Watching the crowd tumble and fall to the ground got a hearty chuckle out of Miizel. Noticing Zavakri race off into what seemed like open seats, he began to follow her, jumping on the backs of the fallen as he made his way to the Big Top.

Upon arrival he sees the group of people he met at the entrance. “Hello there.” Shouting and grunts of pain could be heard behind him. “Don’t worry about that, they just tripped and fell. It was quite a rush getting here so it was bound to happen.” He points at the last remaining seat and asks. "Is this taken?"

Jub was about to respond to Gabriel when he noticed the other two people who entered the carnival with them. He specifically remembered the human woman, as she had been the one standing behind him in the queue, muttering to herself. As she sat herself down, she commented something about the carnival being "Positively Dreadful", causing Jub to narrow his eyes at her. He looked the woman up and down, and attempted to glance at the back of her head in case he spied the telltale blue mark he had placed on the kenku. After all, he'd never seen this woman and the kenku in the same place.

And she did seem... odd.

"Oi oi!" Brutrumukk called out in greeting as the rest of their number joined them at the seats. "Any o' you lot seen a kenku lurkin' about or someone with blue paint splashed across the back o' their 'ead? If you do, know that they are actually a kenku git what's tryin' to ruin the carnival. You see it, be sure to tell me so I can club it to death an' mount its 'ead on a spike!"

Having turned to see the commotion in the crowd, Rory watched as Vernon slipped and fell rather loudly. She let out a short laugh at the scene of the mans further embarrassment before she turned to Miizel.

"No they are still available, please sit.

I cannot say that I have seen such an individual. What did this kenku do to ruin the carnival?" Aurora was curious now as to what had happened with Jub and Brutrumukk.

"What did this kenku git do to ruin the carnival?" Brutrumukk asked in response to Aurora's question, an baleful look appearing on his face as he began to think more about the kenku. "Well to start off, the kenku git used magic to steal the voice from one of the carnies to use fer its own gitish ends. Just as that carny was about to ask 'is sweet 'eart to marry 'im too! Then, the kenku git went to the lake while that very same sweet 'eart was singing fer an audience and began yellin' mean things about the singing, making the poor girl sad an' ruinin' the show. An' finally when I caught the git and tried to 'ave it subjected to some good ol' mob justice, it 'ad the nerve to use more magic to escape before I could rile up the mob well enough! Jub an' I managed to get the mime carny's voice back and got the singin' mermaid carny to do the rest of 'er show. They even gave us singin' an' actin' lessons as thanks fer our 'elp. But the kenku git is still out there! An' I swear to Hruggek I won't let it leave this 'ere carnival alive! No matter what the carnies say about violence an' the like!"

"I can assure you my furred friend," after a moment of thought Gabriel leaned over slightly away from Brutrumukk when he heard Aurora laugh "Neither of us has seen beak nor feath-" his gaze had briefly followed the sound of commotion nearby spotting the gentleman they'd raced against before, falling face first onto the ground. Compared to his elvish friends reaction he veritably almost fell out of his seat laughing, as he slapped his knee and wiped a tear from his eyes.

After a few minutes of trying and failing to get a good look at the back of Zavakri's head, Jub suddenly remembered that the effects of Prestidigitation wore off after hour or so, meaning that he actually had no way of determining whether this woman was the kenku not. Not by appearance, anyway.

He decided to try another tactic. "I don't believe we've been properly introduced," he said, addressing both the human woman and her gnomish companion. "I an Jub the Peculiar." He gestured over at Brutrumukk. "And this good fellow here is Brutrumukk." He looked back at the pair of them. "And how have you been enjoying the carnival? How have you been in occupying yourselves these past few hours?" Even as he was speaking, he notably staring more at Zavakri than Miizel.

Zavakri sits down and smooths her trousers out, tilting her head to gaze at Jub sideways. She stares back at him.

"Well, thank you for asking first off. That's mighty social of you. Where to begin? Cor! I started off by running off to Lost Property, discovered that a Displacer beast named Dirla runs that particular section and was taking care of some children left in her care. Poor thing lost her own son, can you believe it? Anyway she asked me to keep an eye out on him, though I fear it was mostly out of hope than any strong sort of inclination that he'd be around- but I'm going to do my damndest to keep my word! She said she'd keep an eye out for my sister after all.

Oh, blimey, you lot probably have no clue who Tara is either. Well about eight years ago- to the day, to be specific, in case the subtlety of the conversational tone obfuscated that- I came to the carnival with my sister and, well, at the time we, er, rather didn't have any money so we snuck in. Well one thing lead to another, one argument built into a second, and, well, I wasn't a very good sister at the time. I regret it horribly, but she ran off on me and I couldn't find her before the day was up! I've spent these last eight years absolutely dreading coming back here to look for her, but I couldn't sleep some nights remembering how she ran off from me and the guilt was eating me up. My fiancée, Rirvudd, has been doing his best to console me- he's a sweet man, really, but he has this problem where women throw themselves at him and I rather have to beat them off him. He's not interested in THEM, but they always TRY, you know?

That's when I met Miizel properly- you all remember Miizel, don't you? Wonderful gnome, really, proper gentleman and all that..."

And on. And on. And on she goes.

---

Tsak wiped the excess ink from the goblin's arms. She had spent the last three hours, tattooing and applying ink to the arms, torso and back of one of one of the goblins who traveled with the circus. He had been doing favors for her, mostly doing the dirty work she really didn't want to do, in exchange for what seemed to be random bits of art all over his body. Hearing the music in the distance, she realized the Big Top Extravaganza must have started. Panicking, she asked the goblin to quickly put her gear away for her, threw on her uniform and lunged up into the air, taking flight so she could quickly get there. Once she arrived, she would fold her raven like wings behind her and enter the tent. She was there to stand on stand-by in case one of the witchlight hands were needed.

The mood is still bright as the crowd talks amongst themselves, the party included, and nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. Tsak arrives just in time for the event to begin.

The lights dim and a hush falls over the crowd. A second later, a spotlight illuminates a lithe, elven figure sitting in a silver hoop, suspended above the center ring by silk ropes. The elf wears a dazzling suit of diamond-pane mirrors and a pair of butterfly wings. His scepter is topped with a spinning vane.

"Welcome, one and all, to this evening's extravaganza! I am Mister Light. Prepare to be delighted!"

As he gives his call, music began to play the 30 second musical intro, crescendoing until finally a clamshell bathing pool finally opens to reveal Palasha the mermaid!

Mister Light calls to Palasha excitedly while taking on the role of Ringmaster, "Take it away, Palasha!"

As if perfectly time by Mister Light and the music, Palasha begins to sing. This is no mere serenade, but a jubilant song of joy and excitement that encapsulates the wonder of the Carnival.



As she sings, the water moves about on their own, creating sculptures and dancing figures in time with Palasha's singing and lyrics. During this song, faerie dragons also appear, and fly with different colored streamers fluttering behind them. It is a perfectly sung and choreographed piece that captures the audience's attention. Once the song finishes, the audience applauds.

The mermaid takes a bow before the clam bathing pool closes and attention is directed to a bugbear wearing a jack-o-lantern helmet comes up, with Mister Light introducing him as Burly the Bugbear. He proceeds to entertain the crowd with feats of strength. Each object he lifted was heavier than the last, and at the end, he lifted all of those objects at once with just one hand!

The show continues with a series of acts: Acrobats, fire breathers, clowns, and even Candlefoot! The once silenced Mime contributes to the show by playing silent games with some of the audience members. He doesn't say anything to the party, but he gives them (more specifically Brutrumukk and Jub) a wide and joyful smile as he tries to get the party to play a silent game as well.

After a finale with Palasha singing and all of the performers on center stage, Mister Light takes the stage once again and calls as they applaud, "Thank you! Thank you! You're all too kind!"

He then calls out, "However, revelries are the best especially when talents and acts can be shared! So, I ask you Dear Audience, before ending this extravaganza: Who among you would like to share your acts with us?"

Gabriel hadn't escaped life on the streets for nothing, who he was with every fiber of his being was carefully and meticulously groomed to be a performer however he was no garish entertainer nor was he some jester or fool.

Nay he was a swordsman and a damned good one, his hands were quick to play with the basket hilt of his fine rapier as he listened to Mister White. A habitual tick if you will as Aurora might have guessed, yet now it meant something different, it was a challenge. It was a dare to draw, to cross steel. And then he did.

Shing

Blade flashing in the low light of the spectator seating the shine of his rapier was like a star against a night sky, it's hum like a dissonant melody that slowly faded.

Wordlessly the bard leapt into the circus ring, onto the dirt floor deftly rolling to his feet before the likes of Mister White with a bow "I will share my talent sir," he threw off his vest looking to the audience "A duel, a show of arms but I will need an opponent..." it was as much of a challenge as it was a request, but who would answer it's call?

Brutrumukk looked on in wonder as the extravaganza commenced. He cheered loudly when Mister Light introduced Palasha. When Burly the Bugbear performed his feats of strength, Brutrumukk idly noted to those about him. "I could top that easy." He watched the other acts eagerly. And when Candlefoot came to play his games, Brutrumukk was all to happy to join in. At the end of the finale, no one cheered louder than Brutrumukk. Just as he was about to turn to Jub and ask where they should go next though, Brutrumukk held his tongue as Mister Light offered the audience a chance to show off their talents. One of the people he'd been sitting with was the first to respond, entering the ring and calling on any member of the audience to face him in a duel. Brutrumukk was all to happy to accept.

Brutrumukk made his way to the front of the stands and vaulted into the ring below. However, before approaching the duelist, Brutrumukk made a stop at the weights that Burly had been using. He walked up to a steel barbell and, much the the confusion of the crowd, removed the weights attached to it. Brutrumukk's reasons for doing so would soon become clear though, as he picked up the barbell and attempted to bend it. For a moment is looked like he wouldn't be able to do it. But then his breathing became ragged, his eyed became bloodshot, and the barbell slowly bent by few degrees. But just as people began to truly doubt his strength, Brutrumukk unleashed a great and terrible roar and folded the barbell quickly and neatly in half with one last mighty push. "OI! KENKU GIT WHAT STOLE CANDLEFOOT'S VOICE AN' SAID MEAN THINGS ABOUT PALASHA'S SINGIN'!" Brutrumukk bellowed for all to hear as he held the bent barbell aloft. "IF YER OUT THERE, IF YOU CAN SEE THIS, IF YOU CAN 'EAR ME, TAKE A GOOD LOOK! WHEN I GET ME 'ANDS ON YA, THIS IS GONNA BE YOU!"

With that said, Brutrumukk dropped the barbell, turned to the duelist, and drew his morningstar and shield. "HRUGGEK!" Brutrumukk roared before charging the man. Brutrumukk fought with great strength and ferocity, shaking the ground and kicking up dust with every swing and strike. However, Brutrumukk maintained enough sense to remember that this was all meant to be an act and made sure his 'opponent' was never in any true danger from his attacks.

Jub wasn't sure what he had expected upon questioning the human woman, but he had definitely not be prepared for the barrage of words he received. His eyes started to go slightly crossed as Zavakri continued to speak, and only returned to their usual state once the Big Top Extravanganza began, causing him to tear his attention away from the woman and his thoughts away from finding the kenku. Instead, he simply enjoyed the show, and like Brutrumukk, he cheered very loudly when Palasha and Candlefoot performed.

When Mister Light then called out if anyone wanted to join in with the show, Jub's ears perked up and he was about to stand... only to immediately sit down when the half-elven swordsman stood up, brandishing a sword, called for anyone who wished to duel with him.

Nope. Had it been a magic duel, he might have considered it, but sword-fighting was definitely not his forte, as countless failed sparring matches with his fellow goblins back in his tribe had shown him. However, Brutrumukk stepped forward to challenge the swordsman, Jub decided to take this as an opportunity both to show off his skills to a large audience AND to spotlight his new friend. He followed the bugbear into the ring, making sure to keep a distance from the fight, before attempting to use Prestidigitation to write Brutrumukk's names in sparks above the bugbear, as he had once seen talented firework artists do.

"Oh shi-" raising his weapon, Gabriel deftly deflected the hit with his blade however the duelist bit his tongue with a pained wince as the force behind the bugbears attack was crushing. He spun on his heel backwards from his opponent, with a wide grin on his face and chuckled "En garde, then." it wasn't a fight to the death thus the riposte the swordsman struck was instead masterfully directed to the bugbears shield arm, in a moment where the swordsman saw an opportunity when Brutrumukk dropped his guard.

Suddenly the shield flew to the side as the swordsman glanced a blow off the bugbears arm causing him to release it. Then he held the point of the rapier to his opponents chest. The duel was concluded.

Though his opponent thought the duel was over simply because he'd lost his shield, Brutrumukk still had his weapon and was having far too much fun to stop just yet. The bugbear swung his morningstar and deflected the rapier's point away from his chest. This allowed the fight to continue on for a little while longer, until finally Brutrumukk's weapon was also knocked away. Then and only then did he concede the duel. A grin came to Brutrumukk's face as his rage cooled. Once it had subsided completely, the bugbear let loose a thunderous laugh and gave his opponent an congratulatory slap on the back. "Good fight, mate!" Brutrumukk exclaimed happily. "Let's do it again sometime!"

"Oh, good. Nobody died." Zavakri muttered under her breath as she clapped politely, as if witnessing a pageant.

Gabriel cringed at the sheer force behind the bugbear's jovial slap upon his back, the damned goblinoid had a strong-arm if the duelist had ever seen one "If my back ever recovers..." the bard wheezed, but mirrored the bugbears grin before straightening up and sheathing his weapon. He was bruised and sore, not much worse for wear though "Certainly a strong bastard." he said with a laugh, nursing his shoulder with a free hand.

---

Tsak was picking dirt from her nails instead of watching the dual. She had to admit that she was more interested in seeing a bugbear there, but mostly cause she always wanted to tattoo one. During this time, she was lost in her head trying to figure out how to ink him with all the fur there. Dye maybe? Not really tattooing but could be just as fun.... huh...

Mister Light quirked an eyebrow as Gabriel unsheathed his sword, but he smiled when Gabriel made it clear that his act is swordplay. He discreetly moved out of the ring as Brutrumukk comes and displays his show of strength. The crowd gasps and gives various "Oohs" and "Ahs" at the display. Some murmur in confusion over the mention of the kenku, but that doesn't distract them too much from the show.

Gabriel's swordplay against Brutrumukk garnered similar reactions as they watch Gabriel just barely triumph over the bugbear barbarian. They cheered at the swordplay tricks and flourishes that were performed during the spar. They gave an applause to him after the faux battle was finished.

Jub's magical display of Brutrumukk's name gets cheers and applause as the fireworks. It served as a grand finale to the acts Brutrumukk and Gabriel put forth.

After their acts, nobody else steps forward, and the crowd begins to shuffle out. When the party of 6 is reunited, the same lanky bugbear wearing dungarees, fairy wings, and a helmet made from a jack-o'-lantern from the extravaganza approaches them. "Follow me," he growls. "Management wants to see you."

Before leading the party of 6, he looks at Tsak and nods towards the backstage area.

Gabriel frowned, then looked to Aurora and back to the bugbear in his dungarees "I've a bad feeling about this." Gabe leaned over to whisper to the elf in a hushed tone.