Trunau, an independent town at the very edge of civilization and on the edge of the Mindspin Mountains...that is where you find yourself this night (Map of region). Most of you arrived recently, within the past 6 months, so you're still considered outsiders by most of the town's locals. The wooden token you each carry on you is a symbol of that (). It has a number artfully engraved on it, corresponding to your name on a list. The token was given to you the first day you arrived in Trunau by the guards at the main gate. You present it every time you purchase anything in town or are questioned about your identity. Yes, the people of Trunau are not a very trusting lot. And who can blame them? When all others fled at the sight of the invading Orc hordes centuries ago, they stayed behind and fought and refused to abandon their homes. Thanks to their bravery and spilled blood, still they stand! However, even now after so many years, the animosity between the human population and the half-orcs in town is palpable, simmering beneath the surface. The people of Trunau are a resilient people and their resolve is about to be tested once again...
You are roused from your thoughts by a chill breeze that whips through the Commons, the large amphitheater in the center of town. It is a cool and unusually foggy night in Trunau. That, however, has not dampened the spirits of the crowd gathered. The ceremony you and the rest of the town have come to witness is about to begin. Jubilation fills the evening air, 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. The buzz of the crowd subsides as the weathered town leader, Halgra of the Blackened Blades, takes the stage and begins to speak. Pic
“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.
“If the orcs come, and there is no other option, this is where you cut—here, here, and here.” Halgra demonstrates which arteries to sever while Ruby watches. When she is finished, 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.
Having watched silently through the ceremony, Morti turns to the dwarf next to him, nodding. "A grim custom, but sensible for folk in such hostile surroundings, t'be sure. Were Janderhoff so exposed, we'd have similar. As is, those like you 'n I have to venture out to find such dangers."
A rare smile passes over the burly blacksmith's face. Cabe is happy for Ruby who gets to experience the coming of age ceremony that he himself never had. As a young boy and a newcomer to Trunau, he once tried to make his own makeshift hopeknife, but the other boys rudely let him know that he had no right to one. After all these years he still has the feeling that the people of Trunau do not fully trust him.
He is acutely aware of Sara's presence but studiously abstains from looking at her.
"C'mon Eli, turn that face upside down. I'm sure we'll find these artifacts of yours soon. Pretty sure they're just really well hidden. Maybe we will find an epic halfling scimitar buried around here?" The charming halfling was trying anything to make his new friend smile. She had been disappointed that they had not found anything on their latest expedition.
"Wow, pretty grim stuff there. I can't imagine what these people felt like when the orcs invaded. I hate 'em personally. Did I tell you, Eli, that I lost my natural parents and my dwarf "father" as well to those damn orcs?! I hate them with a passion!" Falric stands and cheers with the rest of the town after the speech. "Ya have to admire their spirit. I hope they never use their knives for their intended purpose."
"Those orcs are just evil barbarians, Ric. They've killed more of us civilized folk than I can shake a stick at. They've made it so you can't safely explore any of the surrounding lands without being scared for your life! Every time we go out and make it back safe, I thank my lucky stars. I completely understanding the locals and their grim ceremony. Hopefully that little girl will never need to use that knife," she says as she looks at her traveling partner.
As the crowd begins stirring to disperse, Morti will gaze about, looking for Agrit--with little luck, probably, being surrounded by taller Trunau residents. "I know your aunt was tied up yesterday when we called, but she should be 'ere somewhere--p'rhaps I can introduce ye now."
After the applause, Halgra speaks, "And to continue with the festivities. It is time now for the tests of agility, intellect, and brawn! Who in the crowd wants to serve as my daughter's champions against the very best of our town's militia?" You see five human guards, two of whom must be related as they look quite alike, take to the stage of the amphitheater to serve as the competition.
Elisen knew Falric would be the very first to take the challenge. She asked anyway, just to be safe. "I bet you are just busting at the seams to volunteer, aren't you? Maybe I can help on the intellect test, if nothing more," she whispers.
The halfling smiles, "You know me so well, Elly! We have to help Ruby!" He raises his hand excitedly, jumping out of his seat, "Right here, right here! We've got agility and intellect covered! Those guards won't stand a chance!"
Halgra can't help but smile at the halfling's tactics. "I love your enthusiasm, little one. Please come on stage with your friend. Anyone else? Ruby needs three more champions."
Falric leaps on the stage and bows before Halgra, removing his wide-brimmed hat, "Falric Dawnstriker, humble servant of Sarenrae at your service Chief Defender." He then smiles at Ruby and winks, "A pleasure, child. We will bring you victory."
"Well, when in Absalom, as they say..."
Morti attempts to trip over as few townsfolk as possible on his way to the aisle, then strides towards the stage, "Ye can sign me up for whatever's left!"
Elisen grinned as she followed her enthusiastic compatriot. "We will give it out best effort, Ruby!". She waved to the crowd as they received a somewhat enthusiastic reception.
Falric welcomes the dwarf, "Sure, sure, the more the merrier. Who else wants to be on the winning team? C'mon people, be brave. Ruby, Ruby, Ruby!" The bard tries to get a chant going in the crowd for the Chief's daughter as he tosses the militia a confident smile.
"Aye, t'was just trying enough, me friend!" the dwarf answers his friend, grinning broadly and clearly happy to see a familiar face. "A hopeknife meet, ye say? Aye, I'm lookin' forward ta seeing local customs at least as much as I am to meetin up with Agrit. Thank ye again fer lettin' me know she was here!"
Barundar spits on the ground at the mention of the foul things that so disrupt the locals. "Grim? Aye, that it is, but ye can expect no less when they live amongst the orc filth that surrounds them. They must be a hardy folk to even carry such a blade, much less make such a celebration of receiving yer own."
After his dwarf-brother volunteers with the others, Barundar tries to get a viewing spot close to the front so he can properly cheer on his battle-brother.
Cabe just smiles at the enthusiasm of the newcomers.
As the militia are made up for the most part of the strongest of the town's residents, the crowd is torn between not offending the Chief Defender and not embarrassing themselves. Halgra acts quickly and pans the crowd and smiles, "Cabe, get off your butt and get up here. You and Sara helped craft Ruby's Hopeknife. I can't think of anyone better than you to stand up for Ruby on this special day."
When the crowd hears Cabe's name, they look back to the young man. Everyone in town knows him or has had dealings with him, since he works at the Clamor, the town smithy, especially the guards. One of the brothers, Rodrik Gath, Patrol Captain, eggs on the cleric with a smile on his face: "Yeah, Cabe, let's see if those muscles of yours are good for anything other than pounding your anvil." The younger brother, Kurst, an archer, who is more quiet and reserved, just nods shyly as the rest of the militia hoots and hollers.
Cabe blushes as he climbs up the stage, knowing that most of the apprentices are stronger than him, but he feels Sara's eyes on him and knows that she (not to mention the rest of the crew) would never let him live it down if he backed out now. Besides, he always liked Ruby and is willing to humiliate himself a little to honor her.
Morti gives Cabe a friendly nudge as the blushing cleric takes his place in the lineup, offering quietly, "...says a man who wouldn't know what to do with an anvil if it fell in his lap."
Elisen blushes at the Captain's good natured cajoling of the smith. She turns and watches Halgram wondering exactly what was to be expected of the group. She hoped she wouldn't have to joust or perform any sort of battle exhibition...she's just knock herself over and lose the contest for the team.
Halgra smiles as the two dwarves, the two humans, and the halfling stand by Ruby to defend her in the upcoming competition. While the crowd cheers, Halgra asks for the two dwarves' and the woman's name. Then she speaks to the crowd, emphasizing the grandeur of the moment, "Now Ruby's champions will compete against the best of Trunau's militia in contests of agility, intellect, and brute strength. First up is the dagger throwing contest! Ruby will pick one champion to represent her team, while Kurst Grath, brother of Guard Captain Rodrik and son to Captain Jagrin Grath, will represent Trunau's defenders. Whomever throws his three daggers closest to the bullseye from 20' away wins! No magic is allowed to influence the throw. Ruby, since this is your day, pick your champion and choose whether you want to go first or second."
Ruby looks to the muscular men and shakes her head. She looks at Elisen and sighs. She then looks at the eager halfling and remembers halflings are supposedly legendary rock slingers, so she smiles and excitedly yells, "I choose Falric!"
Falric bows before the crowd and smiles, "A wise choice, m'lady!" He then moves to the target, touches the bullseye, and steps backwards 20'. Before his throws, he nods to Kurst and smiles.
Falric pauses, grabs the dagger and lets it fly to the target.
After his last throw, he turns to the crowd and then his teammates and finally to Ruby, and bows dramatically, falling to one knee! "You are welcome!"
The crowd roars at the excellence of Falric's throws. Kurst seems a little rattled by the halfling's skill but he bravely moves to his mark, encouraged by the militia, who yell encouragement at him. Rodrik just nods endearingly at his brother that he can do this.
Kurst lines up his throws as the halfling did. Unfortunately, he is definitely rattled and his throws come nowhere close to the bulls-eye.
A dejected Kurst walks to Ruby and then Falric and congratulates them, as Halgra announces, "Round 1...to Falric and Ruby!" Applause fills the amphitheater as chants of "Ruby" can be heard in the audience. The small child, about Falric's size, has a smile from ear to ear on her face as she sees the spectacle in front of her and she happily runs up and hugs the dramatic halfling.
Halgra speaks, "Now for the second challenge, we have to see if the militia can step up. Again each side will pick a champion to determine a winner in a test of memory. Whomever finishes his/her puzzle in the fastest time wins. Again, no magic can be used to influence the outcome. Ruby, pick your champion!"
Servants come on stage and remove the bulls-eye and replace it with cards from a Harrow deck on a big board so the audience can see.
Ruby again surveys the team. Dwarves are not known for their intelligence, so she nods no. Cabe is nice and all but he pounds metal for a living, so she decides no on him as well. Finally, she looks at Elisen. Every time her mother warned against the use of magic, she was giving Elisen a special look. So that means she is a magic user right? And they are known for their intellect. She walks up to the woman. "Will you do me the honor, Elisen and represent me?"
Falric is touched by Ruby's emotion and thanks her for choosing him. When Elly is approached, the halfling follows and listens. "C'mon Elly, show these rookies how it's done. Learn from my example." The halfling flashes the arcanist his megawatt smile.
Barundar roars along with the crowd at Falric's skill with throwing-daggers, reminding himself that it would not be wise to upset the halfling...their skill with thrown weapons was not simply something of legend, apparently.
He looks sidelong at Morti, giving his brother dwarf a grin. "Well, first we've seen a contest o' accuracy, an' noo one o' brains. Mibbie next wull be ain o' braun that will call fur showing whit a dwarf kin dae, eh?"
Elisen steps forward and starts the process, trying to calm herself and represent in a positive manner.
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Amazingly, Elisen solves the complex puzzle in just 30 seconds!
Meanwhile, Simon tries to study the cards....but it takes him 1minute 6 seconds!
Again the winner is proclaimed: "Round 2 goes to...Elisen and Ruby!!". More cheers from the crowd and more chants of "Ruby, Ruby" are heard in the audience. The teenager wraps up Elisen in a tight hug, "Thank you sister! You were amazing!"
Elisen grins with a slight blush and hugs the girl back. "I guess I got pretty lucky there! I'm glad I could help you, Ruby..."
She turns to Falric. "I hope there are more quizzes. That was quite fun, I have to admit.!"
She returns her attention to the group, wondering what task might be assigned to them next.
From prior ceremonies that he has attended, Cabe knows that the militia tends to put on a good show and sometimes even loses on purpose (after all the purpose of the games is to have fun and make the child's coming of age ceremony memorable). However, the militia was always in control and taking a fall to ensure victory. They have never been humiliated by the child's Champions before in such a fashion through two contests! And it shows! They are pissed and fuming as Halgra announces the last challenge.
"Well, one last chance for our town's defenders to recuperate their honor....that is right..it is time for the 3-man Tug of War contest!" Cheers from the crowd erupt for Ruby's champions as they have lost hope on the militia!
Attendants take away the cards as a pit is dug up in the ground in front of the amphitheater and filled with water. The crowd waits with anticipation, as an old and muddied notched 50' rope (clear that has seen much use) is brought out. The three strongest militia members: Rodrik, Nate, and Calibas go on their side of pit, with Rodrik closest to the water.
Halgra seems to be enjoying herself as she announces, "Each team pulls until someone gets...what?" The crowd in unison screams on cue: WET!!!
"Go get'em boys! Don't let Ruby, Falric and myself down." Elisen looks around for a drink, happy she did well, and happy she isn't going to get pulled into the water.
Not one to shirk taking one for the team, Cabe accepts the front place. He casts a nervous glance down into the pit and then shrugs, readying himself to pull for his life.
"Ye know dwarves are born from th' earth itself, and very sure o' our footin'!" Morti offers to the militiamen with a grin as he takes his spot on the rope between Cabe and Barundar, making a show of planting his feet. "Should ye want to concede wit' a handshake rather than soak yer selves, we wouldna think less o' ye!"
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Rodrik and his men pull with all their might, straining their muscles, and pull the rope 1' toward them!
The crowd gasps in disbelief, as the town defenders grab the early lead!
"Whoa! C'mon Cabe, Morti, and Barundar! Put your backs into it...we can't lose! Do it for Ruby!"
"Those dwarves look like they'd be tough to move even an inch, Ric! And the smithy boy seems to be doing quite well, too," Elisen excitedly calls out to her friend. Despite herself, she was caught up just like the rest of the crowd, yelling for her makeshift team.
"C'moan, lads! Put yer backs intae it!"" Barundar shouts in encouragement, digging his heels into the ground and pulling with all his might!
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Incredibly, the momentum shifts as Rodrik and his men are surprised by the dwarves' second effort and the rope moves 3' in the opposite direction! Rodrik sees the pool of water inching closer and urges his men to pull! Your muscles ache and your hands are feeling the burn of the rope.
Cabe mutters a prayer to Torag and pulls with all his might, ignoring the pain. He's thankful for his calloused hands.
"Woo hoo! ". The typically reserved Eleisen was yelling for her squad, caught up in the crowd's emotions.
Ruby's champions pull the rope 2 more feet in their direction and are only 1' from victory! The outcome seems inevitable but the guards still strain to turn the tide...the crowd's cheers of "Ruby" get louder and louder as they wait for Rodrik to fall in the pool!
It seems the guards' morale has been beaten out of them as they are overmatched and splash, down they go into the muddied water!!! The crowd roars in victory with applause for Ruby and her champions!!
When Rodrik falls into the pool, Barundar gives a loud, gruff yell of victory, turning to his brothers-in-arms to congratulate them both...and then he quickly jogs over to their competitors, offering a hand to help them stand from the muddy water.
"It wis a guid match 'n' weel fought! Ye showed yer brawn 'n' brought honor tae yer clan, na maiter whit anybody else kin say!"
Morti joins Barundar in offering a hand to the losers -- "A good match, boys -- ye had us worried there, but we jus' couldna let Ruby down!"
Cabe, trying to suppress a sheepish grin, joins in the greeting of the losers.
The fury and embarrassment Rodrik feels is softened by the victors' sincere congratulations so he splashes the dwarves with water and bear hugs Cabe, causing the crowd to laugh in unison at seeing the good natured spirit of the competitors. The other two guards back slap the dwarves for their great strength and everyone shakes Ruby's champions' hands (.
Ruby thanks the militia and her champions, "You all have made this the best coming of age ceremony ever! May the Gods watch over you!" She then runs and hugs her mom. Halgra gets a little emotional and then speaks to the crowd, "With the victors declared, Ruby's ceremony is over..Let's eat!" Thunderous applause rises from the crowd. Attendants quickly lead Halgra, Ruby, and the champions to the dining area, where Halgra invites the party to dine at her table as honored guests.
During the dinner, Kurst and Rodrik chat with the party, offering them congratulations again.
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Rodrik, the more social of the Grath brothers, with some ale in hand speaks, "So what brings you all to our little hamlet of Trunau? Not coming to steal our jobs as guards right?! After that performance, we all might be fired!" Laughs break out from the guards.