[Alliance] Session Fourteen
Flashback to the night after the drake attack
Some time during that merrymaking, Tess was able to slip away to speak with the justicar. She was at a makeshift camp just outside of town, and she had some of the dragon whelps spread across make-shift tables. She was taking scale samples, and otherwise running some tests on it in order to determine where the Syndicate had gotten them and if they had done anything to them.
She asks Tess what she needs help with as she notices her approach.
Tess: “I heard you say something about the worgen earlier.”
Julia stops and stands straight. “I did, yes. The current mission I’ve been sent to investigate is the incursions by the worgen in Silverpine Forest and any correlation between them and Gilneas.”
Tess clasps her hands behind her back with a small smile. “How much do you know?”
Julia explained that they only knew as much as they could observe. That they basically acted like a wolf pack, and they have been mostly quarantined in the Silverpine Forest. However, it is woefully little, and they still remain a large threat to the Alliance.
Tess: “So your main aim is to enclose rather than kill?”
Her eyes narrow. She says her aim is to extinguish the threat before they bring more harm to anyone else.
Tess tries not to show she’s a bit uncomfortable, but her eyebrow twitches. “I cannot tell you my sources, but they are not always like beasts. You do know this, yes?”
Julia: “I know their affliction transforms decent human beasts into frothing monsters, yes.”
Tess: “They’re still human! They still have their human tendencies, they still have their human minds!”
Julia’s eye narrow. “How do you know this?”
She explains she cannot say.
Julia: “You’re not telling me something. Something important.” Her hand goes to the hilt of her sword.
“You would even try to kill me to get these answers.” She says that depends.
Tess: “Well, you’re lucky. I’m in no mood to die today. Lets just say, I’m one of the survivors of Gilneas.”
Julia: “You’re from Gilneas?”
Tess: “Correct.”
Julia: “So you’re implying the curse has spread beyond the wall.”
Tess: “No. I escaped before it became too hazardous.”
Julia: “So it was beyond the wall?”
Tess: “I don’t know. I don’t think it has.”
Julia: “You don’t know an awful lot for someone who claims to nothing.”
Tess: “I mean, when you’ve been moving around most of your life you don’t come across as much information.”
Julia: “Yet you can confirm these creatures have thoughts and feelings of their own? And the sword you carry is made of silver. Only a few occasions call for people to carry such things, and it’s when they are hunting something.”
Tess: “No, it was a gift.”
Julia: “A gift? That’s an expensive gift.”
Tess: “From my mother.”
Julia: “And who is your mother?”
Tess: “Rafia.”
Tess’s lies are not going over well.
Julia: “Whether this is true or not, I intend to get to the bottom of it. Until further notice you will be under my custody, and we will figure this out.”
Tess sighs. (Considers pocket-sand). “So you do not believe me, would you want some proof?”
Julia recommends proof.
Tess holds out her signet ring, and Julia immediately identifies it as a sigil of Gilneas nobility. She agrees that Tess is therefore from Gilneas, unless she killed someone and took their signet ring, which Julia doubts. However, Tess is still under her custody until they can figure out what reason Tess had for coming to her.
Tess says she wants to save her people, and that she is of nobility.
“And I can confirm the truth of her words.” Ashwynn appears out of nowhere, and also states there is no reason for Julia to have custody over Tess as Ashwynn already does.
There is a hard stare between the two women.
Julia asks why Uther didn’t report anything, and Tess said that she asked that he remain silent on it. Julia relents, but says she is going to report on the incident when she returns to the Silver Hand. “But if you are insistent, I will place the overseeing of this matter into your hands, Ashwynn, and I will take these words into consideration.”
Tess acknowledges the statement.
Julia: “But remember, while you wish to ensure the safety of your people, I must ensure the safety of mine. Good evening, Tess. Ashwynn.”
And she turns back to her work.
Before Julia leaves the next morning, Velameestra had given her some “sparknotes” on the worgen research from Krennan.
Ashwynn and Tess fill the rest of the party in on what happened. It was also revealed that Julia had been able to surmise that Uther had also known something thanks to Ashwynn’s involvement.
Uther wants to get word back to the Silver Hand before Julia makes her report.
---
Flash forward to the present.
Tess and Victor had a good chat on their several day trip. He told her of their rivalry- they’ve dualed about 4 times. Victor has won all four.
Victor likes woman. And flirts with Tess.
---
Tess was the one they opted to send to investigate the fortress under the cover of Vel’s invisibility spell. The streets are mostly dirt, and bustling with soldiers. There are any sorts of crafters in addition to the pens that housed the fighters, and there were likely separate pens for beasts as well.
At the very center was the main castle.
Tess opted to go investigate the barracks first. There were a couple of people - a man passed out on a table with a mug in his hand, and a few other men that were likely supposed to be on guard sitting down drinking and gambling.
They are quite irritated they don’t get to watch the Beast, but at least guard duty was easy. Apparently they had gambled on the Beast in the most recent fight.
Then they start talking about how Victor and Tess had visited recently.
Talks about “conquesting”, as they thought Tess was Victor’s latest conquest. They also wouldn’t mind “conquesting” her.
Tess takes this opportunity to poke around. There isn’t much outside of typical “man filth” like old food, mugs, etc. There was a bloodhound gnawing on a bone.
Tess quickly and silently slipped into another room. It houses about a dozen bunks. She digs around and finds plenty of games of chance, some articles of clothing, and the like. Clearly the men are not very disciplined, but they also don’t care a whole lot.Her foot catches on a loose stone, and it seems like it can be removed.
Tess quietly removes the stone. Beneath it is a small box. It’s locked. She tries to pick the lock and the lock cracks open. However, there is a hissing sound, and as the box springs open it shoots a puff of thick black smoke in her face. Tess coughs, but she waves the smoke away.
Inside is a small rock. It’s chalk white and resting on some dirty cloth. As Tess touches it, she feels a rough texture that breaks off into a fine powder.
Tess knows what it is. It’s Ashrock.
It’s a potent drug that is produced in the areas in the Southern parts of the Eastern Kingdoms. It’s basically the equivalent of crack.
She slips it into her bag.
Testament sneaks out of the barracks and then heads toward the prisons. She sneaks in after a guard. They are incredibly secure despite the fact there is a fight going on. Every five cells has a guard posted at them.
Most of the people in the prisons are humans. There are a few dwarves, and one elf. The elf is not in a good way, and does really look like an elf. He’s hunched over and his eyes eyes are faintly glowing. He’s really twitchy and curled into a corner.
When a few of the prisoners got uppity, a guard would smack them in the nose with the butt of a weapon to get them to calm down.
There was another woman as Tess went along. She was sitting in a corner with her back against the wall. Her eyes are raw, as if she was crying. Her wrists are dark with bruises.
Tess inches closer to the woman. She looks like she is 24 or 25 and is clearly starving. Her dress is torn, and she is simply staring forward catatonically. Her hair was choppily cut short.
She inches even closer, and the woman turns toward an empty cell and stares. She then curls up into a ball and covers her face.
A guard comes over with a bowl and opens the door. He sets the bowl on the ground next to her. The girl does not move. The guard once again alerts her that it’s time for food, but she chooses not to move. He shrugs and leaves.
Aware that she’s running out of time, Tess flees the prisons. She only sees two prisoners fight as she makes her escape. She hides herself as she becomes visible, and then she sets off to meet up with the group again.
However, she didn’t see any cells that seemed large enough to house a large troll. He was probably being kept in the beast pens.
---
Meanwhile, in the arena, the rest of the group had witnessed the troll massacre the unfortunate humans that were fighting him.
Blackmoore asks the group what they think as he claps.
Uther: “That animal is built for murder.”
Blackmoore agrees, and explains it took a dozen of his men to bring him down.
Zap asks where a “giant murder troll” can be found. Blackmoore explains they were on patrol a bit ago. They found him half-bleeding to death, and he would have likely died of his wounds otherwise.
Uther asks how they keep the beats under control, Gil surmises they don’t.
Gil and Vel are talking shade in Thalassian, and Blackmoore calls them on using a language he doesn’t understand. Zap simply says they do that a lot. Blackmoore mentions they sometimes get a few elven prisoners, and then asks Vel if all elves know each other. Vel just glares at him. Gil says she doesn’t speak much common.
Blackmoore just buys that.
Zap asks if Blackmoore made the arena himself. Blackmoore says the arena was here before, but it was his idea to cut down on the criminal population.
Zap asks about the security, as dwarfs love “rocks and shit.” He says he can talk when they go to see it- and that later they’re going to have dinner. He kept the food meant for them instead of throwing it to the beasts.
Blackmoore then invites them to view the prisons, as they are effectively royal diplomats.
Blackmoore says there aren’t diplomats here at the moment, but they often visit. Victor’s father often visits and has so recently. Victor isn’t surprised by this, but didn’t know about it.
The blonde servant follows them, as well as a bunch of his guards.
Blackmoore gestures to the blonde woman, and introduces her Taretha Foxton She’s the assistant warden. She exchanges formalities, and says that she will do what she can to accommodate any needs.
Tess manages to find the group, and Victor loudly proclaims that he is happy she found the “water closet” as a means to cover her arrival. Blackmoore doesn’t question it.
Seeing everyone had come along, Tess also joins them as they head back into the prison.
Blackmoore: “And this is one of our many cellblocks. Only the worst scum in all of Azeroth are kept down in these pits.” He gestures to a grizzled old man with scars. “That is Markus Klive. Three accounts of murder, two of burglary, one of attempted assination.”
He continues to name people as they walk by.
Tess points to the girl that was starving to death. “What about her?”
Blackmoore scoffs, and she blinks and looks at them. “That’s Lee Hale. She doesn’t have a good story, does she? Isn’t that right? How about you tell these lords and ladies what you did.”
Lee opens her mouth, then closes it again. Blackmoore continues to push her.
Lee: “I… I… tried to kill someone.”
Blackmoore: “Aye. Someone. And who was that someone, Lee?”
Lee: “Y-y-you your lordship.”
Blackmoore: “Ahhh. Assassination.”
Uther: “Assassination?”
Tess: “She doesn’t look like she can hurt a fly…”
Uther asks Lee what General Blackmoore did to earn her ire.
Lee: “He…”
Blackmoore looks at Uther, then looks at Lee. His eyes narrow.
Lee: “He killed my father sir. Your highness.”
Blackmoore: “Pah! Ha, that’s rich. I killed her father. Your highness, her father was a man named Otto. He came offering to fight in the pits to make some quick coin. Not my fault Otto didn’t have the sword arm to back it up.”
Gil was able to tell he wasn’t lying, but he had a smugness to him. “And what did you have him fight?”
Blackmoore: “Pisoners. Beasts. Until he got pit against ol’ Stoneye. One of my prized gifts from my nameday. From a friend. Caught him down Stranglethorn. Lets just say he made a nice decoration in the stone gardens before he crumbled apart.”
Lee charged at the bars and cried the only reason he signed up was because Blackmoore kept increasing the taxes.
Uther pushes her back. “Know your place, girl.”
Lee collapses into tearless sobs.
Blackmoore comments that no one can be trusted based on appearances, and Uther agrees. Blackmoore says Uther should take that lesson to heart. His father would agree.
Meanwhile, Zap was examining the stonework. Everything was old, but it was all very, very reinforced. There wasn’t a whole lot of structural weaknesses, but because of the sheer amount of cells, the walls between the cells are not as thick as elsewhere.That could likely be applied to the hallway as well.
He offers to then show them the Beast pens. Zap is able to tell the stonework is not quite the same as the prisons, and was likely added. However, instead of iron bars, there are heavy steel doors.
The low rumbling of roars can be heard from beneath them, and some creatures batter themselves against them.
The cells also directly connect to the arena.
He then shows them the cell of the Beast. Sitting down, he is still almost as tall as members of the party. There are heavy chains binding him to the wall. He looks up at them.
Blackmoore: “There he is. That was some good slaughter out there, ya monster. Keep that up and I’ll be the richest man in Azeroth. He’s quite the specimen indeed.”
Zap surveyed the interior. It seemed to be really, really thick stone. The hinges of the door seemed to be the weak point, if there was one.
Rai is just staring at the other troll, and almost hides behind Gil. However, he doesn’t say anything. Gil asks Rai if the other troll knows Zandali (in Zandali).
Rai (in Zandali): “I think he understands common too, but he doesn’t speak much.”
Gil says that, seeing the warden doesn’t seem to understand many languages, avoiding common seems to be the theme.
Gil asks the Beast in Zandali if he wants to be free, and Blackmoore laughs and comments the Beast doesn’t have much of a brain, so he shouldn’t bother with it.
Gil’s eyes never leave the Beast, and the troll’s eyes narrow. Gil almost feels a rumble from his chest. It’s very subtle. The way that he moved was fraught with hesitation and confusion, but there was an ever-so-subtle nod.
Gil smiles and returns the incredibly subtle nod.
The group leaves, and the door shuts.
They are taken to dinner. It’s decent, but is soured by the sights of the prisons. Blackmoore invites them to attend the fights the following morning.
During dinner, Uther quietly has a conversation with Victor. “Victor, I have a very stupid idea that just may work.”
Victor: “Alright, I’m in. First off. Second off, I’m listening.”
Uther: “I think if we put our horses up, we can get the general to put the Beast up in a bet. And for extra insurance, because I would never bet a horse on any of the combatants in this prison, but I think the General would be most interested in two princes taking on two of his most villainous fighters.”
Victor gets a smile. “Oh cousin, I do think you’ve outdone yourself this time.”
Uther: “Desperate times, cousin. Desperate times.”
Victor: “I do so love desperate times. They make better songs, you know.”
After dinner, Ms. Foxton shows the group to their rooms. There are two rooms for the guys, and two rooms for the girls.
Uther opens the floor once they are alone. Gil expresses the Beast is more than willing to go. They just need to convince him to go with ‘’them’’.
Uther comes forward with his plan. Gil immediately says he’s not fighting in the arena before Uther even explains.
Uther continues by explaining that they will offer Radiant and Victor’s horse, as well as the possibility of an entertainment spectacle of a lifetime.
Vel points out that there is no chance Blackmoore is intending to fight fair.
A couple want to free some of the prisoners- and Vel suggests that may make a good distraction.
Gil talks to Zap about gadgets and what he can do to break people out.
Victor, however, is not onboard as Blackmoore does still maintain some semblance of order. Even if he isn’t the… best kind of order.
While the debate is ongoing, Tess drops a small pouch on the table. “By the way, some of these guys have drugs.”
Velameestra suggests that they use the drugs to perhaps get some sway with the guards.
There is some debate on whether or not that’s blackmail.
Vittoria decides she likes Vel.
There is a lot more discussion, but it is finally decided that they may approach a combination of the presented plans. Victor, Uther, Zap, Vittoria, Ashwynn, and Elissa would bring forth the bet and fight in the arena, while Gilveradin, Velameestra, Tess, and Rai would work on doing things underneath.
Vel opts to work on copying a spell from her mother’s spellbook. She is staying with Elissa.
There is a soft knock, and Vel and Elissa exchange looks. Elissa gets up and answers the door. She calls that
It’s Vel’s mother.
Vel looks to Elissa, but she’s not there. Instead, the room is replaced with the Farstrider lodge. Uther is the bed sleeping.
Nirenn walks by and says she will take care of everything. Water begins to drop from her fingertips. It materializes into a knife. Vel tries to stop her, but Nirenn pushes her aside and continues to say she will take care of everything.
She starts to stab Uther. Vel tries to stop her again, and when Nirenn turns it’s her face.
As she continues, stab wounds appear on Vel as well.
Her mother keeps repeating that she will take care of everything.
Vel wakes up with a start. Elissa and Vittoria are still sleeping. She is freezing cold.
However, the rest of the night is uneventful.
Vel tells Gil the next morning. She expresses that her utility will be fairly limited, but he seems to be more concerned about her than anything else.
She doesn’t want to go “off the cuff” but they have minimal choice.
Vel expresses she hates this place. Gil reassures her she isn’t the only one.
---
Uther approaches Blackmoore with their wager. Blackmoore expresses that it’s an interesting proposition. He likes the sound of it, and expresses that, at the very least, Uther will get some practice in and they both win in the opportunity.
He’s on board.
There were already going to be some events later that night, but those can be pushed back if Uther and his friends were willing to fight that night. Uther said they were.
Seeing Blackmoore was on board, Uther wanted to add something else to the bet. Specifically, if no one felled Uther in the fight, he wanted Lee. However, Blackmoore countered that if someone did fell Uther, he wanted Elissa to come serve him.
Uther, however, asked Elissa to make her own decision.
Elissa takes a deep breath: “...Sir, from my experiences, you can make that wager safely.”
Uther says it’s done.
Elissa: “I have faith that whatever challenges we face in the arena we’ll be able to handle… I’m sure you won’t be felled easily.”
Blackmoore expressed that he would have an agreement drawn up.
Zap looks at the contract, and things up to to par. However, there was one thing that said that the six of them will fight the six champions there, but it doesn’t say that they will ‘’only’’ fight the six there.
Zap points it out it.
Uther asks if a provision could be made to remedy that. The assistant warden explained that the general likely wanted to show the crowd what the group is capable of before they faced the champions.
However, she confirms that he may send in a wave or two to amp up the final bought.
Zap asks if it can be arranged for some entertainment between waves so that the group could rest, and she agreed that it wouldn’t be enough of a shift.
Zap asks if she could also arrange for the clause involving Elissa to only take effect during the final six. She smirks, glances at Elissa, and then agrees she can shift the wording slightly.
There is some more discussion, and Taretha expresses she knows they are up to more than they appear, but she hopes for the best regardless. Gil says they may be able to arrange for other employment, but she said that he would never let her go.
There is some fear in her smile as she leaves, despite the well wishes she offered.
However, the group received no other communication from Blackmoore, so it’s assumed that he signed the contract.
---
Later that evening, the place is packed.
Uther exchanges words with Victor, and he expresses that if Blackmoore is still in power when they are king they should endeavor to put him out of his place. Victor shares the sentiment if he is even still alive.
Zap gives the other group two sticks of dynamite along with Colonel Nutters. He notes the secret word is “friendship,” and to tell the gadget the recording is done you had to smack him on his tail.
Gil and Tess are ecstatic about Nutters.
Vel is just raising an eyebrow.
---
The group spends some time waiting together.
Uther: “Well friends, this is an ugly business, but rest assured there is no nobler cause than ours.”
Vittoria: “Aye. Giving this fucker a little bit right’s worth will be quite noble.”
Gil: “He’s not getting what he deserves.”
Uther: “As long as we work together, we will be Victorious.”
Victor: “Ah, Victorious. I look forward to riding her out of here.”
Gil: “...you named your horse Victorious?”
Vel (in Thalassian): “Can his head get any bigger?”
Gil: “No.”
Victor bows and winks at Vel. Apparently he knows Thalassian.
The group then parts ways, and the group that will be fighting enter the arena.
The event is announced, and the group introduced.
Zap purposely acts a bit like a fool for the crowd and trips. Elissa helps them out. There are some “awwwwws”.
First off, they send out a Griffin, a Bear “the Captain”, and “Ol’ Stone eye”- a basilisk.
The fight begins. Victor draws his sword, and asks Uther which one he should go for - by which he means, which ones does Uther not want to fight.
It’s his present to Uther for becoming a knight.
Uther decides to go for the basilisk, and Victor goes for the bear.
Zap warns Uther not to get into a stare-down with Ol’ Stoneeye. Uther averts his gaze as he approaches, but does not get into striking range with his sword. However, he listens for his hisses, and hurls a flamebolt at it. It buries itself into the sand nearby.
Ashwynn steadies herself next to Uther, and awaits for the basilisk to get closer.
The Grizzled Captain strikes at Victor, but it misses as Victor dances around the beast’s movements.
Meanwhile, Zap fires his discombobulation ray at the griffin. However, it’s head turns and it’s eyes widen as it stares at Zap head on. It seemed to be effective.
Vittoria: “I’m not sure what you did, but I want to make sure we can fight it if your plan doesn’t work at the end of it.” She moves up and braces herself.
As she runs forward, the creature runs backwards and runs into the closed gate behind it - clearly confused. Elissa runs forward to back up Vittoria.
However, Old Stoneye ran and snapped at Uther, but misses while Victor slices up the bear. The creature dodges the third blow, but the fourth buries deep into the beasts heart and it falls.
Victor cleans his blade, and he flashes the crowd a game-winning smile. The crowd goes wild.
Meanwhile, the griffin is effectively harming itself while Vittoria swings at it.
Zap, now that Elissa nd Ashwynn are taking care of the griffin, looks at the basilisk and fires at it. The shot sinks into the creature’s hide. It hisses and stares at Zap. While he isn’t looking at the beast’s eyes, he is still looking at it, and his hands and feet become restrained as they start to turn to stone.
Zap: “Old Stoneye is giving me the stink eye!”
Ashwynn charges in and makes a series of attacks against the creature, but she is unable to hit it as she is averting her eyes. Upon seeing Zap, her eyes widen, and she alerts Uther that they don’t have much time.
Elissa slashes at the griffin, and then restrains it as she summons the spectral vines that wrap around its body.
Uther swings his weapon around and is able to land a hit on the basilisk. It once again retaliates and attacks Uther, but it misses as it snaps in vain at his mailed fist. Zap attempts to fire a shot while he is being paralyze, but he is unable to take the shot as well as he should have been able to, and it goes wide.
However, as he pulls his finger more, he feels feeling return to his hand and Zap breaks free of the petrification.
Seeing an opportunity, Vittoria leaps forward and thrusts her greatsword into the griffin. As she does, she releases a loud shout to boost the morale of her comrades, and the deep wounds begins to drip with blood.
Ashwynn is also keeping her gaze averted, but she manages to stick the basilisk on her second swing. Elissa, seeing Vittoria has the griffin covered, cries out for Zap, Uther, and Ashwynn to be careful, and a breeze wafts around the three of them as she blesses them.
Uther takes another blind swing at Old Stone Eye, and it connects. It staggers as he wrenches his greatsword from its body.
Victor, meanwhile, charges by Zap with his eyes closed as he calls for the dwarf not to stick his leg out. He heads toward the basilisk.
The griffin, meanwhile, is not doing well as both of its attacks go wide. However, he manages to struggle through the spectral vines.
Stone Eye snaps at Uther, and its fangs sink into him. However, it’s certainly slowing down. Zap runs forward and blasts blindly at the basilisks feet, which allows Ashwynn an opening to strike hard at the creature and sweep its legs out from under it. She digs open a gash on its exposed underbelly.
Uther takes the opportune opening, and then thrusts his weapon into its gullet. It squirms and twists, but then lies still - dead.
As Victor hears the thing die, he sighs. “Oh goddammit!”
Uther: “Well I can’t let you have all the fun.”
Victor: “But you could, you see.”
At the same time, Elissa strikes at the griffin, and then it collapses as it succumbs to its wounds.
The crowd roars.
The first battle goes to the princes, princesess, and their loyal vassels.
---
Meanwhile, the group down below hears the crowd cheering as the fighting begins. They sneak their way through the streets, but no one really pays them much attention and they easily make it to the beast pens. As they do, they see two guards outside, and there is some hustle and bustle inside.
Rai has an idea. He waves in front of his face and turns into a troll. Vel uses magic to turn his skin purple, and puts tattoos on. Rai also enlarges himself. He now looks like a Dark troll.
He recommends running away, and hoping that they chase him or run away.
The party agrees it’s worth a shot.
Vel augments a rawr, and the guards think the Dark Troll has escaped, and run after Rai. The gate is left unguarded.
As they sneak inside, they hear some voices talking about the next beast for the fight. As they turn a corner, they see two guards turn a key. There is scratching at the metal, and there is a growl. The tips of the spears are silver. They see a Worgan. Two wolves are flanking it.
Tess is angry. But she has an idea. The group realizes it might be a problem if they fight it. So Tess suggests to use her own Worgan form- and control it. Vel. Is. Not. Amused. W H A T?
As Tess focuses really hard and closes her eyes. When she opens her eyes, they are glowing, but there is a bit of intelligence to it. Her body begins to elongate and stretch. Within a few moments, Tess stands before the two elves as a worgen.
She looks at them.
And gives a thumbs up.
Immediately, Tess rushes up and slams into the gate and starts to snarl.
Gil watches.
Vel: “You had no faith this was going to work, did you?”
Gil: “I had every faith this was going to work. You should try trusting people.”
Tess spooks the two guards. They are spooked, and in a moment of weakness, the wolves take the moment to turn on them and tear them apart.
Now the wolves and worgan are loose.
Gil: “We may have miscalculated...”
Vel tells Gil to find a lever. There are three levers. Vel suggests he chooses carefully.
Gil decides to randomly pick the middle one. The gate between The elves, Tess and the Worgan open.
Tess snarls at the worgen, and the feral worgen returns it. The two wolves lower their head and take a step back, however. They then creep forward, and start to lick Tess’s paw. However, the other worgen snarls again, and they start to back off for a second.
But then the wolves start to snarl with Tess.
The other worgen’s ears drop, and it lowers it’s head and steps back. It sits down, and then the other worgen rolls over on its back.
Tess steps forward and puts her teeth around its throat, but doesn’t clamp down. Gil rolls Tess the wolfsbane concoction.
Tess growls, and then releases the worgen. The two wolves turn and leave, and the feral worgen follow - intending to meet up with Tess later. They sprint out.
Tess remains in her worgen form, but they replace the gates. Vel takes the keys from the guards’ bodies, and they then head to the Beast’s pen.
Vel finds the right one, and the massive door slides open.
Gil (in Zandali): “Well. You wanted out, right?”
Beast: “Ya. Guards?”
Gil (in Zandali): “Taken care of.”
He grunts and stands up. He pulls against the chains, and the metal groans as he rips the metal right from the walls. “We go.”
Vel looks at the troll. Looks at Gil. Looks at the troll. Looks at worgen Tess. Then looks at Gil.
Gil: “Did you ever think things will be so interesting?”
Vel moves to turn the troll invisible. He stops her. He says he’s going to scare the guards. He advises they turn Tess invisible and pretend they are chasing the troll.
Gil: “How come the Troll has better ideas than us?”
Troll: “Long time to think.”
Gil: “Oh yeah, I guess you’ve had a lot more time to think about it.”
Troll wants to kill the guards. They won’t stop them.
The Troll ROARS and starts barreling through the halls. Gil and Vel shoot arrows and magic at him but *somehow* go wide. Invisible Worgan Tess howls to further scare the guards.
When they reach the gate, the troll moves to pull it up. Tess goes to help- and it looks like the wheel is going up automatically.
The gate goes up and the troll goes into the woods.
“After him you fool!” Gil yells to the guards.
“We ain’t chasing him in his home turf. You’re an elf and you do forests and shit. You go get him!”
The guards are panicking. Gil and Tess run into the woods. Vel stays behind and casts minor illusion to make it seem that the Worgan is still inside.
Nearby there is a boat making noises. In it is Rai. He was hiding. There was a fish biting him. Gil puts it in his pack.
Gil gets Tess to howl again. And as she howls, she starts to feel herself losing control.
Tess realizes she’s losing control. She turns back to her human form.
Gil gives her his cloak.
And thats when they realize that she has howled. And there is no longer a worgan where they are.
---
Meanwhile, on the sands, the announcer starts to call out the next fight, but a soldier whispers to Blackmoore. He starts to angrily mutter about how they can’t send a SINGLE yeti against the group because they’d rip it apart.
He tells the soldier to find the worgen, but he ultimately decides to move ahead to the final battle as there was no replacement for the worgen.
The announcer moves ahead and announces the final champions.
Six figures step forth. “Six of General Blackmoore’s best men. Swords tried and true on the field of battle. Veterans of a 100 battles between the six of them. Who will emerge victorious. Durnholde’s best, or the future of our Alliance?”
The six men step forward. There are three soldiers flanking in the back. In front of them are two veteran soldiers whose weapons and armor are of a much better quality. Standing in the very front is a knight clad in black and blue armor wielding a greatsword. Clearly they are the leader of the group.
The man in front says: “So you’re prince Uther?”
Uther: “You have me at a disadvantage, sir.”
Aidan: “Sir Aidan Stone. I have the privilege of meeting your father. It will be an honor to cross blades with you and the rest of you. I dare say we will be victorious, but may the strikes be true.”
Uther: “Let's give these people a show.”
As Uther’s eyes lock on the knight, there is some commotion coming up from the box up head. Taretha is bent over saying something to Blackmoore. Blackmoore shoves her backwards. “I don’t care if he’s your son, he fights in the arena when I command it. And you know better than to lay a hand on me, you wench.”
