Beneath a tall signboard reading "Mr. Sathelbry's Wild Sleigh Rides" stood four massive chargers coupled to three wooden passenger sleds linked together with chains. Hunched in the first sled was the driver, an aged, one-armed man dressed in a long threadbare wool coat, his snarling face wrapped with a dull red scarf. As the driver snapped his whip and the sled lurched forward, ragtag children darted from shadowed hollows beneath nearby wagons and tried to snag free rides before the distracted driver sees them.
The driver is a cantankerous one-armed geezer who the townsfolk only know as Mr. Sathelbry. Each year, he dresses his team of chargers, hitches them to his sleighs, and for a small fee (5 cp) he drives fairgoers over field and dale around the fairgrounds at an almost breakneck pace.
Sathelbry never smiles, and by his sour expression one might think that he despises his job. Rumors abound that the old man hoards his carnival money and saves his coppers to last him the remainder of the year. Still, those who carefully watch the man see his eyes twinkle sadistically when he denies passage to the town's orphaned children.
The heroes noticed a group of ragtag children loitering near Mr' Sathelbry's Wild Sleigh Ride begging for a free ride. The crusty old sleigh master snarled at them, even kicking one into the snow with a cold-hearted laugh and a "no copper, no ride!"
The heroes confronted Mr. Sathelbry about his collusion with the frosty chiselers, and when he denied kidnapping villagers, Aranthor cut of the reigns that connected the chargers to the sleigh. Eventually the sheriff showed up and arrested Mr. Sathelbry, after Mrunk surmised that he is probably the victim of enchantment magic. During the scene, Mrunk noticed a miniature sprite riding in one of the children's patchwork pockets. Wrack paid the child a hefty sum for his coat and asked the sprite what she is doing at the fair. The sprite admitted that she is on a mission to find humanoid champions for her Queen, but refused to reveal more. The heroes agreed to follow the sprite and prove to her that they are fit to be her Queen's champions.
The sprite led them to a few plain-colored tents standing before a row of cargo wagons. A wooden sign staked into the ground before them read "CARNIES ONLY! NO ADMITTANCE!"
Mutters Condlan paid the tent's owners to scram so that he might have his way with a young woman. When the heroes wandered into this area they automatically spotted Mutters as he dragged a protesting girl into the shadows of the vacant tents.
Mutters has no puissance at combat, so when confronted he tried to convince the heroes to mind their own business at first, even offering them 30 gp to look the other way. When the party refused, Condlan railed at anyone who tried to interfere, attempting to drive them off with threats and bravado. When Aranthor seriously threatened him, he immediately turned tail and ran.
Aside from his blood-red eyes, Kabran's most striking feature is his missing nose. He wears a bronze nosepiece over the crater in his face that whistles disturbingly when he sucks air through it and dribbles blood and mucus incessantly (which Kabran wipes away with a crimson handkerchief). He wears a simple red overcoat adorned with gold and ivory buttons over his mithral chainmail. The burly half-orc carried an ornate masterwork greatsword on his back. The heroes interfered on Ralla's behalf.
Kabran attempted to avoid making a scene, offering the heroes a free sample of Ralla's wares if they left him alone. When this failed he intimidated them with a snarl and a "don't get between an orc and his earners, you tuskless pig". Kabran quickly drew his fancy dagger and attacked Mrunk. When significantly injured, Kabran backed down and let Ralla go, but he promised "this is far from over".
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