Campaign Recap: Session 1
Joe, Sxaxha, and Iora made their way back to the Golden Grotto farm to turn in for the night. Joe left early to make sure her Disguise Self wouldn't fall and reveal her true form. Both Joe and Sxaxha were given guest rooms with proper accommodations.
Joe, being an Elf, awakes from her trance first.
Iora and Madryk wake up first, and make breakfast. Sxaxha then gets up from the smell of food, and Joe can hear him move through the house. She thinks that he hates her, so she stresses about going out there and thinks that she should just leave. But she also can’t because she needs a ticket to the carnival. Bricker-Brack, not thinking, bumbles over, climbs up, and opens the door, while Joe tries desperately to stop him. Sxaxha looks at Joe, who panics and slams the door shut. He says, “I’m going to eat your portion”, which she takes to mean that he is going to eat her.
Sxaxha makes his way down to the kitchen and sits, eager to dig in. Joe, meanwhile, scrambles out the window and manages to land outside thanks to a good Dex save, her wings giving her a little lift to cushion her fall. She bemoans her fate and goes on a dramatic monologue about how she’ll have to resort to a life of crime and end up being arrested by a detective that she’ll have a tumultuous relationship with. Bricker-Brack joins in on the melodramatics. Everyone in the kitchen can hear her voice, but not what she’s saying.
Iora sighs and asks Sxaxha to check on her so she doesn’t hold up breakfast. He does, and comes upon the dramatic scene. Joe sees him and freaks out, trying to hide her bird-like appearance even though it is futile. Bricker-Brack stands in front of her legs, drawing Sxaxha’s attention. He picks him up and asks how he can move, noting that he is cute. Joe immediately forgets her fear and explains that she made him with one of her parents. Sxaxha notes that he likes him, then says that Joe is holding up breakfast. Joe asks if she’s for breakfast, which Sxaxha denies.
Joe and Sxaxha both go to eat breakfast, where spiced pumpkin bread with icing is served. Madryk informs the group that Ellywick has bought the tickets, but they’re being held at the ticket-booth. If they give their names, they’ll get them. Joe asks if things will be okay if she goes, referring to her harpy nature. Madryk says it should be, but he goes to get a trinket for her anyway, just in case. Everyone else finished their meal, although Joe only gets to eat half of hers before Sxaxha asks if she’s going to finish, and snags it anyway.
Sxaxha then plays with Bricker-Brack on his lap, bouncing him and squeezing him. Bricker-Brack enjoys this, until Sxaxha starts to laugh. Because of his curse, he can’t laugh properly and instead snarls, which makes Bricker-Brack tense. Sxaxha feels back and tries to dampen his laughter.
Meanwhile, Joe helps Iora clean up and do dishes. It’s a quiet venture, until Sxaxha joins them and offers to help. Iora says that they don’t need any.
Once that is done, Iora gathers their herbal supplies, and Joe goes up to straighten out her room. This is where Madryk gives her a magic bracelet that will allow her disguise self to last 8 hours, but it only has one charge left. In return, she gives him a felt animal: a brightly designed capybara. He loves it and says he’ll keep it with his treasures. Joe promises to try and get its charge back, which he insists isn’t necessary.
Everyone does one final check to make sure they have everything. Iora grabs their cloak, shield, and hammer. Joe nervously asks if they’ll need that. They respond that the Feywilds are dangerous. Joe then shows off her magic wand, and claims that Bricker-Brack can use a sickle. Sxaxha asks if he is trained to use it. Bricker-Brack makes a coy noise. A successful insight on Sxaxha’s part reveals that he has no training. He then says that he has a knife, rounding out the weapons check.
The party takes off, with Joe using her lengthened Disguise Self, walking to the other side of the city to get to the plains-like outskirts where the carnival is being help. As they get closer, the sky turns to a magically done twilight, and they see a giant blue ribbon encircle the entire thing and carve a river into the land. Sxaxha, who is tall, and Joe, who is jumping, both see Witchlight hands trying to keep the crowd at bay while the finishing touches are done.
As soon as the carnival opens, the crowd goes. Joe managed to use Sxaxha to push the group through the crowd, while Iora kept people from stepping on her. They managed to be about fourth in line.
A goblin, Nikolas Midnight, greets the party and asks how many tickets they’d like, scrutinizing them with his spyglass and earhorn. Joe brings up that their tickets have already been bought, and gives everyone’s names. Nikolas insights her, finds her trustworthy, and gives the tickets. She asks if Bricker-Brack needs one. He says no, but gives him, and the party, a pair of butterfly wings anyway. Joe asks if she can have something else besides the wing. Nikolas obliges, giving her butterly antenna to wear. He says that the wings and antenna either have to be worn or carried. Joe and Bricker-Brack eagerly wear theirs. Sxaxha ties his to his pants. Iora gets bullied into wearing theirs.
Nikolas explains that having a ticket allows entry into the carnival. Using an attraction costs a punch, and a ticket has eight punches. Having a fully punched ticket only means you can’t go on more attractions, but you can still roam the park and use its free services. He also explains how much the tickets cost, and how a child who didn’t have money previously bartered for one. Then he gives the party a map of the carnival.
As the party enters the carnival, they see the opening ceremony festivities. An adult Treant and a red squirrel and doling out dandelions and sycamore seeds float down on the wind. Joe uses her wings to float the seeds over to a group of kids who can’t quite catch them, and their teenage babysitter picks up kids to help them along, giving Joe a salute due to a failed deception check. Iora and Sxaxha try to catch seeds, but can’t on their own. Sxaxha picks Iora up, and Joe tosses Bricker-Brack on top, who is acle to get three seeds and divies them out, shoving one in Iora’s mouth and handing the other two theirs.
Joe gives hers to a kindly older couple watching the children, who react with joy. Sxaxha gains a 1D4 for an ability check from his. Iora offers their to Joe, who denies it. Then it turns into a gold piece, which prompts the group to talk about buying more tickets. They decide to wait until they need to before doing so.
Red the Squirrel insists the party take dandelions and make wishes on them. Joe is delighted by him and his energy, and he takes to her in kind. Sxaxha he is luke-warm on. Everyone decides to think on their wishes and save them for later.
Joe lets Iora and Sxaxha pick where to go first. Sxaxha wants to go to the dragonfly rides. They go and see a younger treant, Northwind, manning the station. Joe talks to the Treant about the rides, and he mentions that he’s a little to big to get on the dragonflies. Sxaxha nervously asks if there’s a size-limit. Northwind looks him over, and says that he’s well withing the limit. Sxaxha is relieved.
Everyone gets their tickets punched and gets on a dragonfly. A team of goblins straps them all in. Joe and her goblin do an airplane take-off bit together. Iora and Joe get Nat 20’s on handling their dragonflies. Sxaxha fails his, so isn’t able to control it, but manages to please it with good scritches nonetheless.
An incident happens where a dragonfly panics and takes off with an unrestrained Dwarf. Joe unhooks from her restraints and glides over to help calm it, succeeding with a little help from her own dragonfly. The dwarf, while fumbling off the dragonfly, is alright and thanks her. She suggest he go rest up at the Snail races, which he agrees is a good idea. (Mood+1)
Meanwhile, Sxaxha notices a suspicious Kenku in blue robes watching the scene, and showing obvious bitterness when the Dwarf is rescued safely. She then takes off in the general direction of the carousel. Not wanting his day at the carnival to be ruined, he wants to catch her.
When his and Iora’s dragonflies land, he shares that he saw someone suspicious go towards the carousel. Joe agrees that something should be done, but is very flighty. Iora goes along with it. On the way, the two of them get distracted by an inchworm. Joe makes a hat for it, which takes five minutes. It feels like forever for Sxaxha, but the inchworm seems to appreciate it.
Sxaxha managed to wrangle everyone into going to the carousel. Along the way, he sees flickers of the thieves of the coven moving through the crowds and shadows, but never a full look.
Joe gets a weird, uncomfortable feeling of kinship when she sees the person running the carousel, Diana. The carousel goes, revealing that the unicorns seem to come to life and have personalities, including one that gives off a very prideful flair, one that looks ready to retire but is still enjoying itself, and a pair that seem mischievous that Joe speculates are childhood friends who want to take the next step, but are nervous so they get into the same shenanigans they did when they were fillies.
When it’s the party’s turn to go, Diana gets wide-eyed, then nervously asks if Joe’s met with Granny Nightshade too. Joe blanches and eventually says yes. Diana then clears the crowd and puts up a maintenance sign so they can talk. Joe helps by suggesting the group go to the Snail races, which are hopping. Everyone seems to not mind.
With the cat out of the bag, Joe explains to everyone what happened to her, after a lot of mumbling and stuttering. Sxahxa and Iora take it well, not judging her, while Diana offers her condolences and shares her own story. She was a mercenary who strived to help people, but was separated from her warhorse. When she went looking, she came across Granny Nightshade, who offered to reunite the two of them. She finishes with, “And well… Here we are.”
This is when the party realizes she’s a human, not a centaur.
She then goes to explain that she can’t say much about what’s been going on, but that the unicorns of the carousel know. The only problem is, they can’t speak to anyone because some of them gave forgotten their names, and Diana doesn’t remember and isn’t able to figure it out. This is simply because she’s not very smart. But she says that the party can give it a shot, fetching them paint and a brush to do so. The only thing she knows is that the names are themed together. But she says that if they solve the puzzle, the ride will be free, as she doesn’t want to take a hole-punch for something so serious. When Joe asks if that will be okay, Diana reassures that Mr. Witch and Mr. Light aren’t too precious with things like that.
Before going to solve the puzzle, Sxahxa asks about a kenku. Diana thinks on it, and says that the man running the Hall of Mirrors, Candlefoot, has mentioned a kenku and would know more. Joe also asks if there’s any way she can return the favor. Diana says no, if she simply manages to undo her own curse, she will be happy because she’s found a good life with the carnival. Joe seems dubious, but gives her a felt shetland pony, which is appreciated.
The party then goes to solve the puzzle. Pair 1: Fortune, B___ (Bold), Pair 2: Pr___ (Pride), Fall, Pair 3: Stone, M__s (Moss), Pair 4: _i (Toil), Trouble
Sxaxha makes an above twenty intelligence check and finds the following information: The colors don’t mean a lot, but each pair has a theme. Pair 1 is golden and silver, pair 2 is red and purple, pair three is slate gray and green, pair four is ashen black. He also deciphers how many letters are in each missing name. From here, he realizes that Stone’s partner is Moss. Joe figures out that Fortune’s partner is Bold. Iora figures out that Trouble’s partner is Toil. Joe and Sxaxha work together to figure out that Fall’s partner is Pride.
Joe writes all the names. It’s really bad for Elf handwriting, but good for everyone else. Once they tell Diana that they’re done, they get on. Joe gets on Stone, Sxaxha gets on Trouble, and Iora gets on Pride. Diana then turns on the ride.
The wooden unicorns rear to life with triumphant whinnies and the road starts, faster than normal. Stone thanks Joe telepathically for her help in finding her partner’s name. Then she shares some information: Granny Nightshade and her two sisters are currently in Prismeer, the land ruled by Zybilna. They staged a coup and froze her in time. They then carved up the land and each rule a different piece of it, because they’re so distrusting of each other that they can’t work together.
Meanwhile, Sxaxha asks Trouble if he can talk. He can, does, and claims to know that Sxaxha lost something and wants it back. He also says he knows who has it. He tells Sxaxha that a hag named Bavlorna Blightstraw took his smile, for no apparent reason other than she’s a hag and hags are the worst. She lives in a ramshackle house on stilts in the middle of a boggy swamp. And she’s allergic to seeing someone run widdershins.
Iora gets told about Endelyn Moongrave.
After the ride, Joe excitedly relays the information she learned, and asks Sxaxha what he learned. He says he learned about a woman he has to meet. Iora shares that they learned about Endelyn Moongrave, but doesn’t share what they learned. Joe says that the plan right now seems to be to go to Prismeer, save Zybilna, deal with the hags, and shares that there might not be a chance to take care of Sxaxha’s task because all she knows is that Sxaxha is after some woman. Sxaxha reassures her that it’s fine, then reminds the group that they need to track down the kenku. His mood is a little soured because of what he learned.
The party head off to the Hall of Mirrors, where they see a monochromatic human, Candlefoot, awkwardly attending to it. Nobody seems to want to go in. There’s a glass cabinet near the entrance that Joe almost gets distracted by.
Sxaxha addresses Candlefoot, which prompts him to stare and gesture to his throat. Sxaxha huffs and asks if he can talk. Candlefoot gestures for writing tools. Joe hands a pen and her notebook, where Candlefoot sees her drawing of sad Diana and shows amused sympathy. Using this journal, he writes, “I used to talk. What’s up?”
From here, Sxaxha asks about the Kenku. Candlefoot reveals that her name is Kettlesteam and that she stole his voice. She’s not happy with the carnival for some reason, and has been causing trouble. He doesn’t know why she’s not happy, and isn’t quite sure where she’ll pop up next. But he asks the party to check on the star singer of the carnival, Palasha, because she’s a prime target. They agree, and also offer to get his voice back for him.
Joe asks where the previous singer, a siren named Corrin Poranite, is. Candlefoot grimaces and says that some unfortunate business made her disappear. Sxaxha gruffly asks for specifics. Candlefoot reluctantly admits that the story is that she was kidnapped by a fan. Joe asks if she was rescued and simply left afterwards. Candlefoot grimaces even more, and Joe understands that no, she is still missing, and is saddened. She asks how long ago it was. He says it was a little under ten years.
Joe then has the horrible thought that she was fused with Corrin. She can’t decipher if she fully was or not.
As some modicum of reassurance, Candlefoot says that her son is still with the carnival. Joe asks where he can be found. Candlefoot says that he’s probably prepping for his first big performance in the dressing room tent near the big top. He blatantly says that the two laziest Witchlight hands are guarding the tent for some reason, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get in.
Joe asks if the party going into the Hall of Mirrors will repay the favor for the information. Candlefoot says it’s fine, he completely understands why people don’t like it. The place gives him really bad vibes and he’s only there because he’s stuck watching it until the Big Top Extravaganza. When asked why it’s so off, he says he doesn’t know for sure. But the party is free to investigate if they want. Sxaxha asks if they can go in for free. Candlefoot gestures for a persuasion check, and thanks to inspiration and his D4, Sxaxha passes. Candlefoot agrees, not really caring.
The party asks him what the cabinet does. He says he’s not sure, it’s magic bullshit that he doesn’t want to touch. But they’re free to go mess with it.
Joe does not recognize that Tasha, the figure in the cabinet, also went by the name Iggwilv.
Joe is nervous to handle it, and after some struggle, Sxaxha reluctantly approaches. He fails the wisdom save and starts snarling, unable to physically laugh. Joe panics and hides behind a sign, picking wildflowers in hopes that they will make a good apology and thinking the very sight of her is pissing him off. Iora manages to go in, succeed the save, and pull Sxaxha out. The two of them then reassure Joe that it was magic and that Sxaxha is fine. Joe is curious about what kind of magic, so she steps close, and fails her save, falling into a fit of laughter.
Sxaxha doesn’t want to go in to save her, so Iora does. They get a Nat 1 on their second save, falling over into a fit of high-pitched, snorty, cackly giggling. Everyone is pleased by the sound of their laughter, but Joe has to drag them out of the radius.
When the magic wears off, Joe notes that Iora’s laughter is one of the most delightful things she’s heard. Embarrassed, they hide their face in their cowl. Joe then puts the pieces together and asks if Sxaxha had been laughing. He says yes. Then she succeeds an insight and realized that the only time he’d ever been mad was right after the carousel, every other time, he’d either been fine or pleased. Joe asks if he’s cursed, which prompts Sxaxha to reluctantly admit that he had his smile and his laugh stolen. Joe expresses sympathy, which he doesn’t like. When she offers compassion and the flowers, he accepts.
Before the group can go, they hear laughter. They see two halflings, Ween Sundapple and Rubin Sugarwood. Rubin is on one knee with a ring, while Ween is laughing, standing right in front of the cabinet. Rubin looks like he’s about to cry.
Joe springs into action, pushing the two out of the way and explaining that it’s magic. Ween manages to sober up and agrees that the magic got to him. Joe plays music while looking away respectfully, Sxaxha throws flower petals to get rid of them, Iora casts guidance on Rubin to not be left out, and the proposal gets a do-over. Ween accepts, and after lots of love and affection, the two of them thank the party for clearing up the air and helping them when they really didn’t have to. Joe claims that it’s no skin off her back, and that it’s not the best times that prove if a marriage will pull throw. Rubin agrees and says that the lowest moments really show it. With more thanks, the two of them skip off. (Mood+1)
Joe traces a circle around the cabinet, while Candlefoot, who’d seen that entire debacle, gets a paper sign and writes ‘MAGIC- WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH’. His seems more sour, which Sxaxha notices, so Sxaxha asks him what’s wrong. Candlefoot writes that proposals are just a bit of a rough spot for him. When Sxaxha asks why, Candlefoot writes, “Okay, personal question. But it’s because my voice got stolen during mine.”
Joe wonders if maybe Kettlesteam stole his voice because she likes him. Candlefoot says that it’s unlikely because he’s never seen her before. But that doesn’t exclude a stalker situation! Joe then says that the party can go explain things to his girlfriend and ask who it was. He finally reveals that it’s Palasha, and that’s part of why he’s so worried. Joe speculates that Kettlesteam could use his voice to lure Palasha somewhere, which Candlefoot never realized before and he becomes very visibly worried.
The party decide to check on Palasha first before going into the Hall of Mirrors, since she might be in danger, the Joe asks if they can visit Kyn afterwards. The party agrees, after Sxaxha confirms that their free visit into the Hall of Mirrors won’t expire. Candlefoot agrees with a little prestidigitated shower of sparks.
Joe, nervous about her circumstances, asks Iora how much they know about fey magic. Iora says they know a good bit because their patron is Fey and asks what she wants to know. She asks if there’s any chance that she was fused with Corrin when she made her wish to Granny Nightshade. Iora frowns and asks if she remembers the exact wording.
“I want to be a beautiful singer just like the one I saw!”
Iora thinks on it, then tells Joe that while the possibility isn’t ruled out, it sounds most likely that the hag simply took inspiration from the bird-like singer to turn Joe into a harpy. ‘Like’ isn’t the same as ‘the same as’. Their belief is that it might be connected, but they don’t think she was fused with her. Joe is somewhat reassured by this, and the party goes on their way to check on Palasha.
