The All-Taverns Tournament: The Victor's Hall

[Pig Boy]

The All-Taverns Tournament:
The Victor's Hall

8th of Zi'da 721

The Victor's Hall was much less crowded than the Infirmary. Into it, Praetorum, Balthazar, The Ground Pounder, the Glass Pillar, and the 'Ladyman' Orias Hengebolt were gathered. It seemed that half of the winners, roughly, had peeled off for one reason or another into the Infirmary. Perhaps they were hurt, or else wished to collect their intelligence from the opponents who'd faced the people moving on to the next rounds.

For those welcomed into the Victor's Hall, there'd be a chance to mingle, to drink, to nurse their light wounds, and perhaps to gather intel on their future opponents.

The Ground Pounder, a Sev'ryn woman of remarkably short stature, but sturdy build, approached Praetorum in a friendly manner. She was sipping at a waterskin of some liquor or another. On her arms, a collection of tattoos, tribal and otherwise were drawn. They mostly depict bears and other animals of great strength. She looked up at Praetorum, and whistled, "Looks like we'll be fighting. I'm Corri."

The Glass Pillar, and Orias approached Balthazar at the same time. They seemed amiable enough with each other and tried to win Balthazar over by offering him a flask of Purple Whiskey. If Balthazar tried it, he'd find it was the real thing, almost as good as his favorite tavern in Yaralon. Orias slapped Balthazar on the back, "Good show against that weakling the Slicker. Looks like I'll be up against your ladyfriend. I promise to be gentle."

The Glass Pillar interjected, trying to get Orias to back down ostensibly, "Now now Orias. No headgames this early. We'll just see where we land after the next bout.... speaking of which, looks like we'll be fighting each other." He smiled gave Balthazar a thumbs up. "How are you liking Rharne, Bloody Prince?"

[Balthazar Black]

8 Zi'da 721

One of the first things Balthazar noticed when he emerged into the Victor's Hall, was that Elisabeth had not gone there despite being announced victorious. He didn't think she'd have been injured to severely already- well he hoped he'd trained her better than that, but he didn't linger on it while he looked around at the familiar and unfamiliar faces in the hall. It was good to see Praetorum and Balthazar even raised his hand to wave to his friend before noticing another approaching him. A Sev'ryn woman who Balthazar suspected would be Praetorum's next opponent. The mage decided it was best to let Praetorum talk to her. The two of them knew each other well enough that if they ended facing each other it would just be like old times... then again Ilaren's decree leveling the playing field was an interesting change.

Shortly after his friend was approached, Balthazar found himself near-cornered by the Glass Pillar and the 'Ladyman' as they were known in the circuit. He thought it suspicious for a moment but he almost always did. He suspected they were trying to learn about him or intimidate him in some way. When they offered him the flask of Purple Whiskey, Balthazar found all his reason urging him to decline and all of his curiosity urging him to accept it. His curiosity made excuses to try and outwit his reason. It was a tournament being watched by Ilaren after all, were they doing it right if they did it sober? But he was, in some terms, working and so he didn't really want it going around that he'd gotten drunk during the tournament.

Balthazar refused the flask with a small gesture and felt a pang of regret immediately, but he had already had some earlier and did not want to test his luck. "Thank you, though." It was suspicious that they knew what drink he would want most but he didn't comment on it. He had a feeling all three of them were measuring each other but he had been able to see the Glass Pillar in combat. He knew a little of what to expect from him. The Ladyman on the other hand was a relative mystery in terms of physical prowess. The slap on the back wasn't all that hard but that gesture could have been controlled. Orias congratulated him on his fight against the Slicker but Balthazar wasn't sure it could rightly be considered a fight. All the same he grinned to be friendly. The grin held when Orias mentioned that he'd be up against Elisabeth next and that he would be gentle but Balthazar was less amused.

Fortunately the Glass Pillar cut in, banishing Orias' attempt at mind games before the next brawl. It was good that he did, because Balthazar could not think of a comment that would both support Elisabeth and protect her skills. He didn't want to warn the Ladyman anything. When the Glass Pillar gave him a thumbs up after mentioning that they'd be fighting next, Balthazar let the grin slide into a pleasant smile. "It would seem so. I happened to see some of your last match. You are impressive. It'll be a good fight." He saw no harm in admitting he had seen the Pillar in action. It would not change what he knew about him and if anything, might make his opponent less comfortable- like Balthazar felt a little less comfortable when he was referred to as the Bloody Prince.

It was a pretty good name though. He couldn't deny that. He certainly wouldn't have wanted people calling him 'the Slicker' or 'the Wall.' Well the second one wouldn't have been as bad.

"Rharne is everything it was when I was here last and better now that the Flameborn are gone. I'm from Scalvoris though. I only returned for the tournament but I have to admit I do miss the variety of well everything that your city has." Not exactly true but true enough and it would explain to them why he had virtually vanished from the tavern brawl circuit. "What about you two? Have you always lived and fought here or do you travel?"

[Pig Boy]

The All-Taverns Tournament:
The Victor's Hall

Orias' face showed disappointment when Balthazar turned down a drink, but then he set it aside anyway, at a nearby table, and listened in as the other two spoke. When the subject of travel came up, Orias spoke to it, "There hasn't been much of a point to travel lately. Everything I want is in this city, and it's seeming to get a long list of refugees lately. Seems to me Rharne is the center of the world, at this moment."

Svori, the Glass Pillar, shook his head, "It was hard with the Flameborn complicating matters, and the Stormwastes are still dangerous. But I used to take part in athletic competitions that occurred abroad. Not many of those lately, other than this here one." He shrugged.

It was around this time that Ilaren came down from her box, arriving at The Victor's Hall. She wore her usual casual attire, with a mug and flask hanging from her belt, and a small terrier carried in the crook of her left arm. The dog barked suddenly, its voice piercing through the general din of the victors that had attended the gathering without needing to visit the infirmary. The dog barked again, and the Glass Pillar couldn't help but cover his ears, yet he had a smile for Ilaren as she showed herself into the meeting of the three fighters.

She also nodded to Praetorum, who was getting chatted up by the Ground Pounder.

"Shush Theo." She said, petting her terrier, who was apparently named Theo. "You'll break their eardrums." She said it with a bright smile at her dog.

Then she looked to the gathering of Balthazar, Orias, and Svori. "Well it looks like we're all getting along now. Congratulations gentlemen, on your victories."

Off Topic

You have one more round to gather info and talk with Ilaren and your opponents, after which we'll be starting the next fight. I'm going to unrelax the deadline for the fights at that point, so five day deadline for filling out your placeholder for the fight. I will review this thread in five days.

[Balthazar Black]

8 Zi'da 721

It was not hard to recognized the disappointment that flashed across Orias's face when Balthazar declined his drink but it did not sway the fighter from his decision. It was safer to go into the fight with a clear head until he was sure he could hold his own without one. He'd learned a lot of neat tricks... perhaps drunken combat would be his next one? Orias expressed that Rharne seemed to be the center of the world and as such he had no reason to travel. Balthazar envied such a narrow view and the ability to feel sedimentary. Ever since he'd been initiated into Rupturing he had felt a difficult to control urge to travel and see more. To find hidden things and places across the whole of the world. Staying in Rharne for his entire life seemed impossible and yet for Orias it looked comfortable.

The Glass Pillar disagreed and Balthazar found his response a little more relatable. He'd traveled through the dreams of others back in those trials and so it was easier for him to escape the Flameborn problem than it would have been for others- not that he had ran. He did his part and left after when he thought they had cleaned up enough of the beasts. The Pillar mentioned competing abroad and so Balthazar suggested, "If any of you should find yourselves in Scalvoris in the future, I'm sure you'd find something more interesting than you expect. If you do, let me know. I would be glad to see you again there." He was not sure how true that sentence was but it couldn't hurt to build connections.

Balthazar nearly jumped at the first bark released from Ilaren's hound and he had his ears covered before the second one was released. He turned to see the immortal with some level of surprise that she'd come to visit them personally between rounds. A moment later the surprise felt foolish. What else would she have done? Sat and waited for the next fight? He supposed that the majority of the surprise came from the fact that Ilaren approached the trio directly with a dog in her arms. A dog named Theo. Ilaren had named her dog Theo. Ilaren had a dog that could bark ver, very loudly. All interesting information. She congratulated them on their victories and Balthazar smiled like he expected the others were. "Getting along for now at least," He said with a glance towards the others, "I'm sure I speak for most of us when I say we are grateful and inspired that you could be here. I personally appreciate the opportunity this tournament gives us to learn more about unarmed fighting."

[Pig Boy]

The All-Taverns Tournament:
The Victor's Hall

The Glass Pillar seemed very impressed with Balthazar's self-restraint in the face of Orias' light teasing. Then again, it took a real warrior to let such idle comments roll off the back. "Good man." He said, "I might take you up on that, I hear Scalvoris has some interesting places to rub elbows with fighters... Not that Rharne don't, but the brawling scene has been quiet lately. We're hoping this tournament can jump start that!"

Orias was quiet the rest of the time, merely hanging back and drinking. Then Ilaren showed up with Theo. Behind her, loped another dog. A wrinkled bulldog type canine, with a large set body and burgundy coat. He had a cigar in his mouth, and appeared to be taking puffs. "Come on Purple... Let's see the toughest fighters this tournament has to offer!"

Ilaren listened to Balthazar's compliments, and nodded at him with a wink. "You know, depending on how things go, whoever makes it to the final? There might be some private brawling lessons in it for them. Just saying." She smiled at him, "That said, learning is all well and good. I've been learning quite a bit during this tournament, and not all of it from the fighting itself."

But then, a bell sounded, signalling that the next matches would be taking place in just a quarter break. The fighters had that much time to prepare between rounds and get themselves ready. Ilaren shouted into the air, in a clear and not too loud voice. "Fighters! Get ready for the next round! A quarter break from now, we'll commence with the next round!"

Ilaren turned to each of the fighters gathered in the Victor's Hall, and nodded to them in turn, "Good luck all in your fights. May the best brawler win."

[Balthazar Black]

8 Zi'da 721

Balthazar as glad to hear that the Glass Pillar might be willing to visit Scalvoris in the coming seasons. It never hurt to build bonds with people in different places. It was, in fact, one of the faster methods of getting information from multiple places. Orias didn't seem as social but Balthazar surmised that was because Balthazar had nothing Orias was looking for. He was not a woman and he was not going to tell Orias anything about Elisabeth before their match. Balthazar considered showing the Glass Pillar the Decked Halls if the two of them ever found each other in Scalvoris. It seemed like a place a brawler from Rharne might enjoy- at least as much as Balthazar enjoyed brawling through Rharne's tavern circuit.

Another sort of hound followed Ilaren into the room and while Balthazar couldn't help but notice the newcomer, he didn't think much of him compared to the Immortal standing before them. The burgundy coat looked nice though. Ilaren continued to address the fighters and she had almost all of the attention Balthazar wasn't devoting to not being stabbed in the back. Did she just wink at him? The suggestion that whoever won the tournament might be invited to private brawling lessons caused a light to flick on behind Balthazar's eyes that had not been there before. The tournament had been a cover for other investigations but now- now Balthazar wanted to win. The difference between how he fought when he wanted to win and how he fought when he was just visiting would become very clear in the next match.

The excitement of the prospect of learning combat from Ilaren herself did not distract Balthazar from the other things she had said. She was learning a lot and not just from the combat? What was it that she was learning? A bell tolled and the energy in the room seemed to shift as it was announced that they only had a quarter of a break left to prepare for their next fight. Now was not the time to pry into what she was learning. He needed to focus on his fight. That didn't mean he couldn't take precautions though.

Fuego, after the next match I want you to find Elisabeth and stay with her. Balthazar telepathically messaged his Fire Forged diri who only he could see sitting beside him. The little flaming rock was always there, even if at times he seemed to fade into the background. He did not often comment, but when he did it was always a pleasant reminder for Balthazar. Just keep an eye on her. Crow will watch me. Balthazar cast a glance around the room for the little black diri of death that watched over him and he didn't see the bird but he knew the diri was there. Perhaps just not manifesting itself.

What if the Death Forged wins? Fuego asked, unsure of whether or not he needed to stay with Elisabeth if they both went to the Victor Hall after the next round.

What if I lose? Just keep an eye on her. With the conversation ended, Balthazar began preparing for his next fight.

[Pig Boy]

Player Name: Balthazar

Points awarded: 15
Magic xp: none

Knowledge:

Etiquette: x 2
Investigation: x 2
Socialization: x 2
Intelligence: x 2

Renown: 5
Loot: Information on the Glass Pillar, which I'll detail in the next match's starting post.
Injuries/Overstepping: n/a
Wealth Points: n/a

Skill Review: All Skills used appropriately to PC's level

Notes: Balthazar is a man of mystery and intrigue as always, and says very little to give away his thoughts to his opponents. He handled himself well here, and maybe sometime he'll even get a visit from the Glass Pillar in the Decked Halls in Almund! We'll see how it goes in the next match, and see how well they get on after the results of that match.

Wishing him good luck in the future matches!

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding this review, feel free to PM. Enjoy your rewards!