Sigil Prep class of 5e

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4/12/2018 5:59 pm  #1


Adventure 1: The Tournament of Torpala

The heat of early summer beats down upon the crowds as they streamed into the stone fortress that lay atop the cliffs at the edge of the Palan river. It is said that Summer was once a season of passions, where the hard labors of man were forged into the fruits of their endeavors, whether those be the crops of the farmer, or the campaigns of the warlord. However most of those gathering into the stronghold are unaware of such things. For them, Summer is but 30 years old, few of them are scarcely old enough to have known Summers other than these, and even for those elders among them, it is still considered a gift compared to the unending cold they suffered under Mulcarn's reign. However the True Bannor know better than most that these Summers are not the Summers of their youth. For just as Winter was Mulcarn's season, Summer was Bhall's, and it has changed since their return to Erebus. In the brief few decades since their escape from Hell, the heat of Summer still stirs the blood, but with frustration and aggression, rather than the passion felt during the Age of Magic. All too often the harvests have been stymied by drought. But worst of all are the Orcs. Perhaps it is the priesthood of Bhall that drives them to raid during her sacred season, or perhaps the fallen Goddess herself boils their corrupted blood to go forth and shed blood in her name, but regardless of the reasons, the Bannor have come to expect the aggression of the Orcs during the Summers.

Perhaps this is the reason behind the interest they display for what should all rights be a local celebration, the Festival of Grudges Ended, or as most refer to it, the Tournament of Torpala. For the past 20 years, the Hound Kin of the Southern hills and the Boar Kin of the Northern Forest have gathered with their finest warriors to compete against one another, primarily for glory, as well as the gifts given to the winners by the leaders of the two kins. This year, the High Chieftain of the Boar Kin has offered two beautifully carved ivory statuettes depicting Einherjar warriors, the honored dead of Junil, which he claims were made from the tusks of the final Woolly Mammoth living in Erebus since the end of the Age of Ice. Meanwhile, the Duke of the Hound Kin has presented two interlocking chains of many fine silver and gold links, brought together by a deep sapphire gemstone. All agree that the value of such gifts is beyond measurement, though privately most appraisers would place their combined value at at least 200 Gold Pieces.

However even aside from the value of the prizes themselves, the other incentive for competition in the Tournament has arrived at the Gates of Torpala. The Bannor have traditionally sent a small military delegation to oversee the tournament and recruit promising young warriors into their ranks. While recruitment has rarely been a major area of concern for the Bannor against the scourge of the Orcs, many Hound and Boar kin soldiers consider it a mark of prestige to be personally scouted by the Bannor at the competition. This year, the delegation is led by Captain Revius, an old dog of a commander among the True Bannor, his brutal looking battle-axe strapped behind him as he approaches the gate mounted atop a destrier. Flanking him are two other figures. The first, a Confessor of the church of Junil by his vestments, rides with a fiery expression on his youthful aquiline features. The second, dressed in the armor of a Paladin of Junil, a heraldic shield marking him as a member of the Kin of the Fox, and a face that shows him to be nearly as young as the Confessor, yet with a decidedly more easy-going expression. The rest of the delegation follows close behind them on foot, primarily made up of Bannor soldiers and officers, as well as several more Acolytes of the Order.

The rest of those entering into the gates have stepped aside for the procession, mostly being made up of locals from the nearby fishing, herding and hunting villages come for the festivities and the market, as well as a few merchants from further afield, most notably several Peddlers from Tentario-Onis, the largest city of the Bannor apart from the capital, a port city of the Hare Kin, as well as an elf carrying with him a small Lyre, a sister of Sirona in her pure white habit wheeling a small cart of herbs and regents, and finally a bespectacled man in a brown robe apparently arguing with the gate-keeper about his pack, oblivious to the oncoming procession.


((Go ahead and place your characters within the scene.))

 

4/12/2018 6:24 pm  #2


Re: Adventure 1: The Tournament of Torpala

Kirnan watches everything with interest.  The tournament was an excellent place to make money, you just needed to keep your eyes open.  And if he had to, well, he could always enter and try for those tasty prizes.  That necklace would keep his daughter fed for a year.  But, he supposed her mother would spend some of it...  Ah well, she was still up for a roll now and again, and she was pleasant enough.  Always someone looking for a good sword arm though, just had to find them...

 

4/12/2018 7:00 pm  #3


Re: Adventure 1: The Tournament of Torpala

A tall, lean redhead saunters through the crowd. She wears light silks and other gauzy fabrics that reveal much, but the massive axe strapped to her back suggests you not stare overlong. She takes particular interest in the merchants, curious what new trinkets and delicacies she might be able to enjoy today.

 

4/13/2018 6:51 am  #4


Re: Adventure 1: The Tournament of Torpala

Among the delegation of Bannor is an odd sight to many, though one the chieftains have likely known well.  After all, it was through common allies that Syndari was allowed to approach the Bannor in the first place, and with these two she had failed many a time before.  Indeed, her rust red and black scales would be a known sight to the elders, as she was the only lamia to routinely visit this corner of the world - indeed, it sometimes felt like she the only lamia to venture away from Kuriotates some days.  Tall, sleek, and slender, hairless and covered in her scales, she glided across the dust behind Captain Revius' s honor guard in a simple yet surprisingly elegant toga of tan and brown with the symbol of Kuriotates upon her breast.  In her pack, though, she carried her weapons and armor, for while it may not suit one sent to broker peace to seem geared for war, it was simply pragmatic in this era to be prepared.

 

4/13/2018 8:46 pm  #5


Re: Adventure 1: The Tournament of Torpala

A lithe, sandy-haired young man slips his way through the growing crowds, at least as best he can with a full naval overcoat and several layers of garb on underneath. It’s apparent he’s a trunk-less traveler, opting instead to wear all of his worldly possessions (they are few). Recently returned from the sea, and mightily unfamiliar with the bustle of city life, the young man stays close to the outskirts of the flood of people making their way to the tournament. Having heard about the tournament in a bar at his most recent port, Tentario-Onis, he knows he has an ever so slim shot at winning the prizes, but it’s worth a try. Anything would put him a step closer to his goal of purchasing his own ship. If he can just find where to sign up…
 

 

4/14/2018 10:19 pm  #6


Re: Adventure 1: The Tournament of Torpala

Elanna gazes out over the tournament, a sad look in her eye. For her, summers are a sad reminder of what was, even though she barely remembers the summer of old, and perhaps the frustration of losing Bhall boils in her veins more than most. Still, she resolves to make the best of the tournament, walking in the detachment behind Revius as she keeps an eye out for promising talent. 

Last edited by Ionbound (4/14/2018 10:19 pm)


Sarah McAllister: Human Artificier (Gunsmith) 2
 

4/14/2018 11:26 pm  #7


Re: Adventure 1: The Tournament of Torpala

The merchants that the redhead walked among appeared to mostly be bearing finished products and crafted goods, such as pearl jewelry from the Lanun, Wines and Sugared sweets from far-off Jubilee, and even a few mechanical toys often created by the Luchuirp Dwarves. None of them were especially high quality, but they were useful trinkets to make a profit at these kinds of festivals in exchange for the smoked fish and game that the locals produced.

____

The delegation marched up to the gate of the stronghold, where the gatekeeper gave a sharp salute, however the bespectacled man in the brown robe who he had been arguing with only now realized what had approached behind him.

"Warden" Captain Revius nodded, acknowledging the gatekeeper's attention. "Is there a problem here?" he looked towards the man in brown.

"Sir!" the warden barked back "We searched the pack and found this man to be in possession of potentially dangerous herbs and regents. As per protocol we asked him for a valid temple affiliation, but he has not provided anything but an organization we have no records of."

The bespectacled man looked like he wanted to speak up, but the glare from Captain Revius stayed his complaint for a moment before asking him.

"Well then? What is this organization?" the Captain asked.

The man composed himself "I am an official herbalist of the Ordo Medicus, and if you would allow me my pack, I could present you the license from Midgar's chapter..."

"Midgar?" the confessor beside Revius inquired, a smirk forming on his face. "Forgive me Captain, but I believe I have found the source of the confusion. This man can provide no valid temple because he is a Grigori, apostates as they are. However, the point remains. The law is in place to protect the general public from the schemes of poisoners and charlatans..."

"Charlatans!" the man in brown forgot his fear at the procession in his outrage "I learned to heal the sick with my own hands, not by waving them in the air hoping for the mercy of some god! I know more of the human body than your entire priesthood combined, and you dare call me a charlatan?!" as he took a breath, he suddenly seemed to recall the implications of his actions. Though the priesthood of Junil was not necessarily considered above reproach in Bannor society, such direct criticism could easily be considered a violation of anti-blasphemy laws. And with the look of fury upon the confessor's face, it was easy to read what he was considering.

Last edited by Ravian (4/14/2018 11:27 pm)

     Thread Starter
 

4/15/2018 4:50 pm  #8


Re: Adventure 1: The Tournament of Torpala

Syndari had slithered forward as the conflict arose, looking to confessor and to the doctor as she slowly slithers between them.
"Before you make a decision, Lord Confessor many a land is not as blessed by Junil, or even their own patrons among the gods, as the lands of the Bannor.  It has many a life that has been saved by the Ordo Medicus since it's founding in the Age of Magic, including my own some sixty years past.  A fine group that has constantly sought to aid in the understanding of the body and natural healing, for times when magic was not readily available.  In teaching people how to not to rush the clergy for every illness, wound, or malady, allowing the conservation of the power of clerics for the grave emergencies where magic is the only option.  Indeed, they have been furthering their studies of the human body since before the Age of Ice began.  It is no claim against Junil's might for him to say he is well educated in the mundane medical arts."
She goes into a gentle bow before the confessor and the retinue of the Captain

Last edited by Eshkigal (4/15/2018 4:55 pm)

 

4/15/2018 5:00 pm  #9


Re: Adventure 1: The Tournament of Torpala

Kirnan watches the conflict with the alchemist with interest.  A foreigner with credentials from an organization no one's heard of?  He's either a con artist, or just the first of many.  Either way, a potential employer.  Especially if he insisted on picking fights like this.

 

4/15/2018 5:35 pm  #10


Re: Adventure 1: The Tournament of Torpala

Bekkah looked over the pearl jewelry with interest. She'd seen fancier in her father's harem for sure, but this had a certain rustic charm.

"How much for this one?" she asked, lifting a rose pearl necklace and letting it dangle from her outstretched fingers.

 

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