Outside the lost property wagon is a large feline creature with midnight-blue fur. It has a pair of tentacles extending from its shoulders and wears fake butterfly wings. Hanging from its collar is a small wooden keg. The creature roughhouses with two young boys. One boy squeals, “Again, Dirla, again!” while the other hangs onto the creature’s neck.
Dirlagraun is a gray-whiskered displacer beast that looks after stray children until they can be reunited with their parents. The keg fastened to its collar is filled with toffee apple juice and fitted with a spigot for easy pouring. The juice never fails to console an upset child.
When the characters arrive, the displacer beast is minding two boys named Viro and Allowin while their mother fetches food and drink. The displacer beast is unusual both in disposition and in its ability to speak Elvish and Sylvan. Additional roleplaying notes can be found in the bio for Dirlagraun.
If the characters question Dirlagraun, it quietly cautions them that some things go missing from the Witchlight Carnival and never come back. Before it can say more, Viro, the older of the two boys, picks up a mirrored ball from the lost property wagon. In a rare moment of anger, Dirlagraun snatches the ball back with a snarl and a flick of its tentacle, causing Viro to dash away in fright.
Unable to leave the younger boy, Allowin, alone, Dirlagraun pleads with the characters to go after Viro. Any character who searches for Viro can make a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check, locating him in a nearby candy stall on a success. If Viro isn’t found, a character can repeat the check after continuing the search for another 10 minutes. If Viro is not found within the hour, the carnival’s mood lowers by 1 step (see “Tracking Mood” in Chapter 1: Witchlight Carnival).
If the characters return with Viro, Dirlagraun is grateful and reveals that, many years ago, its own cub vanished from the carnival without a trace. The cub’s name is Star, and all Dirlagraun has to remember Star by is its favorite toy—the small, mirrored ball that Viro grabbed. If one or more characters declare their intention to search for Star, Dirlagraun gives the mirrored ball to them.
Unknown to anyone who works at the carnival, Star followed Sowpig (see “Thieves of the Coven” in Carnival Overview) through a mirrored portal in the Hall of Illusions. The characters might encounter Star in chapter 3 (see “Little Oak”).
Dirlagraun is concerned that Mister Witch and Mister Light are on edge. If the characters are willing to investigate, Dirlagraun advises against confronting the carnival owners directly. Instead, the displacer beast suggests that the characters sneak into the Staff Area behind the Big Top and spy on them.