There is No
Pleasing Some Women…
As everyone came back to the house, to face the horror of
the Tunnel Boys’ attack, everyone was wounded and stunned- both those who had
faced Ardoth and those who had faced the Tunnel Boys. Even though some were
more wounded, none of them were more cranky then C’aro. It was revealed that
after Maribel revived she had stars in her eyes for C’aro, but he rebuffed her
for Lycinia. Lycinia, seeing this, left C’aro having to once again pay for sex.
Deputized
The group discovered that someone was waiting for them in C’aro’s
office. Adith of House Serecles (otherwise known as Jamaya’s husband) was
there, eating smoked grapes. He said that we were in trouble, because a templar
of Tyr had died on our doorstep. However, he was willing to help us go after
the Tunnel Boys and Astinicus. He had ten ceramic disks stamped with the mark
of the Templar of the Wells. He also wanted Astinicus alive with his body and
mind of use. If we chose not to do this, Adith said that the members of the
House would be ‘questioned’ with all the viciousness of Kalak. Of course, we
agreed to accept the disks. Due to our capture of the Tunnel Boy Captain, Adith
found the next time and location that Astinicus was meeting his captains. The
biggest horror is that in order to not be ‘questioned’ we would have to return
Astinicus alive with his body and mind intact. The meeting will happen in four
days, and with that, he left.
Rebuilding Blocks
While still in the office, with it being just us and C’aro
we discovered what was missing. Our drivers and a few porters had died, as well
as over half our goods. Our cart had burned and we were down several gold. Dahn
Gen’s leg was badly damaged and while he would always walk with a limp, he was
stoic about everything. T’Clicksur was also somewhat stoic about his newly
cracked carapace and it was reveled that he and Zel bonded up on the roof,
making fast friends. There was a funeral for Ennis, and Bay tried to sell his
metal sword to Horchada who could only afford it at 80% value. Barok found that
Bonesnapper had altered the graffiti around town of Barok giving it to Kalak,
so that Bonesnapper was breaking Barok’s dick. To counter this, Barok went out
to smile, shake hands and make nice. Emois came and helped Barok hype the fight.
That night, Trakas got Zarnian and together they tried to calm the nature
spirit. Though they were not entirely successful, T’zitch (the spirit) calmed temporarily.
Trakas gave Zarnian a new pot with seeds, saying they came from a beautiful
place no one had ever been before. Zarnian didn’t want to plant them at first,
because Tyr had destroyed her other plants, but Trakas urged her to do this, so
she did. In-between all this, the group helped with the rebuilding effort when
they could. That night, C’aro, and Zarnian went to the brothel where Marjoram
worked. They did manage to buy her for 5 gold, though the madam first wanted 12
gold. Zarnian paid the fee, and they brought Marjoram back to the warehouse.
Behind Black Eyes
That night when Bay intended to take Simmer Dust to unlock
the last pieces of his mind. He wanted someone to watch over him in case he
became a danger to himself or others. Zarnian followed him down into the tunnel
under C’aro’s office. At first, C’aro barred their passage, but then allowed
them to go. Free of weapons, Bay relaxed in the lotus position, Bay took the
dust. At first, his eyes closed, then snapped open, completely black. Within
Bay’s mind, he calls all the previous fragments of his mind to form ‘Voltron
Bay’. Assembled, they found themselves in a large room of mirrors. Once he
searched for the yawning black hole of his mind, he found it under his feet.
Smashing through it, he finds himself in House Esticles, just a few hours after
talking to Lord Kalak. He is talking with Esticles, thanking him for his help
when all around, preparations are being made for a swift departure. Esticles
opened the door of the room and asked Varius to step into the hall, where
Varius was confronted with several of Kalak’s personal guard and a very
powerful psionic. The psionic paralyzed Varius just as his wife and children
walked by. The kids started crying, screaming and had to be dragged away. His
wife looked trapped, the dove down, her black hair covering his face, saying
again and again that she was sorry, until Esticles barked for her to come to
his side, which she did. Esticles revealed he made a deal with Varius’s wife,
as Varius was dragged away. Finding himself back in the mirrored room, he
smashes through it again. This time he was in Kalak’s throne room, with all the
other nobles of Athas around. Kalak stripped Varius of his name and title and
said he was sent to the mines. Then, he commanded the rest of his household
executed. Varius claimed all responsibility and begged for his family’s lives,
but Kalak simply laughed. Then, he called forth Esticles, acknowledged the deal
Esticles made to take Varius’s life, but said he had special instructions. What
those were remained unrevealed because Bay awoke again in the mirror room, but
the walls were tight. He managed to break through to find himself in the mines,
being tortured by an expert. After unknown amounts of time being cut, sliced, pinned,
and having his skin peeled, Varius turned his telepathic powers inward, slowly
and systematically erasing every instant of his own past. Then he heard his new
supervisor commanding he be taken to the lowest bay of the mines… he left his
own mind, and sought out Gatol, who was having drinks in a dive bar in the
warrens. With this information, Bay started to head back but felt his mind
being called. He follows the call of his mind and finds himself in a very
infrequently traveled passage, overlooking the most verdant valley that he has
ever seen. Ingram, sunburned and worn is looking down at the place, then is
called into a bedroom. It is one he has seen before, with a young girl. She
says he is the strong man she has seen before and calls out not to trust the
man with grey eyes, as he was the one who took her. Bay then feels the presence
of a massive psionic pushing him back into his body. He knows the girl was
speaking of Trakas, but when he wakes to find Zarnian, bleeding from her nose
and wet with sweat from Bay’s lashing of her mind at various points in his
vision. He told her of Gatal, but nothing else of his vision.
“I Knew it was
you, Fredo”
Though wounded, Zarnian gathered Barok and the two went to
the bar in the warrens. Leaving Barok outside the bar, Zarnian walked in. There
were only about five patrons, and Gatol was too drunk to stand up. Zarnian paid
for a round of drinks, stood Gatol up with her arm under his shoulder, despite
his protests and walked him outside, saying they needed to get back to the
House which had been attacked. Once they were in a dark part of the warrens,
Zarnian said they had found Ennis, and Gatol confessed that the Tunnel Boys
made him do it by threatening his family. Zarnian replied that if he had come
to her, they would have moved his family inside and protected them. She then
asked if he killed Jax himself, or if he just stood by. Gatol asked her to just
get it over with, so Zarnian planted her sword in his back, and left him dead
in the warrens.
The Exchange
The next day, Barok bought another greatword, an obsidian
one for the fight. Ohzon went to see Roderick, and was surprised at how angry
Roderick was. Without getting a tip to the best bookie, both Ohzon and Bay make
bets in Barok’s favor, with Bay putting his sword up for collateral. Meanwhile,
after C’aro finished sleeping with Marjoram, C’aro, Zarnian, and Aein took her
to Esticles for the exchange. At the door, C’aro and Aein told Zarnian that she
had to negotiate the deal on her own. Once they were admitted into House
Vordon, they saw Varius’s ex-wife who had blue stained lips, and was drugged
out. She was asking for more drugs and her son, but Esticles put her off,
saying the son was going errands. It was also apparent that the house was empty
of possessions, with marks on the counters and walls. At first, Zarnian tried
to negotiate the exchange, but Esticles revealed he knew that Bay was Varius,
and he would not give Varius his son back. Then C’aro and Aein sweep in, making
a deal that to ally the House of the Painted Eye with House Esticles, and
allows the exchange of Timmuth and Marjoram, on the condition that bay would
never raise the boy and Zarnian would. Once they stepped outside, and were a
little down the street, Zarnian reached down to hug Timmuth only to find he had
a cauliflower ear, his nose had been broken, and he was covered with older and
fresh whip marks. As they were walking back the House, they were intercepted by
an agent of House Vordon that commands C’aro to follow him. Aein goes as well,
and Zarnian took Timmuth back to the House to get help. Bay and Barok go to
help, but after looking at Timmuth’s sad face, Zarnian stayed behind with the
boy.
“You Better Break
Yourself”
At House Vordon, Vordon quickly got down to business. He
stated flatly that the House had an iron mine. He said the House did not have
enough fire power to operate the mines as they should. He offered the elder D’aris
500 gold each and the younger D’aris 100 gold each. C’aro tried to insist that
there were no mines, and that is when Vordon dropped the bombshell that
Horchada told him about the mine because he told Ohzon. C’aro said that the D’aris
would make that amount of money after 5 years, and Vordon just threatened the
House – sell or have it taken.
“Wow, you DO have
a 2 Fellowship”
When everyone returned home, Zarnian and Ohzon learned of
the deal, and the fact C’aro was not speaking to Ohzon. Zarnian told Bay what
she learned and suspected of his family, including the fact she believed his
son to be missing, and he could no longer raise Timmuth. Bay left, going to the
healer in the warrens. He basically kidnaps her out of her home, with her
bouncer trailing behind, and manhandles her into a nicer part of the warrens. She
refuses him, because the people where she is need her and protect her. Bay was
very sad, because he just wanted to help and do something nice, after losing
Timmuth. On the way back to the House, someone tried to pick his pocket, so he
beat the crap out of that person and returned home slightly mollified.
The Dinner
That night, Barok attended the dinner for the gladiators who
would fight the next day. Hamdi was there, as was Bonesnapper. Barok and
Bonesnapper ended up having an extensive shit talking session, during which
Bonesnapper told Barok his only fans were “children and old men”. Bonesnapper
also threatened to kill and eat Barok’s children, not necessarily in that
order. Barok learned to hate Bonesnapper that much more.
The Fight
Before the fight, Bay hocked wares, Ohzon dresses like a
pimp, and the members of the House take their seats in the stands, while Barok,
Zarnian and Timmuth made their way down to the pits. The primus was Garanacus
and a new guy, dressed like a freak in a mask of thorns. He was tall, muscular,
with a great deal of scars across his body. He fought with a trident and sword.
His name is the Lord of Thorns. In the stands, a noble comes to sit next to C’aro
and the two make small talk. As the games begin, convicts are executed in various
ways. Below, as Zarnian and Barok wait, they are offered water, but Zarnian
brought Barok’s water. Then, someone comes offering oil. Bonesnapper takes his
rubdown, but Zarnian and Barok noted that the oil smelled slightly sweet.
Zarnian kicked the oil over, and bought fresh from a guard she bribed.
Bonesnapper started to show the signs of poison, so Barok ordered him washed
and reoiled, which mitigates the poison. In the stands, C’aro and the noble,
Aegis Asticles. However, just as the crowd gets loud enough for them to talk
business, C’aro is called away by Aein. That left Ohzon and Bay to try and talk
to Aegis, ascertaining what he was doing with the House and convincing him to
ally, which they did with varying degrees of success. Below, someone tried to
poison Barok with honey grapes. Then, the noticed Bonesnapper getting offered
wine. They slapped it away from him. Then, Hamdi comes over to demand what they’re
doing, he’s trying to help Barok. Zarnian and Barok get into it with Hamdi. Up
in the stands, when Aegis brings up what happened in the desert, Ohzon tries to
spin it to Gulg, which Aegis didn’t seem to buy too well. Finally, below the
pits, Barok is called forward. Zarnian took Timmuth to the metal gate, and put
him on her shoulders so he could watch. Bonesnapper started the fight with a
staring contest, during which time, Barok flinched. After that, it was
Bonesnapper who flinched. Barok first broke Bonesnapper’s hand, then after
Bonesnapper missed his next attack, Barok cut off his hand. The crowd goes
wild. Then Barok cut off his other hand, and finally cut off his head. The
crowd loved him and he held the head up while showing the tattoo of the house.
In the primus, Garanacus was killed by the Lord of Thorns. After the fights,
Kalak presented Barok with 500 ceramic, and an ivory drinking horn make of a
young drake’s horn. The Lord of Thorns got a fine metal sword with an ivory
handle etched with runes of magical warding. The Lord started to leave, but
Kalak demanded to see his face. When he removed the face it was Malik. Zarnian
screamed his name, and though he did not turn to face her, it seemed he knew
she was there and trying not to notice.
Aftermath
The House made a killing selling Barok items. Zarnian made a
Barok tattoo shirt for Timmuth who seemed happier than he had ever been since
he was kid. Bay went to see Roderick and gave him 250 ceramic for his cut of
Barok’s winnings. C’aro went to House Vordon and told him to kiss his ass.
Barok carried Bonesnapper’s head back to the House where he had a small legion
of kids waiting, so Barok gave them a story recap of the fight using
Bonesnapper’s head. The House buzzed with joy, having made back some of their
lost money and riding the high of Barok’s epic win.
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