As he was inflated, Bozon felt more like a man again. He looked left. He looked right. He peered at the boy like a curious kitten might examine their new owner. So, he was in someone elses' court, was he? And this lad was a prince. He didn't know of a King Samhradh, so didn't know what kingdom he was in anymore than he knew how long it had taken to be shipped here.

He felt a little loose, a little weak and uncoordinated still when the inflation stopped, but with no real experience to compare it to... well, that was starting a new lifestyle.

He started to his feet, attempting to do a pratfall instead of standing up all the way, in a hopefully comical pretense of clumsiness. Something stirred inside of his soul, a bit of stored magic from the stress of the boxed journey slipping into one of the built-in cantrips for an apprentice to practice with.

His red nose tried to light up as his attempt at a pratfall was hindered by the unfamiliar situation of the pump hose still attached to him. He sprawled on the floor, bouncing slightly when he hit before rolling to the side and looking up at King Samhradh.

If his nose had lit up, Bozon got a surprised look on his bearded, funny face and went cross-eyed trying to see it better, lifting one finger to gingerly tap at the side of his nose. It didn't hurt.

The King & Prince watched Bozon with confused curiosity, laughing as his nose lit up.

With the look of a child enjoying his new toy, the Prince said, "Hey Bozon, you look like a weird-dog with a pump-tail. Wag it and bark like a dog!"

The King said, "Enjoy the jester while I get back to work."
King Samhradh walked over to his throne, and people began filtering into the throne-room talking with him about boring kingdom business.

Tine watched Bozon's antics with the pump-tail before pumping him up to normal pressure and removing the pump.

With a merry grin, Bozon rolled over again to crouch on all fours. He panted, though his tongue would not reach past his teeth in his enchanted jester state, and silently pantomimed barking motions. Wagging the pump hose, though, was completely beyond Hergot's ability to figure out how to do. He tried this and tried that, but just didn't have the right muscles to really make it work.

He was delighted to be back to his normal build and about as filled out as he'd been when the enchantment process was completed, prior to being deflated for shipping. He wasn't sure if he was as thrilled about the pump being detached, but seeing as the valve shut itself it seemed like he had nothing to worry about. He posed a few times, flexing his muscles making sure that he had something close to his full, normal mobility. Bozon stood casually by the young Prince, giving him his full attention seeing as this was his owner. Forget that he was royalty himself, and just be a fun toy for Prince Tine to the best of his abilities.



OOC: Could I have a general idea of what King Samhradh and Prince Tine look like? How are the people dressed here? What heraldic imagery seems to predominate, if any? I'm guessing that the knight's red & green garb was either his own colors or a livery of some kind, although that could be completely wrong.

OOC: Certainly. I was holding off, trying to wait for Shadojak to post with some ideas he might have for Summer Court, but I should probably just establish what the place looks like. I hoped your characters would meet briefly, and they yet might do so, but his post rate is not like yours. How do you feel about joining a group with other PCs?

Summer Court was a very large outdoor hall, with giant redwoods lining the perimeter, and 4 inch thick cloth tapestries sealing off any gaps between trees. The tapestries had scenes of celebrations, feasts and coronations. In the centre of the court was a large tree-fountain made of gold with copper leaves. The water poured out of flowers on every branch, and bubbled and splashed just enough to hide any sound of whispering and obfuscate soft voices.

Everything was in warm colours or shades of green. King Samhradh was a redhead with a stunning physique. Like all Elfs, he was slightly effeminate in his face, but anyone would think twice about testing his strength. Every muscle was accentuated by the leaf-armour he wore, which matched his body muscle for muscle. He wore a 32" broadsword on his back, and a flintlock pistol at his hip. His crown was a phoenix nest with a live phoenix sitting presumably on its egg.

Those who came and went wore varying degrees of opulence, some came in sporting nothing but gold and jewels, while a few were dressed in plain unadorned leafwork. One woman even came in wearing nothing but red mud skillfully placed and magicked to stay there.

Almost everyone was an Elf, but there were a few assorted other groups of people.

Tine developed a worried look on his face. "Bozon, can you talk at all? Because I have something I want to tell you, but I'm not sure who I can trust with it."

OOC: Having descriptions helps, as there could be things that a character would react differently to than just having a generic "boy" and "dad" there. I have no objections to being with other PCs, but a high potential post rate would be good, yes.

This place was gorgeous, in Hergot's eyes. That fountain was marvelous craftmanship, and there were so many tapestries he could look forward to eventually studying. Assuming he stayed intact, that was. The locals were a bit unfamiliar in face to him, but those ears gave him a good idea of what kindred they might be of. He'd seen tourists with those ears plenty of times, and some Benli (one of his world's races) had them as well to varying degrees.

The burly, air-filled jester looked down at Tine past his illuminated nose, and tilted his head to the side questioningly. "Bozon?" he queried, using the one unrestricted thing he could say as a sort of Pokémon-speak. The barbarian clown crouched down to be closer to Tine's eye level, shaking his head 'no' and holding up one hand fingers spread, then pantomimed counting his fingers, repeating his name quietly with each finger as Hergot made a (hopefully goofy) attempt to express that he had an extremely limited vocabulary as Bozon.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 10:24, Wed 22 Jan 2020.

"Sweet!" exclaimed Tine. He walked to one of the tapestries and held it aside to go for a walk. The redwood-tapestry walls with no ceiling continued in a complex of halls and rooms.

Once they were alone, Tine continued, "Okay, so here's the deal. My dad's a High Elf, and I'm not. I'm just a run-of-the-mill Elf. That means he'll live for nearly 20 thousand more years, but I'll be lucky to see 1000. I'm only 20 now, so I've got plenty of years left. It also means that I'll never be King no matter what. One of my High Elf siblings will inherit the throne, and even if they all died, the throne has to be occupied by a High Elf.

"I don't mind any of this, I don't have any desire to rule, anyway. But dad feels guilty and keeps trying to treat me like I might one day rule. He means well, but it's ANNOYING!

"He wants to send me off to school, but I've got access to bucketloads of cash. Why do I need school? I want adventure! I wanna see distant lands on my own terms. I wanna run away. I think I'm going to soon, but I'm waiting for a better opportunity. And I want to take you with me. I only have one other friend, and she refuses to go with me until I find someone else to join us. That's you. Will you help me see the worlds out there?"

Bozon followed, listening in a fatherly manner. He didn't know what a 'High Elf' was or how they differed from a common 'Elf,' but from the sound of it these folks had much longer lifespans than any mortal race in his world. Sure, the gods, the Watchers, and major demons might have lifespans seemingly unending, but for normal folks to live so long? Amazing! And Tine was older than he'd thought, as well. He was 27 himself, a grown man with children back home - may they be safe and well! - while Tine was clearly still a child.

However... as the lad's slave, his plaything, did he have the right to deny the request? He wasn't sure, but didn't think so. On the other hand, schooling was very valuable, and Tine's father clearly had his safety in mind. How well would he be able to watch out for Tine's welfare as a balloon buffoon? It was something he hadn't considered at all in choosing this penance. How would an inflatable man with little skill at arms and no combat magics protect an adventuresome youth? With his wits, of course. And, it seemed, focusing on working on his magic quite a bit more than he'd planned, until he could enchant simple talismans and such to help Tine and his friend out. Enja-Osdeon were the makers of the majority of magic items beyond weapons, armor, potions, and books, in his world. Would striving in that direction get him in trouble, seeing the circumstances and agreements by which he obtained his access to their magic? That seemed likely as well. Oh dear.

His pensive look did not show well through the heavy latex coating his face, but slowly, with some reluctance, Bozon nodded 'yes.' He would help Tine.

"Great! Let's go get Jen, she's my friend I was talking about."

Tine lead Bozon to a particularly large tree - about the square-footage of a country church. The tree had been hollowed out, and there were three entryways. Each entrance had a pink-pearl beaded curtain, and the tree itself was shedding cherry-blossoms. Inside the tree, a teacher was presenting a lesson, according to the writing board, on Magus, Mathematics, and Music. Around the outside of the tree were bins, barrels and boxes with an unbelievable range of school supplies and such from all different cultures and worlds. Bozon imagined he could find just about any school related item in them, and he was probably right ((OOC: he was right)).

Tine said, "Dang! Mr. Stick is in the middle of a lesson. This could take hours, and by then Dad'll be looking for me. Do you think you could cause a distraction while I sneak Jen out the back door?"

Bozon's attention wavered between his young master and the numerous things of interest he saw around here. But he was forbidden to be literate as a Burstbarian, or at least to be recognized as being literate. That was why there was no silly, cantrip version of Wisdompreserving in his practice magics despite it being one of the lowest level spells owned by the brotherhood. He wouldn't be able to use it anyway, seeing as the full spell pertained solely to Enja-Osdeon's own mystical writings (unlike, say, the version of Wisdompreserving that clerics of Virya Nia possessed, which could be applied to any literature and more). There were many texts here, and surely some would be useful for trying to keep Tine and Jen up on their lessons while adventuring, but since he could not read or write, he could not pick out suitable works for the children. True, he could grab a few at random as if interested in the colorful covers, but that could make for quite haphazard schooling.

He snuck a read of the writing board from the corner of his eye, though. He wasn't sure what "Magus" was among the Elfs, but he knew something of mathematics and rather more of music. At least, the musical traditions of his world and those of the other-worldly Fasiltumians who had brought their Pantheon of Pavar with them to his world a generation and a half before his birth. And he'd heard alien and sometimes lovely songs from tourists passing through. It was too bad that he couldn't stay and learn with the class, but mystically binding contracts overruled his personal desires. By his own choice, oath, signature, and freely consented-to enchantments, Hergot was a toy not his own man here.

The barbarian clown fingered his beard, head tilted in an exaggerated pantomime of deep thought. The light cantrip in his nose chose just then to end, and the glow went out. A few ideas drifted across his thoughts, and he nodded once, sharply. "Bozon," he said.

If not stopped, Bozon sashayed into the tree-classroom like an uncouth barbarian blundering in uninvited.

While Bozon occupied the Mr. Stick's and the students' attention, Tine and Jen quietly left out the back of the classroom, and made their way to toward the woods.

Mr. Stick laughed at first, then composed himself as the children laughed. His face grew redder and redder as he complained at Bozon in an old Elfish tongue that was far too rapid to follow even if Bozon could understand it.

On the writing board were written a few lines in the common-tongue as well as what must have been old Elfish. The common-tongue lines read:



A list of the students and their current marks and years of study was along the side of the board, and he could see that Jen had studied for 5 years in this classroom, and she was the 3rd best student in the class as well. She'd probably know more about all of this.

Once the students started throwing things at Bozon, Mr. Stick shouted at them to stop and be still and quiet. While his back was turned to Bozon, Bozon could see Tine and Jen waving at him from the treeline, inviting him to catch up to them.

The clown took the opportunity to mentally note what the various texts the children had out looked like, even if he wasn't reading the covers, so that he could try to snag copies of the books outside from the containers.

His reaction to Mr. Stick's barrage of unknown speech was to try and look attentive but dumb, then repeat his clown name a number of times as if asking some sort of serious question. He pointed at his beard, then held his hand about Tine's height off the ground. "Bozon bozon bozon bozon? Bozon, bozon bozon." He pantomimed opening a book and turning pages, then made an 'I dunno' sort of shrug before looking at the teacher expectantly.

His response to being pelted with objects was to look around as if to say 'what did I do?' with body language. Then he tried to mentally essay the cantrip form of Bounty of the Hidden Arts, a cantrip that would conjure a custard-like pie to throw (while edible, it was not very good junk food and of short duration, unlike the full spell that creates permanent, non-magical, nutritious food).

And pie Mr. Stick in the face with it (assuming the magic worked) when he turned back around the board again, before running out to raid the bins and rejoin the Prince and his friend.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:56, Sat 25 Jan 2020.

Mr. Stick looked aghast and said, "What kind of a barbaric buffoon are you?"


23:23, Yesterday: Narrator, on behalf of Bozon the Burstbarian, rolled 31 using 10d6 with rolls of 1,3,2,4,4,1,3,6,6,1.  Conjure and throw a temporary custard pie.

He only intended to throw a temporary custard pie. So he did. But it had far more power behind it than he expected. The pie left Bozon's hand the size of an ordinary pie, but by the time it hit Mr. Stick, it had grown to a 6' tall and deep custard pie, and the splash was so large that the entire classroom was covered in custard and cream. The children laughed hysterically and ate the un-nutritious pie, and Mr. Stick just sat down defeated for the moment.


Bozon grabbed one or two of each of the books that the children had on their desks, but they were all in Elfish and illegible to him. He was about to leave when he felt an overwhelming undeniable urge to grab a few musical instruments, specifically he grabbed a bejewelled flute and lute.

He was easily able to rejoin Tine and Jen who had brought a backpack with her, before anyone in the classroom had time to notice that he was even gone.

Once safely away from the classroom, Tine and Jen broke out into laughter, and Jen said, "Sir, that was hilarious! Mr. Stick-up-his-arse totally deserved that."

Tine said, "Sorry, I should introduce you. Jen, this is Bozon the Burstbarian. All he can say is, 'Bozon'. Bozon, this is Jen, my best friend in the world."

Jen blushed, "Awww. Hey! How did you know that the lute was my favorite instrument?" Jen took the lute from Bozon before he could object.

Tine said, "Yeah, and mine too!" as he grabbed the flute. Tine continued, "Alright, Jen, you said you'd run away with me if I got someone to go with us. How's Bozon?"

Jen scrutinized Bozon, "Welp, he's not what I was expecting, but he'll do. Where do you want to go first?"

Tine said, "Nexus. Specifically the Forest Folk district. From there, the worlds are our oysters to shuck. Did you have anywhere you wanted to go?"

Jen replied, "I want to visit Libraria."

"You would, wouldn't you, bookworm. Alright, let's get started. I say we use the library in your home. Your parents are out and it'll get us to the next place."

"Sounds good to me."

With that they started walking through the woods.

OOC: Does Bozon have a telepathic presence in his latex form?

Bozon nodded vigorously a number of times in happy agreement. He was a barbaric buffoon.



Bozon was flabbergasted by the astonishing pie effect as he exited. He'd had no idea that variation was possible, and it suggested several possibilities to explore for comedic effect in the future. And since Bounty of the Hidden Arts was a generic spell that all of the brotherhoods held in common, as well as all of the Pavaric wizard orders (though they had a different name for it), Hergot wouldn't be transgressing on his agreement not to strive to become a full member of the brotherhood without permission by working on developing personal pie tricks. And he'd seen (well, been at the receiving end of) several such personalized pies from jesters-cum-apprentices in playing with them. Most had just been differences in flavor and quality, though, so this one was still quite a surprise. How useful such pies would be for minding to the needs of the children, he didn't have an idea. Yet.



He had no objection to Jen (nor Tine) snatching the instruments, and if anything was appreciative that they were welcomed with joy. He probably ought to have grabbed an instrument for himself, too, but he only had so many hands and time had been limited. He could find something in their travels, he inwardly reassured himself.

"Bozon," Hergot said solemnly as he bowed to Jen, taking up one of her hands in an aristocratic greeting as if she were the daughter of an equal as he momentarily slipped, forgetting his barbarian role.

He strode along with the adventuresome twosome, taking in what he could of the fine Elfish tapestries and towering trees on the way. A bookworm, eh? That told him a bit more about Jen's interests. He didn't know Tine's oyster reference, but recognized that the saying held some meaning to both Elfs that they understood.


OOC: Telepathic presence? I'm not sure that I understand the question, so I'll answer it from both ways that I see it might describe. If you're asking whether he can be detected telepathically, than yes, he can. His mind isn't shielded or trained in mental defenses at all. If you are asking whether he's capable of telepathy via his magic, than the answer is  no. Mental powers of that sort do not fall within Enja-Osdeon's purview at all, nor are there any telepathy spells in the generic brotherhood spell lists. Telepathy and classic "psychic" powers would fall within Mahkailh's area of expertise as the Brothers of the Mysteries of the Mind.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:09, Sun 26 Jan 2020.

Bozon noticed that there were odd shapes in Jen's backpack - as if some sort of instrument were stored in there. It was a rather large backpack...


Looking upward as Jen and Tine talked, he began noticing the birds and wildlife of this place. There were monkey-squirrels, wispy millipedes with wings, a few tiny 3"-5" humans with wings that sparkled and were sometimes translucent, sometimes solid and sometimes going invisible. He would swear that out of the corner of his eye he spotted odd-shaped hats (mostly green) disappearing behind impossibly small places. There were multicoloured birds in the trees, some as small as a fingernail and a few as large as a shed.

While looking upward, he didn't notice the transition, but Jen and Tine had joined him in his silent observation of nature. The world was so vibrantly colourful and the sky so perfectly blue that it could've been a great sapphire dome overhead. Some of the clouds looked like they were honestly made of wool. The loudest sounds were the symphony of birdcalls. They really were a symphony too. Most birds produce calls that communicate something important to them. These birds also made sounds that were all in the same key at the same time whichever bird was being heard. It was like listening to an otherworldly intuitive improvisational jam-session of rhythmic beauty.

Jen and Tine couldn't help but join in and play along with the sounds of the woods. Jen looked at Bozon, "Do you play anything, Mr. Bozon?"

OOC: however you respond to that...

IC:
Afterward, Tine looked at the cloud that had earlier gotten Bozon's attention, pointed to it and said, "Hey Jen, what does that cloud make you think of?"

Jen looked at it, then at Tine and together they both said, "Ool Brians Library!"

"Let's go from there, shall we?"

"Agreed!"

Jen pulled out her bejewelled lute, and started strumming a haunting harmony that echoed one of the louder bird-calls. She also sang a this poem,

"Bound to the nest,
I spent all of my best,
Days watching over my brood.

Sought east and west,
Put my mind to the test,
Blood sweat and tears for their food.

Yet never I asked,
For their future or past,
I didn't expect gratitude.

And now comes the day,
When they'll all fly away,
If I die, well I know I've been true."

From the sky, a flock of gigantic peacocks landed around them. The beak of any one of these opulent monstrous birds could easily decapitate a grown man. Their talons could disembowel an elephant.

One which was every hue of blue and purple approached Jen, and bent its head down so that its ear was next to the lute as she played the final chords of the tune. As the last chord still vibrated, she placed her hands on either side of the bird's head and touched her forehead to the forehead of the bird. After a moment with her eyes closed, she pulled away with tears in her eyes and softly said, "Thank you."

The bird bowed its head, and then the whole flock sat on the ground, and placed their wings in a position as if to say, "Come fly with us."

Tine smiled broadly, winked at Bozon and said, "Let's go!" as he ran over to an impressively tall black and green peacock and climbed onto its back.

Jen did the same with the blue and purple peacock, as she said, "Come join us, Bozon!"

There was at least one of every 2 colour variation of peacock one could imagine.

The land was as gorgeous as the people, it seemed, blessed with variety and abundance. He'd never seen insects so long as these; could they be flying worms rather than insects (eyeing the winged millipedes)? The local monkeys seemed as playful and intelligent as the ones at home, but more exotic in appearance with their plumed tails and buck teeth. Tiny, winged people? How delightful! He tried not to stare.

The birds, oh the birds! Surely, Vaeran Vo'Hlakanss and Virya Karenn-R'lache had worked in loving concert making such fine beasts of the air! They were like an opera in flight around him, and the beautiful birdsong from so many throats reminded him of what the Pavaric myths said of Dra the Uncaring, forever in hymns of praise and glory to his master, Hnalla, with no thought for anything else. Such a devotion to music...



He nodded, not trying to be silly as he answered her. His lips moved silently for a moment, forgetting his muteness, then he realized his gaffe and grimaced apologetically. He pantomimed the movements of strumming something, though it was not a lute he was thinking of, then pantomimed holding something across his lap and pulling a bow back and forth while fingering strings with the 'holding' hand. A brief pantomime of a third instrument concluded his reply, with light taps that could be mistaken for playing keys but were actually his attempt to show the playing of a sort of wooden drum.



He had a round-mouthed expression of surprise briefly, then nodded. He approached a pale red and silver bird, bowing to it politely and pantomiming to ask 'may I?' before trying to mount if the bird permitted.



OOC: "Vaeran" and "Virya" are honorifics, titles for the more important deities male and female respectively. Vo'Hlakanss is the Rocto-Cathsinnian god of the air, the storm, and flight, while Karenn-R'lache is one of the two "Mother Nature" style goddesses in the pantheon, the gentler of the pair and more associated with woodlands and songbirds than the divine huntress Virya J'Ralrishe-Sle is.

The instruments he pantomimed are roughly analogous to a dombra, igil, and wooden tongue drum respectively.

After Bozon finished pantomiming, Jen pulled out a green wooden object that looked like an igil with it's neck curled up like an unopened fern. She sang in Elfish to it and handed it to him. The moment he held it, it started uncurling it's neck, and once it was straight, it released a bow from the length of the neck. "I asked the wood to mould itself to your ideal instrument, but it will maintain a defensive use. If you hold it like a bow for shooting arrows, and draw the strings with nothing notched in the strings, the neck will bend like a bow and when you release the strings it will shoot an intense sound wave packet. The waves will constructively interfere and deliver a stunning blow to your target."

Time rolled his eyes, "Just treat it like a bow and arrow without arrows and it'll stun or push whatever you're trying to hit."



When Bozon bowed to the bird, it accepted his request. Once all three were mounted, the flock took flight and flew toward the cloud that looked remarkably like real cotton. Once they were close enough, Bozon could see that it was indeed made out of cotton. Furthermore, he also realized that what he thought was blue sky was actually a translucent blue sapphire, and the cloud-shaped cotton was attached to the sapphire. The three ridden peacocks landed on a level portion of the cotton cloud and Jen & Tine dismounted, leading the way into a cotton covered wooden door.

"Try not to be seen," Tine requested.

Cotton decorations and felted things were all along the walls. They made their way along corridors until they entered a library with a vast array of Elfish books. Avoiding the discovery of the librarian, they made their way to the back of the library. Tune and Jen started moving books in one of the shelves in a seemingly random way, while chanting under their breath. Then the books and shelves started moving on their own to make room for a circular he through the shelves about 7' tall. Suddenly they stood back and a distortion of light swelled from the center to the edge, and they stepped through into the distortion. Bozon could see a distorted image of them and light beyond.

Bozon silently expressed his gratitude for the gift, looking over the igil with a keen eye. This was fine magic, to him, an instrument that could choose what kind it would be for the musician. The usage as a bow and arrow(less) seemed a mite strange to him, but he was familiar with them for hunting if not especially apt. Did the Elfs eat meat? He didn't know, and thought about what else a bow like this could be used for, as they travelled. Perhaps bringing down fruit from a high branch? He'd have to try that sometime, though this was not it.



Not being seen seemed like a very non-clownish thing to try to do, but he obeyed Tine's wishes and did his best to avoid detection. The sky and the fluffy cloud-stuff were a great surprise to him. There were so many soft things calling out to be examined in here, but there was also work to be done keeping up with the clever children. And they took priority.

A library, hidden in a fake cloud! How remarkable! It occurred to him that if the sky were a great gemstone, that this land might be underground, strangely outdoors as it seemed. That was another thought to file away and consider at a calmer, restful time as well.

Seeing the children step through, the jester followed his young master, trusting Tine and Jen to know far more of these things than he did.


OOC: Did Jen put all of the books I raided in her backpack? Trying to gauge how I'm handling inventory in-character.

EDIT: Yes, Jen has the books now.

Bozon found himself inside another library - this one seeming to be the inside of a living tree. Once through, Jen and Tine closed up this Portal, and then said loudly, "We can talk now!"

"SHHUSHH!!" was the immediate reply from a stern looking 3' tall woman wearing a pointed hat standing nearby.

Tine whispered, "That's just a Gnome librarian. We're on Nexus now! Let's get out of here."

Tine lead the way to the main entrance which opened onto root-stairs flowing down to the main cobblestone road.

Tine said, "Bozon, I want to buy you a treat! I've got just the place in mind that I trust will just delight your fine tastes." There were shoppes and stalls of every imaginable type. One stall sold maple glazed rats with wings, plucked and shaved and blanched and roasted on a stick. One store sold gears of every material, size and shape - even crystal gears. A man wandering around with baloons, was shouting, "Get your portable steam storage tanks here! Only $5! Heat a house for 6 months in a cold climate." Another shoppe sold candies of every imaginable shape and colour.

The three of them were headed right for an amazing gallery. "Enigmatic Ernesto's Eclectic Emporium" was the sign above the seemingly open window. Someone leaning on the window appeared to be pantomiming rather than actually leaning as they were on a solid object. Glass so clear that it didn't have a refraction differential with ordinary air.

The first items Bozon saw were exquisite statues of creatures he had never imagined - each realistically recreated. There were jewelry displays with gemstones that produced their own internal light of varying colours. A wall of enormous landscape paintings with otherworldly scenes and painted with superb skill. The music coming from the open door was delightful and posh, reminding him of his most privileged days. Men and women, walking and talking animals of every type all dressed in fashions from practically nude to 50 lbs of clothing, jewellery and flare. Actual octopod waiters served trays with 100s of sweet and/or savoury delicacies from 1000's of different planets in 100's of different Oners - according to the sign.

Just as it looked like they were about to go in, Tine turned sharply and ducked into a storefront around the corner of the street into a clown shoppe. A 14' tall sad/angry clown sat awkwardly behind the desk. Only one item was for sale: a carpet bag.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:35, Tue 28 Jan 2020.

Bozon didn't know what a 'Gnome' was, but the small lady was certainly in charge here and he most assuredly knew what a librarian was. Temples of Virya Nia, Virya He-Enriath, Vaeran Ya-Epre, Vaeran Thumis, and Vaeran Ksarul almost invariably supported libraries and their caretakers in the region around them. On a trip to Javre as a boy, he'd seen a library dedicated to Virya Nanye and her handmaidens, though being male he had not felt especially welcome inside of it. The devout of the sun goddess were almost entirely women, just as those of Vaeran Ro-Sennpadr (war god of virtue - Sir Grarsa's patron deity as well as Nanye's closest theological ally) were almost exclusively men.

Mindful and even somewhat cowed by the librarian's authority here in her domain, the air-inflated barbarian tip-toed after his master and Jen making an over-acted attempt to be quiet as they made their way out.

This Nexus place was astounding to Hergot's eyes and ears. So many things! So many peoples! He didn't know what more than half the goods he was seeing were, or were even for, if they weren't clearly edibles. Statues crafted with the utmost care, of creatures or people he could put no name to even from mythology. Jewels of kinds unheard-of in Havony. Paintings that seemed to be worth a year's taxes in themselves. The most remarkable of folks brushing shoulders with each other. He saw balloons, which while not alive still reminded him poignantly of his condition and why he'd become Bozon. They also reminded him, once the children's adventuring was done, there was a knight back in King Samhradh's court who was eagerly looking forward to playing with him. Well, mind the kids, make sure they are safe and having fun first; struggle to keep from being popped later.

But the shop that they entered held something most surprising to him. Another clown. Of a kind different than his Burstbarian role, certainly, and perhaps of very different origins and cultural background. But still, a fellow funnyman. Probably far more experienced at it than he was, he immediately suspected, seeing as the fellow had his own shop with the theme.

Bozon blinked, looking left and right around himself with round-mouthed, wide-eyed expressions of surprise and curiosity. Only one thing for sale? How specialized was that? Or, perhaps, how poor was the shopkeeper? Hmm. He peered at the carpet bag, but watched Tine from the corner of his eye for any cues or guidance on how the boy wanted to proceed.


OOC: Thumis and Ksarul are Pavaric deities, the others mentioned are Rocto-CathSinnian gods. Nia, Ya-Epre, and He-Enriath have overlapping spheres of influence with regards to their roles as the gods of magic, though their other aspects diverge considerably - Nia governs "good" magic, Ya-Epre handles magic for the sake of magic, and He-Enriath oversees "dark" magic. Nia and Thumis are the main gods of (benevolent) knowledge for the two pantheons. He-Enriath's church puts a heavy emphasis on accurate and comprehensive education regardless of beliefs or religious alignment, while Ksarul's priests run the public schools in Fasiltumian communities and lands which they have subjugated.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:34, Tue 28 Jan 2020.

Tine asked the clown, "How much?"

"Fifty Thousand Days' wages!"

"Sorry, how much in currency?"

"Oh, well why didn't you say so!?"

"Will you tell me how much the bag costs?"

"Of course I will! ..."

"Well?!?"

"Patience, my son, patience! ..."

"We can buy a satchel if-"

"$50,000 and not a penny more!"

"Thank you." Tine reached into his coin purse and pulled out a gemstone. "Do you take Magem crystals?"

"Do I take crystals, the boy asks!"

"Well, this should cover it if you do." Tine handed the Magem crystal over to the clown, and reached for the bag.

"Just a moment! I need to take my stock out first." The clown opened the carpet bag, and pulled out a folded up carpet bag of identical patterns. He handed the folded up bag to Tine and said, "Well, thank you for your business, come again!"

They left the store, and Tine handed the folded up bag to Bozon. "Here you go! Open it!"

As Bozon opened it, he looked inside and saw nothing.

Tine instructed, "Now think of a clown-related item that you might want, and without looking, close your hand as if you were grabbing it."

Whatever item Bozon imagines, he pulls out.

"The bag is an hyper-dimensional storage facility with telepathic item retrieval. This one is pre-loaded with every clown related item in the currently known multiverse. Size isn't a problem, items too big for the mouth of the bag sort of expand on exiting the bag, and can be shoved back in the bag by placing the bag up against them. It's kind of like Jen's backpack, but specifically made for clowns. Do you like it?"

Bozon watched and listened to the exchange. A gemstone was being used as payment, which was something he entirely understood even if he lacked the knowledge to appraise their values.

The bag seemed intriguing. A clown-related item? Hmm.
He reached without looking, and pulled out a rabbit by the ears. The rabbit was holding a banana cream pie which nailed Bozon in the face. Then the bunny wiggled free of his grasp and dove back into the bag while the delighted barbarian blinked stupidly through dripping pie filling, playing along with the trick.

He listened intently to Tine's explanation while cleaning pie off his face and beard, gauchely licking gobs of it off of his hand between wipes. He'd have been soooo horrified to be caught doing something like this as himself, but as a barbarian horrible table manners seemed completely appropriate.

The bag was a what? All right, he understood 'storage' at least, and something about dimensions being involved. Some sort of magic that a proper Antratscheldor-haii would know more about than a bumbling fool like him, he thought.



He nodded vigorously and affirmatively, breaking into a broad grin. Any clown-related item? Not knowing the limits, nor having any real understanding of the scientific explanations that first Jen and now Tine used, the repentant king turned inflatable barbarian clown tried reaching in again without looking, remembering Sir Grarsa both as himself and as he was as the inflated fop of a clown he'd been when Hergot burst him. And praying for a miracle, still blissfully unaware that being popped wasn't deadly in and of itself.

Bozon managed to pull out an inflated clown doll that looked vaguely similar to Sir Grarsa, but was certainly not the man himself.

Jen and Tine laughed, Jen asking, "Were you trying to find a boyfriend?"


Later, the group meandered around Nexus taking in the sights and smells. After about an hour of being tourists in Nexus, turning down a small street they found themselves in a low rent sort of community. Suddenly a group of pirates came out of hiding and snatched both of the children, putting sleep-herb soaked cloths over their noses & mouths. Bozon was blindfolded and tied up, his carpet bag and instrument were kept out of his reach.

In reply to Narrator (msg # 27):



Bozon shook his head 'no' sadly, then paused, reconsidering, and nodded 'yes.' He wasn't at all sure how the children would take a pantomimed explanation of his guilt and regret. Better to go with a friendly misunderstanding, he decided.

He stuffed the doll back into the bag nonetheless.



Horrified by the sudden attack, and caught entirely by surprise, Bozon was chewing himself out in the silence of his head now that he was tied up and the children were in danger. In danger of what, he didn't know, but slavery was far from unknown in his world (there was even a god devoted to it), nor was child abuse of many kinds (which had no dedicated deity in either pantheon). He listened closely to anything he might overhear, and cautiously tested his strength on the cords binding him, wary of his inflatable nature complicating the exertion of his substantial muscles.

This is what he heard:
1 "What is it?"
2 "I heard about them. Semi-sentient balloon clowns. Jesters for royalty."
1 "You think the King will want it?"
2 "Worth a try"

Minutes of silence, then being moved around.

1 "$10 please"
3 "What?! For that!?"
2 "Don't you know what it's worth?"
3 "Of course I do! $9!"
1 "You're robbing us blind, mate!"
3 "Yeah yeah. What did you do with those kids?"
2 "We 'lost' them."
1 "Yeah, hehehe, lost."
3 "Oh well."

Being moved around and chains jingling. Being fitted with a bell-collar.
The blindfold is removed and a burly one-armed pirate with a hook says, "Don't even think of escaping. There's a spike in your collar that will go right through one side of that collar and out the other of I just flick one button. You belong to the Pirate King now. Be a good jester and he may let you go eventually. Fail to entertain, and you will be entertaining in other ways. Got it?" He untied and handed Bozon his bag of goodies and his instrument.

He didn't wait for a reply before opening wooden doors and going into a unique room. The walls and furniture were all constructed of a variety of guns, cannons and ammo, most of it gold-plated. A handsome man wearing a crown was sitting with his legs over the left arm of a gun-throne. He smiled when he saw Bozon and said, "Ah! Entertainment!" And he clapped in anticipation. There were lots of bored looking pirates standing around.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:46, Wed 29 Jan 2020.

Hmm. So, they had an idea of what he was, but seemed to be operating under the same kind of mistaken belief that he'd sadly held about the inflatable jesters for much too long. Had he been responsible for popularizing them to other worlds via tourists who visited his world?? That was an appalling, sickening thought that metaphorically twisted his guts in knots.

Tourists, though... his world had rules for interactions with them. The Watchers were quite strict about those, and limiting how much of the otherworldly ways tourists had were permitted to impact their world. Did Nexus have Watchers? If so, than one could hope that Jen at least would be protected by their laws, and that Tine would be held for ransom rather than be facing sacrifice on an altar as a princely spell component if a party of tourist adventurers missed their cues and didn't make a heroic entrance in time. He, on the other hand, seemed to be more vulnerable since he wasn't known to be a king as Bozon and wouldn't be held for ransom. But than, that was part of becoming a clown, facing the same dangers he'd put others through and not being recognized as himself. Hmm. Oh dear... Some of the other implications of that chain of thought struck him.

He heard the price, and couldn't suppress a grimace. He didn't know what kind of currency or value a "$" held or purchased, but it was not hard to follow the numbers used and see relative values here. He might be quite expensive to a court, but it seemed as if fencing him wasn't going to be very profitable for the pirates.


The bell-collar didn't surprise him too much, though he suspected it would very much get in the way if he were to be inflated a bit further. What the one-armed man said about a spike was more worrisome. Hergot knew that he was puncture-resistant, but for all he knew their magics might be much stronger than his enchantment. Such a spike would be quite lethal to his normal self, one would think. Unless he misunderstood something, which seemed quite possible. How did this man hold onto things or flick buttons, with only the one arm ending in a hook rather than a hand?

Yet, somehow he untied Bozon and handed him his belongings. Interesting. The barbarian followed him into the astonishingly golden room. Guns were unknown to him as such, presuming that they were a form of wand, but he definitely recognized that it was a theme in the décor and probably meant something. What, he didn't know.

On the other hand, all this metal said that he wouldn't be able to use his cantrips in here. Would the bag still work? He'd have to find out the hard way. There was an audience in here, too... the pirate king's court? Well, well, well. It appeared he had work to do before he could set out to find the children and ensure their safety. Much as he looked forward to facing the risks of being pumped up until he shared his victim's explosive fate, the safety of others was paramount over his own pangs of guilt.

Bowing to the crowned man on his throne, he fell over on his face like a clumsy idiot (intentionally), and tried to use that fall as a distraction to pull some kind of funny prop out of the bag. Let it decide what, if anything, he withdrew and saw in his hand when he got up.