Act 3 - Carnival on Ice

[Muskrat]

Dreams stand a moment in silence, as she considers the situation carefully. Nothing Namdrin had told her changes her opinion. He acted under duress, but he still committed evil acts for which he should do penance. But clearly pushing the point here and now will not help. And she should have heard out his story first and considered the timing of her words. For not doing that, she is truly sorry. She makes her most elegant formal bow to Namdrin and says, "I apologize. I should have asked to hear your story in full before I presumed to pass judgement on you. And I know what has happened must agonize you--I can see it in your face. I do not think you an evil man, but one trapped in bad circumstances, and I spoke out of concern for the well-being of your soul." She looks around and says, "And I wanted to speak to you sooner rather than later, because I truly do not think it wise for you to stay here long. Rumors have a way of flying. I say that not as a threat, but out of concern for your well-being, for I do not wish to see further harm come to you or yours."

Display

Diplomacy check to mollify him.

[Vardaen]

Namdrin stands, blade in hand, level to the ground. "I have no want for more bloodshed." He sheaths his blade and steps back and stands down, his shoulder sink, it has been a hard enough day.

He turns his back to the group and puts his hand on a trunk in the tent leaning on it. His voice is quiet, he speaks, not to Dreams, not to Celevan, just out loud. "No good deed goes unpunished." Then he stands up, straightens. "I go where I want Elohim. Take your judgement and look to your own actions, I doubt you will find them all shining examples of your ideals." He turns to Celevan and the others. "Again I thank you for defeating the Fey, and returning my love Tess to me, and for killing the agent of the Witch Queen who was the cause of all of this. I thought to give you a reward, but how could you take something from such an evil man?" His voice is thick with sarcasm for Dreams' benefit.

[Trogdor]

"You're no evil man, Namdrin," Celevan says in a warm voice, placing a reassuring hand on the half-elohim's shoulder. "You're a good person who's been hounded by a powerful enemy for far too long. A lesser person would have cracked from the pressure." He shakes his head. "No, the evil in this story is the Cold Rider, not you. You've been forced to play the part of the unfortunate victim, subject to the merciless machinations of the terrible villain. I don't blame you for anything you've done, and neither does the town of Falcon's Hollow. You stood by us when we faced down the Cold Rider, and I'll never forget that. I do hope you stay in Falcon's Hollow. The town could use more people like you. But if you do feel you have to leave, know that you'll always have a friend here." He takes his hand off Namdrin's shoulder and offers it to him. "And if there's ever anything I can do for you, please, all you have to do is ask."

OOC

I think Dreams is wrong about him. I think he's okay.

[Muskrat]

Dreams remains silent, thinking that any more words on her part won't help.

OOC

Dreams has said twice she doesn't think Namdrin was evil and recognizes that he was acting under duress when he allowed the Cold Rider to take over the carnival. But he is still partly responsible for eighty-seven people's death. It doesn't seem unreasonable to her to expect him to make up for that in some way. Indeed, she thinks it would help relieve him of the guilt he must feel.

And she really is worried that he could get lynched if he sticks around and word of his role in the whole thing gets out. Namdrin would be an idiot to stay in Falcon's Hollow. It's one of the reasons Dreams spoke so hastily--she assumed that he would leave as soon as possible.

[mackaber]

Wilfried follows the exchange a bit irritated by the words of Dreams and raises an eyebrow at the Elohim Paladin.

[Vardaen]

OOC

I totally get the worry that if Namdrin remains the villagers might take things out on him, but remember this. None of Namdrim's people did any of the bad things (other than the Minotaur). His carnies were the first to die, the Dark Fey came into his normal carnival, slaughtered his attraction workers and replace them with themselves. The Fey then did all the butchering. Namdrin's only action possible 'fault' I can see, is that he waited for the right moment to act after learning what was happening. He delayed until you drew out Prig with the shard that had his wife. Previous to this, he had thought his wife dead. I'm still not sure how its his fault at all. He had no idea this would happen, nor should he.

Namdrin nods to Celevan, his emotions are running high, all the men and women he's grown to trust and think of as his family (the carnies) are basically all dead. His wife has returned to him after being 'dead' a year, and he's been accused of causing it all some how. "Thank you Celevan. We aren't going anyplace right now, Tessa needs rest and healing, then we can figure things out." He looks up, "I think we are done here." He stalks out of the tent and returns to tend to his wife who has been trapped within that shard until you helped him free her.

That leaves your group alone in the tent. The night is getting on, and the cold is setting in more and more. Winter has come.

[Trogdor]

Celevan bids a kind farewell to Namdrin and waits a few moments for him to get out of earshot. Then he turns to Dreams and says something quietly to her in their native tongue.

in Elven

I think you were a little hard on Namdrin. This wasn't his fault. He's as much a victim as anyone. More, really, since the Cold Rider seemed to take a fiendish delight in dragging him through hell. He didn't know that the fey would attack tonight. He didn't know what the Cold Rider intended to do.

The summoner shrugs and speaks a little more.

in Elven

And who's to say that the Cold Rider wouldn't have done the same anyway, even without the carnival here. From what Sintaria said, the fey were angry with the people of Falcon's Hollow for their excessive logging. I suspect they'd have taken their anger out on the town no matter what. It was simply a bonus to the Cold Rider that he could torment Namdrin at the same time.

[Muskrat]

Dreams frowns and replies in the highly formal Elven of the Elohim.

Elven

I think I may have misunderstood the story Syntira told us. As I recall, Namdrin agreed to let the Cold Rider strike in return for the Rider freeing his wife after all this was over. But if I misunderstood that, then certainly I have done a grave insult to Namdrin. Either way, I should have asked to hear his story first. In a week, when his blood has cooled, I will ask you to go as my emissary to him, telling him that I again wish to offer my apologies and hear his story. I will go unarmed so he knows I am no threat.

Dreams switches back to the Common Tongue. "In the mean time, we have much to do, including seeing to Syronnas' funeral." She sighs deeply. "At least we no longer need fear his infernal taint will corrupt him. His soul remain pure, though I am sure if had lived he would have proved that he could resist the taint even as its powers grew."

OOC

So am I mis-remembering what Syntira told us or not?

[mackaber]

"Good then let us get it over with. We also have an expedition to plan..." clearly Wilfried is again thinking of Ulizmila or maybe he has yet to think through what transpired at the carnival and his role in it.

[Vardaen]

With things handled here, such as they are, the group is ready to leave the Carnival and return to Laurel to find Edgrin and the kids and to get some rest, its well after midnight and you are beat from your long day. So the group limps out of the carnival and returns to town.

** Over the Course of Two Days **

The next two days are a blur of duties that need to be done. You become well acquainted with the local gravedigger Verrin Tieruk. He stands short and slender, with narrow shoulders and poor posture. Though he is a slim fellow his arms and back have wiry muscles from digging graves. His sloppily shaved face bears a few razor nicks in it. Heavy dark circles rim his dull gray eyes, which linger uncomfortably on whomever he encounters, as often as not staring at some part of the person's face rather than the eyes. Though he is not stupid, he often forgets the names of everyday objects (struggling to recall the name of the tool he uses to dig graves, for example), for which the people of Falcon's Hollow consider him a simpleton or halfwit. He serves as the groundskeeper of a paltry tract of rocky soil a few miles outside of town where the locals bury their dead. Over the years, his reputation as an overly eager scavenger has spread through the town, and though none have accused him of being a grave robber, they know better than to leave valuables on bodies he is to bury. He inherited the small cemetery from his greatgrandfather. Verrin lives alone in a small shack at the edge of the graveyard, and barely manages to survive off a small garden and the meager supplies he purchases on monthly trips to town. He travels about to various villages and forts in a mule-drawn wagon that reeks of death and cheap incense, and for the paltry sum of 1 sp each he carts off the dead and buries them miles away from civilization. This leaves him just enough money to cover his expenses, and on those occasions when he comes up short he simply borrows what he can from the corpses in his cart.

Verrin

The people of Falcon's Hollow are buried, and hauled off by Verrin and you find that much of the work falls to you to help the victims and their families. This is all leading up to your funeral for Syrronas. It seems much of Falcon's Hollow is quickly recovering from the tragic events, and Kreed has his men back to work by the second day, giving everyone one day off to mourn and sort out what's happened. You see Pay Day about town on the second day knocking heads again and putting men back out into the forest, dispite many of their complaints and worries of being attack by more Dark Ice Fey, or by what some are calling Frostlings.

The weather continues to be bad, snow and more snow, winter has come full force and you are not outside without your heavy furs to fight the cold. The skeleton of the carnival is also started to get cleaned up, tents and attractions are taken down, burned or hauled away. The town's magistrate is sick, badly so, from his participation in the "Pie" eating contest and that leaves Kreed and Baleson to duke it out over authority, but even the good intentions of the sheriff are no match for the full power of the Lumber Baron when he sets his mind to something. So much of the carnival is confiscated by Kreed, including the machines in the Tent of Mondern Wonders.

Namdrin and Tessa have moved into town, and for the most part people seem to pity the pair, and the angry fall out Dreams was worried about doesn't come. People blame the Fey and 'that bitch Fey Queen of theirs', over the carnival master. The two move into town and the local inn The Sitting Duck where other 'adventurer types' spend their time. You haven't seen much of either of them since the carnival night.

So it is that it is now evening of the second day since you defeated the Cold Rider and saved the town. You still await word from Syntira for a cure for the folks turned into trees. You have also scheduled a time for a funeral for Syrrona. The gravedigger Verrin has returned to the carnival once more to collecte more bodies, and you expect that your friend will be handled this evening by the strange gravedigger.

OOC

Please feel free to expand on what you've done for the last 2 days. Everyone is leveled up and healed at this point. You have all your gear back, etc.

You can have gone shopping, selling things, buying things, etc.

I also updated the Falcon Hollow's OOC thread and GDoc Sheet with some random info on people and locations