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"Ah, these must be your friends!" Yarla exclaims, as Pinesong and Lomo arrive. She hands them burlap sacks and directs all of you to the starting line. "Why don't you take the outside lane, young man" she says to Pinesong, "so your friend here can run alongside."
Once you're all in position, she raises a hand as she stands by the finish line. "Ready?" Her hand drops as she shouts "GO!"
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All four of you race out of the gate, with Croak and Pinesong surging slightly ahead of Lomo and Sereia. Cutie Pie is very excited by the sudden burst of activity, running and hopping along with you amid a flurry of snorts and squeals. About a third of the way down the track, the pig darts out in front of Pinesong while trying to get around a spectator, causing the vanara to trip and fall into Lomo! Sereia surges into the lead, but the cacophany of ridiculous noises happening behind her cause her to lose her composure in the final yards, and her laughter gets the best of her as she, too, tumbles to the ground. In the end, Croak's natural affinity for hopping from place to place wins out, allowing her to easily cross the finish line first before turning to see her friends splayed out across the course, laughing.
"Haha! Well done, young lady! Alright everyone" Yarla says to the assembled crowd."It's going to be hard to top that, so why don't we take a short break before any more races! We'll start again in five minutes!"
Turning back to you, she collects the burlap sacks and says "Now, what was it you wanted to talk about?"
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"Jacobi. Yeah, I know him. Came through here recently with a load of trade goods and some sort of doohickey he tried to pawn off on me; must have been your relic. Something smelled off about it, so I told him I wasn't interested. His paperwork was all in order for the rest of the stuff, though, so I brokered a deal for him to unload it somewhere around here." She looks thoughtful for a moment. "The buyer wasn't someone here in Highdelve, but not far either, if I recall; maybe he sold the relic to them.
"I can find out who it is, if you'd like, though it will have to wait for tomorrow. My apprentice, Tolwin, handles all my records," she says rolling her eyes, "and the nincompoop got himself mixed up in some fool plot to rig the Bloomgivers election with that little friend of his. They got themselves banned from the festival, so he's not around today. You'll have to come back tomorrow, when you can bet that I'll be puttin' him to work on all sorts of things around town to make up for it. I'm happy to have him find the information you need from the records first, though."
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Pinesong laughs and chuckles, cuddling his Cutie Pie. Eventually he gets up and speaks to the woman. "I'm here looking for some piggies. But that man over there at the food stand is going to help me with it later. Thanks! Oh! And if you see any piggies you let me know!"
Pinesong heads back to the puppet show to see if its started yet.
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Croak looks back at the others as she bounces in place. "Why are you laying down? It's not nap time, sillies! It's time to race."
She darts around nimbly and has out of the sack. "Whooosh! Whoooosh! Like that! See?"
Croak suddenly GASPS. "I AM LOOKING FOR MY BAG OF.... " she wails sadly. She had forgotten! "They were on a carriage! In a waterproof bag! And they were the most beautiful rabbit stuffed animals of all!"
She pulls out her magnifying glass that Pinesong made her and begins to look for clues. Unfortunately, Pinesong is not a good inventor. Her magnifying glass is a twisted stick with a strange bubble on the end. Croak doesn't seem to notice and rather likes her magnifying glass. She holds it to her eye and starts to look around for clues.
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By the time Lomo's extricated himself from the tangle of limbs and burlap on the track he's gnawing on a hunk of the sack. It now has a hole in it shaped suspiciously like a ysoki's mouth...
"Here ya' go," he says in between chews as he hands the bag back.
As Croak starts to wail Lomo pats her on the back. "You'll find it, Croak."
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Sereia purses her lips and considers Yarla's offer. She didn't want to wait. But, then again, impatience is what got her into this mess in the first place.
"Fine," she eventually answers. "Tomorrow. Where is your business?"
Sereia turns with a slight smile to see Croak inspecting the ground with her completely ineffectual 'magnifying glass.' She raises an eyebrow. "Perhaps you'll have a better view from the rooftops?" she suggests.
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Croak suddenly GASPS. "I AM LOOKING FOR MY BAG OF.... " she wails sadly. She had forgotten! "They were on a carriage! In a waterproof bag! And they were the most beautiful rabbit stuffed animals of all!"
She pulls out her magnifying glass that Pinesong made her and begins to look for clues. Unfortunately, Pinesong is not a good inventor. Her magnifying glass is a twisted stick with a strange bubble on the end. Croak doesn't seem to notice and rather likes her magnifying glass. She holds it to her eye and starts to look around for clues.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Survival: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
"There, there, I'm sure you'll find them" Yarla says with a smile. "Y'know, you might try asking Mathilde over there if she's seen them," she says, pointing to the burly woman working the barrel ride. "She has a side business fixing and maintaining the carriages that come through town. If one of them had a bag of stuffed rabbits on it, she might have seen it."
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By the time Lomo's extricated himself from the tangle of limbs and burlap on the track he's gnawing on a hunk of the sack. It now has a hole in it shaped suspiciously like a ysoki's mouth...
"Here ya' go," he says in between chews as he hands the bag back.
"Gee, thanks." Why do I get this weird feeling that someone from the future chewed on this?
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"Fine," she eventually answers. "Tomorrow. Where is your business?"
"Oh, my office is just a block down that way. Bowhammer Sales and Portage; you can't miss it."
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Pinesong laughs and chuckles, cuddling his Cutie Pie. Eventually he gets up and speaks to the woman. "I'm here looking for some piggies. But that man over there at the food stand is going to help me with it later. Thanks! Oh! And if you see any piggies you let me know!"
Pinesong heads back to the puppet show to see if its started yet.
"Well, if anyone would know about them, Toshi is probably it. Good luck finding your pigs."
You see the elegant man running the puppet show (who Lomo knows to be Carth Garenth) still on his break, quickly enjoying a plate of funnel cake before he goes back to performing.
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"Hi! Remember me? I'm CROAK!" she raises her magnifying glass. "I'm here investigating the disappearance of the missing rabbit stuffed animals! They were put in a waterproof bag on top of a carriage, and then the drove all the way here! To HIGHDELVE! You're the carriage lady! Have you seen them? Well? Have you? Huh? HAVE YOU?"
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*Ungh* "Listen kid." She says between grunts of exertion as she keeps the contraption spinning. "This is *ungh* exhausting. Unless you're *ungh* here to help, I *ungh* can't really *ungh* talk right now."
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"I'm not half bad with a jeweler's torch, I suppose. Afraid I don't have much time to talk just at the moment, though. The show"[b] he gestures toward the assembled townfolk, seated before you as they eagerly await the resumption of the show, [b]"must go on, you understand." He pauses for a moment, glancing at the two of you. "I don't suppose you'd like to help me out, actually? My apprentice, Richelle, was supposed to help me work the puppets, but the foolish child got herself banned from the festival. I'm worn out, and I'm sure we could put on a much better show with more than one of us." He looks at you, hopefully.
Cutie Pie snorts twice, sticks his nose up in the air, and trots off proudly. He finds a seat in the front row, hops up into a chair, and waits there for the start of the show, looking like a King in his court.
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Sereia gives Croak a look. The look that says Sereia is not impressed that Croak once again got her into something trying, dangerous, or unnecessary. That look.
I can barely move my own limbs, never mind this... monstrosity!
Once the look has been absorbed by Croak Sereia turns to the woman. "Fine."
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It takes her a moment to get the hang of it, but once she does Sereia is able, through some serious exertion, to keep the barrel ride moving. Mathilde watches for a moment, ready to step in; once she's satisfied that Sereia is capable of pacing the machine without injuring herself, she puts her hands above her heads and breathes deeply for a moment.
"Thanks. *phew* I needed a break. I had no idea how popular this thing would be when I put it together! Now, what was it you were so anxious to talk about?"
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Croak pulls out her magnifying glass and holds it to her eye. "Many ages ago, as far away as last week, I bought a wonderful collection of rabbit stuffed animals. They were not just any stuffed rabbits. OH NO! They were the nicest, fluffiest, softest, prettiest stuffed rabbits in existence. But, IT WAS NOT TO BE! For I lost them! In a waterproof bag on top of a carriage, and I have tracked the carriage ever since!!" Croak points at the woman. "The carriage came HERE and YOU'RE the carriage lady! Have you seen them? Well? Have you? Huh? HAVE YOU?"
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The crowd eats up your performance, laughing and cheering as Pinesong's voices and Lomo's sound effects add a whole new element to what was already an entertaining show. Freed of the burden of doing everything, Carth is suddenly much more nuanced and precise in his puppetry, further adding to the crowd's enthusiasm! When the show ends, the gathered townsfolk stand and cheer, laughing and recounting their favorite bits as they slowly disperse.
"Well, I call that a resounding success! Thank you so much for your help! Now, you said you had some sort of artifact that needed repairing? Do you have it with you? I'm happy to take a look."
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"Woah there, young lady!" Mathilde says, laughing as she puts up her hands in a gesture of mock innocence. "Missing rabbits you say, huh? Well, that's serious business! I haven't seen them yet, but I'll tell you what. I'll be doing my rounds tonight to all of the local inns and carriage houses, seeing if anyone needs repairs. I should get at least a quick glance at just about every visiting carriage in town. I'll keep a special eye out for your precious cargo, and I'll even ask around a bit, how does that sound? Come by my shop tomorrow and I'll let you know if I found anything."
She smiles at Croak, then jerks her thumb toward Sereia. "Thanks for the breather. I better go relieve your friend, though. She doesn't look like she's having a good time. Enjoy the rest of the faire!" With that, Mathilde taps Sereia on the shoulder, and with a quick word of thanks takes over the task of spinning the barrel ride.
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When she gets relieved, Sereia wanders away a few feet and flops onto the ground like a dead fish. She lays there in the town square, apparently unconcerned about being stepped on, or what she may be laying in.
Eventually she looks up at Croak and groans. "How do you surfacers do anything with all this... gravity! Ugh..."
Sereia hoists herself back to standing and drags herself over to a chair at the puppet show just in time to see the end of the performance.
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"It's about three blocks down that way, right next to the winery."
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"Ah, I remember this necklace! I made this, you know, years ago! It was a commission for someone, done by mail. Hm..." He examines the necklace carefully, then continues. "This looks pretty badly torn up. What happened to it?" He turns it over a few more times in his hands, assessing the damage. "I can definitely rebuild it. I'm sure I still have the original plans somewhere; I never throw those things out. I won't be able to get started until tomorrow, though. My apprentice, Richelle, reorganized my files recently, and I can't find a darn thing anymore. The fool got herself banned from the festival this year, along with that no-good Tolwin, so she's not around today. Leave it with me, though, and I can get started on it tomorrow when she gets in and digs up the plans; the first of many chores she'll be doing, I assure you."
Cutie Pie snorts in excitement!
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As Lomo dances and Pinesong heads toward the food stall, 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 a tall, authoritative woman strides purposefully toward the injured youths. A grim look on her golden-eyed face, she reaches a hand lovingly toward the Bloomgivers. Aurelliax addresses the Bloomgivers in a commanding voice that carries across the square. "Kameer. Kara. Young ones, what has happened here?" The Bloomgivers pause to catch their breath before answering. " We're so sorry, Aurelliax," 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 your amulet!”
At this news, several individuals, including the proprietors of the jubilee's events, emerge from the crowd. Turning to Aurelliax, a white-haired woman, familiar to Sereia as the town's mayor, visibly bristles with anger. "I've had enough of those two! Clearly we should have punished them more harshly! Aurelliax, would you be so kind as to retrieve these villains? We'll get your amulet back, and those two will get the justice they deserve in our stocks."
The golden-eyed woman looks at the mayor ruefully. "These bullies are two of your own, yes?" The mayor gives a regretful nod. "I'm terribly sorry," Aurelliax continues, "but I'm afraid I can't directly help. You see, I promised your forebears that I would never interfere in the town's interpersonal matters. I cannot turn my wrath against any of your 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 my amulet? I assure you all that I will reward those successful most generously!”
Cutie Pie bows his head to the crowd. Then he sticks his nose up in the air and snorts loudly.