Owlbear Run IC

[Twelvetrees]

Your travels have taken you south, to the small town of Telvorn, which rests in the shadow of a low mountain covered in pines. The road is crowded with pedestrians in festival garb, all flowing south with you, and the air is thick with anticipation. Tents and striped pavilions line the outskirts of the town ahead, while in the town center, a church, an inn, and a general store form the perimeter of a bustling market square.

As you draw near, an elevated table becomes visible amongst the market stalls, with a large wooden sign to the left that reads "TEAM SIGN UP HERE" in Common. Two portly, balding, middle-aged men lounge in plush chairs behind the table, smirks on their clean-shaven faces. Their dark robes display the standard of Duke Hightower across the chest in silver thread. The two appear to be brothers, if not identical twins.

At your approach, both languidly sit up, their grins growing broader.
"Last minute entrants?" says the man on the left.
"What else could they be, Delzar?" the other replies. "Enwrapped in armor, weapons at their sides, I hardly think they're here for the candied apples."
"You may be right," the first man says. "I think some introductions are due of us, if they are."

He clears his throat. "Entrants, I am Court Wizard Delzar. My slovenly twin over here is Court Wizard Dirk. The two of us are responsible for the running of this competition. If you wish to sign up, we will require the name of your team and what skills you each bring to the competition."

His twin leans forward, sliding a of pieces of paper across the table. "If you have questions on the rules, this document should answer most of them. If you are in need of room and board, the Grumpy Gryphon comes highly recommended. I believe your fellow competitors have already taken rooms there."

Spoiler: Rules of the Race

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1. Each team must escort a live owlbear from Telvorn over the mountain to the finish line in Milvorn. Duke Hightower will provide teams with owlbears.
2. The teams must run the race using the network of old mining trails on the mountain. No team can teleport, fly over, or circumvent the mountain.
3. The teams can use any means at their disposal to get ahead on the trails, short of killing another contestant. Murder is grounds for disqualification and a subsequent trial.
4. Teams will receive a map of the mountain trails on the morning of the competition. These maps have been enchanted to track the progress of each team.
5. The entry fee is 2000 gold pieces per team.
6. The team that wins the contest wins back its entry fee plus half the entry fees of all the other participating teams. The victors also receive bragging rights, fame, and an audience with Duke Hightower. The team that takes second place wins back its entry fee. The team that places third receives half its entry fee. There are no rewards for teams that finish lower than third place.
7. Your fee is waived if you are sponsored by one of the nobles or diplomats or Duke Hightower's court. Those nobles offering sponsorship will provide you with an owlbear in the stead of Duke Hightower. In the past, the sponsors have had the power to overtly impact the contest, so a good sponsor might be a key to victory.
8. To gain a sponsor, a team should impress that individual and prove why the team should represent that sponsor.

Spoiler: OOC

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OOC thread link

[Dimers]

The bulky, chain-clad half-elf clears his throat with a sound like a boulder rolling over hardboiled eggs. "Ah, pleased to make your acquaintance, Court Wizard Delzar, Court Wizard Dirk. We don't have the entry fee and were hoping to find a sponsor. D'you know of anyone who might be willing to take on a worthy last-minute team?"

[tarak_666]

There's a 7'6" goliath in the back of the group, seeming a bit uncomfortable but hiding it reasonably well. He's got a pair of large swords, probably somewhere between a longsword and a greatsword, and a longbow with storm clouds carved into the wood. He's wearing bloodstained hide armor, and his nose has clearly been broken at least two or three times.

Greetings, noble sirs. Rarely have I seen wizards of such obvious power, to set up such a magnificent contest.

[dariathalon]

Zorgryn - Drow Sorcerer

A lean, but muscular drow stands just behind the large half-elf. He has a leanly muscular build and wears leather armor that has been dyed black, with some attractive red accents. He is armed simply, with only a pair of daggers in his belt.

He adds to the half-elf's request in a confident tenor voice, "Or if all the sponsors have already picked teams, perhaps you could point us to them anyway. I'm sure we'd be a better choice than whatever other dregs some of them have probably picked up."

[Dimers]

Warin's mass of facial hair (quite an impressive collection for a half-elf) shuffles about as he grins and adds, "Team Elven Steel is more than a match for other would-be owlbear handlers."

[Twelvetrees]

Dirk preens under the attention, waving a hand in his brother's direction. "You've got the list of sponsors, I believe."

"Yes, yes," Delzar says, still scrawling down the name of your team. He snaps his fingers, causing a scroll to appear in his hand. Deftly unrolling it, he skims through the contents.

"Let's see here. The young Lord Klavin is still looking to sponsor a team, as is Sir Tomire. He glances up at Zorgryn's comment and gives a smile.

"If you think you're up to the task, you could see if you can get Lady Fazgahrd to sponsor you instead of her cousin Grembul. Dwarven loyalty runs deep, so perhaps you'd have better luck convincing Sheriff Burl to sponsor you over the gaggle of eladrin he's favoring at the moment." He rolls the scroll back up and makes it vanish once more.

"Do return once you've found yourselves a sponsor and we can finish signing you up."

[dariathalon]

Zorgryn - Drow Sorcerer

Zorgryn nods to the wizards, and turns to his party. "I'm going to go check out the local buzz on these potential sponsors. I'll be around the square over there digging up some gossip, if you need me. We can meet up in a bit and discuss what we find and choose who to approach first." Zorgryn turns and soon disappears into the crowd.

Spoiler

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Might as well attempt a streetwise on each.

Lord Klavin - (1d20+6)[23]

Sir Tomire - (1d20+6)[26]

Lady Fazgahrd - (1d20+6)[21]

Seriff Burl - (1d20+6)[12]

[dariathalon]

Zorgryn - Drow Sorcerer

Spoiler

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I tried to give it a few days in case anyone else wanted to do anything, so sorry for the double if I'm jumping in too quickly. Let me know the price of the apple if you're worried about it. Probably not more than a couple of copper, I'd assume.

Several minutes later, Zorgryn reappears from the crowded market square carrying a half-eaten candied apple. He crunches another big bite as he approaches the group. "I heard a few rumors around the square. I suggest we try to find someone by the name of Lord Klavin. Young guy with a lot to prove. He sounds pretty scrappy to me, and with what his father was accused of, I doubt too many other teams will be knocking down his door. I could tell you a bit about a few of the others, but none of them sound like great options to me. What do you think, should we find him?"

[Dimers]

Warin shakes his head. "No need to look further if this Lord Klavin is willing to take us on. I trust you to direct us sensibly. Let's go find the man. ... Ah, did you chance to hear about his heraldry?" he asks, looking at the broad array of tent colors and flying insignia.

Spoiler: Let's go find the man, he said

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I assume there's no test involved in pinning down Lord Klavin's location ... ?

[Twelvetrees]

You have no trouble locating Lord Klavin's rather plain pavilion with its banner of grey and black swaying in the gentle breeze. Servants duck in and out of the tents like a school of constantly shifting minnows, carrying messages for the various nobles. You note a distinct lack of them about Klavin's quarters.

His pavilion's tent flaps are tied back and Klavin himself can be seen pacing back and forth on a well-worn rug near the back wall. He's a tall young man, with a black doublet and the hint of a scraggly mustache on his upper lip. As he takes note of your presence, he beckons you with a wave of his lanky arm.

"Who've we got here? New arrivals, I take it, and so you must be looking for a sponsor." He takes you all in at a glance. "I'll make no bones about it, I can't afford to have a team I choose to sponsor lose. Are you willing to do what it takes to get ahead?"

[Dimers]

Warin's brow furrows. "We have what it takes to stay ahead, start to finish. Elven Steel won't fail you." He evinces no self-doubt, but his tone does carry some doubt -- about the potential sponsor. Surely a man who's socially 'on the ropes' wouldn't be advocating cheating? If that kind of behavior were discovered, it could easily dash his hopes for improving his status.

[Twelvetrees]

Lord Klavin smiles. "Glad to hear it. Now, what sort of skills do you all bring to the table to make sure that is the case?"

The interior of his tent is as lackluster as the outside, with lines clearly visible in the walls where the material must have been folded for storage. One section has been walled off to create a separate sleeping area and the edge of a plain cot is just visible around the flap. While Klavin is still a noble, it is becoming increasingly clear that his station is almost absurdly low.

"Ah," he continues, looking around the tent. "I should apologize for the lack of refreshments or chairs. The high and mighty in the Duke's court suddenly had an urgent need for additional help soon after I arrived and stole away my servants. I've been assured they will be returned in due course, but until then I 'must have patience.'" He grimaces at that.

[Dimers]

Warin shuffles forward a half-step to indicate he's speaking for himself. "I speak well with beast and spirit -- spirits love to do as I ask." He demonstrates by causing the worn rug to flap and buckle, then smooth itself again, all with a gesture. "I read people's hearts, I walk across water, I can keep up a jog for hours, and my team will never lack for healing." The massive half-elf steps back again.

Spoiler: mechanics

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The 'spirits love to do as I ask' bit is a manifestation of assistance of the strong spirit power. Very limited telekinesis, but I think what I did is within those limits. Let me know if I overstepped and I'll walk it back a bit.

[dariathalon]

Zorgryn - Drow Sorcerer

"Everybody talks about patience like its some sort of virtue. Patience is only an annoyance if you ask me."

Zorgryn stands aside, listening to Warin tick off his list of accomplishments. He nods as the half-elf finishes his list. "All that's well and good. Me, I mostly just burn stuff. Doesn't sound like a lot, sure, but I've found that there are very few problems in life that the proper application of fire won't fix. But if you are looking for other talents, I'm decent at sneaking and climbing around too. I'm betting those will find some use in this race. And I'm pretty good at getting other people to see things from my point of view, but sometimes that goes back to the proper application of fire," he adds with a smirk.