19: MORE MERRY-MAKING

* **We continue hanging festival day 1. 8 nooses are tied and ready at the gallows.**
* **Shops. Food vendors. Wrestling pit. Tests of strength. Archery contest. Casual dice games/gambling.**
* **Fina (halfling) drinks and gambles, strategically and luckily. The drunker she gets, the less subtle she becomes. Kang eats more meat while scoping out the wrestling pit. Oris appears, wrapped in a million blankets and beelines for the beer cart, and attempts (poorly) to conceal herself from the villagers.**
* **Kang interrupts a wrestling match (surprising no one) with his entire body. It draws the attention of Hillbilly Jim (a drover) and a stout dwarven man (he’s soooo swole, y’all). Two rogue-types begin to move through the crowd, managing a surge of bets as the two combatants approach.**

* + **There’s lots of stalling and shouting to establish the rules while all bets are taken. With a gesture from the rogue-y guy, the wrestling begins.**
	+ **Kang shows off for the crowd – and ends his flexing routine by snapping into a rage. His eyes go white and shards of ice fly off of his body. This is the beginning of the Westfalia Wrestling Federation (WWF).**
	+ **(ROUND ONE) Kang manages to keep Hillbilly Jim at bay, which the Dwarfboi uses to his advantage! Dwarfboi runs and leaps onto Kang’s torso, pulling him to the ground and pinning his shoulders.**
	+ **(ROUND TWO) Kang manages to leg-lock the dwarf and flip him off of his body (down towards his legs), taking a moment to right himself and stand over the dwarf. Hillbilly Jim barrels towards Kang, almost managing to take advantage of Kang’s change in momentum…**
	+ **(ROUND THREE) …but Kang grabs him by the torso and uses his continued momentum to throw him to the edge of the circle (almost taking out a villager). The dwarf attempts to right himself, but Hillbilly Jim barrels into him in the process.**
	+ **(ROUND FOUR) Kang runs over to Hillbilly Jim at the edge of the circle, grabs him by the ankles and, in a completely unnecessary display of showmanship, flips him forward and out of the ring. Duffer (an old referee type) stands to proclaim “HE’S OUT!” –– and Kang takes the moment to grab Duffer’s stool out from under him.**
	+ **(ROUND FIVE) The dwarf has taken this change to right himself and sprint towards Kang, once again leaping onto his torso (and he shouts “BA-CAAAWK!” in a chicken noise), his head driving into Kang’s ribs. Kang staggers back to the edge of the ring but doesn’t fall out!**
	+ **(ROUND SIX) Kang redirects his momentum (poorly) towards the dwarf, smashing the chair over his shoulder. It deals 5 chair damage. (About 17% of the crowd shout “CHEATER!” More coins fly around in the crowd.)**
	+ **(ROUND SEVEN) Kang grabs the dwarf by the breeches, delivers the worst wedgie of all time, and tosses him out of the ring by his leather pants. VICTORY IS KANG’S!!!**
	+ **Kang takes a victory haka-stomp around the ring, flexing and pointing and blowing kisses to ladies. Duffer proclaims Kang the champion. Fina cheers on from the crowd, causing the wind to stir around me melodramatically. Oris, watching from afar, politely returns her gaze to the merchant cart in front of her.**
* **Oris is looking at a cart owned quite obviously by a city woman – draped in a gorgeous black gown and wearing a hat so extravagant that it in itself is probably a magic item. Oris, draped in a variety of cloaks and reminiscent of a hippie at Woodstock, draws some suspicion from her…but is diffused by Oris’s quiet request for “Help…”**

* + **“I used to be a man and now I’m a woman I don’t know what happened it wasn’t my fault it was a ring from a thing in a crypt HELP!” Oris pushes back the hood and comes closer; the woman side-eyes at Oris underneath the cloak. “Oh, you really are! Well, come around here where the men can’t see you.” and gestures Oris around the cart to a more concealed area.**
	+ **“What did you look like before?”**

* + - **Oris makes frantic gestures of various body shapes. “I looked like me but the man that was me not the woman I look like now HELP!”**
		- **She directs Oris to inquire at the guild of wizards in the capital city of Ancelstierre, looking for the big tower from the east gate. The witch begins to consider hiding him as a male, reaching her hand towards Oris as her broom (spellcasting focus) begins to twitch…but Oris steps back and asks if there’s another option. She suggests Oris goes to Rivermeet, where she can inform some colleagues that – for a very manageable price of 475gp – she would like to secure a Hat of Disguise WHICH ORIS OBVIOUSLY NEEDS IMMEDIATELY. Oris is told to look for an artificer-mage at the grand market the turn of the moon. Oris does lots of enthusiastic nodding and scopes out the rest of the goods on the wagon.**
	+ **Dozens of empty thick glass vials that don’t shatter (intended for adventurers) and thin glass vials that are meant to be thrown and break apart, shattering on others. Sets of corks. Sets of brands that are used to burn symbols into the cork.**

* + - **Six jugs of potion that she sells by the vial, stoppers, and brands. GIRL’S A POTION WITCH! Everything is very expensive, so Oris asks if she has any recipes instead. Potion Witch explains that she was Head Girl (obviously a Hufflepuff, GO HUFFLEPUFFS!) and would be able to teach Oris a significant craft under her tutelage…but it is not an art for the lazy or the impatient!**

* + - * **“That’s okay I was a cleric for a while but then I was kicked out its fine it’s okay I’ve changed” Oris explains her tussle with the Abbot at Stonegate Abbey (“Ah, yes, he’s a cantankerous boob!”). Oris will have to come to the city for tutelage…**
		- **At some point, Oris holds out Gilda proudly – and the potion witch IMMEDIATELY recoils. Oris slowly puts the cat away…but Gilda and Potion Witch aggressively lock eye contact. Gilda takes a moment to knock over a vial while continuing to aggressively maintain eye contact. At learning Gilda is her familiar, she takes Oris to the front of the cart and asks if she can read a certain potion recipe book. Oris can! It’s the formula for a potion of flying.**
	+ **At learning Oris is a peer – not a mere scribe with some clerical training – she offers to sell her some recipes. They arrange to meet in Lesser Oxenhall a few days from for Oris to copy one of  the following into her spellbook: Potion of Climbing, Potion of Hill Giant Strength, Potion of Water Breathing.**
	+ **The Potion Woman gives Oris her calling card – she’s so urban – so they may connect later. Her name is Desdemona Nightsky (Eric’s new drag name).**
* **As Fina socializes with various people, she overhears two young milkmaids chittering excitedly about a sighting of a fairy queen and a man over the forest (Fina and the Earl, based on context). Someone also claims to have seen a wereboar!**
* **Night falls. It gets chilly, but the cookfires and torches keep people warm. Fina scopes out any not-quite-so-wholesome groups and finds the gypsies! She’s loving it! She remembers her days as a traveling performer! The gypsies have transformed their wagon into a small stage where two gypsy girls/women are doing some kinda sexy folk dancing. Lots of belly dancing, hip rolls, and very modest burlesque. The young alpine boys are loving it and if Tarlenheim were there he’d be SO into these outfits.**

* + **Fina takes the money she won from gambling with the local men earlier and tips the dancers (aw, Fina). She sees a young gypsy man juggling knives while sporting a very thin and unfortunately patchy mustache. Periodically, he’ll interrupt his cascade to cut an apple tossed to him by another, younger boy. He  ends the show with some impressive feats of knife throwing.**
	+ **Fina finds the most rugged, well-traveled, sunburned, belt-full-of-daggers gypsy patriarch to have a beer with later.**
* **A gnomish man approaches Fina. He wears a deep purple robe with excessively belled sleeves and decorated in gold necklace chains and embroidered with gold stars. His hair and facial hair is styled similarly to Wolverine’s. He is wearing midnight blue suede breeches that tuck into fine black boots.**

* + **Him: “Hi!”**
	+ **Fina: “Hi! I like your shirt.”**
	+ **Him:  “Come this way!”**
	+ **The gnome buys Fina a drink cause she’s hot, then makes a swishy gesture. Gold appears in his hand! He offers Fina a sip of his brandy. “A shared cup is a happy cup!” Fina shoots it. A beer and a whiskey now! Make it double!**
	+ **Fina asks his name. It’s Thomas Glittergold! She asks how far he has traveled. He says he just came from Ancelstierre. They shoot the shit, and then the goblin tells Fina a dark-haired pirate lady is COMING FOR HER**
	+ **Where it is that you an youre’n, you’ve come to be the proud owner of a certain pot with the shiny affinity of the coin -- if y’is to return it to its rightful folk, they might be inclined to owe ye a favor**
	+ **Fina: yeah but why should I care?**
	+ **Sometimes, a lass of the sea high-stepping it across the land can get lost… real, fearsome lost. (LEPRECHAUNS GON MESS WITH PIRATE CHICK) If you wish to return what’s given, y’might ask for me by name: Thomas Glittergold.**
* **Fina turns into fairy form! For a second, the gnome shimmers too… but Fina doesn’t see anything else. Fina thinks she probably had too much to drink.**

* + **The guy says: “I’d not see ya cut… something draws me to ya on sight.” He reaches down and picks up an acorn. He pops off the cap bit, puts two thumbs on it, and blows to make a shrill whistle. He gives her the acorn top. Fina gracefully takes the acorn. “Come into the forest and sound off, and I’ll come a’runnin’” Then he hops over the log and poof vanishes**
* **KANG is eating a pound and a half of pig meat soaked in booze. He looks over at  Fina… she’s talking to a leprechaun!! WTF. Then he poofvanishes over behind a log that’s not big enough to hide anyone. MAGIC.**
* **Then Fina, realizing that she’s surrounded by staring villagers, begins to rise into the air in fairy form, shouting about being a goddess. (She’s very drunk.) Kang wanders over, pulls her out of the air, and she pops back into a hafling. Kang hauls her away to the gypsy carts where there’s a little more privacy, and he feeds her so she can sober up a  bit.**
* **The gypsy guy says, “I see there’s a little more to you than meets the eye.” But Fina’s face is all full of pork so she can’t respond. Oris wanders over. Nobody has seen lady Oris before! Kang is momentarily distracted, and Fina uses the opportunity to use acrobatics to escape and start flying again. Oris attempts to stop her with Hold Person, but Fina avoids it. Kang is freaking out. He runs off to find Tarlenheim.**
* **Fina realizes that the strange chick is ORIS! She plops out of the air and starts touching Oris’ face. She realizes she’s still flying, and lands … turning into Hafling Fina and doing a Gymnastic “stuck the landing!” pose**
* **Kang comes back. No Tarlenheim. Kang and Fina continue to freak out. Oris leads them away to get Fina some water. Fina attempts to use magic to  squirt water directly into her mouth. It works, somehow.**
* **Kang keeps touching Oris’ hair.**
* **Oris bargains with Fina: every time Fina drinks water, Oris answers a question about how she got gender bent. Kang joins the fun. Exposition is given. Everyone is reasonable sober by the end.**
* **The party settles in to listen to stories and dance around the bonfire. Kang wants to dance. He starts spinning people. Fina joins in! Oris sits on a log and pets Gilda/death glares at anyone who comes to ask her to dance.**
* **Kang flails in his first dance, but does a great job at his second one.**
* **Everyone breaks for the night.**