The Age of Worms / The Champion's Belt pt. 17 / Von the 19th through the 20th, 3593 CE / 10-16-22

Not by Choice heroically defeats the monstrous Madtooth the Hungry while Nataliya spies on Loris Raknian and his cronies in their box. Back in the Coenoby, Nataliya reveals what she discovered; that the half-orc male and human woman who have been joining Loris during the matches are leaders of the Ebon Triad, looking to bring Loris back into the fold after the defeat of Bozal Zahul, the cleric of Caius. But Loris seems determined to see the Champion's Games through to the bitter end, despite the fact that his plans for a massive sacrifice to Caius in the form of the ulgurstasta will no longer come to fruitiion. Nataliya also receives confirmation that the dwarves of Pitchblade were hired to assasinate Not by Choice, and though the dwarf Pharbol will not cause the party any more problems thanks to Nari healing him, his brother Drusfan may still be convinced to come after them. When Efraym brings the party's winnings to the Coenoby, Hush informs the group that he intends to leave the games and begin actively recruiting for his mission to rescue his father from the Baalites and protect his hometown of Bolton. The party meets with Nataliya in secret and it is decided that they will go through with the final match of the games in order to make good on their commitment to the Thieves Guild and also to keep Loris at the games long enough for the authorities to apprehend him. Nataliya will use a disguise to take Hush's place. The drow noble goes out into the city seeking a magical item that will aid her. She locates a shop called Danly's Alchemical Curatives which seems to be in quite a bit of disrepair. The proprietor seems unhelpful until Nataliya discovers he is actually a boggard using a hat of disguise. Guessing at the reasons for his subterfuge, she successfully bluffs and blackmails the boggard into not only giving her the hat but fleeing town, leaving her now with access to the shop, though she finds in her initial perusal that it seems to have little of value in its disorganized inventory other than a few basic alchemical items. The next day, Nataliya joins the party disguised as Hush and they prepare for their final match against Auric and his Leatherworks. On the field of battle, after Talabir announces both teams, Nataliya confronts Auric's wizard Xentarich and is surprised when the mysterious woman not only seems to recognize her but speak to her in undercommon. Nataliya also gives Auric a suggestion to stop fighting, leaving only his flesh golems and Xentarich between Not by Choice and victory. But as Nataliya continues to antagonize the wizard with psychic spells, she gives a cryptic warning that it will only make it hard to defeat "him." Suddenly the sky grows dark, as an eclipse darkens the Eye of Ishtalar. Lulu realizes that this must have been part of the plan for the ritual to Caius. As the arena is cast into semi-darkness and the crowd gasps and grows increasingly anxious, Loris steps forward, perilously close to the edge of his balcony, and begins observing the battle below with a keen eye.