Session 3
Fishing, Fighting, Mushrooms
Back
Forward
The next morning the group woke up in the resistance force's base, feeling refreshed and rearing to go. Unsure of where to go next, Thoradin hatched a plan. "How many children do you have?" He asked Theo.
"Uhm. Just seven, actually."
Disappointed, Thoradin sighed. "Not enough for an army," he grumbled. The party decided to return to Lockseed, three goals in mind. New poles for an improved fishing experience, another fight in the arena to make some more capital, and some intel on where to go next to further the resistance's objectives. The group asks if they could borrow Theo's carriage, and Theo unflinchingly agrees wholeheartedly.
After making their way to Lockseed in the mid-afternoon, the group first set off for the Hunt and Fish Company. In the shop sat a familiar, yet different host, whom the group surmised to be the other shopkeeper's brother. While there, Thoradin and Rolen each purchased a Good Rod, while Roberto was content to keep his Nice one.
Next, the party meandered off to Big Al's Potion Emporium, hoping to get themselves another fight for the night. Big Al agreed to let them have one of the arena fights, but he told them the day after the arena would be closed all day, due to the Garlant's Tour Festival. After securing themselves a headline fight at eleven that night, they decided to let some steam off, as they had already finished two of their three goals.
In Lockseed's Market Town, the group had previously seen what looked like some sort of carnival attraction, a colorful sign reading "Fish and Hunting Game" above the stand. They made their way there.
The man at the stand seemed kind if somewhat greasy, and explained to them that a game of either hunting or fishing would cost but a measly four silver pieces. Roberto laid down a gold piece, buying himself five games, before getting to work at "fishing". He cast his line into a ruffled and waving blue cloth. In the end he had managed to catch quite the fish, a cheaply stuffed cloth fish, but a fish nonetheless. Thoradin laid down a gold piece himself, and caught a small plastic clam, which he traded for a palm-sized teddy bear. Rolen was able to accomplish catching a large stuffed shark.
After some fishing, Thoradin was interested in trying some hunting. He paid the greasy man a gold piece, who handed him a long and thin cylinder with a hole on one end and a handle on the other. The greasy man described the strange instrument as a "hunting fireball thrower" before running off.
The blue cloth sea fell away, quickly replaced by a flat green cloth. The man, now dressed as a lion, pranced about the green "field" acting as a poor imitation of the animal he dressed as. Thoradin took aim, fired, and missed.
In an instant the greasy man was back, dressed in the tacky suit he was wearing when the group had first come. "So sorry, old chap. Would you like to try again?" The same scenario repeated, this time with the man dressed as a beautiful gazelle. Again, Thoradin missed the shot. Wanting to try one last time, the stage reset. This time, the man came out dressed as a rhino.
Breathing carefully, Thoradin cleared his mind. He took a moment to aim, not breathing. Then, a shot, nailing the rhino right in its head! The man roared convincingly, before falling to the ground. In another moment he was back, carrying a plush rhino as Thoradin's prize.
After that, with still some hours to kill before their fight, the group head to the armory. Thoradin contracts the man running the armory to outfit his hammer with some silver spikes, as he had been feeling a bit paranoid about the existence of the undead and paranormal. Rolen got himself a bow with a flint stone near its arrow-docking section. Roberto, the most desolate of the bunch, was content with the things he had.
Finally ready for the big fight, the party made their way to the pit. In the pit already was a gnomish warrior-type fighting a pack of rats. Unsurprisingly, the rats won. Next up was a half-elf man fighting a giant baby. The party placed their bets, and watched the match excitedly. In the end, the baby held the half-elf man's head above him making gibberish noises and spitting all over himself. Big Al called the group over, and told them to get ready.
The party jumps into the pit, to the applause of everyone watching. In the past few days, it was clear, the Big Three had amassed quite the following. The gates of the pit opened, and out walked three panthers, looking feral and hungry. The crew made quick work of the beasts, and threw their corpses to the crowd, bowing and making grand gestures. They collect their earnings from Big Al, and return to their inn, the Rest's End. They discovered plastered on a wall there was a huge poster advertising the "King Garlant Tour Festival" that they had heard about earlier from Big Al. On the poster in large text was, "enter for the chance to win a day of fun with the Great King Garlant (blessed be his name)." At the bottom of the poster is tomorrow's date, along with "6:00 PM."
They asked the innkeeper of the Rest's End to tell them more about the Festival. He explains that the contest will require teams of three, only a single team will be allowed to win, and the contest will be hosted at the pit. "Beyond that, no one knows. They've been keeping the details close to their chests. Sounds like fun, though." He bid the group farewell as they retired to their room for the night. Sitting on the edge of one of the beds in the room, they were surprised to discover, was Thedoba. Before saying a word, he handed them a vial.
"I have an update for you. Tomorrow there's going to be a festival, you've probably heard about it. That would be the perfect chance to get close to Garlant, to take him down. Our allies on the inside tell me part of the contest will be one of strength. Give this to who you face, it'll weaken them." He nodded to the group, and limped out the door.
The next morning, the group decided to go fishing- actual fishing this time. They travelled by foot south for about thirty minutes before reaching a steam. Roberto and Thoradin set out fishing, while Rolen suddenly had an inclination to forage for mushrooms. After catching some fish, and finding some 'shrooms, they set out again to return to Lockseed.
With still many hours to kill, the group went to Market Town, wanting to treat themselves. First to Big Al's potion shop, where they bought some poison. Next to the spice store, full of all the spices Arengard, and indeed, all of Phatax, had to offer. Roberto bought himself and his friends a VIP pass, allowing them to take all the salt they could ever want, forever. Next Roberto wanted to visit the crafts store. There he bought crayons and construction paper, and met the nice man that ran the shop. They doddled in the crafts store a while longer, until the shopkeep told them, "I'd better close this place up, now. I wouldn't want to be late for the festival." The party had nearly forgotten! They bid farewell to the craft man, and go to the center of town themselves for the festival.
Upon reaching the center of town, they approached a booth marked "applications." When asked for a name for their team, the party decided the "Big Three" wouldn't cut it anymore. Instead they opted for the much cooler, "Capital Punishment."
Jumping into the pit, the party discovered most of the groups were casually chatting amongst themselves. Our heroes approached one of the teams, whom they learned were called "Ferren's Favorites." Ferren's Favorites was comprised of three humans, each wearing a tank top and a backwards hat. One of the members had a pair of sunglasses on, and the other two had goatees. Waiting for the festival to actually begin, Capital Punishment had a nice conversation with these guys. Rolen went so far as to share his Coffee Grinder with the dudes.
A woman garbed in iron armor cleared her throat from the top of the pit, prompting everyone below to cease their talking and listen. "Hello, champions, I am Valwart, the proud mayor of Lockseed. You are about to engage in a series of contests. Twelve teams, thirty-six valient challengers, yet only three will be able to meet the Great King Garlant."
At the king's name, many of the fighters in the pits murmured, "blessed be his name."
Valwart nodded, and continued, "Our first challenge will be that of strength. I believe you low-borns call it," she paused thoughtfully, "arm wrestling."
At this, some of the teams, including Ferren's Favorites, cheered. Valwart went on to explain that the teams will be randomly assigned an opponent, each team choosing a representative to participate for this round. Without further wait, Valwart started to list off which teams would be placed against each other. "Capital punishment," Valwart finally said, "will be facing Garlant's Greatest."
Judging by one group's reaction to hearing that name, the party surmised them to be Garlant's Greatest. Each of them had braided beards, and they spoke loudly in some foreign accent.
"We will be starting in ten minutes." Valwart stated, before leaving the edge of the pit. Capital Punishment went to greet their challengers, and, hopefully, deliver to them that strength-sapping potion Theo had given them.
"Ooh, Ja, hallo!" One of Garlant's Greatest said to them. The party returned their greeting, and offered a drink for good luck. Amiably, the bearded beauties agreed. Though they briefly seemed suspicious when they caught Roberto slipping something into their glass, they quickly became affable again and drank without question.
The contest began, and Capital Punishment elected Thoradin as their representative for the round. He approached a waist-high table, where a Garlant's Favorite was already waiting. As, Theo had promised, the potion did indeed seem to have an averse effect on the man's strength, and Thoradin was able to win easily.
The next round was acrobatics, and much like the first round, each team would pick a representative and face a random opponent. Every team that had lost the previous round was eliminated from the competition, leaving six teams left.
For this round, Rolen was chosen to represent Capital Punishment. Their team was designated to oppose the Hammers and Forgers, a team of dwarves. One of the Hammers and Forgers, a freakishly tall dwarf, was elected to be their representative. Thoradin seemed excited to get to know this abomination of a dwarf, but the contest beginning cut his questions short.
After front flipping, pole vaulting, long jumping, cart-wheels, and hand springs, Rolen was declared the more adept acrobat of the two. Each of the losing teams from that round were eliminated, leaving three teams left: Capital Punishment, Men of the West, and Special Ops. Men of the West dressed in cowhide vests and cowboy hats, and spat on the ground every fifteen seconds. Special Ops seemed to be comprised of mentally handicapped half-giants.
"The next test," Valwart said from the top of the pit once again, "is ethics! Please wait in the holding cell behind you." Valwart gestured to the wide door behind the three teams as they opened. "We'll call you out individually."
The next hour or two was spent in the holding room, which had been nicely redecorated for the purposes of the tournament. Couches adorned the room, and hardcover books sat upon coffee tables. The Men of the West were called first, before returning, looking shaken. Next, the Special Ops. They too looked shaken. By the time Capital Punishment's name was called, the party was practically shaking in their boots.
Capital Punishment entered the pit arena once again. In it sat a single small child, who looked to be crying. When one of the party asked what was wrong she bleakly replied, "I think my father may be a sympathizer to the Resistance against the Great King Garlant."
Roberto nodded and got on one knee. With nary a hesitation, he said confidently, "well, buddy, it's not fun, but you should turn your father in. For Garlant."
The little girl exploded into a cloud of confetti. Valwart once again appeared at the edge of the pit. "Congratulations! You passed the ethics test! Everyone did, actually. No eliminations this round!" Every team exited the holding room to stand beside Capital Punishment.
"Next," Valwart said with a gleam in her eye, "combat!" She cackled for a moment before continuing. "Men of the West versus Capital Punishment first."
After Special Ops had retreated back to the holding room, Valwart sent an assistant to deliver a vest to each of the fighters. On each vest were three ink pockets, one on each shoulder, and one on the chest.
Valwart cleared her throat. "If each of your ink pockets are popped, you're out! Go!" And with that, the fight had begun.
Though the Men of the West had managed to pop a few of the Capital Punishment's pockets, it was Capital Punishment that ended up reigning victorious. As the Men of the Rest sulked out of the pit disapointedly, Special Ops wandered in from the holding room.
"For obvious reasons," Valwart said, subtly gesturing to the Special Ops who were all three looking amazedly at dandelions, "combat would be… inhumane." She shrugged. "For this final round, we will let you all decide on the event.
One of the Special Ops excitedly suggested dancing, and Capital Punishment didn't have it in them to let him down, so they agreed. "Alright, you have an hour to figure out your routine. After that, wow me."
Capital Punishment used their hour to the fullest, incorporating dabs and backflips into the routine. When they finished their performance, Valwart truly was "wowed." As the audience clapped for the party and their fantastic routine, so did Special Ops. In fact, it seemed like the Special Ops were clapping the loudest.
It was the Special Ops' turn to amaze, and they didn't hesitate. Immediately the team began. Their routine seemed haphazardly put together, and none of them were performing in synchronization. One of the Special Ops gestured Valwart over, and to everyone's surprise she actually jumped down into the pit. As one of the Special Ops clumsily tangoed with Valwart, the other two were dabbing and trying backflips. One landed on his back and started to whimper. The man tangoing with Valwart gracefully spun her away and threw his hands into the air. One other man did one last dab, and the man on the ground weakly said, "tada…"
Valwart considered carefully, before announcing, "the winner here is Capital Punishment!" To that, the audience cheered. Special Ops didn't seem the least bit disappointed. Capital Punishment waved amiably to the Special Ops as they were lead back into the holding room. There, she lead the group through another hallway and into a large room. A billiard table along with leather couches and chairs filled the room. Three rooms branched off from where they were, all of the doors open. In those rooms were comfortable-looking beds. "This is where you'll sleep for the night. In the morning, we're off for Odem." Odem. To meet this Garlant they had heard so much about.
The three slept blissfully that night, and met up with Valwart in the morning. Again, she lead them through that hallway and out of the holding room. As the party climbed out of the pit on the ladder, they could see a strikingly long carriage awaiting them. "A limousine," Valwart said, smiling. Thoradin expressed interest in stopping at a bar before leaving Lockseed, but Valwart opened a cabinet to reveal all the booze the three could want.
On the road, the party spent the day happily drinking. Thoradin unrelentingly dropped hints that Valwart should sleep with Roberto, but both parties were uninterested. They stopped that evening at a lake, the halfway point between Lockseed and Odem. Thoradin and Roberto fished, while Rolen continued to look for mushrooms. Why? The man likes his mushrooms. Thoradin, in a stroke of luck, managed to catch a nurse shark. He put the shark in a large storage container and hauled it onto the ship.
In the middle of the night, feeling devious, Thoradin moved Roberto into Valwart's bed, without waking either of them. Thoradin woke up the next morning to both of them screaming.
After another day of travelling, the party plus Valwart reach Odem's city gates at around seven o' clock. They walk up the castle's grand steps, and Valwart knocked gingerly on the door. As the door swung open, the party recognized the man greeting them to be the Great King himself.
"Ah, winners of the festival!" He said with a charming smile. Almost immediately, Thoradin noticed the bulge in Garlant's pants. The man was working with a longsword while everyone else had a dagger.
With a snap of Garlant's fingers, a long table filled with food appeared in the throne room. "You must have had a long journey, dig in," Garlant said earnestly. Before the party sat down to feast, they requested Garlant summon a few people to also partake in the festivity. First, Big Al. Garlant, though he didn't know who Big Al was, obliged. Big Al suddenly appeared in the throne room, looking scared and confused. Next, the party asked for Garlant to summon the Special Ops. Again, Garlant obliged. Though the Special Ops looked confused at first, they quickly grew accustomed to their new location and began to chow down. Thoradin, Roberto, Rolen, Valwart, the Special Ops, and Garlant had themselves an enjoyable meal.
Afterwards, Garlant offered to give the party a tour. Bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchens. Each room was decorated elegantly and, the party guessed, quite expensively. Garlant showed the party the dungeon downstairs, which they recognized from Phatax Alpha. Garlant told them this is where the "rebel scum" went. Despite Garlant's clear lack of empathy towards those he deemed below him, Roberto began to take a liking to him.
The final room Garlant showed them was the ballroom. In it, stone statues were spread throughout. Garlant referred to these as his "trophies." The party began to subtly search for Tyralle, and were able to find her. Garlant told the party they could take one of the statues home as a souvenir.
"Well, how about her?" Thoradin asked, pointing to Tyralle.
"Actually, that one's one of my favorites. Any of the other ones though," Garlant told the dwarf.
"No, we want to take that one." On this, Thoradin was adamant.
After a moment of silence, Garlant sighed. "Well, alright."
The party had done it! They had saved Tyralle. Now they just needed to figure out how to turn her from stone.
The party was shown their rooms for the night by Garlant, and, after a restful sleep, were on the road again to Lockseed.