Ch32 - Circus of the last days

Double upload because I got carried away and now have 20 more chapters ready

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Jogging after the crazed tiefling we see her pleading with a strangely dressed man and a ghoul. "Please let me in! I swear I'm not a crazy murderer, I adventure not murder!" Practically on her hands and knees by this point.

"The barbarian seems to be under a mental attack of sorts." Lae'zel whispered to me.

"No she's fine, looks like she knows about this circus." I walk forwards and I notice a very familiar redcap walking behind the gates in the circus, "Is that Grusk?" I mumble.

I lean forwards a bit to have a better look, "You know one of our cleaners? What a small world it is. Unfortunately, though I do appreciate the fact you know some of our workers Benji here has to check if you're a crazy murderer, he's our principal sniffer after all." The man stopped me, with a generally pleasant demeanour about him.

(I'm not making that title up, that's his job role in bg3)

"Ah of course, I don't smell like a murderer do I Benji. In fact, I don't think any of us do." Behind my back I cast [Command Undead] as a cantrip. Benji paused for a moment before sniffing the party, including Karlach again, "No blood, these lot are cleeeean!" His screechy voice almost grated my ears as he spoke.

"Well that's new, usually when Benji's sure of a crazy murderer psychopath he never changes his mind. Oh well, in you go, Dribbles the Clown is back off of his holiday, be sure to catch his show!" And so we entered 'The circus of the last days'.

Karlach walked with us appreciating the sights, pointing out the dryad, the stalls, the mystical beasts on display, even the redcap janitors. The first vendor we went to see was the mummy face-painter Zara, I went to talk to her first. "Hi there, are you selling the face paintings?" She responded by making odd muffled noises and nodding her head.

"Perfect, I'll take three please." I hand over 140 gold and take three.

"How come you're getting face paint, fancy yourself an artist?" Astarion asked. I looked up to him as I dropped them in my bag.

"No no, I was thinking it would be good for my outfit." Lifting my bag back on, I noticed two things, Shadowheart seems to have been replaced by a wheel of cheese and Wyll has completely disappeared.

Picking up the cheese wheel shadowheart, I walk to the genie evidently responsible. "If you don't mind, which plane do you hail from?" The reason I ask is because usually efreets or dao genies are responsible for stuff like this.

"If it isn't obvious enough by my superior looks, air." Ah he is the stereotypical genie, but he's just a dick. Learn something new everyday I guess.

"So where's my companion and will this" I point to cheese-hart, "be permanent?". I unconsciously start thrumming my fingers on cheese-hart making a slightly hollow knocking sounds.

"The polymorph shall cease after twenty-four hours, as for the devilish human. He will be occupied with some…territorial beasts." He cackled with an evil undertone as he finished.

"Oh dinosaurs? I hope he brings us back a souvenir, that would be nice." I know Wyll, he's brave and strong enough to press through a fee dinosaurs. Shadowheart's case is even easier, I place her flat on the ground and use [Anti-magic cone] to nullify any magic I'm in view off. Immediately, Shadowheart popped out flat out on the ground trying to roll on her sides. "Ah!" She shouted as she rolled down the steps.

Just as I'm about to go help her, I see Wyll pop up next to the outhouses. "Ah Wyll's back!" Karlach helps her up and walks with her back up the stone steps.

"I come bearing tales of splendor! Ah Shadowheart, you are no longer stuck as a dairy product, it seems attacking a genie was worth it." Wyll said with joy, I couldn't bring myself to say that it was me that did it.

"Well with that sorted shall we go explore the circus?" We split up, I ended with Halsin and Wyll following me to meet the driad. Walking up to her, I took a good look at the great tree beside her. "Does the tree go with the circus then or where you just here before then."

"I travel with the circus, I read the depths of love one might have with their partner. May I ask is this your partner?" She calmly waved her hand over to Wyll, his eyes widened and his following speech was stuttered.

"Haha, what did you mean? We haven't even done dance practice together!" Oh my sweet jesus, he is too pure to exist on a plane of existence with people like Astarion.

"And I can't say for myself that I've been seeking out any kind of romantic partners. Halsin however, keeps trying to sleep through the camp." I can still remember that night when Halsin got a new face scar after approaching Lae'zel.

"Very well, for what other purpose do you visit me?" She swayed like she was being pushed slowly off balance by gentle winds pushing her left and right.

"I suppose I just wanted to know about dryads, Halsin's an archdruid so that's kind of his thing, but Wyll just tags along really." I count through us all, giving probably reasons.

"Hmm, very well I suppose. I was once not a dryad, free to fly and be free from all that I wanted. However, one day I noticed a green hag trying to charm over a particular elf I may or may not have liked and warned him. In rage the green hag treebound me, and even today I dread the day I see that Ethel again." Her face twisted into anger the moment Ethel cane into mention, which wouldn't bode well for me if I let it slip I or the redcaps worked with her.

"Ethel?" I mumble.

"Pardon? I must have bored you with my story, no worries, I am not one for storytelling." Immediately Halsin swooped in and held her by her waist.

"I'm not sure about the other two, but I was… enraptured with the story. I hope you don't mind telling me more." He started smooth talking her, pulling her close with her looking directly up at him.

"I think we should leave, Wyll." I pat his shoulder and walk away from the dryad to see Gale throwing fish at the displacer beast.

"Awww, you're a hungry little fella ,aren't you?" Gale was scratching its chin and scratching its back, "I didn't know you knew animal friendship Gale." I walk over to him, only now noticing the broken gate the beast burst from.

"Oh I don't, I just heard his belly growl." And now he's just scratching a displacer beats' belly. The creature's raised to hunt blink dogs and known for killing the court that raised them, is on its back having its belly rubbed.

"Right, I'm not too sure what to think about that so I'm gonna visit the shops." Sighing at the weird and wonderful sight I turn back the way I came to find the shops. Up the steps and to the right was a mud mephet and elemental running a statue carving shop. To my right of them was a small, well dressed kobold with a forlorn look on his face.

"Hey are you alright? You seem a bit off" I look at him concerned, he was dressed so vibrantly and nicely that his contrasting somber mood made it almost sad to look at.

"Popper's suppliers were killed the other day… after we finishes here, I'm leaving for goods! I will get the revenge the kobolds deserve." His eyes widened in elation at the mention of revenge and murder. Unfortunately, I realised that I'm the target of this revenge after executing the kobold bandit ambush.

"You know I heard a rumour that the absolute did it, I've heard they're allied with the faction know as 'gnomes against kobolds'. If you want your revenge, you should look there." No harm recruiting an ally, though he might be an ineffective one.

"Of course! The absolutelies! I knew they were involved, as thanks appreciate a discount on my wares." He guided us around his shop, pointing out a 'special' severed hand that's worth at least 10000 gold.

Eventually, I got a few items such as: veterans cane (magical cane sword), staff of flowers (makes specific flowers appear), the staff of adornment (makes small items float at the top) and of course a few potion ingredients.

The cane and the adornment staff is to fuse with my own, because I think it'll be cool. But the flower staff is to fuse with Halsin's arguably evil nature staff, before that I'll use the 10 charges on it to get Shadowheart a night orchid and get myself 5 midnight tear flowers and 4 belladonna flowers.

Placing it in my bag for later, I went to the only place I haven't visited yet, Dribbles' show, save the best for last after all. Walking back down I saw a crowd gathered in front of a large stage with a comical clown accompanied by Karlach. She was all to excited to volunteer for the assistant position.

"Everyone watch close I'm going to make my wonderful assistant… Disappear!" A malicious grin adorned his face as he pulled out a large jester's hammer. "Hail the absolute!" And he struck down on Karlach, she barely blocked it with her sword. Immediately the crowd ran, some assistants working with the animals pulled out knives and the blink dog didn't get the chance before the displacer beast ate it.

Activating illusory image, I ran to the closest assistant and punched them into the floor, head cracking on impact. I turned around to fire off a tasha's hideous laughter at Dribbles, it homed in on him and he collapsed in a fit of violent laughter. Before focusing on the other one, a dagger pierced my back, a cold white hand gripped my shoulder as it use the leverage to ram the knife into me a few more times. The air I became accustomed to breathing in my human form was driven out of me with a dull fury.

I immediately cast ray of sickness at the highest level I could (5th) and it hit the disgusting doppelgänger, making it violently snot and throw up. It quickly hunched over, dry heaving from the lack of stomach contents. "The days you find respite from me will be the days you spend as a lemure." I cast vicious mockery on it, at least now it'll have some use as my coat.

Turning around, Karlach had obviously finished off Dribbles and the rest butchered the remaining doppelgänger. "So apparently the absolute has some doppelgängers." Halsin announces light heartedly. The rest gave him tired looks, but I wasted no time grabbing the corpses, I want my cloak after all. I was the only one to notice the displacer beast slinking off into the city, a feral grin marking it.