Success! The giddy gnome grinned and pointed over to the musicians, commenting, "Alright then, clear the stage and I'll start!" After the musicians finished their piece and begrudgingly shuffled out of the performance area in the corner, the gnome calmly hobbled over with his staff and moved all but one of the stools out of the way, propping up the lone stool in the back corner. He then placed his staff against the wall next to him and walked over to the front of the presentation area.
"Greetings, fair people of Thoria! Before you stands Zimmysonmekkasproketitificanster, the puppet master of the Highesthill. Tonight, you shall all witness a magnificent display of two warriors and their quest for the mythic sword named Heizorlansteir." He emphasized his words with broad gestures and subtle expressions, addressing the people of the crowd, especially the barkeep, specifically and generally as he spoke, shifting his attention from one person to groups of people. All the while, he stepped around the stage calmly, gradually starting to produce the movement which would eventually lead to the beginning of his performance.
Zimnis continued his introduction with a great clap as he said, "The story I am about to lay before you is a story of action!" He then quickly posed as if he was lunging with a sword, farcically trying to look tough, and jumped back as he swung his hand up to his face, as if shielding his eyes from the sun. He leaned forward, looking around the crowd as he added, "Adventure!" He then held up his fist and heartily shouted, "Valor!" With his fist still clenched, he hit himself in the back and squealed, "Betrayal!" Zimnis then returned to an even standing position and commented, "and, of course, it will be a story of fantastical wonders, as you have never seen!" [Charisma check to see how many crowd members notice him, and how they react to his introduction]
The puppeteer then bowed to the crowd and pulled out his two puppets, both humanoid, featureless, wooden dolls attached to strings, which were attached to complex wooden lever-like devices which Zimnis held on to as he walked back to the stool in the corner of the room. He hopped onto his stool and grinned, shouting, "I present to you," he then paused for emphasis, summoning the magical energies to his hands as he pictured the two figures in his mind. The gnome detailed each familiar fold and crevice of both puppets, one a short, armored and armed humanoid figure with a highly detailed face, and the other a stout, hairy and roughly dressed dwarven figure with a war-hatchet and a full animal bladder, once again, with a highly detailed face.
Then, as he opened his eyes, he released all of the magical energy from his hands into the puppets, summoning the two life-sized puppets before him with a blinding flash of light and smoke. [Light magic check for the quality of the figures]
As the light and smoke quickly faded, Zimnis shouted loud so as to raise his voice over the commotion of the crowd and continued, "Sir Archibald, noble adventurer and warrior of his king, Zerilichi." As he spoke, he moved his left hand around in a very precise manner, causing the humanoid figure to perform a quick jig, followed by drawing his sword and raising it to the ceiling. As the humanoid's mouth opened, Zimnis announced in a very practiced and noble tone, "I am Sir Archibald, the true heir of the Heizorlansteir!"
Zimnis then continued, "and the shorter one, Marlbow the Stout." He then moved both hands and had the two puppets interact for a moment before the dwarf puppet shot straight up and turned towards the gnome, moving its mouth as Zimnis shouted in an angry, deep, and heavily accented voice, "an' if ye call me' shart unce agen," the dwarf then pointed his axe at the gnome and Zimnis shouted louder, "YA'L BE SEARCHIN' DA BO'TM O' DE SEA FIR YER LEGS!" Zimnis returned to his own voice and quickly apologized, then he began his story, having the two prance about the stage, interacting with illusory objects such as heavy rocks and books, running around and jumping, and even fighting a giant dragon-head puppet which Zimnis summoned on the wall and controlled by moving his staff with his left foot. [Light magic check for the dragon-head as well, if you want]
At the end of the show, the two puppets bowed professionally to the crowd, [Knowledge check to see if the crowd was interested, Charisma check to see if they enjoyed it] as did Zimnis. Then, with another bright flash of light, the two life-sized puppets disappeared as the magic energy in the puppets flowed back into Zimnis's hands. The master puppeteer then placed his puppets back in their spots within the pockets of his cloak, and the gnome hopped down from his stool in the corner. After grabbing his staff, he hobbled back to the front of the stage, bowed, and called, "As Marlbow would say, 'tis time fir a drink!'" He chuckled to himself after saying this, and walked back over to the barkeep to see what he thought.
As the light and smoke cleared, Zimnis was horrified to see the state of his puppets. The faces were not nearly as detailed as he had hoped, and the costumes were much more rugged than he had imagined. Nonetheless, He raised his voice voice over the commotion of the crowd and continued, "Sir Archibald, noble adventurer and warrior of his king, Zerilichi." As he spoke, he moved his left hand around in a very precise manner, causing the humanoid figure to perform a quick jig, followed by drawing his sword and raising it to the ceiling. Due to the poor costume, the thin blade of the sword broke off as the humanoid puppet posed, clashing to the ground with a loud ruckus. As the humanoid's mouth opened, Zimnis announced in a very practiced and noble tone, "I am Sir Archibald, the seeker of the Heizorlansteir!" The figure then looked down at the blade on the ground and continued, "after all, this will no longer do."
Zimnis then continued, "and the shorter one, Marlbow the Stout." He then moved both hands and had the two puppets interact for a moment before the dwarf puppet shot straight up and turned towards the gnome, moving its mouth as Zimnis shouted in an angry, deep, and heavily accented voice, "an' if ye call me' shart unce agen," the dwarf then pointed his axe at the gnome and Zimnis shouted louder, "YA'L BE SEARCHIN' DA BO'TM O' DE SEA FIR YER LEGS!" As the dwarf puppet pointed his axe at the gnome, the head of the axe slipped down the handle, back to the dwarve's hand. Zimnis returned to his own voice and quickly apologized as the dwarf puppet hid his axe behind his back and fiddled with it, still staring angrily at the gnome.
After both puppets quickly fiddled with their weapons, they posed once again, both weapons temporarily remaining in once piece. Zimnis then began his story, having the two prance about the stage, interacting with invisible objects such as heavy rocks and books, running around and jumping, and even fighting a few small illusions which looked like blobs of moving slime, imps with high-pitched voices, and innocent deer, which Zimnis summoned by holding his magic stave with his left foot.
At the end of the show, the two puppets bowed professionally to the crowd, [Knowledge check to see if the crowd was interested, Charisma check to see if they enjoyed it] as did Zimnis. Then, with another bright flash of light, the two life-sized puppets disappeared as the magic energy in the puppets flowed back into Zimnis's hands. The master puppeteer then placed his puppets back in their spots within the pockets of his cloak, and the gnome hopped down from his stool in the corner. After grabbing his staff, he hobbled back to the front of the stage, bowed, and called, "As Marlbow would say, 'tis time fir a drink!'" He chuckled to himself after saying this, and walked back over to the barkeep to see what the burly man thought.