Crooked Arm Circus

Crooked Arm traveling circus has arrived in the small, gloomy town of Nola. The performers of crooked arm for the most part have been with the circus for many years, some, even their entire lives so it did not take more than a single day of work for the traveling circus to be fully set up and ready for opening. The circus was not small either. With a grand total of 30 performers and entertainers and close to 100 supporting staff, they were well versed in their business and specialties. 

Lacy had just joined the circus in the last town and only been with them for merely a week. She was hired for her exceptional balance and will be performing with crooked arm for the first time in this town. Lacy woke up from loud noise in the bunk bed of her trailer where the main stage performers slept. Jerry, a bear handler was snoring loudly. She blinked a few times coming to her senses before jumping out of her bed, landing precisely and quietly like a cat.

Lacy quickly glanced around the bunk bed, there were 3 sets of 3 stacked beds, majority were empty. Only Kris and Jerry were still asleep. Lacy yawned and made her way to 1 of the 2 bathrooms, brushing her teeth and washing her face as she stared into the small, dirty, stained mirror of the trailer’s tiny bathroom. She swiped her hand over the mirror and sighed – “idiot” she said out loud before grabbing the towel and drying her face. 

She left the trailer and headed out to see if she could help with setting up the circus. It was merely 10am but work was in full gear, support staff was setting up and assembling stages and tents. At the center of the circus, a large tent was being set up which would house the main stage and up to 100 people in audience. ‘It truly is marvelous how quickly they could put those tents up’ Lacy thought to herself as she watched the ongoing work from a distance. 

She felt a tap on her shoulder – “Lucy! Help the guys with the ‘shocker’ stage” a firm voice came from behind her. She turned around with a gasp – “ah! Ahh, Mister Sterley! I will, but, my name is Lacy not Lucy! I told you this before” She frowned at the man who was clearly only half paying her any attention – “get to it then” he said and left. Lacy groaned a little as he left but then reminded herself – ‘no point in being angry at ignorant bastards’ 

The rest of the day she spent helping with miscellaneous tasks at various stages. The shocker stage where they performed tricks and displays of marvels of modern engineering and electrical work. The pyro-stage where the performers would entertain audience with anything from breathing fire to fire magic! At last, as the sun was setting, the main stage was set up and she, along with the main stage performers was summoned for rehearsals and briefing on the show. 

Mister Sterley stood in the middle of the arena looking stage, sat below the audience seating area by a solid meter. He was explaining something with obvious enthusiasm to Jerry the bear handler who shook his head and explained – “NO!  That’s out of the question” but Mister Sterley tried to persuade him to perform his idea. However, Lacy couldn’t quite make out the idea of the performance and a moment later was distracted by Kris leaning on her shoulder

Kris spoke sleepily as if he just woke up – “yeaaaaaa, old man likes to suggest the craziest ideas and then wonders why we argue with him!” Lacy turned and looked at him – “What’s it about?” Kris shrugged – “heck do I know. Hey got a second? I wanna practice a new magic spell I learned” Lacy raised her eyebrow – “huh? What is it?” Kris took his top hat off – “here, put it on, I’ll show you! It’s harmless I promise!” On the audience benches, Mela chuckled – “Do it Lacy! It’s funny!” 

Lacy hesitantly put Kris’s stereotypical magician’s top hat on and looked at him. Kris took a step back and cleared his throat – “And nooowww! LADIES AND GENTLMEN! Who likes bunnies? That’s right! EVERYBODY LIKES BUNNIES!” He said as he smirked at her – “And a one! And a two! And a pair of bunny ears be!” He snapped his finger and in that moment the top hat flew off of Lacy’s head with a puff and landed in his hand, and her head was decorated by 2 beautiful, long, bunny ears.

Kris bowed as if for audience and Mela applauded – “wooo hoo! You go Kris!” Lacy felt the bunny ears on her head, which felt real but not real at the same time. She raised her eyebrow and stared at Kris – “Soo??” he chuckled – “Magic of ILLUSION! A phantasm to be precise! Manifests a physical object or being into existence temporarily!” He put his top hat on and winked at her – “They kinda suit you by the way”  Lacy chuckled as she patted her ears and playfully posed, resulting in Mela whistling at her.

At last, Sterley approached them. Lacy made a mental note that Mister Sterley appears way older than he did when they first met, but she wrote it off instantly to her exhaustion and bad lighting probably. Sterley explained to them the main performance and what they should be practicing for –  “This performance will be a setup gladiator fights. Jerry and his bears will be fighting against the rest of you. Kris you’ll use your phantasm magic to create a bunny to distract 1 of the bears”

Sterley spoke enthusiastically – “Right and then Mela will jump in from the swings above and mount 1 of the bears! She’ll get thrown off and Lacy will then make hear appearance…” he went on and on with the details of performance which essentially boiled down to – ‘do what you always do but with bears around’. Lacy thought the idea seemed pretty entertaining until Sterley said-  “And then we’ll let the bears loose into the audience!” 

Lacy gasped – “w-what do you mean let them loose?” Kris shook his head-  “old man you lost it! Why would we put the audience at risk?” Sterley insisted – “No! Listen! It’ll be more engaging! It’ll be legendary! People will speak of being chased by bears and our circus will become famous for most engaging shows!” Jerry shouted behind Sterley – “I! SAID! NO!” Sterley turned around – “If you won’t do it! I’ll find another tamer who will!!!” 

Jerry spat on the floor – “Then do it old man! I won’t put normal people at risk” To which Sterley replied- “After all we’ve done in the past… surely you are not the 1 to talk to me of moral standards and risk factors ” Kris interrupted – “That’s enough Sterley! We don’t need…to talk of the past” Lacy stood quietly, oblivious to their past but curious of it nonetheless! She dared not speak up during the argument though and chose to remain silent. 

Same night, back in her trailer, unable to sleep as she kept thinking about what Mister Sterley said of their past, she heard somebody get up and quietly sneak out of the trailer. Judging by the shape she could see in the dim moonlight, it was Kris. She decided to sneak out after him and see what he was up to in the middle of the night. She quietly got out of her bunk and snuck out, following Kris from far enough that she thought she wouldn’t be spotted. 

Kris went around the corner of 1 of the tents and Lacy followed. As she rounded the tent Kris grabbed her arm, pulled her in and placed his hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t scream – “Haven’t you heard a saying ‘curiosity killed the cat?’” He said with a grin on his face. Lacy’s eyes widened from fear as she stared him into the eyes. Her mind raced, she panicked but then he released her mouth and gestured her to be silent. Lacy blinked a few times – “uhh… Kris? What’s going on?” she whispered. 

Kris gestured her to be quiet again and pointed towards the back, where in torchlight she could see figures moving about, gathering. Kris pulled her closer, hiding in the shadows, and whispered – “curiosity is bad in this place Lacy, but since you’re already here I assume you can’t sleep due to the conversation from earlier?” Lacy nodded. A few brief moments later, as figures in the shadows retreated into a couple of distant tents, Kris tugged on her sleeve – “follow me, i’ll show you” 

Kris took her to Sterley’s personal trailer and with a simple spell he created a phantasm of a key, unlocking the door into his trailer he swung the door open and gestured for Lacy to head in – “W-what are you doing?” she whispered – “This is illegal!” He nodded – “yes, but you want to know the truth don’t you? Head on in!” Lacy hesitated, which lead to Kris heading inside first. Lacy decided to follow. As they went inside, Lacy was taken aback by the sight that unfolded before her.

The walls of Sterley’s trailer were lined with bookshelves, hosting a variety of items, artifacts, and ancient tomes. Kris pointed at the back of the trailer where desk stood under the bed which hung above it. – “his diary, take a look but be careful” he followed her closely behind as she made her way through the small, narrow trailer littered with bookshelves. She gasped at 1 of the bookshelves which had a human foot in a jar, skeletons of various animals and a stack of skins… 

Kris pushed her to move along gently – “go on, we don’t have much time!” she nodded and then walked over to the table. On it, a book laid open to a blank page. She flipped it back a few pages and read 

‘Crooked hand log 257, today we hired a new performer for the main stage, she’ll make for a fine decoration when she gets too nosy. Her feet grip rope so firmly when she walks on it, almost like a monkey. Her slender body will make for a fine mannequin and her blood, surely, will taste great to our lord. I can’t wait!’

She gasped and tried to step back in fear but Kris blocked her retreat – “Find entry 128 next” She gulped, terrified out of her mind. Her instincts scream at her to run, run and never look back but Kris would not let her past him, not yet. ‘He wants me to see something else’ she thought as she turned the pages back with trembling hands.

‘Crooked hand log 128, today’s catch was exceptional, lord will be pleased. We managed to find 3 homeless women for his majesty’s feast, and 2 children got lost in the maze never to be found. Lord Azerius shall be fed for months’. She gasped, holding hand over her mouth she shook her head as Kris nodded – “yes. Azerius is a being from a different world, he promised prosperity to the original crew of the circus in exchange for lives. And although the deal has been settled years ago, it would seem Sterley has made another deal with it.

Kris burst into mad laughter – “and looks like you are the main treat for lord Azerius” and in that moment, Lacy awoke from the hellish nightmare, gasping and covered in sweat. Beside her an alcapa stood, chewing something – “so” he munched – “looks like you had a fun dream haven’tcha? What was it about?” said the alpaca. Lacy sat up in her bed and tried to control her breathing – “uhh, where, where am i?” she looked around as consciousness took over.

Alpaca grinned madly at her – “oi c’mon! Wake up sleepy head! You’re at the Crooked Arm circus, how much did you drink yesterday?” The alpaca chuckled – “come on, get washed up we got rehearsals to go through”. As consciousness took over she remembered that she was indeed a performer at the Crooked Arm, they recently hired a new guy and they were in the small town of Nola, getting ready for their weekend circus there. 

As lacy gone through her morning routine and ventured outside, the same alpaca was waiting for her by the trailer’s door – “there ya’re’ she smirked at it – “come on Kris, stop using your illusion magic. The alpaca laughed – “How do you know i’m not actually an alpaca that pretends to be a human?”. Lacy gave it a thought for a moment – “well, when have you seen an alcoholic alpaca?” the Alpaca chuckled- “oh so you’re saying only humans can be alcoholics? An interesting statement”  

Lacy shrugged – “well horses and alpacas don’t become alcoholics because they have no worries in life, i think…” Kris dispelled the illusion magic and chuckled – “Ah come on! Horses have many worries! What do you think horses at our circus think about when the audience lines up for rides? ‘I hope nobody fat is in the line’” he burst into laughter. Lacy chuckled – “or maybe ‘i hope none of them are town’s guards in armor’”. Kris laughed even harder. 

As they made it to the main performance stage, Lacy stumbled a little from getting dizzy as her mind filled with memories of the dream from last night. – “whoa there, you alrighty?” Kris said as he caught her before she fell. “I am fine” said Lacy as she regained her balance, dismissing the memories of the dream – “so, have the rehearsals started?” Kris nodded – “yeah, our performance is last so we’re right on time I reckon”

At the main performance stage, Meriana and Melinda were finishing up their aerial acrobatics performance as Kris and Lacy walked in. Their performance was exceptional as ever. Beneath them, Jerry guided the 2 bears to run back and forth while looking at the aerial acrobats swinging on the ropes above them. Lacy admired the rehearsal, no matter how many times she sees it, it’s still just as spectacular every time. 

Meriana and Melinda landed on a stand together and bowed, beneath them the bears growled and then stood up on their hind legs and waved, Jerry bowed as well, and then the 5 of them left the stage. Kris and Lacy both applauded as well as other performers who were observing the rehearsals. Announcer made it to the stage – “And now! Ladies and gentlemen! The famous dancing lama! No wait that’s not right… THe famous dancing ALPACA and his beloved rope walker who keeps rejecting him Lacyyyyy the balancer!” 

Kris smirked – “ah shit we are late! He used his phantasm magic to physically change his shape into an alpaca and ran to the stage, jumping up on it he performed a precisely coordinated trot, tapping his hooves on the wooden floor in a rhythmic beat as if a skilled irish step dancer! Following him closely behind, Lacy jumped up onto a rope, using the momentum and springiness of it she firmly planted herself on top of the rope.

Alpaca set the rhythm with it’s tapping and Lacy matched the rhythm with her rope walking dance. She bounced on the rope and did spins and flips, sometimes making it seem like she missed the rope or lost her balance, she would misstep and fall, grabbing onto the rope and instantly regaining her balance, to keep the audience on the edge of their seats with the thrill. 

The performance was almost over, Alpaca leaped into the air and landed on the rope on which Lacy was dancing, as one would expect, alpaca completely failed to hold balance on the rope and after a moment of violent swinging left and right he fell off the rope, landing on its front 2 legs doing an alpaca handstand, above him, Lacy matched the move, doing a handstand on the rope. 

After a brief moment, Lacy leaped down from the rope and Kris turned back to human, bowing to the would-be audience of the empty benches all around them. The few other performers applauded and Kris along with Lacy walked off the stage. Kris wrapped his arm around Lacy’s neck, pulling her in – “That was AWESOME!!!” He exclaimed excitedly! Lacy nodded – “yea! We nailed that dance, you set a really good rhythm, you’ve gotten quite good at step-dancing!” Kris blushed a little – “we..wellll… I have been practicing! Thanks for noticing!” – Kris said with a wide smile on his face – “still, no matter how hard I try, I just can’t figure out how you manage to balance on the rope, I swear it’s magic! Are you a magician and pretending to not be? Is that it??” Lacy chuckled – “no, I don’t know, it’s just, natural to me, I guess” she smirked – “so, we have 2 shows this weekend right? I wonder how busy it’ll get” 

As they walked away from the main stage, Lacy looked over her shoulder, and in the shadow of the main stage’s tent stood Mister Sterley, staring at them intensely as they walked away. Lacy shook her head – ‘it was just a dream’ she reminded herself as Kris’s voice brought her back to reality – “And then we can get DRUNNKKK” he said and laughed – “I heard this town has some fine wine! I hope they’ll reward it with a couple of barrels by the end of weekend!” 

Lacy chuckled – “yeah, just don’t turn into alpaca and start step-dancing on the table like you did last time”. Kris chuckled – “yeah don’t worry, I plan to spend the weekend nights with you by the riverbank, stargazing” Lacy leaned in and pecked him on the cheek – “idiot” she said to him teasingly.