Cirque Nocturne: In-Character

It had been a prolonged stay meant to relax and regenerate the troop. For some, it was exactly what they needed while others grew restless. The break in routine, the extended stay, likely reminded some that they were just in another form of a cage. Bound to something else, someone else. When the time came with everything tucked away as neat as could be, the Cirque left Aspen with just their average mess. Just a triple murder by dismemberment (honestly, it could have been a bear) and only the smallest of amusements. Mostly, the wealthy town of Aspen felt tired and a bit poorer all in all. Just another lucrative stop.

Quick, everyone make their last minute runs into town. Say good-bye to the natural majesty of the Rockies...

When the circus was quiet and the hour was right, the Coven, the Fae, and the Ringmaster made their ways to the Cauldron and start the rites. The magic combined and began to gather, permeating the grounds, growing as it blended. There was the feeling of pressure, of power swelling, rising to a peak...

Then the world collapsing thin like paper, folding like the most secret of notes, and then the release. A snapping back into place and feeling full once more. Every piece, every lantern, every living thing on the grounds followed in that moment. An exhausted sigh of relief. The move was successful. The air of the new location was warm but not oppressive... Look, open flat land tucked up against a patch of woods. Do you feel that? That hum of energy? Just a bit off the grounds there is a powerful fold in reality. Touch it. Push it. Watch it open up to the magical and supernatural to reveal... Sweeping acres of a rundown Victorian hospital.

Danvers State Lunatic Asylum

Danvers is the original site of Salem Village, home to the infamous Witch Trials. While only a couple of the original accused were actually of magical lineage, the Trials themselves drew witches and other supernatural creatures to the area. So much turmoil, so much innocent blood spilled... It changes a place. What once might have been a clean and innocent place, quiet and beautiful, became a beacon for darkness. The hanged innocents were only the beginning.

Where Danvers Lunatic Asylum used to stand, there is now modern construction. A huge complex of expensive apartments has gone up, complete with new tenants. But the ghosts of the past are rarely content to stay quiet and be forgotten. Especially such unquiet spirits as these, mad and mistreated, abandoned by all, left to suffer at the hands of their caretakers. The locals were hoping to bury the reminders of their bloody history, but the Cirque Nocturne knows that nothing is ever truly buried.

The Ringmaster had promised that they'd all be leaving the next day. Having seemingly solved the... problem that the Cirque had been challenged with, whispers moved through the Cirque to make preparations to leave. And preparations they made, quickly, as unwanted murders were messy things one gladly wants to get away from. Even though the Ringmaster came back, he told the troupe nothing. Rumblings started to circulate. Unease among the demons. Questions and speculations. Would it follow them? Murder would always follow the Cirque but would it revert back to being purely by design?

These were the whispers and worries among the travelers even as the Coven, the Fae, and the Ringmaster stood around the Cauldron and started the rites. The magic of the Coven, the Fae, and the Ringmaster began to gather. It permeates the grounds, growing in power as it blends. There is the feeling of pressure, of power swelling, rising to a peak...

Then the world collapsing thin like paper, folding like the most secret of notes, and then the release. A snapping back into place and feeling full once more. Every piece, every lantern, every living thing that decided to be on grounds followed in that moment. An exhausted sign of relief. The move was successful. The air cool... Look, snowcapped peaks not so far away. Looming but inviting. Turn to the west and down into the valley and see that quaint town glittering like a prized jewel with its splashes of old and new.

Aspen.

The Carnival has come to town. Cul de sac'ed by mountainous forests but with her gates invitingly facing Aspen, this was Management's treat. Prime location and easy marks with deep pockets. Though admittedly, feasting on the humans is notoriously tricky this time of year in Aspen but the amenities balance out the trouble.