@Kettlesteam The Kenku snoops around the carnival under the cover of a @Disguise Selfspell, looking to cause trouble. The kenku has stolen the voice of a human mime named @Candlefoot (see @Hall of Illusions in the chapter). While this prize remains in her possession, @Kettlesteam can speak clearly in @Candlefoot's soft, silky voice.
If @Kettlesteam has not already been caught, a character who spends 1 hour searching for the disguised kenku can, with a successful DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) check, see through her disguise while moving through crowds and paying close attention to suspicious-looking folks. If discovered, @Kettlesteam tries to flee from the main thoroughfare, using tents and other carnival features to break line of sight to her. She’s willing to cautiously parley with characters who claim they are investigating the carnival for their own reasons.
Additional roleplaying notes can be found in the bio for @Kettlesteam.
If the characters corner her, @Kettlesteam tells her story in the voice she stole from @Candlefoot:
Many years ago, she made a fey pact with @Zybilna, the archfey who rules the Feywild domain of @Prismeer. Recently, @Kettlesteamhas become convinced something is amiss with her patron. As a @Warlock, she senses that @Zybilnais no longer in touch with her—a very disconcerting thought!
@Kettlesteamwants to question the carnival’s owners about @Prismeer, but they keep giving her the cold shoulder. She’s sure they know more than they’re letting on.
During her last visit, @Kettlesteamoverheard @Mister Witch and @Mister Lighttalking in @Witch and Light's Wagon . She repeats the conversation, using her Mimicry trait to imitate @Mister Light's agitated voice (“Someone is going to find out about this! They’ll shut us down!”) followed by @Mister Witch's calm yet firm reply (“We agreed to this pact. Our hands were forced but our eyes were open. We let @The Hourglass Coven take what it wants, and in return, we stay in business. That is what you want, right?”).
@Kettlesteam is causing trouble in the carnival and refuses to stop until @Mister Witch and @Mister Light divulge what they know about @Zybilna and @Prismeer.
Due to the terms of her fey pact, @Kettlesteam can’t enter @Prismeer. She urges the characters to find out what has happened to @Zybilna.
If one or more characters are working for @Madryck Roslof (see the “Warlock’s Quest” adventure hook in the "Beginning the Adventure" section) and the characters mention @Madryck Roslof by name, the @Kenku ruffles her feathers and lets out a squawk, admitting that she and @Madryck Roslof are rivals who happen to share the same patron ( @Zybilna ). Each thinks the other is untrustworthy.
If questioned about the theft of @Candlefoot's voice, @Kettlesteam produces a corn husk doll with a thorny stem tied around its neck. The doll represents @Candlefoot, and untying the stem restores the mime’s lost voice. Any character who succeeds on a DC 12 Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check can convince @Kettlesteam to part with the doll.
Characters who befriend @Kettlesteam earn a valuable ally in the carnival. She can offer advice, or even help the characters steal @Mister Witch watch (see “Burly’s Plan” earlier in the chapter).
If the characters miss the opportunity to meet with @Mister Witch and @Mister Light , @Kettlesteam comes up with a plan similar to @Burly’s: she encourages the characters to steal @Mister Light’s @Witchlight Vane and use it as leverage to blackmail the carnival owners into showing them the way to @Prismeer. How the characters acquire the @Witchlight Vane is up to them, but @Kettlesteam is happy to help.
If the characters reunite @Candlefoot with his voice, note this accomplishment on the Story Tracker. The grateful @Candlefoot gives the characters an acting lesson at the earliest opportunity, giving them a talent that might prove useful in chapter 4 (see the “Fey Beacons” section).
Once he regains his voice, @Candlefoot seeks out @Palasha the Mermaid and proposes marriage to her. Reuniting the couple causes the carnival’s mood to rise by 2 steps (see “Tracking Mood” in Chapter 1: Witchlight Carnival). From that point on, @Palasha the Mermaid and @Candlefoot treat the characters as trusted allies, which could prove useful during the crowning of the Witchlight Monarch, as they both have roles to play in the coronation.
If the characters gain leverage over @Mister Witch and @Mister Light, either by stealing the @Witchlight Watch or through some other scheme, the carnival owners lead them to the @Hall of Illusions and march them inside:
As Witch and Light move through the Hall of Illusions, their reflections in the mirrors show them as gloomy shadar-kai children, with your own youthful reflections following behind. Soon, they call you to a halt. The mirrors now reflect everyone’s true age.
Mister Witch addresses you in a hushed tone. “Everything you seek and more lies beyond this mirror. If you mean to step through, then stand in front of the glass and repeat this rhyme: @Hither, @Thither, here and there; wander @Yonder, show me where.”
Mister Witch and Mister Light won’t mention The Hourglass Coven or the splintering of @Prismeer, but they share the following information if pressed:
The land beyond the mirrors is called Prismeer, wherein dwells the carnival’s secret patron, the archfey @Zybilna. Anyone who sneaks into the carnival without a ticket is robbed of something precious. Whatever is stolen always finds its way to @Prismeer. The mirror is a one-way portal. Once they arrive in Prismeer, the characters must find their own way back to their world.
When a character recites Witch’s rhyme while standing in front of their present-day reflection in the Hall of Illusions, read: Mist swirls in the mirror, blotting out your reflection. Any creature that touches the surface of the misty mirror is pulled through it and deposited in @Hither, one of Prismeer’s three splinter-realms (described in chapter 2). If a character tries to take either the @Witchlight Watch or the @Witchlight Vane through the mirror, the item drops to the floor as the character crosses the threshold. Neither item can be taken to @Prismeer, arriving on @The Queen's Way.
If Mister Witch and Mister Light are both present, they wait until only one character remains and then impart the following information to that character:
Mister Witch: “Mind the Rule of Three: future, present, past.”
Mister Light: “Find the alicorn and free the dormant queen at last.”
Proceed with chapter 2 once the characters pass through the magic mirror.