Act 2: Upheaval VI - Celebration and Departure

10:24 PM, 6th of April 422
The Arena, Odwaz, Myr

When the adventurers step outside of the inner circle of the Arena, they see large groups of people gathered on the plaza, all of them chatting about the outcome of the Tournament and where to go next. The rain has finally stopped, at least for now, but has also left many puddles of water all over the city. Fairies and carbuncles can be seen playing in them.

Amber chuckles at this sight. As for Konrad, he thinks he could manage to get the admiration of many of the people here if he announced his presence.

Konrad:

Smiling, Konrad turns to the others and winks. Once those afraid to be trampled have managed to get out of the incoming limelight, Wildfire makes his announcement to whoever may be nearby to hear him.

"Good people of Odwaz, of Myr, and from afar, I want to thank you all for coming to watch the evening finale!"

Mihai groans and gets out of Konrad's PR range.

Steve isn't paying attention and is just following Mihai as usual. He's totally forgotten the song is about the Arena victory and the upcoming party and is now composing a song for Zelk about her fierce beauty. He of course rhymes it with fantastic booty.

Several people turn to look at Konrad to figure out who's causing a commotion. Because of the light coming from the torches mounted on the outer walls of the Arena, they are able to recognize him in a matter of seconds.

"That's Konrad Granger!" one man exclaims in Wytrwaly.

"By the Nine Bells, it really is!" another one says.

"What's that all about?" a woman with a Lorinthian accent asks. "Wait, is that—?"

"It's Wildfire!" a fairy shouts.

Suddenly, a mass of people converge on the red mage, all eager to either shake his hands, compliment him or ask for his autograph. Many fairies gather above the crowd to have a closer look at one of the heroes of the hour.

"Captain Granger, this fight was simply amazing. Amazing I tell you!"

"He looked at me! He looked at me! He—" A woman faints in her friend's arms.

"Please sir, sign this for my son!" a man asks, handing him a used hankerchief with a pen. "It'd be a great honor."

Konrad is now surrounded on all sides and although it's a little suffocating, the crowd nevertheless makes sure he has enough space to move. One of the First's champions deserves that much.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party make their escape. Amber is laughing out loud at her companion's stunt, and she asks Mihai and Steve, "How long before he's fed up of it you think?"

"Come check on him in an hour. Maybe."

"Huh, what?" Steve looks around until he spots Konrad. "Oh. He'll never get tired of it. Though he might find his resolve for our new First sorely tested when they start propositioning him."

Konrad just smiles, completely happy to take one for the team and genuinely enjoying the positive attention, as opposed to any that his fearsome reputation earned him back in the day. He nods patiently to every uttered praise he has time to respond to, and holds back a chuckle at the fainting woman.

He signs the hankerchief. "Who do I make this out to?" Whatever the man's native tongue is, he personalizes the autograph with:
"Dla Henryka to mój honor, moje najlepsze życzenia"
("For Henryk, the honor is all mine, best wishes")
{Machine/literal: "For Henryk, it's my honor, my best wishes"}

"Thank you all for gracing me with enough room to breathe," he jokes.

Curious, he looks for the Lorinthian woman, but she has already disappeared...

He also takes a minute to talk to the fairy, shaking her hand by allowing her to wrap her arms around two of his fingers.
"Miło cię poznać, Reese, mam takich przyjaciół jak ty, którzy chcieliby usłyszeć o tobie i twojej rodzinie!"
("Nice to meet you, Reese, I have friends like you who would like to hear about you and your family!")

Once the party has managed to slip away, probably after suffering proclamations of folks' desire to have him in bed (or have his babies, yikes), he'll quell the lavishing of praise and attention:

"Thank you all for the warm welcome, but there's someone I need to talk with, please enjoy your evening."

The folks surrounding Konrad are downright dejected when he tells them that he must leave.

"Please, Mr. Granger! Just one autograph!"

"Come on, you gotta show us your spells!"

"How did you get this scar?"

It takes a minute or two or two before he manages to extract himself from the crowd and join his companions. They then walk through narrow streets for twenty minutes before they finally arrive at their destination; the Faculty.

Unlike the last time they came here, the building seems almost deserted except for the occasional patrol of Defenders. To pass the time, Amber asks her friends about what exactly happened down in the Arena. It all went so fast, she barely managed to follow the combatants' movements.

Ten minutes later, the adventurers hear a strange buzzing coming from south of them. A little worried by this, Florolf hides between Amber's legs and looks up to the sky; a flock of fairies is bearing down on them with ravenous smiles on their faces.

"Oi! Captain!" It's Segel, First Mate of the Vulcan. "We're here!"

The fairies land everywhere: on the dark orange of the roofs, the wet cobblestones of the streets and even in the puddles of water. They're all happy to see the party members and some of them gleefully fly around them to say hi.

Fluffle approaches the party, lands on Steve's shoulder, and says with a big smile, "I'm sorry for the delay. They wanted to take a bath first."

"Nah, you're just in time."

"Good idea, who wants to stink at a party? I took a shower and feel much better, even in these wet clothes." He laughs.

Konrad leaves the moment he manages to un-crowd himself. You stop to make one signature, and they're back on you again. He's a little sad to leave them, though.

Konrad smiles at his crew. Wow, look at them everywhere, they're like street pigeons. "No trouble at all, I completely understand if you needed a few extra minutes to be ready. Did you get my orders, First Mate?"

Fluffle nods at Mihai and turns his attention to Amber, who's now playing with a few fairies flying above a puddle of water.

The moment Steve mentions his wet clothes, a dozen or so fairies gather together in a circle and begin to whisper conspiratorially with each others. A few seconds later, they surround the black mage and use their cantrips of fire to emit waves of heat toward him. One of them is Waffle, the ice cream girl with spiky black hair.

"We'll take care of that for you," she says.

In the meantime, Segel gives his report to Captain Granger. "Yes, sir! The ship is ready to cast off at your command." Konrad suddenly remembers he already told his crew earlier today to prepare to leave Myr by this evening and for the whole family to stay at the ship until told otherwise. "Fluffle also invited Miss Locus to come, but she said no."

"She said she couldn't come, but I'm not sure why..." Fluffle adds. "She'll be guarding the ship though. She's very nice."

"I'll tell Amber to glomp her when we get back."

"I think she'd like that," Fluffle says to Mihai.

"Oh, thank you so much guys, this is much better than waiting for it to dry at the party. Did you remember my silly hat and guitar too?"

When the fairies start drying off Steve, Konrad asks, "After him, could you do me next?"

When Fluffle hangs his head about Femke choosing to stay behind, he smirks. "It's not for everyone." Then he says to Segel, "Can you ask some of the passersby for directions to the Forum?"

Mihai slightly raises his hand "Me next, please."

Waffle points at one of the roofs where several of her siblings are sitting and shows Steve where his guitar and hat are. She motions at them to come down, which they do rapidly enthusiastically hand him his prized possessions.

"What are you going to sing, Pizza guy?"

"Is it going to be a ballad? Oh! Something improvised!?"

Meanwhile, the fairies who are still drying Steve's clothes turns to the other adventurers and confirm they'll be next. Segel doesn't lose time however, and immediately nods at his captain and gathers two dozens of his siblings.They fly in the air and line up over two rows, ready to take their orders.

"Listen up!" the First Mate begins. "We have to find the ‘Forum’, so we go ask people for directions and then come back here. Understood?"

"Aye aye!" they respond.

"Then let's go!"

Segel and his new team fly off while the rest of their siblings wave goodbye at them.

Steve talks with his hands the whole time. "I'm going to sing a ballad to the most beautiful woman in the world and then I'll need your help with a fun song I wrote about dolphin shenanigans that I call the Pearl and the Porpoise! Porpoise is a play on words with purpose. Anyway, it will make sense later probably!"

"Yeah, let's do it! I'll start my vocal exercises right now. Ma, me, mi, mo, mu..."

"That's going to be awesome!"

"Oh, the prettiest woman in the world? Who's that? Will we see her?"

The remaining fairies cheer in anticipation of the party. This attracts the attention of a passing patrol of Defenders who wonder what in Deremonda's name is happening. One look at the adventurers however is enough to dissuade them from intervening, and they continue on their merry way.

"Of course you'll meet her Panna, I'm going to marry her and you're all invited to the wedding!"

"She's your fiancée!?"

"Oh, weddings are the best!"

"We'll sing the song for her too!"

They then begin to bombard Steve with many questions, eager to learn more about this mysterious woman. A few minutes later, Segel and his siblings return to the party with the directions the captain requested. But instead of telling them where the Forum is, they yank on the adventurers' fingers and guide them through the Faculty.
____________

The Forum is a multi-story section of the Faculty that consists of many rooms, large and small, that are suited for meetings or all types. The one where Nadzieja's festivities will take place is located in the middle of it; 12 meters in height and 40 meters in length, this room can handle at least two hundred people. Many tables have been placed next to each other to form six rows that are lined up across the room. Resplendent chandeliers hang from the ceiling, basking the adventurers in magical yellow light.

Most of the guests—many of them being the clansmen the party left just an hour ago—are already present and taking their seats. They laugh and they chat, elated to be here. As for Nadzieja, she's right by the entrance, welcoming each and everyone of her guests. When she sees the group of fairies, she widens her eyes in surprise and smiles to the adventurers.

"I had no idea there were so many of them," she says. "Welcome!"

The fairies are surprisingly on their best behavior and wait for someone else to talk first.

Konrad's eyes dance from Nadzieja to the room full of food and beer, and back to her, standing in the clean robes he wove carefully for her.

He comes forward to shake her hand or to hug as the case may be. "Thank you for waiting for us! We managed to get dry before we came. Actually I was a little worried that you already started."

DM note: she shakes his hand.

He looks beyond at the room again. "This is a very enticing display. I'll be sure to thank Jaropelk for putting it on."

"If you're able to find him," Nadieza says while gesturing at the room full of people behind her. "He avoids any kind of attention like the plague."

"Well, if I can't find him, please thank him for me, will you? For clearly giving 110% to perfect the arrangement."

She nods. "Of course."

"We hired some of them to be the crew for our ship but as part of the deal we brought the rest of the family too. Let me introduce them. First the crew. Steve clears his throat and starts introducing the fairies one by one as he points them out. "This is Segel, our First mate. Followed by Waffle, Piffle, Ember, Hiccup, Truffle, Gabby, Panna, Cobb, Dayap, Bilolo, Flapjack, Sunny, Scrambled, Fritta (short for Frittata), Quiche, Hash, Omelet, and Bacon. These three handsome dudes are The Three Jacks, Pepper, Monterrey, and Colby (written individually as Pepper Jack, Monterrey Jack, and Colby Jack). And that lot over there are Jetty, Apple, Lime, Bowline, Fritter, Lemon, Milkshake, Sausage, Cookie, Tiramisu, Eclair, and Rainbowsherbert." He pauses to catch his breath and let the named fairies say hello before he continues.

"Now the rest of their brothers and sisters are Cobbler, Cupcake, Banana, Dumpling, S'more, Sundae, Pudding, Donut, Fudge, Caramel, Cannoli, Ambrosia, Blondie, Cinnamon, Chestnut, Pecan, Peanut, Custard, Carrot, and the one sneaking the jerky is Bonbon. I don't know why you bother to sneak them Bonbon, we all see you do it!

Anyway, the ones in the corner on the right are Marshmallow, Meringue, Oatmeal, Panocha, Cashew, Parfait, Persimmon, Hazel (short for Hazelnut), Pineapple, Scotchy (short for Scotcharoo), Sopai (short for Sopaipilla), Strawberry, Rhu (short for Rhubarb), Peach, Walnut, Coco (short for Coconut), Hotdog, Garlic, Pea, and Anise.

The three fashionable ones in the middle there are The Three Cherries, Cherry, Cherimoya, and Tellicherry. They make all the clothes for their family; that's why they all dress so well.

And the ones on the left are Hing, Basil, Tabasco, Berbere, Bergamot, Thyme, Cinnamon, Periperi, Lavender, Tarragon, Tamarind, Ginger, Sassafras, Paprika, Cayenne, Habanero, Bell (short for Bellpepper), Plum, Currant, Chocolate, Pome, Apricot, Clementine, and last, but certainly not least, Pistachio!

Everybody, this is First Nadzieja Zerva, leader of Myr and head of Clan Zdetermiwa. Remember, only her friends call her Nadia, so make sure you do so as often as possible." He looks at Nadia and gives her the mission accomplished thumbs up, which looks twice as silly in his Silly Hat which he changed into when Nadia wasn't looking.

Mihai blinks.