(Sep 2, 2022)
Firewalker
Shepherd’s End
Spring 8, 12 days until the Blooming Flower Festival
The first days of spring have come to the small coastal town of Shepherd’s End. The day winds down like so many that preceded it. There are children playing in the streets and people gathered around the big Hearth at the center of town, sharing food and the gift of good company.
As the sun begins to set, the friends of the senior class gather around a bonfire at the Old Ruins outside of town. The group mingles beneath the bright shattered moon and glittering stars. Sal, the last to arrive, approaches the quietest pocket of conversation and immediately interrupts the silence with an important question: what is their class going to do about the list of responsibilities assigned to them for the Blooming Flower Festival? (The annual festival where everyone is recognized to be one year older and the senior class will be formally acknowledged to be adults in the eyes of the community.)
The list Sal was referring to contains four tasks for the seniors:
- Provide the central decoration for the festival
- Create games for the young children to play
- Bring a dish of food
- Offer a customary gift to their Teacher
The group briefly debates and discusses the tradition. Peach points out that all of this seems irrelevant, reminding everyone that the group is expected to leave town to aid with the national emergency; little was known about the crisis, only that it was somehow related to the Octurn that unnervingly crashed into the earth four months ago, becoming an ominous tower in the north. What did the trivialities of this tradition really mean in the face of such things…? And what possible punishment would befall them if they just shirked the responsibilities and focused on enjoying themselves instead?
The debate is quickly settled (the group will do what’s expected of them, lest they face the community’s disappointment) and a handful of ideas are generally agreed upon.
However, as the group is still deciding what to do, Kaisi spills hot embers from the bonfire onto the ground with the ludicrous suggestion that this could be the game the group creates for children. His idea is summarily dismissed; undaunted, Kaisi instead transforms the idea into a challenge for his friends. Brave the dangers; walk across the obstacle set before them.
In an incredibly uncharacteristic display of defiance against sensible behavior, Ava begins to remove her shoes. Intrigued by the oddness of this display, excitement within the group soon builds. Kaisi’s idea was still an absurd suggestion for a children’s game… but it was an interesting challenge for a group of teenagers from a small town.
Ava steps up to the embers and, after a moment’s hesitation, begins to make her way across. With Kaisi’s help, she is able to make the trip safely across. One by one, all of the friends make their way across. Some are fast, others are simply fast enough, but eventually everyone is standing on the opposite side with sooted feet.
Everyone, that is, except for Kibeth.
The saytr paces nervously on the opposite side, unconsciously rubbing her fingers against the old keloid scar on her hand. With the encouragement of her friends, Kibeth finds the courage to face her fears. However, leaping into the embers before sprinting across proves to be a mistake; a hot coal lodges itself in her right hoof. With Kaisi’s help, she manages to reach the other side, but immediately collapses in pain. Doc removes the coal as soon as possible and coats the singed skin with an herbal balm. The relief is immediate but not complete and Kibeth will likely find herself limping over the next day or two. Luckily for Kibeth, Aureya is also present; with a soft word of praise and a silent prayer, the tiefling uses her magical touch to help ease the last of Kibeth’s discomfort and heals the wound almost completely.
Having survived the dangers of their own game, the group once again turns their attention back towards their upcoming responsibilities before disbanding for the night. Kaisi’s dangerous challenge has inspired Sal who suggests that, while burning hot coals are a terrible idea for kids, an obstacle course is something worth considering. The others seem to agree. It’s not long before the group decides on a loose handful of ideas. The seniors will track down some lost chickens (to gather the best possible eggs for their dishes), they will create an obstacle course for the kids to play on, and they will consider building a sundial for their lifelong Teacher, Gilgan, an elderly halfling with a affinity for all things that serve as a reminder of a time past, from a world that’s moved on.
They share some rather odd (if mundane) news from around town: drunken sailors who insisted the lighthouse have moved; some local farmers were heard debating a strangely colored sunrise (the specific color of which was the nature of their debate); the Fairfoot Property had fence collapse (leading to the three missing chickens); strange tracks appeared outside of town along with unusual cuts among the nearby trees; automatons, clumsy in appearance and design but capable contraptions that aided around town, caused some minor accidents near the docks. Most of these things appear unrelated and some are connected to the minor tremors that have become commonplace.
The group eventually disperses back to their respective homes, many of them already eager for the next day when they could begin one of the last adventures in their home of Shepherd’s End.
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S13 E02 - Chicken Tracker
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