Session 4 - The Red Bloom Festival Begins!

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Saturday, March 20th, 765

The party spends the night discussing what they want to be named, as well as what they want to do during the Red Bloom Festival . As it gets later into the night everyone goes to sleep except for Yaros Loubert who is struggling with something.

Sunday, March 21th, 765

The party wakes up with nothing on their agenda for the day. Scarlet Nichols begins the writeup for Operation Rougarou as per the Operation Rougarou Docket and lists out everything that has happened to them so far.
After that Brand asks the rest of them to go to the The Neighborhood Barbershop in Midtown so that he could meet the people who originally summoned him here, The Barbers. Upon arriving they see a very packed barber shop and brand speaks to Xavier Bennet. He informs him that he heard great things about Brand's work back in The Shadowed Canyons during The Crying Death and is excited for him to meet the group. Though by day they are actual barbers, and with the festival about to begin they are incredibly busy as everyone is trying to look their best. He let Brand know he should come back after the festival, and he will be happy to get him introduced.
The party then decided to head towards Old Ben's Bookstore in Riverfront , as Scarlet Nichols was excited to see if they had the new issues of the Red Bear Comics and Veiyanitara Lero was curious to see a whole place for books, as back in Aprimilla they only had some scrolls. Tatho Wildheart also showed interest, though didn't explain why.
Upon arrival, Scarlet was thrilled to see that they had more issues Red Bear comics, and the author Lucille LeFleur had completed her run and they had all of the last 5 issues in stock. The owner of the store, Ben King, also let her know that the comic artist herself resides here in Rougeford at Constellation Comics over in Midtown. She was excited by the news and hoped to see her during the festival. In her excitement, she also convinced Veiyanitara Lero to pick up the first issue of the Red Bear Comics. Brand took some time to look into books about the flora and fauna of Bollothglade but only found introductory books for children. During this time Tatho Wildheart decided to quietly go to the owner and ask if he had anything that could help his poor reading skills. Ben King let him know that there is no shame in trying to better himself, and snuck over to a back bookcase and picked up a beginners book to reading and a beginners book to math and gave it to Tatho free of charge. Vei asks if they have any books about urban legends or folktales of Rougeford, but the owner says that they only have the popular fairy tales from Willachi, and they would be better suited to talking to the person who runs the Bollothglade Historical Museum who is a massive historian of the area and has a lot of his works at the The Library of Rougeford. This sparks a conversation between Vei and Scarlet about the Rougarou and shapeshifters, where Scarlet asks vei about wild shapes, then goes looking to books about transformation. Ben King pulls out a romance book called Changing Faces of Love written by Sea Kretluv which Scarlet buys.
The party head back to Fort Marshope as it is getting later in the evening and those who bought books indulge in reading their purchases. Scarlet reads one of the 5 last issues of the Red Bear comics, making sure to have them last then proceeds to read chapter 1 of Changing Faces of Love. Vei Reads the first issue of the Red Bear comics and Scarlet is overenthusiastic having someone else who reads it. While Vei secretly liked it, she tried to keep a cool facade and act like she had issues. Tatho also read his beginner books into the night.

Monday, March 22nd, 765

The party wakes up to a knocking at the door by General Joseph Cavanagh. He lets them know that he will be escorting them to the roof of Fort Marshop for the annual parade and should get dressed in their uniforms. As they walk he tells them that he will also be going with them to the annual cookoff later in the evening. He says that this is one day where it is better spent outside raising morale, than inside grinding at the war efforts. He also asks them if they had finally come up with a name for themselves, and the party finally reveals that they want the new branch of the army to be called S.Q.U.A.D. which is short for Suspicious and Questionable Ulterior Activities Division and that their unit within the branch be called the Investigators, thus calling them Investigator S.Q.U.A.D.. General Cavanagh smiles and agrees that it is a clever name for a branch that is about investigations and agrees on the name.
Investigator S.Q.U.A.D. and General Cavanagh reach the room where they are greeted by Mayor Thaidwell Boffins who quickly asks for everyone to take their spots. General Cavanagh as well as General John Harper and General T.J. Beauregard head towards the row of cannons all manned by soldiers, and Mayor Boffins heads down to the corner of the building where he looks down to give notions to three druids at the fork of the Sachez River and a soldier along the banks who telephones the message downriver past Port Marshope where the floats are held. A student in purple robes from Boccob University then approaches Mayor Boffins and casts a spell to give him a booming voice and he calls to the crowds of people lining the banks of the River Sachez, “It is with great honor, that I Mayor Thaidwell Boffins get to announce the start of the 346th Red Bloom Festival. Navy, you may begin to allow the passage of the floats. Nature’s Trinity may the Red Bloom Begin!”
You then see the three individuals who were channeling great power release the vast amounts of energy back into the earth. And rapidly from their positions everyone sees the shockwave flow into the river, and as quick as they can blink starting in the center point and flying down each branch of the river at blinding speed, all of the algae blooms. The party after seeing this red river thinks back to The Battle of Rougeford and can imagine how someone could confuse this with a river of blood. The floats then start to come upriver, aided by oarsmen below deck and tritons in the water helping guide the crafts. Most are a standard build with a small raised platform for the most important individuals and a lower area for others.
The first float is a very small warship of the Navy of the United Shard. On the helm is Fleet Admiral Camellia De Leon giving a queens wave to the people, while she has navy officers lining the side in a salute in attention. Around are kids getting excited that the parade has started, and the party sports elder people who they assume to be veterans saluting back to the soldiers.
The next float is extremely extravagant. The party can see it from far away as it glows a bright blue light which they quickly realize are Low Magic Crystals. The crystals are attached to everything from being embedded directly onto the boat as well as sewn into the grand tapestries that read Fitzsimmons LMC Factory. On the top level are two exquisitely dressed gnomes, with other prominent individuals on the lower levels. As it passes the party notices even more details on the craft such as gold trim and pearl insets.
The float after is also very high class but is somewhat put to shame from the individuals before it. Though this one does have a similar tapestry on it saying The Heights. Atop are quite a few people in very nice suits and very nice dresses all waiving out to the people.
The next one in line is clearly that of Boccob University, as noted by their signature robes of the people on board. They see eight individuals atop the ship, all older than students would be, and you see their robes are much more intricate and detailed compared to the student earlier who helped Mayor Boffins. On the main deck are all the students in a rainbow of different colors in the trim of their robes. You see some have staves, some have books, others orbs, or wands. When their float finally gets to the fork in the river a student in white yells “NOW!” and all the students in white trim start doing verbal and somatic actions. Suddenly there is a second ship exactly the same as the one they are on immediately behind it. All the kids on the river eyes light up and get excited and yell, as this is the first really crazy float they have seen. That same student yells “Release”! And now the front of the two identical ships disappears. The crowd once again erupts in cheers. Next, a student in red trim yells “Fire!” and a couple of students all let out a giant line of flames in which everyone can feel the heat. Next, as the ship gets further down the river some students in orange trim yell something and a flock of birds flies from the ship. Then students in green make the ship begin to glow, and about then they make it out of eyeshot.
While watching the last float the next one seems to sneak up on everyone, that is until they begin to hear chanting and see that this float is for the The Church of Pelor. Everyone aboard is in the traditional white robes with gold trim that you would all recognize. From that chanting, they then have to look away as a bright white light from the sky comes down at the mast and lights up what is already a sunny day. You hear loudly from the decks “Pray, my children as I pray for you that you find peace and salvation in your day and beyond..” and continues on as they travel. The party look to the banks and do see that a good bit more than 50% of the people along the banks begin to genuflect and give a small prayer as they pass.
The next float to come everyone hears from a distance. On the top level is a halfling conducting a small ensemble that is taking up the bottom deck as you hear a beautiful upbeat overture being played by these artists. And the party sees as they play images of a boat sailing on the sea magically appear in an illusion above them. Along with the conductor on the top is a group of dancers perfectly in beat doing a ballet routine. On the front of the boat is a beautifully sculpted figurehead of a female triton made of bronze. As it passes they also see beautiful works of art along the side depicting a seascape, and in the painting says “Rougeford Conservatory of the Arts ”
The next float comes as a surprise after the last one, as this one is packed to the brim with people on it, and they are happy and excited. On the top level is a few individuals playing some strange upbeat music that the party has not heard before. There is an individual on trumpet with a man on saxophone next to a guy playing guitar and a gentleman beating on a bucket with makeshift drumsticks. And magically above them is an illusion that reads “Riverfront & Quarters”. People on this boat are dancing and having a great time, they have some candy and beads that they are throwing out to the crowds on the banks, and you can see this one is a crowd-pleaser and everyone gets excited trying to catch things. As it passes the party spots Chef Sebastien LeBlanc in the rear who waves back to them.
The next boat again is drastically different from any of the floats before it. This one is mostly metal construction and is powered by a wheel behind it, and has a giant smokestack where the mast would normally be. On the side are engraved wooden planks that say “Bloom Wharf ” and you see rather burly gentlemen aboard waving out to the people.
The final boat is very similar to the first, being that of the Navy of the United Shard capping off the parade and protecting its rear flank.
The Investigator S.Q.U.A.D. then heads downstairs to change into their casual clothes and are once again greeted by General Cavanagh who escorts them through The Heights to the Fitzsimmons Banquet Hall, where the annual cookoff is being held. He informs them that they should all vote with their stomachs and not with their heart as the chefs take this very seriously, and would want to win legitimately.
They approach the entrance where General Cavanagh lets the workers know they are his esteemed guests for the evening and everyone gets a bracelet to allow entry. In the banquet hall are many small stalls where members of the The Resturant Cooperative have taken to. The party is told that everyone has brought one dish to compete with, and this event is hosted by the The Rougeford Review. The newspaper gets a lot of press with the event, who invite prestigious people to come and indulge in the best food that Rougeford has to offer, and the restaurant owners in exchange get their names out there with great publicity. It is a mutually beneficial event for everyone involved.
The party begins to make its way around the banquet hall and try everyone's dishes. Lady Leblanc's Tea Lounge had brought tea with teacakes, which Scarlet and Tatho take an immediate strong love to. Ressac Grille brought lobster tails with butter. Gazon Bistro brought 45 day dry aged steaks. The Dreamy Creamery brought a goat cheese spread on toast with flaky salt. Next was Vittles and Chef LeBlanc who brought his famous gator gumbo. He reminded the others to vote honestly, and that this year was the toughest competition he had ever seen. The stall next to Vittles was Cafe Du Soleil which Tatho was excited to eat another beignet, but quickly realized was raspberry stuffed. Tatho then went on a long rant about how he had ruined beignets, and he wanted a regular one. The owner said, that in this competition unless you win, you always try to bring something new to attract attention, and he agreed that his restaurant will continue to carry the classics, but for this event, he tried something new for the press as a one-time event. Tatho did not agree with this and continued to call the food "dog water" and walked away. Scarlet then had a chat with Tatho that they should channel this into a journal and potentially become a food critic. Next in line was ThoroughBread which brought cinnamon buttered croissants. Pappa's Pizza brought pineapple and ham pizza. Everyone in the party was disgusted by this except Veiyanitara Lero who fell in love and said that the sweetness of the pineapple complemented the saltiness of the ham, and the bread was the perfect vessel to mellow it all out. Sliders & Sausages and they had brought a seared herb bratwurst. Tatho upon taking a bite, once again laid into the owner about how this was awful and compared it to the other vendors he did like. The party then pulled him away and said if these are the guys we are supposed to investigate, we should not be angering them. Next was Ned's Noodle Bar with a Tonkatsu Ramen which the party especially liked. After that was Cormier Confectionery which brought a dark chocolate bar in the shape of the Sachez River. Piper's Pies brought a blackberry ie with intricate floral designs on the crust. The last vendor was Bernardo's Burritos which brought a chorizo and steak chimichanga.
After eating all of the food they headed up to the main table where the The Rougeford Review sat and where you were to cast your ballets. Scarlet asked if they could apply to be a food critic for the newspaper which a firbolg gentleman informed them that he already was. She asked if they had a position for another one, and the man took the notes scarlet had been writing for Tatho, and gives a look of disgust while reading. He hands it back and says "What is it like for you to walk around and not know how wrong you are". He then says this is why the public only gets 70% of the vote, while he gets 30%, and asks that they submit their ballets and leave. The party obliges.
While waiting around for the results the party decides to talk with the prominent people here so that they could make contacts for their mission. They see General Cavanagh talking with a halfling, also in a nice suit, and overhear them talking about upping security, and that they could ask the army for help if they ever needed it. After introductions, they find this gentleman is Clemence Edwards the owner of Safe Co. Bank. When asked he explains that with all of the flow of money coming into the city because of the Low Magic Crystals, the bank has updated security and installed a massive vault that should help keep the valuables at bay, and because of the importance of this for the war effort if anything were to happen General Cavanagh would help supply troops to protect.
Soon after this the owner of the The Rougeford Review speaks up and announces that for the 6th time in a row Chef Sebastien LeBlanc and Vittles has won again.
The party then heads around town during the festival to get a hang of things while the restaurants all clean up their booths and head to Vittles for an after cookoff celebration with all the members of the The Resturant Cooperative. While walking Tatho is hit with regret and wishes to apologize to the restaurant owners that he had offended. When they entered Tatho headed straight to Chef Sebastian and told him what had transpired and wished to apologize. Chef then got the attention of everyone and gave the floor to Tatho to apologize. Chef then took a vote of all of the members of the The Resturant Cooperative as to whether they would forgive him, everyone but the two who he offended voted yes, so the motion passed. Chef Leblanc then said in penance he would have to run a lap around Rougeford. Tatho agreed, and Scarlet feeling as though she was a part of this also agreed to do the lap as well.
While those two ran around Rougeford, everyone present did cheers to Vittles for winning the competition. Chef Sebastian spoke to the others saying that these were the individuals who got the alligator and allowed him to compete this years. Everyone gave thanks and said "if we didn't win against the gator gumbo, than was it a win after all?". Chef said as thanks he is allowing them to ask some questions of them, so the remaining members of Investigator S.Q.U.A.D. did their duty to begin questioning the Restaurant Cooperative per the Operation Rougarou Docket guidelines. When asking about how they felt about the war effort there seemed to be a consensus that everyone here just wanted to make sure people get fed. As chefs, their goal is to feed the people, and they would step up to the challenge. They all talked amongst themselves for a bit about what they were doing. Gazon Bistro was using the dry-aged techniques he used today to see about transporting meat further distances. The Dreamy Creamery was trying really hard dry cheese techniques to ship cheese without spoiling. ThoroughBread was trying to make hardtack not awful. Ned's Noodle Bar was attempting to make packaged ramen. Cormier Confectionery was making hard candy in mass to raise moral. After this, the party got the feeling that the Restaurant Cooperative was overall excited to have the challenge to meet. When asked about the crystals, they seemed mostly indifferent. Their individual lives had not changed too much, but it did bring a lot of people and mouthes to feed to Rougeford, which had inevitably helped them all out. The other two came back to Vittle's exhausted and the chef awarded them with a coin stamped with the Restaurant Collective and said that if they come around for lunch during the Red Bloom Festival they could have a free meal from any of the restaurants. After this the party headed back to Fort Marshope and read their books into the night.

Tuesday, March 23nd, 765

The Investigator S.Q.U.A.D. is awoken to the sounds of cannons, and they quickly realize that they will have to hear the 12 gun salute every morning, as the cannons are directly above their room. They take some time to get dressed and talk about their plans, then all head their separate ways to the activities they wanted to do during the Red Bloom Festival.
Tatho Wildheart, Yaros Loubert, Brand, & Kriss Keeton all headed to Crystal Yard to go to the Weapons Display. This event is held by the Smelt & Sparks Blacksmiths, The Halberdashery, and Featherfall Fletchery. Each of the three places had displays in front as they are next to each other, all displaying their wares.
In front of the Smelt & Sparks Blacksmiths was the other Nashir Valra, a high elf who was excited to show off what he had made this year. This included daggers that could be easily concealed in boots or sleeves, javelins that could be thrown great distances, maces that could knock off heads, rapiers fine enough to get between plate armor, and axes and hammers in all sizes. He also pulled out a box and said this was his greatest collection, and pulled out a sword that seemed incredibly foreign to the party, as he said it was from The Outside Powers and had to travel an ocean to get here. Finally, he pulled out a sword that seemed incredibly similar to the sword made by Tatho's father. He showed him how they had modified it to work with low magic crystals, and when he placed it on in the hilt, the blade caught fire. Tatho still caught off guard by the similarity then asked if he got the blade by ill means, to which the owner said no, I made it myself almost a decade ago. This didn't sit right with Tatho who told him straight that this looks exactly like his father's blade. The owner asked who his father was, which then gave the revelation that the reason it looks so similar is that his father was once an apprentice here. He tells Tatho that his dad was a scrawny kid who worked here but also used to hang around a bad crowd. They speak a bit of how his father is doing now, and how he had to get straight because he had a family to take care of now. Tatho said he would be back to have him look at his father's sword and stay in business.
Next door was the Featherfall Flectchery which Yaros took great attachment to. Here the wonder showed off the power that a simple sling and rock has, then moved on to crossbows. The light crossbow was easily moved and could pierce armor, which KK got excited about, then the heavy crossbow could piece straight through the dummy wearing the armor. Finally, she took out a great bow and shot hundreds of feet into the distance. She then talked about how they are making advancements in small distanced weapons with Low Magic Crystals. They said they could dust arrows in them for one-time use, or for more permanent fixtures, you could play a crystal in the bow for some effects, or in an arrowhead for others. With arrowhead placement as well, even if the shaft broke, you could still get the arrowhead retrieved to remake the arrow.
The last of the three was the haberdashery which showed off dummies of all kinds of armor from padded, to leather, to chain, to full plate. They gave people the chance with a dulled blade to bash the armor to prove its strength. She also did a display where she got acid and poured on one dummy that corroded the armor, and did the same with another armor with a low magic crystal embedded that ran right off and dissolved the ground below. Finally, to show off something a little more offensive, she bashed a dummy with a shield that had a crystal that threw it 10 feet back with a great boom.
At the same time Vei heard through the Sunrise District to the Bollothglade Historical Museum. Here she met Findley Wright, the person who runs the museum and agreed to allow him to guide her through the tour. The first display was that of a scale model of the original settlements, placed where Capital Row currently sits, as it was the highest elevation. The next was an area that showed their difficult life with a 1/32 scale model of a home. He explained that before modern soil manipulations most homes were built on stilts due to the flooding, but that same flooding allowed great agriculture with the deposit of sediment from the Sachez River. The next display showed the shallow boats they used to traverse the swamps since they never know if the water below is 2 inches or 2 feet deep. Next, he shows her a painting of a man rallying against a giant man in a crowd, that seems to be drawn like a political cartoon. The next exhibit is a beautifully drawing depicting the The Battle of Rougeford. It shows men and women, soldiers, from both sides died in the foreground with their blood running into the river. The same man from the previous panting is shown casting a lightning bolt at the ships in the distance that are running away. The gentlemen then explain to Vei the conflict that took place and how William Crenshaw was the governor at the time, and a great wizard, who had helped them gain their independence. While here another group catches up, and Mr. Wright apologizes for taking so long as they had gotten lapped. Vei said no need to apologize she enjoyed learning about this place and the museum runner introduced her to Isabel Ariza, who runs the library.
Scarlet during this time headed to Sunrise Theater in the Sunrise District. She was escorted to the main stage where there were a series of magical paintings that moved as you did around them. The two paintings that were on the side of the Rougeford Conservatory of the Arts float the previous morning were placed here. Also, there was a painting of a crane flying out of an alligator's mouth, a frog leaping from a branch trying to land on another, a dog floating in a pool, and a man drinking solitarily in the rain during a downpour. Scarlet then approached a man in the center of the stage who was wearing a beret and smoking a cigarette, who introduced himself as Albar Gasgol, the artist who drew these paintings and a member of the Rougeford Conservatory of the Arts. He talked about how he draws real life, and real-life is a struggle, so he draws struggles, which you can see reflected in his paintings. The two of them talk for a while and Scarlet gets tips on how to start and is inspired to draw.