Once the race is over, Chase descends from her snail and pats him gently on his biiiiig, big neck. "You may not have won the race, Flowerflash, but you have definitely won my heart." With a warm flick of her tail, the tabaxi leans down and gives him a little kiss—which feels strange, like pressing her lips to cool, wobbly jelly. Not bothered in the slightest, she lifts a hand and uses her innate magic to conjure a crown right between his antennae. It won’t last long, but for now, her noble steed looks every bit the king he is in her heart.

Then, with a delighted bounce, she trots over to her friends, her tail swishing eagerly behind her. "That was a BLAST, right, guys? But I guess we'd better get back to the chase—uh, no pun intended. Well, maybe just a little." She flicks an ear in amusement, then adds, "Should we check out the mines? You know, to search among the coals?", Chase adds, quoting the fortune teller’s words.

Scratch slides off of his "steed", his face alight with joy. "That was fantastic," he says mostly to himself. He pats Queen Majesty's shell. "We almost had 'em."

As Chase comes over, he puffs out his chest. "I guess we know which of the two of us is the better racer," he boasts.

After a chuckle he agrees with her suggestion. "We might as well. I don't have a better idea."

The sorcerer waits curiously to see what prize Lex has won. After that, she’ll be ready to head for the mines, unless the others come up with a better plan.

"Yes," Illuwen agrees, "after Lex claims his prize, the mines ought to be our next stop."

As the snail slides to a stop, Lex slips off its shell and runs to its head, giving it a hug and a rub, thanking it for its speed.  “Way to go Breakneck.  Keep it up, big guy.”  He turns away with a grin, and is distracted speaking to the snail keepers about how to feed and groom the snails, what they like, when he realizes that he is supposed to go collect his prize.  He quickly goes to the booth to meet the announcer and claim his winnings.  After, he meets up with the others, “Way to go everyone! Wasn’t that exhilarating? Hmm? The mines? Oh yeah, that makes sense let’s head that way…”

Lex approaches the goblin who promptly gives him his prize. "Fantastic racing, Lad! For finishing in first place, you've won potion of advantage! Use it well!"

As you all make your way to the Mystery Mine a group of giant, singing flowers burst from the ground and serenade passersby. You make your way through the jolly singing forest of flowers and pass by a booth labeled "Facepainting and Tattoo's".

Finally, you make it to the Mystery Mine. Propelled by magic, mine carts laden with fairgoers trundle into an opening carved like a dragon's mouth. The carts reappear moments later on the far side of the attraction, with the passengers expressing a mixture of bewilderment, fear, and excitement.

Near the entrance, a male dwarf dressed like a wizard shouts, "Unlock the mysteries of your mind in the Mystery Mine!" He has bushy eyebrows, wears a pointy hat, and holds a large clockwork contraption shaped like a giant eye.

As they walk toward the Mystery Mine, Chase eyes Lex's prize with curiosity. "Hmmm, and what’s that? What does it do?"

Once inside the mine, she notices the cart and turns to the male dwarf disguised as a wizard. "Excuse me? How does this work? Do we always ride through the mine in the cart? Is there no way to step down and walk around as we please?" The tabaxi frowns. How are they supposed to search for something among the coals if they’re stuck in a cart the whole time?

Lex studies the potion as the walk, sticks his finger in the golden mist inside the bottle, giving it an intrigued eyebrow raise when it comes out wet. He tastes it, then nods, “I dunno, I think it could be useful to help if I were to do something important.”

As Chase addresses the dwarf, Lex eyes the contraption he is holding, trying to discern its general function.

Looking around as he walks up to the "ride" with the others, Scratch adds, "This might sound strange, but we're looking for some 'coals'."

Looking at Scratch the dwarf says, "I haven't the foggiest idea where you'd find coal around here. This mine only contains mystery!"

Turning towards Chase he says, "Oh no, young lady! There's no place to get out of the cart except what you see here. It's not a real mine, just a carnival attraction. One ticket punch per person gets you one ride."

"No coals? This might not be the place we're looking for. I suppose we've got plenty of ticket punches left though, we still could take a ride and see though."

Illuwen discreetly points to Chase and whispers a Message to her: "And if we do see anything interesting but can't get out of the cart, perhaps we find a way to sneak back in and check it out?"

At the dwarf's response, Chase’s frown deepens. Maybe the Mystery Mine wasn't a good lead after all. She opens her mouth to say something to her friends, when Illuwen’s voice suddenly echoes in her mind. She gasps, looking at the elf — surprised at first, then impressed. What a nice trick! Then she raises a hand to her temple, index and middle fingers extended in a kind of salute, and whispers, "Aye aye, captain!"

Turning to the dwarf, the young tabaxi hands him her ticket to be punched. "Let's see what mysteries we find in the Mystery Mine..." She will try to alert for anything that might even remotely resemble coal as they ride. (Perception: 19)

Scratch frowns. "We're supposed to be spreading cheer so that we can win a meeting with the owners." He turns to look back at the rest of the carnival. "Riding rides isn't going to do that." He looks at Illuwen. "What has been done in the past that helped people get crowned?"

"But we should also check out places in this Carnival where those stupid coals might be. Taking a quick ride won’t hurt, right?"

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

Scratch frowns. "We're supposed to be spreading cheer so that we can win a meeting with the owners." He turns to look back at the rest of the carnival. "Riding rides isn't going to do that." He looks at Illuwen. "What has been done in the past that helped people get crowned?"

 "Well, the Big Top Extravaganza is kind of a talent show that guests can participate in. I think I've seen quite a few of the past winners take part in that. That starts around four hours after the carnival opens, so..."

Illuwen pulls out his hourglass to check the time. How long do they have until the Extravaganza starts?

If you look at the map of the carnival in the top left is a time gauge and the bottom right is a mood gauge. We are currently in the 2nd hour of the carnival.

Chase absentmindedly strokes her whiskers, utterly captivated by Illuwen's hourglass. "Hmmmm. We have a couple of hours before the Extravaganza starts. So..." , she looks at her twin questioningly,  "Mystery Mine now and Extravaganza later? What do you say? If we have time, we could even grab a snack before the show. Remember the Witchlight Delights, the treats we ate last time? Do they still have them, Illuwen? I'd love to try them again."

Illuwen catches Chase eying his hourglass and grins at her before returning it to his pocket.

"Yeah, last I saw the treat stand was still running. Although," he sighs, "Scratch is right, we need to focus on the mission. I think we should do the bubble ride first. Who knows what we'll see from up there? We might spot another guest in some trouble, like Reuben was. Or even a kenku nest! We can always come back to the mines later on, if we haven't found a better lead on the coals."

Chase sighs audibly. "Aaalright," she concedes, and pockets the ticket the dwarf was about to punch. "Maybe later," she adds. Then, she singsongs under her breath, "All work and no play makes Chase a dull tabaxi... ♫"

Grinning, Scratch sidles up next to his twin and puts an arm around her shoulders. "Don't let your joy drop, sis. You're supposed to be the happiest in the carnival so that you can get crowned." He looks into her eyes, seeing the smile in them, then looking down at her mouth, he sighs. "If we can get your smile back, we will. I promise."