Session 8 - The Championship of Excelsion!

After dealing with the extortionist bandits claiming to be Victor royal guards on the Highroad outside of Silver Field, tiefling sorcerer Vanderjesus and half-orc fighter Phryne capitalized on the crowds of onlookers who were saved from a shakedown. Phryne found a number of admirers, whereas Vanderjesus has amassed quite a following of fans during her travels on the Highroad. Tales of the half-air spirit monk Aubrey the folk hero spreads further throughout Malex. Wood elf rogue Mindratis attempted to sneak into the crowd to relieve some travellers of their coin, but was swamped with people who wanted to thank him for his part in dealing with the thugs.

The heroes travelled on, joining throngs of travellers who were making their way to Victor for the Championship of Excelsion, an annual athletic competition in the week leading up to the summer solstice. They follow the crowds into Victor, into the Plaza of the Strong beneath an enormous statue of Excelsion. The heroes go their separate ways in the town.

Aubrey wanders in charge of Eeyore the mule and their new mastiff, variously called Scruff, Dog, Rufus, Jupiter by the party. Aubrey ended up at the Pentacle Temple and found out that one simply need to speak with an acolyte of Excelsion to possibly join the Championship. How the acolytes choose competitors isn't clear, but many are turned away. He approached an acolyte, dressed in robes that seem to double as athletic-wear.

“What makes you worthy to be Champion?” the acolyte asked.

"I want to test myself! I want to be a legend!" he responded.

The acolyte bowed her head for a moment, then responded, "Welcome Champion."

Aubrey was confused when he was approached by a scantily clad elf who asked if he was a fan of Vanderjesus. He was led to the Baths, where a naked Vanderjesus was already in bed with a fan. He was offered the comforts of the Baths' suite, and spent the evening relaxing with the dog, leaving Eeyore with attendants of the Baths.

Vanderjesus, as is her way, immediately sought out a brothel, and was directed to the Baths of 1000 Reprieves, an enormous elven-style bathhouse complex. She gave a password to an attendant and was given access to an extensive suite with private baths, multiple bedrooms and Baths attendants on hand; strange, as the town was so filled with travellers that any room would be free was a miracle. She asked the attendants to find her fans, and the bemused brothel went forth to see what she could do. Edlee followed her to the Baths, where he had some dealings with the attendants before setting out to work a little, offering his services to weary travellers and athletes while he's in town.

Fairy Dragon, the human druid, explored the city a little. The druid learned that the great Coliseum of Excelsion at the centre of town attaches the grand Pentacle Temple to the Victor Royal Palace and the Directorate Palace, which are all a part of the same complex. Fairy Dragon stopped at the stables of the Directorate Palace to ask about the use of animals in the games, and was told by a stablehand that, as far as he knew, they weren't preparing any of the horses for the games, but generally champions or the temple provides horses if they are. Fairy Dragon also inquired as to the local tavern where athletes would find themselves, and was directed to the Golden Medal, a popular establishment in the Silver District that will surely be full throughout the festivities. Fairy Dragon then left town to explore a small forest, to collect supplies and camp in nature for the evening.

Phryne explored town a little, locating a blacksmith who has, on occasion, worked with magical materials to create special weapons. She asked him if he has any magical tridents for sale, and he laughed and said he's never had the occasion to make a trident, much less a magical one, but that he could certainly take a commission for 100 gold. Since Vanderjesus keeps the party gold, but not sure where to find her friends, Phryne asked around. A tiefling stands out, and she was eventually pointed to the Baths.

"Are you a fan of Vanderjesus?" the main attendant asked, smiling mischievously.

"... Yes..." Phryne answered, and was led upstairs to where a naked Vanderjesus was now in bed with two fans. Phryne asked for gold, but Vanderjesus shooed the fighter away and said it's business they could deal with the next morning.

Phryne headed back out to the Pentacle Temple to look into joining the competition. She found an acolyte and asked to join.

“What makes you worthy to be Champion?” the acolyte asked.

"I'm going to be the best, and I'm going to become the Champion in the name of Excelsion," she responded.

The acolyte bowed her head for a couple of moments, before responding, "Welcome Champion." Phryne made use of the training facilities at the Coliseum for the rest of the afternoon.

Mindratis found Victor's underworld element in the docks, riverside sections of town made up of warehouses, squatters, brothels and dives. At a dockside dingy tavern called the Dirty Trout he found some fellow criminals who offered him some work collecting protection money from a spice merchant who was late on his payment, with a 20% cut for a job well done. He was joined with a spotter, a human thief named Lola. The job went smoothly as Mindratis broke into the storeroom of the spice merchant and found the gold easily enough, but he was found by a couple of hired swords, which he and Lola dispatched easily. The thieves weren't thrilled that the thieves had left behind a couple of corpses, and said they were bumping Mindratis' cut down to 10%, and he happily turned over the money. They were unaware that he had pocketed an extra 100 gold for himself from the spice merchant's lockbox. Unable to find his friends, Mindratis slept out on a vacant balcony for the evening.

The next day went by quickly enough, with Phryne training. She stopped by the alcove of Apexion in the Pentacle Temple, lit a candle and said a prayer to the warrior god. Around her, worshippers of Apexion whispered concernedly about the New Church of Apexion followers making a nuisance of themselves in Victor. While they were formally banned from the city by Lord Cecilia, they stood on the far side of the Victory river, haranguing travellers on their way into or out of town. Occasionally, New Church worshippers would sneak into town to preach. They apparently consider the Festival of Excelsion a decadence in the name of a false god under the controlling eye of the elven oppressors, and they harassed athletes who participated or joined the festivities in the name of Excelsion.

Mindratis returned to the Dirty Trout to seek out more work, perhaps an assassination contract in town. His contacts didn't have any work for him, but knew of someone who was seeking out muscle for a big job. He was told to meet with an elven mercenary named Valeon of the Silver Daggers in the back room of the Golden Medal tomorrow evening. Mindratis sought out his friends at the Baths.

Phryne took her information to her friends back at the Baths, asking if any of them wanted to go looking for these New Church worshippers and get back at them for attacking athletes. Mindratis, Aubrey and Vanderjesus agreed to go along.

In the Plaza of the Strong the group found out that the New Church worshippers would sneak into town to preach in the Plaza of the Strong, or outside of the Golden Medal, or even on the steps of the Pentacle Temple itself until getting arrested, but mostly kept to the far side of the bridge outside of town.

There, the group found five proselytizers, declaring an eternal war on elven oppressors, foreign agents and false gods. Phryne and Vanderjesus attempted to scare away the New Church worshippers, only to be bombarded with racist diatribe against the non-humans present. Vanderjesus shot off a fireball, inciting a fight with the New Church worshippers.

Aubrey charged into the fray, knocking out one of the weaker preachers before being attacked by three others. Mindratis fired arrow after arrow, while Vanderjesus sniped at the preachers with her spells. Phryne engaged another preacher with her mighty trident, but before they were able to rout the enemy, Aubrey was bloodied and knocked unconscious.

The friends scared off the weaker preachers, but the stronger of the enemies fought on before being burnt to a crisp by Vanderjesus' spell. They helped their downed friend up, but not before Victor royal guards found the scene.

While no fans of the New Church preachers, the guards explained that the worshippers were within their right to preach on this side of the bridge. Vanderjesus and Phryne were eventually able to convince them that the New Church worshippers had been attacking athletes, which shocked the guards who had no idea. The guards agreed that something had to be done about the New Church problem, and that they'd investigate. The guards asked for the party's names and where they could be contacted, and walked away with the names of Michelle Leons, Englebert Humperdink, Sausage Maker III and their unconcious friend, Franklin, who were all *definitely* staying at the Dirty Trout.

That evening, in the Coliseum's facilities, Phryne was approached by an enormous, scowling woman; eight feet tall, broad of shoulder, stony of face, certainly the biggest woman Phryne had ever seen.

“What makes you think you’re worthy of competing against Strangewalker Llanathulio of the Ruby Mountains?” the enormous woman asked.

"First," replied Phryne, "I don't know who that is. Second, I'm the best."

The woman paused, smiled and replied, "I like you!" She introduced herself as a fellow Champion, the very same Strangewalker Llanathulio, "But people around here call me The Giantess."

The Giantess invited Phryne to a round at the Golden Medal, although Phryne admitted she was abstaining at the moment. Instead, The Giantess invited her to a friendly arm wrestling contest, which Phryne quickly won, further impressing the giant woman. They spent the rest of the evening swapping glory stories, The Giantess always wanting to outdo Phryne's stories, although the tale of the giant lobster creature on the Highroad gave her pause.

The next morning Phryne and Aubrey arrived at the Coliseum with Edlee and Vanderjesus as their cohort. They met the other Champions, Arlyn Auvraeheal, a handsome, vain High Elf, Alla Myrios, a young human farmer, a favourite of the local population. The acolytes asked around if anyone had seen Veit Rummenheim, a dwarven competitor, but none had. Vanderjesus, overhearing the exchanged, asked after the dwarven Champion. The acolytes explained that Veit was somehow chosen as a competitor every year but always missed the first day and was alway disqualified. Veit, everyone said as they shook there heads, was once again out of the running without even attending a single game. Vanderjesus suggested it could be his sexual proclivities, shocking the attending acolytes.

After a lengthy welcome and prayer to Excelsion, welcoming the Lord Cecilia of the Victor royal family and Lady Aevara, the Directorate Magistrate, each of the Champions were introduced and brought onto an archery pitch. They were to shoot a single arrow at three targets, one at close range, one mid, one far.

While almost every person in town was attending the games at the Coliseum, Mindratis looked to lift some merchandise from a store and sell it. All he could find was a general goods store, and while he cleaned the place out, he was only able to get a couple pieces of gold from his contacts for the goods.

After a couple of rounds of arrows, a druken Veit stumbled out onto the field and took a swing at Phryne before collapsing, and was ushered off by Excelsion acolytes. Over three rounds, The Giantess aimed miserably, garnering her last place, while Alla's valiant efforts put her in a close fourth. The elven Champion, Arlyn, delivered some exquisite bowmanship and received the golden laurel for archery, while the companions Aubrey and Phryne tied for second and third, facing off for a tiebreaker!

ACTIVE QUESTS

-Break the tie between Phryne and Aubrey in the archery competition! A final shot at 320 feet!

-Aubrey and Phryne are to compete in the Championship of Excelsion to qualify as Champion

-Mindratis is to meet up with Valeon of the Silver Daggers for work

-Investigate the encroaching dark forces from the East for the forest spirit (party thinks that the magical and destructive properties of tealstone, these goblin factories and Gazek from Gobelton have something to do with it)

-Escort Edlee to Elysium