The party spent the entire session inside the Seelie Market — the fae carnival also called the Seedling Market — set in a great amphitheater with a huge green dragon at its center. A magical stamp appeared on every hand at the gate, and the local currency turned out to be strands of human hair.
The first surprise came fast: Azran, a rogue Orimene believed dead since the disaster at the manor, was standing alive at a tool stall. He has no memory of how he survived, woke somewhere he once called home, and is now down to nine toes. Orimene recapped the original party's fate — killed by a color out of space, their leader Elra reduced to a head in a jar.
A vulture-like fruit vendor lured the group with the smell of sugared plums. Penelope and Puck failed their saves and ate the fruit; Orimene passed but bit in anyway and rolled badly — she shrank into a six-inch purple fairy dragon, able to fly and speak Draconic, understood only by Puck. The vendor vanished and the entry pamphlet sprouted new text: "Beware, side effects may occur."
At Hugo's card tent the party competed to trick the satyr dealer. Azran, Anar, and Puck won small purses; then Anar rolled a 28 and turned Hugo's own card into a hot dog. He won the grand prize and chose an ivory card carved with a house and an Ace, said to be able to create a doorway or bridge a gap.
Clawson Blink, a canine-featured trinket trader, deals only in stories for items of equal worth. Puck told tales on Orimene's behalf and traded a signet ring from the Delphi manor for a rust monster statuette, and a dagger for a glass rook. The silver snuff box was left behind. Clawson's hookah grew Puck to human size, then knocked him out cold on a natural 1; the party had to leash and steer his sleepwalking body for the rest of the night.
Oddlewind the fortune teller gave three readings, each a hook. Azran drew The Key inverted and was told a dream would bring the wrong answers. Orimene was warned a vengeful foe is hunting her and may arrive soon. The sleepwalking Puck was told a great responsibility he won't feel ready for is coming — lucky numbers 367, word of the day Bingo.
At Merryweather's Rare Birds, three companions joined the party: Tim the blue finch (Puck), Burb the fire-plumed fae bird (Orimene), and a black pearlescent raven that functions as a familiar (Anar). Orimene played matchmaker between Merryweather and Hugo and delivered a dinner invitation. As Merryweather thanked the group and insisted everyone was safe, blood dripped from her mouth — and Anar's instincts told him the carnies may not be here willingly.
Behind the trailers slept Paz, a moonstone dragon Penelope clearly knows. Paz asked about "the shipment" and whether they were close to clearing "our debt," briefly breathed Orimene back into human form (illusion only), took 40 gold from Penelope, and told her to see Gigi and return in the morning.
The big top show ended with Gigi taking the stage — an old woman whose whisper everyone hears in their own ear. After a fireworks-into-animals display she sank into the ground, inviting anyone who needed to "settle up" to find her. The hand stamps then burned into the letters GG.
In Gigi's tent — walls lined with a porcelain doll for every face at the fair — Gigi greeted Penelope as "Ms. Sweets," scolded her for the late shipment, and enforced obedience through pain channelled into the matching doll. Speaking or thinking ill of her cost the party hit points; Penelope bled from the mouth when she tried to reveal anything. Gigi handed over 20 gold and sent them to feed Paz. On the way out, a sign read "All she wishes is three nights good dreams," beside a jar of greenish-purple smoke. The session closed on the DM's aside that Gigi is "CR 25, in layers."
| Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Azran returns from the dead | A presumed-dead party member is back with amnesia and a missing toe — tied to the manor and the color out of space. |
| Orimene transformed into a fairy dragon | Six inches, fly 60 ft, speaks Draconic (only Puck understands). Human form only holds inside the market, as an illusion. |
| Anar wins the ivory card | A house-and-Ace card that may "create a doorway, bridge a gap" — a potential travel or escape tool. |
| Three fortunes delivered | A misleading dream (Azran/The Key inverted), a vengeful foe inbound (Orimene), an unwanted great responsibility (Puck). |
| Three bird companions gained | Tim (Puck), Burb (Orimene), and a raven familiar (Anar). |
| Penelope's debt exposed | She is bound to Gigi and Paz over a shipment and a debt; the party now bears the GG brand. |
| Merryweather bleeds while saying "you're safe" | Flagged plot-significant: the performers appear magically bound and not here willingly. |
Gigi controls Penelope through a doll and forbids her from speaking about the carnival. She must see Paz and return to Gigi in the morning.
The party's hand stamps burned into "GG" — Gigi can summon them.
Azran's misleading dream, Orimene's vengeful hunter, Puck's coming responsibility (367 / Bingo).
Merryweather's bleeding and Anar's read that the carnies are "not here willingly."
The sign and smoke jar outside Gigi's tent — dreams as her currency or aim.
The do-not-speak name of the entity from the previous session. Not Gigi.