Brutrumukk set Jub down when asked and sang along with the crowd as Jub was crowned the Witchlight Monarch. And thanks to singing lesson he'd received from Palasha, there weren't many folks in the Big Top who could say they sang as well as Brutrumukk. Once the crowning was done and the parade began, Brutrumukk hoisted Jub back onto his shoulder and walked alongside the leaders of the parade, singing his heart out all the way as the fireworks made the sunrise look even brighter than usual.

In his heart of hearts, the very core of the swordsman's being he felt moved. Not only by the song itself but it's underlying tone that one such as himself couldn't miss. While the song itself was celebratory it had a sadness to it that touched Gabriel's soul, he wanted to sing with his surly friend yet the moment was not his to join. He knew not the melody nor it's words only the emotions it filled him with.

And so he just hummed the tune, the corners of his eyes slightly glistening.

For what was meant to be a celebration of what had been, at least for him, a long and hectic day, Jub was a little surprised at how slow and sombre Palasha's song was. He wasn't really used to this kind of music, but he couldn't say he disliked it either. It just felt... odd. In fact, this whole moment felt really surreal to the goblin. He did manage, however, after hearing Gabriel's jape, to widen his smile a little bit as Brutrumukk brought him up to the ring.

Admittedly, he did become slightly tense as they approached Mister Witch and Mister Light, as he could still remember the rant Mister Light had given him earlier after the Extravaganza. However, neither of them seemed upset or angry to see him again, at least from what he could tell, and he managed to relax as they placed the crown on his head, though he did try his best to avoid looking either of them in the eye too much. Again, he really didn't want to lose anything else to this carnival if he could help it.

As Brutrumukk hoisted Jub back onto his shoulder, the bugbear began to sing along with Palasha's song, and Jub took a moment to admire how much of a good singer he was now after singing lessons with the mermaid. After a while, Jub found himself singing along, albeit his voice was a quieter. He may have been a showman, but until today, singing hadn't really been something he had attempted, and even with his training, he couldn't help but feel a bit shy.

Needless to say, this whole situation was very overwhelming for the goblin. In a good way, but still overwhelming.

During the ceremony Aurora cheered with the rest as Jub was proclaimed the Carnival Monarch. It was almost to the level of pomp and circumstances that the noble back home gave to when the consulate had their elections. The magocracy did have an knack for magical exuberance that left many of the less magically inclined in awe.

After Jub was crowned by Mister Witch and Mister Light, the burst of fireworks caught Rory off guard. Initially it startled her, followed by her laughing at how ridiculous it was for her to be startled by it. The parade through the carnival grounds kept her attention for awhile. She stayed close to the edges away from the center of the crowd keeping an eye on Jub and the carnival owners. Here soon it would be time to meet up with them and potentially help them with whatever it was that causing these disappearances.

Unfortunately...all good things must come to an end. The same holds true for the Crowning Ceremony and the Witchlight Carnival. As dawn rises slowly, Mister Light could be heard calling to the crowd as they depart,

"Parting is such sweet sorrow! Thank you all for visiting the Witchlight Carnival! We hope you had a delightful time!"

As the crowd heads for the exits, the party stands there. For Jub, the crown disappears from his head, and reappears in the hatbox.

Tsak knows that was going to happen. After all, how were they going to crown the next Witchlight Monarch if they don't get the crown back?

Jub, despite knowing that the crown is no longer resting upon his brow, knows that he still has the title of Witchlight Monarch. He can feel it.

It is in this moment, where all of you stand still amongst the moving crowds, see Mister Witch and Mister Light looking at you all. They both turn, and Light nods at you, the entire party, to follow them.

You follow them through the carnival grounds, past the crowds heading towards the exit, until they stop at the very same attraction some of the party had suspected and investigated:



Both Misters seem to be nervous as they stare at the entrance of the Big Top. Then the party sees the both of them look to each other, before Mister Light starts reaching his hand for Mister Witch's. Mister Witch's hand meets Mister Light's, and their fingers interlocking. They face the entrance again and head inside, expecting the party to follow.

The interior has not changed since some of the party members last investigated it. As Witch and Light move through the Hall of Illusions, their reflections in the mirrors show them as gloomy shadar-kai children garbed in nobles' attire, with the party's own youthful reflections following behind. Soon, they call all of the party to a halt, right in front of the mirror Miizel had pointed out as magical and different from the other mirrors. At that moment, the mirrors now reflect everyone's true age.

Mister Witch addresses you in a hushed tone, "Everything you seek and more lies beyond this mirror. If you mean to step through, then stand in front of the glass and repeat this rhyme:

Hither, thither, here and there; wander yonder, show me where,

"

They then part and move away to let you all reach said mirror.

---

This was it, the very moment Tsak had been waiting for. She was finally about to leave her home and travel forth, to follow her parents foot steps as find the truth. Tsak's breathing audibly heavy and quick as a slight panic attack started to kick in. Taking a deep breath, she would look to the party, "I know we've not known each other that long, but I was hoping that your party would allow me to follow for now. My parents and mentor is somewhere through that mirror and I need to know their story. If I may, Ill need to gather my things and day a quick good bye to my family" She would then look to the misters with slight tears in her eyes and a faint smile, "I'll be back when I find then, if I am still welcomed"

Jub was still in a very elated mood from the celebration as the party followed the Misters towards the Hall of Illusions, and that feeling didn't dampen too much even as the two elves explained the situation. He could still sense their reluctance, so he felt this wasn't trap. However, he got the feeling that whatever lurked beyond the mirror must have been something if two warlocks were acting all antsy about it, and this gave the goblin pause.

While he desperately wanted what had been taken from him, was it really worth traipsing into gods-knows-where, with the possibility that he might not come back? Sure, his condition had seriously impacted his life. Part of the reason he had chosen to become a showman was because his previous life of living on the streets and hanging around with less scrupulous individuals had been severely impacted by the fact that no one could trust him to keep his mouth shut, and while performing magic shows for bystanders was a safer and less illegal line of work, it had also proven far less profitable. Still, he was alive, and while some days were way worse than others, it wasn't the worst life. In fact, right at this moment, he felt pretty happy. Shenanigans aside, this had been a good day. He could just turned around, leave and have this whole experience end on a reasonably happy note, no potential threats or danger required.

As he was considering this, however, Tsak spoke up and voiced her desire to the travel with the group, revealing she too had lost something: her family. Jub hadn't been sure what to make of the fairy up until now, but this confession did make him feel some sympathy for her, and in turn reminded him that he wasn't the only one who had lost something. He glanced over at Aurora. She had mentioned losing a ring and a letter, if he remembered correctly. Obviously, not the same as losing a family member, but it must have been of some importance if she had gone through all this trouble to investigate. He then looked over at Gabriel and the human woman, who he realised he still didn't know the name of. He wondered if they too had lost something. He got the feeling the latter had, but Gabriel had been surprisingly tight-lipped about any previous encounter he may or may not have had with the carnival. He was still here though, so there must have been something in it for him.

Then Jub looked at Brutrumukk. Brutrumukk, who had, by his own admission, never been to this carnival before, had lost nothing and honestly, had all the reason to walk away, yet was still here. Quietly, Jub addressed the bugbear in goblin. "Hey, Brutrumukk, you know you don't have to come with us, right?" he said. "You haven't lost anything, and we don't know where this mirror leads or when we'll be able to come back." Or if, but he didn't say that part out loud. "You said before you just wanted your peace and quiet back, and you can still have that." He knew the possibility of danger was unlikely to deter the bugbear. However, he also knew that the bugbear had little to gain and much more to lose by following a bunch of near-complete strangers into some magical realm, and while Brutrumukk had proven himself capable of heroics and goodness, this would require a level of selflessness that Jub had not really witnessed in, well, anyone.

He certainly didn't want to say good-bye to the bugbear - quite the opposite, in fact - but he also knew better than to expect Brutrumukk to drop everything he was doing and everything he had going for him in order to help people he had only known for a day. Heck, Jub had known people who had been friends for much longer who would not be willing to walk blindly into danger for each other, so he certainly wouldn't hold it against Brutrumukk if he decided to cut his losses right there and then.

Brutrumukk, in tandem with the scrappy eight year old bugbear reflecting back at him from the nearby mirrors, opened his mouth and let out a long, drowsy yawn. Now that the excitement of the carnival was over and no longer keeping him hyped up and awake, Brutrumukk was now feeling the combined weight of being up all night and Grankhul sapping his vigor bearing down on his eyelids. "Whawasat, booyagh? Di'n't really 'ear that jus' now." Brutrumukk mumbled tiredly before letting out another yawn. "Oof, fuck I'm tired... Look, I dunno 'bout you lot, but bein' up all night ain't usually my thing. An' now that I 'ave been, all I wanna do now that I've got my peace an' quiet back is sleep. So d'you lot reckon we could 'old off on jumpin' 'ead first into this weird mirror portal thing fer about... ten hours maybe? Eight hours at the very least."

Aurora looked at the reflections in the mirrors as they made their way to the mirror Miizel had indicated was magically different than the others. It was curious to see that Mister Witch and Mister Light were shown to be shadar-kai. She knew little of the distant kin of the high elves. Most of what she knew is that there were not of the prime material realm. She looked at both of them then at the mirror again. "What is beyond this is responsible for the disappearances isn't it. When I was here in the Hall with Gabriel earlier today, I saw a small girl with a pig mask talking to a halfling. She left shortly after we arrived but she had asked him if he had any regrets. The halfling mentioned that the girl knew someone who could help and all he had to do was follow her." She paused considering the information that had been gathered through the night. Turning her gaze back to the elven carnival owners her expression hardened some. "Do both of you know who this person is? Who would be preying on people who have regrets in life?" Aurora's tone was sharp and accusatory, she didn't understand why they would risk whatever this thing was harming people. Briefly she realized that maybe her tone was a bit to harsh. These two wanted to bring joy and happiness to others.

"I do apologize for how I said what I said. Whatever or whoever this is has their own agenda. I'm not sure if it the being or beings you are so worried about but, I will go through with Tsak, Jub, Brutrumukk, and whoever else will go.

"Rest would probably do all of us good. Here would probably be the safest option as only the owners here truly know what is beyond this portal."

As the group came to a halt before the mirror the half-elf knelt by the reflective glass, taking a sip from his waterskin that to his disappointment was anything but liquor as he inclined his head listening to Aurora recount their brief experience within the Hall of Mirrors.

Wiping his mouth with the cuff of his shirt he nodded to confirm what she was saying and then stood before giving the mirror before them a slight flick with his index finger "You should have mentioned the girl earlier my friend," he said, as he hadn't seem the masked child at all when they found the halfling "But it matters little except if indeed someone in the mirror can help with regrets..." his gaze drifted back to the mirror yet it was like he was staring past his reflection "Well we all have those." he shook his head from the daze he put himself in.

"And I too will follow you my friend." Gabriel patted Aurora on the shoulders "After all you still owe me a drink and I owe you a tale or two."

Zavakri rises, silent in her observance of the ending of the festival once her hysteria has passed. She marches along like a gosling bent to the will of her matron goose, entering into the Hall of Illusion; a place of fuzzy memories and a strange forgetfulness. For some reason it made her think of Gnomes. She shudders upon entrance, the mirrors once again catching her eye and their myriad forms creating a sense of unease in her. Amusement to an extent, but general unease...

At last she finds herself before the mirror that reveals her true age. To others, she seems a young woman of adulthood and, while eccentric and strange, intelligence and social awareness. Standing before this mirror, her reflection reveals her to be but a child; the same child that haunts her nightmares and memories. Herself, those eight years ago when the Carnival was last here. She grew older, but she never grew up. She stares at her reflection, lost in the conversation and her memories- but she shakes herself and grimaces.

"If my sister isn't over there, Hag or No Hag.." She points a finger at the Misters. "You'll be dealing with me later."

She steps the mirror, the overarching conversation still lost to her whirling thoughts.

"Hither, Thither, Here and There; Wander Yonder, Show me Where!"

The Misters attention are drawn to Tsak first. After she spoke, Mister Witch hands her a very familiar pack. It's her pack! And it has her sketchbook and other tattooist supplies. It has everything she needs for the journey ahead.

Mister Witch tells Tsak as he hands her her pack, "We will pass your goodbyes to them,"

Mister Light answers Tsak, clearly tearing up and trying to keep himself from crying and outright sobbing, "You'll always be welcome home, Tsak,"

He does manage to get a hold of himself before Aurora speaks next. They were silent at her questions. It seems like they can't say who is responsible at all...

Then their attention is drawn to Zavakri.

They look surprised when she mentioned the hags, and when she spoke to them, they and the rest of the party can see something strange for the briefest of moments. Zavakri's irises looked like the faces of a clock, the numbers clear to see, before they went back to normal.

As Zavakri speaks the rhyme in front of the mirror, there is a strange sensation in the depths of her soul. It feels like she's all versions of herself throughout time, and yet--paradoxically so--she is none of them: Just an instrument of the Balance, beginning to fulfill her purpose.

After the rhyme is spoken, mist swirls in the mirror, blotting out your reflections. The party can now pass through the mirror. Those who hesitantly or just simply touch the mirror surface find themselves pulled in

The party find themselves falling and tumbling over themselves until finally...they hit a solid surface. Upon standing up and looking around, they find that they stand at the edge of a raised and broken causeway under a hazy, twilit sky. The causeway, which is built from pale stones that glow faintly from within, towers over the surrounding landscape, but large sections of it have crumbled away. The parts that remain in place are separated by large gaps where portions have collapsed.

A fog-shrouded swamp spreads out below them in all directions, and up from its murk wafts the smell of rotting plants. Also rising from the swamp is the music of nature—a discordant symphony of croaking frogs and singing birds.

When they try to look further than the swamp, all they see is a thick and vast fog.

Out of the entire party...Gabriel is the only one who feels something. He feels a painful tug at his heart. It's a nagging sensation. He instinctually knows what this means:

The item he lost at the Witchlight Carnival...It's here! Somewhere in these swamps! But he can't tell where it is exactly.

Gabriel's head spun from the sensation of tumbling through the mirror, unfortunately he had also landed upon the ground with a thud and a subsequent groan as the half-elf nursed his head as his vision was doubled.

Shaking his hair from his face he squinted hard at his surroundings, Gabe pushed himself up off the rocky causeway and as soon as his vision cleared so too did the painful realization that something or rather the thing he was missing was here.

"Oh good gods," he shook his head once more this time in slight disbelief "It can't be here, how in Corellon's name is it possible?" but it was true, his heart told him it was and every fiber of his being knew it to be true.

It was a lot to take, too much after a long day of celebration and merriment. He was too tired to handle this and from the looks of things everyone could use a rest. (7 Survival result with disadvantage) Gabriel tried to see if there was a better place to rest but the exhaustion of the day made focusing a struggle thus he found no better alternative than the place they stood.

"I'm not sure about you all but after such a long day I am quite frankly tired, I'd say now is a good time as any to roll up our socks and rest upon these rocks. How about it?"

"What the? Oi! Where the 'Ells are you lot all goin'?!" Brutrumukk shouted after the rest of the party as he watched them all charge through the portal the moment it opened. The bugbear could tell they were all just as tired as he was, yet they all leapt through anyway rather than sleeping now and traveling later as he had suggested. "...Gah! Fuckin' idiots! All of 'em!" Brutrumukk exclaimed in annoyance as he moved to go after them. "There better be a good spot to sleep on the other side."

"Mind the Rule of Three: Future, Present, Past," Mister Witch called after him.

"Find the alicorn and free the Dormant Queen at last!" Added Mister Light.

"Fuck you, Fatso! An' fuck you, Ponce!" Brutrumukk barked back before bounding beyond the border.

Brutrumukk arrived just in time to hear Gabriel suggest that they settle down to rest, causing the bugbear to growl in frustration. "An' why could we not 'ave done that before jumpin' 'eadlong through the mirror exactly?" Brutrumukk asked. "We could 'ave 'opped across after gettin' some shuteye where we know it's safe. But nooooooooo! We 'ad to go through right a-fuckin'-way, because reasons."

"I would have liked to rest in a bed, hell I need a god damn drink!" the half-elf sat with a sigh "But we had little choice as ridiculous as that sounds, the best we can do is what we can do at this moment." Gabriel put his hand through his hair glancing sideways towards the swamp "I'm not sure if you want to slough through a swamp, but right now I don't."

Jub had been considering how best to respond to Brutrumukk's request for rest when the human woman stepped forward and spoke the magic words, turning the mirror into a doorway between dimensions. Panic started to surge as he watched the party start to go through the portal. He still wasn't sure if he was willing to go to... wherever this mirror lead, and was about to turn to Brutrumukk and suggest they take this moment to bail...

... only for Brutrumukk to start cursing up a storm before rushing after them, taking his shoulder goblin along with him.

Of course.

During the fall through the portal, Jub found himself tumbling from his perch and ended up falling face-first into the dirt. It took a moment for him to push himself up and wipe the dust from his face. "I'm ooookay..." he said, though due to still be disorientated, he certainly didn't sound okay. He took a moment to survey his surroundings as his brain took a moment to catch up with what he was seeing. "This... is definitely not what I expected. Did anyone else expect a swamp? I didn't expect a swamp." He attempted to take a step forward, only to end up falling over again. "Does... does anyone else's legs feel like they're made of jello? Is that normal?"

Zavakri whirls through the portal, collapsing onto herself as she appears on the Other Side. A groan. A wince. An exhausted twitch. Oh, such artistry made flesh. She slowly pushes herself to her feet, the weight of what she just did finally settling itself upon her shoulders; falling from on-high upon wings of retribution to finally feel the gravity of utter reality and dismal truth.

"Golly Gosh!" she cursed heartily. "Blimey! Spittle and bloodshed!" She leapt up and down, a sudden vigor coursing through her veins, soon whirling about as if just awakening for the first time. "A SWAMP??" She cries out, before her seething calms itself to a belated and finally appearing exhaustion. She falls onto her knees, pulling her cloak about herself.

"If this is how I find her, so be it." She sighs to herself, conviction worming its way into her tired voice. "At least it's no longer that Carnival...Oh, Riri, I hope you don't worry..."

She casts her gaze about, searching her companions intimately for the first time.

"If it's up to me, which it hardly is due to my sudden decisionmaking skills ending us up here, a rest is in good order. Just tell me when it's my watch or whatever it is we adventuring types are supposed to do, yeah? I've got to run some numbers..."

She wraps herself up tighter in her cloak, shifting the otherwise hidden crossbow she carried into her hands and lap as she slowly rocked where she sat, mumbling numbers in a calming manner.

When the human woman spoke the words to open the portal before everyone had a moment to respond, Aurora stood there for several seconds in surprise. Once the human woman through the portal, Aurora dashed forward to the follow. The sensation that followed was unlike any she had experienced in recent memory. It felt almost like falling forward without actually falling at all.

The sensation stopped once Aurora felt the soft earth beneath her boots. A quick glance had only resulted in seeing the dense fog and ruin near where the others started to arrive. Gabriel's exclamation of something being here drew her attention back to the group.

"Well Brutrumukk mentioned trying to rest back in the carnival but she..." Rory pointed towards Zavakri, "decided to open the portal before we could really discuss it. Personally I would have preferred resting somewhere not in a swamp. If we rest here I suggest we have someone keep a watch once we find somewhere less in the open." Aurora understood why the bugbear was upset and to some extent agreed with him. At the Carnival they would have at least been safe and less exposed to whatever may lurk in this fog.

"What did you mean by hag or no hag?" Aurora asked Zavakri while stepping toward Jub offering a hand to help him back to his feet. "Not quiet like jello but I am feeling tired from being up all night. I don't think any of us knew what to expect. Expect maybe the carnival owners."

"What did you mean by hag or no hag?" Aurora asked Zavakri while stepping toward Jub offering a hand to help him back to his feet.

Zavakri's attention snapped back to reality at being addressed.

"Oh, nothing much, methinks; the talking unicorns mentioned a hag, and someone else let slip that the Witchlights were victims in their own right, so I put two and two together and made some assumptions. Some lass named Skabither Nightbloom or something- Skabitha Nightblossom? No, that's not right; Nightshade. Skabitha Nightshade. Droll name, but I suppose a hag isn't exactly born to good things, eh?" She rambles on for a bit, before clicking her tongue and shifting to sit more comfortably.

"She sleeps in a dollhouse; she forgets the first creature she sees. I suppose I can't expect unicorns to make sense."