Wild:55 Cockubine

Starring: Bo, Fuelwen, Brilla, and TskTsk
Guest Starring: Callow
Challenge: Arena combat (criminals and tiefling); Jumped by thugs attempting to kill Bo
Location: Fan Empire
Date Played: 22 Jan 2010

Competitions, Concubines, and Justice

Fuelwen: We caught hints of a poetry competition. Brilla decided to try her hand at it, thinking that she could parlay the winnings into something more concrete. I understand that unfettered access to the Emperor's concubines is valuable in this society, but I'm not sure how fungible it is.

I spent some time prepping Brilla for the competition. I have more than a little knowledge of literature and some of the forms used.

In between prep and competition, we sought the dragon, $DRAGON_NAME at the arena. We spoke with one of his servants who handled the business side of things in the arena. He offered an invitation to us to compete- a group of prisoners were to be executed.

Things have been stressful lately. I needed some relaxation, and so did Splat. We signed up, along with Tsk'tsk. Afterwards, bloodied but satisfied, I was ready to watch Brilla win her poetry competition.

TskTsk: The elder acquired us comfortable seating to witness the contest in the soon to be water-filled arena. In talking with some of the other spectators it becomes apparent that volunteers are welcome to participate in the battles. I hop out of my seat and rush to the challenge.

In the heat of battle one of the criminals, a tiefling, reveals himself to be a spellcaster—a better challenge than the rest of this pathetic lot. Fuelwen and I defeat him handily with but one unexpected side effect, the bastard exploded as he died!

Once the battle is ended we clean up and visit with a large (fat) man with a beard the size of gnomes who is one of Takeshi's Major Domos. He kindly arranges for us to meet Takeshi the next day at sunset, at the harbor.

And, um, more justice… sort of?

Fuelwen: Traveling along a dis-used section of road, we were accosted by bureaucrats offended that Bo had resigned from death. I think they were likely exceeding their authority, but that's neither here nor there. We downed one of them (the rest fled) - but it did help me realize that I've grown to accustomed to channeling my spells; I forget that normal casting requires more concentration.

Still, we were victorious, even if I spent most of the fight running from my own death.

TskTsk: The ground shakes as a rider, mounted upon a mountain of a lizard, leads a team to remind our elder that death is a nature part of life. The battle is fierce and I come within a razor's edge of dying in a great battle. Inside the belly of the beast I call upon Kord to help me defeat my foes before I fall and he blesses me, guiding us to force our enemies to retreat hastily. I would have pursued but my clutch was exhausted and not of the mind to end the battle.

Rewards

Wiki update: Next AP used is one die size higher. Fuelwen, Tsk'tsk