The Fletching and Moondrop Traveling Carnival of Curiosities

Fan art of Desmond Moondrop, Gustav Fletching, and Bo the Breaker, by Kileigh Gallagher.

The Fletching and Moondrop Traveling Carnival of Curiosities was a traveling carnival that made its final stop in the town of Trostenwald, Wildemount in 835 PD. It was co-run by Gustav Fletching and Desmond Moondrop. The carnival originally formed in Shady Creek Run.

The carnival became the site of a ravenous zombie attack when an old man watching the show became a husk. This led to an investigation by the Crownsguard and the eventual disbanding of the carnival.

Members

• Gustav Fletching. A lanky, half-elven man and the carnival master. He led the procession towards the carnival tent. He was arrested, imprisoned, and bore the entire 2645 gold fine for the husk attacks and investigation. He remained in Trostenwald to pay off the fine until it was paid off by Caduceus Clay some months later.
• Desmond Moondrop. A bald man in his late 30s and the fool of the carnival. He was first seen wearing a frilled frock coat of bright red and face adorned with vibrant orange makeup to look like the setting sun. He followed the two sisters in the procession towards the carnival tent playing a fiddle. During the performance, he first wore an outfit and makeup matching the deep blue of the tent. He was later seen to don an outfit of deep-set black. He was able to control and play the fiddle without physically touching it as it floated near him. Out of makeup, his face was seen to be severely scarred on his left side of his face as though it had been shredded at one point in his youth. He had a melancholy, sad presence. After the trial, Desmond set out on his own.
• Bosun, AKA Bo the Breaker. A tall and muscular half-orc man of greenish-grey skin, he appeared well put-together with a well-groomed handlebar mustache that curved out to the sides. On the night of the carnival, he wore a billowing white silk shirt and black trousers. He followed behind Desmond in the procession leading to the carnival tent and was seen to play a large drum which he had slung over his shoulder. He was arrested and imprisoned in the stockade along with Gustav following the panic of the husk attack. He, Ornna, and Toya left Trostenwald together to form a new show after the trial.

Fan art of Ornna and the Knot Sisters, by Kileigh Gallagher.

• Mona and Yuli. Two halfling women known together as the "Knot Sisters." For their act, they wore full bodysuits, sporting serpentine makeup consisting of scales affixed to their face and arms. Their act involved an acrobatic climb of the center tent pole. The two ran after two of the guards at the carnival were made into husks and did not appear afterwards.
• Ornna, "The Fire Fairy". A woman of short fiery red hair and dark skin, she wore a simple dress of golds and reds on the night of the carnival. She was a fire dancer that wielded a pair of metallic fans alight with flame. She was said to have had several disagreements with Gustav and would argue with him about how the carnival should be run. She, Bosun, and Toya left Trostenwald together to form a new show after the trial.
• Mollymauk Tealeaf. An ostentatious lavender tiefling. Though he did not have an act in the show, he juggled scimitars, read fortunes, and assisted in setup. Toya claimed that Mollymauk had been with the carnival for almost two years, beginning at a time when he didn't talk much. In the aftermath of the trial, Mollymauk joined the party.
• Yasha. A burly looking pale woman, she followed behind the procession keeping an eye as a security guard and made sure that nothing got out of hand. She was mentioned to have helped in putting up the carnival tent. During the performance, she confiscated and held the party's weapons, enforcing a weapon ban within the tent for attendees. In the aftermath of the trial, Yasha joined the party.
• Toya. A dwarven girl, roughly 12 years of age. She has a beautiful mature voice and had been singing with the carnival for over two years. She had no family and was found singing in the streets for change. Although she has a beautiful singing voice, her speaking voice is crackly and damaged. Her act involved singing from the platform atop the tent pole to "soothe" Kylre. Kylre took her with him when he fled to Crookedstone, and Kylre's death greatly upset Toya. She, Ornna, and Bosun left Trostenwald together to form a new show after the trial.

Beasts

• Kylre, aka the "Devil-Toad". An enormous creature with green scaled slimy-looking skin and a corpulent form. Described as looking like an obese lizard man, he was bipedal though hunched when he walked, using his forearms for support. He had toad-like legs framing a rotund torso and muscular arms. His act involved acting violent and then soothed by Toya's song. He appeared to rescue Toya from the chaos of the old man transforming into a husk. He joined the carnival before Toya joined up and later created an act with her.

Horses

• Shelby, a male white mustang, named by Fjord. The horse pulled a cart containing the burnt zombie corpses of the two Crownsguards that were posted and turned by Kylre at the carnival. The party dumped these burnt and carved up corpses on the edge of the Ustaloch on its muddy banks and then sent the horse off with a sharp whack to its backside.
• Winter's Crest, a draft horse the party acquired from the carnival during its disbanding, and which they used to pull a cart on their way north along the Amber Road from Trostenwald to Alfield. Although the ride was no faster than walking, it did provide the party some rest for their feet. Mollymauk stated that the horse had that name because if it lived that long that was when the carnival planned to kill it and have meat to eat as a celebration during the festivities. The remainder of the horse would have been made into jerky and sold to raise funds to purchase the next horse. Abbreviated to WC by Nott and thereafter known as Water Closet.

Carnival Layout

Show Tent

The Fletching and Moondrop Traveling Carnival of Curiosities (as seen in 9x01)

The main tent was circular, made of heavy dark blue cloth and had lengthy streamers of white and silver attached to the top. The interior of the tent had a flattened floor of dirt and grass. The inside edge of the tent, where the cloth met the ground, was encased in a heavy tarp-like material. There were two entrances to the tent, a patron's entrance and a larger performer's entrance across from it on the other side of the tent. The tent was held up by a column of wood made of a tree rounded off on all sides and had a small platform set into its the apex. There were four lanterns filled with magical flame that lit the interior of the tent. The carnival tent had a semicircle of seats made up of three sections; right, center and left.

Performer's Common Area

The Performers' Common Area (as seen in 9x03)

To the back of the show tent there are a number of horse-drawn carts, and tents that all faced towards a central common area with chairs facing a large campfire. On the northern side of the clearing, there was a medium-sized tent where Desmond and occasionally Gustav resided, as well as a large tent where the Knot Sisters and Ornna slept. Their tent was the largest of the tents in this area. On the south side, there was a large tent where Toya and Kylre slept, and a very small tent in which Bo would generally sleep. Gustav would sometimes sleep in the main wagon. This common area was about 25-30 feet in diameter, and was about 400-500 feet south of the Ustaloch.

Carnival Rules

• No old or sick people were allowed inside the main tent.
• No weapons were permitted to be held by spectators.

Known Attendees

• A clueless and gullible farmer who came to have his fortune read from Mollymauk. He was suffering from a sickness in the form of a cough he'd had for three to four months. Mollymauk suggests breathing a tincture and perhaps getting the cough looked at by a physician. He was not allowed within the tent.
• An old man named Enon Brinjay. He sat in the front row of the audience on the left. During Toya's song, he stood up and outstretched his arm towards Toya. Giving out a shout of gurgled pain, he grasped his chest and began to shake. The skin in his arms began to tear away, and his bones started splitting and bursting out from beneath his flesh, writhing and cracking. Dust and blood shook from his wounds as his form swelled. After his transformation into a husk, his eyes burned like red coals.
• A young woman killed by the husk of Enon, possibly transformed by Kylre. She took eight points of bludgeoning damage from a slam to the chest from Enon's husk. It then proceeded to gnaw into and rip off a piece of her flesh before making its way towards its next target. After a round, she rose from the dead as another husk. Caleb would later carve off a piece of her corpse and store it in a rag in one of his pockets. 
• A scrawny young man around 14 or 15 with a puffy red afro and pale skin, who lived three houses up from Rinaldo's house, had snuck in under the tent after it started and stood at the back and didn't see much of the details of the zombie creature.
• Beauregard
• Fjord
• Jester
• Nott
• Caleb

History

Background

The carnival began small, in Shady Creek Run.

9x01

The carnival had set up in Trostenwald, east of the Loch Ward, some 150-200 feet from the southern bank of the Ustaloch, where they had spent a week performing the year before. Their first show was on the day of Grissen (see Calendar of Exandria). This carnival was where Mollymauk Tealeaf and Yasha worked, with Molly as an entertainer and Yasha as a security guard. The fee to enter the tent and see the show was 5 copper pieces.

During the performance, an elderly spectator of the show became transfixed as Toya sang. As he stretched his arm to reach out to her, he transformed hideously into a undead husk. The party was able to kill the husk with only a single casualty. However, Bosun, Gustav Fletching, and Mollymauk were taken into custody for suspicion of wrongdoing.

References

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