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7/11/2014
It is the opening of the Tournament of Roses in Whitestone, the capital of Orroland. This tournament starts every two years on the 22nd day of Summer's Breadth, and it is widely attended. There is no other event in the world that attracts so many people. The inns of Whitestone are filled by the rich and noble, while the rest use tents outside the city. The tents are for contestants and spectators alike, and the tent assignment seems to be somewhat haphazard. Some large groups have requested their own tents, but individuals are simply assigned to a tent when they arrive and provide 5 gp to cover basic food, water, and lodging for the two weeks of the tournament.
The city has been swelling over the last few days as many people arrive a little early. There are roses everywhere, both real flowers and images. Banners of yellow, white, red, and green decorate the city as well as the banners of assorted nobles. It is festive and quite warm here as it is far from the oceans that might regulate the temperature.
There are three tournaments. The yellow rose for archery, the white rose for melee, and the red rose for jousting, and the prestige for each increase in that order. Within each tournament are three levels (technically 4, but one is only for children). The levels are Squire, Warrior, and Knight, though those names to not indicate actual rank. Anyone may enter the Squire level, and aside from nobles, everyone must start in Squire level in some tournament somewhere. Evidence of some success in other tournaments are required or nobility are required to start in Warrior and Knight levels. The winner of Squire is automatically entered into the Warrior level (and skips a few early levels of it), and similarly the winner of the Warrior competition is entered into the Knight level. The "champions" are those of the Knight competitions.
Four individuals check in and are assigned to tent E6. First is Brian Hawk, a man with two rapiers and a certain swagger. He says that he is a famous pirate of the southern seas. Next is Brenaed Claiomh, a man who has no perceivable skills but is eager to watch the tournament. Then a pale female elf with blue hair arrived to join the others just outside the tent. This one carries a polearm and a longbow, and some of the others are a little concerned that this one might be a symbol of evil in the world, but a little time spent with her confirms this suspicion. Her name is Vindifinda Nexilita, though she goes by Livid, which is reassuring. Finally, a young paladin named Sir Alestair Morningseeker joins the group showing a young, optimistic smile and an unyielding devotion to Agnelo. The four notice the large horse outside the tent as they walk in together.
Inside they find a squire named Edward Stopling. He will be entering the White Rose Squire tournament. It is his first tournament. He squires for knight named Sir Hector Leese in Thadlen. Edward is perhaps a little too excited, but generally a very nice fellow.
Edward is in awe of Sir Hilton Granges, a knight who owns the horse outside, which he reveals is named Melinda. Whereas Squire Stopling and Sir Morningseeker represent the newly knighted, this Sir Granges has clearly been around for a while. His gear is of a high quality, but it has been well used. He is a jouster, and he readily admits that while these tournaments were once intended to show martial prowess in all areas of knightly combat, they now show who is the best jouster, and that has little to do with actual combat. He asks if anyone is interested in helping him out with his gear, and Brenaed volunteers as he used to be a squire.
Finally in the tent it an older fellow named Leopold Vars. He is a bard, and it is well known that this tournament is a time when the bards of the Bordeen-speaking world come together and exchange stories and write new ones about the glorious competition that is bound to take place. Leopold clearly has two major interests. The first is learning about everyone so he can tell new tales, and the second is to bang a frost elf. His access to Charm Person probably won't become relevant later. Livid wants to learn more from him about phantasms she saw far to the north, and he says he will talk to the Kin to see if anything is known, and they can discuss it privately once he learns something.
Shortly after meeting these people, a new member of the tent entered, Brother Eisen Drist. Brother Eisen is a priest of Perina, the wandering goddess. This priesthood enjoys traveling just like their goddess, and he has come to the tournament to help anyone in need of healing. He is a quiet but friendly young man.
Sir Alestair and Jamie Durvie sign up for the White Rose tournament while Livid enters the Yellow Rose
Prior to opening the tournament, the characters split to up briefly pursue their own interests. Sir Alestair meets with Kira, a priestess of Agnelo. There are more priests in the area, but she is currently under the tent that represents the temporary temple. She tells him the best way to spread the word is to do well in the tournament. Brenaed tends to the gear of Sir Hilton before heading off to the Hasty Retreat for a quiet drink. Livid looks for assorted plants that she does not know, and she learns a great deal since she is so very far from the Isles of Winter. Renzo heads to a tent and hires a brunette whore named Brelindy.
In the afternoon, the tournament opens.
King Rexton Firas walks up a dias on the tournament grounds. He looks to be a strong man in his mid 30s. His black hair is streaked with gray. By his side is the beautiful queen, Callendra. She is his second wife, and no more than 20 years old herself.
“Welcome to the Tournament of Roses! Orroland welcomes the contestants and visitors from all lands! Peace be upon you all. We have all been waiting eagerly for this event!
“Many of you may have heard stories of frightening things happening in the world. Put that nonsense from your minds. We know how rumors and stories grow with each retelling. A dog in the forest becomes a wolf, then it becomes a pack of wolves. Then it is a few bandits, and then that becomes an army. Should we listen to rumor, we would march our armies on a hunting dog wandered off. The next two weeks are for fierce competition, vigorous sport, and unforgettable glory... not the tales of frightened children.
"I present the Tournament Judges, all former champions." Three older gentlemen stand. They are clearly wealthy nobles based on their attire, and they wear a sash of their relevant color. "Baron Norvin of the Yellow Rose!" Baron Norvin is mostly bald, but his remaining gray hair hangs to his shoulders. He raises his arm in acknowledgement. "Earl Piran of the White Rose!" Earl Piran appears to be the oldest of the three, and has a full head of gray hair. "Baron Rothwell of the Red Rose!" Baron Rothwell is the youngest, perhaps in his late 30s, but he has the hard look of a lifelong soldier. He has a deep scar across the left side of his face under short black hair. "These three preside over each tournament. They are the final arbiters regarding any disputes."
"Before we begin, I will ask you all to remember that this is a tournament, not a war. Bring your skill and strength to compete, but leave your anger and rage. Compete for the honor of yourself, your family, and your nation.
"Now, who among you will vanquish all the others? Who will rise above his fellow warriors and be remembered in legend and song? Will it be you? Or you? Three of you will be heroes. Our task is to find those three." He lifts 3 roses, one of each color. "I present Queen Callendra, the Lady of the Roses." He hands her the flowers, and she kisses each one. "I declare the Tournament of Roses Open!" He throws the roses out into the crowds below, where they scatter. "Now, Judges, find us our champions!" He escorts the queen from the dais, and the judges follow. The crowd begins to break up.
The tournament will begin in the morning, and who will compete when has been posted.
Sir Alestair competed first in the morning, but fortune does not seem to favor him. He is defeated by a squire of the Knights Gallant named Camden Elder. A pale elf with blue hair seems to be quite a spectacle as well. A few hours later, a young girl is caught trying to steal gold from Brenaed. Sir Alestair sees her and grabs her arm. The girl does not try to run or do anything. She simple stares for several moments with terror. Eventually she screams "Don't hurt me they'll kill my mom!" After calming her down, they discover her name is Caroline, and her mother is Sarah. Sarah washes laundry for several wealthy families along with her friends, Lasalla and Clair. Caroline took them to Lasalla, a large woman who was interested in single men, and between them the party learned most of the story. The women normally do laundry in town, but they are not allowed to use water inside the city for laundry during the time of the tournament for fear of water shortages in the wells, and they needed to go far downstream to get to where the water was clear. One dress they were washing was clearly the finest dress of one woman intended for the tournament, and Sarah put it on. Then she pretended to order the other two around as a little joke. Unfortunately, a band of unwashed brigands was coming by. They thought Sarah was a noble lady, and they saw an opportunity for a ransom. They grabbed her and left a note to leave 5,000gp by a specific tree with a blue ribbon deep in the forest. Lasalla took it the families they clean for, but even if they wanted to help they didn't have the money. Lasalla talked to the city watch, but they were too busy with things happening in the city to look for trouble outside of it. She described the men as best she could, and she told them one called another "Tronkin." Lasalla had 2 more days to save Sarah, and she was hoping to find someone who would help, but little Caroline got it in her head she could steal 5,000gp even though she had never stolen anything before. The party decided to ask the others for help, and Sir Hilton Granges decided to help.
The party decided to make no effort whatsoever to gather information, and instead headed out to where the women had been washing and attempted tracking. This took a while, and unfortunately this meant that Jamie Durvie missed his chance to compete in the tournament. Eventually, they came to a camp of dirty men, and they asked who Tronkin was. The answer that came back was "Who are you?" The party decided that was enough, and they attacked. That's when people started falling asleep. There was not much actual damage done with swords or arrows, but mostly sleeping.
Livid decided that it was most appropriate to enter a strange new world and then demand to take everything from people they found in the woods and attacked. The woman as with them, but she admitted they weren't particularly cruel to her. Afterall, raping a noblewoman would get you into serious shit, but random is a perfectly legitimate way to make money.
Among the treasures taken from these opportunistic campers was an empty vial and a small sketching of a person and with the name "Harold Lanchester." The party turned the campers in, and then went to meet with the Lanchesters in the city, who were staying in a rather nice mansion. They might have been invited in, but there was a female elf with blue hair with them. This was not normal They spoke briefly with Harold, the son of a baron, through a window. They told him what they had found and asked whether he had been poisoned or might be feeling ill. He said he was fine. Then the man with skills, Brenaed, decided to use magic to fly the picture up to the window. That pretty much ended the conversation. Sir Alestair introduced himself and told him where they were staying, but they did not know what else to do at this point. On their way back to the tents, a light rain fell, and it eventually turned into a small thunderstorm late in the evening.
When we return, it will be 24th day of Summer's Breadth, and Livid will be up in the morning to compete in the tournament.
Sorry this is almost purely factual. We'll get into more fun once we develop the party a little bit. I'm still remembering how to do this.
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Do the asparagus look threatening?
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