Plot Synopsis: Unseelie Shuffle
Feast of Fools, continued:
Hoping to rescue Alice from the evil minions of Queen Bloodrose, Sam Smith and his companions use the enchanted compass to follow her through the maze of streets within the dream-city of Carnivale.
But Sam soon discovers that rescuing a damsel in distress is a lot more complicated than expected, for the enchanted compass takes him by the most direct route through the city... and not necessarily the safest one.
Not only do the streets twist and turn without rhyme or reason, but the convoluted nature of reality within Carnivale often sends Sam and his companions back to their starting point, as much like the Origami Garden, the fabric of space and time literally turns back upon itself. Sam realizes that his senses cannot be trusted and with the help of Feliana (who with a bit of persuasion transforms herself into a bloodhound) and the magic of the enchanted compass manages to find his way through the streets of Carnivale.
To further complicate matters, Sam and his companions must not only avoid the attention of the animated dolls, puppets, and mannikins who serve as soldiers and watchmen for the city, but must survive a series of dangerous encounters with the other inhabitants of Carnivale--which include vampire prostitutes, gangs of hungry redcaps, arrogant Sidhe aristocrats, foul-tempered ogres and trolls, and a half-forgotten deity who desires vengeance against the mortals who abandoned him. However, Sam makes new friends among the inhabitants of Carnivale, and with their help rescues Alice from Flint and Steel as well as from the deadly clutches of Poppy Nightshade. These chapters introduce Piper Hamlin, a charming and seductive Pooka with a strange affinity for rats who may have been the Pied Piper; Ariel d'Avalon, a beautiful and clever Sidhe noble of the Seelie Court; and her companion and protector, a Brownie adventurer by the name of Jeremy Puddlefoot.
Hoping to rescue Alice from the evil minions of Queen Bloodrose, Sam Smith and his companions use the enchanted compass to follow her through the maze of streets within the dream-city of Carnivale.
But Sam soon discovers that rescuing a damsel in distress is a lot more complicated than expected, for the enchanted compass takes him by the most direct route through the city... and not necessarily the safest one.
Not only do the streets twist and turn without rhyme or reason, but the convoluted nature of reality within Carnivale often sends Sam and his companions back to their starting point, as much like the Origami Garden, the fabric of space and time literally turns back upon itself. Sam realizes that his senses cannot be trusted and with the help of Feliana (who with a bit of persuasion transforms herself into a bloodhound) and the magic of the enchanted compass manages to find his way through the streets of Carnivale.
To further complicate matters, Sam and his companions must not only avoid the attention of the animated dolls, puppets, and mannikins who serve as soldiers and watchmen for the city, but must survive a series of dangerous encounters with the other inhabitants of Carnivale--which include vampire prostitutes, gangs of hungry redcaps, arrogant Sidhe aristocrats, foul-tempered ogres and trolls, and a half-forgotten deity who desires vengeance against the mortals who abandoned him. However, Sam makes new friends among the inhabitants of Carnivale, and with their help rescues Alice from Flint and Steel as well as from the deadly clutches of Poppy Nightshade. These chapters introduce Piper Hamlin, a charming and seductive Pooka with a strange affinity for rats who may have been the Pied Piper; Ariel d'Avalon, a beautiful and clever Sidhe noble of the Seelie Court; and her companion and protector, a Brownie adventurer by the name of Jeremy Puddlefoot.