Session 2-4: The Two Evils
Activity Log: A danger delayed to deal with the danger that is present
General Summary
Our trip further north along the lake’s edge was uneventful. We were all still very vary of the work Horick had taken on regarding the Midnight Circus being attacked by a group of Locklanders; in my time with him, he had rarely kept his thoughts and feelings hidden on any subject. He was blunt to a fault. However, he had steadily become more secretive since starting his tenure with the MacMurdaugh Hotel under the employ of its Night Manager. We decided we’d rather keep an eye on him instead of letting him go it alone, in some sliver of hope that we could discover a way out of his compact. Phyrae continued to try and communicate with us about her community and the potential trouble it might be in. We had taken with us in order to return her to the spot where the crew of the Prospero first captured her to allow her to make her way home, as she had been shunted from each of the places in Ghal Pelor we’d hope would give her refuge. My elven could only pick up one of every ten words at best, so it continued to be difficult to speak to her in more than simplistic phrases. As I kept watch during the evening, something bumped noisily against our bow. Going to the side, we find a small row boat in poor condition with what looked like an aged halfling sprawled within. Tying myself to our vessel and braced by the others, I got to the halfling’s side and discovered it to be a river halfling from his tattoos and clothing. He was alive, but barely. I took him and his meager belongings aboard where TK checked him briefly, declaring him to be unwounded but very weak from dehydration and hunger. Carefully giving him some food and water, he was able to come conscious long enough to start speaking in his tongue, which none of us knew. I looked over his clothes and found them to be weathered but otherwise the garb of someone that spent much time outdoors, possibly adventuring; This seemed off considering his apparent age. After trying several other languages, Horick and I discovered he could speak some dwarven. We asked him what had happened, and he weakly spoke the words “They take time” several times. TK and Cojitron went through his belongings to see if anything would shed light on this mystery, though not before I had checked his pack for traps, and discovered a strange, ticking box with a crank on the side. It was a child’s toy, with the Midnight Circus written on the side. Magically identifying it, TK discovered it was indeed “taking time” away, even in its current closed state, if too much time in its proximity is spent. The actual owner of the jack in the box was doomed to be cursed until all time had been siphoned from them. TK quickly put the box in the bag and tossed it on the rowboat to keep it from affecting us. The halfling was eventually able to tell that his name is Alferd Dustmouth, from the village of Jaepshun. Many of his people didn’t come back, and he implored us to help them. He wasn’t strong enough to elaborate on what had happened before falling back into unconsciousness. It would be easy to suspect that they had been attacked by Lockland raiders, many of whom launched such ventures to take slaves that could wield magic to turn into their thralls. Given how many powerful enemies the river halflings had due to their fight to preserve nature, they would make easy targets if you could find them. However, given the devilish device we found on Alferd and the dubious nature of the Midnight Circus from rare fables I had read, we knew the story to be much more sinister than even the hateful Locklanders could conjure. We reach shore indicated by Horick within a short amount of time and to our surprise, discover the tiny hamlet of Jaepshun. The fisherman, dismayed by our request to remain here for at least a day for us before making off in his boat, grudgingly agrees to do so. We ask Phyrae, who eyed the halfling and gestured to her dagger, possibly in an attempt to put him out of his misery, to watch the boat and protect the other two. Though disappointed, she agrees to do so. We prepare ourselves and march in. Jaepshun is not more than several thatch roofed huts and maybe two slightly larger structures, one of which looked to be a tavern of some kind. The village was dead silent. No tracks leading away from the village that were fresh, no signs of struggle. I gave a thorough look around the perimeter and found nothing unusual. They had truly vanished into thin air. The four of us spy campfires several hundred feet from Jaepshun, and we moved stealthily nearer in order to find out their origin. We do not have to get too close before we find that there is a flag to denote this to be a Lockland encampment. The design of it also told us that it was the personal flag of one Lockland’s Lord Chaplains; the force here would be formidable. We spy a few guards posted around the edge of their encampment, and, given our less than human backgrounds, decide that Cojitron, being a “mere” clanker tool, and I disguising my elven heritage, would infiltrate the camp and discover what they were doing and if the Midnight Circus had indeed run afoul of them. Horick and TK would standby and search around the area close to their camp. After applying some stage makeup and rounding my ears, I glamour a set of clothing befitting a Rylan administrator, and Cojitron and I approach the guards. They immediately halt our progress and I convincingly play the part of a Ryland logging commissioner here to survey the area to expand operations. I asked to speak with their Chaplain, whom they identify as Eckahrt Von Rodham. They escort us to his large pavilion. In the meantime, it is not long after we had disappeared into the encampment that Horick and TK ran into company of their own, a painted Tengu made up like a clown strapped with several sharp instruments including a cleaver. Introducing themselves as Dream Catcher, he confirms that he is from the Midnight Circus after Horick tells him they are the hired help come to deal with the Locklanders. He leads them to a small tent that houses what seemingly remain of the Circus folk that hadn’t been captured. Ferrick, a large Frostmerite animal tamer, tells Horick that their Ringmaster, Cavendish, was among the captured and they were planning an attempt to break them free. Among the others are the disquieting painted gnome twins, Ceero and Manix and the cheerful clanker food preparer Dorothy. They lacked the weapons to mount even a token effort, so Horick was happy to share what spares we had brought with us. Once Cojitron and I are in the Chaplain’s tent, we find Von Rodham, easily identifiable with his full armor and regalia, as well as his weapon of office, an ornate Warhammer, at a table in the center. Three other guards watch us as he beckons us to sit. He pours wine, while I take in that around the tent were several large cages housing odd people that must be the circus performers. Von Rodham is cautiously pleased that “civilized” folk had wandered to this location, and I continue my ruse of looking to expand logging into this area, not knowing that Lockland had presence here. He claims that they had annexed this territory and would turn it into a settlement in due time, and that any contracts from Ryland would be done through them, which he was more than happy to begin here with me. I carefully turn the conversation towards what had happened in this area, as the guards were very reticent to share this outside, and Von Rodham explained that they were about to sweep the river halflings from Jaepshun but had instead found the village completely empty as we had. In its place, they discovered a “magical plague”, which I took to mean the Midnight Circus’s activities, and took to subduing them and imprisoning them. Von Rodham’s clear disdain for the chaotic nature of magic not wielded by the purebloods of old Balmoral but instead by non-humans punctuated that they planned to bring their prisoners back to Lockland for research and their own nefarious use. They would not survive the ordeal, most like. I feigned concern in my role for other such magical dangers in the area and the Chaplain assured me they had everything under control. Cojitron scanned the tent and found a single cage at the far end, which housed whom we could only assume to be the Ringmaster Cavendish. I proposed that we begin preliminary contract negotiations and Von Rodham agreed to do so, going to his things to procure a template. I asked if it would be ok to observe the circus prisoners, and he warned to keep a certain distance should I choose to do so. The circus performers were a strange bunch, some eerie and all forlorn in their imprisonment. Cojitron examined the cages and found magical runes on them; they would not be open except with the right key or the right spell. At one of the cages, I spied a familiar face I had not seen for a few years, and even then but the once at New Sanctuary, the storyteller Imme', in a costume of royalty fit for the stage. If there was one thing I was overqualified for, was in keeping a façade that would not betray itself. I approached and signed to her, hoping to catch her attention. If she understood my question of “do you remember me? How came you here?” she didn’t show it. She instead smiled and asked if she knew me. I observed her carefully; her face showed a hint of recognition but little beyond that. I signed back that we would help her. From behind her a multi armed woman with mouths ending in each hand approached and whispered that we must save her, and to prioritize her escape above all else. She introduces herself as Alice, and though she tries to hold our attention, I move on to a different cage lest we arouse suspicion. We move deliberately but carefully to the last cage, where inside was a strange man that made my hair stand on end. I sign if he is the Ringmaster, and, though not to my surprise, he signed back with fingers moving unnaturally for one that appeared human, confirmed this. Ringmaster Cavendish asked if we worked for the partners. I denied this and only revealed that we were accompanying one that had been hired to aid them. Pleased with this revelation, he claimed that they would not survive the trip to Lockland if we did not help them to escape. I told him that we would help, and if any reluctance was relayed by my signing, Cavendish did not react to it, but first I asked about the river halflings of Jaepshun. Cavendish said that they were customers that got the entertainment they paid for and that they were where they belonged now. I insisted they freed whatever pact they made with the Circus in exchange for our help, and after informing us that this was generally just not done and that they would return to a life of mundanity, which I tried to ignore for the fiendish pablum it was, Cavendish agreed with our terms. Outside, Horick and TK finished arming the performers, sans Dreamcatcher who already had sharp tools. Without much of a tactical plan, they charged the perimeter guard, which was made up of six guards backed up by two crossbowmen. They were taken off guard by the garish display, especially when TK cast a web into their midst and ensnared many of the patrolling guards. The first exchange was a gruesome and unorganized mess, and Horick and the others were able to cut down a couple of the Locklanders while they found against their restrained legs. The ones unaffected made their way over and the battle was joined. A minute or so of furious combat saw half the guards cut down and several badly burned by Horick using Dorothy’s built in hot oil dispenser (for making fairground treats) to cover the hapless men with the scorching liquid. The fight began to turn somewhat, however, as several reinforcements arrived and they surrounded and badly injured Ferrick and the painted twins. Inside the tent, a messenger arrived and whispered to Chaplain Von Rodham what was happening outside. Cojitron and I edged closer and I overheard them wondering whether our appearance was a coincidence or if we were in league with the attackers. Seeing us, I asked what had happened and Von Rodham in that moment decided to ask if Cojitron, whom I dubbed “Chopper”, was capable of combat considering I would need protection on the road. They played their part perfectly, exclaiming the they were very formidable indeed. I myself revealed that I had some combat experience as the roads were indeed dangerous. Von Rodham revealed that the remaining uncaptured Circus performers had attacked the camp hoping to free their comrades in a last ditch effort, and asked for our help in subduing them. I put on one last display and asked for a point per captured performer, which he countered with half that amount. I pretended to agree, using that chance to lift the keyring I saw on his belt without him noticing in the excitement of the messenger’s arrival. Satisfied, he drew his Warhammer, sparking to life the magic fire held within, and left the tent with the three guards there with him. We made to follow them outside behind them, though I wandered off and tossed the keys through the bars to Cavendish, reminding him of our agreement. His disturbing happiness as he unlocked the cage unnerving me, he confirmed our bargain and said they would catch up with us outside. Von Rodham moved quickly despite his heavy armor, faster than you would expect, and outpaced his guards. Cojitron took this opportunity to fire a web spell of their own, trapping all three. Confused, they turned around and realized the trap they found themselves in. I myself had disappeared around another tent and removed the glamoured clothing, drawing my bow. Cojitron rather gleefully lobbed a fireball at the Locklanders trapped in her web and badly scorched them. From a hiding spot I took down two of them quickly with arrows while the confused and frightened last guard came face to face with Cojitron, who used a simple spell to finish him off. We made our way over to the main battle. Though Horick, TK and his metal bird held their own quite well, the performers had all been knocked out except for Dorothy, and Von Rodham’s arrival raised the morale of the guards already engaged in the fight. The chaplain, not noticing that his reinforcements did not come with him, began a hate filled monologue against the demihumans standing with the magic plague that was the Midnight Circus. He made to smash Horick with his Warhammer. Cojitron and I arrived just in time to turn the battle in our favor, before they were overwhelmed by the Locklanders. Cojitron threw another fireball and, scattered and surprised by this sudden attack at their rear, made for easy practice for me. Over a dozen Locklanders including the three from earlier lay dead and eventually all that remained was the Chaplain himself. He managed to, with a furious blow, knock out Horick, lighting his body with the flames of his weapon. Before he could finish him off, I snuck behind him and stabbed him near fatally, though not before he retaliated with very painful magic of his own in response. This distraction was enough for Tea Kettle to apply to finishing blow. He fell to the ground cursing us and our tainted blood. Thus came the end of Chaplain Eckhart Von Rodham, faithful to his hate to the end. TK quickly put the fires out from Horick and healed him enough for him to come awake. Cavendish and the other circus captives emerged, congratulating us on a fight well won. Horick revealed himself to be working for the partners on behalf of the hotel, more details were are just learning, and Cavendish gave his gratitude. Honoring his deal to return the halflings to their boring lives, he conjured his ringmaster’s top hat and with that gesture, the halflings stumbled out of their huts as if from nowhere. After gathering their senses, they rejoiced at being freed, as I would expect them to be. I asked Cavendish where they would go next, and he kept annoyingly secretive about it. We suspected that the job offer to Horick entailed allowing them passage to Ghal Pelor, which I hoped wouldn’t be the case but in my heart knew this was the most likely outcome. Cavendish proclaimed that our efforts would not go unrewarded and produced from his hat four strange items. An amulet of a performer’s mask, a bag filled with beans, a ring dwarven belt buckle. We took them warily, and prepared to make our way back to the our fishing boat, glad to be done with this encounter. Before I left, I found my way back to Imme’, who said she wouldn’t go with my because the circus was her home. I told her that’s not what I was trying to do and asked if she really didn’t remember me, which wouldn’t necessarily surprise me. She and her family were busy attempting to leave New Sanctuary, due to their nature I suspect, and I was not the person I am now. I had yet learned to be anything other than invisible to most. She thought for a moment, and after I told her who I was and where we last saw each other, she claimed to remember the boy who was the talentless hack she spoke with before they left. I displayed more expression than I normally would at her words, my eyebrows arching slightly above my otherwise motionless face. She said that my path in Ghal Pelor was pointless and that the people around me did not notice me or recognize my efforts, and that here, in the circus, where she found herself a star of the stage, is where I would belong. I too could find fame. I would imagine those words would normally be painful to someone hoping for kindness from a friend, but I am not wounded by the truth. What disturbed me more than the callousness in her tone was the flicker in her eyes as she spoke things she would have no idea of knowing. My journey was completely unknown to her, as if something was feeding her things about my life. I thought about the cat-like familiar following Horick on occasion from the hotel and became angry that Imme’ might be similarly misguided, but knew I could do nothing for the moment. The somber and kind girl that shared her stories with me seemed far away at that moment, barely a speck in the woman that stood before me now in her finery. I told her I would follow my own path and bid her farewell. I said I would come see her show next change I had, which I suspected would be very soon. A brief sense of regret passed over me for not having immolated Cavendish in his cage when I had the chance, for the stories I read were true; the Midnight Circus traded in souls. The performers were a motley bunch; many were the kind that reveled in their acts, but some likely also were there out of desperation, in pacts that bound them in servitude to whatever partners the Night Manager and Cavendish served. At the boat, we found that Alferd had been restored to youth, and he excitedly thanked us for having freed them. Asking what had happened, he explained that the Circus came to Jaepshun and gave them delights and curiosities that they never knew. Thinking it all a bit of fun, the trap ensnared the whole village, around forty souls, before they knew it. We cautioned that the Locklanders had taken notice of this area, and Alferd mused they would have to move their community. He hailed us as heroes and would welcome them among the Dustmouths from this point on. TK made a slight detour to return the jack in the box, for reasons I can’t fathom, to the painted twins, who had earlier revealed that it was one of their toys. I think he was too frightened to simply dump it in the lake, though now it was to torment yet another soul down the road. Though it is now late, it takes us but a few more hours to reach the shore where Phyrae was taken. In a few last words, she reveals to us that the city she is from is known as the “City of Screams”, and that she would have us help her with their troubles. If ever we returned to this side of the lake, to light a bonfire on this spot and she would come. It took some time to communicate all this, but we told her we would keep this in mind. What the Prospero almost brought to Ghal Pelor is worth being vigilant against. It takes us the better part of a day to return to the city, and, much to the horror but not surprise of Cojitron, Tea Kettle and myself, we find that the spires of the Midnight Circus were being raised as the big top was well being setup within the city. Horick, of course, knew this little detail as part of his assignment, but as usual, we kept our disappointment to ourselves. Well, all except for Cojitron, who was not shy in throwing several expletives out about this development. We were, however, woefully unprepared to deal with the likes of the Circus and the hauntings of the MacMurdaugh, our encounter with the avatar of Strixis notwithstanding. It had not been since the fires of the Many Faced Cult since I had felt such annoyance. Whatever Imme’ had learned about me, it had gotten one thing very very wrong. I cared nothing for fame, and so the temptations of such from the circus were meaningless. I wanted to perform to become me. Selling your soul seemed rather the antithesis of that. The end for now, ~Bayour S.
Rewards Granted
- An unknown amount of Aurins from Horick's employer, the MacMurdaugh Hotel
- A bag of beans that will drain a user's health after the last one is cast and the bag restores itself
- An amulet of a performer's mask that will hide your presence, but also allow a shadowy entity to take control should its stored spells be used
- A mysterious ring
- A dwarven belt buckle that will grant health in exchange for your sense of self
Missions/Quests Completed
- The river halflings of Jaepshun have been freed from the Midnight Circus
- The Lockland incursion has been defeated for now
- Ringmaster Cavendish and the Midnight Circus have been freed, per Horick's mission
Character(s) interacted with
- Alferd Dustmouth, a river halfling aged to infirmity by a cursed Jack in the Box
- Dream Catcher, a tengu mime and juggler
- Ferrick, a Frostmerite animal tamer
- Ceero and Manix, painted gnome twins
- Dorothy, a clanker food preparer
- Eckahrt Von Rodham, Locklander Chaplain
- Cavendish, Ringmaster of the Midnight Circus
- Imme' Llmh, fae actress
Related Reports
Notes
And all who heard should see them there,
And all should cry, Beware! Beware!
His flashing eyes, his floating hair!
Weave a circle round him thrice,
And close your eyes with holy dread
For he on honey-dew hath fed,
And drunk the milk of Paradise.
