Speak with Marvella

The group chooses to speak with Marvella following the gnoll attack.

Structure

Exposition

When the characters arrive in the dressing rooms, they will find Marvella, still in her human disguise, standing beside an armoire, with Quevarde frantically pacing about the room. Marvella will thank the group for staying and fighting the gnolls, complimenting them on their skills, and apologize for the state of the carnival, offering to refund the characters' entrance fee.
Quevarde will offer up the following information regarding the attack:

• The food stalls in the Bazaar were targeted in the attack; a lot of food was stolen and the tents were destroyed.
• Several of the mirrors in the hall of mirrors were shattered and one is missing.
• All of the sheep and pigs in the petting zoo were stolen.

After a few minutes of conversation, Quevarde will excuse himself to help clean up the damage to the carnival.
If Marvella is asked about her appearance by Tenzen, she will laugh it off and lie:

"I guess I just have one of those familiar faces, y'know?"

If Tenzen presses her further or if he is initially hostile to her because of her appearance, Marvella will drop her disguise and attempt to diffuse the tension. When asked to explain why she took on that appearance, she will lie again:

"I was born to a human family, looking like this. Come to think of it, that human disguise was probably just what younger me wished I'd looked like...to look more like my parents, more normal."

She will evade admitting that she has a sister.
Mid-conversation, Orville Brownfeather will pop his head in, apologizing for intruding on their conversation but alerting Marvella that the townsguard have asked to speak with her. Marvella will once again disguise herself before asking Orville to send in the townsguard.
Captain Anduín Maripol will introduce himself along with two other soldiers of the Goven city watch. Anduín apologizes for the city watch failing to adequately protect the carnival from the gnoll attack, to which Marvella will accept his apology.
The players can ask questions about gnoll attack:

• The gnolls have been a problem for the surrounding countryside for the past few months. Prior to that, they kept to the Lavender Marshlands to the north, with attacks happening at most once or twice a year and only in very rural villages.
• The gnolls are lead by a big, ugly looking gnoll named Sawjaw.
• Fifteen civilians, including women and children, and three city watch soldiers were killed in the attack.
• The gnolls ransacked local storehouses while the townsguard were busy guarding the carnival, as well as looting gold from the Temple of Corellon in West Goven.

Anduín will thank the players and Marvella for helping fend off the gnoll attack and protect the civilians. He admits the city watch has been stretched thin and could use a few more able bodies if the group would like to assist. He is stationed in the Green Guard Barracks in the Golden Ward.
After the captain departs, Marvella will drop her disguise. She will thank the players for helping with the gnolls and asks them what their plans are. If they mention they were planning on heading north, she offers them a free ride with the carnival on their way northwest up the Tala'mir River. Should the players accept her offer, she will inform them it will be about a week before the carnival departs, as they need to commission repairs on their damaged equipment and replace their missing animals.

Components

Hooks

• The prospect of learning more about Marvella's connection to his past could motivate Tenzen to help her.
• Marvella's offer provides transport and accommodations to the group on their way north to Aldaron.

• Anduín's offer gives the players more opportunities to make some money in the city.

Plot type

Scene

Parent Plot

At the Carnival

Subplots

• Help the City Watch
• Hunt Down the Gnolls
• Travel With the Carnival

Related Characters

• Anduín Maripol
• Marvella DeLorde
• Quevarde Enheir

Related Organizations

• Marvella's Menagerie of Might and Magic

Related Locations

• New Goven