Beaming at the praise, Rory answers, "My pleasure Master Plumb, I will come back later and get the hide, right now I'm going to head out to the festival." turning to leave, then looking back, "Oh and I'll get the other 'horn' later too, Thistle likes to chew on them."
'Nice thing about riding a 'wild animal' people make room for you.' Smiling as he guides Thistle through the crowd, stopping where he can see the ceremony, "Ok, girl this is a good spot.' Rory dismounts and Thistle drops the antelope horn on the ground, laying down she pins it between her paws and begins to chew happily.
Watching as the Chief Defender takes the stage, Rory takes in the sights and sounds reminding him of his own ceremony and those of his friends he's witnessed. As Halgra opens the case, he tries to see the dagger, "I never did ask Ruby what she had engraved on it." He smiles as the shy Ruby nods her head, "I'll have to as her." He looks around momentarily, 'I'll bet Othden would know, I wonder if he even remembered he talked to me once he found her.' Echoing the last words with the rest of the crowd, Rory gives a whoop as the crowd cheers.
Hearing Imara's greeting Rory turns, while Thistle only glances up from her new chew-toy, Rory chuckles at her comment adding, "Short and sweat, just like me!" Smiling he gestures towards the antler, "Thistle and I went hunting, caught a Springbok buck, took it to the Master of Stores for the stew pot." He looks around hoping to see their friend Rydell, "And saw Rydell before I left town, he said something about Ruby picking the three of us as 'Champions' you know anything about that?"
The Crowd Mingles for the better part of an hour and the food is served before the games begin There's Roast Pork, and thick Turkey legs. There's Roasted Potatoes and Thick coal cooked carrots with spices. There's sweet cakes, and honeyed rolls. The smells are in their air and make your mouth water.
Right prior to the tables of food being opened to the crowd The High priestess Tyari Varvatos blesses the festivities and the food.
Master of Stores serves the food with the Acolytes from the two temples aid.
Towards the end of the meal Chief Halgra takes the stage again.
Now that your bellies are full, Thank you to the Temple of Iomedae for the food preparation and for Master of Stores Kessen for supplying the grub.; We will turn to the games. We have Horseshoe pits, Archery games, several races, A few Obstacle Courses, Darts, but what would a hope knife Ceremony be without The One being celebrated not choosing a champion for the day and him assembling the team of that persons cghoosing to represent them in the games and the grand tug of war against the Militia of the town....so in a second Ruby will call out her team and they will face off to Roderick, Kurst, and three Guardsmen in the tug of war. The winners will get tostay outof the firecely messy mud pit Jagrin created there she gestured to the games area where a 6 foot wide 8 foot long mud pit had been set up with a rope laying across it
Ruby call up your Champion and your team.
Ruby grins and walks up, her hope knife prominently displayed and says loudly...
For My Champion I take Rydell Ellindorr. His team will be Imara Novoron, Rory Cornelius, Ovril Havayselvay, and Shel.
From the side Roderick glances at Rydell and then at Ruby and shakes his head....Kurst smiles. Jagrin laughs, a sight rarely seen...The townsfolk move away from the group and push them towards the stage with gentle nudges and words of encouragement.
A lack of shovels?! Well now, someone's digging for trouble! Ha, good one, Ovril. Other than that bit of insightful internal commentary, Ovril eats and makes merry for that's what this day is all about!
Wait a second! Did Ruby just call out his name?! Most reluctantly he makes for the stage, flashing the people around him looks devoid of any and all understanding.
Shel’s sharp ears hear many interesting things as she mingles to the best of her ability. Things she could help with, particularly Brynia and Katreza. Baseil's shifty nonsense causes her some distress. ”Maybe we should deal with him sooner rather than later.” She mutters to Phoenix. ”But we can’t spoil Ruby’s day.” She mounts the stage, as surprised to be chosen as she is to see the fortune teller accompanying her. Her red skin and white hair hair leaves her standing out even amongst other half-orcs, but she shows no signs of being aware of any such differences.
Being on stage where everyone was looking, Phoenix does not waste the opportunity to prance about and display his colorful plumage.
Despite his normal penchant for forgoing tastier food for cheaper, one of Rydell's biggest weaknesses is good food. He helps himself two a portion of everything, then a second helping! He does keep enough wits about him however to make sure Amelia gets her food first. Even if she was a bit pickier about what it was.
As he partakes in his meal, he can't help overhear conversations as he gazes around the area while chewing mouthfuls.
over the course of his meal, his eyes grow narrower and narrower as he tenses up.
Something is definitely off. But, who exactly is to blame for it? My gut tells me.. them... or maybe I'm being overly suspicious. he thinks to himself as his eyes glance back to the table with Vorum, Daktani, Urnsul, and Rishka. After a few moments He glances back to Baseil.
While I don't blame him for being suspicious, spouting it here and now does no one any favors. Especially Ruby. Especially if it causes trouble... I should see what this is all about. When suddenly he hears his name.
ah... right.. damn.
Before leaving, he leans down and speaks to Amelia
Stay close to the stage for me, so you can see me drag them through the mud single-highhandedly alright? then makes his way towards Ruby.
He pauses briefly when he moves past Halgra to give a nod, then lean in and whispers quickly.
I fear trouble is brewing tonight, Baseil is stirring the pot, and Daktani and others seem worked up about something. After that, he continues up to stand by Ruby
Imara looks at Rory curiously. "You mean for the games? That will be fun! Oooh - do you think we can cheat?! She grins and it's not entirely clear whether she is joking or serious.
Just then, Halgra calls their names. "Well, I guess Ry's intel was good! Shall we?" As she makes her way to the stage, Imara vaguely notices Roderick and his father arguing. Hmm. I wonder what that's about? Shovels maybe? Chuckling to herself, Imara quickly moves on to thinking about other things - like wondering if they really have any chance of defeating the militia members! Rydell and Rory, maybe...but while agile, she's well aware that she is not all that strong!
'The games...fun?... cheat?' with a twinkle in his eye, Rory smiles "We can always cheat, the question is if we'll get caught."
Realizing it was time to eat, Rory dismounts and clips a lead to Thistles harness, "Can't have you raiding peoples plates right girl?" Tying her to a tree and telling her "Noro." He goes straight to the roast pork, prying the shoulder bone out with his kukri and taking it back to her, telling her, "Chew on this while I get a proper plate of food." Then returning to the buffet he helps himself to a plate of food. As is his habit he eats quickly, then getting restless, tells Thistle, "Come on girl let's take a look about." Picking up the bone as Rory mounts, she prances about happily, letting everyone see her bone, while Rory watches the crowd.
As the meal ends Rory returns to where he left Imara, hearing the announcement, he rolls his eyes, "No surprise, Rydell usually knows what he's talking about." Gesturing towards the stage, "Let's go see what we have to do." Smiling "And see what we can get away with."
Halgra looked at the assembled group Ruby had requested and sighed.
For this challenge, Rydell, Champion of Ruby, Ruby will join your assembled Team as the 6 of you face Roderick, Kurst, and 4 Guards across the mud pit. The First Team to pull the other team into the mud will be declared the winners of the festival.
-NNNNNN---MMMXMMM---KurstGuardGuardGuardGuardRoderick-
Ruby walks up to the party and moves to stand before each of you saying I have faith in you. Did you know I talked to Katreza, the seer yesterday morning? She told me to choose you 5. Dont know why. But I have faith we will win.
-NNNNNRuby---MMMXMMM---KurstGuardGuardGuardGuardRoderick-
Talked to Katreza, isn't he not feeling well?' Dismounting Thistle, Rory pats her on the head looking from her to the other team, ''Hmmm' Easing close to her mouth he gently reaches up petting her nose, then telling her. "Give it to me girl." Easing his hand down to the bone, "Ok, let me have it, I'll give it right back." Thistle looks at Rory as he gently tugs on the bone then opening her mouth releases it. Once he's secured it Rory holds the shoulder bone up in one hand and the end of the rope in the other, asking, "Does anyone mind?"
Not waiting for an answer he quickly ties the rope securely around the bone handing it back to Thistle, who quickly takes it as she wags her tail. Smiling, "Well we've got our anchor." He leans forward releasing the 'tiger' aspect on Thistle, casting the 'Bull aspect on her and himself. He then spits on both of his hands and grabs the rope, just in front of Thistle, "Well come on then!"
Kurst see's Rory tieing Thistle to the rope and he says Wha? Huh? Is that legal? huh?
with a laugh Halgra says Ill allow it!!!! stop complaining Kurst and just get ready to pull
-ThistleRoryNNNNRuby---MMMXMMM---KurstGuardGuardGuardGuardRoderick-
Shel takes up position near the back. knowing nothing about “pulling”, she assumes the strongest should be closest to the point of resistance. Don’t wagons and sleds put the strongest animals closest to the wagon?
Phoenix flies to the front of the line and lands on Ruby’s head. I shall grant you the strength of a tsunami. He squawks.
ThistleRoryShelNNNRuby---MMMXMMM---KurstGuardGuardGuardGuardRoderick-
Rydell shrugs as the wolf is more or less tied to the rope. He takes the spot behind Ruby and turns to the others. We should probably pull together. So, follow my lead. Our anchor can keep a constant pull.
The seer told her to choose us? That's strange...are they usually that specific? Imara has a brief sense of foreboding, but shakes it off and focuses on the upcoming tug o' war instead.
"Great idea, Rory! Ruby is the guest of honor, after all! We have to pull out all the stops to help her win." She does a quick, mental inventory of her bag and then swings it off her shoulder and reaches into it. She retrieves a bag of powdered chalk and sprinkles some on her open palm, then rubs her hands together. She hands the bag to Rydell.
"Here. We can use this, it will give us better grip. Ry, if you're leading, you should be just behind Ruby. I'll get - " Imara pauses for a moment, remembering that Rydell maybe, kind of, sort of, probably not, maybe asked her out on on date last night. Maybe I shouldn't stand right behind him. Just in case. " - in front of...Shel, right?" She gives the half-orc a questioning look.
With only the spot behind Ruby left open, Ovril jumps into the breach and fills the hole. He gently pats Ruby on the shoulder to let her know who is behind her and, in that brief moment, blesses her with a sliver of luck and fortune. "Trunau stands with you today, Ruby."
”Let’s follow Ruby’s lead!” Shel calls up the line. Even if Ruby didn’t inherit her mothers title, she would always be an influential person in Trunau. Even if this was just a game, the girl - woman, now - was in front of the whole of the town and she needed to put on a strong showing... In Shel’s opinion, anyways.
Shel retrieves a length of jute twine from her satchel and ties her hair back to keep her bangs out of her eyes and sets the satchel aside. She flashes a smile at Imara. ”Yes. And you’re Imara.” It wasn’t difficult to keep track of the handful of elves that lived in Trunau. Silvermane was one of her favorite people in town, but she knew little of this one. She leans out to look around the elf and calls ”It looks like fate has taken an interest in you, fortune teller!”
ThistleRoryShelImaraOvrilRydellRuby---MMMXMMM---KurstGuardGuardGuardGuardRo derick
As the group lines up on opposite sides with the guards with th emud pit in the middle, the crowd is going wild shouting for Ruby's team to make a get the guards all muddy.
Rory quickly grabs up the rope and pulls it taut testing it as the guards grab up their end.
As the guards lift the rope and pull it taunt, Thistle's ears perk up as she feels the bone being tugged, giving a low growl she plants her feet and shakes her head. Rory smiles, "That's right girl, don't let 'em take yer bone." Turning with his back to the others but facing his wolf he smiles at her, "Now get ready to give it a good tug."
Rydell shouts as soon as the go is given.
PULL then heaves with everything he has, hoping the others are prepared and ready.
As the rope goes taught the guards get caught flat footed and in mere seconds Kurst and then 1---2-3-4 guards are dragged into the mud in the blink of an eye.
Roderick looks at the guards and Kurst all laying atop of each other in the muddy pit and starts laughing.
Kurst from the bottom of the pile mutters Should have let me have my horse.... his pride obviously hurt.
Ruby claps gleefully seeing how fast they won
Halgra laughs and beams saying Well chosen daughter
As the rope goes slack, Thistle gives the bone a good shake, trying to get the rope off of it, Hearing Halgra laugh, Rory can't help but join in. "Ha ha." looking at the wolf he smiles, "Hang on girl, let me get it off for you, you've deserved it," Pulling the rope to him she shakes the bone a little, not letting him have it, so he draws his kukri and cuts the rope off of the bone, Thistle drops to the ground, holding the bone with both paws, chewing on it.
Turning to the others, he smiles, 'well done!" looking toward Ruby then her mother and back to Ruby, with a twinkle in his eye he asks. "Now what do you desire of your champions?"
Imara drops the rope and let's out a whoop, leaping into the air. Haha! Great job, team! I guess Katreza knew what she was talking about!" You know there is probably more to it than that...why did she suggest us?
Imara glances around the area, looking for anything suspicious or out of place. She rests her hand lightly on the pommel of her mother's sword.
Ovril barely got to put his weight into the rope before it was all over. Dumbfoundedly he stares at the world before the notion drops: they won! Somewhat awkwardly, the Varisian joins the others, but it becomes full-blown awkward when Imara mentions Katreza. "D-d-did she now? Oh well, we won!"
”Well done, Ruby!” Shel exclaims, clapping the young woman on the back. She had not expected to win; Rydell was the only one among them that looked to have above average strength. ”Brains over brawn, hmm? I knew we could count on you.” She beams with pleasure, casting her gaze out over the cheering crowd, but inwardly she was troubled over news of the Seer’s poor health. Phoenix felt her doubt and concern and stopped his very raucous celebration of their victory, flying from Ruby’s head to perch on Shel’s shoulder. Maybe I can duck out for a few minutes without being missed.
a good five minutes of cheering and jubilation goes on. Imara watches the crowd. She sees Rocderick and Brynia having a very very serious discussion by the edge of the crowd before the Militia Sergeant turns and heads toward the Inner Quarter . Brynia watches him leave, tears streaming down her face for a bit before she wipes them off and turns and goes back to the boarding house.
Amelia comes and hugs Ruby and then Rydell excited she mentions to Ruby Othdan had to excuse himself He said there was something he had to follow up on.
Siguer stood nodding and grinning atthe guards loss he walked up to the group and said simply Well Done. I did not have any idea you would beat the Guards. It is a very happy day to see townsfolk make them muddy. hahaha He shook each hand in turn
before he turned and went back to see if there were seconds at the food tables..
Samuel stood talking to Darrick, both of them less than pleasant individuals they did share in each others company. They seemed to be complaining that the tug of war had been set up for Ruby to win, for their should be no possible way the groupshould best the Militia, unless of course the town militia was not all it was cracked up to be.
Ruby's older brother, barely 18, and a hulk of a man, came up shaking each of the groups hand especially Rydell, the chosen Champion. Thanking him for representing his sister in this endeavor.
Thank you Rydell. It was good to see you and your friends do so well in the this game. You set the tone for the festival! Good Job!
Tyari moved to the center of the podium and announced the games have begun for all. Congratulating the Champion and his crew.
Rydell hesitantly accepts the cheers. That went better than expected. Perhaps they underestimated us... He glances to the members of his team.
Then again, in a contest of strength, I wouldn't blame them. Still, shows how important surprise is. And decisiveness.
He seems ruffles Ruby's hair saying.
Great job Ruby, wouldn't have been able to do it if you hadn't been ready. When Amelia runs to them, he hugs back but quickly says. Amelia, why don't you spend the rest of the evening with Ruby? When she speaks about Othdan, he asks. Did he say exactly what that was? Whether Amelia knew or not he then goes to quickly remove himself from the center area.
As he tries to leave the large crowd and Malcolm moves to speak to him. Rydell seems a bit distant, as if thinking on other things. He merely nods curtly.
Yes, lets hope the tone remains. If you would excuse me.
Rydell moves towards the edge of the festivities and scans the area back and forth, looking for both Basil, and Vorum, Daktani, Urnsul, and Rishka.
Likely the main issue tonight is Basil... but...
He sees Basil moving over to talk with Samuel and Darrick. Of Daktani, he see's nothing. He does see Vorum and Rishka playing darts. Urnsul is not be seen either. perhaps Urnsul and Daktani had moved to a private location. They had been seen together in intimate situations before.
Ovril thanks the other participants for sharing the honor of winning the tug of war. He seems intent on slipping away from the center of attention and to, well, wherever he won't be the focal point of others gazes! Nervously, he taps his fingers on against his reinforced coat, feeling the stack of cards that are currently safely tucked away inside a pocket. They're calling to him. Good Gods above, I really hope I can make some coin today. Knowing my luck, that tug of war just spent all of the karma I've collected in recent weeks, if not months.
”We’ll just look in on Katreza real quick, then you can come back and show everyone how pretty you are.” Shel says to Phoenix, gathering her satchel and hurrying away from the crowd.