Jubilation fills the evening air in the normally staid town of Trunau, for it is the twelfth birthday of the Chief Defender’s youngest daughter, Ruby, and the townsfolk have been preparing all day for the ceremony and festivities to follow. A throng of spectators has amassed at the town Commons; the buzz of the crowd subsides as the weathered town leader, Halgra of the Blackened Blades, takes the stage and begins to speak.
“Thank you all for joining us this night. I take immense pride in my responsibility as Chief Defender, especially when it comes to the honor of the hopeknife ceremony. It is always a great privilege to bequeath Trunauan youths their hopeknives as they come of age.” Halgra stops speaking long enough to open an ornamental case and retrieve a slender, ornately decorated dagger hanging from a silver chain. “But tonight is a special occasion, for the recipient of this hopeknife is none other than my youngest daughter.” Once again, Halgra pauses, but this time she turns to talk to the child beside her. “Ruby, by the traditions of our town, you have come of age. This hopeknife represents your responsibilities as an adult and defender of Trunau. You must be willing to use it on yourself, your fellow Trunauans, and your family—even me, should it come to that. It will be a far quicker death than that which the orcs will offer, and providing it is your duty. Do you swear to guard Trunau from all comers, and to use your hopeknife only for its intended purpose?”
Ruby—dusky skinned, black haired, and painfully shy—nods her head in response to her mother’s question.
Halgra sheathes the hopeknife and places the necklace around Ruby’s neck before turning back to address the crowd.
“Tonight, Ruby becomes a full member of our community! Let us welcome her, and celebrate her passage into adulthood! Trunau forever!” The crowd echoes Halgra’s last words in unison, signaling the end of the ceremony.
As the ceremony ends, the celebration begins. Trunauans begin milling about the food and beverage stands, and preparations are made for games to begin.
Rodrik Grath leaps onto the stage, followed less flamboyantly by his twin brother Kurst and a handful of militia. The popular warrior addresses the crowd.
"As is tradition, the first event will be a tug-of-war that pits Trunau's newest defender against the town's mightiest champions!"
Rodrik pauses, and he and a couple of his companions pose and flex for the audience. Kurst looks embarrassed.
"Ruby now has the opportunity to choose her teammates!"
The girl quietly looks over the audience, then speaks softly to Rodrik, who relays her selections.
"Stardust! Whitecrow! Giles! Zepfina the axe-sister! Tarakona! And..."
He bends over to Ruby again, while she speaks and gestures.
"You!"
He points towards Slei.
Beams at being chosen by Ruby, "We won't let you down, Ruby!"
Zepfina winks at the person standing nearest to her and says "Dis vill be fun." She then throws her arms up and yells.
"YAAAAAA..."
She marches forward, one purposeful step at a time, striking a new muscle-displaying pose with each step. When she gets to where Ruby stands, she fakes a headbutt at the girl, then reels back as if stunned by the girl's hard skull.
Tarakona smiles and strides towards Ruby. "I've got your back!"
Eldan looks rather taken aback at being chosen for a contest he clearly is more of a detriment to than help. Nevertheless, he strides forward, smiles, and says, "I shall endeavor to make you you proud. Our opponents won't know what befell them."
Slei grins, pushes up her sleeves, and saunters forward. Although quite scrawny, she's willing to fight dirty in order to win.
Giles scowls and harrumphs, but anyone who knows him can see a glint in his eye that betrays his mild sense of satisfaction at being chosen. "Let's get this done then."
"And no you mangy cur, you may certainly not participate!" Giles snaps at Garm.
The two teams gather on either end of the rope, with a long space between them. Chief Defender Halgra raises her arm, then drops it and the contest begins!
The militia were obviously prepared for Halgra's arm to drop, as they immediately tug on the rope. However, they were unprepared for Zepfina's stability and Giles' pure cussedness. The normally quiet Ruby shouts out "Pull! Pull!" and her team manages to drag their opponents the majority of the way to the line. One more success like that and the contest is over!
"Ve pull dem like die ochsen pulls die pflug! Pull!" Zepfina braces low and hauls on the rope.
With a mighty tug, Ruby's team pulls the militia's champions over the mid-line. The crowd erupts with cheering. Rodrik comes forward and shakes hands with the victorious team, while Kurst gives a quick smile and nod, and Ruby grins from ear to ear.
Rodrik offers, "First beer is on me."
"Good job! The new Hopeknife owner should always win their first challenge, but it's better when we don't have to throw the competition."
"You folks make a good team. I know there's a celebration going on, but you should check with Kessen Plumb. I heard he had a few minutes work that he's willing to pay somebody for. Next event is at the Longhouse anyway."
The program turns to a porridge eating contest using the siegestone.
"Yes, all good folk. Especially Giles, he shooted ein reisen, BANG, right in der face. Dese oters, also fery gut. Maybe ve all vork for Dis Chessen, yes? Danke for das biere!"
Zepfina attempts to make small talk with the townsfolk.
While mostly failing to make herself understood, she manages not to offend anyone.
“Rumour has it that Rodrik Grath is next in line for
the position of patrol leader after his old man Jagrin
retires. Jagrin’s a good commander, but he’s getting
old, and it might be time for some new blood in the
militia’s leadership.”
Eldan is amazed the team he was part of actually won a contest of strength, even if the champions didn't quite try that hard. Smiling, he takes the offered pint and says, "Congratulations, team, on a strong win, and thank you Ruby for choosing me to represent you. May your future be as bright as it is today."
He proceeds to mingle before moving on to the Longhouse.
“Rodrik Grath is slated to replace his father as patrol
leader, but from what I hear, he’s more concerned
with his poems and plays than with militia matters.
He’s diligent, don’t get me wrong, but I’m not quite
sure either of the Grath boys is ready to lead the
town’s defense.”
"Arr, we make a great team! We should look into helpin' out this Kessen Plumb fella... for the right price, of course."
After a few drinks, Slei tries to win over some of the townsfolk with wildly exaggerated tales of her travels, laughing at her own jokes even (perhaps especially) when nobody else does.
"Hmph weren't nuthin. Knowing Plumb it's probably some bean counting job but no harm in checking. Come on Garm leave that bone be and let's go!"
"A job? I wonder if it's dangerous!"
Ziggy joins Rodrik and tries to elicit interesting stories from all present.
Tarakona rolls her eyes at Slei, but listens to her outlandish tales to see if anyone actually believes them.
Rodrik cautions Slei, "Be careful there! You don't want to be too tipsy when negotiating with Plumb. The beer here is strong, and it comes in pints!"
“Shame about the graffiti all over town. The militia’s
got better things to do than clean up youngsters’
messes, but even stranger is how long it lasts. Try
as one might, soap and water don’t do a thing to
those marks!”
“Even though she’s the Chief Defender’s daughter,
Ruby has to pledge to uphold the Standing Vow in
order to receive her hopeknife, just like the rest
of us. She must agree to hold Trunau against all
comers and to never forfeit her homeland willingly.
That is the Vow.”
“Have you read Rodrik Grath’s latest work, ‘The
Other Side of Contempt’? He’s our own home-grown
writer. It’s a controversial poem, but that’s what
makes Rodrik’s writing so strong—he’s not afraid to
push limits.”
Once the group makes their way to the Longhouse, a short balding man approaches them.
He nods at Giles.
"You must be the team I've heard about. I've a quick, easy job if you're interested. One of the storage vaults has a vermin infestation, and I need somebody to clear it out. Big centipedes, maybe a rat. Not sure how they got in there. I'll give you 10 gold for each one you kill and bring back, maybe a bonus if there's something unusual."
"Fair?"
"It may not be vorthy of epic poems, but it vill cover expenses. I vill do."
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"Maybe ve vill find nice centipede for pet. Fery cute little bugs, yes?"
"Hmph very well. Garm will be on those rats right quick."
Giles loads his blunderbuss.
"Point us in the right direction and let's get to it."
He turns his head, plugs one nostril and blows out through the other, clearing it in a nasty stream.
"By the way, what's stored in there. Nothin likely to explode?"
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"Centipedes? Rats? Ick. I prefer spiders."
Eldan gives a slight nod to Kessan, "Greetings Master Plumb, I believe your offer to be fair and equitable. How soon do you need this taken care of?"
"No time like the present."
Plumb leads the group to a stairway leading beneath the Longhouse. There he unlocks a sturdy metal door. He hands a key to Giles and says, "The vermin are in the grain storage behind the last door to the left. Bring back any bodies for your payment."
He waits for the group to go through then closes the outer door.
"Let's get on with it. Times a wasting."
"Before we proceed, please allow me a brief opportunity to prepare. Unlike many of you, I cannot wear protective armour."
Reaching into a pocket in his cloak, Whitecrow draws out a cured piece of leather with his right hand, makes a gesture with his left hand while intoning what seems to be a nonsensical phrase.
"Does anyone need a light source? I have darkvision, so I don't, but I can make an object shine as bright as day if it will help anyone else."
There is a torch in the hall, but it only gives a dim light at this end.
"I suppose light wouldn't hurt none."
"Hmmm. What would Iomedae do?" Ziggy grins. With a few mystical words and a complicated gesture, Ziggy touches his shield. The shield fills the corridor with daylight.
Once the group has made their preparations, Zepfina unlocks and opens the door. Within are four large grain bins, with 3' high wooden walls. There is a walkway to get between the bins.
Zepfina warily advance to the walkway intersection, checking for vermin, axe in hand.
Giles moves forward to one of the bins, blunderbuss at the ready, and peers in.
Zigil will advance with Zepfina, and try to avoid silhouetting her as a target. She also looks for vermin or signs of movement:
As the light shines into the bins, a centipede burrows out of the grain of each one. Each centipede is about as long as Zepfina is tall.
Zepfina also spies a large, strange-looking rat in between the bins. It looks extremely unhealthy, and blends in with the shadows in an unnatural way.
Blinding Flash (Su): As a standard action, you can emit a flash of light from your holy symbol or divine focus. The most powerful light emanates out 20 feet from you. Creatures with fewer Hit Dice than your cleric level within this area are blinded for 1d4 rounds unless they succeed at a Fortitude save. All creatures in this area are dazzled for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your cleric level (minimum 1). You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier
Whitecrow has a look at the scene and the bottleneck before him and decides to hold his position.
While Eldan hesitates, Zigil moves past Zepfina and a bright light bursts from her raised hand.
Uh-oh, that is a shadow rat. It's an undead rat infused with shadow essence, and can turn incorporeal.
The centipedes in the north bins scurry towards Zepfina, climbing the sides to bite at her. The mandibles of one scrape off her armour, and the other misses completely.
Tarakona moves in to the entrance of the walkway (I8) she caste a fire bolt at the centipede to her left (c)
Tarakona's bolt catches the centipede right in the centre, and it curls up and stops moving.
The two centipedes in the rear bins close on Zigil. One of them nips at her arm, and the starman feels burning where the pincers have pierced the skin.
The rat stands out starkly in the bright light, yet as Zepfina watches it fades and becomes translucent. It then gallops over until it is right at the dwarf's feet.