Gregor smiles - his smile is reserved and formal. "You have to beat me first," he says. "So we'll see. If you can beat me, I don't think many Aldori would question your worthiness?"
"I prefer to duel to first blood. It gives each side a chance to show off their skill without any danger of going overboard and accidentally slaying your opponent. Do you think you will be ready tomorrow, after the magical competition?"
Prazil tugs on Heidan's pant leg as they both keep their attention fixed on the exchange between Katerina and Gregor. "Am you for hearing what they am saying?" He then turns to Kereek, giving him the same question. "What about you, Kereek? Am you for hearing them?"
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"Shush, Kereek am reading lips! Kat am saying she am not sure if Man is her father. Man is saying that he am offering to gruel her. Kat am not sure if gruel am good idea. Now Man am saying he am grueling to worst club. Worst club am way to show off kills without going over a board and hacking a sleigh into a post tent. He am asking her if she am ready with sorrow, after the magic Owl proposition."
Heidan's brows furrow in confusion at Kereek's words.
"I ... don't think that's likely what they're saying."
Prazil nods sagely, scratching his chin. "Magic owl proposition am for sounding very important."
Kereek nods sagely. "Magic owls am often propositioned in this kingdom. Am definite fact. Maybe Kereek am for talking to the owls and seeing what Kat am propositting?"
"You talk to birds?" Heidan asks, interested and a little surprised.
As Heidan turns his attention to Kereek, Prazil sneaks in a scratch and rub of Thkrull's head, right between his ears.
Thkrull glares, but decides the little lizard is nice enough that she won't eat him ... right now.
Kereek nods vigorously. "Oh yes! Kereek am having long conversations with birds! They am for telling him all sorts of secret secrets, yes yes!
"Then I accept. I would be ready now, if you like. But tomorrow, after the magic display you and I will duel, to first blood." Kat stands stock still trying to discipline her body to not make a fool of her.
"I'm impressed. Not many people take the time to listen to the world around them," Heidan says. "I'm Heidan. I'd be honored to call you a friend, if you'll have me. We may be competing, but hopefully the idea of this tourney is to bring people together."
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Prazil extends his hand to Heidan, shooting the big fluffy cat a wink as he does so, and nods. "Sure! Prazil am for liking to be making friends! Prazil am for being called Prazil, by the way. And this am Kereek!"
The rest of the day passes by relatively uneventfully and without any major controversy. It is a festival, after all - pretty much everyone is just there to have fun. The intervening hours before nighttime are filled with watching entertainers, cotton candy, carnival games, and meeting and chatting with various people from all over the River Kingdoms.
When night falls, the group reconvenes at Hartsland's tent again for dinner. Tonight, it is spiced duck dumplings, Brussels sprouts, mead and - for dessert - chocolate mousse. The Pitaxian servants unobtrusively bring things to the tent to enjoy on little carts. Everything is served in a beautiful piece of dishware, and empty plates are carted away in waves.
"You did well today, at the archery competition," offers Baron Jon. "The other competitors were fearsome. I wouldn't want to find myself their enemy, wouldn't you agree?"
Katerina enjoys her meal as best she can with her nervousness about her upcoming bout. Her biggest worry floats in her mind, I've never seen him fight! To Baron Jon, "Ah, yes, very fearsome. But can any of them hold a sword?"
He shrugs. "Perhaps. Tymon is supposedly a nation of gladiators and champions, though I still haven't gone. I'd wager that Damonjot, their competitor, could hold his own against a beast or something."
"Villamor Koth is also known to be very fearsome - he's entered in the jousting competition too, though he is no knight or cavalier. He merely seems to intend to defeat everyone through brute strength. From what I've heard, he's Irovetti's personal bodyguard, and Irovetti is a powerful warrior in his own right."
Jon then turns to Keerek - "How about you, my small friend? Are you prepared for the competition tomorrow?"
Kereek nods vigorously. "Oh yes, Kereek am ready to make magic and mayhem and may-gic and mag-hem!"
Prazil widens his eyes alarm and blurts, "Mayhem?! Kereek, that am not what you am supposed to be doing!"
"But it am IMPRESSIVE mayhem!" Kereek pronounces, looking self-satisfied.
Prazil shoots a questioning glance toward Jon and Agnar and the other bigfeets, suddenly unsure about whether mayhem was good or bad. "Prazil am not so sure that am the point, Kereek. And there am lots about you that am impressive. Way more than mayhem am for being."
On his own, Heidan takes his dinner out to Thkrull, bedding down with the big cat after they finish their meal to rest up for the next day.
Baron Jon hums and nods. "I am sure you are capable of impressive mayhem. That might even be the point... But perhaps you should think within the confines of the competition."
He then goes on to explain the rules of the magic competition.
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Kereek nods along as Jon-Jon explains. "Hmmm. Kereek am seeing where this am going. Kereek am thinking tonight and making big plans, yes yes!" He heads off to his sleeping quarters to think and rest and dream and plot.
The night is uneventful besides the dinner, and sleep comes uneasily due to the partying going on late into the night (unless, of course, you join in on the partying). The morning comes with trumpeting again, summoning the party to the coliseum once again. This time, the magic competition is on.
Keerek is separated from his fellows and led into the antechamber with the contestants from the other nations. Due to their cheating in the last competition, Daggermark has been penalized one competition, leaving only the jousting, logging and boasting competitions remaining.
However, that leaves the contestants from Pitax, Gralton, Tymon, and Mivon. The contestant from Mivon is a sexy-looking half-elf woman named Tyrissa. The contestant from Gralton is a haggard and frail-looking older woman named Sarah. The contestant from Pitax is a very average-looking human man, middle-aged, wearing a somewhat threadbare suit jacket and vest, named Georgio. The contestant from Tymon is a huge, muscular bugbear - somehow having ingratiated itself with civilized races, this man's name is Grigz.
Kereek nods cordially at all the contestants, but doesn't particularly find any of them compelling until he spots the bugbear. He lights up and sidles over to the bugbear. "Hello! Kereek am happy to see another person who am not human or elf or dwarf or halfling! How am it living in Tymon? Am they welcoming to people who am not human or elf or dwarf or halfling?"
Grigz chuckles, scratching some ragged fur on his belly. "Oh, they accept anyone who is strong in Tymon, my little lizard friend."
He leers down at the little kobold, grinning. "Kobolds, though... I've never met a strong kobold. They're all cowards and tricksters."
"Oh, you am definitely going to like Prazil. He am strong, but dumb. Also he am for having a dinosaur who flies. But Kereek am no coward! Kereek am tricky, yes, but Kereek am no coward. Am you a wizard or sorcerer too?"
Curious, even if his role in the competition is over, Heidan makes his way to the casting contest.
"Your friend," he asks Katarina, "is he any good?"
The bugbear grins as a Pitax herald shows up in the contestants' tent to fetch him - he competes first. "Something like that," he says.
"Bye! Good luck!" Kereek waves to him.
Worry obvious on her face, Katerina answers, "Oh, he's good. He's saved us many times. But..." The maid looks right at the man, "Sometimes he makes poor decisions."
Prazil watches nervously from the stands, standing on his tiptoes to see over the railing and down to the field where a bugbear strides confidently. He catches Kat and Heidan's discussion behind him and he turns, "Yeah, but Kereek can also be for turning into a big, big dragon. Prazil am for hoping we am for seeing some of that. But Prazil am also hoping Kereek am not for accidentally setting fire to king's big chair. That am for happening before back home once. Baron-duke Jon was not for being very happy." His voice lowers ruefully at this last, as he shakes his head at the memory. "Mmmmpf. No, no, not happy at all."
Heidan's eyebrows rise at Prazil's words.
"Well, that's certainly impressive. I've come across a dragon or two, and they're not beasts you want to mess with."
The bugbear strides out onto the field of contest, a big grin on his goblinoid mouth. When the heralds trumpet the beginning of his heat, he begins what would turn into an acrobatic and interesting performance of evocation.
He begins with a heavy stomp into the ground, causing a jagged section of earth and stone to shoot out of the ground in front of him. He thrusts his fists into the air and it rises ever higher. Taking a few steps back, he raises a fist up high and then smashes it into the ground. The ground in a wide area around him cracks and breaks, and with a great exertion, lava begins to seep out from between the cracks. With several throwing motions, he hurls gouts of lava at the stone monolith he's raised from the ground, trying his best to be precise.
When he's done, he's melted away a lot of the stone, creating a very basic facsimile of a large humanoid. Then, fire shooting from his feet, he launches himself several stories into the air, coming back down with a roar and a crash, launching a massive torrent of lava at the stone sculpture he's created, completely destroying it.
The three judges confer with one another for a few moments before raising up their number placards - a '4' out of '5' for Power, a '2' out of '5' for Creativity, and a '3' out of '5' for Style. In total, he earns 9 points.
Keerek is up next, and he gets ushered out onto the stadium grounds. The stadium is cleared of the bugbear's creation.
Prazil claps for the bugbear's performance, wondering inwardly if he'd ever visited the fabled city of Ba Sing Se. But then when Kereek is called out next, the knightly kobold cheers and hollers as loudly as he can.
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Kereek strolls out to the center of the stadium grounds and takes a moment, breathing deeply. He blushes a bit when he hears the exuberant Prazil shouts, then smiles. 'Kereek am for getting party started!'
A great serpent of flame, roaring and rearing up high in the sky, appears at Kereek's hands! A palpable aura of fear exudes from it!
As it opens its mouth to roar, Kereek flies through its open maw! He changes, becoming all the people he's known in his heroic journey - Jon, Orin, all the way to Kat and Marci, as fireworks explode with each change! Suddenly he lets out a scream that turns into a roar, as a Red Dragon the same crimson as Kereek explodes in a shower of golden glitter! The dragon breathes fire that becomes the fiery snake once again, who twists into the word "HARTLAND!" over the center of the stadium! Finally the dragon seems to explode into a spray of colors and glitter and fireworks as Kereek reappears on the ground in the center of the area with a bow!
"WOW! WOW WOW WOW! Look at that!" Prazil ooh's and aah's throughout the whole performance, but his cheers erupt into an even higher volume at Kereek's finale.
Scanning around, you also see that Mivon's box appears completely empty. Strange... you could have sworn they would want to watch the competition.
The crowd erupts in applause at Keerek's performance. It was very impressive, both in terms of magical power and in terms of showmanship. Keerek earns 5 points for power, 4 points for creativity, and 3 points for style. In total, Keerek earns 12 points.
The next competitor, Pitax's normal-looking human Georgio, comes onto the performance area.
Prazil claps and cheers as Kereek walks off the field. He offers to his nearby companions, "Wow! Kereek am really great at this! Wow!"
"Indeed," Heidan says, nodding gravely toward the excited kobold. "I wonder what Georgio will do to try to top it."
"Prazil am not knowing what he could be for doing to top Kereek. Kereek's am for having a dragon! A dragon!" Prazil's eyes glaze over then as visions of a fire-breathing Spike with dragon's scales and wings soar through his mind's eye.
"They're impressive, I grant you, but still just creatures. And any creature must fear death," Heidan says calmly.