Flaming Tiger Carnival

The Flaming Tiger Carnival were a group of performers encountered outside of Farrelstadt in the 4th chapter of The Rising Dawn, The Carnival of the Damned. The Carnival called upon the aid of The Dawnbringers after their contortionist, Florence Duarte, seemingly died and came back to life, but not entirely herself.

**(SPOILERS BELOW)**

### History

Eight years prior to the events of the campaign, Ramin Zareii and Bryn Gibbs decided to move on from the circus troupe they had ben working with after some disagreements with the Ringmaster. Whilst in the city of Erran, they met Semele Tassouli who was fleeing from her own problems and Loukash, who had gotten into trouble within an underground fighting ring for refusing to throw a match. The four came to an agreement, stole a few caravans from the circus and set off travelling together to build their own troupe of performers over the years.

### Members

*Ramin Zareii* - The Fire Genasi Ringmaster whom the Carnival was named after due to his stripe-like markings and stunning fire dance performances. 2 months prior to the events of the chapter, the real Ramin was killed and replaced by a Cambion who planned to slowly overtake the Carnival with more fiends to lure souls to the Abyss.

Whilst the party never got to meet him, it was understood that all the other performers thought highly of the real Ramin, especially his best friend Bryn.

*Bryn Gibbs* - A Halfling Wizard with proficiency in creating dazzling illusions. After the events of the chapter, he was chosen as the new Ringmaster by the Carnival and gifted the Dawnbringers with a few simple rewards for their aid.

*Loukash* - The Leonin Strongman of the Carnival. Loukash drew suspicion from the party after multiple people stated he had been acting out of character recently, later finding out that he had been killed and possessed by a strange kind of fiend called a Dybbuk.

*Kian O'Garvey* - A Half-orc/Half-triton Knife Thrower who the party helped gain the courage to propose to his now fiancé, Evie.

*Evie Amarante* - Evie is a dark skinned Satyr with small horns and doe legs who assists Kian's act. She warmed quickly to the party, readily sharing her information on the strange goings on within the Carnival and her account of Florence's "death."

*Milo Fraser* - A Half-elven Bard from Fang, Milo supposedly got in trouble with the Baron of Fang for singing "less than savoury" songs about him and had to flee the city, joining the Carnival on his way.

*Nathair* - The Yuan-ti Acrobat who asked The Dawnbringers to help at the Carnival in the first place. Nathair was a shy but talented performer whom the party immediately warmed to, but sadly witnessed his death on the second night of the Carnival. Later, the party discovered that Nathair had been killed and possessed on their first night staying with the performers, but that the fiend inside him was ousted when he fell during the show.

*Tallulah Dirk* - The Dwarven Beast Tamer of the Carnival, Tallulah looks after the various animals on show including Rosie the Owlbear, Diva the Sabertooth Tiger and Tink the Flying Monkey. Whilst Tallulah herself could only offer so much help with the party's investigation, Astra was able to use Speak With Animals to get vital information out of Diva and Tink to help uncover the truth.

*Felix Westermarck* - A young Firbolg with a huge passion for being a part of the Carnival. The party convinced Felix to admit to his mistake of making the Owlbear sick, even though he feared the consequences of his accidental actions.

*Ramona True Sight* - An Air Genasi Fortune Teller who read the party's fortunes and seemed to already know who they were. Ramona proved to be a helpful ally despite briefly disappearing from the Carnival when she thought her life was at risk, sharing all her information and research with the party when she returned. She also sold Astra some of her tarot cards as a gift for Sariel.

*Semele Tassouli* - The Half-human/Half-hobgoblin Quartermaster of the Carnival, in charge of meals and overall organisation. Despite her stern nature, Semele clearly cared for the Carnival as a family and was ready to rush to the aid of those in trouble. She later revealed to the party that she was wanted in the city of Erran for grievously wounding an army officer who was attempting to poison someone he didn't like. Because of this, her and Ramin had agreed in secret that the Carnival would never return to Erran without her consent.

*Nelson Kirby* - Nelson was the human accountant of the Carnival, selling tickets and treats, as well as generally handling their money and running the nightly raffle. Sadly, the party were too late to save Nelson from being killed and possessed by another Dybbuk during their final day with the Carnival and had to burn his body to prevent further possession.

*Maya & Phyrra* - A young Wood Elf and Drow who grew up as orphans in Shadeborne. The party didn't speak to them as they seemed to keep to themselves, but Astra was able to use Detect Thoughts to reveal that Phyrra had a small crush on Sariel.

*Florence Duarte* - A human woman from Marlborough who was fleeing from an old master in Black Wharf. As the mystery unraveled, the party came to learn that Florence had been working for a Necromancer named Creight Langston to earn a better life for her family, but ran from the city after discovering his plans to summon a fiend. She stole an amulet from him that she believed was meant for protection and eventually ran into and joined the Carnival in the city of Riven. She thought she was safe until the Cambion that was interested in her master's work caught up with her and insisted she uphold the deal that her master had made with it. She activated the amulet - which Sariel was later able to identify as a broken amulet of Soul Caging - and thrust a fragment of her soul into the amulet, appearing dead for 8 hours before waking again with the fragments of two other souls overtaking her body. After everything had calmed down at the Carnival, Cassian was able to cast Remove Curse of Florence and sever her connection to the broken amulet.

*Marcus Vetter* - Marcus had been hired as a bodyguard by the Carnival while in Farrelstadt, but easily drew suspicion from the party as multiple people claimed that he came across as unpleasant and had a rotten smell to him. The Dawnbringers later fought and defeated Marcus, who turned out to be a fiend called a Maurehzi that had eaten the real Marcus and stolen his form as a disguise.