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wynn Bo, Kenzi, Rebekah, Klaus, Lis'sa (Mission leader), Mars. | July 2014
The Knights were briefed about a strange localized area of winter weather in New Zealand that had arrived along with a carnival. Arriving at Vaale's Carnival, they decided to split up.
Rebekah, Klaus, and Lis'sa went about the fairground and found a sleigh ride, run by a man who kicked a poor child off, literally. Rebekah told him off, but they avoided direct confrontation and moved on, finding something of a freak show. They speculated about how many of the 'freaks' were just Shadowkind, before proceeding to a show of strength called The Titan's Wheel. Klaus gave it a whirl, winning some tickets, which they took to the beer tent. It was full of sweaty lumberjacks, one of whom insulted Lis'sa, likening her to the freaks in the show they had seen. Rebekah was ready to throw down, but Klaus gave the guy a ticket for a free beer, trying to calm him down - and got punched for his trouble. Rebekah put him a chokehold, which scared off his buddies effectively. They followed some music to another tent, which housed a peepshow. They heard shouts behind the tent and Klaus and Lis'sa checked it out, finding a dancer, Ralla, being menaced by one of the half-orc guards, who seemed to be trying to pressure her into performing sexual favors for patrons. He offered to give them a "free sample" if they would walk away but Klaus threatened him and scared him off. They suddenly heard a bloodcurdling scream from elsewhere in the fair...
Meanwhile, Bo, Kenzi, and Mars were exploring and found a pie tasting contest, one of which made Mars sick. They continued on and intervened when a young boy started choking on a candied apple. Bo saved him and also noticed a weird bird that seemed to be watching the whole thing. Just then, they saw Vaale himself, the circus' namesake, appear and do some acrobatic tricks with swords. Further along, they found the entrance to an ice maze, outside of which was a caged minotaur, the Mighty Gradzaal. They were angered to see it locked up and poked and prodded but decided they couldn't set it free right then, with kids around. Meanwhile, an ice carving competition was beginning nearby, They heard fireworks announced for an hour later, and then a fortune teller offered to read their futures. Each had theirs read, Mars specifically asking about whether he would see his mother again and hearing that she would get her just desserts. Bo asked about the strange weather, but before the woman could finish the reading, they too heard the scream outside. Before they could leave, the woman gave them a wand of shatter.
They met back up outside the ice maze, where the minotaur seemed to have escaped. They headed into the maze and found it had just killed somebody and they were forced to fight it. A small fox showed up and gave them a message, signed Syntira, summoning them to help her defeat a great coming evil.
They headed out to meet with Syntira, who introduced herself as the nymph queen of the Vale and a Fey. She told them about a deal she had struck long ago with a Cold Rider to take vengeance on mortals who destroyed the forest, a deal she now regretted. She explained that her other Fey had been turned into his frozen minions and begun to slaughter people in the carnival. She explained that he carried a magical artifact that would make the carnival goers see the horrible murders and horror as mirth and merriment, even while they were being killed. She gave them vials to drink to see through the illusion. She told them of one who could stand up to the Cold Rider, Vaale, the half-elf who owned the carnival, who was a slave to the Rider now, because his wife, Tessa, was imprisoned in witch ice. He had sworn an oath not to interfere in exchange for his wife's freedom - not realizing that 'freedom' to the Rider meant death. She advised them to destroy the shard and free his wife to gain him as an ally. She gave them some advice on fighting the Cold Rider, including to use the wand of shatter on him.
Returning to the Carnival, where the fireworks display was going on ... sort of. Instead of fireworks, the sky was raining leeches, as grigs played a haunting melody. The ticket takers were evil brownies who handed out grotesque body parts as tickets and lollipops.. Another creature, a grimstalker, seemed to be throwing carnival goers into a sort of grinder and horrified, they fought it and finally destroyed it. Lis'sa made out with an injured Bo to help her heal. Heading back past the ice carving contest, where people were merrily chipping apart the ice blocks.. that had people in them. They scared off the crowd and killed the chiselers. They decided to head to the beer tent, where some lumberjacks were turning into trees and other people were cutting them down. They killed the tree-pixie responsible and spilled the beer that was causing people to transform.
At that point, they were taunted by a servant of the Cold Rider, and gave chase to it. It led them into the Peep Show booth where Klaus saw no signs of Ralla - just an evil dark nymph dancing on the stage. The invisible fey they were chasing jeered at them and they pursued it towards the Titan's Wheel, which was now a grotesque invention that brownies strapped people to via their entrails and then stretched them and tore them apart on. Klaus managed to knock him out and they found he had the shard they sought. Namdrin Vaale took it from them and broke it, revealing Tessa. He gave them a healing wand and then offered to help drive off the mad fey everywhere and to announce the carnival was closed to get people to leave. They fought off the brownies guarding the Wheel and then crashed it into the lake. Next, they headed to the Pie-Eating Contest, run by a pig monster, who was serving - you guessed it - pies stuffed with entrails. He wound up killed by being buried under a backspray from his hose full of entrails thanks to a crit fail.
Finally, the Cold Rider himself appeared, and they fought him, destroying him. Syntira showed back up, and told them that her followers had banished the others from the realm. She rewarded them with a wand of lightning bolt and her gratitude. Kenzi took the wand. Vaale agreed to contact that authorities about the deaths. Lis'sa asked him to leave them out of the story he told the police.
The Knights were briefed about a strange localized area of winter weather in New Zealand that had arrived along with a carnival. Arriving at Vaale's Carnival, they decided to split up.
Rebekah, Klaus, and Lis'sa went about the fairground and found a sleigh ride, run by a man who kicked a poor child off, literally. Rebekah told him off, but they avoided direct confrontation and moved on, finding something of a freak show. They speculated about how many of the 'freaks' were just Shadowkind, before proceeding to a show of strength called The Titan's Wheel. Klaus gave it a whirl, winning some tickets, which they took to the beer tent. It was full of sweaty lumberjacks, one of whom insulted Lis'sa, likening her to the freaks in the show they had seen. Rebekah was ready to throw down, but Klaus gave the guy a ticket for a free beer, trying to calm him down - and got punched for his trouble. Rebekah put him a chokehold, which scared off his buddies effectively. They followed some music to another tent, which housed a peepshow. They heard shouts behind the tent and Klaus and Lis'sa checked it out, finding a dancer, Ralla, being menaced by one of the half-orc guards, who seemed to be trying to pressure her into performing sexual favors for patrons. He offered to give them a "free sample" if they would walk away but Klaus threatened him and scared him off. They suddenly heard a bloodcurdling scream from elsewhere in the fair...
Meanwhile, Bo, Kenzi, and Mars were exploring and found a pie tasting contest, one of which made Mars sick. They continued on and intervened when a young boy started choking on a candied apple. Bo saved him and also noticed a weird bird that seemed to be watching the whole thing. Just then, they saw Vaale himself, the circus' namesake, appear and do some acrobatic tricks with swords. Further along, they found the entrance to an ice maze, outside of which was a caged minotaur, the Mighty Gradzaal. They were angered to see it locked up and poked and prodded but decided they couldn't set it free right then, with kids around. Meanwhile, an ice carving competition was beginning nearby, They heard fireworks announced for an hour later, and then a fortune teller offered to read their futures. Each had theirs read, Mars specifically asking about whether he would see his mother again and hearing that she would get her just desserts. Bo asked about the strange weather, but before the woman could finish the reading, they too heard the scream outside. Before they could leave, the woman gave them a wand of shatter.
They met back up outside the ice maze, where the minotaur seemed to have escaped. They headed into the maze and found it had just killed somebody and they were forced to fight it. A small fox showed up and gave them a message, signed Syntira, summoning them to help her defeat a great coming evil.
They headed out to meet with Syntira, who introduced herself as the nymph queen of the Vale and a Fey. She told them about a deal she had struck long ago with a Cold Rider to take vengeance on mortals who destroyed the forest, a deal she now regretted. She explained that her other Fey had been turned into his frozen minions and begun to slaughter people in the carnival. She explained that he carried a magical artifact that would make the carnival goers see the horrible murders and horror as mirth and merriment, even while they were being killed. She gave them vials to drink to see through the illusion. She told them of one who could stand up to the Cold Rider, Vaale, the half-elf who owned the carnival, who was a slave to the Rider now, because his wife, Tessa, was imprisoned in witch ice. He had sworn an oath not to interfere in exchange for his wife's freedom - not realizing that 'freedom' to the Rider meant death. She advised them to destroy the shard and free his wife to gain him as an ally. She gave them some advice on fighting the Cold Rider, including to use the wand of shatter on him.
Returning to the Carnival, where the fireworks display was going on ... sort of. Instead of fireworks, the sky was raining leeches, as grigs played a haunting melody. The ticket takers were evil brownies who handed out grotesque body parts as tickets and lollipops.. Another creature, a grimstalker, seemed to be throwing carnival goers into a sort of grinder and horrified, they fought it and finally destroyed it. Lis'sa made out with an injured Bo to help her heal. Heading back past the ice carving contest, where people were merrily chipping apart the ice blocks.. that had people in them. They scared off the crowd and killed the chiselers. They decided to head to the beer tent, where some lumberjacks were turning into trees and other people were cutting them down. They killed the tree-pixie responsible and spilled the beer that was causing people to transform.
At that point, they were taunted by a servant of the Cold Rider, and gave chase to it. It led them into the Peep Show booth where Klaus saw no signs of Ralla - just an evil dark nymph dancing on the stage. The invisible fey they were chasing jeered at them and they pursued it towards the Titan's Wheel, which was now a grotesque invention that brownies strapped people to via their entrails and then stretched them and tore them apart on. Klaus managed to knock him out and they found he had the shard they sought. Namdrin Vaale took it from them and broke it, revealing Tessa. He gave them a healing wand and then offered to help drive off the mad fey everywhere and to announce the carnival was closed to get people to leave. They fought off the brownies guarding the Wheel and then crashed it into the lake. Next, they headed to the Pie-Eating Contest, run by a pig monster, who was serving - you guessed it - pies stuffed with entrails. He wound up killed by being buried under a backspray from his hose full of entrails thanks to a crit fail.
Finally, the Cold Rider himself appeared, and they fought him, destroying him. Syntira showed back up, and told them that her followers had banished the others from the realm. She rewarded them with a wand of lightning bolt and her gratitude. Kenzi took the wand. Vaale agreed to contact that authorities about the deaths. Lis'sa asked him to leave them out of the story he told the police.