Seeing the party come to Hruthmar's defense, the first Dwarf says, "Ain't and wouldn't be good hospitality on our part to mix it up with visitors and guests to the Festival. Be that as it may, still don't change what 'Napper' over there, not to us Dwarves anyway... duty and honor mean something here in the Thromdak, and to House Brashbeard. "
"Come on, Vangmar, time to report..."
(he gives Hruthmar another dirty look here) "... for duty."
Vangmar stops studying his feet, looks at his brother, and follows the Dwarf into the cavern.
Hruthmar looks at Moira and says, "I am grateful for your sympathy, lass..."
He continues, looking at the rest of you, "... but I broke a sacred rule, and my people were put in danger due to my lapse." "I may have been stripped of the right to carry a weapon and my... honor..."(he strokes his beardless chin), "but if my lot is to serve as an example to others here, then so be it."
With that, he stands up, and heads off into the cavern.
"I thank you again, patrons to the Keggeroff. Enjoy yourselves!"
Juniper’s posture relaxes, and her gaze clouds as her eyes dart to the others questioningly. She takes a deep breath and ventures, “Each to their own.”
Then, the moment passes, she quirks an eyebrow toward the entrance and smiles, “Shall we join the fun?”
Rum stared after the unfriendly dwarf for a moment with eyes narrowed, before turning back to Hruthmar with a smile. “I am sure it will all work out in the end. The Cat Lord always presents ways to redeem oneself, I am sure it also so with your god”, he said and waved to the downcast dwarf.
“Yes, I am eager to see what festivities await inside”, he replied to Juniper jovially, following the others into the cave.
Vorexx, who was standing off to the side while the dwarves explained Hruthmar's situation, felt a little less sympathy for the beardless host. After all, the dwarf's shame was his own fault; he let down his clan by shirking his duty, something Vorexx had never done. Regardless, he didn't want to dwell in such thoughts anymore, having left those behind to be replaced by more positive experiences. As he turned toward the cave interior, he walked past the entry hall and was immediately taken aback by the sudden rush of sounds, the sheer amount of festival-goers inside as well as the intricate detail of the dwarven architecture surrounding the main fairgrounds. He wasn't prepared for the sheer size of the cave, its actual dimensions having been obscured by the modest entrance they had just passed through. Before him was an entire city, spreading wide and deep into the mountain in which it was set. As he looked up, he could see along the sides of the cave walls several levels of walkways containing stone arches which led into homes, shops, and halls, all wrapped by borders carved with Dwarven runes and symbols. The cave ceiling reached about 100 feet high, supported by columns of shaped stone and etched with the names of the Dwarf clans that lived here and portraits of their leaders. Down on the floor of the main square was a lively swarm of people of many different races eating, drinking, talking and laughing. There was an arena off to one side, where spectators were watching resident Dwarves compete in various games, all drinking mugs of ale between matches. It was overwhelming to see, hear, and smell (the scents of beer and roasting meats hung in the air), and Vorexx, having never seen this many people gathered in such a large space, could only muster one word as he stood there: “Wow!”
Rum wandered into the cave wide eyed as it opened out into an enormous cavern, lit by giant hanging lanterns and full of colourful stalls of all sizes selling all manners of food, drink and trinkets. His ears twitched as he pointed them different ways to capture more of the sounds of merrymakers and hawkers shouting about their goods. He captured the enticing smell of cooking meats over by the arena and he wandered in that direction, his nose raised slightly as he sniffed following the scent.
"I think some food and drink will be my first stop", he said over his shoulder to the others. He nimbly walked through the crowd until he reached the stall that was spit roasting some large birdlike creatures. He purchased a rather large leg, and wandered over to a stall selling ale and purchased a tankard as the meat cooled slightly.
He took his newly acquired food and drink and found a seat in the stand to watch the arena games, looking about to see if any of the others had followed suit as he bit into the juicy leg.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Imagine young Juniper, child of the hill-forests, nearly every moment of her life having been spent out-of-doors: stepping lightly through swirling snowfall or finding shade under wide leaves to silently hunt small game, or, if inside, visiting with clansfolk in their humble cabins redolent of sliced cucumbers, lavender, rosemary, and lillies. Imagine Juniper, the slight-shouldered elf, her rich, sepia complexion glistening with a healthy glow after climbing the broad path to the Thromdak Mines, leading her pony within, the cool air warmed by lines of amber lanterns aglow in this city unknown to sunlight or rainfall.
She stands beside Vorrex and echoes his awed gasping. “Wow.” Spying a stable near the entrance guarded by serious-looking axemen, almost as broad as she is tall, she pays in silver to board Foxglove for the day, fastens her coin purse around her neck and under her vest, and, espying the gayly dressed crowd, removes the garland magnolia crown she’d fashioned for Foxglove and places it atop her own head. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” she coos, softly. “Don’t look at me like that! See, here’s some sweet grass and an apple for a sweet pony. I won’t be too long.”
Catching up with the others, the young elf takes Jett and Moira by the arms. “Strength in numbers,” she chirps, smiling, and drawns the women, if willing, to try on lichen-woven scarves at the dressmaker’s -- one of which she purchases, in what she thinks of as a distinctly Dwarven black and white angular pattern --- and then samples ground ruby-powder lip-rouge at the apothecary.
“What’s this!,” she whispers in hushed excitement, crouching low to the hewn-stone pathway, where her senses had attuned to a tiny red spore underfoot, and her druidcraft, almost with a mind of its own, takes over and the spore erupts with a cheerful popping sound in dozens of tiny orange mushrooms, to Juniper’s giggled delight.
After dancing through a plaza energized by a hard rock band (a clacking Dwarven drumming circle), Juniper spots Rum in the arena stands and decides to try to impress him by entering an archery contest. Wearing her new scarf -- with unusual bravado, since it clashes badly with her magnolia garland -- she strings her longbow and attempts to win back some of the silver she’d spent boarding Foxglove.
Zendry slowly circles the whole cave, letting the flow of the crowd push him from one thing to another and paying almost as much attention to the people and conversations around him as to the attractions they are all eager to participate in. At one point he stops for a while at an open area in front of a small raised stage and joins in the dancing there, not dancing especially well but enjoying the music and the rhythm.
Eventually he ends up at a large area of tables and benches where a crowd is enjoying the ale, and with a stein of his own that he sips slowly, he mingles with the crowd. Mostly he keeps to the background, listening attentively but not saying much. Occasionally he speaks up to try to draw out more about something a person has said, usually some interesting thing about the festival itself or the person and their history.
Moira wanders the cave in awe. Pulled toward the sound of music she often joins in the dancing pulling whom ever she happens to be standing near toward the frivolity with her. Between dancing she ooh and ahh s over the goods, happily dinning a scarf Juniper hands her but giving it back to the owner with many compliments to make sure they don’t take it as an insult to their work, on display but refrains from buying anything knowing just how fast gold can run out of one is not careful. While she cheers on any in the group taking part in a game of skill or chance she doesn’t join unless it’s dance.
Rum spots Juniper taking part in the archery contest and whoops loudly as her final shot strikes true, before wandering around the stalls looking for any interesting gems from the mines. He was slightly disappointed that he had left his jeweller's kit behind when he came travelling, but he had figured it would just weigh him down. That seemed to be true of coin as well, finding himself rather short in that department.
He ended up joining in with the dancing which was at least free. It wasn't without it's challenges though, as Tabaxi dancing made heavy use of the tail which didn't go down too well with some of the other merry makers. More than once he found himself saying, "Oops, so sorry".
At first trying to have fun and nothing more, Juniper barely qualifies for the second round of the archery contest. Only another bowman’s bad luck — a rotted bowstring snapping at an inopportune moment — keeps her from missing the cutoff for the final round. But once there, all pretense stops, as the graceful young woman takes a deep breath, focuses, and expertly looses a wooden arrow which plunks exactly in the bullseye.
Thrilled and laughing, she jumps up and down, hooting in excitement. Then, trilling quietly, the young elf nods modestly to the other archers she’d competed against. In a moment, every one of them had forgotten the competition and moved on to some other exciting pastime.
Remembering her new friend, whom she thought she had heard in the stands, Juniper shrugs when she sees no sign of the tabaxi, reminded of her mother’s voice telling her, ‘Some people inspire by their mere presence, or even the memory of their presence, and that alone may be enough.’
Postponing thinking how aptly that thought reflected her present family situation, and suddenly massively hungry, Juniper buys a quarter-litre of ale and stewed mushrooms wrapped in unleavened bread and looks for the others.
“You’d have to be dead not to love it here! I mean, even a zombie would find it at least passable!,” she chimes merrily, her mouth half full and her eyes already on small sweet loaves upon a baker’s cart nearby.
“Moira, will you split one of those with me?,” she whispers, while waving to the cook.
“Oh my Gods! Of course!” As she walks away from the dance floor pulling Rum along with her. “Perhaps you could try wrapping your tail around your partner’s waist? It might not be so likely to flick others around you then.” She happily joins in Splitting the sweets.
Zendry realizes after a bit that even taking it slowly the dwarven ale is going to be way too much if he doesn't get something to eat as well. Between his desire to try one of everything, unfamiliarity with what dwarves consider an appropriate portion size, and just enough ale to blunt his judgement a bit, he ends up with a bit too much food. By the time he finds the others his hands are full and one plate is held by a mage hand floating directly above his head, drawing a lot of looks from others for whom it is right at eye level. Sitting down, he offers to share some of the small spiced meat pasties and fruit pies that he has found.
Vorexx wandered around the festival for a while, taking in the sights and sounds, and observing all the different people moving about at different paces. He was most interested in the smith’s stalls, having seen many pictures of the high-quality craftsmanship, but never in person. An exquisite set of woodcarving tools caught his eye, the engraved runes and inset stones creating unique designs for such simple tools. He purchased the set, it was quite expensive for such tools, but well worth the price as a long-lasting reminder of this wonderful event. After rolling it up in its case and stowing it in his pack, the dragonborn followed the intoxicating smells of roasted meats to an open firepit where vendors were cooking small creatures on sticks. He purchased six different varieties, feeling intense hunger after his long trip, then headed over to the ale vendors for two large mugs of different ales. With his hands full, he tracked down his new companions and began devouring his spread of delightful food in their company. He offers one of the meat-creature-sticks to Moira, who had just come back with a sticky dessert bun of some kind. His mouth full, Vorexx said, “Thuh food ish amazhing!”
OOC: I absolutely love what and how everyone is posting. I want to let everyone know that I will be packing and moving so I will be busy. That, and the craziness that is the holidays will see me posting less frequently. I do promise to get things back on track soon!
Seeing the party come to Hruthmar's defense, the first Dwarf
says, "Ain't and wouldn't be good hospitality on our part to
mix it up with visitors and guests to the Festival. Be that as it
may, still don't change what 'Napper' over there, not to us
Dwarves anyway... duty and honor mean something here
in the Thromdak, and to House Brashbeard. "
"Come on, Vangmar, time to report..."
(he gives Hruthmar another dirty look here) "... for duty."
Vangmar stops studying his feet, looks at his brother,
and follows the Dwarf into the cavern.
Hruthmar looks at Moira and says, "I am grateful for your
sympathy, lass..."
He continues, looking at the rest of you, "... but I broke a
sacred rule, and my people were put in danger due to my lapse."
"I may have been stripped of the right to carry a weapon and
my... honor..." (he strokes his beardless chin), "but if my lot
is to serve as an example to others here, then so be it."
With that, he stands up, and heads off into the cavern.
"I thank you again, patrons to the Keggeroff. Enjoy yourselves!"
Juniper’s posture relaxes, and her gaze clouds as her eyes dart to the others questioningly. She takes a deep breath and ventures, “Each to their own.”
Then, the moment passes, she quirks an eyebrow toward the entrance and smiles, “Shall we join the fun?”
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Zendry nods to Juniper, saying "Yes, let's go," and following her into the cave.
Rum stared after the unfriendly dwarf for a moment with eyes narrowed, before turning back to Hruthmar with a smile. “I am sure it will all work out in the end. The Cat Lord always presents ways to redeem oneself, I am sure it also so with your god”, he said and waved to the downcast dwarf.
“Yes, I am eager to see what festivities await inside”, he replied to Juniper jovially, following the others into the cave.
….
Vorexx, who was standing off to the side while the dwarves explained Hruthmar's situation, felt a little less sympathy for the beardless host. After all, the dwarf's shame was his own fault; he let down his clan by shirking his duty, something Vorexx had never done. Regardless, he didn't want to dwell in such thoughts anymore, having left those behind to be replaced by more positive experiences. As he turned toward the cave interior, he walked past the entry hall and was immediately taken aback by the sudden rush of sounds, the sheer amount of festival-goers inside as well as the intricate detail of the dwarven architecture surrounding the main fairgrounds. He wasn't prepared for the sheer size of the cave, its actual dimensions having been obscured by the modest entrance they had just passed through. Before him was an entire city, spreading wide and deep into the mountain in which it was set. As he looked up, he could see along the sides of the cave walls several levels of walkways containing stone arches which led into homes, shops, and halls, all wrapped by borders carved with Dwarven runes and symbols. The cave ceiling reached about 100 feet high, supported by columns of shaped stone and etched with the names of the Dwarf clans that lived here and portraits of their leaders. Down on the floor of the main square was a lively swarm of people of many different races eating, drinking, talking and laughing. There was an arena off to one side, where spectators were watching resident Dwarves compete in various games, all drinking mugs of ale between matches. It was overwhelming to see, hear, and smell (the scents of beer and roasting meats hung in the air), and Vorexx, having never seen this many people gathered in such a large space, could only muster one word as he stood there: “Wow!”
Jett watches as the two dwarves walk past her into the cavern while glaring into the back of their heads. She nods and smiles as Hruthmar passes her.
As the last of her new party passes, she turns and follows them in.
”Yes” she says excitedly. ”Let’s join in”.
Highest Mega Yahtzee score: 38. Lowest: 14
Moira watches as the humbled dwarf walks off. Then joins the others a bit more quite than before.
…
OOC: Pretty much every kind of diversion can be found here in addition to sampling
the ale. Please narrate what each of you are doing.
Rum wandered into the cave wide eyed as it opened out into an enormous cavern, lit by giant hanging lanterns and full of colourful stalls of all sizes selling all manners of food, drink and trinkets. His ears twitched as he pointed them different ways to capture more of the sounds of merrymakers and hawkers shouting about their goods. He captured the enticing smell of cooking meats over by the arena and he wandered in that direction, his nose raised slightly as he sniffed following the scent.
"I think some food and drink will be my first stop", he said over his shoulder to the others. He nimbly walked through the crowd until he reached the stall that was spit roasting some large birdlike creatures. He purchased a rather large leg, and wandered over to a stall selling ale and purchased a tankard as the meat cooled slightly.
He took his newly acquired food and drink and found a seat in the stand to watch the arena games, looking about to see if any of the others had followed suit as he bit into the juicy leg.
(OOC: Let me know how much to mark off)
Imagine young Juniper, child of the hill-forests, nearly every moment of her life having been spent out-of-doors: stepping lightly through swirling snowfall or finding shade under wide leaves to silently hunt small game, or, if inside, visiting with clansfolk in their humble cabins redolent of sliced cucumbers, lavender, rosemary, and lillies. Imagine Juniper, the slight-shouldered elf, her rich, sepia complexion glistening with a healthy glow after climbing the broad path to the Thromdak Mines, leading her pony within, the cool air warmed by lines of amber lanterns aglow in this city unknown to sunlight or rainfall.
She stands beside Vorrex and echoes his awed gasping. “Wow.” Spying a stable near the entrance guarded by serious-looking axemen, almost as broad as she is tall, she pays in silver to board Foxglove for the day, fastens her coin purse around her neck and under her vest, and, espying the gayly dressed crowd, removes the garland magnolia crown she’d fashioned for Foxglove and places it atop her own head. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” she coos, softly. “Don’t look at me like that! See, here’s some sweet grass and an apple for a sweet pony. I won’t be too long.”
Catching up with the others, the young elf takes Jett and Moira by the arms. “Strength in numbers,” she chirps, smiling, and drawns the women, if willing, to try on lichen-woven scarves at the dressmaker’s -- one of which she purchases, in what she thinks of as a distinctly Dwarven black and white angular pattern --- and then samples ground ruby-powder lip-rouge at the apothecary.
“What’s this!,” she whispers in hushed excitement, crouching low to the hewn-stone pathway, where her senses had attuned to a tiny red spore underfoot, and her druidcraft, almost with a mind of its own, takes over and the spore erupts with a cheerful popping sound in dozens of tiny orange mushrooms, to Juniper’s giggled delight.
After dancing through a plaza energized by a hard rock band (a clacking Dwarven drumming circle), Juniper spots Rum in the arena stands and decides to try to impress him by entering an archery contest. Wearing her new scarf -- with unusual bravado, since it clashes badly with her magnolia garland -- she strings her longbow and attempts to win back some of the silver she’d spent boarding Foxglove.
Longbow shots: 1822
23
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
Zendry slowly circles the whole cave, letting the flow of the crowd push him from one thing to another and paying almost as much attention to the people and conversations around him as to the attractions they are all eager to participate in. At one point he stops for a while at an open area in front of a small raised stage and joins in the dancing there, not dancing especially well but enjoying the music and the rhythm.
Eventually he ends up at a large area of tables and benches where a crowd is enjoying the ale, and with a stein of his own that he sips slowly, he mingles with the crowd. Mostly he keeps to the background, listening attentively but not saying much. Occasionally he speaks up to try to draw out more about something a person has said, usually some interesting thing about the festival itself or the person and their history.
Moira wanders the cave in awe. Pulled toward the sound of music she often joins in the dancing pulling whom ever she happens to be standing near toward the frivolity with her. Between dancing she ooh and ahh s over the goods, happily dinning a scarf Juniper hands her but giving it back to the owner with many compliments to make sure they don’t take it as an insult to their work, on display but refrains from buying anything knowing just how fast gold can run out of one is not careful. While she cheers on any in the group taking part in a game of skill or chance she doesn’t join unless it’s dance.
I’m sorry but this is just not for me.
You guys have super imaginations and are wonderful descriptive.
TTFN
Highest Mega Yahtzee score: 38. Lowest: 14
Rum spots Juniper taking part in the archery contest and whoops loudly as her final shot strikes true, before wandering around the stalls looking for any interesting gems from the mines. He was slightly disappointed that he had left his jeweller's kit behind when he came travelling, but he had figured it would just weigh him down. That seemed to be true of coin as well, finding himself rather short in that department.
He ended up joining in with the dancing which was at least free. It wasn't without it's challenges though, as Tabaxi dancing made heavy use of the tail which didn't go down too well with some of the other merry makers. More than once he found himself saying, "Oops, so sorry".
...
At first trying to have fun and nothing more, Juniper barely qualifies for the second round of the archery contest. Only another bowman’s bad luck — a rotted bowstring snapping at an inopportune moment — keeps her from missing the cutoff for the final round. But once there, all pretense stops, as the graceful young woman takes a deep breath, focuses, and expertly looses a wooden arrow which plunks exactly in the bullseye.
Thrilled and laughing, she jumps up and down, hooting in excitement. Then, trilling quietly, the young elf nods modestly to the other archers she’d competed against. In a moment, every one of them had forgotten the competition and moved on to some other exciting pastime.
Remembering her new friend, whom she thought she had heard in the stands, Juniper shrugs when she sees no sign of the tabaxi, reminded of her mother’s voice telling her, ‘Some people inspire by their mere presence, or even the memory of their presence, and that alone may be enough.’
Postponing thinking how aptly that thought reflected her present family situation, and suddenly massively hungry, Juniper buys a quarter-litre of ale and stewed mushrooms wrapped in unleavened bread and looks for the others.
“You’d have to be dead not to love it here! I mean, even a zombie would find it at least passable!,” she chimes merrily, her mouth half full and her eyes already on small sweet loaves upon a baker’s cart nearby.
“Moira, will you split one of those with me?,” she whispers, while waving to the cook.
…
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Eclipse Faraway in Gallows Dancer
“Oh my Gods! Of course!” As she walks away from the dance floor pulling Rum along with her. “Perhaps you could try wrapping your tail around your partner’s waist? It might not be so likely to flick others around you then.” She happily joins in Splitting the sweets.
…
Zendry realizes after a bit that even taking it slowly the dwarven ale is going to be way too much if he doesn't get something to eat as well. Between his desire to try one of everything, unfamiliarity with what dwarves consider an appropriate portion size, and just enough ale to blunt his judgement a bit, he ends up with a bit too much food. By the time he finds the others his hands are full and one plate is held by a mage hand floating directly above his head, drawing a lot of looks from others for whom it is right at eye level. Sitting down, he offers to share some of the small spiced meat pasties and fruit pies that he has found.
...
Vorexx wandered around the festival for a while, taking in the sights and sounds, and observing all the different people moving about at different paces. He was most interested in the smith’s stalls, having seen many pictures of the high-quality craftsmanship, but never in person. An exquisite set of woodcarving tools caught his eye, the engraved runes and inset stones creating unique designs for such simple tools. He purchased the set, it was quite expensive for such tools, but well worth the price as a long-lasting reminder of this wonderful event. After rolling it up in its case and stowing it in his pack, the dragonborn followed the intoxicating smells of roasted meats to an open firepit where vendors were cooking small creatures on sticks. He purchased six different varieties, feeling intense hunger after his long trip, then headed over to the ale vendors for two large mugs of different ales. With his hands full, he tracked down his new companions and began devouring his spread of delightful food in their company. He offers one of the meat-creature-sticks to Moira, who had just come back with a sticky dessert bun of some kind. His mouth full, Vorexx said, “Thuh food ish amazhing!”
OOC: I absolutely love what and how everyone is posting. I want to let everyone know that I will be packing and moving so I will be busy. That, and the craziness that is the holidays will see me posting less frequently. I do promise to get things back on track soon!
OOC: Let's get back to it! I hope everyone had a great holiday!
Everyone please give me a Insight check.