“I will gladly hold onto the diamond for now, it is actually very fine quality.” Malachi polishes it on the sleeve of his jacket before depositing it in one of his pouches. He suddenly remembers where Joren has been in all of the excitement and asks him about his visit. “Joren, how did things go with the Councilor? Is he mobilizing his allies?”
Joren does not know what to make of the trapped chest and its victim, nor Ashley's newly-acquired magic beans, but gratefully (and sheepishly) accepts his share of 10gp, despite not having done anything to earn it as far as he knows. Ten more gold towards buying... perhaps splint mail.
"Cultist watchers everywhere. Not noticing me I do not think, though they might have without the disguise. Echo swapping into Jean-Lou's home to help obfuscate my entrance, though giving him a start at first. I am not knowing who his allies are, but he is planning quick coordinated raids against those on the list, before they can be communicating with each other. I am not knowing the odds of success, only warning him not to underestimate the enemy. He was also agreeing that the murders in The Rows and the lack of large capacity ships in the harbor are unlikely to be coincidence."
Malachi nods at Joren’s report. “Well then, between the Councilor organizing his raids and Vilus’ squad doing their thing it appears we have some time to see what happens next. With any luck, they will take care of everything and we will be out of this saving the world business. Here is my plan.” Malachi rubs his hands together as he shares his plans for the week.
Malachi spends the rest of the week carousing among the middle class, looking for contacts and information. He focuses on a few key areas. The docks, looking for shipping options back to Madurst, merchant guilds or market districts, especially those focusing on fine arts, jewelry and collectibles, and town officials. He will stay away from the Imperial Arms to avoid any chance of seeing Stenwick. He will also visit the arena, circulating among the gamblers and middle class spectators. He will wager on a fight or two, especially if Joren is fighting. In addition to legit contacts, he also looks for black market contacts in all of these areas. He also keeps an eye and ear open for any sign or word of the cultists, but he is not actively seeking out that information.
As unlike his friend as possible, Samir settles down into studing the book provided to him by Vilus as well as his own discoveries and collectings from their exploits thus far. His mind has latched onto the idea of the runes and their inherent power as objects of abject fascination, and the desire to understand them is fairly consuming. The erstwhile scholar does, however, take an opportunity to pen a quick letter addressed to the local university concerning the gloazworms and his observations and a few theories to go along with them. With, perhaps, Malachi or Vilus help he sets about getting said message delivered circumspectly and hopefully set someone on the path to dealing with the bothersome insectoids. The majority of his time goes into his study, however, and the small backroom of the shop has become his own work space, at least for the time being.
Over the next few days, life almost regains some semblance of normalcy.
When he is not standing guard and escorting the others, Joren participates in fight after fight at the arena, easily overpowering most of his opponents, bringing them to their knees in submission without moving more than a step from his starting position. This feat slowlly earns him a ring name. Joren the Adamant. What the audience doesn't realize, however, is that the choice to remain in place is simply so he can keep his echo at the ready inn the stands in the event of an emergency. Either way, the fights earn him a champion's purse of 200 GP.
Malachi also has some luck, turning 118 GP into 190 GP through strategic betting. Which is to say, through betting on Joren the Adamant after seeing the quality of fighter he was up against. He spends the rest of his time making contacts with both legitimate and quasi-legitimate businesses and individuals, while subtly mining for intelligence and gossip. At one point in a dive bar by the docks, Malachi overhears conversation from a few sailors from two different merchant ships about how this was their last trip out to Talmouth for the month. From time to time, Malachi feels the presence of another cultist in his head, and averts his path to avoid crossing them, but each day the feelings seem to get weaker. Like the connection from his now removed mark is finally dying out.
Samir delves through his accumulated research notes along with the book that Vilus recovered. Where before he had been just barely cobbling together a rough understanding, he now fees he is starting to understand individual runes and their functions, as well as how they may be combined. Two things become clear, however, as he continues his exploratory research: Firstly, the Godtongue of Razmus has a limitation. Any runes that Samir tries to replicate have very weak effects, and it seems from his reading that a magical essence is required for the formation of complete runes. A magical essence that the cultists can only acquire from draining natural magic users. Secondly, there is another language. One that the cultists of Razmus consider profane. One that does not share this limitation but can rather generate magic on its own. One that Samir has seen before. When the light held captive in Andra's office had been unleashed, the trinkets they collected from Andra's work bench had glowed with blue runes for a short time afterwards. Samir thinks he can recall some of their shapes.
During the day, Vilus spends his time meditating, only rousing when the sun falls. Then he prowls the night, keeping vigil over the shop and the surrounding area. As he promised, the body of the dead thief in the attic is nowhere to be found the next day. On two separate occasions, he walks around a corner to see a host of dark-clad guards quietly surrounding a building. Both times, he disappears around the corner before the sound of breaking glass and smashing doors echoes through the twilight.
Ashley, meanwhile, spends much of her time preparing the shop. Between commissioning a chair for each member of the group, tending the plants growing behind the shop, and deep cleaning all of the surfaces within (especially the attic), most of her time is occupied. There is a restlessness, however. She is finally in Talmouth, a city with so much to experience, but can't freely roam the city with the cultists out there looking for her distinctive features. She does get out from time to time, with either Joren or Marion serving as her escort.
Then comes Joren's big day in the arena. With a payout of 100 GP for this fight alone, Joren sits below ground waiting to face off against whatever beast they've brought in for him to fight to the death. From elsewhere in the space under the stands and arena, he can occasionally hear snorts, hisses, and growls ringing through the halls. Joren moves through his forms to warm up his body and steel his mind.
Up in the stands above, Vilus, Malachi, Samir, Ashley, and Marion wait to watch their friend's biggest and most dangerous fight in the arena yet. Several portcullises lead onto the sandy stage below. A horn blasts, and one of them starts to rise. A loud voice speaks out, magically enhanced. "Ladies and gentlefolk, the moment you've been waiting for! It is time for us to pit man against beast once again, but because this will be the last such match for a few months, we are going to kick this day off with an extra special fight. First welcome back to the arena the rising star, Joren the Adamant!" Joren steps out into the cool air to be greeted by a roar of applause. "Gone are the blunted edges of his previous fights. Now using all of the weapons and skills at his disposal, he will be fighting for his life against the undefeated beast-champion of the arena. You know him as well as I, bring out...!" Heavy drums start to roll as a platform rises up behind the portcullis across from Joren. Obscured by bars and shadow, Joren can make out a large and imposing silhouette on the other side. The crowd cheers even louder now, hooting and hollering as a chant rises up. "Grish-nak Grish-nak!" With a heavy clulnk, the platform finishes its ascent and locks into place. The portcullis starts to rise. "That's right," the announcer calls out. "Grishnak the yeti, captured from our very own Shield Mountains!"
Massive hands coated in heavy white fur grip the edges of the entrance, and a large yeti emerges from the shadows. His body is coated in a lattice of scars, and the left side of his face is a hairless mass of scar tissue that looks like a burn wound. The eye on that side has gone entirely milky. Grishnak looks around at all the audience members sitting high above and well out of reach before letting out a horrible warbling roar. A chill passes through the adventurers and the rest of the audience, and for a brief moment the cheering goes dead silent. Then it erupts again.
In the stands, someone taps Malachi on the shoulder and a small note falls into his lap.
Vilus has decided on his bland human disguise for this particular outing and sits in the stands watching Joren with a keen interest, but only when he is not directly watching the crowd, he tries to eye if there is a VIP box anywhere amongst the stands, and if there is, who might be occupying it.
Joren stands still, gazing at the Yeti, true to his crowd-given nickname, at least for now. It is an effort for him not to scan the crowd and nod to his friends, not wanting to identify them for cultist spies. In his mind, he silently thanks Malachi for helping him get a fair price from the blacksmith for the Splint armor. He thinks of his tattered chain mail which he had not even attempted to sell. Keeping it back at the house as a reminder of the gloazworm threat.
In truth, despite the extreme danger, and his knowledge of how deadly a Yeti can be from his time fighting in the mountains of The Veil, he feels saddened that one of the combatants must die as part of the blood sport encounter. Should have been thinking of that before you were signing up for this!
He turns to the crowd (where his echo also sits) and salutes in Khirian style. With well over a week of practice listening to his friends, he attempts to modulate and control his accent and grammar so as not to sound so gratuitously foreign. He projects his voice, as if across a battlefield.
"I am Joren Kryn. The 'Adamant' you call me, though you may not say so after this fight, one way or another. Hear me now. The great beast and I are not the only ones under threat here in Talmouth. These fights to the death. Murders in the Rows. Kidnapping of those who use magic. Depletion of your large capacity ships in the harbor. You are being weakened, with malign purpose on behalf of an evil god. While you sit here complacent to watch a spectacle, an invasion comes from a place you would least expect. The Amethyst Ocean. Abetted by sailors and council members among you who once voyaged that way and have returned, their minds turned against you. Marigold. Andra of Tensmith. Others. These are traitors conspiring against you."
He draws his greatsword. "I am a soldier. Hear me now. You are in danger. They are coming for your city. For Cambria. Best be ready."
Confused murmurs are exchanged among the crowd, and many look in the same direction that Vilus is. At the observation box where seats are reserved for each member of the council. However, two seats are empty. One for Marigold, and another for Jean-Lou. A few people rise from their seats around the arena and make for exits, but most of the rest sit there in stunned silence. Then that silence is broken by another roar as the yeti begins to bound across the distance between him and Joren!
Confused murmurs are exchanged among the crowd, and many look in the same direction that Vilus is. At the observation box where seats are reserved for each member of the council. However, two seats are empty. One for Marigold, and another for Jean-Lou. A few people rise from their seats around the arena and make for exits, but most of the rest sit there in stunned silence. Then that silence is broken by another roar as the yeti begins to bound across the distance between him and Joren! In a matter of moments, he crosses most of the arena, ending up 30 feet away from Joren.
Had it not been his friend down there in the arena, it is likely that Samir would never have come to watch such a spectacle. Despite his (mis)adventures so far, the artificer still is uncomfortable in the face of true violence. He has learned to act and survive, but still every piece of his being hates the neccessity of it all.
But supporting Joren is more important.
Samir watches as the man enters the area below, and as the great beast is brought into the light. He can feel his own pulse quicken in fear as the yeti's single eyes sweeps past, and he clutches his satchel to his chest as if it were a shield. And then comes Joren's speech, and for the moment his thoughts must go elsewhere. Speaking quietly, Samir dips his head to the side, whispering to Ashley.
"Were... were we expecting him to make a speech like that?"
Malachi leans back in his seat and enjoys the warmth of the sun while they wait for the match to begin. Malachi’s eyes wander the crowd and he shares a smile or a wave with some familiar faces from his time in the city and the arena. He had been to several fights, Joren was popular with the crowd and earned quite a few of them extra coin, including Malachi. It was hard to get good odds on his fights now. But this time was different, Malachi leans forward with a look of concern on his face as the Yeti appears across the arena and he briefly remembers hurrying past one when crossing the mountains. That seemed so long and so far ago at this point.
His mouth falls opens in surprise as Joren makes his speech and he leans forward, head between Ashley and Samir and whispers “He mentioned something like this earlier, but I didn’t think he would go through with it. I should have known better. Now the tale is out, think anyone will believe him?” Malachi is so surprised that he barely registers the bump on his shoulder and the note dropped in his lap. He quickly grabs it and looks around the crowd to see if he can tell who delivered it before unfolding the paper and reading its contents.
"fear is a powerful motivator, even more so when the thing to be scared of is real." Vilus grumbles to the group, as looks to see what kind of people are leaving.
Vilus absent mindedly points a finger toward the yeti, waiting for it to come into his range once the fight begins.
"Be vigilant," Joren continues firmly to the crowd as if a large monstrosity is not bearing down on him. "Andra shut down Tensmith's mines, spreading fear of spies when HE was the spy hiding cultist-dug access tunnels. Found out by Marshal Lanya and Mayor Berg there. Just as Marigold is a spy here."
He has heard of Yetis from the Veil mountains and their chilling gaze. Better the Yeti is focusing on my echo, not on me. He readies his greatsword with a flourish and stands his ground, beckoning the creature. Then with 15' of his movement and his Bonus Action, he swaps places with his echo. So now, hopefully unbeknownst to the Yeti in particular, the real Joren looks on next to his friends in the stands while his echo calmly awaits the creature's charge.
With his Action, Joren readies a non-lethal attack from his echo's position down in the arena floor when the Yeti arrives in striking distance.
Readied Greatsword attack from echo's position to hit: 20 (dirty) Readied Greatsword damage on a hit: 9 non-lethal slashing (striking at the creature's knee joints)
(Joren's echo has AC16, 1hp, immunity to all conditions, and uses Joren's saving throws).
The yeti gives Joren's echo a chilling gaze, made all the worse by its marred face (ineffective on the echo), and the closes the remainder of the distance between the two. The crowd oohs as Joren's echo slices the creature's knee, staining the sand with a spatter of blood. Then the crowd aahs as the echo slips two mighty swings of the yeti's claws. Joren then hears Vilus in his head, telepathically pointing out a large scar just under the yeti's arm that is just visible when it swings. A spot with none of the natural defense of its thick fur. (Vilus uses True Strike to serve as a help action, granting advantage to Joren's next attack.)
There is still some uncertainty among the watchers at the news they have just heard, but the immediacy of the fight is a powerful draw on their attention. The councilors also exchange hushed words with each other and their attendants.
Malachi, looking over his shoulder, sees nothing at first. The people behind him are all enraptured by the fight, and none seem particularly aware of Malachi. But then he notices a guard making his way up the stairs. One of Jean Lou's men? He opens up the paper and reads, "Everyone, office after fight. -JL"
Ashley and Marion make a quick pit stop on their way to the fight and Ashley is obviously carrying something quite large in a package when they all join up at the arena. She doesn't say anything about it, but takes her seat to watch the action with her friends. Her mouth goes slightly agape at Joren's proclamation and she leans back to Samir and Malachi, "Well, nothing we can do about it now. Will be interesting what series of events follow this though and maybe some people will be more aware? I sure hope so."
She looks up at the observation deck as well and is intrigued to see that their two foes are missing. She wonders if either of them still live? She then looks down at the arena as the fight starts, not worried at all as she knows how well Joren can handle himself in really any situation. She'd been to several of his fights so far and this yeti sure seemed to carry the name of the fight.
She finally leans over to Vilus, "Got something for you." Her face is alight with excitement and anticipation. She hands him the wrapped parcel she was carrying. When he unwraps it, he finds a beautifully handcarved wooden prosthetic leg. It is a fine piece of work with delicate craftsmanship that hinges at the knee with little to no friction. Ashley watches him closely and very impatiently asks, "What do you think?"
Vilus' disguised human face lights up with surprise, the leg completely distracting him from the fight and observing the crowd, he immediately loses a little of his outwardly grumpy composure "oh wow, this... How'd you get this measured and such?, oh it's great, will you help me put it on?" He moves the cloak covering his leg and Ashley watches as the illusion of a real leg fades and shows his dirty temporary peg. Taking that off and shoving it under his seat and out of sight he begins aligning the new leg, getting assistance with straps and such like from Ashley.
If he is able to telepathically respond, Joren signals back a sincere and humble thank you to his disguised goliath companion for helping from the stands. Focusing on the Yeti's vulnerable underarm scar (and ignoring the stench emanating from that area for the moment), he maneuvers into a complicated set of actions and movement. Aiming to attack the Yeti with his echo while continuing to address the crowd from the arena floor. Taking a risk.
Joren first moves his echo 10' away (north) from the Yeti, not provoking an opportunity attack because the echo is not a creature. He then uses 5' of his own movement west in the stands to arrive at the edge, then 15' more of his own movement and a bonus action to swap places with his echo, leaving himself on the arena floor and the echo at the edge of the stands. He then uses the remaining 20' of movement for the echo to pull it back west into melee just north of the Yeti and his own 10' of remaining movement to trot further north so Joren himself stands 20' north of the echo on the arena floor.
End result: Joren's echo is in melee with the Yeti just north of it, and Joren himself is 20' further north. The crowd sees two Jorens on the arena floor. The real Joren, now 20' from his adversary stands so his echo is directly between the Yeti and himself. He continues speaking to the crowd in a firm voice.
"From you, I ask only common sense. Cease tavern brawls and blood sport. Train and shore up Talmouth's defenses. Travel in groups - as even I do."
Meanwhile, he attacks the Yeti from his echo's position once more, non-lethally with the flat of his greatsword against the underarm scar.
Malachi studies the note, mentally comparing it to the previous writing he has seen from Jean-Lou, including the map and instructions to the library. He uses his skill with forgery to try to determine if the note is genuine before passing it to the others. “We have been summoned. At least it explains his absence from the arena”. Malachi gives another look toward the raised platform occupied by some of the other Councilors. “Of course it could still be a trap.” He looks back at the arena as Joren delivers another strike at the Yeti, silently rooting for his companion.
The crowd gasps again as Joren seemingly splits, a phantom of himself flickering forth from the stands. The yeti, similarly confused, swings at the echo at the same time it sinks its bade into the yeti's armpit (11 slashing to the yeti). Someone in the stands shrieks when the yeti's deadly claws dash the half-dwarf into scattering mist (1 damage to the echo). The yeti, now furious at the deception, roars and looks at Joren with chilling fury before rushing forward and slashing Joren with frozen talons, who hears the roar and turns away from the audience to meet the beast head on. Holding strong under the oppressive stare (saved vs chilling gaze), Joren brings up his greatsword in time to block most of the blow. But the blow still has enough weight to knock some air out of his lungs, and he feels a chill creeping through his new armour where the yeti's caws scratched him (9 cold damage).
At this point, almost everyone is thoroughly engrossed in what is happening down in the arena. Samir, not one for enjoying the entertainment of bloodsport, however, finds his attention more on his surroundings. It is for that reason that he is one of the only ones to notice a low rumbling from below his seat. Looking over, he sees that Ashley has clearly taken note as well. It is the same rumbling and clattering of chains that they heard when Joren's platform was being raised to bring him up to the arena from below ground. Something else is coming up.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
“I will gladly hold onto the diamond for now, it is actually very fine quality.” Malachi polishes it on the sleeve of his jacket before depositing it in one of his pouches. He suddenly remembers where Joren has been in all of the excitement and asks him about his visit. “Joren, how did things go with the Councilor? Is he mobilizing his allies?”
Joren does not know what to make of the trapped chest and its victim, nor Ashley's newly-acquired magic beans, but gratefully (and sheepishly) accepts his share of 10gp, despite not having done anything to earn it as far as he knows. Ten more gold towards buying... perhaps splint mail.
He tries to answer Malachi, roughly repeating what he had told Samir.
"Cultist watchers everywhere. Not noticing me I do not think, though they might have without the disguise. Echo swapping into Jean-Lou's home to help obfuscate my entrance, though giving him a start at first. I am not knowing who his allies are, but he is planning quick coordinated raids against those on the list, before they can be communicating with each other. I am not knowing the odds of success, only warning him not to underestimate the enemy. He was also agreeing that the murders in The Rows and the lack of large capacity ships in the harbor are unlikely to be coincidence."
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Malachi nods at Joren’s report. “Well then, between the Councilor organizing his raids and Vilus’ squad doing their thing it appears we have some time to see what happens next. With any luck, they will take care of everything and we will be out of this saving the world business. Here is my plan.” Malachi rubs his hands together as he shares his plans for the week.
Malachi spends the rest of the week carousing among the middle class, looking for contacts and information. He focuses on a few key areas. The docks, looking for shipping options back to Madurst, merchant guilds or market districts, especially those focusing on fine arts, jewelry and collectibles, and town officials. He will stay away from the Imperial Arms to avoid any chance of seeing Stenwick. He will also visit the arena, circulating among the gamblers and middle class spectators. He will wager on a fight or two, especially if Joren is fighting. In addition to legit contacts, he also looks for black market contacts in all of these areas. He also keeps an eye and ear open for any sign or word of the cultists, but he is not actively seeking out that information.
As unlike his friend as possible, Samir settles down into studing the book provided to him by Vilus as well as his own discoveries and collectings from their exploits thus far. His mind has latched onto the idea of the runes and their inherent power as objects of abject fascination, and the desire to understand them is fairly consuming. The erstwhile scholar does, however, take an opportunity to pen a quick letter addressed to the local university concerning the gloazworms and his observations and a few theories to go along with them. With, perhaps, Malachi or Vilus help he sets about getting said message delivered circumspectly and hopefully set someone on the path to dealing with the bothersome insectoids. The majority of his time goes into his study, however, and the small backroom of the shop has become his own work space, at least for the time being.
Over the next few days, life almost regains some semblance of normalcy.
When he is not standing guard and escorting the others, Joren participates in fight after fight at the arena, easily overpowering most of his opponents, bringing them to their knees in submission without moving more than a step from his starting position. This feat slowlly earns him a ring name. Joren the Adamant. What the audience doesn't realize, however, is that the choice to remain in place is simply so he can keep his echo at the ready inn the stands in the event of an emergency. Either way, the fights earn him a champion's purse of 200 GP.
Malachi also has some luck, turning 118 GP into 190 GP through strategic betting. Which is to say, through betting on Joren the Adamant after seeing the quality of fighter he was up against. He spends the rest of his time making contacts with both legitimate and quasi-legitimate businesses and individuals, while subtly mining for intelligence and gossip. At one point in a dive bar by the docks, Malachi overhears conversation from a few sailors from two different merchant ships about how this was their last trip out to Talmouth for the month. From time to time, Malachi feels the presence of another cultist in his head, and averts his path to avoid crossing them, but each day the feelings seem to get weaker. Like the connection from his now removed mark is finally dying out.
Samir delves through his accumulated research notes along with the book that Vilus recovered. Where before he had been just barely cobbling together a rough understanding, he now fees he is starting to understand individual runes and their functions, as well as how they may be combined. Two things become clear, however, as he continues his exploratory research: Firstly, the Godtongue of Razmus has a limitation. Any runes that Samir tries to replicate have very weak effects, and it seems from his reading that a magical essence is required for the formation of complete runes. A magical essence that the cultists can only acquire from draining natural magic users. Secondly, there is another language. One that the cultists of Razmus consider profane. One that does not share this limitation but can rather generate magic on its own. One that Samir has seen before. When the light held captive in Andra's office had been unleashed, the trinkets they collected from Andra's work bench had glowed with blue runes for a short time afterwards. Samir thinks he can recall some of their shapes.
During the day, Vilus spends his time meditating, only rousing when the sun falls. Then he prowls the night, keeping vigil over the shop and the surrounding area. As he promised, the body of the dead thief in the attic is nowhere to be found the next day. On two separate occasions, he walks around a corner to see a host of dark-clad guards quietly surrounding a building. Both times, he disappears around the corner before the sound of breaking glass and smashing doors echoes through the twilight.
Ashley, meanwhile, spends much of her time preparing the shop. Between commissioning a chair for each member of the group, tending the plants growing behind the shop, and deep cleaning all of the surfaces within (especially the attic), most of her time is occupied. There is a restlessness, however. She is finally in Talmouth, a city with so much to experience, but can't freely roam the city with the cultists out there looking for her distinctive features. She does get out from time to time, with either Joren or Marion serving as her escort.
Then comes Joren's big day in the arena. With a payout of 100 GP for this fight alone, Joren sits below ground waiting to face off against whatever beast they've brought in for him to fight to the death. From elsewhere in the space under the stands and arena, he can occasionally hear snorts, hisses, and growls ringing through the halls. Joren moves through his forms to warm up his body and steel his mind.
Up in the stands above, Vilus, Malachi, Samir, Ashley, and Marion wait to watch their friend's biggest and most dangerous fight in the arena yet. Several portcullises lead onto the sandy stage below. A horn blasts, and one of them starts to rise. A loud voice speaks out, magically enhanced. "Ladies and gentlefolk, the moment you've been waiting for! It is time for us to pit man against beast once again, but because this will be the last such match for a few months, we are going to kick this day off with an extra special fight. First welcome back to the arena the rising star, Joren the Adamant!" Joren steps out into the cool air to be greeted by a roar of applause. "Gone are the blunted edges of his previous fights. Now using all of the weapons and skills at his disposal, he will be fighting for his life against the undefeated beast-champion of the arena. You know him as well as I, bring out...!" Heavy drums start to roll as a platform rises up behind the portcullis across from Joren. Obscured by bars and shadow, Joren can make out a large and imposing silhouette on the other side. The crowd cheers even louder now, hooting and hollering as a chant rises up. "Grish-nak Grish-nak!" With a heavy clulnk, the platform finishes its ascent and locks into place. The portcullis starts to rise. "That's right," the announcer calls out. "Grishnak the yeti, captured from our very own Shield Mountains!"
Massive hands coated in heavy white fur grip the edges of the entrance, and a large yeti emerges from the shadows. His body is coated in a lattice of scars, and the left side of his face is a hairless mass of scar tissue that looks like a burn wound. The eye on that side has gone entirely milky. Grishnak looks around at all the audience members sitting high above and well out of reach before letting out a horrible warbling roar. A chill passes through the adventurers and the rest of the audience, and for a brief moment the cheering goes dead silent. Then it erupts again.
In the stands, someone taps Malachi on the shoulder and a small note falls into his lap.
Vilus has decided on his bland human disguise for this particular outing and sits in the stands watching Joren with a keen interest, but only when he is not directly watching the crowd, he tries to eye if there is a VIP box anywhere amongst the stands, and if there is, who might be occupying it.
Joren Initiative: 19
Joren stands still, gazing at the Yeti, true to his crowd-given nickname, at least for now. It is an effort for him not to scan the crowd and nod to his friends, not wanting to identify them for cultist spies. In his mind, he silently thanks Malachi for helping him get a fair price from the blacksmith for the Splint armor. He thinks of his tattered chain mail which he had not even attempted to sell. Keeping it back at the house as a reminder of the gloazworm threat.
In truth, despite the extreme danger, and his knowledge of how deadly a Yeti can be from his time fighting in the mountains of The Veil, he feels saddened that one of the combatants must die as part of the blood sport encounter. Should have been thinking of that before you were signing up for this!
He turns to the crowd (where his echo also sits) and salutes in Khirian style. With well over a week of practice listening to his friends, he attempts to modulate and control his accent and grammar so as not to sound so gratuitously foreign. He projects his voice, as if across a battlefield.
"I am Joren Kryn. The 'Adamant' you call me, though you may not say so after this fight, one way or another. Hear me now. The great beast and I are not the only ones under threat here in Talmouth. These fights to the death. Murders in the Rows. Kidnapping of those who use magic. Depletion of your large capacity ships in the harbor. You are being weakened, with malign purpose on behalf of an evil god. While you sit here complacent to watch a spectacle, an invasion comes from a place you would least expect. The Amethyst Ocean. Abetted by sailors and council members among you who once voyaged that way and have returned, their minds turned against you. Marigold. Andra of Tensmith. Others. These are traitors conspiring against you."
He draws his greatsword. "I am a soldier. Hear me now. You are in danger. They are coming for your city. For Cambria. Best be ready."
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Confused murmurs are exchanged among the crowd, and many look in the same direction that Vilus is. At the observation box where seats are reserved for each member of the council. However, two seats are empty. One for Marigold, and another for Jean-Lou. A few people rise from their seats around the arena and make for exits, but most of the rest sit there in stunned silence. Then that silence is broken by another roar as the yeti begins to bound across the distance between him and Joren!
Confused murmurs are exchanged among the crowd, and many look in the same direction that Vilus is. At the observation box where seats are reserved for each member of the council. However, two seats are empty. One for Marigold, and another for Jean-Lou. A few people rise from their seats around the arena and make for exits, but most of the rest sit there in stunned silence. Then that silence is broken by another roar as the yeti begins to bound across the distance between him and Joren! In a matter of moments, he crosses most of the arena, ending up 30 feet away from Joren.
Had it not been his friend down there in the arena, it is likely that Samir would never have come to watch such a spectacle. Despite his (mis)adventures so far, the artificer still is uncomfortable in the face of true violence. He has learned to act and survive, but still every piece of his being hates the neccessity of it all.
But supporting Joren is more important.
Samir watches as the man enters the area below, and as the great beast is brought into the light. He can feel his own pulse quicken in fear as the yeti's single eyes sweeps past, and he clutches his satchel to his chest as if it were a shield. And then comes Joren's speech, and for the moment his thoughts must go elsewhere. Speaking quietly, Samir dips his head to the side, whispering to Ashley.
"Were... were we expecting him to make a speech like that?"
Malachi leans back in his seat and enjoys the warmth of the sun while they wait for the match to begin. Malachi’s eyes wander the crowd and he shares a smile or a wave with some familiar faces from his time in the city and the arena. He had been to several fights, Joren was popular with the crowd and earned quite a few of them extra coin, including Malachi. It was hard to get good odds on his fights now. But this time was different, Malachi leans forward with a look of concern on his face as the Yeti appears across the arena and he briefly remembers hurrying past one when crossing the mountains. That seemed so long and so far ago at this point.
His mouth falls opens in surprise as Joren makes his speech and he leans forward, head between Ashley and Samir and whispers “He mentioned something like this earlier, but I didn’t think he would go through with it. I should have known better. Now the tale is out, think anyone will believe him?” Malachi is so surprised that he barely registers the bump on his shoulder and the note dropped in his lap. He quickly grabs it and looks around the crowd to see if he can tell who delivered it before unfolding the paper and reading its contents.
"fear is a powerful motivator, even more so when the thing to be scared of is real." Vilus grumbles to the group, as looks to see what kind of people are leaving.
Vilus absent mindedly points a finger toward the yeti, waiting for it to come into his range once the fight begins.
"Be vigilant," Joren continues firmly to the crowd as if a large monstrosity is not bearing down on him. "Andra shut down Tensmith's mines, spreading fear of spies when HE was the spy hiding cultist-dug access tunnels. Found out by Marshal Lanya and Mayor Berg there. Just as Marigold is a spy here."
Nature: 14
He has heard of Yetis from the Veil mountains and their chilling gaze. Better the Yeti is focusing on my echo, not on me. He readies his greatsword with a flourish and stands his ground, beckoning the creature. Then with 15' of his movement and his Bonus Action, he swaps places with his echo. So now, hopefully unbeknownst to the Yeti in particular, the real Joren looks on next to his friends in the stands while his echo calmly awaits the creature's charge.
With his Action, Joren readies a non-lethal attack from his echo's position down in the arena floor when the Yeti arrives in striking distance.
Readied Greatsword attack from echo's position to hit: 20 (dirty)
Readied Greatsword damage on a hit: 9 non-lethal slashing (striking at the creature's knee joints)
(Joren's echo has AC16, 1hp, immunity to all conditions, and uses Joren's saving throws).
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
The yeti gives Joren's echo a chilling gaze, made all the worse by its marred face (ineffective on the echo), and the closes the remainder of the distance between the two. The crowd oohs as Joren's echo slices the creature's knee, staining the sand with a spatter of blood. Then the crowd aahs as the echo slips two mighty swings of the yeti's claws. Joren then hears Vilus in his head, telepathically pointing out a large scar just under the yeti's arm that is just visible when it swings. A spot with none of the natural defense of its thick fur. (Vilus uses True Strike to serve as a help action, granting advantage to Joren's next attack.)
There is still some uncertainty among the watchers at the news they have just heard, but the immediacy of the fight is a powerful draw on their attention. The councilors also exchange hushed words with each other and their attendants.
Malachi, looking over his shoulder, sees nothing at first. The people behind him are all enraptured by the fight, and none seem particularly aware of Malachi. But then he notices a guard making his way up the stairs. One of Jean Lou's men? He opens up the paper and reads, "Everyone, office after fight. -JL"
Ashley and Marion make a quick pit stop on their way to the fight and Ashley is obviously carrying something quite large in a package when they all join up at the arena. She doesn't say anything about it, but takes her seat to watch the action with her friends. Her mouth goes slightly agape at Joren's proclamation and she leans back to Samir and Malachi, "Well, nothing we can do about it now. Will be interesting what series of events follow this though and maybe some people will be more aware? I sure hope so."
She looks up at the observation deck as well and is intrigued to see that their two foes are missing. She wonders if either of them still live? She then looks down at the arena as the fight starts, not worried at all as she knows how well Joren can handle himself in really any situation. She'd been to several of his fights so far and this yeti sure seemed to carry the name of the fight.
She finally leans over to Vilus, "Got something for you." Her face is alight with excitement and anticipation. She hands him the wrapped parcel she was carrying. When he unwraps it, he finds a beautifully handcarved wooden prosthetic leg. It is a fine piece of work with delicate craftsmanship that hinges at the knee with little to no friction. Ashley watches him closely and very impatiently asks, "What do you think?"
Vilus' disguised human face lights up with surprise, the leg completely distracting him from the fight and observing the crowd, he immediately loses a little of his outwardly grumpy composure "oh wow, this... How'd you get this measured and such?, oh it's great, will you help me put it on?" He moves the cloak covering his leg and Ashley watches as the illusion of a real leg fades and shows his dirty temporary peg. Taking that off and shoving it under his seat and out of sight he begins aligning the new leg, getting assistance with straps and such like from Ashley.
If he is able to telepathically respond, Joren signals back a sincere and humble thank you to his disguised goliath companion for helping from the stands. Focusing on the Yeti's vulnerable underarm scar (and ignoring the stench emanating from that area for the moment), he maneuvers into a complicated set of actions and movement. Aiming to attack the Yeti with his echo while continuing to address the crowd from the arena floor. Taking a risk.
Joren first moves his echo 10' away (north) from the Yeti, not provoking an opportunity attack because the echo is not a creature. He then uses 5' of his own movement west in the stands to arrive at the edge, then 15' more of his own movement and a bonus action to swap places with his echo, leaving himself on the arena floor and the echo at the edge of the stands. He then uses the remaining 20' of movement for the echo to pull it back west into melee just north of the Yeti and his own 10' of remaining movement to trot further north so Joren himself stands 20' north of the echo on the arena floor.
End result: Joren's echo is in melee with the Yeti just north of it, and Joren himself is 20' further north. The crowd sees two Jorens on the arena floor. The real Joren, now 20' from his adversary stands so his echo is directly between the Yeti and himself. He continues speaking to the crowd in a firm voice.
"From you, I ask only common sense. Cease tavern brawls and blood sport. Train and shore up Talmouth's defenses. Travel in groups - as even I do."
Meanwhile, he attacks the Yeti from his echo's position once more, non-lethally with the flat of his greatsword against the underarm scar.
Action:
Greatsword to hit the Yeti (at advantage due to Vilus' True Strike): 23
Greatsword damage (non-lethal): 11
Tanis(Ranger1): Shiverquill's Tempest City | Xarian(Fighter2): NioNSwiper's Tyranny of Dragons
Dyson/Eleo(TwilightCleric4): Vos' Beyond the Veil | Soren(ShepherdDruid5): Bartjeebus' Ravenloft | Ophelia(WildMagicSorcerer4): Ashen_Age's Risen from the Sands
Joren(EchoKnightFighter6): NotDrizzt's Simple Request | Sabetha(MercyMonk3): Bedlymn's Murder Court | Seri(NatureCleric3/DivineSoulSorcerer1): Bartjeebus' Greyhawk
Malachi studies the note, mentally comparing it to the previous writing he has seen from Jean-Lou, including the map and instructions to the library. He uses his skill with forgery to try to determine if the note is genuine before passing it to the others. “We have been summoned. At least it explains his absence from the arena”. Malachi gives another look toward the raised platform occupied by some of the other Councilors. “Of course it could still be a trap.” He looks back at the arena as Joren delivers another strike at the Yeti, silently rooting for his companion.
The crowd gasps again as Joren seemingly splits, a phantom of himself flickering forth from the stands. The yeti, similarly confused, swings at the echo at the same time it sinks its bade into the yeti's armpit (11 slashing to the yeti). Someone in the stands shrieks when the yeti's deadly claws dash the half-dwarf into scattering mist (1 damage to the echo). The yeti, now furious at the deception, roars and looks at Joren with chilling fury before rushing forward and slashing Joren with frozen talons, who hears the roar and turns away from the audience to meet the beast head on. Holding strong under the oppressive stare (saved vs chilling gaze), Joren brings up his greatsword in time to block most of the blow. But the blow still has enough weight to knock some air out of his lungs, and he feels a chill creeping through his new armour where the yeti's caws scratched him (9 cold damage).
At this point, almost everyone is thoroughly engrossed in what is happening down in the arena. Samir, not one for enjoying the entertainment of bloodsport, however, finds his attention more on his surroundings. It is for that reason that he is one of the only ones to notice a low rumbling from below his seat. Looking over, he sees that Ashley has clearly taken note as well. It is the same rumbling and clattering of chains that they heard when Joren's platform was being raised to bring him up to the arena from below ground. Something else is coming up.