The Star Tides Festival

Part 1
Having left Inkbury and defeated a gang of Kenku bandits who attacked them in their sleep, the party encounter Flightless, a young multicoloured macaw Kenku. He is deaf and communicated with Alice via thieves cant (portrayed by ASL).

Flightless communicates that he was kidnapped by the bandits and that he has no family and the party decide to take him with them while they try and find a safe home for him.

They journey on down the river and encounter a smooth plateau of stone, similar to the obelisk they encountered on their way to Inkbury from Opaz, that seems very regular/sculpted and doesn’t appear on their map of Everidge. Malik takes out his sledgehammer (which he has for some reason) and takes a sample of the rock before ice-sledding behind d the cart on a magically frozen seat of ice for a while.

They come upon a cresting-wave shaped hill with a path leading up to a plateau on top. Stopping to investigate, the party find a shrine with a large hourglass pedestal with an eye carved from bone atop it. They see a bald, tattooed meditating monk who identifies himself to be a nameless “child of the Watcher.” The Watcher being a mysterious being who “sees all.” Malik identifies divination magic emanating from the eye sculpture. Though they inquire about the Watcher and his works, and discover that this place is named Ridgestone and that the Watcher unobtrusively observes many things. Unfortunately, most information is reserved for the acolytes/children of the Watcher and not willing to abandon their lives and material possessions completely for this faith, the party move on.

They set up camp for the night under a tree not too far from South Gresham. Damien asks his sketchbook about the name “Sierra Rose” but receives word that no one by that name exists in the records of the city of Solarus. Keeping watch, Cassia and Damien see and hear lights and noises from the town’s festival and briefly debate venturing ahead to the town in the night to see the festival but decide to wait until the next day to explore with their friends.

The next day they arrive at the town of South Gresham where the Star Tides festival is in full sway with events, vendors and lanterns.

Part 2
Arriving at South Gresham during the Star Tides festival and witnessing the singing (performed beautifully by Blake), parades and festivities, the party decide (after receiving much enthusiasm from Cassia) to take a pause from their quest to enjoy the event for a while. Malik stays the carriage whilst the others mingle.

Exploring the festival the gang participate in several competitions, games and events.

Blitz enters a wrestling match with a boar with a Venus flytrap tail and manages to overcome it after electrocuting the bite-y tail (to some disapproval from the judge). He wins some gold for his success.

Damien after smack-talking an elven javelin thrower decides to compete in a javelin throwing and gymnastics event where they must climb the javelins they throw into a pole. Though there are a few tense moments after making couple slip ups, Damien steals a victory at the last moment and wins the competition. Having bet on Damien the party

Blomf takes on a dwarven woman in a tough drinking match before she finally collapses and he is declared the winner.

Malik rejoins the party and they take on Smokey the hill giant in an eating contest that Flightless excels at, eating whole bones. Malik uses some illusion magic to hide some of his food and they manage to win the contest.

Blomf, Damien, Malik and Blitz then indulge in the Fanciful Swig, an expensive but astonishing potion that grants its drinkers strange powers and effects for several hours:

Blomf turns into a majestic minotaur, Damien gains the power to unscrew his wrists and take off his hands, Blitz is pestered by a mysterious being known as Marvin the Mailman who appears to give Blitz notes describing every action Blitz takes. Malik soon realises he has become as light as a feather and can jump very high.

Blomf gets another sample potion with the help of Malik creating an illusion of Leo to receive the sample. This one makes his hair (and newly acquired fur) effervesce smoke.

After messing around with their potion’s effects for a while the group do some shopping. Cassia purchases some jewellery to adorn her horns.

Upon discovering a mer-folk shop enveloped in a bubble of water, Blitz trades his old armour in for a deal on a beautiful set of maritime wave-patterned chainmail armour that allows him to swim fast in the water.

The potion gradually wears off as they shop and Alice spots a floating orb of light that she, with the party trailing after her, follows to an alcove in an alley where they find a mysterious woman who asks them if they would “care for a reading.”

Quotes
“‘I’m true neutral guys, I’m true neutral' No, you’re a psychopath!” - Alex on Malik’s suggestion to test Flightless’ Flightless-ness by throwing him out of the cart.