The Champion's Belt - New allies and the first arena combat !!!

Episode 2: Oct 14, 2009

After leaving Eligos mansion, the party head back to the Crooked Inn for the night.

8am wake up - head to log in for the games..Find out they need a licensed manager

2pm - Meet up with Celeste at Crooked Inn. Meet Ekayme Smallcask. He is looking for a gladiator team to manage. You hook up and come to financial arrangement.<\p>

6pm - Meet Ekayme at Games admin tent for team entry with licensed papers. Enter into the arena for the Champions dinner.

The party follow their licensed Manager Ekayem into the Champions dinner. They find themselves on the arena floor surrounded by balloons and flowers and much regailment. The arena floor is covered with tables that form a large circle. A bigger more elaborate table is at 1 end and a stage has been erected in the center of circle of tables. With much fanfare and hoopla, Lord Loris Rakanian enters and declares that the dinner has now commenced and that all present are '' Champions of the Games !! ''.

Ekayme explains that he will now be working the crowd and other managers to get a proper sense of the value of the Diamond Lake Defenders. This will go a long way in deciding the odds and therefore the payout of the groups advancement and winnings. Pierre is approached by Tirra with an proposition brought on by the Thieves Guild. They will back the party hoping to make a huge winfall in the betting process. The party accept the terms. Pierre and Lardell also notice that Ekayme isnt working the crowd as much as he seems preoccupied with Lord Rakanian but he assures them that he will get them the best odds he can.

Once the dinner is completed, Talabir, the main aide and sage to Lord Rakanian, explains the rules to everyone and then ushers all the combatants down into the Coenoby, an underground lair and complex that houses the teams, cooks, a stream and many many guards. The group waits and sleeps through the night waiting their calling towards the 1st gladiatorial battle

10am and the party are escorted up to the arena floor where they discover that they will take part in a 4 team elimination fight. It gets off quickly as the Badlands team, comprised of barabarian gnolls and dire boars, pounce upon the Saphire Squad, a group of dragonborn fighters. Waiting to see what happens, the party compose themselves and think of tactics. The 4th group Arriga, made up of 4 elven lasses, quickly use their bows to efficiency, and shoot into the Badlands Saphire Squad fracass. They concentrate their fire on the same enemy dropping 1 character at a time, whoever is closet to them. Unfortunately Jasper Greybeard is the closet on 1 occasion and he is peckered with arrows. Pierre retaliates but is driven back but the returning volleys of arrows. Hilgrim, stuck between groups of the Badlands and Saphire Squad, gets mopped up and drops and things look precarious for the heroes. THe Arriga group continue their combined mighty volley of arrows dropping some more of the Badlands.

How will the rest of the 1st gladiator fight end ? Will the heroes survive or surrender ?? Stay tuned