|
The pirate fires his bow at Dylph and cries "Intruders! as three others move out. One wears a breast plate and the other too look like normal pirates to your eyes.
The arrow sinks into the ground missing Dylph.
The man in the breastplate shouts. "You'll pay with your lives for ambushing us!"
The party is up!
|
|
He attacks the scallywag near him with his axe.
The bad guys go. The man in the breastplate casts a spell.
The scallywag attacks Helikon slashing him with his gladiator weapon.
The other shoots his bow at Dylph trying to hit the half orc. The arrow sinks into the Pathfinder's side.
The party is up again!
|
|
Ree and Dylph manage to drop the cleric with their weapons. He lays bleeding out, unable to escape the Pathfinder's vengeance.
Combat over!
Searching his body you find a holy symbol
- - -
Searching the rooms in the abandoned mansion three are of great interest. The rest are the barracks, kitchen, pantry and common room. Those rooms containing nothing of value or interest.
opening, someone has created a crude arch that frames a
small shrine. Cobalt light spills from a dark blue glass lantern
that hangs above a crude altar improvised from domestic
furnishings. Candles on the altar flank a pewter mug and a
bottle of rum, and behind the altar stands the wooden female
figurehead of a ship. A black tricorn perched on her head at an
angle partially shields her face from the lantern’s light.
plague victim slathered with makeup for a funeral. A large
bed in good condition sits in the room’s northwest corner,
and a writing desk, chair, and small bookcase of damp wood
round out the furnishings. The room is heavy with the smell
of incense, which masks the omnipresent dank odor...There is a hidden trap door in the floor, Using the key you find a log book and the handouts on Slide 2. Deremin’s (cleric) logbook is lying in clear sight on his writing desk. It contains a detailed but somewhat choppy
account of his career in piracy, and the past several
months’ entries show that he switched his strategy
from opportunistically targeting vessels at random
to exclusively targeting Pathfinder shipments due to
Helkit Silverbane’s instructions. The Besmaran is
hardly discreet, and he regularly mentions Helkit in his
writing.
each one stamped with the Glyph of the Open Road and
weighing approximately 100 pounds.
|
Dylph, smarting from the arrow in his side, grimaces as he says, "Can I get a bit o' help wit' this?"
He hands his wand to the skald, asking for healing...
After being hit with the wand, Dylph will help search the hideout...
"Helkit Silverbane? I've heard of her...she's one of the Bloodied of Tymon...a former and very skilled gladiator..."
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
After a few hours work the party loads the crates back on the barge and Demeliah sets sail back to Tymon. The journey down the river is uneventful. Traveling to the Pathfinder Lodge, the dwarven venture captain Holgarin Smine, receives your report and mention of Helkit Silverbane, with great interest.
“Well done. Everything I hoped for out there. Whatever else,
our immediate enemies are done for. Hopefully gives anyone
thinking about doing the same pause. But there’s the problem.
There’ll be more, because they weren’t acting on their own.
“Helkit Silverbane—she’s a problem: Lots of money, lots of
clout. She could just hire another group and hardly lighten her
purse. We need to take this to her—make her see we’re more
than she can handle. But going up against the bloodied... that’s
like swimming upriver. Through piranha. Bleeding.
“Law’s not an option. First off, bankrolling pirates... barely
a crime here—only if you get caught. Even with witnesses,
she’s hardly red-handed. And bloodied’s word in court is worth
lots more than words from captured bandits or the ones that
caught them. Tymon’s got some hard laws, but this wasn’t
really even in Tymon. It’s all... borderline. Don’t think we could
make formal charges stick.”
Smine sips his cooling tea thoughtfully, the furrows of worry
on his brow slowly evening out. “Got one option, if you want
to take it. Can’t hit her in court... but Tymon wasn’t built on
courts.” His eyes widen as he leans in close, “Ever heard of the
Law of Grievance?”
|
|
Smine answers "Under the Law of Grievance,anyone in Tymon can challenge another person toarena combat. Even a “bloodied” citizen must accept the
challenge of outsiders. In a way, it’s the fairest possible
law available to those with the deck stacked against them.
If you challenge Helkit for having moved against the
Society, she "must" accept. You see killing her isn’t even
necessary; as challenged, Helkit would set the terms of
the fight, and most of these Grievance matches aren’t lethal. But
publicly defeating and humiliating her demonstrates
forcefully that the Society protect their interests. What say you?"
|
|
Smine let's you know what Helkit looks like. You make your way through town passing the various townsfolk to the arena.
Even empty, the Arena of Aroden is an imposing sight that
seems to magnify the sounds of clashing blades and grunts
of exertion of a dozen sweaty, muscular men and women
sparring on the sandy floor. The synergy of well-trained
teamwork and combat style is apparent, though it falls short
of the standards set by a tall, broad, iron-haired woman
dressed in rich furs. “Watch your flanks, you ham-fingered
dolts! Felex, if you leave your partner’s back uncovered again
just to make a cheap swing, it’s your back I’ll break in two!”
she roars at the gladiators. “Now hold! There’s company.”
Turning in your direction, she snaps, “Who in Abaddon are
you? The Silver Slayers have the training ground today.”
|
Ree rubs her eyes intentionally comedicly and exclaims loudly "Wait, that's her? I expected a sniveling thieving coward to look tougher than, well... that!" She waves her hand in Helkit's general direction with a dismissive wave.
"Also, really, silver slayers? Aiming for second place is so depressing...but I guess you have to be true to yourself, right?"
|
|
She stares at Ree dismissively. Her surprised expression curls into a sneer. “Very well, I accept. Some fights are already scheduled for two days from now. We’ll settle this then. As challenged, I set the terms:
Group battle—you lot against me and my Slayers. No limits
on weapons or magic. Public arena fight, on the shifting
sands—and you should know I’ve never lost on those.” She
glances at her trainees for a moment before reluctantly
adding, “No need for a death match. The challenge may be
decided by yielding. Anyone losing their nerve can call it off
for their team.” She smirks. “Mind you, that won’t be anyone
on my side. I don’t train cowards.”
She takes off a pair of leather gloves and stares at the party.
"Two days 2 hours past dawn the matches will start ours will be the headliner in the afternoon. Until then..."
are well known as being among the better team-oriented
gladiators in Tymon. They are quick on their feet and
favor the use of exotic weapons and fighting styles.
rumored to include a piece of armor from each of her fallen
foes. Although she has not fought in the Arena of Aroden
for several years, Helkit is well-loved by the crowds.
famous for employing powerful animals that she fought
alongside. She is best remembered for once riding a
rhinoceros into combat during a grand melee. Her
combat style emphasizes powerful swings that she twists
into elegant dance steps that delight onlookers.
Wandering about town you eventually pick up the rules of combat:
Participants may cast preparatory spells before
entering the arena but otherwise cannot use magic,
activate items, or drink potions until the combat
officially begins; in the case of this adventure,
this translates to 10 minutes of time checking in with
the arena manager, suiting up, reviewing the rules, and
verbally acknowledging these rules before stepping out
into the fighting space.
• Magical flight and climbing the walls and columns is
permitted, but only to the level of the grandstands (25
feet above the floor). Going any higher is considered
unsporting, presents a risk to the spectators, and is
grounds for disqualification. Violators receive a single
warning and slow count to three (over the course of 1
round) before being disqualified.
• The combat conditions established by Helkit allow either
team to give up should any participant declare that he
yields. Doing so grants victory to the opposing team.
• The combat is not, strictly speaking, a death match,
but participants are not held accountable for killing
their opponents.
|
|
Dylph asks around 'bout the Silver Slayers...
He returns and tells his friends what he found out. "Silver Slayers are good; quick on their feet and favor exotic weapons and tactics. Helkit famous for her piecemeal armor...made from her opponents...she hasn't fought in the Arena for years but is a mob favorite. We'll be facing a hostile crowd..."
|
|
The master of ceremonies gives Helkit and her Slayers a
stirring introduction, exclaiming, “Now, Tymons, here’s
the match you’ve waited for! It’s been years since she
earned her status as one of our finest, but she’s lost none
of her skill or style with an axe. Let her know how glad
you are to see her fighting again—you certainly don’t
want to be on her bad side! Helkit! Silverbane!”
The eastern gate opens, and Helkit leads a group onto
the floor. The crowd roars!
Combat the party is up!"