“Market Hall of Riva:
Open between the third morning hour and the third evening hour!”, announces a sign next to the entrance doors.
Here is the famous market hall of Riva. Do you want to enter it?
The fair is being held this month. The number of traders attending is down due to the orc wars, but even so, there’s more available than last month. There are some additional attractions, as well.
Obviously the market hall will be closed soon, because one by one, the other people leave. Eventually, you find yourselves alone inside. You decide to leave as well, because the merchants are emptying their stands.
“I have tried for hours to sell something but all people want to do is question me without buying anything!”, grumbles the shopkeeper. Apparently, he’s not keen on talking with you.
“Time is money, and I am not being paid for talking”, says the shopkeeper as she turns back to her business.
“Swords, knives, daggers”, the weapon dealer shouts into the crowd. “Axes, helmets, shields”. Apparently, this man is too busy to talk with you.
A muscle-bound fellow stands in front of a small stage set apart by thick posts with strong ropes stretched between them. In between the stage and Mr. Muscle, a small guy jumps around excitedly announcing “The Year’s Biggest Attraction.”
“Who can beat Radulf, Arkania’s strongest man? Bet one Ducat, collect ten!”
Radulf appears quite self-assured, the way he displays his muscles.
“Who dares fight against Radulf?” the little guy shouts.
Are you game for a bout against Radulf?
And who among you will try to cut him down to size?
“What?! Have you gone ogre-brained?” [Hero] protests. “I don’t stand a chance against that man mountain!”
Radulf winks at, with an inviting grin.
“And there we have a courageous lady ready to take on Radulf himself. Come closer, beautiful lady, and show these weaklings… - ahem, these men, what a real she-fighter can do!” the little guy screams at the top of his voice.
Radulf bows galantly before [Hero] and climbs into the ring, while [Hero] hands the small fellow a Ducat.
“And there we have a courageous gentleman ready to take on Radulf himself. Come closer, noble sir, and show us what a real fighting man can do!” the little guy screams at the top of his voice.
Radulf acknowledges your challenge with a slight bow and climbs into the ring, while [Hero] hands a Ducat to the small fellow.
[Hero] and Radulf stalk each other for a while, try some tricks and exchange a few cautious blows, until they have taken each other’s measure.
Radulf is really a powerhouse, but on the other hand, he seems to be a bit slower than [Hero]. With a bit of luck…
Then, without warning, Radulf charges [Hero].
[Hero] is totally surprised by the attack, and Radulf basically overruns,. Despite his/her best efforts, [Hero] can’t get up again. With two hard blows, Radulf ends the fight.
Radulf empties a bucket of cold water in your face, offers, a clean towel, and helps, back up. The little guy, meanwhile, is busy looking for new contenders.
Fortunately, [Hero] saw the attack coming and tries to dodge it. But [Hero] isn’t quite fast enough and takes a hard blow anyway.
Luckily, [Hero] saw the attack coming, ducks elegantly away, and strikes a blow to Radulf’s neck.
While Radulf is busy regaining his balance, [Hero] presses his/her advantage and hits “Arkania’s strongest man” with a whirlwind of blows. Groaning loudly, Radulf suffers a particularly hard hit and goes down.
Somewhat under the weather,self, [Hero] stumbles towards a bucket of cold water that’s being kept ready in one corner of the ring and empties it in Radulf’s face. Meanwhile, the small guy brings a towel and pays the ten Ducats to [Hero]… although he’s quite obviously none too happy about it.
You stay and talk to the two of them for a while as Radulf rests himself to prepare for the next contender.
Originally, the wrestler had been a poet living in Vinsalt until he was forced to accept that he couldn’t make a living from his words.
The little fellow, whose name is Eberhelm, later trained him as a wrestler, and since then, the two wander the countryside…
The force of Radulf’s blows sends [Hero] to the planks. [Hero] can’t match the wrestler’s extraordinary speed, and [Hero] doesn’t stand a chance against Radulf’s power.
tall Thorwalian
robust dwarf
giant Tulamidian
contender
“Arkania’s strongest man” is in the middle of a fight. Right now, Radulf is busy wrestling down a.
Since his opponent is relying only on his muscle power, Radulf has no problems besting him.
When you approach, Radulf gives a wave.
“Are you up for a rematch?” he laughs, and immediately retracts the offer. “Just kidding! I haven’t exactly my usual energy today!”
Radulf takes a break, and you talk a while to him and Eberhelm before the two take up their business again. “Who can beat Radulf, Arkania’s strongest man…,” you hear Eberhelm yell as you leave.
In a corner of the halls, a band of traveling musicians has set up its instruments. At first glance, they look too odd a mixture for their players to belong together. Then, a number of musicians, looking just as mixed in origin as their instruments, climbs onto the stage. After a brief round of applause, they start to play.
In a back corner, a dwarf has set up a large collection of drums, tamburones, and angrobells, which he plays with small, ball-headed hammers. He is laying down a driving, constant rhythm that, taken by itself, would probably be considered nothing but nerve-racking noise.
Beside him, a Tulamidian is beating about a dozen earthen drums with leather membranes that have a totally different sound from the dwarf’s percussion set. On his dablas, the Tulamidian is playing complex sequences which embellish, fill out and complement the dwarf’s pounding rhythm.
A Central-Empire musician is playing the harpsichord. It’s a particularly heavy-set instrument, probably because it has to endure constant transport. He is joined by two women who play contrasting themes on their harps.
But, it’s two elves who have both chosen an instrument quite unusual for someone of their race, and they attract the most attention. The male elf is playing a Thorwalian bagpipe with an amazingly soft sound, and his female companion is drawing plaintive, dreamy notes from a Tulamidian string instrument.
As strange as at least some of these instruments may sound, the overall impression made by the band is all the more spellbinding.
In fact, you are not the only people fascinated by it. A whole crowd has gathered around the musicians.
Finally, you manage to break the spell of the seemingly endless concert.
You throw some coins into the basket left at the side of the stage for that purpose, and then you hurry out of the market halls before you’re caught up in the music again.
A band of clowns is putting on a show on the stage. At least one of the jesters must have magical talent, since [Hero] can see it with a knowledgeable eye; some of their tricks are obviously derived from scamp magic.
When the jesters call for a volunteer from the audience, [Hero] is game. “Your task is very simple,” the traveling band’s announcer states loud enough for all to hear.
“All you have to do is take this coin,” the jester shows a gold Dubloon from Al’Anfa to [Hero] and the rest of the audience. “Take it away from us! So it will be quite obvious which one of us holds the coin, we shall put it inside this cloth ball.”
The jester holds up a crumpled ball of cloth, puts the coin inside and sews it shut with a few quick stitches.
“To make it not quite so difficult, Travin here will assist you.” The announcer points to a jester in a remarkably subdued costume who winks at [Hero] with a foxlike smile. Thus, it’s two versus three…
With lightning speed, the jesters pass the ball between them while constantly shifting their positions. Sometimes slowly, sometimes fast, [Hero] tries to intercept it. Travin copies his/her tactics and tries the same thing at a different spot. But, since they can only cover two of the three possible targets at any one time, they don’t stand much of a chance.
Travin whistles softly through his teeth, and a ghost-like apparition takes shape in front of the unblocked target. A stunned murmur runs through the audience. The jester who was about to throw the ball pulls two more from his pockets and starts to juggle them instead.
Travin steps up to one of the others, puffs up his cheeks, lifts his hands to the ceiling, and lets the air escape with a loud and none too polite sound.
The jester opposite him puffs up his cheeks as well. Then, his feet leave the ground and he slowly floats up to the ceiling. The audience claps enthusiastically.
By now, the apparition has disappeared, and the two remaining jesters are passing the balls from one to the other… but those balls seem to have miraculously increased in number. There are five of them now!
[Hero] tries to reach one of the remaining jesters while Travin takes aim at the other one, but they manage to skillfully evade your attempts, passing the balls all the while.
In the end, Travin pulls a handful of sawdust from a small pouch and, with a sweeping gesture, throws it at the feet of first jester and then the other.
Now, the jesters are barely able to move from the spot. Their feet seem glued to the stage. Finally, [Hero] manages to grab hold of one of the balls… there are seven of them by now. While [Hero] is still trying to open the seams, Travin snaps his fingers, and the ball literally blows apart in your hands.
Bad luck - it’s empty!
Meanwhile, the jesters have brought their floating colleague back into the game, and the balls are drawing quite adventurous patterns in the air. Still, they get caught by [Hero] one after the other. The coin must be inside the last ball, the one still in the hands of the jester floating below the ceiling.
Travin looks first at [Hero], then upwards. [Hero] feels a strange stretching sensation in his/her limbs, and seconds later, the ceiling seems to come racing down towards,. In reality, though, it is [Hero], whose body is stretching upwards. Soon, [Hero]’s grown to three times ) normal size, and looks like a tall stick figure.
Fortunately, [Hero] has the presence of mind to reach out and grab the ball from the jester’s hands.
It is indeed fortunate… almost immediately, [Hero] starts shrinking to % normal size again. The floating jester begins sinking to the ground, as well. Then, this ball, like the others, blows up in your hands. The coin falls out and lands on the stage. When Travin points a finger at it and clicks his tongue, it suddenly grows legs and goes tripping towards the scamp.
With a desperate dive, [Hero] reaches Travin, who falls over from the blow of the collision. [Hero] stomps down on the coin and it wriggles under -_ foot for a moment - a desperate insect trying to avoid being crushed.
Then, the movement stops, and when [Hero] picks up the coin and presents it to the laughing audience, it’s just a normal Al’Anfan Dubloon.
The jesters take a bow to mark the end of the show, and Travin thanks [Hero] for his/her participation and presents, with the captured coin as a reward.
At first, you are amazed at this generosity and suspect another trick, but the coin is genuine. Presumably, the takings from the enthusiastic audience will more than cover this gift.
The jesters are performing again. Their volunteer is remarkably clumsy, but he still gets the coin for a gift at the end of the show - as a consolation prize, because he hasn’t been able to capture it.