More Goblins? Horatio looks for a moment at the pair in tights, then moves towards the Lost and Found. Hesitantly, he interrupts the play between the large feline creature and the two boys.
"Eh... excuse me? Do... do you work here? I need to speak to someone regarding something taken from me..."
Having given the goblin a button, Ben waits briefly to see what the ladybug would do, though he expects nothing but a smile...
Seeing the tree shed its shining seeds, Ben tries to catch one if he can. Not the swiftest of guys, he nevertheless tries his best.
Dexterity Check to catch a seed: 12
Catching the seed or not, he accepts a dandelion from the squirrel and makes his own wish:
I wish I could remember what it is I lost.
When the opportunity to wrestle comes about, Ben's eyes light up and he takes up the challenge. Fortune may or may not be with him, but he feels better equipped for this particular challenge.
Athletics to Wrestle: 11
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
The sycamore seeds do not interest Alyeira - she has caught them many times before, and the novelty has long since worn off. Instead, she grins in delight as the squirrel hands Matilda a dandelion. "Quickly, make a wish! But don't tell anyone, or it won't come true."
He can tell by the mouse's wilted expression that his joke had hit harder than intended. "No, Sir Mouse, the fault is mine. I shouldn't mock someone for being zealous in their duties, and while the carnival seems all fun and games to us, I'm sure you get a number of unsavory troublemakers looking to take advantage of strangers."
"We can wait on the treats; my friends here are anxious to get to the Lost Items tent. I'm Cadwallader, by the way -- Cad, to those who know me. May I ask for your name?"
The mouse gives another bow. "I am Prince Colin. And I should remember the calling of my birthright, with patience as a key virtue."
The sycamore seeds do not interest Alyeira - she has caught them many times before, and the novelty has long since worn off. Instead, she grins in delight as the squirrel hands Matilda a dandelion. "Quickly, make a wish! But don't tell anyone, or it won't come true."
Matilda has her sights fixed ahead but Alyeira's words force her to stop and take note of the offered flower.
She took it carefully, " Thankyou."
She thought for a moment then made her wish.
Then she looked up at Alyeira, " I'm sorry I'm not being as fun as other children.....but this is important. And all this...", she waved her hand at the carnival. " ..isn't".
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Ben catches the spinning seed. (Roll: 3)
... (He gains the following personality trait until dawn: “I am easily amused.” Any conflicting character trait is suppressed in the meantime.)
Perhaps emboldened by catching the seed, Ben accepts the wrestling challenge, which turns out to be a match against two goblins, simultaneously. (Although he only has to pin one.) Fortunately, neither look particularly strong. The match begins immediately on a patch of grass next to the stall.
11 vs contesting goblin check (both together): 18
... but Ben fails to pin either. The dwarf punches Ben's ticket. "Sorry, pal. Nice moves! Try again?" (Ben, of course, is easily amused tonight.)
- - -
Meanwhile, Horatio approaches the large, tentacled cat and his companions. One boy squeals, “Again, Dirla, again!” while the other hangs onto the creature’s neck.
"Yes," replies the cat, somewhat distracted by the boys. "What did you lose?"
- - -
Alyeira and Matilda approach the ticket-taker at the Hall of Illusions:
(BTW write down that wish somewhere, but you don't need to share it. It may take a small part in the story much later.)
Cad pays no mind to the seeds but does accept a dandelion from the squirrel. He removes a book bound in tooled green leather and carefully presses the dandelion between two pages near the back. "I'm not sure just yet what to wish for, but I'd hate to pass up a free wish," he tells the squirrel.
He watches in delight as Ben wrestled the goblins, and guffaws when the big man is overwhelmed. Then he trails the others toward the Lost Items booth, still curious about the mysterious robed figure. (Perception: 9) He completely forgets both the mystery figure and the noblemouse as he takes in the talking, tentacled panther-beast that is apparently in charge of babysitting lost children.
"Primrose, quickly," Bob whispers to his faithful companion. "Naw, look 'ere - we've a report of one missin' person, right? An', an', naw we 'ave a bloke claimin' to 'ave los' an item." Primrose stares blankly at the tiny Kenku, patiently waiting for him to come to his conclusion.
"Why, it's simple, isn't it?"Bob starts. "This item could be anything... even,"he lowers his voice, "an incendiary device."
On that bombshell, so to speak, Bob moves toward Horatio. "Come, come Primrose, we must not stand idly by."
"'Ere mate, wha's all this 'bout a missin' item?"Bob asks Horatio gruffly. "I mean can you describe it to me," he adds politely. "A-a-also,"Bob hoped that Colin was listening in on this conversation, he may well need his muscle in case anything 'went down'. "Does it explode at all? The question is purely academic, of course."
Bob's hands, shaking at the potential answer, move cautiously to his satchel.
The beauty of the falling seeds catches Edgardo's eye. He snatches at the closest one. (DEX 13)
"What did you lose?" Those words. Why did they hold such weight in Edgardo's mind. The squeaky voice speaks up again. "What do you mean? How did you know?" The questions coming at a frantic pace. "Do you have it? How could you tell through this cloak?" As quick as the questions were, the doffing of the cloak was quicker. Two grey ears the size of a grown mans shoe flick up from under the cowl. With a twist the cloak is flying away from a now exposed rabbit-folk. Edgardo spins on his heels again and again. It almost looks as though he's trying to watch his own backside - an act that causes some of the onlookers to begin to laugh. This makes the haregon spin even faster. "Can you see it? Is it back?"
After catching the seed, Ben feels a surge of mirth, quickly taking his turn with the dandelion and jumping at the first challenge that presented itself. Normally wrestling with goblins—two against one at that—one time would be plenty, but somehow he finds the idea of a rematch intriguing.
In reply to the cat-like creature's inquiry, Horatio begins to pull something from his bag.
As the one called Bob begins his questioning it might seem as though Horatio is pulling such a thing from the bag. He instead produces a small finely polished steel mirror.
"Nothing like that. Look, the last time I was here my reflection was taken from me." He holds the mirror adjacent to his face, facing the cat-creature, then Bob and the others.
"I think it happened in the hall of mirrors. It is part of some evil curse. Since that day, the people in my life have also begun to disappear... even my dog."
Bob lets out a deep breath, relieved to still be in one piece. "Oh boy!" he declares after hearing of Horatio's odd predicament. "Primrose? Primrose? It seems this gentleman does not wish to annihilate the Carnival and all whose currently located within..." he stops himself short. "Wos all this 'bout losin' yer reflection, mate?"
Delving into his satchel, Bob holds up all sorts of reflective odds and ends near Horatio. "Well I be,"he gasps in disbelief. "Your family and dog also vanished?" Bob lets out a shrill whistle. "Hate to think what I'd do without Dunstable here," he says, patting his clockwork bird on the head... it does not react.
Holding a feathered hand up to his beak, Bob contemplates potential fixes to Horatio's problems. "Beggin' yer pardon, sir. But mayhaps," he pauses, "and do not take this the wrong way... a mask might help you with your reflect-ta-tory issues.Why.Giz us a bitta time an' I reck'n I could fix y' a migh'y han'some iron mask. You'd be the man in the iron..." Spotting Primrose's glare, Bob stops mid-sentence. "Or, face-paint, perhaps? Have you tried that at all?"
Horatio's features darken, his eyes flash with anger and his teenage voice becomes shrill with a wellspring of pent up emotion.
"A mask? Face paint? You people stole my reflection from me when I was a child! You cursed me - as a child - and your curse stole the people I love. My brothers, my mom... now my dad is slipping away! And you make light of it? What is wrong with you people? Don't you have any shame? Don't you care how evil this place is?"
He begins physically shaking, tears coming down his cheeks, fist clenched as he instinctually squares his shoulders at the strange bird-man. The tone changes from exasperated anger to shock. "Give it back... just... give it back... Why won't you give it back?" He's staring at Bob, unsure what to do, but prepared to fight if he must.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Quite taken aback by Horatio's outburst, Bob nervously fidgets. His voice turns into that of a frightened child, "N-n-not at all mister. Bob didn't mean any harm by it... it's only that Bob likes to think practically about these things." He shoots a nervous look at Primrose.
"P-perhaps, well maybe we could help you find your reflection,"he says, his eyes glistening. "Can't have wandered off too far, could it?"
"Naw, le's 'ave a look in 'ere...I wonder what type of gizmo one needs for finding a reflection." Bob muses. "D-d-don't you worry mister, we'll find it soon enough an' you'll be right as rain, you'll see!"
Thinking quickly, Bob tries to recall any previous stories of Carnival patrons experiencing bizarre side-effects such as losing their reflection; History: 4
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Edgardo manages to catch a spinning seed, before the tree and its tiny pilot lumber onward. (Roll: 8)
... (Like Ben, Edgardo gains the following personality trait until dawn: “I am easily amused.” Any conflicting character trait is suppressed in the meantime.)
Ben punches his ticket a second time to try again with the goblin wrestlers: 12 vs contesting goblin check (both together): 7
...but once again the slippery goblins manage to evade Ben's attempt to pin one. "Another good match, my friend," crows the dwarf. "I predict success will come on your third attempt! Good things come in threes."
The big cat seems only half paying attention to Horatio; the two boys, while young, are rather rowdy. But then he nods sadly and cautions, quietly, "Some things go missing from the Witchlight Carnival and never come back."
The big cat seems only half paying attention to Horatio; the two boys, while young, are rather rowdy. But then he nods sadly and cautions, quietly, "Some things go missing from the Witchlight Carnival and never come back."
Horatio turns around and faces the cat-creature, his posture uncertain, his voice still an emotional mixture of boy and man. "What does that mean? If it can be taken it can be give back, right? You have to help me!... you have to..." He looks around with a searching expression for someone - anyone - who'll help. He sees the wrestling Goblins and their Dwarven handler, the other carnival goers, the clueless Kenku, and the seemingly uninterested cat-creature. Everyone is going about their day as if nothing is wrong.
He then turns and looks at the others from outside the carnival.
He wipes the tears from his cheek, takes a few deep breathes, then addresses them. His voice finally calm again. "I'm not the only one, am I? All of you lost something... or something was taken from you. I'm right, aren't I? We're here. We came back here and now we have to try to get those things back. I'll help you if you help me."
About to try for a third time with the wrestling goblins, Ben hears Horacio’s plea and suddenly finds another item interesting him. Still sweating from his last bout, he trundles over and asks, “Horatio, you seem upset — have they offered to help you find what you lost? I know I lost something too, but I can’t remember what it is—I just know I can’t light fires for some reason, isn’t that strange?”
Somehow finding this amusing, he chuckles and says, “Well, no better time than the present to solve a mystery. Where do we start?”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Things have taken a weird turn very quickly. Normally-stolid Ben wrestling goblins, Horatio near hysterics about losing his reflection -- how? He finally sees the hooded figure is just that haregon, Edgardo, but he's spinning in circles like a dog chasing its tail. Being threatened by a mouse prince -- Didn't know mice had royalty. Always seemed too unassuming and sensible to come up with that. A strange talking panther playing with children. And worst of all, he'd been so distracted by the chaos and his own nerves that he hadn't said a thing when a stranger led that girl away, just let her wander off! He gives his head a shake, then silently pulls out his book, removes the dandelion, and puffs the downy seeds into the air.
"Okay," he says to no one and everyone. "There's a whole lot of craziness going on right now. Maybe we should all pause, take a deep breath, and try to focus." He demonstrates by filling his lungs up with as much air as they will hold, then sighing it out. "It's true, I did lose something here, and I'd love to get it back. But it was just a book, not anything like my reflection. And it was 48 years ago, so I'm not holding out much hope. Why don't you tell us about how you lost your reflection and we'll see if we can figure out where to look for it." Even as he says the words they sound like nonsense. Where to look for a reflection? A mirror, a still pond, anything shiny really. "And you -- Edgardo! What are you doing? Don't tell me -- you lost your shadow?"
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
More Goblins? Horatio looks for a moment at the pair in tights, then moves towards the Lost and Found. Hesitantly, he interrupts the play between the large feline creature and the two boys.
"Eh... excuse me? Do... do you work here? I need to speak to someone regarding something taken from me..."
Ben:
Having given the goblin a button, Ben waits briefly to see what the ladybug would do, though he expects nothing but a smile...
Seeing the tree shed its shining seeds, Ben tries to catch one if he can. Not the swiftest of guys, he nevertheless tries his best.
Dexterity Check to catch a seed: 12
Catching the seed or not, he accepts a dandelion from the squirrel and makes his own wish:
I wish I could remember what it is I lost.
When the opportunity to wrestle comes about, Ben's eyes light up and he takes up the challenge. Fortune may or may not be with him, but he feels better equipped for this particular challenge.
Athletics to Wrestle: 11
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
The sycamore seeds do not interest Alyeira - she has caught them many times before, and the novelty has long since worn off. Instead, she grins in delight as the squirrel hands Matilda a dandelion. "Quickly, make a wish! But don't tell anyone, or it won't come true."
The mouse gives another bow. "I am Prince Colin. And I should remember the calling of my birthright, with patience as a key virtue."
Paladin - warforged - orange
Matilda has her sights fixed ahead but Alyeira's words force her to stop and take note of the offered flower.
She took it carefully, " Thankyou."
She thought for a moment then made her wish.
Then she looked up at Alyeira, " I'm sorry I'm not being as fun as other children.....but this is important. And all this...", she waved her hand at the carnival. " ..isn't".
Ben catches the spinning seed. (Roll: 3)
... (He gains the following personality trait until dawn: “I am easily amused.” Any conflicting character trait is suppressed in the meantime.)
Perhaps emboldened by catching the seed, Ben accepts the wrestling challenge, which turns out to be a match against two goblins, simultaneously. (Although he only has to pin one.) Fortunately, neither look particularly strong. The match begins immediately on a patch of grass next to the stall.
11 vs contesting goblin check (both together): 18
... but Ben fails to pin either. The dwarf punches Ben's ticket. "Sorry, pal. Nice moves! Try again?" (Ben, of course, is easily amused tonight.)
- - -
Meanwhile, Horatio approaches the large, tentacled cat and his companions. One boy squeals, “Again, Dirla, again!” while the other hangs onto the creature’s neck.
"Yes," replies the cat, somewhat distracted by the boys. "What did you lose?"
- - -
Alyeira and Matilda approach the ticket-taker at the Hall of Illusions:
(BTW write down that wish somewhere, but you don't need to share it. It may take a small part in the story much later.)
Cadwallader:
Cad pays no mind to the seeds but does accept a dandelion from the squirrel. He removes a book bound in tooled green leather and carefully presses the dandelion between two pages near the back. "I'm not sure just yet what to wish for, but I'd hate to pass up a free wish," he tells the squirrel.
He watches in delight as Ben wrestled the goblins, and guffaws when the big man is overwhelmed. Then he trails the others toward the Lost Items booth, still curious about the mysterious robed figure. (Perception: 9) He completely forgets both the mystery figure and the noblemouse as he takes in the talking, tentacled panther-beast that is apparently in charge of babysitting lost children.
"Primrose, quickly," Bob whispers to his faithful companion. "Naw, look 'ere - we've a report of one missin' person, right? An', an', naw we 'ave a bloke claimin' to 'ave los' an item." Primrose stares blankly at the tiny Kenku, patiently waiting for him to come to his conclusion.
"Why, it's simple, isn't it?" Bob starts. "This item could be anything... even," he lowers his voice, "an incendiary device."
On that bombshell, so to speak, Bob moves toward Horatio. "Come, come Primrose, we must not stand idly by."
"'Ere mate, wha's all this 'bout a missin' item?" Bob asks Horatio gruffly. "I mean can you describe it to me," he adds politely. "A-a-also," Bob hoped that Colin was listening in on this conversation, he may well need his muscle in case anything 'went down'. "Does it explode at all? The question is purely academic, of course."
Bob's hands, shaking at the potential answer, move cautiously to his satchel.
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Edgardo
The beauty of the falling seeds catches Edgardo's eye. He snatches at the closest one. (DEX 13)
"What did you lose?" Those words. Why did they hold such weight in Edgardo's mind. The squeaky voice speaks up again. "What do you mean? How did you know?" The questions coming at a frantic pace. "Do you have it? How could you tell through this cloak?" As quick as the questions were, the doffing of the cloak was quicker. Two grey ears the size of a grown mans shoe flick up from under the cowl. With a twist the cloak is flying away from a now exposed rabbit-folk. Edgardo spins on his heels again and again. It almost looks as though he's trying to watch his own backside - an act that causes some of the onlookers to begin to laugh. This makes the haregon spin even faster. "Can you see it? Is it back?"
Ben:
After catching the seed, Ben feels a surge of mirth, quickly taking his turn with the dandelion and jumping at the first challenge that presented itself. Normally wrestling with goblins—two against one at that—one time would be plenty, but somehow he finds the idea of a rematch intriguing.
10% chance something else amusing distracts him: 47
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Ben:
”Yes! I’m just getting warmed up!” responds Ben as he cracks his knuckles and figures if he can just focus on one goblin he should be able to pin it!
Athletics: 18
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
In reply to the cat-like creature's inquiry, Horatio begins to pull something from his bag.
As the one called Bob begins his questioning it might seem as though Horatio is pulling such a thing from the bag. He instead produces a small finely polished steel mirror.
"Nothing like that. Look, the last time I was here my reflection was taken from me." He holds the mirror adjacent to his face, facing the cat-creature, then Bob and the others.
"I think it happened in the hall of mirrors. It is part of some evil curse. Since that day, the people in my life have also begun to disappear... even my dog."
Bob lets out a deep breath, relieved to still be in one piece. "Oh boy!" he declares after hearing of Horatio's odd predicament. "Primrose? Primrose? It seems this gentleman does not wish to annihilate the Carnival and all whose currently located within..." he stops himself short. "Wos all this 'bout losin' yer reflection, mate?"
Delving into his satchel, Bob holds up all sorts of reflective odds and ends near Horatio. "Well I be," he gasps in disbelief. "Your family and dog also vanished?" Bob lets out a shrill whistle. "Hate to think what I'd do without Dunstable here," he says, patting his clockwork bird on the head... it does not react.
Holding a feathered hand up to his beak, Bob contemplates potential fixes to Horatio's problems. "Beggin' yer pardon, sir. But mayhaps," he pauses, "and do not take this the wrong way... a mask might help you with your reflect-ta-tory issues. Why. Giz us a bitta time an' I reck'n I could fix y' a migh'y han'some iron mask. You'd be the man in the iron..." Spotting Primrose's glare, Bob stops mid-sentence. "Or, face-paint, perhaps? Have you tried that at all?"
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Horatio's features darken, his eyes flash with anger and his teenage voice becomes shrill with a wellspring of pent up emotion.
"A mask? Face paint? You people stole my reflection from me when I was a child! You cursed me - as a child - and your curse stole the people I love. My brothers, my mom... now my dad is slipping away! And you make light of it? What is wrong with you people? Don't you have any shame? Don't you care how evil this place is?"
He begins physically shaking, tears coming down his cheeks, fist clenched as he instinctually squares his shoulders at the strange bird-man. The tone changes from exasperated anger to shock. "Give it back... just... give it back... Why won't you give it back?" He's staring at Bob, unsure what to do, but prepared to fight if he must.
Quite taken aback by Horatio's outburst, Bob nervously fidgets. His voice turns into that of a frightened child, "N-n-not at all mister. Bob didn't mean any harm by it... it's only that Bob likes to think practically about these things." He shoots a nervous look at Primrose.
"P-perhaps, well maybe we could help you find your reflection," he says, his eyes glistening. "Can't have wandered off too far, could it?"
"Naw, le's 'ave a look in 'ere... I wonder what type of gizmo one needs for finding a reflection." Bob muses. "D-d-don't you worry mister, we'll find it soon enough an' you'll be right as rain, you'll see!"
Thinking quickly, Bob tries to recall any previous stories of Carnival patrons experiencing bizarre side-effects such as losing their reflection; History: 4
DM - The Call of Strahd (CoS); Feyrealm Campaign, Chapter 0 - Bleak Prospect (BP), Chapter 1 - Destination Unknown (DU)
Edgardo manages to catch a spinning seed, before the tree and its tiny pilot lumber onward. (Roll: 8)
... (Like Ben, Edgardo gains the following personality trait until dawn: “I am easily amused.” Any conflicting character trait is suppressed in the meantime.)
Ben punches his ticket a second time to try again with the goblin wrestlers:
12 vs contesting goblin check (both together): 7
...but once again the slippery goblins manage to evade Ben's attempt to pin one. "Another good match, my friend," crows the dwarf. "I predict success will come on your third attempt! Good things come in threes."
The big cat seems only half paying attention to Horatio; the two boys, while young, are rather rowdy. But then he nods sadly and cautions, quietly, "Some things go missing from the Witchlight Carnival and never come back."
Colin nods coolly to the big tentacled cat and avoids sudden movements.
Paladin - warforged - orange
Horatio turns around and faces the cat-creature, his posture uncertain, his voice still an emotional mixture of boy and man. "What does that mean? If it can be taken it can be give back, right? You have to help me!... you have to..." He looks around with a searching expression for someone - anyone - who'll help. He sees the wrestling Goblins and their Dwarven handler, the other carnival goers, the clueless Kenku, and the seemingly uninterested cat-creature. Everyone is going about their day as if nothing is wrong.
He then turns and looks at the others from outside the carnival.
He wipes the tears from his cheek, takes a few deep breathes, then addresses them. His voice finally calm again. "I'm not the only one, am I? All of you lost something... or something was taken from you. I'm right, aren't I? We're here. We came back here and now we have to try to get those things back. I'll help you if you help me."
Ben:
About to try for a third time with the wrestling goblins, Ben hears Horacio’s plea and suddenly finds another item interesting him. Still sweating from his last bout, he trundles over and asks, “Horatio, you seem upset — have they offered to help you find what you lost? I know I lost something too, but I can’t remember what it is—I just know I can’t light fires for some reason, isn’t that strange?”
Somehow finding this amusing, he chuckles and says, “Well, no better time than the present to solve a mystery. Where do we start?”
Gerrard Feldren - Human Noble in Ghosts of Saltmarsh
Kerric Brightblade - Elven Warrior in "Apocalypse"
Cadwallader:
Things have taken a weird turn very quickly. Normally-stolid Ben wrestling goblins, Horatio near hysterics about losing his reflection -- how? He finally sees the hooded figure is just that haregon, Edgardo, but he's spinning in circles like a dog chasing its tail. Being threatened by a mouse prince -- Didn't know mice had royalty. Always seemed too unassuming and sensible to come up with that. A strange talking panther playing with children. And worst of all, he'd been so distracted by the chaos and his own nerves that he hadn't said a thing when a stranger led that girl away, just let her wander off! He gives his head a shake, then silently pulls out his book, removes the dandelion, and puffs the downy seeds into the air.
"Okay," he says to no one and everyone. "There's a whole lot of craziness going on right now. Maybe we should all pause, take a deep breath, and try to focus." He demonstrates by filling his lungs up with as much air as they will hold, then sighing it out. "It's true, I did lose something here, and I'd love to get it back. But it was just a book, not anything like my reflection. And it was 48 years ago, so I'm not holding out much hope. Why don't you tell us about how you lost your reflection and we'll see if we can figure out where to look for it." Even as he says the words they sound like nonsense. Where to look for a reflection? A mirror, a still pond, anything shiny really. "And you -- Edgardo! What are you doing? Don't tell me -- you lost your shadow?"