A/N: I love carnivals and circuses. And I do enjoy a good scare. Ravenloft was/is my favorite of the Dungeons and Dragons settings with Al-Qadim being my second favorite. And the Ravenloft supplement "Carnival" was one of my absolute favorite publications. This was the first of my submissions for the Ravenloft websites netbooks. One of my favorite pass times was to create characters, then write histories for them, whether I would ever play them didn't matter. This story has two characters I created, plus a few just for the story. Although one of the characters is from the Al-Qadim setting and created using the "Al-Qadim Arabian Adventures" supplement, I specifically didn't put this in the crossover section, because he was never meant to be played there. When I wrote this piece for the Ravenloft website, I wrote it in the style of the Carnival supplement, as if the barkers are talking to the person entering the carnival gates, with few words from that person, and the game statistics in a boxed section. Since this is for fanfiction and not for character statistics, I have rewritten/reworked the game stats sections somewhat, but it still sounds a little like a DM section. Also, in the title, I realize we aren't supposed to use all caps, but I specifically left the word "carnival" that way as an emphasis. If my yelling offends anyone, let me know and I'll change it.
Disclaimer: Ravenloft and Al-Qadim aren't mine, nor is the "Carnival" supplement. Any references to any of the characters, places and settings are solely the property of TSR.
CARNIVAL: Boss Canvas Man
More Acts To Fill Your Straw House
Carnivals, circuses, side shows. Are they real or are they just done with makeup and mirrors? How we love them though. Through we may not admit this aloud. But, in the deep recesses of our souls we yearn for them.
Because I could not stop for Death,
He kindly stopped for me;
The carriage held but just ourselves
And Immortality.
- Emily Dickinson, Because I could not stop for Death, stanza 1
Prelude
It was a cold day; the sky was cloudless; the grass brown; the sun hung low in the sky. The first snow could be smelled by the residents of Morfenzi on the eastern foothills in Falkovia. Morfenzi is a large city.
The downtrodden people walk about the city in their drab clothing, being overworked, just to have their hard earned money taken away 'till they have barely enough to live, and then terrorized by the darklord's troupes.
But today was different somehow. There was something in the air. And everyone seemed to notice it. Some people seemed to walk with their head higher than normal, as if to see if they were trying to hear something. And some seem to hide deeper into their coats.
This is what a young man, about 25 but looked 35, with unkempt shoulder-length hair, and a brand of a hawk on his forehead (like everyone else had), noticed as he walked home from his job at the bakery. He had small bundle underneath his arm and a small porcelain jug with a cork stopper in his hand. He felt it too, a sense of hope.
Then he noticed something nailed to the side of a building. It was a piece of paper. He took the paper down from the building wall and looked at it. There were no words on it, not that he could have read them anyway, just a picture. But it was no ordinary picture. It was obviously magical. It had swirling images of strange looking people with colorful clothing and wide smiles. The man's dull eyes lit up for the first time in his life.
Noticing his joy, a militia guard nearby stormed over to the man and ripped the paper from his hand, and shoving him up against the wall of the building. He dropped the bundle and the jug, which remarkably didn't break.
"What is this?" he demanded, angrily.
"Just something I found nailed to the wall, sir," the young man whispered, the dullness returning to his eyes.
The guard looked at the paper of swirling images and was mesmerized. The young man took advantage of the situation, picked up his bundle and jug and walked slowly away, depressed. He liked the pictures. He stuck his free hand in his pocket, and felt something there. He pulled out a piece of paper, just like the one the guard took from him. He stuck it quickly back into his pocket, hoping no one saw, and ran home.
He placed the jug and bundle on his counter and opened it, stale bread from the bakery he works at. Then he cut a hunk of cheese off of a roll in his cupboard. He took the stopper out of the jug, hot broth with a hunk of pig fat in it. He placed them on a dull white porcelain plate with chips around the edge. Then he placed it on his unfinished, warped kitchen table along with a spoon. He then grabbed a dented silver mug and filled it with wine, cheap wine, then sat down to eat. He stared at the picture in his hand as he absently ate. The colorfully dressed figures in the pictures smiled at him. But there was one that caught his eye. He was exotic, with dark skin, tattoos, earrings and a smile to die for.
Then he heard a noise outside his small home. It sounded like a ruckus, like the militia make when they arrest someone. He went and looked out his small, dirty front window. It was early morning. Where had yesterday gone? He thought. He opened the front door and stepped outside. He saw no militia, just citizens. They were mumbling amongst themselves. There was only one thing he could understand amongst the other indistinct words, "Carnival."
Circus Lingo
Boss Canvas Man: the man whose job is to decide exactly where and how the tents should be put up at a new circus lot.
First of May: A rookie on the circus. A person in their first season with the show.
Funambulist: a tightrope walker.
Gilly: anyone not connected with the circus; an outsider.
Guys: heavy ropes or cables that help to support poles or high wire rigging.
Straw House: a sold out circus performance
Kinker: any experienced circus performer; the name comes from tumblers who worked the kinks out of sore muscles after exercise.
Midway: the area outside of the entrance to the main tent, typically lined with concessionaires.
Tear Down: take down equipment and ready the circus for moving.
