Prologue: Rousing the Crowd
Sneak Peak awoke from a fantastic night. Thanks to his special mustache, the Stone Giant appeared in the guise of a Human. This had kept him away from his companions. Not that the Rogue saw this as a bad thing.
Velros, the Knight and Belwyn the Paladin continued to try and put a stop to his plans. They served as terrible friends in that regard. Still, he stuck around them because of the other two. Grez the Monk, who had a strange monkey tail had already donated to the cause. Sneak Peak had become much wealthier thanks to this one’s combat prowess.
As for Hadron the Barbarian, the Stone Giant did not know what to make of him. Rather than reflect on this last individual, the Rogue had to figure out what to do with the Women still sleeping in his room. There had been six last night. Two remained.
He could not be as stealthy with a groupie following him everywhere. Best that he leave right now and solve this trouble. As the now disguised Sneak Peak left his room, he stripped everything valuable from it. It did not hurt to be too careful around strangers after all. It was always his philosophy that those who could not hold on to their wealth did not deserve it.
Once out of his room and back into the open air, The Stone Giant, or rather mustache clad Human planned his next move. With the vast stores of alcohol he had stockpiled, it was time to turn this tournament into a true spectacle. He needed to hunt down those vendors from last night. The ones who peddled in goods not normally seen on the streets.
Oh yes. A bit of that added to their drinks will keep my friends in top form. That was for the next round though. Today, he would focus on the crowd goers. Building a reputation among the masses would lead to greater wealth. And today would be his first impression.
“You are here early for the games.” The Soldier at the door stated as Sneak Peak tried to enter.
“I wanted to get the best seat.” He lied. The Rogue had no intention of sitting at all. Now to get all the booze he had stored into his pockets to the arena stands and…
“Wait!” The guard shouted. “You cannot bring outside alcohol inside!”
“I don’t see a sign that says that!”
“We don’t need signs. It is forbidden.”
“Is it still forbidden if I give you some?” This was the safest solution to the problem. Those who could not be bribed were few. And in a city like Iron, such a person was practically nonexistent.
“I want a bottle of your best stuff.” The Guard whispered after ensuring no one else was watching the gate.
“Sold.” Sneak Peak whispered right back. It was a shame to waste such rare booze on an obstacle, but this investment might pay off later. Perhaps the next time the Rogue was found in the middle of his work, he would seek out this Man. Having friends in higher places had its uses.
“Good, now get in there.” The Guard lowered his voice. “Before I lose my job. I have a wife and three kids to feed.”
A family eh? That could be used in my favor. Always easier to control a Man that had a lot to lose.
Finally inside, and all alone, Sneak Peak found the exact center of the stands. He of course could only cover one side at a time. But given that the other end had a special VIP Section, this was hardly a problem. The Stone Giant would of course need to find a way into that place later. No part of this crowd could remain sober for his next scheme.
Now it was time to wait. The crowds would begin to fill up as it came closer to battle time. Grez needed to win today. Whoever won the other matches mattered little to him. Just so long as the money flow continued.
Finally after what felt like a boring eternity, the crowds began moving towards their seats. And Sneak Peak was there ready to induce drunkenness in the crowds. While there were certainly sales of alcohol outside the stands, the possibility of free booze would appeal to any sensible person.
First, he moved until surrounded by a horde of people. Once in position, he began pulling out the many filled cups. Pulling containers off one at a time, he began passing the drinks down the rows to his left and right. The patrons only questioned what was happening for the first few drinks. Once they realized that they would get booze of their own, not even one voiced a complaint.
His pockets, seemingly endless, Sneak Peak continued passing. And as he did, it was to his liking that he realized that the conga line of drinks continued far further than he had initially anticipated. Choosing some of his more potent stuff initially, it only took a couple minutes before the first of those roped into his scheme started blabbering in their drunkenness.
His job completed in this area of the stands, the Stone Giant moved to another spot and repeated the process. Then his work continued, again and again. By the time that the guards and vendors even realized what was happening, the crowd was far too drunk and content to rat him out.
The Rogue smiled as he overheard vendors complaining that they were unable to make money in the face of free merchandise. But the stage was now set. It was time for him to go for the big leagues. He entered the VIP Section with many more and increasingly exotic drinks at his disposal. At this point, even the Soldiers had partaken in his wares. None moved to stop his entry.
One final pass around, and Sneak Peak was able to sit down right in the middle of many of the most important people in Iron. There was money to be made here. But he would focus on that later. The games were about to begin, and the crowd demanded violence in extra amounts.