Finding A Master

General Summary

Hadrian had come to the conclusion that in order to survive the turmoil that is Pandora, he would need to up his skills as a fighter. He gathered a party together to help him track down a worthy trainer.
While enjoying some drinks at The Last Stand Tavern a gentleman joined their table and offered a bit of helpful information in exchange for a drink to sooth his parched throat. He told them to see Isolde down at the docks.
It wasn't difficult to find Isolde at the docks. She was the only female about, barking orders to the workers. There was a flurry of activity in an attempt to tie down any loose items. The wind had been raging and the gusts coming off the South Sea were as strong as 50 MPH. At first Isolde denied she knew anything that would help Hadrian, shooting furtive glances in Bombo's direction. It took a bit of help from Milo and Ashertiel but eventually Hadrian realized that the presence of Fjordhaven's king was keeping her from being very forthcoming. Convincing Bombo to make himself scarce, Hadrian literally set up camp (tent, bedroll, mess kit) on the docks in silent protest. Annoyed, Isolde finally decided to divulge what she knew. She told him of a consortium of fighters that met regularly beneath the city. Someone there would likely be his best bet to improve his fight skills. She instructed him to go see old lady Urin Harksmith at midnight and she would guide them the rest of the way.
Realizing that Bombo's presence was likely to deter the rest of their goal, the king disguised himself as one of the regular guys before they all arrived at the old ladies house. Urin was kind but leery until Hadrian mentioned they'd been sent by Isolde. She then pushed aside a bookshelf to reveal a secret passage leading to an underground tunnel.
Down inside the tunnel, they came upon yet another person barring their way forward. They were each required to pay a 100gp cover fee to be allowed into the arena. After a long walk down a dimly lit passageway they exited out into a large underground arena, several fights already in progress.
The arena was filled with jeering fans. The arena floor was split into four fighting circles. Each fight consisted of hand-to-hand combat by individuals shackled at the ankles, not wearing any armor. A man in a corner was running bets. Fights ended in the loser's death.
To say that Hadrian and Bombo were appalled is an understatement. Milo and Ashertiel immediately began making bets.
After the fighting concluded, the party went to speak to the man in charge. Rulf Coatsman was clearly a man who knew what to do in a fight. However, he was much more interested in tallying his gold at the moment. When questioned, he explained his business venture - slaves had been purchased from Abkheset and were fighting to win their freedom. At this realization, Bombo threw off his disguise and proceeded to place Rulf under arrest.
Rulf protested that there was nothing in The Kingdom of Fjordhaven's laws prohibiting the ownership of slaves or the willing participation in a fight to the death in an arena. Bombo disagreed. Milo piped up and offered his services as a lawyer at the trial...for a price of course.
Still seeking training, Hadrian agreed to training sessions with Rulf from behind bars while he awaits his trial.

Rewards Granted

Loot:
832 gp confiscated from the "illegal" activity of Rulf Coatsman
[350 gp] masterwork breastplate
[350 gp] masterwork splint mail
[200 gp] masterwork scale mail
[170 gp] masterwork heavy steel shield
[300 gp] masterwork chainmail
[25 gp] potion/oil of resistance (CL 1)
[300 gp] potion/oil of reduce animal (CL 3)
[50 gp] potion/oil of sanctuary (CL 1)
[300 gp] potion/oil of bull's strength (CL 3)
[300 gp] potion/oil of resist energy, sonic (CL 3)
[25 gp] potion/oil of purify food and drink (CL 1)
[50 gp] potion/oil of protection from chaos (CL 1)
[50 gp] potion/oil of shield of faith (CL 1)
[50 gp] potion/oil of hide from undead (CL 1)
[25 gp] divine scroll of stone fist (CL 1)
[25 gp] divine scroll of detect undead (CL 1)
[25 gp] divine scroll of protection from good (CL 1)
[25 gp] arcane scroll of sleep (CL 1) x 2
[25 gp] arcane scroll of cause fear (CL 1)
[700 gp] divine scroll of dimensional anchor (CL 7)
[150 gp] divine scroll of effortless armor (CL 3)
[375 gp] arcane scroll of heroism (CL 5)
[700 gp] arcane scroll of phantasmal killer (CL 7)
[150 gp] arcane scroll of darkvision (CL 3)
[700 gp] arcane scroll of detect scrying (CL 7)
[25 gp] divine scroll of shield of faith (CL 1)
[25 gp] divine scroll of summon monster 1 (CL 1)
[25 gp] divine scroll of faerie fire (CL 1)
[25 gp] divine scroll of cause fear (CL 1)
[13 gp] divine scroll of flare (CL 1)
[375 gp] wand of acid splash (CL 1)
[375 gp] wand of purify food and drink (CL 1)
[750 gp] wand of summon monster 1 (CL 1)
[750 gp] wand of magic missile (CL 1)
[2,320 gp] +1 rapier [sheds light]
[2,305 gp] +1 light mace [clue indicates function]
[312 gp] masterwork warhammer
[302 gp] masterwork punching dagger

Milo gets an additional 655 gp because he swiped it when no one was looking.

Experience: Bombo(ECL 12): 1350 XP = 450 (Stubborness at the docks) + 450 (entry cost) + 450 (first rule of fight club is don't talk about fight club)
Ashertiel(ECL 11): 1650 XP = 550 + 550 + 550
Hadrian(ECL 10): 2250 XP = 750 + 750 + 750
Milo(ECL 8): 3600 XP = 1200 + 1200 + 1200

Character(s) interacted with

Bombo

Rulf Coatsman

Hadrian

Milo

Mortsuka

Report Date

03 Sep 2021

Dungeon Master

Runa (ECL 13): 5850xp/7500gp/5dt