Week 20 - Russell Crowe, and a little Nancy Drew.

A straightforward session this week. Let's get started! As always - don't expect me to remember evey little detail.

The four teams: Arcane Auriga, Badlands Revenge, Sapphire Squad, and Rough Diamond, enter the arena and take their assigned positions. Sapphire Squad and Arcane Auriga are opposite one another at one end of the oval arena, and Rough Diamond and Badlands Revenge opposite one another at the other. As the sand in the enormous eggtimer begins running down, teams begin buffing. Potions are drunk, spells are incanted. Frith casts Enlarge Person on Tom, boosting him to huge size - a move much appreciated by the crowd.

I have ruled that Tom the half-ogre is both fully giant and fullly human, and therefore is subject to any spells that affect humaniods as well as being subject to any effects that affect giants.

The druid leading Badlands Revenge cats Flaming Hands. Then the horn sounds, and it's on.

The combat begins with Arcane Auriga firing upon Badlands Revenge, and Joren - the leader - replying with firey missiles from his spell. Sapphire Squad charge Arcane Auriga, their flashing sabres doing terrible damage. Rough Diamond fighters charge Badlands Revenge. The combat appears to be unfolding much as planned the previous night. Sapphire Squad hold up their end of the bargain and the antagonizing of Arcane Auriga by Flash impersonating a gnoll also pays off. Very quickly a hasted Arn and a huge Tom decimate the gnolls before their druid can cast another spell. The leader of the Sapphire Squad and the leader of the Arcane Auriga engage in single combat and she soon surrenders, along with one of her fighters. By the time Rough Diamond reach the other end of the arena to assist the horsemen it's nearly over. When the last elf submits, Rough Diamond and Sapphire Squad commence to battle one another. The horsemen turn on our heroes with a strafing run at Tom's rear end, a quick spell from Flash conjures a solid cloud of fog amongst the fracas. Tom slams the leader of the sapphire squad knocking him senseless then cleaves his warhorse knocking it senseless too. The party quickly subdue the remainder of the opposition and Tom gives the Sapphire Squad leader and his horsey an aeroplane ride. Declared the victors, Flash receives the trophy: a bronze boar. Their manager, Ekaym, accepts a more prosaic prize: money - to be divided up later. Rough Diamond has made it through to the next round. The crowd settles its various bets. Some of the more bloodthirsty are disappointed by the absence of fatalities and the speed with which the combat was resolved, but most are suitably impressed.

The party collects their winnings and Ekaym presents them with the prize money when they return to the Coenoby deep beneath the arena floor. Then he admits he has an agenda. Apparently his sister was Raknian's lover and disappeared at the end of the last championship. Ekaym needed a gladiator team to gain entrance to the arena, but if the heroes themselves investigate and uncover his sister's fate, he will waive his manager's fee.

Frith explores the option of asking the netherworld but finds no leads so it looks like good old sleuthing. Flash and Jericho sneak up the next layer at night, when there is less activity. They scout the area, avoiding guards by Flash's invisibility spells and Jericho's skills at stealth. They explore the majority of the level, avoiding disturbance to the guards and caged animals, and eventually find a prisoner shackled in a cell. The deranged man looks like a beggar and is terrified of the other cells which appear empty. He is deaf and mute, but Flash manages to communicate. He draws pictures on the ground of worms, and motions at his face. Flash and Jericho remember the undead the party encountered in the basement of Blackwall Keep, and conclude that he has seen the spawn of Kyuss.

Flash and Jericho return him - invisibly - to the Coenoby hoping that Frith would be able to aid him. Frith's determines that the man is insane and it is beyond his abilities to heal that level of sickness. The cerebral party members attempt to communicate with the man but all they can get from him is he's terrified of worm riddled zombies that were in the cell opposite him. Luckilly, they recall Ekaym's offer of healing magics, and resolve to have him source a scroll of Heal or Greater Restoration - expensive, but he is sure to agree as this prisoner may be able to reveal clues as to the final fate of his sister.

But that will take a day or two. First, they must fight round 2 of the Champion's Games. Their foe shall be Pitch Blade, the dwarven triplets.