"Oh? Ooookay?" Chase replies, surprised. "Huh. That was easier than I expected," she whispers to the others as each of them grab a ticket and a pair of wings. "Thank you very much, Nikolas. Witchlight Monarch? That has nice ring to it. What happens to whoever is crowned? Do they win something?" she asks, her curiosity piqued.

She’s about to reply to Scratch when she notices his ears twitch and his gaze shift behind her. Turning to follow his line of sight, she sees an elf watching them. Wait. Is that... "Illuwen?" she asks. Could he be the fifth recruit Madryck mentioned? Chase’s tail flicks nervously as shame starts to bubble up. How had she not considered this possibility? Worse still, she hadn’t even thought about Illuwen at all until now. The last time they’d seen each other she’d smashed a window with a hammer, and it wasn't exactly a pleasant memory to be remembered by. Chase feels her cheeks flush and is grateful to be a tabaxi, with fur that covers them, as she steps back slightly, thinking that it mabye it is better if Scratch broke the ice with their childhood friend first.

Seeking a distraction as this happens, she holds onto Isy’s earlier comment. "So your friend Kathline might be here?" she muses, keeping her voice light as she glances around. "I’ll keep an eye out and if I see someone who fits her description, I’ll let you know."

A sense of cautious relief washes over Illuwen as he spies Scratch's raised hand. Try as he might, he can see no hint of anger or malice in the tabaxi's eyes. He raises his own hand, returning the salute, before walking hesitantly toward the group.

"Scratch, Chase, Isy, Lex, it's... it's good to see you again."

Isythin takes a pair of wings and a ticket, putting the wings on. Honestly, she thinks it looks much better like this. Anyone else can see that the orange wings do not go with the blue of her uniform, and the wings are not exactly size proportionate to her. She spots Illuwen as Chase says his name, and greets him in turn. "It is nice to see you again as well, you are looking good." She does not have as unpleasant memories of their parting as Chase does, except that Illuwen stayed when he should have left, to return to his parents if nothing else. So a bit cautious, as that is a significant lack of loyalty, but at the same time, he has stayed with the carnival, which is a great show of loyalty. So it balances out. All this runs through her brain as she greets him, trying to decide how to view him.

She takes hold of Chase's distraction. "Yes, she could be here. Well, likely not at the carnival, but on our journey, maybe." She looks around as if to search for her, but of course she doesn't see her friend.

Scratch's shoulders lower a bit in relief, and his smile widens a little. He nods at the elf. "It's very good to see you, Illuwen. We have missed you so much." So many thoughts race through his mind. Stories of Osonia and Marellia, particularly, but he decides those can wait. There are more important issues at hand, and it's likely they'll have some fireside chats ahead.

The tabaxi takes a deep breath, glances over his shoulder at the other three, then back at Illuwen. "Have you recently been contacted by a fairy or a gentleman by the name of Madryck concerning a task to find his patron?"

Lex was a bit quiet on the trip to the carnival. He helped with setting up and tearing down camp and preparing food. He felt intimidated by how much everyone had changed, and he was anxious to prove he could be useful to the group.  He also had mixed feelings about going back to the carnival.  He had a dull feeling of anxiousness mixed with sharp curiosity and excitement at the thought of seeing some of those fantastical sights again.

He dug in his coinpurse for the money as they approached the gate, but stopped when the goblin offered them their wings. Those wings.  In a lot of ways that’s what had started the whole thing before, aside from the owlbear’s excitement to return to their home.  He remembered the pair he had crafted as he slipped into the blue and yellow wings he was handed.

He greeted Iluwen along with the others. “It’s good to see you here.  Are you joining us on this mission to find a crossing?”

After the others exchange greetings, Lex says, “I suppose we should get started. Shall we head in?”

It takes a moment for Chase to realize she’s the only one who hasn’t greeted Illuwen yet. The orange tabaxi waves a hand at the elf and says, "Hello. You look good. I guess Candlefoot and the others have taken good care of you. And you’ve probably traveled a lot with the Carnival, right? More than the rest of us put together, I bet. How’s everyone doing? Candlefoot, Dirrla, Star and ... oh! Is Juni still around? She must be huge by now!" Her voice starts off a little nervous and awkward, but as she asks about the other members of the carnival—especially Juniper—her tone grows brighter.

When Lex suggests they get started, Chase nods. "Though, where do we begin? Any clues on where this fey crossing might be? I’ve got a feeling this place is way bigger than what we saw as kids." She glances at the map Nikolas Midnight gave them. "Oh? There is a fortune teller. Maybe we could check that out if we don’t find any other leads," she adds with a shrug, unsure if the fortune-telling might be a gimmick—or something more.

Suddenly, as you all are discussing your options and conversing about past acquaintances, a twelve-foot-tall walking tree garlanded in golden ribbons marches down the thoroughfare. Emerald clouds swirl above the tree and rain down golden, spinning sycamore seeds. Fairgoers try to catch the seeds before they hit the ground. As the seeds gently fall, a chatty squirrel scampers along the boughs of the tree, handing dandelions to select passersby.

You hear as the walking tree says to those around him, "Hurry, hurry! Catch them before they hit the ground or they'll be no good!"

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

The tabaxi takes a deep breath, glances over his shoulder at the other three, then back at Illuwen. "Have you recently been contacted by a fairy or a gentleman by the name of Madryck concerning a task to find his patron?"

 "Yes! Well, a fairy dragon, at least. I'm afraid it didn't tell me much other than that you were coming. So you're trying to find this Madryck's patron?"

Quote from GoodShepherd >>

 

He greeted Iluwen along with the others. “It’s good to see you here.  Are you joining us on this mission to find a crossing?”

 Illuwen turns to Lex next. "Yes, although I don't know how much help I'll be. I mean, I've heard rumors that there's a fey crossing somewhere in the carnival, although I've never seen it myself."

Quote from FairIthilien >>

When Lex suggests they get started, Chase nods. "Though, where do we begin? Any clues on where this fey crossing might be? I’ve got a feeling this place is way bigger than what we saw as kids." 

Illuwen nods at Chase. "It is. Much bigger. There's parts I've never even been to. But I'd be happy to show you around the parts that I do know!"

Chase nods eagerly to Illuwen's offer. "Oh, yes, that would be great." Her tail flicks with a small, hopeful energy as she thinks, "This is nice. Better than how we left things." 

As this is happening, the enormous walking tree marches past them. Chase’s attention shifts, her eyes widening as she watches the sycamore seeds descend in slow, funny spirals. Her tail flicks again, a small but clear sign of the tabaxi’s delight. It’s actually nice to be here without the constant fear of being caught.

"Hey, guys," she calls, still gazing at the scene. "Should we try to get dandelions? Are those like the ones Dirla gave us to play with in the stalls?" She tilts her head toward the squirrel, inviting the others to follow, and then steps closer. "Hello," she says, addressing the squirrel. "Could we get some of those?"

Scratch's face turns stern as his sister's attention is diverted by the carnival's delights. "We aren't here to have fun," he says in an undertone to himself.

Turning back to Illuwen, his face relaxes once again. "We were reunited by Madryck Roslof. He has tasked us with finding a crossing to Prismeer to find his patron, an archfey by the name of Zybilna. He described her as beautiful woman with long, white hair and a small tattoo of a chicken's foot below one eye." The tabaxi can't help but smile as he describes Zybilna.

Lex looks over the map.  “I mean if I had to guess where something like a fey crossing would be, I would think Silversong Lake, Pixie Kingdom, or the Hall of Illusions would seem most likely just by name, but maybe it’s worth asking around?”

As the tree comes walking past, and he sees others dashing to catch what the tree is dropping, Lex instinctively does the same, rushing under the tree to try to catch the falling seeds.

The squirrel looks up at Chase and hands her 5 dandelions and says, "Here you go! I gave you five so that Illuwen can make a wish with his friends. Just blow the tufts away and think real hard about your wish, but don't say it aloud! If you tell people about your wish, it won't come true." [If you take a dandelion and make a wish, send me your characters wish in a PM]

As Scratch describes Zybilna to Illuwen a memory that he didn't even know was there comes to the surface. Illuwen remembers that while you were all at the carnival as children, he had run into a woman matching Zybilna's description and she gave him a cupcake that made him feel special when he ate it. Oddly enough, right after she left he forgot that he had even met her or that he had even had a snack.

As Lex rushes under the treetop, he see's hundreds of falling seeds. He spots one and readies himself to catch it as it twirls down towards the ground with grace. [Please make a Dexterity check]

Illuwen watches Chase and Lex run off after the attractions with some amusement. He turns back to Scratch and Isy, who seem to be taking things more seriously. Scratch's description of Zybilna seems familiar somehow, although he can't quite place it.

"Well, Mr Witch and Mr Light would probably know where the crossing is. Their caravan is over behind the big top, but with the Witchlight Monarch getting crowned tonight and all, they're probably going to be all over the place today making sure everything's set up. We could try to track them down, though I don't know if we'd have much luck."

He lowers his eyes and rubs the back of his head with his hand. "I think it was Candlefoot that took Juniper back to the feywild back when I first got here, so he might know about it too. I guess if we have to, we could go talk to him."

Chase rolls her eyes exaggeratedly when Scratch says they aren't here to have fun. She ignores him and gives Lex an encouraging look as he rushes to catch the falling sycamore seeds. "Go for it, Lex!" the tabaxi cheers.

Sauntering back to the group, she offers each of them a dandelion. "The nice squirrel over there said we could blow the tufts away and make a wish. Who knows, it might be helpful," she adds, shooting a mischievous glance at her twin , as if to say, "See? Fun AND useful."

Lex Dex Check: 11

Scratch looks at his dandelion. "So these are different than the ones we used the last time we were here," he says. He looks up at his twin. "A wish?" After another moment of contemplation, he shrugs. "Can't hurt, I guess," he says. He closes his pink eyes, pauses, then opens his eyes again before blowing a hard breath at the weed.

After watching the seeds float away, Scratch says to Chase, "Illuwen suggests we find Mr. Witch and Mr. Light — that they will probably know where the fey crossing is located."

Lex positions himself under the seed perfectly, but at the last second a gust of wind takes it in a different direction. Knowing that nature is unpredictable, years of study had taught him this, he had anticipated this might happen and he makes the proper adjustments to snatch the seed before it hits the ground! [Roll a d8]

As Scratch watches the dandelion tufts float away, he is left with a feeling of hopefulness. He's hopeful that this isn't just some gimmick and that there is at least some truth to this wish. The dandelion tufts disappear into the wind with the rest of the wishes being made and he returns to his conversation.

Lex: 7

As Lex opens his hand to reveal the seed that he just caught, he notices it is no longer a seed. It's a gold piece!

Turning to her twin, she narrows her eyes. “Those two shadar-kai weren’t exactly nice last time we met them. I hope they’re a little less stup—” She stops abruptly, remembering Illuwen is listening. Forcing an attempt at a smile —which of course doesn't work—  she corrects herself, “—endous. Ahem. Stupendous. Yes. All right, let’s go.”