The ferryman collected the silvers, spat on the ground one more time and then loaded up the ferry. He poled across the river, judging by the depth it was probably a couple feet deep. It was slow going as the man wasn't in any hurry but the river wasn't very wide and after a few minutes it bumped up against the opposite shore.

The ferryman didn't say anything to the departing passengers but did point towards the waiting half-orc.

"They want me to say that this here'll be your guide fer yer visit."

And with that simple and sharp statement the ferryman began poling back across to the other side again.

At the ferryman's introduction, the half-orc dropped into a low and sweeping bow.  "Torgan Dul, at your service!"  He introduced himself brightly.  Torgan hardly needed to be pointed out, as there was slim chance of him being mistaken for a local.
Besides his obvious orcish heritage, he was dressed as the very picture of a warrior bard; studded leather trimmed with fine-looking furs, a flowing cloak held down by the shield strapped to his back, and all of it painted in deep reds and bright orange.  "As the fine ferryman told you, I am here to serve as your party's escort through the town, and your guide to the amusements, entertainments, and genuine wonders of the Umbral Carnival!"

Losing some of his initial theatricality, Torgan shrugged.  "Not our usual way of doing things, I'm afraid, but necessary here.  Otherwise you fine folks might get caught up by Ravenmoor's legendary hospitality, and never make it to the carnival at all!" As he motioned for the others to follow him through the village, Torg added quietly (But loud enough for everyone to hear,)  "...Or anywhere else..."

"While we walk, does anyone have any questions?  I'm sure you've all heard of the games, the shows, the fantastic beasts and exceptional individuals on display.  That's why you came all this way!  But is there anything in particular that's grabbed your curiosity?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:01, Mon 02 July 2018.

"What kind of games are these, and can anyone participate?" Verna asked the colorful half orc.

"Ah, the usual assortment of midway games, plus a few you might not have seen.  You can test your might against our strongman, or your wits against Madame Masque's illusions.  If you fancy yourself a good Nine Man's Morris player, we've a master who will beat you for a copper a game.  There's a Harrow reader for anyone foolish enough to want to know their own future, and a machine that just, like...fuckin'...electrocutes you."

Torgan walked in silence for a second, looking as baffled as anyone by the last attraction.  He didn't really know of a way to explain the Wizard's Test machine without making it sound like the stupidest thing ever.

"Oh, and ring toss!  All open to anyone who wishes to try them.  Though," He added, nodding to the huge wolf trotting along with the group, "Your furry friend might struggle with a few of the games."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:18, Mon 02 July 2018.

"Don't worry, Garrick makes his game, his game. Doubt I'd ever get him to toss a ring. But it's worth a try." Verna smirked.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:30, Fri 27 July 2018.

Talla walked close enough to listen to the conversation, but far away not to participate. She had no interest in the carnival, and truthfully, she road the caravan because it was the easiest and fastest way out of town. She did, however, have to admit that a little fun wouldn't hurt, and it might make for a good distraction.

She watched Verna and the half-orc discuss the games, and eyed them from afar. She watched her other companions as well, seeing how they interacted now that they were no longer riding through the uncomfortable, bug-infested swamplands. They had been tolerable on the ride, but now was a chance to see if they were worth more of her time. As such, she made a point to stay in the background--at least until they reached the excitement.

Ryn looked the half-orc over when they got close enough. One raised eyebrow was the only indication of anything. "Thank you." He followed along, listening to the half-orc prattle on about the carnival's attractions - it was why he was here after all. He frowned at the description of a game that electrocutes.

The halfling rider was fascinating. Not that a halfling in and of itself was unusual - he'd seen his fair share. But one that rode a wolf? That wasn't common to him.

"I look forward to sampling the attractions. I hope they are diverting." He sniffed. "And there is a...tent...city...for accommodations we have been told?"

The trip to the carnival cuts right through the center of Ravenmoor. From the icy stares the villagers give the group to the rundown and ramshackle buildings that this is about as far from civilization as one can get before just living in the wilds.

The group passes through the center of town where a few signs display pictures instead of words. One has a faded picture of a ball of yarn, another has the famous striped red pole of a barber and another doesn't have a sign but does have an old rusty anvil out front and the sound of smithing coming from inside is unmistakable. Most curious is the abandoned looking church rotting away near the center of town.

Pushing past that the group passes by a manor on a hill. Clearly the largest and wealthiest house in the entire town given its two-story frame and freshly painted siding.

Past that hill one can see the circus. The juxtaposition of the quiet and sleepy town compared to the bustling carnival is quite alarming. It would appear that the carnival alone had brought more workers than the entire village had people in it but it had also seemed to attract a swarm of travelers given how populated the "tent city" already was that was forming just outside the entrance.

OOC: Refer to the map legend page for more details about Ravenmoor and the carnival

When Verna shes the crumbling church, she excuses herself to ride towards it. When she gets to it's entrance, she dismounts and puts down the lance he had been holding against her shoulder.

She examines the church and who it belonged to. How it was built; what material and design. And tries to figure out how long it has been abandoned.

Amara hummed quietly, letting Torgan ramble about the games while the others talked. She had to admit a few of them sounded fun and she wondered how she would match up to the strongman or the illusion challenge. The idea of being electrocuted... not so much. People sometimes enjoyed the weirdest things. Carnivals where still fairly new to her, a decidedly human thing compared to the festivals of her home city.

"Huh, wonder who the idiot that decided to host at Ravenmoor was. This place seems decidedly not in the mood for a carnival."

Her eyes absently followed Verna and vaguely considered going with her but decided against it for now, albeit if they couldn't roll out bedrolls at the Mayor's house the church certainly seemed an acceptable camping spot.

As Verna rides off to the church, Talla hesitates, then follows on foot. Glancing around the church from the 'entrance'. She is curious how it feel into disrepair, and eventually says to herself, "Even the gods are abandoned."

She wonders who this holy temple once belonged to.

Karella found herself walking next to Amara, "Most likely, this is the only town that offered to host the carnival instead of charging them a tax to be at there city." The elven wizard kept up with the pace of the group. "Profits before comfort."

Picking up his stride a bit to catch up with the halflings, Torgan couldn't help but smile at the elves' discussion.  "An interesting theory," he remarked to Karella.  "But most villages around here would gladly pay to host the Umbral Carnival.  Entertainment aside, a festival means travelers, and travelers mean coin.  Whatever reason we've come here, it wasn't for a tax break."

Torgan's tone was knowing, as if he enjoyed watching the others try to figure it a mystery he had already solved.  But truth be told, he was as confused as anyone.  The going explanation among the crew was that their manager had simply misread a map and picked in a bad location.  But that didn't quite sound right to Torg.  Personally, he had to suspect Jherizhana had something to do with it.  The one thing he knew about sphinxes was that they were dangerous and mysterious, and this certainly felt like a mysterious and dangerous place to set up shop...

Ravenmoor was not the most welcoming of places, neither from its people nor its buildings. The people were not hostile, per se, but certainly not friendly. The town couldn't even be 'coined' eccentric - just backwater and not a good place to visit. Even their church had seen better days! Though there was that manor...

He glanced after the Halfling who went to examine the church, shortly (no pun intended) followed by the second Halfling as well. He hoped none of the townsfolk saw. Given their 'hospitality' thus far, he didn't think they'd take kindly to someone poking in to their business.

He glanced at Amara, and the others as well, and nodded his agreement. "Not the best nor most advantageous place to hold a carnival. Too many people won't want to make the trip out here, I imagine." He then shook his head. "But these townspeople seem more interested in seeing less of us, not more people arriving. Curious."

Moggrim had been at the back of the group the entire time.  Not cause he didn't want company or wanted to watch everything with a critical and grim eye...no...he was a Dwarf and he simply walked slower and it took him a few more moments to obtain definition of what he was looking at.  The others from the caravan knew that he had been wearing a pair of smoked goggles during the day ever since they first met.  He'd told a short tale or two early on when asked about his home and they all originated from Nar-Voth beneath his home in Kravenkus.  They also found that that at night he could see far more clearly and to a much farther distance than anyone else so the reason for one and the linkage to the other wasn't a difficult thing to connect.

So now his goggle covered eyes lingered on the smithy, the church and others seemingly more interested with the place than the people living there...either because they were hard to see through the dark goggles and thus he focused on larger things or he didn't care.  His comrades from the caravan knew it was likely the former even though he was the only Dwarf in a band of Elves and Halflings that liked to talk a lot so he added a little to it finally with his bass voice, "No inn means little to no coin for them to earn from the Carnival being here.  Lots of noise and strange folk and no return other than trouble to their eyes.  If anyone is making money it's the mayor."

"Despite all the opinions and intricacies of who benefits from this the most, in my experience the easiest solution is often the right one. In this case, someone was an idiot."

Amara gave a little shrug and flashed both Karella and Torgan an impish smile, hands lazily hooked on her belt by her swords as she walked taking in the oh so horrible view. Seriously, who chose this place?

"In many cases I would suggest looking below the surface, perhaps its true in this case as well. But a lot of the woes in life are very simply idiocy that people try to dress up as evil or greed."

Talla looks back at their companions, then back at Verna. "Find what you are looking for?" She calls over. She pulls her hood back to see her surroundings better, keeping her hand on the hilt of her sword, ready for anything.

OOC: Knowledge checks failed

Verna and the others look at the abandoned church and other symbols around the village but whatever gods were venerated seem long since fallen out of favor. At some point one abandoned church looks the same as the next...

---

Passing by the large manor the group crests over a ridge and the carnival itself comes into focus. Directly in front is a field that is dominated by a large big top circus tent. Right now it seems that there isn't a performance going on but it will surly be a grand sight when the evening performances start.


To the immediate left is a long series of tents with colorful lights and mechanical noises. It seems quite busy despite the early morning and the sounds of laughter and chatter come up from the crowds.


In between the mass of tents and the big top is a series of cages arranged in a maze-like fashion. From a distance it is clear that animals of various sizes and shapes are present and on display.


To the immediate right of the big top is a smaller (but still quite large) tent. A stage has been set up in front of it and a barker is calling out to those passing by. Various banners and pictures are on display but from this distance it's hard to make out what they say.


Finally to the far right and farthest away from the big top is another cluster of wagons and people. It looks like merchants have set up shop stalls and are hawking various wares at the visitors as well as trying to rope in curious villagers.

"Nope" Verna calls back. She doesn't find anything out about the church but feels it a great shame to have such a building just fail into ruin. The people here clearly have lost their gods. Or want to keep it a secret. She stands up from examining what once was the inner sanctum of the church and went back to her wolf, Garrick, which was unceremoniously peeing on the outer wall of the church. "The gods are clearly gone from here if you feel confident enough to do that here." she says to her wolf.
Verna still looks around to see any random events that might strike her wolf down. A random lightning strike, a loose elephant from the carnival, mysterious flying bricks, stray arrow... etc...

Verna picks up the lance and says to Garrick:"Alright, you.. let's go see this carnival. see if we can't find something interesting." she pushes Garrick towards,the carnival and hops in the saddle. "See you there Talla. she waves good bye as the wolf trots towards the smell.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:29, Fri 27 July 2018.

"With all the sights here, it won't take long for something to catch your eye as you wander." Torgan replied, adjusting his path slightly, so that he walked in front of Verna as she brought her wolf to a trot.  It was casual enough to be unintentional, but would slow the tiny cavalier down just enough to hear Torgan's pitch before getting to far ahead.  "Or!  Stick with me, and see the best the Carnival has to offer.  After all, I've a whole day with nothing to do but guide you fine folks, and I know these attractions like the back of my hand!  I know which are the real wonders and which are..." Torg looked around quickly, before lowering his voice with a conspiratorial grin "Y'know.  Less genuine."

"Not that well-travelled adventurers like you wouldn't spot most of the shmuck-bait anyways, but either way this sort of thing is always more fun with friends."

Continuing onto the grounds with anyone who hadn't walked off in the middle of his spiel, the half-orc carny pointed towards the smaller, secondary tent.  "The main show starts in an hour, but any pro will tell you that a carnival's heart is in the sideshow.  Rare artifacts, outlandish talents, and even..."

For the last item, Torgan's voice took on an air of over-the-top awe and wonderment.  Waving his hands in a "Ta-Da!" gesture, he announced:

"...An orc!"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:46, Fri 06 July 2018.

"Alright. Let's see these side-shows." Karella said with a smile on her face. She turned to the side and began to make a path for one of the colorful tent. "Let's see what genuine sights we shall see."

Verna let Torgan slow her down and the wolf fell into step with the Torgan. She might as well accompany them to the side shows.

"I'm amazed they kept the orc alive, how horrifying."

Amara chimes to the obvious half-orc in a droll and sarcastic tone as she follows along with the party, looking around with a wry smile. Hopefully this 'side show' at least was interesting lest her trip be entirely wasted, and perhaps she could do well in a few games of skill.

Talla moved to follow Verna, albeit at a much slower pace. She catches up to Torgan and the group and continues to listen to the description of what was to come. She intended on allowing Torgan to guide her, at least for now.

The entrance to the sideshow was full of faded but still colorful and fanciful banners advertising the various acts and sights inside. There were also several marked "TOO DANGEROUS FOR THE FAINT OF HEART, INQUIRE WITHIN".

The barker at the entrance gave a nod to Torgan and addressed the group.

"Well ordinarily it would cost you five coppers to get inside but because you're under the care of my pal Torgan, you can each get a look inside for a mere copper piece."

---

Inside the group first sees a sword swallower. The Varisian man smiles and then arches his head back before inserting an entire longsword up to the jeweled hilt down his throat.

Moving along there is a fire display as a sensual looking woman twirls a torch around her body before placing the lit torch into her mouth, snuffing it out. She gives a grin and then breaths the fire back onto the torch lighting it up once again.

Next up is a "freak" advertised as the Human Stump. It seems to be a poor man who lost both arms and legs and now waddles around his little stage on his stumps. He is quite agile and there is a little obstacle course where using the nubs from his arms and legs he is able to crawl through tunnels or climb over a short wall.

The next performer is the bearded lady, a barrel chested woman who sings out the beginnings of an opera (with a moderate degree of skill) while having a long but fairly whispy beard.

A couple of the stages are empty with signs reading "OUT TO LUNCH" or "BE BACK SOON".

A few more stages would probably be entertaining for commoners but for more wordly travelers is fairly mundane. The "Demon" is little more than a Chelaxian tiefling with additional make up to look especially fearsome. The "elven ranger" is actually probably more like a half-elf who can hit a bullseye from 15 feet away and the "swamp witch" looks to be more just like an old woman who can cast a few cantrips to create puffs of smoke and sulfur from her cauldron.

The remaining are again filled with physical oddities and other strange performers. An unusually tall and thin man, a set of conjoined twins attached at the shoulder and a profoundly ugly man (a combination of bad looks and what looks to be a horrific accident or attack) and the sign professes that he is indeed the world's ugliest man.

Finally the group reaches the end where there is a second barker ready for them.

"Hey, I can see that you're the kind of group with the stomach for real adventure. I don't say this to everyone though. To the kids and the faint of heart I just wave them on by but you look like the sort that can stomach true terror. Horrible monsters from around the world are inside but we have to keep it separate to avoid too many people dying from fright! I see you've got my friend Torgan showing you around. Tell you what, normally it's three silvers each to get in but I'll let you get inside for just a single silver each if you promise not to tell anyone else I was showing you that kind of discount. A man's gotta eat at the end of the day, am I right or what?"