Merle will happily saunter over to the entranceway A slight spring in her step. Entering the arena area she has a quick look around before taking a seat.
Merle sees a large open arena, much like the one her and Chaser just left at the Watering Hole, just not as large. This one also has a circular row of tiered seating, and a scattering of exotic beings all arguing and throwing money at each other.
The arena floor is the most markedly different feature of this area. Stangely-carved posts are spaced evenly along the perimeter of the floor, carved in Draconic runes. Merle can feel the crackling power between the posts, although the force is invisible. Someone has put up Walls of Force around the combat area, presumably as a safety measure for the spectators. The combat area isn't sand, but well-crafted flagstones.
A majority of the spectators seem to be either spell slingers or those involved with them. A few seats away from where they perch Merle can see a green-skinned goblinoid with a beard of small tentacles in animated conversation with what looks to be a tall emaciated albino Elf swathed in leather and silk clothing. A large badger with a red fez and a leather bandoleer across his furry chest listens avidly to the others' conversation while drinking something from a small cup.
Having got a feel for the place Merle will happily settle in and await the magically induced carnage.
The crowd noise swells as a strange being enters the forcewalled arena.
The being is tall, close to seven feet. It's face and head remind Merle of an insect with an admixture of reptile and human. It's dressed in a long dark green robe with silver symbols embroidered along its edges. What little skin showing is red and chitinous. The being has four arms and he lifts all four and calls out in a buzzing voice:
"Gentlebeings of the Art, it is my pleasure to introduce our next contestants. First is a student of the Merizant School of Arcane Arts located in the Lady's Ward. I give you ...
Savriel Fer'Herzig!"
As the red-chitin-skinned being speaks a slender human emerges from the shadows. He is dressed in a black silk tunic and hose, with a bejeweled scabbard attached to a wide belt. The human is young, possibly a teenager.
After the applause dies down, the reddish announcer continues:
"His opponent in this match, a sorceror who has studied the Art under both Grishkol and Nevred Kistomerces. He comes fresh from the red sands of Avernus, let us welcome ...
Grendek Flamifer!"
Another round of applause erupts as a tall Tiefling dressed in red swirling robes emerges. His head is crowned with some impressive minotaur-like horns, and his skin is dark with red patternings running along it. He also carries a dagger at the hip, but his is sheathed in a well-worn scaleskin scabbard that has seen much wear.
"You all know the rules. Conjur up a servant, using spells memorized only. The two creatures will battle, and whoever's creature kills the other will be declared the winner. Go to your respective corners and.. BEGIN!"
The two retreat to their corners and begin their incantations. Savriel waves and chants as a golden mist appears before him. The outline of a large golden-winged bee coalesces in front of him.
Grendek moans and unsheathes his wicked-looking dagger. He slices his left forearm with an economical slash. He chants and sprays his blood on the flagstones. The blood smokes as it hits the rock, the red mist becoming a deformed parody of a human with liquid features that sag and jiggle.
The two summoned creatures advance to the center of the ring. At first the large bee seems to have the upper hand, stinging the weird dripping monster repeatedly. The being wails, but manages to clout the large insect out of the sky and pummel it flat, eventually killing it.
The Tiefling Grendek laughs and calls over to his opponent.
"Never put your faith in a poisoning servant fool!"
The four-armed announcer lifts up Grendek's hand.
"We have a winner!"
Merle will be off her seat cheering, clearly much more into this kind of duel than the regular brawl kind
"Would you like to try again Karrin? It's very simple once you get the hang of it. If you feel out of your element just whisper to me and I will get you out of the encounter."
"Hey, know Guarsimo and Prince Willas, do you know the difference between the two of them?" Karrin asks, as if suddenly realizing something, "I have no problem talking Guarsimo Har'Jollek and I just realized why! Have you ever heard of something called divine right? Where I come from royalty all get their right to rule through the gods. Anyone could get rich and powerful but supposedly only a few can be king. It's like destiny.
"I think I'm ready to try again. Thank you Hanali."
Swift gives Dmitiri a bright grin and a purr "If seeing The Titan's Lament is what you were thinking of doing then I would love to join you if you'd welcome the company of a ragtag grouping of feline and draconic companions!" She replies brightly, more than happy to entertain the notion of spending some time with the charming draconic man.
Seph nods and lets out a little Meow of excitement. He used to love seeing plays and opera's at least as far as he recalls he did.
"Hey, know Guarsimo and Prince Willas, do you know the difference between the two of them?" Karrin asks, as if suddenly realizing something, "I have no problem talking Guarsimo Har'Jollek and I just realized why! Have you ever heard of something called divine right? Where I come from royalty all get their right to rule through the gods. Anyone could get rich and powerful but supposedly only a few can be king. It's like destiny."I think I'm ready to try again. Thank you Hanali."
Hanali smiles
"In Sigil there is no royalty Karrin, divinely mandated or otherwise. We have a strict custom of Neutrality here, everyone is judged upon themselves, not what some ancestor accomplished or power decreed."
Hanali glances over to where Prince Willas now drinks alone morosely
"If he had the strength to claim what is his he would be better off, rather than bleating that his uncle stole his crown unfairly. Hopefully the Takers can instill a little of that ethic into him."
Hanali turns back to Karrin
"Anyone can get rich and powerful in Sigil Karrin, whether a hunchbacked Orc or a Aasimar from Celestia. If there's one thing being the Hub of the Multiverse has taught us is that all beings can rise above their origins if allowed to. Someone's pedigree is meaningless here."
Hanali stands up. She looks to Eir and Karrin.
"Another pass through then?"
Merle will be off her seat cheering, clearly much more into this kind of duel than the regular brawl kind
The summoned Lemure dissapates in a cloud of greenish vapor. The smashed remains of the large bee also disappears, this time in a sparkle of golden motes. The crowd buzzes, and a large group of black-clad youths in the seats receive Savriel back in the stands with a lot of catcalls and laughs. The tiefling Grendek also shortly appears, sitting close to the forcewall with several devilish-looking types.
The four-armed announcer returns to the arena.
"We will have a small intermission gentlebeings, then a contest of illusary puissance will be conducted. Be ready in twn minutes!"
Merle will order her and chaser some more drinks while waiting for the next round.
Swift gives Dmitiri a bright grin and a purr "If seeing The Titan's Lament is what you were thinking of doing then I would love to join you if you'd welcome the company of a ragtag grouping of feline and draconic companions!" She replies brightly, more than happy to entertain the notion of spending some time with the charming draconic man.
Dmitri bows
"It would be my pleasure to be an escort to such a fine group of people. Come! The Palestra awaits!"
Dmitri holds out his arm for Swift. They wander to the Guildhall Ward side of the Great Bazaar. Dmitri guides them down a road with a sign reading Ironpot Alley.
Despite being called an alley, the road is quite large. Several dozen opera houses and theaters line the sides of the road. Beings of every shape and size are out this evening, taking in the performances. The crowd is liberally sprinkled with entertainers as well: Buskers, bards, jongleurs, puppeteers and mimes all try to winkle a stray Green or Stinger from the well-dressed theatergoers.
Dmitri brings them to a theater with a marquee reading The Titan's Lament. He pays for the group and they enter the building.
The Palestra is a well-done up theater with a large orchestral pit and a lot of well-carved paneling and vivid frescos. Dmitri brings the group over to the center seating and gets them settled. Dmitri smiles at Swift:
"I enjoy this play, one of Gullame Daggerdance's best in my opinion."
Hanali smiles
"In Sigil there is no royalty Karrin, divinely mandated or otherwise. We have a strict custom of Neutrality here, everyone is judged upon themselves, not what some ancestor accomplished or power decreed."
Hanali glances over to where Prince Willas now drinks alone morosely
"If he had the strength to claim what is his he would be better off, rather than bleating that his uncle stole his crown unfairly. Hopefully the Takers can instill a little of that ethic into him."
Hanali turns back to Karrin
"Anyone can get rich and powerful in Sigil Karrin, whether a hunchbacked Orc or a Aasimar from Celestia. If there's one thing being the Hub of the Multiverse has taught us is that all beings can rise above their origins if allowed to. Someone's pedigree is meaningless here."
Hanali stands up. She looks to Eir and Karrin.
"Another pass through then?"
"Ya, I think Sigil is pretty neat, there's no pressure from gods and stuff. Also it means that everyone here is much more pious cuz there's no one forcing you to believe anything.
"I think I could handle another run. Let's give it a go."
Hanali smiles
"That's the spirit!"
Hanali holds out her hand, then looks at Eir.
"Coming with Eir? Or do you want to rest for a bit?"
Merle gets another round of Raarewl for her and Chaser
Chaser purrs his thanks as Merle returns from the tavern with the two mugs. They settle in to watch the next contest.
The insectile four-armed announcer comes to the floor of the arena again:
"Gentlebeings, two masters of the art of illusion have come before you to settle which makes the best glammer. Since your opinions on who has the most original and convincing illusion will settle the match, I ask you to applaud the contestant you feel is the best.
"Our first contestant is from the Prime world of Marranio. He is a Gnome of no little skill, I give you ....
Balanbar the Green!"
A round of polite applause greets a small figure that is dressed in a green robe with gold accents. This Gnome's large flowing beard is dyed(?) green as well, making for an odd look.
"His opponent, an Elf who calls kip at the Outlands burg of Sylvania, I give you ....
Merivel the Magician!"
Another round of applause washes over the arena as a slender Elf dressed in red and green emerges. The announcer brings the two together.
"You will have five minutes to perform your illusions. No using artifacts to enhance your glammers. Applause will determine the winner. Balanbar has won the Stinger toss to go last, so Merivel , your five minutes begins ... NOW!"
The announcer and Balanbar step back as Merivel the Magician starts his incantations. He chants in a low-voiced sonorous cadence, waving his slender arms in a complex lattice of gestures.
As he does the illusion of a tree grows from the flagstones. It is lovely, and Merle can note that the bark is very realistic, looking for more natural than illusions tend to be. The tree grows until it overtops the arena's highest seats. Flowers of a magenta color blossom on the tree, releasing a pleasant fragrance. As each bloom unfurls a small pixie jumps out from it and begins to fly around the crown of the tree. Merle sees one up close, and judges it lifelike, but not as well done as the tree.
The small pixies form a cloud around the tree, flying in a seemingly random way. The tree slowly moves through its seasons, the blossoms dropping in a pink-red cloud, the leaves growing darker green. Merle notices the pixies are also growing, becoming older as the tree advances along its seasonal path.
Eventually the tree's leaves turn a brilliant flame red. The pixies start to fly slower, their hair greying and tiny faces wrinkling. The leaves begin to drop off the tree one by one. The pixies also begin to glide to the ground one by one, each that lands tottering like an ancient over to a fallen leaf and using it as a blanket as they lie down on the flagstones.
The tree is finally bare, the pixies all asleep under the ersatz leafy comforters. The illusion fades.
The applause is loud, but not quite seat-stomping level. Merle, with her arcane knowledge would judge it an excellent illusion, but not quite top shelf.
"Coming with Eir? Or do you want to rest for a bit?"
"I'm with you, Hanali."
"I'm with you, Hanali."
"Me too!" Karrin says standing up.
"So, um Eir, who was that lady?" Karrin asks nervously.
"That was Iarn, the chief priestess of Calistra in Sigil and my mentor. You wouldn't believe how old she is, still looking like that. She helped me get off the streets."
Hanali walks with Eir and Karrin through the party, pointing out several notables.
"See that well-dressed blue gentleman over there? The tall one with the small horns? That's Estevan, a blood of the highest shelf. He has his blue fingers in so many pies he'd put a baker to shame. More than likely we'll work for him at some point on a job.
"That dumpy-looking dwarf female with the long beard is Kalima Garnetheart. She may look short, but she is a high-up blood in the Doomguard. She is opposed to their current factol Pentar, who is trying to move the faction towards more active meaures to promote entropy.
"See that floating mask over there? That is Frentek, a lich confidant of Factol Skall from the Dustmen. Frentek is so old he doesn't even have a corpus anymore. You see him out here on the social scene, he is the Dustmen's liason with the other factions. Quite a nice cutter for a puff of animated dust.
Hanali pauses
"Oh this cutter I have been dying to meet. Karrin, this man claims to be an emperor's son, but fifth in a line of five. You can call him 'your Grace'. He's a sort of elf I believe, from a desert planet called Marhoon or some such barminess. Come with me and wait until I introduce you to speak."
Hanali glides over to a group of three beings sipping tall glasses of clear fluid. The three are tall and spindly, close to 2.25 meters in height. They have large, almost unreal-looking violet eyes. Their noses are small, almost vestigial, but with large nostril slits. Their skin is a very pale shade of pink. There are two men and one woman. They are all dressed in long robes of a shimmery material.
Hanali walks up and introduces herself.
"Escuse me, but would I be addressing Darmik, the scion of the Marhoon Imperial leader Maghir CXXIV?"
She is rewarded with a slight nod from the tallest male. Hanali curtseys.
"Please allow me to indroduce myself and my companions, Your Grace. I am Hanali Hal'Oight, daughter of Spiral Hal'Oight with whom you have had some dealings. These are my associates Eir Haakonen and Karrin Kind."
The tallest male bows slightly.
"It is an honor to make your acquaintence Lady Hanali, Lady Eir, Lady Karrin. Allow Us to introduce Our companions: Our Throkkar Degnish indicates the other man and Our betrothed Farasha." Indicates his female companion
Prince Darmik turns back to Hanali.
"Your father has been most helpful in arrainging for the goods we desired to be ferried to Our Imperium. The deep desert hordes of barbarian Throggs will pay for their attacks on Our cities."
Karrin curtsies when Hanali introduces her but very wisely keeps her yap shut. She is determined not to embarrass herself again this night.
Eir curtsies, "The honor is all ours, your grace."
After the tall elf departs from the arena's center, the green-bearded gnome begins his glammer.
A minature battlefield springs to life, with an army of miniature celestials facing off with an army of equally small fiends. The small illusary battlers clash, flying around the arena in aerial dogfights, slashing at each other with tiny flaming swords. Broken devils and angels rain from the sky and litter the flagstones in a very realistic pile of corpses.
As the battle winds down, nothing is left but one small combatant who strides to the center of the corpse pile and laughs. It looks to Merle as if it is supposed to be a Yugoloth of some sort, but she's unfamiliar with the type.
The applause is markedly quieter. The illusion was not as detailed as Merivel's. and the political message wasn't very well recieved by the spectators.
Chaser turns to Merle
Feline:
Feline
Eir curtsies, "The honor is all ours, your grace."
'Oh! I should have said that too' Karrin thinks to herself, 'now I probably sound ungrateful.'
The three women chat with Prince Darmik and his companions for a bit. Their world is a drying desert that sustains a millenia-old empire which is in the process of crumbling as a species of four armed lizardmen emerges from the deep desert to pillage their nation.
The rest of the evening is spent idly chatting with other guests that Hanali knows, or has knowledge of. After a few hours they say their farewells to Guarsimo and collect their entourage.
Greep has been swapping old home stories with a burly, tusked reptilian fellow. He informs the three that Merle decided to leave with a new friend she had met.
Their carraige appears shortly and takes the women and Greep back to the Copper Cauldron. The hours is just past Antipeak, and the streets are filled with revelers and those that serve or feed on them. The ride goes quickly, and the women chat about the people they met to Greep as they unwind a bit.
Karrin misses her new axe something awful. She's not sure, but it doesn't really feel like a compulsion thing, more like the feeling she would get when she was away from Torren. Kind of like missing a part of herself.
Feline
** spoiler omitted **
Merle and Chaser stay for a many more arcane battles at the Black Pentacle. There are many different contests of magical strength, as many as there are schools of magic itself. The contestants range from skinny street urchins not 14 years old to wizened greybeards one step from lichdom.
Chaser is a good companion, a little rough around the edges, but intersting nonetheless. After Antipeak, he walks Merle back to her current innroom at the Red Stag.
Fade to Black
Swift and her new friend Dmitri view the play The Titan's Lament. The play turns out to be quite good, and the production values excellent, right down to some simple magical illusionary effects.
Dmitri chats with Swift a bit about himself. He professes to be a studier of dragons and dragon societies. Swift gets the feeling that's not quite the entire story. He is a charming companion, and Mercutio dotes on him, eventually settling down around his shoulders.
Swiftfang is quiet and mopey, obviously missing Skrint. Swift buys some cream for him and Seph to drink.
Seph enjoys both the play and the cream. The audience is almost as fun to watch as the play itself. The orchestra is quite good as well. Seph isn't sure, but he thinks the theater might be aurally enhanced by magic.
After the play, Dmitri takes the group out for a post play drink at a local tavern, The Shattered Mask. It turns out to be the watering hole of many of Ironpot Alley's thespians. Dmitri knows several of them, and he introduces the group to them as they mingle. Mercutio is a smash hit with the room, as is Swiftfang.
As all good nights must, this one winds down in the After Antipeak hours. Dmitri walks the group back to the Copper Cauldron throught the Great Bazaar. The night is alive with the sound of Abyssal and Infernal being hissed in the shadows as the denziens of the night transact their deals.
Dmitri and Swift get Mercutio and Swiftfang settled. Seph figures that Merle must be at their old inn tonight. There is a warm hearth to sleep on, and he is very tired.
Dmitri bows over Swift's hand and kisses it
"It was a pleasure making your acquaintence Swift. I enjoyed our night out. Perhaps we can do it again some evening?"
Spoiler
Merle groans as she wakes up the next day with the mother of all headaches. Why had she decided to have all that to drink? After trying to make herself look presentable she packs up what Meagre belongings she owns before checking out and heading over to the copper cauldron
To Karrin: "I've never missed my swords so much. I feel like someone is going to jump out and cut me to pieces any second."
To Karrin: "I've never missed my swords so much. I feel like someone is going to jump out and cut me to pieces any second."
"Ya, I really miss my new axe. It already feels perfect in my hands. Also my mitt, I could slug someone without my mitt, but it would probably hurt. I prefer using my axe though. I can really put my weight behind it!"
Karrin feels a bit guilty about not telling Eir everything about her new axe but she knows some things are better kept secret.
"It's not using the swords that I miss, I actually don't like that. It's not having them that bothers me."
Deception, to sense motive: (1d20+9=21)
Eir wonders if something is amiss with Karrin and the axe.
Eir notices that when Karrin talks about her axe she gets a wistful plaintive look on her face, almost as if she was talking about a beau that she had been separated from for days.
<Eir wrinkles her brow solicitously.>
"Is there something you're not telling us about that axe, Karrin?"
Having had a wonderful, and more importantly distracting, evening Swift beams brightly as Dimitri kisses her hand. Purring lightly she quickly places a friendly kiss on his cheek "Thank you for tonight, I'd love to do it again some time"
Dmitri says his farewells. He mentions in passing that he is staying in an inn near Ironpot Alley called the Golden Scale and invites Swift for dinner when she finds the time.
<Eir wrinkles her brow solicitously.>
"Is there something you're not telling us about that axe, Karrin?"
"Um . . . no?" Karrin stammers. Priests were always doing this to her. If they thought she was lying they could always figure out the lie. Karrin couldn't figure out why this was. It's not as if Karin was bad at lying. Kron was the best at it, he'd just look and Karrin and the lies would almost unravel on their own!
It takes a moment for Karrin to realize that she's not lying . . . not yet anyways. Eir couldn't possibility know the true nature of her axe and for the time being Karrin didn't want to share her secret.
Everyone totters into bed after a long night on the town.
Karrin:
During the night, she dreams of flying in a blizzard once again, the vivid whites and blues of the frozen wasteland she traverses brilliant in that surreal dream manner. When she awakes the dream fades to a pleasant memory.
In the morning, the group wakes and gets accoutered for their expedition. They all head down to the common room where Bess is frying up potatoes and sausage for breakfast. Ramona brings everyone a plate, Karrin's has an extra helping on it in anticipation of her normal hunger.
Merle rolls in soon after, looking a bit bedraggled and carring a sack of personal goods. Bess instructs Darroth to bring her to an unoccupied room to get settled in.
It is two hours into Before Peak and you have two hours before meeting Wightscale.
Merle once reaching her room begins to unpack her things quickly being joined by Seph who begins to tell her about what he did last night with Swift and the others. Merle on the one hand feels happy for Seph finally starting to enjoy himself yet at the same time feeling jealousy towards Swift for being able to do what she couldn't. First Skint and now Seph what was it the Tibit had that she didn't?
Taking a few minutes to compose herself and to make herself look a lot less ragged She heads downstairs and helps herself to some breakfast. sitting down next to the others Merle realises that besides Swift she hasn't really spoken anything more that a couple of sentences to any of them. Looking each of them over she decides to try and start some conversation to get to know them a little better.
"So how long have you all been here in Sigil?"
"Oh Boy! Potatoes and sausage!" Karrin says as she haply plops down at her seat and begins chowing down, "They had a lot of nice food at that ball the other night but nothing compared to this! Fried food is the best."
Karrin talks with her mouth full, her clunky spiked gauntlet and Axe with her at the table, and she tends to eat more with her hands then any cutlery that has been provided. One might wonder how a lady of such refinement did at the ball.
<Eir didn't reply.>
<Eir eyes the axe as if it's an ex-boyfriend and munches daintily.>
"Guys... Goblins... Our job.... So when do we sneak in?"
Renkar arrives as the group is finishing breakfast. He sits down and Ramona brings him some tea.
"Good Peak folks. I trust you all had a good time last Antipeak? It's good to see everyone ready to go. You are meeting this Wightscale fellow by Crackskull Close in about two hours, yes?"
Merle is slightly annoyed that no one answered her question but that quickly fades as she begins to watch Karrin gorge herself on the meal. She made Sephs eating look almost downright dignified.
Listening to Renkar as he came in she begins to wish she had payed more attention to greep last night.
Merle is slightly annoyed that no one answered her question but that quickly fades as she begins to watch Karrin gorge herself on the meal. She made Sephs eating look almost downright dignified.
Listening to Renkar as he came in she begins to wish she had payed more attention to greep last night.
Karrin nods at Renkar's question.
"M'up," she mumbles with her mouth full, "am mim me mry moo meek mim!"
"Good Peak folks. I trust you all had a good time last Antipeak? It's good to see everyone ready to go. You are meeting this Wightscale fellow by Crackskull Close in about two hours, yes?"
"That sounds familiar. I think I might have become a little intoxicated during the negotiations so perhaps one of my team-mates can remind me?"