Circus Game II

Actual Play We open outside a small village in Romania. It is late autumn, late evening. A circus big top is set up in a field at the side of the road. Vilalgers bustle around the big top and surrounding trucks and tents, enjoying the show. Scene One Nadja the fortune teller is hit on by sleazy drunken teenage boys. Constantina the monkey trainer sticks up for her, in a naive way. The lizard boy throws a spanner at the boys as things start to look more sinister. The boys retreat. Scene Two The albino strongman is removing makeup in the changing tent. A middle aged woman walks in, and begins to speak with him. She is lonely, and thought he looked approachable. As she's talking, a massive bruise appears on her cheek. She tells Lukas that she is worried about her family, after what happened to her. When the lizard boy arrives, she disappears. Scene Three The twins Alex and Alexis are returning from their performance, and see two more teens creeping up to the monkey cages with a screwdriver to taunt and steal the monkeys. They confront the boys, freaking them out. They lead them into the freak-show tent, then lock them in the long-drop. The monkeys then arrive courtesy of the monkey trainer, to taunt them and eventually let them out. Scene Four At the front of the circus, the PCs meet up to discuss the unsettled night. They are interrupted by the mother figure of the circus, the tattooed lady, who is frog marching a bruised young boy out to the street. He has tried to sneak in, and is given a kick up the arse as a reward. He heads home. The PCs talk of going into town, but the tattooed lady suggests that there could be trouble, so they should just have some food and a quiet night. Scene Five The PCs awake, and the rest of the circus is gone. They have been drugged, and it is late in the morning. They drive into town, blowing a gasket on the way in one of their trucks, which slows them down somewhat. Scene Six Lunch at the hotel in town. Paid for by the rest of the circus, who have continued on. Scene Seven Meet the blacksmith, can't afford to pay for the gasket. He's an old circus hand. He offers to help them if they woo a lady for him (whose father hates him). Scene Seven Go to the farm house and try to woo the lady. Her father is an abusive drunk who killed his wife (the ghost the strongman met at the start). The scamp from the start is her brother. The PCs fight with the father, subdue him. Scene Eight Confrontation in the middle of the village. Blacksmith + Lady + PCs vs Cantankerous Father. The sherrif is enrolled to help, and he expells the PCs, and promises to keep an eye on things in town. Coda As the PCs drive away, they discover a letter from the blacksmith. He tells them that he's heard of a tragedy that befell their circus one year ago. There were many deaths. He could tell from looking at them that the PCs weren't carrying that burden, so assumes they were new members of the circus. They are not, and cannot remember any tragedy from a year ago...