Aurora throughly enjoyed the show, though she thought Gabe and Brutrumukk's performances to be a bit too much. The games with Candlefoot, Palasha's songs, and the acrobatics. The acrobatics part of the show did send her back many years ago to the night Xander and her snuck in. She absent mindedly fiddled with her right ring finger with her thumb, remembering the ring she lost that night. Having never figured out where it went she had forgotten about it until just now and the words that were spoken to her when she got caught.

"Silly little screeching cricket," said Witch. "You forgot to buy a ticket."

"The carnival goes round and round," said Light. "The multiverse is our playground. Nothing's free and nothing's lost. Every visit has its cost."

After a few more minutes of contemplation Aurora realized why she had really come to the carnival again. She needed to find that ring, and the scroll that she had with it.

She looked up as Gabe whispered in her ear about having a bad feeling about something.

"What would they like to see us about? Have we done something wrong?" She directed the questions to the bugbear that had approached the group.

The bugbear looks to Aurora, and with a wave of his hand, he reassures her and the rest of the group, "No, you haven't done anything wrong. While I don't know what they want to talk to you about, I can assure you that there's nothing to worry about. The bosses are in high spirits,"

He then turns to lead the group to management and repeats, "Please, come this way,"

---

Tsak starts to somewhat pay attention towards the end of the dual, clapping when everyone else does. She would notice Burly's nod, nodding back at him before looking around and following the bugbear.

Once the show was finally over for real this time, Brutrumukk picked up Jub and placed his newfound shoulder goblin on his shoulder. "That was some good stuff ya did back there, booyagh." Brutrumukk said to Jub as he made to clear out with the crowd. "Now that that's over, what say you an' I 'ead on over to the Feastin' Orchard again. I dunno about you, but I've got an 'unger on!" Before Jub could answer though, Burly the Bugbear would come along and ask the party to follow him to see the bosses. "Well this should be interestin'." Brutrumukk said to Jub before following the other Burly's lead and listening quietly to the conversations the others were having with this new bugbear.

Zavakri fell strangely silent and occupied herself at the rear of the party, mentally forming herself into a queue with the others, as the bugbear declared that the management needed to see them. Because of course it did; why else would they have been given tickets? She licked her lips, mentally preparing herself against the dread horror she experienced, as she followed along.

As soon as the show started, Miizel slunk back into his seat, trying to hide himself. Whether it was because of the chaos he had caused or something else, he didn’t know. When Mr. Light entered the stage he had gotten his answer. It was something else. Definitely something else but he couldn’t pinpoint what.

All throughout the show he kept one on the Witchlight’s owner and another on his crossbow, ready in case anything should happen. He flinched a bit when the human male he was sitting with drew a blade and let out a yelp when the bugbear roared. What are these fools thinking??
Once the theatrics were over he finally managed to breath a sigh of relief, however, just when he thought things were finally dying down he was greeted with two Witchlight hands which wanted to take him and his group to meet management. Although they said there was nothing wrong he couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Still keeping a hand on his crossbow, he followed the others.

As the audience applauded the show, Jub gave a low bow, making sure his hood didn't slip off as he did. However, even with most of his face obscured, it was clear he was quite pleased with himself, and the flash of an elated grin remained on his face even as Brutrumukk picked him up and placed him back on his shoulder. "Same to you, my good fellow," Jub responded to the bugbear's praise. "You and our sword-carrying acquaintance put on quite a good show." He glanced over at Gabriel, giving a smile and a nod in the swordsman's direction.

He then turned his attention back to Brutrumukk, and was about to respond to his suggestion of returning to the Feasting Orchard when another bugbear approached their group, saying something about the management wanting to speak to them. "Uh oh," Jub muttered under his breath, tugging at his hood once again. His mind was quickly running through everything he had done since entering the carnival, trying to find any possible thing he might have done that would have gotten him in trouble... perhaps his attempt to sell souvenirs earlier, given he wasn't actually affiliated with the carnival? Or maybe he'd scared one too many customers with Eighteyes? He was slowly becoming more and more panicked until the elven woman in their group outright asked if they were in trouble, to which the Witchlight Hand responded that no, no they weren't, and that the bosses were in fact very happy.

"Oh thank the gods," Jub muttered quietly again, though he still seemed tense. As they followed the rest of the group backstage, the goblin whispered into Brutrumukk's ear, in their native language, "The moment things start to go bad, we should hightail out of here as fast as we can."

Burly leads the Party through the back entrance of the Big Top. The first thing they see is a tangled wall of thorns surrounding a cluster of wagons lit by lanterns. This caravan is barely visible through the thicket.

Burly easily waves a hand over the thicket and it parts to allow him and the party entry into the Staff Area.

The bugbear leads the group to a circle of wagons. Leaning against a particularly ostentatious wagon is an aging clown with a painted grin. He puffs on a bubble pipe and glares at the party as the bugbear, ignoring the clown, opens the wagon's door and ushers almost everyone inside, excluding Tsak.

The flamboyant elf, Mister Light, grins from ear to ear as he welcomes the party into the wagon with a theatrical bow. "Please come in, it's a delight to meet you all! I am Mister Light, and this is my associate, Mister Witch,"

He gestures to a stocky elf lounging on a bunk. Mister Witch nods to the party and doffs his top hat.

"If things go bad, yer free to run if ya like." Brutrumukk whispered in goblin in response to Jub's words. "I'll be stayin' fer the fight though. Also, I gotta track down that kenku git before I leave."

Brutrumukk continued to follow Burly as the other bugbear led the way to the staff area, looking on in wonder as Burly parted the thorny brambles with a wave of his hand. As they entered the staff area and passed the glaring clown, Brutrumukk glared back and bared his teeth for a moment before continuing into the management wagon where Mister Light waited to welcome the party and introduce Mister Witch. "Is... Is that a fat elf?" Brutrumukk whispered in goblin to Jub after seeing Mister Witch for the first time. "I didn't know elves could be fat... Did you know?"

A frown creased the edges of the duelist's mouth at the way Brutrumukk looked at the elf and whispered something in a odd language, Gabriel gave the bugbear a pointed glare before offering a curt bow to the dignified elf with his odd clothing "Ah, I'm sure whatever our friends may be saying it is polite," he said with a sheepish smile "Gabriel, a pleasure to make your acquaintance." he introduced himself, although something told him they had already met.

Jub's ears drooped slightly when Brutrumukk stated he wouldn't flee, though he wasn't exactly surprised. In the short time they had known each other, the bugbear hadn't shown the least bit of fear. If the incident during the dragonfly rides hadn't shaken him, the prospect of a few carnies attacking him was unlikely to make him flinch.

The goblin was quiet as they made their way backstage, eying each of the carnivalfolk they passed with suspicion and making note of every available exit should he have to make an escape. When they finally met Mister Witch and Mister Light face-to-face, Jub became even more tense, the hint of a grimace forming beneath his hood. Yes, he remembered these two from eight years ago, and their dismissive attitude when he had told them what he had lost. He could only hope they didn't remember him as well.

Jub was on edge that Brutrumukk's comment on Mister Witch's appearance caught him off guard and caused him to give a nervous snicker, and he had to catch himself so he didn't burst out into full out laughter. "No, no, I admit, this is a new one for me as well," he responded in goblin. At Gabriel's words, he tried his best to recollect himself before saying, this time in common, "Yes, very polite, I assure you, err, my companion was simply praising your unique dress sense." He gave a small nod to Mister Witch, putting on the most sincere face he could muster given the circumstances.

"Prey-zing yer eunuch dress sense..." Brutrumukk said, slightly confused by the more complicated words the others were using. "Yeah, sure, whatever." Brutrumukk shook his head to banish the headache that had been forming in the back of his mind. "The name's Brutrumukk, an' the goblin on me shoulder's called Jub. Don't suppose either o' you seen a kenku sneakin' about an' tryin' to make a mess of everythin'? Or maybe someone with blue paint on the back o' their 'ead doin' the same?"

The two leaders of the Witchlight Carnival both nod and give greetings in return to the three who already spoke up. Before Mister Light could speak up, Brutrumukk already stepped forward and asked his question about the kenku.

Mister Light answers Brutrumukk, "We are aware of who you're talking about, but we do not know of her whereabouts right now,"

Mister Witch then speaks, "The Kenku is named Kettlesteam. She is a disgruntled guest and troublemaker who shares the same fey patron as us: Zybilna. She dwells in the Feywild domain of Prismeer,"

Mister Light smiles and he adds, "Hopefully, your performance back there will have been enough to get her to stop,"

"Oh don't you worry about that kenku git tryin' anythin' else." Brutrumukk said as a cruel, bloodthirsty grin appeared on his face. "Next time I catch it, I'll make sure it never bothers anyone ever again. Heh heh heh heh heh." After a few moments of imagining all the ways he'd club the kenku to death and mount its head on a spike in the future, Brutrumukk returned his focus to the present. "So ya wanted to see us then, yeah?" Brutrumukk asked. "What did ya wanna see us about?"

Jub wasn't sure what the most bizarre revelation of this whole conversation was: that the carnival's owners knew the kenku well enough that they were aware who her patron was, that she was from the feywild - a realm which Jub had heard enough about to be aware that it not a place one just took a stroll through and came out unscathed - or that the kenku was a 'she'. All of these answers had simply stirred up more questions in the goblin's brain.

"Why does she want to wreck your carnival if you have the same patron?" Jub asked Mister Witch and Mister Light.

Both Carnival leaders looked at each other in concern when Brutrumukk made his threatening comment and gave his bloodthirsty smile.

When Jub asked, Mister Witch answered the small goblin, "We haven't heard from Zybilna for a very long time. The same must hold true for Kettlsteam. After all, Zybilna is the matron to the entire carnival. She would have told Kettlesteam to stop,"

Thankfully, Brutrumukk asked his next questions. Mister Light brightened up considerably with a wide, joyful smile. He gestures to the vane in hand and he speaks, "My vane here picks up every single nuance of emotion in the carnival, in order to ensure that everyone who comes here has a delightful time. This is the first time I've felt so much joy in a long time! So, we wanted to express our gratitude to you!"

Mister Witch clears his throat and he speaks, "We were also curious. We'd like to know what brings you to the carnival this night,"

Mister Light waves his hand and speaks to Mister Witch, "Oh don't be silly, Mister Witch! I'm sure they're just here for a good time as well,"

---

Tsak grimaced as she looked at the Burly. This meeting was most unusual to say the least. She would listen silently, curious where this went.

Aurora had stayed towards the back of the group listening intently to the conversation. It seemed that the kenku that Brutrumukk and Jub had encountered had some relation to the carnival, at least through their patron. The fact they have not heard from their patron in sometime was most likely very troubling to Mr. Witch and Mr. Light. It also seemed the two had different ideas as to why everyone in the group was here.

"Initially I had seen the carnival while passing by and remembered it being quite enjoyable, though in the last hour or so I've realized I lost something here a long time ago and wonder if it was found and someone held onto it. It was a rather ornate ring with an emblem in the center of it. There may have been a scroll with it as well, would you know if anyone has seen it?"

Zavakri jumps at this, leaning far forward as her legs hastened to keep up with her body. Soon she pushed herself forward and sucked in a deep drag of air. She held it for a moment, as if meaning to inflate. Then she deflated, clearing her throat awkwardly as she let Aurora have her moment.

"Sorry, got a bit excited, rather in a tizzy in fact, but dreadfully tired- I haven't stayed up this late...Well, that's a lie, I stay up this late every night, but this is certainly a lot of activity! When we get around to me someone remind me that I was working up a bit of steam, eh? I'll pick it back up when we get to that part."

She retreats back to the back, anxious, gnawing on her lip intensely.

"Don't mind me, not normally the sort to jump a line like that, you've all got as good a reason to be here as me. I presume."

Both leaders of the carnival turn their attention to Aurora as she spoke. As she mentioned that she lost something a long time ago, a dim light of recognition appears in their eyes.

They look to Zavakri as she pushes her way forward to front and center. Mister Light reassured her, "There's no need for apologies. There's no queue to worry about,"

The both of them look to the group, and Mister Light speaks up, "Ah, I somewhat remember now. Most of you were here eight years ago...! My, you've grown up,"

Mister Witch closes his eyes and somewhat looks away with a clear look of remorse, while Mister Light also gains a regretful expression as he speaks, "However, we must sincerely apologize, but what you've lost isn't here,"

Mister Witch speaks up, "The wheel of time turns ever on... what's lost is lost, what's gone is gone,"

Mister Light then clarifies, "I'm afraid that there are forces at work beyond our control. We cannot help you,"