The Age of Worms / The Champion's Belt pt. 4 / Von the 15th, 3593 CE / 2-6-22

Not by Choice is in the midst of a celebration dinner for the commencement of the Champion's Games in Kedesh. They have entered as contestants in the gladiator contest hoping to be able to get closer to the competition's founder, the Arena Master Loris Raknian, a man who for some reason appears to have a vendetta against Lulu. Not by Choice hopes that they can find evidence that Loris is up to something sinister, including possibly a plot to turn the entire Free City arena into an altar on which to raise up an undead engine of destruction. At the Champion's Dinner, the party has been approached by Tirra, an elven thief and former associate of Lulu. Tirra brings an offer from the Master Thief of Kedesh's notorious Thieves Guild; if the party is willing to invest 2500 gp in a gambling scheme (one from which they themselves potentially serve to profit as well) the Thieves Guild will support them in their efforts to protect Lulu's identity as the originator of Kedesh's recent deadly plague outbreak. Tirra stresses that the Mask, the gang of doppelgangers who Lulu tangled with the last time she was in Kedesh, are attempting to blame her for the thousands of deaths the city suffered. The party agrees to put up the gold, betting on their own success in the upcoming tournament. River meanwhile goes to check out the odds, reviewing the gamblers' Ranking Board. She finds a team called the Woodchuckers ranked even more poorly than Not by Choice, and goes off in search of them. Nari, looking to give Jozu some food from the lavish dinner, finds a secluded spot in the arena and casts an invisibility field in order to bring out her animal companion and feed him. However, as she is heading back to the group, she is startled to learn that someone observed her disappearing and reappearing. It is Korush, the elegant leader of a team called the Sappire Squad, and he tells Nari her secret is safe with him before asking her to introduce him to Hush, to whom the gladiator appears to be romantically inclined. Nari decides to play matchmaker, but informing Hush that he should do reconnaissance on Korush's team as a potential threat in the arena. Hush agrees, and returns after a while looking very confused as to why this potential enemy was being so nice to him, After having a run-in with a team of half-ogres, River finally locates the Woodchuckers, a team of woodsmen from Carthia, with whom she makes fast friends, mutually agreeing to play fair and watch each others backs until such time as they must face off in the arena. A flash of fireworks set off by Talabir Welik signals the end of the Champion's Dinner, and Efraym and Tirra say their goodbyes before the team is herded to a lift, where the gladiators descend into the substructure of the arena. After passing some storage and the animal pens, they descend again by stairs to the Coenoby, a massive cavern that has been turned into a residence for the gladiators. After being shown their room, the team heads out to explore the Coenoby, with Nari, River and Idra locating the cook/healer Palemon Nodor, and Lulu looking for her old friend Auric, the current Champion of the Games. Palemon Nodor tells the party stories of the Titan's House, another cave in the catacombs with a large idol of a warrior, said to have been used long ago by demonic cultists. He also tells them a tale of Loris Raknian vanquishing a gang of ghouls, and driving them back to their warren, somewhere deep in the caverns. Meanwhile, Lulu has located Auric, who is surprised to see that she is competing in the tournament. The warrior seems much more subdued than his usual blustery demeanor, and Lulu soon learns the reason why as he introduces her to his team, the Leatherworks. They appear to be literal walking corpses of his former teammates who died from the plague. He tells Lulu they were brought back to life by his new teammate, a mysterious woman named Xentarich. And Hush goes looking once more to keep an eye on Sappire Squad, but does not have to look long, as their leader Korush has taken a keen interest in the young freedom fighter.