Fetch put on his armor slowly as Tyris patiently waited for him. There was an oppressive sense of loss around him, and that seemed to puzzle the bard. Fetch had been beaten numerous times in the past, but until today, his will was never broken. Today his body and his spirit seemed defeated.
"Are you ok?", asked the normally quiet Tyris. She sat next to him and studied his face carefully."Do you want to talk about it?"
Despite being together for almost 3 years, Fetch seldom talked freely with his wife. It was a strange arrangement but it had served them well. Tyris was normally secretive of her past, and Fetch respected her privacy. Besides battle and the bed they shared, they had little in common. The few times they tried to talk it had always been awkward. Fetch didn't mind, he enjoyed the company of Tyris, awkward or not. Fetch sometimes grew frustrated at how little they spoke , and secretly wished it was different. The fact that she offered to initiate a conversation should have been a welcome event for the Cleric, but he waved her away instead.
"Not now, maybe another time .", answered Fetch.
Tyris nodded and held the cleric's hand as they walked out of the dressing room. It was a common gesture from the bard. Hugging, touching, kissing and hand holding were the ways she most commonly communicated.
An extremely large and broad dwarf blocked their exit, and motioned towards Fetch. He began clawing the air, and licking his beard. It was strange behavior and baffled the cleric.
"I think he's suppose to be a cat.", replied Tyris after carefully studying the dwarf. "I think he wants us to follow."
Fetch shrugged, and the pair followed the odd dwarf. Instead of going through twisting and concealed passages, they walked through busy corridors. Accountants, money changers, and promoters seemed busy throughout the hall. The people gave a wide berth to the large dwarf . Eventually they reached the largest office of the corridor. They were ushered in by a large half elven woman.
"You were great ! ", cried Hoaglie as they entered, "I have people asking when you are fighting next! So...can I sign you up for next week, this weekend, how about tomorrow?"
Fetch shook his head and gave a faint smile, "Sorry Hoaglie, I appreciate the opportunity you've given me but I've had enough of this arena . "
"Fighting for money depresses him.", added Tyris as she held onto Fetch's arm. Fetch had not expected her to speak, but was surprised at how true and to the point she was.
"Ahh, your little woman I take it?", asked Hoaglie as Fetch nodded in reply," Can you excuse us for a second, I need a little time alone with your husband. PigIron here will show you around."
Tyris looked at Fetch, and he reluctantly nodded. The broad dwarf lead the bard outside of the room.
Hoaglie smiled and waited, till he heard a small ringing on his desk. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN , YOU QUIT! I thought you needed cash, this is the perfect opportunity. Its win win for both of us. Listen son, you have talent, you were unlucky today , you should have mopped up Wolf girl! "
Fetch winced at the mention of wolf girl and Hoaglie paused and gave a crooked smile. "Ahh I get it, you don't like beating up girls. Hey that's cool. We can sign you up to guys only matches. But that pretty much means you won't have any chance becoming grand champion, unless someone un thrones Ulla first. But really, your in the military, I thought they taught you guys to kill people of both sexes with equal opportunity.",
Fetch shook his head," Its not like that...Wolf Girl ..I think I know her. I didn't recognize her at first, but when I was about to finish her off I saw her eyes..." Fetch wasn't sure why he was revealing this . He had failed to mention this to his wife, but openly told this greasy dwarf.
Hoaglie looked at Fetch and studied him carefully, it did not seemed he believed his story. He flipped through some of his notes then he nodded. "Ahh ok...the green eyes right. I forgot she had them. Pretty rare eye color , I bet she's the only elf in Grom that has them. I mean how many pure bred elves in Grom are there? 5000? 4000? ...not much. Most of them are those fat porker half elves. ". Hoaglie stopped and seemed annoyed at himself ."Sorry about that last remark Ms Brown." , he said into a metal cone on his desk.
Fetch agreed besides Nara, almost all the sylvan folk he had met had a trace of human blood in them. He heard in remote villages , pure elves were the norm, but in the main human cities their lineage was diluted.
Hoaglie sat back in his chair, his fingers lightly played against each other," I see...I see...So this Wolfgirl is a friend of yours ? Well guess I can't change your mind then. I thank you for your efforts and you are welcome anytime back to the arena. "
Fetch bowed to the dwarf and made his way to the door. As he was about to leave Hoaglie shouted into a metal cone on his desk. It was attached to a taunt wire that ran towards the wall, and through a hole through it." Ms. Brown, please give Insector and his wife some arena passes, and next week's brochures. Throw in a 100 gold drinking tab and some of those giant leaf fingers ."
Fetch exited the room, and a large half elven woman smiled and gave him a small ornate box. Inside the box was indeed 10 tickets that read" good anytime except champion and grand champion matches". Also a gold ribbon, promising 100 gold of the finest spirits and liquors in Lueders and a red ribbon which would let one exchange it for 2 giant leaf fingers from any arena gift shop. Finally a brochure about the arena. It explained the history of the coliseum, the schedule, the regular and special events, and the current roster of permanent gladiators.
Fetch marched back into the room under the protest of the large half elf. He slammed the door and threw the brochure onto Hoaglie's desk. He pointed out a crude sketch of Wolfgirl, there was a caption under it. " Wolfgirl : the fighting elven slave , Fights Mondays and Fridays. Times subject to change if death or injury occurs."
"How did she become a slave to the arena! She wasn't a slave a few months ago! Is there some shady kidnapping scheme going on here. ", demanded Fetch. He could feel this area was protected by the same antimagic he felt earlier. He didn't care. He would rip up this office and crush the dwarf in front of him.
"Whoa...whoa...careful big guy. Calm down , let me explain. First off, we are a legit buisness. We make so much money here, even the Royal Adventurers' are jealous. We don't need to resort to a "shady kidnapping scheme" to get gladiators. The last thing we need is leverage against us so that the Royal tax collectors and Adventurers would coming knocking on our doors for a bigger cut. Although we do deal extensively with slaves, this one is a special case. Seems she needed a lot of cash really fast. Some religious cult thing or something. Anyways she volunteered to sell herself into slavery and fight in the arena. It seemed pretty risky at first, but the crowd hates her, which means they love her! Any reaction is a good reaction you see. ", explained Hoaglie.
Fetch wanted to smash the smiling dwarf in the face, but calmly released his anger. He wasn't sure who he should be mad at. "So she will keep fighting...till..."
Hoaglie stretched back on his chair again, "Till she can fight no more...then we will sell her to recover our money back. If she's still alive ."
"Can I see her? I want to talk to her ? please...", Fetch uttered. He knew this was a bad idea, but he couldn't leave her like this.
Hoaglie studied the cleric's face. Reading people was required in his profession. He knew right away Fetch had feelings for Wolfgirl. He wasn't sure how far they extended but he knew that the cleric was right where he wanted him. " Of course , shall I summon Pigiron to bring your little woman as well? It will be my pleasure to escort you both to her."
Fetch shook his head and Hoaglie knew he had him, "No, I want to see her alone ."
Hoaglie led Fetch towards the dressing room area. Adjacent to those rooms, was an area that seemed more like a jail or a zoo then a dormitory. Monsters from different parts of the world was housed in cramped cages. Fetch could identify a mammoth, a tiger, an owl bear, a griffon, even a giant in the first area of cages. Fetch noted that they seemed quite thin and despondent. He wondered if the animals here were as crazed as the ones outside, or did the antimagic field here prevent the madness. A bestial woman with feathery wings and a large snake tail thrashed madly at the cleric as he walked by. Fetch shuddered as he saw the crazed look of the creature.
The next area held more humanoid monsters. Bugbears, orcs, even some lizard men and yuan ti were imprisoned here. The captives here seemed bigger then the ones he encountered outside the arena. He suspected that the arena trainers here valued how fearsome they looked as well as their martial skills. Fetch went past more cages with infernal looking creatures in them. He recognized a bone devil, a bearded devil, and 4 of those legion devils, He stopped by one of the cages and signaled Hoaglie to stop.
He stared at an oddly familiar woman in the cage. She was lying on a bed of straw, had long blonde hair and her head was hung low . The prisoner's neck was collared by a silver chain connected to her cage and she had large black feathery wings that were torn, broken and bandaged. She wore a seductive chain and leather harness , that seemed too tight and served no purpose then to show off her figure.
"Dahana?", Fetch said to the creature in surprise. He remembered Surry had defeated and captured her, before the Goldtooths were routed by Duke Ari's legion. They tried to use her as a negotiation tool, but the Duke cast her aside instead. The last he recalled, Olive had ordered the infernal prisoners they had taken to be slain if a buyer was not found for them. Fetch recalled placing Baalphzon in charge of the "relocation" project but he had not followed up with it. Fetch assumed they would be sold to a wizard or a noble to guard their treasure or something. He looked at the other infernals imprisoned here, then realized all of them were his prisoners once.
The erinyes looked up when he said her name and nodded. "Greetings Warmaster, I would stand and salute you , but the last battle and my subsequent humiliation afterwards...was draining. "
Fetch could see her face was gaunt , and despite his lack of medical training could tell she was recently energy drained. "I'm sorry...I didn't realize Baalphzon had sold you all to fight to your deaths. I expected...I'm not sure what I expected."
Dahana weakly smiled," Its a blessing really. As soldiers of the legions of hell, we expect nothing but death if we are defeated. Baalphzon gave us hope , however slim. ...Till next time we meet.", she nodded at him then closed her eyes to rest from her wounds, both real and phantom.
Hoaglie shrugged, "Don't mind her, she's one of our top attractions. She can take a beating ...I mean a real beating, and be ready to fight again in a few days. She's just whiney cus one of the succubus beat her yesterday. Did the old charm thing, and humiliated and degraded her in the arena. The crowd loves that shit. "...Hoaglie turned to Dahana and yelled. " Do better next time, then you won't have to feel like shit. A warrior erinyes losing to a slutty succubus...SHAMEFUL!"
Fetch was speechless, he followed Hoaglie to the next area. Some of the infernals looked at him with fear, others hatred , but most gave blank soulless stares as he walked past them.
They finally reached the last slave pens. Fetch could tell the more "human" slaves were kept here. These people weren't like Joggo who fought on his own free will. They were forced or conscripted to fight . Their deaths were measured by the gold they would bring and the reaction the crowd gave them.
The slaves seemed to be in 2 groups. Expendables and Valuable. The expendables composed of various half starved and half mad slaves. Fetch knew from Hakon's brief history lessons , that slave markets were illegal in Grom. General Maximillian and the lady Delsenora spent many years to finally outlaw them . However due to Grom's emphasis on personal property, the act of owning slaves was not illegal. The law just meant slaves were no longer sold inside Grom. Long lived slaves like elves, dwarves and half elves remained enslaved until their master released them or if they could pay for their freedom. Also slaves bought outside of Grom were still considered "legal" property. Although it was a simple loop hole, it was an expensive way to bypass the law due to the taxes and tariffs on foreign slaves. Finally people could volunteer to become slaves themselves. Typically people who owed a lot of money to debtors or through taxes to the government were given several choices. One was to work out a suitable repayment plan, the other was forced labor for a small wage, and finally the debt could be absolved if one submitted to slavery. It was the Grommish equivalent to other nation's bankruptcy laws.
Fetch looked at the expendable slaves, and shuddered as he recognized a few of them . He had pummeled a few with his hammer in an earlier match that day. He thought nothing of their past or their circumstances, at the time they were just obstacles in his way to get his prize money. Shame weighed heavily on the cleric.
The other group were the valuable slaves. These seem like highly trained Gladiators to Fetch . He could tell the arena masters typically gave them customized gear , complete with fearsome masks and weapons. They seemed treated much better then the other slaves, but Fetch knew in the end they were just commodities to people like Hoaglie.
Several of the gladiators saw the dwarf escort the cleric and wondered who he was. Fetch was unrecognizable without the silly armor and the insect helm. He seemed like a typical Grommish captain , albeit a bit taller , and with a hammer instead of a club.
The pair passed a few curtained cells. Grunts and moans came from some of them. Others sobs and crying. Hoaglie smiled, "Certain patrons pay extra for special alone time with their favorite arena heroes and heroines."
Fetch was appalled. Did he fight Dalton's hordes just to keep places like this safe? His loathing for the arena even greater. He considered going berserk at that moment. He knew he could probably kill Hoaglie, but considered how many guards he would need to kill to escape. He carefully weighed the options , then suddenly the dwarf stopped.
"Ahh, here we are.", said Hoaglie, unaware of how close his life came to ending. He signaled one of the keepers, to draw up curtains around the cell. "As a favor to you, she's all yours for 15 minutes, on the house ", the dwarf said with a smile.
Fetch was sick to the stomach, but entered the cell anyways. He needed to find out what was going on before he made his move.
The cell was not cramped like the infernals or the rabble's. It was comfortable, with a bed and even had a table and chair. An elf wearing a wolf mask with extensive bandages in her midsection sat on her bed. She wore a wolf mask. She remained silent as Fetch walked in . She adverted her gaze from him as he walked up.
Fetch stared at the elf sitting on her bed. He wasn't sure what to say. He knelt down and gently grasped her mask. She shivered and turned away, but remained motionless as he lifted the mask off her face.
"I knew you would come , eventually .", said Nara. "I'm sorry you have to see me like this. I...I... I'm sorry."
Fetch exclaimed ,"Sorry for what? What happened to you! I have so many questions!"
Nara looked up with despondent green eyes, "Sorry I fled and left you to those goblins, sorry I squandered the money you gave me. Sorry I didn't let you end my miserable life. You're probably wondering what I'm doing here. Its my own doing . I don't regret making it. I've made so many wrong decisions in my life , selfish destructive decisions. This is the only thing I've done in my life that is noble. "
Fetch was confused and angry, "What do you mean noble? You fight for a greedy piece of shit dwarf so he can make money off your suffering and the suffering of others! "
"Cough, cough...curtains...thin...can hear you...cough .cough "...replied a dwarvish voice behind the curtain.
Nara nodded, "I know you won't understand this, but I did this for a higher calling. Self sacrifice for the greater good. You might think I'm being stupid and silly, and I probably am, but this act seems to give my life meaning."
Fetch was mad, did Hoaglie brainwash her or something. He counted to three, and tried to remain calm. He sat on the chair by her bed. "Ok...I'm not understanding this one bit...explain it to me please."
Nara paused and thought silently, Fetch was about to ask her again more forcefully when she took a deep breath and told her tale. " I fled from the Darkriver horde, and abandoned you. I should have stayed by your side and fought, but I was afraid. I'm sorry, I'm not a hero like you or your friends. I knew Karlston , McDunnalds and Baltar's Port were in real danger of falling so I fled to the south in shame. My original plan was to go to Barkwark, and enroll in the Bladesinger collage but it didn't feel right. That money came from you , and I left you to the goblins. I remember glancing back and saw they had you down and were swarming your body. That image still haunts me... Anyways, I squandered the money foolishly here, hoping to drown out that painful memory. Lotus, dwarf root , alcohol, various illegal narcotics ,dark illusions and other sinister pleasures...I used them all but found found no relief. I was trapped in a spiraling descent of self loathing and self destruction. It was not a good time. In my darkest hour though, something called to me. Incredibly a sacred elven tree of life had somehow grew in this blight of a city. It drew me out of the darkness, and gave me hope in my life. It made me recognize all my faults, and the bad decisions I had made in my life. It was my salvation, it was a fresh start. Many elves flocked to it, but the Grommers claimed it was on public property. The neighborhood complained about the "noise" and the loitering and someone in the bureaucracy decided to cut it down. We pleaded for them not to, but these damned Grommers and their personal property laws were unbending. We were told if we wanted to save our tree, we would have to buy the local plot and the surrounding properties around it. As you know, elves are not a rich people. We are mostly wanderers and not merchants. The elven community pooled its resources but we were significantly short of our goal. I prayed to the tree for guidance , but others and myself knew sacrifices had to be made. We all sold our possessions to raise funds to save the tree. When that wasn't enough some of us sold ourselves to the arena to raise the final funds necessary to secure the hill. I am a fair combatant and I know my body is ... pleasing to humans ...so I did my part . The other elves told us they would raise money to release us , but I knew it would not come to pass. They would have enough problems paying the damnable Grommish taxes on the hill. The others and myself resigned ourselves to our fate. Since then, we ..."
"Times up !", said Hoagli as he drew the curtain back. Fetch flashed him a terrifying glare that quickly changed the dwarfs mind.
"Oh never mind...my hour glass is fast it seems. A few more minutes won't hurt anyone.", Hoaglie said apologetically. There were few things that scared the dwarf. Lord Kerr was one, his good friend the Tax Collector Nayra was another, Fetch and his murderous stare was now the third.
Nara welcomed the interruption and continued," since then , we have fought in this arena. Of the elves that volunteered only a handful remains. I know you won't agree or even understand what we did, but its the only selfless thing I had ever done. My life has been one empty and lonely experience after another. For the first time, I felt I've done something for the benefit of others ...something that gives my life purpose."
Fetch listened , he wanted to yell at Nara for being stupid, but his anger drained from him. He wondered how long it took her to be brainwashed by this tree cult. He wanted to blame and pummel Hoaglie but knew he wasn't responsible. He was just another miserable greedy Grommer, amongst an ocean of them . He already knew what was responsible for the fate of his dear friend.
Fetch got up from the chair , and walked to Nara. He lifted her chin up and their eyes met. "I will fix this.", he said solemnly and left the cell.
Nara shook her head, "No, I don't need your pity. I knew fully well what I did. Please don't complicate your life over this. You have your own life to worry about, ...your woman... I don't need you to be a white knight . "
Fetch didn't answer.
The cleric grimly followed Hoaglie back to his office. He wasn't interested in talking along the way. When they reached his office, he broke his silence."Tell me how much it will cost to buy Nara, Wolfgirl's freedom. Also tell me how much to end "special" visits to her until I raise enough funds."
Hoagli nodded, and secretly smiled," We paid quite a large sum for her you know, and she's just beginning to pay dividends for us. The crowd really hates her you know, its hard to find someone with that much rapport with the crowd"
Fetch grew impatient "A number please.."
Hoaglie pretended to write some numbers and do calculations, "25,000 gold. 500 gold a week to stop her special visits."
Fetch reeled from the number, even if he was able to coerce Baalphzon and his daughter to help with this cause , he was still 10,000 short. He could start adventuring again, but that took some time, and he didn't know this area. He wouldn't know where the valuable ruins were. He sat thinking of the various ways he could raise the cash.
Hoaglie shook his head as he looked at the bewildered youth. He clearly did not have the funds and the dwarf knew it. The number he made up was an arbitrary number, he already knew the cleric would not be able to raise it, he knew what he wanted. The dwarf walked up to the poster with his pay scales and coughed.
Fetch sighed," Do you have room for me in any fights tomorrow?"
Hoaglie gave a dramatic gasp and tried not to laugh, he recovered and stated, "I'm sure we could work out something."
Tyris and Pigiron met Fetch at the main entry way of the arena. Pigiron had several bruises and some fresh bloody bandages but he seemed happy . Tyris was sharing a laugh with the strange dwarf as they entered. Pigiron bowed to Fetch when he finished escorting the bard. He gave a mock battle stance to Tyris who quickly returned it as well. A few mock punches between the two and laughter from the bard followed. Pigiron pointed to Tyris , waved and left.
"That's an odd fellow.", said Tyris still smiling, " Not only is he mute...but he can only communicate in cat ...ummm I'm not sure how to explain...but its really bizarre."
Fetch nodded blankly at his wife. His mind was deep in thought. He was planning so many things at once. He needed to talk to Surry and Baalphzon . Fetch tried to summon the imp, and he replied they would be back soon. He got the feeling Surry and Trip was with him. He decided he would plot with them later then.
"Ahhh Captain Fetch...there you are ...I've been looking all around for you! ", said a familiar sneering voice," I hope your diversion in the arena was enjoyable, pity that you lost,...it seems your reputation was inflated after all . You still have an appointment to see Lord Kerr. He doesn't like to be kept waiting."
Fetch turned and saw the architect of today's diversion. Zahzon complete with villainous billowing robes. Behind him was a black ebon giant, and a small group of guards. The guards did not look like they were associated with the army or the militia. They looked better equipped , wore no insignia, and most seemed itching to fight.
Tyris senses the hostility of the man and took a step back and vanished from sight. Even though she wasn't by Fetch's side, he felt safer when she wasn't seen. He didn't have to worry about her, and she could strike their foes if the need arose.
"Are you deaf? Come now...Kerr is waiting.", demanded the summoner.
Before he left the arena. Hoaglie gave Fetch some pointers on how to raise money faster in the arena. The most important was image and the ability to work the crowd. An average gladiator could make more money then an elite gladiator just by inciting the crowd to bet for or against him. Even boring matches could be interesting if the gladiator could provoke the spectators. Fetch knew that his friend Frank would probably be better at this then he was, but he thanked the dwarf for the advice. Now standing before Zahzon, he decided to try some of his swagger on him.
"Look , you dress wearing wimp. Its late. I'm tired, and I don't like your face. I'm not following you to Lord Kerr today. Go make an appointment or something. I was perfectly willing to meet the Commander Governor earlier, but it seems someone, namely you, directed me to the arena. Now bad stuff happened there, but I'm not going to blame you for it, but I do blame you for wasting my time.. So get lost!", said Fetch. He regretted his speech. It sounded pretty lame now that he thought about it. He would have to write down his lines later and practice them .
"You accuse me ? For your little side adventure? The accusation is ridiculous as it is unfounded. Don't think your previous victory over me has me intimidated. Ahazin here has adapted to your spells. He's evolved to be something even your pathetic magic will have trouble dealing with. "
"That's fine, I still have my hammer, I can beat him down with this. ", replied Fetch. Despite Hoaglie being a slimy , manipulative, and greedy dwarf, he trusted him more then the summoner in front of him. He also didn't think the giant was immune to his prayers, but was happy to let Zahzon think so. If it came to blows , he would attempt a few spells first to test the creature's resistances.
"That sounds like a challenge. I see you won't be cooperative and come meet our lord. ", sighed Zahzon melodramatically . His disappointed look soon turned into a big smile. "Looks like we have to resort to fisticuffs."
"Wait a minute here...No one picks on Fetch except me. ", interrupted a shrill voice.
Fetch looked and saw Surry, Dietrich , Trip and Baalphzon arrive. Trip was barely visible as he was carrying a large sleeping puppy almost as big as himself . He looked comical with his two small wood and metal feet sticking out from the beast.
"Sorry for the delay Fetch, we saw Dietrich by the gate. He was being introduced first hand to the Grommish tax system. ", smiled Surry, " The big guy here seemed way over his head, so I had to bail him out."
"How can people survive under this oppression? How do they live?", mumbled a still shocked Dietrich.
"Don't worry big guy...you'll pay me back somehow.", said Surry while gazing at the knight's ass.
"In the mean time, no one messes with Fetch here OK? Especially not some two bit hoodlum wannabe mage . Fetch only deals with the big fish, small eels and bottom feeders go through me first.", smiled the half elf.
Fetch smiled at Surry's bravado and an odd sense of parental pride struck him. She would be better suited for the arena then himself. He was not only proud of her defense of him, but also wanted to see what she was capable of. He had sparred with her on many occasions and seen her on the battlefield, but had never seen the half elf in a magical duel . He decided to let her have some fun, and watch.
Zahzon laughed," This pathetic excuse for an elf wishes to challenge me? HAH I shall enjoy this. I will make you eat those words as I look down on your beaten body. " , he motioned his men to back off.
Dietrich and Trip also fell back. Baalphzon flew to Fetch's shoulder and landed heavily on it. Even though the arena was mostly closed a small crowd gathered to watch. Even a few guards came to watch the contest. It was normally forbidden to fight openly on the streets, but since Zahzon was a participant no one dared question it. They knew there was going to be some blood soon.
"Break this up, break this up!", cried Hoaglie as he saw the growing crowd outside his arena" Fights should happen in the arena, we aren't responsible for spectator deaths or injury outside...oh wait..Zahzon its you. Very well, keep it quick".
Hoaglie saw Fetch and walked his way ,"I hope the elf kicks the shit out of that punk.", he whispered to the cleric as he stood by his side.
Zahzon stood at one side of the circle. His hand grasped a glowing staff , his dark robes billowing from an unseen robe. Behind him was his dark giant Ahazin. He was a massive multi armed creature with ebony skin and iron armor. He gazed impassively at the crowds around him. Opposite them was Surry. She had bow in hand, and wore dark leather armor. At her side was a exquisite looking elven scimitar. She looked everything like one of the feared elven warmages from legend.
"Hey , is your giant involved in this? I thought it was going to be one on one?", asked Surry before the battle began.
"Second thoughts wench? You will rue the day you refer to those of the summoner profession as wannabe mages. You are free to summon whatever beasts your magics can conjure. ", boasted Zahzon.
A thin cruel smiled came to Surry's lip, she nodded and waited for the battle to start.
The crowd waited patiently. Finally Hoaglie shouted ,"Just start already!"
Zahzon began an incantation and a cloud of insects flew from his hands, while Surry gave a fierce whistle. Ahazin roared and charged the halfelf. The crowd gasped as the creature seemed unstoppable as the ground shook in his wake. He took but 3 steps when suddenly he paused . A whistling sound was growing progressively louder. Zahzon and the giant briefly looked for the source of the noise, when suddenly a blue grey comet fell from the heavens and struck the giant. The entire street shook under the impact as a dust cloud appeared where the giant once stood. A silhouette of a horse was the first thing anyone saw. It stood atop the broken form of the giant and it had chunks of black flesh in its jaws. It snorted in triumph. Zahzon was visibly shaken with the destruction of his giant. His insects somehow disappeared during the confusion. He gasped as the link between his guardian was painfully severed.
Surry walked past the horse calmly while intoning incantations, "Show off..", she whispered with a smile as she walked past the horse. She walked past the battlefield till she stood above the mage. People noticed that the dust seemed to stop before it reached the crowd , as if an invisible barrier blocked it.
"Some mage's go for the flashy kill, but I do what works. First off , don't think of running, this area is blocked off both physically and magically. Also , don't rely on your lame protection magics. I stripped them a few moments ago along with your pathetic bugs. ", she said to the summoner as she aimed an arrow at him.
Zahzon intoned a brief escape spell, and realized that half elf was correct when nothing happened, "You don't dare do this...I'm the envoy of Lord Lueders... I surrender, you win! Release me!", he said frozen in fear as his attention focused on the arrow.
"Oh , I won alright. I won before we even started, but the crowd wants a show. So I'll give you a choice I can shoot you now with my bow , and depending on my aim, you might survive. Or I summon tentacles and rape your ass for the crowd to watch. You will definitely survive that, but you might walk funny for awhile afterwards . ", she said with a cocky laugh.
"I don't want to die...", whispered the summoner. He knew Lord Kerr would not raise him from the dead for his failure, and he had doubts his "followers" would do the same.
"UGGGH...nooooo...ARRRRGGGGG ...not there...YEEEEKKKKK... be gentle...GLUP...ARRRGGG..."
Fetch covered Trips eyes, as he turned away himself.
Dietrch was stunned by the sight ahead of him but could not turn away, " Is that tentacle doing what I think its doing? ... Oh my god...Thats not natural!...Not his mouth! NO!...Is he swallowing...Dear Lord!...What's it doing to his ass!..."
A tentacle dropped a small pouch into the half elfs hand from the squirming summoner . Surry calmly slung her bow as she walked back to Fetch. She was disappointed she didn't get to show off her archery skills. She wanted to show the cleric what she could do with bow he had given her.
Baalphzon pointed at the half elf,"Hey if you ever need a familiar , I'm available. "
Hoaglie whispered to Fetch, " Hey you think we can sign her up for the morning show?"
Trip asked a couple of short hairy creatures . They hooted , grunted, then pointed to an inn. Trip thanked the pair and directed the group to the establishment the creatures pointed out.
Fetch had seen many strange creatures before, but had not recognized the hairy beasts that Trip talked to.
"Hey , you wanted an inn. I just did what anybody with any streetwise would do. I asked a pair of halflings.", shrugged Trip.
"Wait...those are halflings? They looked more like miniature bugbears...but they were kind of cute looking, almost like teddy bears or something.", Fetch replied.
Trip sighed, "Yes ...those are halflings. They are from the shire of Hendor. I've gone through this before. Those guys are the right height , wear no shoes, and love to eat. That makes them halflings. "
Trip turned to the pair and waved good bye to them, "Eee chee waa maa!"
Fetch and his companions made their way to the tavern . There was no shortages of taverns and inns by the arena, but the group trusted the local halflings advice. The food and drink were excellent and they merrily talked about the days events. The cleric was about to ask for his share of the winnings from earlier, but Baalphzon proudly stated that he donated the money to the tiefling orphanage fund. Fetch was hoping for a normal orphanage, but upon reflection was happy with the imps decision. Tiefling children were amongst the most unwanted despised half breeds in the land, if anyone needed help they would. Fetch was also pleasantly surprised when he was informed that Hoaglie had their tab covered , despite his dislike for the dwarf , he treated his associates well. Dietrich was lost and confused in this city. Fetch nodded he was the same way when he first came to Baltar's port. It was agreed he would tag along till he got his bearings and could resume his quest.
"What is our agenda for tomorrow?", asked Trip as he played with the large wolf puppy.
Fetch sighed,"Well my to do list is getting bigger and bigger. We still have to get to Veb and drop off Ackerberg's package. Also I still need to claim my estates and report for duty at the barracks. I should get around to meet with Lord Kerr as well, he probably won't be too happy. I know I said I was going to quit the arena, but I have a few matches booked for tomorrow. Also something else has come up...something possibly dangerous...I might need all your help ."
The group was intrigued by his request. Trip hopped on a chair and waited patiently. Surry's ears perked up as she listened intently. Dietrich was still confused and listened aptly. Baalphzon grinned evilly and lazily curled his tail around the cleric's shoulder. Even Tyris seemed intrigue as she drew closer to Fetch.
Fetch nodded at his group,"It has come to my attention , there's an evil cult in the city. It's been brain washing elves and making them sell themselves into slavery. It is my aim to smash it and literally burn it to the root. For lack of a better name, I'll call it the cult of the Tree of Life and I will not rest easily till its destroyed!"