This will be used for our discussion of the game!
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It is a fine early spring day in the great empire of Cellerus, and particularly so in the city of Stillwillow. A cool breeze floats through the trade district, carrying the calls of merchants and sell-swords through the packed city streets. The sun beats down upon the brows of countless men, native and migrant alike. Countless men have gathered to seek gold and glory against the gauntlet of magical trials that have been set up by the various magical races of Sariel. The trials were announced as happening close to a month ago, though the people of Stillwillow could tell something was being planned many months earlier. Elvish emissaries, an uncommon sight here, had met with several human officials from the capital city a while back. That was when the rumors started up. Some men thought it was the pre-amble to war, some men thought it had to do with that crazy preacher who was spreading his infernal message in Sorcuth, some even joked that the elves were just looking for better whorehouses. Wives gossiped at their chores, children did so in their schoolhouses, and merchants did it in the city bathhouses. Nobody ever guessed the true cause. Two months ago to the day a letter was put to every public board, and delivered to the residences of every crown knight and lord of the kingdom.
Early this morning the crowds gathered to the square. Janos Alaryn was standing at the top of the temple steps, to his left were two elvish men, one old and one young but both dressed in the house colors of elven royalty. To Alaryn's right was a short man, squat and stout he wore leather, steel tools at his side and a pair of fine goggles atop his head, there was no mistaking that this was the first dwarf seen by the common man in decades. To the right of the dwarf was a man dressed in white robes woven with the golden symbols of the Ecclesiarchy of Sorcuth. "Today," Alaryn spoke in a deep, measured voice, clearly having practiced what he was about to say countless times, "marks an historic occasion. All men of Sariel have gathered one of our greatest city to test themselves against trials devised by the most powerful mages and engineers on the planet." He paused for a moment, a smile slowly spreading across his face before he began anew. "The rules are quite simple. No fewer than three men may compete together, and no more than ten. Each challenge must be completed by any means at your disposal. That is it. Registration ends in five days, and the first round begins two days after that. The first trial of this tournament will last for one month, after which time those who were able to muster the strength to succeed shall be told of the second challenge."[/b] The audience's reaction was mixed. Some men, who thought this tournament to be one purely of combat began to shout in disapproval, while others breathed sighs of relief knowing they would be competing with their allies instead of against. For a moment it seemed as if half the crowd was going to start a riot. "The possible winnings from the first trial total nearly one hundred thousand gold pieces for each winning team," spoke the King's Voice, and silence descended over the crowd. A purse of that size, and for simply overcoming one round... this was truly to be a tournament like no other. Now the trade district was full of men of all walks of life, trying to nail down a plan of action or to recruit others to their causes. In the hours since the announcement one thing has become clear, wealth and glory have come to the gates of this city, and only the greatest honor awaits. |