Session 18

Back to previous session - Session 17

## Session 18 - The Harrowed Realm, Part 1

Last game, you guys were ripped into a portal created by a strange deck of cards, and wound up in front of what looks like a circus. The six of you, and the damnable deck of harrowing cards that brought you here, all tumble to the ground. The portal - along with your view of the ship - winks away with a fading crackle of magical power. About 50 feet away from you, in front of a small tent, and next to a few wagons, what looks like a bunch of anthropomorphic crows in brightly colored clothes are beating up on some hapless dude in shabby clothes. Hmm... that might actually be a murder, not a bunch.

Springing to action, the party easily overwhelmed the tengu clowns. Their victim stammers out his thanks and dashes away.

After dealing with the Crow-Clown Tengus, Maggey and Dave retired to an empty carnival wagon to get some rest and recharge their spells.

Sam, Erin, Paul and Lazer let curiosity get the better of them and ventured into the creepy big top tent. Inside, a stony-skinned giant was juggling all manner of odd things (cakes, axes, watermelons, a baby elephant), while four brown bears in silly hats unicycled in circles around him. None of them seemed very happy about the situation. The crowd booed lazily, but began to cheer and whistle when the three humans and their elven friend entered the tent. The crowd, sensing the opportunity for something new, goaded the giant and the bears into fighting the newcomers.

The fight didn't go the way the crowd had planned. The giant threw a cake (a pound cake, apparently) at Erin, who managed to duck and watch it rip through the fabric of the tent after sailing by. The four bears charged the humans on their unicycles, still looking ridiculous despite their huge teeth and outstretched claws. Paul managed to redirect one of the bears with a short-range teleportation spell, while Erin fast-talked the bears with her animal empathy. In a moment's notice she had the bears convinced that eating the crowd would be much more fun than eating her and her friends. The bears raced into the stands on their unicycles, and began running amok, much to the delight of anyone at least twenty feet from a bear at any given time.

With the bears out of the way, the group focused their firepower on the giant, who went down in a heap after dealing a few harsh blows to Sam, Paul and Lazer.

A slow clap sounded through the tent, and they saw a crocodile-headed Rakshasa addressing them from a gilded cage appointed with an extravagant tea setting, cozy chairs, and a couch composed of kneeling people.

This was clearly Benanditi the Ringmaster. The group demanded Benanditi's token, but he warned them from violence by explaining that his token was cleverly hidden. A challenge of wits was offered, and Paul and Benanditi began dueling, with Paul getting help from Erin and one of the bears. Paul won swiftly thanks to Benanditi being caught by the absolute nature of the word "invariably", and Benanditi poured the token out of his tea cup with only a minor amount of sour grapes.

The rakshasa told the group that they are always welcome to come back to the circus, and should feel free to find shelter there.

Continue to Session 19