In which the characters are introduced.

The five members of Professor Calamity's Strolling Quintet took the stage with nary a soul noticing their presence. This was about to change, but first we must have introductions. First on stage is the lanky Onala. Her short blonde hair sits atop her head like a miniature haystack that sways back and forth as she walks around the stage setting up her juggling equipment. Next is the dark, alluring, and soot covered Nessa. She glides around the stage setting up small vials of sulphuric smelling liquids. Following Nessa is Tin. Not her real name of course, but she becomes very cross if we mention her real name. Tin is the sort of blond woman that people refer to as statuesque. Much to the disappointment of the male audience she sings instead of dancing. Tin quietly runs through her vocal warm ups while the Onala and Nessa work around her. Then comes the mysterious Prosepon. She slips on stage, her tatoo covered body adorned with a tumbler's outfit bestudded with costume jewelry. The audience is always surprised when she starts reciting poetry instead of dancing. Lastly, and leastly as well is Berenwick. I say leastly because he's a gnome you see. What a dark haired gnome with twinkling blue eyes is doing in a troupe of four human ladies I leave up to your imagination.

A gout of fire erupted from Nessa's mouth spreading over the crowd towards the ceiling in bright red tendrils. A rippling murmur spread through the crowd as they all stopped what they were doing and gave the performers their full attention. Nessa grabbed the fire right out of her mouth and trailed it in a lazy arc behind her fingers. Onala stepped from behind her and lit a pair of torches on the arc as it passed near her. Onala produced a pair of juggling balls and sent the torches and balls in dizzying trajectories between her hands. Mid juggling she dropped a ball down to her foot and kicked it back into the rotation. The crowd gasped with awe at the startling display of nature's most fickle element.

Onala and Nessa took a few steps back to the corners of the stage as Prosepon and Tin appeared from backstage. Their voices sprang forth from their lips and carried to the back of the room with rhythmic clarity. Prosepon recited a poem of epic grandeur while Tin sang a chanting melody that matched the pattern of the poem. Between them Berenwick walked out on stage carrying a full wine glass.
"So what's this I hear about it raining wine in this town?" A few people at the front tables chuckled. "That can't possibly be true." He continued walking until he ran out of stage. As the gnome fell off the stage he upended the entire glass of wine onto himself. The crowd erupted in laughter. He crawled back onstage as Onala and Nessa swapped places with Prosepon and Tin. He intentional stood up right as Nessa brought a spinning ball of flame near his head. Smoke curled upwards from a barely smoldering fire on the top of his head. The crowd laughed harder as he fake panicked over his burning hair. He patted it out as the laughter subsided.

Their performance was so spectacular that no one even noticed that one of the round tables in the middle of the room was on fire. At least not immediately. Slowly the people sitting at the other round tables began to notice the spreading fire. They began to hurriedly stand and gather their lavish robes as quickly as they could. Towards the back the two long rectangular tables that seated the poorer attendees were quickly clearing out. Upturned stools were left in the wake of the near stampeding patrons.

Nessa was the first to react to the fire. She doused her own flames with a quick gesture.
"Someone put out that fire!" The barmaids looked over at Nessa then over at the table and ran for the water bucket. A patron or two tried to brush it out but most were intent on heading for the exit.
Onala's face was the perfect picture of concentration as she juggled. "Fire? Where?"
"The middle table!" Nessa bounded off the stage headed for the fire.
"Oh, I see."
"Um, ladies and gentlemen, the fire in the center is not part of the act. If anyone wants to help put it out, it'd be much appreciated." Berenwick announced to the crowd. The barmaids returned with water but the press of the crowd was too close for them to reach the table. Tin approached the edge of the stage whispering a prayer under her breath and holding a symbol of her deity before her. The air above the flaming table was suddenly occupied by a large volume of water that came splashing down on the fire with an audible sploosh. The fire blazed as brightly as ever without so much as a flicker, but the poor souls standing too close to the table were soaked.
"Bah! It's illusionary!" Tin sat down on the edge of the stage and pounded the wooden boards with her fists in frustration.
"Not real? How is that fire not real?" Shouted Nessa from among the crowd. "Arg! Get out of the way!" She tried to move closer but the crowd pushed her towards the door.
"How rude... someone took most of our audience away." commented Onala.
"Now now, ladies and gentlemen, it appears the danger is past and in fact, never existed!" Prosepon's voice carried all the way to the back of the inn.
"Please calm down!" Tin's voice could be heard over all the talking people.
"Could everyone please calm down. The fire isn't real." Onala added her voice to the plea for people to not panic.
Prosepon continued ""It appears some unkind soul has tried to ruin all of our evening with a silly prank." Berenwick tumbled off the stage towards the fire in attempt to show the crowd the truth. He wasn't able to make it through the crowd and he disappeared from sight.
"Damn you all!" His voice floated up from somewhere in front of the stage. The burning table extinguished itself with a sniffle. Due to the exhortions of Prosepon, Onala, and Tin the mass of people ceased moving and turned to listen to the performers on the stage. Nessa pulled herself out of the crowd and onto the stage.
"What's happening?" she asked of no one in particular.
"Sorry about the weather in here, we thought it would be a little nicer tonight." Onala apologized.
"There, all better. And though such tricks are frustrating indeed, long experience has taught us that it is better not to let it ruin your night. So, shall we continue with the show?" asked Prosepon. The crowd did not answer her rhetorical question. Onala started into a enthusiastic juggling routine while Prosepon gave a stunning rendition of Herenon's 4th sonnet. Nessa and Tin appeared a bit rattled by the ordeal with the fire. Tin stuttered through the first verse of Sylantos's Dark Night before trailing off weakly. Nessa attempted to restart her routine but she stumbled over her feet and narrowly avoided setting the stage on fire.
"I think I'll take a break." Nessa walked down the stairs at the back of the stage and slipped behind the upright boards that served as the makeshift dividers between on stage and off stage. Tin followed her shortly afterwards. Back stage they conversed in low tones about their annoyance at the disruption of the performance.
Meanwhile out front Berenwick passed his hands over his eyes. The glowed briefly green before they returned to normal. However his sight was anything but normal. He scanned the room's inhabitants for magical auras. A sizable helping of the richer patrons seated at the round tables closer to the stage were emanating magic. He dismissed this as the usual glamor magics that the wealthy employed to stay looking their best. His eyes turned to the two long rectangular tables at the back of the Inn.
A singular gnome at the furthest table glowed with the aura of one under a magical effect. He sat with a group of other gnomes who were engrossed in their imbibing of alcoholic beverages. Berenwick regarded him closer and noted that the other gnome was disguising his appearance with magic. He considered this for a moment before deciding to leave well enough alone. He rejoined the performance to close out the evening. This was not to be the last of the adventures for the night...