Wrap Up 51: The Man in the Arena

PC's: Ardengon, Basalt, Esko, Garrick, Finn, Oleg, Skemm, Sudash Location: Minotaur Circus area – Arena
It was important to remember that the circus this year was open to any. This included races outside of Minotaurs, even if those races were not represented in great number. Goblins from known tribes with ill intent, Minotaurs worshipping an evil God, and so forth besides the more neutral or friendly neighbors and trade partners. Strength alone was good enough for these folks and that is how they ruled when it came to this task of the Labrynth.
The matches commenced and a few are here recorded. Bala & Askarian had a heated battle which seemed to go beyond the obvious. It was one of the few where a battle to the death was agreed upon, Bala so expired. Noufour Gorehoof and Sir Don Coyote had a very even match. Gorehoof lost a horn which was a bit unusual but eventually Sir Don was worn down and defeated. Juan Blackbeard, a minotaur from another far away place supposedly called Krynn faced off against Seleste the Abomination. Garrick & Finn notice the blade is poisoned and eventually Blackbeard falls. Next up was Skemm & Quackbeard, of the unusual race of folk who live far to the East along the coast. Some betting took place as was usual for all of the matches. A couple of the party members placed bets on the outcome. Quackbeard had some unusual racial abilities which almost no one recognized. This left Skemm outmatched by what was probably age, experience, and surprise. The Long Watch member took an enormous beating but eventually fell to the duckman.
As Skemm recovered there was a bit of a stir in the groups tent. Estarion came to speak with them bringing some odd items which turned out to be of use for a spell. He offered to cast something called “Heroes Feast” as they wished after speaking to the others who also had news for them. The group was asked to go see Juan who was recovering, albeit slowly. His condition was not the best, but he managed to come up with a loud whisper for them. While in a fever dream after his arena fight during which he had fallen, his deity had visited him. The Long Watch members stood by quietly.
Finnick Wilmot listened intently, not so much in understanding, but in wonder. His core values held that even with incredible powers at play in the world, Light would prevail. As a reminder of this it was customary in his family and in others who worshiped Helm to greet the dawn each day. If it was raining and you could not see the light, it was still there. When bad deeds were done & they always were someplace or by someone, it was up to others to do something about it. If the crops were suffering from poor weather, a farmer could water more and save what was possible. Goblins attack that same farmer and some neighbors banding together may be able to handle it. Normal people did not deal with Dragons, Necromancers using some twisted natural process, otherworldly ships descending from the sky above the sky, and so forth. To Finn, this was one of those instances where he knew Helm interceded. Perhaps he was even an instrument of such a time. The Hillman from the fallen empire blinked a couple of times and came back to the incredible story unfolding.
Paladine, Juan's deity, is a powerful god of dragons in a world of dragonkin. He spoke to them of Tiamat, the dragon traveling to this place, and the establishment of the Dragon Realm here. The dream had also pointed the way to a location of a 2nd copper circlet to control dragons, giving those who have it a chance against the clockwork brass dragon. The group had not told Juan some of the specifics, so with a jump of faith they proceeded. A bit of apprehension was to be expected as the various lands and places in the dream were far away, even other worlds as had been told. Ships of the air had been seen by the group and so had other strange things with matched. The very way which The Long Watch had seen the fantastical dragon enter from the sky and be caught also helped convince those in doubt. The objective according to the fever dream, find the Valley of The Dragon. There a gigantic beast of legend was put down while slaying many other venerable dragons. According to Paladine, it was called Titan Fall Valley. The blasted land had turned to a dreaded huge bone graveyard, a sign of epic struggle in times past.
With grave danger nods were seen by each member and they celebrated the Hero's Feast. Paladines blessing carried with it immunity to disease, poison, and frightened related effects. The assembled party was given a rare gift as the Minotaur leadership blessed the Long Watch. That and the Feast, exactly the thing needed upon this journey. These powers granted increased resistances related to wisdom and constitution. With Sir Don's information the group set out at 6 Am knowing they had a period of but a day to find this thing. Rock outcroppings appeared in a pass as their march progressed. Skemm noticed that the ground did not match and so it was discovered portions of this place were enormous bones.
The flapping of wings was not unexpected and soon a mighty green dragon was seen in the distance swooping down. It was for this moment that the Feast had been given. A gout of poison breath washed over the party as they progressed through the pass, nothing happened but a foul odor. Puddles boiled, plants withered or died outright but the group remained unscathed. The dragon called jibes, cursed the fate which brought this to pass, flew down and swept in for other physical attacks. Garrick with hawk like aim struck a joint in one wing as it descended. The very air briefly flashed as Finn raised Helms Holy Symbol calling upon new powers. 3 bright flaming rays shot forth, 2 striking the dragon hard enough to make it swerve towards the ground leaving burn marks smoldering on its body. Others also shot forth spell and arrows. Skemm waited for that moment when it approached and leapt high into air hitting the dragon a powerful blow as it plummeted towards the group. He was buried in the thunderous crash that resulted but wiggled out alive.
It was early afternoon when they entered the Titans Fall area. The depicted battle scene was close to the same as that which was seen here. A huge pit of some monstrous beast, fitting the imagery described of the titanic wurm. Several party members notice there are some prismatic beetles still scuttling about the bones . . and even what is left of the corpse. How can that be? Garrick notices regeneration taking place not quite the equal of the munching beetles. Much debate takes place and a loose plan comes up with Oleg helping locate the object.
The entire situation would never have been possible had Skemm not stepped up to begin with. Fighting in the arena, showing the minotaurs that others could be trusted allowed for cooperation which normally never took place. His was the first step while everyone else contributed during the battle near the tent & arena. Returning to the Circus for other rounds of fighting and news. Estarion kills one of the evil minotaurs. He also fights someone called The Abomination, a truly frightening opponent. The hard working outcast was allowed back into the tribe based upon his recent actions. Outside of that the majority and leader of the Minotaur for the upcoming term was a member of the chaotic forces. They were those who truly gained by strength of might, not always wits. That said it was their turn to protect the labyrinth. Some feared this may have turned into a treasure hunt not a protective guardianship. It was not voiced too loudly, but the party was encouraged to leave before bad blood was spilled. Back to Durzig's they went.

Player 5E gaming note: The Long Watch had immunity to some of the Green Dragon attacks which it was not aware on. In the meantime the party had several critical hits earlier in the battle. 2 crits in one attack from Finn's spell causing 8d6 (41 out of 48) damage. Not near enough at any given single attack but collectively they brought it down. The cleric option to memorize new spells also came in very handy with Locate Object.