Chapter 2: All's Faire...

General Summary

Waking on the second day of the Harvest End Festival, Winston and some of his new friends are ready for some breakfast. But before they can settle in, Mrs. Scritchenbach is horrified to hear a few of the party went to stay down in the Docks district alone. Concerned for their safety, she sends her guests off to find their remaining members and return with them for a meal.   At the Last Draught, Lyti the innkeeper starts the morning with some swearing- rats have ruined a bag of grain, and are getting to be more bold in their theft. She asks Eleanor and Archibald if they would be willing to help her rid the area of these rats- for pay of course. They agree, and the remainder of the party arrives just in time to help. The discover several rats in the alley behind the inn and quickly exterminate them. As they investigate the alley, the party finds several giant rats, as well as a pair of imps who were disguised as the fuzzy little creeps. These were still no match for a pack of dogs and cats working together.   After a nice meal back at the Scritchenbach's Estate, the party enjoys more show and games- losing a bit of money at the Chicken Races and participating in a poetry memorization contest. Agathe had quite the talent for poetry, winning the grand prize- 30gp, a new set of clothes provided by the local tailor shop Woolen Weavers, and an invitation to the Dignitary's Dinner the following night to eat fine food & recite one of the poems for the local merchant's council & out of town guests.   Browsing the last of the tents, the party heads in to check out the Kleingold Animal Side Show. They discover a number of rare, exotic, and occasionally dangerous creatures inside, from a pair of lions to a plant-eating dinosaur, a blind basilisk, and a frightening creature labeled "Wendigo". The cages are clean, but too small for the creatures inside them, and they all look a bit thin. A middle-aged Halfling woman, Olana Dimmermoon worked a booth selling feed for the animals. A young human man, Ansel Opland chatted with the party, explaining his inability to even approach the Wendigo cage to clean it. The party finds themselves in the same situation, and after feeding the more gentle creatures they head off for more pleasant surroundings.   Returning to the Scritchenbach's Estate for a lovely dinner, everyone was given a soft warm bed of their own to enjoy in Winston's room. Full bellies led to a good night's sleep.   Early the next morning, the party was awakened by an intruder- a small tabby cat had made her way in to Winston's room, waiting for the party to wake. She introduced herself as Kit, a friend of Ansel. Kit asked if the party would be interested in a little heist- the Kleingold Animal Sideshow was refusing to pay Ansel for his work, and she intended to go in and retrieve Ansel's wages for him. As a bonus, she had inside information that some of the employees were selling illegal Sodgrimm on the side, and there was a secret cash box she could access as well, given enough time and cover. The party agreed and were set off to help.   Outside the tent, Olana could be heard threatening some poor individual. The party snuck around the far side of the tent, Clawdius following Kit inside to help keep watch. Eleanor and Agathe headed around to see if they could calm down the brewing argument between Olana and the debtor. A fight broke out within minutes, spilling into the center of the fairgrounds, though the distraction seemed to have worked in the party's favor. Back at the tent, Winston noticed Ozkvaru Little-Drake, the Orc from the juggler's show, sneaking in to the tent. Though Winston tried hard to talk him out of it, Oz picked the lock of the Wendigo cage and snuck off with the creature. Through all the chaos, Kit was able to steal what the party was after, Eleanor managed to get Olana arrested, and the heist was a success.   The party enjoyed a little shopping at the last day of the faire, and stopped in for the magic show. Syllia Heroux put on a lovely show with her assistant Elwindeth Stonepine, and Winston was selected as a volunteer. All went as expected, though there was a small hiccup in Syllia's mind reading toward the end of the performance, as for a moment she though Winston was thinking of Gnolls instead of the creature he had in his mind. The party was invited to Syllia's tent for a 'meet & greet' after the show, where Syllia invited them all for tea and conversation, as well as for any party spellcasters to take part in meditative gazing into her restorative crystal- regaining any spell slots spent earlier in the day. After a pleasant visit, they part ways and the party went to clean up and prepare for the Dignitary Dinner.   The dinner was an extravagant affair, with many of the movers and shakers of the nation of Fredsfelder and international guests present. The party enjoyed food, Agathe performed her poem wonderfully, and though some of the upper crust were less welcoming to a large group of furry guests, Mayor Ashglade was happy to have them along and was quick to mention all the good deeds the party had done already to help out at the faire. Toastyn had an unexpected encounter from her hometown as Mayor Wildrye from Lillehav was in attendance. Though she let Toastyn know her master was worried sick about her, Wildrye promised not to tell him exactly where Tostyn was- though she did encourage her to at least write home. Toastyn, ever the independent spirit, said she'd consider it. Winston's human 'brother' Alexander was hitting it off with Elwindeth, and wanted to sneak out of the stuffy highbrow affair for what he referred to as "the real party", inviting Winston & his new friends to join him. His sister Ameline decides she'll come along, because third-wheeling is fun when it makes your brother uncomfortable.   The group moves to Laughingsteel Pub, where they find the alcohol is delicious and reasonably priced, Ansel Opland is performing on stage for the evening to a pleasant crowd, and many of the performers from the faire have come to unwind and celebrate their final night in town. After a few hours, Winston's human siblings walk Elwindeth back to the fairgrounds and head home. As the hour grows quite late, Clawdius & Agathe hear unusual sounds outside. Peeking out the pub windows, they discover a small party of Gnolls running in to town- it's a raid.   The party worked with the faire performers to take down the Gnolls in the town center, and give directions to split up. The Orchish trio of the Bright Phoenix troupe headed back to the fairgrounds, while Ansel and Kit followed the party to the impoverished (and quite flammable) Lichgate district. They found several areas of town in flames, but were able to save many people from the rampaging Gnolls. After a quick stop by the Scritchenbach's Estate to ensure his family was safe, the party joined the others back at the fairgrounds for a battle with the remaining Gnolls. Though the day was won with no party casualties, much of Jaarvi is covered in soot and smoke. In the morning, the real damage will be assessed.