General Summary
After screaming in terror, the young Leonin called Y'za Pridemate eventually calms down and asks the group who and what they are. He is particularly concerned with the horses, apparently not knowing what they are... or what they eat
The party are truthful in their answers, explaining that they are from across the sea and have come looking for an artefact. Y'za agrees to take the group back to his town, Hidalgo, where a man called Aptior Lunardrifter would most likely need to speak with them.
Y'za is concerned about his resurrection, claiming that he is only on his 2nd life, and doesn't know what this means for him now. He explains that Leonin have 9 lives and are expected to become stronger and wiser the more lives they have lived. Y'za is unsure if being resurrected will affect this
The party are led to Hidalgo, where they are met by guards mounted on Raptors. The guards take the party to their guardhouse, instructing them to keep their hoods up, as they are led through the backstreets
Hidalgo itself seems remarkably similar to any other medium-sized town in Kureta, aside from the various giant lizards being used in place of horses and mules
At the guard house, the party are placed into a holding cell as a precaution, while Aptior Lunardrifter, the leader of the Church of 9 Lives is summoned
Whilst they wait, Veda overhears some of the guards talking about a recent murder - apparently a body was recovered from the river, mutilated horribly. This has been the 5th such occurrence in recent times
Sometime later, the group are introduced to Aptior, along with Saramne Stormwatcher - the head of the Church of The Lioness, and Dreos Boldtale, Hidalgo's strongest warrior and owner of Battala - a fighting arena in the town
Dreos quietly watches the party, arms folded, while Aptior takes the lead in the conversation. Saramne is eager to discuss the goddesses, but is somewhat shut down by Aptior
After casting a Zone of Truth spell, Aptior asks the group a series of questions, trying to learn how and why they have come to Hidalgo, as well as some curiosity questions about Kureta.
The group explain that they are looking for an artefact in the form of a hammer, to which the trio of Leonin have no recollection of
The Leonin have a brief discussion privately and return with a decision that the party will be judged in Battala. Should they emerge victorious in the arena, then it will be determined the group are trustworthy in the eyes of The Tigress. The fight will occur in the evening, giving the group roughly 4 hours to explore the town, under the watch of the guards
Aptior gives the party a map of the town, as they go off to explore
The group head to Ball of String and enjoy a nice meal with ice cream. Suspicious of how they are keeping the ice cream frozen, Eva subtly casts Detect Magic, but is unable to see anything magical on the freezer. She does notice however that the exterior is made of lead
The bill is handled by the guards, who explain that Hidalgo uses a system of bartering and favours to pay for things. This particular meal has equated to 1 hours’ worth of labour, which the guards will take care of
After the meal, the party head to the Herbalists store so that Marty can purchase some incense. She manages to do so in exchange for a giant snakeskin, a scimitar, and the guards promise to get the herbalist decent seats at Battala in the evening
At the markets, Godric purchases a tapestry depicting Dreos fighting in Battala, in exchange for some "cow" leather armour
A Leonin child bumps into Godric, looking upset and holding a tooth. One of the guards quickly interposes themselves and speaks with the child. It seems the young Leonin has just lost his first canine tooth, and inside 6 rings can be seen. Through the conversation, the party learn that the number of rings in the tooth depicts what life the Leonin is on. Having 6 rings means that this child will be expected to do great things. The guard tells the child to go home to his parents, and arrange their confirmation with the Church of 9 Lives
Shopping completed, the party head to Battala for their trial
They are led to a preparation room, where Dreos meets them to confirm who will be competing. Godric, Kenshin, Veda and Eva agree to take part, and Dreos leaves to find appropriate opponents
The seats fill up, and the party are taken out into the arena to meet their opponents, a group of 4 Leonin which Dreos describes as "up and coming"
The Leonin warriors show themselves to have some talent, utilising some combat strategies and scoring a number of hits on the party. Unaware of the party's hidden magical assistance however, they are no match for the adventurers
The Leonin are dispatched handily, with one of the archers surrendering after hearing Eva's telepathic threat of retribution for Pippy's death
The crowd cheers as the party are taken back to the preparation room. Aptior awaits the group and congratulates them on their victory. He confirms that beds have been arranged for the party at Pride's Rock Inn, and that they will continue their discussion in the morning, regarding how they can help the party find this artefact. Aptior also alludes to a favour he will ask of them in return...
Comments