in the land of lyr, an unpopular carnival jester called fargus, and his stick-puppet sid, are seeking a new career. meanwhile, a talented acrobat named nikki, bored of carnival life, runs away to pursue her dream of being a wizard. fargus, sid, and nikki meet at a "wizards in training" seminar at lancelot castle. the seminar turns out to be rather boring, so during a break nikki and fargus steal the speaker's spellbook and take it to the high balcony overlooking the village.