<div class="floatleft"><strong>Arduinne</strong></div><hr/><br/>The young sorceress was welcomed into the warm embrace of the delicious smells coming from the kitchen of the Rusty Dragon the moment she opened the door to her room.  It was almost enough to lift her off of her feet and gently carry her down into the mostly vacant main room of the inn.  Most of the other visitors had already left to make their way to the beginning ceremonies of the festival, or to the various merchant stalls that were already open.  Only a handful of people stayed behind, a couple of other visitors enjoying a quick breakfast before heading outside and the lovely exotic beauty Ameiko Kaijitsu who seemed to be busily cooking and preparing things for later on in the day.  Busy though she was she managed to send a melodious "good morning," in Arduinne's direction before continuing with whatever culinary perfection she was cooking up.<br/><br/>Ameiko was an accomplished musician among other things, a fact that Arduinne had witnessed the night before.  The inn's owner had settled down among the patrons to play a few songs for them before enjoying having some of the visitors tell them the story of their travels--something that could often get the customer a discount on their room.  The scandal of her family was common talk over the gambling table as well, her father Lonjiku Kaijitsu apparently unhappy with her decision to go out adventuring when she was young.  Her career as an adventurer didn't last long as she returned nearly one year after leaving, for unknown reasons, and took to looking after the Rusty Dragon.  Everyone seems to have their own favorite theory about why she gave up adventuring, and they were more than happy to explain it in conspiratorial whispers over a pair of dice or a hand of cards.  There were two things that everyone in the city seemed to be in agreement about regarding Ameiko: she was one of the prettiest girls in the town, and she was by far the best cook.<br/><br/>As Arduinne exited the inn to make her way towards the Cathedral she could see most of the streets were bare considering the large influx of people over the course of the past few days.  Only the market square seemed to have some mild activity, mostly of people setting up their shops or games.  The closer that she got to the Cathedral the denser the crowd became and the more activity was going on.  Talk about the ones who were going to be presenting the speeches was on the lips of most of the people in the crowd, though one speaker was spoken of more than any other:  Lonjiku Kaijitsu.  Apparently he was largely considered to be something of a "stuffed shirt" with little appreciation for frivolity, making his appearance at the festival interesting to the citizens of Sandpoint.<br/><br/><div class="floatleft"><strong>Dunn &amp; Solsiss</strong></div><hr/><br/>The stretch of road from the north wound along the coast like a serpent, making it seem much longer than it really was.  The town was in sight for far longer around those bends than one would have initially thought.  As if by some magic of engineering turning the final bend brought the city into full view.  The northern passage into the city was probably the most well defended, but really only consisted of a small stone wall along with some watch towers, none of which were currently occupied--which spoke volumes about how threatened the town normally was.<br/><br/>Passing through the wide open gate brought them easily into view of the large crowd that was gathering at the square in front of the Cathedral.  A number of stalls were being set up still, putting the finishing touches on a number of games while the others waited for the opening ceremonies.  The crowd was buzzing with conversation of all kinds, most in anticipation of the coming events and how they might kick everything off.<br/><br/><div class="floatleft"><strong>Misti</strong></div><hr/><br/>Misti left the Rusty Dragon shortly after Arduinne, receiving the same welcoming aromas of delicious foods like a warm blanket on a cold night.  Ameiko bid her the same good morning in between quickly preparing a great deal of food for the festival.<br/><br/>Misti drew many glances, even among the sparse collection of people gathered around the streets on the way to the Cathedral.  It was hard to tell whether it was due to her heavenly appearance or the firearm she kept with her--such weapons seemed to be rarer in this part of the world.  This was likely a comforting thought, a simple town with simple needs and little worry about conflict out in the wider parts of the world.  It was certainly a pleasant place to take a short diversion on longer travels.<br/><br/><div class="floatleft"><strong>Aria</strong></div><hr/><br/>Most goblins in the area were generally nonhostile, at least not on any grand scale.  For the most part they kept to themselves in the Devil's Platter, though small bands occasionally reached out to pillage some travelling caravans.  This particular goblin had been unfortunate enough to get captured at the hands of the Aasimar Aria Starshine between Magnimar and Sandpoint.  Strangely it seemed to have been alone, though it had stolen some things from a small group of travellers heading to Sandpoint for the celebration.<br/><br/>A sign with a mirror marked the entrance into the town, the sign reading "Welcome to Sandpoint!  Please stop to see yourself as we see you!" with the mirror just below it.  The goblin covered its eyes as the sign came near, stumbling a bit though Aria managed to lead him by it without too much difficulty.<br/><br/>Perhaps thankfully most of the people of Sandpoint were closer to the Cathedral as even the few that littered the streets in small patches showed their unmasked contempt for goblins by jeering at the little green creature.  Some looked as if they might have even prepared to throw things at the creature if it wasn't for the large sword strung to Aria's back.<br/><br/>The garrison was something of a small fortress made of stone.  It was one of the more impressive buildings within the town.  It housed the guardsmen, a jail, and a number of other accouterments necessary for the defense of the town--though much of it sees little use beyond housing the occasional drunk.  The Shoanti sherrif Belor Hemlock looked surprised to see Aria with her little prisoner as he was locking up the front door.  The humorless man looked sternly at the goblin trying to decide what to do about it before taking the rope from the Paladin.<br/><br/>"Many thanks for your service," he said with a nod before moving to unlock the door he'd just locked.  "I'll have to attend to this fellow before giving my speech I suppose.  I'll be by the Cathedral later for the opening ceremonies, I'm sure I'll have a little something to repay you then."