[ W007. ] [ We find Our Heroes drudging through a familiar part of the Underworld. Like the unfamiliar parts, it is very dark. They are headed for the troll city that is part of the troll empire, where they will do... something, I'm sure. ] [ Session Start! ] * Max isn't trudging, and resents the assumption. He's flying serenely along on his book, hovering in the semi-safe spot right above Tia's back. And staring around fascinatedly. * Tia is glancing around curiously. Where'd the butterfly go? * Tia looks around wildly. * Alcinoe shrugs. And clanks. I think it chased after the trolls. *pushes glasses up his nose* * Seylin is concentrating more on finding her way. Although precipitous drops are generally not a problem for her, 'cause, y'know, wings. ;p * Patrick is walking along and doesn't care much about drops either. He should totally have been ninja. * Tia calls out, "Mr. Buuuutterfly?" * Istvan is, in fact, trudging along, to one side of Kenji. Alci is, presumably, on the other side. After the last little to-do, he's got his war pick unholstered. His armor is also patched, though it's a bit of a quickie job. * Will clanks along in the back of the group. * HKenji is walking along in the lead, but doesn't seem to be paying an amazing amount of attention to the area around him. He's almost lost in thought. Mr. Butterfly...? * Max reaches out and pats Tia's head with a tiny hand. "It's okay. I'm sure we'll find another later on." * Tia looks over at Max and smiles. "Okay. I hope he doesn't get lost, though." * Patrick grins. "He'll be fine, really." Okay, if you say so! * Tia grins. ._. *pushes up his glasses* ^_^ * Istvan mutters a bit as he walks. "Forgot how damn strong trolls are..." Trolls? What trolls? * Tia looks up blankly. ( *cracks up* ) Will, see to Istvan, please. I'm saw to. Just thinking out loud. I already treated him, Kenji. Trolls are very big. I'm glad I can be on their eye level. Else they'd be intimidating. *nod* * Seylin refrainds from laughing at Tia's remark. mmm... good. Kenji? Are you okay? * Tia still looks puzzled. * Patrick chuckles. I don't get it. * Istvan bounces his war pick on his shoulder. "Don't fight human- shaped things stronger'n me too often. Just ponderin' how I need to adjust tactics." Are we fighting trolls? * Tia glances around all of a sudden and closes her fingers around her axe. Not yet, Tia. But we will be? Good chance. * Tia nods. "I'll be ready!" She takes the greataxe in both hands and grins. You remember how to keep a troll from healing, Tia? * Alcinoe looks her sword over. It's unsheathed, yes. "That's good ta hear, Tia." Don't worry about that right now. Killing them isn't the problem. Ummm...I know I studied this... * Patrick nods. * HKenji rubs gently at his temples, as though he has a headache. * Tia squints in concentration. * Istvan grins at Kenji. "Just in case." * Patrick eyes Kenji, then whispers to Seylin. Something about burning, right...? Ooh, ooh! * Will looks at Kenji. "You okay, Kenji?" * Seylin shakes her head and whispers back. Ooh! Fire burns! And...um...acid! * Tia beams proudly. "Am I right? Am I right?" Yup. Monsters was my second best class! * Tia does a little dance. * Alcinoe smiles a little. * Istvan slows down and ruffles Tia's hair... after she stops dancing, so he doesn't get trampled. * Tia grins at Istvan. "Heehee!" * Max chuckles behind his hand. And ruffles Specs's head feathers. * HKenji shakes his head a little. "I'm fine." Sure about that? * Istvan gives Tia a thumbs up, and gets back into formation. Hey, um. Do we have fire or acid? [ Ahead of you now is a rise that leads into a cavern filled with a troll town. In the center you can see the large stalagmite/salactite pairing that serves as the foundation for countless homes and other structures. ] We're here. Where's here? Wow. Impressive use of natural terrain. *pushes his glasses up his nose* Patrick has lots of both, Tia. * Tia nods. "Okay!" * HKenji comes to the top of the rise and stops for a moment, looking around. Very stable, using these natural formations. The city layout is a bit over-dependant on chance, but it would be hard to mathematically lay out the basic structures. [ Kenji sees Prince Torlak and twenty troll soldiers with weapons dawn. "Hello!" calls the Prince. "How good to see you again," he lies. ] Mr. Prince! I remember him! * Will looks out at the town and whistles faintly. He's impressed. * Tia wags her tail excitedly. * Tia waves and jumps up and down. * Patrick nocks an arrow. Hello, Torlak. I am... gratified that you find us worthy of your personal welcome. * Istvan eyes the Prince, and motions back to Tia to calm down a bit. * Tia notices Istvan's signal and settles down a bit, though she looks a little puzzled. * Seylin tries to keep a pleasant expression. She does look a little nervous, though. [ "Oh, how could I turn down my old friends? After all, you've done me an enormous favor. The new access to the Duergar has given us a wealth of resources." ] [ "I'm sorry about the welcome you recieved; I didn't anticipate you'd be coming back this way, or I would've given my soldiers orders to look out for you." ] Huh? What welcome? * Tia pokes Istvan's shoulder. "What's he talking about?" * Max stares somewhat rudely at the Prince, impressed at his well- spokenness. * Alcinoe just eyes the prince. * Patrick idly sizes up the opposition, as well as targets he should look out for (hiding places, ambush locations, etc.) * Istvan backs up a coupla steps towards Tia. "Few trolls... greeted us while you were chasing the butterfly. No biggie." I hadn't wanted to kill them, but they were very impolite, and not very smart. I expect you are better off without them. * Tia takes this in and nods. "Oh. There were trolls?" * Max pushes his glasses up his nose. "Heheh. Oops," he mutters, since his fire killed some of them. [ As before, the Prince appears very different from other trolls. He stands with his legs and back straight, making him close to twelve feet tall. His skin has a greyish tint, his eyes glow faintly red, and he has four small, vestigial horns above his thick brow. ] * Will clenches his holy symbol tightly as he listens to the exchange between the Prince and Kenji. You're very tall, Mr. Prince. You musta drank a lot of milk as a kid! * Tia wags her tail and grins. * Istvan nods at Tia. "Don't worry about it. Just-" *winces* "... let Kenji talk to the Prince." * Tia 's tail falls still as Tia turns to Istvan. "Oh, okay. Sorry!" Tia grins momentarily, then falls silent as told. [ The Prince's face twitches slightly. "Actually, all my soldiers are very valuable to me. I believe I can overlook this turn of events, however, if you will explain what brings you here." ] * Max floats up to the Prince's eye level, so he's not craning his neck at him. Specs is perched on his left shoulder, looking all around while Max looks at just the troll Prince. Actually, I came to discuss a woman calling herself Sherincal. * Tia suddenly goes pale when she hears that name. * Seylin shifts ever so slightly. * Patrick doesn't. * Tia 's wings quiver slightly. [ "Oh? The tall half-dragon wearing her kin's hide? Delightful person, really, although she is quite demanding." ] Demanding that you join her crusade, undoubtedly. * Alcinoe frowns. [ "Something like that, yes. I was against it, of course, as you'd been useful allies in the past, but Father seemed to think it would be a good opportunity, and I cannot question his wisdom without something exceptional to back up my arguments." ] * Max blinks, and looks like he wants to ask somthing. But bites his tongue. Then you would not be averse to showing your father why it is better to be our friend than our enemy. [ "Of course not! After all, we are already busy conquering the Duergar. Why waste resources on a friendly nation that we can't even open our eyes in?" ] * Max smiles at this display of good sense and logic. Excellent. Then there's no need for weapons, for now. * HKenji gestures behind himself. "Put your weapons away." * Tia nods mutely and re-shoulders her axe. * Patrick motions and his bow and arrow vanish into his gloves. * Alcinoe shifts her grip on her sword, then sheathes it. * Istvan shrugs, and holsters his pick. * Max eyes his staff, thinks a bit, and just keeps using it as a walking stick. He's got no where to put it away to. ^^; * Tia is still pale. * Will lets go of his holy symbol uneasily. * HKenji watches Torlak, showing no sign whatsoever of uneasiness. [ The troll prince says something in Giant; a command, a list of names, and another command. His soldiers do not put away their weapons, but they sling them over their shoulder, presumably at-east, and ten of them turn and begin walking to the village. ] ( at-ease, even) * Max tilts his head, and leans casually on his staff. And waits. 'Cause there's nothing else to do right now. [ Torlak turns and eyes Kenji. "So, in the world above, how does one usually go about convincing a powerful ruler that war is a bad idea?" ] It depends entirely on who one is dealing with. * Istvan does not answer the question. Because the dwarf answer is an entirely inappropriate one. * Patrick could answer it. But you definetly wouldn't like the answer. * Max smiles and waits for Kenji to finish his answer. He looks like he expects to enjoy hearing it. * Tia wags her tail quietly because she has no idea what the answer is. Either way, the essential idea is to show those in power why it is a better idea to ally than to attack. Either through a show of sufficient force, through economic considerations, or sometimes something else entirely. * Max nods. [ "A show of force, you say. Yes, Father would be interested in such a thing, I believe." ] [ He frowns. "What sort of thing would you suggest? I wouldn't recommend challenging him directly." ] I don't have the status to challenge him. I do, however, have the status to challenge you... [ The prince fidgets uncomfortably. ] Huh? Are you fighting each other? ...status? *blink, blink* In my land, warriors, courtiers, and shugenja alike test themselves and each other constantly in all manner of contests. Among warriors, duels to first blood, or to surrender or incapacitation, are not uncommon. Both are excellent ways of testing and improving skill while not costing the lives of valuable warriors. [ The prince thinks about that for a while and nods. "Yes, that should work. Surrender or incapacitation should do niceley; I do not believe Father would respect a fight to 'first blood'." ] Especially since trolls heal so fast. *nod* [ "We will need to go to the capital to do this. He won't care about it if he doesn't see it with his own eyes." ] * Tia blinks at everyone else. "They're fighting?" I have no objection. Seeing your capital city would be most interesting. * Istvan shakes his head back at Tia. * Tia looks puzzled. * Tia whispers back. "What's happening? I don't get it." * Max nods enthusiastically. ^_^ And pushes his glasses up his nose. [ "Then let us be off immediately. I will send a message to Father to prepare for us." ] Very well. * Istvan steps back to Tia, and whispers. "The Prince wants us to prove to his dad, the king, that we're strong. So we're going to fight some trolls in a... kind of a tournament." * Patrick cracks his neck. A tournament...? Are we all fighting? Yes, Tia. It'll be fun. All in good sport. Well, hopefully. ^_^ * Tia wags her tail. "Wow, that sounds fun!" The seven of you, against seven of Torlak's finest. * Tia dances around in a circle. Can I go first? Pleeeeeease? Can I go first? Calm down. No sense in bringing down the cavern. *floats up and away, out of the hazard range of Tia-celebrating* Can I, huh? Can I go first? Pleeeease? If Torlak has no objection, Tia. [ After someone translates for Torlak, he shrugs. "I see no harm in it." ] * Tia wags her tail madly. "Yay!" * Tia jumps up and down. "I get to go first!" [ So, you travel for about a day, and you come to a stop in a spectacular city carved into the walls of a large cavern. There are thousands of trolls here, and thousands more slaves toiling in the fields on the floor of the canyon. ] Wow. * Alcinoe looks around. She doesn't seem pleased. But she hasn't for a while! * Istvan looks around. "Damn... lotta trolls." * Max whispers to her. "You okay, Alcinoe?" * Will blinks and unconsciously walks closer to the center of the group. Ah'm fine. * Alcinoe lets her gaze pass over the slaves. * Seylin exhales quietly. She does look a bit more nervous now. * Patrick glances around. * Max follows her gaze. "Oh. I see." He offers her a supportive pat on the back, and says nothing more. Then goes back to staring in wonder at the whole mess. [ After a night of rest, you find youself in the massive throneroom of the Troll King. On the throne itself is said King; he is huge and black-skinned, with eyes that give off a large quantity of red light and large horns. Like his son, he wears an exquisite black robe, and he carries a black staff in his hand. All in all, he has the appearance of an inky blot against his large granite throne. ] [ The room is lit with fires, just enough that you can see the other people in it. There are about twenty troll soldiers here, along with the King, and Prince Torlak, who gets the joy of being the person who lays out the conditions. ] [ Torlak begins thus; "We are gathered together to witness a contest of skill at arms. Eight surfacers are here to do single battle with eight of our warriors." ] [ "The rules are simple. Each pairing will fight until one is unconscious or has surrendered. Fire and acid are forbidden, and combatants with weapons will use due restraint." ] [ "You are allowed to cast spells on your allies before each fight, but not during the fight. After the fight, you may heal your allies if you wish." ] [ "Our first combat tonight will be between the surfacer Tia, and Sergeant Grak. If they will please come forward." ] * Tia trots forward obediently, grinning radiantly.. Here! [ A large area of the throneroom has been cleared, and an arena has been hastily painted onto it. ] * Tia glances at the makeshift arena. "We're fighting in there?" * HKenji stands confidently across from Torlak and calls out softly to Tia, "Don't leave the arena, Tia, or you fail." [ "Approach the arena. This is where the combat will occur. If you voluntarily leave the arena at any time, you are considered to have surrendered. If you are knocked out of the arena, you may pick yourself up, walk back into the arena, and resume fighting." ] * Tia nods. "Okay. No leaving the arena. Gotcha!" * Tia approaches the arena, as told, all smiles. [ A troll much like the other nineteen in the room steps forward and walks up to the middle of the arena. He, too, is smiling, but it's more a sadistic smile than an exuberant smile. ] * Tia waves at the troll. "Hi, Mr. Troll!" Nice ta meet you! [ The troll raises a thick, shaggy eyebrow at Tia, but doesn't respond. ] [ "Be ready," says Torlak, followed by "Begin." ] [ The troll gets the upper hand and swings his great sword at Tia! ] [ The troll's first swing glances off Tia's hide, but the second slams into her side, about level with her kidney, say. ] [ Tia, go! ] * Tia grunts as she takes the hit, and she winces in pain, but she recovers in time to take a return swing at the troll. [ Just a note; the arena is eighty feet square. ] * Tia roars. [ Tia's axe digs deep into the troll's chest, entering at the top of the ribcage and coming to rest against the troll's hip. She takes another swipe that glances off the troll's armor, and a swipe with her claw that gets the same result. ] [ The troll stumbles back a few steps, but takes another swing at Tia. ] [ He hits, her shoulder taking a cut. ] * Tia lets out a yell. [ Tia strikes the troll in the head, her axe digging in, and he collapses. ] [ "Victory for the surface," says Torlak. ] * Tia blinks. "But I wanted to fight more!" * HKenji laughs. * Patrick grins. [ The troll soldiers look shaken by that. ] * Will cheers! "Go Tia!" Tia, you have to let other people have their turn, too. YOu've passed your test. Oh...okay. * Tia grins. "I passed!" * Max jumps up and down on his Book, applauding. "Yay Tia!" * Tia raises her axe and cheers loudly. * Alcinoe chuckles. "Good job, Tia." * Istvan claps. * Tia skips on all four paws and leaves the arena cheerfully. Good job Tia. ^_^ * Tia goes around giving her team members hugs. [ And so the tournament began. And what a beginning! I mean, Tia pwned that troll! ] * Max is squished, but lets her hug him. Specs more wisely stays out of hte way. [ Er, anyway. Session End! ]