perception
Varian unstrings his bow and simply says
no, I believe that will be all for me. thank you for the pie But I seem to have already garnered a crowd a bit to large for me.
Varain scans the crowd for anyone of note
"Oh, you want to know who Ms. Allishanda is? Well, she's a popular actress from Magnimar, trained in the thespian arts at the finest school for the stage in Absalom itself! She's charming and very beautiful, not to mention that her performances have been said to make the very rocks cry as well as the audience themselves. Mister Drokkus and her were classmates together at the college, which is why he managed to convince her to come to the remote town, not that I hate it!", he rapidly assures you. "Sandpoint is a nice place and everything, but aside from the occasional report of goblins harassing travelers and caravans on the road, nothing ever happens here...well, not since five years ago..." He looks like he's about to say more, but he sighs and falls into introspective silence.
"My good sir, I am perfectly willing to part with three hundred Gold Pieces for the codex of Thassalonian runes, but I think that it would be trader's courtesy to include another item, free of charge."
"Oh?" the elf questions, "Very well. I will include this scroll of Thassalonian poetry in addition to the codex."
"Thassalonian poetry?!" Quink sputters. "Look here, young man. I can appreciate poetry as much as the next scholar in town, but anything less than the collection of Archaeologist Zimmerman's drawings of ancient ruins of Azlant is nothing but highway robbery! In broad daylight!"
"'Young man?'" the elf laughs, a melodious sound."I do believe that my appearance deceives you, elder, not that I can fault your clouded vision. I am one hundred and fifty-four years of age, most of which were spent in the field with Zimmerman's crew. Why, I do believe you were only just born when I had lost my virginity to that beautiful half-elf maiden seventy years ago..."
The haggling goes back and forward between the two of them, with no clear sign of stopping anytime soon. Even though both of them are trading thinly-veiled insults at one another, they do not appear to be trying to provoke each other into a fight. Scholars from Varisia are a strange lot, indeed...
Aside from flamboyant costumes and exotic garbs, you fail to notice anyone of note aside from the speakers from the earlier ceremony.
The barker acquiesces with you and hands you the prize of a fresh, steaming apple pie and a pouch of 10 GP.
Sarvin calmly approaches the pair and put's his hand upon the cart and allows it glow softly like molten gold... As he does so the Thassilion magic which created it shows itself in the form of a series of molten runes seemingly etching themselves across the hand...
You are Bodert Quink and I believe we both have mutual interests to explore...
Bodert and the elf fall silent and stare, entranced at the runes that you have conjured across your hand before both snap their attention towards you, the caster.
Bodert is the first to find his voice. "Is that a golden hand?" he whispers in awe, before his eyes widen and his voice increases in both volume and excitement. "With Thassalonian magical runes etched into the metalwork?!"
The elf tears his eyes away from the glowing hand to look at you fully. You see his eyes widen in surprise, a quiet gasp escape his lips and a hand go towards something behind the counter. But his surprise doesn't last long, for it quickly disappears, and he relaxes his body.
"I'm sorry, but who are you and can you explain why you have interrupted a sacred and time-old tradition between the merchant and his customer?" His voice isn't angry, but merely curious.
Because you are the people who are actually interesting in this place, the rest of the town as far as I can tell are a bunch of bores... Those of us who study magic and history are completely apart from other people. Where as the common man hides underneath his bed and prays to some far off god in hopes of a good afterlife we are different. Unlike him we will get the chance to see things no one else has and do things no one else can. Whether it is for sheer greed, wrath or the desire for experience we are all set apart from the common man, so pray do tell me would you rather haggle or should we all proceed to learn what the others know of our mutual interests?
"Looking for work mostly, and since you're being so upfront here's a bit of information, I believe a murderer may have made his way to Sandpoint" He informed the man that stood, while he continued the studious glance he was holding him in "Don't worry I won't share this with the populace; a panic won't benefit anyone" He added in a dismissive tone, before the sheriff could warn him.
The elf nods and selects certain items in his cart to wrap in fine paper. "Here, Bodert. I took the liberty of throwing both the journals and the poetry along with the codex. To be honest with you," he addresses you as he looks at you in a new and approving light, "I'm actually quite alright to close early for the day and partake in your discussions...please give me a second to direct my apprentices to carry on in my stead."
Within less than five minutes, the elf bids his apprentices a temporary farewell and joins both you and Bodert at one of the benches situated at the edges of the town square. The scholar waves his hand for a server and three glasses of elderberry wine find themselves on the table within seconds of the order. It seems that the servers are familiar with what the old sage's tastes cater to.
He shoots you a warning look before he stomps back to the center of the town.
** spoiler omitted **
Sipping from his glass of wine Sarvin speaks, so where shall we begin my fellow scholars?
As Varian wanders away from the archery range, he can't help but think.
great... now there is bound to be at least SOME talk of me. ah well, hmm, I still haven't had lunch... As he stows the gold away He begins looking for a place to have some food, The apple pie smelled amazing, but he was seeking a more.. nourishing meal.
AH! Food eating contest? Sounds perfect! He says loudly to himself. He makes his way over towards the area.
Jovalson continues to talk to the stagehand. "Well, you must forgive me, but I'm really new to this area. I understand there was a fire five years ago, a big enough tragedy that required a moment of silence today. What happened? Well, and on a lighter note, is Ms. Allishanda an elf, by any chance?"
"You're a transmuter, are you not? I recognize the runes pertaining the the wizard school of Transmutation..."
The debate begins in earnest, with all of you bringing valid points to the table as you discuss Thassalonian magic and history. You continue to talk until the sun reaches its highest peak in the sky, signaling the next stage of the festival to begin.
The elderly woman running the event notices your arrival and walks towards you. "Well hello there, big guy! Are you here to enter the eating contest? If so, then why don't you sit yourself right there at the end of the table and wait for it to begin in a few minutes."
DC 20 to avoid throwing up and being Sickened for 5 rounds.
"Well, I can assuredly tell you that Ms. Allishanda is one hundred percent human. But the Late Unpleasantness are still something that we don't talk about often among us folk from Sandpoint. There are too many bad memories that are fresh in our minds..."
Jovalson nods his head in understanding. "Yep, I understand what you mean. Talking is hard at first, but eventually makes everything easier to deal with. I was here to help, part of my job as part of the clergy. Bad memories only go away when you clear your soul, and talking is one way of doing it."
Varian, being as hungry as he was, eats far to much, much more than he should have on an empty stomach, on the positive note, everything was just as good coming up as it was going down.
Kristina blushes at Ameiko's forwardness, especially with such a large, intimidating man. Still, best be polite.
"Krissina sir, I just help Ameiko out here and there." she smiles nervously.
The shower of color and festivity surrounded the ex-thug, who thanks to his darker tone of colors stood out amongst the more flamboyant and vibrant surroundings and populace. Laughter and music still dominated the ears of all who were in situated in the area, mixed in were the words of haggling merchants and the cheers of the crowds whenever someone won at one of the many games that still went on, even as the day was coming to an end.
Karl knew that he had little of a chance of finding the trail of the one he hunted with the amount of crowds and activity, but it never hurt to become familiar with his new surroundings and any of the more important residents of this town Sheriff should come around with an offer sooner or later, till then I'll find any odd job, best try to get as much traveling money as soon as possible...just in case he isn't here Karl's eyes fell upon a couple of ladies, who immediately began whispering once he passed by, he saw that the red head was especially easy on the eyes, but as he walked past the women, his eyes met with that of a dark abandoned alley, and suddenly all the festivities were gone, there were no more crowds, no more laugher...only silence, himself and a corpse he had grown weary of remembering.
Then something hit his leg, he looked down and he was back in Sandpoint, the same kid who bumped into him a few hours ago was on the floor once more "You trying to make this a habit boy?" He asked before walking off once more, in no particular direction.
"So do you have business in Sandpoint, or are you just here for the Festival?"
Now without further ado, I'll just leave you two to talking...
The stage hand grows somber. "It isn't my place to tell you, I'm afraid. You'd be better off asking Father Zantus, though I'm not sure what he'll have to say. You're a priest of Desna, right? He might be willing to talk with you..."
You hear the ringing of the cathedral bell, twelve times, and the stage hand brightens up. "Oh! That'll be the signal for lunch! Let's go, stranger!" He jumps off of his chair and waves for you to follow him back into the center of town. "You haven't experienced the town of Sandpoint until you've had some of Ameiko's smoked salmon!"
You hear the kid say "I'm sorry, mister!" as you exit out of the alleyway to find yourself back in the center of the town.
It is now about time for the Festival's lunch time and annual contest between the taverns for who sports the best dish: The Rusty Dragon's smoked and spiced salmon, The White Deer's seasoned and spit-roast venison and The Hagfish's...hagfish chowder. You see several open benches around the center of town where people seat themselves on a first-come-first-served basis as servers run across the square with dishes from all three taverns.
Do you wish to eat lunch?
Your stomach rumbles as you come close enough to smell the delicious fragrances of smoked salmon, the gamey scent of venison on the spit and the mysterious(?) smell of something that recently died. "That'll be The Hagfish's hagfish chowder." Someone explains to you.
Before you can say "no", two servers bring you three plates of smoked salmon, seasoned venison and hagfish chowder.
Brodert smiles and rubs his hands in glee. [b]"How'd they know I was hungry?[b/] he asks before he digs into his meal.
Now without further ado, I'll just leave you two to talking...
The stage hand grows somber. "It isn't my place to tell you, I'm afraid. You'd be better off asking Father Zantus, though I'm not sure what he'll have to say. You're a priest of Desna, right? He might be willing to talk with you..."
You hear the ringing of the cathedral bell, twelve times, and the stage hand brightens up. "Oh! That'll be the signal for lunch! Let's go, stranger!" He jumps off of his chair and waves for you to follow him back into the center of town. "You haven't experienced the town of Sandpoint until you've had some of Ameiko's smoked salmon!"
You hear the kid say "I'm sorry, mister!" as you exit out of the alleyway to find yourself back in the center of the town.
It is now about time for the Festival's lunch time and annual contest between the taverns for who sports the best dish: The Rusty Dragon's smoked and spiced salmon, The White Deer's seasoned and spit-roast venison and The Hagfish's...hagfish chowder. You see several open benches around the center of town where people seat themselves on a first-come-first-served basis as servers run across the square with dishes from all three taverns.
Do you wish to eat lunch?
Your stomach rumbles as you come close enough to smell the delicious fragrances of smoked salmon, the gamey scent of venison on the spit and the mysterious(?) smell of something that recently died. "That'll be The Hagfish's hagfish chowder." Someone explains to you.
Brodert smiles and rubs his hands in glee. ""How'd they know I was getting hungry?" he asks before he digs in with gusto.
Seeing the people rush ahead to try and get seats, Karl waits until the crowding dies down and then grabs one of the free chairs just before they completely run out, casting an intentionally false apologetic glance to any who did not make it in time.
"She's not really my mistress, my family were killed a few years ago, she took me in. Seems only fair I help out in return."
She holds out her bag of sweets to the large Shoanti "Sweet?"
Jovalson walks towards the ringing bell and gets ready to eat. This is some crazy festival.
Varian, now quite famished again after his incident quickly moves towards the food. The smell of roasted meat and succulent dishes all but pulling him in.
It's not like moms old cooking.. but its darn close
He unslings his shield and sets it down beside him at the tables edge. He will offer anyone nearby some of his pie, but save a fairly nice sized portion for himself.
Sarvin dug into the food and spoke, so have either of you been to Magnimar and seen the Thassilion ruins, in particular the monoliths? If you have I wish to compare notes.
The food is nothing less than sublime. The salmon brings tears to the eyes, as its spice and powerful taste overwhelm your senses in an explosion of flavor that melts in your mouth like hot butter. It is a delicacy to tear into the roasted venison, to inhale the gamey scent of crushed herbs and traditional Shoanti seasoning as the rich juice of the meat drips whenever you take a bite. While the hagfish chowder is less impressive than its forerunners, it is still a delicacy to enjoy; lobster was included in the creamy broth, a rich taste that compliments the scent of fresh cilantro and crushed paprika.
When most of the people in the crowd have finished their meal, Mayor Kendra asks for the cooks from each tavern to come up to be judged by the crowd as to who had the best food. Within mere seconds, the crowd roars its approval when she gestures to Ameiko Kaijitsu of The Rusty Dragon inn, who flashes her grin and bows with a gesture of her hand.
When the servers clear the plates away, Father Zantus mounts the stage as his acolytes push a wagon covered by a thick tarp. He raises his hands and the crowd falls silent when he begins to speak.
"Many thousands of years ago on this day," he intones, "Desna first fell from the celestial stars above the sky to land on the dark sphere that we call Golarion. She had been wounded, but no one would come to help her, for she was a strange being in a strange land. However, a child came to her aid. This child was blind and very sickly, but that little one nursed the goddess back to health at the cost of his health. As he lay on his deathbed, Desna transformed him into an immortal butterfly for aiding her in her time of need, so he could wander the heavens with her forever."
The priest snaps his fingers, and the acolytes pull aside the wagon's cover, releasing the children of Desna- a furious storm of swallowtail butterflies that swarm into the air in a spiraling riot of color. In response, the crowd cheers and applauds. Children immediately leap up from their seats to chase the butterflies, getting close to the living embodiment of Desna's symbol, but never quite quick enough to catch them.
Father Zantus chuckles and bows to the crowd. "Desna bless you all for the rest of the day! Continue your fun and games until sunset, where we will come together to consecrate the chapel!"
"CONTINUE TO BE SAFE!" Hemlock's voice roars as the priest steps down from the stage, drawing another round of laughter and cheer from the assembled crowd.
*****
More challenging games await in the second half of the festival (they were still being built in the morning)! Each game costs 5 CP to play for one try at the prize. These games include:
The Goblin's Cup, sponsored by The Curious Goblin Bookstore (Cup game; keep track of the cup as to which the goblin's tooth is under! Guess correctly and win a prize!)
The Lighthouse Smash, sponsored by Turandarok Academy (Knock over three pyramids of stones with a mini-catapult, win a prize!)
The Giant's Balls, sponsored by Savah's Armory (Carnival high-striker; smash the giant's balls, and win a prize!)
Brodert snorts at that. "By traveling scholar, do you mean 'breaker of maidens' hearts', you maniac?"
Miwon flushes and hisses at his friend, "That was an accident! And besides, the girl was insane, howling about 'daddy starting a war' if I didn't stay in the territory..."
"Bah," Quink waves the elf's excuse off, chuckling as he opens up his side satchel to pull out sets of well-worn journals and books. "But now that I think about it, I don't think we properly introduced ourselves to you, Mr. Wizard! My name's Brodert Quink, and I'm Sandpoint's resident sage, historian and scholar of all things old and Thassalonian, especially Thassalonian."
Jovalson, burping here and there, get's up slowly from the table. Oof, need a bigger belt. He wanders up to Father Zantus as the children run around after the butterflies. "You tell that tale well. But, I'd like to ask you about the chapel. Is it new? Was it burned down five years ago, as you mentioned something about a great fire this morning. I tried asking another fellow about it, but he said perhaps you would be better to speak with about it." Jovalson loosens his belt a tad, while trying to hold back another big burp.
Nante shall try The Goblin's Cup.
Sarvin takes the proffered hand with his own hand wrought of gold...
Sarvin, I myself began my studies of old Thassilion in Korvosa in the slums... I then got a job as a janitor in the Academae so that I could study the ruins the Academae was built upon, after I began to first grasp the rudiments of sin magic or rune magic depending on who you are referencing I was kicked out for among other reasons being a "hell bred mongrel"... Hypocrisy is the way of the Academae, I then went onto Magnimar to study the ruins there... Then just a few days ago I left due to the increasing hostility towards my kind, relations between Magnimar and Korvosa have never been so strained and they thought I was a spy of Korvosa...
"Pah! A child's game." Nante nevertheless lays down ten more copper pieces to play it again.
Nante whoops at his victory, jumping up and down and frightening the booth attendant. Noticing this, he stops, clears his throat, and holds out a hand. "My prize?"
Krissina will tail Nantes around for a bit, he seems... safe?
She'll try her luck at the cups game after watching him play.
After the feast Varian Laughs as he easily follows the cups and selects the proper cup, he smiles at the man and nods.
After handily taking down one game, Varian feels the need to flex his muscles after a meal that hearty.
unfortunately, His first attempt is sabotaged by his to full stomach so he laughingly calls it quits.
AHAHA, It seems the food was too deleicious for my own good!
@Nante- The attendant nervously hands you a pumpkin pie and what appears to be a stuffed goblin, the goblinoid and creepier version of a child's teddy bear, after which he sees Krissina in line and smiles as he recognizes a familiar face.
@Krissina- The attendant pulls up the cup...to find nothing but empty air. He shakes his head sadly as he says, "Ah, well no one gets it on their first try, so don't be too disheartened, Krissina. Why, when my wife was testing it on me, it took me two tries before I found the damn runt's tooth!"
Father Zantus nods and adopts a melancholic expression. He motions for you to sit down on a bench and begins his tale: "Five years ago, a terrible fire ravaged the town, consuming many buildings in its path, including the old cathedral. My mentor, Father Ezakien Tobyn and his aasimar daughter Nualia were taken in the blaze. The damage was catastrophic, not to mention the devastating loss of life we had already suffered earlier that year.
First, Ameiko Kaijitsu lost her mother in a tragic accident. She slipped over the balcony to land into the jagged rocks below. I wasn't there at the funeral, as it was Ezakien's job to take care of the dead, but I heard second-hand that it was a nasty affair, with accusations directed at old Lonjiku Kaijitsu for killing her. But it doesn't stop there...
A serial killer named 'Chopper' claimed twenty six of our friends and family before Sheriff Hemlock tracked him down to find that it was Jervas Soot, the town's beloved woodcarver. Hemlock had already found him dead, having apparently committed suicide by ritual sacrifice to a dark god. We had the house and its owner burned, and the ashes blessed and scattered into the ocean to prevent anything unsightly from rising. It seems to have worked so far."
He sighs deeply and traces the wings of Desna with his hands above his chest before continuing. "No wonder your man didn't want to talk about it. The town is old, but the memory of the Late Unpleasantness are still fresh in everyone's mind, brother..."
You take the hammer and lift it above your head...but your fingers go limp as you develop stomach cramps and drop the hammer on your foot, much to the amusement of the crowd.
Take .
Miwon gives a grunt before laying down a sheet of papers. "These are my drawings of the ruins that I've been able to access. Depending on the area you're in, the theme of the architecture remains the same albeit with seven distinct variations based on the type of magic the area specialized in."
"Here, you may have my... this," says Nante to Krissina. He hands it to her, grasping it gingerly by a fluffy leg as if he is afraid it will bite. In a hitching rasp, he continues: "I am not... fond... of goblins."
Racial prejudice is easily vanquished, wizards are respected and feared by all especially the more powerful ones... As for the Magnimar ruins I have come to my own theory concerning them, the monoliths seem to be laid out in a pattern of some sort. They all seem to converge on what I suspect must have been a massive, central monolith who's base is the only thing that remains. Each monolith is attuned to a different form of sin magic from what I can gather, it is my belief that the mages of old Thassilion were trying to circumvent the limitations of sin magic. Do both of you know what the limitations are? I am not insulting either of you but sin magic can be a tricky beast to master, even scholar's of it can be unaware of some of it's more obscure aspects...
Jovalson's face grows dim as he hears the tale being told. "Aye, five years is but a blink of an eye as we grow older, but it is forever in the mind's of children. Remember Father, it is always darkest before the dawn. As you say, you haven't had any trouble recently, you have a wonderful festival, my belly is getting bigger, and you have a church to consecrate tonight."
Jovalson tries to smile to relieve the tension. "Still, I think there is some sort of destiny in my lucky travel arriving here. Desna works in strange ways, and things are rarely coincidence. Should something, um, unusual creep up, seek me out. I doubt my arrival was just to enjoy your wonderful festival."
With that, he gives a nod and stands up Ooohhh, my belly, ate too much. "I'm gonna go have a look around town, I'll be back for the consecration."
"That's right!" Brodert interjects, snapping his fingers together. "The old texts say that these limitations were spread throughout the various schools of Thassalonian magic, sans Divination as the ancient wizards believed it to be an 'inferior' magic. I'm only knowledgeable about two of the schools, one of which happens to be that of yours- Transmutation."
"We had a wizard working with us on the dig. He said that the wizards of this part of the old empire, what locals call 'The Lost Coast, were skilled in the art of Evokation, that is to say the channeling of raw magic. However, they were completely unable to use spells concerning that of Abjuration and Conjuration, the respective schools of protection and bringing objects and things into our plane."
Brodert nods in confirmation. "And if I'm not mistaken, wizard Sarvin, I would think that sin casters of compassion or 'greed', as the modern equivalent forces me to acknowledge, such as yourself are also forbidden from certain schools as well. Let me think...Enchantment and Illusion, are they not?"
Before you leave, Zanthus asks, "Brother, your words are quite moving. I would be pleased if you would perform the ceremony of consecration with me when the sun sets."
Correct, not a particularly horrifying cost though... Better the real thing then a false version of it, an illusion can be carved through if one knows what it is... A wall of iron however not so much, my own memories though do not tell me of "compassion" being the alternate virtue to the vice of greed... As the schools were if I remember correctly named after the virtues held close to the heart of Lissala's faithful... Let's see what I can drudge up from my mind concerning them.
(knowledge)History, (knowledge)Religion
The storm of colorful wings engulfed the crowd...to their utter delight and Karl was glad he was sitting down when jovial chaos broke loose among adults and children alike Maybe if I talked to one of the inn keeps, I could convince them to open early Karl entertained that thought as he watched the crowds scatter among the new games, it was then that he noticed the cups and goblin tooth game and rerembered and not so innocent version of it that was popular among some of the gangs of Korvosa Its almost like my hometown takes pleasure in corrupting things The bounty hunter left his chair reluctantly and carefully made his way over to the game.
Crimson caught his eyes when he made it to his new destination; fiery red hair on another beautiful woman . At this sight Karl simply gave a noticebale chuckle What is it with this town and red heads.. He comments weakly as he shook his head.
"I think I'm not quick enough for this game." Krissina thanks the attendant as she departs.
He eyes flash with a fire as Nante hands her the goblin. "That's something we have in common, perhaps you'd join me in burning him after dark."
She roughly loops a cord around the goblins neck and hangs it from her belt.
Glad that his remark went by unnoticed, Karl gave a sigh of relief that is one less headache I have to deal with As his grey eyes were about to shift away from her they noticed something peculiar; a doll that had the appearance of a goblin was hanging by its neck from her belt, looking almost like it was condemend to death by hanging.
Karl let out a coarse laugh "What did he do to deserve the noose?"