Gary Harper
August 01, 2020 10:39 AM
External Gaming Opportunity by Gary Harper
Hi all! This is now one of your friendly neighborhood game masters with an exciting opportunity for adventuring! As you may or may not know, I've been wanting to get a longer-running, more involved role-playing game going with you wonderful people.As such, this will not be a student playing a character game for Sonora. You'll just make up the character that you want to play directly and we'll have fun watching them all develop over the course of their adventures. This also means that if you know someone that wants to give role-playing a try, but doesn't have a presence on the site, they can join in.
However, on that front, I would like a fairly stable group of no more than six players that can meet up at a regular timeslot to play. We'd be playing Second Edition Pathfinder because we like that system better than 5e D&D at the moment. I'd also prefer to use Fantasy Grounds for the game, since that is what I am used to and it has all of the things built into it. However, if that won't work due to technical issues, we'll figure something out.
Fear not, however for the loss of the student based games. They are fun and fantastic and will continue as well. I envision those to be more fluid and open. They will be more episodic in nature to allow for changes in students and the passages of Sonoran time. Plus it will allow our excellent new GMs a chance to run more games if they so wish (and make my life easier).
So, I made this so that we can discuss interest, options, time frames and all of those things. I made it into a multi-thread just in case people want to separate and organize different talking points. So... thoughts?
Also, if you're interested and reading this before 8/5/2020, Humble Bundle has the core PF2 book up for $5. If you want to look at the system or character options and such. It's a good adjustment on the standard D&Dish type of fantasy adventure genre though.
Subthreads: Interest and questions by Ness McLeod with Grayson Wright, Gary Harper, Gabriel Wilson
Adventure Thoughts by Gary Harper
Character Discussion by Gary Harper with Heinrich Hexenmeister , Evelyn Stones, Gabriel Wilson
Scene 1: Bad News by Gary Harper with
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Gary Harper
External Gaming Opportunity
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Ness McLeod
August 01, 2020 5:28 PM
Interest and questions by Ness McLeod
Hi.I am for sure interested. How do you see this balancing with Sonora games in terms of time commitment, as it is likely to be a lot of similar people? Is it possible/likely that it will be less than weekly in order to be able to alternate or share a timeslot with Sonora games?
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Ness McLeod
Interest and questions
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Grayson Wright
August 01, 2020 7:27 PM
*seconds Ness' interest and questions* by Grayson Wright
Assuming, of course, my occasionally awkward relationship with the tech can be further tolerated ;)
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Grayson Wright
*seconds Ness' interest and questions*
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Gary Harper
August 01, 2020 8:38 PM
Excellent questions by Gary Harper
That was one of the main reasons I wanted to get this discussion going, because that may well depend on what people want to do.If it there was a lot of overlap on the players, I figured we'd just alternate weeks with the Sonora game.
If there were two more distinct groups then we'd maybe end up running one on Thursdays and one on Fridays, or Saturdays, or whenever it worked best for the people participating.
Apologies for the terrible non-answer... but that's the best I got until we see what people are thinking.
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Gary Harper
Excellent questions
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Ness McLeod
August 02, 2020 12:25 AM
Cool by Ness McLeod
That works and that helps. I am interested assuming the commitments can be balanced, and I am also okay with giving other people a shot if there ends up being more demand than spaces available.
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Ness McLeod
Cool
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Gabriel Wilson
August 02, 2020 4:20 AM
Gary Harper
August 02, 2020 8:14 AM
Adventure Thoughts by Gary Harper
The primary adventure that I think would be fun to run is the Extinction Curse adventure path. it is a full length campaign that will take the players from level 1 all the way up to level 20. It'll mainly be a framework, and modified a bit as always to suit our needs. Primarily... it needs a prologue first of all.Extinction Curse teaser video
The player characters (that's you) are all members of a newly founded traveling circus. They have, along with many others, have broken away from a bigger... seeder, exploitative circus to create their own troupe that is a nicer place to work and live. The PCs soon find themselves in charge of managing the circus, the acts and shows... along with trying to deal with some terrible things going on as they travel around trying to keep their friends and troupe-mates working, fed... and alive.
There is a player's guide that you can get from Paizo's website for free to read a bit more into the ideas of the campaign and character options. As a note, your character doesn't need to be a performer for the circus, there are plenty of other roles that go into making a great show work smoothly.
I do have the player's guide built into Fantasy Grounds as well, so if you would prefer to look at it there instead of downloading it, we can arrange that as well.
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Gary Harper
Adventure Thoughts
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Gary Harper
August 04, 2020 1:40 PM
Heh, oops. by Gary Harper
Now I feel all sorts of smart. I completely forgot that Pathfinder also has a System Resouce Document online that contains a lot of the information in the rule book.Peruse at your leisure.
https://2e.aonprd.com/
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Gary Harper
Heh, oops.
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Gary Harper
August 13, 2020 3:54 AM
Character Discussion by Gary Harper
Who do you want to be? I figured since I'm encouraging you all to start looking into and thinking about character options, I should make a place for communal discussion if you want to toss ideas at each other. So, here are the general resources and guidelines.Ancestries
Backgrounds
Classes
You'll need one of each of those.
No evil characters.
You can be as dysfunctional of a group as you want, but when push comes to shove, you'll need to know you can rely on each other.
Don't get to worried about the details, this is for overarching concepts. Once we've got things figured out, we'll build them up in one-on-one sessions.
Have fun!
The Cast so far...
1. Heinrich - Druid/Rogue/Witch/Swashbuckler?
2. Ness
3. Gray
4. Gabriel - Tessara, Elven Mystc Seer Oracle (Caster or Healer)
5. Evelyn - Leshy Something? with a pet lizard
6. Evelyn's husband - Trollish? Butcher
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Gary Harper
Character Discussion
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Heinrich Hexenmeister
August 14, 2020 6:30 PM
Some options I'm considering by Heinrich Hexenmeister
I am nowhere near decided yet, but some possibilities I am thinking about:Dwarven Druid Animal Wrangler (Performs an act involving animals)
Tengu Rogue Barker (Brings in the crowds)
Ratfolk Witch Rigger (Sets up and tears down; possibly some special effects support?)
Human Swashbuckler Circus Born (Some kind of performer of derring-do acts)
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Heinrich Hexenmeister
Some options I'm considering
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Evelyn Stones
August 15, 2020 8:10 PM
Somehow I missed all of this. by Evelyn Stones
HIIIIHusband and I are interested. I've messaged Gary some elsewhere but figured I'd post here.
Husband is looking at maybe being a butcher and tends to be sort of a troll character.
I'm thinking leshy mystic seer with . . . maybe cultist? Or charlatan? Or fortuneteller? for myself but I really super want a pet lizard if that's a thing I can have?
I'll look more at the ancestries and such and get back to you there. :) super excited! Is 6 players a hard limit?
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Evelyn Stones
Somehow I missed all of this.
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Gary Harper
August 16, 2020 5:09 AM
Such is the way of OOC by Gary Harper
I really hate telling people that they can't play, but... the more people there are, the more complicated everything gets. Especially for a long ongoing game.I think six is going to be the 'hard' limit for the moment. But if people roll really well on some diplomacy checks, it could potentially change.
At this point we have:
1. Heinrich - see above
2. Ness
3. Gray
4. Gabriel - Elf mystic?
5. Evelyn - Leshy? Something?
6. Evelyn's husband - Trollish? Butcher
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Gary Harper
Such is the way of OOC
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Gabriel Wilson
August 16, 2020 10:26 AM
Possible options by Gabriel Wilson
I'm definitely thinking elf, I even have a name picked out, Tessara. I was leaning towards something mystical for a class and either hermit, fortune teller, feral child or barkeep. Not sure which of these things work well together.Do we all get pets?
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Gabriel Wilson
Possible options
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Heinrich Hexenmeister
August 16, 2020 11:00 AM
pets by Heinrich Hexenmeister
Some classes have animals as feature, who can be helpful in game mechanic terms. Wizards and Witches can have familiars. Druids and Rangers can have Animal Companions. Ratfolk can have pet rats that function sort of like weaker version of animal companions. I think other people can maybe just have a pet if they want one? Like, anyone could have a horse for riding mount purposes. In one campaign, our cleric had a donkey to carry things for him. Or you could just have a, say, lizard, that you kept around, but which wouldn't be able to help you in any kind of checks. But not everyone is expected to have one.
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Heinrich Hexenmeister
pets
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Gary Harper
August 22, 2020 6:28 PM
Scene 1: Bad News by Gary Harper
A little under a year agoThe grounds of the Celestial Menagerie on the outskirts of Escadar
Myron stalked through the pouring rain towards the biggest and most brightly decorated wagon. The water ran off of his hat and his boots squelched through the churned mud, he could hear the sound of music as he drew near to his destination. It stood between the circus grounds proper and the troupe's 'backstage' area from which he had just come. The music could mean that she was entertaining. That could make his job easier, or harder. Regardless, it still needed to be done.
He stepped up to the wagon’s door, under the slight overhang and tried to brush off the accumulated rain water from his brightly colored jacket. Then he shook off his top hat and replaced it back upon his head while considering the door before him. While he’d enjoy simply barging in and making a scene, it would serve his purposes better to be a bit more… diplomatic. So he rapped upon the door, to which he received a near-immediate reply of “Go Away! Whatever it is can wait until morning!” The voice was clearly that of Mistress Dusklight, and he hadn’t heard any other voices react to the sound.That was probably for the best.
Myron “Thunder” Stendhal, top barker and occasional ringmaster of the Celestial Menagerie, cleared his throat. “I’m not sure that it will Mistress Dusklight,” his voice boomed quietly through the door, “I’m afraid I have some bad news.”
The music stopped and the sigh that came from within was meant to be heard. “Very well Stendhal. Come in.”
He allowed himself just a slight smile before he opened the door into Dusklight’s wagon. The grey catfolk leader of the circus lay sprawled out on an ornate couch. “This had better be important. I don’t have to tell you that today did not go well.” She eyed him with just the hint of a glare. As he opened his mouth to begin, she held up a hand to silence him. “Drink first.” With a motion she pivoted on the couch and stood up. A short stride brought her to a liquor cabinet and she took a moment to pour herself something potent.
It gave Myron a chance to review just a moment, and gauge her mood. She hadn’t been kidding when she claimed that today hadn’t gone well. The animals had escaped, there had been some damaged equipment found, and more than one performance of the day had flopped. Once the boss indicated readiness he began, “Well, that is just it. Today did not go well, and I think I’ve found out why.” She was tired and angry, she would not stand for days like this again, and she gave him a hard look.
“Sabotage?”
He nodded in return. “There is a group of… dissatisfied employees.” This frankly shouldn’t come as any level of surprise to the woman. While the outside world thought she was a masterful entertainer, her employees knew her as the ruthless and cruel taskmaster that she was. Dusklight’s hard gaze didn’t waver. So he continued, “It seems that they are beginning to organize, and act.” He gave her a cool look, “What do you want to do?”
“Do you have names?” She asked in a low, almost growling voice. She reached unconsciously for her magical whip of compliance.
“A few,” He responded a bit casually, Myron had witnessed her use that whip to great effect, “but not all of them. Should I get a few roustabouts to round up one or two of the known ones for questioning? We don’t need anything going wrong for practices this week, or the show next week.”
Mistress Dusklight considered the suggestion, then relaxed her hold on the whip. “No…” she said with a sly look on her face. “If one of them disappears, it will alert them all. I want you to watch them instead. Pick a few people you can trust, Gianvin perhaps, and watch all of the ones that you know.” A malicious grin spread across her feline face, “They will lead us to the others, the organizers. Then we can cut this off at the head.” Her hand went to the whip again, “Then we can show the rest, and anyone else who is entertaining such ideas, what happens to those who stand against Mistress Dusklight.”
Myron gave her a satisfied smile, “I understand Mistress.” He gave her a slight bow, “We will deal with this problem.” Then he strode back out into the rain. He had work to do.
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Gary Harper
Scene 1: Bad News
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Gary Harper
August 23, 2020 6:08 PM
Scene 2: Trouble by Gary Harper
The Professor was getting too old for this. He nervously ran his hand through his grey, receding hair. Fortunately his experience as a juggler had taught him to keep a lot of things in the air at once, and his time as a fire eater had taught him how to handle things that could burn him. Unfortunately the current situation used those in a much more metaphorical sense. He was in charge of this exodus away from the Celestial Menagerie.This morning he and his proteges, the Flamboni sisters, were searching the city for a missing ally. The Great Fortunato had slipped out last night in the storm to acquire supplies they were going to need when they left the Celestial Menagerie behind. He hadn’t returned. This was just one more ball he didn’t need in the air. Mistress Dusklight had been prowling through the camp early this morning, just looking for trouble. She knew of them now, and he didn’t need things going wrong.
He sighed and looked about the dismal backstreets of Escadar. Fortunato had been seen heading this direction last. What had…
“Professor!” Bella Flamboni practically shrieked, popping out from a nearby alley. “I think I found him!” The elven woman looked like she'd seen a ghost.
"You think?" Called out her sister, Donna Flamboni on the other side of the street in a concerned voice. The Professor just rolled his eyes and hurried to Bella's side motioning her to be quiet. They really didn't need any more attention called to them right now. They were supposed to be in a nicer section of town promoting the circus at the moment. Donna arrived just behind him and let out a quiet gasp at the scene. The Professor just shook his head sadly.
It had been The Great Fortunado, he'd recognize the cape anywhere, and he was laying in a crumpled pile in the ally. "Keep watch," He told the girls sharply and gestured for them to stay at the entrance of the ally. They were young yet, no sense in spoiling any more innocence that hasn't been taken away yet. They were also fairly new recruits to the circus, while he was an old hand. He had seen more than he wanted of things like this at the hands of Mistress Dusklight. Fortunado had been beaten and killed, mugged by the looks of it. There was nothing left of value on his old friend.
"Pharasma take him," The older man muttered as he grieved over the loss of his friend. "What in the blazes brought you out this way anyway?" He sighed and cursed the seedy underbelly of Escadar, but there was nothing more to be done about it. Well, almost. He unfastened the man's cape, folded it up and tucked it away. "I am sorry I cannot do more Fortunado. We will look after Bardolph for you." With that he stood and turned back to the sisters. Bella was dutifully looking everywhere except down the alley, Donna kept throwing glances his direction until she noticed him.
"What do we do?" Donna asked quietly as he returned to them.
"We stick to the plan."
"What about..." they both started and then looked at each other. Something passed between them and Donna looked down. Her sister continued, "Bardolph?" Bella asked with a little hesitation.
He motioned for them to follow him. It still pained him deeply, but there was no point in remaining here any longer, anything more would jeopardize the mission. "We'll take Bardolph with us." he stated sharply. Another look passed between the sisters. "Fortunatdo has trained that bear long enough to be one of us, and I will not let him continue to suffer at the hands of Dusklight any more than I will allow you to suffer that fate."
Bella brightened a little as she worked to keep up with the Professor's strides that were carrying them towards the place they were supposed to be to promote the circus. Donna still looked uneasy. "What about the supplies he was getting?" She voiced.
The Professor sighed and rubbed his eyes, "I don't know Donna... we'll make do. There's not much else we can do. We cannot stay with the Menagerie."
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Gary Harper
Scene 2: Trouble
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Gary Harper
August 24, 2020 7:11 PM
Scene 3: Crackdown by Gary Harper
Natalie Kanbali looked between her parents and Mordaine and was thankful that her younger siblings weren't here. It was late and she was sure Kagrud was lurking about somewhere, he was always around the midway of the circus grounds. If he wasn't, he would be soon if Mordaine didn't learn how to quiet down. She smirked, the look Papa was giving the woman said the same thing, without making a sound. Mordaine returned the look with her own signature haughty glare. At least she didn't say any more.The news of The Great Forunatdo's death had not gone over well, and everyone was on edge. Mostly because he had been a decent human being that wanted to help them all escape. Mordaine seems mostly upset that his supply run had been interrupted, and as such her act may have to take a backseat for a little until some more money can be raised once they were free. Natalie was convinced that the only reason Mordaine the Magician was coming with them was because Dusklight wouldn't put her underwater escape artist trick on as the 'big number' during the show.
Everyone looked around startled as the sound of quiet footsteps approached. A figure rounded to the back of the midway's booths, and in a flash of moonlight Natalie could see it was the Professor.
"Well, it's about time." Mordaine hissed almost quietly. "What's going on?"
The Professor gestured for quiet and shook his head. "Nothing good." His voice was naturally quiet and raspy. To many years of fire-eating according to him. "Otto has his team distracting Kagrud and Adrivallo." Natalie couldn't help but smirking at that thought. Otto's team of Dwarven tumblers could form themselves into a 'living ballista' to throw each other across the big top. She wondered if Kagrud was going to be their target. "And some of the others are keeping an eye on Delamar Gianvin," he continued.
"So we're sa..." Mama started to ask when more footsteps sounded approaching. These were not quite a quiet as the Professor's had been. Once again the group froze and turned to see a young woman round the booths next.
"Elizia, wonderful," Mordaine exclaimed with exasperation. Then gave the newcomer a piercing gaze, "You didn't bring Mister Tickles as well? I'm shocked."
"No? He was asleep.." she looked at the rest of the group a little confused, "Should I have?" Elizia was a snake handler and while she had a few vipers, her main trick was dancing with Mister Tickles, her 16 foot long anaconda. Who would have been terribly unwieldy to bring to a secret meeting.
Before anyone could reply, a low growl drifted through the air around them. A large feline shape emerged from the shadows behind them. "Leandrus," said The Professor flatly as he eyed the lion. He looked about, "Dankia, what are you doing?"
The lion tamer rounded the same corner silently. "Strange," she replied with a satisfied smile, "I was going to ask you the same."
"Perhaps they are planning a surprise party for Mistress Dusklight" Came a masculine voice from behind them. Natalie spun around and saw Viktor Volcano, a fire-eater approaching from the far side of the stalls. He also wore a smug grin on his face. "I'm sure she would like that, yes?"
Natalie saw Mordaine begin to open her mouth, but closed it at a signal from the Professor. That surprised her a bit. "Perhaps we are, you wouldn't want to ruin the surprise now would you?" He responded. "Run along now and we'll let you know when it is ready for her."
There was an audibly overly dramatic sigh as another person rounded the corner passing Daring Danika. Natalie was starting to wonder where were these people all coming from? "I'm sorry, we just can't do that Professor." Myron finished inspecting his top hat and replaced it upon his head. "I should have figured it was you Professor."
The Professor glared back at the barker, "Myron. I thought you were better than this."
"I guess you thought wrong old man. Now, if you'd be so kind as to accompany me, we can get this over with."
"Fine." The Professor sighed and glanced around at the others. "Don't worry, I'll be alright."
Myron gave a sickening smile, "Oh, don't worry about farewells, you are all coming. Dusklight's orders." As if on cue, which it probably was, Leandrus gave another low growl.
Natalie wrapped her arms around Mama, who responded in kind. "Don't worry baby, it'll be fine." She whispered in Natalie's ear. "Everything will be fine."
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Gary Harper
Scene 3: Crackdown
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Gary Harper
August 25, 2020 5:51 PM
Scene 4: Betrayal! by Gary Harper
Hod was not a complicated man. He knew this and accepted it. He did, however, get to be the assistant to the great Mordaine the Magician. She was a marvel and he would follow her to the ends of Golarion. Unfortunately, he had lost her. There was going to be a meeting of some sort that she was going to. He was to wait at the end of the midway and watch for trouble. He hadn't seen any trouble, he'd just seen Viktor. Viktor had smiled and waved as he walked by, he'd smiled back. Viktor went past him… and then his head hurt, and he was on the ground? Strange.Hod had picked himself up and dusted himself off. Then he went on search of Mordaine. There wasn't anyone at the meeting place anymore. They must have moved somewhere else, so he began to look around. The Glen of Uncommon Wonders was deserted, well almost. The wyvern and the Leshy were still locked up in their cages. Hod felt a little bad for the Leshy,it didn't seem to bad... but Mistress Dusklight said it had to stay locked up so the wyvern wouldn't eat it. That made sense so he waved at it and wandered on.
Maybe they were in the big tent. On his way that direction he heard voices and saw two figures coming from behind the tent. It was Dankia and Viktor, and they seemed happy. He smiled at them, maybe they knew where Mordaine had gone. "Hello," he called out, "Have you seen Mordaine?"
The pair stopped and gave him a funny look. Then Dankia smiled at him. It wasn't a very nice smile, it looked like one her lion gave from time to time. "Sure have. She's right around back of the tent." She gestured the way they had come with a toss of her head, "You can't miss her." The woman replied in what seemed like an awfully sweet voice.
"Thanks!" Hod replied and headed that direction. He heard them laughing at something as they made their way towards the main gate of the circus. It must have been pretty funny.
As he rounded the big tent, a strange scene presented itself. A bunch of the performers had chained themselves together and were standing near Mistress Dusklight's Oubliette. She and Myron were standing up on one of the raised platforms next to it. Were they practicing a new trick? Mordaine was an expert at escaping from chains like those, but he wasn't so sure about the Feather Fall Five... or at least the three of them that were present. They were acrobats. Elizia the snake lady and The Professor were there as well. This was going to be an interesting trick. Juggling snakes and acrobats while unchaining themselves? What part was the oubliette going to play? He shuddered a bit to think of it. He'd spent his fair amount of time down in that sandy hole. That was usually where Mistress Dusklight put people when they were being bad. This trick he had to see. He sat down in the shadow of the tent to watch.
"Well now..." Mistress Dusklight strutted back and forth on the platform eyeing up her employees. "What shall I do with you now? We can't have this sort of thing happening. It... damages moral and the shining image of the Celestial Menagerie." She glanced down into the oubliette, "Hmm.. I don't think you will all fit, and perhaps some of you have outlived your usefulness." Her gaze was fixed solidly on the Professor, who returned it without flinching.
She turned back to Myron, "Oh, I know." her smile revealed her teeth. "Wasn't one of their complaints about 'underfed animals' or some such nonsense?" Myron just nodded. "We can fix that problem." As she turned back to the Professor. "Yes, I think that should work out nicely." Her gaze wandered over the rest of the group, "As for the oubliette... I think little miss Kanbali and Elizia will fit just fine." Natalie's parents moved just a bit to get themselves between Dusklight and their daughter as much as the could. Mistress Dusklight chuckled at the action, "Oh, don't worry. We'll get some of Elizia's vipers to keep them both company."
Natalie's father tried to lunge forward, but the chain held him in place. Mistress Dusklight laughed, "I think you'll learn to behave well enough once..." She was abruptly cut off as Myron deftly kicked her knees out, and shoved her backwards off of the platform, one hand of her flailing claws dug into the platform as she dangled above the yawning pit. "Stendhal!?" She gasped in shock, what are..."
"Sorry Dusky, consider this our resignation." He kicked her hand and claws free of the platform and she yowled in pain as she tumbled into the yawning pit below her. In a flash Myron had leapt from the platform and was struggling to swing the heavy grate into place on top of the hole. Mordaine, unchained, was at his side nearly as quickly and helped him heft the load into place.
It thumped over the hole as streams of unladylike expletives coursed up and out of the dark abyss. Myron tossed his key ring to the Professor, "Excellent job everyone!" he boomed over the shrill voice from below, "Now onto the next stage!" he grinned at the pun. "Just like we discussed, muffle this grate, alert the others, gather the supplies and move out! I'm going to run some more interference with Delamar and the others to keep them distracted. Get moving, there's no time to waste!"
Hod stood a bit confused as Mordaine hurried in his direction. "Myron was...?"
"Playing his part," She responded, "It was his and Professor's plan. Now hurry up, we have to get my things before it's to late!"
He hurried after her, "I didn't know."
"Only a few did; Myself, the adult Kanbali's, Otto and a very few others. Now stop worrying about it. Get my things and wait for us outside the main gate. Don't talk to anyone else about this except me until then. Got it?" Hod nodded. "Good... in the meantime, I'm supposed to open a few cages around here."
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Gary Harper
Scene 4: Betrayal!
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Gary Harper
August 30, 2020 7:13 PM
Scene 5: New Beginnings by Gary Harper
Myron leaned his back against the tree and stared up at the sky through it's branches. "Sweet Desna and Sheyln, watch over this group of fools." he murmured under his breath. He wasn't ordinarily one for relying on the gods, but this was a perilous thing he had begun and he'd take any help he could get. Well... almost any help. If Asmodeus showed up with a contract for guaranteed success, he'd probably think at least twice about signing it.He had convinced, encouraged, and cajoled a motley assortment of people to join him in leaving Dusklight's show of horrors. At times it hadn't looked like they were going to make it... but they had. They were now, hopefully, far enough northeast of Escadar to be out of her reach. The danger was finally over and everyone could relax. Relax and start to grumble. He'd heard the whispering start last night, and they were still circulating this morning. What's the plan now? What next? Do we have any food? All of his planning had been focused on getting them out of that horrible place. His plans past that were vague at best. Find a settlement, preform, get money and/or food, move on and repeat. Build up resources, eventually have a circus of their own. How long would that take though?
"You seem uneasy" said a calm, feminine voice in front of him, "perhaps you would like to talk about it?"
"It can't hurt." agreed a rough voice.
Myron's gaze dropped to meet that of Tahala Roadwatcher, or 'the Tattooed Woman' as she had been labeled on Dusklight's sideshow. She was a middle-aged, bald, Shoanti woman. Wrapped in her simple cloak, she was regarding him with a light smile. Beside her sat Cubby, a large beagle, the 'Talking Dog', from the sideshow as well.
It was too late to put on his ‘happy face’ and assure them that nothing was wrong. Plus, he wasn't entirely sure he could pull the wool over Tahala's eyes. So instead he sighed and gave them his best 'resigned but hopeful' smile. "It's nothing different than what is bothering everyone else right now." He gestured about them dramatically, "We did it, we got out. Hooray. Now what?" His face shifted back to its worried state.
Tahala didn't miss a beat as she regarded him. "Except you and the Professor masterminded this all. You are the ones who bear the burden of responsibility for what happens next." She smiled a sad smile. "The problems of leadership."
The woman was sharp alright, Myron thought to himself with the hint of a grimace.
"Next?" Cubby asked while looking between them. "Next he gives his speech to everyone to inspire them and such."
Myron's eyes widened in surprise and Tahala shot Cubby a look that could, if not kill, at least cause severe damage. The canine seemed to shrug it off.
"What?" Cubby continued, "That's what the Professor sent us over here to get him to do, right?"
"That's what he sent me over to convince him needs to be done." The woman shot back a bit severely, "You just overheard and decided to join me, and I couldn't think of a polite way to tell you to not interfere."
"Alright, alright." Myron held up his hand to stop the retort he knew was coming from Cubby. "You are right, The Professor is right, this…" he paused and indicated the interaction happening between the woman and the dog, "is exactly what we don't want to happen." He sighed and slouched back against the tree. "Now that we're away from that horrible place, we need another goal to focus on before we tear each other apart."
Tahala smiled warmly at him and opened her mouth to say something, but Cubby beat her to it. "Great. What's the goal?"
She gave Cubby another severe look before turning back to Myron. "That is the problem, isn't it? 'Survive' isn't very inspiring, is it?"
Myron shook his head. "We need more than that, but we also need something realistically achievable. I have to admit, I'm tempted to tell everyone 'congratulations we made it out. Good job, go have a nice life.'" That wasn't what he wanted though.
"That's not what you want, is it?" Tahala gave him a knowing smile. Curse that woman, how does she do that? "What was your grand goal again? You sold a lot of us on the idea of making our own circus. One that was everything the Celestial Menagerie was not."
"Sounds good to me, where do we start?" Cubby interjected wagging his tail.
Myron shook his head, "That's the problem, we have to start from scratch. Fortunato was supposed to get a lot of the basic things we were going to need..." Word had gotten around fast that The Great Fortunato had been mugged and murdered in a back ally of Escadar, but he wasn't sure if everyone knew the role he had been supposed to play.
"So, we start from scratch." Cubby replied simply. "What's the big deal?"
"It could take ages before we get enough to actually set up a circus and are able to make this dream come true." Myron responded.
"It could also happen overnight," Tahala countered, "We may stumble upon some rich noble that enjoys our performance and wants to fund us entirely."
Myron just gave her a look of utter disbelief.
"It is possible." she responded to his look. "Unlikely I'll grant, but still possible. The point is, we do not know what the future holds and it is foolish to give up on something before it is even attempted." Now she gave him a stern look, "Right now, you have a group of very talented people who have followed you for a dream we all share. They will work hard to achieve it, but they do need reminding of what that goal is and how they can achieve it. What do you say Ringmaster, can you do it?"
He couldn't help but give Tahala a soft chuckle, "You, of course, are correct. Thank-you." He gave her a bow, "Round up the troops." He told them both as he readjusted his jacket and hat. They hurried off to tell the others to gather.
Myron soon found himself in front of the group that he and the Professor had collected, trying to look as confident as he could. He bellowed out in his best ringmaster voice that silenced the crowd instantly, "Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls! Welcome one and all to the Circus of Wayward Wonders!"
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Gary Harper
Scene 5: New Beginnings
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