One of the group thinks back. There was another of the troll family that had fled. Maddox's presence had frightened it so much that it fled down the street and out of sight. They should probably pursue.
As they run down the streets they soon pick up on the sounds of screams and people fleeing. Araxie runs at full speed towards the running and crying troll. Maddox decides to move down a different street in hopes of cutting off the troll. As the troll, Sligo, realizes it's caught between the very scary Maddox and the raging barbarian Araxie it freezes.
Enter Deshani
It is then that they see a strongly built, grey skinned woman step out of a building. She seems excited by the activity and the possibility of battle. She begins to lob offensive spells towards the troll as Araxie runs up to the troll and slices with such fury that the troll hasn't a chance to even retaliate much before it falls.
Leaving yet another troll body in the middle of the street (someone will clean up this mess...right?) they leave for The Order's keep with their new mage friend, Deshani who follows along in hopes of more action.
As they walk along towards the keep, the townspeople who eventually and hesitantly exit their buildings stand in awe and horror of the sight of the huge troll bodies which now lie just outside their doors. A few quickly dive back into their homes after they see the tendrils which come off the trollish body of Jabir begin to move and drag the body away.
The Questioning Of Goosecry
Back at the keep Maddox questions Orson Goosecry as to the whereabouts of all of The Order's money. Orson explains that during their civil strife within The Order, he decided it would be wisest to keep the money somewhere safe. Somewhere where no one but him had access to it. The Order could have easily fallen to the machinations of the followers of Ondine. Orson asks Maddox to keep this in mind, the fact that he had saved the Order's resources, before Maddox lets his anger get the better of him.
The money is being kept in a very safe vault. The vault in question is in a casino, a very secure and reputable casino, The Duke Of Baldur's Gate.
Unfortunately, since he was in the casino he decided it would be fun to try a little gambling. He had of course heard of people spending time and money in such places and wanted to see what pleasures it could possibly afford. Well, it would seem a lot of pleasure and a lot of money. He had lost all of his own money....none of The Order's of course. And now the Duke wanted him to reapay....in the form of participating in the gladiatorial games. This he cannot do. He was not made for battle. He is not like Maddox and the others.
They head off towards the casino.
The Duke Of Baldur's Gate
They soon approach a vast building. The building is made of solid stone and looks like many buildings all attached to one another. Entering they find a pretty woman behind a desk. They ask to see the Duke. She asks if they have an appointment. When that subterfuge fails, Vall steps up and says that the Duke and him are old friends and The Duke will be pleased to see him. He tosses his hair back in a slow motion film way and the woman says off course...she kind of recognizes him. Go on in.
Inside the casino the main floor is a hubbub of activity. There are dozens of gambling tables each with it's own crowd around it. The floor is covered in a thick luxurious red carpet and the walls are done in a rich dark wood. As they move through the room near the center they find a massive opening ringed with a metal fence. Inside the ring they see a vast sand filled arena several feet below them.
Araxie's Growing Wealth
Araxie heads off to gamble some of her vast treasure store....and ends up winning more.
Deshani watches a gambling table where a scrawny greasy young man, against all odds, keep tossing and winning on the roll of a couple of dice. The crowd is gathering and cheering. The table's croupier becomes more and more agitate. Until he signals for security. As the security, two very tall robed and hooded figures, approaches, the greasy man turns to leave. He bumps into Deshani and quickly gives her the dice before he runs away. Deshani pockets the dice and walks away.
Deshani's Odd Little Dice
The group looks around for someone in charge. They see several of the same security figures, all dressed in the same robes and hoods. They also see a large human, a regal looking cape covering thick plate mail armor. They approach him and introduces themselves as from The Order....and they want their money.
He leaves them after explaining he will discuss the matter with the Duke. He soon returns and escorts them into a lavish meeting room with a long table. After four guards, two for each door enter, a small grey skinned gnome enters. He is dressed lavishly and has many chains of gold and other jewelry. His hair and beard are shocking white which makes his grey skin more pronounced. He climbs a set of small stairs which leads to his ornate chair at the end of the table.
Maddox informs him they have come for The Order's money.
A Little Grey Gnome
The gnome, Lundbaar Gnusbat, tells them that they are holding on to The Order's money as collateral. It would seem Orson Goosecry cannot repay his debts and it will be held until he does. Maddox offers to pay the debt, but Lundbaar, the Duke, tells him the debt is no longer money. Orson must play in the gladiatorial games. That is what his customers demand for entertainment.
Lundbaar allows, if not Orson, perhaps the group would fight on his behalf. He will forgive the debt after that. The group continues to try to negotiate but eventually give in. They will fight in his game.
They are taken to a lower level of the casino. Here the walls are no longer luxurious. The rooms no longer plush. The walls are bare stone and often blood stained. The room they are put in is sparse and has no furnishings whatsoever. They talk until they hear the sounds of an announcer building up the excitement of the crowd. He announces the casino's home team of gladiators, The Sea Foxes. He introduces each one by name which is accompanied with a loud roar of approval from the crowd above.
Let The Bloodbath Begin
The group is then ushered into the arena.
As they walk up the large ramp the noise of the arena hits them. They walk into a sand filled vast arena area. Above them, spectators stand around the fence ringing the open ceiling looking down onto the arena floor. They see several of the spectators purchase what seem to be scrolls.
They are put into a corner opposite the other team. The other team is a group of six woman. Some of the woman are broad shouldered and are swinging steel spiked balls on chain. While others lean and sinewy juggle three axes with natural ease.
In the center is a zigurat, a stone stepped pyramid. Atop which sits a kruthik, a metal multi-legged creature which is struggling against the chain which is spiked into the top of the pyramid holding the creature there. Off on the sand sits, halfway between the two groups is a what looks to be a steel ball.
They are told the steel ball is actually a kruthik hatchling put to sleep. The first team to return the kruthik hatchling unharmed to the writhing scything arms of its mother will win. Just be careful, if you jostle the hatchling too much it will wake and will be painful to carry. All else it allowed.
Welcome to K-Ball.
4,000 XP
The battle is quick and almost a total slaughter. But the battle is made harder by spectators tossing random spells down onto the contestants below. As well the groups spells often go awry for some reason. The piratey woman even though they are physically unmatched quickly take the advantage by using magic to move the ball directly from it's original position to a woman standing just below the adult kruthik. They are physically between but the Sea Foxes are about to win, one of the woman holding the hatchling reaching up towards the mother.
Maddox bellows out the command "drop it"...and she does. The battle continues.
Vall, who continually uses detect magic, is always seeing small points of light flicker always around one of the Sea Foxes. Soon enough the group learns that they are fairies....using invisibility. Vall targets them and they burst in small explosions of gore and glittery dust.
After retrieving an escaping and writhing
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