(IC) Festival of Heroes - Main

[dysmorphia]

The blows made the paladin stagger once more. He teetered and rammed his sword into the ground to keep from falling, but it was a near thing. He held up a hand, taking a few breaths. "I yield. You've - phew - you've gotten strong. I do not remember you being this strong, Aurix... but I shall blame that on your buffs for the time being. Come find me again when you are not buffed and we shall have a rematch - all melee."

The Paladin shook his head to clear it, then held out a hand towards Aurix. "You did well, my friend."

[Andrew Markham]

Aurix shuts his eyes slightly, then reaches with his unwounded arm to take Ainsley's hand. "Can we get some healing over here, please? Sir Ainsley needs it, and I don't know what I've done to my shoulder, but something ripped in there."

[Wolfykins]

One of the pages ran into the pit, and returned a few seconds later with a half-dozen acolytes. The acolytes clustered around the two heroes and tended to their bruises and injuries, with the occasional tsking and head shaking.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

After the Match Umbear Returns to Triple Cherries, looking for his arranged Meeting with Ra. He keeps an eye out for him ahead of time to see if he is waiting, or if Umbear will have to hunt him down. While waiting he collects His winnings from Triple Cherries more Official Gambling Avenue.

(1d20+15)[34]

[Wolfykins]

Ra sat at the same table as earlier, when Umbear placed his bets. The dark-clad redhead nodded slightly at the ogre in acknowledgement, no expression on his face.

[Andrew Markham]

After seeing to Ainsley's health, Aurix runs after Aurora. He catches up with her in Warrick's training yard. "Wow...this place is...wow. But Aurora! I was busy earlier, but I wanted to ask about items you wanted to get rid of...?"

[Wolfykins]

"That was fast!" Aurora said wryly. "I guess I should take that as a compliment, that I tired Ainsley out for you!" she joked. She walked over to the oak tree and lowered herself to the ground, curling her legs under her as she swung her backpack around.
"Yeah, I won a pair of caltrop boots at the midway. Even the carnie at the game was kinda," she raised her eyebrows, rolled her eyes and shrugged, "because what am I supposed to do with boots? I also got a meridian belt,
which would be nice, except you're supposed to wear rings on your toes as well as your fingers and yeah, again, how am I supposed to do that?" Aurora laughed.
"And then there's a couple things I don't need anymore, after choosing tourney prizes. This vest is better than my old one, so I have my old vest, which is a nice bit of natural armor without being, you know, armor. And then I have this ring that helps deflect some attacks. My new vest is a tougher natural armor, and has its own deflection, so, it freed up some space for me by making these two things obsolete."
She pulled each item out of her backpack as she talked about them, and laid them out in front of her.

Spoiler: Things

Show

Natural Armor Vest: +5 natural armor bonus.
Ring of Deflection: +5 deflection bonus to AC.
Caltrop Boots
Meridian Belt

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Umbear finishes collecting his money from the hall. He then sits with Ra.

" Hello Ra. "

[Andrew Markham]

Aurix scans the new items, ponders for a minute, then shakes his head. "Some of these match other things I already have, but I'd have to juggle things around to make this work and possibly get some new items. I don't think it's worth the effort. Thanks though!"

Aurix looks around, seeing Warrick working with Markas. He nods slightly in approval. "I'm glad Sir Warrick set this up. We all need to continue to strive for improvement. Maybe I could spend time learning different spells in this place, once I'm finished with the tournament." He stays there for a time, watching the two practice, before leaving to attend to other things.

[Wolfykins]

"Hello, ogre. You put on a pretty good show today." The redhead glanced around and located the owner, the bouncer, and a town guard. When he was satisfied that they weren't paying attention, he slipped Umbear two bags. His movement was so quick and subtle that even though he expected it, Umbear didn't really see him move.
"You got a little over nine-thousand in profit on your bet with us, and you won our personal wager, so that's two-thousand."
One bag contains 84,375 GP (75k+9,375), the other contains 2k.

---

"Yeah, new gear can be kind of a pain, even if it's better than what you already have, sometimes," Aurora agreed with a nod. She stacked the items next to her backpack and pulled out a few books stamped with the royal library seal and flipped one open.
"Learning new spells is certainly one of my goals in coming here. I was thinking of something else at first, but Jaylyn getting petrified does make me realize that 'Heal' isn't quite enough to handle everything, and I need to study a spell appropriate to dealing with those ailments that 'Heal' can't treat," she commented.

Warrick nodded at Aurix in acknowledgement before returning his full attention to Markas.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Umbear slid the pouches to himself.

"Good man. Will you be here tomorrow for further betting?"

Umbear looks around, watching the people move about the room.

[Wolfykins]

"I might be. Might be somebody else. But it will probably be me." Ra leaned back in his seat and eyed the ogre.
"How do you feel about your chances in the semi-finals tomorrow? Or do you not want to tell me because you think it'll affect the odds placed on you?" he smiled with sly humor.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Umbear smiles for a moment and holds up 3 fingers.

"Three possibilities. One. I fight the paladin. I like my odds there. Hell either recognize I'm superior in ranged and go to melee with me. Or he'll remember me dislocating a griffons beak with my bear hands and try spells and arrows, where I'll be good to go. "

He curls one finger, holding up the remaining two.

"Two. I fight the guy... I don't know about him.... Not sure of his name.... It's a toss up.like my fight with evergreen"

He curls another finger holding up one finger.

" Last possibility. I fight rix. I look forward to this fight. We are both ungodly power houses of night and trickery. Even if I lose, I'll have a good time. "

[Wolfykins]

"Guy?" Ra raised one eyebrow at Umbear. "The last contestant is Camille. Local brawler, little sister to the Master at Arms. Though I suppose I shouldn't tell you that. It's not really common knowledge. Fairly significant age gap, though they are full siblings, not half, so, you know... Always awkward with elves and humans, I guess," he said, waving a hand in front of his face dismissively.

"Anyway, I've been instructed by my boss to ask you some questions. Apparently she wants to know about you heroes fighting the lycanthropes. Rumor has it they killed, or almost killed, a few of you. She wants to know who bought it, or almost bought it, at the lycanthropes' hands. She also wants to know the names of the lycanthropes you fought. She said she knows Harmon Bearblood was there, along with the Stealthtiger twins. She wants confirmation on a guy named 'Cedric', and she wants the names of the others who were there, if you know them. I've been instructed to pay you for the information," Ra said, leaning forward again to put his elbows on the table and thread his fingers together in front of his nose.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Umbear takes a few moments to gather his thoughts.

"Let's see... Harmon.... I took him down. It took all I had to take him down... I took a nap afterward... Kinda pushed myself beyond my limits to do it. I took down Nina the were wolf... Flora... Took out drakdaktor.... But was captured by rora.... Zeetzeet went down too to a lycan.... One of the two tigers that surrendered killed Cedric.... We raised Cedric for questions.... The six were bats died.... "

He counts on his fingers...

" I think that's it"

[Wolfykins]

Ra was quiet for a moment, taking in what Umbear told him. Finally he nodded.
"Alright, that's probably enough to get leads. Thanks. Here," the redhead tossed Umbear another bag, that clinked heavily on the table. Inside was 10k GP. Then he got to his feet and slapped his hand amicably against the table, smiling.
"I better go report to my boss. Glad you weren't offed. This tourney wouldn't be half as entertaining without you! Tomorrow then," he said, and shoved his hands in his pockets and turned and strode towards the door.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Umbear nods and waves a goodbye to Ra as he moves out to the crafting section of town. He is looking to buy some equipment.

[Erealyn]

After the match, Jaylyn returned the arena's gear and did the meet and greet then went with Warrick to collect the prize from making to this point in the tournament. After gathering what she won she thanked Warrick and left to get her stuff. Once she got outside she started running jumping and flapping her wings to get airborn, she went back to her suite at the castle. She sat on her bed thinking for a brief moment and then sighed realizing she would have to go let the others at Varrock know how she did. Jaylyn swapped back to her normal travelers gear and put her arena clothing back in her bag, taking her forked rod out began to chant for her spell. 4 hour later she shifts planes to the J-plane.

[Wolfykins]

Umbear travels to the southeast section of the city, where the warehouses met the eastern housing district. (Presumably by cab.) The majority of the crafting guilds are located in that part of town. Most of the guilds are not open to the public, but a lot of them are still bustling with activity as workers take advantage of the late sunsets this time of year. Some of the guilds are even doing some work outside, since the weather cleared.
The Potters' Guild took advantage of the rain and collected a lot of fresh clay, and the potters were shaping wagon-fulls of dark clay into crude bricks and loading them onto wheeled platforms and wheeling them inside.
The Weavers' Guild was hanging reams of fiber over frames while initiates helped comb out the tangles.
A handful of people wearing aprons covered in pockets filled with things like scissors, bundled needles, balls of thread, and tape measures stood discussing some fabric with the Weavers' Guild, seeming to be negotiating for price.
Carts carrying loads of various raw materials rattled up and down the streets past Umbear, some turning off down side roads, while others pulled up to the guild halls along the main avenue.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

After locating the correct vender umbear purchased a headband of int +6 that would give him access to spellcraft, use magic device, and knowledge local. Afterwards he heads toward the accelerated crafting​ association to aid in crafting with others and to attune to the headband before lending aid for the day.

[Wolfykins]

Camille smiled slightly at Aurix as she passed him on her way into the practice area on his way out. The half-elf strode over to where Warrick and Markas sat.
"Hello," she said, offering Markas a friendly smile. "Am I late?"


"Not at all, Camille, thank you for coming to assist," Warrick replied. "Markas, this is Camille. You probably met in the dining hall, and you may remember her from the parade."


"I'm glad this place is apart from normal time, otherwise I wouldn't be able to linger for long. I've got a match at five," Camille said. She held out a hand to Markas, offering to shake. The half-elf woman looked pretty similar to Warrick. They had the same blue eyes and black hair, but she looked much younger than Warrick, possibly as much as half his age.

[Andrew Markham]

Aurix hears Camille's comment and makes a mental note to catch her match. Feeling tired after three intense practice matches in a row, he looks for some place to grab a snack, then heads to the booth to watch Camille's match with Geiravor.

[EdgeGrinder]

Hervir returned to Geiravor's booth sometime after her practice bout wuth Jaylyn and Aurix.

"Everything fine at the practice arena?" Geiravor asked.

Hevir nodded. "Yes, the warding holds and I had a short battle with Jaylyn and Aurix."

Geiravor smiled. "Did you win?"

Hervir frowned. "No, I am not much of a fighter."

[paladin_artea]

Markas took Camille's hand with a smile and shook it firmly, "Well it's a pleasure to meet you formally, Camille. I'll have to catch your match then. Don't know if you saw mine. It was pretty rough, at least from my point of view. That's why we're here. Warrick offered some extra training. I may be out of the tournament, but I welcomed the opportunity to improve my skills."

[STDM Grizzly Ad]

Gorrun collects his winnings and heads back to the castle. When the rains stop he makes his way to the arenas to watch the fights. He notices a friendly face waiting for him when he takes his seat and invites her over. He makes small talk and finds himself distracted from the fights which were over far too quickly. Aurix's match went as he had expected but when Ainsly pulled off an upset win he was impressed, even though it cost him some money. During the break Gorrun and his new friend strode past the grills and hotplates of various vendors and made quite a meal of their offerings. Later he offered her a tour of the castle grounds before the next set of matches.

(If she stays in his company, she'll accompany him to the other matches, otherwise he goes alone.)

Umbears match was over in moments, but what angle was the Ogre trying to work? Was he really trying to crack the shell on the mysterious sorceress? Trying to see what made her tick? Or was he scared of her and trying some new tactic to shake her up and throw her off her game? Well, if that was it, it worked. Easy money, if only a little.

After the match he left the crowd and leaned against the gate to the practice arena. He heard Aurix issuing challenges and considered a rematch in his full regalia, but decided against it. He waited by the gate as people came and went and offered congratulations or words of encouragement as appropriate. Then he decided it was time to go back to his seat for the last match.

[Wolfykins]

"I did, yes," Camille said, nodding. "Bold move, trying to trip a centaur," she said, cracking a smile.
"I can't blame you for trying! Happens to be a favorite tactic of mine, in fact. If it's a technique you think you might like to keep using, I'd love to practice with you. The nice thing about this training area is that you can't be injured in while you're here, so we don't have to hold back, and you won't put me out before my match." Camille waggled her eyebrows at Markas in invitation.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Stretching as he came out of the crafting hall. Umbear was in the mood for something... succulent. He remembered there was a secret hidden place in town. But he wasnt sure how to get in. He smiled thinking of Ra and Bast. He decided to try and hunt out a member of the Black Market, or the Theives Guild, seeking out information.

(1d20+22)[37] Knowledge Local
(1d20+24)[25] Intimidate Gather Information

Thinking things over, he begins heading to the gambling halls on the Shadier side of town, the east side.

[paladin_artea]

Markas grinned at Camille's gesture, "Needing a practice run before your big match huh? Okay I'm game. Warrick gave me some advice and I also remembered an ancient sage's words: 'Insanity is trying the same thing over and over and expecting different results.' I'm going to try to switch things up from my earlier matches fair warning."

[Wolfykins]

Umbear entered a small gaming hall wedged between a warehouse and a tenement. It was a kind of shabby, but well-maintained building with no windows and a single metal door with two small windows with a sliding shutters, one at eye level for a medium creature, the other at eye level for a large creature. When Umbear knocked, the medium-level window opened, then slid quickly shut and the large-level one opened. A pair of red eyes peered out, and then the door swung open.
Hanging from a bar just under the window was a brown-furred ratfolk. He smiled broadly at the ogre, revealing large, yellow teeth.
"Welcome, welcome!" he said in a high-pitched, but gravelly, voice. He hopped down and skittered to the bar and settled back behind it, grinning.
The patrons of the game hall were a motley selection. Several ratfolk in various colors, a small handful of kobolds, various rough-looking half-orcs and humans, plus an assortment of random other races.
In one corner sat a red fox kitsune wearing black and charcoal clothing and a black short cloak with the hood pulled up over his ears. His brown eyes were fixed on the ogre with interest.

---

Camille chuckled. "I suspect I should be glad for this place's protections; I have no equipment! You'll likely have little problem landing normal blows right now." She started backing up, waving for Markas to follow.
When they reached a clear area south of the tree and were 10' apart, she stopped.
"Do you want us to take a moment of preparation as in the tournament or just jump right in?" she asked.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Umbear politely closed the door behind him as he looked across the room. He grunted whenever he made eye contact with anyone in a gruff greeting but stopped at the bar. Looking down to the smiling ratfolk.

"Im looking to buy hard to come by information. Who do I need to speak to for reliable information?"