[Alliance] Chapter Four: Session Six
Appearing Characters: Aramar Thorne, Asya, Berna, Broll Bearmantle, Elissa Cross, Makasa Flintwill, Remnii, Riff, Ruya, Samaara, Syeori Sunwalker, Tae'shara Sunwatcher, Tansu, Tol'vas Moonshadow, Uther Menethil, Wulf
May 30th
A grand feast happens at high noon in the camp of Clan Sadak to celebrate the festivities that were about to occur. All of the men are permitted to eat alongside the women, and all the people who had qualified are being treated with a high degree of respect.
Riff approaches Remnii and waves to get her attention.
His hair is a bit longer, and it seems Riff had taken the form of a young girl.
She scoots over and pats the cushion next to her. Uther, Tol’vas, and Aramar are sitting together. The leader of one of the other groups approaches with a large stone bowl, and hands it to the three of them.
With a smile, he raises his own into the air.
The two other centaurs behind him echo the sentiment, and they drain their bowls. Uther raises the bowl and makes a gesture of gratitude, but he does not drink.
Some of the other teams have a more solemn air, but everyone is eating and making ready.
Soon after, horns are blown to indicate the start of the bouts, and everyone reports to the arena. Tansu approaches her team.
Tansu then approaches Remnii, who had also put tongues on once again.
Tansu double-takes at Riff.
Tansu looks to Remnii.
Tansu looks to one of her other compatriots.
They share a laugh at that.
Elissa, Tae’shara, Samaara, and Makasa join Remnii and Riff as well, and they take their seats in a similar place as yesterday. Dozens of other centaur enter and pack into the arena even more than they had been yesterday. Already, Tansu had started to imbibe more drink.
After ten to twenty minutes after people get settled in, the Matriarchs take the upper echelon once again and a hush spreads across the arena. The eldest matriarch, Berna, stands up from her cushion and steps forward deliberately and cautiously.
There are quiet nods.
There is another echo of agreement.
There is some laugher, and Berna claps her hands together before sitting back down.
The centaur that is leading Uther, Tol’vas, and Aramar nods to them, and indicates it is their time to go out.
Remnii and the rest of the party are drawn to attention as Uther’s team and the younger centaur group appears. The leader of the centaur has a glaive, one has a bow, and the third a long staff with a crystal on at the top.
Tansu nods.
Tansu nods, listening.
Tansu considers.
A grin passes across Tansu’s face.
She eyes up the other warriors.
At that moment, the fighters finish their pre-battle preparations--including the opposing shaman summoning a roiling, fiery spirit. Tol’vas summons two fey creatures, only one or two feet tall each, and they are throwing small daggers back and forth as they zip around.
Tol’vas recognizes the creatures as quicklings. They are very quick and hard to hit.
And then there is a warhorn to indicate the start of the battle.
The Centaur Warchief stamps his foot and charges forward with a war cry, swinging his glaive at Uther. His attack clashes away, bouncing off a magical arcane barrier. However, the centaur rears up and kicks Uther straight in the chest, shoving him back into the wall behind them.
One of the quicklings charges over to the Centaur Shaman, firing off a barrage of knife strikes. Two of them connect, and the shaman loses control of the blazing spirit, causing it to crumple.
The Centaur Immolation Archer also closes, drawing his flaming arrow back. The flame on the arrow continues to get bigger, and bigger, and then it looses it right behind Tol’vas. A small centaur streaks through the air, surging through Tol’vas, Uther, and Aramar. However, all three of them are able to avoid it.
The centaur curses, and he retreats, leaping over the slice of Tol’vas’s scythe.
The second quickling throws a dagger at the Immolation Archer, but then redirects to the Centaur War Chief, one attack connecting. There is horrifying giggling the entire time.
Tol’vas drops his bear totem in the center of the arena, buffing all his allies.
Tol’vas then uses gravity sinkhole right in the middle of the Shaman and Immolation Archer. Black energy forms, surges out to encompass both centaurs, and retreats back in, drawing both of the centaurs into the center of the sphere.
Tol’vas then backs up, but in that moment, the War Chief uses an opportunity attack to slam into him with his glaive.
Aramar uses Tandem Tactician as he circles around the Warchief, and then strikes at the Warchief, his diamond blade nicking the large man’s arm.
The Centaur Shaman waves his staff in the air, and some spectral lines appear in the air before him. He grabs the lines in his fist. Uther, Aramar, and Tol’vas start to seize up, but Uther and Tol’vas are able to break free. Unfortunately, Aramar is paralyzed, his body wrapped by the spectral threads.
Uther steps up to the Centaur War Chief and swings his hammer around on him, and then quickens a green flame blade in a flurry of holy fury. The War Chief is not looking in good condition.
The quickling next to the War Chief attacks with a flurry of attacks. The Centaur War Chief then rears up on his hind legs and slams into the ground, driving his glaive into the earth as a tremor ripples out from the impact.
The War Chief seems to have slowed down a lot, and some of his armor has been left exposed.
Everyone in the stands is cheering. Remnii is also cheering, but nervously braiding and and unbraiding a thick strand of her hair.
Tol’vas swings his scythe through the air and uses dispel magic, severing the spectral threads around Aramar.
The Centaur Shaman claps his hands together, and the dirt and sand ripple around him. A stampede of spectral centaur appear around him as he casts spirit guardians. He starts to pant from the exertion, and he then casts shocking grasp on the quickling next to him. He connects, but the spell is absorbed by his temporary hit points.
Just as it says that, it is ridden down by the stampeding centaur.
The other quickly drops to its knees and screeches to the sky, but then immediately gets back to her feet, ready to fight.
Aramar casts spiritual weapon, and the copy of his diamond blade appears next to the Shaman, but the swing misses. Aramar then slices at the War Chief, and misses, but his second strike hits.
The Immolation Archer fires his barrage of arrows at Tol’vas, seeking to cut down the mage. Tol’vas stays standing, but his clothes catch on fire.
Uther swings his hammer in the Centaur War Chief once, and then twice, before headbutting him in the forehead to knock him unconscious.
He then hurls a firebolt at the Centaur Shaman, but the bolt brushes off the centaur’s armor.
Armar takes a few steps forward and uses a smite cantrip on the Centaur Shaman, and uses Tandem Tactician once more.
The remaining quickling does a power slide and hurls a dagger at the Shaman, and the centaur crumples down on one knee, the pain too much to continue. Only the Immolation Archer remains, which the quickling then turns on.
The Immolation Archer takes three more shots at Tol’vas. Two of the arrows connect, but Tol’vas is still up, and the centaur curses something in his language.
Tol’vas then closes on the Immolation Archer and uses shillelagh, redirecting some of the fire damage he took back to the Immolation Archer he had absorbed with absorb elements. However, the archer seems to be immune to fire. He then pats the flames off himself.
Uther closes on the remaining centaur, striking into his side with his hammer twice. He then grabs Tol’vas and quickens thunder step to teleport back to Aramar. The thunder damage explodes in the face of both the centaur and quickling.
Uther smacks Aramar on the back.
Aramar nods, and he spins his blade and runs forward to double strike the centaur with his diamond blade and spiritual weapon. The spiritual weapon misses, but he slashes into the centaur with his diamond blade. The centaur is still standing, but the flash of light blinds him partially.
The centaur fires a shot at Tol’vas again, however, after disengaging from Aramar. Uther attempts to deflect the blow, and Tol’vas uses absorb elements, but unfortunately the strike connects.
Tol’vas drops to one knee, but then he starts to snarl, his body transforming into his feral form. The Immolation Archer’s eyes widen, and he fires his last two shots at Tol’vas. Both strikes miss.
Uther closes on the Immolation Archer and drops him unconscious.
Everyone starts to cheer, but then they realize the worgen doesn’t seem to be ready to stop fighting.
Remnii stand up, and a thread of golden magic starts to wrap around Tol’vas’s lupine head and neck. In his head there is the calming sound of wind chimes. Tol’vas’s mind starts to calm, and he shifts back to his kaldorei form, a wave of exhaustion washing over him.
The cheering recommences, and Remnii falls back onto the pillow she was sitting on.
Berna calls out the success, and the defeated centaurs are roused and gathered before the group, and they kneel before the champions.
Tansu stands up and glances down at Remnii.
There are nods of approval, and Elissa then sighs in relief, as do the defeated centaur men. The War Chief pounds his fist on his chest in Uther’s direction.
The teams are then led off the field and given an opportunity to rest and clean their wounds.
Tae’shara leans over.
Elissa’s eyes goes wide.
Remnii pulls the group away for a moment.
Tae’shara rolls her eyes.
There is a subtle twist of Tae’shara’s hand, and Remnii feels a tap on her shoulder. She looks, and there’s nothing there, but then a mage hand appears and boops Remnii on the nose.
The group returns to watch the next bout, and they see the team of veteran warriors being led out to face Syeori’s group. The fighting is fierce on both sides, but it becomes evident rather quickly that it is turning in the favor of Ruya. Tansu is cheering for the centaurs, but Ruya’s team is victorious.
Tansu seems to be in a rather bad mood.
Asya exchanges a look with Remnii.
Tansu furrows her brow.
She looks around.
Tansu shakes her head at the shame.
Tansu narrows her eyes and runs her hand down her face, then looks at Remnii.
Tansu nods.
Asya looks to Remnii and nods in thanks.
Remnii looks uncomfortable. More food and drink is brought around, and another centaur approaches Tansu and whispers in her ear. Her brow furrows.
Tansu shrugs.
Meanwhile, in the recovery caves.
Tol’vas looks at him, deadly serious, and Aramar averts his gaze.
They bandage themselves up and get back on their feet. They are sort of beat down, especially Tol’vas, but they seem to be getting back into shape.
They stretch and limber up, and about an hour and a half later, they are retrieved once more by a male centaur, who leads them out for the final bout.
Aramar conjures his blade again, and the gate once more opens.
Berna starts to hype up both sides.
Elissa then unveils her super-secret plot as she and Riff holds up signs that say “GO DEATH ADDERS!” with cute snakes.
Some of the centaurs look at them, confused, but endeared.
Uther, Tol’vas, and Aramar’s eyes fall on the opposition. Not-Gil greets them.
The barbarian’s massive axe sets alight with molten heat. Aramar casts bless on the group again, Uther uses his channel divinity, and Tol’vas summons four dire wolves with his scythe.
Not-Gil’s ears go full back, the bear snarls, and the barbarian looks at the wolves.
The horn blows.
One of the dire wolves surges forward and snaps at the bear, trying to wrestle it to the ground, but the bear smacks it off.
Wulf raises his weapon and releases a howling shout. A translucent glow materializes around his flaming weapon, and his pupils seem to dilate as he rages.
He then charges for Tol’vas, taking a bite from the wolf. He then cuts into Tol’vas with reckless abandon. Tol’vas ducks under the first attack, but the second strikes him. The dire wolf nearest to Tol’vas attacks Wulf in response, and the jaws latch on the barbarian’s arm, but he shoves it off.
Tol’vas drops a bear totem and then takes his worgen form with a snarl.
He prepares to continue brawling the worgen.
Aramar nods and then goes for the barbarian. He slashes at him, and casts healing light to heal Tol’vas. Another worgen goes for the bear, trying to join his pack mate in the fray. Uther also closes on Wulf, penning him in. Blinding holy light wreathes his hammer on contact.
The second strike also connects.
The bear opts to ignore the two dire wolves on him, and instead barrels forward to aid his companion with a roar. One of the bites connects, but it doesn’t seem to do as much damage as before.
The bear claws into Uther, and then grapples him, trying to drag Uther off Wulf as he roars in Uther’s face.
Not-Gil skirts around the group to get into the action, and she unfurls her whip, lashing out at Tol’vas. The strike connects, trying to sweep his legs out. However, the nearest dire wolf closes on her, and it immediately tackles her to the ground.
Wulf thanks the bear, and then releases a war cry as he continues slashing into Tol’vas. Power pulses from him, invigorating his allies.
With the first strike, Tol’vas’s concentration drops, but as he staggers, the second blow misses. However, the dire wolves all vanish, and Tol’vas is forcibly shifted back to his kaldorei form.
Uther continues to wrestle with the bear, swinging his hammer into the beast’s chest.
Not-Gil lashes out with her whip and wraps it around Aramar’s leg, but he is able to stay standing.
Tol’vas snarls at Wulf, rage bubbling in him, and he steps toward Wulf. The magic starts to course around him.
He transforms into a massive, HUGE wolf, vine wings emerging from his back. The barbarian looks up at him, fire in his eyes.
The centaur are losing it, cheering and screaming. Elissa fumbles with her sign. Remnii is very nervously braiding her hair. Aramar looks at Tol’vas wide-eyed.
The bear’s eyes fix on Tol’vas.
Aramar swings his blade at Wulf, and then action surges, slicing into Wulf again before Aramar uses Tandem Tactician.
Bear continues wrestling with Uther, but he drags him across the ground. He bites Uther, and then slashes with his claws at Tol’vas. However, Uther uses righteous defense, and instead Uther takes that blow. The bear looks down at Uther with a growl of frustration.
Wulf continues to swing into Tol’vas, but once more, the damage goes to Uther. Uther is not looking good, and he surge heals his Lay on Hands on himself. He then casts ice barrier on himself.
Aramar casts healing light on Uther, and then strikes into Wulf with his sword.
Bear turns his full attention to Tol’vas, and once more, the strike redirects to Uther, whose ice barrier explodes in the bear’s face. He then strikes Tol’vas again, the righteous defense now faltered.
Tol’vas rounds on Wulf, striking him with his bite, and then gouging him with his claws. He then howls, using swiftmend on Uther.
Not-Gil disengages, and backs up, continuing to whip attack Tol’vas. He takes a fair amount of damage, but the magic is still sustaining him. She gets a poor-man’s action surge and whips again, this time wrapping the whip around Tol’vas’s neck and pulls herself up on his back.
Wulf hits Tol’vas, but once more, Uther uses righteous defense. Wulf looks very frustrated. He swings again at Tol’vas, and yet again, the blow goes to Uther. Uther is still up, but he’s not looking very good.
Tol’vas continues to bite and tear into Wulf, who is getting slashed to ribbons. He then howls again, once more healing Uther.
Aramar tries to finish off Wulf, but the barbarian is still standing, however he gets a scorching wound.
Uther uses green flame blade, dealing damage to the bear and through to Wulf. As the flames wash over him, he goes spilling over, down and out. He quickens another green flame blade, and strikes into the bear again, who is knocked into his true form.
There is a grunt, and standing in front of Uther is a huge night elf. He is still grappling Uther. On his head is a massive rack of antlers.
Aramar looks at him in confusion.
The kaldorei shakes his head, and his form starts to shift once more, taking the Form of the Claw. There are blazing tattoos off half moons on his shoulders, and he roars an echoing roar in Tol’vas’s face.
He then digs his claws into Uther.
Aramar, seeing that Wulf is in critical condition and still bleeding and on fire, he puts the fire out. Syeori then also slides off of Tol’vas and tries to stabilize Wulf. She manages to do so.
Tansu is paying very close attention.
Uther swings his hammer into the bear, and the two strikes connect. The massive bear, this time, swings at Tol’vas, knocking him out of his pack form, and then once more swings, doing a good deal of damage, also removing the metamorphosis.
In response, Tol’vas uses starfire to try and knock the other druid out of his form, and also activates shillelagh.
Now that Wulf is stable, Aramar and Not-Gil lock eyes and go for each other. Aramar swings, and then grapples her.
The bear takes damage from the moonbeam, but he remains shifted. He moves out of the way of the moonbean, and continues to attack Tol’vas. Tol’vas is dropped, and the bear then turns around on Uther and drops him as well.
It’s now just Aramar. However, as Uther hits the ground, his eyes snap open. He lifts his hammer and goes for the bear. One strike hits, but the other does not. Bear rounds at him again, but both strikes miss.
The entire party is on the edge of their seats.
Not-Gil slips out of Aramar’s grip, and then runs off to the other side of the arena.
Aramar tries to replicate the spell that Tol’vas had used--starfire. Uther continues to swing into the bear, and blood drips into the beast’s eyes, blinding him.
Not-Gil veers closer and lashes out at Aramar, but her strike misses. However, the moonbeam activates, and the druid is once again blasted out of his form. He grunts in annoyance.
Aramar closes on the kaldorei, but the druid grabs his sword arm and shoves him aside. Uther also closes on the newly transformed druid, and one strike connects. Aramar swings and misses, but uses Tandem Tactician to help Uther, who follows up with a swing of his hammer. And another strike, whittling down the druid’s stamina.
Not-Gil strikes at Aramar, but misses, and drives his fist into the ground with a thunderclap. Uther is blasted off his feat, and the druid rounds on Aramar.
Aramar and the druid continue to duke it out, but Aramar is knocked out.
The crowd erupts into cheers… but less cheers from Tansu and the others.
Uther, Aramar, and Tol’vas are brought to their feet and lined up in front of the victors. Tansu is furious. The Matriarchs stand.
Ruya smirks as she looks down at the group, and she makes eye contact with Tansu.
All eyes turn to the champions, and there is a long moment of waiting. The druid steps forward, looking down a the group. He then turns back to Ruya.
There is silence.
Ruya demands to know what he said, and once it’s translated, she gets to the edge of the arena.
The druid looks at Ruya.
Some more translations happen, and Ruya looks to Wulf and Not-Gil and demands they finish them. Wulf goes to move his axe, but he doesn’t have the strength.
There is a moment of translation.
The druid nods and looks down at the party. He holds a hand out to Uther and Tol’vas.
Uther takes the help up.
The druid turns and heads to the center of the ring. Tansu and the others look angry. However, the druid presents the token to Ruya as promised. Asya looks resigned, and Tansu looks furious.
Syeori and Wulf are relinquished. Ruya gets the blessing of the High Matriarch, her magic washing around Ruya. She stands, goes over to the night elf, and strikes him with the back of her hand. She then drags him away.
Uther looks to Tansu, who had also entered the arena. Tansu is angry, but it’s directed at Ruya. She puts a hand on Uther’s shoulder and gives him a resigned smile.
Asya translates.
Uther bows his head.
The excitement begins to die down, and the group is given an opportunity to recover. Remnii and the others are able to meet them in the caves. Wulf and Syeori join them, but the night elf druid is nowhere to be found.
Elissa also helps Remnii heal, using her lay on hands.
Remnii treats all of them, including Wulf and Syeori. Wulf looks confused.
Wulf sighs.
Syeori tries to deflect.
As Remnii is tending to Wulf’s wounds, she notes that there is one wound that doesn’t seem to heal no matter what she does.
Asya appears at that time, alone.
Asya chuckles.
Tol’vas rounds on Syeori.
Wulf nods.
Asya nods.
Asya bows her head.
She excuses herself.
She’s glaring at Syeori. Syeori furrows her brow.
Syeori goes over by herself to clean herself up, and Tae’shara rolls her eyes.
