"May I present to you Mona and Yuli, the Knot Sisters." As he slowly backs through the performers' entrance, the two halfling dancers you saw earlier, in the full bodysuits, emerge from behind the Carnival Master as he discreetly exits. They sport serpentine makeup, scales affixed to the sides of their face and arms. Approaching the central spire, the pole that holds the tent up, one immediately leaps onto the shoulders of the other, bending her back a near-impossible amount, creating this humanoid sculpture that you see the front row cringe at the idea of the pain that would cause an average individual. But these halflings are very nimble and able to create almost a single form out of two bodies.
Their rigid form becomes fluid to the eye as they move and shift to the music, the violin now sourceless once again, not seeing where this Desmond is placed, but they seem to move as it picks up speed. LAURA: (whispers) It's like the serpent we fought, you guys! SAM: I was expecting more Ringling Brothers, actually. (laughter) MATT: Suddenly, the top one folds over and slams into the ground, tumbling across the center in a wild display of physical control. The two of them begin to tangle and wrap like two battling snakes, their bodies seemingly disconnecting from the rigid halfling forms you had seen, and you swear, for a moment, becoming serpentine-like as they intertwine around the base of this pole. It's beautiful and violent at the same time. It's off-putting https://casinoslots-sa.co.za/free-online-slots. And watch as they curl around the base of this pole, the lights above begin to become a dull greenish-blue, and get darker and darker, presenting this imagery of the underworld. One by one, they silently tell a tale of struggle, crawling across one, then the other, one at a time, using their serpentine-like forms as an extending ladder, folding over each other as they use every muscle in their body to cling around this pole and ladder-step up like a snake. It's a very strange but alluring sight, and you can't help but notice that you forget that these are two halfling girls, and you find yourself pulled into this wordless story they tell of climbing back to their place, to the surface, towards the dark sky of lightless blue cloth. As the baubles that contain the interior light of the tent begin to glow brighter and brighter, their climbing becomes more fevered. The two of them, arm into arm, leg into leg, rolling up and swirling, until eventually at the apex they grab each other's arms around the pole before spinning downward, back-to-back, legs outward, with a rapid pace, the music coming to a full crescendo. Like a Maypole, they both curl and twirl and then tumble to the ground before the audience with a flourish, arms in the air, and the audience erupts in applause. (applause) MATT: As they both begin to back away, smiles on their faces, nodding to each other, Gustav emerges once more from the performers' flap. The fool appears at the back entrance again, taking an ominous tune with his violin this time, his outfit no longer blue but deepset black. The hanging lights darken once again as Gustav takes the center stage. "In a flash, beyond the ash, the "gods all went and gone. The darkness came to grasp, reclaim, and suffocate the dawn." Suddenly, out of the darkness behind him, a burst of flame lights the room. "But from that night, a burning "light doth keep back shadows' bane. The strength to fight will set alight the morning sun again. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Ornna the fire fairy." And Gustav leaves the tent once more. As you watch, a pair of metallic fans, alight with flame, now frame the beautiful woman of short red hair you had seen before in the procession. Gustav slinks into the darkness and vanishes as Ornna spins in hypnotic twirl, her simple dress of golds and reds almost glowing in the firelight around her, the flickering of the flames giving her the visage of a warrior-goddess battling the dark that surrounds. The frenzied fiddle of the fool picks up as she twirls the fans in her grasp, her face stoic and graceful simultaneously. The hushed awe of the audience fills the air, watching this magnificent warrior strike at the shadows, the lights above flickering brighter with each spin and dive, banishing the shadows from the room. She matches the pace of the music, drawing to a crescendo, and leaps, and barrel-turns and climaxes with her striking a powerful pose as the lights rocket to a victorious luminescence. Once again, the crowd goes crazy. (applause) LAURA: This is really different than most carnivals that I've gone to. SAM: It's very artistic, yeah. MATT: Gustav enters as she exits with a bow, the fans flickering out. He enters clapping at Ornna. A low drumbeat begins to beat in the distance as the fiddle grows tense once more. "Even as the sun "would rise anew, bellowing roars will quake the lands of Xhorhas and beyond. Terrible beasts, now "freed from their dark masters, scattered into our world." (roars) A terrible, guttural roar shakes the room, followed by the sounds of grinding and dragged chains. From behind the performers' flap, the half-orc, Bo, who you'd met earlier, the Breaker, and the fool, who is now still playing the fiddle, yet the bow of it continues to go on its own as he drags the other chain with his arm, wrapped around his forearm. The two of them pull something through the flap. It swells, and from beneath it is revealed an enormous creature of green scales, slimy-looking skin, and a corpulent form, large toad-like legs frame a rotund torso, and muscular arms that are manacled and pulling him in. It fights and wrestles against the taut chains as it's pulled further and further towards the center of the tent, but is held in place by the two men. It roars a second time. (roars) The front row immediately pulling back and screaming. You hear kids begin to cry. A handful of townsfolk shoot to their feet, grasping the children in fear, preparing to run. LAURA: Have we ever seen anything like this before? MARISHA: Yeah, what's it look like? LAURA: Well, he just described what it looked like. MARISHA: By name. MATT: You have not seen this creature. Gustav continues, seemingly unflinched by its approach. "The devil-toad crawls hungrily--" SAM: But what does it look like? (laughter) MATT: "--into the land of the free folk, lording over nightmares as they say, and what truth lies "behind the eyes of this beast? What would be learned when the guiding heart of innocence "pierces the hateful soul and brings it to see beauty for the first time? I present to you the "vivid voice of Toya." And as Gustav backs away, the devil-toad struggling against the chains, a soft, faint voice begins to slowly emanate from the air-- (a voice appears in the background music) (exclamations) MATT: Eyes previously locked on the frightening creature now seek a source and find, atop a platform within the chamber, high up on a small platform set against the apex of the pole, a young dwarven girl, maybe 12 years of age, her braided golden hair clasped and her hands at her side, a white dress obscuring her feet. She sings with a mystifying, mature voice that pierces your hearts with joy, unexpectedly and uncontrollably. The crowd audibly gasps as one, the entrancing song of this girl bringing every person into this music. The devil-toad stops struggling against the chains, seemingly caught by the sound of her voice. Its face drops into a soft smile as it slowly walks towards the base of the pole and sits. The half-orc and the fool drop the chains and back away, leaving the beast free in its rapture. Her voice almost begins to summon a chorus from the ether, magical in nature, as there are no others but her joining into this piece.
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