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[party Order] Circus - Page 2

After much discussion, the party comes up with a basic plan:

Ice and Ariadne will pay for Thorian and Airmed to attend the main event. The warriors, Ice and Ariadne, will watch the crowd and the circus workers around the seating areas looking for suspicious activity. Thorian and Airmed will watch the Magician, specifically the very last thing he does (Which is the important one, apparently) with great caution and alertness -- especially Airmed on the alert for magic usage.

That leaves Althea and Eissa to explore the tents looking specifically for written clues and magic items, being very stealthy and watchful. Althea will carry only her backpack and belt pouch for carrying any items found, and her shortsword for defense in case they are discovered.

Shade and Wimplo will cruise the games and food areas and pay attention for clues and suspicious activity by circus workers. Shade and Wimplo will also be ready to fight in case of trouble with the rest of the party.

The time between now and the show starting will be spent with the purchase of tickets for the four attending, stowing GPs, etc.

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Althea suggests that having too much gold in one's pockets during a potential hypnosis or spellbinding situation may not be wise.

Pondering the money situation, Ice says, "I will keep 5 gp on me in addition to the 1 I need for the ticket price. Or, if Wimplo, is willing I would actually prefer that he hold onto my gold for me. He is not going to the show and he is well armed." Knowing the task ahead may be dangerous, she says quietly, "While it could be pure magic, I think we need to prepare for what we can. We can't do much to protect against pure magic, if there is such a thing, but we can prepare against hypnosis or drugs. So, we do what we can, and hope it is enough."

Wimplo bravely states: "I will watch the crowd, and act as backup for anyone who gets into trouble… I will guard your gold well, Ice. I don't want you to lose your money in my hands, I would be terribly ashamed."

Shade nods in agreement: "I will acompany Wimplo and watch people play games (Possibly cheer) because of my lack of gold… While I'm doing that I'll make sure nothing suspicous is happening out of the corner of my eye. "

Thorian reaches into his pockets and pulls them inside out, displaying that he has no money. "I'm dead broke. If someone would be willing to loan me the required entrance fee I would gladly attend, and repay them when I come into possession of funds."

Airmed consults her runes, saying, "This portends of forces dark in nature, and a battle betwixt good and evil. Hmmm… perhaps I should attend the performance after all. Whosoever is kind enough to provide my entrance fee shall be repaid in due course. On this I pledge my word of honor, along with my humble gratitude. But ye who shall be seekers of the magician's personal effects, heed me wisely- beware of traps and enchantments. They come in all guises. If in doubt, best to not touch them at all. The risk is yours- take it wisely, I beg of thee! "

Ariadne will keep with herself 8gp and the rest she will hide it in her special annex at home, a hidden place she has built over the years. Ariadne is thinking deeply and then she interrupts and says "I would pay a ticket for Thorian or Airmed, but it is a loan," she says, showing her mean side. "Ice and I will look at the people's reaction on the show without being so obvious about it, I will also try to look around for suspicious activity. I will not be watching directly what the Magician does, because I'm afraid he may be using magic or hypnotisism or some kind of drug, I will personally be wearing my cloak and my short sword hidden on my clothes, I will be extremely quiet to not call attention to myself."

Eissa is having a hard time deciding if 'tis a good idea to go snooping around the large tents. Nervously glancing from side to side, her hands fidget under her cloak, before she actually realizes something. She's wearing black clothing, and it's going to be nightfall. It's rather hard to spot a person in black at night, Eissa remembers. "You know," she murmurs, "Maybe I should go after all."

Althea eyes the sun's movement across the sky impatiently. "My friends, these are wise plans. Let us do the things we must 'ere the show begins. We've solemn work to do this night. Godspeed." She claps her hand on Eissa's shoulder with a crooked smile. "Come with me Lass… we've preparations to make." ...

Circus Order party

Ice and Ariadne also purchase tickets for themselves to attend the main event.

Ariadne decides to check around the surroundings of the circus to see if she sees some kind of gas vents/holes or machinery that could be used by the Magician later on the night.

Ice says to Ariadne, "Maybe we should stick together. Probably not much going to happen out front where everyone is and we would be safer together."

Eissa and Althea will concentrate on tent E first, then tent F.

Thorian lays out his plan for the show: He's going to find, if possible, an unattached female who looks well to do. He'll sit down next to her and schmooze through the whole show. He'll keep a careful watch on the magician, and when everyone appears to be hypnotized he will steal the girl's purse. And possibly the purses of a few other people sitting nearby. The more unaware of their surroundings everybody seems to be, the more daring Thorian will be with the purse snatching.


Airmed takes a few deep breaths and stretches in various directions for a few moments while collecting her thoughts. "If 'tis all the same to thee, I shall wish to enter the performance tent early, well before the crowds arrive. I wish to examine the stage area in particular. Perchance there might be a prop or two on the stage that may yield some clues. I shall try to sit fairly close to the stage during the performance, keeping a keen eye especially on the magician's gestures for signs of sleight-of-hand and other such common deceptions. I shall avoid looking directly into his eyes, as to fend off any possible attempts at hypnotism." Airmed casts a sidelong glance at Thorian.

"I pray that my partner, Thorian, pays more attention to our most urgent task of observing the show, rather than the lasses. If we come away unaffected from the performance, there shall be plenty of pockets to pick as we follow the exiting crowd."

Shade is a little nervous about the lovely woman. "My first impulse would be to follow her, but if we do follow her I would be very leery."

Wimplo stays calm, "All right Shade, lets go in. Whatever weapon you have (dagger I presume?) keep it hidden but out. I will have my long sword ready. I have a funny feeling she is a magician too, so she will try to fool one of us. We should be ready to attack/stop her if she attacks us."

[party Order] Circus RPG PBP Medieval World

Wimplo will give Shade one GP to give to the Palm Reader. Wimplo will stay outside and alert for activity inside and outside the tent while Shade goes with the woman.

Ice and Ariadne devise a plan to fake a loud fight to create a diversion so that Althea and Eissa can sneak into a tent. The warriors meet the two thieves near the gaming and discuss it. Althea and Eissa will wait near tent F on the east side until they hear the shouting. Then they will wait for the guards/watchmen/workers to be distracted and sneak in the tent.

Thorian will be joining people sitting in the stands, asking questions, and looking for purses to steal. Airmed will be finding a seat close to the stage.

================

Frustrated at having no privacy to do their quiet searching, Althea says, "C'mon, Eissa. Let's get to the games, and perchance we'll have a tidbit from the food vendor whilst we ponder this situation." Althea realizes her blunder as soon as it's out of her mouth. "Oh! My treat, of course." She smiles kindly at the youngster, and gestures for her to follow.

"Don't worry," Eissa smiles, "I'm not hungry anyway. And besides, I don't mind the games, so we can go there anyway. Just… "She pauses, remembering her recent run of bad luck in things to do with chance. "I've never had much good luck, so I don't think you might want to trust me with them. Ah… shall we go?" With a final cursory glance to the tents, and making a particularly rude hand sign at the guards under her cloak, Eissa smiles at Althea.

Meanwhile, Thorian is thinking, "Hmm, the pickings don't look quite as good as I had hoped." He sits instead in a crowded section, where the tight fit will make pocket picking less noticeable, turns to a nearby person. "How are you my good man? So what have you heard about this magician?" Thus he begins pestering people around him for information.

Ice whispers to Ariadne: "We should not be so easily discouraged. I think I have an idea that might work. Let's hook up with Althea and Eissa and we can tell them of it. Here is the plan. You and I will stage a rather loud argument with pushing and shoving of each other. While the workers are distracted, Althea and Eissa can sneak into the tent and see what is in it. They are theives so they ought to be able to get in unnoticed if we cause a distraction. You could maybe make fun of me for wearing my armor, etc., to the circus for example."

Ariadne looks at Ice and says, "That's a terrific idea. Let's fake we are fighting and the thieves can sneak out through the tent and see what's going on. We have to be very wise though, it may cost us that they kick us out from the circus for good."

After meeting up with Althea and Eissa near the gaming tents, Ice and Ariadne explain the diversion tactic. Althea's ears perk up, and she grins mischievously. "Perfect! Eissa and I will go near the largest tent to the east of the stage and await your shouting as our signal."

Meanwhile, Shade says to Wimplo, "I don't have any money but it may be better for you to just hand me a gold so that you don't go in there with a lot of money."

"Yeah Shade," Wimplo says, "You are probly right. I'll cover your arse." He hands Shade one gold.

Shade takes the gold and whispers to Wimplo, "Hopefully this gets her off our backs, I'll be back in a trice." Shade then answers the woman, "Sure here's a gold. Do we have to go in the tent or can we just do it out here?"

Page 2 Circus Order party

The Game Master says...

I should get to this later today - you guys make me do a lot of careful reading, so I want to ensure the story runs smoothly. Farseer, congrats on taking the leadership mantle and handling it well, it is good that you separate what they are actually going to do for my benefit and what the characters actually say.

Circus Order party

Althea and Eissa will try to get out of the tent unharmed -- Eissa will attempt to take some small item in passing while Althea is pretty much dragging her out.

Ice and Ariadne will continue to hurl insults at each other until they can see Althe and Eissa come out of the tent. If they can't see them within 15 minutes, they will try to "Take the fight to the tent" -- in other words, physically fall fighting into one side of the tent to create a distraction for the two thieves to escape. Ice and Ariadne will probably be best to play it by ear. If Althea and Eissa are able to get out on their own, the warriors should stop the fight of their own accord. Just act like they are still mad, but stop the shoving and pushing. If Althea and Eissa are unsuccessful in our quest to leave the tent unaccosted, then Ice and Ariadne need to be prepared to help
Airmed will wander about near the animals, alert for activity. Thorian will continue to query the circus guests. Wimplo will stay at his post outside the palm reader's tent. Shade will ask about his fortune *smile*

============
Shade, bedazzled by the palm reader, says wistfully: "Will I be finding any treasure in the near future? If so can you tell me what kind of treasure?"

Meanwhile, in the large tent:
Eissa froze. "Oops," she muttered. Only she had meant for that word to be muttered, but it echoed round the tent (Were words supposed to echo in tents?) and bounced back to her. "Oops," she muttered again, just a little softer, before an amazingly cheery smile pasted itself on to her face. "My," she remarked to nothing in particular, "It's, ah, wonderfully drafty outside, isn't it?" Eissa's eyes, as always, were darting around the surroundings, mindful to alight on anything of interest (Many of these things) and keeping well away from the man and the woman. "Er, and the wind is, ah, rather, drafty? Strong!? Blown us in? Yes! Er, we were blown in by the wind. I, ah, think."

She wondered briefly if the fervent blush on her face was showing in the dim lighting, then decided that she coudn't be bothered to find> out. What she did know was that her face was bright red again, and emitting heat like… like something that emits a lot of heat, her feeble brain shot back. "Er, that's, um, a very nice outfit you have, Miss. Er, Miss? Er, never mind that… "Her foot was tracing out patterns in the ground as Eissa shifted from side to side, hand darting automatically to her dagger. Althea's turn, she thought. I doubt I'll help here.

Althea curses herself for three kinds of a fool! Of course there would be folk in the tent before the show! She mentally slaps her forehead and tries to think fast. This man does not look the type to trifle with. Althea hears Eissa's "Oops!" behind her and knows the youngster feels the same way as she does. How are we getting out of this one? Althea asks herself, and begins to stammer along with Eissa, the two of them tumbling words over each other's…

"Oh, sir! Beggin' your pardon, Great Sir! We.. Er.. Ah.. We were just.. Well, we heard you were such a great Magician, sir, and we..er.. Well, we wanted to see fer ourselves, don't you know, and how a great person such as yourself might live, we bein' humble folk, as you can see...." and similar blather as her eyes scan the room and take in the layout of furniture, the decor, the items on tables and dresser tops for future reference.

All the while she is talking, her head bobbing and nodding in small bows, Althea is moving inch-by-inch toward the tent door, pulling Eissa along with her by a firm grip on her elbow. "We din't mean yer no harm, great sir, no, sir, and that's the truth, and you, dear lady, beggin' yer pardon, miss.. Er… well, we'll just be on our way and bother you no more, eh? Terribly sorry for the intrusion.... "

Althea can still hear the shouting coming from Ice and Ariadne's mock battle. I hope you two can keep this up until we get out of here....

Eissa let herself be pulled away gratefully. Standing in a room with other people (Gosh, that dress really was low) who asked hard to answer questions like 'who are you and why are you here' was never her forte. She was far more comfortable working in the dark, alone, without the help of others. Still, she was mightily grateful for Althea this once.

As she was being forcefully (But not objecting) pulled out, Eissa made a note of the man and the lady's features, not knowing why. It just seemed important that she remembered what they looked like. Then, as her cloak was somewhat covering her movements (Tangling her up, more like) she waved a hand around, trying to grab any small item that it might have come in contact with and praying that the two people didn't notice. Please, she thought, let me do something useful for a change.

Airmed, directed away from the performance tent by workers, figures this might be a good time to see if she may gain some time with the circus animals. Heaven knows she's more comfortable around four-footed beings than the two-footed cattle this event was attracting. Saying aloud to no one in particular, "I'd prefer to be in the company of animals for the interim. They're often better conversationalists, anyway." She directs her nose skyward and sniffs deeply, trying to ascertain their whereabouts.

[party Order] Circus

Eissa sighed. She hadn't been any use in the tent, and had failed to get anything useful for knowledge or anything else apart from a good look at a man and a woman in a really skimpy dress. Rather miffed, she flung herself down on the ground, mindful of the attention she was recieving and duly blushing hotly. Today had most certainly not been a good day.

She looked at the people streaming into the circus grounds. There were certainly quite a few of them there, and many of them were giving her odd looks. Perhaps this had something to do with the way she blushed and perhaps it had to do with her clothes. She sighed. "Well," she addresed to no one in particular, "what now?"

Airmed approaches the animal quarters in a non-chalant manner, whistling a lively tune. If she meets a worker she shall first ascertain whether he/she is just an employee, or a trainer. If a trainer, she will make casual conversation, acting as simply an avid animal lover, meanwhile asking several questions such as: what types of tricks the animals perform, and whether they're trained to follow hand and/or voice commands. If the worker is aimiable, perhaps a demonstration may be allowed. If granted, Airmed will pay close attention to the animal(s) name, capabilites, and type of cue commands learned per trick. If Airmed is turned away from the animal quarters, she shall join Thorian in talking up the crowd, and alert
him of watchful eyes, should he attempt an act of larceny.

Ice storms off as if furious with Ariadne. Ice thinks to herself, "maybe I can use this false anger to my advantage. I will storm around the circus like I am fuming with anger. Perhaps people will be afraid to approach me and who knows what I might see." Ice will roam around in a state of apparent anger until it is either obvious that nothing will be gained from this, or the show is about to start. She will mutter to herself under her breath about the violent things she would like to do to Ariadne and how upset she is that she didn't have the opportunity. Say things like, "maybe some other fool will provoke me and I can release some of this frustration just the same."

Ariadne is very upset about all the attention the group got and she says 'This is enough for me!, I'm going out to stand there and wait until the show starts, I will then sit down and see what this is all about'.

Shade then asks the Palm Reader:"Will I be in any danger tonight?"

Being denied entrance to the tent, Thorian begins non-chalantly wandering the circus grounds, taking in as much as possible. He's careful to avoid any alchohol, because his poor health always makes him feel his alchohol for quite a while after he has taken it.


Seeing Ice storm off in one direction, and Ariadne in another, Althea nods to herself. Good -- we should not look too much as if we belong together, she thinks.

Althea sighs in frustration and straightens her clothes. She hates being mannhandled. Glaring over her shoulder at the guards, she holds out a hand to
Eissa to aid her to her feet.

"Come, lass. I need to think and wash the dust from my throat. Let's head to that food vendor and see what's available. We've apparently naught but time between now and the show starting."

Wimplo seems to have disappeared....(has not posted since 7/16/04 and has not logged on to the Forum since 7/18/04)

[party Order] Circus - Page 2

*Althea and Eissa are getting a bite to eat (We'll share, thank you) and wait for things to settle down as people begin ot file into the main tent.

*Ice and Ariadne will visit the Palm Reader, after Ice gets her gold back from Wimplo.

*Shade is pretty much done with the palm reader and is on his way out. He will find a seat in the stands.

*Thorian will be finding a seat and chatting with neighbors.

*Airmed has found her place in the arena, and settled in quite nicely.

((***Shade will be absent for a week beginning 7/25/04, and The Party will decide his actions as we go along***))
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Ice is going to find Wimplo and get her GP back. She would rather be responsible for it herself. Then it depends upon how long until the show starts. If there is time, Ice will hurry home and hide half her GP and keep the other half in her possession. If not enough time to take it home, she will keep it all on her person.

Eissa nods to Althea, glad for the suggestion. She felt as if she could use something on her stomach. Not drink, of course, she reminded herself. She'd seen people under the effect of drink, and they tended to have a tendency to talk a bit too much for her liking. Listening, and not talking, was what Eissa preferred to do, as she had never had any luck convincing people of her point of view. Smiling, Eissa pulls herself up from the ground as she wipes her clothes of the grass that had attached themselves to them whilst she had been sitting down, and then ran a hand through her hair. "That seems like a good idea," she muttered, the recent incident still all to fresh on her mind. "As long as no stall holder tries to throw me away, I'm fine with that." Her face brightens momentarily as she realizes a point. "And of course, there's always the fact that performers in a show can't be in two places at once. Perchance we may be able to search the tent then." Of course they can't be in two places at once, she thinks. Surely, then..

Althea buys a meat pie from the vendor near the game tents and splits it with Eissa. Both have their ears and eyes open while they try their best to fade into the crowd and not draw any more attention to themselves. They will attempt to "Ghost" in between tent H and the enclosed wagon, and see if there is a way to get into the enclosed wagon -- an unlocked door, loose flap, etc., listening very carefully to see if it's occupied. If they can get into it, and it is not occupied, they will do so extremely quietly and watch the palm readers tent for activity as best they can from inside the wagon. If they can't get into it, they will continue to stay in the shadows around the enclosed tent to listen and watch the activity at the palm reader.

Shade answers the palm reader. "No that is enough." He then gets up and exits the tent, waking up Wimplo as he comes out.

Ice seeks out Wimplo at the Palm Reader's tent just as Shade is waking him. She says: "Wimplo, I have had a change of heart. I want me gold back man. I think it is best I hold onto it. If you were to lose it, I really would have to kill you. *Flashes a big smile to show she is somewhat joking* "That doesn't seem fair now does it?"

Ariadne meets up with Ice, seemingly by accident, at the Palm readers tent. Ice says: "So, Ariadne it seems we have the same thing in mind. A little reading of our futures? *points to the entrance and says* "After you, my friend, after you."

Due to dwindling time and lack of knowledge of the animals' exact whereabouts, Airmed heads back to the performance tent. She plans to be amongst the first to enter as to secure a good seat. Once inside… After making a quick sweep of the tent's interior, Airmed removes her backpack and takes a seat in the center of the third row. She checks to make sure the pack is securely closed, and places it on the floor between her feet. Feeling a tad uneasy, she reaches as if to wrap her cloak about her, then remembers it is in her backpack. She opens her pack, extracts her cloak and puts it back on. Feeling a little less vulnerable, she thinks to herself that her well-worn, trusty cloak may be more of an asset in use than sitting idle in her pack. Airmed once more secures her pack and replaces it between her feet.

Thorian sits in a crowded section, where the tight fit will make pocket picking less noticeable, turns to a nearby person* *Starts pumping people around him for information*.

[party Order] Circus World Medieval PBP RPG - Page 2

Ariadne will take Wimplo's horse and all his provisions for it.

First, Ice will take back all of the gold that was hers being held by Wimplo for safe keeping. Then she will split the remainder of the gold with Ariadne 50 - 50. She will keep all of her gold on her person.

Then, Ice will look to see if there is a person in the area that might be willing to take this gear to her home and leave it there. She will give them one gold piece now and one when she returns to her home to find it is safe. The person can just tell Ice where to find them tomorrow to give them the second gold piece. If she finds someone she will say the following:

"You, how would you like to make a quick 2 GP? Take this gear to my home. Put it inside. Leave it and I will come to your home tomorrow morning after I have found it safely stored in my home. I will give you 1 GP today and another tomorrow."

She turns to Ariadne and says, "It's a deal then, you can have Wimplo's horse and all he has to sustain the horse and I will take the rest of his gear."

If Ice cannot find anyone to return the gear to her house, she will only take the gold and the arrows.
========= **Airmed is covering nose and mouth with her cloak to prevent breathing the smoke. She's pretty close to the front rows and will wait and watch.
**Ariadne will get up and leave the tent without breathing the smoke, pretending to be "Under the influence".
**Eissa will breathe through her cloak and wait and watch.
**Shade will do the same.
**Ice will stand near the entrance to watch and to avoid breathing the smoke.
**Althea will wait and watch, being squashed in the back rows, and will use her cloak to cover nose and mouth if it becomes necessary to not breathe the smoke.

========= Airmed watches the opening acts with wary enjoyment. The animals were beautiful and impressive, the clowns predictable buffoons until - Wait… what's this burst of blue smoke?!? She immediately feels that familiar sensation of her innards twisting; an unconscious reaction to possible threat. Instinctively, Airmed quickly grabs the edge of her cloak and covers her mouth and nose. Now keenly aware of her reflexive action, common sense tells her to maintain this protective measure until safely outdoors once more. Her intuition tells her that the seemingly innocent portion of the program has passed. She must now remain fully alert as to what happens next.

Airmed briefly scans hers and the two rows in front of her. The crowd seems quite happy, yet the organs continue to churn deep within her belly. She reminds herself to take slow, steady breaths through the rough-hewn fabric of her cloak. Attention now focused intently on the stage, she watches every possible motion which unfolds.
========== Manhandled twice in one day! What next? Althea sat, scrunched into the last few rows, fuming at having her plans foiled again by these over-zealous circus people. This would be the last time she visited a circus! Irritated and overheated from being packed into the crowd, Althea was not even really paying attention to the actual show.

Until the audience's laughter changed to ooh's and aaah's. Althea's head snapped up and she focused on the antics of two clowns around a box. It was emitting a blue smoke… which floated lazily around the heads of the patrons in the front rows. What in the world? She could see Airmed a couple of rows back from the dirt stage with an edge of her cloak over her nose and mouth. Good idea, lass, she thinks, and waits to see what is happening to other people down front.
========= Eissa positively squirmed in her seat. She'd never really enjoyed going to the circus to begin with, (All that shouting and everything) and would have much rather preferred to stay outside and grouch around. She'd found some of the acts interesting, needless to say, but most of the time she had been merely glancing from place to place. Half way through the show she had started to get interested, but had lost that half-hearted interest quickly enough.

Smoke of a thousand rich men… luck… prosperity… the words floated almost of their own accord to Eissa, who sat up immediately at the specific words of 'rich men'. Drugs? She thought rather blurrily, before seeing the blue smoke and finally waking up. Light blue? What in the name of- Smoke, Eissa knows quite well, is not normally light blue. The fact that the people in the front rows were smiling happily with expressions of somewhat-rapture on their faces did not help to quell her rising anxiety in any way.

[i]What now, what now-Her mind very confused, Eissa started acting on instinct. Drugs = bad. Bad = not good. Therefore, look to see what other people are doing to stop this situation going from bad to very bad. The magician (Eissa had forgotten her name again) was covering her mouth and nose with her cloak. Eissa's own cloak was so threadbare that she doubted it would be of any help. Althea was watching. Finally, after a five second deliberation, Eissa made a decision. Should the smoke appear to have harmful side effects, she'd use the cloak (Folded double) to cover her mouth and nose. If she felt any effects, she'd try to find a way out the tent. If there was one, that is.
=========== Ariadne is quietly observing the reaction of the people from this blue smoke on the air… she is thinking quickly and deeply.... is it a drug? A type of rare gas?.... This seems very fishy to me, she thinks. She knows she has to get out of there fast. She stands up quietly, almost unnoticeable and pretends that she is under the effects of the blue gas, smiles and balance her body from one side to the other but what she is really doing is holding her breath in order to not breathe that weird substance. She moves quickly towards the exit of the tent and starts breathing again as the gas has not reach her as yet. She continues her 'act' and from the outside part of the tent, she continues observing the reaction of the people and the workers of the circus involved on the show. She wonders… where is the magician?.
============ Ice thinks "I am going to get up and go stand near the entrance." Since it seems like the blue smoke is a gas of some sort, she will observe from near the entrance to see what happens next. She is looking to see if there is some evil design these circus people have in mind other than just getting everybody "High" on this gas.