Dungeons and Dragons Day 6: A Second Arena
Day 6 continued right where Day 5 left off. The tournament round had ended and the adventures had a host of problems to deal with.
Shenanigans By Day
First, the Death Knight went on the hunt for more stimulants. At first he managed to lose his pants and drew the attention of the guards who still did not like public nudity in their city. But thanks to the power of the natural 20 he found enough of the drug to last him an entire week.
At the same time the Paladin still tripping balls decided to parkour around the City of Iron. However, to do so she needed to remove her armor. The Paladin forgot to wear clothes in this endeavor deciding to become one with the wind. She managed to get onto the roof, but just like the Death Knight, she managed to draw the guards who still did not wish for public nudity. But the Paladin failed to stay on the roof and tumbled to the ground- just in time to be caught in a net. She was instructed to find clothes and to not run around naked again.
Meanwhile, the Monk and Rogue went gambling together using their combined skills to card count. They both walked out with some hefty winnings.
At the same time, the Death Knight and the Barbarian/Warlock decided to make money showing off their muscles. Despite the power of stimulants empowering the Death Knight, the Barbarian/Warlock walked away with much more money.
Towards the end of the day, the Death Knight sought out a merchant to buy javelins from for his match with the Psionic who at the time was no where to be found. The only merchant available was an extremely shady man who screamed suspicious just by existing. After buying the needed items, he left wanting to never see this man again.
The Barbarian/Warlock also paid this same merchant a visit. He was in need of a component pouch and hoped this strange man would have an answer. While he did not own the item himself, the merchant informed the Barbarian/Warlock that he knew of a place where he could get one. An exclusive meeting that was happening tonight. A password was required to get in and the merchant knew it: “Python”
The Rogue also managed to pay the shady merchant a visit. After gaining access to more drugs, a plenitude of poisons and all manner of other roguish items, the Merchant informed him that there was going to be a special meeting tonight and it required VIP access to get in. Intrigued the Rogue stated that he was interested, and was given a password: “Boa”
A Strange Gathering
The Barbarian/Warlock found the Death Knight and Monk and relayed what he had learned to his companions. they followed him to the meeting place, and once the password was given, the three were given entry to the event. Inside they found a location very much like the one where they had encountered Rose the Sorceress a few nights earlier. And true to from, the woman was also present in the gathering hall. The snakes adorning the room matched the one that she wore on her finger.
Also in attendance were Naked Monk, who was not naked at the moment, and Rangar the Barbarian. The Death Knight asked the Monk why he battled his foes in the nude and the man admitted that it was normally an intimidation tactic, though admittedly, it was not helping him in this tournament as he was one loss away from being knocked out.
Suddenly the Death Knight, noticed the shady merchant was among the guests in the entry hall and went to ask him more information about tonight’s activities. Immediately, the strange man commented on his blade and said that tonight he might see more of the material. Intrigued, the Death Knight asked how he knew and responded that the master blacksmith of Iron was in the room and had told him. Leaving the Shady Merchant to speak to the Master Blacksmith only yielded more questions than answers as the man promised the Death Knight that all his questions would be answered at the main event.
Meanwhile, Rose had taken notice of the Monk. The Monk was not pleased. She declared that she had been wrong in declaring him a dog, which the man showed a sign of relief at… until she decided that him being a monkey was far better. The Monk walked away desiring to stay as far away from the sorceress as possible.
Being told by the Death Knight of his presence, the Barbarian/Warlock approached the Master Blacksmith to try and procure where he could get the much needed Component Pouch. When asked, the man had a look of mild shock on his face, and pointed towards the shady merchant who already had a smile on his face. The sketchy man informed the Barbarian/Warlock that he had just gained possession of such an item and had been informed to give it to the first person to ask. Finding this situation very contrived, the Barbarian/Warlock asked where this item had come from. The merchant pointed towards the Sorceress who was watching this entire exchange with interest.
Not liking this at all, The Barbarian/Warlock investigated the pouch for any foul play. Still not satisfied, he called Rose over. Asking her why she no longer needed the Component Pouch, she pulled out a second one and claimed that she simply no longer needed it. The Barbarian Warlock still did not trust this situation and asked to inspect her own pouch to check for any differences. She agreed to let him which surprised him to no end. Finally, after much deliberation, he went with the pouch that the Merchant had provided and gave Rose back her newer component item.
The Death Knight remembered at that moment that he had flirted with Rose in the past successfully and decided he should try to do so again to gleam information. His tactics were far more successful than he could have hoped. She stroked his arm in a suggestive manner and invited him to her room after the event this evening.
The Main Event
With nothing left to decide the group in the entry hall was invited through a door to get to the main event.
The Rogue found the Paladin who was still tripping and asked for her to come with him to a secret event. They gave the password of Boa at the door and entered a room filled with snake statues. Also nearby was the Shady Merchant and two of the other tournament combatants: Orengar the Rogue and Gonk the Warrior. The second of their rivals remained quiet, but Orengar made small talk with the Paladin and Rogue. This came to a head when the Rogue tried to slip something in the Paladin’s drink for kicks. The roofie that found its way into her drink failed because of the other drugs still quite active in her body.
Orengar pulled her aside and asked why she was with such an awful companion. The Paladin admitted that she did not really mind since she had started to understand his antics. Intrigued by these antics, Orengar asked what other antics she was aware of. This led to them deciding to hook up after the event tonight.
The Rogue was very frustrated at the failure at this extremely contrived set of events and wanted to get to the main event quickly. The group quickly went through a set of doors, and the main event began soon after.
Separated by a barrier, the main room was split into four sections. First was the VIP section up above where the apparent leaders of Iron sat. In their isolation from the other two groups, they had nothing to fear from troublemakers. A point that the Rogue found incredibly obnoxious since he wanted to do just that.
The second group consisted of those who had entered the event first. Trapped in the stands with the powerful Sorceress, the Monk quickly found himself the target of even more humiliation. After admitting that he did not like bananas, Rose decided to force the monkey to eat them. After the Monk threw one to the ground, and vaporized another with a ki blast, she managed to cast Charm Person on him. Not only did he lick the banana that had been smashed onto the floor off of it, but he also was forced to eat a couple more before the sadistic woman was satisfied.
Meanwhile on the other side of the arena, the second of the two groups sat and waited to find out what this event was all about. The Rogue continued his tricks of trying to force people to drink strange substances against their will, but by this point, everyone around him, especially the Paladin was not amused. The entire room became silent as attention was drawn to a fourth area in the very center and the main event began.
Another Tournament
The Master Blacksmith unveiled a large amount of a mysterious metal as he appeared in the center and it occurred to all the individuals in attendance that they sat in an underground arena that was in a similar likeness to the one where the games were being hosted. After explaining that a strange new metal had been recently discovered, he explained that this second arena would be used for battles in addition to the main event above ground. The catch was that down here one had to lose 4 games in the games above to join this event. The Master Blacksmith pointed out that there would be different prizes for winning this tournament separate from the other one.
The entire audience continued to drink as more and more alcohol was given to the patrons, but the Death Knight was distracted by one very important thought. The metal that the Blacksmith had shown below matched the make of his mysterious sword perfectly. Determined to win either the tournament above or the one down here, the Death Knight began formulating a plan to ensure he gained the Blacksmith’s attention to get some much needed answers.
The night ended and all save the Paladin got some much needed sleep. Though she did manage to get some companionship in her night of eternal wakefulness in Orengar, the Rogue. Though they enjoyed each other’s company, the Elf warned her that after tonight they would return to being foes in the tournament. The situation between Rose and the Death Knight was a bit more relaxed. The man tried to get some information out of the sorceress, but gleamed little of interest. He decided that he might need to continue having her affection so that he might make an ally of this dangerous woman.
The Next Day
The next day came and the entire party still did not trust the Rogues sneaky antics with his reputation to sneak substances into drinks. However, the Death Knight did add some more drugs into his own body so that he would not suffer the withdrawal symptoms associated with their use. The Paladin was not happy about her lack of sleep and utter feeling of being extremely exhausted. But the tournament was still happening regardless of how much the party wanted to participate that morning.
The first match was the Death Knight versus the Psionic who continued to remain missing in action. In the most anticlimactic fight of the tournament, the Death Knight won for free and with his fourth victory was ensured a spot in the upper tournament. He reflected that in all likelihood, the under tournament was to be more of a penalty game than something he wished to participate in anyway.
Naked Monk battled Gonk the Dwarf and lost, putting him as the first individual to have either the privilege or misfortune of being a participant in the under-tournament.
Speaking of misfortune, the incredibly exhausted Paladin was forced to battle Rose in battle next. The battle became intense as Rose in her arrogance cast levitate on herself but kept within range of the Paladin for seemingly illogical reasons. The Paladin took advantage of the chance to hit the unarmored woman with multiple smites and sword swings, but the Sorceress decided to make use of repeated Burning Hands Spells to roast the Paladin into defeat. Though a close battle, Rose was ultimately the victor.
The next battle was anything but close. The Monk/Warlock defeated Orengar effortlessly thanks to both his rage abilities and the fact that Orengar did not seem to be on his game at all, the archer could not seem to use his bow properly and indeed managed to drop his vital weapon in the face of the rampaging foe. This made Orengar the second combatant to enter the under tournament.
The battle between the Monk and Rangar the Barbarian looms as the crowd cheers. The Rogue reflects on his boredom while he is sitting in the stands. Just what is going to happen in this under tournament? Not to mention that its only a couple more days until a full moon.