[Rise of the Runelords AE] The Swallowtail Festival

gatherer818

gatherer818

One Thousand Club
Three hours until noon


Sandpoint has pulled out all the stops. Free food and drink and games all around, the new Cathedral towering over the town, and the streets full of merrymaking. The Swallowtail Festival is already in full swing and doesn't even officially open for another hour! Soon, the opening speeches will be given, and at noon, the dedication to Desna from which the festival derives its name. Later in the day, at the festival's end, the Cathedral will be dedicated and consecrated, and Sandpoint will once more have a temple to the divines.


For those of you who live here, today marks the end of the Late Unpleasantness. Memories of murders and rampaging fire, screams, pain, and loss are to be buried with the old chapel and left behind. Only a few scorch marks and defaced wood carvings are left to remind you of the trouble Sandpoint saw in recent years, and the Cathedral built up from the ruins of the chapel is here to dwarf those reminders with a look toward the future.


For those visiting, the festival is a time when the normally-welcoming town stretches its generosity and acceptance to its limit. The Cathedral may be the grandest structure in the whole region, and the inns and taverns have turned out their best food for everyone to try. The speeches will include some very important nobles, too. There is something for everyone in Sandpoint today...

I'll populate bits and pieces of what all is going on in Sandpoint, but basically, this is your chance to get to explore the city freely and get to know it. I'll point out key events and move the time along while you get used to the posting format and get a feel for Sandpoint. Just let me know what you're doing - playing in games, sampling the food, chatting up the priests or the butchers or the innkeepers or whomever, or whatever else - and I'll go into more detail that direction.
 
Having arrived just as the festivities start, Auria takes her time to look around Sandpoint. While observing she follows her nose to all sorts of foods. After eating a bit, she notices a priest near her. She straightens up and approaches him while looking over her shoulder to see if Maedre is still following her before she begins the conversation.
 
Maedre noticed Auria stuffing her face once they arrived and told her that he would catch back up with her later, though he isn't sure if she heard him or not.. It has been five years since he's seen his father and would like to pay him a visit.
 
Auria


The food is amazing, and each has a little scrap of paper or a hawker near it announcing who made it and where you can buy more. A lot of the best seems to come from either the Rusty Dragon or the White Deer, though other names are heard and seen in between.


The acolyte turns and notices Auria, and goes pale. He can't be older than 17 at best - rather young even for an acolyte. He stammers out, "It-it can't be. Nu... no, no, I'm so sorry." His complexion quickly shades from white to red as he realizes his mistake. "I thought you were someone else, you look so like her... My apologies. I'm Acolyte Gil. May I ask who you are?"


Maedre


Maedre hits the farmer's stall area, despite it not being open today, he knows that's where they're staging the food from - and where his father, Kaido, is probably selling some marked-up wares to people who are missing a key ingredient at the last minute. It takes him two looks around the area before he finds Kaido - he overlooked him the first time because there were children playing at his stall. Sidestepping the girl and boy who are busy "swordfighting" with sanded sticks, he manages to get only a few feet away before Kaido finally recognizes him - Maedre's changed quite a bit in his time away. "My son! Haha!" Kaido calls, and embraces Maedre swiftly. After a long hug, he steps back and mutters sheepishly, "I guess I should say 'my oldest son', now..." and glances toward the children. The boy, Maedre could understand - he looks to be about five. But the girl is at least nine, probably ten or eleven - Maedre's only been away for five years!
 
Maedre joins Kaido in a long hug.


"Hey dad it's good to see you again! So much has changed in this place since we left for Magnimar."


He lets go of his father.


"What all has happened since I've been away? This is a new addition."


He looks at the kids


"Who are they?"


Maedre looks confused as he waits for an explanation.
 
Maedre


Kaido laughs a bit. "My boy, meet Nickie and Bradley. Since you done gone and left me all alone," he says, throwing his best sad-old-man look Maedre's way, "and I heard about how many children around here didn't have their gods-given parents anymore thanks to all the unpleasantness of late, I agreed to take a couple of them in as my own. I was gonna just get the two oldest boys that needed a home - the least work for me raisin' 'em and already old enough to work, too - but this one here - " he points to the girl, "heard me sayin' so and threw a right fit. 'Oh, only boys can work on a farm? Only boys can make a deal? I can haggle with the best of them, old man!' " Nickie has the good grace to blush furiously at this point in the story. "So I told her if she was willing to work and not go on all day about breakin' a nail, she was welcome in my family. Then she got all quiet and said she wasn't expectin' me to say ok, because she had another kid she didn't want to leave, and he wasn't old enough to work. So she looks over at that one there and I said, 'Well, gods above girl, my boy was workin' when he was half that one's age. I'm sure he can carry seeds and water plants and such.' And so here they are. Feisty little brats, too." The affection ruins the attempt at sounding annoyed. "I'll be lucky if I manage to keep one of them on the farm, they both seem sure to follow in your footsteps and go off learnin' to fight monsters and such."
 
Joanna was feeling a bit out of place. She had been to Sandpoint a couple of times already for different reasons, but always as an apprentice, or under the watch of higher members of the church. This was her first travel after having been fully ordained, an she already felt like she stood out in the crowd and the rest of the comitee from the church.


And besides, the town seemed so...crowded. Bit of an understatement in a festival such a this, that had brought the attentions of many people from abroad; but for her, Sandpoint had always been a curiosity, way bigger than the little elven village she had been born in, But not so overwhelming as her idea of Magnimar, or even Kaer Maga.


She stood on a side of the road, soothing herself by admiring the new cathedral.
 
Maedre smiles at the kids.


"Look at dad the big ol' soft heart. How long have they been here? And are they good workers like the girl said? Hard to believe a pair so small can help out."


He watches the kids sword fight with their sticks for a moment while he waits for a response from his father. Before he responds Maedre also says "It's kind of you to give them a break for the festival."
 
Joanna


While Joanna was already familiar with the Sandpoint Fire, of course, her view point offered a stark reminder. Aside from the gleaming new cathedral, all the buildings near it but one were also very recently built, no more than five years old. The only one that's older than that shows severe scorch marks and black smoke trails still on the walls and ceiling - had it not been entirely stone, it might have gone up, too. Radiating out from the Cathedral, the buildings follow a similar pattern - they are either new or burnt, though the further from the Cathedral you get, the less likely they are to be new, and the less the fire damaged the ones that survived. The fire's origin couldn't be made more plain if you put up a sign.


Distracting from that morbid train of thought, a pair of acolytes hurry from the cathedral past Joanna towards the town. Joanna recognizes the older one - Moloch, possibly the oldest acolyte here, in his late 30's and the only acolyte older than Father Zantus - from her previous visits. But it's the younger one - still a boy, easily, with sandy brown hair - that notices her first. Between her array of weaponry and her scaled armor, he mistakes her for a mercenary at first, and starts to veer to the far side of the road - but then notices her gaze towards the cathedral, and finally the symbol of Shelyn prominently displayed, and he realizes... "Moloch, is that.. is she... a paladin?" The boy looks dumbstruck, just standing there pointing at Joanna without thought to the lack of manners he's displaying.


Maedre


Kaido laughs, "I said the same thing about you, repeatedly. Bradley's small, but his heart is in it. We make a game, like you and I did, and they'll play until the work's all done. And they're helping out some today, but for the most part... well, I wasn't planning to work today, besides selling a few things to the cooks at the last minute here." He pats a pouch at his side that jingles with tightly packed coins. "Someone always forgets something, and then they're willing pay great prices for it so they can get their food out in time for the Festival. Come along, it's nearly time for the opening speeches. You too, brats." The boy chases after Kaido with enthusium, but the girl, Nickie, is watching Maedre as they walk. Apparently she's thinking about that comment about becoming an adventurer...


~Maedre complete until opening speeches~

I just want to give everyone a chance to make a few posts and connect to some part of the town before the festival officially starts, and then you'll each get another chance at each phase of the day. I hope to introduce at least a few of the NPCs and important locations BEFORE they become important, but don't want any one person to dominate the thread, so after a few posts you'll be too far ahead of someone else to advance for a bit.
 
Auria looks at Gil with sad eyes, semi confident she knows who the acolyte mistook her for. Rumors are never good to rely on, though, so she moves on without asking who she looks like. "It's nice to meet you. My name is Auria. I am an oracle from Magnimar." She hesitates for a moment, then adds, "Apart from seeing the Cathedral, I'm here to learn more about the deities it is dedicated to. Would you be willing to help me with my research Gil?"
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What a great day it was. Food, drinks, and a crowd just large enough to blend into - everything a man like Cyril needed to be content. It certainly helped that travelers generally look like such, meaning his own appearance - with worn out and shoddily patched-up clothing, several trinkets sewn into his cloak and hair slightly overdue for a cut and a wash - wasn't drawing much attention from the residents, a comfort usually reserved for proper cities.


The man was, naturally, fully intending to capitalize on this state of affairs. He didn't exactly have anything specific in mind when it came to the festivities - he was more than happy to just walk around and give the various dishes a taste for the time being.
 
Auria


Gil blushes a bit at being asked to spend time with the beautiful aasimar. "I-I-I, uh, of course, Lady Auria. I'd be honored. After the festival, of course, all the acolytes have duties today... and it's nearly time for the Mayor to speak. Would, um, would you like to accompany me to hear the keynote speakers?" Assuming Auria consents, he leads her to the front steps of the Cathedral, where the crowd is packed around a stage set up there. Whispers about the topics - besides the obvious - fly through the crowd, and include a rumor about an important visitor from Magnimar. Gil looks at Auria one more time, this time slightly afraid he's wasting her time, then with a sigh of resignation he draws a blank vellum parchment and quill pen from his pack. He finds a stall to use, heads the scroll in Taldan, "Swallowtail Festival 4707 A.R.", and prepares to transcribe the speeches.


Cyril


Moving with the crowd and thus unnoticed, one with the herd, Cyril manages to sample quite a bit of the cuisine while waiting for the real fun to get started. In particular, while a few other inns and taverns seemed the best all around, the seafood dishes were by far the best when their tag bore the name of the Hagfish Tavern. A few rumors going around mentioned a bet for a large sum of gold for just drinking some particularly nasty water there. Apparently the festival is expected to bring contenders for the bet. As the crowd closes in around the new cathedral, an important-looking woman assumes the stage. Cyril, finding a spot off to the side a bit where he's not crowded in, assumes that the woman there would be the one with the authority to throw him out of town. A whisper before the crowd falls nearly silent identifies the woman as Mayor Deverin.


~Auria and Cyril ready~
 
Last edited by a moderator:
As the Mayor takes the stage Sarzain exits one of the inns, finishing off a skewer of meat that he couldn't quite identify the beast it was taken from. He knew he'd be staying at this inn for a time, as he was particular to the spices it used in the food. When he saw the crowd he happily joined it, enjoying his first day of peace in a long while. In truth, he was happy because he knew that there would be no pursuit for some days, time enough for him to seek out potential allies among the townsfolk or at least prepare an ambush. He had already asked around and he was fairly certain he was the only Sylph in town, but inquiries on others who carried the essence of the Outer Planes in their blood had given vague results at best.


He stood tall and slim, his pale skin and solid blue eyes giving the faintest of hints about his nature. His dark blue robes hid most of his skin, but due to the occasion his hood was down, revealing a lattice of constantly changing pale blue patterns on his skin. His pack was in the room he had chosen at the inn and his belt pouches full of miscellaneous items.


~GM Note: Sarzain ready~
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Joanna can't help blurting a small giggle at the boy's effrontery. "Yes, I suppose I am." She gives the kid a gentle smile as she approaches the pair. "It is good to see you again Moloch, I suppose the festivities have been keeping the clergy busy lately?" She gives a glance again at the building. "So far it seems to me to be of an even greater beauty than the last one..."
 
Joanna


The boy quickly realizes he's being rude and looks at his feet as Moloch laughs at him. "Congratulations, girl, I know you worked for it." He looks back at the cathedral. "Yeah, the old chapel was a little thing, not tiny, but little. This is a mighty grand cathedral. I can't wait for the dedication tonight. You might not recognize him, since he grows like a weed, but this brat is Balthazar."


The boy looks back up at the sound of his name, and Joanna can finally recognize him. He was tiny when she last saw him, maybe 7 or 8 - now he appears to be around 12 - and small for his age. He came here with Moloch after his family died, and joined the church shortly after Moloch did - a case of hero-worship gone right. "Oh, have we met? Now I feel twice as dumb. Hi again, I guess."


Moloch rolls his eye at the boy, and turns back to Joanna. "I've got a few last errands to run, so I'll probably miss the opening speeches, but I'm sure they'll be boring anyway. If you want to catch them, head to the cathedral quick, it's almost time. You can see from here they're set up around the front steps. I'll catch up with you today after I get my work done. I'm sure Father Zantus will be glad to see you!" He waves and goes on about his way, Balthazar trailing behind him like a puppy.
 
Joanna gives a reassuring smile "Don't worry Balthazar, to be fair, I was having my own troubles at that time" And was a little too self-obsessed about them to notice much around me, i suppose. "..and some things just passed me by. It's really surprising how tall are you now. If it weren't for Brother Moloch, i wouldn't have made the connection".


She turns up back to Moloch, waving back as they go on their way "Sooo, Father Zanthus, eh? Yes, that won't be embarrasing at all...And i should really stop talking to myself out loud someday..." She mutters, walking towards the front of the Cathedral.
 
Two hours before noon


Mayor Deverin takes the stage, and is clearly excited to have the festival underway. Her friendly attitude charms the crowd as she thanks the visitors for coming - and then points out a local man in the crowd and thanks him for coming too, inciting a ripple of laughter through the locals in the crowd. Apparently the tanner is a workaholic and she was surprised he managed to get out of the shop, even for the festival. She keeps it short and light, only noting once that the cathedral was her idea, and daintily skirts around actually mentioning the unpleasantness that led to its necessity.


The next speaker is introduced by the mayor as Sheriff Belor Hemlock, who replaces her on the stage. He chills the crowd's mood once more, mostly by simply being in a permanent bad mood himself, but also with reminders to be careful of the bonfire this evening and with his request for a moment of silence to remember those who were lost to the fire five years ago. Auria notices Gil throw one more look her way after he finishes praying during the silence. He introduces the next speaker as local nobleman Lonjiku Kaijitsu.


Sheriff Hemlock's face is puzzled and annoyed when the man takes the stage, and it's quickly revealed why. The third speaker introduces himself as Cyrdak Drokkuss, explaining that Lonjiku is too ill to attend. The attitude of the crowd improves a bit, as everyone who knows the man isn't surprised - he's never cared for frivolity and festivals. Master Drokkuss is a showman through-and-through, and quickly gets the crowd whipped up with a recap (that isn't completely irreverent) of the long process by which the town built (and was able to afford to build) the new cathedral, and tosses in a bit at the end inviting everyone to come by the theater tomorrow evening to see "The Harpy's Curse" - and throws the crowd for a loop when he reveals the lead role, Avisera the harpy queen, will be played by the famous Allishanda of Magnimar.


No one is sure what to expect when Father Zantus next ascends the stage, but he keeps this speech even shorter than the mayor's, simply thanking everyone for coming and then officially declaring the Swallowtail Festival underway. His eyes sweep the crowd as he speaks, and both Auria and Joanna are certain they met his eye at least once during his short time on stage.

That may be the worst paraphrasing job I've ever done, including in fourth grade writing classes when I thought paraphrasing meant picking synonyms for a few connecting words and otherwise just copying everything.


You gained the names of a few NPCs and things, and now have a chance to wander once more. I will try to keep it a bit shorter and more focused so we get through the day in a reasonable number of posts. If you're going out exploring the festival, just name a general thing you're doing or place you're looking for or NPC you want to meet, and I'll post once to give you something to respond to. Will try to finish each person's up in just three posts (you - me - you) and have everyone back together for the next event at noon.


If you're happy skipping this get-to-know-the-town phase, you can post that you mill about the square in front of the cathedral, and I'll skip you. Do recall, though, that the basic point of the first act is to make Sandpoint an important location for you - it should feel real to you by the time we're done, you should know some of its NPCs and maybe some of its layout and have favorite places and people in the town, because you'll spend quite a bit of time here as the Adventure Path unfolds.
 
Sarzain moves slowly but surely aiming to speak with Mayor Deverin, as he assumes that she would have information about long term residence in the town.
 
Sarzain


The mayor is jovial and friendly but noncommittal, although she mentions that there are quite a few empty houses and a few empty businesses that could be bought or rented. She seems to be too busy to give Sarzain's questions the time they need today, and asks him to return later in the week.

I was going to wait and answer a few posts at once, but it got quiet around here
 
Maedre looks to his father after the speeches are done and says "I have to go for a bit dad but I'll be back. I was hired to be a body guard for someone here and I need to make sure she is alright."


He looks at the kids and says with a smile "You two keep the old man here out of trouble." and winks at his father afterwards.
 
After the speeches are over, Auria waits for Gil to pack up his supplies. She motions for Gil to follow her, then she makes her way over to Father Zantus.
 
Cyril is simultaneously put at ease by the mayor's friendly attitude, and on edge by the sheriff's... much less of such. He doubts the town has any laws on his peculiar talents - but those were always a secondary issue to assumptions regarding his condition. Not that he blamed people, of course. He'd be wary too.


Well, enough thinking about unpleasant stuff. For now he may as well enjoy himself and check out the town beyond the crowded area in search for anything interesting. It's not very likely it has a library or equivalent, but every place has a trinket shop.


And maybe he should try his luck at that bet people mentioned. Sure, it's disgusting, but...
 
Maedre and Auria


Maedre meets up with Auria as she picks her way through the crowd, Gil following along like a dog on a leash. Father Zantus greets Gil first and takes his record to look over, then turns to Auria and Maedre. "Greetings, visitors. How can I help you?" His eyes never leave Auria for long, not that anyone's has since she's been here.


Cyril


On Cyril's way towards the Hagfish, he passes exactly what he didn't expect to. Outside one establishment is a sign showing a wide-eyed goblin reading a book as tall as he is. A closer inspection reveals that the book is upside-down, and the establishment's name is the Curious Goblin. A book store rather than a library, there are a small collection of people outside who quickly retreated from the busy square, preferring their own company. Two of them, both old men, argue the relative effectiveness of the light spell against the dancing lights spell. It seems the only thing they agree on is that while a wizard may do well to write them both into a spellbook, less book-inclined spellcasters should only learn one. Their two companions nod or comment appropriately, with the familiarity of having heard this argument several times before. One is a 30-something woman with an aura of confidence about her, the other a third old man who seems frustrated the conversation isn't one he can participate more actively in.
 
Now that's a rather pleasant surprise. Though Cyril was no scholar, or even a wizard, he always did enjoy reading - and even the occasional argument about magic, on the few opportunities he had for those. As such, he can't very well pass up on this one, blending in be damned. He takes a moment to make his worn clothing look slightly less... vagabond-style, and approaches.


"Didn't know Sandpoint had a... magical community, as it were." He doesn't sound that surprised, though. It's hard to find even a village without at least one practitioner of the arcane, let alone a town like this during a festival. "And, oh. Almost forgot. My name's Cyril."


Gotta have manners, right.
 
Cyril


The two who aren't involved in the argument welcome Cyril first, introducing themselves as Brodert Quink, scholar of Varisian history and engineering, and Sabyl Sorn, priestess of Irori. They introduce their friends as Chask Haladan, owner of the Curious Goblin and "fool pretender to magical power stolen with a gods-forsaken song", and Ilsoari Gandethus, "senile old bookworm who's forgotten he's not an adventurer anymore." They make it clear those descriptions were each coined by the other, and the conversation easily swells to include Cyril. While neither Brodert nor Sabyl is a spellcaster, they both have an understanding of magic, and the old bard and wizard are reasonably accomplished arcanists. In the course of the next hour or two, Cyril receives an invitation to visit the Goblin, Brodert's shack, or Ilsoari's school, where Ilsoari keeps a collection of trinkets and trophies from his adventuring days. Sabyl is also pressured into letting him see her personal library by her more open-minded friends.


Finally, someone realizes it's nearly time for the next event, and the four walk back to the event square together, extending an invitation to Cyril to walk with them if he likes.


(Sabyl only opens her library to fellow worshipers of Irori or those whom she is sure have good intentions. Cyril, or someone speaking on his behalf, gets a +4 to the Diplomacy check to convince her of his good intent owing to her friends' insistence, and can reroll one Diplomacy check that would worsen her attitude since she has a positive first impression.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 8 (members: 0, guests: 8)

Similar threads

Sora No Kami
A vicious dance with death (RP 1x1 based on the song "My R") TW: Self-loathing, Suicune
Replies
1
Views
103
Sora No Kami
Sora No Kami
Back
Top