Rhydin Chocolate Festival (Feb 13-15th)

[Strawberry]

From February 13th-15th, love is in the air throughout the city! But forget your cupids and heart shaped chalk candy, your mushy movies and *gasp* hand holding. This love is all for chocolate! For 3 days, various locations throughout the city will host booths and tables for the first annual Rhydin Chocolate Festival. Visit each one and get stamps in your chocolate passport for a special prize after you visit all 8! Passports are available at any booth as well as the Governor's Office and the Rhydin Welcome Center.



Each booth has a different assortment of chocolate goodies to try and buy, ranging from cakes and candies to beverages and baking goods. See what tickles your fancy!

#red-dragon-inn

One corner of the commons has been commandeered for a trio of chocolate fountains featuring dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate along with an assortment of items to skewer and drown in the chocolate. Not in the mood to dip your own treats? Try the chocolate dipped cookies or the different varieties of chocolate ice creams!


#golden-perch-inn

A station has been stocked and staffed by bakers ready to help patrons make their own truffles. Pick your flavors and mix-ins and watch your creation come to life. While you wait, indulge in chocolate biscotti and liqueur.


#books-and-brews

Drop by the bookstore for some fresh brewed hot chocolate and take home your own chocolate library, an assortment of sampler chocolates for all occasions, or munch on some chocolate caramel corn!


#the-solarium

Visit the solarium for cookies, giant candy bars, and fresh made chocolate bark. Solarium staff is not responsible for sugar highs or sugar crashes.


#seaside-beach

Fruit and sea salt! At seaside beach, visit the Choco-Shack for dipped and decorated strawberries, sea salt chocolate bon bons, or rich chocolate cakes and mudslide shakes.


#twilight-isle

Cake pops, fudge, and a chest of chocolates leave no small amount of tasty goods for patrons of the isle. Get something extra chocolatey or select some lighter fare (no guarantees it'll help the stomach ache at all).


#arena

Need a sweet fix while watching your Arena favorites skewer each others? Bags of chocolate covered nuts are regularly replenished at the bars and each of the tables. A festival representative stationed near Wolves Den Bistro will help those wanting something more substantial with offerings like chocolate cheesecake and decadent mousse pies as well as blazing spicy chocolate.


#outback

Chocolate covered pretzels will be offered alongside the standard snacks in the Outback and neatly packaged brownies. In honor of the Outback's Pit, there are also particularly crunchy chocolates made with weevils!



Collect stamps from all 8 booths and turn your passport in for a chocolate lovers bundle consisting of hot chocolate mix, create your own truffle kit, samplers from each booth, and a 100 silver gift card to Rhydin Mountain Chocolate Factory.

((Between now and February 18th, feel free to respond here if your character participates, or between the 13th and 15th, reference in live play (then mention it in a post here). Collect 1, 8, or anything in between! All who participate will get an icon once the event is done. Happy Valentine's Day!))

[BardGallant]

On Sunday, February 13, 2022, Dris and Rhys mapped out a plan to visit all of the participating Chocolate Festival locations. They made a day of it!

Seaside Beach
After a late morning beachside stroll and picnic, the Double Dukes paid a visit to the Choco-Shack to collect a few boxes containing two dozen chocolate-covered strawberries, two dozen sea salt chocolate bon bons, and at least two full cakes. Of course, they indulged in some milkshakes, too. Mostly oblivious to a nearby battle happening in the ocean, they hopped into Rhys’ Mustang with their goodies and drove off to their next destination.

Books and Brews
A short while after leaving Seaside, Rhys drove them through town and into Old Market to visit Books and Brews. Here, they purchased large bags of the chocolate-drizzled caramel corn, a couple of the “chocolate library” assortment packs, and a pair of hot chocolates. Dris left behind a bit of “poetry” before they sped along to the next stop on their list.

The Solarium
From the Books and Brews, the Dukely duo cut across Westbridge and traveled through Old Temple to visit the Solarium. Here, they purchased three of the giant chocolate bars to potentially use as door prizes. For what? Only time will tell! They also bought boxes of cookies and chocolate bark before they went on their way to the next station!

Golden Perch Inn
This was the last stop Dris and Rhys had time for on Sunday. On the way over, the bard called ahead to place an order for boxes of biscotti and chocolate liqueur. He also sweet-talked one of the bakers into an order of truffles for he and Rhys to share. These were to be delivered to their home in Dragon’s Gate later that evening, since they were pressed for time. With their chocolate-gathering adventure concluded for the day, they drove back home to unpack their treasures and plan out their next excursion.


Skipping Monday for reasons, the pair continued their quest on Tuesday, February 15, 2022.

Outback
Just a short walk from their home in Dragon’s Gate, the Double Dukes trekked into the Outback on Tuesday night, pulling a wagon along with them. Here, they purchased boxes of chocolate-covered pretzels and brownies. The bard was too squicked out on the weevil-infested chocolates and insisted they pass on those, but Rhys bought a couple anyway, hoping to use them for future pranks. From here, they tugged the wagon along across the alley to visit the Red Dragon Inn and Arena.

Arena
The wagon was left as a hostage to the attendants upstairs as the bard and his beau descended into the Arena for their next collection of sweets. Here, they purchased a trio of boxed whole cheesecakes, mousse pies, bags of chocolate-covered nuts, and some of the super-spicy chocolate. They toted these parcels back up the stairs to their second-to-last stop on the tour.

Red Dragon Inn
Here, the Dukes rescued their wagon from the aforementioned hostage situation and loaded it up with even more treats! They purchased a few boxes of cookies and several pints of the different ice creams. Rhys even charmed the attendants into taking on a secondary gig at their Gloaming District mansion the following evening to set up a chocolate fountain just for their next upcoming house party! Their last stop was just a quick hop through the Portal, tugging their wagon with them.

Twilight Isle
Their final destination was Twilight Isle! Conveniently planned so that they could bribe the goblins into helping them carry all their loot to their Gloaming District mansion. Here, they also purchased boxes of cake pops, fudge, and chocolates and hired more goblins to take their purchases to their rented estate.


(( With oodles of thanks to my partner in crime and co-writer Rhys Germain for embarking on this journey with me, and helping me put together this summary. Thank you tremendously, also, to of course Karma Armstrong (Strawberry) for putting this event together for the community! It was super fun to participate in! ))