Welcome to Louwildar! You are attending the Founders' Day celebration in Bernhold, so please check in and introduce your character. For now, assume it's morning and you've all come down to have breakfast in the inn you've been staying at.
The door to the inn will burst open, and the quiet morning will be shattered by a wall of sound. The man is shorter than average but seems solid and strong, everything about him screams woodsman or hunter, from his frayed, dirt stained clothing dark clothing to the leaf still stuck in his short black hair that seems to stick out where it pleases. He has a pleasant face, covered with the thin stubble of youth, and an easy smile. But his dark eyes are incredibly intense, and he can look quite impressive those rare few seconds his mouth stays closed.
The dogs he is currently yelling at run circles around his feet braying and snapping. Obviously still young, they are fine examples sleuthhounds, or Bloodhounds as they are commonly becoming known as. One, a male is blackish red whose paws are a lighter red, the other, a female, is a much lighter red with a black spot across her back.
"Come on ye damned creatures! I told ye ta wait outside! Yer gonna make me look bad, a man not even able to control his own dogs!"
He'll point angrily towards the door, but the female will playfully nip at his finger, and then as if remembering some old command will flop to the ground and roll over.
"Gah! Fine ye big rat, if that's what ye want I'll just have the inn keep here make you inta sausage! That what ya want!?"
Tomm will stare menicingly at the two playful animals, but sensing a moment of weakness, the male will simply tackle the female still on the ground. As the two dogs happily fight with one another Tomm gives a defeated sigh and approaches the bar.
"Sorry about tha racket, I'll lure em out with food. What'dya got fer eatin' around here?"
A short elven woman quietly comes downstairs. She has pale, almost marble colored skin. Her bone-white hair falls only as far as her neck and looks as if it had been cut short with a sword. She wears a worn set of leather armor underneath her elven noble clothes, a white set with a high collar and several ancient markings on them. A scimitar and dagger are belted at her waist, but on her back is a well worn and well taken care of longbow.
The elf looks like she didn't sleep well, waking up with bleary glassed over eyes and her clothes rumpled. Her eyes are also red around the edges, but she turns away before much more can be gleamed as she sits on the end of the bar. "Umm...something small to eat, something I can chew on. A cup of tea would be nice too..."
Well before the sleepy-eyed elven lass emerges from her quarters, or the rowdy houndsman barges in with his dogs at his side, a young man staying at the inn takes advantage of the brief moment of quietude downstairs. Too busy with a thick, leather-bound ledger of what appears to be accounting, he barely notices other patrons coming in - although Tomm's dogs do cause him to briefly look up from his notes and frown. Nevertheless, he seems all business amidst the cheer from the Founder's Day.
The young man is somewhat short and a little chubby around the cheeks, seeming rather youthful for one so focused on his work. His flaxen hair is in well need of a cut, tied back in a short ponytail. His sea green eyes are hidden behind a pair of wire-frame glasses, and he seems to wear a fair amount of minor jewellery - simple copper bangles, an amulet inlaid with minor costume jewels, and the like.
If a server comes round, he calls out to them in an absent-minded way, not even bothering to look up as he does so: "Ah, can I get a glass of water, please?"
Seraphyna, or Sera as she is known to many of her friends, wakes with a stretch and a sigh. She had stayed in a field, preferring the open air and view of the night sky to a raucous and smelly tavern. Packing up her small campsite before she is found out by the fields owner, she takes a moment to stretch and ensure her new armor doesn't impede her too much. The leather armor, still fairly new from the armorer, was one of the few good ideas Sera had gotten while her mother railed at her about how she'd be split by a human's sword, eaten by a pack of wolves, fall off a mountain and be crushed by boulders, or a dozen other things. Picking up a small stone, she drops it, only to have it flung some 10 feet away. "Good morning to you as well" she says to no one, "I'd ask if you slept well, but I think we both know that answer." As if to answer her, a breeze comes from no where and sends her long hair billowing.
Finally ready, Sera continues on her trek, coming to a small inn about to begin her day. The smells of roasted meat fill her nostrils and the rumble in her stomach remind her that hard tack is not a good meal, and it was early enough to avoid many of the more rowdy customers, so she decides to risk entry into the inn.
Quietly entering the inn, she does her best not to disturb the youth engrossed in his book, and a giggle escapes her lips as the dogs play with each other, much to their owners dismay. At the sight of another elf, Sera's face goes white, and she dashes to a seat that she hopes will hide her from view, Oh heavens, father must have already sent people out to look for me. Stupid Sera, this is the closest settlement, of course he'd think this would be my first stop. she thinks. She is so completely engrossed in thought she completely misses the serving girl approach and ask her three times what she wanted to eat. "Oh, I'll have whatever the cook is making this morning and an empty mug." she says.
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A tall, sleek elf trods downstairs. He has short green hair and a slight tan.. The elf is dressed in a soldier's outfit, grey with a small silver badge pinned to his neck. A scimitar is strapped on his back. He is lost in thought, but then sees the female elf "Quite an impressive collection of weapons. And a beauty too, even frayed as she looks." . Good morning, lady. Is the room to your liking ? You seem like you have not slept very well."
To the serving staff"A cup of tea, and a hearty breakfast please." He then casts a didainful glance towards the man and his dogs. "A poor master. If I had sufficient skill with animals, I would have taken those dogs for myself".
Tess takes a moment to realize she's being addressed, turning a moment late to see the weathered elf. "Uh, yes the room is fine." She clears her throat, becoming vaguely aware of all of the other waking patrons. "I just had a very long day is all..." She trails off, blushing at the attention and going back to nursing her drink with her head down.
A well dressed, but obviously hung over man comes down from upstairs. He has a gymnast's build, strong but not bulky and his black hair contrasts well with his olive skin. He wears no armor, but instead wears a black shirt with silver trim and has a longsword at his side. He steps around the fighting dogs with a quizzical look and comes up to the bar near the two elves. "I'll second that order for breakfast. And something to soothe a headache."
Half-hearing the comment from the elf across the room Tomm will yell in Ardivandrian with a thick accent without looking.
"Ha! And if I had any skill with with butter knives I'd take that girly looking sword off yer..."
Turning around with his light-hearted jab, Tomm's mouth will fall open at the sight of the green haired elf. He'll catch sight of the white haired female at the table as well, and staring around incredulously his keen eyes will pick the final one at her table.
"By Edahan's Crook! Th....Three! Three bleedin' elves! Elves! I live in the Grunwald all me life and I never see a one! I head inta town fer the first time, turns out ye were here the whole time!"
Tomm happily pounds the counter and lets out a sharp whistle. His dogs immediately rush to his heels and follow him as he heads towards the table the two elves are at.
"I heard ye were after some breakfast, lemme do the neighborly thing and pay fer ya. You two here fer the festival?"
Friendly but obviously lacking any manners Tomm will plop down without waiting for an invitation.
"Names Tomm, Tomm Odelle, pleasure ta meet ya!"
At least he seems honest, and I am rather short on money. "No, I was just passing through. What festival?"
" Whoa! Ye never heard o' the Founders Day celebration!? It's the celebration o' the founding of Bernhold, lots a feastin' and games and the like. Never been ta the celebration in the city, but I've heard tell of all the fun ta be had. Tons o' stories and drinkin', plus I hear tha royal bard hiself is gonna tell the story proper!"
Growing excited in his description of the celebration Tomm's dogs will pick up on his mood and begin happily romping around the table.
Tess smirks. "And you've never heard of a green haired elf." She glances at the bartender, just waiting for him to kick out the loud dogs. "I've never been to any non-formal celebration, why is drinking so notable? Are there water drinking contests?"
"It's true! I heard dozens and dozens o' stories of ya elves and I dinna know ye could have such interestin' hair! Course if half o' those stories was true ye'd be shootin' flames from yer nostrils an have badgers fer hands. People love ta talk!"
Tomm's mouth drops again in response to Tess's question.
"Water!? Surely yer jokin'! There'll be ales and spirits at the festival from across the lands, an I aim ta take a bit more than my fair share! I'm sure they'll have somethin' fer you as well!"
Tess looks completely lost. "Why would you steal the souls of the dead? It seems disgraceful to them, or is it different in your culture?"
"Ha! Yer hilarious lass!"
Tomm will laugh heartily until he sees the look of confusion on Tess's face. Then his laugh will turn into a look of horror.
"No! Ye can't be serious, ye never had alcohol! Well, thank the Shepherd ye came ta human lands! Ol' Tomm will get ya fixed up right! May be a bit early but it can't be helped, besides it's a time o' celebration!"
Tomm will rush up to the nearest server,
"Lemme get three o' yer finest ales, and fer Edahan's sake be quick!"
Walking back Tomm will address Berion with a large smile.
"Just a bit o' jokin', I understand! Well if yer passin through lemme treat ye to a bit o' Bernholdian hospitality! Have a seat an I'll tell ya about it!"
Tomm will flop down in his seat and his dogs will both shove their heads into his lap for a good scratching.
"I'ma hunter by trade from a small village up by the Grunwald, it's a tiny thing I'm sure ya never heard o' it. Had a bit of a... fallin' out with me local lord back up there, so I hit the road with Quinn an Finn here ta find me fortune. Stopped inna the city ta take advantage o' the festival while it's still goin!"
Tess smells the drink, taking a sip before setting it down with a sour look. "Thank you, but I'll pass." People drink this? What could they possibly gain from such an awfully flavored liquid? She goes back to her tea, eventually noticing the third elf in the room. Apparently more of us leave our shaded groves then I thought. By the mother she looks scared.
Tomm will laugh turning to address Berion,
"I dunno! Didn't really think about it, I'm sure somethin' will come up. I'm a fair hand in a fight, me father always said I dunno how to hold back. Ye look a bit like a soldier yerself!"
Tomm will look a bit sad but smile at Tess,
"Ha, well I suppose it inna fer everyone!"
Turning to the other elf in the corner, Sera, Tomm will shout out,
"How about you lass? Ye wanna try some of the finest ale Bernhold has ta offer?"
The servers and other inn staff bustle about quickly, trying to keep up with the ever-growing crowd. They are able to produce food and drink in rather short order to meet the requests of nearly all their guests, including the folks who have been chatting together.
If any of them are put off by seeing Tomm's energetic pups or the trio of elves, they are far too busy to show it.
The innkeeper approaches the group and says:
"I trust your stay has been pleasant so far. Are you all in town for the festival? Have any of you attended before? There's some special events this year, I'm told. In honor of Prince Johann getting knighted, the king's opening up a special part of the tournament to even us common folk. Should be pretty exciting! And The games of chance and skill on the midway are always open of course. Don't forget to be at the amphitheatre by sundown to hear the Founders Tale!"
Tess sets down her tea. "Yes, the room is nice thank you. Well I can't seem to strike a conversation without this allegedly wonderful festival coming up so I believe I must go to it. What is this tournament?" She looks interested, her competitive schooling getting to her.
Rizzo looks up from devouring his breakfast at the mention of a tournament. "Everything's fine. You run a fine establishment." He smiles at Tessara. "Sorry to interrupt, but I'm interested in the tournament also."
"Well, the day will feature some more interesting evetns than usual. Prince Johann has completed his knightly training, but prior to joining the Order of the Eagle he must complete the gauntlet in public. It's traditional for every memebr of the royal family. It's a course of obstacles that he must overcome to prove his worthiness as a knight. He's already completed the course successfully in private, but it's a chance for the royal family to "show off" a bit. His own father, Kinf Theodoric, set a record for fastest time when he ran the course over twenty years ago."
"There will be jousting, of course. Everyone's eyes will be on Count Gerd von Halgraff. He's the best rider in the land, besides maybe the king. And of course, the prince will be allowed to participate for the first time."
"Then First Captian Wenger will take the milita through a series of public drills and manuevers to demonstrate our readiness."
"After that, the captain often likes to show off his own expetise, and will challenge a group of up to 10 commoners to try their hands against him in a fight. If they win, they get the chance to run the gauntlet and receive a boon from the king!"
Rizzo laughs. "Well then, I guess I'm off to see what is entailed in running the guantlet. And then to challenge the good Captain. Up to ten commoners, eh." He looks around the room. "Anyone want to try for the King's Boon? I'm handy with a sword. So nine more and we're golden. Let's not call ourselves commoners though. I like the term 'gentlemen adventurers' myself.
With all the sudden noise and ruckus, Caelin eventually realises he's not going to have an opportunity to continue his work. With a light sigh, he packs up his ledgers and slips them away inside a small backpack beside his chair.
Not too far away from the more boisterous group of people, he overhears the innkeeper's chatter and listens in on it while sipping on his glass of water. Familiar names indeed... and not particularly pleasant ones at that. I wonder if Father will be officiating any of the events... Caelin wonders idly, and then sighs again.
Standing up from the table and slinging his pack over his shoulder, Caelin approaches the others with a polite nod. "Are there perhaps games that are not of such a... ahem, violent nature?" It's clear from a single glance that this young man would have practically zero chance of besting a militia captain in any kind of physical battle.
Hmm, interesting. "What are the rules for the fight? Anything goes as long as nobody dies?"
Sera lets out a small Eeep when she is called to. Turning cautiously toward the gathering group she looks over the elves, trying to determine if they are sizing her up to be dragged back to her parents. See lets out an audible sigh when the topic of conversation quickly turns to the tournament and festivities. Carefully approaching, she crouches down to pet the dogs, including a few odd pantomimes in the air. "You have lovely dogs, they come from good stock, though you may want to watch this one for hip dysplasia, her sire's sire seems to have a bit of it."
Shooing away any attempts at offering her alcohol, Sera takes her empty mug and makes a few motions, filling it instantly with water from the air, but frowning a bit as a good chunk splashes onto the hay strewn floor.
Caelin immediately feels the presence of magic in the air, and glances curiously over to the third elf - just in time to see her splash water over the ground.
Curious indeed. She must not be a learned mage - something innate, perhaps?
He stares at her (rather obviously so) for a few moments, before realising he's being quite rude and hurriedly turning his attention back to the innkeeper.
Catching a glimpse of the Caelin staring, Sera sticks out her tongue quickly at him, trying her best to hid it from the others.
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Noting the reaction, Caelin hurriedly stifles a laugh, and offers her a wink in return.
When Rizzo makes his announcement, Tomm will stand so quickly he knocks his chair over.
"Ha! Now yer talkin'. I got me axe upstairs, and ye got yerself a partner! How's about ye other elves? A boon from the King hiself ain't something they throw around lightly. I told ye somethin' would turn up, an I'm sure there won't be too many rules!"
When Sera comes up Tomm's friendly dogs will be overjoyed at her attention. Tomm will stare with amazement as she gives him advice and preforms her orison.
"By the stars yer amazin'! What ye said about Quinn be exactly right, thank ye so much fer the warnin'! That was magic wasn't it, ye elves are sure are incredible! I'll be ye could knock that captain on his backside with a bit o' yer magics!"
Seraphyna wilts under the sudden attention, "No...No thank you, I just made too much water for the mug." Then, as Tomm begins to describe the fantastic things she could do, she begins to panic, "Oh no, I can't possibly do that! Why would I want to hurt someone? Last time I did that... Nevermind. Most of my magics revolve around helping people, not knockig then on their backside!" She is so nervous over the sudden attention that she drops the knife she was about to cut into her breackfast sausage. Only, it doesn't clang onto the floor, it is flung ten feet away, quivering in the wall where it struck. "Eeep"
”Well, I usually use my talents to heal wounded animals, but I suppose magic is magic, and it knows what parts are supposed to be connected where. Just please try not to be hurt too badly, I haven’t been able to reattach a limb or anything yet… but there was this one time I was able to mend the muscle around a fox’s paw after he had nearly chewed it off, does that count?” replies the diminutive elf, a bit of sparkle coming back into her eyes.
A couple of older men overhear the conversation, and one interjects:
"No worries there lad! I've seen a few of these tournaments in my day, I can tell you. The captian's a fair man. He's really quite skilled, but he won't be using lethal force. Usually they have some kind of padded sticks for that sort of thing, like a quarterstaff with a sack over each end and filled with sand or something. Still plenty dangerous, but not likely to kill anyone."
Tess giggles at the display of awry magic. "Why so nervous? If you're scared of the magic it will control you instead of the other way around."
”Oh, I’m not afraid of the magic!” responds Sera with a bit of cheer, ”I’m just kinda nervous around all these humans and that my par.. uhh, it’s all the chaos from the festival.” thenm switching to sylvan, she adds:
"You're about as subtle as a brick too." Tess smiles in an attempt to show her prying is friendly.
Well I can't use my bow in that case, there's no making that not deadly. I was never very good at sparring, but I was always hard to hit. "Sure, I'm in. Worst thing that can happen is you losing, which is probably what's expected from most people anyways."
Sera gulps a bit of her water down, "You want to intentionally go fight someone who willingly takes fights with 10-1 odds? That's kinda crazy isn't it? He probably has some whirlwind death strike of doom that can knock you out with one blow! I'm not so sure I want to be whirlwind death strike of doomed."
Tess smiles. "I presume he intends on fighting each person one by one. Even a very skilled blade could not fight off ten armed warriors."
"He could if he had a whirlwind deathstrike of doom! Focus on defense to lure them all in close, and then Whoosh boom kapow!" she says, striking the table and launching a fork some distance away.
Tess's smile turns into a smirk. "I can see why you focus on magic." A second after she says it she regrets it. Oh come on, don't be rude.
Of course, anyone who could do magic but chose to become a carpenter instead is ignoring a gift of the heavens and a big sillybutt. Who wouldn't want to do magic! I can't do too much yet, I haven't really pushed myself, my stupid parents were all "We're worried about you" and "Don't get yourself killed"" Sera then claps her hand over her mouth, eyes going wide.
Tess gets a little quieter on the talk about parents. She speaks in a whisper so the humans don't overhear. "So where did you come from?"
"But if ye spend all yer time shootin' out water an forks ye'll never learn no whirlin' deathstrikes o' destruction!"
Tomm jokes as he pantomimes choppping his cheerful dogs in half with a spoon. He'll turn to Berion,
"Yer right though friend, we should sign up. No sense wastin' time!"