KWN.3.4 Two Down, One to Go

Session Preface

The second day of the Champion's League passes on much like the first. No matter where you find yourself in the sprawling complex of commerce, entertainment, and revelry, the booming and commanding voice of the Grandmaster rings out across the facility. Everywhere your eyes wander, bright banners whip in the cool, autumn air, multi-colored tents similar to the Bell Market encircle shops and restaurants and amusements. The air carries the inviting fragrances of seasoned meat mixed with the stale sweat of the guests who have dedicated their entire day to watching the various events and shows or exploring the dizzying options of entertainment beyond the arena itself.
As evening set in, the more important bouts of the remaining contestants in the Champion's League begin and you are invited to the privileged viewing area reserved for competitors to study their potential future opponents. As it so happens, you find yourself scheduled as the last fight of the quarter-final round, with three fights taking place ahead of you.
First, the clerics of Tempus, clad in their menacing black and red-trimmed armor, make efficient and notably gruesome work of the local mercenaries, the Black Bucklers; the sand of the desert illusion stained red where one of the knight's maces found the calf of a retreating archer. You watch as the remaining conscious Buckler's clutch oozing wounds and tear their dented and torn armor away from their aching and bruising bodies. Throughout, the Arahar of Tempus maintain their cold, calculated poise and exit through the gate opposite your vantage point.
The next bout is similarly decisive, with the Monster Slayers overwhelming the Zhentarim's Elite without showing signs of an effort. Gerron and Arcurth descend on the four members of the Black Network with ferocity and precision, taking advantage of the unstable, rocky terrain to force their opponents into a pincer maneuver so exact, it is as if the two are limbs of the same body, operating from one mind. Within a moment, Arcurth topples over the largest of the Zhentarim with a lumbering one-armed strike. He then grasps his opponent in both hands, lifts him like a battering ram, and proceeds to crush the swordsman next to him, shoving the Zhent into the jagged rockface, where his head bounces hard against the illusionary stone, rendering both opponents unconscious. Likewise, Gerron with an elegant flurry of strikes, disarms and upends the Zhentarim leader who only moments before had been barking out orders. Their final foe mutters a word of surrender as Gerron's blade finds his throat in a fluid turning motion, Gerron's footwork on the cliffside maintaining his position over. All the while, the two blonde twins of the Blood Hunter's team stand motionless near the gate from which they entered, watching their teammates dismantle and embarrass twice as many Zhentarim with little trouble.
Finally, you witness only the opening gambit of the third fight, featuring the wood elves of the High Forest, and Evening Light Through Cloud's team, sponsored by a local smithy. As you are called to the waiting area for final preparations, you are just able to catch the first of the Smithy's team call to a trio of arrows while another of the elves sends a bolt of lightning bursting towards the Tabaxi wizard who begins casting a flurry of spells along the riverbed of the illusionary field of battle.
Descending into the Champion's Lounge, you take note of the drow handler, Irisien, who watches the room observantly with an air of indifference. Remnants of the other teams, both winners and losers, gather in small clusters nursing drinks and wounds alike. His eyes following as you enter, the handsome High Watcher Merek flags your party down with a wave and a hopeful smile followed by a courteous nod.
"The Avengers! A good start in the placement and first round, of course not to anyone's surprise who knows the prowess of the Knights of Holy Judgement. The crowd may not have been cheering your name in yesterday's events, but I have no doubt you'll win them over today!"
The familiar commanding tone of the Grandmaster pushes through the chamber's stone walls, announcing the Sy-Tel-Quessir as victorious and as crowds of footsteps overhead begin to shuffle, you find yourselves moments away from your next fight in the Champion's League.
"Well, that'll be it then. I have had a chance to study your next opponent, Leechbrain's Legion, if you have any specific questions. Otherwise, I would say a prayer and make any final preparations."

Session Summary

The party soon find themselves in the arena transforming itself into jungle vine covered stone ruins hanging above knee deep pool fed by a massive waterfall opposite Leechbrain's Legion - the titular goblin boss, his sorcerer goblin companion Snub, a dwarf whose face remains shroud beneath a thick cowl, and a human mercenary carrying a heavy crossbow. As the bout ensues, several members of the Avengers descend to the watery floor of the battleground, using the rushing tide as cover from the heavy fire from above. Meanwhile, Masterbreaker's will is taken hold by Snub, as she proceeds to assault Aethuriel, narrowly missing thanks to the elf's cover underwater.
As the chaos among the waves makes telling friend from foe difficult, Pax finds himself being assaulted in an all-out charged by the mysterious dwarf figure who sprints nimbly across a series of hanging branches and vines to reach the blood hunter. As the two exchange blows above the rest of the fight, the figure is revealed to be Bonefist, the dislodged champion of the Missing Minotaur who sought this bout as a means of revenge. He, along with the rest of Leechbrain's companions ultimately fall short of victory as Aethuriel, Tristain, and Pax combine their focus to bring down the sorcerer taking control of Masterbreaker and then are able to weed out Leechbrain and Bonefist before the last remaining member concedes.
Grandmaster Zoar's voice once again rises over the noise of the coliseum, congratulating the Avengers on their second victory as the crowd breaks out into cheers, celebrating the Knights for the first time in the competition. In the green room, High Watcher Merek is there to greet and congratulate the party as well, before promptly excusing himself as he is needed in Everlund. Tristain and Aethuriel watch as the priest enters a waiting carriage and notice a tiefling figure in it as well, wondering who this mysterious traveling companion might be.
The party returns to the Missing Minotaur for celebratory drinks and receive them for free as friends of Masterbreaker, the reigning champion. With none brave or stupid enough to challenge her in the pit for said rights, she takes a VIP table and allows the Knights to join her. Soon after, each member of the Avengers find their way to rest to prepare for the next day's battle. Before falling asleep, Aethuriel is invited by High Watcher Merek to join him on his evening patrol, and he readily accepts.
During their watch, the two Helmites speak of faith, duty, the tournament, and eventually their personal lives. Merek asks Aethuriel if he has experienced love, or if there is someone he is committed to back in Sundabar. Aethuriel reveals that he has someone he is quite close to and believes he has experienced love, but that the situation isn't quite as clear at the moment. When the question is flipped on him, Merek expresses uncertainty and doubt about the balance between duty and personal fulfillment. Reading between the lines of Merek's measured responses, Aethuriel gathers that Iathor, the tiefling fishmonger that the priest returned from the tournament with, holds Merek's affection, but that it is not a public relationship. This is further complicated by Merek's bachelor status and the merchants of Everlund clamboring to secure Helmite services with a fortuitous marital arrangement.
Sensing the torn desires of Merek to be true to his obligations but to not deny where his heart lies, Aethuriel encourages Merek to see his embrace of love as a means to more fully live out his duty. Quoting passages of the Shield's Standard, Aethuriel suggests that to resign to a loveless marriage would be a perpetual fog that preventing Merek from reaching his full potential and thus fully serving Helm with his best self. Resolved by Aethuriel's perspective and support, Merek returns to the Vigilant Keep with a weigh lifted off of him and a renewed sense of confidence.
The next day, each member of the Avengers has time to pursue their own goals before reconvening for the evening's main event, the semi-final bouts of the Champion's League. First on the schedule, the companions find themselves facing the elves of the High Forest in a rocky, desert terrain of winding paths and massive columns. The elves are the first to strike, with their druid matriarch conjuring a storm of lightning before transforming into a scorpion and striking against the Avengers. Alongside her, an archer moves into position alongside a ferocious barbarian ally. Seeking to maintain superior positioning, Pax finds a narrow path up one of the cliffsides and manages to whittle down his opponents from his crow's nest while Tristain and Masterbreaker face the martial elves more directly. Separate from the rest of the ensuing battle, Aethuriel cuts off a nimble swordfighter who had maneuvered to flank the team. The two opponents locked in a back-and-forth duel that drew in much of the crowd watching on with bated breath as to who would prove the better swordsman.
As the fight continued on, the party managed to break the druid's concentration and force her back into her elven form, only for her to once again transform into a scorpion monstrosity. Even so, as the barbarian and archer fell, the remaining Avengers made quick work of their leader and eventually Aethuriel's duel was cut short as the warrior learned of her team's defeat and conceded.
With their penultimate test passed, the Avengers were welcomed with an onslaught of applause and cheers from a raucous crowd now squarely in their corner. As the party returns to Everlund, a carriage stops in front of them, the door thrown open and the sharp voice of the Blood Hunter Gerron calling out, "Pax, would you care to join me? There's much for us to discuss." As Pax shrugs and enters the carriage, the door shuts and the carriage pulls away from the remaining team members as they continue on their way back to the city.

Session Overview

Date Played:
June 15, 2021
Party:

• Aethuriel
• Pax
• Tristain

Time Passed:
Eleint 3, 1493 (PM) - Eleint 4, 1493 (PM)
NPCs:

• Masterbreaker
• Grandmaster Zoar
• High Watcher Merek
• Iathor
• Leechbrain, Snub, and Bonefist
• The Sy-Tel-Quessir team
• Gerron

Loot: