Book2: The Carnival; Session 10

General Summary

Creating a Portal

After resting in Pellarin’s currently unoccupied vardo for the evening, the group made an early start by seeking out the Fetch in order to get an idea of who exactly they were rescuing from the Mirror Realm. They find the Fetch in a cage in a large tent behind the Big Top Tent and watched by a number of carnival workers. Standing just outside the tent is Hermos, who appears to be a bit nervous but he welcomes them and says Quantarius is setting up the final touches on the spell that will send them into the Mirror Realm.
When they enter the tent, the group sees Quantarius crotched down, muttering an incantation over a complex arcane pattern etched upon the packed earth that makes up the floor in the tent. There were two identical arcane circles standing side by side each glowing with a faint blue light. Each circle was surrounded by five 8 foot tall mirrors with their reflective surface pointing towards the center of the circle. At the center of the circle Quantarius is near is an ornate, round table with the mirrored orb the group obtained from the House of Mirrors sitting upon a brass stand. In the center of the other circle is a barred iron cage and within was an elven man with long platinum blond hair whom Quantarius informs them is Pellarin’s Fetch.
The Fetch claims to be the real Pellarin and is pleading for his life. When asked how he can tell which is the Fetch and which is the true Pellarin, Quantarius asks them if the Fetch is casting a reflection. Inspecting the mirrors that surround the Fetch’s cage, they see no reflections. Qunatarius says the real Pellarin will have to kill the Fetch in order to prevent it from constantly seeking to take his place in this world for the Fetch had stayed too long in theirs and is forgetting its true nature.
After several questions from the group, mostly involving if Pellarin is right or left handed, an annoyed Quantarius opens a portal into the Mirror Realm and tells the group to step through. He says he will keep the portal open as long as possible, so he suggests they hurry.

The Mirror Library

Stepping within the portal feels like stepping through a cool bed of mercury and on the other side the group finds themselves in what could only be described as a foyer with two featureless, reflective statues flanking a door directly in front of them. Everything in the realm they stand in is muted. Colors are mere reflections of what they should be and even their voices sound distant and akin to echoes. A steady stream of grey ash floats within the Mirror Realm and the direction in which it falls is unclear.
When Norikami approaches one of the statues, it comes to life, twisting and distorting until it is identical to Norikami. The other transforms to appear identical to Victor. The once statues attack and as the party hurts the statues, both Victor and Norikami feel sympathy pain from each slash of a weapon and force of a spell. Once defeated, the group notices the portal Quantarius opened is no longer there. They begin to doubt the mage’s intent in sending them there, but decide there is nothing for them to do but explore. Perhaps the portal had shifted its location?
The group tries to door to the east first and beyond they find a long, fine mahogany table surrounded by high-backed, decorative wooden chairs at the center of the room. Along the walls of the room are book shelves and in the far corner of the room appears to be a summoning circle of some sort with a mirror behind it. To the south is a bay window. When Norikami looked into the bay window, he saw a bald, pale man with magical golden tattoos swirling around his body sitting at the center of a bare, circular room. His eyes were closed and his lips moving as if in prayer, but as if he sensed Norikami’s presence, his eyes open in a flash and they glow with a cold, neon green light and Norikami found himself thrown backwards onto the floor.
After Norikami explained what he saw before he was unceremoniously thrown onto the floor, curious, Amoiety looked into the window as well. Amoiety did not see the same thing and instead was a beautiful woman with long, dark hair kneeling before an altar. Given the altar was decorated with a cloth depicting a sprig of belladonna crossing a longsword over a kite shield, Amoiety gathered she was praying to the goddess Ezra. Nothing more was shown to him and when Amoiety said this, he expressed curiosity at what the others might see if they looked. However, either Kass nor Victor wanted to try.
Amoiety sent his spider, Shadow, to explore the rest of the library to see if they could locate Pellarin quickly. They did not find Pellarin but did see four more reflective statues in a fall to the north of the main room. While the spider explored, Victor found a book entitled “Dr. Mordenheim’s Discoveries in Anatomy”, which seemed familiar to him but when he opened the book, it was blank. After attempting to have the spider trigger the statues and failing, the group decided to move on and explore the rest of the library.
The room to the west included more books and a small, oval table in the back of the room on which sat a journal written by Sarlandrilis. Reading the journal, Amoiety confirms the story that Hermos from the Carnival told them - that Sarlandrilis had transformed his familiar into a replica of his now deceased son. His son, apparently, was killed by a hag and Sarlandrilis lost himself in grief. The writing grew more and more frantic and delusional as the journal continued and it seemed to Amoiety that Sarlandrilis had convinced himself that Pellarin was, in fact, his son. Within this room, Norikami found a number of books with people’s names on them - including his own true name as well as Kass and Victor’s. Amoiety later found a book with his name on it as well and when he opened it, it appeared to contain the story of his life so far, though written in mirrored writing.
This room also contained a window, which when Victor looked within he saw a flash of what he thought to be a memory. Perhaps his own? He saw himself working desperately to save a woman whose limbs were broken and contorted at impossible angles. In the end, the only way he could save her was to hook up her pain-ridden body to a mechanical pump, fed on the power of lightning to keep her heart and lungs pumping. Amoiety, who stood behind Victor as the widow showed him this vision, also saw it and asked Victor who the woman was. Victor, unfortunately, cannot remember. He knows he knew her but not her name or how he knew her.
After discovering the journal, the group moves cautiously through the room containing the four reflective statues, which do not react to their entering and leaving the room. Finding themselves in another section of a library with a life-sized ancient dragon bones on display, the group eventually finds a brass key hidden within the book shelf. They then theorize that they must have missed something in the room with the summoning circle and go back there. Once they approach the summoning circle, a creature emerges from an ornate mirror positioned on the wall above the circle and attacks. This creature looks as if it is made from a liquified mirror and more than once it begins to pour itself down Norikami’s throat in an attempt to lack onto him. After they defeat the creature, they see a keyhole where the mirror once stood. Using the key they found, a door appears and the group steps through and finds themselves in Sarlandrilis’s study.
Sarlandrilis asks why they have come, looking as if he is ready to fight to keep his “son” with him. Pellarin is within a glass orb and though clearly asking for help, no one can hear him. Sarlandrilis is convinced that he has found the magic he needs to restore his son’s memories back; he just needs to learn it! However, after some discussion and explanation from the group, Sarlandrilis is convinced to come back with them to the Carnival. Though, he is not fully convinced that Pellarin is not his son, but is willing to see the “Fetch” the group tells him about.
As the group discusses how to get back to the Carnival, the portal reappears. They later discover that Quantarius was watching them the entire time, waiting for the moment to have the portal appear again. He does not say why he did this.

To Kill a Fetch or Not?

Back in the Carnival grounds, Quantarius tells Pellarin he must kill his Fetch to ensure that it does not continuously try to replace him. The group is very torn about this and Sarlandrilis is not helping matters, still confused on if Pellarin is his son or not. Quantarius, not explaining himself, casts a spell on Sarlandrilis, freezing the man in place. He then tells Victor to “cure his mind”, which after a moment Victor does. Sarlandrilis comes to his senses and apologizes to everyone. He and Pellarin then talk at length as the group discusses the morality of killing the Fetch. In the end, they let Pellarin make that decision and leave the tent. Only Kass remained behind and witnessed Pellarin stabbing his Fetch in the heart and it turning into ash upon its death.
After their success, the group (along with Quantarius) are escorted to Isolde’s vardo by Hermos. Isolde introduces herself and thanks them all for their effort, giving them each the 100 gold they were promised as well as a ticket to the Carnival, saying they can use it if they find themselves in need of a safe haven for they are now always welcome at the Carnival.
Isolde has a map of a large continent upon her table and she shows the group where they are in a land called Barovia. She then points out Kartakass for them, which lies southwest of Barovia. She says the Carnival moves through the lands, though she cannot leave the grounds herself, but she has been tracking someone. When asked who, she states that “If you ever meet something that is too good to be true, do not trust them.” but would say no more on the matter.
When asked if she could take them to Kartakass, she declines and nods to Quantarius, asking him the best path for them to take. Quantarius says the Crimson Road will lead them into Kartakass, but he is planning on traveling there himself if they would like a guide. He suggests they wait until morning as only the most desperate travel at night in Barovia. The group agrees to travel with Quantarius the next day.

Hall of Horrors

Before turning in for the evening, Amoiety and Norikami visit the Hall of Horrors and get a tour by Professor Pacali. Pacali introduces them to a number of, what he calls, “freaks” at the show - including a man whose skin oozes, a woman made of fire, and another woman with tentacles instead of fingers. He also shows him his Pickled Punks which are strange, deformed creatures suspended in jars of a green liquid.
While on this tour, Pacali informs them that they cannot trust Isolde and that she is the reason everyone at the Carnival has become twisted in some way. They come to the Carnival looking just like everyone else, but the longer they stay, the more “freakish” they become. The Carnival, he says, “changes you”.

Report Date

18 Feb 2022