As the crowds streamed in and out of Balderston’s Heroes Fest, the group decided to spread out and get a handle on the town. Bleg’s enormous minotaur frame seemed to create room around him in the crowd, allowing him to move smoothly through the streets. The other Bear tribe barbarians followed Bleg, staying close as they gawked at the strange sights of the city. Most of them had never stepped down from the Spine Mountains, let alone travelled this close to the bigger cities. The sheer number of people was unsettling to these warriors who had spent their whole lives in the wild.

As the minotaur pushed south through the crowds to check out some of the side streets, the rest of the party spread out towards the main hub of the festival. In the center of town, the festival circled around a large bonfire with wooden benches where some festival-goers were taking a break to eat a meal or chat with friends. Parents chased their children through the square, past games of chance and vendors hawking their wares.

“Ale? Mead? Mugs of water for the little ones?” shouted a barmaid who was running a beverage table, trying to flag down any passersby.

“No, Suse, please don’t touch that” admonished a father, trying to get his daughter’s hands off of a sharp farming tool lying atop a table of items for sale. The dwarf behind the table laughed and handed the girl a trowel to play with instead.

The smell of freshly baked pies on the eastern side of the square caught Brylla’s attention, right in front of a bakery with the name “Brand’s Baked Goods”. The elf working the outdoor oven was piling up pies on a table, preparing for a pie-eating contest. Audak, meanwhile, had found a wrestling ring and was watching a local villager tossing contestants about as if they were playthings.

Flynver, however, had found one of the few shops that still had its doors open during the festival. Passing beneath the hanging sign featuring a spellbook and clockwork gears, the halfling pushed open the door to find a shop filled with the most curious things!

Grimoires and Gears

It wasn’t everyday that the wizard had the opportunity to go through a store as well-equipped as this one. Grimoires and Gears had shelves lined with a variety of things, from medicinal herbs, to “medicinal herbs”, to wondrous magical items and fantastical mechanical creations. One shelf had nothing but books, both fiction and non-fiction, on a wide variety of topics. The entire place had a glow to it, as if the very interior of the building itself was infused with mystic power.

Behind the counter stood a young woman, leaning forward on her elbows as she read a book. She did not raise her head as Flynver entered, simply kept reading and bopping her head along to a beat that Flynver could not hear. Her long purple-tinted hair covered part of her face, but the halfling could tell she was young, probably even younger than his large friend Audak. She seemed to be completely ignoring the halfling, though, which did pose a problem.

“Excuse me, miss” the halfling said, raising his voice. “Do you have any arcane scrolls for sale, by chance?”

His question was met with silence, as the young woman continued her reading. Flynver then noticed something familiar around the girl’s neck. It was an amulet, star-shaped, much like the one he had found on the sanitation engineer in the tunnels below Denn the week prior. It was emitting a soft glow and pulsing with a beat, matching the rhythm of the young woman’s head movements. Sliding forward, moving right up against the counter, the halfling tried to signal visually to the shop’s employee, this time finally gaining her attention.

“Welcome to Grimoire’s and Gears” the young woman said in an unimpressed monotone, pressing her amulet to stop its music. “Where the deals are gear-iffic. How can I help you?”

“Yes, scrolls?” asked the halfling again, undeterred by the employee’s lack of interest in her duties, hoping to find a spell he didn’t already have.

“Aisle 2, near the back wall. All prices listed are final” replied the young woman sullenly, before reactivating her amulet and returning to her book. It was obvious that her interest in working in this place was not due to some love of barter and trade, but at least the shop was otherwise empty, allowing Flynver the time to fully examine everything on display.

Finding the scroll display case was easy enough, but accepting the prices was another matter altogether. The shop seemed to have quite a variety of pricing, from fairly common scrolls to much more advanced magic, but the halfling wasn’t sure he had enough gold to get everything he would have liked. Moving along to the other shelves, Flynver flipped through some of the books, and examined some of the devices apparently created by the shop’s proprietor. The strange flying machine caught the halfling’s eye before the pricing signage informed him that this was likely not meant for him. As the wizard looked through the strange and wonderful creations, he noticed a box with a sign that read “G&G’s Hearthstone System (Pad and Hearthstone included)”. Upon closer inspection, his suspicions were confirmed. The device here in this store definitely matched to the hearthstone in his pack and the pad they had found at the doppelganger’s hideout. It had been years since it would have been bought at this store, but whomever was outfitting the crew must have purchased it here.

Unfortunately, the girl at the counter was unable to provide much information as to who might have purchased it all those years ago, even with a little arcane persuasion. Flynver didn’t leave empty-handed, though, as the charmed young woman handed the halfling a poster for a performance by the group of bards known as “Skull & Bones”, happening in Pua the next night.

“Tell them Raven sent you”, the girl said with a smile, before returning to her book and music.

Flynver returned a smile and walked out the door, tucking the poster away for later. Perhaps there was a way to make a little coin here at the festival? Some of those wares were mighty tempting and now the wizard just needed to find a way to pay for them!

The Magnificient Viktor Maestro

While Flynver had been admiring the wares in the Grimoires & Gears, Audak had wandered from the wrestling ring towards a crowd that was gathering around a potion seller. A sign on the wagon behind the salesman read “The Magnicient Maestro”, apparently referring to the half-elven man standing on a crate so as to be seen over the crowd.

“Come one, come all, and enjoy the powers of a hero!” shouted the salesman, loud enough for the entire square to hear. “Be as strong as a bear, or as sly as a fox! Maestro’s potions will have you feeling like a new you! You don’t need to believe me, try for yourself! One free sample for any customer!”

The words “free” and “power” were doing a lot to grow the crowd around his stall. Audak noticed that even the wrestling ring he had been watching had grown silent and the large man who had been grappling with all the contestants had stepped out of the ring and was pushing through the crowd. The potion seller handed him a vial and he slammed it back in one smooth motion, a smile coming across his face as he flexed his arms. With a grin, he picked up the two large men near him clear over his head with one hand each.

“It works!” he shouted, still holding aloft the two frightened festival-goers, causing those around him to marvel at the show of strength. The crowd that had gathered was now pushing and shoving to get their hands on one of the samples.

“There are enough for all, don’t you worry!” the Magnificient Maestro shouted, handing vials out to all of his potential customers. “Drain it down, then try some of the games of skill, you won’t regret it!”

Into the ring

It was quite possible the wrestler had been a plant for the seller as part of the demonstration, but Audak couldn’t resist finding out more. He and Tanthalas both approached the stall to grab a sample and try them out, before proceeding to the games.

Strolling confidently up to the wrestling ring, Audak approached the signup table where a short man with glasses was going over the rules with another challenger. The young man in front of Audak listened to the rules, nodding along, trying to rush the process, and immediately jumped in the ring the moment the instructions were finished. With a sigh, the administrator shook his head and turned his attention to the next in line. Seeing Audak’s belly at his eye level, the man looked up, and then up some more, to find the towering goliath smiling at him.

“Oh, a big lad, eh?” the man said, appraising the warrior’s physique. “You might just give Tatum a challenge today!”

Behind him, a shout of surprise was heard as the young man was thrown out of the ring, landing with a thud. Cheers went up as Tatum raised his arms in victory, awaiting the next challenger. The wrestling administrator quickly ran Audak through the rules and then sent him in, chuckling a little as the large barbarian tried to find a way through the constraining ropes of the ring.

The large wrestler, who the man in glasses had called Tatum, gave Audak a big smile as he sized up his opponent. Audak set his weapons to the side, keeping his eyes locked on his opponent as he set down weapon after weapon.

“I’ve tossed bigger than you, boy” taunted the muscle-bound wrestler. “I’ll make sure it’s quick for you!”

Audak grunted and charged, slamming into his opponent with surprising speed. Tatum had not expected the young man’s rush and it took a moment for him to break free from the barbarian’s grasp and get his footing again. Back and forth the titans went, pushing and manoevering, grabbing and breaking out, neither seeming to get the upper hand.

In the crowd, Flynver had arrived and noticed Audak in the midst of combat. The halfling almost felt bad for his opponent, knowing what might be about to happen. In amongst the cheers the business-savvy wizard heard a few folks talking about how the Tatum character was going to finish it quickly. They seemed confident enough to put a little coin in for a wager, and the halfling gladly put his money on Audak. Few here would know he had arrived with the young barbarian, and fewer still would know enough about the young man’s accomplishments. This was going to be easy money!

As if in response to the challenge, Tatum suddenly picked Audak up off his feet, high in the air over his head, and hurled with all his might, a confident smile on his face as he watched the goliath fly through the air. Flynver’s betting companions were about to raise their hands in victory when the barbarian’s hands shot out, grabbing the ropes at the edge of the ring. Somehow, Audak had kept himself in the ring and he used the ropes to rebound back to the mat and direct his momentum at the surprised Tatum. In one smooth motion the charging young man heaved Tatum onto his shoulders, rushing him to the opposite side of the ring and dumping him unceremoniously on a table outside the ropes.

A momentary gasp of surprise was followed by resounding cheers as Audak turned around in triumph, the shocked and surprised crowd quickly supporting the challenger who had dared to triumph over the hometown favourite. Flynver collected his winnings with a smile, though the noble who had bet a hundred gold pieces on Tatum’s victory seemed sullen about the whole exchange and stormed off in a huff after paying the halfling.

Though sullen about his loss, the wrestler approached Audak and congratulated him on a well-earned victory. Audak had earned his respect this day. The barbarian, smiling broadly and holding the bag with the challenge prize, went to find his companions and see what they were up to. It was a fine start to the festival!

Bullseye!

Tanthalas watched Audak’s contest with a large grin, enjoying seeing his companion having such a good time. The elf had also been eyeing a challenge to the north of the square where several folks had been tossing rings in an accuracy challenge. Drinking back a potion sample from the Magnificient Maestro’s supply, the ranger walked confidently up to the line of folks looking to try their hand at the ring toss and grabbed the attention of the elf running the challenge.

“Alae Keryn” greeted the elf in his native tongue, slightly bowing his head as Tanthalas approached. “Are you willing to show these folks the strength of the old ways?”

There was a bit of a challenge in the elf’s voice, but also respect. Tanthalas was not dressed as a normal traveller and bore the armour and weapons of a true warrior. Few among the elves of Eldravire would have trained as hard as the ranger had and, clearly, this elf had more respect for the ancient elven arts of battle than most.

“The farther and the smaller the target, the more points” explained the elf, who introduced himself as Solveig. “You’ll only have three throws, though, so make them count.”

Tanthalas eyed the target options before him and the current leaderboard. If the ranger wanted to take home the prize, he wouldn’t be able to do it with any of the nearer targets, he would have to aim for the toughest ones first and rely a little on luck. And perhaps a little magic! Tanthalas could feel the potion’s effects flowing through him. His eyes felt more focused and even his body seemed to react better, as if it was more finely-attuned with his mind. Taking the first ring from the other elf, the ranger paused and focused, before expertly flinging it several full lengths to the farthest target, nearly taking out the bullseye with the precise strength of his throw. With a smile, the elf took a second ring and this time deftly knocked aside the tiny moving bell target that had been set up. After only two throws, he already had a large lead in points against the current leader!

Deciding to add a little showmanship, he gestured towards Blitz, indicating the final ring. The tiny drake leapt up, grabbing the ring from Solveig’s hand, and then flipped into the air to drop the ring. Tanthalas caught it mid-air and flung the ring forward, much to the amazement of those who had gathered around. While the throw only hit one of the nearer targets, the display definitely garnered quite the applause out of the crowd who appreciated a little extra flair.

“Our new high score leader!” shouted the games runner, gesturing towards Tanthalas. “Can you beat the best? Do you have what it takes? Come and try your hand!”

Tanthalas walked away, fairly confident his score would hold up until the end of day. That prize money was practically his already!

A dwarf’s belly is never full

Over by Brand’s Baked Goods, a long table was set out with multiple pies upon it. A lone figure sat at the table, waiting patiently with a fork in his hand, his eyes focused on the pies before him. According to the signage, a pie eating contest was about to begin but the villager was waiting for the rest of the table to fill with contestants. Based on the way he was eyeing the pies, this was perhaps the man’s favourite part of Heroes Fest!

Doug was a simple man, with a simple house, and a simple job working at a simple shop. He had no amazing talents, no incredible stories to tell, no great wealth to horde. Doug was a happy man, though. Two wonderful kids and a partner that always made him feel as if he was the most incredible man in the world. But Doug had a vice, his one great weakness: he loved pie. Ever since he was a child and his grandmother would make him elderberry tarts or apple rhubarb pie, he had been lost to the tastes of pie. He couldn’t afford to buy the pies from Brand’s shop, but once a year the contest would give him the opportunity to enjoy the very best in town, all for free, and today was his day.

He waited patiently, knowing that eventually others would come to join him and he could finally dig in. As the afternoon wore on, he had started to wonder how long he would have to wait, but eventually an older halfling sat across the table, near the other end. Doug smiled a greeting, which was returned in kind. While halflings were known for being lucky, they were so small… how could he compete in a contest such as this?

A sour-looking nobleman wiped away the bench with a kerchief before sitting his fine silks upon the seat. He seemed to be staring down the halfling for some reason. From what Doug could overhear, the nobleman had lost some money and was planning to win some back through the contest. He found it doubtful that the noble could pull that off, given what Doug knew in general about the nobility around these parts. But it would be amusing to watch!

The real challenge was the dwarf who decided to sit down across from Doug. She practically radiated with power, the type of person that Doug could believe was connected to a higher being, and Doug had known enough dwarves in his time to know that there were few physical challenges a dwarf couldn’t excel at.

With the table finally full of contestants, though, it was time for the challenge to begin! Doug had done this enough times to know the tricks to making it through. Eating at a consistent pace, he spooned the wonderful blueberry flavours into his mouth, his rhythmic motions emptying out the first pie in front of him in seconds. As he dug into the second pie, he noticed that the others were not far behind, but Doug knew not to worry yet. There were still a lot of spoonfuls ahead.

By the third pie, Doug was feeling pretty confident. Everything was going well for him and the noble had even made a classic blunder of trying to pour the pie out of the plate into his mouth. Without having trained in the technique, the nobleman choked and spat. Cherry pie filling spread across the beautiful silks he wore and the look of concern across the nobleman’s face almost caused Doug to spit out his current mouthful! That noble might try to keep eating, but Doug knew he was out of the race.

On the fourth pie, though, worry set in with Doug. It was an apple pie, so wonderful on the tongue but a slow chew. The flavours were so wonderfully done, probably some cinnamon in there, if he had to guess. Doug took too long and then noticed that both the halfling and the dwarf had passed him. The dwarf was already half way through the last pie! With a renewed force, Doug focused and brought his spoon to his mouth, increasing his rhythm, trying to catch up, but knowing he had probably already made the mistake that would cost him the win.

There was a moment of hope for the villager, right at the end, as the dwarf across from him put the final mouthful away. The judge had come over to declare the winner but noticed the same thing that Doug had noticed… she hadn’t been able to hold the mouthful down yet! There was still a chance as Doug finished off the apple pie and reached for the final lemon meringue. Glancing sideways down the table, his hopes were shattered as he saw the halfling was almost done his lemon meringue already. The odds were against him now!

Doug had only taken a few bites into his lemon meringue when Alondil, the judge, raised the dwarf’s hand above her head, declaring her the winner of the contest. It was disappointing, but he could see that the cleric was happy and seemed a gracious winner. He saluted her with a spoon, before continuing to taste the wonderfully tart flavours on his tongue. What a wonderful day to be alive!

A tale as old as time

With overfull bellies, Flynver and Brylla walked together away from the pie station, laughing on their way to the potion seller’s wagon. They had both noticed a storytelling challenge with a hefty prize for whichever writing duo could come up with the best-received tale. With the confidence of the recent win at the pie-eating contest, Brylla was feeling up for trying her hand at another one, as was Flynver, but this time with a little “assistance” from Maestro.

Gathering up a few samples, the two of them drained the liquids and went to work on their joint effort. As Flynver explained some of the historical details he had gathered over the years, Brylla tried to piece it together into some sort of narrative. The current favourite had been a hit with the children in the audience, so the dwarf was thinking to take an aim at the younger audience, but pepper in enough details that would appeal to the parents who were watching as well.

Their piece, “The Folly of Grownups”, had enough slapstick in it to gather the interest of the younger ones in the crowd, but so many historical references were woven in that many in the audience also learned a thing or two. Flynver was particularly proud of weaving in some of the history of the Council of Nine along with a scene where a particular councillor received a pie in the face! The performers on stage followed Brylla’s directions perfectly and the show was the hit of the afternoon, receiving thunderous applause and cheers from all. Perhaps even enough to win? They would have to wait until the end of the day to hear the results, but no matter what the final results might be, Brylla and Flynver were proud of their creation and took home a copy of their script.

The sun’s getting real low

As the crew gathered together to tell of their adventures with the festival’s contests, a fearful shout rang out across the crowd. Over by the wrestling ring, an anguished cry of pain was heard as Tatum’s body snapped and stretched, his body bulging out as he grew to twice his normal size. The now-huge wrestler’s skin was stretched to its limits, Tatum’s face contorted in obvious pain, his voice bellowing out in anguish. The raging man rushed across the square, crashing through the display window of Brand’s Baked Goods, where a tiny yelp was heard from within.

Rushing across the square, Tanthalas charged through the front door to find a terrified little gnome in an apron backed up against a counter, eyes wide with fear. As the elf slid across the counter, trying to find the source of the terror, he found the enlarged Tatum crashing bowls and smashing various tools on the baker’s counters.

Flynver, holding back from the rest of the group, approached the potion seller, trying to find out what was happening.

“Please, help him!” pleaded Viktor Maestro, evidently distraught at the turn of events. “I don’t know what happened, we tested each one! Please calm my friend down before he hurts anyone.”

Flynver didn’t trust the potion seller, but both he and his assistant seemed surprised at the turn of events. Perhaps there was a way to keep things under control. Racing across the square to catch up with his companions, he reached the broken window to find the others in the shop, trying to calm the big wrestler as if he was a toddler. Brylla’s slow, calm, voice was trying to smooth things over while Tanthalas and Audak played a rhythmic beat. Tanthalas’ drumming seemed to soothe Tatum, at least momentarily, but then the large wrestler collapsed to the floor in uncontrollable laughter, rolling around while giggling. The man seemed completely without control over his emotions! When the laughing stopped, Tatum’s eyes went wide and he jumped to his feet, looking about. Rushing forward, the wrestler tried to push Audak out of the way to get to the door, desperate to escape. The barbarian caught Tatum’s arm in mid-swing and shoved the giant Tatum back to the ground, pointing a finger at him as if to say “Stay”.

Calming him once more, the group carefully tied him up. It didn’t seem like the potion’s adverse effects were wearing off, though. They were going to need something to act as a cure!

Chaos erupts

Flynver raced away from the bake shop, leaving his friends to keep an eye on the enormous strongman. As he came back out into the streets, however, there was nothing but chaos all around. Festival-goers were screaming and running away from hulking brutes, stone-skinned golems, acid-fleshed creatures, green-faced hags, and fire-spitting children. The once-festive mood had turned into a scene of complete horror! Those who had not tried the potions tried to escape the festival, rushing away from the main festival square, but many of those who had been turned were converging on the potion vendor’s wagon, yelling at him, demanding an answer. Folks were not very happy with the turn of events!

Spotting the halfling wizard, Viktor Maestro called out across the crowd, trying to get Flynver’s attention.

“HELP ME! HELP ME! I’LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING I HAVE!!” he shouted in desperation, backing away from the crowd that was encircling him.

“DO YOU HAVE A CURE FOR THIS?” Flynver demanded, his small frame struggling to keep eye contact with the man through the crowd.

“BACK AT MY SHOP!” Viktor responded, trying to be heard over the crowd’s increasingly agitated voices. “I NEED TO GET THERE AND FIND A SOLUTION!”

The man was clearly desperate and it did seem like he was genuinely shocked at the consequences his potions had inflicted upon the innocent. Pushing through the crowd, the wizard threw a cloak over the seller’s head and then whispered a few arcane words. Flynver took off down the street, now wearing the face and clothes of the potion seller. It was a bold move and the halfling was relying on a lot of luck, but he had learned over the years that luck had a knack for helping him when he needed it.

The crowd chased the Maestro-Flynver away from the square, allowing the real potion seller the chance to flee towards his shop. Flynver hoped the man was being honest about his intentions because otherwise they were going to have quite the problem on their hands. Ducking around a corner and dismissing his disguise, the halfling waited for the crowd to chase past before doubling back. His overfull belly gurgled in objection to all the athletics as the wizard raced back to follow the potion seller to his shop. With any luck, the alchemist’s shop was nearby. By his calculations, it might be only minutes before the potions started to affect some of his friends!

Credits

• Story credit: Storyline inspired by the random encounter “Presto Change-o”, from “The Game Master’s Book of Random Encounters” by Jeff Ashworth
• Cover image: “Festival on a sunny day”, generated by Jason St-Cyr using NightCafe
• Magic shop image: “Gears and Grimoires”, generated by Jason St-Cyr using NightCafe
• Viktor Maestro image: “Half-elf potion seller”, generated by Jason St-Cyr using NightCafe
• Tatum image: “Grappler”, generated by Jason St-Cyr using NightCafe