[Solo] The Magnificent Adventuring Circus, Session 3: Wheels & Waterfalls

Introduction and links to other sessions can be found here.

The cast of characters:

• Julia Maxima, the Bearded Lady (Dwarf Cleric 1). Stern leader and cook of the circus.
• Pointy Kid, the Knife Thrower (Halfling Thief 1). Sly acrobat with a pipeweed addiction.
• Callisto, Master of Illusions (Human Magic-User 1). Archmage of the Highest Order, Keeper of Forbidden Knowledge. Obviously, he has a creepy ventriloquist dummy.
• Sheila, the Odalisque (Elf Fighter/Magic-User 1). Exotic dancer and all-around cool girl. She won’t agree to be sawn into two halves.

Session 3: Wheels & Waterfalls

Day 4 [travel from 3606 to 3507 (river flowing from north-east to south-west, swamp on northern half, barren mountain on southern half), weather neutral, no random encounter]

The Circus leaves Abazar early in the morning. Nobody begs them to stay for another show… The plan is to follow the course of the river until they reach the town of Tabriz. A sound plan, but who knows what dangers await along the way?

The weather is… fine. A bit cold, but most importantly it’s dry, so the circus wagon rolls at a slow, but steady speed along the river. By midday, the party exits the dense forest, and enters an equally wild, but very different terrain.

Here the river runs in a valley. On its north/north-western bank, the swamp continues. On its south/south-eastern bank, stands a tall, barren mountain peak. Even this late in the year, water flows off the peak. It forms a magnificent waterfall, almost 500’ tall, and connects into the river in the valley. An awe-inspiring view!! But also, a hindrance for travelers: coming down this direction, one must either cross the fast-flowing stream, or circle around, wasting possibly many days among rocky hills.

Julia Maxima, the de-facto leader of the troupe, hands out ropes and commands everybody to prepare for crossing. Julia herself and Pointy Kid remain on the wagon – the stream is definitely too deep for the small folks. Sheila and Callisto begrudgingly tie themselves to the wagon, and take point, leading their horse into the ice-cold water.

They slowly make the crossing. In the middle of the stream the two adventurers are almost up to their chests in the freezing water. Callisto curses, Sheila suffers silently. The worst part is that they cannot see the bottom under the fast flow, and there are rocks everywhere. They pull through, and the wagon’s front wheels are already out of the water, when suddenly…

*CRACK!!*

Treacherous underwater rocks! The vehicle slumps backwards. Pointy Kid and Julia quickly jump down, and everybody starts pulling --- and they manage to pull the wagon out from the stream, but realize that a spoke on the wagon’s right back wheel is broken! It must be repaired before they can proceed!

To be continued…