Abandoned Arts Presents:
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For five years, the faithful of Sandpoint have attended church in temporary structures erected after a fire destroyed the town's only temple. While Sandpoint's latest religious leader - Father Zantus - is a a wise, helpful, and kind man, church services have simply never been the same. Now, the new cathedral is finally done. All that remains is for the Swallowtail Festival to renew the site's blessings from the gods and it will be as if the Sandpoint Fire had never occurred...
Squinting into the shimmering reflection of the sunset upon the sea, Maraerys Starlight gives one last thought to the affairs of her family's caravan. Supposing that she can leave the wagons guarded only by the meager vanguard she hired on for long enough to attend the local priests' sermons and rites, Maraerys chews thoughtfully on her lower lip.
But not the halfling. Might be a drunkard, seems the type; and he didn't belong to the meager vanguard she contracted - he'd been an "adventuring" hire. Better not to leave him alone with the good stuff.
The half-elf strolled toward her hired vanguards, fixing the halfling's eyes with her own.
"Goodbrandy, wasn't it? Accompany me to the square."
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Meanwhile, the crowd in the village square is thicker than anywhere else in Sandpoint. Anneka - a kitsune sporting a perfectly ordinary human disguise - surveys the crowd with curiosity and excitement. Beside her, a perfectly extraordinary wolf stands sentinel. Anneka had named her companion Kyrsaku - and Kyrsaku surveyed the crowd with feelings of his own. Namely, suspicion. Something didn't smell right.
The passersby and festival-goers of Sandpoint had shown none of the wariness of her companion that Anneka originally feared that they might. She'd come to learn that locals were hardly surprised to see adventurers (and stranger sights) in Sandpoint, and - for his part - Kyrsaku behaved with polite caution and measured dignity whenever curious locals approached to pet or coo at him.
Nearby, a tall and affible-looking human stands with the largest and most fascinating cat that Anneka had ever seen tucked under one robed arm. Vividly orange and fluffy in the extreme, she watched the obese feline gaze contemptuously at the crowds around them.
As Father Zantus nears the stage, Anneka is reminded of the real excitement to come - the consecrating of Sandpoint's brand new cathedral, and all the lore and artistry she might take in, within it.
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Zend Haraku gazed blearily at the stage, where festival staff were ushering Father Zantus, the local priest, up the steps. The events of the festival had been exhausting, and the wizard was eager for them to be over. His familiar, Schnoo-Schnoo, weighed heavily under his weary arm as he shifted his weight, impatiently.
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Teberus whistled. "That... has got to be the fattest gods-damned cat I ever saw. I'm the picture of envy, here. Were we all so fat and happy, eh?"
The halfling nudges his new traveling companion, but the half-elf offers only a noncommittal "Mm," in acknowledgement. The half-elf, Maraerys, settles on a spot near the noteworthy feline and his owner, and Teberus scans the crowd for only a moment before returning his attention to the curious pair.
"O'course it'll still be light on it's feet and all. A cat's a cat. To be that plump and well-fed and contented with life, and still nimble on 'yer feet? Every halfling's dream, ma'am - every halfling's dream."
Blathering on, Teberus' sharp eyes take in the feline's owner.
A magician by the look of 'im. Wizard, maybe - there's a tome in his pack for sure. A local, maybe? Hm.
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As the sun begins to set, Father Zantus takes the central podium. With a charming smile, the priest slings a small stone to the ground...
A sharp retort, like the crack of distant thunder, slices through the excited crowd as the sun's setting rays paint the western sky. A stray dog that has crawled under a nearby wagon to sleep starts awake, and the buzz of two dozen conversations quickly hushes as all heads turn toward the central podium, where a beaming Father Zantus has taken the stage. He clears his throat, takes a breath to speak, and suddenly a woman's scream slices through the air. A few moments later, another scream rises, then another. Beyond them, a sudden surge of strange new voices rises - high-pitched, tittering shrieks that sound not quite human . The crowd parts and something low to the ground races by, giggling with disturbing glee as the stray dog gives a pained yelp and then collapses with a gurgle, its throat cut open from ear to ear. As blood pools around its head, the raucous sound of a strange song begins, chanted from shrill, scratchy voices.
"Goblins chew and goblins bite; goblins cut and goblins fight... stab the dog and cut the horse; goblins eat and take by force..!"
The three green-skinned monsters act fast - spreading out to engage the stragglers - our heroes, in this case. Screaming the "stab the dog" stanza with special enthusiasm, two of the creatures go bumbling after Kyrsaku with "dogslicers" (signature goblin blades) drawn. A third ambles around behind Teberus - perhaps thinking his companion only a merchant - to pick a fight with someone more his own size. This third brandishes only a torch - it's dogslicer tucked away, for now.