The Ghost of the Big Top (Circus Thread. Open)

[Essik]

25th Day of Summer, AV 511

If there was one thing that he had always hated about Sunberth it was the winds that kicked their way through the outskirts of the city. As one moved further away from the center of the population, the buildings had less time to stop the winds that would whip across the countryside around the city. The quick and dramatic temperature changes between day and night usually meant that there were good winds that would push through the wilds outside the city. And through the outskirts, there were just not enough buildings concentrated about to keep the wind from getting to you. And Essik hated that fact. Granted, the temperature right now was a lot warmer than it had been the last time he had been out in these parts. Before he’d gotten laid up for as long as he had.

While he had recovered, Essik had heard rumors that the circus had fallen apart where it had sat, in the middle of the old troupe’s work of disassembling the whole thing. He’d been there the day that everyone had started getting ready to leave for the next big city. Everyone had started working to tear all the tents down and pack all the equipment and belongings onto the carriages. He’d been called back into town by his mentor for one last mission before he’d be heading off to other cities. That was a whole different story. But needless to say, it had seen him all but crippled for the last months on end, recovering his strength and abilities to where they had been before his wounding. It was during that time that he had heard about the dissolution of the performers and the entire enterprising endeavor. It had saddened him to head about it, and it had saddened him more that he could do nothing to help until he was fully recovered.

Even now, as Essik headed toward where the circus had last been, he was still favoring his right leg a bit. But he needed to see it with his own eyes finally. He had been putting up fliers across the city to hear information about any of the performers that might still be in the area, or anyone else who might want to join into the whole thing. He posted on them all when and where to meet up, and he was on his way there now. He wanted to be the first one to see it all. See what had become of everything. If anyone was interested, they would soon show up there. If not, he was going to have a lot of work to do by himself. Essik sighed as he spotted the ragged top of the main tent still sticking over the top of the near by buildings. There were holes in it and the flags on top of the main braces were tattered, torn, and dirty. He closed his eyes for a second, shaking his head as he continued on down the street.

As he arrived at the location, he saw just how bad it was. Things had simply been left where they lay. People had just dropped everything in the middle of taking the whole thing down and left it there for the weather. The animals were all gone, off to destinations that only the gods truly knew. The carriages, some of them empty or half loaded, some of them already completely loaded, were still sitting in their lines, waiting patiently for their loads to be lashed down for the journey that never came. The performer’s tents were already down, but only one was loaded to where it needed to be. The entire scene was a massive chaotic mess. Essik couldn’t understand what had come of all of it. He wondred what happened to Jokor and Leiwienn and Cheska. He smiled a little at the thought of Cheska, nodding to himself knowingly for a second before he started to make his way further into the cluttered mess, picking out things that would need to be fixed or replaced. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know how much it was going to cost to replace the animals for any of the acts, but that would only be necessary if he could find some talent to train and display them. But horses would be needed for sure, if only for the wagons.

Essik eventually found his way intot he tattered remains of the “big top’ tent. The inside had been used by the homeless of the city for however long before even they had grown tired of it. Or at least they were too busy out grifting and begging to realize that he was in the middle of their ill gotten home. Essik was pretty sure that getting ride of the squatters would be trouble. He knew that if he had found a place like this during his time on the streets that he and his companions at the time would have fought tooth and nail to keep it. But those poor kids would find him to be a fair match for them in his determination to exercise them from this place.

Essik looked up to the towering top of the tent, looking to all the holes torn in the fabric, some small, some large. They dotted the surface of the top, letting lances of sunlight pour in through places where it wasn’t meant to. All the riggings around the main masts had all been torn down or broken as it had sat there over the months. The masts themselves had gouges taken out of them in places. It was amazing that they had retained the weight of the tent without crumbling before. They would need to be replaced whenever they were taken down.

Essik sat down on the single item sitting in the middle of the tent, the Ring Leaders Raiser. The circulat metal stand had remained in tackt, if a little rusty in places. It let out a slight creak of protest as Essik sat down on it, groaning out from the sudden use after sitting abandoned for so long. Essik sighed shaking his head slightly for a second as he waited. If there were others, they would be there soon. He hoped, anyway…

[Bob Barton]

Bob had the flier in his hands and first thing he did was cheer like a little kid "Ooooohh! A circus." Whats a circus? It depends on who you hear it from. Some people would say its a place of dreams where you experience magnificent and incredible things. Others say its a place full of freaks and monsters, where those who are down in the dumps can laugh and jeer to feel good about themselves. But eventhough those two reasons are enough to make Bob interested he was looking for the circus for another reason. He was going there to see if he can find his old sword teacher from Syliras. She apparently told him once that before being a street busker she was also in a circus. By any luck he might run into her here and learn some more tricks.

Even with the flier in hand Bob found himself getting lost on the streets of Sunberth for a few hours. Even asking directions did not help much since the people did not know much about it. When he finally found it he was met with disappointment at the state of things. It was a dump. There was nothing. Nothing to give him fun and joy, nothing for him to mock and feel good about himself. A colossal waste of time. Still it doesn't have to be like that, Bob would look around to see if there is anything he can scrounge up. Maybe there would be some things left behind which he can claim for himself in this broken dream.

With his cane he walked around the grounds. Poking at things which stood out to him to see whether there is anything in them or to make sure things are safe for him to grab a hold of. Like those tarps on the ground. When Bob lifted it up with his cane some mice ran out making him let out a little girly scream and backing out. And those big planks. When Bob poked them to try and push them out of the way, he found some sticky stuff stuck on them. Lucky he didn't use his hands or that will be a mess. Then at the carriages when Bob pushed the door open with his cane half expecting something to jump at him, he sighed in relief when he found nothing there. And then he fell back to disappointment because he realized there was nothing there.

With nothing left around the grounds he headed to the biggest thing he could see. The giant tent in the middle. No sense in wasting time on the smaller ones. As Uncle Marny always said "Bigger is better!" Bob headed into the tent and at the entrance saw that he was not the only one with the idea of salvaging anything. While the man was busy with whatever it is he was doing, Bob snuck on towards the audience seats hoping to hide behind one of the chairs to watch what the man was up to. He forgot about his cane while he was sneaking and it accidentally brushed on some of the things loudly before he hurriedly grabbed it and continued his sneaking praying that he won't be caught. Behind the seats he peered out his head a little as he continued to watch the man.

[Leiwinn]

Sunberth. She was back. The trip had taken her a long time, though she had gotten off to a late start. She was the last of them to leave. The last member of The Circus. Jokor had departed almost immediately upon reaching Syliras, but the others lingered for a while before all of them eventually parted ways. Some hadn't even made it out of Sunberth, and they should have known by the failure in Zeltiva that the Circus would be doomed. But the remaining few, for whatever reason, had pushed on to Syliras. And it ended there. Leiwinn was back now, and her ox groaned as she led it down a hill and into the city of Sunberth. Her memory of the city was not enough to get around easily. Her childhood had been spent traveling from place to place blindfolded, only seeing the area immediately surrounding wherever her mission was to take place. After she killed the Father she hadn't even known how to get back to her home, and so she stayed in inns or on the streets until the Circus had come. The Circus had been a way out of the city, but she was back now. She intended to find the home of the Father and search for clues to her past. She knew there were other assassins, the Family as they were called, but she knew not how to contact them. First she had to find the home of the Father. But those thoughts were purged as she spotted a flier tacked to the wall of a nearby building. The Circus? I am all that's left of the Circus.. but that flier is new. A meeting? Leiwinn was intrigued. She led her ox back to the place where her journey had started. The abandoned ruins of the original circus brought back memories. So few had moved on to Zeltiva, they couldn't even bring all their supplies. Money and resources had been pooled to rebuild the Circus once they reached the port city. It was strange seeing the place, but she saw no evidence of a meeting. Thinking a moment, she tethered the ox to a broken wagon and headed for the big tent in the middle. Leiwinn stepped inside and looked about. She had performed here only once before moving on. Her skills had barely improved since. So few opportunities to train had presented themselves. She did not see the man sneaking about, her eyes were fixed on the figure in the center of the ring. He was sitting on the ringmasters stand. She smiled, recalling the little pycon, but the smile faded quickly. He had been the first to leave.. But who was sitting in his place. Leiwinn approached the man, trying to get a look at his face. 'Never forget a face,' the Father had always said, 'But most importantly, do not forget the name that goes with that face.' It was Essik. He too, had abandoned them, yet here he was now. Why? "It was you who put up the fliers?" It was as much a statement as it was a question. Essik would have to explain himself, that much was for certain. And why now, what made him want to start again. He hadn't even come with them to Zeltiva, yet he wanted to return to where it all started. And what's more, did Leiwinn even want to try again?

[Essik]

OOCSorry it took me so long to get a post up on here. I was trying to give people time to post if they wanted to. But I guess they can just jump in later, too. If anything, I might add a bunch of non-descript NPCs later, too.

The sound of silence had been oppressive as he sat there in the tent, waiting patiently. He had hoped that there would be more of an interest in getting this whole operation up and running once more. HE had hoped that there would be more people there to share the work load. But if it came down to it, he could always see about hiring some muscle for the bulk of the work. That would still leave the whole thing short on performers, though. And that would be a large problem. He’d just have to work that out along the way. He could always go out and find the acts instead of them coming to him. The thing that was going to be the hardest was coming up with the funds to put the whole thing back together until they were able to start performing and bringing in money again. So he was going to have to find something here in town to raise money for the cause.

Essik looked around as a loud noise brought him out of his mental planning and back to reality. His eyes surveyed the area slowly, looking for what had made the noise. He knew there were probably small animals and rodents running around the grounds these days, so it could have just as easily been one of them. If anyone else had come, they would realize to meet up in the “Big Top” to wait for anyone, so Essik continued to sit there and wait. The noises of the circus’s current inhabitants would have to wait. They’d all be run off once they realized that there were other people living and working here constantly once again.

Essik’s eyes caught movement at the entrance to the tent, his hopes lifted once more as he saw someone enter into the massive space along with him. His head cocked to the side slowly as a realization dawned on him. He knew this person from before. It took him a second to remember her name as she walked across the distance to where he sat. Even though they hadn’t talked much before he had been called away, he still remembered her. Everything about her seemed to speak of deadly seduction. He had met more than a few other assassins in his day and he had a decent ability to pick them out. He was pretty petching sure that she was another assassin. And the fact that she was still around meant that she had to be a pretty darn good one, too.

Essik had to admit that Leiwinn was the last person he was expecting to see come striding her way through the entrance. She was, after all, a very beautiful woman and he had never quite known what she was doing with the circus before. He figured she had motives like him. The circus was a good way to travel between cities while building one’s skills at the trade. Still, he definitely wasn’t going to complain about having the woman there. If anything, she might be able to help him out with getting other people going for the endeavor as well. After all, if their motives behind it were similar, it would be easy to turn the entire operation into a front for a larger, seedier business. But that could easily be talked about later. For now, getting things back up and running came first.

He stood as she got closer, bowing his head to her, but not letting his eyes stray from her face. As she spoke, he raised back up to his full height once more, nodding for a second,” Yes, it was me. I felt that I owe it to this old ghost to bring it back around after I left in such a hurry. I feel that it might have been my fault that its collapse started. So, I want to remedy the error I made and bring it all back together, to breathe life back into this establishment and bring it to the glory it deserved before everything fell apart.”

His eyes searched hers for a moment as he worked to try and glean anything he could from them,” And you? What happened to you and the others after I was called away?”

[Treasure]

Treasure She moved excitedly, hurrying as much as she could in her human form. She'd pretty much just entered Sunberth when she'd seen the poster. Circus.. She didn't know what it was, but the word had a fun ring to it. Of course, shed pronounced it sirsus at first, and been corrected by the gangly old man she'd asked directions from. Her brown eyes scanning and taking everything in as she went. Civilization is weird. Then she was there, and it looked shaggy and roughed up. Now this is more like it! Much more natural! This had to be her kind of people. She walked forward, waving idly at an ox tied down. She fixed her cloak under her backpack and smoothed the wrinkles out of her grey dress. She was ready. No wait! She tried to smooth down her hair, she'd prefer it looking like lazy black waves than a frissy black birds' nest. Now she was ready. She stepped into the big tent and saw two people in the middle, she walked towards them, a smile on her lips and eyes ablaze with excitement. "Hello, am I late? This is the circus, yes?"

[Jerico]

Jerico looked down at the flier in his hand, he had pulled it down from the wall in Sunberth. Reading it once more he looked up at the big top tent before him. He was here once again looking for a job, money income was slow from performing at the local inns, so he figured that getting paid to perform instead of performing for money might be a bit smarter. Stopping outside of the tent he checked to see if his mandolin was still strapped to his back, it wouldn’t be a surprise for it to be gone after walking around Sunberth. He spotted a woman and a man talking inside, he could see a girl walking towards them as well. Looking around for anyone else he put on the biggest smile he could and stepped into the tent. “Well hello there! Is this where the circus is supposed to be meeting?”

[Bob Barton]

Was a circus really such a place after all? Where dreamers gather to try and live out their ambitions. After Bob started hiding, more and more people entering the big tent as he did. Either to join or satisfy their curiosity. The exotic looking woman was different. Knowing what she wanted she headed straight to the man in the middle.

It looked like they were having some sort of disagreement. The man submitting himself to the woman. Maybe she was the leader of this troupe? That looked interesting so Bob got back on his knees and started crawling along the seats to get around them and have a better look. Keeping his hands and knees close together to keep quiet was hard in such a narrow space and he nearly for a few times tripped over himself. But finally after so long he was able to circle them and peeked over the seats. Bob liked what he saw. Lost in admiration he forgot that he was sneaking around and raised his head a little bit higher to get a better view.

From the entrance he could see more people coming. A man and woman this time asking whether this was the circus, like it wasn't obvious from the way the strange place looked. But then again...that is according to what Bob knew from a random flier he found. This place may be called a circus but thats only in name. Where are the animals, the performers and happiness? Bob decided that he will stick around his hiding spot before doing anything else. In Sunberth, a mistake can get you killed.

[Essik]

OOCI’ll step in for Leiwinn for the moment just to continue things on. Leiwinn, feel free to hlop back in whenever you want to and we’ll just continue from there.

Essik looked over from Leiwinn as he saw another figure enter the massive tent asking about the circus. Essik smiled to Leiwinn, holding up his index finger to indicate that she should give him a minute before he headed off to the newcomer. He carefully sized her up a little bit as he walked over toward where she stood. She seemed well enough. She wasn’t dirty, decently dressed, halfway neat hair. She seemed better off than a lot of the people in the city, that was for sure. He smiled warmly to her as he stopped in front of her,” Hello, my name is Essik. Welcome to the new and upcoming circus. You’re in the right place.” He waved his had around the large interior space,” This whole thing may not look like much, but with a little effort she’ll be right back off the ground again and bringing in crowds day in and day out once more.”

Just as he finished, another soul ventured into the big Top. Essik’s smile widened a little bit more, seeing that there actually were people who were interested in this whole enterprise. It raised his spirits to know that there was a fighting chance to see the circus get back off the ground. He motioned for the man to walk over to where he stood, waiting for him to approach before he greeted him,” This is indeed the meeting for all those interested in the Circus. My name is Essik and I am the one working to try and organize this whole thing. As you can both see, the circus has fallen into disarray and I wanted to find like minded people who are willing to see this old thing brought back from the brink to see it alive and active once again. I take it that you two are interested in possibly joining us here?”

[Treasure]

She listened to the man, looking him up and down. He didn't seem like so big a threat, but he was obviously the alpha of this particular herd/pack. He showed teeth when smiling, but he seemed friendly enough, perhaps he was just showing that he outranked her?

"I am interested, yes! What do I need to do?"

She didn't exactly know a lot about circuses, in truth, she knew nothing about them, but she was willing to give it a go and do her best.




((ooc: sorry crappy reply, but dunno when I can get internet next time, so rushed it.))

[Jerico]

Jerico laughed weakly as he walked towards Essik, taking the time to glance around at the tent. For a split second he thought he had seen someone moving around in the shadows of the tent, he dismissed as a trick of the light. "Good to meet you Essik. Good that I'm in the right place as well, though I can see that the circus has indeed fallen into disarray like you said..." A wide grin spread across his face as he extended his hand in a friendly handshake. He directed his sight to Essik, trying to read into what he was thinking about with all these different people showing up. "I'm Jerico Evans, I'd love to help out getting this place revived and running again. It's sad to see a place like this that used to entertain some many people in rubble. I'm an entertainer myself you see." Still grinning he gestured to the mandolin strapped to his back. Everything Jerico had seemed to be in a semi-falling apart stage, everything except for his mandolin. Which of course was in almost perfect condition thanks to his constant care for the instrument.