Category:Plot

Exposition
Our story begins with a circus placed directly in the center of a bustling town. This town, Grasmere, is full of many different races and species yet is divided by the very thing that makes it so different. The circus in question is the famous (or rather, infamous) Cirque du Rosél. Owned by the ringmaster Hyde Rosél, this circus is made up of many interesting people and acts from all walks of life. Upon entering, maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of a half elven musician or a tattooed animal trainer with bright white hair. No one knows what you might come across where the world of the lucky and the damned collide.

Welcome to the region you might know as Icareeli or Akar, depending on where in it you dwell.

This tale is set in a world where you are either one of The Ones or one of The Others. The Ones are characterized by their elegance, pale colors, riches, and power. The Ones are those who appear human or "human-passing", this includes Humans, Elves, and Halflings. In their culture, Aasimar and Kalashtar are practically worshiped as everyday royalty. The Others, on the other hand, are characterized by their poor living conditions, earth tones, and the hatred from The Ones that seems to follow them most places they go. They include every other race that doesn't appear human. Examples of these races are Dwarves, Aarakocra, Tieflings, Goblins, Orcs, etc.

There are, of course, places where the boundaries between races seem to blur. Our traveling circus is a prime example. If you find yourself in the A'erandi Forest, you will be accepted by the wild whether you are The One or The Other. That is, if you're pure of heart.

Session 0, Pregame
Our game begins within the tent of the great Cirque du Rosél. Each of the Player Characters are getting things ready for a performance. We first see Marie Anderson and Anya, a fellow trapeze artist, setting up the ropes for their act. Jerald, the dwarven clown, runs below, calling up to Marie. He says that Hyde Rosél, the ringmaster, needs to see her. Marie and Anya exchange a few words and Marie climbs down, walking with Jerald.

Next, we meet Castien Elhorn. He is talking to Uthal about Keothi, Uthal's bear cub. Uthal explains that Keothi has been eating more than usual and Cas tells the Goliath not to worry. Jerald runs in once more and tells Castien the same thing he told Marie.

We are then introduced to Hugo Gutierremar, Gerry, and Geri. Hugo is tuning up some instruments while the two dwarves sing, joined by Jerald. Veréli walks into the musicians' area, saying that Hyde needs her to gather up the rest of the party but she doesn't want to. She tells Jerald to do it and he gets angry, his husbands having to hold him back. Jerald ends up taking Hugo and the other two to Hyde's storage room [which we refer to as "the janitor's closet"].

In the storage room, a janitor is retrieving a broom and sees something glowing. It appears to be one of the deactivated Warforged sitting in a back corner. The Warforged glows yellow and begins to whir. The janitor hits the robot with his broom, snapping it in two and waking the Warforged up. The Warforged, who we now know as Sparky, extends to his full height of 7'0" and looks at the janitor. Sparky begins to take in his surroundings and sees other disabled Warforged, artifacts, and items that give off magic he can detect but not understand. Jerald walks in to collect the janitor and sees the towering metal figure. The entire group is alerted by the clattering and banging.

As the group walks in, joined by Aria Nightingale and Veréli, they see Jerald and the janitor yelling at each other. Marie walks up to Sparky, holding out her hand and asking who he is. Sparky responds, telling her his title and model. She tells him her name and explains that Hyde might know how Sparky got there. The entire group introduces themselves and they all begin walking to Hyde's office.

The group arrives after having a quick chat with Anya who seems to be terrified of Hyde. Hyde is sitting in a chair with his legs on his desk and gives Sparky a look over. He shoots Castien a glance [which after multiple successful insight checks by the group, is determined to be some kind of attraction]. The group begins talking amongst themselves, being suddenly silenced by Hyde making a symbol with his hand that means "quiet". He begins to talk, explaining that he wants the party to go into town and retrieve some supplies including more rope for the trapeze. Hyde also hands Aria a package to deliver. After once more examining Sparky, he announces that he's been meaning to get another act.

Castien, Aria, and Veréli exit the room along with Sparky. Marie, and Hugo stay, taking a look around the room. They see a glowing black pearl, two swords [one is glowing], a half open trunk full of clothes that don't belong to Hyde, a brown horn, and locked boxes with odd keyholes. One looking like a hand. Those left in his office exit and the group make their way towards the streets.

Aria explains that the package is for someone who lives in The Ones' side of town. Hugo and Ariar head to deliver it and Marie, Castien, and Sparky go to gather supplies.

Marie has altered her gown, removing the bows and belt. She has also unclipped the hem and grabbed her shawl. She wills the shawl to begin the illusion and suddenly appears human with long black hair and an absence of feathers. The trio walk through the low streets of The Others and Castien appears to be a "spectacle". Everyone somehow knows him and by the time the three get to Gen Ral's Store, he has amassed a small assortment of items. Sparky doesn't really pick up on any of these social cues but Marie knows exactly what's going on. As they arrive at Gen Ral's, they see what was described as a "Fantasy 7-11" with a supply shop on one side and a small pawn shop on the other. In the pawn shop side, there are many random knickknacks that have all been set perfectly in their rightful places. All except a small circlet that has been thrown carelessly on a shelf. All three see this but Marie and Castien are able to pick up on some of the language written on the accessory. One side reads "To hide the wearers face" and the other reads "To disguise the wearers voice". Sparky is, however, able to detect that whatever this does, it isn't instantaneous. Marie begins a conversation with the Goblin fellow behind the counter, he has his hair done up and a tiara on. He explains that his child dressed him up and that he thinks he looks very pretty. Castien brings up the circlet to which the man explains that a woman who looked very similar to Marie had brought it in, she apparently said that it would find the right person. Suddenly, three men walk into the shop. They are from The Ones' street and demand money. Marie approaches who appears to be the leader and says that they were simply doing business. The man puts his hand on his sword, facing Marie, and Castien stares him down.

The others walk down The Ones' street, seeing people dressed similarly to Marie, some having decorated hats and over the top outfits. People sometimes look oddly at the group but pay them no mind. They find Fred's Fanciful Peacock Bar and enter.

The bar is decorated like the plumage of a male peacock with a large wall that resembles its tail feathers. The man behind the bar is dressed similarly to Hyde with a long tail coat and many jewel tones. He takes the package from Aria and hands her a cylindrical parcel and a note. After failing a wisdom save, Hugo feels the package calling to him, whispering things like "Come find me" and "You can trust me". As they walk down the street, Hugo swipes the package from Aria's bag. She notices this and suggests he doesn't let Hyde know. Hugo opens up the paper and sees a circlet. Its whispers grow louder and he discovers that he can respond telepathically. He reads the note that says "keep this away from the [right] hands". The whispers tell him he could be the right hands. Hugo gets some odd looks since the item appears extremely expensive, so he puts it away. The two elven-folk end up outside of Gen Ral's Store and see three men standing by the door. Upon peering inside, they see three more. They also see the one with a hand on his scabbard looking at their friends. They begin to prepare for the worst.

[FROM HERE ON WILL BE SPOILERS]

 

Session 1,
We begin this session by rolling initiative with Hugo going first and Marie going last. Hugo starts his turn by examining the situation and getting a better understanding of what is going on. He sees what weapons the men have on them and notes their uneasy nature when facing Sparky. Sparky sees the men pull swords out and his instincts kick in. He steps in front of Marie and begins to glow. A handaxe folds out of his fist and he takes a swing, sadly missing. The man in front of Marie uses his sword and strikes her. The next man decides to aim for Sparky, managing to hit him with a club. Castien uses his weapon to hit the man attacking Marie. The third man sees Hugo standing off to the side. Aria makes an attack. Hugo uses his sword and slices across a man's stomach, killing him instantly. Marie quickly swipes the silver circlet off the shelf. Sparky lights up his other hand with electricity and punches one of the remaining men across the face, casing him to explode. Aria is showered with "Man Goo" and uses Prestidigitation to clean herself. Marie slaps two gold on the table and apologizes to Gen Ral for all the problems. Sparky uses his lightning fist and strikes the remaining guy. Castien, fed up with the fight, throws his weapon, impaling the last man in the neck. Gen Ral tells Marie not to worry about the damage and that they can have everything on the house, including the circlet she stole.

Gen Ral bids them adieu and Aria starts leading the party back to the main tent. Hugo's circlet begins speaking to him, calling him a warrior. Hugo accidentally responds out loud, Marie acknowledging his words. Sparky receives his name.

Marie pulls out the circlet and starts examining it. Aria tells her not to show it to Hyde. Sparky asks if Marie understands what it is and Marie explains what she knows. Sparky looks it over, able to figure out everything about it and explaining it to the group. Marie explains that she is uncertain about it and Sparky asks if he should hold on to it. Marie says, "...I don't know why, but I feel like I should hold on to it, I'm sorry..."

The group makes their way back to their ringleader's office, Castien seeing the horn Hyde has displayed. Castien's expression grows darker, Hyde not noticing. Aria tells Hyde that she couldn't get the item as she experienced issues with the delivery.

They all exit, Castien looking quite upset. Marie sticks close to his side. Sparky notices his odd look and asks Cas about it. Aria notices as well, saying that the things Hyde has may not be what they seem. Marie asks Aria about the circlet once more, Aria reassuring her before leaving.

Aran and Willin, the Air Genasi and Triton, emerge from around a corner, Willin instantly noticing Cas and getting very excited about seeing his friend. Aran brings Willin towards the elf, stopping him. Willin wraps himself around Castien and starts rambling, asking Castien about new fish and talking about the tadpole he found. Aran notices the circlet hanging out from Marie's pocket, he begins asking about the language on the accessory. Aran takes it from her and he obviously recognizes it, saying, "This is from the Air Elemental Plane..." he explains it was used as a practical jokes back at his home. Marie, finding the trinket curious, places it back in her bag. She makes sure it can't be seen from the outside, knowing that Hyde can't get his hands on it.

Sparky notices Hugo seemingly having a mental conversation with his bag. Hugo says it's nothing.

Aran warns Marie once more before taking his son and letting the other performers start getting ready.

The group goes their separate ways, Sparky deciding to follow Marie as she goes. The two start walking to the aerial area, Marie beginning to get ready. Marie sees her friend Anya engaged in conversation with Do and Dio. Marie, until now, has never really heard them say much. Marie hears Dio say "...what you have, you should give back..." but as she walks towards them, they stop talking and start walking away from Anya.

Anya walks up to Marie, asking about Sparky. Sparky notices that Anya, a Drow, is standing in the sunlight; something she shouldn't be able to do. Anya tells marie to meet her after the show because she has something to tell her. Anya stops after realizing Do and Dio are listening.

Hugo hears Cynthia and Castien conversing. Castien asks Cynthia if she can talk to him before the show, Cynthia agrees to go with him. Castien is, of course, late to the performance.

Marie attunes to her circlet and Hugo attunes to his, Hugo being unable to unattune. Hugo's circlet talks with him, explaining that it is "Nuada" and that Hugo can be its warrior.

As Marie and Sparky are backstage, Sparky notices a sheath on Dio's costume. One that wasn't there when he had previously met Dio.

The show begins, animals following Castien's command and Hugo aiding his fellow musicians in the score. In a golden tank, Aran and Willin are giving their performance with Aran looking very uninterested. Uthal, also performing, begins to throw massive weights. He ends up having to lecture Keothi about sitting on the weights when he tosses them. Marie and Anya's performance begins. As the two swing, Marie notices a loosened rope that Anya sees as well. The two attempt to work around it, swinging elegantly as they do every performance. Anya misses the trapeze, Marie catching her and beginning to head towards the platform. The two need to swing again. Marie keeps a hand around Anya, gripping her tightly as to not let her fall. Marie sees Dio standing next to one of the ropes. He cuts the other trapeze rope, forcing Anya and Marie to stay on the same trapeze. Anya hands Marie a small package before staring at their intertwined hands. The two see Hyde looking at Dio, mouthing something. Dio begins to walk towards Marie's trapeze and Anya lets go, dropping 60 feet down. Marie screams her name, seeing Castien Misty Step to catch Anya. Dio walks to Marie's stationary trapeze as the audience screams. Marie turns to Dio and shouts to him, "What does he have on you?" Dio cuts the rope, and Marie falls."'I should've expected this...get out of here, Marie,' -Anya to Marie before falling"Sparky catches Marie, Hyde shouting to the now silent audience for them to leave. The audience, terrified, leaves. Hyde reaches for something and throws it, encasing the entire tent in magical darkness. Sparky holds Marie and the others close, hoping to keep them safe. Anya screams and Aran calls her name, the magical darkness disappearing to reveal the real Anya, a Changeling, with a dagger through her chest.