The games go on for a while, some competitors easily defeating the companions, but other matches are dominated by the talented foreigners.
The final shoe is tossed and Eleazar takes the silver medal and a small silver horseshoe on a necklace There is much cheer and good natured fun throughout the affair.
Jerrica cheers for Eleazar as he receives his prize. "Well, I think that's enough competition for me. Why don't we take in the sights?"
"Sure," Altus said. "I wouldn't mind checking out the cathedral. Its why I came to Sandpoint after all. Well...that and games and barbecued fish."
Tassira nods, her eyes looking up at the sky.
Still a nice day today...
Jerrica walks beside her friend. "You alright, Tassira? I know you wanted to go see that tower."
"Oh?" Jerrica's words bring Tassira back down to earth in a hurry. "Yes. I'd very much like to see it."
She blushes. Wow. Way to be inattentive today.
Jerrica gives the sorceress a concerned smile, but says nothing else about it. "So...cathedral first, then the tower?"
"Sure. Sounds good to me," Altus said.
He tried to peer over the crowd to see how to get to their destinations. Sandpoint wasn't huge, but with all the hustle and bustle, he hadn't really learned the layout of town yet.
"So, what is this tower exactly? A local ruin?"
Tassira nods. "Sure. Sounds like fun."
I could swear I felt something just now...
She follows anyone heading off to the cathedral, but the look in her eyes suggests her mind is elsewhere. Still, she's paying enough attention to not wander off.
"So, what is this tower exactly? A local ruin?"
"Supposedly. I heard it bears similar markings to that of the Irespan back in Magnimar." Tassira says, her grey eyes focusing on the priest.
Jerrica's worry doesn't diminish but she leads the way to the cathedral. She supposed people liked things like that, but she was a simple prayer type of girl. Rituals and such didn't really get things done. If the gods are all around us, then why do we need a building for them? Maybe Altus would know. Jerrica made a mental note to ask him later.
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Altus nodded as if he knew what the Irespan was. He did not.
"Oh. Well, hopefully we can get close enough to look at it well. I've found that some communities are possessive of landmarks like that."
Now that w have taken part in some of the festivities, I suppose we should see some of the sights. Off to the cathedral, I take it.
Eleazar will follow the rest of the group.
Once they reach the cathedral, Jerrica marvels at the structure for a moment. "I'll just stay outside. This isn't really my tankard of ale."
She looks at Altus as if she wants to say something, but decides against it. The ranger finds a nearby place to sit and waits for the others to get their fill of the building.
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Gazing up at the structure, he supposed the cathedral was alright as far as buildings went. He shrugs and follows Jerrica.
"I guess they did a good job fixing it up after the fire," Raef says as he sits down beside her. "But I know about as much about architecture as I do about arcana - which is not very much."
The cathedral is not fully finished, but it is still an impressive structure... A horn goes off in a courtyard not too far away, obviously calling for something
Jerrica looks up as the horn goes off, dismissing her thoughts at the moment. She gets up from where she was sitting and looks for the others.
The cathedral caught Tassira's eye well enough. As pretty as it was, even under construction, it wasn't the landmark she was looking for.
Hearing the horn go off, she follows Jerrica, curious as to what's happening now.
Altus fiddled with his divine focus as he looked over the building. As a frequent traveler, he enjoyed finding churches or cathedrals. They gave him a chance to relax and reflect. They felt like home.
"Too bad its not finished. But for a smaller community, I think its really nice. I hope Sarenrae is represented well."
He was about to head closer for a better look when he noticed that Jerrica and Raef were heading away from the building.
"Sorry. I'm sure this is more interesting for us clerics. We can go check out the..."
He was interrupted by the horn. He turned and stared in the direction it had sounded.
"Maybe a call that a new event is starting?" he said as he jogged closer to Jerrica, Tassira, and Raef.
"If so, it must be an important one," Raef says to Altus. "They didn't announce the horseshoe toss like that.
Jerrica nods at Raef, continuing to head toward where the sound came from. "I'm sure it's important."
Tassira looks in the direction of the horn's call. She feels the familiar itch of magic under her skin...
That horn must being noting something of importance. We should check it out.
Altus nodded at Eleazar.
"Sure. Perhaps it is announcing the start of the ceremony for the cathedral. That's certainly more important than horseshoes. I wouldn't want to miss that. We'll investigate the tower after."
Altus picked up his pace to stay even with Jerrica as they headed toward the source of the horn.
The source of the horn is a decently large stage with a few individuals gathered upon it. A crowd is drawing up and gathering about.... There is a heavy sense of anticipation
Jerrica lets out a sigh of relief. At least that wasn't a warning horn...
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Tassira starts shifting from foot to foot.
"Come on! Get on with it already!" She whispers, the anticipation mixing with the tingling of magic in her blood to put her on edge.
Altus lined up with the others. Hopefully this was about the consecration of the temple. If it was, maybe he could meet with the local clerics. His main purpose in Sandpoint was to see the sights and enjoy the festival, but if he could work in some healing jobs that wouldn't be bad. But if was just local leaders giving speeches...then maybe they could return to the sightseeing.
Jerrica looks to the others, sensing their anticipation.
Standing upon the stage is the mayor
"welcome everyone! are you all ready to start the festival?" she cheerily announces, to a crowd who unanimously agree.
"well, seeing as everyone... including Larz Rovanky has managed to tear themselves away from their work to attend" Scattered laughter ensues and Larz himself turns red "everyone listen to the other three welcoming speeches and have a nice time."
the mayor waves and steps aside to give center stage to Sheriff Belor Hemlock
Sheriff Hemlock nods and slowly takes the stage, his worn armor shining dully and his mark of office, the sheriff's badge, gleaming
"I hate to ruin all of your fun, but I would like you all to remember to be safe 'round the fire tonight"
the bonfire lit in the evening will be the source of warmth and light for the nights festivities
he pauses and then asks everyone to take a moment of silence for those who lost their lives in the fire that burned the old church to the ground.
he then procedes to announce that "the third speaker, Lonjiku Kaijitsu, has taken ill suddenly, and he will not be attending, so instead Cyrdak Drokkus will speak next"
Cyrdak's speech brings the crowd up into high spirits again as he tells of the building and financing of the new church, (with many raunchy anecdotes and sidestories) and finishes up by announcing that everyone is invited to the production of "The Harpy's Curse" at the Sandpoint Theater tomorrow night
Father Zantus, the head priest of the church, steps up to the podium and thanks everyone for attending this joyus day. then declares the festivities begun, and releases hundreds of thousands swallowtale butterflies, causing a huge swarm of orange, yellow and black wings
Jerrica watches the butterflies swarm and disperse, marveling at their colors. Once the opening ceremony has finished, she turns to the others. "Alright, shall we continue our sightseeing?"
Tassira nods, the tingling of her magic fading away. She's so engrossed in watching the swallowtail butterflies flitting about that she almost misses Jerrica's question.
"Certainly! There's always more to see!" She smiles, looking up at the flying butterflies.
I wish I could fly too...
Eleazar looks in amusement ans the butterflies flutter away.
Lt us be on our way. Where was that tower you wanted to see?
Tassira looks around the square, catching sight of the tower at the northwest end of town. Her eyes light up and she focuses entirely on the tower, a smile appearing on her face.
"Over there!" She starts off in the direction of the tower.
Jerrica hurries after Tassira. "That tower will still be there if we walk, you know. Hey! Wait up!"
Tassira briefly slows down so the others can catch up.
She turns to the others as if she's about to say something, but stops when she feels her magic tingling at her fingers again.
"Are you alright, Tassira?" Jerrica asks, catching up to the sorceress. "You seem a little distracted."
Tassira looks at her had. "Yeah, I think." She blinks a couple of times. "Magic's tingling in my hands again, is all."
She keeps walking, letting the sea breeze carry her along. "I'm not sure why it's doing that..."
Jerrica muses for a moment but can't come up with an answer. "Well, if you need my help, I'm right here, okay?"
"I know." Tassira blushes and smiles at Jerrica. "Thanks."
She clenches her hands into fists and relaxes them, a few sparks flying from her fingertips before the tingling subsides.
Altus jogged to catch up to the two women. He was starting to regret keeping his armor on. As he got close, he could tell that Tassira and Jerrica had been discussing something but he hadn't really caught anything other than Tassira's final "thanks". He considered inquiring as to what was up, but thought better of it. It wasn't really any of his business.
"Almost lost you for a second there. If everything is okay, I'm all set to go."
Eleazar catches up to the rest if the group. He is slightly curious what the ladies were discussing but thinks if they wanted me to know they would say so.
Raef's family had never been particularly devout and the religious ceremonies he'd been obliged to attend while growing up were usually tedious affairs full of seemingly endless oration praising long-gone ancestors or beseeching the aid of inscrutable divinities. They certainly didn't include the release of swarms of butterflies.
Caught up in the spectacle of thousands of insects fluttering through the air, Raef missed out on his new companions' conversation of where to go next. When his swallowtail-inspired reverie ended, Raef was startled to find himself alone; it was only after spinning around in almost a complete circle before he spotted Jerrica, Tassira, and the rest walking towards the tower.
"Hey, wait up," he says as he jogs after them.
The group comes up to the absolutely massive structure, some sort of tower that is crumbled at the top and over fifty feet in height...
The sun is starting descend from its Zenith in the sky from the lengthy walk...
Tassira whistles in awe as she looks at the structure. Crumbled, certainly, but then again, so was the Irespan.
"Wow..." She trots up to the structure and looks more closely at it. Surely, there were symbols that matched those of the Irespan back in Magnimar...
Jerrica remains respectfully silent. There was something about these old structures that called to the sorceress and, while the ranger didn't understand, she was a good enough friend to let Tassira indulge in these investigations. She turns her eyes skyward and admires the orange and pink heavens, a few clouds dotting the sight.