Geoffrey's Finest (Inactive)

Game Master CampinCarl9127

With each new sight and smell bombarding his easily distracted senses, Toramin realized how naive he had been about this entire affair.

If there is a place less in keeping with the ideal of universal justice, I cannot imagine it. The idea of ownership is a disease in this city. They seemed to commodify everything, and their criterion of value is as obvious as it is degrading.

Looking at one of the "pet" slaves, Toramin wondered if Bjorkus found her attractive. Does the power imbalance excite him? Is that what excites humans? Where was their sense of the common weal?

Human sexuality is a great mystery to Toramin. Partly because sexual desire was yet unknown to him. Dwarves matured intellectually and physically independently from their sexual viability. Most dwarves awoke to their sexual desires closer to their first century and remained sexually active throughout life -- why his own grandmother had given birth to his father's youngest sister only a few years before Toramin had been born and he would not be surprised if Yana had another child in the next decade or so. Humans and their numerous progeny, on the other hand hand, awoke much earlier and to greater fanfare. But this city seemed to even pervert that. Part of what he found so fascinating about human sexual desire was how cosmopolitan it appeared in practice: elves, orcs, dragons, angels, elementals, demons, males, females, and anything in between -- as a species humanity seemed to want it all. To find beauty in so many things was one of the qualities that Toramin had always found so charming and hopeful about humanity. Here, in this city, that cosmopolitan spirit was replaced by a rigid hierarchy and each rung on that hierarchy had its own price.

It made Toramin want to unsling his hammer, but that is a juvenile response.

Violence has its place, but it rarely changes hearts and minds for the better. I wish I could punish all these slavers and shatter every chain here both the physical and the spiritual. I had best say little and stay watchful. Perhaps Torag will bless me with a stratagem that will destroy this corrupt edifice, but I must be patient.

The ratfolk gets an unbelieving smile, scampering forward quickly. The others throw curses at him and turn away to the other new incomers. He bows deeply to Dalton. "Master, if it pleases you my name is Ninnec. Our wonderful city has many services and sights to see. Would you like to see the great fountain? Perhaps the Colosseum? Or are you weary and would like to retire? Anything that you desire." He glances up at the rest of the party, the fellow "slaves" and looks scared. "Uh, m-master, may I speak freely?"

"With haste."

Bjorkus snorts and glowers down at the sniveling ratfolk. The minotaur wasn’t usually one to judge people by appearances but after catching two different pickpockets, the sniveling rat-man looked too much like the traditional sneak-thief.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17
Intimidate: 1d20 + 9 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 9 + 4 = 27

Ninnec edges away from Bjorkus, wide eyed. "Uh, it's just that slaves aren't allowed weapons inside the city." He looks to Dalton's "slaves".

Dalton thinks back to the vision of the city a moment. Of course! None of the slaves had weapons. This vermin-man could have just saved our skins. "Continue to be useful like that, and you could gain a rung or two in this place."

Dalton gestures for those masquerading as slaves to hand their weapons to him - which are carried then carried by his horse in exchange for baggage, if necessary.

"What is your name? I would see this Colosseum."

Would it be weird for a slaver to have a non-slave bodyguard? It seems like it would be a necessity. If not, Toramin is going to stick to his body guard role. The less direct lies he tells the better.

He bows again, looking pleased that he is appreciated. "Ninnec, if it pleases you." If he's at all bothered about stating his name twice, he doesn't show it. "Yes the Colosseum is an engineering masterpiece and quite a piece of history here." He leads the party towards the center of the city, pointing out buildings and their purposes along the way. By the time you get through the trade district you all are reasonably sure you could find a building if you came back here alone. Ninnec proves a fountain of useful information, telling you things like what inns are run by crooks and where you can get good medicinal supplies.

You could go a non-slave bodyguard if you wished. The mercenary role or something, let me know what you decide.

The Colosseum is a huge structure just north of the direct center of Akropash. There are fliers everywhere advertising the upcoming tournament and nearly a dozen lines leading from the many opening of the huge stone building. People are shouting and waving coin around and making threats and showing off their fighting slaves. After grabbing a flier and observing the building, you learn several things.

1) There is a 50gp fee per slave to enter the tournament. Today is the final day to enter with the first fight tomorrow morning.
2) This is a preliminary tournament to find gems hidden in the rough, so there are no prerequisites to enter. The top three will be entering a secondary tournament, and the top three from that will be entering the main tournament, which Targ himself is running.
3) The left two lines are for placing bets, but with the little known competition of this tournament the line is short.
4) Looking around at who is present, you can see most of the slaves are reasonably in shape with a few who actually look trained, but they all pale in comparison to the brawnier members of the party.
5) The Colosseum is kept in very good shape and doesn't share the degradation of most of the other stone buildings.

I know I probably missed something, so ask away, in discussion if you would be so kind.

Bjorkus growls unhappily but does as his master bids and hands over his massive hooked blade in addition to a brace of bladed iron throwing-disks.

You mentioned slaves carrying knives earlier. I assume that’s not out of the question as a dagger is as much an all-purpose tool as it is a weapon. Bjorkus will hold onto his dagger if so, if not he’ll surrender that too.

Someone should try to scope out information about the other big names participating. Bjorkus would do it himself but it might seem out of character.

"Superb!" Is Desna smiling on us, even in this place? Though very bright, Dalton was at the age where he often forget why he was in a certain room or where he was going during a stroll. In this draconian place then, he was justifiably happy to be brought from point A to B in as straight a line as possible. Having hopped off the horses a while back to stretch his legs, he bent down to praise Ninnec. "That's twice you've helped me in fewer than so many hours. Such service deserves a reward."

Fishing about in his little worn sack (the Handy Haversack) Dalton pulls out a selection of coins. "This," he says about a silver pulled from the fistful, "Is your bet on him. He wins, you win." Dalton jerks a thumb at Bjorkus. "You might have noticed he's strong. Whatever you can do do get him to win, do it. There might even be some more coin in it for you if you're helpful enough."

Before heading up to the entry queue, Dalton whispered to both the contestant-to-be and Rilka.

After registering Bjorkus as a contestant and paying the fee, the practical mage quickly parks himself in the short other queues, placing a ponderous 1000 GP value bet on his undercover gladiator.

I'm assuming there is some way of verifying the bet and redeeming it other than the honor system.

Dalton meant business - literally and otherwise.

Dalton, you might want to get that elven mage branded and sold first. I say not as Toramin.

Ninnec looks at the silver with gratitude, then glances at the terrifying figure of Bjorkus. He whispers "No fixing required to win this one master. You have all but simply paid me two silver"

An oread is flipping through the pages of contestants when Dalton shows him Bjorkus. He gives Dalton a quick look and Bjorkus a longer one, then signs him up and hands Dalton a paper. "Check the roster tonight, we will have the tournament rounds ready by then."

At the betting station the tiefling raises his brows at the gold then looks at Bjorkus. "Ah, well I'll regret to tell you you're running very good odds, so don't expect a huge win." He marks Dalton down for 1000gp, writing a few sentences about his appearance then handing him a betters slip with his name, description, and wager on it.

Bjorkus grunts and nods at his master’s instructions.

I think the actual competition starts tomorrow. Today’s just sign ups.

Are there any sort of weigh-in events going on where the fighters are paraded around? Is there anything like wrestling promos going on?

Edit: Ninjaed by the DM!

"Well, that's that," says Dalton flatly, slapping his hands against each other. "For now, a meal - then rest. Marking," he adds with a glance to the elf, "can wait until morning."

Assuming Ninnec can direct them to a mediocre establishment.

*******

"A meat, cheese, and bread will do - fuel for tournament." Dalton's justification to the innkeeper was probably the most forthcoming statement in a while. He needs to be in tip-top shape; there's no telling what awaits them out there. "And if you've got a room large enough for us lot, we'll take it." Dalton isn't stingy with the food, parceling out a fair amount to both Talev and Ninnec. "Eat. I don't need you getting sick and catching whatever manner of plague lurks in this town then spreading it to me."

********

After they retire and the sun sets, Dalton makes a request to Lindale. "Why don't you have Ninnec show you some more of the town and pick up the schedule for the morrow? It's been a long day, and I have some studying to do." Both to prepare my spells for the morrow and see how unstable this Talev is.

Ninnec nods, happily leading you to the west district. He shows you to a moderately sized in that is run by a dark skinned human. He has an accent rolling off his thick lips (think Jamaican). "Meat cheese and bread, coming right up friend!" He walks back into the kitchen, leaving you to examine the inn.

The inn has a stone first floor and a wooden second, but the color is blended well and doesn't look too bad. There is a elevated platform to your left where a trio of bards are preparing their instruments for the lunch's entertainment. There is a few people dotting the structure, mostly eating lunch or reading. None of them glance your way for more than a split second, taking little interest.

The dark skinned human returns with a plate of speckled cheese, a loaf of dark bread, and a pot of meat that looks cut like a fish but with the consistency of chicken. "Here you go sir, simple but filling. My name is Jaware and I'll be catering to all of your needs. This is my daughter Kahina." A dark skinned girl who shares the man's eyes walks out carrying a tray of water. She sets it down and goes back into the kitchen.

Jaware gives a friendly smile, and you see one of his front teeth was replaced by silver. "You're in luck, the rush that precedes a tournament doesn't come till this night. Unfortunately I don't have a room large enough for you all unless you fancy sleeping on the floor."

Having spent most of his money on the tourney, Dalton concedes it might not be the best time to shop and leave themselves out of a floor here. "With food like yours, I'd have a hard time leaving anyway. We'll stay!" It's been so long since we had a good hot meal. Glancing at the others, Dalton realized they had to be even more tired than he. Yes, we'll stay - they need a night off.

Bjorkus eats his meal in sullen melancholy making little conversation except for the occasional belch and the gnashing of teeth.

Besides the innkeeper and his daughter, any interesting characters in the inn? How old is Kahina?

Jaware counts the heads present. "19 silver for each night. Make it an even 2 gold and I'll throw in breakfast."

A pair of full blooded orcs sit at a table, playing a game with small stone tablets. A kitsune is reading a book in the corner, eyes rarely straying from the pages. Finally a strix is leaning back in a chair, snoozing against the wall.

Kahina looked to be an older teen.

Dalton finishes his heel of bread and withdraws the dual gold coins, placing them into the man's hand. "Been here a while? How do you like it?

Jaware gives a short laugh. "The shade is always moving. But it has lingered here for some time, and I have enjoyed it's coolness for almost twenty years."

Perhaps shade is their way of saying good fortune in this hellish place. "And may you enjoy it for twenty more. Happen to know what those Orcs are playing over there?" Dalton cocks his head towards them. I've never seen that before.

Bjorkus watches the orc's game with passing interest.

Anything to be gleaned from these orcs? Slaves? Freedmen?

Toramin is more interested in the kitsune, though he makes every effort not to gawk. Were I shapechanging trickster, I would not show strangers my true form.

"Wouldn't know. Don't get much into their business." It's easy to see they are free men with their weapons showing and unbranded arms.

Rilka hands over her halfling sling staff and short sword to Dalton when instructed. She nods in agreement about watching Ninnec. As the guide leads them through the city, she listens closely and pays attention to landmarks. While Dalton registers Bjorkus in the bouts, Rilka steps close to the ratling.

”Ninnec, greetings. My name is Anafa,” the halfling says, staring at the ratling with considering eyes. [/b]”My master will want to visit a bathhouse after his long and dusty journey. The gladiator will need to become clean too, before his first contest tomorrow. Is there a separate facility for slaves? Of course he may mention food first, so be prepared for leading us there first.”[/b] When Dalton does in fact request a meal, Rilka offers the Ninnec a half-smile.

During the meal, Rilka doesn’t speak and eats only after the others have finished. When time she moves the baggage up to their rooms, taking numerous trips. ”I told Ninnec to take you to a bathhouse. Bjorkus too. Get his fur clean and ready to shine in the sun. Of course your partner and bodyguard should accompany you.”

Ninnec seems glad to talk to somebody his size. "Oh of course, of course. There are two ideas that come to mind. Your master and his slaves may all use the wash behind the inn free of charge, but it is a man powered system that would require some effort. If he wishes a more relaxing clean and is willing to part with some coin there are a few bathhouses in the eastern district where everything is taken care of for you. There are separate baths for the slaves, but your master may join those baths if he so wishes to."

After getting a nod from Dalton, Bjorkus speaks for the first time since the group entered the tavern. "What's the game?" he asks with a gesture at the orc's tiles.

The two orcs look up surprised; evidently they had been very involved in the game. One looks at your brand and waves you away, but the other smacks him over the head. "Please, he's probably smarter than you are." He looks up, flipping a tile over for you to see. "Game is Knuvultash. Can't happen to read orc, do you?"

Bjorkus glances at the tile and then shakes his head in denial. "Fraid not", he rumbles.

Toramin's attention is taken away from the kitsune by Bjorkus' conversation.

He is as bad at being a slave as Dalton is at holding this all together. But, I'm happy that Bjorkus is so bad a slave. No one should be good at it.

The second orc gives an apologetic shrug. "Well we'd let ya join but it's pretty hard if you can't read the tiles. We play more common games at night when it's crowded, come check in with us then."

So you have Bjorkus in the first tournament and you have a place to sleep. You still have no located Naome, although beyond being in this city as a slave dancer you're not sure where she is. Kienyach probably won't be found until a bit later since he's one of the pit fighters. Your characters have almost the entire day to explore the city, so go ahead and sandbox around for a bit.

Diplomacy (Gather Information): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Toramin is searching for Naome, but he will make efforts to ask about skilled dancers instead of her by name.

He is also interested in discovering more about Dwarven culture in this city and if there is a temple dedicated to Torag. He be even more secretive about that and do most of that search by wandering around the city.

Rilka encourages the others to go to a bathhouse. She would investigate divination and scrying countermeasures but doesn’t think that anyone would give a slave information about that. She suggests Lindale and Dalton do so, in a quiet voice.

She’ll ask Ninnec where to find him if they need him again.

While being lead through the city earlier, if Rilka saw any town criers (or similar people) she will return to one or two of those to hear about current events.

She will also start rumors of Bjorkus’ fighting prowess, among gamblers and fighting connoisseurs, saying things such as, I saw him get attacked by bandits. Split an elf near in half! That half-minotaur was something,” and ”I don’t know his name, but if you see a half-minotaur in a match, put some coin on him. He survived getting stung by a giant scorpion. I heard he squeezed the venom out of his wounds,” and ”He threw a spear through a desert elf!” With halflings she will have more fun with lines like, ”He put the ‘ow’ in drow,” and ”That half-minotaur made a ‘dwar’ by beat the ‘f’ out of a dwarf.”

After hearing Toramin's interest in the dancers, Jaware tells him of the local talent. "Ya there's a couple smaller buildings in each district, but the two main ones are on the east side. One is a gambling house where the performances are always top-notch. The other is a theater."

The churches are few and far between, but Toramin manages to find a white stone building that has small areas for prayer to multiple gods. The only dwarven ones he finds are Magrim and Droskar.

Ninnec looks at Dalton. "With his generosity I would be glad to follow and guide you till your time in the city comes to an end. If you wish me stay, I shall stay here at the inn."

Hahaha those halfling comments are brilliant Rilka. I'm making some secret rolls for rumor spreading, so you may not notice any obvious effects but there will be an impact.

Nodding to both Rilka and Ninnec, Dalton concurs. "A bathhouse is a fine idea. There is coin to spend yet, and I daresay we'll have more if the arena is favorable. Lead the way!"

Ah, a warm, relaxing bath. To go back to that in a place where I might not be slain at a moment's notice...

A bath before his big showing might be a good idea, especially after days of sweaty travel.

Bjorkus leaves the orcs to their game and quietly follows his master to the designated slave bathing area. He felt uncomfortably naked without a solid weapon on his person, a unique experience for a bull accustomed to parading the deck of a ship minimally dressed save a loincloth to shade his manhood from the sun. Still, he has a reputation to build so he stood tall as the group traversed the streets.

Lindale heads to the bath house with the others, following the dirty little rat. Waiting a few seconds alone before following the others he prepares his mind with magic Detect thoughts in order to get a bit of a feel for the city from inside the heads of those that live there.

"So we find the dancer tonight?"

Toramin will investigate those dancing venues.

Sounds like Dalton and Bjorkus are heading to the bathhouses while Lindale and Toramin are going to try and find Naome. Rilka feel free to join with either group, or do something else entirely. Just let me know.

Ninnec gives another bow as he clicks his teeth together. "As you command, master." The little grey ratfolk leads everybody into the east district which is less run down than the others. More quality slaves walk the streets in finer clothes and the slavers are more abundant, but the white-clad warriors maintain their threatening presence.

About a third of the way into the east district Ninnec stops, pointing at several large buildings in good condition. Drunken men and richly clad slavers can be seen through the windows of the various buildings. "That is where you shall find the best dancers in the city. I shall leave you to it and lead the others to the bathhouses, if it pleases the master." There are three gambling/entertainment houses, but only one of them appears to have much business at this hour.

Ninnec brings everybody else to the far north side of the east district where there is an underground well bubbling forth clean, fresh liquid. Several slaves take buckets back and forth, transferring the water into the numerous bathhouses. Ninnec points to the largest one. "Targ himself funded that one, and he has personally made sure there are no thieves amongst the servants and slaves. I shall wait here, or with the others, or wherever it pleases the master."

~Dancehouse Group~

The first group pushes through the swinging double doors of the "Silk Urumi". Inside are upper-tier slavers are laughing and drinking and gambling their money away. Servants glide around the room is black silks with gambling chips and drinks. A quartet of bards are at the right wall playing a jaunty tune with two pairs of wind and string instruments. To the left are two dancers, both elven. One is dressed all in red that matches her red hair, and as she twirls you see a spinning wheel of fire. The other is a blue mirror, creating a whirlpool as she spins around her fellow dancer.

A human servant in black and white silks approaches you with a tray of drinks in one hand and a tower over the other. "Welcome to the Silk Urumi. Would you care for a drink? We currently have numerous tables open, how many chips would you like?"

~Bathhouse Group~

Inside the "Edged Opal" is a quiet, serene environment. All of the servants here are females dressed in very thin blue silks, and occasionally ladies walk completely nude across your path. A middle aged dwarf woman who is dressed more modestly gestures to you from behind a counter. "Welcome guests. What would you like today?"

I though the slave bathing area was elsewhere or is Dalton taking Bjorkus out for a treat?

Different wings of the same building.

Ah.

Bjorkus enjoys more than an eye-full as the scantily-clad bathing attendants move about the Opal's front room. It takes a titanic effort on the minotaur's part to maintain his character as he waits in silence for Dalton to handle introductions.

Before the group leaves Jaware’s inn, Rilka, knowing well groomed individuals make a better first impression, speaks, ”Ninnec, do the bathhouses have a barber and laundry services? If not, I will clean the clothes here if Jaware allows it. After your washing, Ninnec can find you a barber. With your permission, I will stay here and wash myself.”

After bathing, Rilka will explore the city, paying attention to the white-clad warriors, food stalls (looking at variety, origin of the food), and general geography of the districts.

Are we looking after stray rats now?

Lindale accepts a place at a table, joining in with a small amount of gold. 20gp? He watches the dancers closely, wondering if he was meant to recognise her on sight. "A martini for me, stirred."
Were we given a description?
Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32

Also did I gather anything from the Detect thoughts while we walked here?

~Bathhouse Group~

"The have a barber service within the Edged Opal, and next door they have laundry services."

~Dancehouse Group~

Lindale, you were not given a description beyond elf dancer named Naome.

Lindale gets a lot of surface thoughts, and is almost overwhelmed by all of the gambling calculations. He begins focusing one by one, and discovers a few interesting things. There is a large man at the bar is who is subtly paying attention to every visitor, thoughts alone the lines of Them? No. Hmm, I hope they're not running late. There is a brawny tiefling who appears to be a bouncer, staring the group down. Has to be them, everybody else is a regular. One of the servants brings Lindale his drink and 20gp worth of chips.

Lindale focuses on the dancers.

"Ninnec, you shall accompany the bull," responds Dalton. "Fill him in on some tidbits if you could. I expect him to be a winner - so we'll be here for a while. Wouldn't hurt for him to learn a thing or two."

Approaching the dwarven woman, Dalton inclines his head in greeting with a sweep of his hand. "Good host, a bath for these two and myself - and ... laundry? Yes, and a wash of the garbs for me."