A festival was the right place to get booze, right? Admittedly, Sir Tequila didn't have any money for booze but she'd thought of an easy way around that: enter the melees, beat everyone there, and use the prize money in order to try some of everything. With people from all around the country, she was certain to find that drink she remembered! Sweet, strong... everything she looked for!
The moral implications of joining a tournament when she was centuries older than the next oldest person involved didn't seem to strike the white-haired female as she signed up. Despite a doubtful look by the registrar when she gave her name and profession—female knights being somewhat... notable, after all—and a few whispers from the men behind her, the amount of armour on Sir Tequila's person and the sword slung across her back convinced him that she did, indeed, have good intentions.
"And would sir care to take part in the jousts...?" the greying man asked tentatively as the strains of a pipe wafted in the background.
The lich stood there for a moment, stroking her chin, before deciding against it, "The jousts can go fuck 'emselves, horses just get in the way. Damn things; don't have enough endurance."
Maybe if you wouldn't constantly wear heavy armour they would last longer... the man thought before accepting her declaration to avoid participating with a sigh, calling for the next person in line to give their name, lineage, and events. After the last line—'Sir Tequila, daughter of the Knight of the Sun (a position that the man was fairly certain had been ceremonial and last given to a drunkard braggart dead before any of their grandfathers' times), Melee'—anything would look good.
Now... where's the drink? Sir Tequila wondered, pausing by a bard sat under a gibbet. A gibbet complete with dead body. Bloody sheep-thieves, couldn't even stop trying to steal in the middle of a festival.
edited 16th Feb '12 1:29:22 PM by RainehDaze
Mary slowly opened her eyes, and stretched her limbs. That was strange... had she fallen asleep? She must have... she'd stayed up late last night practicing her newly-acquired songs, and arrived at the festival very early. She didn't recall falling asleep, but... there she was, leaned against a fence with her violin box in her lap. She quickly sat up, and tried to do her best to brush off her elegant red dress. She hadn't managed to get it dirty, but... really? She'd fallen asleep? Mary frowned. That wasn't good behavior for a refined young lady, like herself. She came here with intent to play her violin and earn some money. After all, a refined and beautifully-dressed child playing the violin expertly would gain plenty of attention, wouldn't it?
Mary sighed. She couldn't have looked good, just sleeping like that... She opened her violin case and took out both her violin and her bow, looking around the festival. Well, it was certainly crowded here... time to find a good spot to play.
Mary ventured off into the crowds, tightly gripping her violin as she did.
"Oh, dear. The toad, the monkey, and the dog have all screwed up."Elizabeth wandered through the area that was hosting the festival, attempting to find something she could do without money or demeaning looks from strangers. She enjoyed the atmosphere and seeing everyone having fun, but she wanted more to have fun herself. Everyone just saw her as a street urchin, rather than a little girl.
She had been wandering the streets all day, having slept on the street the night before, and was bored. The occasional thing caught her eye and entertained her, but she wanted something to distract her from her position. Fun, adventure, whatever. But she knew how unlikely that was.
She sighed on the trail of her own thoughts and wandered off further into the crowds.
Molly was thrilled. This was the first day of the Midsummer festival after all. The joy, the games, the exitement, the money! Everyone was on the streets and lots of visitors would come to Cayorn city. They were cheerful and would be drunk at noon. Happy people were generous.
She had gotten up a few hours ago this morning to get a good place and was still a little tired, but she didn`t let this get her down. She pulled herself together and added another club in her juggling act. The spectators cheered and threw more coins in the wooden box in front of her. It was only morning and she had already earned as much as she would have on a rainy day. If it went on like this she would have enough to go and have some fun herself even before sunset. The evenings weren`t for the juggler anyway, they were for the storytellers and bards.
Molly breathed deeply: The air smelled of open roasts and booze and was filled with laughter. This was why she oved the midsummer festival.It was an exprience for all five senses.
George looked at the crowds as they walked by, some people looking over at his little stand with potions and his old bag open on the ground, it had some money in it that people had given to him, he had tried to give them a potion in return but no one wanted one as usual. He sighed as he took another sip from his pipe, he looked over at the dog lying beside him. It's name was Scrap, a small dog that had lived with him and the others sharing his lifestyle.
He smiled as it looked up on him with it's big eyes, he laughed and got up "What ya' say boy? Wanna get somethin' to eat?" He took the coins he had gotten out of the bag on the ground, putting them in a smaller one he had tied around his body under his coat. He put his potions and thing in the bag before walking off with it over his shoulder, Scrap following him close behind. He had gotten a bit more coin then usual, people were usually a bit more generous at times like these, so spending time on the fair grounds was a good idea.
He reached down into his bag, pull up a bottle of whiskey and drank a mouthful. "Today's gon' be a great day, ain't it boy?" He said to Scrap, not sure if he expected and answer or not, but he didn't care, he was in a good mood today.
edited 16th Feb '12 2:35:32 PM by Peldms63
“I'm bad and that's good. I will never be good and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.” ―Bad-Anon creedCayorn city... so close at hand was one of the most important destinations on her journey. Though seeing the sea of tents and people right between her and the capital, it was unlikely that she would be able to reach the place before nightfall.
Still, while the wondrous city and its great Cathedral was one of the biggest draws for the pilgrim Samantha Applefield, the true reason she had hurried all the way here was due to the event going on right in that sea of people. The Summer Festival... since 458 years ago it was the single most important Festival in veneration of Nura, The Mother, greatest of all Deities who looked over the kingdoms of man.
To take part in this Holiest of all events... well Samantha couldn't stop smiling. Grasping her spear in right hand, the young traveler hurried her steps down the hill and into the festivities.
Thunk
Another arrow found it's way to the tree. It joined about five others that were embedded within inches of each other in that same tree. Aduth hadn't exactly required the practice, but it had at least kept him distracted from those who had already enjoyed perhaps a spot too much of the 'merriment' already.
The Ranger however decided that he could do with the joys of the festival itself before he won the archery tournament. Albeit the colorful festival was an insult to his eyes and the music to his ears, But still, he remembered it's purpose, unlike many here. He would pay his respects to Nura at some time soon.
Curse the ill fortune that led you to me.Mary found the spot she was looking for not to far away from where she began, and her theory was correct, she did attract a lot of attention and not all of it good either. As the elegant young lady played her violin some other fiddlers looked at her jealously due t the fact that it seemed like she robbed them of their audiences. Eventually one of them walked up to her. He had a very broad and slimy smile on his face. "Hello there Young miss, might I ask hat melody you're playing?" He asked.
Sir Tequila saw some guards walking up to the gibbet and taking down the corpse and dragging it away, obviously trying to keep it from attracting too much attention. After all, it was The Mothers festival and it was probably not a good idea to display an executed man during it for long. One of the guards nodded to Tequila and smiled a strained smile as he passed her.
"Hey, hey! Ellie!"
Elizabeth could hear a man call out behind her and if she turned around she would see a middle-aged man with a mouth lacking several teeth, though long before she would see him she would feel the reek of alcohol from him. He had tried to get her to join his gang for almost as long as the little girl had been in the city, and his nickname on the streets were Spoiler.
Now that her spot had been robbed of its amusingly macabre backdrop, Sir Tequila felt no real need to stay right there and set off to investigate the faint strains of a violin. A good fiddler seemed to be here, which was, in her mind, something of a miracle. You got loads of second-rate, scratchy music but never anything she could really enjoy. Maybe she was just jaded? That would explain a lot...
Ultimately, the white-haired female ended up pushing through the crowds and coming across the inexplicable gathering of musicians. It seemed a nice enough spot and the most dominant music was good, so the knight sat down and reached into the pocket built into the side of her armour's skirt, producing a half-empty bottle of port. She probably had enough time to finish it and enjoy the music before the melee started.
Unless anything ruined her fun.
Eyes shut as she continued to peacefully play her violin, Mary took several moments to make any real response to the man questioning her. After this time had passed, she opened one eye. Still playing, she elected to finally respond. "Red Symphony in Black Midnight, sir."
She didn't particularly like the look of the man, but she so no reason not to simply answer his question. This was one of the newer songs she had learned, and while she wasn't particularly good at writing songs she was certainly good at playing them.
"Oh, dear. The toad, the monkey, and the dog have all screwed up."Elizabeth sighed as she smelled the reek of alcohol, guessing who was behind her, and her thoughts were confirmed as she turned to face him.
Spoiler didn't seem too bad among those she had met, but she wanted nothing of him and his gang. Nevertheless, she didn't want to crush him, even if she couldn't think of a good way to stop him asking. She smiled and looked up at him. "Hello Spoiler. Anything you want?"
"If I'm not wrong... the worshipers should be somewhere.... somewhere around here..." said Samantha as she walked among the crowds of people, more than a little lost and without the first idea of where she should go. The young pilgrim pulled on the sleeve of the nearest person and asked "Excuse me... do you know where it is that the Goddess is being given her respects?"
edited 19th Feb '12 11:06:15 AM by daltar
George turned around, there was someone behind him who had pulled on his coat sleeve. "Eh'? Wha'd ya' want?" He sees a young girl wearing some fancy shmancy robes and he hears her asking about some Goddess worshiping "Oh? You wanna' go to dem' tents the Priest's set up, they're a colorful bunch, up by da'..." His sentence dribbles off as he seems to be staring somewhere off in the distance. He soon snaps out of it and looks back to her "Sorry miss, I'm still a bit drunk ya' see. He points off towards the forest, although quite wobbly. "They should be dat' way, I think." He takes a look at her "Hey missy, do ya' got any coins you could give me? Or I could sell ya' potion for some coins?"
“I'm bad and that's good. I will never be good and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me.” ―Bad-Anon creed"Umm... in the forest? Their tents are in the forest?" Samantha asked, a little incredulous though she had no real reason to doubt this man, even if he was a little drunk in this merry occasion.
"Thank you very much, good sir. You've been most helpful... I need no potions right now but please accept this as my thanks" said the young pilgrim after bowing her head in thanks. She fished for her purse and then extracted a generous amount of coin "If you find anyone in need of a potion, please take this money as payment when you hand them one"
"Well once again, thank you very much, sir. Have a merry festival!" wished Samantha to this most helpful stranger before she headed in the direction he pointed her to, all smiles the whole way there.
"Well I do say it's very nice, but I present you two choices, leave now, or join the rest of us." The fiddler gestured to the rest of the band "What are you going to choose?"
Spoiler managed to push his way to Elizabeth "We should go somewhere more isolated, and talk." A little boy, no older than seven, bumped into the man and stealthily slipped a small pouch into his hand. "Then we can talk again about you joining us."
Eventually the pilgrim found her way to the church's tents and the priests and priestesses where working hard. One of them were apparently giving out blessings to a knight and his followers while another one was handing out gifts and the third one was guarding children who had gotten lost. Presumably the other priests that should be here was scattered around the festival.
edited 20th Feb '12 8:15:19 AM by Clawthewolf
"Ah, stop your damn belly-achin' and let her play! " Sir Tequila said, taking a large swig from the bottle and glaring at the fiddler. Damn man... couldn't he see that she was trying to enjoy the music, not listen to him whining over the top of it? If he didn't listen... well, it ought to be easy enough to persuade him, given the sword on her back, and musicians weren't known for their resistance to coercion. Damn idiots...
Elizabeth looked seriously at Spoiler, a smile still on her face but not simply jovial. She was hardly reputable herself, so she was observant around other such people and noticed the small transfer of a pouch into his hand but was hardly surprised.
She was suspicious of his proposal, and naturally so, but decided that applying caution could lead to opportunity, and she could handle herself if things didn't get too bad.
"Well Spoiler, you know very well what I make of your offers but I'll give you a conversation." She indicated for him to move, and was ready to floor behind, clearly on her guard with her hand on her small weapon.
Mary sighed, but continued to play, utterly disregarding the man's orders in that respect. She was not to blame for the audience's decision to watch her, instead of them. "I intend to stay here and do neither. I play alone, I am more suited to do so. And I will continue to play."
"Oh, dear. The toad, the monkey, and the dog have all screwed up."Samantha approached the priest looking over the children and got on one knee when she approached "Your Holiness, I am Samantha Eloise Applefield, from the Applefield orphanage in the outskirts of the realm. I come in a pilgrimage and wish to worship our Mother Goddess on this most Holy of all festivals. Is there anything I may be of help in?"
"Listen girl, you are taking our livelihoods and we beg you nice and quietly to leave or join us!" The man started to reveal that he was angry and when he turned to the armed woman he said "What is it?!" but shut up when he noticed the sword on her back.
Spoiler led the little girl to a tent in the outskirts of the festival village "Listen Elizabeth, you are young, too young for any of the larger and more powerful gangs in the city to take you in, but if you join my gang and stay for perhaps, umm, until you hit 13 years old you will have merit and will have more ease to get into those larger gang. And it's not like you have any choice, a lone little girl in the streets of Cayorn city's, less than respectable streets won't last very long. That you have made it this long already just shows on your potential!"
One of the priests, tough priestess would be the correct term, the one that was handing out gifts noticed her and smiled "A pilgrim?! How nice!"
She left her post and approached Samantha "Hmm, something for you to do... Well we are lacking in personnel this year and we would especially need someone who can cook that soup for the poor." The priestess gestured towards a kettle standing above a fire "The one who was supposed to cook it had to go and find the mother of one of the children."
Elizabeth was in what was, for her, an odd situation. Spoiler was right on at least one point, that the larger gangs didn't want business with a little girl, despite the benefits of a youthful thief. People rarely took her seriously, despite her situation.
She stood and thought for a moment then looked back up to the odd man known as Spoiler. Perhaps she was being a little to harsh with her choices, even if she wasn't expressing them severely. "You make a considerable proposal good sir. I shall stay with you if you wish while I would be here regardless, but I shall have to think about whether I shall remain."
"Good..." Spoiler had taken a step forward "But first, the introductory fee. Every gang is going to have some sort, might as well start now..." He took another step forward towards the little girl.
"We were here first!" Another one of the musicians called out "This is our spot! It's you who will have to leave!"
Meanwhile, this argument had attracted an even larger audience

Even though the sun had not risen by much, the field outside Cayorn city was bustling with activity. No matter where one turned, one could see colourful tents hosting various games, jesters and people enjoying themselves, including the parents being led around by their laughing children. No matter where one stood, one could hear the festive music being played by the bards, fiddlers and wandering musicians
. Here and there there were also acrobats doing what they do best, acrobatics!
A bit outside the colourful mess that made up the festival's villiage of tents there were many different fields receiving the final preparations for the different tournaments that were going to take place: a ring for brawling, an archery range, a jousting field that also functioned as the combat field for armed melees—even a field for the more traditional sports such as log throwing, running and the like. And the winners of these tournaments were going to receive prizes from the hands of the Emperor and the Governess, one of his three wives, though anyone who would be an assassin better watch out for the second of his wives would surely be near, 'cause she is also the commander of The Emperors personal bodyguard detail: the White Cloaks. The third wife, the Voice of the Gods and the leader of the Church, could not attend, however, due to business. At least, according to rumors.
All the signs said that this midsummer festival was going to be an enormous success and that Nura, The Mother and the goddess of the Summer and the one this festival was dedicated to, was going to be very pleased, according to the priesthood who had their own little area by the village. They had learned that people reluctantly left the festival to go to the cathedral in the city so they had put up a chapel tent right next to the large forest of colourful tents where they preached.
Indeed, everything said that there was going to be a great festival this year!
edited 16th Feb '12 1:04:19 PM by Clawthewolf