"Yes. It was very, very sad."

"But sometimes, we can arrange..." he paused for emphasis.

"For wishes to be granted and made. Each time a show is performed, we have the Carnies and the other Clowns get all that nice soul residue off the ground. It comes in clumps of rocks after each show. Clowns gotta be paid you know. Carnies too. Even the Fortune Teller when we bring her back. And the Master Maker. This place runs on souls kid. Soul rocks."

"After the plunder is divided, most workers at the Evil Circus, or Cherrywinks Carnival as we called twenty years ago, go off and spend their hard earned souls the only way they know how."

"They smoke it."

"And when they smoke it, they *cough*..*cough*..*cough*...*cough*...get to make a wish. Of course, that wish has to be approved by the proprietor. The wish lasts as long as the high does kid. And there's nuthin' like the high you get from smokin' souls."

"Oh, I see." Whatever answer Shawn had been expecting, it wasn't that. Either way, he wouldn't be mentioning this to Bobby - he had enough to deal with. He gave Mr. Cherrywinks what he hoped was a respectful nod. "Thanks for being so patient with me - I'm ready to go."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:51, Thu 22 Dec 2016.

The Clown said nothing in return, but his smile said it all. It was a grimace which seemed to suggest that the smoking souls might be something in Shawn's future. Shawn couldn't quite say how this thought was communicated, just as he couldn't explain the coldness in the tent.

"Now get outta' here and get me my kid. I've got noses to cut off." Cherrywinks said, dismissing Shawn with a errant gesture of ragged flourish, the frills of his clown sleeves frayed and grayed with dirt.

"I'll take you back to the living." Gaggles said, putting a cold hand on Shawn's shoulder. "So that you can bring the living death." The last words came out small and choked, like she was going to cry her red tears again.

Shawn tried not to flinch away from her touch. He simply nodded and went with her. Bobby. He was doing this for Bobby.

The two walked outside of the tent, and Shawn noticed immediately that it was raining. Not where he was standing at the top of the hill, but rather, at the bottom where the Circus was. From this vantage point, he could see the full view of the Circus. It looked empty, barren and decayed. The rides were rusted, gaming booths empty.

OOC: Shawn Rolls Wits + Composure

OOC: 22:54, Today: Shawn Cramer rolled 2 successes using 4d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 8,6,9,2. Wits + Composure.

"I'm sure you know by now where this is going." Gaggle said. She started to talk about something depressing but Shawn could hardly hear here.

Instead, he saw Henri standing at the bottom of the hill. Henri. One of the kids that he had written the names of in the Book. The boy quickly ducked out of sight next to a gaming booth.

Shawn just stood there, paralysed by a surge of conflicting emotions. He'd betrayed Henri to his death (or so he thought), and here he was, months later, still here. On one hand, that meant the Circus wasn't all powerful, if Henri was still here after so long. On the other, Henri knew what Shawn had done.

Shawn knew perhaps he'd be rewarded for calling out a warning, to alert the others to the presence of one of their targets. But instead, he just looked away in shame.

"Get in." Gaggle said. She snapped Shawn out of his daze, focusing him on the fact that she had entered the dilapidated Volswagon and was now encouraging him to get in. "We don't want to wait, there is a lot of preparation that has to be done before the really sad, depressing work of killing people and ruining their souls forever begins."

Shawn got into the Volkswagen and tried calm his shaken nerves. He had to focus on the terrible things he was about to do, not the terrible things he had done.

"You look upset" Gaggle remarked.  It sounded like she was going to offer words of advice or some kind of condolence to Shawn. The she said "Just remember that all hope is gone. It's like the sun is setting during the last sunset. Or clouds that gather during a storm, blocking out the happiness and sunshine forever. All sense of good and safety in the world replaced with sadness and loss for all eternity."

"It's not about hope, it's about survival." Shawn normally wouldn't have replied, but with what he was about to do, he felt the need to justify himself.

Gaggles nodded in understanding.  "The guilt. The feelings of shame. And the overwhelming weight of what we must do. And what we've done. What I've done. Sometimes I wish I had just killed myself. Then all the pain and suffering would have been over. You might want to think about that. About killing yourself. That's what I would do if I were in your shoes. You don't want to end up like me. Suffering forever in damnation. Surely killing yourself would be better."

Shawn noted that Gaggles comments seemed in stark contrast to the Cherrywinks. He seemed almost delighted by the idea of running the Circus. Of living...whatever strange, damned experience this place was. Except when he was on the phone. Shawn could still see how Cherrywinks reacted on the phone, the Clown was terrified in that moment.

Shawn clammed up after that comment - what could he say to being told to kill yourself? Especially when he was worried that she was right. He tried to think of Bobby - he was doing this for Bobby. If he could get Bobby free of the Circus...whatever happened to Shawn might be worth it.

"You really should." Gaggle encouraged.  She put the Volswagon into gear and it popped with a loud burst of gas, sounding like a shotgun round coming out of the muffler. Shawn could smell the exhaust. "I've already tried many times." She extended her arms and Shawn could see many red slashes along. The clown's wrists. They were red and pink scarred against white pallid flesh.

"The best way is to cut in a downward motion. Not across." She explained. Then she gently pressed the accelerator and the car lurched forward, heading down the hill, Henri still hiding behind the gaming booth, the car getting closer to him. Gaggles didn't seem to notice.

Shawn looked out the window at an oblique angle - enough that he could see if Henri was still hiding behind the gaming booth in his peripheral vision, but off to the side enough that Gaggles couldn't just follow his gaze to notice what he was looking at.

"Yes. Killing yourself." Gaggles said, warming to the idea in her somber, melodramatic tone, depressed as ever.

She wasn't paying attention and didn't follow Shawn's gaze as his eyes met Henri's own eyes, rain drumming down on top of the car.

Shawn immediately looked away, unable to meet Henri's gaze.

They drove onward. Past the gaming booths of side-show alley and towards the tent where Shawn and Bobby had rescued Ralph. The rain was falling down hard. It pounded the roof and windshield of the car with the relentless drumming and intensity of a massive storm. Gaggles didn't even seem to notice the rain, not even bothering to turn on the windshield wipers. The pulled up to the tent of the Master Maker.



"We're here. At the Master Maker's tent. He or the Fortune Teller will probably be the next to arrive. Once Mr. Cherrywinks gets a few more noses. Ralph was supposed to be the assistant to the Master Maker. But now it looks like he fled the coop. It's going to be sad that I have to kill his whole family. I'm just waiting on orders from Mr. Cherrywinks now. It's also sad that we'll have to find another Ralph. Even though he was so young and innocent, I think he was just beginning to get used to this place. You really should consider killing yourself once you get back to your room. The Book should still be in the tent of the Master Maker where you left it." Gaggles said.

Shawn tried to ignore what Gaggles said about Ralph. He hopped out of the car and went back to get the Book.

Shawn got out of the car and went into the tent.   The Book was, exactly where he left it. He pushed passed the tent flap and was instantly out of the rain. As he approached the Book, he saw, through to his own room.

Throught the torrent of rain outside, he heard Gaggle's voice. She was muttering on about Shawn. Shouting out unnecessary philosophical quotes about how the purpose of Shawn's life might be just to serve as a warning to others.

Turning back to the Book, Shawn decided whether or not to return to his room, or spend any more time in this strange, haunted place.

Shawn, not wanting to spend another moment in this place, took the Book and tried to send himself home.

OOC: Shawn Join's Thread:

Shawn: Bobby's Got Some Information