Big Day Out in Novar! Part One

We inspected the map supplied to Us by The Guild, and could see that we were only about an hour from Novar, give or take. We sat at the front of the carriage, only to find Ezri sitting in the passenger seat. We cocked our head to the side and looked at her inquisitively.

She raised an eyebrow and cracked a smile, saying, "If you're going to have a conversation with a HORSE… There's no way in the 9 Hells I would miss THAT."

We chuckled and shook our head, gathered the reins, and took off with the party, heading to the City of Novar. The next hour or so was pretty uneventful, Ezri fell asleep, and We had a pretty decent conversation with the horse. He says his name is Falcor… Pretty neat name.

We approached the entrance gates to Novar, seeing that there was a decent sized crowd being funneled into the city through the gates. There was a battalion of guards watching the entrance, inspecting carriages, and taking payments.

As Our party got closer, We came within earshot of a somewhat heated exchange. A tiefling man with blueish-purple skin, spiral horns, and a beard was arguing with one of the guards, who was a human male with shoulder-length dirty blonde hair, green eyes, and tan skin, who was doing check-ins.

"FIVE. HUNDRED. GOLD?! You can't be serious, man. I can only afford to come through here once a year, because it's always been 100 gold. Where do you get off trying to steal from people like this?!"

The guard sighed and rolled his eyes, responding with, "Sir, the current entry fee to Novar is 500 Gold Pieces. This is because of the increased current capacity of the Guardian Games. Kinf Bjorne himself made the entry fee. I don't make the rules, I just enforce them; and I have to follow them too, just like you."

The tiefling ground his teeth together out of anger, but handed over the entry fee, and took his donkey and cart into the city. Ezri, apparently having woken up while I was watching the exchange, said "Wow… 500 GP? Thank the gods that we have a noble escort."

Across her lap was her quarterstaff; a rough-hewn hand-carved staff , that she didn't seem to ever part with. We could understand this sentiment at least. We nodded back to her, and pulled the carriage up to the guard, who greeted the party.

"Hark, are you here for the Guardian Games?" He asked, looking at us. We could tell he was amused and slightly put off at Our appearance. It's not very often you see a walking beehive hanging out with a person-sized cat.

Nao suddenly appeared right beside us, and responded to the guard "Yes sir, we are here to compete. I am a noble from Chao Yeng, and these are my champions."

He looked us over again, and then looked back at her and said "We will just need to search your carriage, and do you have proof of nobility?"

She nodded in response, while pulling out her intricate, ornate dagger, and presenting it to the guard. He looked it over, nodded, and snapped his fingers. As he did, his eyes glowed a light blue color, and We could tell he had cast a spell on the knife to determine its authenticity and history.

In addition, a small group of about 3 or 4 guards began to meticulously look through all of our stuff, on us and in the carriage. When they were all finished, the lead guard stepped up again, handed back the dagger to Nao, and said, "Welcome to Novar, the Capital of Faerun. Good luck at the Guardian Games, and be sure to give it your all. King Bjorn says it's going to be QUITE the competition this year."

We exchanged a glance with Ezri, noting the guard's statement about King Bjorn. We were then led by another guard to a specific house, a large 3 story manor. He unlocked the door, then turned to hand the key to Nao, and said,

"You have been granted this abode by King Bjorn, as accommodations for participating in this year's Guardian Games. The Games begin tomorrow, at the 8th hour. Tonight, at the 20th Hour, there will be a large banquet and ball, to celebrate the return of the Games.

All champions are expected to be there, with their sponsor. Until then, you're free to do what you please in the city. Welcome to Novar. Thanks for visiting." He nodded to Nao, bowed, and took his leave.

Nao turned to us and smiled a big smile. "We did it! We are here! That's amazing. Oh and there's going to be a banquet! How exciting. We should prepare for the celebration by going out, and exploring the city a little!"

Maevris nodded enthusiastically, yelling at the top of her lungs, "SHOPPING DAAAAYYY!" Before taking off out the door, before the rest of us could even react.

We all looked at each other, and started laughing. It was nice to feel relaxed, and experience some camaraderie after the events of the last couple days…