5.2 Obligatory Festival Arc

General Summary

This recap covers SKRUNGUS' participation in the Annual Guild Showcase up to the awards ceremony.

Brand New Faces

Let's be perfectly clear here. The Guild Showcase was, in part, an excuse to do a lot of worldbuilding without having to move the plot forward too much. It was a nice change of pace to focus on the people, the places, and the performances that Tian Wu Yan had to offer.
With that out of the way, the First Annual Guild Showcase was Queen Pao's idea, for she wanted to celebrate the success of (her) adventuring guilds. In this two-day competition, each adventurers guild in Fengqi would do their best to wow the judges with their aesthetics, skills, and combat abilities. A points system spanning multiple categories was set in place, and the rules for the competition were released a month in advance to give guilds time to prepare.
SKRUNGUS was in it to win it. A big fancy trophy would be an apt marker for all their accomplishments so far (not that the mere act of helping people wasn't enough). Dozens of hours and gold were spent in preparations for the Showcase.
In lieu of providing a detailed play-by-play of each of the events, I would simply like to list some of the more plot relevant bits here:

• The three judges were King Xi Bai, Alturaakhr, and Kaldham. Xi Bai was Queen Pao's husband and one of the most celebrated inventors around. Alturaakhr was the matriarch of the orcish Fisher Faction and the richest person in Fengqi. And Kaldham, sweet Kaldham, was a respected dwarven journalist with an obsession over theoretical 'mortaloids' - aka the actual Descended.
• Lyca accompanied Master Su and the Su clan back to Chimyeong in order to remediate its undead problem. Umeiri decided to become a full-time diplomat between Dark Feng and Fengqi. Ze Xie went back to being a now high-ranking guard who would still adventure and represent SKRUNGUS on occasion.
• SKRUNGUS got to meet some suspicious characters and some really nice ones. There was the drow Gilvir and halfling Namhee of CLAMS. There was the loxodon Gazebo and orc Bauzikhr of VORE. And then we were introduced to some new guilds including R.I.C.K.Y. and H.U.N.K.S.
• Biggles was receiving yellow black opera threats more frequently as the showcase grew closer and as the showcase continued.
• Another Cradler dropped in quite literally into Tian Wu Yan. And boy was he dropped into some shit. During the fight between Team SKRUNGUS and a group of animate trees, a green dragonborn monk - Branzek - suddenly appeared from a portal. In the arena, Badice had to quickly rescue the man from said trees. Biggles and Vrinill had to stop the fight as spectators and come up with a believable cover story.
• SKRUNGUS was keen on nabbing every. Single. Banner. Not really for the points, but for the bragging rights. Yes this detail is plot relevant. We'll see as much in the next section.

Raids Gone Wrong

On the night of the first day, most named members of SKRUNGUS (including all the player characters) were in some ways involved in either banner snatching or banner defending. Prominent banner snatchers included Trip and Shatter (the ultimate tag team), Haliah, Rasli, and Zoeyette. The banner defenders consisted of Badice and her simps, Rodeo, Taranga, and Dae'dwa. CLAMS also joined SKRUNGUS on both fronts.
When it came to banner snatching, Trip and Shatter often made quick work of the deed by shapeshifting and quickly deploying the Empty's Transmission to quickly transport snatched banners to a secure location (the stage in SKRUNGUS' guild hall that was actively guarded). However, VORE presented some unique challenges due to its layout and the actions of Tamrynek - VORE's second-in-command. The guild hall had several long hallways each lined with near identical banners to the one true banner that was hidden in plain sight. SKRUNGUS had their work cut out for them, and everyone had to work together to check banners for the real one and distract all members of VORE (and their hired help from other guilds).
What began as a test of wits as part of a friendly competition quickly devolved into a somber affair when a harrowing discovery was made. VORE's resident diviner, a close friend of Tam's, had been kidnapped during the raid, and no one was the wiser. The Black Opera was initially suspected, especially as the threats became more elaborate. However, Haliah detected traces of naga venom in the crime scene, leading her to believe that it might be a crime committed by Sharaka's remaining forces.
We then jump to the defense of SKRUNGUS' accrued banners that was happening around the same time. Magic was cast and countered, and the counterspells were counterspelled. People were falling in oil slicks. People were getting humiliated in various different ways. But most of all, Vain and her squad had to abandon their raid once news reached them about the kidnapping.
Needless to say, this put a damper on the overall atmosphere of the night, as well as the rest of the showcase. Tensions were growing, and Biggles being attacked in his dreams definitely did not make anything better.
As the cherry on top of this drama sundae, Haliah also just dropped the lore bomb that was outing herself as a Descended to Kaldham. Thank goodness she at least made a very good first impression for the Descended. What would Fengqi do with this information? A great question indeed! And one whose answer will be delayed due to some ghostly interference.

Acquired Lore

• King Xi Bai, husband to Queen Pao, is one of the leading innovators and inventors in all of Fengqi.
• Alturaakhr is the matriarch of the Fisher faction and also the richest person in the city.
• Kaldham the journalist believes in the existence of the Descended, but they call them mortaloids. They are uncomfortably correct.
• The remnants of the Claw of Sharaka, likely headed by Atsuvatu, are active and scheming something nefarious. And it apparently involves kidnapping a diviner.
• The Black Opera's Ghost loves a prank and has become more and more elaborate with their threats to kidnap Biggles. This can't be good.
• Branzek, the Cradler who dropped into an ongoing exhibition fight, was a novice monk from Vrinill's old monastery.

Report Date

27 Apr 2022

Acquired Items

• A brand spanking new guild banner
• A cool fountain
• Tons of nice new décor for the SKRUNGUS guild hall
• Many, many threats from Ghost
• ゜✭・Trauma・✫・゜
• 11 pieces of colorful patterned fabric