"Thank you, Klang Zhen." Zak accepts the ring (though he does not put it on), and holds it high showing the crowd his symbol of victory. Turning to Nearidei, Zak gives her the respect due a worthy foe. "A well fought match, please let me buy you and your companions a drink this evening."
"Well," Simon mutters, "that was a distasteful display. Well-fought on Zakarras' part, of course, but still. I am not a fan of bloodsports that involve creatures given no choice in the matter of their attendance. It is... unsporting."
Asha slowly opens her eyes, and although she does not say anything, she gives a fierce nod of agreement with Simon's words, and her glare remains fixed on the oni for several moments before she finally looks away.
"That am very exciting fight, Zakarras, though stupid thorns make it hard to see pig die. Am we going to make stew with it? Poog am loving pork." The goblin seems to have found the bout much more interesting than Simon or Asha.
"What am you getting, Zakarras?" he asks, pulling the archer's arm down to get a close look at the ring.
Nearidei curses under her breath as the boar gives its death rattle, and waves her hand to dismiss the elemental under her control. She gives an impish smile as Zak suggests a drink. "Now you're talking, handsome. I'll meet you at Yon Loi's tonight. You can buy me a drink, and Aop a small dog." She glances back at the huge constrictor that obediently follows her around. It yaps and growls at the snake.
"Keep that thing away from me! I'm not food!"
The aura suggests that it is a ring of animal friendship - perhaps not the most appropriate award, given the way it was won.
Simon steps between the constrictor and It, and the expression on his face... Well, suffice it to say that slapping Nearidei in hers might have been more friendly. When his voice emerges, the terrible expression has turned into a smooth mask, and the old man's voice is noncommittal: "I am surprised that a Druid's oaths would allow her to participate in such... sport, madame."
"Yon Loi's it is, I shall see you there this evening." With a courteous bow Zak departs and joins his companions to investigate the ring.
"What do you think we won, Poog, Simon?"
"A ring of animal friendship," Simon replies after a brief, disinterested glance. "Useful enough, I suppose. Are you in need of healing, friend Zak?"
Zak gratefully accepts the healing, "Yes, thanks, the cat got me quite well with that initial pounce."
"Do any of you have need for this item?" Zak offers the ring to the party, "or I suppose we could just add it to our collective treasure."
[b]"Great job, Zak. If you can use its magic, just keep it. It might come in useful later, who knows.
Zarina laughed at Poog's comment about eating the boar. But he's right. Pork is delicious...
Nearidei shrugged at Simon's words. "Nature is red in tooth and claw. You know nothing of the vows I took to learn the ancient secrets of the world, so do not presume to judge what is right and what is wrong. I will tell you quick secret - the world does not care one way or the other. Would the world care if these two magnificent beasts fought atop Yun Chumo? It would not. Why should the world care if they fought here?" She turns from the old man, and looks back to Zak. "Hopefully, we can continue this conversation later, and with less intrusive company." She smiles to him as she saunters away, Aop dutifully slithering behind her.
As you watch her go, Marythsan approaches the five of you. "Congratulations on another victory, Warriors," he says with a mirthless expression on his face. "I think I chose well when I suggested the five of you work together. I hope that if you five aren't the eventual winners, that the prize this year goes to some other worthy and honorable contestant." He leans in a bit closer, and speaks with a conspiratorial hush in his voice. "I've heard some rather disturbing things that have raised some of my concerns, but my time has been taken by my official duties this year, so I've not been able to look into anything. You all have a far closer perspective than up on the ziggurat. What have you seen and heard that I might not have?"
"There have been... several incidents," Asha says slowly. "Although I believe this is the first death. Poison at the inn, for one thing."
"Grrr arr grr"
"If you am not able to beat stupid snake, you am no good witchguide. You am use your fearsome teeth!"
Poog walks up to Zak, pulling out his wand. "There. You am stop complaining now?"
"On the mountain, the beasts might at least choose when to fight and when to flee, foul oathbreaker," Simon mutters once the Druid girl is out of hearing.
Marythsan nods at Asha's report. "That's what I was afraid of," he quietly replies. "And it matches with what the monks have told me thus far - someone deliberately weakened the supports on the towers. That places the death of at least one contestant upon their heads." He frowns in obvious displeasure. "I had hoped that this year would be free from the taint of corruption that plagued the Tournament a decade ago, but it seems that unsavory elements have infiltrated the inner workings once again."
As he speaks, a number of scarlet-and-orange clad monks laden with buckets approach the fight stage. They begin emptying the contents of the buckets onto the floor of the stage - each of the buckets is filled to the brim with red-hot coals. As they continue to pile more and more of the glowing coals onto the ground, the temperature within the pavilion begins to rise significantly. The drizzling rain continues, and hisses and steams when it hits the glowing floor.
One of the monks approaches the six of you, and bows to Marythsan. "Champion, the Emissary requests your presence once again, so that the Battle of the Embers can begin."
Marythsan nods quickly. "Tell him that I will be by his side momentarily." The monk bows again, and begins climbing the ziggurat. Looking back at you five, he leans in again, speaking quietly. "Keep your eyes and ears open. I would like to speak with you more on this when we have the luxury of time. Meet me at Yon Loi's tonight at nine, and we can compare notes then." He tarries only long enough to respond to any last comments or questions, then hurries off to rejoin the Emissary.
Once the paladin stands next to the Emissary, the old man speaks again. "And now, warriors and spectators alike, we rejoin the thirty-first Ruby Phoenix Tournament! As you have no doubt noted, the stage has been prepared for the Battle of the Embers. Two groups of warriors will do battle upon its scalding surface, but only one will move on to the next round of the competition. I call upon the first team - the Chanters of the Sacred Song! Stand before me and be recognized!" The crowd cheers as a quintet of tall, dark-skinned men march out in unison before the ziggurat. All of them bear similar facial tattoos and their chain shirts and wooden shields all bear brightly colored emblems and runes. As they march, they issue a droning wordless chant that carries over the cheers of the crowd.
"And now, the second team - Warriors of the Five Elements! Stand before me and be recognized!"
Zarina steps forward with the rest of the team. As she observed the embers, her mind raced for a strategy.
After the introductions, she huddled with the others. "Options? I can cast a Flying spell on most of us? However I can also cast a spell on each of us, allowing us to resist the heat of the fire. If the other group doesn't have such protection, we might have an advantage by keeping the fight on the ground, in the heat..."
"If the hot coals are flooded with water it will create a vision blocking cloud of steam, we should be prepared to fight without sight of our foes, but at the least we should have a way to resist the heat of the stage area."
"I cannot summon blasts of water, but rays of intense cold, I can manage," Simon whispers. "I can cast one spell of Flight, too... or I can summon a few elementals of heat and flame... or of magma itself."
"Poog am fine to fly, but he am not able to keep self safe from fire. But he think we am trying to use the fire against the chanters. Fire am best option!"
Asha looks disturbed by the stage of the competition; her eyes continue to study it while she answers, "Flight is extremely useful, but it is all but impossible that we will avoid the fire entirely. We should be prepared for the heat."
Based upon the song and the facial tattoos, you recognize the group as the Chanters of the Sacred Song to be a group of musicians that have dedicated their lives to studying and protecting the so-called sacred song. Their mastery of the song and their unusual throat-singing have allowed them to harness the song into physical form and weild it as a weapon.
"This is a standard bout," the Emissary continues. "But with one simple adjustment - both teams will conduct the battle unshod. Remove your shoes, and take your places inside the arena!" The Chanters remove their sandals, and begin to enter their side of the fight stage, stepping lightly upon the hot coals.
The crowd's cheering increases as they enter the arena without protection from the flames, be it mundane or mystical. One of the monks leads you towards the opposite sides of the arena. "You will have a few moments to make any mystical preparations before the combat begins," he explains. "Including, of course, something to protect against the heat of the coals. However, the crowd takes a very dim view of that. They see it as taking the easy way out, and you will have a harder time getting them behind you."
Asha shrugs, then steps out of her slippers. "So be it then," she murmurs. She readies her glaive and steps forward, murmuring a prayer.
Zarina casts both spells on herself, Fly and Resist Evergy (Fire). She steps onto the surface and stretches, extending her arms above her head, giving the crowd a long look at her claws as she prepares for battle.
Before the battle starts, Simon quickly mutters a single Word and taps everyone on the shoulder. He then casts a more lengthy spell on himself, takes off and stows his boots -- and goes forth.
Poog kicks off his sandals and then turns to his comrades, rubbing his clawed hands over first Zakarras and then Zarina. Beginning to chant in his Goblin language, he then does the same for Simon and Asha, imbuing all four with good fortune.
He scowls as he walks forward. He plans to be a master of fire, not a slave to it.
Once you have cast your spells, you and the Chanters take your places on opposing sides of the fight stage. The Emissary once again brings his hands up into the air to call for silence, and a hush falls over the crowd. "BEGIN!", he shouts, and the roar returns to the Pavilion. The Chanters begin humming their song again, and begin to move as a well-trained skirmish unit.
AC 21, touch 18, flat-footed 18
Fort +10, Ref +11, Will +12
CMD 16
HP 87/70
Effects:
"Goblins chant more than rest,"
"Goblins chant is the best,"
"Goblins chant so others die,"
"Goblins chant so you will FRY!"
Poog keeps up his chant, bringing good fortune to his comrades, as he hops back and forth on the hot coals.
Pausing for a moment, he pulls a small rubbery tentacle he snagged from a discared bowl at Yon Loi's and tosses it toward their foes. Moments later, black tentacles writhe up from the coals and ashes, grasping at the chanters.
Zarina says a few magical phrases and a tiny red ball proceeds from her outstretched hand, growing in size until it explodes when it reaches the closest chanter. She then walks 30' closer to the chanters.
Fireball
Reflex 17 for half
Poog throws a tentacle towards the Chanters, and though they had spread out some, the fight stage is just not large enough for them to be out of the area where the tentacles appear.
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To a man, the Chanters are grabbed by the tentacles. Zarina follows this up with a gout of flame that engulfs the Chanters as well. Only one of them are able to find cover inside the tentacles - the rest are severely burned by the fiery eruption. At the sight of the spontaneous inferno, the crowd gives a mighty cheer of approval!
Poog raises his arms in victory as the crowd cheers.
"You am surrendering now?" he asks between verses of goblin chant, though it's unlikely his foes actually heard him over the roars of the audience.
The crowd cheers at the little goblin's bravado, and hisses its displeasure at the bad fortune the Chanters have had in the scant moments since the bout began. However, the musician martial artists refuse to submit!
Zak zips into the air targeting a single chanter and sends a deadly arrow his way.
The arrow flies straight and true at one of the Chanters, who cries out in pain. "Enough!" he cries. "I yield!"
Simon launches into a droning chant, summoning creatures from the beyond even while he walks out onto the coals.
Asha shifts her grip so she is only holding the glaive in her left hand, then glides smoothly forward, almost as though she herself is flying over the coals. She stops at the edge of the field of writhing tentacles, produces a throwing star in her right hand, and sends the glittering projectile whirling between the tentacles to slash at one of the Chanters.
The shuriken streaks through the air and buries itself in the shoulder of one of the unlucky Chanter. "Sing, brothers!", the Chanter shouts. "Let them hear the power within our cadences!" The strange droning takes an almost ululating timbre.
That is, for four of the quintet. The fifth member attempts to wriggle free of the writhing tentacles that hold him fast. He kicks free of two of the tentacles, and begins to crawl away, but three more grab him again and drag him back in, constricting tighter.
The air crackles with energy as the Chanters sing, and several things occur. The one that Asha's shuriken hit, a second tenor, begins by introducing a melody, which is echoed by the bass, and quickly sets up the foundation of the sacred song. They then struggle against the black tentacles as well.
The other two seem resigned to their fate, and harness the power of the sacred song for other purposes. The first shouts a phrase in Minatan which takes physical form, and assaults Zak's senses. The tenor, however, sends a flurry of phrases given solid form towards Asha.
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The crowd roars in approval as the Chanters refuse to quit the field. "Listen to the song!", cries the same Chanter as before. "It will exist beyond us or them! We sing to give the song shape in this world!"
Zak answers the monk's shouting with a three part harmony of arrows.
Simon's voice rises to a crescendo of its own, and two airy shapes form out of the trembling air above the fiery coals. The air elementals converge on the second tenor from opposing sides, and start to pound him with their windy claws while the tentacle holds him aloft!
"Let me know if you should prefer to surrender, sirrah!" the old man calls to the tenor.
He then proceeds to bring out a shuriken of his own, whipping it at the same tenor that Asha just attacked.
Zarina aims for the biggest collection of monks, still trying to avoid her friends. She launches another fireball at them.
Fireball
Reflex DC 17 for half.
AC 21, touch 18, flat-footed 18
Fort +10, Ref +11, Will +12
CMD 16
HP 86/70
Effects:
Poog continues chanting, grimacing as the hot coals burn his feet, stopping only to cast a second spell.
Immediately, billowing clouds of a sickly green begin rolling up from the tentacles, surrounding the chanters. [ooc]Casting stinking cloud
Three arrows fly towards the tenor, but he is able to deflect two of them. The third sinks into his side, however, and the bravado he may have previously held begins to sink away.
The air elementals appear next to the second tenor, but before they can act, the sinewy tentacles grasp at them as well!
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The tentacles grab the air figments with ease, but they follow Simon's instructions heedless of the setback. One of them successfully pummels the tenor, and he feels the bite of Simon's shuriken. It's a trifling inconvenience, but he howls as his arm suddenly burns at the wound outwards. One of the elementals turns its gaze towards Simon and speaks in a breathy voice. "كنت أمتص."
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Then another blast of flame engulfs the Chanters, followed by the tentacles constricting. The song stops. It is replaced by cries of mercy. Poog responds with a choking fog of noxious gas. As quickly as it started, the bout comes to an abrupt end.
Miraculously, none of the Chanters are dead, though one is in critical condition after the second blast of flame. The Emissary calls your group to the bottom of the ziggurat. "Warriors. Three times you have step foot into the arena's sands, and three times have you walked out victorious. Only three bouts separate you and your place upon the ziggurat as the 31st Champions!" The crowd cheers again, but the Emissary quickly brings silence to the Pavilion once more.
"Your martial prowess is not finished being tested this day, however. Behold!" He holds forth a bracelet, a braid of gold bedecked with tiny rubies throughout its body. "This bracelet is one of a set, and the other is currently in the possession of its guardian, Tsavati. She has taken it north to the bamboo forest at Yun Chumo's feet. You have until sundown to find the bracelet's missing twin, and retrieve it from her. Be warned, though. She has been instructed not to relinquish it under any circumstance, and she will defend it with deadly force."
"Depart when you are ready, but hurry! Powerful though you may be, the sun will not slow its march across the sky for you!"
"Let's get some healing - and our shoes on, then go," Simon suggests after dismissing the elementals.