002 – Moonday the 22nd of Skerpla

We were held out at sea yesterday and were unable to dock in at Yertlebar, they wouldn’t allow us til the morn next. It is a strange town, hovering above the water on stilts. Tact tells us that the ship pilots are very important in the town and that we should do what they say and to never cross them. I will remember to be as friendly as possible to the pilots as I do not want to make trouble for my friends. But, he also says that I will be in trouble should the pilots find out that I have the skill of navigation. What a strange place. I do not understand such violence for a handful of yellow coloured metal.

Mr Tact says tomorrow is the festival of Skallagrimsson and there will be a feast and a big celebration. If it were not for the celebration I do not think I should like to go to Yertylbar after knowing what I do now about the pilots. My friend Thorgim asks Mrs Tact about some logging that is happening in a forbidden place. Thorgrim wishes to end the logging and I agree as Mr Tact says that druids there have warned against the town from logging. If the druids say they should not be in that place, they should not be in that place. Druids are the custodians of nature and the land, as I am. Maybe I will get to visit the other druids.

We arrive in Yertlebar. Mr Tact negotiates with the pilots who take the ships in. I am very careful not to say anything to upset them. Thorgrim pays the crew and allows them to have shore leave. Mr Tact says we can stay at one of two of his inns. One called Golden Pleasures which is near the guards and well protected (my friends mutter something at the name of this place but I do not understand), and one called The Bloody Hammer which is near the docks. There is another called The Watch Tower but Mr Tact is not affiliated with that one.

Thorgrim and Shaw negotiate with Tact to sell all of the jewellery and other useless items the group has. I do not understand much of what passed between them, but I was given some of the gold that the party procured from the deal, and I left most of it with Mr Tact to take care of. I was assured that it would be safe.

I notice a man standing against the wall who seems to be very interested in us. It is a little unnerving, so I mention this to Thorgrim who suggests that we walk in another direction and see if he follows. So we start down a nearby street by foot. We head toward the festival. I glance behind us and see the man again, we continue to the festival and along some interesting architecture. But I do notice the man again. Perhaps he is also headed to the festival? We arrive at a large building with the words ‘mercantile hall’ above the entrance. The group stops for Thorgrim to talk to a guard to ask for directions and general information about where we are. I look back and notice the man still heading in our direction, walking across a bridge. The man sees me looking at him and waves at me. He appears to be an average looking human. He has some weaponry but is otherwise average looking. The man walks up the the party.

Thorgrim asks the man who he is. The man replies that he is Jonathan la Valetta and is an investigator. Thorgrim invites him to the tavern so that we may sit together and share stories. The market place as we travel through looks busy with a stage and chairs and many booths with quite a few people around, some setting up, some engaging in trades of oddities that are unusual for the festival. There is one booth with a great line up of people. The people in the line look as though they are anticipating something exciting.

Another booth has a sign at the front that says “kiss the monster and win a prize”. Several other booths are beginning to form lines of people with various interesting signs. There is a space in the middle of the marketplace with a circle in the middle.

Shaw goes to the kiss the monster booth as he wishes to win a prize. I follow with great interest. Shaw asks about the nature of this monster but the men at the booth insist that he pay the fee first. I am very interested in this monster but the men will not allow me to see it until I pay the fee, so I pay them their 4 silver. I do not really understand what this is all about but I want to see this monster so I pay the fee.

I overhear something about a large rodent with a valuable pelt but I am thinking only of this monster and my curiosity at what it could be.

We had to the tavern and take a table inside. Shaw buys everyone a drink, but I do not drink. I tell Shaw but he says it is okay, he will drink my share.

Jonathan says he is from here, Yertylebar. Thorgrim asks him about the local politics. Jonathan tells us that the town is run by the merchants as only they can vote for the city administration. This place seems to run on money. What an odd place to be to run on gold. He says that the new ‘Prime’ or ruler will be decided upon today. The old Prime will open the keg at the festival as his final act of office. Thorgrim asks how powerful the merchants are, and Jonathan says that the pelts is the old business of the town but that the town has moved on to sea produce and particularly a certain wheel that is very priced and is harvested from the bays here. The pearls within are very valuable. They also trade in timber but the timber has been relocated to the East where the timber quality is not as good. The fishing business is good. There are mines to the SouthWest there are other settlements within there. The merchants themselves bring riches to the town and it is a good place to live as it is quiet and safe. There is some manufacturing in the town the town builds its own fishing vessels. Many sailors come in and out of the town. To the North is the Isle of the dead. At low tide, many of the waterways are easily walked. There is regular trade to Newfeld, caravans run through. Timber workers live on the mainland. The marchants travel quite far and wide but the biggest problem is the people of Helendia accosting their vessels so they tend to travel via inland groups nowadays.

The group sits for a short while exchanging pleasantries and then begin to hear the crowds outside start to gather and cheer so we excuse ourselves from the inn and join in on the festivities. Several activities go on as we watch with the crowd. I do not understand much of what was happening but I enjoyed the atmosphere. I could see the smiles on the faces of every single person, some laughed, other cheered and it was very infectious, and even though I did not have a clue at what I was watching, I smiled and giggled and cheered too… and then they called for the contestants to kiss the monster.

Like a lightning bolt jolting through me, I felt a mightly rush of engery go through my body and then I had a strange light feeling in my belly that increased as I walked closer to the area where they called for the contestants. I realised after a minute or two that what I was feeling must be nervousness. But not at the monster. I have seen plenty of those in my lifetimes. No, I think it was having all of the eyes of the audience pointed at me. All of the contestants were placed into a circle facing outward. My stomach felt as though it was spinning around inside of me. And then they put a blindfold over my eyes and that of the other contestants and the feeling went away completely. I could not see all of the people in the crowd with the blindfold on so I was no longer nervous, and instead, their cheering made me feel confident and happy. I was told to prepare myself as I heard the thudding of a large creature before me. Somebody to the left of me said that they would remove my blindfold in a few seconds and to get ready to kiss whatever was in front of me. They raised their voice to the crowd to say that it was my turn to kiss the monster. Everyone cheered and I smiled, and then everyone in the crowd and the announcer started counting down. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, my blindfold was removed and my eyes shot open to see….

A giant frog. A frog? big deal! I’m a druid! I leaned forward as the frog stuck out its slimey tongue at me and I kissed it without batting an eyelid. The crowd cheered and laughed and I laughed along with them. They replaced my blindfold and everyone else had their turn. I was blindfolded so I did not see all of the creatures but I believe they had a different creature for each contastant. I won the contest in the end and there was yet more cheering and laughing and smiling. It is the most I have smiled and laughed since being reborn, and since I do not remember my former life, it is the most I have laughed and smiled ever.

There were more games and more shows that I did not participate in but gladly watched and cheered along to, and then there was a huge fire that everyone stood around, some danced, many cheered and then someone came out to annouce that there was to be a new Prime of Yerytlbar and that that person was to be… Mr Tact! Everyone seemed to be very happy about this, including myself. I am very happy for him, he seems to be happy to be placed in his new role.

We all head toward a nearby inn and there is a lot of drinking and merrymaking. A woman approaches me and asks if I would like to have my fortune read? I happily agree, still wanting to be a part of the festivities. I am quite intrigued at having my fortune read seeing as I do not remember my former life. The woman tells me that she cannot read anything about my past, which I am a bit disappointed about but not surprised at, except that she says that all she gets about me is up in the sky. I make no emotion on my face for I do not wish to offend the women, but I giggle a little inside at this, thinking to myself, ‘yes, I did indeed spend a lot of time up in the sky’. I am given some fortune cards, one is ‘Point of No Return’, another is ‘Rock and a hHard Place’, and a third one is ‘Kept Secret’. I give the woman a good amount of coin for her work and she says to me that Madame Valtana of the Vistani is in my debt. As I turn to leavem she stops me and says one final thing. The town has a secret that I will discover and I should be careful about who I talk with regarding this secret.

I return to the inn and the festivities. Many people of the town engulf us and praise our group as the people who won many of the competitions, especially Thorgrim who won his fight against the beast. The story of which seems to be grander with each telling.

We are read some poems. I did not know any of them.

During the night, Mr Tact tells me to make sure the group come to see him the following day once everyone has had a little time to recover from the festivities. I promise him that we will do so and I watch as the party goers slowly pass out one by one and go to sleep right where they are sitting or standing. I sit atop the bar to meditate and contemplate the night and everything I ahve seen and heard. I think tonight will be a peaceful night.