(OOC: Not ignoring Xiv, but will come back to that threat later today)

Burly tries to scratch his head, but the pumpkin helmet gets in the way.  "I don't know. He was often angry, so probably.  But no, no one seems to know where he went.  And I never understood the three years.  Only thing is, it seems he knew he was leaving and planned to return, so guess that rules out any sort of foul play."

Xivros approaches the Hall of Illusions.  This large tent is painted with a mural of shifting images that show grinning faeries diving into pools of color. The helical stripes of the tent’s pointed canopies rotate in spirals, and the whole display seems designed to befuddle onlookers. A clown dressed in muted garb stands at the tent’s entrance, blinking at you.  A half-elf stands next to him, trying to ask questions, but he doesn't seem to acknowledge them.

There is also a glass cabinet that stands near the entrance to this tent. A halfling couple holds hands as they approach the glass cabinet. One of the halflings is wearing butterfly face paint. As he drops to one knee and pulls a small box from his pocket, his sweetheart bursts into laughter and begins rolling on the ground. The halfling in face paint begins sobbing and darts into the nearby tent without getting his ticket punched.

“sir? sir? or is it ma’am? oh shoot maybe it’s neither… Official Clown-Sort Ticket-Person? Why won’t you answer me??”

Brenviel, a half-elf with blue-tinged skin and blue-green hair streaked with white, stamps their foot impatiently as they try and get information, any information, out of the blinking clown by the tent entrance. 

"I am sorry about your brother, you'll be the first to know if I see them,  I'm out looking for lost things, did you see anything strange on the day he disappeared? any information would be a huge help." Marwan notes,  hoping to gain something else from the encounter, perhaps pushing his luck a little. "Ah, I see, he was planning to leave, good to know, still, it would be helpful if you could tell us anything else, if you don't have anything else, that's fine too."

"Howdy," The tall, lean, man, coincidentally, dressed in shades of grey not unlike the mime says to the half-elf. "Ah'm Xivros. An' ah reckon this is Candlefoot." Xivros notes the other failed proposal. Seemed this clown had a bit of tragedy following him along.  "Seems there's a lot of bad luck around. Someone said maybe the cat had your tongue. Don't suppose you've seen Star around here? A misplaced displacer kitten... though she might be a bit older now?" He's directing the question to the mime he guesses is Candlefoot, but he glances at the half-elf wondering if they might have seen anything either.

"It's lookin more and more like someone or somethin' put a curse on this place or is maybe just wandering around causing mischief of the not very funny kind. A joke or two is all well and good, but sewing sorrow is a bit much." His last comment is mostly to himself as he frowns in thought. 

"Ah'm also looking for some witches. One in a swamp, and one in a forest."

 “ Xivros? Candlefoot? Brenviel. Well met.” The half-elf nods perfunctorily to each of them. They then turn to Xivros and direct their remaining conversation toward him, having given up on hopes of any response from Candlefoot.

“Erm. Well met to you, at least. This fellow you call Candlefoot has not been helpful one bit. And I don’t see any cat on his tongue - see, it’s just there, sitting floppily in his mouth. No cats to be seen.”

Brenviel pauses in mid sentence as a new possibility occurs to them, and you see their head tilt to the side a bit as curiosity grows.

”wait… this displaced displacer kitten would be a cat by now, would it not? Do you mean to tell me it hunts and snatches tongues?? What a horrid beast. Are you sure you want to find it?” 

Brenviel continues muttering to themselves, glancing between Xivros and Candlefoot in puzzlement.  “I suppose tongues are a muscle, so perhaps they are a good protein source for this feline. Or maybe there is some arcane ritual involved? Ooh! I wonder if by snatching tongues the cat can adopt the languages spoken by each of its victims… TONGUES! *giggles* That must be it!  Or maybe the cat has a personal vendetta against this particular clown? I can see why, he is dreadfully rude… Or of course it could be that the cat has an iron deficiency? I should look up spells or tinctures that make use of tongues in my reference books here…”  

(Xivros likely gets the impression that Brenviel will continue their rambling queries indefinitely if not interrupted)

Candlefoot seems like he wants to say something, a few times, but the onslaught of questions may have overwelmed him.  

As you ask if the cat has his tongue, his shakes his head and starts waving his arms up and down.

When you ask specifically about Star, he nods less emphatically, and shrugs his shoulders slightly.

As you mention curses and someone causing mischief, his face brightens and he touches the tip of his nose.

But then the mention of witches and swamps, he just looks confused.

-------

Burly doesn't really have much else for Marwan and Robin.  "No, he was good, deep down,  but you really had to get past that thorny exterior to see it.  If someone had promised him a way to help better himself, I think he would have jumped at it.  But that doesn't seem likely, does it."

Xivros gives a soft smile and scratches his peachfuzz as Brenviel rambles. Only holding up a finger to stop them when Candlefoot gets animated. "That's some interesting trouble there. Note a cat, but a bird causing trouble? Wouldn't be a Kenku by chance? Or?" Thinking about the flapping arms, ""Something else that flies maybe?

By now Brenviel has plopped down on the ground and pulled a hefty reference tome out of their pack. They pause flipping through the pages to look up when they hear Xivros’s new questions. 

Looking impatiently now at Candlefoot, Brenviel demands “well?? Is it a cat or a bird or a kenku that hurt your tongue? I’m really going to need you to be more specific so I can find the right information here!” They stare up at Candlefoot expectantly …

Xivros laughs, looking down at Brenviel. "Ah don't think he can talk. Not sure if he's a mime by choice or cursed. He was trying to propose to his merfriend Palasha, when something went really wrong. And then people were shouting mean things at her while she was singin' what I thought was a pretty song. Definitely not a performance worthy of hecklin'" Though Xivros didn't think anyone doing their best to entertain a crowd deserved to made fun of, even if they weren't very good. "In any case, did you see that pair a little bit ago? Looked an awful lot like another proposal gone wrong. Not sure who would got to that much trouble to mess up people tryin' to express their affection to each other. Someone around here seems to be awfully meanspirited."

"oh! a curse of silence? let me see what I can find about that..." 

>> Rolled Investigation check: 23 (18+5), in game log  

[OOC: I am so sorry about the mess of rolls in the game log!! I was just trying out the character sheet dice roller this morning to experiment with how it worked - I didn't realize it would add those rolls all into this Campaign!]

"Seems likely to me, given the circumstances, but I don't have any proof, thanks for everything, sir,"  Marwan says, he figures that's about all he'll get from Burly, So he will go to wait outside the big top, as he told his compatriots to do. they did agree to meet up back here.

At the mention of the bird, Candlefoot again touches his nose.  At the mention of a Kenku, he gets very excited and jumps up and down, repeatedly touching his nose.

Regarding a curse, though, it is difficult to tell if that is the cause.

"Kenku... Kenku... Kenku... I've never met one but I know I've read about them before... "  Brenviel ducks Candlefoot's flapping arms and flips to the index of their reference book. They skim their finger down the page until finding the K's, then quickly flip back through the text to find the relevant passage... "it says here: the kenku can mimic any sounds it has heard, including voices." 

They shut the book and jump to their feet, making eye contact and addressing Candlefoot directly.  "So did a kenku steal your voice??  Wait, does that mean there's creepy bird dude wandering around this carnival talking like you used to?" their eyes go wide, and they shudder involuntarily.

"I suppose I owe you an apology for my earlier impatience". Loathe to ever admit to being wrong, Brenviel bows their head briefly to Candlefoot, looking a bit ashamed. 

Xivros gets excited, then realizes he's not sure what to do next. "I knew that bird was trouble, but I lost sight of 'em in the crowd. Sounds like they've been sabotagin stuff all over the place. Ah got a friend at Ah'm supposed to meet at the bigtop. Maybe Marwan will have some information. Not that you have to go with me, but y'all are welcome if you want." 

Brenviel nods decisively. 

“yes. Good. If you don’t mind, I’d much appreciate following along. I don’t always…pick up on things when people aren’t clear and direct. You understood this Candlefoot clown when I could not. 

(more to themselves than to Xivros, but still out loud) yes. This is a good plan. Observing and listening to this fellow will make it easier to navigate this perplexing place…

(back to Xivros) the Big Top you said? Lead the way, if you please.” 

Xivros smiles and nods "Sounds good. I think it's this way." Leading them toward the bigtop, visible from where they are, just over the heads of the crowds. "Thank ya' kindly Candlefoot. Uh, Anything else we need to know before we scurry off?"

Candlefoot confirms your guess, and shrugs at the need for more information.  But he looks hopeful, which is a far cry better than he looked when you arrived.

As Marwan leaves Burly, the bugbear suddenly exclaims, "Ah, I have to run too.  Gotta get to the Big Top for the show!"

As you approach, Spectators file into the Big Top and fill the rows of seats. It appears the show is about to start.

Xivros the blond human and, it seems, Brenviel the blueish-haired half elf, with a final wave to the mime, waste no more time heading to the big top, offering tickets to be punched if needed, and then entering to find Marwan and seats. "Marwan is a stout fella. Looks a bit like a... I guess you'd say a dwarfling."

Brenviel stops walking and turns slowly in a circle, scanning the crowd around them. After a full 360, they furrow their brow and look up at Xivros, confused. “I see dwarves, and I see halflings. But I don’t see any dwarflings… maybe your height gives you a better vantage point?”