The party makes there way towards the feasting orchard but stopped at tree sap lollipop stand where Melina was very excited to get a lollipop and skipped away contently
At the feasting orchard, they got a mead from a gnome named Gnomebert who offered free entry into the custard pie eating contest
PB and Barnabas entered the contest, the goal was to eat as many pies as possible in 60 seconds, there were two other contestants
PB beat everyone and ate 10 pies but he bargained for a second mead instead of a cupcake
They continued around the loop and made it to the Gondola Swans, giant swans pulling gondolas around the lake
Amyrnn talked to the swan at the end of the dock and the party decided to take a ride on the lake
The swan, Feathereen, was an intellectual who kept asking philosophical questions to the party
He mentioned that the carnival gets set up with help from Mr. Witch’s watch
The bugbear strongman, Burley, and how he hasn’t been the same since his brother, Hurley, went missing
The mermaid, Palasha, on the lake that normally sings was proposed to by Candlefoot the mime who used to be really talkative until he was going to proposed to the mermaid but then he lost his voice and she has been sulking ever since
Witch and light tend to stay in the staff areas until the end of the night when Mr. Light crowns the Monarch of the night an hour before close to the person who brings the most joy to the carnival, Feathereen said the Big Top extravaganza was going to start right after the ride
They passed the carousel that Feathereen said is ran by a centaur named Diana who claims they aren’t a real centaur who complains about a poor horse
The swan ride ended and the party moved toward the Big Top
Inside the Big Top, people are filling up the rows of seats
Mr. Light, an elvish man in a jester suit of mirrored panels holding a scepter stands in the center of the stage and welcomes everyone to the extravaganza
He introduces several circus acts including a tiefling that can blow fire
After a while, he introduces Burley the bugbear wearing a pumpkin on his head, who came to lift heavy weights and then some audience members on a farm plow
He then started to introduce the mermaid but was interrupted by a carnie whispering in his ear and pivoted to ask the audience to show him what they can do
The party decided to give it a go
Melina went to do a strongman performance
Fable went to throw daggers with Amrynn providing special effects for her performance
Melina manages to throw PB in his shell to prove how strong she is and somehow manages it
The crowd is very excited and after a few minutes, Mr. Light motions for the bugbear to continue the show
Melina makes eye contact with Mr. Light and mouthed “monarch” who didn’t seem to actively respond
The bugbear said it was time to move on but the boss wanted to talk them, happy with their performance
He walked them out of the Big Top and to a nearby tent where Mr. Light and Mr. Witch were waiting
Mr. Witch, also an elf, but stocky and well dressed, a stark contrast to Mr. Light’s flamboyant
Mr. Light said his scepter was called the Witchlight Vane and it detects the cheer and wonder people bring to the carnival, he said the party was a lot of fun but they been looking around
Melina said they were enjoying the carnival but that they were here looking for missing items
Mr. Witch said what’s lost is lost and they should move on, Mr. Light said it was out of their hands
Mr. Witch further said their lost items are likely in Feywild and they would need to find a Fey crossing
Melina asks if they knew of any crossings, potentially one shaped like an hourglass (a reference to the Hourglass Coven) which they both laughed at but said there was nothing like that
Fable asked where they find the workers, and Mr. Light said most of them were there when they got there but Mr. Light looked upset about him saying that
Mr. Light acknowledged that things go missing when people don’t pay for tickets
They said that Zybilna is their patron and trusts them to run the carnival but haven’t heard from her in a while
PB went to talk to Burley the bugbear and asked about Hurley but Burley said he didn’t want to talk about it and looked at Thaco the clown disapprovingly
Mr. Light said it was time for them to leave and to see Thaco on the way out as he has something for them
Thaco made them shoddy balloon animals for each person’s favorite animal
Burley continues walking with the party and says he wants to talk to them, pulling them off the path, past some bushes
He said the bosses know more than they’re telling and asked the party to look into it
Burley said Mr. Light and Mr. Witch are good people but they must be hiding something and asked us not to hurt them
The carnival needs two things, the Vane carried by Mr. Light, and the pocketwatch carried by Mr. Witch
He suggested that they steal both of those things from them to ransom them back for answers, we could talk to the Dirlagraun, Candlefoot, or Palasha
The party first headed to the Hall of Illusions to speak to Candlefoot the mime but stopped a cyclops staring contest booth
The cyclops seems to be fake because it moves rigidly and doesn’t smell
Fable sat down but couldn’t withstand the gaze
Melina sat down as well and the cyclops blinked, winning a bottle of WitchLight wine
As they approached the tent holding the Hall of Illusions, a halfling was proposing to another halfling but the standing one, Ren, fell on the ground laughing in front of a glass cabinet with a sign saying “Tasha the Wizard known for her hideous laughter”, the other halfling, Rueben had run off upset into the hall of illusions without stamping his ticket
A clown in front of the tent turned out to be Candlefoot, who with some yes/no questions, he told the party that they could retrieve the other halfling and bring him out to pay to prevent anything from happening to him
They get their tickets stamped and head in, the first part of the tent is a mirror maze
After a little while, they found the halfling staring into a mirror but the reflection is girl with mottled skin wearing a pig mask and he is having a conversation with it
He snapped out of it as they walked over to him and he said he didn’t know what happened but he followed the girl’s voice and she was asking if he had any regrets