Dungeons and Dragons Day 9: The Tournament’s End
The Final Round:
The finals began in earnest in the tournament at Iron. The first battle became a battle of attrition between the Monk and the Barbarian/Warlock. The Monk knew that he could not defeat his foe in a straight up battle and abused his superior movement range to create a chase.
The Monk forced the Barbarian/Warlock to drop out of his enrage denying him the only advantage he had over his foe. Reduced to slinging spells at the Monk, the Barbarian Warlock soon found himself in trouble. He also tried throwing a Javelin with terrible results. Instead he dropped the weapon and slowed himself down even further. In the end, the Monk became victorious and claimed 3rd place overall. The Barbarian Warlock was still pleased with his top 4 finish.
A Cheap Victory:
The final match of the day was between Rose and the Death Knight. Knowing how dangerous the Sorceress was, the Death Knight called upon his racial powers and summoned an orb of darkness that was tethered to his Runeblade. Rose also preemptively cast levitate on herself using a scroll from the other Ourabaras Priestesses.
Any romantic feelings the two shared was shattered in this battle when it was revealed that Rose had used their time together to mark the Death Knight with a brand that made him defenseless against her spells. The darkness around him prevented an instant defeat from Charm Person Magic, but that did not stop the Sorceress from using fire spells which ultimately defeated the Death Knight. He was defeated and Rose became the tournament Champion.
The Afterparty
The Rogue immediately cashed in on his earning from the many bets he had made on the games. This made himself and the Monk, significantly richer.
Next the group went to the same bar where the night before, the Rogue had been turned into a chicken. This time however, the entire group was welcomed in as the champions of the tournament. Inside were two other travelers: A Sorcerer and a Bard. The Bard kept to himself feeling very shy indeed. The Sorcerer opted to drink an excessive amount of alcohol.
The Death Knight noticed the Bard, as did Rose. Both tried to get him to perform. He refused both of their requests. Rose also was greeted by a stank eye look from both the Monk and the Death Knight. The two now were unified in their hatred of the the woman.
Afterwards, the Monk, Barbarian/Warlock, and the Death Knight decided to battle in a drinking game. The Rogue tried to serve them drinks that were likely laced with all sorts of substances. However, the Ourabaras Priestess who ran the establishment still did not have patience for his antics. She enchanted the drinks so that any substance that did not belong in the drink would disappear. To test the limit, the Rogue started inserting all sorts of objects in the drinks including his own body parts. This resulted in him becoming a chicken again.
New Allies
Noticing this commotion, the Sorcerer joined in the drinking game and was quickly outdone. His drunken haze defined the rest of his day. Rose also noticed the game and forced the Death Knight to cry in the corner after he had one too many drinks. This was a terrible time for the Death Knight to be once again unable to resist the Sorceress’ Magic.
Rose allowed the Death Knight to grab the Rogue turned chicken and used him as a means to catch his tears as he continued to sob. This spectacle attracted the attention of the Sorcerer who introduced himself and then proceeded to get too drunk too fast. Passing out on the ground, he made quite a first impression on the rest of the party.
The Bard feeling a lot braver as a result of liquid courage, grabbed his lute and started singing a song and the entire room took notice. The Death Knight even began singing along. This was despite the fact that he did not know the words of the song. A natural 20 did not care about this problem. He made up the words as he sang along and they miraculously were the right ones.
Feeling pity for the Rogue, the owner of the bar removed his chicken affliction. Learning little, said Rogue attempted his same tricks yet again, resulting in becoming a chicken yet again. However, once he fled outside of the bar, the spell ended. The Rogue vowed to never enter that bar ever again.
Under Tournament Finals:
That night, the under tournament began anew. But there were some noticeable changes. The first was that the Sorcerer and Bard had joined in the crowd. The next was the lack of separation between the two groups that had been prevalent since the first night of the tournament.
The Death Knight, who had come within moments of winning the upper tournament, approached the Blacksmith ready to demand answers. What he discovered was startling. The man mentioned Nihilin, the being that the Death Knight had heard about from Rose recently. The Master Crafter also pointed out that the Runeblade was made of a special adamantium alloy associated with Nihilin. The Blacksmith offered to make armor for the Death Knight made from the same material, but he would have to fetch the items himself. And they were in the hands of the Dwarves. He also mentioned one last task for the Death Knight if he wanted to make use of his services. He was to participate in the final round of the under tournament. This was not a hard descision for the Death Knight to make as gold shined in front of his eyes.
Meanwhile, the Necromancer stalked the shopkeeper who he had decided was a clear enemy and thus a threat to himself as well as the man’s friends. He was met with a trapdoor and ended up falling through a dark tunnel with no idea where it would lead. This also proved unfortunate for the Bard who had chosen to stay close to the Necromancer, seeing a kinship bond between the two. He fell for the same trap and ended up falling down the tunnel.
The Wereboar:
As it turned out, the tunnel led into the middle of the Arena and now the Necromancer, Bard, and Death Knight found themselves in the Under Arena ready to fight in the final round. They were joined by Naked Monk, Orengar, Gonk, and Rangar. Their opponent was incredibly concerning. A child emerged from below the arena and the group was dumbfounded about what was about to happen.
It seemed there was one among them who knew the truth, and Gonk who had remained almost completely silent in all his interactions with the entire party finally spoke. He warned the group that this child was actually a Wereboar. A point that became clear when the boy transformed and his true form was made for all to see.
While most of the party struggled to even damage the creature, Gonk was ready with silver weapons and revealed that the entire reason he had come to this tournament in the first place. This Wereboar had slaughtered countless Dwarves and Gonk was not allowed to return to his people until the beast was dead.
Multiple Dilemmas:
Naked Monk who had seemed to be born under a black star with his perpetually bad luck in this tournament managed to get the worst of the fight. He was infected by the beast before it was knocked unconscious. The Curse of Lycanthropy began to flow through his body. While Naked Monk did not suffer any immediate effects, it remains to be seen what will happen to him.
With the child unconscious, the party debated what to do with him. The moral dilemma of whether to slaughter a child weighed heavy on the group. Some such as Naked Monk refused to commit such a deed, however, Gonk declared that he would kill the beast and fight any who got in his way. The Death Knight made the decision for the others, and killed the child, bringing the tournament to an end.
While this was going on, the Necromancer was approached by the Paladins of Exscutchon and asked once again if he knew about the outbreaks of Undead. Once again he lied not know who else was watching.
Final Prizes:
The Blacksmith instructed the Death Knight on what items he required as well as bringing the group prizes for the winning 4 members in the party. It was unknown what grand prize Rose received as the party did not see her again after the battle with the Wereboar. As for the winning characters, the Death Knight received the Eyes of the Eagle to compliment his Magical Bow. The Barbarian/Warlock received and Rusted Bag of Tricks. The Necromancer received a Helm of Telepathy though the power of this item has not been fully unlocked yet. Finally, the Monk gained a Medallion of Thoughts.
As the party made preparations to leave immediately, Gonk approached them. He warned that the Blacksmith was not to be trusted and that the group would have to steal valuable items from the Dwarves to fulfill the man’s requests. Rather he reminded the party that Dwarves were the best craft smith in all of Millennia and that any request the Death Knight might have could be made possible with his people.
To the Dwarves:
The Death Knight can’t shake this feeling that something is messing with his thoughts. He thinks it is something other than the brand that Rose cast upon his back. There is a full moon and the Monk is ready to deal with this complication (allegedly) The group is leaving Iron with haste while knowing that two very powerful factions have their eyes on them. This is all without forgetting that whatever strange things are afoot in this world will come to a head in 15 days. What new surprises lie in store?