Rowan says "Good-bye" to the dogs in the language that Amidor just used without noticing that he's spoken anything other than common.
He then continues on the way with the others, listening to Glister as he speaks.
"Oh, I didn't lose anything, but these three all did. But either they forgot they lost what they're looking for or they didn't think it was such a big deal until recently. Have you ever noticed that? Some people completely forget about something but when they're reminded it suddenly becomes the most important thing in the world? Have you noticed how normal this place seems?" Rowan says before continuing. "No one has ever suggested I could be a hero. I had planned on being a musician with the carnival but I don't think I like that carnival very much any more. We really had to make the owners show us the way here. Though I'm not sure they're really the owners. I got the impression they really stole the carnival from someone else. But you're sister? Well she seems to be where we're going. It would be just mean not to try and rescue her while we're there."
He continues along for another moment.
"My parent's called me special sometimes but I don't think they meant it as a compliment. So maybe it's a good thing to not be special." Rowan says. Then he asks "Are you from here?"
The more Rowan talks, the more Glister seems to relax and open up himself, until he is babbling almost as much as Rowan does. His bright-coloured hair still seems to somehow avoid becoming dulled in the perpetual gloom like all other colours, and up close Rowan can see the faint remains of face-paint, done like a stylised sun-mask.
Sometimes I forget to eat, and then when I remember I feel really hungry. Is that the same? I'm not from here, no... and this place doesn't feel normal to me at all. People at the carnival called us special - me and Gleam - but we're just acrobats. Anyone could do that with some practice. But now that you mention it, our parents used to say something similar about us. Not 'special'. 'Touched' is the word they used. I don't know if that's a good thing. Mister Witch and Mister Light were always nice to us. They looked after everyone at the carnival, at least that's how I remember them. But yeah, they were sad after Gleam left, and were never the same afterwards. I can't imagine them stealing anything from anyone though...
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Greg touches his ear as the dogs and Amidor and then much to his surprise Rowan of all people begin speaking in this odd language, but Greg understands it aöö the same, "useful..." he mumbles but doesn't interject anything as the group seem to be fully capable of sorting things without his grumbling thoughts. As things turn to the carnival though, Greg cannot help himself "Witch and Light may not have stolen anything themselves but they are quite happy to let it happen and cover up their own involvement in the whole thing, they've no backbone those two, utter cowards I tell ya! They seemed concerned over your sister aye, but they knew exactly who had taken her and weren't concerned enough to sacrifice anything of theirs to get her back!" he crosses his arms as they walk letting his mind wander and focussing more on puzzling things out before shouting out from nowhere a while later, "DAMMNIT! I left that bloody weasel in the carnival.... hmphh! well I hope it's causing them no end of trouble!"
When the gnome wizard and their companions stepped through the shimmering portal to Prismeer, there was a small, almost imperceptible pause. A blink of confusion crossed the beady little eyes of the wizard’s weasel familiar as it sat on Mister Light’s shoulder. One whisker twitched.
Then, seeing the party vanish, the weasel made a decision.
After all, the carnival was still buzzing with music, laughter, and the smell of fried dough. It wasn’t every day a humble weasel got free rein of the Witchlight Carnival — and without a wizard constantly summoning it back into danger, it was time to live a little...
Act I: Carnival Celebrity
First, the weasel hopped down from Mister Light’s shoulder and strutted into the crowd with a confidence rarely seen in a creature under a pound in weight. A few children noticed it and squealed with delight, assuming it was part of the show. Soon, a small parade of patrons followed it as it darted through the carnival grounds.
The weasel stopped at the snail racing track, where the announcer immediately declared it the honorary “Starter’s Whistle.” A tiny ribbon was tied around its neck, and at the count of three it was placed on the track — not to race, but to scamper dramatically between the snails and wave its little paws. The crowd roared with laughter and applause.
Act II: Pixie Kingdom Tea Time
Feeling peckish, the weasel followed the sweet smell of honey and flowers to the Pixie Kingdom attraction. The pixies, delighted to have a “giant” visitor, crowned it with a thimble-sized garland of dandelion fluff and served it thimblefuls of nectar tea. According to carnival gossip, the weasel was an exceptional conversationalist — nodding politely at all the right moments and chittering in ways that the pixies found terribly profound.
One pixie even swore that the weasel solved their romantic dilemma by squeaking twice when asked if true love was worth pursuing. (It was.)
Act III: Spreading Joy
By now, the weasel was a local celebrity. It wandered the carnival handing out luck (or at least, giving very lucky pats with its little nose) and turning up exactly where it was needed:
It tripped a pickpocket just before he snatched a purse.
It popped a balloon that was scaring a toddler.
It rode a carousel horse three times in a row, much to the delight of everyone watching.
Act IV: The Coronation
As twilight fell, Mister Light called everyone together to name the Witchlight Monarch — the patron who had done the most to spread cheer that day. It was a foregone conclusion. The ribbon still tied around its neck, the garland slightly askew, the weasel was carried forward by two pixies and held aloft as Mister Light placed the butterfly-wing crown gently upon its head.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Some say the weasel bowed solemnly. Others claim it began to dance. Either way, it was a moment for the history books.
Epilogue
By the time the wizard finally remembered their familiar, the weasel was lounging on a cushion in the staff tent, enjoying an impressive plate of carnival treats: fried dough, candied apples, and a very small cup of fizzy drink.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
After the sight of the Jabberwok, Barria is humbled a bit. But just a bit, after all, every world has their ups and downs, don't they? At least now they had an idea what the one to avoid in this world was. Actually, that was a bit of luck if you think about it.
She was about to voice this opinion when Glister started talking about Gleam and his worries. She gets in step with him and like Rowan, does her best to cheer him up. "Cookies? Why, I think I still have one in my pocket!" (I believe she didn't eat the last one? If she did, ignore this part) and hands it over to Rowan.
She tsk tsk's at G'Reg when he realizes he left his pet at the carnival, and mutters under her breath, but probably loud enough for him to hear, "No wonder he lost his hoe, can't even keep track of his pet."
Turning towards the delightful dandelion, "So, how much further? I am getting a bit parched, are you?"
"my hoe didn't have legs, an appetite for mischief, and a wholly over inflated ego, I'll have you know!" The gnome states from behind a pointed and accusing finger held toward Barria, he did wonder what had happened to the weasel, but concludes with a sense of unearned certainty that it definitely couldn't have made too much of a spectacle of itself "Besides, don't you act all high and mighty, you lost something t- oh are we here! Well then let's go chat with some weird creatures I guess."
Rowan says "Good-bye" to the dogs in the language that Amidor just used without noticing that he's spoken anything other than common.
He then continues on the way with the others, listening to Glister as he speaks.
"Oh, I didn't lose anything, but these three all did. But either they forgot they lost what they're looking for or they didn't think it was such a big deal until recently. Have you ever noticed that? Some people completely forget about something but when they're reminded it suddenly becomes the most important thing in the world? Have you noticed how normal this place seems?" Rowan says before continuing. "No one has ever suggested I could be a hero. I had planned on being a musician with the carnival but I don't think I like that carnival very much any more. We really had to make the owners show us the way here. Though I'm not sure they're really the owners. I got the impression they really stole the carnival from someone else. But you're sister? Well she seems to be where we're going. It would be just mean not to try and rescue her while we're there."
He continues along for another moment.
"My parent's called me special sometimes but I don't think they meant it as a compliment. So maybe it's a good thing to not be special." Rowan says. Then he asks "Are you from here?"
The more Rowan talks, the more Glister seems to relax and open up himself, until he is babbling almost as much as Rowan does. His bright-coloured hair still seems to somehow avoid becoming dulled in the perpetual gloom like all other colours, and up close Rowan can see the faint remains of face-paint, done like a stylised sun-mask.
Sometimes I forget to eat, and then when I remember I feel really hungry. Is that the same? I'm not from here, no... and this place doesn't feel normal to me at all. People at the carnival called us special - me and Gleam - but we're just acrobats. Anyone could do that with some practice. But now that you mention it, our parents used to say something similar about us. Not 'special'. 'Touched' is the word they used. I don't know if that's a good thing. Mister Witch and Mister Light were always nice to us. They looked after everyone at the carnival, at least that's how I remember them. But yeah, they were sad after Gleam left, and were never the same afterwards. I can't imagine them stealing anything from anyone though...
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Greg touches his ear as the dogs and Amidor and then much to his surprise Rowan of all people begin speaking in this odd language, but Greg understands it aöö the same, "useful..." he mumbles but doesn't interject anything as the group seem to be fully capable of sorting things without his grumbling thoughts.
As things turn to the carnival though, Greg cannot help himself "Witch and Light may not have stolen anything themselves but they are quite happy to let it happen and cover up their own involvement in the whole thing, they've no backbone those two, utter cowards I tell ya! They seemed concerned over your sister aye, but they knew exactly who had taken her and weren't concerned enough to sacrifice anything of theirs to get her back!" he crosses his arms as they walk letting his mind wander and focussing more on puzzling things out before shouting out from nowhere a while later, "DAMMNIT! I left that bloody weasel in the carnival.... hmphh! well I hope it's causing them no end of trouble!"
The Adventures of a Forgotten Weasel
When the gnome wizard and their companions stepped through the shimmering portal to Prismeer, there was a small, almost imperceptible pause. A blink of confusion crossed the beady little eyes of the wizard’s weasel familiar as it sat on Mister Light’s shoulder. One whisker twitched.
Then, seeing the party vanish, the weasel made a decision.
After all, the carnival was still buzzing with music, laughter, and the smell of fried dough. It wasn’t every day a humble weasel got free rein of the Witchlight Carnival — and without a wizard constantly summoning it back into danger, it was time to live a little...
Act I: Carnival Celebrity
First, the weasel hopped down from Mister Light’s shoulder and strutted into the crowd with a confidence rarely seen in a creature under a pound in weight. A few children noticed it and squealed with delight, assuming it was part of the show. Soon, a small parade of patrons followed it as it darted through the carnival grounds.
The weasel stopped at the snail racing track, where the announcer immediately declared it the honorary “Starter’s Whistle.” A tiny ribbon was tied around its neck, and at the count of three it was placed on the track — not to race, but to scamper dramatically between the snails and wave its little paws. The crowd roared with laughter and applause.
Act II: Pixie Kingdom Tea Time
Feeling peckish, the weasel followed the sweet smell of honey and flowers to the Pixie Kingdom attraction. The pixies, delighted to have a “giant” visitor, crowned it with a thimble-sized garland of dandelion fluff and served it thimblefuls of nectar tea. According to carnival gossip, the weasel was an exceptional conversationalist — nodding politely at all the right moments and chittering in ways that the pixies found terribly profound.
One pixie even swore that the weasel solved their romantic dilemma by squeaking twice when asked if true love was worth pursuing. (It was.)
Act III: Spreading Joy
By now, the weasel was a local celebrity. It wandered the carnival handing out luck (or at least, giving very lucky pats with its little nose) and turning up exactly where it was needed:
It tripped a pickpocket just before he snatched a purse.
It popped a balloon that was scaring a toddler.
It rode a carousel horse three times in a row, much to the delight of everyone watching.
Act IV: The Coronation
As twilight fell, Mister Light called everyone together to name the Witchlight Monarch — the patron who had done the most to spread cheer that day. It was a foregone conclusion. The ribbon still tied around its neck, the garland slightly askew, the weasel was carried forward by two pixies and held aloft as Mister Light placed the butterfly-wing crown gently upon its head.
The crowd erupted in cheers.
Some say the weasel bowed solemnly. Others claim it began to dance. Either way, it was a moment for the history books.
Epilogue
By the time the wizard finally remembered their familiar, the weasel was lounging on a cushion in the staff tent, enjoying an impressive plate of carnival treats: fried dough, candied apples, and a very small cup of fizzy drink.
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
After the sight of the Jabberwok, Barria is humbled a bit. But just a bit, after all, every world has their ups and downs, don't they? At least now they had an idea what the one to avoid in this world was. Actually, that was a bit of luck if you think about it.
She was about to voice this opinion when Glister started talking about Gleam and his worries. She gets in step with him and like Rowan, does her best to cheer him up. "Cookies? Why, I think I still have one in my pocket!" (I believe she didn't eat the last one? If she did, ignore this part) and hands it over to Rowan.
She tsk tsk's at G'Reg when he realizes he left his pet at the carnival, and mutters under her breath, but probably loud enough for him to hear, "No wonder he lost his hoe, can't even keep track of his pet."
Turning towards the delightful dandelion, "So, how much further? I am getting a bit parched, are you?"
"my hoe didn't have legs, an appetite for mischief, and a wholly over inflated ego, I'll have you know!" The gnome states from behind a pointed and accusing finger held toward Barria, he did wonder what had happened to the weasel, but concludes with a sense of unearned certainty that it definitely couldn't have made too much of a spectacle of itself "Besides, don't you act all high and mighty, you lost something t- oh are we here! Well then let's go chat with some weird creatures I guess."