⇨ NPC MEET & GREET

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 76 - Day 78
Where: The Carnival
What: A gaggle of NPCs have arrived at the carnival to help with the acquisition of the Silver Mirror. There is an investigation thread for casual NPC interactions, and the rest will be handled in expositional megathreads.
Warnings: Nothing in particular!

HERE BEHIND YOU↴ As promised by the Ringmaster, near the end of the week there will be a number of guests arriving. All of them have encountered the carnival before in a variety of ways - you may have met them, or they may have been before your time. Either way, there are here to help. They owe the carnival a favour, after all. They are around for specific reasons, which will be carried out in the form of a couple conversational megathreads, but beyond that you are free to ask them questions in the investigation thread. ► THE DWARF FAMILY: This trio of dwarves (pictures here) are the heart and soul of the Worldwalker Caravan, aka the merchants that came to entertain the carnival during their solstic vacation on the moon. Brunis is a master tinkerer, Brauni is a master blacksmith, and Bal is a master chef. All of them are capable of creating amazing things, and if necessary they may be willing to do a few commissions for the carnival. ► SHIMMER & SCALD: A pair of escaped Winter Court changelings who used to belong to a fae called the Mother of Invention, and are now part of the Worldwalker Caravan. Shimmer is the more vocal of the two, and was apparently one of the Mother's top scientists before she fled. For obvious reasons, neither of them want the Winter Court to win the day. ► RAPH THE NEPHILIM: Mostly known for the fact that she was the brewer of the healing draughts that the carnival bought on mass from the Caravan during solstice. She uses her angelic powers to create and restore angelic artifacts, and knows a bit about angelic history. She's also had more direct experience with the Nephilim lifestyle than most. ► MOSS THE CHANGELING: Another changeling seeking refuge within the Caravan, she mostly gave the impression of being from the Summer Court. Unfortunately, whatever she went through seems to have traumatized her, leaving her so socially anxious that she struggles to carry on normal conversations. For those that met her, seeing her come out to the carnival in such a small group may come as a surprise. ► ALYSS & REYNA: A rabbit girl and a fox girl who were first encountered as starcrossed lovers under the tyrannical rule of the Prince. The efforts of the carnival helped to free them and the rest of the Manor servants, and instead of seeking refuge in the Summerlands, they chose to travel with the Caravan. They are mostly here on a social call, eager to say hello and lend what aid they can to the people who saved their lives. ► PRUDENCE & DAMIEN: The odd ducks out, these two are actually not from the Caravan at all! Instead, they are from Portland, in the version of earth that the carnival was trapped in for a month almost half a year ago. They were allies with the carnival during their efforts to break the barrier trapping them, and now, somehow, they've arrived at the carnival. Prudence is notably another nephilim, and the holder of a powerful angelic artifact called the Hand of God. Damien is her partner in crime and a warlock, or something.

Comments

[npcarnival]

"Yeah," Raph says, "but she's saying that the Heaven from her world is the exact same brand as the big one, as opposed to just a derivative like a bunch of the other ones. It's, like, one step removed instead of three or four steps removed. Which means all of you guys with angel auras are only one step removed, too."

"Lucky for you, this means she actually knew about Lilith, and has experienced her personally," Pru goes on. "Lilith is still active around the multiverse, so it sounds like the thrill wore off a long time ago. She probably only checks back on her personal project once in a thousand years."

[kingsroads]

Well that's the best news Strange has heard so far—and something less jargony that he can actually understand. All this talk of heavens and more heavens and hells is so far outside of his realm of interest that he's not being his normal chatty self that he would be if people were mentioning the fae.

"So if we're lucky, we won't have to deal with Lilith herself." There's a pause, before, "Of course, when have we ever been that lucky to begin with?"

[npcarnival]

"Mhmm," Pru agrees grimly. "In my experience... no matter how rare an occurrence, your objective will probably intersect with it. But at least it means there's a chance. The seraph told me that she collects beasts intermittently - which probably means that she replenishes the population, on occasion."

"And so," the Ringmaster continues for her, "the idea is that we will take the forms of animals, slip in, and pretend to be of new stock. I entered once myself to take a look around, with Pru's assistance - and I have a plan."

[espigeon]

Julien wants to ask about this seraph, but he knows that whether or not he's heard about her it'll be uncomfortable. His impressions of the seraph Iuliael was mouthpiece for are very strange.

"Does Lilith monitor things, you think, or have... beasts there that can get in contact?" He shrugs a doubled shoulder. "I mean it probably doesn't matter, don't want to stand out even if we get lucky. So, what's the plan?"

If the Ringmaster got in the residents probably don't stop and vet every new arrival. Probably.

[npcarnival]

"It's like I said," the Ringmaster says. "We act as if we are the expected arrivals, and integrate with society. Then, we use the opportunity to find the location of the Mirror, acquire it, and then escape."

"No idea if she can monitor the place," Pru says. "The fact that the Ringmaster didn't already summon them by entering seems to imply they doesn't though."

[whattaprick]

Turning into animals sounds like a terrible idea, considering what happened the last time he turned into one, but Lambert’s face stays stony — even if his curling tail betrays his discomfort.

“I don’t usually think ‘creative’ when I think of ‘animals,’” he says slowly. “How’s the place run? What are they like, so we know how to act?”

He can’t help grimacing at the last word. Some of them are really, really bad actors.