Six Stones

A Droaam tradition brought to Sham by immigrants, six stones is a game for seven competitors, who each pay a base stake. The seven are then sealed in a large chamber with a cockatrice.  The match ends when six of the players have been turned to stone, at which point the survivor is awarded all the stakes (except for a share set aside for the organizers).  A medusa handler monitors the competition to ensure that rules are followed. Contestants carry no arms or armor, and no magic or supernatural abilities may be used. Additionally, no one is allowed to attack the cockatrice.  The challenge lies in outlasting the other contestants and luring them or pushing them into the path of the cockatrice. The battleground might be barren or littered with rubble and cover; it might be lit, or it could be be pitch black. Six stones matches are staged by the criminal organization Daask. The sport is illegal, but the games go on because the matches are confined to Lower Dura and the Cogs and well hidden from the eyes of the Watch. A match usually occurs only once every few months. Sometimes participants voluntarily enter the competition, but most are debtors who have been offered a chance to pay off their loans by winning the match. Daask takes bets on the outcome, and usually earns a tidy sum as its share of the proceeds.