A tangled wall of thorns surrounds a cluster of wagons lit by lanterns. This caravan is barely visible through the thicket.
The carnival’s wagons are located behind the Big Top, protected by a 20-foot-high, 5-foot-thick wall of thorns. When a member of the carnival staff stands within 1 foot of the wall, the thorns part to form an 8-foot-high, 4-foot-wide doorway in front of the staff member. This door remains open for 10 seconds, then disappears as thorny vines fill the opening once more. The wall is magical and also impervious to damage. The wall grants three-quarters cover to creatures behind it.
A creature can move through the wall of thorns, albeit slowly and painfully. It costs 8 feet of movement to move through 1 foot of the wall. The first time a creature enters the wall on a turn or ends its turn there, it must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 4 (1d8) piercing damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. Whenever a creature ends its turn in the wall, trumpet-shaped flowers burst from the brambles nearby and honk an alarm that is audible up to 50 feet away.
Enclosed by the wall of thorns is a circle of eight brightly painted wagons, one of which is a glass-enclosed water tank for Palasha the mermaid. The fanciest of the remaining seven wagons belongs to Mister Witch and Mister Light.
The perimeter inside the wall of thorns and outside the circle of wagons is patrolled by a bugbear named Burly (neutral good), who leaves his post once during the evening to participate in the Big Top Extravaganza (see “Timed Events” later in the chapter). While on patrol, Burly wears a large jack-o’-lantern on his head, as one would wear a helmet, in addition to his dungarees and fake fairy wings.
The central area enclosed by the wagons is guarded by Thaco the clown, a human Witchlight hand (chaotic neutral) who is loyal only to Mister Witch. He usually sits right outside the door to Witch and Light’s wagon, blowing bubbles with his bubble pipe.
Burly and Thaco dislike each other, so they don’t fraternize while on guard duty. Additional roleplaying notes can be found in the bios for them.
Characters caught snooping around the wagons without an escort are evicted from the carnival and must find a way to sneak or barter their way back in.
Mister Witch and Mister Light are in their wagon throughout the evening, except during the Big Top Extravaganza (which Light attends and Witch does not) and the crowning of the Witchlight Monarch (which they both attend). See “Timed Events” later in the chapter for more information.
Refer to the “Carnival Owners” section for more information about Witch and Light. Additional roleplaying notes can be found in the bios for the pair.
Characters who sneak up to the wagon while it’s occupied can overhear Witch and Light talking:
Two contrasting voices emanate from the wagon.
Mister Witch, in a low and gravelly voice: “You need to find a way to calm down."
Mister Light, in a high-pitched, shrill voice: “I’ll calm down when that kenku pest is gone."
Witch: “She knows nothing. She’ll get frustrated soon enough and be on her way.”
Light: “I hope you’re right.”
Witch: “Trust me.”
From there, the conversation shifts to the current mood of the carnival and ideas for new carnival acts or attractions (“The catoblepas didn’t work out, but maybe we can buy a giraffe and paint it blue. Or we could teach Northwind how to play the fiddle.”) Then it turns to the mysterious disappearance of Burly’s unruly brother, Hurly (in hushed tones that suggest Witch or Light might have had a hand in it, although neither admits any involvement). Hurly’s fate is revealed in chapter 4 (see area M5).
If the characters disturb Witch and Light in their wagon without being invited, jump ahead to the “Meeting Witch and Light” encounter, skipping over the lead-in with Burly and Thaco.
Searching the Wagon. Mister Witch’s bunk is neat and unadorned. Mister Light’s bunk is gaudy and messy, with costumes strewn everywhere. Characters who search through the gear find a hatbox containing the crown of the Witchlight Monarch; this splendid crown of gold butterflies teleports back to its hatbox at the end of each evening and is ceremoniously produced from its box during the monarch’s coronation (see “Timed Events” later in the chapter).
Any character who searches the wagon for secret compartments finds one with a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check. The compartment is located in a bench and contains a tiny, bejeweled chest worth 50 gp. This chest is a replica of a much larger chest hidden on the Ethereal Plane (with the help of a Leomund’s secret chest spell). While holding the replica chest, Mister Witch can use an action to summon the larger chest. He can send the larger chest back to the Ethereal Plane by using an action and touching both the chest and the replica.
Treasure. The chest hidden on the Ethereal Plane (which is worth 5,000 gp) contains recent earnings (210 sp and 70 gp), a potion of diminution, a potion of growth, and a potion of advantage. The potions are not labeled, but Mister Witch knows which is which.