"That is most kind, sir elf. As it happens, my nephew was the one who crafted that item; lenses are his specialty. My name is Master Odo, and he is Journeyman Dolpho. You are more than generous, and I will see that he is made aware of your pleasure. The Elvenguard I know little about, but I do know that if you are an adventurous sort I have heard tell of a number of barrows, the burial mounds of ancient kings, a day's ride north of Penhaligon. It is said there are a score of more of these mounds, each the resting place of a powerful king or warrior or sorcerer of old -- of the beastfolk that used to rule the land, they say -- and that some mounds open up into deeper caverns and corridors, that were ancient a thousand years ago or more."
Lanny the elf
"An intriguing tale, Master Odo. My name is Lantharios. If my companions and I are ever in the vicinity of Penhaligon, we shall have to journey to these barrows to discover their hidden secrets... Thank you again for this excellent spyglass, and please give my compliments to your nephew Dolpho."
Lanny bows his head to the gnome and returns to the festival.
Drudsa the dabbler pays the glantrian and takes the book, holding it close to his chest.
"Thank you sir, I would buy all your stock if I could but for the time being this marvelous tome will keep me happy and busy!"
If there is still a few hours before the time the group is expected to meet the Baron Drudsa will retreat back to the inn and spend some time with his new toy.
Tratiln looks at the merchant, "Hm, I maybe able to come up with some more funds. How about 1200gp for everything I've asked for. Before you brush us off as "up and coming", you should realize that even soon the Baron will be meeting with us in regards to our expliots this week alone! The Church of Karameikos has been employing us of late and has been very interested in the information we have already uncovered regarding plots afoot in Karameikos and possibly beyond! People have been asking us to rescue their villages from evil, to cleanse the forest of unnatural intruders and more. If this keeps us, by the end of the month we will be known the world around! "
Don't know if it's possible, but another diplomacy check
Glantrian
"Hah! You've heard my price, elf! If you wish to haggle, perhaps you should ask your friend the Baron to do so for you!"
Lanny hesitantly completes his purchase of the scroll containing the shield and invisibilty spells. He sincerely hopes that he will have no trouble reading or scribing the scroll. He shows it to his spellcasting comrades and compares it to their magical purchases.
"Perhaps, if we have time tomorrow, we could all take a day trip to see Myraal the Guild Mage. He will likely have the scribing supplies we will need... I should also like to ask him about my Traladaran Arrows, and about the people and history of this land."
Seeing the fool prancing around in the wolf's costume near Oleg Highstreet's stand, Lanny is reminded of the wolves that approached their party yesterday. Natural wolves were easily distracted by food thrown to them... but what if they had been werewolves? The ranger was not a good student of books, but he was a dedicated student of the plants and animals of Nature, so he purchases a pound of wolfsbane and a pound of belladonna from Oleg and tips him 5 gold pieces for the useful information about how to use them effectively.
Purchases: Shield/Invisibility scroll (700gp), small scroll case (5gp), large scroll/spyglass case (10gp), 1 pound of wolfsbane (10gp), 1 pound of belladonna (10gp), tip to Oleg (5gp)
Their shopping done, the companions make their way to the archery fields and the beginning of competition. The first round is lengthy, with at least one hundred individuals trying their luck at a target 25 yards away. Most of the contestants are farmhands who've shot a bow once or twice at painted targets, or dockworkers who had mustered out in a militia twenty years past or bored merchants trying to impress their dates. The field is quickly narrowed down to fifteen contestants. Bregalad and Lanny make it into the second round, Tratiln does not.
The targets are moved back another 25 yards and each contestant is given 10 shots. Bregalad and Lanny shoot well, but not well enough. Bregalad hits the center of the target twice, while Lanny manages a three direct hits. After the second round of competition the field is narrowed to three finalists. Two of them, a rugged fellow with a wiry beard and sloped shoulders and a teenage girl dressed in red and green velvet, managed seven hits each on the center while the third, a big-bellied man in his sixties with greying hair hit the bull's-eye six times. The targets are moved back another 25 yards, but before the third and final round can begin the companions, watching from the sidelines, are accosted by Varis.
The Father looks a bit of out place, with a garland of flowers around his neck, a mug of ale in one hand and trousers stained with dirt. He smiles apologetically. "Some of the younger brethren decided it would be jolly to see me get thrashed in the wrestling competition. I used to be quite the grappler, once upon a time, but fear I have lost that ability along with much of my flexibility. Anyway, if you are ready I would like to escort you to the grandstands; it is almost time for the Baron's speech!"
Lanny is none too pleased with his performance in the archery contest. Even worse, he is bested by Bregalad.
"Beginner's luck..." he mutters under his breath, with a none-too-friendly glance towards Bregalad. But then he smiles and gives his friend a pat on the back.
"Well done, my friend. You will make a fine marksman yet. When we have time, we should train together to improve our aim."
With that in mind, Lanny makes a mental note of the three finalists in the archery contest, thinking that any of the three would make excellent trainers of the longbow, and he will try to find them and approach them later to see if they might be from Threshold and available as future trainers. For now, he will join his companions and go with Fr. Varis.
frobozz wrote:Lanny the elf
Even worse, he is bested by Bregalad.
Oops. Looking back over what I wrote I can see how you got the wrong impression. Bregalad hits the bull's-eye twice, Lanny three times. I shall change that to make it clearer.
frobozz wrote:Lanny the elf
Even worse, he is bested by Bregalad.
Oops. Looking back over what I wrote I can see how you got the wrong impression. Bregalad hits the bull's-eye twice, Lanny three times. I shall change that to make it clearer.
Ok good. Lanny retracts any and all feelings of animosity towards Bregalad. LOL
Tratiln upon finding out that he has been elminated from the compition will turn to the crow and take a big smile and a big bow. "thank up ladies and gentlemen. I am proof that not elves are expert marksmen!".
With that Tratiln will leave the field of compition but will purposely make a few over extrarated trips and fumbles.
Before leaving the green, Lanny asks some bystanders for the names of the top three finalists in the archery contest, so that he can inquire about them and locate them later.
Bouv wrote:Tratiln upon finding out that he has been elminated from the compition will turn to the crow and take a big smile and a big bow. "thank up ladies and gentlemen. I am proof that not elves are expert marksmen!".
With that Tratiln will leave the field of compition but will purposely make a few over extrarated trips and fumbles.
The crowd applauds all of the contestants, and Tratiln the loudest as he stumbles off the field. "Proof that elves have some sense of humor, too!", shouts one onlooker enthusiastically.
Lanny makes inquiries as to who the remaining three contestants are. The slope-shouldered man is Grundar, a local trapper and mountain man. The girl is Ermina Span, the daughter of a local merchant and trader. The third individual is a relative unknown, a guard who had signed on with the caravan before leaving Darokin. His name is reported to be Sam.
Tratiln feels like he was able to accomplish so much on such a busy day. Though he knew he had no chance, he enjoyed the opportunity to fire arrows in the competition and please the crowd. Ha! Yes, some of us do have a sense of humor. Must come from getting to spend time with my compatriots!
So let's see: Map seller: 105gp, Scroll merchant: 1200gp, Fortune teller: blood ('cause, you know, that won't come back to bit me in the keister!)
Also tk, how much is plate mail costing to get fitted here? I had Tratiln do that before the festival. And did the dwarves have any masterwork swords? I had asked earlier but probably got lost in all the excitment!
Bouv wrote:Tratiln feels like he was able to accomplish so much on such a busy day. Though he knew he had no chance, he enjoyed the opportunity to fire arrows in the competition and please the crowd. Ha! Yes, some of us do have a sense of humor. Must come from getting to spend time with my compatriots!
So let's see: Map seller: 105gp, Scroll merchant: 1200gp, Fortune teller: blood ('cause, you know, that won't come back to bit me in the keister!)
Also tk, how much is plate mail costing to get fitted here? I had Tratiln do that before the festival. And did the dwarves have any masterwork swords? I had asked earlier but probably got lost in all the excitment!
They do have masterwork swords, and plate armor is normal price.
frobozz wrote:Lanny the elf
Even worse, he is bested by Bregalad.
Oops. Looking back over what I wrote I can see how you got the wrong impression. Bregalad hits the bull's-eye twice, Lanny three times. I shall change that to make it clearer.
Ok good. Lanny retracts any and all feelings of animosity towards Bregalad. LOL
Bregalad the elf
Bregalad wipes the sweat from his brow, thankful he made it to the second round. The two bull's-eyes allowed him to keep some of his dignity! "Three bull's-eyes, Lantharios! Nicely done! The next time, you will be a finalist for certain!"
To Tratiln, Bregalad offers up his applause. "Poise, even in defeat, is a fine quality. You are ever the eloquent one, my friend!"
I think Bregalad may have been given an unfair advantage, as he is not yet proficient with bow. He'll view his bull's-eyes as beginner's luck!
Lanny asks about in hopes of getting directions to Myraal's tower. Finally, a young lout tells him, "Why don't you ask him yourself? He's right over there," and points to a portly man with muttonchop whiskers, holding a flagon of ale in one hand and a buxom maid in another. Both appear to be fairly inebriated. "If you're looking to arrange a meeting with him you might want to wait a bit for him to sober up -- like 'til the middle of next week!"
Father Varis
As the group follows along Varis briefs them on what he knows. "We are still questioning the captives. It does not appear they know much, though the one is an initiate in worship of the demon Leptar. Still, they seem to have been kept in the dark as far as Elwyn is concerned." He pauses, and surveys the companions. "The Baron will introduce you to the crowd and publicly thank you for returning Aleena's body. He will also announce a reward -- substantial, at that -- for Bargle's capture. We have spoke and decided not to mention Elwyn. We believe there is a chance the apostate is unaware of what has occured, and to link the two would but cause alarm. I have contacted the temple in Kelven, and they are sending out a scouting expedition to seek this redoubt, and to attempt to ascertain the truth of what is transpiring. I expect to hear from them within the month."
At the Grandstand
The companions are ushered behind the stands and introduced to the Baron Sherlane Halaran. He is a powerful man in his late sixties, with a shock of silver hair and an aquiline nose. He bows deeply and expressed his gratitude for all that the adventurers did before bounding on stage and addressing the crowd.
"My friends and fellow citizens, it is with great joy in my heart that I welcome the annual gnomish caravan on their journey south. Every year the caravan's arrival is a harbinger of spring, of new life, yet this year it comes at a time of death. For those unaware, my niece Aleena Halaran, a priestess of our church and one of the leading lights of this region, was killed recently. Slain in cold blood by the malingering, murderous mage known as Bargle the Infamous! I have consulted with the Duke, and we have agreed that Bargle is now officially a wanted man in the Duchy, with a price of ten thousand gold pieces on his head! Be aware, however, that he is a powerful wizard and should be approached with caution."
He pauses to let this sink in to the assembled crowd. "I would like to take this opportunity to thank those responsible to returning Aleena's body to us for proper burial. Let them join me on stage as I call their names, so that they may be acknowledged as heroes! Bregalad of the Vyalia! Drudsa the Dabbler! Grey Jake and Saul, scouts extraordinaire! Lantharos of the Calarii! Meagnor of the Calarii! Tratiln of the Calarii! Marodin, a cleric of this church! And finally, Thoradin Grymsson, doughty dwarf!" The crowd erupts in thunderous applause.
Afterwards, the companions become aware that the townspeople seem to view them in a new light. Men tip their hats in respect. Women blush upon meeting their gaze. Small children follow in their wake, playing with sticks for swords and each pretending to be their favorite hero. "I'll be Lanny this time, and you be Thoradin, slicing the head of the flaming serpent!"
