The Festival

Macbeth

First Post
On the third day, while not judging, Li would like to meet with whatever bards/wizards/sorcerers/etc. he can find around the duel of illusions, and try to get their help in identifiying exactly what is in the crystal Sketos gave him.

Li won't take part in any of the semi-organized competitions (particularly not the greased pole, to humorous for Li), but he will continue to look for anybody who looks like they cam from (or have visited) Li's homeland.
 

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BSF

Explorer
Li won't be judging during lunch, and after dark. But, if you wait until Day 4, you will be done with judging entirely for the rest of the Festival. After lunch, when they shrink the range down to 4 ranges instead of 8, Li is free to do whatever he wants.
 

BSF

Explorer
Catching up ...
Covering Days 3 - 6 of the Festival.


Brother Oceas spent quite a bit of time speaking with Janek. Overall, the Bard's opinion is that if you want to be legends, whether famous or infamous, you need to find something noteworthy to do. His job is to be sure everyone with potential is aware that they may offend his Lady if they do not pursue their potential Turning your back to her is your decision to make. If you do, he won't see you again unless you are near other potential legends. But, if you do not wish to turn your back to her, you must not squander your opportunities.

Oceas also asked about legendary stories. There wsa quite a bit of information about Greerson's Glory. Janek also mentioned the story of the Elves. I will probably just post that up. There are other stories as well. Janek tells lots of stories, usually accompaning himself with his lute. I will probably use this as an opportunity to tell some stories through Janek (In Seagate, I had imagined Carnath serving this role, though he has very little else in common with Janek.) In the meantime, we will handwave that time as being filled, with information trickling out as I post it. :) The important thing about Janek is that you met him. Any other interaction you have with him will be driven by you guys!

Li spent a few days trying to find somebody that can explain the crystal he received from Sketos. After a couple of days looking around, he finally found a grizzled old wizard with pale eyes and a balding pate. The hair he does have is long, stringy and white. He is clean shaven with jowls droopy with age. He wears white robes with a pale green trim. He has a large silver colored amulet, rings on his fingers and the edge of bracers can been seen on his skinny forearms. He rests himself on a wild oak staff with small crystals inset all along it. In the bald area on top of his head can be seen a dark red mark that reminds you of a claw print. Almost as if he has been branded on the top of his head.

There is no question in Li's mind that he has finally found Norlak the Ancient, Sage of the Tomtil hills. (As Janek would say, Norlak is best known for surviving a confrontation with a Fallen Angel of Fire that had decided to blackmail the city of Enosh Tarn to cede rulership to it. The city refused and the Fallen Angel started killing every third child in retaliation. Norlak, and his companions, heard of the situation and teleported into the city as the Fallen Angel made it's way toward an orphanage. Making their stand in front of the terrified, helpless orphans, they destroyed the Fallen Angel, but not before the Fallen Angel destroyed Norlak's companions and tried to crush the wizard's head in it's vicelike grip. Speaking arcane words of power, Norlak finished off the Fallen Angel and turned to the devastation of the city. Tossing a pouch of coins to the only guardsman that hadn't fled, he left instructions to rebuild the orphanage first and teleported away.) Norlak, watches Li approach, his eyes scanning the potential Samurai. When Li is close enough, Norlak speaks, his voice is a bit reedy with age.

"Ah yes, yes, of course. The young man that has been asking for somebody to tell him about a crystal these last few days. I'm not sure why any of these fine ladies or gentlemen couldn't look at the rock themselves. For some reason, they all seem to think I am an expert. I assure you though, I am not."

Norlak takes out a small pair of crystal spectacles and slides them onto his nose. He then studies Li's face.

"Oh, I see, you are the one called Li, are you not? Very well then, let me see this stone of yours. Yes, yes, there is a small fee." A handful of coins disappears into his robes before he looks at the small crystal.

"Hmm, very interesting. There is definitely an aura about it. It is rather small though. Hmm. Let me see, there is definitely nothing of the Arcane to it. Nor is there any Divine spark within it. That leaves one of the midn disciplines I guess. Now, mind you that I am not an expert on such things, but this little crystal has some sort of touch with either Psychic Disciplines, or with Psionic Disciplines. Of course, there are some that think they are the same thing. They are mistaken! The two disciplines are different and should be respected in their own right. Hmm, now look here, I don't have much experience in this, but I think the crystal has some sort of Psionic trigger. Possibly it's just a command word, but more likely a thought. I say Psionic because the auras of Psychic items tend to be a bit more robust. Not more powerful, mind you, it's just a subtle difference in how the aura looks. Much like the difference between two fine wines, there will be subtle differences you can look for. I think there is something already within this crystal, but I don't know for sure. If you want an expert to look at it, I would suggest a little excursion up into the mountains. Seek out a Thurgon crystal master by the name of Sketos."

Li tells Norlak that Sketos is the one that gave him the crystal. And, while Sketos was honorable and hospitable, he would not explain the crystal to Li. Norlak closes his eyes in deep thought for a few moments. Without opening his eyes, he says.

"Humph, grumpy old Thurgon eh? Well, I have a bit of respect for Sketos and if he gave it to you, there is surely a way that you will be able to use it." Then, opening his eyes, he gestures toward Li. "Have a care young man. There are big events in the world that you can get caught up in. It is best if you do so willingly. I am not for this world much longer, but I am proud of what I have accomplished. If you can get to the end of your life and say the same, I think that is worthwhile. Been nice meeting you."

With that, Norlak shambles off into the crowd.
 

Tormal

First Post
After speaking with Lord Tannerson about Bret, Tormal will politley take leave since it seems there is nothing more he can really help with. He will leave on the note that he is willing to help if they either need or want it. He will then return to the festival and try to find out a bit more about what happened last night. He won't let anyone know that he knows anything but just ask about all the comotion to see how much everyone else knows. If he seems to have little luck with that he will try to dig up any more information about what is happening in the nearby lands. He'll take the time to buy drinks for some people or sit down and play cards in order to spark some conversations. He is mainly looking for anything big, notable, or... legendary. Since there is nothing he wants to do today he will spend a good part of the day doing this, resting and just having fun. The next day he will participate in the combat steeplechase.
 

BSF

Explorer
More catching up ...

Day 7
The Diplomat's Debate began. Even with the spectre of a murder over the Festival (An unusual occurance in Greerson), they refused to postpone the annual celebrations. Tormal found out that the rumors are that he and/or Ayla were responsible for the murder of Breht. He also spoke to a wizard type, named Tanith, that told him about the Ghost Tower and the Soul Gem and offered that if anyone were able to actually recover the Soul Gem, Tanith's order would pay handsomely to study it and find out what it's true properties might be.

Li, Ceru and Oceas all participated in the Diplomat's Debate. Alas, Li did not present his arguements as eloquently as some of the others and he was eliminated in the first round. Oceas did not advance beyond the second round. Ceru continued on in the debates with the group of debaters shrinking. One gentleman stands out as odd, even compared to Ceru. He speaks eloquently and persuassively. The two of them make it to round 4. (Which is being resolved in the Diplomat's Debate thread.

Keldorn finally met the widow and 4 year old son of the man he had slain. She is a fiery personality and quite vocal in her distress. Li managed to calm her down somewhat, but Keldorn's statement that her son was simply a bastard like himself brought about an icy response from her. Gone was the righteous anger, only to be replaced by a true, abiding hatred. In an unexpected move, Li has offered to see that her son is brought up with whatever surrogacy he can provide as a father figure.

Later that evening, everone settled down for the evening.

Day 8
Dawn arrives and it is quickly discovered that there are two more murders. Two sets of canine prints lead to the victims. Each seems to start from nowhere. Each stops at the victim.

Oddly enough, Tormal is exhausted. He had bad nightmares throughout the night and woke up feeling worn out (he was actually down 6 hp as well). He decides to pass on the combat steeplechase and finds Lord Tannerson. Tormal is a little concerned that there were murders and that he was feeling so exhausted at the same time.

Oddly enough, Ayla feels much the same way.

I will post more up later, but I wanted to get a few tidbits of information out there for thought.
 

BSF

Explorer
Continuing

Day 8
The only other notable event of Day 8 is the Steeplechase. Felix decided to bow out and focus on his crafting. Tormal decided to bow out due to his nightmares the previous evening. I need to know if anyone else is competing.

To be on the safe side, Tormal asked Lord Tannerson to put him under guard that night. Tormal doesn't think there is anything wrong with him, but with the nightmares the night before ...

Day 9
This was the day everyone was waiting for! Open Combat Duels. Everyone was having fun with those. Li ended up meeting somebody from his homeland. Wu Cho has a great deal of skill and was mostly testing Li's combat prowess. He did agree to meet with Li later.

Ceru tracked down Janek to ask a few questions. You are all invited to join, if you would like.

Oh, there were no murders when everyone woke in the morning. Of course, last night wasn't a full moon either. Topping off the good news, Tormal didn't have any nightmares.

Coming next: Day 10.
 


BSF

Explorer
Day 10
I believe Keldorn was the only one truly interested in the Boulder Toss. We will resolve the die rolls on Friday night for that.

Announcements and Proclamations
Lord Tannerson is insisting that everyone in his employ is in attendance. (Though, if Keldorn is doing well in the Boulder Toss, he can finish that competition first.) There is a lot of organization to the Announcements and Proclamations. Lord Tannerson and Madame Grulzak seem to be handling the organization. They are also handling may of the Announcements for those people that are reluctant to do it themselves. If there are announcements that anybody would like to make, you will need to speak with Lord Tannerson to get a time slot.

Yeah, I know, you just want to see if there is anything interesting in the announcments. Sure, I will move forward with that. Hell, I will even summarize many of them.

Throughout the day, there will be several announcements of engagements, births, and deaths.

Lord Tannerson speaks briefly about the 3 murders. They have not yet caught the perpetrator(s) and are employing divination to assist with the investigation. Somebody in the crowd has a few questions for him regarding the possibility that Ayla and Tormal have anything to do with it. Lord Tannerson states that divination has shown that Ayla and Tormal did not murder any of the victims.

There is a summary of the battles against the Sahaugin down in Stormhaven. No new information from your standpoint since you have already heard most of it.

There is another mention of the Gnoll warbands far to the SouthWest. They seem bent on carving out a small kingdom of their own and have been brutally destroying all other settlements that get in their way. There is some debate on what kind of thread the Gnolls pose to Greerson and whether Greerson should send any assistance. Unfortunately, there really isn't any formal nation to assist in that area. Greerson will be sending a smaller group of volunteers to see if anything can be done to help the people that live in that area. Once the volunteers arrive, they will send back reports that will allow Greerson to make a better long-term decision.

A mercenary asks if there is anybody looking for a good guard. He is looking at retiring from active mercenary service and wants to heal his soul. He thinks the people in Greerson can help him find his way in life again.

Wu Cho finally stands up.

"Good day to the fine people of Greerson and my gratitude to my kind host, Lord Tannerson. I have been allowed to appeal to you for help, but first I must share a bit of history."

Wu Cho pauses and looks through the crowd, seeing Li, he smiles gently.

"I come from a land far, far away from here. In this land, we have fought a way with the serpent people, the Yuan-Ti, for all of our recorded history. At times we have done well and driven them back for a time. At other times, we have fared poorly and many people were enslaved. At times, this war crushes the spirit of my people. This was the case a thousand years ago. The Yuan-Ti were winning. Many people were enslaved and many more fell to despair. It was at that time that a small band of foreigners came down from the mountains. They were covered in the blood of the Serpent Folk and claimed to have travelled through a magic portal to help us. A year before that, a band of slaves escaped their Yuan-Ti masters and had returned with claims of magical doorways and foreigners that had defeated the Serpents. Those people were considered to be mad, but when this small band appeared, the stories were recalled, and hope was renewed. This band of foreign heroes included a powerful wizard named Salinadar, a terribly ferocious warrior named Ardel and a priest filled with faith and anger named Aaron. I have recently learned that all of these people came from here, this land, this city. Back in the time when it was called Ft. Greerson, these people performed acts of bravery. Then, they came to our land to fulfill a terrible Oath that the one named Aaron had made. An Oath to slay the Serpent God.

They helped teach us new ways to fight the Serpent Folk. The one named Aaron called upon the blessings of Pter the Protector, in my land, we name him Shang Mu, but Aaron taught us that we could defeat the Serpent Folk. The heroism of Ardel is still legendary and when a warrior is particularly strident, we say he has a Cougar's strength. I never understood that until I journeyed here.

The people of Greerson have a brave and noble history. I would like to ask your assistance once again. The Serpent Folk still fight us. We are losing and we sorely need heroes that can help inspire us. We need assistance from those that would willingly give it. I have had little success finding heroes in Stormhaven, but perhaps they do not have as much honor as those that live here. In two years time, I will be returning to my homeland. Hopefully with heroes that can help us. If you are willing to leave your beautiful homes and come help my people, we would be grateful for your assistance. Seek me here, or in Stormhaven if you are willing to help."

There are more announcements and proclamations. If I have time, I may post more later.
 

Macbeth

First Post
BardStephenFox said:
Lord Tannerson states that divination has shown that Ayla and Tormal did not murder any of the victims.
[Emphasis Mine]

Of course Ayla AND Tormal didn't do it. It was just Ayla. ;)


The Proclamations might be a good time to announce our new name.


BardStephenFox said:
Wu Cho finally stands up.

"Good day to the fine people of Greerson and my gratitude to my kind host, Lord Tannerson. I have been allowed to appeal to you for help, but first I must share a bit of history."

Wu Cho pauses and looks through the crowd, seeing Li, he smiles gently.

"I come from a land far, far away from here. In this land, we have fought a way with the serpent people, the Yuan-Ti, for all of our recorded history. At times we have done well and driven them back for a time. At other times, we have fared poorly and many people were enslaved. At times, this war crushes the spirit of my people. This was the case a thousand years ago. The Yuan-Ti were winning. Many people were enslaved and many more fell to despair. It was at that time that a small band of foreigners came down from the mountains. They were covered in the blood of the Serpent Folk and claimed to have travelled through a magic portal to help us. A year before that, a band of slaves escaped their Yuan-Ti masters and had returned with claims of magical doorways and foreigners that had defeated the Serpents. Those people were considered to be mad, but when this small band appeared, the stories were recalled, and hope was renewed. This band of foreign heroes included a powerful wizard named Salinadar, a terribly ferocious warrior named Ardel and a priest filled with faith and anger named Aaron. I have recently learned that all of these people came from here, this land, this city. Back in the time when it was called Ft. Greerson, these people performed acts of bravery. Then, they came to our land to fulfill a terrible Oath that the one named Aaron had made. An Oath to slay the Serpent God.

They helped teach us new ways to fight the Serpent Folk. The one named Aaron called upon the blessings of Pter the Protector, in my land, we name him Shang Mu, but Aaron taught us that we could defeat the Serpent Folk. The heroism of Ardel is still legendary and when a warrior is particularly strident, we say he has a Cougar's strength. I never understood that until I journeyed here.

The people of Greerson have a brave and noble history. I would like to ask your assistance once again. The Serpent Folk still fight us. We are losing and we sorely need heroes that can help inspire us. We need assistance from those that would willingly give it. I have had little success finding heroes in Stormhaven, but perhaps they do not have as much honor as those that live here. In two years time, I will be returning to my homeland. Hopefully with heroes that can help us. If you are willing to leave your beautiful homes and come help my people, we would be grateful for your assistance. Seek me here, or in Stormhaven if you are willing to help."

After hearing this, Li will try to get some time on stage.

When he can finally speak, Li scans the audience for Wu Cho, then begins to speak with a faint smile.

"People of Greerson. I am Li Xian Gao, Honorable Warrior and Samurai. You heard Wu Cho speak of our homeland, our endless war with the Yuan-ti. Now you will hear my story.

I was part of that war. I fought the Yuan-ti, with my friend and fellow warrior by my side. We fought bravely, but the war was not easy. Things looked grim when, in the course of a great battle, we were surrounded by the Yuan-ti. My friend did the only thing a samurai can when faced with defeat: he killed himself, instead of facing the shame of death in battle. I was about to do the same, when the Yuan-ti ranks were broken by reinforcements. I was saved, but my friend was dead.

With his death, I lost my faith in the way of the Samurai, and that was my great mistake. I gave up on the war with the Yuan-ti, and ran away to the shores of Stormhaven. There I met my new friends, the company now known as the Seekers of Legend. They restored my faith in the way of the Samurai. I returned to the honorable way of the samurai.

And now, with my faith restored, I would ask for Lord Tannerson's blessing to, in two years time, lend my support to Wu Cho. I will give him my full support, and I ask for the other Seekers of Legend to join me. If the Seekers of Legend decide not to travel with Wu Cho, I will still provide him as much support as I can while staying with the Seekers."
 

Tormal

First Post
After Tormal has been escorted off the fields he will immediately try to find the lady rouge that he Accidentally kicked in a vital area. He will try to find her himself or have somone try and find her.

If he finds her he will approach her sincerely simply stating that he was sorry. He will offer her a small pouch with some coins (30gp) in it as a sign of his sincerity. If she is not irate about the situation he will try to explain to her what had happened.

"As you no doubt have seen my fighting styles differ from most other that are seen around here. I'm terribly sorry I hit you where I did - I misjudged how far you were from me. In my training I had been taught how to fight effectively without using weapons. The training teaches us where all of the vitals are - or - should be. You would be suprised how many there are which is how I misjudged it. You tried to dodge my attack when I came around the wall and I was caught off guard. Once again I am sorry and I hope you can accept my apologies. Perhaps I can find you some healing? Or a drink and a meal?..."
 

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