Chapter 16: Let the Games Begin
General Summary
The morning of the 16th dawned with the party meeting Inhe's estranged brother, Vrir Ghan, in the hallway before the room they used to use at The Umbral Inn. Inhe slapped him across the face when he greeted her and she demanded to know what he was doing in Lorisen. After ordering breakfast, he shared with his sister and the others that he is in Lorisen looking to build a crew to man a ship to the Fire Isles. Due to a recent embargo on their products, he has found a burgeoning market for goods from the island nation. He let Inhe know that he'd be around throughout the festivities should she want to catch up. As he left, she told him to never go through her things again to which he laughed and agreed. Inhe shared with the rest of the group that she had worked for her older half-brother at one time only to find that he dealt with only the scummiest of people and trades and she had done things during her time with him that made her stomach turn to remember.
The group then left and hired a cab to take them to Sanctuary Stadium. Jacquora and Inhe received their fighter numbers and the group entered to find seats after checking the schedule. Inhe would be up in her one-on-one fights in the morning and then both Jacquora and her would fight in the group fights in the afternoon. The stadium was already packed when they arrived and they found seating difficult find. Eventually, the found a grouping of four seats near the gong that signalled the beginning of fights.
Eventually the gong ran, powered by the largest orc they had ever seen (who was also a surprisingly good knitter), and the fights began.
Whe it came close to Inhe's turn, she left the group and found herself in a hallway underneath the fighting pits. An attendant paired her up with her fighting partner, a human man in his 40's named Smeet. It was a well-matched fight with blows landed on either side. However, Inhe was able to turn the tide and win and the crowd began to chant her name. In the stands, Lenihlra entertained herself by making punny quips about the competitor's name to those around her.
After receiving some healing from the clerics, Inhe returned to the stands. Thydona provided more healing to her with a spell as well. Around noon there was a break, during which the party located better seats, and the group fights began. The first death of the games occurred when one group had one of their party member's throat ripped out by a wolf. As the afternoon wore on, it was time for Jacquora and Inhe's fight.
They were led into the pits once more and the porticullis opened to reveal two jet-black owlbears from the Sommeraine Peaks to the North of the city. One seemed slightly larger than the other and they both charged and the duo. It was a hard fight, with both fighters being pinned and ripped at by the bears at one point. The two were able to knock one of the bears unconscioius. However, all seemed lost when, after one heavy blow landed by one of the bears, Jacquora went limp. Seeing her friend's unconscious form, Inhe felt something burn within her. She plunged her hand through the remaining Owlbear's beak and ripped its spine out through its face.
A cleric rushed forward and was able to revive Jacquora, though she was still greatly wounded. As they left the stadium in another carriage, Thydona concentrated and restored much of the two fighter's health. When they arrived back at the Inn, Jacquora and Inhe went to bathe and rest while Lenihlra and Thydona ventured out into the nearby carnival. They painted their faces (Thydona with a snake and Lenihlra with stars) and received fortunes from a fortune telling machine.
It gave Lenihlra the following fortune: "The higher you climb, the further you will fall. Lucky numbers: 16, 2, 11." Thydona's fortune was blank.
Both of them proved to be particularily adept at the games, winning a plethora of prizes. Together they won a giant stuffed owlbear (white, the color of Thydona's pet from her past), a Bag of Withholding (which allows items to go in but not out), and Double-Bolt Crossbow, a potion called "Meyer's Potion of Glamour" that causes the skin to glitter for 24 hours, and a honey-colored potion called "Vomit Swarm" that causes the imbiber to vomit a swarm of bees.
They returned to the Inn and rested for the next day of the festival.
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