DreamLyrics™ Play-by-Post Forums Fantasy RRL: Rise of the Rune Lords - Burnt Offerings RRL: The Morning of the Festival

The town is active before dawn has fully broken. Wagons are going to and fro, people preparing for the day's festivities. Much of the activity is clustered around the main square in front of the new church. That is where the speeches will be and several other events.

There were several places for the people to stay, a couple of inns, as well as sleeping near a wagon in the street. People seemed to be crammed into common rooms in the many different establishments, and rooms can be hand for a small bit of coin.

[OOC: Pick an inn, The Rusty Dragon, The Hogfish, just to name two. There are a half dozen. Feel free to make up one if you wish, or tell me other places your characters might stay. Story is all that matters at this point. Take whatever license you wish. Tell us when you arise, and whatever you might first do.

Timeline wise, the festival will have things starting as early as 10am, with feed sack races, and other games. Noon is when the official speeches occur, with the consecration set for 2pm.]

[OOC: Coral will have insisted on them staying at 'The Rusty Dragon' because the name is cool, and she has a vague recollection of having been there before with her master, long, long ago.]


She was awake. But her eyes were closed. It was such a long time since she had slept in a bed, and she was savouring it. She lay listening to the sounds of the inn as the patrons slowly awoke, got up and started their day.

Zak, meanwhile, is up early and looking for something resembling breakfast.

Selaim

She woke for like the fifteenth time during the night. The bed was too soft and she really didn't want to sleep on the floor. It reminded her too much of life with the guild. She lay there thinking about tge day before. It felt like her life before Villian and the guild. It felt nice. And it felt good sharing those rolls and pastries with the Aendell and well even tgat gnome.

Still groggy from her lack of sleep she got up and dressed then picked up the practice sheaths for her falcatas. She slipped out of the room and quietly knocked on Aendell's door. Softly saying "You awake?"

Aendell

He is up before the sun, as is his wont, being careful not to wake any still asleep, so that he can wash and dress. He heads outside and finds a likely spot, that is out of the way a bit and greets the sunrise with prayers and meditations to Iomedae.

Once he is finished, he returns to the inn and checks to see if the others are awake.

Selaim

Receiving no answer from her knocks, Selaim was about to open his door but stopped herself. That was something sh shouldn't do what if the princeling had a woman in there or worse. She gathered her things and instead when downstairs to wait for him in the inn common area. She ordered tea since anything heavier might be too much if he was as cruel as he was the day before.

She only sees Zak when she came down and got her tea. The day before had brought back memories. So many good memories of life before Villian. Many of them did include the gnome. She hesitates but joins him at the table.

"Morning?"

Zak:

He himself is nursing a hot tea, which admittedly might include just a splash of something entirely unlike tea in it.

“Good morning to you, Selaim. Sleep well? I was about to get a spot of breakfast. Hungry?””

Whatever else he was, he seemed to be holding no grudges and not taking anything said personally.

“How was the market?”

Aendell

As he re-enters the inn he can see Selaim and Zak sitting at a table so he moves in that direction. "A Blessed Morning to you all." He says, and pulls up a chair to join them.

In a moment the breakfast begins to arrive. The waitress takes a few trips to supply the table, but an array of dishes are offered. "If you see something you like, I can bring more. Before you fret, it is included with your paid night's stay. We want you to have a fun day at the festival and start off right!"

She set down some kind of white porridge complete with cow's or goat's milk in a decanter. There are slabs of butter for it and the bread that is brought, a nice freshly baked loaf that smells vaguely like garlic, hot from the oven.

There is a tray of little sweet meat tarts, enough for each person to have two of the amazing-smelling steaming delicacies.

A few slices of some kind of meat, thick and hearty, also steaming and smelling a bit like olive and pepper.

She returns with another decanter full of freshly squeezed orange juice while setting out a glass for each person who wants one.

Catalena

"Well, that was foully played," Catalena had mused to herself upon seeing the duty roster when finishing her shift the evening before. She'd asked to be allowed to be off for the consecration and, well, her request had been granted. She saw her name on the pre-dawn shift, starting at 4 bells. Still, she smiled, there was nothing for it but to forgo a luxurious sleep. Curtailing her plans to crawl all of Sandpoint's taverns with Zachergillan was out of the question. It was a higher calling that no alehouse should lack a blessing from the cleric of Cayden for the Festival day. She'd just have to sneak a snooze in wherever she could.

It had been a fantastic night of revelries and only too quickly had come time to patrol the dark streets, hazy and hungover. Many of the fishermen were taking a holiday today but some saw opportunity to try for a bigger haul and were also up before dawn. Cat exchanged a bit of gossip and goodwill and watched them cast off into the dark, lanterns hung on their bowsprits.

Gorvi was up, drunk and in foul temper, with a couple of his men not blessed with their boss's orcblooded vision, carrying lanterns like Catalena to clean up the muck from the night in their red wagons. Catalena had a higher tolerance for Gorvi than most, for while the town's dungsweeper was short on manners and temper, he was long on tales and Catalena was a good listener. In fact, she'd been working on a song centered around the red wagons of Sandpoint with each verse an absurdly comic retelling of the strangest things Gorvi's boys had ever collected to toss off Junker's Edge. Gorvi himself had softened up to Cat a bit, his pride rising at the thought of the song being performed around town giving him the respect he deserved.

Cat was pretty pleased with her progress and she thought amusedly that the final verse should be about the narrator herself, passed out cold from drink, in the comfortable-seeming lap of the Red Wagon and meeting an untimely fate. She hummed the chorus to herself as dawn broke over the landside of the town.


And down, down, down the Wagon's load began to slide
Down, down, down off Junker's Edge to meet the tide
What the Red Wagons upend
No, will never be seen again
Have care the current weren't th'end o'your final ride

Selaim

"Its only morning. Nothing good about it. Slept horribly." She said with slightly bleary eyes.Taking a long sip of her tea.

"The market was fun. Relaxing even. It's been a long time since I could go to a market and not think that someone was watching me the whole time. It reminded... ah nevermind." her voice trails off. Selaim looking down at her cup.

"Have you seen Aendell?" She had barely asked her question when Aendell came to the table and pulled up his chair.

"There you are! Weren't we supposed to practice this morning?" She asks grumpily.

"And now breakfast is being served. And I'm going to eat. Don't get mad if I get sick on your precious robes." She said as she tried a tart and added some of the meat to her plate.

Dawn breaking also reminded Cat of the window for breakfast at The Rusty Dragon. She still had time but wouldn't want to miss it on Festival Day. It is likely to be one of the best meals of the week. Ameiko Kaijitsu may have been an adventurer in an earlier life, but she managed the inn very well in this one.

Aendell

"It is festival day. Thought we could take one day off. Did you have fun at the market?"

Selaim

"It... it was nice. It brought back memories of... well before I joined the guild. Good memories." Selaim said looking down at her plate.

"Oh how did you like the tarts?

Zak:


“It is always good' Selaim, to take your freedom where you can find it and relish it.”


“Meanwhile, I will report that the ale at the Rusty Dragon is as advertised. Quite excellent.”

Catalena

Catalena finished a circuit of the town and slipped back into the Rusty Dragon for a fast breakfast break.

She sat at the bar near Zak and his companions and said with a yawn, "Good morning. You're up earlier than I'd expected. Anything not to miss?" She nodded at their laden table. "I've just got a brief window before back to patrolling."

Zak

“Kat, I’m up earlier than and as fresh as the sun every day. Morning is some of the best time to reflect and get your head on straight so it can be crooked the rest of the time.”

Aendell

"They were excellent, thank you for thinking of me." He replies to Selaim, then turning to see Catalena enter he says, "I am up before sunrise every day to offer to Iomedae."

Turning back to the table, he says, "So, what are the plans for the day?" He supposed his business with the city leaders can wait until after the festival.

Catalena

Catalena sighed and reclined against the bar. "And Desna blesses us with the stars but I am sure she would not have begrudged me a small hours' snoozing today under the starlight. But Sheriff Hemlock, unfortunately, is not as generous."

She yawned and stretched languidly. "At least I'll be off-duty for the ceremony and tonight I'll celebrate with song and companionship and the dreams from the Queen herself, which I'm sure will be rich with portent."

To Aendell, she said, "Everywhere in Sandpoint today has been planning to entertain and delight you. Let your senses guide you and you can't go wrong. What do you enjoy? Gaming? Sport? Food? Drink? Shopping? Craftsmanship? They've got it all."

She leaned back against the bar to peer into the kitchen to see if food might be forthcoming.

On one of her trips in and out, the waitress nods to Catalena. "Just a sec, hun, busy as you can imagine." With a flourishing of her skirts disappeared into the kitchen. The swinging doors allowed for tantalizing smells to escape. She returns a moment or two later, setting down a steaming mug of Catalena's usual breakfast choice. She pauses long enough to ask, "What will it be today? We have a larger variety than normal. Freshly baked bread, garlic, or sweet. We have sliced boar, fresh duck's eggs, and even a few tarts left from Sandpoint Savories. Though I am sure, she kept the best to sell at the festival."

Coral


She forced herself to get up, despite her desire to be completely lazy and luxuriate in the bed all day.

Coral dressed herself, and made her way down to the main room of the inn. From the stairs, she scanned the room, spotted her travelling companions and walked over to join them.

She sat down at the table, with a smile and a "Good morning" directed to them all.

"Can I have a mug of that, please?" she commented to the waitress, "along with some garlic bread and sliced boar?"

Catalena

Cat scalded her mouth on the kahve, craving the delicious bolt of energy she was desperate for. "Ai yi yi," she laughed. "Woo."

"Oh, better some rashers and sweet bread, love," she told the server. "I need to get back on the mean streets before I'm missed and I get another week added to my sentence."

zak

" Kat, I assure you, you are always missed. Although I must say that it greatly amuses me to see you of all people in the guard looking all official and stuff."

The waitress nodded to Cat and Coral both. In a few moments, she returns with their requests. Piping hot bread smelling of garlic, and sliced boar, as well as a bit of bacon for Cat.

Coral

"Thank you," Coral responded to the waitress, and then proceeded to make herself a sliced-boar sandwich, her stubby fingers making a difficult job of it, getting butter all over her hands.

She took a few messy bites of sandwich and then asked, "Has anyone got plans for today?"

Catalena

"Well, I shan't need any sugar in my kahve with you around, my friend. You see it's a temporary position until there are some new recruits," Catalena replied to Zak with a smile, "Although I daresay it might be earlier if the Sheriff's patience wears thin. In his opinion, I am thoroughly unsuited to 'law enforcement'."

She thanked the server and took a large bite of food. "For instance, how can I arrest some young girl for taking food because she's hungry? This was only last week. The merchant was upset at the time when I let it go and the Sheriff added another month to my time, but I brought the girl's family to meet the merchant and now they do some odd jobs in exchange for the end of the market's leavings and isn't that a far better outcome than throwing someone in a cell? The hunger remains as soon as she's free again and might even be worse."

"So, I'm replacing a couple young men who I'd given a Harrowing and then quit the constabulary after learning their fates. Quite wise of them, in my opinion, but not Sheriff Hemlock's. I make some coin off-shift with fortune-telling, song, story, and dance, and have been living well enough here at the Dragon. I rather like Sandpoint but I'll surely need to heed the road's call again."

She asked the company, "Have you all come for the Festival?"

Selaim

Wish he had told me she thought as she started eating her breakfast. She thought more of yesterday. How nice it was not to be looking over her shoulder and seeing everything. Coral was fun and yes the experience brought up the good memories.

But she felt a chill when the guard from the day before came to the table. She almost panicked and ran because it was a guard but remembered what Aendell had said. That there were good guards. And the woman seemed to be nice enough. Aendell seemed to accept her.

And What's that about Kat. Was Kat the guard's name? Or a pet name from the per.. Zak? She shouldn't be a guard? Or the uniform looks odd on her?

Selaim looked at the uniform and seemed like any other uniform.

But what did the woman mean by sentence? Does that mean she is a prisoner? Need to find that out.

She started to speak but instead listened to the story. then couldn't any longer.

"Why can't more guards be like you? And a prisoner? What do you mean how can a prisoner be a guard?"

Turning to Aendell. "Why? They were about to cut off my hands. And exiled me for two coppers but here they make you a slave? Because you told some people a fortune? Where is justice?"

<OOC: bear with her she'll figure it out... maybe>

Zak

“It would be an odd form of slavery, Selaim, to be given a weapon and authority over others to enforce the law. I’d say that that is a creative punishment. Facing the consequences by becoming the consequences. I know Catalena well from Magnimar, and it seems that this sherif must be a good judge of people to know that to her, giving her a sword and a badge would be punishment.”

He looks over at Coral:

“I plan on enjoying this festival for all its worth. There is something about these small towns that can’t be matched in a big city. People know each other. Less strangers.”

Aendell

His eyes are sharp as Catalena tells the story about reading the guards fortunes. "Do you do that a lot?" He asks. "Reading fortunes for people? Do you often find they act on what you tell them?"

As Selaim tells her story, he turns his head. "Cutting off your hands was not justice. If it was I'd not have intervened. You will find that just as there are good guards and bad guards, good people and bad people, that this extends to all walks of life. Some people are given a little power and it goes to their heads. They become full of themselves and want to show others that they are above them. That is what happened with that Magistrate. He has a bad reputation and I didn't trust him. That is why I was there that day."

He pauses.

"Now, lets talk about the fun day we have ahead, shall we? Plenty of time to talk about philosophy on the road."

Selaim

This was nothing like the world Villiam and the guild described. Their way was guild/not guild to differentiate good and evil. Here Aendell described in a broader spectrum. That people can be either. Who know. Maybe today will shed more light.

"I just hope today is like yesterday."

Coral

'I've missed something ...' Coral told herself.
The table seemed very tense, and the conversation seemed to be about crime and punishment.

Mentally, she retreated back into her shell a little, and concentrated on earing her breakfast.

Catalena

Cat grinned at the group's questions and comments, and took the time to polish off her breakfast, before replying.

To Selaim, she replied, "Hardly a slave, my dear. Besides the fact that slavery is illegal in Varisia, why there would be revolution before that. We do so love our freedom here. But I was offered a choice of a fine, far too steep, incarceration, or community service. Which, as there are already many excellent performers here, including Ameiko, your host, they had an immediate opening for someone to walk around town and see to its protection. Though, it's quite peaceful here compared with Magnimar, for instance.

"As to my alleged offense, well, the Sheriff and I disagree there but he's the law and I'm a happy vagabond so you know how that works out. Truth to tell, I don't particularly mind it, Zachergillan. If I weren't here I'd be somewhere else, and it makes for a good story."

To Aendell, she smiled, "Why of course. The Harrows never lie and the gift of reading them comes from Desna herself. Those who are wise heed my advice though not all do."

She leaned in closer and said, "If you're interested, when I'm off duty this evening, I'd be happy to tell your fortune. Where do your questions lie? Money? Fate? Romance?"

Aendell

He considers, then nods. "Somewhere private. Don't want others making fun."

Zak:

“I might partake Cat. Although I’m usually a tough read. Hard to pin down.”

Selaim

So not a slave. And community service? That was better than Magnimar which offered, execution, prison, or public shaming.

From what she was able to gather Catalena was well known in the town so people would know her duty was not by choice. But still more guards should think like Cata... Cat. Especially in Magnimar.

Seeing Coral retreat into herself, Selaim turned to her, "So where do you want to go today? Looks like The princeling and... Zak might be able to go too."

Then she caught snippets of Cat's conversation with Aendell and glanced over. She'd seen him in different situations and caught an edge of seriousness in him when he agreed to a reading. The same type of edge when he talked to the authorities in Magnimar.

"Does he actually believe in the Harrows?" she thought. "I'll have to ask."

Those thoughts were quick and in her head but to Coral she continued, "We can show them all those stalls you said they'd like. And maybe we can find that baker again. And maybe Zak can explain the spice hut a little better than that old crone saying 'It goes in food'."

Catalena

Catalena nodded to the men as she finished off her kahve."Of course. But you know, a Harrowing is a sacred ceremony and it must be taken seriously. So, let's do it soon after the rededication." Then, with a conspiratorial smile to Zak, she added, "Afterwards, we're going to paint the town brightly."

She cleaned her chin and hands and then reached out a friendly hand to brush Aendell's arm. She said, softly, "Not to worry, just you and I. The more you open your inner self to the Harrows, the clearer your reading. No one will make light of your true heart."

Coral

She was somewhat taken unawares by Selaim addressing her, and she had to take herself out of her inner thoughts.

"Yes, we could show them the stalls we saw, and the ones we missed too. And I would quite like to look around the rest of the town too, to get our bearings and understand what there is."

Selaim

Selaim nsmiled and nodded in agreement excited to get the day rolling.