lostcarnival | ⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 178 - B1: Day 6
Where: The Carnival and sometimes on top of the Heart of Stone.
What: Now that the Prince is dead and gone, there's a lot left to sort out. As the remaining servants are liberated and those captured by the Prince are tended to, it's time for recovery and goodbyes.
Warnings: Nothing in particular.

HOME GROUND↴

At long last, it is over. The Prince is dead, and all of his stolen Names have been restored - all that's left to do is treat the wounds and move on. For the first day or two, the Ringmaster will be arranging passage for the servants that are left, all of which have remembered their names for the first time in years. The earth elemental that had been trapped and forced to serve as the Prince's manor, the Heart of Stone, is happy to help for the moment. It appreciates the Ringmaster's mercy, and is free after untold eons of imprisonment.

Yet, there are plenty of aspects that are far from simple. There are still servants left mad and transformed into beasts, with no easy way to change them back. The Prince's spells outlive him, and those bearing his poison and his curses will have a difficult road ahead of them. Though most of the bestial servants have been rounded up, and a large number that had been reduced to unmoving statues returned, even the Ringmaster can't return them to normal so simply.

The next week is for rest and for settling remaining affairs. If you want to bid farewell to any particular NPCs, or assure care is given where it's needed, now is the time to do it.

► A CURE: The Ringmaster will tell everyone simply - there is no simple way to undo another fae's magic. The Prince's powers were essentially on par with hers, which means that those who have been transformed to stone and those that were cursed into beasts and driven insane are not something she can trivially fix. It will take the work of the carnival and a couple weeks of treatment to shed the curse of stone, and the maddened servants are an entirely separate matter. She will do what she can, but for the most part she is arranging for the Prince's servants to be cared for elsewhere. At least for now, the Ringmaster will be animating the stone portions of people's bodies with magic, though those portions will still be a bit clumsy and numb feeling.

► THE NEW HEARTSTONE: In the absence of the prince, the Heart of Stone will be taking over the remains of the Prince's realm and preventing it from collapsing into void. As it turns out, the manor had been an earth elemental all along - a form of Wyld Fae almost on par to the Prince and Ringmaster themselves. How the Heart of Stone was enslaved is a long story presumably, but the Ringmaster considers it to be a sign of the Prince's own depravity. The Heart will be allowing visitors for the first couple days of this period through the portal, but keep in mind you are essentially just walking around on its body. At least the realm has a floor, now, instead an endless abyss surrounding it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She'll have had a bit of a struggle climbing up there, but would have angrily protested if he suggested flying down. The three weight-bearing toes on each foot can't quite grip and are a smaller surface than a human foot. The big curved claw can grip and is sharp enough to hook into a rope, and she has patiently built her upper arm strength. Scout put a lot of effort into working around changes in her body and knew she could manage. It just took longer than she'd like.

Even his wings are under some strain, or more than usual. Joker looks terrible.]

I'm... I'm sorry, Joker. I shouldn't have involved you.

Ha... [Keeping himself up as much as he'd like to flop back into his makeshift nest- it seems just rough enough that he'd get scolded for it- Joker smiles wearily.] I made my own choices, didn't I...?

There's no need ta apologize. I knew the kind of trouble that could happen.

Still. I was so excited to have an idea. I wanted to actually do something, and not just react.

[Scout's actually tearing up a little. She notices and swipes her wrist across her eyes.]

You could have died.

[Oh boy, he is way too poisoned right now. That doesn't stop Joker from leaning over, lightly patting at Scout's shoulder.]

Hey, hey.... Coulda died at any point that night, or in the days right after it, probably.

Besides, I was lookin' for somethin' ta do myself. It would have happened one way or the other.

[You can see her realizing that he did die, in the second hunt, and wincing.]

I know you knew the risks. [There's an unspoken 'but' there.] Didn't I try and make sure of that, beforehand?

Then ya did all ya could. [Carelessly, he shrugs, and goes to lay back down.] It was a stroke of bad luck that I got caught. Just how it is.

You're calm about this, but I'm not.

[She's wiping her face with some gauze, and ungracefully blowing her nose.]

I'm just so glad you came back.

Well, that might be the poison.

[It's probably the poison. And his ability to aggressively repress emotions for as long as it takes. Smiling wearily, he pets the blankets besides him.]

Just rest for a bit. Ya can take a break for five minutes, yeah?

Maybe.

[Scout's already cried over people coming back from the manor. There's no hint of shame about it in her; she feels things strongly and it shows and that means sometimes crying about things. She's less expressive than she was back in her first year here, though.]

I guess. I mean... it's going to get better.

There ya go. Ain't much there's no solution for, s'what I've learned workin' here.

[At least, from the limited perspective he has to admit that he came to the Carnival with. Sure, he'd been a bit more relaxed than some folks of his country and time. When you've lived on the fringes, in the gutters, then, well, Joker likes to think one becomes a little more empathetic to others in similar situations. But that hadn't accounted for everything else the carnival is and what he's learned.]

[Hell, he has a wooden arm that moves about as well as flesh. How's that for science?]

The Ringmaster wouldn't have put folks ta the task if she thought it was beyond us, yeah?

A few things. But you already know about those.

[Most of the people in the carnival have seen death or lost someone important, it's no secret Scout is one of them. Last time she was here she was very willing to talk about them.]

Well, you know how that went better than I do. But anyway. [She wipes her eyes again and raises her head, taking the segue.] What about that task of learning to meditate?

[In want of something lighter, Joker just whines. Long, and drawn out, and bratty.]

I'm poisoned. I don't think I got the brains ta meditate.

⇨ THE PRINCE IS DEAD

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