Azimuth 2 - Session 39 - Fried Dough and Bad Plays
General Summary
Rill Priory
First Impressions
In the morning of 19 Adroth 5A 352, the Lightbringers ventured east of New Keeleon to the Rill Priory. Entering the grounds, they found a rundown but charming clay and stone estate. Though overgrown and somewhat dirty, the structure was sound, with large rooms and plenty of light. Shortly after their arrival, a contractor from the Kiloskitot Trade School arrived. He introduced himself as Barg and said he was sent to start on any basic repairs to make the space livable again. They explored the grounds and the interior, taking notes of what needed repair and making plans for the space. They investigated the exterior forge and bird tower, and the various interior rooms and amenities. The priory had an atrium near the main entrance that held four obelisks with pairs of Dragons symbology, seemingly as part of an old religious shrine. Demitri was aghast at the state of the place, saying, “We were given a home of pestilence.” Barg explained he was there to replace the broken furniture and fix the doors and shelves. Demitri immediately gave him an additional five hundred gold. Barg seemed excited to get to work. With the Commandment of Sky Guildhall shut down, he said the merchants of the city could function more freely without worrying about guild fees and dues. Barg said he would get to work immediately, skipping the Champion's Conquest festivities.Planning for the Day
At the mention of the festival, Captain Ruslan seemed exited to attend. He said he wanted to see the festivities and claimed he was getting hungry for the orcish food. The others seemed excited, too, but Romsca said she hadn’t planned on going. Romsca seemed negative about the holiday and said, “I’ve just not had great luck with being around when people are celebrating the death of my kind.” The group discussed what they knew of the history of Champion’s Conquest. Though Esturk, The World's End, historically used fiendish forces, during the Great War, beastfolk became involved as well. After the war, it was said the Zenethian Champions focused their early efforts on pushing away the remainder of Esturk’s beastfolk forces. Arwin asked if Romsca was sure she wanted to miss the festival, and Mortimr asked her to come with to help shop for supplies. Arwin said, “Think of it as a bonding experience,” and Romsca agreed to join them. Before leaving, they chose to hide the backpack with the Eight-Pronged Residuum Ring, instead of bringing it with to a busy event with lots of people around. Demitri cast an Arcane Lock so only the Lightbringers could unlock it. Then, Romulus used Stone Shape to bury it in the keep.New Keeleon
Resilience Park
The group headed out from the Rill Priory towards the city. It was a short walk to reach the eastern Kala Gate. Outside the town, they saw the camp of the Warden Rangers. The rangers appeared to be preparing for another expedition into the east. Though they didn’t stop to interact with the soldiers, they saw some of the effects of demonic corruption on several of the rangers. They passed through Kala Gate and traveled along Maddison Avenue towards the center of New Keeleon. The Resilience Park was filled with people and had been decorated for the event with banners of greens and golds and motifs of six green lights repeated all over the park. Instead of tension from the merchant class and unease and worry from the populace over the threat of the rebellion, the mood has switched to a very orcish, raucous energy. Loud drums beat over the hum of the crowd, and the scents of heavy foods, grilled meats and tobacco filed the air. Some of the group were surprised by the energy, and others were taken aback. Gertrude said, “The exuberance of youth. If only I was about two hundred years younger.” There were many types of hearty orcish foods, including bull steaks, wild boar, and stuffed hand pies. Other visiting vendors were present, too, including a caramel apple stand from Bridon Tillage. There was a fermented maize beer that intrigued the group, and Arwin bought servings for the party. They excitedly ate and drank as they explored the stands and merchant stalls arrayed outside the Victory Market.Bull Race Parade
In the center of the park, a parade of decorated orcish bulls was headed south. At the head of the column was the old orcish farmer Kuad and his star bull, Bessie. He was carrying a large metallic emblem decorated with six shining diamonds. Many onlookers were wearing Kuad’s colors, and he appeared to be the favorite to win the upcoming bull race event. Mortimr learned there were rumors about Kuad’s missing daughter from a decade ago, and since then he’d won every bull race. They said Kuad was historically tightlipped about what happened to his daughter, but very recently some claimed to have heard him speaking about her again. Romulus spoke with Bessie, who was aggressive and confrontational. Bessie seemed to be a legitimate bull and didn’t have information about Kuad’s daughter when Romulus asked. The talk quickly led to the pair strutting and flexing before the parade continued south. Romulus asked around and learned some of the details of the upcoming race length of the race. After telling the rest of the party, he and Arwin planned to head to the Mud Ward before sunset and try to enter the race.Face Painting and Wooden Swords
The southern side of the park had more family-oriented events and activities. After perusing the stands, Chaka set up a face painting stand with Romsca and Arwin’s help. The stand was immediately a hit with the many orcish children running around. Nearby, there was a stand selling wooden toy weapons and shields. A target range was set up with wooden stands decorated with painted monsters. Arwin saw most of the targets were demons and monsters, but one was designed to look like a Tanarukk, an orcish tiefling. At this stand, an old orc woman was speaking to some of the children. Though the mood of the festival was celebrating orc resiliency, she was pushing undertones about preparing for when demons would come again someday. This old orc told the kids, “Darkness will come again and orcs must always be vigilant.” This made Chaka uneasy, so he played his yarting loud enough to drown out the old orc’s words.Dragon Plays
At the southern end, a crowd of orcish families were gathered around a simple wooden stage where Zofi was directing Equus Orphanage orphan actors through a traditional play. Six kids were dressed as the Zenethian Champions during the final battle of the Great War. With extra actors, they faced children dressed as an army of demons at the Battle of the Demons' Blood Marshes. They were joined by a paper mâché Zenthai, The Dragon King, and faced Esturk, The World’s End. In a final clash, Esturk’s actor jumped off the back of the stage. With Esturk defeated, the demons were felled and left the stage. At the end, the six Champions took lit torches and set them into stands in the stage, saying, “We all must carry these torches so Tarteria is always in light.” The crowd politely applauded. Many of the crowd approached the stage to speak with the actors and present gifts. Romsca found Leena getting into a Morounin costume. She excitedly reacted to Romsca and started talking about the plays and her roles. Demitri gave caramel apples to the actors. Zofi noticed Demitri and thanked him for coming to see the children. She gave him a giant bag of food. He sincerely thanked her for the gesture. Demitri was worried the Prophets of Regression might try to harm Zofi or the orphanage to get to him. They talked for a time about the extra protections Nalt Oknar Rulla set for the orphanage, before Zofi had to get the children ready for the next play. Demtiri said, “I’ll try to visit as often as I can.” Zofi gave him a short hug. Demitri could tell she wanted it to last longer but was respectful of how new this connection they shared was.Droklosug
A loud cheer was heard from the west, where a crowd was gathered around a large fenced off area filled with wet clay and mud. It was an orcish sport called Droklosug, or Demon Ball. A team of six orcs covered only in white clay were rushing a ball against a dozen other players all covered with black clay. The star player of the white-clay orcs charged through the black-clay players. With a dramatic pass of the ball, he opened the way for a final score, and loud drums sounded to end that segment of the game. The crowd cheered as the players picked themselves up, though one of the white-clay players had broken their leg. The star player was an orc named Mahdbar. The group saw him don a traditional orcish kilt and start interacting with the crowd during the break. Mahdbar enthusiastically took the drink from Arwin’s hands and thanked him. Arwin said that play was a great display of skill, and he asked if they were now down a player due to the injury. Arwin said, “If you do need another player, I do have a recommendation.” Arwin and Mahdbar looked to Demitri. Demitri was caught off guard, but Arwin pushed him on. He starting to remove Demitri’s armor, saying, “It’s going to be a great experience for you. Think of it as bonding through kinship!” Demitri shakily said, “Arwin, I know I said I wanted to experience more orcish culture, but not like this!” With a final check to ensure he wanted to participate, Demitri chose to finish undressing. As he was covered in mud, the group first learned that Demitri was castrated. He was covered in white clay. As the players were called back to the field, Demitri realized no one had explained the rules of the game. The drums sounded again, Demitri was tossed the ball, and the black-clay players started to rush across the mud at him.
Report Date
19 Feb 2025
Primary Location
Secondary Location
Related Characters
19 Adroth 5A 352