#46 - Lightning and Falling Sand

As told by Magnus of the Island of Seren.

Everyone was quite rattled by their time in the chamber beside the gibbering beast. It seems that some of the party believed the vile fantasies we were shown by the last creature—the beast of too many eyes and mouths and wordless voices. We all sat and rested outside after the tent of horrors, which had lived up to its ghastly sales pitch. For some within, death would have been better. Cypher retreated into repairing himself and fussing with his metal dog, Kard needed to pray, and the elf woman pulled out a blue bauble and lost herself, staring into its depths. Her warforged friend, Clarion, produced unusual sounds and made ritualistic gestures. He is an odd one, and I say that as one who has traveled with Xoma.

We were in sight of some kind of brawling grounds that I had seen on the way into the tent. One of the elf-clowns had said that there were other Seren Islanders here, that I wasn’t the only one. It seems that the Serens were one of the events and brawling was involved.

Once recovered, we agreed to go see the brawl. A sandy mound was the terrain as we approached and saw two Serens stalking about in some kind of mock-fight. Dark skin and blue tattoos identified them as Stormwalkers from the far end of Seren; lightning and sand to my fire and force. He with braids and she with a top-knot. Why were they here? What news from Seren? The Bringers of Fire seldom interacted with Stormwalkers. There was but one way to find out.

Nearby stood an elf in mock tattoos who explained the rules: stay conscious for thirty seconds and win two shadow pieces, no magic, no killing. I would do more than stay conscious; I would win.

“No killing,” he said again as the Serens began to growl at me and threaten death for the sins of my tribe. Sins? Often do we make raid and war on the other tribes of Seren, the better to hone our skills of war for the coming trials, but surely this is no cause for offense. I would smash them with the wooden mace from the weapon rack and prove my worth. That is the Seren way.

The elf tipped his sand-glass and I fell into the inner dragon. We brawled. They were shouting about some horror committed by the Bringers of Fire, but I knew nothing about it. There was magic in the air three times—from my friends, perhaps, but also from the Stormwalker woman (a sand-conjured cloud of lightning)—before my opponents went down before me. This was a good mace.

As I staggered back from them, the elf accused me of cheating. He was a fool, I did not cheat. The male comes to himself and the elf confers with him. I was given only one shadow piece because my party intervened after the female used lightening magic, to me this seems fair.

 I spoke briefly with the Serens, explaining and asking about the evil happenings. They did not trust me, and must decide later what they are willing to share. They said they would speak with me tomorrow, before the hours of the carnival. The male would not give his name but the woman says she was Eshka. She was not his mate, and he didn't seem happy she had given her name.

The group celebrated my victory and Clarion made fitting music and bought sweets for the children. Aleae asked me whether her help was welcome or if she had overstepped. “Victory makes no excuses,” I told her, and “Thank you.” She may have great power, Xoma was thin like she and much could be expected of him. I hope she adventures well.

We were soon drawn to a large tent with many pictures painted upon it. This fun fair was most delightful. I was sure Xoma would have liked it as much as I did. Especially since the theme was all about his homeland, and offered many shadow pieces to earn. Adventurers and veterans seemed to be those coming and going from this place.

We saw again the lead elf from the gate, in the tall hat, long yellow cape, and the only one we've seen without makeup, and he bade us welcome.  The Xen'drik Challenge was a giant tent (bigger than many jungle trees)  where many different games offer victory or humiliation. We each paid five gold pieces and removed our armor and equipment to start the games. It felt good to go about with my tribal markings displayed, and fitting for such a wild place.

After stripping down and being reminded to drop all of our spells, we entered the tent. Each challenge was a sectioned-off room of wood or stone, with the ceiling open to the darkness of the tent and a series of walkways for the elves to observe and manage. We were told that for each challenge, if a hint was required to solve it, one participant was allowed to forfeit his shadow piece for the group's benefit.

Our first challenge was a room painted and magicked up to mimic a storm-tossed ship on a night sea voyage. It was done well, I have been at sea. We were to cross a pitching deck slick with false sea spray and salt water to earn our shadow coin. Cypher and Rendar made it across quickly, but the rest were humbled by a slippery fall. Kard really hates this stuff. He is wise and strong, but not particularly fast.

We were led to the next chamber, where we found a pit filled with foul swamp water ("and parasites") and a single vine to swing across. Alea was not built for this sort of jump—where strength is key. Kard again failed and surrendered to his gods, knowing he was not in control today. Down he plummeted into brackish water, where the elves declared him "dead." As we discussed ways of tossing Aleae across—Cypher suggested she cling to his back while he jumped—she surprised us and made the swing by herself after all. At times, one's agility can't compensate for lack of strength. Clarion also made the jump. Cypher fell—good thing he hadn't been carrying the elf—and I wondered if he minded the smell of the water. Rendar and I easily swooped across.

I am starting to collect a lot of these shadow pieces. I hope to get the "pouch of holding."  I hate lugging around all my stuff, especially all the food!

Our third challenge was much harder, had a time limit, and required a team effort. Good! A pit filled with snakes (they said were poisonous), two short 10-foot metal ladders, a bag, and a thick cord tied around the bag. I had no real solution to this puzzle. We did not seem permitted to climb the walls, and they were slippery. I helped Cypher open the bag to reveal a pair of boots.

Rendar put the boots on—with Cypher's close involvement—and it was revealed that they could make him float like Xoma used to with his levitation spells. I hopped on his back to test out the weight, but they could bear only one. We puzzled for a while, even as the sand in a wall-mounted hourglass tracked the dwindling time. Kard soon gave up his chance for a shadow piece and asked for a hint from the elves; he is a strange fellow, but generous with his things and talents. Quite welcome to our group, I believe.

The hint given by one of the unseen elves above was: "One of you must be a pillar in the bridge of ladders." With that, Aleae, Cypher, and Rendar devised a scheme, with help from Clarion.

He was always making things better with his music, which seemed to issue out of him not always as a "voice" but like an instrument. I am starting to wonder how loud he can be. I suspect we have seen only a small portion of his talents. The same wonder holds true for Aleae as well. Clarion looks like he has been battled-tested, but the elf with the strange eyes is, after all, quite thin. A single backswing from an ogre could probably take her down. But I suspect, like Xoma, she has magic in store and probably the invisible sort of mental strength I have seen in the shamans and dragonspeakers back home. There in the carnival's tent of challenges, were were not being attacked by real enemies. Strange how it was still fun despite not hitting anything with my bone mace.

Soon a bridge was constructed using Rendar as the linchpin between bound-together ladders, with the boots holding him upright. The half-orc strained to hold them together but he did well as we each climbed or ran across the ladders—and Rendar—using the boots to hold himself up. Aleae's confidence almost betrayed her as she slipped and nearly fell into the pit of snakes, but she recovered and soon we'd all climbed across. Just in time as the last grains of sand dropped. We were all rewarded a shadow piece, except for Kard.

The next challenge is a narrow canyon which must have been illusionary, because weren't we in a field outside of a small city? At the far end, an open portal and a flight of stairs was guarded over by a large lion-like creature with wings and the head of a woman.  The others told me it was a sphinx, famed for their ferocity, but more so for the riddles they ask. We would have to answer riddles—each riddle could only be answered by one person, and if they guessed correctly, they would be allowed to pass and receive a shadow piece. A single failed guess would result in the sphinx eating the guesser.

The riddles are great, some easy, some harder. Though only one guess could be given for each person, we were allowed to discuss the riddles, for those of us not eaten. We all are able to puzzle out answers and one by one we pass. Except Rendar and Cypher, who were each savaged by the sphinx. It was ghastly to see them so mauled, yet we knew it was an illusion. The blood sure looked real. For Cypher it was actually funny, because he doesn't have any blood, but blood showered down from the gore of the sphinx's "feast." Half-orc and warforged emerged unharmed but no richer.

I was happy to be in this festival. Our celebrations back home involve challenges of strength, also, but also dragon stories, fire, and much more real blood. But they don't involve cold white roses, glass bubbles, and friends falling into stinking water. Yes, this festival is fun. What will be the next challenge?