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"maybe..." Greg returns to the wood elf. "But if that's the case the lady won't like us being here even more... I searched for my hoe, using magic, it's not here, I don't understand but I'm working on a theory... What if something else was stolen from me along with my hoe, something I don't know that I desired because that it has been stolen from me... I know gleam took my hoe, so it should be here, the fact that it isn't could mean something worse, see."
Rowan saunters into the library, waving at several of the goblins, all of whom ignore him completely. The dark cloaked figures however do not, and about half of them look up as he enters.
The dark figures are mostly of about the same height and stature as a goblin, but with cloven feet. Their skin is grey, and the faces that peer out from under the dark hoods have pointed noses, small mouths with sharp teeth, and black eyes with small white pupils. These must be the darklings that Charmay referred to. One of the dark fey creatures is taller and more human-like in form, but with the same grey skin and black eyes. None make any attempt to prevent Rowan from entering.
Greginald continues to peer cautiously through the curtain, watching Rowan's entrance into the library.
Suddenly a chime sounds, like that of a small bell, but loud enough to echo through the whole castle. A voice begins to speak...
THE ORRERY OF TRAGEDIES HAS PROPHECIED THEIR ARRIVAL. THE PERFORMANCE IS DUE TO COMMENCE IN FIVE MINUTES. PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS.
As one, the darklings rise from their positions, place their books either on their seats or back on the shelves, and start to file out of the right-side exit toward the audience seating.
Barria
Hurly doesn't respond to Barria's initial questions, but simply shrugs hopelessly, as though answering just makes the despair more real. However, the dwarf's final question makes the bugbear sit up straight and turn to face Barria.
Really? You'd... let me? He wipes his tear-streaked fur, and glances at the dragon head beside him. You wouldn't make a fool out of me, would you? I don't think I could...
At that moment a chime sounds, like that of a small bell, but loud enough to echo through the whole castle. A voice begins to speak...
THE ORRERY OF TRAGEDIES HAS PROPHECIED THEIR ARRIVAL. THE PERFORMANCE IS DUE TO COMMENCE IN FIVE MINUTES. PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS.
Hurly looks up pleadingly at Barria.
Mulligan
Prepared for whatever may come, Mulligan slips out of the corridor onto the balcony. The tall voluminous figure of Endelyn Moongrave looms just to his right, leaning up to the balustrade of the balcony, but her attention seems fixed on the smoky runes that rise from the contraption below, and on the task of inscribing them into her book. With less sound than a feather falling on carpet, and like a shadow moving among shadows, Mulligan slips slowly along the corridor. Not a flinch of recognition is observed from the hag nearby.
Moving slowly, carefully, Mulligan inches his way around the balcony. He is about halfway to the far corridor when suddenly Endelyn's book slams shut with a thud! A chime sounds, like that of a small bell, but loud enough to echo through the whole castle. Endelyn's voice, magically amplified, shoots a bolt of fear through Mulligan's chest...
MULLIGAN O'MENIHAN
How? How could she...?She wasn't even facing him! She couldn't have... His hand grasps the ball-bearings, drawing them out of the pouch, preparing to cast them over the balustrade to the machine below...
BARRIA COPPERKETTLE
What? Was the dwarf also...? Mulligan's hand pauses mid-throw, his eyes casting about frantically...
G'REGINALD G'NOME
...?
ROWAN BIRCH
THE ORRERY OF TRAGEDIES HAS PROPHECIED THEIR ARRIVAL. THEIR PERFORMANCE IS DUE TO COMMENCE IN FIVE MINUTES. PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS.
The hag pockets her book, turns from the balustrade, and exits through the double doors behind her, leaving Mulligan alone on the balcony.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Weird. That's us. Well not you and me us, me and my friends us. Not that you're not my friend... The four names, that is me and the three I came to this realm with, is what I mean. Kind of spooky, her knowing we are all here, eh? Then again, we were all given tickets when we arrived... Do you suppose she can just sense that the tickets are inside the castle, maybe? Seems a lot less spooky that way...
Mulligan got a bit chatty after the scare, mentally talking to Break-A-Leg with a lot more chatter then he usually bothers with. But not suddenly being imperiled for your life can be quite liberating, he supposed.
Still, Break-A-Leg isn't the only one he should be talking to, is it?
Umm, she knows you're here. Well, we're here.
Mulligan says over the Group Chat to Barria, G'ReG and Rowan. Or at least tries to. He thinks they should still be in range but it's not like he ever put that to a scientific study or anything. (Must be within 1 mile...)
The hag, that is. She just spoke all our names one by one and said the orrery of tragedies has prophesied our arrival. Near enough to that, anyway. That we were performing in five minutes. It was kind of like announcement because she concluded by saying "take your seats..."
What exactly they were due to be performing Mulligan wasn't sure but maybe they did...
Stay safe. I think I am close to the ornithopter thing. I will do what I can to disable it...
And then Mulligan continues on in hopes of doing just that.
Rowan looks up when hears their names spoken and then looks back at Greg and shrugs.
”Maybe we should head back to find Barria. There were a few other actors back there too. What if we try to pass one off as Mulligan? She probably doesn’t know what he looks like.”
"Why of course you can!" Barria responds without even really thinking about it. In fact she is more eager to get him feeling better that she belatedly realized the voice on the speaker system? said all of their full names. Did she even know all of their full names? She couldn't recall. Not only that, wasn't Mully in hiding? How was he called out? She finds herself swallowing a lump in her throat.
She then stands up next to Hurly and deciding not to let that bother her, she holds out her hand to the bugbear, "Now, have you worn that dragonborn costume before? If so I think we need to find something new! And either way, what kind of character do you want to be? Sounds like we have to be on stage pronto!"
Hurly nervously admits he hasn't played the green dragon character yet, as he still hasn't managed to learn his lines, but suggests that he would feel more confident remaining hidden inside the costume. Greg pokes his head into the dressing room to grunt at Barria to hurry up, when he sees Hurly and decides this bugbear in a dragon suit will suffice to replace Mulligan, as Rowan suggested, assuring the goblinoid that it would actually be better that he didn't speak at all.
The four are just leaving the props room when Charmay arrives to ensure they are all ready and to escort them to the side of the stage. She gives a dubious side-eye to the dragon-costumed bugbear, who is still putting his head on, and who she apparently knows and recognises. But then she asks:
The old hag announced four actors. She's never wrong... or I should say, her orrery is unfailingly accurate. I'm guessing you're the Copperpot and you're the Tree (pointing at Barria and Rowan), and obviously you're G'rumpy G'nome (looking down at Greg). Who's the fourth? Not the flower, surely!
Mulligan
With his way now apparently clear, Mulligan moves as quickly as he dares to the far passage, taking the right-side door onto an exterior balcony. The view of the surrounding area from here is more impressive than from the stage below, and Mulligan can see far out across the lightning-lashed mountain peaks, and the network of lightning rods all channeling their crackling energy in to the condensing rod that juts from the dome behind. Glancing down to the amphitheater below, Mulligan can see the audience bleachers slowly filling up with the darkling creatures he saw earlier, as well as a number of the goblins from the undercroft preparing to operate the machinery of the stage. However, he knows he doesn't have time for sightseeing, and turns his attention to the contraption that dominates the area of the balcony.
The ornithopter is eight feet long, with a wingspan of fourteen feet. It has a round bird’s head with beady eyes and a metal beak, and leathery wings are folded against its chassis. A complex series of wires and pulleys appear to operate the thing, although Mulligan senses that it is not entirely mechanical, and likely magical too (passive Investigation/Arcana).
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Rowan looks at Charmay and then at Barria and Greg.
"I'm to play a tree?" Rowan finally asks, looking down at his robe and then feeling the crown on his head. "Is it a regal tree? What would a regal tree be? I think the giant red cedars are quite magnificent. Though my village does hold a special ceremony every ring day for the giant sequoia in the center of the village. So perhaps a sequoia? But then again, humans seem to really like the oak. And I've heard of something called a baobab. They don't grow where I'm from but I really would like to see one some day."
Then he looks back to Barria again.
"Do you know how a copper pot and a tree would interact?"
From where the group are, can they see an audience? A box where the hag sits? Or are they still behind a curtain?
"the flower will do!" Says the 'Rumpy 'Nome as he puts on his Rumpy Nome costume. "If she's 'never' wrong we don't want her to start doubting herself now, it'll only make her suspicious. Let's get this show on the road so your little plan goes off without a hitch eh?"
"I mean the flower could do the job for Mulligan, but I think our dragonborn costumed friend would be best suited our fourth! Right Hurly? I mean... Mully?"she winks at him.
Turning to Rowan, "Hmmm... I mean maybe you could" and she finger quotes "'burn' your branches and I would cook something? I have no idea! Maybe cook the flower.. that's why its a tragedy?" She looks towards their new flower friend and shrugs.
Rowan starts shifting from foot to foot at the side of the stage, his emotions and nerves starting to get the better of him.
"Let's just get it over with," Rowan finally says. He starts looking around for the goblin with the sceptre. He won't go on stage until he's figured out where the sceptre is.
Mulligan finds the contraption amazing and spectacular. Still he's unsure he believes it can actually fly. If it could it had to do so at least as much by magic as by... Well, by these strings and wires and wings and such. Magic not being his thing he is at a bit of a loss about how to stop it from doing what it does, but there must be a reason for the strings and wires and delicate looking things. Doesn't there?
Mulligan approaches the contraption slowly, from the shadows, trying to avoid prying eyes. Those of the Hag and the Goblins and such, but also those of the device. They seem lifeless but seeming is not promising. Or guaranteeing.
The plan, as much as he has one, is to slip to the far side and disconnect a few (or more) of the wires. Perhaps jam up a pulley or two with torn up clothes, perhaps some of the honeycomb he got earlier to gum up the works. He's not a tinkerer per se but he does have his thieves tools and a bit of determination. He'd rather his alterations not be obvious but his REAL priority is feeling confident that the thing won't work...
No, I meant... the names she announced, your names. Charmay tries to navigate through the confusing conversation. Birch-tree-something, Copper-something. I didn't catch them all. But there were four of you.
From the edge of the stage, it is possible to glimpse the right side of the main amphitheater, but the left side boxes are still out of view. Charmay hushes the chatter and whispers some last minute instructions:
Now, just go out there and enjoy yourselves. If you do well, Endelyn will likely grant you a private audience. That's good. Just agree to anything she says. It won't matter... any deals will be void when she's dead. If she doesn't grant you an audience... that's okay, you'll still be allowed to stay, but you might be watched a bit more closely than we'd like. Just... don't mess up too badly.
She ceases her direction as Stagefright the goblin appears from across the back of the stage. He is clutching his identical-twin, the jester-shaped scepter in his likeness, and wears a scowl much as before. His comments and suggestions sound more like commands:
Orright Charmay, you get em ready, then? One, two, three, four... all here... good. Costumes and make-up? Hmm, looks a little underdone. Nuthin' for it now, just a few minutes and lights are up. Just waitin' for Her Ladyship to appear in her box and I'll introduce ya. Ah, dragged out the green dragon again, ay? That's one of Hurly's favourites, not that he's much good at it. I'm sure ye'll do better, hehe. Speak up nice an' loud, and stick to yer cues, and we'll take care of the backdrops. I'll be here to prompt ya if ya forget yer lines.
Shortly after this pep talk, there is a brief muffled applause from the audience, upon which Stagefright steps out onto the stage and calls out:
Greetings, one and all. Making their stage debut are four new actors from distant lands, performing for your delight the play... er... a novel interpretation of several classic tragedies. Please give them a warm welcome...
The applause is again rather muted, but the goblin waves his scepter dramatically, indicating to the performers to take their places on stage...
--------------------------------------------
Everyone please make three separate Performance skill checks, one to represent each act of the play. We will make each act a group check, and see how each of the three acts rates, to determine how well the play is received.
Mulligan
Mulligan slips in underneath the folded wings of the ornithopter, and starts to identify a few weak spots that could be candidates for sabotage. He retrieves the items and things that he requires, and is just about to make a start, when there is movement on the balcony. The hag appears from the doorway, somehow even more imposing now as she glides forward toward the balustrade. Muffled applause rises from below and the hag raises one bony arm to silence the crowd, after which the voice of Stagefright the goblin is heard from below:
Greetings, one and all. Making their stage debut are four new actors from distant lands, performing for your delight the play... er... a novel interpretation of several classic tragedies. Please give them a warm welcome...
There are no seats on the balcony, and the hag remains standing just beside the ornithopter, barely ten feet away from Mulligan.
------------------------------
If Mulligan would like to proceed with the sabotage, then he can make an Investigation roll, or any other skill check that you think matches his intentions here. He can use his thieves' tools, but as it is somewhat out of context, they will provide no special advantage.
Please also make a Stealth roll. If he proceeds with the sabotage while Endelyn is present, then the Stealth roll is made with disadvantage. Otherwise he can remain stationary and roll normally.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Rowan dashes out on to the stage, with no clue where his place is supposed to be but he does make a grab for the scepter at the same time, whispering "That would totally complete my costume. A king needs a scepter." (Grapple? - Athletics - (3+10) = 13)
Rowan yoinks the staff right out of Stagefright's hand, and trots onto the stage. The goblin is caught off-guard, and begins to object, but immediately stops as the weak applause from the audience dies down to nothing, leaving the stage in silence.... Apparently even this goblin stage manager doesn't dare to disrupt a live performance with his mistress watching. Instead he slinks back into the wings and waits sullenly...
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
If Mulligan would like to proceed with the sabotage, then he can make an Investigation roll, or any other skill check that you think matches his intentions here. He can use his thieves' tools, but as it is somewhat out of context, they will provide no special advantage.
Please also make a Stealth roll. If he proceeds with the sabotage while Endelyn is present, then the Stealth roll is made with disadvantage. Otherwise he can remain stationary and roll normally.
Mulligan freezes behind the contraption for a moment when the Hag first steps onto the balcony, but then he does his version of a comedy and basically parallels he motions in reverse, working to stealthily keep the contraption totally between him and her. While he does so, he takes a moment here or there to stick some gooey honeycomb into a cog or to snip a wire which seems like perhaps it is important.
((Thieve's tools mainly mentioned to assure that he does have tools which could assist in undoing a screw, perhaps, or cutting a wire. He actually has tinker's tools too...))
Investigation to determine where to gunk up the works or snip the right thing - 17 plus Psi Bolstered Knack if needed makes it 19
Stealth to move and tinker around without being spotted, with disadvantage - 7 or 2 +8 for a total of 10plus Psi Bolstered Knack, cause it is probably needed, makes it just a 13...
With the hag only a short distance away, Mulligan steps lightly, moving among the wires and cogs of the ornithopter, whose broad wings cast long, animated shadows across the balcony from the lightning overhead. He makes quick, practiced guesses at which parts would most likely fail, and applies his skills accordingly, starting at the tail and gradually moving forward. The sound of the audience below and the goblin announcer fade, replaced by occasional snippets of sound from voices that he recognises: Barria, Rowan and Greg.
Removing one last screw from a pedal, Mulligan turns to withdraw... but the brim of his hat catches on a protruding armature.
Twang.
Mulligan freezes.
The hag turns. A gruesome skeletal face, half-obscured behind a black gauzy veil, peers through the tangle of the ornithopter frame. There is no screech of alarm, no cackling spells... but instead a soft, gentle croon like a mother telling a bedside story...
Come forward, my child. Don't be afraid. This is the best seat in the house! Would you like to watch the play with me?
A long, bony arm extends from the folds of the huge dress, and beckons to Mulligan.
Barria, Rowan, Greg (and Hurly)
A score of squat darklings are scattered throughout the theater seating. Several taller cloaked figures appear in the two boxes directly above. On the highest balcony on the left is a hulking dark shape, a huge black dress briefly silhouetted by flashes of lightning.
The play begins... and the opening is surprisingly strong! Barria and Rowan step onto the stage with confidence and presence. Their delivery is measured and emotive. The audience leans in, soaking in the themes of love, doom and inevitability. Greg on the other hand doesn't land... his lack of mental preparation is evident, and he interrupts crucial emotional beats with his timing too early or too late. Hurly simply stands there awkwardly, like a statue of a green dragon.
The second act sags even further. Shaken by Greg's ineptitude, Rowan and Barria lose confidence. Their voices soften at the wrong times, pauses linger a little too long... they aren't bad, just significantly lacking the luster of their opening. Greg's failure only worsens, with the gnome's stubborn attempts to compensate only translating to deeper foibles. Meanwhile the green dragon statue continues to block a portion of the stage like a lamppost in the desert: visible, pointless, and ignored. The darklings lean back in their seats and whisper amongst themselves.
The actors struggle on... and Greg finally hits his stride. Perhaps it's his gnomish defiance but his lines are delivered with astonishing bitterness and honesty. Apparently drawing his courage from the gnome, Hurly also starts to act, responding to Greg's cues with equal feeling. But it's too late to resurrect the slump, and with their energy spent, Rowan and Barria thump out their final lines with resignation. The audience claps politely, with the wedding as well as the play unconsummated.
The four actors slouch off stage back into the wings as the audience rise from their seats to file out. Rowan still grips Stagefright's scepter, although the goblin is nowhere to be seen. Only Charmay stands there with a blank look.
Well... that was a tragedy all right, she says. You'll be lucky if Endelyn doesn't send you to the tool-shop to work with the goblins. We can only hope that...
Charmay is cut off as a darkling runner appears with a scrap of parchment, which it hands to Greginald before departing. The cursive handwriting reads:
Thank you for a most entertaining performance. Please join me in my private auditorium for a personal introduction. I look forward to meeting the four of you. EM
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Mulligan asks telepathically of the hag, wanting to remind her that he is a guest.
Not being much of a thespian myself I didn't want to ruin the play by performing in it. As you suggested, I instead wanted to watch what the others put on from the best seats.
Mulligan approaches as he transmits the words, but he is careful to try to sty just out of reach. Not that she likely needs to resort to physical attacks if she is of a mind to do ill against him.
So... What did I miss? Can you tell me what this play is about?
G'Reg reads the note in quiet conspiriacy with the other two (and hurly) before shrugging, "I never professed myself to be no actor or anything..." then louder so that charmay can hear " I assume that if we don't turn up we'll be havin' some issues with darklings hm?"
Why indeed, replies Endelyn, with a hint of amusement, her eyes fixed on the rogue.
Not being much of a thespian myself I didn't want to ruin the play by performing in it. As you suggested, I instead wanted to watch what the others put on from the best seats.
Oh, I'm sure you would have done just fine, Mulligan, says the hag, using his name for the first time. Did she know it before? Or was she just making a clever deduction? You seem to have ways of turning your... impediments... into skills.
So... What did I miss? Can you tell me what this play is about?
Endelyn finally turns her gaze away from Mulligan and back to the stage. It's a rather curious mixture of several related themes. Two of your friends are doing quite well. One not so much.
Mulligan remains nearby, but not too close, watching the proceedings below, wondering whether any hint of his true purpose on the balcony was revealed. If so, Endelyn has made no sign to betray such. She continues to quietly comment at selected moments in the play, or simply laughing softly, all with the same saccharine tones. Mulligan would like to blame the static charge in the air, but he can't deny that the proximity of the hag causes the hairs on his arms and back to tingle and rise.
The play does indeed seems to be going well, with Barria and Rowan carrying the show as Greg struggles. A fourth character, dressed in a full costume resembling a green dragon, is also present on the stage; their face is hidden within the head, but still there seems to be little or no attempt at dialogue, or acting of any kind. The performance dips in quality as Barria and Rowan try unsuccessfully to lift their efforts in compensation for Greg's lacklustre acting, with the dragon-figure remaining as immobile as a dead tree. Finally at the end, Greg seems to find his voice, and makes an earnest and surprisingly emotional monologue. The dragon also arrives in this third act, still voiceless, but with some animated acting that complements Greg's efforst. Unfortunately, by this point Barria and Rowan seem to have exhausted their limits, and even the late rally by Greg and the dragon can't salvage the ending.
To Mulligan's surprise, Endelyn actually seems amused by the whole show, and chuckles sweetly as she turns to Mulligan and asks:
Well, what did you think of their little play?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Charmay's eyes widen at Greg's question, and she responds: You mean she actually invited you?
She seems speechless for a moment, but then collects herself and calmly adds: The darklings will not harm you if you have garnered Endelyn's favour. But it would be impolite to refuse her. The more she likes and trusts you, the smoother will be our treachery.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
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"maybe..." Greg returns to the wood elf. "But if that's the case the lady won't like us being here even more... I searched for my hoe, using magic, it's not here, I don't understand but I'm working on a theory... What if something else was stolen from me along with my hoe, something I don't know that I desired because that it has been stolen from me... I know gleam took my hoe, so it should be here, the fact that it isn't could mean something worse, see."
Rowan, Greginald
Rowan saunters into the library, waving at several of the goblins, all of whom ignore him completely. The dark cloaked figures however do not, and about half of them look up as he enters.
The dark figures are mostly of about the same height and stature as a goblin, but with cloven feet. Their skin is grey, and the faces that peer out from under the dark hoods have pointed noses, small mouths with sharp teeth, and black eyes with small white pupils. These must be the darklings that Charmay referred to. One of the dark fey creatures is taller and more human-like in form, but with the same grey skin and black eyes. None make any attempt to prevent Rowan from entering.
Greginald continues to peer cautiously through the curtain, watching Rowan's entrance into the library.
Suddenly a chime sounds, like that of a small bell, but loud enough to echo through the whole castle. A voice begins to speak...
MULLIGAN O'MENIHAN
BARRIA COPPERKETTLE
G'REGINALD G'NOME
ROWAN BIRCH
THE ORRERY OF TRAGEDIES HAS PROPHECIED THEIR ARRIVAL.
THE PERFORMANCE IS DUE TO COMMENCE IN FIVE MINUTES.
PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS.
As one, the darklings rise from their positions, place their books either on their seats or back on the shelves, and start to file out of the right-side exit toward the audience seating.
Barria
Hurly doesn't respond to Barria's initial questions, but simply shrugs hopelessly, as though answering just makes the despair more real. However, the dwarf's final question makes the bugbear sit up straight and turn to face Barria.
Really? You'd... let me? He wipes his tear-streaked fur, and glances at the dragon head beside him. You wouldn't make a fool out of me, would you? I don't think I could...
At that moment a chime sounds, like that of a small bell, but loud enough to echo through the whole castle. A voice begins to speak...
MULLIGAN O'MENIHAN
BARRIA COPPERKETTLE
G'REGINALD G'NOME
ROWAN BIRCH
THE ORRERY OF TRAGEDIES HAS PROPHECIED THEIR ARRIVAL.
THE PERFORMANCE IS DUE TO COMMENCE IN FIVE MINUTES.
PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS.
Hurly looks up pleadingly at Barria.
Mulligan
Prepared for whatever may come, Mulligan slips out of the corridor onto the balcony. The tall voluminous figure of Endelyn Moongrave looms just to his right, leaning up to the balustrade of the balcony, but her attention seems fixed on the smoky runes that rise from the contraption below, and on the task of inscribing them into her book. With less sound than a feather falling on carpet, and like a shadow moving among shadows, Mulligan slips slowly along the corridor. Not a flinch of recognition is observed from the hag nearby.
Moving slowly, carefully, Mulligan inches his way around the balcony. He is about halfway to the far corridor when suddenly Endelyn's book slams shut with a thud! A chime sounds, like that of a small bell, but loud enough to echo through the whole castle. Endelyn's voice, magically amplified, shoots a bolt of fear through Mulligan's chest...
MULLIGAN O'MENIHAN
How? How could she...? She wasn't even facing him! She couldn't have... His hand grasps the ball-bearings, drawing them out of the pouch, preparing to cast them over the balustrade to the machine below...
BARRIA COPPERKETTLE
What? Was the dwarf also...? Mulligan's hand pauses mid-throw, his eyes casting about frantically...
G'REGINALD G'NOME
...?
ROWAN BIRCH
THE ORRERY OF TRAGEDIES HAS PROPHECIED THEIR ARRIVAL.
THEIR PERFORMANCE IS DUE TO COMMENCE IN FIVE MINUTES.
PLEASE TAKE YOUR SEATS.
The hag pockets her book, turns from the balustrade, and exits through the double doors behind her, leaving Mulligan alone on the balcony.
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Weird. That's us. Well not you and me us, me and my friends us. Not that you're not my friend... The four names, that is me and the three I came to this realm with, is what I mean. Kind of spooky, her knowing we are all here, eh? Then again, we were all given tickets when we arrived... Do you suppose she can just sense that the tickets are inside the castle, maybe? Seems a lot less spooky that way...
Mulligan got a bit chatty after the scare, mentally talking to Break-A-Leg with a lot more chatter then he usually bothers with. But not suddenly being imperiled for your life can be quite liberating, he supposed.
Still, Break-A-Leg isn't the only one he should be talking to, is it?
Umm, she knows you're here. Well, we're here.
Mulligan says over the Group Chat to Barria, G'ReG and Rowan. Or at least tries to. He thinks they should still be in range but it's not like he ever put that to a scientific study or anything. (Must be within 1 mile...)
The hag, that is. She just spoke all our names one by one and said the orrery of tragedies has prophesied our arrival. Near enough to that, anyway. That we were performing in five minutes. It was kind of like announcement because she concluded by saying "take your seats..."
What exactly they were due to be performing Mulligan wasn't sure but maybe they did...
Stay safe. I think I am close to the ornithopter thing. I will do what I can to disable it...
And then Mulligan continues on in hopes of doing just that.
Rowan looks up when hears their names spoken and then looks back at Greg and shrugs.
”Maybe we should head back to find Barria. There were a few other actors back there too. What if we try to pass one off as Mulligan? She probably doesn’t know what he looks like.”
"Why of course you can!" Barria responds without even really thinking about it. In fact she is more eager to get him feeling better that she belatedly realized the voice on the speaker system? said all of their full names. Did she even know all of their full names? She couldn't recall. Not only that, wasn't Mully in hiding? How was he called out? She finds herself swallowing a lump in her throat.
She then stands up next to Hurly and deciding not to let that bother her, she holds out her hand to the bugbear, "Now, have you worn that dragonborn costume before? If so I think we need to find something new! And either way, what kind of character do you want to be? Sounds like we have to be on stage pronto!"
Barria, Greg, Rowan
Hurly nervously admits he hasn't played the green dragon character yet, as he still hasn't managed to learn his lines, but suggests that he would feel more confident remaining hidden inside the costume. Greg pokes his head into the dressing room to grunt at Barria to hurry up, when he sees Hurly and decides this bugbear in a dragon suit will suffice to replace Mulligan, as Rowan suggested, assuring the goblinoid that it would actually be better that he didn't speak at all.
The four are just leaving the props room when Charmay arrives to ensure they are all ready and to escort them to the side of the stage. She gives a dubious side-eye to the dragon-costumed bugbear, who is still putting his head on, and who she apparently knows and recognises. But then she asks:
The old hag announced four actors. She's never wrong... or I should say, her orrery is unfailingly accurate. I'm guessing you're the Copperpot and you're the Tree (pointing at Barria and Rowan), and obviously you're G'rumpy G'nome (looking down at Greg). Who's the fourth? Not the flower, surely!
Mulligan
With his way now apparently clear, Mulligan moves as quickly as he dares to the far passage, taking the right-side door onto an exterior balcony. The view of the surrounding area from here is more impressive than from the stage below, and Mulligan can see far out across the lightning-lashed mountain peaks, and the network of lightning rods all channeling their crackling energy in to the condensing rod that juts from the dome behind. Glancing down to the amphitheater below, Mulligan can see the audience bleachers slowly filling up with the darkling creatures he saw earlier, as well as a number of the goblins from the undercroft preparing to operate the machinery of the stage. However, he knows he doesn't have time for sightseeing, and turns his attention to the contraption that dominates the area of the balcony.
The ornithopter is eight feet long, with a wingspan of fourteen feet. It has a round bird’s head with beady eyes and a metal beak, and leathery wings are folded against its chassis. A complex series of wires and pulleys appear to operate the thing, although Mulligan senses that it is not entirely mechanical, and likely magical too (passive Investigation/Arcana).
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Rowan looks at Charmay and then at Barria and Greg.
"I'm to play a tree?" Rowan finally asks, looking down at his robe and then feeling the crown on his head. "Is it a regal tree? What would a regal tree be? I think the giant red cedars are quite magnificent. Though my village does hold a special ceremony every ring day for the giant sequoia in the center of the village. So perhaps a sequoia? But then again, humans seem to really like the oak. And I've heard of something called a baobab. They don't grow where I'm from but I really would like to see one some day."
Then he looks back to Barria again.
"Do you know how a copper pot and a tree would interact?"
From where the group are, can they see an audience? A box where the hag sits? Or are they still behind a curtain?
"the flower will do!" Says the 'Rumpy 'Nome as he puts on his Rumpy Nome costume. "If she's 'never' wrong we don't want her to start doubting herself now, it'll only make her suspicious. Let's get this show on the road so your little plan goes off without a hitch eh?"
"I mean the flower could do the job for Mulligan, but I think our dragonborn costumed friend would be best suited our fourth! Right Hurly? I mean... Mully?" she winks at him.
Turning to Rowan, "Hmmm... I mean maybe you could" and she finger quotes "'burn' your branches and I would cook something? I have no idea! Maybe cook the flower.. that's why its a tragedy?" She looks towards their new flower friend and shrugs.
Rowan starts shifting from foot to foot at the side of the stage, his emotions and nerves starting to get the better of him.
"Let's just get it over with," Rowan finally says. He starts looking around for the goblin with the sceptre. He won't go on stage until he's figured out where the sceptre is.
Mulligan finds the contraption amazing and spectacular. Still he's unsure he believes it can actually fly. If it could it had to do so at least as much by magic as by... Well, by these strings and wires and wings and such. Magic not being his thing he is at a bit of a loss about how to stop it from doing what it does, but there must be a reason for the strings and wires and delicate looking things. Doesn't there?
Mulligan approaches the contraption slowly, from the shadows, trying to avoid prying eyes. Those of the Hag and the Goblins and such, but also those of the device. They seem lifeless but seeming is not promising. Or guaranteeing.
The plan, as much as he has one, is to slip to the far side and disconnect a few (or more) of the wires. Perhaps jam up a pulley or two with torn up clothes, perhaps some of the honeycomb he got earlier to gum up the works. He's not a tinkerer per se but he does have his thieves tools and a bit of determination. He'd rather his alterations not be obvious but his REAL priority is feeling confident that the thing won't work...
Barria, Greg, Rowan
No, I meant... the names she announced, your names. Charmay tries to navigate through the confusing conversation. Birch-tree-something, Copper-something. I didn't catch them all. But there were four of you.
From the edge of the stage, it is possible to glimpse the right side of the main amphitheater, but the left side boxes are still out of view. Charmay hushes the chatter and whispers some last minute instructions:
Now, just go out there and enjoy yourselves. If you do well, Endelyn will likely grant you a private audience. That's good. Just agree to anything she says. It won't matter... any deals will be void when she's dead. If she doesn't grant you an audience... that's okay, you'll still be allowed to stay, but you might be watched a bit more closely than we'd like. Just... don't mess up too badly.
She ceases her direction as Stagefright the goblin appears from across the back of the stage. He is clutching his identical-twin, the jester-shaped scepter in his likeness, and wears a scowl much as before. His comments and suggestions sound more like commands:
Orright Charmay, you get em ready, then? One, two, three, four... all here... good. Costumes and make-up? Hmm, looks a little underdone. Nuthin' for it now, just a few minutes and lights are up. Just waitin' for Her Ladyship to appear in her box and I'll introduce ya. Ah, dragged out the green dragon again, ay? That's one of Hurly's favourites, not that he's much good at it. I'm sure ye'll do better, hehe. Speak up nice an' loud, and stick to yer cues, and we'll take care of the backdrops. I'll be here to prompt ya if ya forget yer lines.
Shortly after this pep talk, there is a brief muffled applause from the audience, upon which Stagefright steps out onto the stage and calls out:
Greetings, one and all. Making their stage debut are four new actors from distant lands, performing for your delight the play... er... a novel interpretation of several classic tragedies. Please give them a warm welcome...
The applause is again rather muted, but the goblin waves his scepter dramatically, indicating to the performers to take their places on stage...
--------------------------------------------
Everyone please make three separate Performance skill checks, one to represent each act of the play. We will make each act a group check, and see how each of the three acts rates, to determine how well the play is received.
Mulligan
Mulligan slips in underneath the folded wings of the ornithopter, and starts to identify a few weak spots that could be candidates for sabotage. He retrieves the items and things that he requires, and is just about to make a start, when there is movement on the balcony. The hag appears from the doorway, somehow even more imposing now as she glides forward toward the balustrade. Muffled applause rises from below and the hag raises one bony arm to silence the crowd, after which the voice of Stagefright the goblin is heard from below:
Greetings, one and all. Making their stage debut are four new actors from distant lands, performing for your delight the play... er... a novel interpretation of several classic tragedies. Please give them a warm welcome...
There are no seats on the balcony, and the hag remains standing just beside the ornithopter, barely ten feet away from Mulligan.
------------------------------
If Mulligan would like to proceed with the sabotage, then he can make an Investigation roll, or any other skill check that you think matches his intentions here. He can use his thieves' tools, but as it is somewhat out of context, they will provide no special advantage.
Please also make a Stealth roll. If he proceeds with the sabotage while Endelyn is present, then the Stealth roll is made with disadvantage. Otherwise he can remain stationary and roll normally.
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Barria, Greg, Rowan
Performance rolls: 19 (Nat 20 -1), 10 (11-1), 9 (10-1)
Rowan dashes out on to the stage, with no clue where his place is supposed to be but he does make a grab for the scepter at the same time, whispering "That would totally complete my costume. A king needs a scepter." (Grapple? - Athletics - (3+10) = 13)
Rowan yoinks the staff right out of Stagefright's hand, and trots onto the stage. The goblin is caught off-guard, and begins to object, but immediately stops as the weak applause from the audience dies down to nothing, leaving the stage in silence.... Apparently even this goblin stage manager doesn't dare to disrupt a live performance with his mistress watching. Instead he slinks back into the wings and waits sullenly...
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Mulligan freezes behind the contraption for a moment when the Hag first steps onto the balcony, but then he does his version of a comedy and basically parallels he motions in reverse, working to stealthily keep the contraption totally between him and her. While he does so, he takes a moment here or there to stick some gooey honeycomb into a cog or to snip a wire which seems like perhaps it is important.
((Thieve's tools mainly mentioned to assure that he does have tools which could assist in undoing a screw, perhaps, or cutting a wire. He actually has tinker's tools too...))
Investigation to determine where to gunk up the works or snip the right thing - 17 plus Psi Bolstered Knack if needed makes it 19
Stealth to move and tinker around without being spotted, with disadvantage - 7 or 2 +8 for a total of 10 plus Psi Bolstered Knack, cause it is probably needed, makes it just a 13...
Mulligan
With the hag only a short distance away, Mulligan steps lightly, moving among the wires and cogs of the ornithopter, whose broad wings cast long, animated shadows across the balcony from the lightning overhead. He makes quick, practiced guesses at which parts would most likely fail, and applies his skills accordingly, starting at the tail and gradually moving forward. The sound of the audience below and the goblin announcer fade, replaced by occasional snippets of sound from voices that he recognises: Barria, Rowan and Greg.
Removing one last screw from a pedal, Mulligan turns to withdraw... but the brim of his hat catches on a protruding armature.
Twang.
Mulligan freezes.
The hag turns. A gruesome skeletal face, half-obscured behind a black gauzy veil, peers through the tangle of the ornithopter frame. There is no screech of alarm, no cackling spells... but instead a soft, gentle croon like a mother telling a bedside story...
Come forward, my child. Don't be afraid. This is the best seat in the house! Would you like to watch the play with me?
A long, bony arm extends from the folds of the huge dress, and beckons to Mulligan.
Barria, Rowan, Greg (and Hurly)
A score of squat darklings are scattered throughout the theater seating. Several taller cloaked figures appear in the two boxes directly above. On the highest balcony on the left is a hulking dark shape, a huge black dress briefly silhouetted by flashes of lightning.
The play begins... and the opening is surprisingly strong! Barria and Rowan step onto the stage with confidence and presence. Their delivery is measured and emotive. The audience leans in, soaking in the themes of love, doom and inevitability. Greg on the other hand doesn't land... his lack of mental preparation is evident, and he interrupts crucial emotional beats with his timing too early or too late. Hurly simply stands there awkwardly, like a statue of a green dragon.
The second act sags even further. Shaken by Greg's ineptitude, Rowan and Barria lose confidence. Their voices soften at the wrong times, pauses linger a little too long... they aren't bad, just significantly lacking the luster of their opening. Greg's failure only worsens, with the gnome's stubborn attempts to compensate only translating to deeper foibles. Meanwhile the green dragon statue continues to block a portion of the stage like a lamppost in the desert: visible, pointless, and ignored. The darklings lean back in their seats and whisper amongst themselves.
The actors struggle on... and Greg finally hits his stride. Perhaps it's his gnomish defiance but his lines are delivered with astonishing bitterness and honesty. Apparently drawing his courage from the gnome, Hurly also starts to act, responding to Greg's cues with equal feeling. But it's too late to resurrect the slump, and with their energy spent, Rowan and Barria thump out their final lines with resignation. The audience claps politely, with the wedding as well as the play unconsummated.
The four actors slouch off stage back into the wings as the audience rise from their seats to file out. Rowan still grips Stagefright's scepter, although the goblin is nowhere to be seen. Only Charmay stands there with a blank look.
Well... that was a tragedy all right, she says. You'll be lucky if Endelyn doesn't send you to the tool-shop to work with the goblins. We can only hope that...
Charmay is cut off as a darkling runner appears with a scrap of parchment, which it hands to Greginald before departing. The cursive handwriting reads:
Thank you for a most entertaining performance. Please join me in my private auditorium for a personal introduction. I look forward to meeting the four of you.
EM
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Why would I be afraid when I was invited?
Mulligan asks telepathically of the hag, wanting to remind her that he is a guest.
Not being much of a thespian myself I didn't want to ruin the play by performing in it. As you suggested, I instead wanted to watch what the others put on from the best seats.
Mulligan approaches as he transmits the words, but he is careful to try to sty just out of reach. Not that she likely needs to resort to physical attacks if she is of a mind to do ill against him.
So... What did I miss? Can you tell me what this play is about?
G'Reg reads the note in quiet conspiriacy with the other two (and hurly) before shrugging, "I never professed myself to be no actor or anything..." then louder so that charmay can hear " I assume that if we don't turn up we'll be havin' some issues with darklings hm?"
Mulligan
Why would I be afraid when I was invited?
Why indeed, replies Endelyn, with a hint of amusement, her eyes fixed on the rogue.
Not being much of a thespian myself I didn't want to ruin the play by performing in it. As you suggested, I instead wanted to watch what the others put on from the best seats.
Oh, I'm sure you would have done just fine, Mulligan, says the hag, using his name for the first time. Did she know it before? Or was she just making a clever deduction? You seem to have ways of turning your... impediments... into skills.
So... What did I miss? Can you tell me what this play is about?
Endelyn finally turns her gaze away from Mulligan and back to the stage. It's a rather curious mixture of several related themes. Two of your friends are doing quite well. One not so much.
Mulligan remains nearby, but not too close, watching the proceedings below, wondering whether any hint of his true purpose on the balcony was revealed. If so, Endelyn has made no sign to betray such. She continues to quietly comment at selected moments in the play, or simply laughing softly, all with the same saccharine tones. Mulligan would like to blame the static charge in the air, but he can't deny that the proximity of the hag causes the hairs on his arms and back to tingle and rise.
The play does indeed seems to be going well, with Barria and Rowan carrying the show as Greg struggles. A fourth character, dressed in a full costume resembling a green dragon, is also present on the stage; their face is hidden within the head, but still there seems to be little or no attempt at dialogue, or acting of any kind. The performance dips in quality as Barria and Rowan try unsuccessfully to lift their efforts in compensation for Greg's lacklustre acting, with the dragon-figure remaining as immobile as a dead tree. Finally at the end, Greg seems to find his voice, and makes an earnest and surprisingly emotional monologue. The dragon also arrives in this third act, still voiceless, but with some animated acting that complements Greg's efforst. Unfortunately, by this point Barria and Rowan seem to have exhausted their limits, and even the late rally by Greg and the dragon can't salvage the ending.
To Mulligan's surprise, Endelyn actually seems amused by the whole show, and chuckles sweetly as she turns to Mulligan and asks:
Well, what did you think of their little play?
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?
Greginald et al
Charmay's eyes widen at Greg's question, and she responds: You mean she actually invited you?
She seems speechless for a moment, but then collects herself and calmly adds: The darklings will not harm you if you have garnered Endelyn's favour. But it would be impolite to refuse her. The more she likes and trusts you, the smoother will be our treachery.
How does a red dragon blow out the candles on its birthday cake?