An iron feast

"How is your Acquacotta, my Lord Duke? I trust it is to your liking?"The Traveller smiled at his host, a broad-shouldered woman who was loitering on his elbow, her nervousness plain on her face. "You have excelled yourself Lark, it is every bit as magnificent as I remember. The wild porcini you've used make it exceptional... though I dread to think of what risks you must have taken to acquire them? The Moonsilver Prince does not look with favour on those who think to steal into his forests."Lark's face beamed with happiness at her lord's praise. "True enough my lord, but there is no secret here. The Prince knows better than to waylay a vassal of the Master of Challenges. I'm still safe there... at least for now.""Your have done yourself proud this is as fine a dish as I have tasted in many moons."It was high praise, but Lark feigned an expression of mock indignation. "Surely not my liege? Surely you have tasted nothing finer in Summer or Shadow?"The Traveller leaned back in his chair. Lark's protestation was meant as a rhetorical question, but it had given him an idea...

Overview

The heralds of the Iron Duke have come forth to issue two new challenges to the mortals of the Empire. The Lord of the Crossroads is eager to test the skills and the witts of those brave enough to step forward, aiming to test the artistic flair and the scouting talents of the Courageous heroes of the Empire.

Every person who has Challenge the Iron Duke cast upon them will be guaranteed entry to a challenge. Depending on the challenge, they may be able to bring a certain number of attendants with them to assist. The exact number will depend on the nature of the challenge and the number of challengers. The Civil Service will publish exact numbers in the Hub on Saturday morning for all to see.

Challengers will need to choose a reward from one of the items found in the Dragonforge. Challengers who have been victorious in the past year may not take part in another challenge until a year has passed.

Challenging the Duke

To formally enter one of the Iron Duke's contests, a citizen must be the recipient of the Summer ritual Challenge the Iron Duke. The ritual is magnitude 30, and only a handful of covens have it mastered. It is possible to cast the ritual without it being mastered, but it is harder and more expensive, so anyone who is interested in entering a challenge would be best advised to seek out a coven who are known to be able to cast the ritual. According to the heralds of the Traveller, nine covens successfully performed the ritual last season. The heralds advise those interested in taking part to seek out these covens first.

Even for those covens who have the ritual mastered, it is expensive. Champions who seek to prove themselves will need to find some way to convince a coven to put them forward. Just being able to pay the ritual's cost might not be enough, though it is likely the minimum price that will be asked.

Challenge of the Eternal Banquet

Unlike the other eternals of the Summer realm, the great smith Barien rules no land in that place. Instead, the silver and blue pavilions of the eternal are moved from place to place by his attendants, stopping at crossroads and meeting spots. Wherever the tents appear, heralds of the various eternals can gather under the auspice of Barien's neutrality, and enjoy raucous partying and entertainment until the Iron Duke inevitably moves along once more.

A key feature of these soirees is the food. Like everything else in the Summer realm, the ingredients and meals of the realm of Summer are larger than life, extravagant banquets produced by chefs trying to compete with one another to prove their mastery. In the spirit of these contests, Barien has issued a challenge to the cooks of the mortal realm; impress me with two dishes crafted at the summit, to earn a prize.

Of course, the Iron Duke does not like to make things straightforward for his challengers. As such, whatever challengers choose to cook must incorporate a secret ingredient. This will be revealed at the regio at 10:15am on the Saturday of festival, and shared out among all the challengers to use over the next few hours. The Iron Duke lays down the following guidelines for those who wish to take part in this challenge;

The dishes will be judged in a chamber in the Summer realm at 5:30pm, by Barien and a number of other judges selected by his heralds. The chamber will be accessed via the Hall of Worlds; the heralds of Barien can grant non-magicians the ability to access the Hall of Worlds. Each challenger may bring two attendants with them to the judging. Any challenger whose dishes meet the requirements and are deemed to be of high enough quality will be considered victorious, and will win one of the prizes as usual. The best dish, as agreed by the judges, will win an additional prize to be revealed at the time.

OC Note: The secret ingredient will be vegan, and not be something that requires refrigeration. For the benefit of testers, you should include a list of potential allergens in the dish. Ensure any hot dishes are ready for as close to 5:30 as possible.

Challenge of the Noble Hunt

In recent years now, the Forest of Arden has been considered the demense of the eternal Jaheris. Ever since he deposed Hayaak, with assistance from Imperial citizens no less, the blue clad heralds of the Unicorn Prince have stalked and hunted these woods for sport. Usually these hunters track and kill all manner of Summer beasts, from stags to spiders. This summit, Barien has enlisted them to hunt something a bit more... challenging.

The Iron Duke has found a chamber linked to Gazelle Park, in the woods of Weirmoor, in Dawn. There is a conjunction that can take visitors there at 1:30 on the Saturday. Here, he invites challengers to pit themselves against Jaheris' hunters in a test of wits and fleetness of foot, as they attempt to collect trophies that have been hidden throughout the chamber before the hunters bring them down. The Iron Duke lays down the following guidelines for those who wish to take part in this challenge;

All challengers will need to avoid the hunters who will be chasing them with bow and spear. For their part, the challengers must go unarmed and unarmoured. Challengers may use skills, enchantments and tonics as they see fit to assist them, but they may not fight back. This is a test of speed, bravery and smarts, not a test of arms.

Jaheris has promised Barien that his heralds will not execute challengers, but their spears and arrows are sharp, and they will try to drop any prey they catch. It is unlikely, but entirely possible for challengers to die in this challenge.

Challengers may bring an attendant with them to the chamber to assist in the contest. Attendants must also be unarmed and unarmoured, and may not collect tokens themselves. They may scout for their challenger and help avoid the hunters, as long as they do not disrupt the hunters. If a challenger is taken down by the hunters and is unable to get back up, the second may heal them, but in that case the contest is forfeit.

Any challenger who returns to the sanctuary at the entrance to the forest with sufficient trophies will be victorious. Likewise, any challenger who is still in the forest when the contest ends will be vicotious if they are upright and have recovered sufficient trophies.

Challengers may bring up to two spectators with them, who must remain in the sanctuary at the forest entrance for the duration of the challenge.

Further Reading

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