Debut Performance

an adventure starring Cloudio, Sinclair, and Skirmish. Companion episode: Eight Is Not Enough.

Setting: Niqamui, NiqaCon in the year 49,595

Tweet length description: Lights! Camera! Sabotage? While at NiqaCon, Cloudio, Sinclair, & Skirmish investigate who's trying to ruin an artist's chance at a grand prize. But the search for culprits reveals a broader conspiracy. Will our heroes crack the case & save the day?

Non Player Characters:

* Joyful Babette
* Quixotic Emmanuel
* Eun-hyung Apinelu
* Mozart Sharipov
* Bam Sharipov
* Elios Van Hoofenstuff
* Rictavio Brittlecorn
* Roxanne Deng
* Professor Clarissa Jubilhein
* Hulk Harlon
* Zygor Trillbit
* Berry Pertinax

Plot Summary:

Sabotage at Niqa-Con! While Cloudio, Sinclair, and Skirmish are discussing the dos and don'ts of guild meet and greets with the talented Joyful Babette her fellow artist Quixotic bursts into the auditorium declaring that their gorgeous costumes have been ruined with only a few hours before the start of the Niqa-con talent show! (With a grand prize of 20,000 gold pieces to the winning party). Suspecting foul play the group searches for clues but comes up with only a pair of leads, mysterious golden dust that seems to melt into the skin, and a tablet with the idol group Four Kings of the Prancing Hippogryph taunting whoever views the tablet. Conferring with the con's organizer, Rictavio Bittercorn, they are charged with escorting the Hippogryphs out of the convention. The only problem...no one knows where they are currently holed up, due to their idol status they keep a very low profile prior to performances and layers of secrecy to keep their privacy. Fortunately Mr. Bittercorn knows a superfan and convinces her to help the Kittens find the Hippogryphs. Roxanne Dang is quite possibly the BIGGEST fan of the Four Kings of the Prancing Hippogryph in all of Jishoap, having intimate knowledge of each of the three remaining members (Eun-hyung, Mozart, and Bam), their various songs and routines; along with theories about the future career of the recently departed Hippogryph who is starting a solo project. She also reveals that the group has said there will be a huge announcement at today's performance.

Running through some ideas and leads the group decides the first task should be righting the wrong that Joyful has suffered which means heading to the crowded con floor. They start by visiting Sinclair's friend, Professor Jubilheim, at Booth 24, and asking her to investigate the tablet. While it appears to have been tampered with to show the taunting message it does little to alleviate the group's suspicions towards the Hippogryphs. Bringing the abjurationist back to the room filled with scraps of fabric Jubilheim is able to repair the costumes and the Kitten's receive 500 gold each as a token of gratitude from the artists. Not wanting to risk further foul play to ruin Joyful's day Skirmish and Claudio get the attention of wrestling super star Hulk Harlan and after a meet and greet with the legend hire him to stand guard in front of Joyful's studio until the show begins. Bringing the tested fighter, and dozens of fans, between any would be costume killers and Joyful's work. Through all of this Roxanne is insufferably antagonistic towards the Kittens, going to great length's to point out how the adventuring guild is not nearly as great as the stories would have many believe, and the the Hippogryphs are talent incarnate.

With Joyful's assets now safe the trio decide to try a lead of Roxanne's, a hot dog vendor going by the name of Matt Stone. While he is none to happy to be approached by her again as the man seems to have knowledge of the Hippogryph's whereabouts, he eventually gives up the information when Skirmish raises the demand to new heights. The idol group is using Locker Room 4A under the alias of Deep Ooze. While Roxanne is over the moon to finally meet her favorite performers in the entire world, Skirmish, Claudio, and Sinclair are eager to get the group out of the con, receive a reward, and try their hand at winning 20,000 gold themselves. After failing to impersonate security Skirmish forces the door open and everyone meets the Four Kings of the Prancing Hippogryph. Much to everyone's surprise the idols are not only accomplished performers but incredibly dangerous combatants! Realizing that the aggression is due to the Hippogryphs thinking that they were rabid fans and the group wanting their privacy Sinclair deescalates the situation by banishing Skirmish to a pocket plane of existence. With everyone cooling down after a moment the idols decide to resolve this dispute with a dance battle. The three Firebreathing Kittens versus their super fan Roxanne. Gyrations are thrown, knives are juggled, splits are attempted, but in the end the battle is decided by Sinclair's interpretive dance involving their newfound ability to merge with Malachai. Impressed by everyone's talent the Hippogryphs decide to hear out the adventurers.

After some back and forth and new information coming forward about how widespread the Ekenblim Dust is, the Firebreathing Kittens convince the idol group that it would be in their best interest to go to Mishui and meet with Barry the Artificer, and conveniently getting OUT of the convention in the process. By this point Sinclair, Skirmish, and Slaudio have grown to have a respect for the idols and are more understanding as to *why* Roxanne is such a huge fan of the group. After sending Matti off to let Mr. Bittercorn know that the Hippogryphs are leaving the convention they sneak the group out of the building. Unfortunately everyone is barely two steps outside before an elvish looking Ekenblim dashes in, grabs the performers, and whisks them through a magic circle while taking the dust! Putting two and two together the Firebreathing Kittens calm a grieving Roxanne, head straight to the con managers office, and have Skirmish bash down the door. Before them is Mr. Bittercorn talking with the Ekenblim from earlier, both surprised to see a missing door. The Ekenblim flees through the magic circle in the office and before the con manager can react the Kittens and Roxanne follow!

On the other side the find themselves in a beautiful office with a pair of the other worldly creatures celebrating a job well done, and the three Hippogryphs frozen by a spell. In the ensuing fight Bam is freed and slays both Ekenblim in a surprisingly brutal fashion and is shaken. Bloodied but alive, everyone is teleported back to Locker Room 4A. Rushing back to the office to confront Rictavio they find the office empty, except for various valuable that the adventurers decide to liberate from the villains place of business. Hearing that the talent show has started the Hippogryphs and Kittens rush to the stage and make an announcement that Mr. Bittercorn is wanted for questioning, unfortunately the businessman made himself scarce before the show started. The day culminates in Roxanne, The Firebreathing Kittens, and The Four Kings of the Prancing Hippogryph giving a dazzling performance in front of the enthralled con goers. The grand prize is awarded to them and the Hippogryphs announce that their newest member is none other than Roxanne, who is left almost speechless with excitement.