By the time the tavern clears, there are not many left. It seems that most either were happy with the generous gift of gold or were dissuaded by the vague warning from the Lady Inara. There does seem to be a group of young villagers, in addition to the three more adventurous groups mentioned before. They look eager and excited to be there. The Lady Inara nods when the last of the farmers are done collecting gold and depart, she bars the door and turns to the remaining patrons.

"Those of you that have decided to stay, I applaud your bravery. The next task will be more intensive than finding the tavern, to say the least. I would ask that you bring any adventuring equipment you wish to the tourney grounds at dawn. There is a long day tomorrow and we will need an early start. I will take any questions at this point," she says and adopts a relaxed stance as if she expects a slew of questions.

[Private to Griswold Ortmann: You think you may have heard the name floating around as a member of the Emperor's court.]

Griswold stands up and bows at the Lady Inara.  "Questions?  I have one! Would the lady care to join us in a drink?" He indicates to the party's table.  "After all, it is not everyday we get to meet someone from the Emperor's Court."

Wrenn sat back and listened to the questions of others for the time being. There would surely be questions that arose of his own, but he would start by listening to others'.

Like Wrenn, Kharash listened to what the others asked. He sat back, and silently took a sip from his beer.

Staring at the woman Sul replied, "I have question a-plenty, but for now I would like to know who exactly you are and why you are conducting these games; and if not you who is behind this scavenger hunt, then who is?"

Folding his arms over his broad chest Sul remained standing, eyes locked on the noblewoman and added, "What of these other groups? Are they in the same position we are?"

He was aware of the other adventuring groups standing there of-course, and wondered if they too were just starting out in this game, or if any of them were in the private employ of their 'host', which is why he asked to gauge the woman's reply.

Lady Inara gave a smile at Griswold, but answered the more poignant question posed by Sul. Inhaling and releasing it slowly, she looks the groups up and down. "I have been authorized by the Rose, whose meeting is the prize, to act on their behalf. It is they who have sponsored this contest, thus it fell to a member of the court to be the judge and adjudicator here." she said in a very rehearsed reply. She was about to answer his second question when one of the twins stands up, suddenly it would seem from her companions reactions, and slams the table.

"The man is right! What in the name of Hera are we doing here?" ,she practically screams. The bugbear stands and shoves her back down, whispering harshly. The older human in the other group stands and you can clearly see the badge of an Argonaut. "The lad and lass are right. You scared off the idiots and greedy, but there are at least three seasoned groups here and a clutch of eager youngsters that are going to get hurt."

Lady Inara huffed at the man but though for a moment. She sighed again and shook her head. "The rules don't allow for any more information regarding purpose. I'm sorry. Part of this whole thing is the mystery, real or imagined. I can tell you that it will not be easy nor will you be safe in the trials to come," she said. For her part, at least, she did look frustrated.

Some questions did finally burst out of Wrenn's mouth as he heard the others, "So let's stick to what you can tell us. Difficult and dangerous, you've said; what else can you tell us of these tasks ahead? Dangerous what? Men? Monsters? Magic?" Wrenn didn't bother pushing for details concerning 'difficult', as the subjectivity would likely prompt only more confusion.

"I somehow can't imagine that a Rose would put normal folk in a truly dangerous position. It wouldn't do much good for their status if people got hurt during a harvest festival," Kharash softly said to his companions. "So my bet is on the true danger lying in the idea of danger. Though, if there truly is something shady going on, I'll be the first one to get to the bottom of this." A small spark of determination lit in his eyes.

"Do any of you know if they've ever done anything similar in previous years, the Roses?" he asked his companions.

---

Kharash doesn't have a good memory.
16:17, Today: Kharash rolled 4 using 1d20-1.  History.

In reply to Wrenn Muernig (msg # 144):

"The tasks that lay before you are all designed to prove that you are worthy of meeting a Rose. They are the greatest heroes of the land. They have faced hordes of undead, survived ancient death traps,  and solved problems that ordinary people cannot fathom. You must prove that you can do the same, though we do not intended to make you find such tasks on your own. We have brought them to you," she replies with a more genuine tone than before.

Sul frowned at the noblewoman's answers, though he tried to hide his disapproval for politeness's sake. "Worthy of meetin a Rose? Do they truly think so much of themselves? Not very heroic of them," he muttered.

Shrugging then he added, "Well regardless, as I said I am interested in proceeding further, despite my doubts about this affair."

"After all they've done and the position they've obtained, I'd be surprised if they didn't think anything of themselves by now," Kharash answered Sul with a faint smile. "I am interested as well; both in the challenges as well as the reward."

"Well, we've made it this far, might as well see where it leads. I'm sure we won't be able to know the minds of these heroes until we stand before them, so we may as well push on. Bring on the challenges!"

There are a handful of other questions, but none give any indication or information about the next day's events. Soon after, Lady Inara passes out the last of the gold and departs. You have a night to prepare and do what you want before the trials start the next day.

OOC: Everyone gets 25 gold. You may discuss what is going on and prepare, or simply write a post saying that you are ready to move to the next day.

Kharash would stay for a few more drinks and then retreat for the night, feeling confident about the challenges to come.

Griswold rubs his hands together and stands up.   Then, with a flourishing bow, excuses himself from the group. "Well if you superb examples of your prospective races will be so kind as to pardon me, I think I'll spend some time with another couple of superb prospects.  Double or nothing!"  Chuckling to himself, he turns to wander over to the half-elven twins.  Then stops, scowls for a moment and turns back to the table. Whispering, he says: "We might have to keep an eye on that group of young villagers.  If what the Lady Inara said is true, they're probably in well over their heads."  With that, his smile returned and he was gone.  Off to try his luck.

Wrenn decided that if there was going to be some kind of challenge tomorrow, he'd better get some sleep now and figure out what had happened to get him here later.

Despite a few hours of carousing by members of the various groups, everyone seems refreshed and ready to go in the morning. Of particular note is the group of young villagers that is first to the tourney grounds. Lady Inara is with them, speaking emphatically. She departs obviously frustrated. The other groups have gathered near the ground entrance.

The large ogre is there, a standout in a crowded place. His voice booms out over the noise of the eager masses gathering towards the stands. "Contestants! Gather round!" , he booms and patiently waits for everyone to do so. Once done, he points with a sausage finger at the center of the grounds. Two doors stand opposite of each other, separated by only a dozen feet. "Your next task is to pass through one door and out the other. Only then may you move on."

The twins are the first to chuckle at the simple task, causing the ogre to turn on them and smile. "You will go first. Gather your party and proceed to the doors," he says with obvious relish. The twins gather their group and move to the doors. They inspect them thoroughly before opening the one closest to the remaining groups. With a loud pop as each goes through, they disappear entirely.

Less than thirty minutes later, the opposite door opens and the group emerges. One of the twins is dragging her sister, who appears unconscious. The ogre has both the bugbear and hobgoblin slung across his shoulders. The hobgoblin appears badly burned and it is not clear if the bugbear is even breathing under all of the bruiser. Attendants rush to them, notably two clerics of Odin as noted by the eye patches, and begin to administer aid.

The festival masses gasp before cheering as the remaining twin, haggard and beaten, weakly raises a hand in triumph. The crowd explodes with cheers and the din drowns out everything else. The ogre points to the group of villagers next and they huddle. After a moment, the most senior of them steps forward. By this time, the cheering has quieted and you can hear him speak. "We are bowing out. We didn't think it would actually be dangerous," he starts to say before another jumps in, angrily. "Speak for yourself, Chris. Gerard, Kyle, and myself think we can make it!" There seems to be some indecision between them as an argument breaks out.

What do you do?

Despite a few hours of carousing by members of the various groups, everyone seems refreshed and ready to go in the morning. Of particular note is the group of young villagers that is first to the tourney grounds. Lady Inara is with them, speaking emphatically. She departs obviously frustrated. The other groups have gathered near the ground entrance.

The large ogre is there, a standout in a crowded place. His voice booms out over the noise of the eager masses gathering towards the stands. "Contestants! Gather round!" , he booms and patiently waits for everyone to do so. Once done, he points with a sausage finger at the center of the grounds. Two doors stand opposite of each other, separated by only a dozen feet. "Your next task is to pass through one door and out the other. Only then may you move on."

The twins are the first to chuckle at the simple task, causing the ogre to turn on them and smile. "You will go first. Gather your party and proceed to the doors," he says with obvious relish. The twins gather their group and move to the doors. They inspect them thoroughly before opening the one closest to the remaining groups. With a loud pop as each goes through, they disappear entirely.

Less than thirty minutes later, the opposite door opens and the group emerges. One of the twins is dragging her sister, who appears unconscious. The ogre has both the bugbear and hobgoblin slung across his shoulders. The hobgoblin appears badly burned and it is not clear if the bugbear is even breathing under all of the bruiser. Attendants rush to them, notably two clerics of Odin as noted by the eye patches, and begin to administer aid.

The festival masses gasp before cheering as the remaining twin, haggard and beaten, weakly raises a hand in triumph. The crowd explodes with cheers and the din drowns out everything else. The ogre points to the group of villagers next and they huddle. After a moment, the most senior of them steps forward. By this time, the cheering has quieted and you can hear him speak. "We are bowing out. We didn't think it would actually be dangerous," he starts to say before another jumps in, angrily. "Speak for yourself, Chris. Gerard, Kyle, and myself think we can make it!" There seems to be some indecision between them as an argument breaks out.

What do you do?

Despite a few hours of carousing by members of the various groups, everyone seems refreshed and ready to go in the morning. Of particular note is the group of young villagers that is first to the tourney grounds. Lady Inara is with them, speaking emphatically. She departs obviously frustrated. The other groups have gathered near the ground entrance.

The large ogre is there, a standout in a crowded place. His voice booms out over the noise of the eager masses gathering towards the stands. "Contestants! Gather round!" , he booms and patiently waits for everyone to do so. Once done, he points with a sausage finger at the center of the grounds. Two doors stand opposite of each other, separated by only a dozen feet. "Your next task is to pass through one door and out the other. Only then may you move on."

The twins are the first to chuckle at the simple task, causing the ogre to turn on them and smile. "You will go first. Gather your party and proceed to the doors," he says with obvious relish. The twins gather their group and move to the doors. They inspect them thoroughly before opening the one closest to the remaining groups. With a loud pop as each goes through, they disappear entirely.

Less than thirty minutes later, the opposite door opens and the group emerges. One of the twins is dragging her sister, who appears unconscious. The ogre has both the bugbear and hobgoblin slung across his shoulders. The hobgoblin appears badly burned and it is not clear if the bugbear is even breathing under all of the bruiser. Attendants rush to them, notably two clerics of Odin as noted by the eye patches, and begin to administer aid.

The festival masses gasp before cheering as the remaining twin, haggard and beaten, weakly raises a hand in triumph. The crowd explodes with cheers and the din drowns out everything else. The ogre points to the group of villagers next and they huddle. After a moment, the most senior of them steps forward. By this time, the cheering has quieted and you can hear him speak. "We are bowing out. We didn't think it would actually be dangerous," he starts to say before another jumps in, angrily. "Speak for yourself, Chris. Gerard, Kyle, and myself think we can make it!" There seems to be some indecision between them as an argument breaks out.

What do you do?

Griswold leans in close to Brother Sul and whispers to him, "I believe, good sir, that I'll defer to you on this delicate matter.  I suspect they're more like to listen to a veteran's voice over my charms."   He then rushes over to the twins and their companions, to offer his most heartfelt concerns.

The ogre moves in front of you and prevents you from approaching the group that just completed their trial.

Kharash looks surprised at the emerging of the first group. He too hadn't thought these trials would actually be dangerous. He thinks for a moment, judging whether it is smart to partake in this event. But there is a curiosity that burns within him. Besides, if there's anything out of line here, he should see it for himself. So he convinces himself.

Shaken from his thoughts, he looks at the arguing villagers. "You sure you can handle this? That other group barely made it out, and there were five of them."

Wrenn simply stood his ground and watched those around him. His eyebrows rose as the ogre stopped Griswold from approaching the returned group, but with this being a challenge and all he supposed he could understand keeping rival groups separated. Still, it wasn't like there was active hostility between the groups.

For some reason, Wrenn felt it best to keep his mouth shut for the time being, so instead he stood as he was and people-watched the other groups around him.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:47, Thu 13 Apr 2017.

Griswold stepped back from the ogre and haled his hands up.  "Woah.  Steady on there my good fellow.  Have no fear.  I've no interest in asking them anything about the trial.  Just want to make sure they're okay.  Okay?"  He twisted his torso so his medallion caught the sun.

"Okay!" He nodded and, having assumed that his squire's word would be enough, moved to walk past the burly guard once more.

The ogre looks at the other group, still trying to gather themselves and two are receiving healing from the priest. The conscious twin appears to be cradling her sister now that apparent danger is over. The ogre turns back to Griswold. "Two minutes or your group is disqualified."