Chapter 2: The Pit

Meera’s Establishment, Drakstone
(Exactly 1 week after chapter 1)

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Meera had her fighters trained for only three days. Normally she wouldn’t let them fight in the pits with less than two months training but her circumstances have changed ever since the sabotage that happened in the past. The time for the Grand Arena Battle has come and on the eve of the third day, Meera and all her crew boarded ships and sailed for Drakestone, leaving their homeland behind.  The slaves were kept in the lower bowels of the ship inside iron cages and chained to one another. Food and fresh was delivered to them three times a day to keep their strengths up. Some of her fighters were compliant; some had to be made compliant. Meera was very hard on her fighters given the short amount of time they had to train for the Pit, and her determination to get even with her rival who wronged her and killed all her previous fighters.

Shortly after the events on Chapter 1, the Earthlings have been informed of their purpose as well as the name of their master. Through the course of their training, they have been literally whipped into shape J’asha, cruel but necessary in order to prepare the Earthlings for what awaits them in the Pit. They have also been promised their freedom if they can win ten battles in the Pit. Little did they know that a fifteen year veteran waits at the last bout of the tournament.


On the sixth day, one day before the tournament, they arrive at Drakestone after three days of being at sea. The slaves are still in chains and kept locked inside their cages. The cages were loaded into a wagon and pulled the rest of the way to Meera’s establishment. Once there, the slave fighters were unloaded into another, much larger, holding cell. They are given time to eat and rest before a final day of training.

For Agnes
The sun rose up, flooding the windows of an old building known as the Healthy Lion inn, or at least would be if it wasn't popularised as "Carrie's inn" due to a local folk tale a few years ago, forcing the owners to rename in order to cash-in on it. The contruction of the building datees back over 60 years and has been handed down for three generations of the Whitmoor family, currently owned by an old lady named Jessebelle Whitmoor. The location itself was to be found near the sea, but removed away enough from the docks to advoid the most unpleant scents that emanated from there. Despite it's location and name, the inn is sufferng from a lack of clientele for some time, due it's distance from the pits, so it's forced to charge quite a bit less than lady Jessebelle would desire. During her searches after the encounter with the freelances, Agnes found this to be a cheap, comfortable place to be in, being able to afford several days in it without any problems if needed.

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For Sakuya
And as the sun rose in the horison for Drakestone, so did a single, large ship become visible as well, having calmly drifted through the night to it's location. A vessel that carried a great number of people and came from the city states of Ramoah, a ship that did this trip bi-monthly, right before the bigger tourneaments in the pits. WHile they tended to reach shore three days before the fights, due bad wether they ended up being somewhat late, but still in time. Sakuya Inutsuki was between the intinerant headed for Drakestone and just an hour after sighting shore was able to step on firm land again. The travel expenses left the wolfqin with only about 100 gil to her name and now was in a bustling city, surrounded by the shouts of town criers adventising the pits and their fighters.

(OOC I am going to post my Pc post and mod post together so as to not double post.)

PC Post

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William stretched after the long trip in the cramped cage.  He marveled at the last week of training.  He had thought he was in shape for track in field but this week had shown him there were levels of training he had never imagined.   Finished stretching he sat down to eat the meal that had been provided.   As he ate he wondered if the training they were going thru was the same sort of training that US soldiers went through back in the States.  But sadly neither of his companions looked to be soldiers, they both looked to be his age.  Early on he had wondered if they were classmates of his.  But he never brought it up.  It was embarrassing to admit he had never bothered to memorize his classmates names or faces.  

He finished his meal and closed his eyes where he was sitting.  A nap before training began again would be nice.  He wondered if he could get a hold of paper and a quill he wanted to journal his days here.  Maybe make a monster manual of the creatures he encountered in this land.  That was assuming he survived the pits long enough to explore on his own.  It was with that disquieting thought he nodded off for a quick thought.  he would worry about surviving when the time to survive came.


MOD post

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Nigel Stood in the training hall.  He was waiting for the club Initiates to arrive.  He had also sent an invite to Sir Thomas to come to this meeting.  The rest of the clubs were already assembled.   So he stood waiting for The initiates, Decimus had gone looking for them.  The big tournament was coming up tomorrow, and he had allowed the two initiates and Sir Thomas the use of the barracks and training grounds for the last week since they arrived.  He sincerely hoped they would agree to fight with the Clubs in this upcoming tourney,  he really didn't care about the other stables.  If they won it would be great for the guild.  However what he really wanted was to defeat the fighters from the Spades.  He wanted to show that quality fighters came from finding quality, not from forcing prisoners coerced into fighting for you.   He had a lot of hope for the three fighters he had met last week.  He mulled this over as he awaited their arrival.

The blond knight of Padilla had received an invitation to a meeting with the freelance from the week before. After being assured that it wasn't a recruitment scheme, he was happy to accept the free lodging. The use of the training grounds was a nice bonus, as for all that he didn't take a single hit in the two fights he had with the Spades, he still felt he wasn't up to par just yet. He had more work to do.

Striding into the training hall, he chose a place on the and leaned up against it, arms crossed as he waited for Nigel to get things underway. He hoped this wouldn't take too long.

It had been a week since Danny had reached Drakestone, and everything was going better than expected, all things concidered. Between the offer to enter under the Club's rooster in the pits for a quick buck, free lodging and a training area, it was close to jackpot... But gil still refused to rain from the heavens for some reason. Regardles, this was the last day before giving his answer to Ser Nigel about the tourneament as well as entry into the clubs proper. Deryn already had an answer for both of those, and those would soon be given, as he was called to the freelances hall by Decimus. As Danny made way to where the old knight Nigel was, he made sure to give a little wave to the spade that he forced to pay back for the uniform that was blown off him. But just a piece of gil, to teach some humility to the wanker.

As fun as that was, it was time to put his choice into words. Danny certainly felt more relaxed than a week ago, not having been in a cramped boat with a bunch of smelly mercenaries, but instead in a open barrac with slightly-less smelly mercenaries. Quite an improovement. Aproaching Ser Nigel, the recently bathed and now shirt-wearing brawler spoke up. "Well, i heard you wanted the answer about the deal we alll had aye? Ain't speaking for the other two, but i'm in for participating in the pits. But as for joining the club's cluub officially, ain't happening. Not planning on stayin' in this island for long. But after i'm done winning in the pits, i'm wlling to take any job you got in the mainland for a small comission." Perhaps a bit less polite that he should, but that was pretty much Danny's plans. He heard about Nigel's plans from the other folk at the barraks and planned on quitting one or two matches after the bout with the spades. He was proud of his fighting skills, but Danny wan't foolish enough to risk his neck against the most veteran pit fighters. He already knew the fame of a number of them... And he had no darn chance.

Sakuya stretched as she walked off the boat, this was her first time in Drakestone and it really was quite a lovely looking place, but even from the docks it could be seen that this place had a bit of a different atmosphere from other places she visited. She moved out from the docks, walking along the main road towards the city's center, her usual way to get a feel for the place. It was clear that this place didn't shy away from things like slavery, which made her wonder what kind of life her mother would have led had she been raised here, and not in Riverun. It also became quite evident that a big fighting spectacle would be happening soon in a place called the Pit.

This all seemed very interesting to her, but for now she needed to find a cheap place to lay her head, to train, and to get some info. As such she poked around looking for any training halls or guilds as well as cheap inns. It was clear that while this Wolfgirl was cute she had seen her fair share of scraps from the bandages over her knuckles and the condition of the Katana on her back.

Location: Drakestone Island (City gate)


It has barely been a week since his first arrival in M'hirr.  What was originally a routine supply run for the "Guild" was in fact an eye opener to the growing changes happening that Svendas was not fully aware of despite his longevity.  Not only that, he was tricked in buying fake rings and objects from an Elder Nyanqin who told him they were artifacts imbue with powerful magic.  He should have realized it before hand that they were fake but the possibility they were indeed powerful artifacts outweigh the potential to be fakes and couldn't allow such items to roam around freely as there are still individuals in the world who'd use them to bring harm and calamity to the world.  

But despite the rings and artifacts being fake he made some close observations about their characteristics and makings.  The runes might be written to perfection but the materials couldn't be deceived to those who know either their craftsmanship or has lived long enough to learn such things.  Svendas deduced that the fake items may have originated from the Island of "Drakestone" and that should where he was going to be heading to next despite that it's one of the few locations that the "Guild" was not welcome in any forms.  

Without any money to charter a boat to the Island, Svendas smuggled himself onto a ship and blending in with the passengers on way to Drakestone.

Now having finally arrived in Drakestone, he can't afford to have the locals notice him in any ways cause if the locals didn't appreciate him in M'hirr then it's definitely far worse for him in Drakestone.  Brandishing a robe to conceal himself, he made his way to the city's entrance gate and surveyed his surroundings while keeping his identity a secret.  His only concerns in his disguise is the large wrapped blade on his back which makes him somewhat standout from the crowd by still, he has no choice but to move forward.

What awaits him in the new land...

For Agnes


Fifteen minutes after initially entering the bath, a door opened behind Agnes with a slow dragging on the floor, as the wood had bloated slightly from the humidity, adding more scratches to the visible arc that year of usage left on the wooden floor. The one who opened the door was noone other than lady Jesebelle herself, and behind her a unfamiliar face of a 20-something years old young woman that dressed herself in a somewhat tacky manner, with large hoop earings that anyone used to  handling jewlery could tell was fake gold and a highly visible green dress that had two layers to itself, despite the island's climate. A small draft revealed the material to be extremely light, however. It was the aged and wrinkly lady Jessebelle that first spoke thought. "Young lady, the way you stay in that bath everyday, you might see Carrie's ghost one day. Don't you know the story of how her lover drowned her in this very bath?" Honestly, it was discovered she was actually strangled in her room then thrown here to hide the body while the man escaped in a boat, but she figured the drowning was more dramatic, and has told the story as such for a while now.

Looking around at the lack of other people around, the old lady sighed and made some motions to the younger lady that moved away without much to say, but had a clearly unamused expression. "The ships from the mainland are getting here today, so i'l need to vacate the inn after lunch to clean up everything for the night. Be a darling and don't linger in the bath too much, will you? The first pit fights start two hours after sun's peak, maybe you should go spend your time there, watch a bunch of fools cut each other to ribbons... Or you could look for a boyfriend, being the rosebud you are. I don't really care as long as you leave until dusk. Said the old lady before going away. But before disapearing into the corridor she stated "Oh, and that was my grand-grandaughter, she'll be taking over the inn next week."

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For Sakuya


The wolfqin wandered around in search of something, and both through criers, city chatter and even very eye-catching posters were soon giving her informations. "Did you hear? That freelance guild got some foreigners to fight on their side. Wich ones? Ahhh... The magemashers, i think?" "It's a shame miss Jessebelle is finally stepping down from Carrie's inn. She aways gave some discount to the people who came to see the fights, i hear." "But she's so far away from the city's center... If you can afford a bit extra, i'd recommend the south wall." "MONDAS MONDAS MONDAS, COME SEE THE BLOODBATH IN THE PITS!" And many others as well. The city was absolutely bustling in antecipation for it's main attraction, travellers and locals alike. Moving in the main street was becoming harder by the moment, some people going a far as taking their itinerary to the roofs, much to the city militia's annoyance. Many optons presented themselves for those willing to catch them.

(Double post ahoy!)
For Svendas


The boat that carried the half-alferian was one of the cheaper boats, meant to transport lower-class citizens at a cheap tarrif at the price of space and being forced to dock outside of the city gates, unlike most other vessels that aproached the enriching city. While the grand majority of the passagers were Nyanqin, the sheer number of them coupled with the humans that worked as sailors allowed the trip to proceed without many questions towards the stowaway. Upon making contact with the dry land of the city, the passagers were short of pushed out of the ship, but they didn't mind, being too focused on what was to come: Corner seats at one of the few arenas that allowed fights to the death... At least, ones that were public. Along with the pectators there were warriors, but few carried weapons as impressive as Svendas'. Upon the aproach of the large crowd, the city guards prepared a "corridor" of sorts to the sides of the gates. There were far too many far too exited to properly stop and question, so this was the alternative found.

As the nyanqin, sailors and the disguised Svedas passed the gates, the eyes of the city guards ran through all of them, and every so ofter, they would push through the crowd and grab one of the people inside for questioning. This was a ritual many were used to, so there wasn't really much in terms of animosity or tension. Despite standing out a bit, the guards did not aproach the man with a sword strapped to his back. Wether it was to advoid conflict with someone that has a great reach in a crowded area or wether it's because they simply did not have interest was hard to tell. Concidering the glare some guards gave as Svendas finally passed the checkpoint, it pointed to the former. Once inside the city proper, the crowd that came with the ship started to merge with the population that was already there, bloating the streets with bodies going everywhere, the sound of gossiping and boasting filled the air and the smell of sweat, spices and other selling goods started to assault the sense of those comming near the "market" that was formed by travelling merchants that just arived in the city.

Sakuya stopped briefly to make a plan, the street seemed to be getting more packed by the second. She decided to check out this Freelancer's Guild she had heard about from the criers. She took the cue of the people on the roof and started to free run across roofs. She couldn't afford to waste too much time dealing with the increasing traffic.

Despite her miko like robes she moved skillfully and gracefully, having become so used to it from her years of wearing that style. The robe flowed behind her, flickering in the air, making it appear like quite a display to anyone who happened to look. Thankfully her Katana was tightly secured so it wouldn't slip off and fall to the people below.

After a long freerunning sprint she ducked to the side and hid from any possible guards who would be angry and to catch her breath. She then headed to the inside of the freelancer's guild.

Location: Drakestone streets


Svendas breathed a sigh of relief as he was successfully able to infiltrate into the city without being caught by the guards which as he predicted noticed the rather large cloth wrapped blade on his back but was unsure why they turned a blind eye to him rather than sound the alarm and capture him.  Regardless he couldn't afford to let down his guard and will have to continue concealing his "Guild Insignia crystal amulet" and the "Mark of the Dawn" which is located on his left arm.  

As he walked further into the city, he saw the market was very busy with selling and trading of spices, foods and other goods; the atmosphere was almost like back at M'hirr but on a larger scale.  Svendas decided to check out some of the shops nearby but this time he is cautious about who he might come into contact with.  The chatter of the locals was great a many and might provide him with some information about what's going on in the city or possibly where he might begin his search for forgery makers that forge fake artifacts like the ones he bought from the old Nyanqin and hopefully put an end to their ring.  

to himself, "I better keep not only my eyes but also my ears alert cause this IS the last place I'd want a confrontation at." 

Svendas scratched the back of his head and sighed " *sigh*After all of THIS I just know i'm going to get an ear full once I get back home"


With that, Svendas proceeded deeper into the market square inside the City of Drakestone but ever wary of his surroundings..