Session 26: A Grand Celebration Report
General Summary
The last thing Ragia remembered when their eyes opened was a wave of heat before overwhelming darkness, as the nearly blinding light before Ragia dims into the shape of the life cleric, standing over her, arms outstretched. Behind the cleric, The rest of the party is looking at Ragia with great worry.
"... let's never do that again" Ragia says weakly. Before Naomi rushes to her companion and hugs them.
"Oh my Lord, Ragia, I'm so sorry! I wasn't good enough as a cleric to save you.."
Ragia pats Naomi and hugs her back. "To be honest, the last seconds are kinda blurry, but i'm pretty sure it wasn't your fault. At least ayame wasn't the one to bring me back to life," She says looking to Ayames skeletal companion. "No offence to sebastian but i like my flesh living."
The cleric that brought Ragia back appears to have suffered from some sort of disease, as he backs away from the party, allowing them to converse with their companion as he bows to them, the bandages sagging along his covered face and arms before he leaves the party to their own devices.
Ayame laughs a little nervously and nods "D-Dont worry I wouldn't do that to a friend!" Eleanor looks at the Kitsune with a twinge of doubt.
Naomi snuffles, wiping her nose before standing back up. "Oh gosh I'm gonna be a mess for tonights event..."
"You should be happy! Not everyone gets to come back..." Ayame says to Ragia, then says quietly, "Not once we are done with them."
"Fair enough, thogh couldn't you all have splurged for a dragon reincarnation? would have made things a lot simpler for me~" Ragia says playfully.
Eleanor Pats Naomi's back "Well after the ceremony we can stay over at that fancy place again. I'll bring some drinks and we'll all get to wind down."
Naomi looks at Eleanor, "Are you sure drinks are a good idea?"
Eleanor pouts a little bit "since when were drinks not a good idea? Besides that political bull the other night.. and a few other situations..."
Ayame squints, "You two and drinks are never a good idea."
"Party pooper." Ragia mutters.
"Im sure there will be drinks at the party anyways." Ayame says with a smile.
"Excuse you I've never done anything worse drunk that I wouldn't still do sober." Eleanor retorts.
"W-well regardless! We still have an event to attend, and I'm sure someone other than the Clerics at this temple would like to hear how we stopped those thieves."
Ayame smiles, and nods in agreement, "Yes! I can't wait to go."
"are the books okay? i felt fire when i.. anyway, books ?" Ragia says.
Ayame nods in response, "Yeah they are fine."
"No clue. We can check what we got later though. At least one of us has obligations today, and if I remember right, we're accompanying her I think?"
"Eh? O-Oh yeah I still have the entrance exam..." Ayame says.
Naomi pats the kobolds head, "The books are fine, but as Ayame said we have quite a few things to attend to today. We'll look at the books tonight yeah~?"
Eleanor scratches her head, "Alright so.. we go with Ayame to that first? Then ceremony thing? I've no plans myself today so I'll just be taggin along."
"Yes, I do believe Ayame's exam is first, right?" Naomi says looking at the Kitsune.
Ayame nods, "I'm uhm...I'm going to go back to that!" she says picking up her things.
Ayame rushes towards the door to the temple, where before she can even step foot out the door, a woman stands before her. With jet black hair, and cat-like ears poking out from underneeth her simplistic yet regal looking robes, a thin cat tail swishes behind her as the woman shoulders her scythe with a metalic right arm. The woman smiles, as even those without the capability to detect magic can sense the overwhelming aura of power behind the smile. "I heard you rescued some of my books, That sort of stuff never gets by me." She says with a giggle.
Ayame blinks, almost literally skidding to a stop as she encounters someone in the doorway, barely avoiding crashing into her, before quickly taking a step back "I-u-uhm..Yeah we did!"
Naomi squeals and waves to the woman. "Aunty Violet!" She says before running over to the door, ending up behind Ayame, looking at her family over the kitsune's shoulder.
Scared at the power before her, Ragia hides behind Eleanor, while Eleanor pats the kobolds head.
iolet grins and reaches out a hand, laying it on Naomi's head and rubbing it "Hey there my little muffin, I've missed you!" she says with a wide happy smile "And I see you have made a bunch of friends!" she says glancing at the party.
"I didn't expect you to come visit personally! Gods you still look the same, you really do never age... Yeah these are my friends, Ayame, Eleanor, and Ragia! We adventure together -- like you and my mom used to!"
Violet giggles, "Mhm~ Curtesy of my travels with your mother, I'll tell you all about it over dinner, and you can fill me in on you and your friends travels."
Naomi puts her hand on Ayame's shoulder and shakes her out of her stupor "Psst, that's the Headmistress of the school you're applying to." She says before looking back to Violet. "Aunty Violet, my friend here was going to apply to your school!"
Ayame blinks and stutters, nodding her head, her face a little flush, not usually put into a situation where she looses her cool like this "Y-Yeah" Ayame says quietly
"I heard! And I also heard about what you did down there, saving the books, and using your magic to drown an opponent, I would say you have earned your entrance into the school, congratulations" she says, putting her hand onto Ayame's shoulder gently, a simple cape with the guilds crest forming out of thin air and gently tying itself around Ayame's shoulders.
"Goodness! Sweet cream, congratulations Ayame!!!" Naomi says, jumping up and down, and clapping her hands in excitement.
"Th-Thank you so much! I will make you proud!" Says with a beaming smile, before it falters, her glance pausing towards Ragia. "But the wizard got away... I showed him mercy and he killed Ragia..." But she quickly smiles, with Naomi's excitement being as contageous as it is.
Violet Nods "Yes well you can say that is the first lesson you learned at school...don't show mercy to anyone..." she then pauses and grins conspiratorially to Naomi "Don't tell your mom I said that~"
Naomi gasps, looking shocked. "As if! There are tons of things we've done together that I've yet to tell my mom. I mean, Ariel might know...But she surprisingly gets along with you well."
Violet grins, "Good" she says, looking up at the others "And you are Eleanor, it is a pleasure to meet you, make sure to keep my student and niece safe."
Eleanor kind of straightens out upon being called out and she gives a quick nod, "Y-yes of course!" She looks between Ragia and Naomi, adding, "I think this's the first I've heard of Ariel. Addin that one to my list of Naomi's parental figures"
Naomi looks to Eleanor. "I have a lot of moms. In fact, Violet is like a mom to me almost, she used to take me to do things my mom Rea wouldn't let me do."
Violet nods, yes my little muffin here has a harem of moms you could say"
"...My mom Rea doesn't know when to stop sometimes..." Naomi mutters for a moment before perking back up and looking to Violet again, "So...Why did you show up so suddenly? Was it really just to congratulate us for stopping those thieves?"
"Welll... No, I need the books that were stolen from the tower." Violet says.
"U-uh, we can't like...Use any of them Aunty?" Naomi says.
"I'm good on books so no complaints from me, I've never been one for.. proper or any magic myself. I think.... No offense." Eleanor says with a shrug.
"Well, I don't think they would be of much use to you...we don't have many materials for divine magic, and they are all heavily warded, difficult to read" She says before smiling to Eleanor, "None taken, I am well known for mixing martial prowess with magical skills, both have their place"
Naomi pouts at Violet for a few moments before breaking it with a sigh, "Gods, fine I guess we have to then huhs?"
Violet leans over and flicks Naomi in the forehead, "You can keep the magical ones, I'll just take the normal ones~"
After some light searching, the party find the non magical books and hand them over, totalling over 300 tomes. After absorbing the books into her magical blade, she looks to Naomi with a smile, "I have to be going, buit I can't wait to have you over for dinner! Oh and the ceremony is starting at noon, I moved it ahead~"
"Congrats by the way, Aunty Violet! I guess we'll see you then~"
Violet smiles and nods "Well if you decide to enroll in the academy alongside your friend naomi you could live forever too with enough study~ Be my little muffin until the stars burn out for real~ Ta-Ta~" Violet steps out into the street then almost immediately dissapears in a blur with a gust of wind.
Naomi sighs happily. "She's the only reason I ever got to go places I wanted to go to when I was young."
Ayame blinks, looking to Naomi, "Your mom couldn't catch up to her?" she says, running her hands along the edge of her new cape gently.
"No, my mom was very strict when I was a child. She rarely let me leave the house unattended. I love my mom but she's...a lot to deal with sometimes." Naomi says with a giggle.
"Well it's good you've finally got out of that at least. You've got some... impressive parents Nao" Eleanor says.
Naomi nods, "Mmh, yeah they're pretty cool."
Ayame nods, "I perfer muffin."
Naomi blushes, "H-hey only my aunty can call me that!"
Ayame pouts, "Fine... well... I guess we should be getting ready for this fancy gala."
"...Get ready?" Eleanor says with a worried tone.
"Well we should go dressed nicely, right?" says Naomi.
Ayame blinks "W-Well yeah...you can't just go in your every day clothes and armor.."
Naomi looks Eleanor up and down, with a light frown. "Y-you were gonna go in that?"
"Yeah this place like to get fancy... we'll probably need a trip to the clothing store for me and eleanor, i only have my travel clothes and i'm pretty sure she's not got a gala dress in her bag."
The priest that brought ragia back makes his way through the doors, exiting as he speaks to two of his clergy. "Twenty minutes to get to the college for the ceremony, should make it in time."
"Wait... We gotta DRESS UP??" Eleanor groans in disbelief.
"20 minutes ?! we're never going to be ready on time!" Ragia says. before pushing everyone out the door, "I know a place but we have to RUN!"
The party quickly manages to get some decent clothing, much to the moaning and whining of Eleanor, but they march up to the college just as the sun hits is zenith.
Violet is standing on a small raised stage alongside Espeaux, dark glasses and her hair let down while wearing a gold and white robe. Violet holds her scythe in the air, looking over a gathered croud of hundreds of people, both in the air and on the ground. "Today is to be a celebration of life, as Espeaux Shadowdirk has found the secrets to extend her own life to that which could match my own lifespan. Today we celebrate the teachings of magic, and an open forum for all those who wish to show off their knowledge and skill of the arcane. With few words, and with one spell, I call today the first ever Orhova, a day of games, challenging yourself, and of course, some of the best food, paid for by the state of Orzhov for all within the city! Let the games begin!" Violet says this and slams her scythe into the stage beneath her. A wave of magic siphons out from her weapon and a flash of purple energy spreads out in thin lines throughout the brickwork of the city itself. Throughout the city large amount of arcane energy spew forth from the ground as buildings themselves begin to move out of the way from the very center of the city itself. Even from the college itself, the crowd is agasp at the sheer volume of the city that starts to conjoin, and close off alleyways to make room to show the secret violet has been making for weeks now. An underground colosseum that reveals itself when she herself commands the city to do so. A single pillar of black light pours forth from a single building within the town, and Ragia instantly feels the overwhelming pressure of the sun lessen upon her eyes as Violet nudges Espeaux, whispering something to her as they look out over the city. Espeaux takes off her glasses, and can't help but smile at Violet. The Orhova games have begun!
After a huge round of applause from those gathered, Naomi turns to the party, "Well this was fancy~!"
"I'm pretty sure this is just the start." Ragia says.
"T-the amount of power it would take to do that..." Ayame says in awe.
"Well, she did stop the end of the world, so..." Naomi shrugs.
Leaning into the conversation, "So.. what're these.. games? That looks like a bit more involved than most games I know. This' a fightin tourney or somethin?"
Naomi turns to eleanor looking as if she is ready to give an answer, but after a long pause in thought, "Honestly, no idea." She says as even more people around them seem to be confused by the concept of the Orhova games.
Eleanor hums, and shrugs, "Alright, well I suppose lets see if an explanation comes to us then"
In the distance, the party can see spells being cast mid air, in spectacular display of fireworks and flashiness. Violet breaks her gaze from Espeaux, "Ah! the duels have already started. Lets go see if we can congradulate some winners." She says extending her hand to Espeaux, who takes it as they both walk into the city together.
"Oh...I guess there are duels? How'd you guess that Eleanor?" Naomi says, mildly impressed with her companion.
Eleanor gives another shrug, "Generally giant colosseum appearin don't mean a circus is in town. Generally."
Naomi sheepishly looks away from Eleanor, "F-fair..."
"i mean i'm pretty sure she did something similar when she invited a circus in town so..." Ragia says before starting to walk towards the new coloseum.
Celebrations have erupted throughout the streets of Orzhov. Many a food vendor has a member of the college writing down every sale made by the cart, and at nearly every corner of the city there are people performing magic tricks. Ragia even sees a few people firing off blasts of glitter, in daylight that she had never seen before, but she knows that they copied her spell matter of factly.
Beyond the magic tricks throughout the city, and even a few slight of hand shows that even get other wizards puzzled by the arcane methods used, they come upon several magical duels within the city, with spells slung back and forth between competing wizards, and an airborn duel between two sword wielding fighters. The city feels alive, joyous, and free of worry after the attack on the city earlier, everything seems at peace.
Ayame watches a wizard with muscles to rival that of Eleanor defeat an opponent in a duel before she approaches and the two get into a duel, with Ayame easilly thwarting him by having sebastian toss him aside like a tissue paper, while the rest of the party goes after several fun food and treat carts.
The party gets into other shennanigans, such as Ragia getting screeched at by another kobold who believes that owning an old moldy goblin cookbook that he believed was magical was the secret to winning "rock papah, szizzor," which he believed to be Venichis' first spellbook.
Ayame found another booth that had a deck of cards nailed to the counter, with the sign that says, "Curse or Fortune, play at lifelong risk. 1 silver per card, 50/50 odds." and became cursed after grabbing a card, and a second card giving her a list. "Gebertzwerg, North of Boegraan in the endless hills, The Steel Empire."
The other three, meanwhile found another vendor selling "Love Potions" run by a plain looking woman with a smile, saying that she offers the only absolutely true love, to which the party found that they were potions of self love, to which Ragia felt warm and wholesome inside, but Naomi was completely unaffected, and has a grand epiphany on the matter.
The parties met up again at a bench where a few Kenku selling toys, at which Ayame realizes that her curse is breaking any sort of "tool" that she touches, and the other toys being realistic looking weapons that can't physically hurt anyone, run by Blazing Armaments. Naomi trying to remove the curse, but aparently it just didn't want to be removed.
After another stall, with woman with a sore throat, they come to a final stall, with a sign nailed to it, "Closed due to public debauchery" written upon it. Many a gnomish invention is scattered behind it, that after some examination, looks to be purely mechanical, and non magical in nature. To which Ragia scrounges for parts.
With the fun of the day behind them, the sun starts to set, with fireworks going off throughout the city, with the Gala taking place back at the college.
Rewards Granted
Ayame Shiori passed the exam and is an official member of Orzhov, as well as the note "Gebertzwerg, North of Boegraan in the endless hills, The Steel Empire."
Additionally, Ayame gained a curse that breaks any tool she touches.
Character(s) interacted with
Violet Shadowdirk
Espeaux Shadowdirk.
Created Content
Orhova Games.
