Heart-Stabber, Beard-Taker

Summary
After the conclusion of the mayor's speech, the crowd started dispersing, looking to enjoy the events of the festival or to rest up before the first trial. Carter decided to head to the inn and get some directions from Lippa while Baldrick, Firali, and Verathis made their way to the judges stand where the mayor was conversing with the others.

Baldrick eventually got a guard to convey his request for an audience as Firali and Verathis arrived behind him, the mayor asked Baldrick what was on his mind, to which Baldrick brazenly asked for the directions to the buffet. The mayor smiled, a bit annoyed, but sent one of his guards to escort him. As he looked at Verathis and Firali standing there, they also struck up a conversation regarding the Order of the Owlbear and displayed the rune inscribed flesh they had obtained earlier.

The mayor mentioned that it was troubling but he had enough on his plate already, telling him that he would be able to write a letter of introduction and direct them to the Willow Wardens. The mayor began to leave when Verathis mentioned that he wanted to speak to the town guard captain. The mayor notified the captain and rejoined the conversation the party had interrupted as Sicarian Bearson made his way.

When Sicarian asked them why they wanted to speak to him Verathis asked him why he was in a foul mood and if he could do anything to help. Sicarian grumbled about a missing map that was stolen from his office and the general crime rate increase that has him and his men spread thin. He told them that the only way they could help is if they stole it themselves and were able to wipe out the crime during the festival, chuckling a bit at the thought of it, (not knowing that Carter had stolen the map) and left to rejoin the other judges.

As Verathis thought of another way to gain coin, he thought of joining the tournament himself and attempted to single out a official who may be able to help him. Verathis and Firali approached a very well trimmed and proper Dwarf, fretting over a list while a boy carried his scrolls behind him. Initially ignoring the two, Verathis and Firali attempted to deceive the boy and Dwarf, telling them that they were contestants and wanted to confirm that their names were in the scroll. The Dwarf grew impatient and looked at the first name given, unfortunately Firali used the name "Baldrick" and did not match the description or the race.

Firali and Verathis tried just about anything to get their names on the list, and the Dwarf began to threaten them, telling them that he could have the several guards take care of them, to which where Verathis boasted of his ability, piquing the Dwarf's interest. The Dwarf mentioned some criminals and drop outs could be removed but he would pit them against the town guard, giving the tired men a chance to let off some steam and provide him with entertainment. When Firali joined in the bid as well, he asked to not put his name on the list, but instead remove Baldrick's (who was too busy stuffing his face to notice or hear this). The Dwarf said he wasn't able to so Firali instead thought of beating Baldrick in the trials themselves, eager to show him up. As the guards formed a protective ring, various clerics were called to the sidelines, with judges looking over and 4 guards in the middle of a 40-50 foot ring facing Verathis and Firali. As a crowd gathered, various bets were being placed and the Dwarf, now introducing himself as Gwarri Oakhammer began spouting out the rules, mentioning that the battle was to incapacitation, and any deaths accidental or otherwise would be swiftly dealt with.

As Firali and Verathis began preparing, Carter arrived at the brothel, having received directions from Lippa, who told him not to bring anyone back or risk being kicked out. He was met with 2 Half-Orc guards, who brandished battleaxes and asked if he had coin to enter. Carter decided to completely ignore them and rush past, slamming the doors open as the Half-Orcs slowly approached, readying their battleaxes. As Carter prepared himself, he heard someone utter a command and stop the Half-Orcs. Upon turning around, Carter saw a short Halfing man, dressed in fine clothing asking him why he was intruding on his property with a hint of annoyance.

Carter mentioned that he heard rumours of there being an incident a couple nights before and asked the Halfling about it. The Halfling categorically denied it, saying his establishment had no such troubles due to his impeccable staff, and told Carter to leave. As Carter did not show any signs of heeding the Halflings command and sneered at the guards he ran past, the Halfling laughed, telling him that his guards would take him down. The various patrons also chimed in and started making bets, seeing who would win. As soon as the Half-Orcs closed the doors they sprang into attack, battering Carter with their weapons and giving him a tough time. Carter was able to get a few good shots in (such as a dagger sticking out of the younger Half-Orc's nipple) but fell to the ground, grappled and being kicked repeatedly. As he tried to wriggle free he dropped his knife and saw the Halfling pick it up. As Carter was hoisted to his knees by the guards he saw the Halfling twirl the blade in his hand and strike him in the temple with the handle, rendering him unconscious.

Unknown to both Baldrick and the unconscious Carter, Verathis and Firali's battle had begun. As Verathis cast entanglement on the guards most became rooted, cursing and attempting to break free. Firali attacked those that seemed to be successful and ended up dropping one to his knees as Verathis morphed into a giant badger and swiped at the guard. The guard was rendered unconscious, and was promptly removed by a cleric. The crowd roared with excitement as a few other guards freed themselves and made their way to both Firali and Verathis.

Verathis took a few hits in badger form as the guards sunk their blades in but managed to heavily injure another with a powerful bite, as the guard reeled from his wound, Verathis burrowed into the ground, hoping to get away from them. As this was happening, Firali took the chance to cast Ensnaring Strike, hitting him in the shoulder with the arrow and rooting him to the spot as magical vines erupted from his wound. His screams filled the ring and went unconscious, unable to stand the pain. The remaining 2 guards, furious ran to Firali. Hoping to bring him down for hurting their comrade, Firali was able to fend off one blow but was nicked by another's. Verathis sticking his head out of the hole he dug, saw Firali in trouble and dispelled his beast form, casting Shillelagh, making his staff hum with magical energy.

As Firali took another blow to his side, he dropped his bow and pulled out his sword, sinking it into one of the guard's armpit. Forcing the guard to abandon his shield and grab his blade with his offhand recklessly attacking with the intention to seriously injure. Firali ended up taking a very severe hit as the blade sunk deep into his body, but as the guard was retracting his arm, Firali extended his arm, hitting the other armpit and forcing the guard to drop his weapons, groaning on the ground. Verathis managed to miss with his initial attack but managed to rotate his quarterstaff with great speed, hooking the guard's shield, releasing it from his arm and with a crack knocking the guard unconscious.

As the clerics rushed in to help, the guards in the ring began to get agitated, drawing their weapons but were stopped as Sicarian strode in, insulting his felled men and looking upon the scene with such rage that no one said a word, he told his guards to disperse the crowd and promptly left, telling the rest that they needed training and were an embarassment. Gwarri looked on, not satisfied but got the information of each combatant as they were being healed. As Baldrick approached, he saw Firali being tended to, bleeding heavily and asked what was going on, he learned that the other two had managed to get into the trials and were competing against him for the prize.

As soon as the party was healed, Baldrick mentioned that he didn't see Carter anywhere and the group decided to head to the inn. As they made their way through the crowds they heard various retellings of the battle that just occurred, describing Firali as stuffing garlic/lemons in wounds and Verathis as a hydra in one story, and a tiger in another. When the group reached the inn, they found out that Carter left to visit the brothel and decided to make their way there. Firali decided to leave and meditate on his scars, getting ready for the trial ahead.

After some time, Baldrick and Verathis reached the brothel, where they saw a carpet being placed and bloodstains being scrubbed off the floor. As they tried to get a closer look, the Half-Orcs stopped them, with fresh bruises on their faces and a dagger still sticking out of one of their nipples. They were questioned about what happened and mentioned a crazy drunk had tried to force his way in, but they took care of him, puffing their chests with pride. They eventually let them through to talk to the boss and were greeted by the Halfing introducing himself as Norim Padfellow, asking what services they'd like to partake in. After some confusion as to what kind of man/danger the party was looking for he realized the party members were acquaintances of Carter. He initially did not reveal that Carter was there but one of the patrons accidentally blurted out that he had arrived a while ago and was taken away by the guards. Sighing, Norim led them downstairs, where the luxury furnishings were replaced with what looked like a dungeon.

The party arrived at a patrolled hallway, where Baldrick noticed a bloody Elb Sr was tied up in a room. Baldrick making a mental note of it, continued on to where they saw Carter, beaten up, bloody, and tied to a chair. Negotiations ensued regarding the release of Carter. Norim wanted Baldrick to drop out of the competion, allowing them to fix bets, to which Baldrick disagreed. Norim then mentioned that if they were not able to do the first task, he would have them help in another way, but required insurance. He demanded Baldrick hand over his noble ring, revealing that Norim knew of him and said it would be returned upon the completion of his assignments. He mentioned Verathis was newer so not much was known about him, but was satisfied when Verathis mentioned he was just looking to make coin. He relinquished Carter, saying he would be keeping his gold and the one dagger in his guard as a reminder. As Verathis and Baldrick left with Carter trailing behind, Verathis attempted to chat up the injured guard and offered to help him remove the blade. The older Half-Orc was distrustful and told them to leave, as he did not trust them since they were associated with Carter. Not pressing their luck, the party left. Unsure of what tasks were to come.

Meanwhile at the inn, Firali was snapped out of his thoughts by a knock at the door. He was greeted by an elven woman Ellira Layame, who ran the stable/orphanage in Arpeon. She mentioned overhearing that Firali was looking for Orcs and demanded to know why he was doing so despite not being a guard. Firali, not trusting her demanded to know why she was so interested, and after a bit of back and forth she revealed that she and her sister were also forced from their tribe due to a marauding Orc party. Firali ended up taking his trophy from his pack, showing a preserved head. Ellira gasped and told him that the same Orc had attacked her people and danced around the burning bodies. Firali mentioned that his father was killed and the Orcs seemed to be looking for something, but he had no information beyond that.

Feeling incredibly emotional and frustrated about the fact that none of them knew much about their situation, she apologized and left, saying she had work to do. As Firali settled back to his thoughts the rest of the party entered the inn and made their way up to their rooms to sleep.

With thoughts racing through his mind, Firali decided to grab his dagger and head to Baldrick's room. Firali unlocked the door and snuck in, first grabbing Baldrick's clothes and tossing them out the window, and then carefully shaving part of his scalp/beard. As he attempted to grab Baldrick's axe. Stella, he ended up making too much noise and stepped back as Baldrick rubbed his eyes. Firali immediately brought his blade to Baldrick's throat, telling him not to move. As Baldrick yawned and put his arms behind his head, he attempted to reach for the handaxe beneath his pillow but stopped as Firali nicked him and asked what Firali was doing, joking and telling him he wasn't into this sort of rough play.

Firali's eyes flashed with anger and vehemently stated that Baldrick never was, or never will be his friend. He told Baldrick that he hated him nonchalantly pretending they were together while taking it as a joke. Baldrick, still taking it as a joke began to sing "Why can't we be friends" and said that he teased Firali because he liked it and thought it was a harmless prank, while Firali was the one who snuck into his room and shaved off half his hair. Firali snorted and began to draw his blade across his leg, drawing a good amount of blood saying that he lived his life alone and wanted to keep it that way. Eventually Baldrick stopped making jokes and turned away from Firali, who feeling like his message was conveyed, went back to bed.

Baldrick eventually woke up and shaved his remaining hair, drawing a phallic face on the back of his skull with dye. Firali, Verathis, and Baldrick made his way to the festival tent separately, while Carter sat in the audience. After the mayor made sure the contestants were securely placed in a circular ring he began to explain the event, telling them that they had to make their way through obstacles and be the first 50 to reach a room in the centre, without interfering with others. He wished the participants good luck and sent a signal firework in the air, signifying the start as the 100 contestants leapt into action.

Baldrick, Firali, didn't have much issue with the various climbing, leaping, swimming, and balancing obstacles while being pelted by various spells and elements while Verathis struggled a bit until he cast Longstrider. Eventually they all reached a cliff they had to climb with a roaring waterfall making the handholds slick. Verathis and Firali made their way up with ease and Baldrick was making good time but heard a yell behind him. As he turned his head he saw a body slam into the cliff face next to him, it was the Half-Orc mercenary that was sent to the city jails as a result of the party's lies. As a wizard approached, attempting to incapacitate the cheating mercenary Baldrick dodged a flurry of blows until one landed and he fell. Baldrick rushed the mercenary (who had taken up a defensive pose) and sprung off at the last moment leaping onto the cliff. As he heard the mercenary scream due to multiple wizards attacking him, he rushed into the black sphere within the centre.

In the sphere, the party was met with sounds of people crying, shivering, scratching at their bodies, and yelling out about being burned, the sphere was casting an illusion on each contestant, causing some to try to escape with no avail. Eventually each party member encountered a dark pit in the centre and leapt in one by one, where they were robbed of all senses and floated down. Eventually each character lived out their worst nightmare, Baldrick saw his father and late wife, Verathis ran through a forest trying to find his mentor or his killers and Firali saw the dancing Orcs, contorting their bodies with glee at the pile of Elf corpses they had stacked up. To deal with this illusion, Baldrick began to sing, Verathis clutched his elk-hoof pendant, and Firali let his rage wash over him, fortifying his resolve to kill Orcs.

While all of this was happening, the mayor mentioned that there was a secret 2nd part of the trial where they would test each contestant personally. After a few moments that felt like hours for the contestants, the black sphere was removed while each floating contestant was levitated safely to the ground. Baldrick was still singing and in order for the mayor to make his speech, silence was cast upon him. The mayor explained that they wanted to cut down the numbers from 50 to 25, but more than 40 made it through. He mentioned the next test would be much harder, and would take place next day. Due to the immense pressure some other contestants dropped out and the remaining number was equal to 40.

The party, feeling sombre and exhausted made their way to bed while Firali took J.A.D. outside to relieve himself. Firali noticed that the storage building behind the inn seemed like it was broken into and decided to investigate, he realized that all of their items of value were taken except for the gold that they had hidden in another compartment. His eyes widened and he rushed upstairs, with the intention of informing the party.

Kills
None, but 4 guards incapacitated

Loot
No loot this session. The following items were stolen:
 * 1 Jewellery Box with the Corsair symbol
 * 9 Crossbow Bolts
 * 1 Light Crossbow
 * 1 Mace
 * 3 Daggers
 * 3 Shortswords
 * 3 Anaconda Buns (Gasp!)
 * 3 Healing Herbs
 * Silk Glove (25 Gold)
 * Leather Belt (25 Gold)
 * Necklace (25 Gold)
 * Fine Leather Gloves (25 Gold)
 * Potion of Resist Cold (Worth 100 Gold)
 * Potion of Greater Healing (4d4+4, Worth 125 Gold)
 * Scotchflint Noble Ring (Taken from Baldrick)
 * Dagger and Gold (Taken from Carter)

Audio
Check Google Drive for Recorded Audio.

Below is the theme for this session. It's also Firali's training montage, and used when he leaves a room or screws with Baldrick.