Written by: Nataliya "Shader" Kostenko
The day started on a high with a set of beautiful, incredible, wonderful tournaments run by someone very cool. The weather, though, was far from cool. All the tournament participants fought valiantly through the heat and humidity–especially Sir Kaelkatar, who ran around smiting enemy-team-kobolds (like a maniac) despite the temperature. I greatly appreciate everyone who participated, even though they lost two of my orbs. After tournaments and a much-needed water break, lunch was served from the Rhiassa kitchen. Ser Gwen’s cooking never disappoints, and this festival was no exception. Lunch included pinwheel sandwiches and watermelon, served with a very tasty blueberry yogurt dip. Up next, Sir Aeston ran the exciting new event–Dinosaur Jousting! Participants got to do two rounds of dino mounted activities–the ring joust (where you try to collect rings on your lance) and the tilt (AKA actual stabby-stab jousting). The rings and shields for these activities incorporated magnets in what I thought was a rather innovative design. Sir Orion found a dino-based activity that went much better for him than dino racing–he dominated both segments of the joust. Though, if we are awarding any points for dressage, I think Rowan would absolutely win the day with her most noble of steeds. After the jousting we ate more yummy food, including some excellent antipasto and caprese skewers. As everyone ate and relaxed, some pesky water elementals snuck in and started an epic water missile fight; it was especially enjoyed by the youngest adventurers, but also definitely by some older ones. Meanwhile the top-notch kitchen staff served another round of excellent eats–chili, buffalo, and curry fries.
Probably because we mocked the heavens with our water fight, a torrential downpour then started up. This unfortunately derailed some of the afternoon’s scheduled content (Huntress practice woefully included), as we all huddled under the pavilion. At least we still had excellent snacks to keep our spirits high. Ashenmark spent some of this time discussing our potential war plans for the upcoming campaign against the Risen Kingdom with Orion. When the rain let up, questing content resumed. I’m sure every team ran some very interesting stuff, but I can only speak to the two encounters I saw unfold. First, an opportunity arose for adventurers to learn about the mysterious Apostles of the End (which, Imma be real, I don’t know anything about). This involved following a certain treasure-hungry explorer into a vault. The party sent by the Realms was able to defeat some icky corrupted dredges. They were also clever enough to solve some riddles posed to them by a magical key, granting them access to the vault. Inside lurked some fireball-throwing squids and hopefully(?) the information they sought. I’m not too sure. Either way, it was a daring vault heist. Second, an Aquarian emissary needed some help making peace(?) Embracing nature(?) Once again, I’m not too sure tbh. All I know is that it was a very salty adventure. Salt water, salt golems, and a leech who got fed some of that salt directly from Ryu’s bloodstream. Slurp, slurp. Oh, there was also a nature spirit who said “like” a lot and had the mighty Realms adventurers help her clean sticks up off the forest floor. The adventurers did do this successfully, but the whole endeavor won’t be complete for a while. Luckily Raynor was on hand to invite the Aquarian emissary to the autumn Ashenbounty feast, hopefully granting adventurers the chance to finish what they started there.
The day ended with dinner and dessert. Flights of fancy tacos, customized for each individual with a wide array of choices for ingredients. Then adorable, bite-sized pies for a final sweet treat. While eating dessert, everyone took turns spinning the prize wheel and making themselves wealthier (if luck was on their side). A great way to end the day–by accruing wealth to spend at future festivals. Future festivals that I will certainly be looking forward to!