Adventures in Esyldien - Campaign Thread

Witt is steering clear of the Blood Pit, as it sounds much too rough for him.  What he does depends on whether he's alone or someone else from the party stays back at the inn with him.  If alone, he will probably build himself a nice pillow fort on his sofa, and then see if he can find a book to borrow.  I really do need to find something to fill my time, if the others are going to be gallivanting around fighting pits and the like during our free time, he says to himself.  Maybe I can by a painting kit tomorrow when we're out shopping.  That would be nice.  

Nemeia accepts the mug of ale and nods, "very cool, indeed." She'd spent plenty of time with the working class as that's the life she was born into. She spent pretty much all of her time in the workshop and perhaps that's why she wasn't as adaptive to the social outings. Still, she wanted to experience the types of things that brought enjoyment to the others in her small group. She learned that sometimes the best ideas for inventions came when you weren't even trying to solve the problem. 

Nemeia tries to look around to get a better understanding of this place.

• Insight: 7  or   Perception: 9

When Sora heads to the bar she sees a tall figure on the other end, a Dragonborn woman whose Gold heritage is clearly evident in her scales. She seems to spot the human almost immediately as she approaches the bar, "What can I get for ya?" She quickly and skillfully prepares all of the requested ale mugs for Sora for the price of a single silver. 

Looking around it's not hard to see that this place attracts a tougher crowd, but you don't get any unusual sense from anyone. It's about what Nemeia would expect as she looks around. For the most part this is what it appears to be, a wild tavern where locals come to let out steam after a day of hard work.

Of course the biggest draw of this place was more towards the back of the tavern. As you approach you easily notice a huge pit taking up most of the space, its walls secured with more random assortment of wood nailed together in only the roughest version of a circle. The bottom of the pit is filled with sand, though it, along with most of the pit's walls, still shows a great many stains of blood. Clearly this is the bloody pit that gave this tavern its name.

There's no doubt about it, this is a fighting arena for all the locals' entertainment. The edge of the pit is completely crowded by the various people watching the fights below. Many of them cheering or booing at the fighters down below as others call out bets or other challenges. At the moment you are too far away to see the actual fighters in the pit itself due to how deep it actually goes.

Moira

Taking the ale “Cheers and thanks for the ale Sora!”

Moving with the group to the pit area I look around for posted rules or someone who looks like they are in charge. 

Perception : 14

Nemeia does her best to stick close to Sora and keep an eye toward the fighting to try and see what's going on. She reveled in the excitement of the crowd. It felt good to be among the commoners again though they often lacked the specialized training that would prove useful to her own research. They had a simplicity to them that Nemeia enjoyed. 

As others leave 9 remains in the inn, and rests on the couch for a little, she then heads downstairs to talk to Gus. When she finds him, she finds a place to sit and considers her options for a moment, her eye fixated on Gus. “What do you think about... all this?”, she waves her scarred hand in the air indicating the surroundings. Straight to the point and direct, it seemed to work fine with other people so far, let’s see what this does. 

Sora was quickly enjoying herself amid the revelry in the tavern. Already she was eager to get into the pit and try out her luck, or at the very least watch a fight or two. Recalling what Gus had mentioned she decided to try to find the personal in charge. 

"I totally wanna get in on that action!" She excitedly told her friends and party members, "Hang on, I'll see if I can find out how to do just that."

She made her way back to the bar to talk to the bartender, "Hey, is there a Gizel here? Gus recommended me this place, said I could find her here."

While she was at the bar she would go ahead and order everyone another round of drinks.

Back at the Sturdy Unicorn...

9 found herself sitting across the flamboyantly dressed Gus who simply looked back at her with an ever pleasant, warm smile, "Are you speaking about my Inn? Obviously I think it is the best Inn possible. But even the perfect Inn is never good enough. Once I am able to make it better, I will definitely do that. This home I've built, this is who I am given form. It is my passion and my purpose. I will never stop making it better. But of course, all that goes without saying. The more important question for me is hearing what YOU think about all this, my lovely dusk blossom?" Gus leans back on his chair, legs crossed, as he motions his hand in a wide arc across the entire span of the surrounding Inn making for quite the grandiose display of his true passion.

Meanwhile back at the Blood Pit ...

The gold-scaled dragonborn behind the bar takes a moment to consider Sora's words before responding, "Well if you're looking for Gizel, you found her. And if Gus sent you to me he must think you'll be a fun riot in this place. So what does a tourist like you want in my tavern?"

Hunting for something to do or read, Witt wanders over to where 9 and Gus are sitting and talking.  Mind if I join you?  he asks as he sits down.  He looks around the inn...  It's very pretty, he says encouragingly.

"Oh thank you, you scrumptious sugar brownie, I do put quite a bit of effort into ensuring a pleasant decor for all my wonderful guests"

Back at the Blood Pit, Sora looked at the dragonborn bartender with an intrigued expression, "OH, so you're Gizel? Nice. Love the place by the way. I was actually curious about your pit, looks like it's a whole lot of fun and I was hoping to participate." She grinned back at Gizel, clearly enjoying herself.

“A bit too comfortable for me. But no, I meant the general state of this place. The rumors. What do you think?”, 9’s voice was a bit annoyed, as she wondered if she let her first impression direct her mind too far. Nevertheless, she shifted in place, putting her head on folded hands and observing Gus carefully.

"Too comfortable? Oh my poor dear! How terrible. But don't you worry darling. If you like I can easily replace your bed with something far more firm. Perhaps thinner blankets? Just enough to make things a bit less comfortable for your satisfaction. Just let your favorite Uncle Gus know!" From his tone and demeanor it's obvious he's not speaking sarcastically but genuinely would be willing to help 9 enjoy her stay at his inn as much as possible. "Now, as for the town. Mmmm yes, those rumors. They have been going about town constantly haven't they, far too popular for my liking. People easily get swept up in the drama and the story quickly becomes more real then the truth. Sadly no one knows the truth, just the rumors. What about you dear? Are you enjoying the story? Or is the drama not to your liking?"

Meanwhile back at the Blood Pit...

The dragonborn innkeeper looked back at Sora with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. "You got an interesting sense of entertainment for a tourist, I'll give you that. If you want to try your luck in the pit, just wait till it's cleared out and jump in, someone's bound to challenge you. But I'd urge you to be careful. It's not like I have a paid team of clerics at the ready, so hope there's a kind healer in the crowd if you get hurt."

Witt thinks for a moment.  I suppose the story of this town is all... politics these days.  We met Duke, um, whatisname?  Hakk?  Hakkan?  Anyway, he seemed... odd, and then he was talking all about the queen and what happened and what everyone is saying about what happened.  There must be so many rumours about all of that.  Have you ever met Duke Hakker, Gus?  

Gus rolls his eyes at the mere thought of the so called Duke, "That man is no Duke. A count perhaps, but he is far too infatuated with Royalty. His greed for power is far too obvious and unsightly. He is a bit like edible gold. Pointlessly expensive but with no substance, his only purpose seems to be showing off how wealthy his is, but ultimately it all just ends up being an overly expensive pile of crap. Well, I imagine I'm rather biased in this regard as I find the man distasteful. Though I suppose I should warn you, he has quite a great deal of contacts and friends among the city's elite. And he has the wealth to pay for the loyalty of a great many other greedy people. It's no surprise he would be so engrossed in the drama surrounding the queen's death. That man would crawl through the slimiest controversies without hesitation if he felt it would bring him even an inch closer to royalty."

Royalty.  Such a strange thing to care about.  He did seem to have some strange tastes.  We've heard from the Duke..., sorry the Count..., what happened with the death of the queen, but it would be good to hear from a more reliable soure.  Between you and me, says Witt, a little scandalised at the thought, I think Count Hakon may not be a very truthful person on this matter.  And as 9 says, we really don't know much about this place at all, and it's always important to hear what local people think first and foremost. 

Gus gazed thoughtfully back at Witt as he considered his response, "The truth? The truth can be a funny thing to grasp sometimes. Sadly I don't know the truth of what happened. I don't think anyone does. The bits of truth I can tell you are but a few scant morsels of facts. Our beautiful Queen Illia was a gorgeous and loving woman. She cared deeply about her position and her people. Quite a role model of Royalty in my eyes. Also she was a favorite of mine simply due to her absolutely divine dresses that she would wear to parties and the royal banquets. It is the nature of those who rule with passion that they will make enemies of those with conflicting interests. Still, very few people in the world hated our dear queen. So I simply cannot imagine who would be so vile as to murder such a wonderful creature. If it's facts you seek then I can only tell you I don't know. No one knows how she died or why, only that she was simply found dead that one fateful morning." 

Gus looked off into the distance with a mournful face, "That is all the truth I can tell you, everything else is simply opinion and conjecture. The rumors say her daughter killed the queen and took the throne. It's not inconceivable in the grand scheme of things, it would not be the first time in history for an heir to kill their way to the throne. But personally I find it difficult to believe in such a despicable act. Queen Enalie always struck me as being very much like her mother. I feel that if there was even a hint that she had done something so terrible, then Konor would not still be at her side." He then looks over at the two adventurers sitting at the table and smiles as he adds, "But that might just be my romantic heart speaking, for all we know the young queen has masterfully deceived everyone around her. It would not be the first time I found myself fooled by a pretty face, after all."

“I am not in the least amused by all that is happening here. In fact this place is really nice for staying in quite and peace. I imagine you too have some powerful friends?”, 9‘s doubts about the man remained, but were giving way to trust, which for her was the most valuable resource, of course after freedom.

General insight for the conversation: 11 + 3

Gus smirks back at 9 in response to her question, "All friends are powerful, my dear, each in their own unique way."

Konor, says Witt.  The not-Duke mentioned him.  Seemed to not like him very much.  Have you meet him?  Is he nice?