Winedark, Chapter Twenty

General Summary

Wherein our heroes acquaint themselves with The Chalice, make new acquaintances of the musical and business variety, and seek out the blessings of the deity of opportunity and daring

Fight Interspersed with Song

Having made their entrance to The Chalice, the Vastblasters debated amongst themselves as to where to start looking for Nixif Sipplegonz. There are two probable options to start--the high roller tables upstairs or the fighting matches held in the basement. The problem with gaining access to the high roller tables is that one must, apparently, be extended an invitation. So, it was down to the basement to start this investigation.
Immediately, Kharlo Chondricht was taken with three gentlemen who appeared to know their way around The Chalice. These individuals, Laz, Zagman the Famous, and Weavetouched were charmed by Kharlo's tales of adventure and offered their assistance in "making a name" for himself through sponsoring him for the amateur fights to be held tomorrow night. Kharlo is already making friends. Nice!
Meanwhile, Irk and Water found themselves transfixed by the sultry and dulcet tones of a remarkable tiefling bard, who played a piano-like instrument between bouts. Later in the evening, after Water had placed a bet on underdog Steve in a match versus a hulking goliath called Raintanner, they came to know this tiefling as Ode. Pleasant banter was exchanged, with Ode warning them to "be careful," as it is clear that the Blasters might be a little out of their depth with some the operators here in The Chalice.
With that warning, and basking in the glow of new friends, it was time to sleep back aboard the relative safety of the VastBlaster.

Who Dares, Wins

The next day found the Blasters seeking to reduce some of their Chalice naivete by exploring what, to them, is an entirely new deity, Dizmera, god/goddess of opportunity, chance, and daring. With some time to kill before Kharlo is due on the fighting ring, they ventured into the House of Dizmera to see what this deity is all about. And it turns out that Dizmera is about rad shit.
Ildrama Hollowfader, a cleric of Dizmera, described the basic tenet of worship for this god/goddess, which is, essentially, to be daring. To go beyond the confines of reasonable risk and push all the chips in, letting them fall where they may. Daredevils and venture capitalists are equally counted amongst their followers, and part of that worship is conducted in the combination skate park/bouldering wall in the back of the House. Water impressed many of the parishioners with rad skate tricks and Irk found himself strangely drawn to this new deity. Hope Kogos isn't the jealous type.
With the audacity of the Blasters' exploits, both Irk and Water could feel the presence of Dizmera taking note of them, too. Who knows what this opportunity might bring?

Kharlo in the Ring

As evening fell, Kharlo set about his business, which was the Fighting Business. With no magical aid permitted, Kharlo would have to depend on his wits and his brawn to get him through this amateur fighting tournament and hopefully gain the interest of Nixif. Luckily, Kharlo knows a bit about fighting, and took down Drios Roughhold, Orcat, and Middles in succession. It also helped that Irk and Water were exploring their newfound interest in Dizmera on Kharlo's behalf. Truly, a synergic effort.
Kharlo's next opponent, however, might prove more troublesome, as it is none other than Skirl the Worry--rumored pirate and captain of Coffin Nail, Luu's sponsored ship in the Favor. What could he be doing here? Kharlo had just enough time to ponder this as Skirl threw him a wink before the fight commenced.

And That's Where We Left It

We'll see what other surprises The Chalice holds for the Blasters during our next session.

Various & Sundry Details

• As the Blasters wandered around The Chalice, they were accosted by an individual who asked them two very strange questions: Do you speak the language of the company? and Are you familiar with the cellar? The figure shot them a look and skittered away before receiving a satisfactory answer. Weird!
• Kharlo, sleeping aboard VastBlaster found his dreams invaded by what must be some amalgam of Aotl. Various depictions of the god flashed before his eyes, with the most memorable being one of a gold skeleton. The god intoned CHANGE IS CHANGE / AND IT COMES RIGHT SOON just before Kharlo woke up. Ominous!

Character(s) interacted with

• Klintok, Chalice Bartender and bookmaker
• Laz; Zagman the Famous; Weavetouched, Chalice regulars and opportunists
• Ode, tiefling pianist
• Ildrama Hollowfader, a cleric of Dizmera
• Drios Roughhold, Orcat, Middles, amateur fighters
• Skirl the Worry, captain of Coffin Nail and, apparently, amateur fighter

Report Date

07 Nov 2021

Primary Location

The Chalice