Farmlands

Once the seats are filled, the entrance closes and the magic lanterns dim. A moment later, a spotlight shines on the center of the ring, where the ringleader stands with his microphone.

"WELCOME, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, TO THE GREATEST SHOW IN THE WORLD! PREPARE YOURSELVES TO BE AMAZED, ASTONISHED, AND ASTOUNDED! TONIGHT, YOU WILL SEE SIGHTS YOU'VE NEVER IMAGINED! STUNTS YOU WOULD HAVE NEVER THOUGHT POSSIBLE! TRICKS THAT WILL MAKE YOU QUESTION THE VERY MEANING OF REALITY! FOR OUR FIRST ACT, FROM THE JUNGLES OF CARMELA, I GIVE YOU...RYSELLE OF THE WILDS!"

He gestures dramatically and a bell rings, cuing Ryselle to enter. The spotlight moves to her part of the ring.

Now past the northern gate, the little tan humanoid thing continued to run. Grain and other fields would rustle from below as it barreled through the forest of stalks it had immersed itself in... and then, suddenly, from one field it emerged, darting across a main road and into another expanse of farmland.

The lights focus onto Ringleader Rusmanov, who grins madly at the crowd and lifts his megaphone once more.

"NEXT UP, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WE HAVE OUR WORLD-FAMOUS ACROBATICS TROUPE! WE BRING YOU SKILLS THAT WILL ASTOUND YOU! STUNTS THAT WILL AMAZE YOU! TRICKS THAT WILL PUT YOU AT THE EDGE OF YOUR SEATS!"

The light moves away from him as the acrobats begin wheeling out complicated equipment and rigs. As up-beat calliope music begins playing, the trapeze artists begin their act. Swinging down from the top of the tent, they begin a complicated routine where they switch trapezes, grab onto each other, and soar over dancing bears. At the finale of their act, they launch themselves across the ring into the mouths of two waiting lions. As they fall into the lion's mouths, they vanish as though they've fallen into trapdoors. As the lions snap their mouths shut, the spotlight turns to two performers on an oversized teeter-totter. They jump on the teeter-totter, each using the force of the other's landing to propel themselves higher and higher into the air. As they soar ten, twenty, thirty feet over the sawdust-covered floor, they perform a series of backflips and jacknives, like a high diving display in reverse. After the teeter-totter comes the high wire. Performers in brightly-colored outfits prance and promenade down a tightrope strung across the top of the tent, leaving the audience at the edge of their seats as they jump and tumble over each other. Finally, the lights focus on the contortionist who distributed flyers at the Midnight Sun, still wearing her sparkly leotard. She begins twisting and bending her body in a somewhat disturbing fashion, forcing herself into shapes that would seem impossible for anyone with bones.

Once more, Ringleader Rusmanov steps into the spotlight and raises his megaphone.

"EXCELLENT! NOW, FOR OUR FINAL ACT: OUR DEATH-DEFYING STUNT TEAM! IF YOU THOUGHT THE ACROBATICS WERE DANGEROUS, YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING YET!"

There's a flash of light and a bang as alchemical firecrackers go off around the ring. As the smoke clears, seven figures stand in a circle, facing each other. They all wear dark hoods and sandals with two-toed shoes.

"I BRING YOU...THE KATASHIMAN SEVEN! THE MOST FAMOUS KNIFE-THROWERS IN ALL THE LANDS!"

In a blink of an eye, the seven figures all draw small knives from within their costumes. A rather nervous-looking clown rolls a large wooden sphere into the center of the Seven. It's painted with a large red bulls-eye on one side. The clown gives the ball a spin, sending into a blur of motion, and runs from the circle. As soon as he's clear, the Seven throw their knives, almost at the same time. When the ball stops, the audience would see that all seven knives were in the center of the bulls-eye. After the opening stunt, the Seven began a series of tricks where they juggled blades, flung them into flying targets, and did a series of acrobatics while dodging said blades. At the climax of their act, they positioned themselves in a circle, some twenty feet apart from each other. At the count of three from the ringleader, they each threw a knife at the head of the one to their right. A split second later, they all spun around to catch the incoming knife in their teeth. As the crowd gasped then cheered, the Katashiman Seven vanished with another bang and cloud of smoke. The ringleader was left alone, in the middle of the ring.

"THANK YOU, THANK YOU! THAT WAS OUR FINAL ACT OF THE NIGHT! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOURSELVES AS MUCH AS WE DID! THIS WAS RUSMANOV'S TRAVELING CIRCUS, AND WE HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT TIME WE'RE IN TOWN! TELL YOUR FRIENDS, TELL YOUR FAMILY! ONCE YOU EXIT, IF YOU'RE POLITE TO THE KEEPERS, YOU MAY GET THE CHANCE TO LOOK AT THE ANIMALS! PLEASE KEEP YOUR LIMBS AND INFANTS AWAY FROM THE LIONS! GOOD NIGHT!"

He walks out of the spotlight, off-stage, and the magic lanterns turn back on, illuminating the tent.

Elizabeth raised a single eyebrow as the griffin, in response to the touch, bowed low to Ryselle. She laughed at his showmanship before extending a hand towards the performer.

"That was quite a performance, your troupe is clearly quite talented. And you were correct, nothing could take me away from the Dawn Riders. I'm Lieutenant Finch, but you can call me Liz if you want, I am here off-duty, St. George here is a huge fan of the circus. And you clearly have a way with animals, most full-grown people would have lost a hand just now."

The Lieutenant noted her strange behavior but made no comment, the woman certainly had a gift for animals.

"Well, if you ever need a change of pace, we are always looking for people to help raise the young griffins and train them as they get older, as well as working with the ones who have lost riders or are injured. Someone with your talent could easily be one of our top raisers."

"The Dawn Rider Barracks in the Citadel, hold on..."

She fumbled around inside one of St. George's small saddlebags before producing a small medallion with the insignia of the Dawn Riders on it. She handed it to Ryselle.

"Anybody who questions you, tell them that you are looking for the Dawn Rider Barracks, and that Lieutenant Finch sent you. If they require more than that, show them the coin, its got a faint magical aura on it that identifies it as having come from me willingly. Alternatively, you can go into the Norkari Mountains and try to find the Griffin Eyries, but I figure the barracks is easier."

"And thank you for the wonderful performance." She smiled at the emotionless girl, hoping to elicit a response, but to no avail. And now that the show was over she had a patrol to begin. St. George followed her out of the tent and when they were clear of people she hopped on his back and the pair soared into the sky.

<Exit Fareen Farmlands, thanks for the show!>