[ set on whatever channel they've got set up that's just "people who aren't kidnapped"

holy shit guys, it's a plot infodump. The radio clicks on to Strange, who sounds very tired, possibly because the amount of sleep he's gotten over the past week is somewhere in the vicinity of jack-shit. ]

For all our new employees, welcome to the carnival. You were rescued from the manor of a fae known as "the Prince." He has previously kidnapped some of our number and warped their minds so they believe they serve him. Some have been rescued, some are still imprisoned alongside more of your fellow employees.

Previously, we were expected to simply behave and play along as he and the Ringmaster attempted negotiations. The reason why he's changed his strategy so quickly is that some of our number managed to steal an important artifact of the Prince's. I believe he still has some of the artifact's power stored in a battery of some kind, but I'm afraid I don't know the specifics. [ fill us in on that, Childerteam + Rooftop Adventure, Strange was under a magical mindwhammy for that part of the plot ]

Along with warping their minds, the Prince has poisonous magic of some sort. He also has transfiguration magic: some of the animals from the Hunt were servants and some of the animals prowling the islands are undoubtedly servants as well. Most worryingly, he has the power to take someone's true name—something which we believe happened to Papyrus's brother. Taking a true name essentially robs someone of their identity, their very essence of self. [ though the words are clinical, Strange's tone relays the fact that this is Bad News. ] We don't know of any way to retrieve one's true name except from the Prince himself.

The remaining members of the carnival are held prisoner inside the Prince's fortress. There's some sort of ward around the fortress that blocks radio communication and, most annoyingly, my scrying. There aren't any specific entrances to the fortress itself. It is alive as well, and can respond to the servants. Likewise, the Prince is an earth elemental which means that he's strongest at this sort of defensive outlasting.

[ and then Strange finally takes a breath and takes a sip of water. ]

I think it's obvious that charging at the castle head-first and recklessly won't work. We need a plan and we need to come up with one quickly. The Ringmaster suggested the idea of a challenge, challenging the Prince with a game that he thinks he can win though we know we can win. Alternatively, we did manage to rescue most of our number in Hell through a stealth operation. Something like that could be attempted again. [ yeah, that's right, they went to hell, sorry to drop THAT bombshell on you, newbies. ] I don't think I need to tell you how risky either of those options are but if you have any suggestions, now is the time to tell us.

( ooc: feel free to use this post for threadjacking/brainstorming/asking questions/catching your characters up on the plot/whatever! )

We've chased the target into the Ringmaster's tent, following it into the hole!

Get someone at the top of the ladder, I want a guard at the portal!

No, guards!

[This little fucker is fast and whatever it wants, if it leaves the Carnival grounds, it's game over.]

[It's evening, the Ringmaster reconnected one of the islands to the Carnival so never-kidnapped people can go back and forth, and the Prince still has a lot of captives inside that big stone fortress. Captives without cell phones or radios, so there's almost no way for information to get out. But even though the thick stone, things can happen over there that those outside notice pretty quickly. Especially given reason to think about the person in question.

The radio crackles on, then turns off. A full minute passes before he tries again.]

Does... Wait, I need to be mannerly first.

Hello, everyone! Does anybody know much about, well, sudden onset amnesia? Or, cures for it? I think... I'm getting worse.

[Way too much shit has been happening lately, from Julien's call on the radio to San's disappearance to the whole uneasy mess that was the Prince's little hunting excursion. What can Joker even do? He's the Stage Manager; this is out of his jurisdiction.]

[According to Lambert and Childermass, however, he can at least do this.]

Hello, folks. This is yer Stage Manager again, with a little reminder. We are guests here. So try ta follow the rules that have been set in place, alright? This includes at dinner, and at curfew.

I know we're all real curious, half of ya probably never even been in a castle before, but it bears repeatin'-

[And he very suddenly drops his warm and thick accent, going for something that almost sounds proper and is, thus, weird as hell coming out of Joker's mouth.]

Don't break the rules or curfew.

[Aaaaaand then it's back again.]

If yer havin' any trouble with anythin' or have questions, I'm available right now. Yer free ta come find me, over in the library. Have a good night, everyone.

[And for the love of god, don't do something stupid. He knows that's a lot to ask for, but please.]

All right, nightrunners. I’ll keep this short. I want a map of this place and I want to know what might piss the Prince off that they aren’t warning us about. The fae have rules, doesn’t mean they’re not out to trick us into breaking them.

[ It’s not like that’s how the Ringmaster gets a fair amount of her labor or anything. Last thing they need is someone turning into a vase. ]

You see anyone starting shit, figure out how to shut it down without getting attention. The Prince is going to have people working for him too -- don’t get too cozy, they’re not here to do us any favors. Learn anything worth knowing, tell the rest of us.

Any questions?

[Sans is blue.]
[Lambert is dark red.]

( [ Supervisors’ Channel ] )

[ Public Channel ]

[ Lambert’s voice is terse, and irritable: ]

Our next stop’s called Heartstone Manor. We’re going to go over some ground rules to make everyone's life, especially mine, a lot easier.

[Sans is also here.]

The RM has already covered a lot of this in her announcement, but it is officially our jobs to make sure that it sinks in. Dealt with True Fae before? Then you know this isn’t a joke. Yes, your fashion sense and table etiquette are now a matter of life and death. This is me, Sans, telling you to take this seriously. Hopefully that means something to you.

To summarize the gist of what was said, here are some basic RULES. The Nightrider and I will be watching. So, even if the Prince doesn’t catch you, we will.

[Sans recites “The Rules” like he’s just whipped out a pair of reading glasses and is quoting them from an official document:]

DO:

• Follow the daily schedule
• Follow dress code
• Be polite to The Prince and his servants
• Keep your radio on you

DON’T:

• Whine about everything
• Seed rebellion or talk about rules breaking on the network
• Make any deals or promises to other fae servants
• Lay any hard disses on The Prince, ever, under any circumstances
• Don’t sweat the small stuff: this is gunna grate on a lot of us, so just focus on the end goal… which is not dying

Don’t mess it up.

That, too.

Nightrider Lambert here. In case you haven't heard by now: the things on Kerner Island eat settled daemons. So find somewhere else to take a daytrip. If you go anyway, do me a favor and keep your radio on you. That way we can all hear what it sounds like when a soul gets eaten.

[ He's about to leave it on that cheerfully sarcastic note, but then the faint sound of a female voice chimes in, scolding. For those who've met her, they'll recognize it as Lambert's daemon, the golden-eyed polecat that wears a hawk's shape outside the carnival. ]

Lambert! You didn't have to say it like that!

[ It doesn't seem to shame him one bit, though, since Lambert's going to keep right on talking: ]

For those of you whose daemon hasn't settled yet, that doesn't mean you get to be an idiot about going out there. Slipping and breaking your neck would be a stupid way to die. That said, if you're interested in doing some nightrunner work--

Come find us! [ The daemon interrupts again, louder this time, and there's a brief sound of a scuffle before her voice finally comes through loud and clear. Now it's Lambert who sounds more distant (and distinctly annoyed), though she talks right over him. ] We've got a map and other things you can use!

[ ooc: Lambert and his daemon will both be replying to his post (and probably fighting over the radio button, honestly). For ease of clarity, her responses will be in italics! ]

[Scout is not entirely sure how to address the carnival like this, so there's a self-conscious sense to her voice.]

They're breeding, so we should probably get this done. If you brought an animal home from Alola, come share what it is so we know if there's any likelihood of it pairing off. Pokemon aren't speciated like normal animals. There are these broad categories they fit into where they can interbreed. This will result in an egg that will be like its mother, not a hybrid or something new.

I'm Scout, I have a togetic named Thranta. She'd be in two breeding groups, "flying" and "fairy", so she's compatible with anything in either of those if the sexes match. Right now I don't think she's that interested, but if I let her progress into her next instar maybe that'd change?

I can't tell you don't go out and encourage them, but you really should be careful and consider if you can handle a second or third animal. This isn't Alola and you can't just release them if you're tired of them.

[ After all that super serious fae speculation, surely the Nightrider would have something important to say, right? Of course he doesn't. ]

All right, so which of you jokers put an egg in Pig's pen?

[ If he sounds faintly annoyed, it's because he is. ]

Now I can't get her out of there -- and before you ask, yes, I tried putting her back in the ball, and then she tried stepping on my head. Obviously, I'm just a little concerned why my horse has decided to try and hatch whatever this is-- [ He breaks off midway, yelling away from the radio. ]

Hey! Baker! I told you to leave that alone!

[ And on that inconclusive note, the radio post ends. ]

Uh, hello. This is Marinette. I know everyone's still recovering from the weird other world stuff that happened and all.

I guess I was just wondering if anyone here knew how to use a sword? Like, a real sword, for battle.

[She knows that a really weird thing to ask, but explaining it would just take so much time...]

So... Let me know!