Neither Jenn nor Topher were good at sneaking, but Kevin made it work. It helped that most of the alleys weren’t often traveled or patrolled, and any miscreants that might’ve disturbed Kevin or Jenn were far too intimidated by an armored, glaive wielding half-orc like Topher. Their route through the circus area took them close to the large tent. The occasional burst of applause could be heard.

Once situated in a decent hiding spot, Kevin tried to Message Linore. “Just checking in. How’re things?”

“Okay. Find Jack yet?”

“No. Hoped you spotted him.”

“Not yet.”

“Was that Kryx?” asked Topher. “How’s the show?”

“Linore,” said Kevin. “I didn’t ask. No sign of Jack yet, but that was probably a long shot. We should keep moving.”

Jenn was looking around. “Hang on,” she said, her face slightly scrunched. “Do you guys smell that?”

Topher smiled. “Wasn’t me, I swear.”

“You mean that oily smell?” said Kevin. “Yeah. What about it?”

“It…just seems odd.”

Topher inhaled sharply through his nose. “Maybe it has something to do with a circus act. Fire breathers or something.”

Jenn shook her head. “I suppose, but—“ Something caught her eye. She started towards one of the locked wagons.

“Hey, careful!” whispered Kevin. “There might be guards!”

Topher tapped him on the shoulder. “Uh…dude, there aren’t. I actually think that’s what she’s getting at.”

Kevin cracked a sidelong snarl at him. “What are you—“ He stopped, seeing Topher’s worry. Kevin followed his gaze to the wagon Jenn knelt down at.

She was examining a motionless body, booted feet stuck askew from a hasty placement. “He’s dead,” she declared, with appropriate finality. She moved her eyes to a pile of crates nearby. “And there’s another one. Something’s wrong.”

Kevin drew his bow, nocked an arrow. Topher moved to Jenn. “They’re with the circus, right? Did we stumble upon murder most foul? How’d they die?”

Half of Jenn disappeared as she reached under the wagon. “I’m not seeing anything obvious…” A bit of manhandling later: “Ah. He’s been stabbed a couple times in the back. I don’t know if he’s a circus person.” There was a thunk. “Ow!” She rubbed her head as she extracted herself.

Kevin moved to join them, trying to watch in all directions at once. “Guys, we still need to find Jack. Let’s get moving.” As taut as his bow was strung, he was sure his back was more tense.

“But what if Jack was the one that killed them?” asked Jenn. “Maybe he escaped and they were in his way.”

“Oh, good thought,” said Topher. “That would certainly make today a lot easier.”

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Kevin kept watching the many shadows. “If he escaped, hopefully he’ll figure out our room at the inn is under surveillance.” He bit his lip. “I hate to say this, though, but if Jack gave them clear descriptions of us, he could be under the influence of magic. We might need to be careful if he just shows up out of the blue.” He shook his head with a wince. “Heh. I miss when it was Jack who worried about this stuff. Paranoia comes so naturally to him.”

“We’ll keep it in mind,” said Jenn. She stood and gestured to the body. “But I don’t like this. We should get moving.”

Topher kept his thoughts musing. “Now, if Jack did escape and couldn’t find us, do you think he’d use Dancing Lights as a signal, maybe? Although, he might not out of fear it would attract the wrong people, but should we keep an eye out, nonetheless?”

“I don't see why not,” said Kevin, his eyes warily watching a small stack of barrels further down the large tent. “When we’re finally all together, we should work out a signaling system for—“ Kevin’s bow was raised, drawn back, and fired in a single motion. The arrow pierced the night, stopped by a barrel. “Get down!” he yelled, tackling Jenn and Topher.

Thock-thock-thock! A burst of arrows sunk into the wagon, their ends reverberating with unspent energy. “Get behind the crates!” Kevin ordered.

Jenn slipped as she tried to move, but Topher grabbed and dragged her along with him. “Who’s firing?” He threw Jenn behind cover, then turned and crouched. Another volley came toward them, and he had to duck to keep his head from acquiring another hole. “Ah. Goblins. Freaking fantastic.”

Jenn shook off the indignity of being tossed and donned her shield. “Goblins? Why are they attacking here? Weren’t they sticking to roads?” She looked to Kevin, who was biting down on his copper wire.

After a couple seconds, Kevin drew another arrow. “Doesn’t matter,” he said. “I count five of them. There’s plenty of cover between us. Do you two want to get close, and I’ll try suppressing fire?”

“Sounds great.” Topher’s eyes gleamed. “These bastards are reminding me of poor old Yik. I think I’ll violently vent my grief.”

Jenn grimaced at that remark. Peeking out of cover, she said, “Okay, I’ll lead. First to the wagon with the body, then to the one with the mustached guy on it. Charge straight from there. Should I do a Bless spell?”

“Save it,” said Kevin. “We’ve got a good plan, and goblins aren’t that tough. Never know when a good Healing Word spell will—Shit!” Kevin dive rolled out of the way of a pair of flying daggers, finishing in a crouch and firing at a couple of goblins behind them. “Two more sneaking from behind!”

The goblins cursed and drew swords, breaking from the shadows. Topher raised his glaive and charged, his massive form barreling towards them. As he moved, however, the goblins turned tail, running to a wagon and rolling under it.

“Stay still, you ass wipes!” roared Topher, who roared again when an arrow from another volley found its way through his armor.

“Dude! They’re trying to get you to leave cover!” Kevin yelled. Topher ran back to relative safety.

Jenn looked intently at what she could see of one of the goblins, just its legs through the bottom of the wagon. Palm down, she began to move her free hand in a circle. “Wrath of judgement, fall,” she recited. A disc of yellow light swirled into existence above the goblin, then sent a flash down onto its head. It screamed in pain, but managed to stay standing.

“Nice,” said Kevin. He took a peek at the bow wielding ones. “Two of the others are breaking off, I think they’re going to flank us. One’s trying to light a torch…” Kevin’s eyes went wide. “They might be trying to signal others!” Kevin took a shot at the torch lighter, scoring a nonlethal hit on its tiny form. “Damn!”

“We might take some damage, but we can finish these guys easy enough!” said Topher. "Let's just charge!"

“Maybe, but if we take too long, we might be overrun!” The torch lighter made sure it was completely hidden from Kevin, so he took a shot at one of the two moving to flank them. “The teens should be out of the tent soon, but I’d still rather—“

A thought hit Kevin. A horrible, horrible thought.

“Jenn! Topher!” Kevin stood and vaulted the crates. “We need to stop that torch! Now!”

The urgency in his voice was electrifying. Worried, Jenn and Topher rose and followed. “What’s wrong?” yelled Jenn.

“The oily smell!” Kevin cried. “It’s—“

It was too late. A lit torch flew from behind the barrels, and all Kevin could do was watch as it moved in its arc, his adrenaline forcing him to see it in slow motion.

It landed right at the base of the large tent.

And the tent went up in flames.