"Get offa my shield you buncha punks!"
Sadly the attempt to thrash the dwarfs fail, The Boss Dwarf ripping the shield away from Durvig, Turning and throwing it away with all his strength.
it clambers a good 40 feet away deeper into the Warehouse, The Boss then picks up his runed warpick.
"Yer gonna regret killin me mate there, No mercy for'em! Kill'em like he killed Kovig!
He shouts as the other dwarf picks up his mace, unhindered by the need to throw a shield he raises it up with two hands and drops it down on the shieldless Durvig.
Durivig draws his hammer and tries to bash the dwarf's mace into pieces.
"Ye killed that Kovig when ye decided a life o' crime was yer way!"
The fungal wood handle of the mace shatters leaving the crossbow dwarf without a weapon to swing, jumping back Five feet he picks his crossbow back up and loads a crossbow bolt.
[b]"Damn ya to hel!"[b]
Shouts the leader, raising his magical warpick and bringing it down with all His tregnth.
As they prepare to assault Durivig yet again, The Slab Appears in the doorway
The Slab grabs his victim and drags him along some more.
"You sorry yet? Time to make it up to me." he says, firms his grip on the dwarf's ankle with both hands, and then slams the guy down on the crossbow dwarf.
The Slab then firmly sets his boot to the rear end of the battered, half-drowned dwarf (or the crossbow dwarf, whichever is alive).
"Which one of ya scrawny gits is next!?!" The Slab roars in challenge.
Durivig continues engaging the leader.
"Give up now! Yer lives ain't worth much, but better'n dead I think!" He yells as he swings his hammer for the leader's armor.
The Leader's cheap-looking breastplate is dented so hard it cracks, You hear his voice sputter, looking Durvig he spits up a curse but it only comes out as blood spat into Durvig's face before is collapses limp, Still breathing.
The Half-Drowned dwarf still lives, But as The Slab puts the boot to his hind end he collapses too, nearly dead.
the Final Remaining Dwarf; The one who wielded the crossbow. Spits out a curse and turns to run. Provoking an AOO from Durvig as he dashes further into the warehouse.
Durivig tries to clip the Dwarf as he turns to run by hitting his leg.
You more than clip the running dwarf, Intended or not, Durvig's Warhammer clangs against the side of the Fleeing Dwarves leg and is accompanied by the sickening squelching crunch of bone and blood, He yells as his leg bursts into viscera, stumbles onto the floor, and breaths his last.
With that, your fight ends, One Dwarf is gasping and is on the verge of crossing over if he does not receive medical attention, the leader is bleeding out, But looks to be in better shape.
The Leader, clearly tougher than his companion clenches, fighting off the pain, His breathing becomes steady and he appears to have stabilized, though he is still in shock.
The other dwarf spits up water and blood, Still dying.
Durivig picks up his tower shield after spitting on the ground. He tosses the bodies outside in a pile without too much concern after searching them.
The gods'll sort them out.
"Well, we oughta keep on movin' on."
"Yep, need to get back to patrol. If they die, they die, if they live ain't no skin off my nose." The Slab says with a shrug.
During the act of moving the dwarves, the one who had nearly drowned croaks, So you end up leaving their leader alone.
When you search the Dwarves you find
A Masterwork Heavy Crossbow
105 gold worth of Assorted Coins
A Magical Scroll written in primordial
And The Leaders Magical Warpick
You also find on the leader a small note scratched on a folded piece of paper. The Note is brief, simply says. "Warehouse 61, Red Barrels on the second floor."
When you continue your Patrol, you cross path's with another group of Patroldwarves, one of whom is happy to inform you they chased off some vagabonds who were breaking into a warehouse on their route. before their patrol route requires them to go their separate ways with you.
A couple of hours pass, Your route loops back around where you had fought the dwarves A Couple times, the first and second time the leader remains where you dumped him, but on your third passing, he is gone. As are the bodies of his companions, Though the raft they had been using as well as the barrels they had been loading onto it remains. reaching the 6th hour, and your appointed rotation time. You are able to end your Patrol.
Returning to the initial staging grounds. Before you are allowed to leave you are asked for the status of your patrol if you had engaged in combat and any other details you might find important to share.
"We thrashed a small group o' looters but nothin' else to report. They was real concerned with somethin' in "Warehouse 61", but I'm not sure what."
The Dwarf taking note, having clearly been at this all day, Quickly Jots down what you said. Looking at the line forming behind you.
"Looters... at... Warehouse 61... You said they were concerned with something? Did you see any specific Items stolen? Did any of them get away with loot?"
"We sent 'em packin. Left the pile o' them outside the ware'ouse, but somebody picked up thar bodies when we circled a few times. There was a note on the boss o' them. Red Barrels on the second floor o' tha ware'ouse. Might want ta send someone to look for smuggled goods, drugs or whatnot."
The Dwarf notes down what you state, but gives you an incredulous look when you mention red barrels. But clearly rushed he pencils down what you said, and then quickly waves you along.
In Dwarven society the colors and markings of barrels and crates are uniform. As industrial as they are they understand the importance of uniformity when it comes to efficiency, And with your knowledge of goods and Industry, You know that Red Barrels denote Gunpowder.
When you move away from the line, You hear a voice shout out.
"Slab! Hey Slab! Get'over here!"
It appears to be a Gladiator, Specifically a Mid-Tier Gladiator known as Bronzebelly. The Slab would be familiar with this fellow, As he both Occupies the same Tier as him and is one of the Several Unarmed Gladiators whom The Slab would find himself fighting and Training with on occasion. Bronzebelly in particular fancies himself a Social butterfly and tries to be chummy with everyone.
"A whole Bunch of the Folks from the ring are all going out Drinking together, You should come along. You and your friend there."
"Oi, 'ey, Bronzey! C'mere!" The Slab says, giving him a quick belly bump, like Bornzebelly likes.
"Yeah, let's get the newbie drunk, eh?" he says, putting his arm around Durivig's shoulder."[/b]
When you belly bump Bronzebelly you feel as if you slammed against a large block of metal. Bronzebelly lives up to his namesake as his primary form of attack are belly bumps. You naturally stumble back some from the clash, but you're no stranger to bumping bellies with Bronzebelly and have no issue standing tall after the clash.
He laughs and puts a chummy arm around your shoulder.
"Not too often we have so many gladiators together at once, They even called a bunch of the High Tier fighters down for this. So we're gonna be a big group. We're all meeting up at that huge place in the Stone Circle, The Bottomless Barrel."
Bronzebelly then turns to greet Durvig, pushy in his approach, he takes Durvig's hand in a firm shake before the Craftdwarf can have a chance to reach in or pull back.
"Names Crom Shatteredshield, But most just call me Bronzebelly! good to meet ya!"
"Aye aye, I'm not one to turn down a drink with company. Durivig is the name." Durivig shoves a handful of gold that he found off the looters into the Slab's pocket.
"Aye, to the Bottomless Barrel!"
You join up with Bronzebelly who insists you stay around for a spell as he gathers up more people to join your group. Many of them are Gladiators like you, but the invitation apparently is open, and soon Bronzebelly is inviting Militiadwarves And even tossing invites to some of the Royal officials notating the relief effort, though they all politely refuse.
This leads to a domino effect of people who were invited inviting people they know or people they are with, And before a half, an hour has passed you are leaving the site amongst a scattered crowd of over 40 dwarves. With much more promising to show up at the Bottomless Barrel later in the evening. The crowd, in general, is rather loud, Thanks mostly due to a large number of boastful gladiators among the group.
You head into the Stone Circle, it is a layered cavern with workshops and small businesses, and poor homes for workers.
The Bottomless Barrel was a literal temple to the gods of Taverns and Drinking. A Three Story open-aired Megaplex that spilled over two blocks worth of buildings. In front of the megaplex is a Chair and Table strewn plaza, in the center of which is an obelisk depicting on all four faces, The names and likenesses of the Multiple Dozens of Dwarven gods dedicated to individual aspects, Taverns, Brewing, Carousing, And the various types of Brew, each of which has their own special lesser god. There are also Etchings giving homage to honorable gods of other races, The most prominent of which is Cayden Cailean, As the only place in the city where Cayden is depicted outside of the human's quarter. His images near the base receive special reverence from the humans of the city, Who have felt the need to leave luminescent mushrooms which were the dwarven equivalent to flowers. As well as prayer scrolls. Which all lay in a puddle of mixed liquors, As pouring out a drink for Cayden is a common tradition practiced at his shrines.
The Bottomless Barrel had no walls on its ground floor, instead, it stood on pillars, Allowing the chaos of Singing, Drinking, Dancing, and eating to be visible to all. In the center of the Megaplex was a Giant stone pillar that held up the whole Temple. In the pillar was a grove that held the famous “Bottomless Barrel” Allegedly it was a mighty artifact blessed by a Cleric or Laypriest from every Dwarven god of Booze. It is truly Bottomless they claim, The Barrel has 15 Spouts jutting out of it, each one dispensing a different type of alcohol, from Cheap Beer to High Valued Wine, at Four corners surrounding the barrel are magical runes that block attempts to view the Barrel with magical sight. They claim this is to protect people who may try to gleam it’s nature through magical sight, As such a powerful holy artifact would blind those who looked at it so. The Pillar is surrounded by a circular bar counter Operated by at minimum 4 overworked dwarves, but at the busiest times they can be operated by over 15, this was one of those times.
The Second floor is a circular inward balcony that can be reached by Stairways from the outside, Like the floor it is covered in tables chairs, as well as hammocks lining the walls, Cheap resting places for many of the workers of the stone circle. The Third floor has over a dozen closed rooms for people who want to pay extra for the room, they are often full with Dwarves who pay for days or even weeks in advance, and Reservations for a room can be very rare.
As for games and entertainment, there is a jumble of illegible music and singing coming from all directions from various dwarves in different states of drunkenness, It’s not hard to find a game of Cards going on, In the plaza, there is a cleared area marked with chalk where fights break out. One of the rules of the Tavern is, when there is a fight. Take it to the Square.
When you and your gang of Dwarves arrive, the place is already packed, it’s right at the end of the workday and Dwarves are floating in from all parts to pay their respects to the Gods of Drink. When you arrive, a Crowd of Dwarves wave your group over, The Slab will be able to pick out several notable faces amongst the Dwarves already present at the Bar. The most prominent of which is the current second dwarf of the top Three, A Gladiator is known as Blacklung.
Though he personally does not know The Slab, he does welcome the crowd of mostly Unknowns with a bellow.
” Slap some Tables together! the first round of Beer is on Me!”
This results in a cheer from the Crowd as well as a number of unaffiliated dwarves who just decided to join the group as soon as free Beer was offered. Tables across the plaza are picked up and dragged into a large Clutter together, And finally, most people are able to take a seat and start drinking.
Bronzebelly Decides to Join you two as well as another Gladiator, A Mid-Tier fighter known as Moldbeard. Despite his name, his beard looks perfectly clean. His name derives from his use of Alchemical agents while fighting, A Mug of Beer is dropped in front of each of you by a rushed dwarf, before he dashes off to get more beer.
You have the opportunity to seek out some games, Shmooze with the other Gladiators. Drink, Do what you want. Describe what you do in general. As the night passes.
Durivig sits down in a chair and takes off his gauntlets before pulling out a magnifying monocle with the magic pick. He spends some time tooling around with it, poking and prodding at the runes running along it.
The Craftdwarf fiddles around with it for some time before putting it away and seeking out a few games of cards.
When held in the hand the runes that run along the Pickaxes head glow a faint blue light, You also feel your hairs on your arm stand on end.
As you examine it You notice a marking on the head, it says "Rehza Keptvow." The first name means nothing to you, But you recognize the Keptvow name as it's one of the prominent Noble Clans.
As you look over the pick one of the gladiators takes an interest in it and looms over your shoulder. He is decked in a simple robe with a long white beard that nearly touches the floor. He is also very old even for a dwarf.
"Hmmm, Primordial Runes, Hmmm Some sort of Electrical aspect I would bet. It's a fine Pick on its own... I can't tell for sure without giving it a good look over, but typically, Elemental Effects are added to boost a Pick's penetrative power. As the pick strikes the heart of the beast, only then does it jolt the creature full of elemental POWER!"
he says in a nasally voice.
This Dwarf is known as Four Pillars. A Powerful Elementalist and High Tier gladiator.
The Slab spends a lot of time drinking, and brawling in the square, but does take some time out to play cards with his new partner and keep him company as well. It would be rude to just abandon him.
He frowns a bit when he sees Four Pillars coming around.
F~!%in' snob. Thinks he's better than everyone else 'cuz he can draw fancy magic squiggles. he thinks to himself.
Out loud, he shouts over the din of the party. "Hey, Four-Head! Let the lad be, eh? We're here to party, not listen to one o' yer lectures!"
"Thank ye fer yer observations. If ye want to take a better gander at it, be my guest." Durivig is polite as he doesn't understand the dichotomy between inner-gladiatorial social hierarchy and that of honoring your elders within Dwarven society despite The Slab's good-natured ribbing. Durivig drinks deep from his tankard as he slides the pick over to the old dwarf whilst pondering these things.
The Slab finds several people happy to brawl him, Other gladiators, but also common folk looking to get out some stress. As for Cards it's not long into the night before a trio from your group gets together to start a game, A game which you are happily invited too. You Joined by a Common Malita Dwarf from your Group, a plain-looking Gladiator named Mirror, and a shockingly Obese Gladiator you know well; The Belcher.
As you play Four Pillars takes the pickaxe and sits down beside Durvig as he looks it up. Wincing when his concentration is broken by Slab's mockery.
"Ya better watch your tone you!"
Says the old dwarf back at Slab, looking over the pick, giving it just a glance over, Seeming to discern the nature of the runes with just that glance before handing it right back.
"Yep, As I suspected. It's a good tool in the right hands it values is substantial too."
He then turns back to Slab, clearly not over the disrespect he received.
"Ya think ya can mouth off to me about Partying huh! I've drank more upstart mid-tiers out of their britches than you've been alive Son!"
"Well at least yer big mouth is good for somethin' then!" The Slab shouts, smiling, "Yer on if ya think yer dwarf enough!"
"Interestin'." Durivig is a careful, crafty sort when it comes to cards. He advances bets slowly steadily while trying to accumulate gold by folding early to show he has poor hands before going all in on a mediocre hand.
Durvig your cautious style saves you unnecessary losses through the night, And as you pull your move, attempting to bluff the table. Both The Belcher and the Common Dwarf put their cards down and fold, Having fallen for your bluff.
But the Gladiator Mirror looks over your face with a curious expression, stroking his black beard; braided with reflective jewelry. And then he calls your bluff, Raising you.
Slab, drinking challenges at The Bottomless Barrel draws sizeable crowds. it's famous for them.
And in fact, they have a place of honor for true drunkards, hanging above the barrel on golden plaques are the names of Dwarves who were able to down 50 of the In-house Ale in one night. No more than a Dozen Dwarves have accomplished this feat. A Few Notables include the current head of the Noble Aleblood Clan, The Current High Cleric of Urig the Dwarven god of Breweries, And a Famous Retired Gladiator named Ludbrok the Loon.
Luckily for your sake, Four Pillars is not one of these legends, so you might have a chance. Four Pillars rise to your challenge.
"I'll take your challenge boy, Loser pays the whole tab fer us both!"
Do you accept it? The Upstart Vs the veteran? Slab vs Four Pillars? Will the Four Pillars stand strong atop their foundation? Or will they buckle as the Slab they rest on rises above them?
"I already told ya, yer on! Quit stallin' or forfeit now, Fourthrate!"
Durivig calls Mirror's bet and is intent to let the cards fall where they may.
Well, I got the other 2 out, now it's just down to whoever has the better cards.
With chance taking the wheel it's anyone's game, It's close. Durvig places down a Pair of Kings, While Mirror reveals a Pair of 9's. Marking Durvig the winner of this hand.
"Lucky hand, one more round then?"
Asked Mirror, who up to this point had been mostly silent.
For the Slab, Four Pillars calls up a Barwoman who is quick to announce a drinking contest. This is a whole ordeal, as one of the Dwarfs manning a bar starts to ring a loud Triangle, and the first rounds of Drinks come out.
The terms are quickly hashed out with the Barwoman who makes it clear the tab is on whoever loses. First to Vomit, Passout, or refuse to drink. You both are given three full mugs to start with. You both have little issue downing them.
Total: 3 drinks
Total: 7 drinks
Total: 9 drinks
Total: 11 drinks
Total: 12 drinks
Durivig knows when to bow out and politely declines.
"Nae Master Mirror, yer likely tha better player. I've been grinding for this win all night. I think I'll be off ta watch the contest."