Merek has come in his full leathers for the Gauntlet, and has on his cape which has his sigil on it. He moves towards the clearing and moves to the side to wait for the call for those who wish to participate.

Skye arrives at the event, dressed comforably so she has no barriers to running the course. She looks a bit frail but there's spirit there as she makes her way up to see where to sign up. She pauses as she sees folks she knows, giving a wave in greeting, "Hello there...are you running too?"

Quill, the grunty little porcupine arrives, following Paige.

And then, the construction of the gauntlet is finished. The inspectors have gone over it and give the green light for everything to be used. It's all safe here! They seem to say, or do they? Lou grins over at Caspian as he asks his question. "There are two prizes, for first and second place, and I'll announce what they are once everyone gets here. Also, I believe Alarissa was arranging for a trophy, but I haven't seen it yet. Once I do get it, the trophy will be given out to the winner."

"Thanks, Master Wild." Jordan nods to Caspian, then looks over to Lou, flashing her a grin. Felicia is offered a respectful nod and Skye is given a brief bow before he's turning to his own destrier, Volare. Once he's astride, he takes hold of the reins and leans back, straightening. He might be on his way out, but damned if he's not curious about prize games.

Lethe arrives to the event with a curious expression. She looks to those she sees with a smile and takes a look toward the course.

Reese arrives at the gathering while adorned in her pink and toting lots of weapons. She glances over the area having a smile of greeting for many here.

"Hmmmm..." Caspian hums a moment, thinking, then gives a little smirk and a shrug. "Know what? I'll just watch. If I participate then that might discourage all the people I beat," he says with a playful little chuckle.

Lou inclines her head to Caspian, offering a soft laugh. "Alright." She looks around at the rest of the people, "We'll be starting in a few moments. If you wish to participate, please join the line," she motions to the line. (OOC: +line/getinline)

Paige has joined the line.

Lethe has joined the line.

Paige arrives on horseback, having borrowed one of the Keaton horses.. just in case. While the ranger is often out of place with her haircut, perhaps the strangest thing is the head of a porcupine poking out of her backpack. She draws to a halt and swings out of the saddle fluidly to tie off the horse. Heading on over, she offers a broad smile and wave towards the gathered people. "Hi! I'm not too late to join, am I?"

Felicia has joined the line.

Jordan eyes Caspian for a moment. "If you join, I will, too. We'll see about this 'beating' business, Master Wild." He reaches for his horse's mane, ruffling the destrier.

Skye has joined the line.

Merek has joined the line.

Merek moves to the line for those that wish to participate and takes his time to relax as he rolls his shoulders a bit to ready for the event and lets out a small little sigh.

Felicia ties off Wrecking Ball and joins the others in the line. A particular grin and upnod for Paige and the wry comment of,"Fancy seeing you here."

Reese has joined the line.

Skye gets up on her horse, Prince Charming, and rides over to where the others are waiting. Strangely enough, the horse does not seem to resemble his name because he tries to yank the reigns and Skye has to manage him for a moment, "Now Prince...behave."

Jordan has joined the line.

Chuckling, Paige gives a shrug to Felicia and offers, "Don't look at me. I heard about a gauntlet to run and thought it sounded fun! I have no clue what the Explorer's are or why they're doing this!"

Paige gets forest ranger cowl from simple leather backpack.

Paige gets forest ranger coat from simple leather backpack.

Paige gets forest ranger leggings from simple leather backpack.

Paige gets forest ranger rebraces from simple leather backpack.

Paige gets forest ranger bracers from simple leather backpack.

Paige gets forest ranger boots from simple leather backpack.

"The Explorer's are an organization dedicated to finding adventure, exploring the lands, recovering lost history. While some of our purposes are very similar to the Scholars, we are not a secular organization, and our exploration is not limited primarily to those things the faith wishes to uncover. We can be hired out by nobles to scout their lands for ruins or to help with rebuilding efforts, we can be called to aid on expeditions to help find lost relics and history, or we can be called into service by the Crown or the High Lords for whatever projects they have." Lou says as she steps forward to address everyone. "As we undertake these missions or expeditions, there are any number of things we can encounter, and today is all about giving you a chance to encounter some of those things in a non-lethal way -- for our adventures are often fraught with danger, and a number of explorers have died or gone missing in the line of duty." And, for a moment, Lou's face becomes shadowed. She got her position of Pathfinder from one of those very circmstances -- Aislin went missing in the line fo duty.

Felicia smirks briefly,"I am quite certain they can explain it better than I can, and will, soon enough." she offers with a shrug, stifling a bit of a yawn,"You should have come to the Sailor's Ball... wasn't any dancing, but was plenty of games." she falls silent as the explanation is given, her attention settled directly on Lou absorbantly.

Reese gets into the line. She peeks over to Merek, waving to him and then she smiles over to Skye. She then turns to Lou, listening to her sister as she speaks. "Yays explorers." She says and then pauses. "I had to run the gaunlet when I heard about it." She also waves to Felicia.

Lou shakes her head at Paige. "You are not too late." She then grins over in Reese's direction. "Welcome to the event!" she tells her.

Merek listens to what is said, and nods a bit towards Lou as he does. He then adjusts his cape a small bit as he looks towards the clearing. He wants to be one of the Explorers, but perhaps this will show if he should even take the test in the future.

"...I did go to the Ball. And competed in the rigging climbing. I even called out to you, specifically, afterward," Paige responds to Felicia with an odd look before turning back to Lou. She grins and bobs her head, "Glad to hear it! Sounds like a great group!"

Skye assures everyone, "It's a wonderful group. I joined not too long ago and have found all the members very open to conversation." She gives a smile in Lou's direction, "She's done a great job leading everyone." She then gives a wave to Reese, while keeping an eye on her troublesome horse.

Felicia pauses at Paige's words, obviously trying to recall,"That just shows how drunk I really was." she confesses with a flush of her cheeks and then grins broadly,"That and..." Reese's wave is spotted, and merits a respectful inclination of her head,"Your highness." the respectful offering with a flash of a grin before she asides to Paige,"I'm perfectly sober for this one, so if I fail miserably at everything, that's why."

"Because of the dangers involved, every person that wishes to become an explorer must pass an entrance exam. This is not that exam," Lou warns to those who might be thinking it is. "In fact, the gauntlet is just a bit easier than the exam we give. Information on the exam can be found within the Charter Hall of the explorers." Lou pauses, then says, "If you are here to participate, and have not already done so, please join the line." (OOC: +line/getinline)

Lou adds. "Today, I'm offering 100 economic writs as prize to the first place winner - and a trophy to be given out later. The second place winner will be offered 10,000 silver."

"Its alright, I think most of us ended up drinking more than we wanted to..." Paige wears a blush briefly herself for some remembered faux pas or another, then chuckles and shakes her head, "I am sure you will be as dominating today as you were then, Dame Harrow." She looks to Lou and flashes a grin, "Can we apply to join if we do well?"

Arriving a bit late, the large form of Jeffeth Bayweather approaches the rest of the group from the trees, bright smiles cast to the group as the big man wedges his wrist in between the pommel of his blade and the sway of his hip.

Jeffeth has joined the line.

Jordan hops off his horse after listening to the prize. "Well, that is a generous amount..." He considers, staring at the tracks ahead before leading his destrier to a tree and securing him to a tree-trunk. Volare's mane earns an apologetic ruffle and the knight just watches for now.

Felicia snorts,"Oh no, Mistress Paige, you need to be looking over there.." the redheaded knight advises with a nod towards Reese,"I believe her highness has beaten me in every single competition we've mutually competed in. Don't let the ribbons fool you. Her highness has well earned her stripes." she asides to Paige with a grin at Reese.

Skye gives a nod at Felicia's words, "Oh yes, Princess Reese is definitely the one to beat on the course." She motions to herself, "I just hope I place well...there are so many skilled warriors, I am just honored to run the course with them."

{Once it seems like everyone is here who is going to participate, Lou begins, "The first thing most explores is investigate a topic of interest, to see what information they can glean and to see what direction they should be going in to find to find the ruins they want to explore, or that interesting place they want to go. Sometimes, we find leads, sometimes we find false leads. And, that sometimes means we're searching in the wrong place, but still might find something of interest." (@check perception + investigation)

Once it seems like everyone is here who is going to participate, Lou begins, "The first thing most explores is investigate a topic of interest, to see what information they can glean and to see what direction they should be going in to find to find the ruins they want to explore, or that interesting place they want to go. Sometimes, we find leads, sometimes we find false leads. And, that sometimes means we're searching in the wrong place, but still might find something of interest." (@check perception + investigation)

Skye checked perception + investigation at difficulty 15, rolling 3 lower.

Paige checked perception + investigation at difficulty 15, rolling 1 higher.

Merek checked perception + investigation at difficulty 15, rolling 5 higher.

Lethe checked perception + investigation at difficulty 15, rolling 33 higher.

Felicia checked perception + investigation at difficulty 15, rolling 19 higher.

Merek walks towards the clearing, feeling that he should be searching around for a place that seems interesting. Once he has found it, he nods a bit and lifts up the orange visor on his helmet a bit as he lets out a thoughtful sigh.

Jordan checked perception + investigation at difficulty 15, rolling 0 higher.

Jeffeth checked perception + investigation at difficulty 15, rolling 6 lower.

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Jordan before departing.

Felicia grins at Skye,"It's definitely a bit of fun in any case. As much as I would love to join the Explorer's, my duties to the King preclude it, but it's nice to get out there and do things like this... if only for the practice." there's a glance in Reese's direction before she turns her attention to Lou to listen and obey instructions, for some reason it causing wry amusement to creep across the knight's lips.

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Jordan before departing.

Jordan is not particularly skilled at sleuthing. So it is that when he starts searching, he simply gets lucky through circumstance to be able to be adequate for the task ahead. Just skimming by. Barely.

Skye listens to the instructions, but of course gets a bit distracted when Sir Jeffeth arrives. She gives a happy wave and then looks back, realizing she might have missed something. She looks around, tries to get a feel on what's going on but the young lady does look a bit lost.

Lethe seems eager to get started. She listens to Lou and takes in her surroundings as she sees what she might find.

Reese checked perception + investigation at difficulty 15, rolling 0 higher.

"Now, you know where you want to go - or well, think you might know where you want to go. Now you need to get there. Much of the time our explorations take us away from the city of Arx. We're in the wilds of the Gray Forest. That means we're either walking or riding, and sometimes that riding involves moving over or around a set of obstacles." And, indeed, in part of the clearing there's a small arena set up for the gauntlet that includes a set of small logs or tiny bridges or other obstacles that must be encountered. "And, that involves some skill in riding - but not expert experience. Also, skill in riding means that you're not as saddle sore as you could be if you did not have such skill, as you spend long hours in the saddle and know how to mitigate the length of time without getting sore." (@check dexterity + riding)

Reese peeks and searches around, trying to find what info she can. She just barely finds enough. She then mounts up on her horse.

Jordan checked dexterity + ride at difficulty 15, rolling 14 higher.

Reese checked dexterity + ride at difficulty 15, rolling 12 higher.

Merek has rolled a critical success!
Merek checked dexterity + ride at difficulty 15, rolling 30 higher.

Lethe checked dexterity + ride at difficulty 15, rolling 8 higher.

Jeffeth checked dexterity + ride at difficulty 15, rolling 22 higher.

Felicia checked dexterity + ride at difficulty 15, rolling 25 higher.

Skye checked dexterity + ride at difficulty 15, rolling 24 higher.

Merek moves to show how bad he is at riding in a manner that isn't casual, instead he goes to show that while expert riding is not needed, he is indeed an expert on occasion. The horse gods favor him it seems. One two three, ride that pony.

Skye manages to get her bearings and direct the horse where she needs it to go. While her riding is not skilled, it is enough for her to keep up with the others. She gives a happy smile as this piece of the test goes better for her.

Wrecking Ball is definitely too large to be trying to manuver through the woods. The big black stallion is a warhorse, with all the bulk of a creature bred to carry a hundred pounds of steel on top of their rider, but well, Felicia knows how to manuver the beast, and for once it fails to live up to its name. Even if there's much in the way of ear-flicking at the concept that its not supposed to try and smash through the obstacles.

Destriers are generally difficult to maneuver in confined quarters but Jordan acquits himself well with his horse. He's no virtuoso at horse riding unlike some of the other knights here, clearly, but he's adequate, and so there are no complaints just yet in this part of the Gauntlet.

Lethe isn't so good at riding horses, but she doesn't give up. With some effort she gets through the next part of the gauntlet.

Reese mounts on her horse and manages to ride fairly well. She isn't super amazing, but she isn't bad either. Her cheeks are pink and she seems to be enjoy the contest.

Jeffeth's horse, Friend, is a huge draft horse. But she seems to react well to Jeffeth's directions. They seem in tune, the large man guiding his huge horse with with familiarity. The man and horse are both large but seem to be able to manage the forest well enough at a slow but steady pace.

Lou watches as everyone navigates the riding obstacles, some more expertly than others. She grins over at Merek, acknowledging his not-skill skills. "And, though you have a general idea of where you want to go, and what signs you want to look for, finding them on paper is quite a bit different than finding them out in the wilds. We must look for the signs, and search for the place once we're out in the wilderness - and make sure our directions are correct, otherwise we might miss that turn, or that outcropping, we were supposed to use as a guidemarker, because the directions we're working on are never exactly correct, particularly if it's a set of ruins we're out to explore. Sometimes, we need to double back and start over from where we know the signs are supposed to be in order to find the correct path." (@check perception + survival)

Felicia checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 6 higher.

Reese checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 19 higher.

Skye checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 18 higher.

Jordan checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 13 higher.

Lethe checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 14 higher.

Merek checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 17 higher.

Jeffeth checked perception + survival at difficulty 15, rolling 17 higher.

Skye manages to keep up with the main group as they search for clues on how to find the correct path. She glances at the others to see if they've made similar conclusions on where they should go next.

Merek moves through towards the next part of the course, and seems to be doing well at path finding through this all. He shifts about his cloak and searches on the ground, as well as any markers left around.

Felicia usually doesn't have to hunt for the right path, clearly, it's a struggle, this way? That way. A furrow of her brow as she tries to work out the right path in the scenario and lags behind the others on this leg, beyond a doubt.

Jordan is disappointed this time around, mostly because he can't quite finish the task of tracking as quickly as he'd like to, despite all the extensive training in the area.

Lethe starts to focus on her surroundings. She takes interest in a few different places as she looks for the path.

Reese studies the path closely, eventually picking out a direction that seems right to her.

"You've now found the place you want to go, and you come upon the ruins." Or, in this case, the building facade, "But the door doesn't want to budge. You remember in your research that this particular set of ruins has a tricky mechanism designed within it in order to get through the doors. You find where the mechanism is, but the trick is to find out how it operates. You spend some time pondering on the puzzle, to work it out. Sometimes, it takes more than one attempt - which isn't an issue because usually you have time on expeditions to work such things out." The door holds a tricky mechanism that either lets people in or holds them back until they are able to do it. Eventually, everyone will get through. (@check intellect + riddles)

Merek checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 15, rolling 12 higher.

Jeffeth checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 15, rolling 4 higher.

Jordan checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 15, rolling 6 lower.

Skye checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 15, rolling 10 higher.

Lethe has rolled a critical success!
Lethe checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 15, rolling 31 higher.

Reese checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 15, rolling 7 lower.

Felicia checked intellect + riddles at difficulty 15, rolling 10 lower.

Merek isn't by any means perfect at riddle solving, however he seems to have some training with it. As such he is able to work out the mechanism fairly fast all-in-all, and hopes it is to satisfaction.

Reese seems really confused when she reaches this part. She has this expression of consternation as she tries to figures things out and completely fails.

Skye isn't familiar with riddles but the young lady does engineer boats so she applies what she knows about mechanics of how pulleys work to figure out how to get the door to open. She gives a smile as she finishes the task and then motions Reese over so she can show her.

Felicia's hopeless when it comes to this, utterly hopeless. She tries, and tries, but there was possibly a hint needed, and still it takes her a while to work it out. Not so great for exploring, apparently.

Lethe looks at the mechanism, and she just works with it a little. She seems a little surprised when she gets the door to open.

Reese moves over to Skye, looking over the riddle she figured out and sucking in a soft breath. "Oh!" She says, figuring it now, but only after she got help. She has a smile for Skye. "Thanks. That was driving me nuts."

Definitely not Jordan's strong suit. He struggles with riddles, that much is obvious. And he definitely needs help, but he's just... lagging behind further in getting it solved. Welp.

"However, successfully maneuvering a mechanism doesn't mean that you still haven't triggered a trap on the other side as you couldn't have known it was there. You never quite exactly know who or what might have been living in the set of ruins after the original person has left. And, so, you might be left with "gifts" in their stead for any intruders that might come to occupy their new place of living." Lou shakes her head. "Sometimes, they rig things so that you need to dodge out of the way of them, in order to waylay others." And those that do not dodge out of the way get swatted with something that stings but does not do any serious damage. (@check dexterity + dodge)

Skye checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 10 higher.

Jeffeth checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 41 higher.

Felicia checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 32 higher.

Lethe checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 2 higher.

Merek checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 13 higher.

Reese checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 49 higher.

Jordan checked dexterity + dodge at difficulty 15, rolling 45 higher.

Skye gasps as the trap almost gets her, causing her to step towards Reese whom she was just showing her how to work the door mechanism. Luckily she manages to avoid getting hit, "Oh wow...that was close."

Synder The Wolfhound arrives, following Barric.

Lethe doesn't expect a trap. She only just manages to avoid a swat.

Merek has been a little bit busy with scholarly things, as such when he must dodge the next thing, he does manage it, though he has to do a fancy dive and roll to avoid it.

Lou is running people through the gauntlet. It looks like they're probably a large part of the way through it, with people dodging a stinging trap.

Reese dodges and darts the attacking trap. She looks over to Skye, giving her a grin at her words.

Jordan is quite nimble, unsurprisingly! He sees the trap closing in on him and dives under the trap, rolling forward and then standing while keeping himself in a nice, easy stride. He dusts himself off on his way to the next stage.

Barric arrives, late, but he does arrive! There's a moment when he looks over towards the people running the gauntlet and makes his way towards where Lou is supervising. "Well this looks Festive." He says with a chuckle as he watches the goings on and seeing what's assailing the course runners!

Felicia at least has excellent reflexes, the trap goes and she's already in motion to avoid it, even if she does stop to stare behind her at the thing like 'I will have to remember that', lips pressed together in a thoughtful line.

Lou grins over at Barric, nodding her head. "It's a bit close. And some of the non-explorers are outshining the explorers." She watches as the others dodge the trap hitting them as the door to the building facade comes open.

Jeffeth is a big man but surprisingly quick for his size. Springing out of the way of the trap with widened eyes and lunging away from the stinging trap. Careful to get his full mass out from the way of it, going to fall in line with the rest of the gauntlet runners.

"So, you've gone through most of the building. But, sometimes old ruins and structures are not the most stable or steady, and to search through them you must navigate the missing parts of them. That often times means either jumping or swinging from one side to the other." Lou says as she motions to the part they all come to next, individually of course, where there's an opportunity to either jump across or swing across -- which ever method they prefer. "Some methods are easier on the building to do than the other, which might become unstable." And, it looks like there's a pit of water that people might fall into if they fall down. The pit is only 5 feet below the section they either need to jump or swing across. It's definitely wet down there, but deep enough to safely break a fall, and there's a handy rope to climb back up if one does fall. (@check dexterity + athletics)

Felicia checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 26 higher.

Skye checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 32 higher.

Lethe checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 2 higher.

Reese checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 33 higher.

Jeffeth checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 41 higher.

Merek checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 8 higher.

Jordan checked dexterity + athletics at difficulty 15, rolling 28 higher.

Merek moves throuh and uses his skills at doing some parkour moves to do it. While he's hardly the best, he does manage it well enouh for the most part.

Lethe seems a little hesitant to get started, but she decides to swing across.

Skye comes to the edge and gulps, then she backs up, giving herself enough leeway before running as fast as she can. She gets to the edge and jumps, there's that moment when she's in the sky and not sure if she's going to fall into the pit. However, her feet land safely, and she leans forward and takes a deep breath. She glances up to see how others do.

"That's the thing though, some of the best explorer's might not be able to fight their way out of a bowl of porrige, but without them translating what we recover where would we be?" Barric says with a wry grin to Lou, "Which you know of course, so I'm not surprised. We've got some serious notables out there. Sir Jordan, Sir Jeffeth, Dame Felicia... that is a lot of physical prowess." He moves to find a space for himself to rest comfortably, "Is that Baroness Blackshore?" He smiles, "Impressive."

Reese jumps over the pit as well landing not far from Skye. She looks to be enjoying the contest, all pink-cheeked and cheerful. She gives Barric a wave.

Jordan is adequate, once again, making good time but losing ground to the top line of the runners. He takes a moment to swing across with the rope and then get to a running start in an almost vain attempt to recover his delay.

Felicia's in her leathers, in her rubicund? It might be a different story, but the redheaded King's Own seems to have no issue with leaping the distance as she comes up to it with barely a glance at the rope, perhaps concerned she'd end up pulling it down on herself if she grabbed for it.

Lou inclines her head to Barric. "Reese too, and yes that's Baroness Blackshore," she confirms. "She's already in the Society, and when she's ready she has an expedition for us to go on for her."

The huge man moves right behind Felicia, jumping on the rope and swinging with ease over. The big man lands on the other side and Jeffeth smiles brightly over at Felicia as he runs in stride with her.

"And, sometimes, you encounter other people in your explorations. People that might not always speak the same language as you. In this case, it might be shav'arvani. Goodness knows how many shav'avarni people populate our lost ruins. I know of four ruined castles on Grayson lands up near Stormwall that are occupied, all, by shav'arvani." Lou says, by way of explanation. "And in this case, these ruins are occupied by those who are not part of the Compact. You must somehow talk your way through getting back out with a scuffle in the language they speak so they know you don't mean them any harm." Lou pauses then grins, "Lest you get kidnapped like I did." She looks over at Reese when she says this and her cheeks turn crimson. Because, that might have happened to Lou -- and it's not just a jest. (@check intellect + linguistics)

Felicia checked intellect + linguistics at difficulty 15, rolling 13 lower.

Skye checked intellect + linguistics at difficulty 15, rolling 5 higher.

Lethe checked intellect + linguistics at difficulty 15, rolling 8 lower.

Merek checked intellect + linguistics at difficulty 15, rolling 10 higher.

Jordan checked intellect + linguistics at difficulty 15, rolling 7 lower.

Jeffeth checked intellect + linguistics at difficulty 15, rolling 8 higher.

Reese checked intellect + linguistics at difficulty 15, rolling 5 higher.

Merek says in Nox'alfar, "It is nice to meet you, let us get along fine elven friends."

Skye doesn't speak any other languages but she does understand how the base of words work. She manages to piece together enough with motions and examples to show the natives that she means them no harm. Luckily they seem to get the idea that she is trying to convey.

Lethe stares at the person with a confused expression.

Merek attempts to talk to the elves that are not even here it would seem, as he shows his language skills with the Nox'Alfar. Which is definitely an interesting thing for someone to know. He then frowns a bit and looks towards Lou, "Aislin taught me."

Reese peeks over to Lou and has is rather amused smile at her words. She then goes about the challenge, struggling to talk her way through things. She seems able to figure things out with a lo of work and patience.

Felicia grins briefly at Jeffeth, but well, yes, she's doomed when it comes to languages, for all the red her face goes. She just slowly shakes her head in abject puzzlement, her gaze going to Lou at 'four ruined castles on Grayson lands', shrugging helplessly at the person trying to talk to her before admitting,"I'm lucky if I can remember how to speak Arvani, let alone... anything else."

Lou glances curiously over at Merek, making a mental note. She's heard the language spoken before, even if she doesn't speak it. She grins over at Felicia. "I usually talked to the shav'arvani in pictograms, but the day I got kidnapped, well -- they tied my hands up, and so I couldn't communicate at all. Shard got herself captured so she could talk for me. And, well, it all works out in the end because that particular tribe was being held captive by northern shav'arvani who were trying to press them into service of the slavers and we ended up helping them and they bent knee to the compact for our efforts in helping them." It's a rather lengthy explanation that had a happy ending -- this time! "I've since learned to speak some shav'arvani. I can speak the Northern tongue and Crownlands now."

A messenger arrives, delivering a message to Skye before departing.

Felicia grins wryly at Lou,"That's fortunate." she says with a slight, acknowledging nod,"If you've time, some time, perhaps I should come and take lessons from you... I might end up having to deal with some of the Crownlands shav'arvani in the nearish future." after a moment she elects to add,"Have you ever been to Harrow Hall, perchance?" perhaps a little distracted from the competition at hand.

There's a moment when Barric gives Merek a hard look, "Hmmmm, looks like Nox'Alfar'ian is becoming very popular with the Embassy's Opening." He chuckles and looks at Lou, "Sounds like that was a fun trip. I should learn some of the Shav'Avarni languages too but I am just to fascinated with all the elven languages. I wouldn't mind picking up Cardian though..."

"And, also, that concludes the gauntlet. It looks like Jeffeth came in first place, and Reese has come in second place." Lou says after a moment.

Lethe smiles as she looks to Reese and Jeffeth. "Great job. Both of you seemed to make it all look so much easier than it was."

Willen then distributes the prizes. 100 economic to Jeffeth and 10,000 silver to Reese.

Skye gives a big clap for Reese and Jeffeth who placed well. She gives a wave to both to let them know that she's excited for them. Then she starts to gather her things to head out since another appointment is pending.

Skye is overheard praising Jeffeth for: You did a great job on the Explorer's Gauntlet

"Thank you all very much!" Jeffeth rumbles happily bowing deeply to Lou. "I'm so sorry I didn't realize, I have to be getting back to the city. You all performed admirably, it was an honor to compete with you!"

Skye is overheard praising Reese for: You kept at it, even the parts that were hard for you. Your dedication paid off.

Lou is overheard praising Jeffeth for: For winning the Explorer's Gauntlet.

Lou is overheard praising Reese for: For coming in second place in the Explorer's Gauntlet.

Jordan nods to both Reese and Jeffeth, then offers a bow to Lou before heading to his horse and riding away.

Felicia applauds them both,"Nicely done, both of you." she ccheers approvingly, not in a particular rush to run off yet in favor of lingering to ask questions.

1 Navegant Marines, Dahlia, a confident red and white corgi puppy, Winter, a juvenile Oakhaven bloodhound leave, following Skye.

Reese is overheard praising Lou for: :woots great gauntlet event!

"Alas," Lou tells Barric, "Eurusi is my only other language. I'm looking to learn some of the elven ones. You might contact Master Ven or Mistress Vera, both explorers. I think one or the other can teach some elven." She then looks over at Felicia nad shakes her head. "No, I've never been to Harrow Hall that I can recollect, but I'd be glad to teach you what I know."

Reese is overheard praising Jeffeth for: Yeah, winner of the Gauntlet

Lethe looks to Lou. "That was fun and informative. I was pretty terrible, but at least I know what I have to work on. Thank you for doing all of this. It must have been a lot of work."

Reese seems all flattered when it is announced that she won. "Lou, you keep the money for the explorers guild." She say sin her sister's direction. "Thank you for running that. It was great."

Lethe is overheard praising Lou for: For hosting the Gaunlet event.

Lou smiles at Lethe, and dips her head in a nod. "You are welcome." She glances to Reese and nods. "Thank you. They'll appreciate it. We buy the Explorers armor and weapons should they need it, and use the money to help fund expeditions."

"That's another one I want to learn eventually too. I need Rex'Alfar, Marin'Alfar, umm... Sylvan'alfar?" Barric looks curiously, "I don't know the name of it, and Eurusi, and Cardian but... not sure I can learn them all..." He then claps and cheers for the winners, "Sorry I didn't get here in time to participate." he smiles wryly, "Might have been able to give them a run for their money." He smiles at Reese though, "Well done Cousin." Then to Lethe he looks, "Don't think we've met yet." He offers with a smile, "But it looks to not matter..." He chuckles.

Felicia gives a slight nod of her head,"It's on the southern bank of the river to our north-east. But it has... been abandoned a long time." she opts for with a wry smile,"Nor, admittedly, is it a particularly safe area, for that matter. But I'd greatly appreciate learning from you. I'll be going to scout it's surrounds in a few weeks, and while I'm not planning on disturbing the locals while I'm there, being kidnapped might be a little embarrassing." there's a glance at Barric as he speaks of these other languages.

Merek looks around a bit as he considers the results, and then shakes his head. He applauds for the winners, though he looks a bit like he had expected himself to do better than he did.

Reese looks over to Lou. "Oh, I couldn't take it. I have so much already." She then looks over to Barric, having another smile for him. Her attention is on Felicia next. "You did very well, Dame Felicia." She softly says.

Merek is overheard praising Jeffeth for: Good win.

Merek is overheard praising Reese for: Good win.

Lou glances curiously over at Felicia. "If you need help scouting things out, I'm sure we could work out an arrangement with the explorers. Unless you've already people in mind to do the scouting, of course." The latter is said with a blush. She's always seeking out opportunities to involve the explorers, especially with them getting so big!

Lou is overheard praising Jordan for: For having the courage to try the Explorer's Gauntlet on the same day he became my protege.

"You all did very well honestly," Barric says to those who remain, "It's not often I hear Nox'Alfar being spoken these days." He says with a nod to Merek, "And Dame Felicia," He studies her for a few moments, "Best way to not get kidnapped is to not be seen to begin with." he smiles wryly, "Not that I am any good at that. You do have the advantage of being recognizable though Dame Felicia. We ran into a village of Shav's just the other day and they called Princess Reese, Princess Ribbons. So fame does count for something."

Reese looks over to Barric. "Oh, they did." She says in his direction. "It seemed to be helpful. They seemed to realize I was there to help. I think I am getting a reputation with the Shavs in the forest that is hopeful. Not that I will depend on that or assume that, but nice to see." She murmurs. "So fame can be a good thing. I can be a bad thing sometimes too though."

Lou looks over at Barric when he says this, then looks to Reese. She crinkles her brow a moment. "They didn't run into the problem Emily and I ran into did they? The ones you visited, with people disappearing overnight?"

"I don't know if they had that one or not, there was..." Barric pauses, "Something... that was building a hut that tried to control people. Was the strangest thing, we ended up burning it down but the whole village was leaving their farms to escape it." He shrugs a little, "Reese will know more than I, apparently this is something that is an ongoing and recurring thing? I don't know the particulars yet."

"And you, of course, princess Reese." Felicia offers with a broad grin, somewhat distracted as she chuckles at Lou,"I do already have people in mind, one of them my brother, who is one of your explorers, I believe." she offers with a nod Lou's way,"It's not something that I've approached the Society about simply because it's something I feel I have to do myself." there's a brief glance Barric's way and an arch of her brow,"I certainly hope I'm not recognizable out there, or kidnapping might be the least of my problems." she chuckles.

"Thank you," Merek offers to the man Barric, as he nods a bit. He then adjusts a cloak about him while he works his cape into it, and shifts it a bit. He looks towards the city in the distance and seems to consider for a moment, "I should be on my way, it was a nice skill test."

Lou inclines her head to Felicia. "Then it sounds like you're in good hands already," she grins, though glances back in Reese's direction to see if she has anything to add to Barric's information. There's no small amount of worry that creeps into her features, like she knows something more about what she's talking about.

Merek is overheard praising Lou for: Hosting Gauntlet.

Reese looks toward Lou, seemingly thoughtful. "We didn't run into such. But yeah, what Barric said." Reese adds "I am holding another meeting soon and pondering our next actions." She murmurs thoughtfully. "Of course you are welcome, Lou." She then turns to Merek. "Oh, take care, come visit me sometime soon?

"It's not always bad." Barric says to Felicia, "There are some tribes that still remember me from the Silence, when I earned Elvesbane and they respect strength. You're pretty well known in the city so some of those stories will carry on and they might respect your strength, which gives you options. If it comes to a fight always try and challenge them to a duel with their Champion to determine your fate. They're pretty big into that and it can stop a lot of bloodshed."

Lou nods to Reese. "I think I sent you that report, but also..." she lowers her voice to Reese.

Felicia manages a tight smile for Barric,"Harrow Hall had an awful reputation, during the Age of Dreams, and as a Harrow, I should rather hope that they do not remember the name. I would rather pass anonymous, especially now when I don't know how to speak the language." she does offer aside to Lou,"But Shard is among those who are accompanying, so at least someone should be able to communicate, if it comes to it." before nodding for Barric's words,"I'll also bear that in mind if it comes to it, too."

Reese looks toward Barric, nodding in response to his words. "Yeah, the hut was being built by the slaver's agents. We thing and we have to go back and try and do a rescue operation in that area." She says thoughtfully, talking so openly now that there are just a few of them left here. She then leans into Lou, listening ot her words and saying something softly back.

"There's good and bad to every name Dame Felicia." Barric says with a bracing smile, "I'm not sure it'd be as bad as you think but I understand. Grayson as a name is not the best in every circle either." He chuckles, "You could always find someone who does speak the language, that's what I would suggest. Especially if you know what you will need before heading out." He considers, "We should spar some time Dame Felicia, I hear that you are very good and I would like to see how I shape up. Still learning myself."