Fading Memory — Roleplayer Guild

Zavakri & Miizel

& The Dungeon Master

Miizel, with Zavakri's help, finally finds the Gondola Swans. As they approach the lake, they see enormous swans glide through the water, pulling ornate wooden gondolas draped in flowers. The swans disappear into banks of silver mist as they wend their way down the river. A jetty extends ahead, at the end of which a waiting swan preens its feathers.

After saying their goodbyes Miizel and Zavakri went on their way to the Gondola Swans. Thankfully with her there, they managed to arrive without much trouble. Upon arriving, Miizel’s eyes went up in shock. When he heard the name Gondola Swans, he had expected small boats rowed by the occupants as they went on a relaxing ride through the like. Not actual gigantic swans pulling it. 

“Well I’ll be.  This is a pleasant surprise.” He said, slowly walking up to swan preening its feathers. He reached out to try and pet it. “Biggest bird I’ve ever seen.”

"Funny thing, innit?" She posits as she guffaws quietly at the sight. "Makes one wonder. Weight and muscle ratios don't hold up well with enlarged sizes- can they fly? Do they weigh too much to get off the ground? If their muscle mass is proportionate, is their density the same? Is that how they can float despite the increase in weight? Frankly this is mind boggling. Do you think they'd tell me how much the swans weigh if I asked nicely? Oh, bugger, I'm doing it again. Don't mind me; were you keen on riding one of these...er...Gondolas?"

She sighs and taps her fingers on her thighs, trying to keep pace with racing thoughts.

As soon as Miizel approached, the swan looked towards both adventurers. When Miizel tried to pet the swan, The swan leans away from his hand, and speaks, 

"I'm sorry, but did I ever give you permission to touch me?!"

She then looks at Zavakri and she answers the sorceress, "And to answer your question, young lady, I absolutely would not. A lady never tells! But I do see some promise in you as an academic,"

She then informs the two of them, "My name is Feathreen. If you wish to ride the gondola, you only need to have your tickets punched once,"

Miizel flinched when the swan spoke and his quickly pulled his hand away. A talking swan. How intriguing. Still he needed to apologize for his actions.

“M-my apologies, Feathreen.” He gave the large swan a slight bow as an apology.

He looked beyond the large creature and noticed another gondola disappear behind a silver mist as it made its way down the river. Or lake. He wasn’t quite sure to be honest.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking but how far does this go? And does it lead to anywhere or do you just circle back here?”

Miizel flinched when the swan spoke and his quickly pulled his hand away. A talking swan. How intriguing. Still he needed to apologize for his actions.

“M-my apologies, Feathreen.” He gave the large swan a slight bow as an apology.

He looked beyond the large creature and noticed another gondola disappear behind a silver mist as it made its way down the river. Or lake. He wasn’t quite sure to be honest.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking but how far does this go? And does it lead to anywhere or do you just circle back here?”

Feathreen nods at Miizel's apology, and she answers his question, "The river circles around the entire carnival, young gnome. It will circle back here,"

Miizel pursed his lips and nodded as Feathreen explained. Its been twice today that someone has called him young. Either the carnival employees are that old or he just looks that young. Its probably the latter. After all when it comes to gnomish age, he would be considered a young adult.

“Thank you for the information.” He then turns towards Zavakri. “What do you say? It would be quite useful to see the Carnival in its entirety. Though it’s alright with me if you prefer another attraction.”

For the second time in the night, Zavakri found herself stunned. The creature was speaking to her. Sentience was so easy to come by these days- it used to be for select creatures. Alas, she must adapt to the times. With haste she drops into a curtsy, her head bobbing swiftly as she absorbs the conversation.

"Feathreen is a wonderful name. I don't quite know why, but it seems exceptionally fitting for you! Suits you well!" She babbles, searching for some way- any way- to recover from this bumble.

"--Why yes, sirrah, that'd be delightful! Punch of the ol' ticket, jolly good Feathreen-madam-ma'am, consider my ticket well and good punched. Let us enjoy this, er, attraction with, ah, gusto!" She declared boldly.

With both Miizel's and Zavakri's tickets punched, the both of them are able to board the gondola and Feathreen proceeds to swim down the river, taking the both of them on a relaxing ride. As the both of them leave the jetty, they are able to hear the sound of a woman singing grow fainter and fainter.

As the ride continues on, they can see the carnival continue on as normal. Soon Feathreen asks both Miizel and Zavakri a question,

"What is Joy?"

Relaxing as the journey makes its way, Zavakri leans back upon her seat and casts her gaze skyward rather than outward. The familiarity and expanse of the night sky was calming to her, whereas the chaos of the surrounding carnival was anxiety inducing and fear emanating to the woman. She'd had many a nightmare about this place, and here she was- right back in the middle of it.

"Joy..." She breathes. "Is the opposite of Despair. It's... Pleasure, happiness, uplifting. I feel Joy when I look at the sky, when I count the stars, when I think of my Fiancée, when I get to go to work at the Astrolabe in Baldur's Gate, when things work out just right!...Those are things that bring me Joy."

Miizel watches as Zavakri babble. For some reason he found the young woman’s excitability contagious as he soon found himself chuckling. “You’re quite a bubbly person aren’t cha young miss. Lady Feathreen, please punch my ticket as well.”

As the gondola they boarded began to move along the river slowly, Miizel leaned back sighed. This was relaxing. Taking a seat after traveling for long felt so good. He was rather small so he managed to sit cross legged. After hearing the swans question, he fell into deep thought.

“Running.” Miizel said, his eyes gazed off into the distance. “Running takes you places. When you run you can feel the wind rush through your face. When you run, everything around you becomes a blur and for just a moment, you can forget about all your troubles and worries. Focusing on nothing except the road in front of you. Running is freedom, therefore running is joy.”

The gnome's voice carried just a tint of sadness as he spoke.

Feathreen nodded at their serious questions, and she voiced her thoughts aloud, "That is a good way to define it in a textbook. I suppose joy does differ depending on the person and their preferences..."

After pondering on that question, Feathreen decides to ask another question to the pair as they continue down the river,

"But...How do I know you exist?"

Miizel tilted his head at the next question. Such strange queries for bird. He turned to Zavakri and gave her a puzzled look.

“How would I prove that to you? Would you like me to touch you? Jump on the gondola to  make it move? Use magic?  Perhaps even hurt you in some way?” He paused for a moment before continuing. “I feel no matter what I say, it will end up with you doubting my existence. Perhaps you doubt your own which is why you ask others. Tell me Feathreen, do you exist to pull these gondolas? Shouldn’t a beautiful swan such as yourself be free to roam the rivers and skies?

Feathreen looks back at Miizel as he made his answer. At first she is silent, before she chuckles. She answers his question, "Don't we all doubt our own existence? Don't we all question our own positions, if not our own lives in general, even if it's just a little?" 

Miizel would be able to tell from her answer, that Feathreen is enjoying the verbal sparring as a philosophical debate. So far, your serious answers have been impressing her. 

She then answers his other question, "As for my being here, in the Witchlight Carnival. I have been here for a long time, and everyone here is family to each other,"

Feathreen continues and issues her next question, "In worlds so full of magic, is Time an illusion?"

This question- Oh, how this question resonated within her! Zavakri gasped, sitting up straight, as the very idea struck her;

"I most assuredly would say it is not! Time is the universal constant, the only thing in our existence that is unabashedly continuous! Sure, our perceptions may shift and change, but in all realms, for every creature, one second is one second. I can even prove that time keeps ticking; I don't need a clock for it. I suppose on a philosophical level, the 'illusion' is within our memories; for example I can remember the first day I met someone, or the last day I saw them, like they were yesterday- but many other days blend into memories of joy or sorrow or anger. In that sense, true, it can feel illusory, false, and incalculable, rendering our conscious reality a timeless experience to a certain capacity, but the hard mathematics lies below. The metaphorical clock keeps ticking regardless of what goes on, and tampering with the subject has lead to rather severe repercussions as reality rather...asserts itself. There's tales of high level wizards being capable of buying a precious few moments, but I don't think the math backs that up; several things happen in an instant as opposed to time truly stopping and moving without someone.

As for the proof..."

Someone had better stop her, she's beginning to define variables and functions- What even is a sine function anyhow? Surely she's making these words up? As she speaks, one could almost see the formulae weaving around within her eyes and flowing into the world upon her lips, faint magical energies ebbing around her as she discusses the mathematics of it.

At this point Miizel's head begins to hurt from her talk of mathematics and instead chooses to look at the carnival as they pass by. Apparently the headache does make it difficult to focus on his surroundings.

Feathreen listened to Zavakri as she answered the question. As Miizel looks out at the carnival, he doesn't really notice anything odd. The mood is bright, and a lot of people seem to be happy. 

Feathreen does eventually stop Zavakri by reassuring her, "There's no need for you to define those mathematical terms. I already know them, thank you,"

She looks at Zavakri as she speaks, showing that she is indeed impressed, "I was right about you. You truly are a scholar yourself,"

She then looks at Miizel and she suggests, "Perhaps that is enough philosophy for now. Is there anything you two would like to talk about while we traverse down the river?"

When Feathreen stopped Zavakri from explaining the theories of…who was it? Pie thagore as? A visible look of relief could be seen on the gnome’s face. 

He allowed the swan’s question to hang in the air for a moment, the sound of water hitting against the boat filling the space. While looking out at the carnival as they float by he asks. “How long has this place been around?”

Feathreen answers Miizel simply, "This Carnival has been around for hundreds of years, always bringing joy to those who visit the Carnival,"

Zavakri’s face reddens as her ramble is cut short, and she fidgets herself into a cross-legged and closed off posture for a brief period as the two converse. Her eyes finally forced to take in the pure and utter chaos of the carnival.

Realizing that the silence was waiting for her input, she clicked her tongue thoughtfully.

“…How often do people go missing here? I heard that strange things have been happening lately.”

"How often...?" Feathreen asks as she clearly thinks over her answer. She answers, "Clearly not so often for it to be noticed by customers, but still...it is concerning because I know someone who has disappeared,"

She continues, her gossipy nature revealed, "As you could tell, I enjoy having debates. I usually have them with Burly the Bugbear. He has a profound mind and is simply wasted guarding the staff wagons. His brother, Hurly, is one of the few who disappeared."

She then states, "He misses his brother tremendously. No one knows what happened to Hurly, but everyone knows he never really fit in."

Missing person. It seemed like Zavakri might have lost someone here before. He turns to look at the swan again when she mentioned one of the carnival staff having gone missing.

“This Hurly, what does he look like and where was he last seen?”

Feathreen answers Miizel, "Hurly and Burly are twins, so they look a lot alike. They're both very large, muscular bugbears. So, once you see Burly, you'll know what Hurly looks like," 

She continues answering his question, "As for where he was last seen. I'm not quite sure. It's been some years, but I have heard that he was last seen at the Hall of Illusions,"

Miizel’s eyes widened at her response. Years?

“If none of the carnival employees haven’t found him after all this time don’t you think he might have left? Maybe he didn’t want to be found.”

Feathreen answered Miizel's question, "We thought that at first. But the problem is that Vincent, the one who runs the Ticket Booth, would have seen him leave. And yet, he didn't!"

Miizel arched a brow and thought about it for a moment. There’s no way that place near the ticketing booth would be the only exit, or entrance for that matter. He decides not to push any further or he might reveal something unnecessary that could get him and/or Zavakri in trouble.

“Right ok, we’ll keep an eye on him then.” He allows the silence to sink in for a few seconds before continuing. “You mentioned that the carnival has been around for hundreds of years. How long have you been here?”

Feathreen answered Miizel, "I've been here since I was a young swan. Not all Witchlight Hands are hired from outside. Some Witchlight Hands are born into the business. Of course, they are welcome to stay or leave the business as they please. Mister Witch and Mister Light ensure that we are paid and are not left without our basic needs covered,"

Mister Witch and Mister Light.

Those names bring up a long forgotten memory and Miizel begins to have a troubled look on his face. He stops talking and focuses on trying to recall the source of those memories.

A chill sweeps through Zavakri as the conversation flows around her; she was comfortable allowing Miizel to speak, as the questions he asked were much the same as the ones she herself was coming up with. She allows herself to breathe easy for a few minutes, before the conversation begins to fade.

"..Witch and Light." She whispered. "..Screeching crickets."

She shuts her eyes and sways in her seat, collecting herself.

"I suggest we pay a visit to the Hall of Illusions after this, unless you had another idea good sir." She prompted the Gnome, at last.

Miizel nods in agreement at Zavakri’s suggestion. “I agree, seems only plausible to go there now after what we’ve heard.”

He looks towards Feathreen once again, his voice a tad lower and hushed. “These Mister Witch and Mister Light, what do they look like?”

Feathreen answers Miizel's question, "They are both pallid elves, but Mister Light is thin with a smile on his face, and a costume of diamonds worn. He carries a vane. Mister Witch is heavier and bears a frown, but bears a dapper suit. You will be able to see Mister Light at the very least at the Big Top Extravaganza," 

The next sight of the carnival both Miizel and Zavakri see is the jetty. Just as Feathreen promised, the both of them had circled back to where the started. Feathreen bids the duo, "Here we are! Back where we started. I hope you two enjoy the rest of your time here at the Witchlight Carnival," 

As the two depart, they notice the joyful singing and jubilant air around the Silversong Lake. The mermaid is singing happily!
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The Final Flame of a Fiery Bird

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