Chapter 1: Witchlight Carnival

[ManWithDoor]

Feathereen pauses for a moment in thought. "Um ... I'd say he disappeared a couple months ago? Something like that. We sent search parties, but nothing was found. Burly stayed with the Carnival of course. I assume Mister Witch and Mister Light convinced him to stay rather than search solo, but I haven't heard any news in a while now."

Swans don't really have the muscles to smile, but she somehow still manages to look pleased with Shiloh. "Oh, I'm sure he'd like something like that, although I don't know if he has time during work hours. If he is out on patrol he isn't hard to find. Burly wears a large jack-o'-lantern on his head, like a helmet, in addition to his dungarees and fake fairy wings."

[Muskrat]

"Thank you," says Shiloh, "I'll look for him."

[Bohemond]

Jack listens as he ponders the kenku, the missing bugbear, and this pattern of cruel pranks against true love. Perhaps he needs to discuss this with the big guys sooner rather than later. "Fear not, gentle feathered Empress of the Lake, Jackalope Quintus Swiftfoot is on the case!" Jack then realizes he's standing up in the gondola making a scene and gracefully retakes his seat.

[Othniel]

"Someone wearing a jack-o-lantern can't be that hard to spot," Trixie suggests.

[RorytheRomulan]

Quill is busy making sure her chain shirt and gambeson are nice and secure, but listening with one ear - presently, it twitches once. "Oh, if Hurly disappeared in the forest, maybe the animals saw what happened. Nasty pranks are one thing, missing people are another. Hey, is there a place here I can leave Welcome while we look into it?"

[Muskrat]

Shiloh nods and says, "That's a good idea, Quill. I'm not sure how I could help, but I'd be happy to."

[ManWithDoor]

You have a little time before the Big Top Extravaganza that will be starting at the top of the hour, so once Feathereen finishes the river loop and you depart, the group begins walking the Circus ground looks for a stocky character wearing a rather distinctive headpiece.

As the crowd begins moving towards the Big Top, they spot a bugbear patrolling the grounds, likely lending extra manpower since so many people will be concentrated in one place rather than spread out in manageable numbers. Getting close you see this has to be Burly - the jack-o'-lantern is a dead giveaway.

Burly the Bugbear

OOC

Good timing! Burly only goes on patrol for the Extravaganza, so you lucked out on when he would be out and about.

[Muskrat]

Shiloh approaches Burly and says, "Hello? Are you Burly? I am Shiloh Briarroam. Excuse me a moment--I agreed to dance every time someone said my name in return for admission to the carnival. I'm going to assume that includes me just to be safe." She dances a quick piece, while playing her fiddle, then turns her attention back to the pumpkin-clad bugbear. "I was hoping we could help each other. My companion Quill here has an idea on finding clues to what happened to your brother. And I would be happy to play music just to cheer your heart. What you went through sounds dreadful. In return, I was hoping you could answer some questions of mine about the Carnival. But I want to help you even if you can't answer the questions. I know what it's like to lose family and how much it can hurt."

OOC

Persuasion 5

[ManWithDoor]

Burly removes his jack-o'-lantern helmet, revealing a worried expression. "Bad things have been happening at the carnival for a while. People and things have been going missing. You already know about my brother. Sounds like something bad happened to you too?"

OOC

Shiloh Persuasion Check = 18+5 = 23, Success.

"My bosses know more than they're telling, but their hands are tied somehow. Maybe since you can tell things are going wrong too, you can help out? With my brother, and the others? Witch and Light are good guys, but maybe they need to be pushed to do more? If nothing else, to share what's going on?"

[RorytheRomulan]

Quill shrugs. "I thought we could ask the birds in the forest if they saw Hurly. But there's some Kenku playing tricks on people, too. Today, someone interrupted a boy's proposal to his sweetheart, to try and steal him away through a mirror when he ran off. Your bosses gotta find them before they grab someone else. It wouldn't be good for the carnival, right?"