Sure...I will enter your contest.
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Hmmm … given that Zynep’s delivery method for Bit of Luck is more efficient than mine, her use of that domain power is probably more valuable than mine, and better saved (??). Cleaver and Roland both have a good chance I think …
“Is there any downside for losing? Just your dignity or something else?”
Luisila whispers: “I could give both Cleaver and Geraldo a Bit of Luck if the group thinks it a good idea.”
"Is there anything stopping me entering using a high risk/high reward strategy, knowing I'll have very little chance of winning? If so, I won't apply Bit of Luck to myself."
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Such a tasty event. Lady, care for a wager? Dice off to choose a champion. Looser has to wash and groom the other's mount in public in their undergarments by the docks. What say you, sista'?"
"I'm sooooo in!"
"Pretty sure I'm not mounting either of them though ... you'll have to settle for my car..riage"
"Tough choice ... Geraldo!"
"I won't compete myself, but I will give Cleaver and Geraldo a kiss each on the cheek for luck!"
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I'll grab that heavy side board, and you can load me up with 9 mugs. Just like being back in the north. I can only hope to get to the drinking part!Oh, and any mounting will have t'wait until after the games, ladies, but like any fine steed, it will be worth the wait.
Varg throws his head back with laughter, and then he places the board on his shoulders.
Load 'er up!
Eventually, after what seems an eternity, the competition gets under way. After the crowd gets a chance to inspect everyone from your party, two local men step forward to try their luck.
The first man, a skinny man with one lazy eye, named aptly enough Fisheye Fwerd attempts to lift a stool with six cups.
He manages to hold the stool over his head, but is little wobbly from drinking and spills the mugs of ale. The crowd boos and guffaws at his efforts.
Next up is Ernest. He bows to the crowd and grabs a stool with three cups on it.
The portly wizard lifts the stool and balances the cups with amazing agillity, but the stool quickly gets heavy and he does not mange to raise it over his head. He sets down the stool in defeat, the crowd roaring with laughter.
Following Ernest, Roland steps up. The ranger grabs a table with six cups on it.
Unfortunately Roland barely lifts the table and spills half the cups in the process. The crowd begins to jeer the party, working itself up into a low din.
Next up, a hulking local by the name of "Big Arvin" steps forward to cheers from the all the locals. The man grabs a table with three cups of ale on it.
Clearly having had to much to drink, "Big Arvin" can't quite get the table above his head and spills the ale in the process. The crowd boos and jeers the local with equal ferocity.
Linnea strides forward, hoping to clinch the win for her party. To the astonishment of the crowd, the woman grabs a table with nine mugs of ale on it.
The crowd erupts in laughter as Linnea cannot lift the table above her chest and spills the ale in the process.
Finally Varg steps up, the party's final hope. The big man grabs a sideboard, loaded with nine ales.
The crowd cheers turn to jeers when Varg in unable to lift the sideboard all the way above his head and spills much ale in the process.
The crowd grows silent as Arnando confers with his acolytes. Finally he moves to the center of the room and calls for quiet. After review and much discussion, I have reached a decision on the winner. He walks over and grasps Ernest's arm, raising it in the air. I declare Ernie here the winner, fore he was the only one who did not spill any ale. It takes a winner to know you always protect the sacred ale. The crowd erupts in a cacaphony of cheers for the wizard and the High Publican directs him to go pick his prize.
I thought that I was able to refill D20s with the luck...and the bonuses only totalled +2?
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Luisila *winks* at Raven “Maybe we’ll get another opportunity at the Fishbowl?”
She pauses to drop her backpack and take her breastplate off, before approaching the conquering hero …
“Ernie, you should do a victory lap around the common room. If you like, turn around and give me a piggy-back … keep your blinkers on and you’ll be fine!”
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Linnea steps in. "We don't have time for that kind of nonsense, Lady."
Her voice then turns to a whisper, "I don't think we ought to go attracting any more attention to ourselves than necessary. You'll have plenty of time to let Ernie give you a ride once the work is done... but I want my goggles back before that happens!"
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Ernest isn't greatly afflicted by the taunting of being unable to lift a stool. Upon being given the winner's greetings, though, he begins to stall harder than ever before. "Uh-ph-th I was just th- the odds- th- winning an- th-" Barely surviving the congratulatory kiss and big bro hair muss with a face as red as Grandmaster Torch, he barely gets halfway through the phrase 'blinkers.' "Ah-ph-th-th-a--" He then promptly faints onto the sticky floor.
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Luisila takes it all in stride … or more accurately, stops “freeze-frame” style in mid-stride.
With a smile to herself … Venture-Captain Linnea Joculus – it's got a nice ring to it!
She looks down at Ernest. "Don’t swoon, Ernie. I’m human!" Well … half-human anyway.
Before he’s fully conscious, Lady gets well out of the way and retrieves her gear.
“Guv, have we got the cup secured? Where to next? I don’t mind if it’s the Fishbowl or Silken Veil.”
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As Luisila brings Ernie to his senses, she reminds him to get the cup as his prize.
Surely she got the double-entendre about "riding" Ernie, didn't she? I'll be glad when I don't have to act like the leader anymore. I think I could have some fun palling around with Luisila and Zynep.
Adopting the rough accent that she is trying to maintain in her role as Thestil, Linnea responds to Luisila, "Lady - let's go alphabetical-like and go with the Fishbowl, unless anyone has objections."
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Once they’re outside and have some privacy, Luisila will add: “Going to the Fishbowl next gives us some time to think about how to approach the Silken Veil.”
“I’ve got some thoughts, but don’t know how practical they are … I do know Thestil, Raven and my cover is blown there. So … are we better off being reasonably honest with Lashmistress Pamodae about our plan to screw over the Aspis?”
“If the Cult of Lissala smashed the Aspis HQ in Riddleport … that would solve a few financial problems for the Calistrian sisters, right? In order to get the Cult stirred up, we explain to Madam Pamodae that we need to borrow her dagger. The risk of course is that we would need to rely on her silence about our true identities, but doing so would be in her interests. If she agrees to keep quiet, we could agree to return her dagger once we have finished ‘not murdering’ the Cultists.”
“I guess an alternative is, the three women wait outside the Temple, while the men-folk ‘do the business’ inside, OR the ladies risk wearing some sort of disguise inside.”
The crowd roars with laughter when Ernest faints, thinking he's been drinking as much as the everyone else here. When he is revived, the crowd cheers even louder. It seems the entire place breaks out in song, starting with "For he's a jolly good fellow" and followed up by more bawdy tavern songs.
Linnea's bawdy limerick whips the crowd into an even greater frenzy of celebration and song.
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Once outside the tavern, Linnea quietly speaks with Luisila, "That's a superb idea, Lady. I was hoping to buy us some more thinking time by heading to the Fishbowl first. Playing our hand to the Lashmistress may just work, but it will require some real finesse. Let's discuss this further as we go."
As the party travels to the fishbowl, Linnea will ensure that the others are informed of the plan that Luisila has proposed.
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Raven winces at the drunken song that echoes through the mead hall. She gathers close Lady to discuss their options.
"Yes, this Fishbowl should be next. I too am worried about dealing with our sisters. I still have a Disguise Self spell available for the day. Honestly, I'm not sure if lying would frowned upon or accepted. I would hate to make a promise to Padomae that we cannot keep. We may never leave Riddleport."
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Quietly to Zynep: “I’ve got Disguise Self readied today as well. It lasts about thirty minutes, doesn’t it? That should be long enough to survive in the Silken Veil. What do you think if I changed my appearance thus …”
“Hello, Ladies. Filios Philandril, rakish archer and worshipper of Calistria at your service. Call-sign “Lady Killer.”
To Zynep … “Tell me did you hurt yourself? You know … when you hit Golarion after falling out of Heaven.”
"If Linnea borrowed Ernest's Hat of Disguise - we'd be set, I think."
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"What the..? Linnea jumps back a little at the sight of "Filios." "Actually, I've got Disguise Self prepared as well. It's one of the two spells I know. Maybe disguising ourselves is the way to go, but I also like your earlier idea of trying to win the Silken Veil to our cause."
Linnea glances around the street at the people walking by. "Let's take care of our task at the Fishbowl first, sound good?" With this she looks at the map of Riddleport.
The crowd at the Publican House, begins to sing along with the party, but when Professor Oinkerton joins, the house roars with laughter and everyone joins the impromptu choir. With Roland and Varg(?) leading the final song, a rousing serenade to the glory of Taldor, the Publican House genuinely vibrates with the entire assemblage of patrons joining in song.
Afterwards, to many cheers and some rounds of ale on the house, the party exits the Publican House and makes their way back across the river. It's a short walk along the riverbank, before the structure of the FIshbowl looms into view.
The Fish Bowl stands along the river atop a high stone base. Well-worn stone stairs ascend the stone base to access the temple above, but a chain has been drawn across the bottom of the stairs to block easy access. From the street, it is difficult to see anything occurring in the temple at the top of the platform. Only a few dim lights flicker up in the temple, and a narrow tower or lookout post rises above it. As the party stands looking up at the structure, suddenly, a blood-curdling scream emanates from the Fishbowl. The scream lasts for a few pain-filled moments before being cut off into a gurgle.