"This all could make quite the tourist venue. S'pose you'd need to know when the dragon was about, though."
”I wonder what kind of stories they might have when they return? Probably make up a story about all kinds of monsters they had to defeat on their trip!”
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The mood is festive in the inn as the evening progresses. Eventually, weary from your travel, you head to bed.
The sun rises, and after a quiet breakfast, you emerge out into the town square. Beams of sunlight stream past the snow-capped mountains as a joyous scene spreads before you.
Overnight, the town's staid and utilitarian main square sprouted colorful tents, a pop-up theater, a spinning contraption made of barrel bottoms, some manner of race course, and more unexpected delights.
Laughter and boisterous shouts echo from all the square's corners as its quaint cobblestone streets teem with villagers sporting festive clothes and wide smiles.
Throughout it all, the smell of fried foods weaves through air laced with the warmth of a summer that's just begun.
Activities in view:
A1. Youths stand on and around tall wooden storage boxes, playing some sort of game.
A2. Lanes have been drawn and sack races are being run.
A3. A large, gilt statue of a dragon.
A4. A Barrel-Go-Round ride has been erected.
A5. A small puppet theater has gathered a crowd.
A6. A stand sells delicious-smelling fried food on stick
All it took was the scent of whatever was being fried to lure Meraina in. ”Come on, sis! Something is being fried up all nice and crispy and it smells delicious,” she says, grabbing her sister by the hand and trying to drag her to the stand at A6.
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Upon arriving at the square Kiliuk is assaulted by the sounds of laughter, a barrage of colors, the smell of cooking meat and a dragon staring straighte at him.
Seeing that no one was paying attention to the dragon made the half-orc realize the dragon was just a statue. Having never seen nor encountered a dragon before Kiliuk approaches the dragon statue. Peripherally he hears his human companions going for the food stalls.
So this is Aurelliax? How much bigger is the real thing? the barbarian says in wonder.
Torgen stops by the statue on his way to the food stall. "I'd bet she's a fair big bigger than that," he replies. "This's just gotta be the biggest they could build the likeness, made of gold like so. Hey! How's big's your dragon, Aureliax? Two, three statues tall?" The dwarf starts yelling his question to passersby as he follows the humans.
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A6
Merainaa takes the lead and starts walking around. They arrive at the food stall.
Buzzing about the multicolored tents here are townspeople eating fried dough and meat skewered on thin sticks. Rich, delicious smells permeate the air as a tall, broad-shouldered man works the crowd, telling snappy jokes and offering friendly handshakes.
”Well hi there folks! You must be visitors to our fair town! Eh, get it? FAIR town?”
He chuckles as he rushes off to greet the next group walking up. The next time he passes by, he says ”My name's Toshi. Anyway, welcome! What can I getcha? Funnel cake? Corn dog? Fortifies the bones, only one silver!”
- - - -
At the statute a boy passing hears Kiliuk and remarks "Oh she's that big! She's as big as a house!"
”Fair town?! I see what you did there! I’ll take one of each! I’ve never smelled anything so wonderful. Brialla, do you want something? I’ll get this round.”. She pulls out her pouch of gold, ready to pay for the yummies.
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The vendor passes out the fresh baked buns to the party.
"Here ya go!"
- - -
When you arrive at the statue, you can take in it's majesty up close.
Fully 10 feet high and twice as long, the centerpiece of the square is a gilt statue of a gold dragon with outstretched wings. A plaque at the base reads: "Highdelve dedicates this statue and all of Protectress Square to Aurelliax, Our Gilded Lady. Long may her golden wings envelop us, and may we never fail her when she calls."
* * *
Standing next to the statue watching a group of children play is a cheerful-looking woman with white hair and ruddy cheeks.
You see that a female dwarf approaches the woman and after greeting each other they start chatting and you are perceptive and overhear parts of the conversation.
”Well ... but Richelle and Tolwin cheated!" the white haired woman says silently. You cannot hear the dwarf's response but you see the the woman reacts harshly and says a little louder than she she should: "You know that they rigged the bloomgivers election and therefore are not allowed to attend the festival. This discussion is over!"
The female dwarf looks disappointed and retreats in the direction of the sack race.
The Sorcerer starts digging into the delicious food. ”This is awesome!”. She looked around for something else to do before going back for a second round.
”How about we go lol at the puppet show? That could be fun...”
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“We all saw him; he had skin as pale as a sheet and these freaky little horns!” a girl says.
“He was skulking around until the watch came and scared him away. Now people pretend like he was never here—don’t want to scare away visitors, I guess. Oops!”
- - -
The woman turns to Kiliuk.
"Ah..the Bloomgivers were chosen but Richelle and her friend didn't follow the rules. Something isn't right."
Perception
”Who are you talking about, kids? Someone has horns? That’s strange. When was he seen?”
Diplomacy to gather information
Meraina has better luck asking around about Richelle, Tolkien, and the puppeteer.
"Yes, how long ago was this?" Torgen follows Meraina, cramming the last of some fried dough down his throat before speaking. "And where? Inside, outside of town? Don't worry 'bout scaring us off, we're tough."
”Let’s go check this out. It’s probably nothing, but at least we can use it as an excuse to work off this funnel cake!”
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”Let’s go check this out. It’s probably nothing, but at least we can use it as an excuse to work off this funnel cake!”
With a mouthful of said funnel cake, the ranger points toward the condiments bar, "But they have dipping jelly!"
Dejectedly, Bria joins her cousin. Apparently, blood is thinker than olallieberry jam.
Torgen takes the lead, bringing his weapons to bear once away from the townsfolk. "Jelly'd be a good excuse, 'cept it'll be there when we're done."
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The Bloomgivers return
Suddenly ... murmurs of alarm from the western end of Protectress Square soon become shrieks of shock.
Two people stumble into the square-a young dark-haired man and a light-haired woman, half walking and half relying on the shoulders of friends. Winces of pain cross their bloodied faces.
Somewhere, someone shouts, "The Bloomgivers have been attacked' Someone get Aurelliax!"
The crowd around the Bloomgivers hushes and parts, and the mayor strides purposefully toward the injured youths. A grim look on her face, she reaches a hand lovingly toward the Bloomgivers.
Mayor Qarl addresses the crowd in a commanding voice. "Silence! Aurelliax left minutes ago due to an urgent matter. She did not trust me with the details."
She turns toward the Bloomgivers. "Kameer. Kara. Young ones, what has happened here?"
The Bloomgivers pause to catch their breath before answering. " We' re so sorry, Mayor Qarl ," Kara says.
"We were picking the brightblooms when those bullies set upon us. They took us completely by surprise, and they stole the Golden Pendant right from Kameer's neck! We barely got out with our lives!” Kameer nods. "It was Richelle and Tolwin! They're up on Dendra's Slope, and they've still got Aurelliax's amulet!”
At this news, several individuals, including the proprietors of the jubilee's events- emerge from the crowd.
The town's mayor visibly bristles with anger. "I've had enough of those two! Clearly we should have punished them more harshly!" she says. "We have to retrieve these misbehaving kids? We have to get Aurelliax's amulet back, and those two will get the justice they deserve in our stocks."
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A man in the crowed shouts "We have to get Aurelliax to help!"
The mayor looks at the man ruefully. "These bullies are two of our own!"
The people in the crowd give a regretful nod.
"You all know the rules! I'm terribly sorry," Mayor Qarl continues, "but I'm afraid that Aurelliax can't directly help. You see, Aurelliax promised our forebears that she would never interfere in the town's interpersonal matters. She cannot turn her wrath against any of our town-not even if they might deserve it."
She turns to the crowd."Are there any among you who are willing to be heroes for Highdelve? Could you retrieve these bullies and Aurelliax's amulet? I assure you all that I will award those successful most generously!”
"Here's hoping they listen to reason. It's tough to hit light with these. But we'll bring 'em back for you to judge."
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The other kid hands you a leaflet as you leave
"Look here! It is really sad."
Upon picking the leaflet you see that it bears sketches of a scowling human boy and girl, each about 17, along with the following message.
"Be advised: Richelle and Tolwin, apprentices to Carth Garenth and Yarla Bowhammer, are not permitted at the jubilee. If seen, please turn them away from your events.”
The Mayor turns to you as well.
"Thank you, visitors! Please, travel up Dendra’s slope, directly west of town about 3 miles," the mayor says gently.
"It sounds like the bullies are still there. The brightbloom patch is just past an old abandoned shack-that's where you'll want to start looking."
”Find these wayward youths, and return them along with Aurelliax's amulet to the people. We'll bring back the brightblooms to the square, and Kameer and Kara here can hand them out as planned. We'll commence the Brightbloom Ball and put all of this unpleasantness behind us!"
The mayor nods to the party and looks at o the assembled townsfolk and then at the senior members and asks "Do any of you have things you might loan to this group?"
Yarla steps forward with a smile."I just so happen to have a crate of items in my inventory right now, bound for a bodyguard firm in Port Ice. I'm sure they wouldn't mind a little quality control testing on one or two."
She adds "I might even have some blunt arrows, too."
- - -
You are starting your journey to Dendra's Slope
After a quick trip to Yarla's warehouse, you head toward Dendra's Slope, about three miles away. You can see a dilapidated hut, a nearby slope covered in flowers, and a cave entrance a little ways away.
Meraina didn’t have a bow, so she handed her arrows to whomever wanted them. She did take the sap, however. ”Never know when you need to bash something,” she laughed.
She points at the hut. ”Why don’t we check the hut first? I know I’d be staying in there instead of a dirty old cave, if I were the teens.”
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As you approach the hut, you begin to get your bearings.
You quickly scan the surroundings for potential threats or things that seem out of place.
As you move up between the campsite and the cabin, can see some footprints going in and out of the hut, though they are quickly lost in a stony patch of ground just outside.
They look like they were made within the last 24 hours.
You see no other movement around the valley.
The outside of this dilapidated shack is moldy and has walls full of holes. Its rotted doors hang open on broken hinges. You cannot hear any movement from within.
You enter to find it unoccupied, a dirty bedroll in one corner along with three daggers and 6 days' worth of trail rations.
"Are these two so angry with the village as to stay here, of all places?" Torgen wonders, oblivious to the details.
Survival
”Well, nothing else is moving out here. Not sure if that is good or bad.”. She grabs the daggers and food. ”Maybe we can starve them out and they’ll come back home if we can’t find them.”
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Brialla sticks her head in the shack and finds something under the bedroll. Upon examination, she finds a small bundle containing a journal, a scroll, and four potions.
DC 16 Perception or detect magic and DC 16 Spellcraft:
Oh my dear demonic god. These stupid kids are hated in town but the roots of mistrust were enough to convince them to join my mother's plan to attack the jubilee and circumvent the dragon's protection. They beat up the flower pickers, but they let them escape alive! But we retrieved the amulet and together with mother's sacrifice this will be enough to protect the beast in the cave from the dragon's wrath.
- - -
Spellcraft potions
Spellcraft Scroll
”Everyone take a potion. Those are Cure Light Wounds. If those ruffians try to jump us, that will help calm out bumps and bruises. And this scroll is one called Scorching Ray. It’s stronger than the magic I’m used to, but I think I can cast it.”