Tales of Faerun

[nethgros]

Kowolj did not clap for the red haired woman. He found her song to be slow and dull, much rather preferring a heroic song that could make his blood boil. He did not understand why she had made it to the final round, or the other two for that matter. The halfling was full of pep, but not the kind he liked; and the elf was absolutely horrendous.

 

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Leover applauded Aurora's final performance with the same level of enthusiasm, if not greater, that he had given earlier. She deserved it; her skills were undeniably sublime.

 

Next up was the satyr himself, and he moved slowly on cloven hoof to the center stage, hoping to create some suspense before beginning his final piece.

 

Removing his lute from his back, he began the tune softly with a wistful and mellow melody, creating an enigmatic air about the fairgrounds. As he first began to vocalize in Sylvan, he knew that there would be very few who would understand the fey words that fluttered forth from his face. The song itself was an old one, passed down by his family from the time before his ancestors left the Feywild to settle in Faerun. It was a tale that began by lamenting the loss of power his people experienced by leaving their inherently magical home, but soon changed tone to rejoice in the old frivolities the satyr would take part in there as well as the hedonistic pursuits they engaged in now. The sound of his lute matched the tone of the song, changing from wistful to energetic as he sung of the satyr parties in his native tongue. His choice was for this song was a carefully prepared one, as the inherent magical nature of the language combined with his skill in enchanted music allowed him to sing with words metaphorically saturated with magical properties. Whereas Aurora had toned down the magic present in her presentation, Leover chose to ramp it up for his own.

 

The song slowed back down before it ended, though not in the same sense as it had begun, instead of a lamentation it merely let the audience free from the enchantment without completely dropping them off. He smiled and gave a deep bow as the spectators burst into applause, walking off the stage in the same humble manner that he had arrived with.

 

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The drow's question drained the hospitality from Horo's face, and he stared at her for several moments before choosing whether or not to grace her ignorance of his situation with anything other than a swift kick. Luckily for her, his logic overcame his initial instincts as he realized that there was almost no chance this woman was a spy, though logic hadn't always served him well in the past. After a few minutes of contemplation, and a good deal of observing his environment, he chose to let this stranger know his fatal secret. Though not likely to the extent that one might hope for.

 

"I am hiding," he said, still looking around rather than looking her in the eye.

[mythicdawnmaster]

Aurora smirked at Tannin "Oh I'm sure it will entertain me, but don't worry, I'll be sure to rub it in softly, don't want you getting all envious of my superiority now do we?" She teased with a pout.

 

Leover's performance was by all accounts spectacular and emotional, a far cry from his raunchy cry for the amorous affection of the women in the audience. She stood to applaud him with the others, quite impressed that he was capable of more than simply risqué parades of dirty lyrics.

 

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After arriving in the main hall, Ravenna paced about the circular pool that rested before the staircase to her throne. Looking into the water she conversed with a shimmering image of her lord, telling him of her pursuits. The lengthy consultation gave the she-devil much to think upon, and she traversed the steps to her seat of power to gather her thoughts. She would travel to the Underdark with Quarylene, but afterwards, her intent was to be a little different... why assist a cult when one could envelop it?

Edited September 22, 2013 by mythicdawnmaster

[Redscorpionarmy]

Dice hung back a short distance from Bar'bark, watching his every move. Not even he knew what his master wanted, but he knew that he was to watch the gnoll and make sure he didn't betray his masters wishes... not that he knew what they were. Just as the mercenary glanced his way, the wiry human looked down, then looked up when the gnoll went back to eating. So caught up in shadowing Bar'bark was he, that he didn't notice he himself was being shadowed by a lizardfolk, who was, just as Dice was to the gnoll, watching his every move, obviously knowing something was wrong.

 

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Thangardt looked around at the questionable characters among the crowd. A gnoll, a lizardfolk, and they seemed to be connected in some way. He himself was a duergar, and harbored no disdain for them. Barely paying any attention to the performers coming and going from the stage, he began to approach the gnoll, but thought better of it and turned his attention to the stage.

Edited September 22, 2013 by Redscorpionarmy

[josh900]

"My ego will thank you fair lady." Tanning said with another bow as his name was called up. Instead of heading up to the stage however he made his way over to where the ale was being served. With a dominate spell planted on the owner of the ale tent soon everyone in the stands found themselves with a free drink.

Once everyone was served Tannin jumped onto the stage with a mug of his own. "You're welcome!" He shouted, raising his mug to the crowd who responded with a cheer.

"So I've had a good time out here today, had some fun, met some interesting people, heard some good music, and I want to thank each and every one of you out there for coming here, and keeping the spirit of the songs alive and well!" He then took a hearty swig from his mug. "BUT! Lets not forget... who we should really give thanks to on this evening... The man who invented this!" He said raising his mug up in the air and pointing to it which brought on another cheer.

"A long time ago, way back in history

When all there was to drink was nothing but cups of tea

Along came a man by the name of Charlie mops

And he invented a wonderful drink, and made it outta hops"

 

And with that the ale, whiskey, wine, and beer loving members of the crowd all joined in one of the most well known drinking songs that has ever graced the realms.

 

​He must have been an admiral, a sultan, or a king,

And to his praises we shall always sing.

Look what he has done for us he's filled us up with cheer.

Gods bless Charlie Mops,

​The man who invented beer beer beer, tiddly beer beer beer

 

The Jury's Bar, the Clancy's Pup, the Hole in the Wall as well,

One thing you can be sure of, It's Charlie's beer they sell

So all you lads and lasses at eleven O'clock ye stop

For five short seconds, remember Charlie Mops

 

As the crowd counted up to five Tannin took the time to drain his mug dry. When he finished he tossed the mug aside and rejoined in the song.

"HEY! ​He must have been an admiral, a sultan, or a king,

And to his praises we shall always sing.

Look what he has done for us he's filled us up with cheer.

Gods bless Charlie Mops,

​The man who invented beer beer beer, tiddly beer beer beer

 

A barrel of malt, a bushel of hops, you stir it around with a stick

The kind of lubrication, that makes yer engines tick.

Forty pints a wallop a day to keep away the quacks.

It's only eight pence hapenny, and one and six in tax.

 

"HEY! ​He must have been an admiral, a sultan, or a king,

And to his praises we shall always sing.

Look what he has done for us he's filled us up with cheer.

Gods bless Charlie Mops,

 

​The man who invented beer beer beer, tiddly beer beer beer, tiddly beer beer beer.

The Gods bless Charlie Mops!

 

With the song over Tannin pointed out to the crowd and yelled as loud as he could, over their own cheers. "GET THESE TUNELESS BA****** ANOTHER ROUND!!"

This brought up an even louder one as the half-drow jumped off the stage with a wide grin. Whether or not he won didn't matter to him anymore. Getting almost an entire drunken crowd to sing along with him at a contest that's usually dominated by high classed fops that have never set foot in anywhere with a speck of dirt was more than enough, times where it really was the little things in life that made it all worth it.

As he approached the other Bards he bowed to them all. "Ladies, gentlemen, it was an honor and a pleasure." He said as he walked past, heading back to the ale tent, the finale results meaning nothing to him, he had entertained the crowd and that was enough for him.

[AurianaValoria1]

Dagny had drained two more tankards of ale by the end of Tannin's song. He had her on her feet and dancing a jig with the paladin of Lathander beside her. Conall, too, had gladly accepted his free drink, if only to take the edge off of his growing irritation at the ladies around him. Rhaine, however, had politely declined the mug that came her way, had it shoved in her face anyway, and so she tossed it over the back of the stands when no one was looking.

 

The announcer, who was getting tipsy himself at this point, bore a red-faced grin as he clambered up the stage, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, goodsirs and goodfaer alike! We have had the marvelous fortune to have a most generous anonymous donor grant us an additional 1000 gold coins to offer the winner!"

 

There were whoops and hollers all over the crowd as they eagerly awaited the verdict.

 

"However!" the announcer added, "Our judges cannot...simply CANNOT....decide between the marvelous singers Leover, Aurora, and Tannin. So! Without further ado, I crown all three of you Champions of the Battle of the Bards, with 500 gold pieces to be granted to each of you!"

 

Rhaine stood with the crowd in a standing ovation for the three performers.

 

"Each of you come forth to receive your prize," the announcer called through the applause, "Good night ladies and gentlemen...all those who wish to sign up for the Archery Competition should do so by midday on the morrow! Gods keep you all!"

[Deleted6317247User]

"Hiding?" Nawen asked. "He is a thief!" She thought feeling quite smug but at the same time surprised. The fair was a haven for cutpurses and one of her new companions, Shalena been doing nothing but stealing all day long yet no one caught her. "This thief must be bad at his line of work or really good and stole something very valuable." She thought and looked at the man again. He made it clear that he didn't wish to speak about this and it wasn't her business anyway.

 

"I won't tell anyone you're hiding here," Nawen said, "not to mention that it would be silly to start telling people that a man is sitting in a tree." She added and turned her attention back to the stage. She was very impressed with the second Aurora's performance as well as Satyr's. The later showed everyone that there is more to him than rather vulgar songs. Tannin's performance was even more entertaining than the last one, though, sadly no one knew that she was in the tree thus no free drink for her.

 

After the announcer declared Aurora, Tannin and the satyr as the winners, Nawen took her cloak from the branch beside her before glancing at the man. "You're going to sit here all night? It's dark, I'm sure that no one will be looking for you now." She said as she climbed down the tree, put her cloak on and looked up at the tree.

 

"I don't know why you're hiding, I hope it's nothing too bad," she said hoping that the man wasn't wanted for something awful as murder, "anyway, I must go and congratulate my friends. It was nice sitting in the same tree with you." The drow added before starting to walk towards the crowd to find her friends.

 

After getting free drinks, the pirates shouted loudest for Tannin. They knew the song all too well thus the whole group, minus the captain who sat quietly and sipped her drink, sang along. "They're so easy to sway." Shalena thought as she watched her crew. Before Tannin's performance they've been rooting for Aurora and it was hardly because of her great musical talents.

[Redscorpionarmy]

Archery Competition? Thought Bar'bark. He had never been one for the bow - he preferred to use a crossbow - but it could be interesting. Besides, he needed to find out whatever he could about the people here, and what better way to do that than to compete?

 

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Dice was getting tired of watching the gnoll eat. He dared not go against his masters word, but it was really getting boring. His stomach growled. Sighing, he decided to grab some food, but he had no money. Pretending to accidently run into a well-dressed human, he snatched the mans coin purse, then pretended to bow in apology. This will make do, he thought. He made his way over to where the gnoll had bought food, but they were out. He cursed under his breath and went back to watching Bar'bark.

[AurianaValoria1]

Just as Conall drained the last bit of his tankard on the way out of the tourney grounds, he passed by the jolly dwarf woman. She noticed his almost desperate tossing back of his ale and she winked up at him, "Need it that badly, do you lad?"

 

His blue eyes blinked once as he looked down at her, "Ah...right, well, you see..."

 

She chuckled, "No need to explain, lad. I saw all those young women packed about ye like coal around a diamond...ye got more self-control than I." She grinned widely, "Name's Dagny, by the way. Dagny Flameheart."

 

"Conall Whitefang," the paladin replied, tossing his tankard towards an ever-growing pile of them near the edge of the grounds, "A pleasure."

 

"Aye, likewise," Dagny bowed, "Will ye be competin' in one of the events, then? I got me eyes set on the melee tourney, just before the joust."

 

Conall nodded, "The archery contest for me...though, now that you mention it, I might try my hand in the melee tourney as well. I had plans for the joust, too, though I," he paused a moment, looking her up and down, "I don't suppose that wouldn't be something you-"

 

"Oh, no, lad," Dagny laughed heartily, her eyes squinting as she did so, "No way in the Hells would ye see me in that. Can ye imagine? A dwarf woman on a horse as big as these? Poor ol' me would go flyin' across the continent the first pass!"

 

The paladin couldn't help but laugh at her response. She surely was a cheery soul. He wondered how she would do in the melee tourney, especially against warriors such as Tak'we the Thri-kreen, Weyland, and Arland. Judging from the way they were stuffing their faces, the latter two would be a good ten pounds heaver in three days...

 

At that moment, Rhaine caught up to them both. It was obvious that she caught the dwarf woman a bit by surprise with her appearance, but when Conall did not show concern, Dagny relaxed. She smiled warmly up at the black-clad knight, "And are you a friend of Sir Conall, here? Who ye be?"

 

Rhaine paused a moment before simply replying, "We are companions, yes. But I am no one of consequence in these parts."

 

Dagny nodded knowingly, winking at the Doomguide, "Ah...I'll respect your privacy, then. I do hope ye can share a name after the tournament is through, though. Ye must surely be one of some stature to look as you do but hide your face. But listen at me...I should be off to bed. Good night to ye both."

 

With that, the dwarf departed in the direction of the tents.

 

Conall glanced sideways at Rhaine, "She certainly is a cheery one."

 

The Doomguide nodded, "She is a welcome sight...one who can keep her head held high in these dark times."

 

As the warriors walked towards their own section of tents, they came across the place where Weyland, Arland, and Amendale were talking with one of the five Knights of the Eternal Order. Rhaine hesitated in her approach, wondering if they would recognize her by sight alone.

 

Conall barely noticed the sniffling woman who brushed by him with her face in her handkerchief, muttering something almost inaudible...

 

"I had intended that gold for Leover!"

Edited September 22, 2013 by AurianaValoria1

[nethgros]

Horo smiled gently after the drow had left the tree. He had never before met one such as her, but he had no doubt that she was the most righteous the drow race had to offer.

 

He hadn't slept in about two days, as his pursuers had been hot on his trail. This brief moment of safety would offer him just what he had been missing out on. He leaned against the trunk of the tree, bracing himself on his branch so that he wouldn't fall off in his sleep, and almost instantaneously drifted off as soon as he was sure he didn't need to worry about his stability.

 

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Leover made his way to the stage with a free ale courtesy of Tannin and a flock of female admirers trailing him. He accepted his prize alongside Aurora and Tannin, congratulating the two of them for their outstanding work.

 

"Congratulations to we three! There truly are no others so deserving, as there couldn't be any others so very skilled! I say we get right into the celebration, which thankfully has already been started," he turned to look at Tannin and offered a large, slightly clawed, hand to him to shake, "I have no doubt that you can party heartily, or Aurora here for that matter. I say we show these common folk just how frivolous we virtuoso types can be."

 

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Kowolj made his way to where the three winners were to congratulate his friend. He clapped Tannin 'softly' on the back with a bellowing laugh.

 

"Good work Tannin! I didn't know you were so capable! Now how about you spread the wealth around, and buy your old friend Kowolj some food. I lost all my money looking for you guys..."

 

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Hasim al Bariq opened the doors to the fortress much like he owned the place, or at least had been here before. He knew of the place only because of stories told by his old friend Ravenna, whome he had met during his time in Thay. He had moved on from that place, but he had not forgotten the witch, as she was one of the more interesting individuals he had met in a place filled with power-hungry mages.

 

The hall seemed kind of drab, and dark, but it was nothing he couldn't fix. He raised his arms, and with a flourish of his hands any candle or lightsource that was not already lit burst to life, casting a more powerful light over the hall. He saw her toward the end of the hall, speaking into what had to be a scrying pool of some sort.

 

His accented voice carried over the hall as he called out to her, "Ravenna! Long time no see. So sorry to drop by uninvited, but I had no doubt that you would enjoy my company."

Edited September 22, 2013 by nethgros

[mythicdawnmaster]

Aurora jumped up and down like an excited child as she, Tannin, and Leover collected their rewards simultaneously, grinning from ear to ear a toothy white grin as she was handed her share of the gold. "Well boys, it seems you aren't as useless as you look." Giving them both a friendly hug, she grinned once more as Leover mentioned a party "Oh my dear, I am known not only for my voice you know, infact, that comes secondary to my parties! Let us indeed show the rabble how the virtuoso take their ale!"

 

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Ravenna had nearly reached the top of the stone staircase when an exotic yet familiar voice hit her ears from the other side of the great hall, turning to the side on the stone steps she cocked her head at the figure before her. For a moment her piercing gaze rested upon him, unblinking, but a wicked smile formed upon her face.

 

"Hasim! It has been far too long my old friend. What brings you so far from Thay? Finally wriggled free of Tam's wretched grasp?" She asked with an eyebrow raised and a smirk remaining upon her lips.