Rowan listens carefully, or as carefully as he can before his mind begins to wander again.
"A hoe?" Rowan asks the gnome. "Are you a gardener then? My village wasn't big on gardening. We tend to be more meat eaters. Though I do like mushrooms. But they're not a fruit or vegetable. Sometimes some fallen fruit finds its way into a squirrel stew but that's about it. Do you expect that your hoe is still here? What did it look like? Couldn't you just get a new one? Was it magical? Hmm. What could a magical hoe do? Hoe faster?"
Having exhausted his thoughts about the hoe, he looks over to Barria and the centaur.
"Excuse me, do you know anything about Prismeer or someone named Zybilna? Apparently she used to be quite chatty but now doesn't say too much."
The gnomes mouth hangs agape at the apparent stupidity coming from the wood elf, then the would elf gets distracted and begins speaking to the others before he has chance to reply. Interrupting he stubbornly states, "Farmer... Traditional heirloom... And a mushroom would be classified as fungus. The hoe isn't here, but if I'm to find it I need only find the culprits, despite this overly emotional girls testimony, I believe those culprits to be Witch and Light."
The gnome looks up into the air and then around himself as if trying to locate a mosquito " who is speaking into my head right now!? I am not a pimp, I am a farmer! However unconventional my methods might be, pimping is most certainly not amongst my achievements!" He mutters the last part to himself as he cocks a questioning head at Mulligan, the quiet one of this little bumbling group.
I am speaking into your head, obviously. My apologies, I mistook the type of hoe you were referring to. Though the other kind would make more sense to bring to a carnival.
Kettlesteam starts to look around anxiously, before broadcasting some more short overlapping sound-bites:
Your move I'll wait for your signal I will find you
The black kenku then vanishes in a puff of feathers and is replaced by a slender human female in a party dress, fake dragonfly wings, and a festive mask in the shape of a toucan's beak. The disguised figure disappears into the crowd.
-----------------------------
The carousel, or merry-go-round as some fairgoers call it, features eight wooden unicorns in four pairs, and each with distinguishing colorful harnesses and saddles as well as embellishments to their manes and tails. Having walked or flown past the attraction, all the party have witnessed how the unicorns magically come to life at the start of each ride, tossing their manes and cantering around the carousel, before returning to their inert wooden nature.
-----------------------------
Rowan's question causes a look of fear to cross the face of the centaur-girl, known as Diana. She claps her hand to her mouth, first nodding her head and then shaking it. Looking around - first at the assembled investigators and then at the waiting crowd - she calls to the crowd:
Ladies and gentleman, I apologise for the inconvenience, but the carousel must undergo a brief downtime for preventative maintenance. Please be patient while our crew work to ensure your safety.
... then looks back over at the elf, the dwarf, the gnome, and the banjo-guy and nods suggestively...
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
The gnome sidles up to the mute man who is talking to him telepathically, he doesn't want to take point with the girl's suggestion to talk to the unicorns, even after the girl clears the area for them. He mutters conspiratorially to Mulligan
"Do you know about the Shadowfell involvement here? About the old carnival?"
"So you're not looking for the hoe, just the people who stole it?" Rowan says to the gnome farmer.
He then looks carefully at the centaur, trying to figure out what she's doing. Rowan nods back, trying to emulate the 'suggestive'ness of the nod.
"Why are you nodding like that? Is that a yes, you know about Prismeer and Zybilna? She's apparently some sort of fairy godmother, but maybe not officially such, at least our new friend Kettlewhistle, or was it Kettlesteam, was unclear on that point. Maybe it was more of a term of endearment. Does she run another carnival? Is Primeer another faire of some sort? Oh, is there a crew coming to fix the carousel? We should talk quickly then before they get here."
Rowan wanders over closer to the carousel while waiting for a response. He looks at the wooden unicorns, reaching out to touch the closest one.
"How do they turn from wood to real and back again?"
Shadowfell? Old carnival? No, and not really. I know nothing about the Shadowfell and I only heard that the carnival is not what it once was when run by someone called Isolde. But that the carnival was fine for years under Mr. Witch and Mr. Light... Until no longer fine but the why of that I do not know.
Mulligan looks dubiously from the centaur woman to the wooden unicorns. He doesn't really see himself as the merry-go-round type. It's a kid's ride and he'd look silly riding it. But then again he supposes carnivals are all about silly and he does still have a pair of colorful dragonfly wings dangling from his back, loose and cockeyed but still there. He shrugs and then steps towards the ride. He mentally reaches out to the nearest mount...
For nearest wooden unicorn:
I hope you do not mind if I ride.
Mulligan has no idea if they are wooden unicorns which are animated during the ride or real unicorns which are woodenized while not going round and round but figures he will try to be polite just in case. Assuming no reply he then tentatively steps forward and climbs atop.
Barria is a bit taken aback as the angry little gnome narrows his eyes at them. "Working for them? I'm just here enjoying the carnival, and yes, I lost something dear to me years ago here as well and am hoping to be able to retrieve it!"
Turning back to the centaur, she nods trying to help calm the creature, "Manners indeed." she adds.
"Who is Candlefoot anyways? I'm glad you got their voice back, I can't imagine how horrible that would be." Barria turns red as she realizes that the man she is talking to as the same affliction, but doesn't know what to say now that she stuck her foot in her mouth.
She looks relieved as Rowan changes the subject back to what he was going on about earlier. She looks to the centaur to see her reaction. Receiving the apparent go ahead from her to talk to the unicorns, she chuckles inwardly as the rest of the group falters and seems confused as to what is going on.
She walks up to the first group of unicorns and gives a little curtsy. "Good evening. I have been told that you all are a wealth of information and my new friends and I... well, we have a lot of questions. Do you mind if we chat for a moment?"
Mulligan gives Barria a small little smile to indicate that it's okay...
To Barria and Rowan over Group Chat: Candlefoot is a carnie I met at the Hall of Illusions. He was able to identify the thieves as the girl in the pig mask, the frog and the shadow.
Rowan ponders on the trigger that might cause the unicorns to animate, and he notices nothing change when Mulligan climbs on one. And despite the fact that Barria (and Mulligan telepathically) are both speaking politely, they feel (and look to Greginald) a little foolish talking to wooden unicorns that don't reply. Only Mulligan, who is more sensitive than most to mental communication, gets the impression of a mild psychic contact in response, but nothing more.
Barria
passive Insight: Barria has gleaned from her interactions at the carnival thus far, that names are important...
Mulligan
passive Investigation: Mulligan notices that the paint on the unicorns is a little faded, including the bridles and harnesses where some letters are barely legible
Rowan
passive Perception: As Rowan waits to see whether the unicorns will come alive, he observes the unicorn closest to him has the faded letters EEDL inscribed on its harness
Greginald
passive Investigation: Watching these newcomers foolishly attempting to talk to inanimate wooden objects makes the gnome smile, but he does recall the words of the overly-emotional horse-girl: You can try talking to the unicorns. They won't give you their names though - you'll have to find them out for yourself, if you want to earn their trust.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
"I know not the why either, but witch and Light owned another carnival before this, the one Isolde runs now, I believe it is the key to their downfall, I'll tell you more later when we get chance" g'Reg mutters to Mulligan before the man approaches the carousel.
As the group speak to the wooden facsimiles of creatures g'Reg stands back and watches before approaching. "You need to call them by their names to talk to them. Though I have not found such names yet. Perhaps you may have found a name or two on your journey around the carnival?"
Looking around the carousel, g'Reg tries to see if there are any clues of names for these unicorns.
Looking further, the "EEDL" unicorn's pair also has some letters on its bridle: the first and last letter are visible, but the letters in the middle are illegibly faded: H------K
Barria
Looking at the unicorns, Barria notices some letters on their bridles. One has the letters BEA followed by some faded illegible blur. The other has the letters BEH also followed by a blur
Mulligan
The letters Mulligan sees on one bridle appear to spell ITCH, although there is space for more letters before the 'I'. The other unicorn only has the letters NI--.
Greginald
G'Reg takes a look at the closest unicorns to see if there are any hints as to its name. Indeed he spots some letters on its bridle: --ONE The unicorn beside that one also has letters inscribed on its bridle: MO-- It may be that more letters were originally displayed, but they have faded from view.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Mulligan runs his fingertips lightly across the bridge of the unicorn he is riding. To an outside it may look like he is petting the mount or such but he is really trying to find any trace or etch of letters that seem to have been deliberately obscured and erased. He perhaps has some talent in trying to decipher such things though, barely legible marks and etchings are an integral part of of the Thieve's Cant he learned many years ago and part of how those living on the edge of society pass messages to one another unseen...
Witch seems too obvious, he thinks to himself. Flitch, Switch, Glitch? The names flicker through his thoughts as questions but none really seem whimsical enough for the name of a unicorn at a faery carnival.
Looking to the other in the pair it occurs that perhaps the names are paired? Things that go together? Like Peanut Butter and Jelly or Bacon and... well, anything really.
The second... Nigh? Nick? Nine? But trying to pair any of those up... Isn't there something with Stitch and nine? A saying? Biting his lower lip and casting about for an answer he does finally notice his own clothing. He does do his best to keep it well mended and it's that thought that brings the saying to mind - A stitch in time saves nine. Doesn't really seem like a likely source for unicorn names though.
For G'reginald
Does she...
But Mulligan shakes his head and waves a hand towards the G'nome to indicate that they should disregard that.
For the Centaur
Do you know their names? If you could think them even though not speak them I may be able to read them from your mind.
Mulligan is reluctant to delve deep into one's mind to pull information from it since it's something he can only do once but this may be worth it...
Barria looks closer at the unicorn, trying to get a better idea on the name. She then looks at the bridle, saddle, anything else that is adhered to the wooden unicorn to see if the name is there as well.
As she looks, she murmurs, "Beatrice?" attempting a guess and hoping it won't offend the creature if she's wrong.
g'Reg calls the others over pointing at one unicorn in particular, "see here the markings are faded and the only letters I can make out are ---ONE, though I don't think it is numerical, but tell me, In this carnival bathed in confusion, tricks and misleads... Do you read the same letters as I?"
Mulligan again feels a very subtle psychic prod, like the mental equivalent of an approving nod, as he considers the phrase that includes the words Stitch and Nine.
The centaur-girl looks around for the source of the words in her mind, then simply shakes her head in response. Without a verbal reply, Mulligan can only surmise that she either doesn't know the names, or has a reason for not revealing them.
As the others share their attempts and observations, the four pairs of incomplete names become known to all...
"twitch nigh, beauty behemoth, needle hawk. No not hawk too short for the space. hmmmm.... , throne. No prone moth. I'm just throwing ideas at the wall here but it's good to get the ideas out! Maybe my guesses will stir some guesses within you all? Teamwork and all!" The gnome grins encouragingly, having said all this out loud so every one in the carousel can hear.
Eyes going wide when he feels the nod of approval, Mulligan's thoughts leave the centaur entirely and instead focus on his unicorn mounts. He reaches out to them one at a time using the names he perhaps has discovered for them.
Are you Stitch? I am Mulligan. Can you understand me? He mentally sends these words to the unicorn he believes is named that. He then switches Stitch for Nine and tries the same with the other.
Rowan looks at the letters with intense concentration. He was not great with riddles but then when the gnome says needle and then needle hawk, Rowan bursts out laughing.
"When I was little, the older elves in the village thought I was slow and would always tease me and try and trick me into doing impossible things," Rowan says. "But they didn't know that those were the best things to do. The harder you have to focus, the more the noises in the world get quiet and you can hear yourself again. The very best one they did was hide a needle and tell me to find it."
He looks at the unicorns again and pets both of the two he's been looking at.
"They hid the needle in a haystack," Rowan says.
He looks to each of the wooden unicorns.
"Hello Needle," Rowan says before turning to the next one. "Hello Haystack."
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Rowan listens carefully, or as carefully as he can before his mind begins to wander again.
"A hoe?" Rowan asks the gnome. "Are you a gardener then? My village wasn't big on gardening. We tend to be more meat eaters. Though I do like mushrooms. But they're not a fruit or vegetable. Sometimes some fallen fruit finds its way into a squirrel stew but that's about it. Do you expect that your hoe is still here? What did it look like? Couldn't you just get a new one? Was it magical? Hmm. What could a magical hoe do? Hoe faster?"
Having exhausted his thoughts about the hoe, he looks over to Barria and the centaur.
"Excuse me, do you know anything about Prismeer or someone named Zybilna? Apparently she used to be quite chatty but now doesn't say too much."
Mulligan looks surprised and perhaps a bit relieved.
Over Mental Connection:
Oh, a farm instrument. I was thinking of an entirely different kind of... Well, nevermind.
The gnomes mouth hangs agape at the apparent stupidity coming from the wood elf, then the would elf gets distracted and begins speaking to the others before he has chance to reply. Interrupting he stubbornly states, "Farmer... Traditional heirloom... And a mushroom would be classified as fungus. The hoe isn't here, but if I'm to find it I need only find the culprits, despite this overly emotional girls testimony, I believe those culprits to be Witch and Light."
The gnome looks up into the air and then around himself as if trying to locate a mosquito " who is speaking into my head right now!? I am not a pimp, I am a farmer! However unconventional my methods might be, pimping is most certainly not amongst my achievements!" He mutters the last part to himself as he cocks a questioning head at Mulligan, the quiet one of this little bumbling group.
To G'Reginal
I am speaking into your head, obviously. My apologies, I mistook the type of hoe you were referring to. Though the other kind would make more sense to bring to a carnival.
Kettlesteam starts to look around anxiously, before broadcasting some more short overlapping sound-bites:
Your move
I'll wait for your signal
I will find you
The black kenku then vanishes in a puff of feathers and is replaced by a slender human female in a party dress, fake dragonfly wings, and a festive mask in the shape of a toucan's beak. The disguised figure disappears into the crowd.
-----------------------------
The carousel, or merry-go-round as some fairgoers call it, features eight wooden unicorns in four pairs, and each with distinguishing colorful harnesses and saddles as well as embellishments to their manes and tails. Having walked or flown past the attraction, all the party have witnessed how the unicorns magically come to life at the start of each ride, tossing their manes and cantering around the carousel, before returning to their inert wooden nature.
-----------------------------
Rowan's question causes a look of fear to cross the face of the centaur-girl, known as Diana. She claps her hand to her mouth, first nodding her head and then shaking it. Looking around - first at the assembled investigators and then at the waiting crowd - she calls to the crowd:
Ladies and gentleman, I apologise for the inconvenience, but the carousel must undergo a brief downtime for preventative maintenance. Please be patient while our crew work to ensure your safety.
... then looks back over at the elf, the dwarf, the gnome, and the banjo-guy and nods suggestively...
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
The gnome sidles up to the mute man who is talking to him telepathically, he doesn't want to take point with the girl's suggestion to talk to the unicorns, even after the girl clears the area for them. He mutters conspiratorially to Mulligan
"Do you know about the Shadowfell involvement here? About the old carnival?"
"So you're not looking for the hoe, just the people who stole it?" Rowan says to the gnome farmer.
He then looks carefully at the centaur, trying to figure out what she's doing. Rowan nods back, trying to emulate the 'suggestive'ness of the nod.
"Why are you nodding like that? Is that a yes, you know about Prismeer and Zybilna? She's apparently some sort of fairy godmother, but maybe not officially such, at least our new friend Kettlewhistle, or was it Kettlesteam, was unclear on that point. Maybe it was more of a term of endearment. Does she run another carnival? Is Primeer another faire of some sort? Oh, is there a crew coming to fix the carousel? We should talk quickly then before they get here."
Rowan wanders over closer to the carousel while waiting for a response. He looks at the wooden unicorns, reaching out to touch the closest one.
"How do they turn from wood to real and back again?"
For G'Reginald the G'Gnome
Shadowfell? Old carnival? No, and not really. I know nothing about the Shadowfell and I only heard that the carnival is not what it once was when run by someone called Isolde. But that the carnival was fine for years under Mr. Witch and Mr. Light... Until no longer fine but the why of that I do not know.
Mulligan looks dubiously from the centaur woman to the wooden unicorns. He doesn't really see himself as the merry-go-round type. It's a kid's ride and he'd look silly riding it. But then again he supposes carnivals are all about silly and he does still have a pair of colorful dragonfly wings dangling from his back, loose and cockeyed but still there. He shrugs and then steps towards the ride. He mentally reaches out to the nearest mount...
For nearest wooden unicorn:
I hope you do not mind if I ride.
Mulligan has no idea if they are wooden unicorns which are animated during the ride or real unicorns which are woodenized while not going round and round but figures he will try to be polite just in case. Assuming no reply he then tentatively steps forward and climbs atop.
Barria is a bit taken aback as the angry little gnome narrows his eyes at them. "Working for them? I'm just here enjoying the carnival, and yes, I lost something dear to me years ago here as well and am hoping to be able to retrieve it!"
Turning back to the centaur, she nods trying to help calm the creature, "Manners indeed." she adds.
"Who is Candlefoot anyways? I'm glad you got their voice back, I can't imagine how horrible that would be." Barria turns red as she realizes that the man she is talking to as the same affliction, but doesn't know what to say now that she stuck her foot in her mouth.
She looks relieved as Rowan changes the subject back to what he was going on about earlier. She looks to the centaur to see her reaction. Receiving the apparent go ahead from her to talk to the unicorns, she chuckles inwardly as the rest of the group falters and seems confused as to what is going on.
She walks up to the first group of unicorns and gives a little curtsy. "Good evening. I have been told that you all are a wealth of information and my new friends and I... well, we have a lot of questions. Do you mind if we chat for a moment?"
Mulligan gives Barria a small little smile to indicate that it's okay...
To Barria and Rowan over Group Chat:
Candlefoot is a carnie I met at the Hall of Illusions. He was able to identify the thieves as the girl in the pig mask, the frog and the shadow.
Rowan ponders on the trigger that might cause the unicorns to animate, and he notices nothing change when Mulligan climbs on one. And despite the fact that Barria (and Mulligan telepathically) are both speaking politely, they feel (and look to Greginald) a little foolish talking to wooden unicorns that don't reply. Only Mulligan, who is more sensitive than most to mental communication, gets the impression of a mild psychic contact in response, but nothing more.
Barria
passive Insight: Barria has gleaned from her interactions at the carnival thus far, that names are important...
Mulligan
passive Investigation: Mulligan notices that the paint on the unicorns is a little faded, including the bridles and harnesses where some letters are barely legible
Rowan
passive Perception: As Rowan waits to see whether the unicorns will come alive, he observes the unicorn closest to him has the faded letters EEDL inscribed on its harness
Greginald
passive Investigation: Watching these newcomers foolishly attempting to talk to inanimate wooden objects makes the gnome smile, but he does recall the words of the overly-emotional horse-girl:
You can try talking to the unicorns. They won't give you their names though - you'll have to find them out for yourself, if you want to earn their trust.
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
"I know not the why either, but witch and Light owned another carnival before this, the one Isolde runs now, I believe it is the key to their downfall, I'll tell you more later when we get chance" g'Reg mutters to Mulligan before the man approaches the carousel.
As the group speak to the wooden facsimiles of creatures g'Reg stands back and watches before approaching. "You need to call them by their names to talk to them. Though I have not found such names yet. Perhaps you may have found a name or two on your journey around the carnival?"
Looking around the carousel, g'Reg tries to see if there are any clues of names for these unicorns.
(Investigation 13)
Rowan
Looking further, the "EEDL" unicorn's pair also has some letters on its bridle: the first and last letter are visible, but the letters in the middle are illegibly faded: H------K
Barria
Looking at the unicorns, Barria notices some letters on their bridles. One has the letters BEA followed by some faded illegible blur. The other has the letters BEH also followed by a blur
Mulligan
The letters Mulligan sees on one bridle appear to spell ITCH, although there is space for more letters before the 'I'. The other unicorn only has the letters NI--.
Greginald
G'Reg takes a look at the closest unicorns to see if there are any hints as to its name. Indeed he spots some letters on its bridle: --ONE
The unicorn beside that one also has letters inscribed on its bridle: MO--
It may be that more letters were originally displayed, but they have faded from view.
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Mulligan runs his fingertips lightly across the bridge of the unicorn he is riding. To an outside it may look like he is petting the mount or such but he is really trying to find any trace or etch of letters that seem to have been deliberately obscured and erased. He perhaps has some talent in trying to decipher such things though, barely legible marks and etchings are an integral part of of the Thieve's Cant he learned many years ago and part of how those living on the edge of society pass messages to one another unseen...
Witch seems too obvious, he thinks to himself. Flitch, Switch, Glitch? The names flicker through his thoughts as questions but none really seem whimsical enough for the name of a unicorn at a faery carnival.
Looking to the other in the pair it occurs that perhaps the names are paired? Things that go together? Like Peanut Butter and Jelly or Bacon and... well, anything really.
The second... Nigh? Nick? Nine? But trying to pair any of those up... Isn't there something with Stitch and nine? A saying? Biting his lower lip and casting about for an answer he does finally notice his own clothing. He does do his best to keep it well mended and it's that thought that brings the saying to mind - A stitch in time saves nine. Doesn't really seem like a likely source for unicorn names though.
For G'reginald
Does she...
But Mulligan shakes his head and waves a hand towards the G'nome to indicate that they should disregard that.
For the Centaur
Do you know their names? If you could think them even though not speak them I may be able to read them from your mind.
Mulligan is reluctant to delve deep into one's mind to pull information from it since it's something he can only do once but this may be worth it...
Barria looks closer at the unicorn, trying to get a better idea on the name. She then looks at the bridle, saddle, anything else that is adhered to the wooden unicorn to see if the name is there as well.
As she looks, she murmurs, "Beatrice?" attempting a guess and hoping it won't offend the creature if she's wrong.
g'Reg calls the others over pointing at one unicorn in particular, "see here the markings are faded and the only letters I can make out are ---ONE, though I don't think it is numerical, but tell me, In this carnival bathed in confusion, tricks and misleads... Do you read the same letters as I?"
Mulligan again feels a very subtle psychic prod, like the mental equivalent of an approving nod, as he considers the phrase that includes the words Stitch and Nine.
The centaur-girl looks around for the source of the words in her mind, then simply shakes her head in response. Without a verbal reply, Mulligan can only surmise that she either doesn't know the names, or has a reason for not revealing them.
As the others share their attempts and observations, the four pairs of incomplete names become known to all...
--ITCH NI--
BEA--- BEH-----
-EEDL- H------K
--ONE MO--
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
"twitch nigh, beauty behemoth, needle hawk. No not hawk too short for the space. hmmmm.... , throne. No prone moth. I'm just throwing ideas at the wall here but it's good to get the ideas out! Maybe my guesses will stir some guesses within you all? Teamwork and all!" The gnome grins encouragingly, having said all this out loud so every one in the carousel can hear.
Eyes going wide when he feels the nod of approval, Mulligan's thoughts leave the centaur entirely and instead focus on his unicorn mounts. He reaches out to them one at a time using the names he perhaps has discovered for them.
Are you Stitch? I am Mulligan. Can you understand me? He mentally sends these words to the unicorn he believes is named that. He then switches Stitch for Nine and tries the same with the other.
Rowan looks at the letters with intense concentration. He was not great with riddles but then when the gnome says needle and then needle hawk, Rowan bursts out laughing.
"When I was little, the older elves in the village thought I was slow and would always tease me and try and trick me into doing impossible things," Rowan says. "But they didn't know that those were the best things to do. The harder you have to focus, the more the noises in the world get quiet and you can hear yourself again. The very best one they did was hide a needle and tell me to find it."
He looks at the unicorns again and pets both of the two he's been looking at.
"They hid the needle in a haystack," Rowan says.
He looks to each of the wooden unicorns.
"Hello Needle," Rowan says before turning to the next one. "Hello Haystack."