Guard a Bard

Fine Branch was feeling pretty, and they had affixed bow ribbons on their tails, one pink and one blue.  The bows were distracting as the tips of their tails waved about while discussing the day with Cathance, Tai, and Ana.  They'd all returned from helping the farmers in Ophelia the day before.

Tai and Ana had since visited the quartermaster.  Tai had acquired a very large axe, and wore it like he knew what to do with it.  Ana had acquired a tome, sized a bit larger than appropriate for a Maker gnome.  Tai had also acquired a cloak, its purple lining matching his eyes, and emphasizing his silver scales.  No way had that cloak come from the quartermaster.

They all decided to talk to Arnari again.  As they went up the stairs, Fine Branch grabbed a chair.

Arnari had changed her chairs recently to accommodate the variety of sizes for the various Freelancers in Cliffshadow.  There were chairs that could seat Cathance and also the hulking Tai and other dragonborns.  But the chairs still managed to avoid comfortable.  Fine Branch brought the chair in and sat in it, and Arnari visibly recruited her patience.

Cathance assessed the situation, climbed in the biggest chair, looked at Tai impudently, and started kicking her feet.

Arnari's desk had various papers, but they were scattered about.  She looked at one, eyes narrowed, and then said, "Three missions.

• The… hydroose was the last thing encountered for the Pirates River pollution; go find out if there's anything more.
• House Aldous is looking for more hippogryph eggs.  They'll pay 100gp/egg, or provide a trained gelding hippogryph for 10 eggs.
• Three Rivers Bardic Conservatory will be having their competition and our very own Julian will be part of it, and judging.  Julian needs an entourage, and perhaps crowd control.

She sighed.  "I'd love if you'd take this; I'd be happier because then I don't have to go."

Cathance ventured, "You're a bard…?"  Arnari sighed again.  "Well…" she explained, as tersely as she could, to the increasing amazement of the four listening, that she wanted to avoid the Dean of the Bardic Conservatory because of his ongoing crush on her, and with this competition and accompanying a high-ranking Freelancer, she could not avoid.

The bows in Fine Branch's tails really were far too distracting, and Cathance used prestidigitation to change them to match the purple of Tai's cloak, which felt much more harmonious.

Arnari concluded by noting since they were escorting a Freelancer for the sake of prestige, there was no Freelancer's Cut for the 100gp each it paid.  Also, Julian would cover food & lodging.

They all went to talk to Julian, who was actually packing to leave.  His studded leather armour was, as usual, the height of fashion, and on the bed was a very nice lute.  Arnari introduced Tai and Ana, who had never met Julian, and then informed him, "These four Freelancers will be your escort and your entourage, and that way I can avoid Dean Benaitis.  I'm sure you will have a great time, hopefully so will they."  After a slight pause to regard his risen eyebrows, she added, "Say 'hi' to Enlou for me, and convey my deep disappointment at missing her parties this year."  And at that, she withdrew.

Julian faced his escort fully, his handsome face neutral, with a hint of amusement at Fine Branch.  While Arnari was talking, the nekomata, having seen Julian's leathers always shifting to the latest fashion, had cast disguise self on themself, but it was a riot; it looked like they were following the highest fashion as if one did not speak the local language.

Cathance crossed her arms.  "How are we getting there?" she asked.  Julian smiled down at the halfling, and then also at the gnome.  "I will just walk!" he exclaimed. "I need to stretch my legs."

Five days' walk was some stretching of legs, and it was Ana who was going to stretch them the most.  But the Freelancers packed, and soon they were on their way.

The walk to Cliffgate was of course uneventful, as the Freelancers sorted out their order and how to look like a proper escort.  They initially had a bit of trouble deciding what was appropriate; Fine Branch had done this before, but the others were thinking that if anything actually attacked them, it was more likely Julian would rescue them, not the other way around.

At least Julian was not boring; he regaled them with tales and gossip as he went, and also let them know that while performing at the Bardic Conservatory's event, he was also judging part of the competition.  At no point did he mention in his gossip anything about the Dean and his interactions with Arnari.

Once to Cliffgate, they stayed at The Sleepy Dog inn, and the taproom was especially entertaining as Julian was not the only bard headed towards Three Rivers.

The first night out from Cliffgate, as the Freelancers sat around the fire at their campsite, they heard a high-pitched scream-roar split through the night.  Tai and Fine Branch sprang up, weapons ready, and the other three looked more alert.  The scream-roar sounded again, a ways to the north.

Cathance and Ana calmed the others, explaining that was a mountain lion, native to Duquesne.  Tai and Fine Branch had not heard such sounds before, but were reassured when told that it was a wild animal, and as long as it came no closer, everything would be fine.

Fine Branch took the first watch, and they were nervous as a cat; but the night noises were calm, and all they heard were owls.  Tai, Ana, and Cathance took the subsequent watches, and everything was fine; although to be honest, by the time Cathance took watch, Fine Branch had shifted so their tails were sticking out from the bedroll, and twitching.  So Cathance was amusing herself by casting prestidigitation to change the colour of the bow ribbons to match the bedrolls, the gear, the ground, etc.

The next day, they walked past the turnout to the farming hamlet Ophelia.  The four escorting Freelancers took turns describing their adventure with the field and the assorted sizes of earth elemental therein, and how sad the farmers were they could not plough it and implant their seed.  Julian laughed in delight; and spent the rest of the day turning the tale into a comedic lay about Ophelia's Rock-Hard Fields.

That night they found a well-used campsite, clearly maintained by the travellers who pass by.  There was a bit of an old wall, and the ground wasn't exactly rock-hard, nor were there random stones poking through their bedrolls.

They arrived in Three Rivers early the next day, Julian continuing to work on his lay, strumming his lute as he walked.  They crossed the bridge over the Bountiful River, and were in the town.

"We should go to The Mule's Rest inn," Julian declared as they crossed over the bridge.  He strode confidently in that direction.

"Did you study here?" asked Tai, curiously.  "Not mainly," Julian replied, "I've been here studying, but only a little."

Three Rivers seemed a bit busier than when the others had visited, before (well, Tai had never been).  When they got to The Mule's Rest, the common rooms were busy, and had a number of bards.  Julian bespoke the innkeeper and signed everyone in; a private room for him, two rooms for the other four Freelancers.

As they mounted the stairs to their rooms, they asked how he'd done that, and he said he'd sent ahead, to both the inn and the Bardic Conservatory.  After claiming their rooms, they went to the taproom for food and drink.  Julian talked easily with everyone and had no problem finding a companion for the evening.  The others, at a loss how to guard Julian against his own proclivities, just rolled with it.

The next day the Freelancers all headed for the Bardic Conservatory, which was a short way outside the town proper.  The competition was not for another day, and Julian wanted to tour the grounds, refresh his memory, and show off the Freelancers, while also familiarizing them with the layout.

The first order of business was to make sure his escorts were recognized as such, so they all went to see the Dean of the Bardic Conservatory, a male human named Benaitis.

The Dean was… smarmy, overly touchy and flirty with Julian, who seemed to avoid it with ease, but also with Cathance and Ana, who was slightly less comfortable with it.  As the conversation proceeded, they realized Julian was also flirty with everyone, but in a more lighthearted way.  He also put out feelers towards Fine Branch, who waited until Benaitis was focussing on Julian, then tied their pink bow ribbon on the Dean's shoe.

In the end Julian had procured four cloth badges for the Freelancers, identifying them as "entourage" for a participant in the competition.  The badges had three wavy blue lines in the background and stylized depictions of instruments in the foreground, and the Freelancers affixed these to their right shoulders.  They took their leave and headed to a large concert hall, where Julian was to perform, and also judge part of the competition.

The buildings were a different style than the nearby town, the weathered masonry almost looking like part of the environment.  The hall took advantage of the low hillside to form a partially natural amphitheatre, with the seats arranged around the stage.  Julian stood on the stage, singing clear notes, and listening to the return.  After a few minutes, they became aware of an attractive human in the back of the hall, listening and watching from near one of the entrances.

Julian stopped.  "Enlou!!!  It's so great to see you!" he exclaimed in his melodic voice.  He descended from the stage as she rushed forward to an embrace.  He introduced her, "This is Enlou," he said simply to the others.

She gave him a glance and said to the others, "I'm a professor of melody, here at the conservatory."  Julian added, "We were classmates," and smiled.  "Enlou took the safe route."

Enlou gave him a mock stern look. "With these students!?" Julian held up both hands, and exclaimed, "Hey, I had a Cloud giant!"  At her look of horror, he told her the tale, slightly edited from the one Cathance and Fine Branch had heard in Freelancers Tavern, but news to Ana and Tai.

Enlou was shaking her head.  "That's quite more trouble than when I covered for you when you got caught with that assignation," she declared.

Julian opened his mouth to protest, but Cathance had been reminded, and burst out, "What is up with that guy Benitos?"  Her voice carried unexpectedly well in the hall.

"Shhh," Enlou admonished her.  "He is a little too sure of his desirability."  She turned to Julian, and commented, "I see Arnari got out of coming, this year."

Julian said conspiratorially, "I think she bribed these," indicating the four idling Freelancers.  Tai straightened to his full height and told them, "Can neither confirm nor deny!"

"Wise," Enlou said, "I have tenure, I can tell him to fuck off."  The others were both reassured and taken aback at her harsh words.  After a moment, she added, "I think he feels he's entitled to be Arnari's life partner.

"But enough gossip!" she said brightly, while the Cliffshadow Freelancers considered her prior statement in horror.  "Do you want me to sing, so you can assess the sound in the hall?"  She pulled out a violin, and walked to the stage.  She started playing, then singing, and Julian started to range about.  After a few minutes, they swapped, Julian using his lute.  Cathance thought it was all very pleasing.

Fine Branch started wandering around checking the hall, and how easily secured it would be.  While they did that, Ana started methodically checking for the location of all doors.  She found the side doors, and three doors backstage, one of which was rather hidden.

As they did that, Cathance came up on stage and interrupted, to get clarification on what they were expected to do other than enhance Julian's or Freelancer prestige, e.g. do they need to be guarding the hall?  Julian and Enlou looked at each other, then Julian said, "Nay, you are here for me, and Freelancers –" at this, he looked around at where the others were, then continued, "We will be here, and also at a lesser hall.  The Great Hall is its own building."

Cathance then asked, "What is the schedule, then?"  Enlou told them, "Tomorrow is Day One; we open here, in the Great Hall, at 10am, and Julian is performing; Day Two, Julian will be in a smaller hall, judging the advanced students; Day Three, we'll be back in the Great Hall, and Julian is again judging, but these will be skilled bards who have mastered the magic and the muse."  Julian looked pained at the idea of 10am.

The others had stopped to listen, and Cathance nodded, and started poking around on stage.  From there she saw the back of the hall had box seats, and Tai was checking them out.  They had a balustrade, which was less fancy on the sides, and came up to Tai's waist.  They were numbered, and Tai found a secret door in Box 5.  He opened it and went down and behind.

Cathance had gauged the stage to be 30' deep, and as Enlou sand and Julian moved around, about ⅓ of the way to the box seats, she cast dancing lights behind him, and moved them around to gauge the distance from the stage.  She'd figured the balustrade was 100' back when Tai disappeared.

"Tai, where'd you go?!" her voice rang out.  It turned out the secret door was hard to find and even harder to open from the outside, which is where it led, so he took a while to return to the hall.  "There's a secret door," he announced, "It's non-obvious to normal people."

Fine Branch had been admiring the chandelier over the stage, its light coming from continual flame.  They asked if they could check the office for who used the box seat, and found out it was reserved for the Dean and Special Guests.  The Freelancers looked at each other.  "Fancy Rich People," Fine Branch said.

"Where will you be, when not on stage?" they asked Julian.  Julian indicated where he'd been checking out the sound, about 20' back from the front of the stage; they realized the first few rows were roped off  "Right about here," he told them, then, "Let's check out the other hall."

The other hall didn't look much different to Tai and Cathance; it was smaller, and thus had fewer box seats, but it even had a similar chandelier over the stage.  Fine Branch and Ana, however, busied themselves noting the doors in the sides, and behind the stage; the two of them checked out the roped-off judging area.

The stage was 20' deep, and the box seats 60' back from the edge of the stage.  Behind the stage was instrument storage, and the hall did not take up the entire building.  Enlou told them there were classrooms, and they determined these did not connect to the hall.  At this Cathance walked around the buildings, and returned right as they were leaving.

Feeling much like she had as an acolyte, she asked Julian, "What are we missing?"  Tai had a more important question.  "Where will the after-parties be?"

Julian's smile was like the Daystar emerging from behind a cloud.  He strode around the grounds, pointing out likely party spots, and told them confidently, "Unsure where I'll be invited, but it will be the best ones."

Ana asked, "Do you ever have concerns with stalkers, or vengeful paramours?"  Julian became briefly thoughtful.  "Could possibly," he said easily, "Mayyyybe a couple professors who aren't as nice as Enlou is."  He added, "Also perhaps rivals show up to the competition!  Certainly, I expect Meruelo."

Cathance asked curiously, "Will others have an entourage, similar to us?"  Julian declared, "Others will have security, but I obviously have the best detail!"  He became briefly thoughtful again, eyes far away.  "That said, there might be other Freelancers."  He pointed out a couple more possible party places.

Cathance asked, "Any party plans tonight?"  To her frustration, he answered, "Gonna check with Enlou."

After finishing their tour of the Bardic Conservatory grounds, the group headed to a building that was on a corner.  Enlou's office was within, and Julian interrupted her to ask in a faux casual way, "Any good party spots?  Where you goin'?"  Enlou told him, "Come to my place after dinner.  I'm having a small party, of just Three Rivers' conservatory people."  Julian smiled, nodded, and withdrew.

As they headed back to town, Julian said, "My plan is to have dinner at The Mule's Rest inn, then head to Enlou's party.  I'm fine without an entourage for this afternoon, so meet you then?"

They agreed, and Julian was gone, who knew where.

Cathance looked at Fine Branch.  "I don't know about you, but I would be happier after checking on Justin and Tian," she told them.  Fine Branch liked this idea, and the Freelancers headed to the Mayor's office.

Ana and Tai were curious about who Justin and Tian were, and why did Cathance and Fine Branch care, but the latter two were a bit cagey about the details.  They merely said they'd had a bad encounter with them, and were spared more questions by arriving at the Mayor's office.

Mayor Ethan saw the Freelancers immediately, his eyes slightly wider than normal, but he relaxed a little upon finding the Freelancers were in town for the bardic competition.  He assured them that Justin and Tian were not free; they were still in prison.  Cathance and Fine Branch relaxed slightly, but were still puzzled at the Mayor's reaction.

"By the way," Mayor Ethan said, "Tomtom, and his manticore. They are very intimidating!"  So, that is what happened, Tomtom had come to visit.  The Freelancers agreed, the manticore was, and took their leave to head back to The Mule's Rest.

Cathance thought about Jamie, and mentioned it to the others, so when they got back, Ana passed the innkeeper a gold piece, and asked to see the guest book.  The innkeeper gave the Maker gnome a hard look, and said, "What?!"

Cathance smiled winsomely, her own face lighting up like the Daystar, and Fine Branch said, "We're writing a book on the famous people of Duquesne and where they've stayed."  The innkeeper actually believed that, and let the Freelancers flip through the guest book.

They had no trouble locating "Jamie Mais-Quand," and soon after, "Jamie Mais-Quand"!  Fine Branch was taken aback, and exclaimed, "Stupid motherfucker doesn't even know to use an alias when he goes on the run!"

They flipped further back, and found Green and Jamie Mais-Quand staying at the inn at different times, always in single room.  As they were looking, Ana remembered Meruelo, and looked for his name; it was there, with two rooms, so including an entourage.

The Freelancers thanked the innkeeper, and went up to their rooms.

After dinner at The Mule's Rest, the Freelancers headed to Enlou's.  Julian had again shifted his glamoured studded leather to an appropriate evening fashion, and they strolled through the town.  As they passed a wine merchant, Ana remembered her manners, and said, "Let's buy a gift for Enlou."  She went in and emerged with a nice bottle of wine from a Commerce vineyard.

The group arrived and discovered the party wasn't actually that small.  Well, perhaps this is what bards think is small.  Most of the attendees were Bardic Conservatory folks whom Enlou considered "the cool people", but there were others as well.  Enlou accepted the gift of wine gladly and added it to the assortment of beverages to be enjoyed.

The assortment of beverages was amazing, as were the foods to accompany them.  The Freelancers relaxed and mingled, but never straying out of sight from Julian.

One guest that stood out was a Holder dwarf, none other than Meruelo!  As he and Julian engaged in a contest of insults of increasing ribaldry, Cathance noticed he had two burly Holder dwarves as an entourage.  She looked around, and caught that some other bards did as well.  She supposed that, like Julian, those were the guests who were not Bardic Conservatory locals.

Tai caught sight of a half-elf in the corner, strumming a cittern, and did a brief double-take, for he was coloured like Arnari.  On the second look, though, the two bards looked nothing alike, beyond colouration and pointed ears.  He had grown a chinstrap beard with the amount of success one would expect a half-elf to enjoy at such an endeavor, and it looked out of place on his otherwise handsome face.  Fine Branch followed Tai's gaze, and immediately noticed this bard had an entourage of three abnormally tan people:  two humans and one half-elf.  Fine Branch's ears pricked up.

Tai asked one of the nearby listening people, "Who's name it is?"  The person said in a neutral tone, "That's Petersen."  Tai couldn't help himself, the beard was strange to someone used to Coldstream.  "What up with the beard?"  The person's answer was aggressively devoid of judgement: "Trying to make a statement."  Tai inhaled, then merely nodded.

Ana and Cathance were really checking out the refreshments.  Ana liked the canapés, and perhaps Cathance drank a bit too much of the punch.

It was time to arise for the opening of the competition!  Tai was overtired, and Cathance had definitely had too much of the punch, and was rather green around the edges.  Also, having lost his pink bow ribbon to the Dean, Fine Branch was now he/him.  Upon seeing Cathance, he cast lesser restoration to purge the remnants of the punch.

After a small breakfast, they headed to the Great Hall.  As they arrived, Cathance had a concerning thought.  "How long is this performance supposed to last?" she asked.  "When are we s'pose to have second breakfast?"  Julian smiled at her without answering, and then they were in the hall.

Julian sat where he'd indicated the day before, with Ana and Fine Branch right behind him; Tai positioned himself backstage, where his presence would not distract others.  Cathance sat roughly halfway between Fine Branch and the box seats.  And then it was time for the Dean to open the competition.

With much ceremony, Benaitis took the stage and entered into a long screed about the importance of the competition and the history of time-honored exchange of bardic lore and tales.  Too long, by the time he was done, he had lost his audience.  Finally, he called "Our guest of honor, Julian!" onto the stage for the opening performance.

Julian rose and approached the stage, settling his lute strap as he did so.  He strummed an experimental chord, and Fine Branch and Ana noticed he cast a spell on himself.  Benaitis exited the stage and sat about 10 seats away from where Julian had been, in the same row.  The onlooking Freelancers had expected him to take the box seat, and were surprised.  The occupants therein were people in floofy hats.

Julian opened with a well-known musical tale of the lovers who had been separated when one had joined the Carneval, and finally united when an airship had sought shelter from pirates.  He sang a tale of rain and thunder, and of sailing on a thalassa.  Then, he strummed another chord, and said, "I have a new tale, thanks to my Freelancer companions who travelled here with me.  I present to you, The Plowing of Ophelia's Rock-Hard Fields."

The hamlet of Ophelia was fine
Until one day the fields bucked the plow
The mayor called out "send the ’lancers now!"
And so our heroes came to man the line

Chorus:
Ophelia, your fields plentiful
So hard and rocky then beneath the plow
Our heroes now have made them pregnable

The fields were not virgin, untouched land
And wood was eager for its rightful place
And yet the plow would never bite apace
The earth around was dry as desert sand
<Chorus>

But when plow failed would firmest shovel thrust?
The heated blade aroused the field at last
But here our heroes learn their lesson fast
Communication afterwards a must
<Chorus>

So greatest battle with their open hands
Was waged and won upon the rocky ground
Until at last a sense of peace was found
Ophelia at last could plow her lands
<Chorus>

The audience was extremely happy with Julian's amazing performance, which surely had nothing to do with the spell he'd cast on himself.  He smiled and bowed, then exited the stage as the Dean returned.  Julian sat in his seat, obviously pleased with himself.

Benaitis introduced another competition judge, who also got up and performed a set, not as good as Julian's, but still quite excellent.  And thus it continued for the rest of the morning, and then some, as the Daystar reached the zenith and started climbing downwards.

They finally wound up, to allow the intermediate student competitions.  Julian was not judging those so was at loose ends for the rest of the day.  The Freelancers all met up outside the hall to compare notes and plan.

Meruelo had been in the Great Hall, but was not judging and had not performed this day.  Nobody had seen Petersen, but as they were talking, Fine Branch spotted him, with his four overly-tanned entourage.  Julian had advice from Enlou on which student performances to catch, and so they decided to split:  Fine Branch would tail Petersen, and the others would remain with Julian.

Tai, Ana, and Cathance were thus treated to standing by as Julian watched relatively boring performances emphasizing technical skills, whilst networking with other bards in between; occasionally the news from other skyliths was interesting.

Fine Branch discovered Petersen was doing the same thing, except a different list of students.  He found it hard to tell if Petersen himself were unnaturally tan, but he did realize the half-elf's naturally dark hair was slightly bleached out.  From his eavesdropping, he learned Petersen was competing as part of Day Three, and realized Julian was probably going to judge his performance.

The evening was a similar pattern to the night before: dinner at The Mule's Rest, then a party (not at Enlou's this time).  Fine Branch brought his own bottle, and used create or destroy water to appear to drink.  Tai drank freely, but Cathance was careful to avoid the punch.

This party had more students, and Julian talked to them all easily.  He congratulated many of them, and gave some constructive feedback.  He always seemed to say the right thing.

The others kept an ear out.  They found out Petersen had been in Three Rivers the last quarter or two, but not where he hailed from.

None of the Freelancers that morning had lingering effects from the previous evening's festivities, so they were ready and sharp when it was time for Julian to go to the smaller concert hall to judge the advanced students in the bardic competition.  The Great Hall would have group performances from the skilled bards.

As they walked to the Bardic Conservatory, Fine Branch made arrangements with Julian.  "If someone tries to charm either one of us, I will cast deafness," he told Julian, who nodded and replied, "Tap me on the shoulder, twice."

They chose the same relative seating, Fine Branch and Ana behind Julian, Cathance further back, and Tai backstage.  The performances were very good, not technical and boring like the prior day.  One guy, a human, flubbed badly though.

The audience in the hall was half-full the entire time, but different people attended the various performances, checking out the students.  Ana and Tai were a bit overwhelmed by all the different people, but Cathance and Fine Branch saw Petersen and his entourage attend the better performances, and the Dean popping in for the performances by the more attractive students, and one of the better performers.

Cathance watched for a pattern, but Petersen and the Dean did not appear to have correlated which performances they attended.

The performances went through the day, and only broke for dinner, which they ate on the conservatory grounds.  After that Julian swung by a student party – how did he know?  they had not seen him discussing with anyone – and several of the competitors were there, including the guy who'd flubbed it.  Julian sought him out to talk to him, and gave him encouraging words as well as some advice for future.

Then they swept out, much earlier than the prior two nights, and ended up back at Enlou's.  She was having a much smaller party, just Bardic Conservatory faculty this night; Petersen was not there, but Meruelo was.  The talk was abuzz about the day's performances.

The Freelancer escort tried to eavesdrop as much as they could.  Since the Dean was not at the party, some of the gossip was about him, hitting on students.  They were beginning to dislike him.

After a reassuring breakfast, the Freelancers made their way to the Great Hall for the judging of the solo skilled bards.  For this event, they changed their arrangement slightly.  Fine Branch wasn't immediately behind Julian, and Ana had moved back, closer to the box seats and the doors, to better watch the audience as well as the performances.

The day went by quickly.  Each bard performed two songs, and there were no flubs.  The auditorium was full; not as many audience members were changing as they had for the student performances.  Ana, Cathance, and Fine Branch watched closely as the people who did change, came and went; also some would bring the judges supplies, such as drinks, pens, and paper.  Backstage, Tai was just enjoying the performances.

Petersen was up, and he stepped on stage.  He strummed his cittern, looked around at the audience…

...and started singing about the Daystar, stunning well over half the audience in the Hall, including Cathance and Julian.

Fine Branch moved forward, tapped Julian on the shoulder twice, and cast deafness on him.

• Tai came out on stage and moved up to Petersen.  He roared in rage, but in tune with the music, then smacked Petersen with the flat of his great axe.
• Petersen cast dissonant whispers on Julian, which did nothing because deafened Julian did not hear them.  He cast bardic inspiration on one of his entourage.
  • That fellow moved to Julian, drawing a scimitar, and missed.
  • Another fellow came onstage, drawing his scimitar and attacking Tai.  He missed, but the light of the chandelier reflected off the starburst etched on the blade.
  • The other two attacked Fine Branch and Ana, slashing them with their scimitars.
• Ana popped mage armour.
• The audience who were not stunned started heading for the nearest exit.

Fine Branch manifested a spiritual weapon in the form of a cricket bat.  "Here is my music appreciation bat!" he exclaimed and the bat smacked Petersen with force.  He followed up with a guiding bolt, but missed.

• Tai swung the flat of his axe blade at Petersen again, but while trying not to hit the bat, he missed Petersen too.
• Petersen cast dissonant whispers on Fine Branch, who held his head in pain as he ran past Cathance towards the door.
  • The cultist that had been attacking Fine Branch pivoted to attacking Julian, but missed.
  • Julian's prior attacker slashed him with his scimitar.
  • The other two attacked Tai and Ana, but missed.
• Ana dropped her attacker with magic missile, and moved diagonally forward across the seats, towards stage right.
• More audience fled.

Fine Branch recovered, and cast spirit guardians.  He carefully instructed the whirling cheshire cats not to damage people other than the Daystar cultists, and moved back to where he had been.  Then he had the spiritual weapon whack Petersen again, who was still singing about the Daystar.

• Julian snapped out of the stun, and exclaimed, "Oh, OH! That was really not okay!"
• Tai, still thrown off by the floating cricket bat, overbalanced his axe swing and fell, pulled down by the heavy weapon.
• Cathance snapped out of the stun, and started screaming in outrage, "Guys, he's a Daystar worshipper, BLASPHEMER!!!"
• The cultist who had pivoted to attack Julian swung his scimitar too hard and he too lost his balance.  He stood back up.
  • His compatriot made use of his bardic inspiration, and slashed Julian with his scimitar, but not before taking radiant damage from Fine Branch's cheshire cat guardians.
  • Petersen also was injured by the cheshire cat guardians.
  • His escort slashed Tai with his scimitar.
  • Petersen dropped the ongoing stun he'd been maintaining, and the larger part of the audience moved to flee.  He exclaimed, "Daystar burn you!" casting heat metal on Fine Branch's breastplate, and gave himself bardic inspiration.
• Ana cast ray of frost on the cultist injured by the cheshire cat guardians, and he was down, unconscious.

Fine Branch was getting cooked by his own breastplate.  He cast toll the dead on Petersen, but failed to interrupt the spell, then whacked him with the spiritual weapon, which also failed to interrupt.  But Julian had regained his faculties, and immediately cleared the deafness, then cast mass suggestion at Petersen and his entourage: "Surrender, and sit on your hands."  Seeing this, Fine Branch released the spirit guardians, and the cheshire cats faded out before biting Petersen again.

"Tai, gag Petersen," Julian directed, and Tai said, "With pleasure."  Cathance realized they'd want all of these cultists; she pulled out her healer's kit, and stabilized the fellow Ana had downed with magic missile.

Julian was peeved.  He contemplated the five of them, then turned towards the other Freelancers.  "I am grateful for your help," he told them, "I will work with bards to question them… tomorrow.  So, we will be here an extra day."  By this time Benaitis had returned with support staff, and the five cultists were hauled off to the Bardic Conservatory's drunk tank, which was far more secure than the usual facility of this nature.  After all, it had to hold very skilled bards.

After another half an hour, the competition resumed.  Julian was cranky, but still judging the performances.

Oddly enough, none of the Freelancers felt like partying that night.

The following morning, Julian allowed the other Freelancers to observe his interrogating Petersen, on condition they remain silent.  That did not last long as Julian had practical questions.

Petersen worked either for, or with, Ethan of the Daystar cult.  The pair of them were from Hindmarsh, but Ethan had the plan, Petersen told them.

At this, Fine Branch stirred, and he murmured at Julian, who asked, "What are Ethan's tactical abilities?"  Petersen told him, "Ethan has the Daystar Glow."

"And he's from Hindmarsh?" Julian asked, incredulously.  "Ethan came to Hindmarsh from elsewhere," Petersen explained.  "Orders are coming from Brolin, but he also mentioned Meagan."  When pressed on this extraordinary statement, Petersen had nothing more to add.

"Why are you doing this?" Julian asked.  He'd been thinking of the attack on himself, but Petersen took the "you" as a plural.  "I just wanted the adoration," he said, "All the bards here get it as easy as breathing…  Ethan wants power.  Daystar worship fuels… the more people worship the Daystar, the better it is for Ethan's patron."

The Freelancers and bards exchanged glances.  Patron?  But, no more information on that topic was forthcoming; Petersen did not know what or who Ethan's patron was.

Useful as that information was, Julian's actual question had not been answered, so he rephrased.  "Who was your intended target, in the Great Hall yesterday?"  Petersen appeared briefly confused, then explained, "I just wanted the Daystar's help to show everyone I was the best bard!  I wasn't sure who would be stunned in advance, I just knew it would be a lot."

They withdrew, leaving Petersen in the holding cell, and questioned each of his entourage, one by one.  These just seemed like his crew from Hindmarsh, just overly tan and with better weapons; they had no additional interesting answers, although they corroborated the information that Ethan was also from Hindmarsh.

After that draining work, Fine Branch and Cathance reluctantly counseled Julian that these five prisoners should be brought back to Cliffshadow and handed over to either the Church of Storms or Church of Ua; the former had established a liaison with the Freelancers as a result of these Daystar cultists.  They and also Tai and Ana were not looking forward to walking back to Cliffshadow with five prisoners.

Julian and some of the faculty examined the cittern, which had somehow maintained its structural integrity against assaults by a great axe and a spiritual weapon.  They also looked at the etched scimitars the entourage had used.  The scimitars were simply good craftsmanship; but they were unable to find a maker's mark, which would have helped track down suppliers.  Perhaps the etched starburst was the maker's mark?  The cittern, though, was an instrument of the bards.  The Dean had no qualms about paying the Freelancers 2500gp for the instrument, which they split five ways.  Each of the escorting Freelancers also got a scimitar.

Thus enrichened, the Freelancers spent another relatively quiet evening at The Mule's Rest inn, although before retiring, Julian again had managed to acquire a companion.

The next morning, the Freelancers packed up and departed from The Mule's Rest.  They headed to the Bardic Conservatory to pick up the prisoners.  Many of the visiting bards and almost all the competition attendees had departed, and the grounds were much quieter than previously.

Julian asked the others to wait outside while he talked to Benaitis privately.  They could not hear what was said, but voices were raised briefly.  Then they both emerged and all walked to the holding cells.

Petersen's entourage were let out first, and grouped together.  Julian waived Tai and Ana over, and arranged them so himself, Tai, and Ana were the points of a triangle surrounding the sullen Daystar cultists.

"Stand back," he commanded Fine Branch and Cathance, then to their surprise, pulled out his lute.  He strummed a few chords, and the seven of them were gone, teleported out.  The air popped into place where they had been.  Benaitis looked at them.  "He should have told you," he said.  He listened for a moment.  "They're safely arrived at Freelancers in Cliffshadow.  l'll be back in a few minutes; wait here, please."

He hurried off to a different building, leaving Fine Branch and Cathance to cool their heels.  Cathance looked at Fine Branch, then used prestidigitation to change the colour of his bow ribbon to match his pants.

In Freelancers, Julian, Tai, Ana, and four Daystar cultists popped into existence in the practice yard.  All but Julian stumbled a little, then he directed Tai and Ana, "Go in and seek out Nohea, the overly large Fire sagani, and send her out here.  If you see Tomtom first, send him as well."  They went in, and upon hearing Julian was in the yard with four prisoners, Nohea grabbed Valan and they both came out, exhorting Tai and Ana to find Tomtom.

Tomtom emerged.  "Julian!  You were supposed to sing in a competition, not start taking prisoners!"  Julian laughed and told him, "These are not all!  They are part of your Daystar cultist problem, and I did not want to stretch my legs badly enough to suffer their company for five days!"  At "Daystar cultist," Tomtom looked at them darkly.  "You will have to tell me all about it," he said.

"Not now!  I'm off to bring back the others, lest we all suffer the silence of Arnari's concern," Julian declared.  "Now, Nohea and Valan, do you watch these four and hold them off to the side of the yard.  There's no need to introduce them to the hospitality of our Tavern," he instructed.  "Tomtom, I will return with one Petersen, a bard whose skills are no match for either my own or Arnari's, but who appears to have unknown skill granted by the Daystar cult in which he participates.  I'll not be long now.  Until soon!"

Julian strummed on his lute, and the air popped into the empty spot where he had been standing.  Tomtom looked at Nohea and Valan, and their prisoners, and drew his longsword.

Fine Branch had been unable to hold still, torn between being impressed with the teleport and getting eaten alive that he had been left out.  Cathance had sat on a low nearby wall, and was kicking her feet.  After what felt like forever but which was actually perhaps a quarter hour, they saw Benaitis emerge from the building, accompanied by Julian, still wearing his lute, idly strumming chords.

Benaitis was concerned about the moment of disorientation, post-teleport, but Julian was confident.  "Tomtom is there, he is quite capable," Julian assured him.  "Also, I am familiar with the destination, Petersen is not."  The four of them went into the building, to where Petersen was in the holding cell.  Julian looked at Fine Branch and Cathance, then said to Petersen, "Are you ready to go?"  Petersen said nothing.

The Dean opened the cell and his staff brought Petersen out of the cell.  They handed Petersen over to Fine Branch and Cathance, and then Julian strummed his lute again. Petersen was surprised to find himself in the practice yard behind the Freelancers Tavern, facing Tomtom with a drawn longsword.  "Welcome to Freelancers," Tomtom said.  Behind him, leaning against the wall in the shade, arms crossed, was Nyls.

Tai and Ana emerged from the tavern, and Julian said, "Well now!  I've not visited the Cliffshadow Church of Storms in quite some time. Let us pay them a visit!"

They entered the Church of Storms through the main entrance, not a side door, and an acolyte hurriedly brought Adrian Bryant to talk to them.  Adrian, upon introduction to Julian and Petersen, sent for the Typhoon herself.  She met with the Freelancers while Adrian and a cohort of Storm Guards took custody of the five Daystar cultists.

Julian relayed the events of the competition to the Typhoon as well as the results of their interrogation.  He credited his Freelancer companions with suggesting her interest in these miscreants, but suggested that Petersen's information implied something beyond some ne'er-do-wells defrauding the gullible.

Of course Julian was convincing, and the Typhoon not only thanked him, but agreed to pay the Freelancers 150gp each, as well.

Upon their return to Freelancers Tavern, Arnari met them and gave Julian a big hug; and then gave the others their fee of 100gp each.

• Ana → level3 [evocation]
• Tai → level3 [wild magic barb]