Little Acheron
Little Acheron honors your sacrifice.
Little Acheron is a monster-fighting coliseum located in the Lowtide district of Necine. It is considered one of the city's most famous landmarks, having been responsible for the rise to prominence (or untimely demise) of many powerful adventurers.
About the Bouts
Bouts are held several times daily, with the more powerful monsters appearing toward the evening as "main events." Although admittance to these larger battles comes at a premium (with tickets usually being won at auction), attendance for smaller battles is free. Even these, therefore, are widely popular.
The nature of each bout held in Little Acheron is decided by the rolling of two enormous dice (which themselves have more than once crushed competitors to death). The dice fall from the eyes of a giant skull totem at the head of the arena. One of the dice induces changes to the physical environment (for example, the filling of the arena with water) and the other decides the monster (or monsters) that the competitors will challenge.
Each bout is fought to the death. "Little Acheron honors your sacrifice" is a phrase commonly said for those who fall in battle. It is believed that the arena traps the souls of those who die within, that they may be restored to undeath as opponents for future competitors.
Architecture
Little Acheron is an enormous arena with seating for about 7,000 people. Much of the space within is dedicated to the fighting ground itself, which features a kind of vented surface at its center through which the monsters are released.
A skull motif is also highly prominent, with the arena being ringed by large skull totems--each about 20 feet tall and capable of supporting clearly impressive amounts of weight. Their eyes glow a manificent crimson to shed light on battles held in darkness.
An invisible antimagic field protects the spectators from the battles within, but the arena is otherwise open to the sky. This would prove especially fortunate for the The Party as Vornaar's Call Lightning spell was essential in defeating the party's voracious enemies on their first visit to Little Acheron.
Monster Hunting
Capturing monsters for the arena is an extremely lucrative job for those powerful enough to manage it.
Members of Kairos are all but exclusively responsible for supplying Little Acheron with monsters, with rarer and more dangerous beasts sometimes warranting specific contracts. Thousands of gold has been known to exchange hands in such cases.
Under Little Acheron
The monster containment system located somewhere deep beneath the arena itself constitutes one of the most tightly guarded secrets in Acaelica. Those responsible for its erection, maintenance and operation are unknown, and attempts to identify them have been met with open hostility from Inibis Valmeia herself.
It is widely believed that this secrecy is for the protection of Necine. After all, any who could undermine the system could loose abominations of all kinds directly into one of the most populated cities on the continent.
However, there are also some who believe the secrecy is to cover up a more nefarious operation than monster-fighting, and that The Dynasterium is most certainly involved.
A Semi-Private Bout
The Party first visited the arena while it was uncharacteristically empty on the night of Perish Day. They were successful in defeating two Froghemoths as Castian commentated and Farcast their battle.
Though several party members nearly died, the entire fight was ostensibly set up for the party to entertain (as well as prove themselves to) Inibis Valmeia. Ultimately, they succeeded in doing both... and may have earned themselves a small reputation during Castian's show.
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