Wivvy |
The sun is rising above Sandpoint. It's cool rays light up the courtyard and paint paint the steeple of the new church golden. A breeze is blowing through the air that carries an overwhelming array of sounds and smells with it. The town square is flooded with hundreds of people, all laughing and talking. Merchants set up tables and tents around the courtyard with their finest food and items up for sale, and they shout at anyone within earshot about how their product is the finest in the land. Everyone is waiting for the famous Swallowtail festival to begin. Finally, a man walks up to the stage and and calls for the peoples attention. This man addresses himself as Mayor Deverin, as he speaks the crowd seems to love him more and more. He cracks jokes, talks about funny stories, and even picks on a few of the residents as a friendly gesture. After he is done, the crowd is in a much lighter mood. This mood is quickly soured by the second speaker. Sheriff Belor Hemlock gives a monotonous, boring speech about the safety risks associated with the bonfire fire later this afternoon. He also calls for a moment of silence for those lost in the church fire a few years ago. The next speaker is a man named Cyrdak Drokkus. He quickly explains that Lonjiku Kiajitsu was supposed to speak but a sudden illness has struck him. At this, even Cyrdak roles his eyes, knowing that Lonjiku was almost certainly not sick. After a quick recanting of the events that the town went through to build the new cathedral, he invited everyone to go see his production of "The Harpy's Curse" at the theater. Finally, Father Zantus got up and thanked everyone for coming and declared the start of the festivities.
You all start out in the town square, around you see several merchants selling food, drink, and other items. You also see a number of games going on such as sack racing, arm wrestling, archery contests, Tug-of war, weight lifting contests, foot races, and of course drinking competitions. Feel free to wander around and play as many games as you like, I'll advance the story whenever you guys want.
Tavius Taurandir |
Tavius wanders about reminiscing about his childhood thinking of the fun him and old friends had playing in the square, and he thinks to visit Junker's Edge. But as it happened his nose and stomach betrayed him and let him bump into a table one of the taverns had set up for the festival. "I'm sorry about that my mind must have wandered off."
Setius |
Setius sat on Tavius's shoulder wary of all the tall folk that walked by. He knew staying with Tavius would the smartest thing to do so he sat and waited until the two had more room, or trees to climb into.
Strife Ayrhart |
Strife wanders through the crowd, stopping to watch several of the contests. He cheers and claps when a particularly hard fought contest is won. Those who notice him in the crowd see a tall, lithe man with white hair and blue skin. Odd markings seem to move across his skin of their own accord.
There is coin to be had, perhaps I should find a spot to set up. A deck of harrow cards and a 'crystal ball' would surely entice many that are here. He shakes his head. That isn't why I am here.
Tarnish Gaborza |
Tarnish wanders around looking at all the sights. He walks up to one of the food vendors and says:
"Hello sir. I'm new here. Could you please tell me how this event got its name? And what do you have that's especially good today?"
Wivvy |
The merchant the Tarnish speaks to, a tall man with a belly that hung down halfway to his knees, laughs and says to Tarnish "Oh, halo! Y'see the Swallowtail Festival got it's name from the children of Desna, ain't that right!" When he could see that his information meant nothing to Tarnish he laughed again,making his neck fat jiggle,"I suppose ye'll see when the time comes. Don't want ti spoil the surprise ain't that right! Now," he beckons to his array of food items in front of him,"as for what I have that's especially good, I suppose that'd be everything ain't that right!" The large man cackles at his own joke, bending over in fits of laughter. After a while he straightens up, his face grows stone cold and he says,with no emotion in his voice, "The beans are good."
As Kugrim wanders around, he starts to generate a small amount of chatter as he wins more and more arm wrestles. Finally a guard walks up to him (a little shakily due to the large amount of alcohol he's just consumed) and says,"Yur pretty good huh? Well how's 'bout a real challenge fer a change? Without waiting for an answer, he plops into a chair and gets his arm into position on the table.
Wivvy |
With an ear-to-ear smile the merchant scoops out a big bowl of beans and hands it to Tarnish. "Here ya go! Enjoy! Oh and and don't worry about no price neither, compliments of Cracktooth's Cavern! I'd say it was free but then...is anything really? Clearly troubled by his own revelation, when Tavius bumps in his table he looked like he had been stabbed. After Tavius apologized the man turned around and walked away, mumbling under his breath. Then a man walks up behind Tavius and Tarnish and says to them,"That right there is Gurd (or at least that's what he calls himself). He's fat as a cow and mad as a goblin, but he's a gentle soul and ol' Cracktooth was kind enough to bring him in and give him a job. But enough about that, are you fellas new here?"
You recognize this man as Cyrdak Drokkus, one of the men who spoke earlier on the stage.
Tarnish Gaborza |
Tarnish starts to enjoy his beans, and then turns to Cyrdak. Tarnish says, "Yes. I just got off the boat this morning. I wanted to see the festival and find out about getting a job. Possibly as a caravan guard or maybe joining an adventuring company."
Tarnish munches away on his beans as he waits for a reply.
Wivvy |
"So I take it that you're a man that can hold his own in a fight. That's a good way to be! Say if you ever find time in between your job hunting you should stop by the theater and see what play I might have going on. It's a great deal of fun." Then he turns to Tavius, "Hello lad, I- Oh my, you have a bird on your shoulder. Anyway, I take it you've never been here either?"
Tavius Taurandir |
Tavius Taurandir |
"No the school here doubles as an orphanage. I left 12 years ago to go study with a local ranger, its why people probably won't recognize me." Tavius said stroking his wild looking beard.
Wivvy |
As Kugrim sits down opposite the guard, a crowd is already starting to form around the table as hype starts to generate. Many of the people are cheering, but for no one in particular. As they both clasp hands, the guard says "Let's do this." After a pause with a confused look on his face, he says, "I'll wrestle your twin next time." And with that, the match commences.
Kugrim Strength: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
A great deal of time has passed before either of they're hands moved more than a few inches to either side. Finally after five minutes the guard is almost beaten, but just before he can muster his strength into one last push he promptly vomits all over the table and passes out.The whole crowd erupts into laughter, now cheering on their new champion.
Tarnish Gaborza |
Tarnish says, "So you like it out in the woods then I take it. I'm a city boy myself. Haven't spent any time to speak of in the wilderness. So, other than enjoying the festival, what brings you here? And could you give me any advice on where to go to find an adventuring company that might need people?"
Tavius Taurandir |
"I found the road into town just this morning, good timing had me show up on one of the best days of the year here." Tavius takes some beans and eats few quickly. "As for adventuring companies I don't know of any in the area really, though you could always try to apply for the Pathfinders."
Tarnish Gaborza |
Tarnish finished up his beans. They were good and he hadn't realized how hungry he was. He replied to Tavius:
"I don't know about the Pathfinders. Everybody usually says good things about them, but I have also heard tales of infighting and hidden agendas. I prefer to keep things simpler. Just a straight business deal or a simple standard contract."
Tavius Taurandir |
"Then I'd suggest forming your own and keeping it small, any large group is gonna have secret agendas and infighting." Tavius grabbed some dried pork from his pocket and held it to Setius to eat.
Strife Ayrhart |
A great deal of time has passed before either of they're hands moved more than a few inches to either side. Finally after five minutes the guard is almost beaten, but just before he can muster his strength into one last push he promptly vomits all over the table and passes out.The whole crowd erupts into laughter, now cheering on their new champion.
@ Kugrim: "You would've had him. Shame that."
Setius |
Setius snapped at the pork stip tearing a sizable bite. He cocked his head at the other tall folk Tavius was talking to, he seemed nice but smelled too much of stone and other tall folk.
Tarnish Gaborza |
Tarnish commented with a grin, "After watching your bird eat and noticing that you still have all your fingers I guess you must be pretty good at training animals. So, what time of the day do their dancers or whatever start?"
Tavius Taurandir |
"He bit me the first few times but he learned if he wants the good meat he needs to be nice." Tavius stroked the back of Setius' neck with a finger. "If I remember right a lot of the festivities don't start until the afternoon so we got a while before then." He took a bite of the dried pork before putting it back in his pocket.
Tarnish Gaborza |
Tarnish puts his empty bean bowl back where Gurd can reclaim it and says to Tavis, "Given that we've got time to kill then I think I might try my hand at some of the arm wrestling or weight lifting challenges."
Tarnish flexes his arms and it's rather obvious that he's a strong guy. Tarnish goes on to say:
"I think I might have a fair chance of winning something, and I doubt there's going to be much free food available after the festival is over. More coin always comes in handy. Tag along if you want, unless you have a better idea."
Tavius Taurandir |
"Sure, but I'm not competeting with you my skills lie with my bow." Tavius said following Tarnish. "My name is Tavius by the way and this is Setius."
Tarnish Gaborza |
Tarnish replies, "My name is Tarnish. I wouldn't mind watching you compete in archery. I can use bows reasonably well, but probably not well enough to win a tournament. I tend to favor the Halfling sling staff and the chakram for use as ranged weapons. They aren't as good for skirmishing as a bow is, but they can let me take advantage of my strength in a way I couldn't with a bow unless I got a real expensive hand crafted composite bow."
Tavius Taurandir |
"I'm not sure if I could win a tournament either its just enough to get me by hunting wise." Tavius said as they reached the arm wrestling stand that smelled of fresh vomit.
Wivvy |
As Tarnish arrives at the weight lifting contest, he sees a couple sailors warming up, one city guard, and a beefy looking man who was drunk off his ___. Tarnish notices another spot available with a large sack of flour in front of it.
Since Tarnish has a higher strength mod than all of them by at least two, I'm going to go ahead and say he won.
When the competition started, everyone had to lift their bag of flour over their head and drop it back to the ground. They then had to set another bag on top of their bag and lift them both into the air. After two or three bags, most of the men just gave up and crumpled under the weight, but not Tarnish. He out lifted all of them before he was even tired. When it was done, all of them just glared at him with limp arms. But Tarnish's celebration is cut short when he hears a deep laugh behind him. When he turns around he sees a horse of a man standing before him. "This one shows great strength, I like him," the man says to the crowd. Then, turning toward Tarnish, "How about it? A friendly competition, loser buys the winner lunch."
You guys both have the same strength, so I'll be rolling strength checks for the both of you. Also, I'll be getting creative on what this competition consists of should you decide to accept. Also, for RP purposes, the man is a half-orc
As Strife is looking for religious dignitaries he sees Father Zantus beside a covered wagon, talking to a few of the nobles.
Strife Ayrhart |
As Strife is looking for religious dignitaries he sees Father Zantus beside a covered wagon, talking to a few of the nobles.
Strife approaches the group and discretely listens for an opening in the conversation. Should he sense one: "Father Zantus? Strife Ayrhart. A beautiful temple you have here." Strife offers a hand.
Tavius Taurandir |
"Tarnish I believe you got this, I'm gonna see if I can get a bath before the things really kick off I might even trim the beard. I'll meet you back here in about an hour or so."Tavius slapped his new friend on the shoulder before making back to the tavern tables.
He spotted a fair looking woman with a tattoo of a dragon on her left arm running a table. "Excuse me miss you wouldn't happen to run one of the taverns in town would you?"
Wivvy |
Once Strife speaks, Father Zantus looks over at him, "Oh, hello lad!" He happily shakes Strife's hand, "It is a beauty isn't it. Things always are when they rise from the ashes. What's your name son?
The woman that Tavius is speaking to answer's him "As a matter of fact I do. I run the Rusty Dragon, what do you need?"
The man looks at Tarnish and grins, "best not waste time then. What's first?"
There are several competitions to choose from and he's going to let you pick which one you want to do first. Here are some of the challenges:
-Tug-of-war
-Sack racing (in this case you have to run with a sack of flour for a long as you can. Fortitude based.)
-Javelin throwing
-Arm Wrestling
-Any you feel like making up :)
You'll probably be doing several if you want to keep this going.
Strife Ayrhart |
Once Strife speaks, Father Zantus looks over at him, "Oh, hello lad!" He happily shakes Strife's hand, "It is a beauty isn't it. Things always are when they rise from the ashes. What's your name son?
[/ooc]
"Like the Phoenix of legend. Strife, sir. I was wondering if I might seek knowledge from you and perhaps, a few of your guests. It is of a spiritual nature."
Tavius Taurandir |
Wivvy |
"Strife eh? Sounds like you've been through the ashes yourself young man. Well you're in luck Strife, spiritual matters happen to be my specialty."
The woman smiles at Tavius and says, "You need a bath? But you look so clean!" With a laugh she says "Actually I have to head there now to get things ready for lunch. Care to follow?
Manly Man: 1d20 ⇒ 5
The two men grab their end of the rope and wait for the official to say go. When he does, they both start pulling and the crowd goes wild.
After a minute or so, the half-orc is beginning to huff and sweat is beading on his forehead. Finally a smile creeps across Tarnish's face and he decides to try. With one big tug he pulls the rope and the man falls flat on his face. The crowd goes wild as the man is getting up. "Lost my footing" he says as an obvious joke. "How about a javelin throw as a rematch?"
Wivvy |
Manly Man: 1d20 ⇒ 15
Tarnish starts off first, he throws the javelin high into the air and it soars through the sky until it plummets down and lands in the soft earth. The the man gets up and throws his. An equally beautiful throw, but this one had a little more power behind it. It landed but a few feet from Tarnish's javelin, but it was enough. "One to one eh? What say pal, how about a tie breaker?"
Tavius Taurandir |
Wivvy |
Whoops didn't mean to leave you hanging Strife.
"Of course!" Father Zantus exclaims with a soft smile. "If I didn't take the time to answer a young mans questions then I wouldn't be a very good Father would I? I'm free anytime you need to talk."
With a laugh the big man answers, "Well, how's about we trade a few punches -if you think you can take 'em- to settle this once and for all? What do ya say to a quick spar?" He grins lightheartedly at Tarnish as he awaits and answer.
As the woman begins to walk with Tavius she tells him,"I was born here, and have lived here most of my life. I tried to leave once...but things happened." As she was talking, her eyes became downcast, and her beautiful smile turned into frown. Then, as if snapping back into reality, she looks at Tavius and asks, "So, what about yourself? Have you ever been to Sandpoint before?"
Strife Ayrhart |
"Of course!" Father Zantus exclaims with a soft smile. "If I didn't take the time to answer a young mans questions then I wouldn't be a very good Father would I? I'm free anytime you need to talk."
"Thank you, Sir. If you'll excuse me for now, I hear there is a festival going on." He winks good-naturedly.
As he walks away, he starts calling out, "Samson's Carnivale, see the sights at Samson's Carnivale, get your fortune told..." His voice fades in the distance.
Tavius Taurandir |
"I lived here about 12 years ago, though I don't remember your beautiful face when I was here." Tavius flirted trying to keep her mood up. "You probably know the person who dragged me into the wood back then, Shalelu?"