A copse of oak trees shelters a miniaturized fairground. At its heart, a hamster runs inside a tiny Ferris wheel, encircled by minuscule wagons and candy stalls. A pixie sits cross-legged in the hollow of a tree at the entrance to this realm.
The pixie introduces himself as Jeremy Plum and does his best to persuade the characters that the Pixie Kingdom is the best attraction the carnival has to offer. Entry to the attraction costs 1 ticket punch.
Jeremy encourages the characters to adopt pixie names before entering; refer to the table below for ideas. The carnival’s mood rises by 1 step (see “Tracking Mood” in Chapter 1: Witchlight Carnival) if all the characters use their adopted pixie names while in the attraction.
d8 Name1Brightmite2Cobweb3Cotton Candy4Dimple5Jellybean Starfish6Panache7Puddlemud8Toadhop
Whether or not the characters agree to adopt their pixie names, Jeremy sprinkles pixie dust on them. Jeremy also presents each character with a potion that, when consumed within the boundary of the Pixie Kingdom, reduces the imbiber’s size to Tiny for 1 hour, or until the imbiber wants the effect to end. Until the effect ends, the Tiny character has disadvantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws, and the character’s weapons deal 2d4 less damage (this change can’t reduce the damage below 1).
The Pixie Kingdom is a tranquil oasis compared to the rest of the bustling carnival. The air is filled with the aroma of blackberry wine and flower blossoms. Eight brightly painted doorways are nestled in the bark at the bases of the surrounding trees.
Twelve pixies reside here during carnival hours. They are friendly, curious, and eager to ask new arrivals all sorts of questions. The characters are free to explore the kingdom and experience the following wonders:
One character at a time can ride Pinecone, an excitable pug that listens only to pixies.
The kingdom’s centerpiece is a pixie palace made entirely of old cocoon husks beautifully woven together.
Characters can dine on cucamelon sandwiches and thimbleberry tarts inside one of the pixie cottages.
Characters can ride the wheel, which is powered by a talkative hamster named Biscuit. An awaken spell cast on the hamster gives it an Intelligence of 10 and the ability to speak Common.
Characters who spend time talking to the pixies or Biscuit learn the following rumors:
“Everyone’s on the lookout for a kenku troublemaker, but she’s using magic to disguise herself.”
“Candlefoot the mime and Palasha the mermaid are in love. On top of that, Candlefoot’s lost his voice. Is that part of his act?”
“Burly the bugbear often talks philosophy with one of the gondola swans. That bugbear has brains as well as brawn.”
After a short while, the characters are invited to play a game of hide-and-seek, organized by two pixies: the game’s friendly supervisor, Honeymint, and a seeker named Starbug. On the Story Tracker, jot down the names of any characters who play hide-and-seek with the pixies; this experience might prove useful in chapter 3 (see area L5).
Each character who plays the game makes a Wisdom (Stealth) check to hide (see the Player’s Handbook for rules on skills with different abilities). Starbug finds the character who has the lowest check result, at which point all the remaining characters move to new hiding places and make another check. The game continues until only one character remains hidden; this character is declared the winner and is awarded a packet of pixie dust, with two leaves as the propeller blades. No character can win this prize more than once.
The characters can hide anywhere in the Pixie Kingdom, but Honeymint points out the following hiding spots before the game begins:
Biscuit’s Wheel. This wooden wheel has eight wicker carriages. Biscuit, the hamster who trundles around inside the contraption that turns the wheel, is very talkative. Offering food to the hamster is one way to keep him quiet.
Flower Bed. This area is home to several talking wildflowers. They’re rather conceited and bicker over which of them has the silkiest petals and the finest aroma. Flattery can silence their bickering.
Heron’s Nest. An awakened heron named Beatrice, who enjoys talking about the weather, roosts in a clump of long grasses and might allow characters to hide in her nest if they ask nicely.
Any character who tries to hide in one of these locations must succeed on a DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion) check to shush the creatures there. Success grants advantage on Wisdom (Stealth) checks made to hide in that location.