Session Summary: Entering Iskatesh
The Earthmen emerged from their cave of seclusion to discover that the beach was awash with sea scorpion packs during the early hours of the evening. Keeping a swift pace, the three warriors moved between and around the aquatic arachnids for over an hour before they were finally free of the chitinous hordes.
As the moons rose overhead, the Earthmen worked their way further west and north along the shore of the bay, towards the river that flowed from the forests of the mainland. Closing on the river's mouth, they came upon the Border Tower of the Gran Iskagwach. After a brief period of introductions, the Earthmen made friends with the night captain, and were taken in under a story of being shipwrecked. While at the tower, they learned much about Iskatesh, House Grasin, and Queen Lobiyeba's love for the gladiatorial games. The small band also met the namiran (tiger-man), Captain Asad of the Tower, whom they later learned was of House Anid. At the end of their stay, Captain Asad asked the group to deliver a missive to his brother Besigi at the Room of the Blue Drang (a drang is a feral draconic beast scarcely larger than a man), and allowed them to travel with the soldiers returning back to the city via boat.
As the boat rowed in, the three visitors got to observe the grandeur of the Imperial City of Iskatesh, seeing the smaller arenas (called the "Little Battles" by the locals) in the outlying areas and the Grand Colliseum more centrally located just north of the slave yard district.
After arriving at the docks, the Earthmen left the seedy wharf district and entered the merchant district, where they left their military friends from the tower. The group separated to pick up supplies and get the lay of the land. While Father Daniel never found the shop of Mariba of the Silks, a seamstress recommended to him by the soldiers of the border tower, he did make arrangements with Gunin Talado, a tailor with obvious feminine affectations and an interest in foreign men, to provide a very fancy noble's outfit within the next few days. Daniel then left the merchant district to peddle his healing skills in the slums of Iskatesh for room and board. The couple, Premorado and Nanoba ne Iskatesh, that took the priest in tried to drug him in order to sell him to the arena's "recruitment drive," but failed to account for the priest's stout constitution. Once he realized what had happened, he tied the couple up, latched the door of the hovel and slept off the poison.
As Father Daniel tended to the sick in the slums, Aidan earned some silver as a tumbler and entertainer in the entertainment quarter of the merchant district. After collecting his earnings, Aidan returned to their agreed meeting place, only to find that the other two Earthmen had not returned. After waiting a bit, he left to find a place of his own for the night. As he walked about, a young lad lured Aidan into an alleyway, whereupon a press gang jumped the sailor, beating him down with saps and mancatchers. Aidan almost escaped, only to fall to a lucky sap strike as he fled his pursuers.
Waking the next morning, Aidan found himself once again in a cage filled with other humans, this time one on wheels. Fortunately, Jonas was also among those captured in this cage, so the two stayed close and waited for what lay ahead. As the cage wound its way into the slaveyard district, Aidan was awash with his first sightings of a number of different races of this new world: chardirani (four-armed men), farani (rat-men), ganani (cat-men), saduni (monkey-men), lobani (wolf-men) and the diversity continued. As he watched, men of all races were being forced out of cages and pushed through the slaver's dens, to be stripped, branded and then sold to the highest bidder. Kelshani slave masters supervised the operation, whipping those that hesitated. Those that fought back were either slain or beaten into submission to be sent off to the arena for gladiatorial training.
As Aidan and Jonas watched how the slavers treated those captured by the press gangs, Father Daniel was busy seeking to free them, having learned of their fate from a soldier that had seen them being wheeled off. After trying to work with the local authorities, Daniel then set out to find Besigi, the brother of Captain Asad. When he found the Room of the Blue Drang back near the docks, Daniel presented the missive from Asad of the Tower to his brother Besigi the Blue Drang. The massive tiger-man read his brother's missive, then listened to Daniel's tale of the conquest of Master Arunblad Grasin. When Daniel presented Arunblad's signet ring, he gained an ally from Pansanu Besigi. In exchange for the ring, and thus the opportunity to provoke Kulin (or Count) Arunmas Grasin into a duel, Besigi offered to save Daniel's friends from the slave block.
As the bright white sun rose overhead, the cage moved forward in the slaveyards, and Aidan and Jonas were pushed from their cage along with the other captives. Stripped and then branded with the mark of House Grasin, the captives were split into groups of four to be placed on the slave block for sale. Jonas and Aidan remained together, and were put before the crowd along with two other umani. Aidan spied Daniel with a tiger-man, who sent a representative to bid on them. After a brief period of escalation, the four were sold to Besigi for a mere 325 silver. Upon their delivery, the four former slaves were immediately released, and the group retired to the Room of the Blue Drang to plot the downfall of House Grasin...
As the moons rose overhead, the Earthmen worked their way further west and north along the shore of the bay, towards the river that flowed from the forests of the mainland. Closing on the river's mouth, they came upon the Border Tower of the Gran Iskagwach. After a brief period of introductions, the Earthmen made friends with the night captain, and were taken in under a story of being shipwrecked. While at the tower, they learned much about Iskatesh, House Grasin, and Queen Lobiyeba's love for the gladiatorial games. The small band also met the namiran (tiger-man), Captain Asad of the Tower, whom they later learned was of House Anid. At the end of their stay, Captain Asad asked the group to deliver a missive to his brother Besigi at the Room of the Blue Drang (a drang is a feral draconic beast scarcely larger than a man), and allowed them to travel with the soldiers returning back to the city via boat.
As the boat rowed in, the three visitors got to observe the grandeur of the Imperial City of Iskatesh, seeing the smaller arenas (called the "Little Battles" by the locals) in the outlying areas and the Grand Colliseum more centrally located just north of the slave yard district.
After arriving at the docks, the Earthmen left the seedy wharf district and entered the merchant district, where they left their military friends from the tower. The group separated to pick up supplies and get the lay of the land. While Father Daniel never found the shop of Mariba of the Silks, a seamstress recommended to him by the soldiers of the border tower, he did make arrangements with Gunin Talado, a tailor with obvious feminine affectations and an interest in foreign men, to provide a very fancy noble's outfit within the next few days. Daniel then left the merchant district to peddle his healing skills in the slums of Iskatesh for room and board. The couple, Premorado and Nanoba ne Iskatesh, that took the priest in tried to drug him in order to sell him to the arena's "recruitment drive," but failed to account for the priest's stout constitution. Once he realized what had happened, he tied the couple up, latched the door of the hovel and slept off the poison.
As Father Daniel tended to the sick in the slums, Aidan earned some silver as a tumbler and entertainer in the entertainment quarter of the merchant district. After collecting his earnings, Aidan returned to their agreed meeting place, only to find that the other two Earthmen had not returned. After waiting a bit, he left to find a place of his own for the night. As he walked about, a young lad lured Aidan into an alleyway, whereupon a press gang jumped the sailor, beating him down with saps and mancatchers. Aidan almost escaped, only to fall to a lucky sap strike as he fled his pursuers.
Waking the next morning, Aidan found himself once again in a cage filled with other humans, this time one on wheels. Fortunately, Jonas was also among those captured in this cage, so the two stayed close and waited for what lay ahead. As the cage wound its way into the slaveyard district, Aidan was awash with his first sightings of a number of different races of this new world: chardirani (four-armed men), farani (rat-men), ganani (cat-men), saduni (monkey-men), lobani (wolf-men) and the diversity continued. As he watched, men of all races were being forced out of cages and pushed through the slaver's dens, to be stripped, branded and then sold to the highest bidder. Kelshani slave masters supervised the operation, whipping those that hesitated. Those that fought back were either slain or beaten into submission to be sent off to the arena for gladiatorial training.
As Aidan and Jonas watched how the slavers treated those captured by the press gangs, Father Daniel was busy seeking to free them, having learned of their fate from a soldier that had seen them being wheeled off. After trying to work with the local authorities, Daniel then set out to find Besigi, the brother of Captain Asad. When he found the Room of the Blue Drang back near the docks, Daniel presented the missive from Asad of the Tower to his brother Besigi the Blue Drang. The massive tiger-man read his brother's missive, then listened to Daniel's tale of the conquest of Master Arunblad Grasin. When Daniel presented Arunblad's signet ring, he gained an ally from Pansanu Besigi. In exchange for the ring, and thus the opportunity to provoke Kulin (or Count) Arunmas Grasin into a duel, Besigi offered to save Daniel's friends from the slave block.
As the bright white sun rose overhead, the cage moved forward in the slaveyards, and Aidan and Jonas were pushed from their cage along with the other captives. Stripped and then branded with the mark of House Grasin, the captives were split into groups of four to be placed on the slave block for sale. Jonas and Aidan remained together, and were put before the crowd along with two other umani. Aidan spied Daniel with a tiger-man, who sent a representative to bid on them. After a brief period of escalation, the four were sold to Besigi for a mere 325 silver. Upon their delivery, the four former slaves were immediately released, and the group retired to the Room of the Blue Drang to plot the downfall of House Grasin...