The Troupe Erasmus

**The Troupe Erasmus** is a mystical traveling carnival that journeys across the planes showcasing an ever-changing variety of performances, plays, operas, freak shows, high displays of illusion, and related carnival acts. It is said to count, among its ranks, some of the most gifted bards, illusionists, fortune tellers and exotic animal trainers in all the multiverse. The troupe is led by the legendary master carney Caelor Xilostacia, and the troupe's perennial star headliner is a vocalist known only as "Jorl." (pronounced "YAWL")

Legend has it that The Troupe Erasmus never stops in exactly the same place twice, and rarely visits the same plane more than once in a generation. While purported sightings are widespread and numerous, The Troupe Erasmus always seems to stay one step ahead of the many bards and roadies who chase it - most doing so in the hopes of one day joining its ranks. In most cases, reports of its sighting do not begin to spread from where it was last seen until the carnival has already packed up and left town - gone with no trace. So mysterious and ephemeral is The Erasmus, that some bards - usually those who have struggled to track it for decades, without ever managing to catch up to it - have professed that the troupe is no more than a colorful myth.

#### **Behind the Curtain**

   Despite its fantastical mystique and the dense shroud of mystery that surrounds it, The Troupe Erasmus does truly exist, as an actual plane-hopping magical carnival. Its ringleader and chief figurehead, Caelor Xilostacia, touts it as "the greatest show of all-time-anywhere;" a common carnival barker's boast. But, in the case of The Troupe Erasmus, it's quite possible that the claim may be true. Rumors and tall tales abound that describe the arrival of the Erasmus in a new locale - usually at the outer fringe of a remote town or village, or on the furthest outskirts of a larger city - as holding its host community in thrall for the duration of their stay, and long after they've disappeared back into the ether. Indeed, seeing The Troupe Erasmus perform is considered to be such a once-in-a-lifetime event, that few can resist passing up the opportunity. However, to witness The Erasmus perform is to fall helplessly, if not blissfully, under their spell.

Even upon visiting the very spot at which the carnival's encampment was believed to have set up and performed, there is never found a trace of evidence that they were ever there. It has proven utterly impossible to Scry on the Erasmus, or to find the troupe by way of Discern Location or similar divinations. Even the rocks and plants - and the very air itself - seem to be unaware that they ever existed, or were ever present. Powers like Psychometry and Lore of the Worlds have proven to be entirely useless at revealing anything whatsoever about them.

Explanations and conspiracies to explain this and other illusions, enchantments, and related phenomena abound. Some claim that the Erasmus are simply skilled at using magic to cover their tracks. Others say that, so powerfully-talented are they, that they're able to bribe the very fabric of reality itself into keeping their secrets. Other theories are yet more far-fetched, with one claiming that the reason nobody is able to follow their trail is that The Erasmus is actually "traveling backwards through time," such that powers which look into the past can have no effect - because "after they've gone, they haven't got there just yet."

Regardless, it seems that the only way to gain any information about the troupe or its members is to attend and witness an actual performance - and even then, the results have been mixed. Most witnesses recall little more than the wonder and astonishment they felt while watching a performance, and are unable to remember any but the most obscure of details. They can recall much about the astonishing quality of the acts and performances, and may remember some general themes and stage concepts - but they seem fully incapable of remembering specific plots, songs or storylines. At times, two witnesses will even report having seen different versions of the same performance, even when seated right next to each other.

Almost every aspect of the troupe and its attractions are shrouded in this type of "memory fog," or fraught with such contradictions. In fact, the only constant seems to be that, upon leaving a performance of The Erasmus, the money pouches and pocket books of every member of the audience are empty, and any valuables they may have carried are found to be gone. Just as strangely, perhaps, this always seems to be a minor point of the anecdote, with most marks being far more focused on how fortunate they feel to have witnessed such a spectacle than the fact that it left them quite penniless. Those who do manage to recall the hazy circumstances of their loss do not claim to have been pickpocketed or robbed; but instead, recall flowers, coins, gems, and pieces of jewelry raining down onto the stage, as crowds of frenetic spectators emptied their pockets, pitching every object of value they had on their person toward a falling red curtain.

Luckily, to date, the Troupe Erasmus has never been accused of anything more devious than fleecing its customers, all of whom claim to have visited the carnival of their own free will - but this, it seems, they manage to do exceedingly well.

#### **Notable Figures**

   The ringleader and Master of Ceremonies of The Troupe Erasmus is the legendary master carney Caelor Xilostacia. He is reputed to be one of the most powerful bards in all the planes, and is himself, one of the troupe's most talented artists. Witness accounts vary with regard to the nature and breadth of his skills, with some touting him as a great actor and author of plays, others claiming that he is a master illusionist, and yet others pegging him as some kind of outsider with powerful psionic abilities. All report that he takes the appearance of a handsome elf with shoulder-length dark brown hair, who looks to be about two hundred years old.

The longstanding headliner of The Troupe Erasmus is an etherial fey of celestial beauty known only as "Jorl." Jorl is a vocalist of the highest calibre, purported by some to have "the most perfect and haunting singing voice in all the worlds, known and unknown." Jorl's operatic performances are nothing short of legend, and they are known to entrance even the most critical ear. Many have tried to bolster themselves against what it surely a powerful bardic effect; but so far, no one who can honestly claim to have heard Jorl's soaringly complex soprano vocalizations has been left anything short of mesmerized. It is said that the only way to avoid falling under the thrall of Jorl's voice is to avoid ever hearing it. Rumors as to who (or what) Jorl is run the gamut; with some claiming that "she" is a nymph, others claiming that "he" is an Aasimar, and still others suggesting that Jorl is some long-dead spirit of song, or the as-yet-unknown aspect of a goddess or demigod.