Episode 31 - Bane's Day

The party awakens once again in their rooms at The Roopty Scoop to find that a strange colored snow seems to be falling outside their windows. Recalling that they had received a key to an abandoned building, The Wit's End, in The Burrows, the party decides to first assess their new property and then investigate Dr. William Birkin. The heroes leave the inn and find themselves surrounded by the towns people of Trade City and several members of the cloth from the Temple of Pelor. The priests advise that the city council has agreed to name this day "Bane's Day" in recognition of the service of Arnon's Bane to the city and its people. The Temple of Pelor has arranged for a day of food, drink, and games paid for by the temple. Everyone in the crowd explodes with cheers and immediately disperse to have their fill of sweets and alcohol. The party hears the voice of a man calling out in the distance "Lawn Gnomes," where they discover a man with several pens of gnomes. They see a young man throwing gnomes at a target approximately 20 yards away, hoping to achieve a grand prize of an Arnon's Bane action figure. After destroying the potential breeding capacities of several gnomes, Vaceren earns a  mint condition Davwyn action figure which he gifts to a severely inebriated Davwyn.
The party continues enjoying the festivities, drinks, local fares, and other games when Moxt, Klork, and Vaceren run across another public game titled "Perilous Parry." With the potential of earning the title of "Knight - for a day", the heroes climb upon a balance beam and attempt to avoid fruit tossed by onlookers. The height of the game's attention occurs when Moxt and Vaceren face off in the presence of Queen Elara of the Hamman Royal Family. Both parties make their speeches to the crowd, assuring onlookers of their ability to prevail over their honorable opponent. Vaceren publicly dawns the copper ring on his finger which catches the attention of the queen. She offers Vaceren the opportunity to become an actual knight of the kingdom if he is able to secure a third win against the giant flaming bear in a fair fight. Both agree to an honest bout without any sort of interference. Vacern, knowing his portent abilities had been completely spent, faced off against the ten foot bear with only a wooden sword in hand. Both warriors mounted the balance beam and stare deeply into the face of their opponent. Moxt lunges forward in a vicious attack but over extends himself, allowing Vaceren to twist his weight and place a well timed shove against the bear. Moxt falls into the watery bath below and Vaceren rises victorious.
Vaceren approaches the queen on her diesis and kneels before her as she lays out the call to serve Ram. She places an actual blade upon his shoulder and publicly proclaims Vaceren, Son of Thorondor, as a permanent and fully fledged knight of Ram. Overwhelmed with Bane's Day spirit, and the recent honor bestowed upon his friend, Davwyn gallivants around town proclaiming and spreading the good name of Arnon's Bane. He magically disguises himself as a popular musical artist, Salara Blackfoot, and makes a performance on the mainstage in the Upper Delta. Klork leads off the creative writing portion of the festival's open mic night with his slam poetry, expressing his pent up anger against the gods. The party eventually ends their night at their new property in The Burrows. Moxt spends a full 8 hours casting plant growth on the outside portion of the building, reinforcing its rotting exterior while Klork, Vaceren and Moxt deal with the vagabonds within. Vaceren tries to take the diplomatic approach but ultimately the tweakers' drug induced fears are fully fleshed out when a half dead, skeleton turtle yells at them to leave and never return on pain of death. Leaving a trail of blissful pixie dust in their wake, the vagabonds leave screaming in terror. Each member of Arnon's Bane looks at the walls of the Wit's End with their own picture of the potential it may hold for them. Some dream of orchistrating something beautiful, some see redemption, and some see the potential for influence in a city teetering on a razer's edge. The day ends with Vaceren shutting the door on his new attic study as he engraves ancient runes into the floor, casting powerful magics on Arnon's Bane's new base of operations in Trade City.