Ruby Phoenix Tournament - Day 2 & 3

Shinjiro, Sawyer, Bella, and Nicki had just begun the Test of Three Towers against the Vudrani oracle, Ganyavesha. After using Greater Dispel Magic to eliminate many of the group’s more helpful spells, Ganyavesha hit them with a Mass Inflict Moderate Wounds. As they shuddered from the effects of the negative energy, the giant oracle leaped back down off her tower perch, and moved away from the towers.

Sawyer saw his opening, and charged, using Suishen’s Air Walk to avoid the obstructions posed by the towers’ scaffolding. But midway through his charge, Ganyavesha suddenly reversed direction, and headed farther away from him. Her Surprising Charge left Sawyer without a way to reach her. Frustrated, he moved towards the center of the arena, hovering in mid-air and ready to close on her wherever she might move next. Fortunately for Shinjiro, her sudden movement brought her closer to him, and the monk wasted no time in chasing her down. Hoping to keep her in one place, he hammered her with his Stunning Fist. It was like punching a stone wall, but the blow left her reeling, and her kukri slipped from her nerveless fingers.

The rest of the group took advantage of her momentary disadvantage. Sawyer swooped in from his perch and slashed at her with Suishen; like Shinjiro, he felt most of the force of his blow deflected by her Iron Skin revelation, and the blade’s flames seemed to have no effect at all. Nicki moved to a vantage point that offered him a clear line of attack, then blasted her with a trio of Scorching Rays, twisted into acid by his Elemental Spell ability. The crowd roared its approval as the acid ate away at her clothing and flesh, as Shinjiro hammered her with a Ki Flurry.

Bella had her eye on Ganyavesha’s fallen kukri. She’d overheard other contestants saying that, for all her powerful spells, it was her fearsome knife work that did the most damage. Bella flew at full speed, and swooped down to pluck the kukri from the ground in front of the oracle just as she blinked a few times and regained her senses.

Finding herself nearly surrounded, Ganyavesha quickly retreated, counting on her Iron Skin and Ring of Blinking to protect her from her assailants' blows as she fled. Then she spun around and created a 20’ tall Wall of Fire across the breadth of the arena. The crowd leaped to their feet, cheering, as the flames ignited the towers’ rope ladders and timber frames. Sawyer was caught in the middle of the flames, while Shinjiro and Bella were barely outside them, but scorched just the same. Zhustin, watching from the grandstand, saw the smoke begin to accumulate at the top of the invisible sphere of force that enclosed the arena, and wondered just how long the air inside would last.

But Sawyer had more immediate concerns. Enveloped in flames, he charged out of the wall to attack Ganyavesha. Shinjiro gritted his teeth and then dashed through the flames, hoping the burns would be worth it. But now Ganyavesha’s Ring of Blinking became a major factor. Both attackers missed the oracle, their blows passing right through her momentarily ethereal body. Bella flew over the Wall of Fire, and slashed at Ganyavesha from behind, but her blade, too, found no body. Nicki found his view of the action totally blocked by the flames, so he used Dimension Door to pop across the arena, landing several yards behind Ganyavesha

Ganyavesha backed away from her attackers, but collided with Nicki, who she hadn’t noticed pop in. Undeterred, she called down a Flame Strike on Sawyer and Shinjiro, adding another layer of blisters. But her Iron Skin offered no protection from Nicki’s acidic Scorching Rays. One of the rays passed through her as she blinked, but the other two struck home. Surrounded by foes and near death, she realized there was no escape. Ganyavesha threw up her hands in surrender, and the match was over.

As the tournament officials rushed in to extinguish the flames and try to salvage the towers, Bella tried to dicker with Ganyavesha to make a trade for her kukri, but the defeated oracle was in no mood to bargain, and she snatched back her fighting knife and limped away towards the healers. Shinjiro and Sawyer also availed themselves of the proffered magical healing (it seemed that every cleric of Abadar on Golarion had been brought to Goka for the Tournament). Then the group slowly made their way back to town, and a well-earned dinner at Yon Loi’s.

As they neared the noodle house, they saw a bruised and bloodied man huddled by the side of the path. As Marie approached to offer healing, he began to drag himself away, mumbling in Tian. “Please! Don’t hurt me any more! I didn’t know what I was getting into!” Marie cast a Cure Light Wounds on him, and Shinjiro asked him softly in his own tongue: “Who did this to you?”

The man began thanking Marie profusely. He introduced himself as Donguma, and freely shared his woes with Shinjiro. “It was the Golden League. I placed some bets with them on yesterday’s matches, but I didn’t have the money to pay when I lost. I told them I’d have the money for them after tomorrow’s matches, but they said they wouldn’t let me make any more bets, and that I’d have to pay them in blood.” Nicki nodded as he listened; he’d heard about the Golden League from other gamblers. Donguma continued. “If you’re smart, you won’t waste any money betting on this tournament – my friends and I have decided the whole thing is rigged!” When asked why he thought that, he spat disgustedly. “Just look at what’s been happening – teams getting poisoned, spells and devices that fail unexpectedly, favored teams getting knocked out by “accidents” between matches. The fix is in, I’m telling you!”

“So who are the favored teams?” Nicki asked with interest. Donguma scratched his head in thought. “Well, those nagaji who call themselves ‘Naga’s Children’ – they're the odds-on favorite. And that Chelish team from the Aspis Consortium aren’t far behind. That hobgoblin, Gomwai, is probably the dark horse. The odds usually have him as the underdog in his matches, but he's won pretty handily so far.

“What about us?” Nicki asked, and Donguma looked a bit embarrassed. “Well, you were a complete unknown when you started – nobody knew anything about you. But you’ve done pretty well. I think the latest odds on you are 2 to 5. But to be honest, you’re the reason I’m here. I bet on that thing with no head yesterday, and … well, you know how that turned out.”

They let Donguma scurry off towards the docks, hoping to catch a boat back to the mainland, and went into the noodle house. It was much less crowded tonight, despite the fact that Yon Loi had hired a local cleric to inspect all the food before it was served (the party made their own checks, thank you very much). The groups that were there were huddled over their bowls of noodle soup, deep in intense conversation. Nicki, ever the busybody, made it his business to listen in. Everyone he heard was discussing the same topic: an entire team of contestants were found dead this evening along the treacherous, abandoned coast on the far side of the island known as the Ridge of Graves. They were believed to be the nagaji warriors who called themselves the Naga’s Children, but it wasn’t certain because the bodies had been reduced to slag, as if by strong acid. They’d won their match today, and rumor had it they were slated to face the hobgoblin, Gomwai, tomorrow. Someone said they’d heard someone else say they heard second-hand that the nagaji had boasted they were going to take on the dragon Huyanwo, whose lair was believed to be near the Ridge of Graves. Later that evening, the door to the noodle house burst open, and one of the day’s defeated teams returned, happy to be able to take advantage of the nagaji’s deaths by taking their place in the Tournament.

After purchasing a few potions from the ever-present Romby (“I knew you’d be back!”), the group turned in. The next morning was dismal and rainy. A steady drizzle drenched them on the hike to the pavilion, where awnings at least protected the audience from the rain. Unlike the previous days, they would no longer know when their match was scheduled (and thus, would not be able to determine their opponent) until their name was called. The first match was set up like their match of the previous afternoon, with the three towers hastily repaired with fresh ropes and newly-sawn timbers replacing those too badly burned to salvage. But soon after the battle began, all three towers suddenly collapsed on one another. One contestant was killed, and two others badly maimed. Zhustin leaped to his feet, pointing at the arena. “Did you see that?!? All three towers’ legs gave way at exactly the same spot! That was no accident – that was sabotage!”

As the Tournament officials rushed to clear the wreckage and salvage the rest of the day’s matches, an orange-and-red clad monk summoned the party. “We’re trying to fill time with additional exhibitions. Please – come with me right away!” As they hustled with him towards the exhibition rings, he explained that only one of them could participate in this test. They rounded the bleachers, and saw the ring. On one side of the ring stood a tiger, while opposite it stood a dire boar. Each animal stood unnaturally still, held in place by a Hold Animal spell. From each animal’s right hind leg extended a 15’ length of iron chain with a shackle at the other end. Their host explained that the objective of this fight would be to kill your opponent’s beast while defending your own. “I’ll do it!” Zhustin volunteered eagerly, and stepped into the ring. His opponent was an experienced-looking druid named Nearidei. They flipped a coin to select their animal, and Zhustin chose the tiger. They locked the shackle onto his leg, and the referee gave the signal to begin.

Nearidei

Zhustin reacted instantly, and Summoned a Dire Wolf that immediately tore at the dire boar with its fangs, toppling the immobilized beast onto its side. Nearidei flew up into the air, hovering above the boar, and attempted to control Zhustin’s wolf with Dominate Animal. Fortunately for Zhustin, the wolf refused to obey her commands, and from that point on the match was all but over. Zhustin cast Haste on his wolf, and it began savaging the boar twice as fast. Knowing she had to protect her animal before she could attack Zhustin’s, Nearidei incinerated the wolf with a Flame Strike.

Unfortunately, Zhustin’s tiger chose just that moment to break free from the Hold Animal spell. Furious, it spun to attack the nearest creature - namely Zhustin. Fortunately, its limbs were stiff from standing still so long, and it stumbled over the chain attached to its leg. Zhustin found himself in a sticky dilemma: save himself from being eaten by the tiger, or make a last attempt to kill the boar? Summoning a courage he’d never have suspected of himself a few months ago, he ignored the roaring tiger, and fired a volley of Magic Missiles at the injured boar. That was more than enough to finish off the boar, and Tournament clerics rushed into the ring, casting more Hold Animal spells on the tiger before it could maul Zhustin.

As the party drifted back toward the pavilion after the Boar and Tiger Fight, they encountered Marthysan. He took them aside with a worried expression. “Have you heard any rumors or encountered anything strange lately? Anything that might not have reached my ears?” They told him what they had heard from Donguma about the Golden League, and his suspicions that some of the matches might be rigged. Marthysan nodded gravely. “You’re not the first I’ve heard that from. And that tower collapse this morning was no accident – those supports were cut through and then disguised.” Just then, one of the Emissary’s aides tugged on Marthysan’s sleeve and whispered something in his ear. “Pardon me, but I have to go now. Meet me tonight at 9:00 at Yon Loi’s, and we’ll discuss this further,” he said before hurrying away.

No sooner had Marthysan left than another Tournament official arrived to inform the party that it was time for their next match. They returned to the pavilion, but the official insisted on knowing which four would comprise their team for this match before they went inside. They were forced to make a decision with no foreknowledge of how the arena might be configured or who their opponents might be. They elected to stick with the team that had been doing well so far, so Sawyer, Shinjiro, Nicki, and Bella were escorted off to the waiting room for their period of enforced isolation.

When they were finally let out into the arena, they were hit by a wave of heat. The wreckage of the towers had been cleared away, and the arena floor was now covered by an expanse of red-hot coals, noticeably raising the Grand Pavilion’s ambient temperature and filling the air with thin gouts of steam as stray raindrops hit the burning ground and vaporized. They were instructed to remove any footwear and stand ready to fight.

On the opposite side of the arena stood their opponents, a quartet of Minatan bards called the Chanters of the Sacred Song. The Chanters had dedicated their lives to studying and protecting the secrets of the so-called Sacred Song. The party had seen them in action the previous day. They used a strange form of throat singing that they had honed to such a degree that they could use it as a weapon, opening wounds and breaking bones with just their voices.

The Emissary gave the signal to begin, and the Chanters reacted with lightning quickness. One dashed across the coals, moving with inhuman speed. As soon as she was within earshot of Bella, she began singing. Bella felt each of the Weird Words strike her as if it were a weapon, and the chorus went on, and on, and on. She was soon bleeding and bruised from half a dozen wounds – and no one had touched her. Two of the Chanter’s sisters charged across the coals and sang their own strange songs against Sawyer and Nicki with similar effects. The fourth stood her ground on the far side of the arena and cast a spell. Sawyer and Nicki felt nothing, but they noticed Shinjiro fidgeting with a Confused look on his face. Uh oh.

The PCs earned 2,914 XP for the night, putting them at 127,169 XP, with 155,000 required for level 11. You won another Victory Point for the Test of Three Towers, so you're now at 4. Since that's one per contestant, that puts the crowd's starting attitude as Friendly for future matches. We’ll be at Rich and Joette’s next two Sundays, and I’ll be there in person on the 28^th.