Kidnapped Session 9
Session #8 of Kidnapped, or was it?.
Play Date: October 20th, 2016
DM Summary
Coliseum!
Smash approached the table of two men whispering, his friends passed out in the doorway. He attempted to steal the mystical, poisoned knife the two were planning to sneak into the Coliseum match. However, despite his best efforts in fighting the knife away from the pair, he was hit with a necrotic spell and suddenly knocked unconscious.
Following, our heroes awoke tied together an hour outside of Birsk. They cut their ties, but realized that Mikey was nowhere to be found. Although they wished to solve the mystery of the knife, Smash needed to get to the Coliseum for the first day of battle (also, the qualifying match for Day 2 of the Coliseum battle).
After tedious waiting, Smash found himself in the battlefield facing enemy after enemy, and much to no one's surprise, he won the necessary 8 battles in a row to go on to the next day of fighting. Meanwhile, the rest of our heroes watched other contestants fight and lose. After a grueling 8 hours of battle, the final 16 fighters were chosen1.
Following the qualifier round, Smash and Mikey (who also managed to pass through to the second day) were given room and board and free food and drink. That night, a festival in the Coliseum would be held at 11pm.
Before heading to the festival, The Professor, Smash, Phineaus, Shivora, and Ella find their way to a bar celebrating Laborious' glorious day and entry into Day Two of the Coliseum--a feat not seen in many years by a man from Birsk2. They attempt to rouse a crowd into rioting, but find no purchase in this matter outside of riling a group within the bar.
Following, they make their way to a nearby bar (The Rusty Bucket?) where the champions of Seaside are being celebrated by upper-class folks who only drink champagne and fancy liquor. Shivora attempts to make bets on Smash by an unlicensed bookie, and hears tales about Eye of the Serpent and the failings of rogue-types with great hype behind them. He withdraws his bet only to find Ella and Phineaus causing a ruckus and successfully inciting a riot!
They pull the group out of the bar and lead them towards the Birsk supporters, leading them toward the Coliseum festivities.
Smash spends his time between the fights and the festival communing with The Great Owl, an ancient deity of his people, in the great sky tree in the clouds. He asks questions about the powers he wishes to gain and about the absence of his Father (Tokk), or even knowledge of his father, in the world. After a discussion with the Great Owl, Smash returns with new power and slight features in his face like that of an owl.
As the festivities begin, Smash makes his way down and is announced by a guard (as all heroes are as they enter). It's here that he finds himself speaking with Luda Darkver, an incredibly flirty Dwarven warrior who is known for slicing enemies down with her twin axes. The two hit it off immensely as they bond over hand axes3 and Dwarven Christmas4.
Eventually, Shivora, Ella, Phineaus, and the Professor arrive to try to push the riot into full fight in the Coliseum, but the setting gets the best of the group of rioters and they calm themselves.
The Professor finds Bartleby an presses him on his allegiance as Delfian. Bartleby makes it clear that his allegiances are not clouded and he fully understood what happened in the encampment days earlier.
Before turning in for the night, The Professor leaves to scope out the Coliseum just as Shivora notices a shadowy character run from the entrance where the heroes entered (a side door in the Coliseum grounds) towards the back portcullis. He sneaks his way towards the shadowy figure, followed closely by Phineaus and Ella. They sneak their way through the portcullis and attempt to track the shadowy figure.
Smash wishes Luda a good night and turns in...
Phineaus sounds for the guards but they pursue deeper, and under the coliseum. The find massive storage rooms and locked doors and, finally, freshly worn clothing left draped on the ground, accompanied by footsteps leading up to them, not away.
Back in the rooms provided for the Coliseum Champions, Smash finds his way back to his room (third floor, first room) only to hear footsteps and a scream. Running towards the scream, he finds two guards (a young, and suddenly vomiting guard, and an old, weathered guard) looking over the body of one of the Champions, one of the few Champions not seen that night5: Yosni Gall.
Outside, The Professor sees the Rusty Bucket burning down.
Session Notes
1- Final fighters
- King Kang - Male Orc Barbarian
- Raas R'lyah - Female Human Monk
- Luda Darkver - Female Dwarven Barbarian
- Glagas - Male Orc Fighter
- Barrin Thoald - Male Dwarven Fighter - Seaside
- Joreen Alfgan - Female Human Fighter - Seaside
- Smash
- Kharis Preslee - Female Elven Fighter
- Mikey
- Gary Delf - Fighter - Seaside
- Ayred Umexidor - Male Elven Ranger
- Korux - Male Halfing Rogue
- Terrence Barrows - Male Human Fighter
- Yosni Gall - Female Gnome Ranger
- Laborious Unvalfen - Male Dwarf fighter
- Eye of the Serpent - Male Elf Rogue
2- The people of Birsk have notoriously lost their Coliseum matches over the years as they are a city of miners, not fighters. They live in an isolated land and farm the mountains to the north for precious gems and metals. In recent years, they have become aware of this fault, but despite their best efforts, Seaside has pushed them into the losing bracket and won the Title Belt.
3- Luda's family has a long history with a family of Blacksmiths, but she is the first of her family to wield handaxes instead of a great axe.
4- Dwarven Christmas (as described) is the celebration in which a bearded baby Jesus rides a dragon into the mountain towns tossing gems and rubies to the townsfolk.
5- All but three champions were not seen at the Day One festivities: Yosni Gall, Mikey, and Gary Delf
