it continuing further west remains.
You begin to travel down the road, but you don't make it very far before you see plumes of dust indicating the approach of horses. As they draw closer, though, it becomes obvious that they are not horses, but centaurs! Six of them approach you cautiously, hands out and smiles on their faces. Their leader is a short and stocky centaur with bright orange hair in a braided coil on the top of her head. She wears a breastplate covered with a repeating pattern of interwoven vines.
She calls out in the Fey tongue, and Dimitrie is able to provide a translation: "Well met, wanderers! I am Rohrry Gray-Eyes. You are in the home of the Stone Teeth tribe. What brings you to our lands?"
Natalya examines the centaurs with curiosity - they seem very unusual to her and she's interested. She leaves the chatting to someone else though, ideally someone who can actually speak their language.
She does smile and wave though.