Tales of Faerun

[AurianaValoria1]

"T'would be a nice feather in our cap," Rhaine said as she stood, glancing around. Surely there was more information on this tournament somewhere. She stepped over unconscious forms and pushed past drunken louts as she made her way towards a flier that had been pinned to a wall by a dagger. Removing the knife and the parchment, she looked closer at it; indeed, it was an announcement for the joust.

 

Returning to the table, she sat down again and remarked, "Well. Seems this thing is being sponsored by the Church of Lathander as a fundraiser for a new orphanage. They're offering a 'valuable and precious holy artifact' as a reward."

 

"And I wonder what that is," Conall added, leaning over to examine the parchment himself.

 

The Doomguide shrugged, "Could be anything. But knowing the Lathanderites, it might be advantageous to us to have whatever it is they're offering. Regardless, we're going to need new equipment, especially shields and helms."

[mythicdawnmaster]

Xallistine listened with a brow raised as the Grey brothers attempted to explain the ins and outs of jousting through drunken slurs and difficult descriptions... 'Lil fist thingies' was by no means the most helpful piece of information Xallistine had ever heard, and once they had both slumped to the floor to rest, he was dissatisfied by knowing only that there was a fence, horses, and fist thingies.

 

It was the joined, and very precise effort of both Rhaine and Conall that filled Xallistine with a sense of relief, and that absent-minded feeling of triumph as he grasped something new, learnt and understood something alien to him. This sport, while certainly no game for a creature such as himself, did seem an amusing pastime, although the concept of the lance being designed to break puzzled him, but then as Rhaine had described, the intention was not to impale, but to incapacitate, so a heavy rod of obsidian sharpened to a point would best be served in a match to the death.

 

"I thank you both, this does indeed seem a rather amusing prospect, and the offer of an artifact should you be crowned victor is certainly a tantalizing offer, it shall be interesting to see what the church could muster as a reward, I was not aware they gave away objects of such value for a sport such as this. To optimise your chance of winning, may the lance be... enchanted?" Xallistine asked mischievously.

 

----

 

"Tannin you say? Oh, well what a lovely name! If I could remember my own, I would tell you handsome elf, honestly I would! But alas, it's gone." Her tone was cheerful until the mention of her own lost name, sounding defeated she drowned her momentary sorrows in her drink, taking a large gulp and finishing off the mug, the smile returned to her face and the glint back in her eye, she fetched her fiddle and got ready for another song.

 

"Well whomever you met was not a true bard, is it not in the job description to be merry!" She laughed, haphazardly climbing up onto the nearest table and beginning yet another drunken anthem, inviting Tannin up to join her in this rendition.

[Deleted6317247User]

Nawen listened quietly to the conversation as she fed whatever scraps of food she took from the ship to Rhegar who tried to climb on the table but the smell of delicious food caught his attention so the little wolf stopped with his activities and started eating.

Shalena joined them at the table after she out-drank the patrons. "What's this?" She asked as she peeked at the piece of parchment in the Doomguide's hands. "A tournament? Sounds like fun, when does it start?" The pirate said as she grabbed an empty chair and sat at the table with others.

"They're fundraising for a good cause." Nawen mumbled.

The half-elf pirate laughed. "Are you implying that I'm going to rob Lathanderites blind? I know where my territory ends." She replied and looked directly at Rhaine. "I won't cause you any trouble."

[AurianaValoria1]

Conall raised a steel-grey eyebrow at the pirate, but Rhaine gave her a nod, "Then you are welcome to come along." The Doomguide knew that the Lathanderites could certainly handle their own affairs, and if Shalena got into trouble with them, they would have no problems dealing with the situation appropriately.

 

Glancing to Xallistine, Rhaine shook her head, "I'm afraid not. Lances are provided by the host of the tournament, and clerics or wizards generally dispel all active magical enhancements from competitors before entering the arena, making the process of winning the joust one that demonstrates solely the rider's skill. Lathanderites in particular value raw athleticism and strength...any attempt to do otherwise would likely result in disqualification."

 

"Not to mention it would be dishonorable," Conall added.

 

"Agreed," Rhaine replied, looking back down at the flier, "It says here that the tournament starts...well...." she paused and looked up at the ceiling for a few moments, making a few mental calculations, "It starts in two or three days. If we hurry, we can get there, buy whatever additional arms we need, and even practice a bit before it begins."

[Flipout6]

Weyland, deciding that no, he hadn't had enough to drink yet, finished off his pint of beer, and then ordered another one, gulping that one down too. Much to Amendale's chagrin, he stumbled when he walked and then tripped and passed out drunk on the floor. After that, it wasn't long before he began to snore. Amendale, displeased, stood up and shot him with a weak frost spell. Weyland woke up, tried to dart to his feet, and then just fell asleep in mid-air and crashed backwards onto the floor again, his armor making a loud clank as it went. Amendale sighed.

 

"Since we know our plans for tomorrow, I'm off to bed. An actual bed, unlike these drunken fools." He couldn't help but chuckle softly to himself at the whole situation. He went upstairs, stripped down to pants and a shirt, and slipped under the covers, immensely glad that the floor wasn't moving like it had on the ship.

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine nodded, folding the flier and rising from her seat, "I think Amendale has the right idea."

 

Paying for the lodging of the group, the Doomguide then headed upstairs after the elf, finding an empty room, locking the door, quickly undressing, and falling asleep. Conall chose a room near Rhaine's...he, too, soon falling asleep. It seemed the journey across the sea had taken its toll; both holy warriors were completely exhausted.

 

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The next morning, Rhaine woke early, grabbing only a small bite to eat from the barkeeper, carefully stepping over several still-unconscious forms on the tavern floor, and heading outside to tend to her horse before starting their hasty journey to Sarshel. Red Thunder was antsy and seemed eager to get going, tossing his head and dancing around so much she had to fight to get the bit into his mouth.

 

Theron joined her as she worked, the black eagle lighting on her shoulder with a slight whistle. The Doomguide was surprised that the bird had followed them with the storm; he continually amazed her.

[Deleted6317247User]

Just as tired, Nawen also retired to her room and fell asleep in minutes. She missed sleeping in a real bed not to mention that it stood on a solid floor and wasn't rocking constantly. Rhegar not feeling very tired started playing with the corner of Nawen's cape before moving on to chewing a small mat by the door.

 

Shalena on the other hand, left the tavern soon after others went to bed and joined her men in the celebration.

==========================================

Nawen woke up an hour before the dawn feeling refreshed and well rested. She ate whatever the barkeeper had for breakfast and spent a few hours wondering around the town. She was anxiously waiting to see this tournament and wondering if it would be safe enough for her friends as well for herself if she entered one of many competitions.

 

By the time she came to the stables she saw that Rhaine was already up and about, though she saw no sign of others. "Good morning." She greeted the Doomguide and picked up Rhegar who was walking beside her pretending to be like he was an adult wolf walking around his territory.

 

"I still can't believe we're going to this tournament," the drow said as she started attending to Kiira as well but unlike Rhaine's horse, hers was calm, "I don't believe we did anything fun just because." She added. "Well there was that ball but it wasn't really fun. Too upper class, I think."

[Flipout6]

Amendale was unsurprisingly up long before either of the Grey brothers. Enjoying the semi-quiet as he ate breakfast (Some patrons were waking up and the Greys' snoring could still be heard through the floor.) He decided it prudent to wake them up. After several attempts to rouse them, including frost spells, a bucket of water, and more imitating their mother, he walked back downstairs and sat smugly down in his seat, wide awake. The Greys, on the other hand, shambled like zombies and couldn't for the life of them form coherent sentences.

 

"I ha-can-may I...uh...bacon?" Arland requested from the bartender.

 

"No, not-don't let him...eat...it. Me instead." Weyland countered.

 

"Good to see you two awake, alert and cheerful." Amendale stated, hiding a smile.

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine grinned at Nawen as she pulled down firmly on Red Thunder's reins to prevent his head from tossing, "Too upper-class, indeed...or at least people who thought they were upper-class."

 

The Doomguide finally got her horse to be still long enough to throw the saddle onto his back, and as she cinched the girth, she recalled the painted lady whom she had brushed up against at the ball...the one who had called her a freak. Kelemvor's words about the "noble" woman's insecurities were all too true, and her smile widened as she added, "Yes, perhaps we shall have more fun. At any rate, it will give us a chance to hone our skills...and perhaps, if we are lucky, we can catch some passing word about Valthanarax while we're there. Tournaments, like any other event, have a social aspect. No doubt local rumors and tall tales will abound."

 

At that moment, Conall walked into the stable. He nodded to Rhaine and Nawen, "A good morning to you both."

 

He, too, began to tack his own horse, Fenrir sitting close by. The white wolf seemed much better now, and he watched Rhegar with a look of mild amusement.

 

"I found another flier about the tournament," the paladin said after a few moments, "Seems there's more to it than the joust - that's just the main event. Before that, there's an archery competition, a magic show, and a singing contest, all with prizes of 500 gold pieces."

 

Rhaine glanced at Nawen as she mounted Red Thunder, keeping the reins tight as the stallion objected to her weight. She needed to find a stronger horse....

 

"Well," the Doomguide remarked, "Perhaps there is even more for us to do, then."

 

Conall laughed, "At least I know that I've got something besides the joust to compete in. What say you, Nawen?"

[Deleted6317247User]

Nawen gently placed the saddle on Kiira's back as she listened to Rhaine. The memories of that ball weren't as pleasant as she hoped they would and it wasn't only because of an itchy dress.

 

"I thought that people go to these kind of celebrations to forget their troubles," the drow said as she shot a glance at Rhegar who was sniffing the hay on the floor, "not to talk about gloom and doom."

 

She greeted Conall as he entered the stables and started preparing his own horse for the journey. She was glad to see that Fenrir was feeling better. "Which one," Nawen asked when Conall said about having more competitions to compete in, "the singing or archery?" The drow chuckled and then thought about herself.

 

"I don't see myself competing in any of these, without causing any trouble." She said. It was surprising as it was that no one ran them out of the town with pitchforks and lit torches yet.