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"Gotta agree with your boss, hun. Anything to make the game more exciting is fine in my books," the group's gambler chimes in. "But like I always say: 'a fair game's a losing game'; think we can get an edge by having some foreknowledge our opponents don't?"
He punctuates his words with well-timed card tricks.
Gram decides to refocus and regain her center as she walks, picking up that Vi seems a bit intimidated by her. Deroff briefly is startled by the magical statues, but quickly surmises that they are not a threat.
Vi looks like she's about to say something about her boss, but demurs. "He's, well, he's my ticket to a better life for my family, ok? We took a hit during the Civil War, and now it's up to me to get allies where I can. A high-born type with connections, right? He can do that. I mean, he says he can..." she trails off, clearly unsure.
Aldonza sees Vi blush when she suggests the tour, and thinks she's definitely on the right track, though Vi might be a slower courtship type.
Nikebei's tales seem to amuse Vi, who nods. "You'll definitely do well if you can perform like that tonight!"
Jack's card tricks seem to have lost some luster as you walk and he decides to quit while he's ahead.
Vionnia leads you alongside a canal until a disused jousting ground comes into view nestled on a cliffside overlooking a small cove. You can see stairs leading down to cove and a small dock there. The tournament grounds themselves consist of an archery range, melee arena, jousting lane, and stands for the common people. On the cliff side, a crumbling gazebo built from white stone serves as an entrance to the staircase. Within the gazebo, a few stone benches offer a place to take in the view of the river.
The jousting grounds are dimly lit by the setting sun, with rusted iron chains and spikes cordoning off the melee arena from the rest of the grounds. The hooded lanterns cast an area of bright light over the entire melee arena and 5 feet surrounding it. On the western side, there are some large cages covered with red canvas. The audience stand is 10 feet high, while the royal stand’s fence is 3 feet high. The jousting divider is 5 feet high, though a Medium or Small creature is able to Squeeze through its openings. Other than the cliff side to the west, the fields continue in all other directions for several hundred yards.
The cliff side stairs and gazebo are 40 feet away from the western edge of the jousting grounds. There’s a 50- foot drop to the dock below, and the water is 20 feet deep near the dock. It takes 80 feet of movement to descend from the gazebo to the dock using the stairs. There’s a distance of 120 feet from the dock to where the cove connects to the mouth of the River Porthmos.
A partly overgrown earthen path leads towards lights and structures on a field in the distance. At the last stretch, the path straightens and becomes flanked by rows of tall, leafy trees. From a cliff side overlooking the Porthmos river, the setting sun paints the nearby stands, tents, and crates in an orange glow. Vi leads you toward the melee arena, but she whispers in a low voice, "Don't run off. We're supposed to wait here. But... something feels wrong tonight. It's, well, it's not normal for me to be asked to bring anyone here during the tournament. My employer, he's a dangerous man, prone to violence. He keeps a stash of invisibility potions in the royal stand so he could be anywhere, watching. Beware." She smiles and turns to leave.
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"Hmpf." Miladistra wrinkles her nose as Vionna talks about her sponsor. "I would be very weary of so-called saviors. My- my father thinks he has something great in store for me. Hmpf. Take whatever you need to survive, then get far away from him, that's my advice." She hides her scorn underneath a grin.
"Jack, you should look into that." Miladistra points at the wounds from the bear trap. "I can try to heal again, but... maybe Tao can try? She's better at this than I am."
Miladistra looks around the arena and smells the sweat, the incense, the... waste. The natural world continues to encroach, and society resists. What clues can the world tell her?
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"Jack's still hurt, cousin!" Jesselle tugs on her clothes, echoing Miladistra's suggestion.
"Sorry" Tao was distracted by the good conversation. She uses her Healing Hands and Refocuses and of course gives him a quick "pep talk" about safety and not "going all in" running ahead of everyone only to get hurt then needing to be bailed out yadda yadda - Jesselle audibly rolls her eyes (!) as if she has heard the same "pep talk" over and over before "Yeah yeah he gets it" she says on the young rogue's behalf.
Taking her stern hands off her hips now, Tao cloudens her eyes, and calls upon her gladitorial ancestors - Hilarium and Deccum! - and asks if they could assist her mortal eyes in keeping her family safe...
earth. You gain a +1 circumstance bonus to their initiative roll.
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Grams also offers to tend the wounded, using her own healing touch.
She looks troubled by the discussion. "It's good your helping your family, but even that should only go so far," she cautions Vi. "Folgrit teaches us to keep our family close, but she wouldn't want people to get hurt simply to make life easier for them. Being together -- even if just in spirit -- should be enough."
She pulls her axe out again and makes sure her shield is firmly strapped to her arm as she looks around their next battlefield.
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Kneeling, Tao sweeps the sand with her finger and tastes it "Blood" she says matter-of-factly as her eyes slowly return to normal. She gets back into character, turning to the crowd.
she whips her scarf at the crowd violently.
allowing the spirits of her Magical Ancestors to fully take ownership of her person and personality!
Jesselle bites her nails nervously, smiling too, with eyes wide - her crush upon Jack♢ fading under the eclipse of her sisterly love for her only-sometimes-annoyingly-motherly cousin!!
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"Still got those med kits ready?" Jack♢, still a bit injured, asks Miladistra. His elven eyes watch over Vionnia's back, and then scan the jousting grounds. "We got a gameplan in case of some invisible high-rollers?"
”Does kicking sand on them work?”, mutters Aldonza. ”Is this a private performance?”
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"Huh?" Grams startles as Tao calls out, her attention pulled from the stunning sunset and her reverie of her own family after her mention of their importance to Vionna. She wonders if this will be as bad as her companions seem to fear and, if so, her own adventure will be cut short. At least she'd be reunited with her husband in Torag's halls.
"I've fought big cats once before," she warns the others. "They certainly can scale walls. Nikebei, you should stand behind me, or at least stay close. In my experience, these creatures certainly will favor goblin flesh."
A soft but malicious voice spreads throughout the jousting grounds, “I wonder what path lead you here, dear guests? A pack of mice looking to sniff around when the lion is out of the castle? Hah, I think not. Poor little mice, the mouse trap has sprung!”
The cage doors clang loudly against the iron spikes and chains as they clatter to the ground. A ferocious roar shakes the arena.
ROUND 1:
Tao
Lions
Miladistra, Nikebei, Aldonza, Jack
Weak Lions, Archis
Grams
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Tao opens a channel into the Outer Planes and her Goddess breaches the portal!
A right hand wielding a mighty Staff of Andoletta flies through and strikes at the uncaged Lion!
A left hand with an open palm reaches through and passes into Jack♢, curling all but one finger to "point" towards the foe he had already laid his eyes upon!
◆◆) Cast Spiritual Weapon
◆) Cast Guidance
Jesselle points her own fingers to match the goddesses and cheers on "Yeah Ja-... I mean Five gettim!" while her cousin replaces her compliment spirits, preparing for the coming onslaught...
Tao's spiritual weapon flies true, but the lion is a cagey foe and it misses by a whisker!
The yellow lion rushes forward and runs twice toward the party, ending his move in a pounce!
for piercing damage!
The Red lion pounces immediately upon Gram!
for piercing damage! It Grabs Gram and claws at her! for slashing damage plus if she is flat-footed from the Grab!
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Aldonza perks up at the sound of their host. ”An audience of one?”, she grins. ”How exclusive!”
She bows with a flourish. ”And now, for our final performance, the Slayers’ Guild presents a theater-in-the-round production we like to call...”’
She grips the upper part of her marotte, and draws the sword concealed within.
”...There’s More Than One Way to Skin a Cat!”
And with that, she stabs at the lion in front of Grams.
Aldonza looks exceptional stabbing the cat, but still misses the big kitty!
Jack moves to flank, but even his flanking can't quite wear down the cat enough to wound it!
Miladistra sees a choir of angels singing for her in the distance...
Nikebei sees red and RAGES. He moves toward the yellow lion and attacks! for slashing! His blade lands and cuts the lion!
The Blue Lion, sensing freedom, bolts for the hills!
ROUND 2:
Tao, Grams, Miladistra
Lions
Nikebei, Aldonza, Jack
Archis
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Cursing herself for having driven her magical ancestors away, Tao calls them back, struggling against her warrior ancestors momentarily, forcing them to hold hands in a line - the former touching Miladistra, the latter Grams, in hopes of stopping their own soul's departure to the next realm, joining Deroff's mournful howls in kneeling and praying.
◆) Lay on Hands @ Miladistra
◆) Lay on Hands @ Grams
◆) Sustain Spiritual Weapon
Succeeding in her spiritual defiance, Tao's allies revive, and are protected at the moment from further violence, which she whirls to wreak upon the Lion behind, continuing to guide her goddesses might!
Overwhelmed with uncontrollable power, Tao is cut off from her Oracular Mystery, as hundreds of ghosts surround her and make noise, the smell of wet steel giving way to...
>
...the distinct smell of varisian spices and perfumes, as yet another compliment of ancestors - with their boiling pots, bottled poultices, and compact instruments - join the crowding around her head!
Tao's hands are indeed healer's hands and the spiritual weapon strikes true, bludgeoning Yellow!
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HP 26/39
AC 21 (23 with shield raised)
Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +5
Hero points: 1
Effects: grabbed, +2 AC from lay on hands
Level bump (+1 attack modifiers, attack damage, spell damage, saving throw modifiers, skill modifiers, Perception modifiers, and AC; +6 HP mentor's boon
Grams blanches for a second as she sees her life flash before her eyes at the lion's attack, but then comes back to her senses and realizes that -- despite all the blood, she's not as badly hurt as she thought.
Raising her shield, she wrenches herself free from the creature and then swings her axe at it.
"I'm no goblin you can munch on," she tells it, "and you can't munch on them either, for that matter!"
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Grams feels suddenly much more hale and hearty, possibly due to her mentorship! She escapes from the lion and slashes it back for good measure!
The lions roar in frustration and attack with tooth and claw!
for piercing! It cannot seem to bit the agile man, so it tries to claw twice!
for slashing!
for slashing!
Red snarls at Grams and tries to Bite Grams and claw Aldzona!
for piercing!
for slashing!
for slashing!
Nikebei slices and dices, but cannot fricassee a lion!
Aldonza doesn't fool the lion, but she does cut the lion!
Jack tries to cut cut cut, but the lion says no no no!
Oh, the missus is alive. Deroff briefly nuzzles her before turning to the non-rock predators. Baring his teeth, he bites the creature twice.
Miladistra moves away and commands the wolf, who is happy to sink his teeth into the Yellow lion.
ROUND 32:
Tao, Grams, Miladistra
Lions
Nikebei, Aldonza, Jack
Archis
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Miladistra unleashes an Electric Arc across both lions.
The arc deals electric damage.
"Okay Deroff, keep going!"
Deroff keeps up the pace and chomps at the Yellow-furred Lion.
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Obeying her ancestors, Tao reaches into her pockets and applies a poultice to Aldonza - sweet-smelling salts sizzle in her bite wounds!
◇) Release one hand
◆) Battle Medicine
◆) Regrip Bladed Scarf
◆) Sustain Spiritual Weapon vs Yellow
She maintains her focus upon her goddesses weapon, but struggles a little to aim true...
...the smell of varisian spices and perfumes remain...
The Yellow lion resists some of the electric arc!
The red lion's fur raises as well as it avoids some damage!
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HP 26/39
AC 19 (21 with shield raised)
Fort +8, Ref +6, Will +5
Hero points: 1
Effects: +2 AC from lay on hands
Level bump (+1 attack modifiers, attack damage, spell damage, saving throw modifiers, skill modifiers, Perception modifiers, and AC); +6 HP mentor's boon
Grams gives a nod as she sees Jack on the far side of the other lion -- she's not as experienced as she might seem at her age, but she knows working together can help distract the beast. Raising her shield, she glances behind her to make sure Tao is aware she may be at greater risk, then closes in on the other creature while still trying to keep herself between the Varisian woman and the deadly cat.