Skaar's pleased to see the Peppery followed his advice and the resulting morale boost. He flashes the mage a knowing smirk before working his way into the general crew. The big orc is happy to let anyone that wants to check him out examine the sites of his injuries, especially the ladies.
"I'm tough and I've always healed real quick", Skaar explains with a casual shrug. "Some have said I've got somethin' special in my blood - maybe a bit of troll. You know I've heard 'em say that troll blood can rub off if you spend enough time with someone sportin' it", he adds with a nod at Syl.
Later, when he has a moment alone with Peppery:
"Looks like things worked out. Fishguts didn't bail and you're the hero of the day as far as I can tell."
Your audience chuckles at your joke but seems satisfied. After all, they did see you take down a saurian and punch through solid rock, so there's no question about your toughness.
After everyone's left, you hear Syl muttering to her knives. "it big and strong so big and tough heal fast punch hard hurt squishy men not fear shiny biting knife stingers how get so brave and tough and strong?"
"You were right, and I'll confess to being a bit surprised. Seems I may have to listen to your ideas again sometime."
”It got that way by followin’ his heart and never givin’ up”, Skaar explains after taking a moment to parse Syl’s breathless speech. ”It’s lonely sometimes but survivin’ the loneliness is part of what makes you stronger. It seems to me Syl’s just about there. All she needs a big leap of faith and she’d be too tough for anybody to hurt ever again.”
The big orc smirks again at Peppery after she admits defeat. ”There’s nothing wrong with keepin’ your own council but I’m glad I could help. Say, you know anyone else in Kaer Maga that I could get help from? The augur’s couldn't tell me nothin’ I didn’t already know. Maybe someone that’s not so dependent on magic for his lore.”
"need alone not safe with other squishy bad Mother hurt bad left mark need alone"
"Not dependent on magic? You mean like a history scholar or something?"
"I guess you could always try a library. My contacts here are all mages, so they're not what you're looking for. I'm sure there's a pretty decent one somewhere in the city, but I don't know where."
The night passes quietly and uneventfully. The next morning, you're brought back to the arena for Round One of the tournament proper.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
You quickly discover that the rumor Harrigan heard was accurate. You're grouped with four other gladiators. "You're all going to have to work together for this fight. In the arena waits a monster too strong for any of you to face alone. Work together to bring it down. At the conclusion of the battle, you'll be ranked according to your individual performance. That score will determine your opponent in the next round - assuming you survive, of course. You have ten minutes to get to know your teammates and formulate a strategy. Good luck."
Teammates
Female Halfling wearing a chain shirt. Carrying a half-dozen daggers
Male Human wearing studded leather. Carries a heavy crossbow and a pair of handaxes.
Female Half-Elf wearing studded leather. Carries a rapier and a lute.
Male Human wearing ceremonial robes. Carries nunchaku and several shuriken.
After checking the equipment Harrigan acquired for him, Skaar makes the rounds to meet his temporary allies.
"Listen up: They say we're supposed to work together if we're gunna get through this thing alive. Seems to me that means we should get to know each other some before we're all busy fightin' for our lives", the hulking orc explains. "The name's Skaar. I'm captain Harrigan's fighter but not for very long. I'm strong and I can take a punch", he adds before pounding his thickly muscled chest with a fist. "I can toss 'round a little magic too but not enough to bring down a dragon or whatever beast they've got lined up for us."
"What about the rest of you?" he asks after giving the half-elf a smirk.
Halfling: "The name's Lisanne. I'm stealthy and can chuck a dagger with the best of them."
Crossbow Human: "Brayvick. Hunter and trapper. If it's some kinda animal, I've probably killed it before."
Half-Elf: "I'm called Syndra. I'm a decent duelist, but I'm best at enhancing your strengths by plucking the strings of magic. My mate Hamlin's on one of the other teams, in case you run into him in one of the later rounds."
Nunchaku: " ... " *pulls out a notebook* Brother Hu the Silent. The dark elves removed my tongue when they captured me. I escaped. I dislike senseless killing and would prefer to leave our opponent/s alive if possible. I'm a skilled wrestler and improvisational combatant and can harry the opposition in a variety of ways.
After greeting each of his companions with a nod, Skaar shakes their hands.
"Here's the plan: I get this thing's attention while the rest of you pepper it with arrows, bolts, and those little metal spikes. Once I've engaged the beast, Hu and Lisanne move in to flank it. Syndra you use your magic to support us as best you can."
"Everyone understand?"
"So, you're offering to be the sacrificial la - I mean distract it so we can learn it's capabilities? That works for me!"
Your teammates gather around the wall panel, double-check their gear, and otherwise prepare themselves.
Skaar checks his gear one last time and then conjures a protective aura.
Initiative Order
Creature
Half-Elf (pink)
Nunchaku (blue)
Skaar (brown)
Halfling (yellow)
Crossbow (gray)
The panel slides back to reveal a Huge serpentine creature in the middle of the sandy arena. It's five heads hiss menacingly, and you can see flames flicker from inside the fanged mouths. You also notice several stations ringing the arena's perimeter. At each is a flask filled with crystal blue liquid.
As the creature hisses at you, the Half-Elf begins plucking the strings of her lute, and you feel emboldened . At the same time, the mute human pulls out a potion and quickly drinks it. You see his muscles ripple, and he appears stronger.
Skaar darts northward and shouts to get the beast’s attention. ”Hey ugly! Over here! If you’re lookin’ for a fight you’d better start with me!”
The Halfling pulls out twin daggers and begins cautiously circling around the back of the many-headed monster. The mute Human, meanwhile, charges in with a flying kick. One of the creature's heads takes a chunk out of his arm, and the blow barely connects. It's forceful, though, and the monster has to take a moment to shrug off its effects. It roars in pain, but your taunting proves distracting as it moves toward you. Stopping a good 15ft away, roars again, and gouts of fire shoot from two of its mouths. You're able to duck behind the nearby station and avoid the worst of the blasts, but you're still burned a little. The Half-Elf continues her magical song, and the crossbow-wielding Human takes the opportunity to fire a magnificently-placed shot that pins two of the monster's heads together.
Even as his burned flesh knits itself whole, Skaar settles into an aggressive stance and grips his bardiche with both meaty hands. With a roar he cleaves into the multiheaded beast.
"Brayvick, toss one of those flasks at it!"
Initiative
Creature
Half-Elf (pink)
Nunchaku (blue)
Skaar (brown)
Halfling (yellow)
Crossbow (gray)
With a powerful swing, you cleave through two of the beast's heads, leaving stumps that gush blood. The crowd roars in approval. At the same time, the Halfling chucks a dagger into one of the creature's eyes. Hearing your call, Brayvick fires a quick bolt at the monster (that misses) and begins moving toward the station in the southwest corner.
The beast roars at you and tries to bite your head off. Unfortunately, as two of its heads are pinned together, the attempt is easily avoided. Angrily, its remaining head fires a cone of flame at your mute teammate, catching him completely off-guard. He's badly burned. He punches the creature's leg, hoping to cripple it, before backing off. Syndra continues her magical melody. Things seem to be going well for your team when you notice the beast's wounds begin to heal.
Blue Monk: 14pts damage
Beastie: 34pts damage
Skaar swings his poleaxe in another screaming arc through the tangle of reptilian heads.
"Keep the pressure on! Brayvick the flask!"
Your next swing misses the monster, and it's quick to take advantage of that fact. It's linked heads strike in unison and rip a massive chunk out of your side. Lisanne's next dagger fully blinds the beast's single head, causing it to badly miss the injured Hu. He backs out of reach, drinks a vial of liquid, and some of his burns heal. Syndra continues to play as Brayvick grabs the flask.
Initiative
Creature
Half-Elf (pink)
Nunchaku (blue)
Skaar (brown)
Halfling (yellow)
Crossbow (gray)
Skaar: 9pts damage + 9pts damage
Blue Monk: 8pts damage
Beastie: 35pts damage
Growling in defiance, Skaar hacks at the monster's snapping heads.
With a mighty swing, you cleave through the connected heads. A single head remains, but the body wounds are continuing to heal. Lisanne hurls a third dagger into the beast's flank at it breaths another gout of fire at you. The blast catches you full in the face. In an attempt to redirect the creature's attention, Brother Hu charges it from behind. Somehow, the monster senses his approach, snatches him out of the air, and hurls him to one side. He lies unmoving on the ground, and you can tell that he's losing a lot of blood. Syndra stops playing (although her music lingers in your ears) and rushes toward him as she pulls a vial from her belt. From across the arena, Brayvick calls to you, "I've got the vial! What am I supposed to do with it?"
Initiative
Creature
Half-Elf (pink)
Nunchaku (blue)
Skaar (brown)
Halfling (yellow)
Crossbow (gray)
Skaar: 6pts fire damage
Blue Monk: unconscious and bleeding at -2hp
Beastie: 34pts damage
With only one head remaining, Skaar tries to finish the beast by driving his blade into its heart. The big orc roars and pours all of his weight into a mighty blow.
"Throw it at the beast!"
You stab deeply into the beast's chest, and it roars in agony. At the same time, Brayvick closes the distance and hurls his flask at the creature. It strikes one of the fresh stumps and freezes the wound. Lisanne misses with another thrown dagger as Syndra pours a healing potion down Hu's throat.
Suddenly, the two neck stumps you severed first twitch. Within seconds, two more heads grow from each one and lash out at Lisanne and Brayvick! Each takes a nasty bite. The fifth (and last original) head breathes another gout of fire at you. Again, you avoid the worst of the blast, but it still hurts.
Syndra calls out to everyone. "I've read about creatures like this. It's a Hydra! Unless you block it, severed heads grow back double! Normally you'd cauterize the stumps, but I have a feeling that won't work with this beast. Never heard of one that breathes fire before."
Initiative
Creature
Half-Elf (pink)
Nunchaku (blue)
Skaar (brown)
Halfling (yellow)
Crossbow (gray)
Skaar: 4pts fire damage
Lisanne: 9pts damage
Brayvick: 9pts damage
Brother Hu: conscious (9hp)
Beastie: 45pts damage, 5 heads, 1 frozen stump, 1 bleeding stump
"Son of a b$&!@!" Skaar curses as he moves into a better position. "Lisanne, step in and help me flank this thing. Brayvick grab another one of those flasks!"
With a roar, you impale the creature with your weapon, burying it deep in its chest. It tries to back away, but Lisanne drops low and hamstrings it. Losing its balance, it falls forward, driving your weapon deeper into its body. The fire in the beast's mouths go out, and the light in its eyes dims. You've vanquished it.
Initiative
Creature
Half-Elf (pink)
Nunchaku (blue)
Skaar (brown)
Halfling (yellow)
Crossbow (gray)
Skaar: 4pts fire damage
Lisanne: 9pts damage
Brayvick: 9pts damage
Brother Hu: conscious (9hp)
Beastie: 76pts damage, 5 heads, 1 frozen stump, 1 bleeding stump
"Nice work", Skaar offers the halfling along with a wink.
The big orc raises his thickly muscles arms overhead in victory and addresses the crowd. "Dare to accomplish great things! Do not fear!" he roars.
The cheers are almost deafening, and high up in the stands, you think you see Grok nod in approval. As the adrenaline from the fight wears off, you feel tired - but stronger. Defeating such a powerful foe seems to have stirred something deep inside you.
Rankings
Skaar
Brayvick
Lisanne
Syndra
Brother Hu
"I'm lookin' for a good library. What? What's so funny 'bout that?"
It doesn't take long for you to find a large building that's filled ceiling-to-floor with books and scrolls. Harrigan isn't much for book learnin', so he waits outside.
Unfortunately, there are no religious texts in this library, but you're still able to learn some useful information. For starters, you've been gone for what appears to be several thousand years. Aroden ... is dead. Cheliax has become a nation of devil-worshippers. Ustalav was shattered by one known as "The Whispering Tyrant" and is still trying to put itself back together. Anarchy rages in the nation of Galt. The Orcs have failed to rise back to their greatness and are constantly threatening the more civilized lands from their strongholds in Belkzen. In short, the world is a chaotic mess and doesn't appear to be improving.
As for details of God-slaying and the resulting fallout, you find no specifics. After all, it's an incredibly rare occurrence, and this library is void of any but the most basic religious texts. Still, based on what you remember from Aroden's death, followers of a dead God do not receive divine power or magic. In most cases, they're forced to worship a deity with similar ideals, as a priest without a God's power behind him is pretty useless. The deceased God's portfolio is usually split between deities with similar ideals - or granted to a newly-ascended follower.
Interestingly, you can't find a single mention of you in any of the books. Nothing in the text on Orcish history. Nothing in the manuscript on the defeat of Rovagug. You don't even appear on the list of obscure deities who have only a few followers. Nowhere.
Skaar frowns. Perhaps I'll have to find a source lore closer to where I was better known.
Still, grateful for what he could learn, the Unfailing Pillar leaves a few coins for the scribes that assisted him and returns to the Wormwood.
Returning to the Wormwood, you're greeted with exultant cheers. You didn't realize it at the time, but a large percentage of the crew was allowed to observe your fight. Your performance was quite spectacular, and more than a few people are convinced that you do, in fact, have troll's blood in you. The more knowledgeable crew members, however, aren't so sure. After all, you absorbed multiple fire blasts without significant injury - something no regular troll can do.
You also find out that you're not the only gladiator with an impressive performance. In one of the other matches, some sort of illusion master managed to trick the Cyrohydra into killing itself. Another fighter stood and watched as his entire team was slain before pulling out a sword and removing the creature's many heads as quickly as they grew back. Eventually, the beast collapsed under its own weight and was easily dispatched. Your brute force victory was equally noteworthy for two reasons: your team was the only one to emerge victorious and without a single death. Second: your mysterious healing ability. Some found it miraculous, while others called it cheating. The one common ground: nobody had any idea how you were pulling it off.
Skaar soaks up the cheers of his shipmates, glad to give them something to celebrate. He sends the ladies a wink before gathering the crew around him.
”Remember what I said about that toughness rubbin’ off? How about I show you some tricks to make it happen quicker? To start, we’re gunna climb the rigging. It’s not a competition but I wanna see you givin’ it your all. No slacking you hear me? You don’t get arms like these layin’ about”, he laughs. ”Okay, go!”
The big orc is the voice of encouragement throughout the demonstration, pushing and inspiring those participating without ever putting them down.
I’ll start rebuilding my base of worshipers from scratch, here, if that’s what it takes. I’ll rebuild what was lost stone by stone with my own two hands.
There isn't a huge response to your offer, but several crewmen do take you up on it. The participants are mainly swabs, but one or two of the newer riggers give it a solid go. The more-experienced crew simply go about their regular business or watch with amusement. After all, they're already completely comfortable maneuvering about the rigging. Why put in effort learning a skill you've already mastered? Regardless, people seem to be enjoying themselves - even just because of the entertainment value.
During the chaos, you suddenly realize that Syl's missing. It takes you a little while, but you eventually notice her sitting atop the mainmast. You'd been conducting your training session around the smaller mizzenmast as it's safer to climb. Syl doesn't seem to be paying attention to you, but you know she'd been in your general vicinity when you began the rigging-climbing lesson.
During a lull in his training session Skaar breaks away to scale the mainmast. "What'r you doin' up there Syl? Just enjoyin' the view?"
"It said climb rigging make you strong. More rigging makes more strong. Need strong so no more hurt Syl."
Skaar smiles, happy to see that the girl had grasped the beginnings of his teachings. He nods in approval of her conclusion.
"You got it. You gotta climb higher and higher; faster and faster. If you fall down you gotta put yourself back together and try again no matter how much it hurts. And when they tell you you can't climb any higher or any faster you gotta prove them wrong."
"Bein' strong isn't nearly as complicated as folks think it is."
For the first time, Syl looks directly into your eyes. "And what do you do when your enemies are too strong? If you climb too high, the fall will kill you."
"You've got to try anyway", Skaar explains with a shrug of his powerful shoulders. "If you fall you die but if you do it and you prove 'em all wrong - you're immortal."
"So, you're saying that it's better to face down an enemy that you know can defeat you effortlessly? What about retreating so you live to fight another day?"