16-17 Ches, 1373 Year of Rogue Dragons, Westgate: Rebuilding, part III
This Manta was good. Jenner Stormwolf leaned forward in his seat to watch the water genasi in the arena tumble and hack at the monster that towered over him with his heavy greatsword. He seemed very adept at using his sword as both a balancing rod and a weapon. Deep gashes appeared in the flanks of the Megaraptor and Manta would jump in to engage the creature sometimes skillfully and sometimes luckily avoiding its devastating bite. The gladiator seemed to gain inspiration from the crowd, and as he ran circles around the Chultan, jungle beast, he pumped his fist at the spectators to fire them up. The creature bled its life away, while Manta was barely scathed. The indebted owner had definitely underestimated his slave. Then with a flourish, Manta del Rey twirled his greatsword above his head, yelling and taunting his foe. As the 'raptor stooped to try and crunch him between its jaws, the genasi brought the greatsword down and split the huge head like a melon. Brains and blood spilled on the sand, and with an ululating war cry, Manta pulled his brutal cleaver from the beast's skull and held it aloft. The crowd went wild!
The Stormwolf Legion went to go collect their winnings.
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My Lord, those two are just greedy, but we best finish this business quickly, something behind the screen resists my attempts to read its surface thoughts...
Jenner nodded reflexively as Kith gave his evaluation of their money exchange. They had won a substantial amount of money and Stormwolf wanted more for his legionairres.
This is weird...err sorry...they are evil as well. I can't read behind the screen, added Valeria.
Khiros had mind-linked the group so that they could present smiles to the public, but keep quiet about their true intentions. The mind-warrior was testing the system for battle. Dealing with the two gnomes that sat in front of them counting their money was great practice. They were engaged in a battle of wits. Jenner let Valeria and Nosr do the talking, while he consulted with them in the hidden recesses of their minds. The end result was very sastisfactory. They had bought the mark and cleared the debt of Lorenz Thornwiggle, an apparently portly halfling with a bad gambling habit, but an owner of five gladiators, including Manta. Stormwolf had just purchased himself some slaves. Through these unscrupulous gnomes, he also had managed to get himself Thornwiggle's city townhome. Unfortunately, other properties had already been sold to cover his debt. Tommorrow, the Agents of the Quivering Thumb would deliver the slaves and the halfling in chains to the house. There Jenner Stormwolf and his troops would be handed the deeds to both types of property by the Agents. Khiros memorized the exchanges and shortly, the group left, returning to the Temple of Tymora.
After a brief meeting, Jenner sent Nosr, along with Jhovan and Kith into the city on a private mission. Khiros and Valeria were left out of the loop, but they had been put to the task with the help of priests and others allied with the Temple to look for ways to spend their earnings and better equip the core legionaires.
Four days, thought Jenner as he practiced with his scimitar in the courtyard going over the precepts taught to him by the warmasters in Cormyr and his father's house long ago,In four days we will begin our revenge....
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The tatooed man strode cat-like across the arena towards the slave-pens. From behind the steel, and probably magicked bars, Manta watched him with hatred. He had hated the monks of the Quivering Thumb his entire life...or at least as long as he could remember, but as the man came closer, the gladiator's shoulders slumped. What could he do? Being a slave in the arena was apparently his lot in life. His only joy were his pupils. Thornwiggle had put him in charge of five men to train as he had been trained. The Quivering Thumb had squeezed the fat halfling dry. Manta spat in disgust thinking about his present master. The monks had played his master well. He shut the hate off. Hopefully, all his feelings of anger and bitterness would stay with him. He always made a conscious effort to protect his students from the harshness of their existence. They smiled more than he did, and that was good.
The Agent stood in front of the bars his hands locked behind his back. He gave Manta a contemptuous look, "You have a new master."
The monk waited, but Manta did not give him the satisfaction of a reaction or an answer. The genasi remained silent.
"I hear he is a half-drow. Good luck. The drow feast on humanoid flesh you know."
So do some of you, thought Manta. He gave the agent a dismissing grunt and turned away.
He felt the tendrils of arcane energy engulf him as he was frozen in place. His back to the monk. He hated those cold shadows.
"Fortunately for you, Manta del Rey, we have a reputation to protect, and we deliver our products intact. Think of your protegees...," the Agent paused. "In any case, it will be my pleasure to parade you through the streets of Westgate in chains."
The Agent laughed with his creepy,hollow laugh. Manta heard him leave and his rapidly beating heart began to slow down. He attempted to will himself free of the magical hold in vain and as the magic wore out, the gladiator collapsed to the ground. He rolled over, sat up, and looked out into the empty arena. The Agent was long gone.
If you harm my students, there will be no place you could hide from my wrath, he vowed.
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The Stormwolf Legion rode on gallant steeds (provided by the Temple and other benefactors) to the new townhome. Randall Crownwood, having been informed of the change of ownership, assembled the household staff--two cooks, one groundskeeper, two maids. He was nervous and while being an adventurer in his younger days, did not like the idea of rabble inheriting his home. However, almost anything would be an improvement from Thornwiggle. He thanked Lady Siamophore that he had been spared from being gambled away like two other staffmembers had. The Stormwolves after dismounting, entered with a flourish. Some of the staff gulped. The dark-skinned man with bluish-black hair was announced by a page in Cormyrean (Randall was sure!) finery. This Jenner Stormwolf was flanked by a knight in a shining mithral breastplate and a tall female warrior in reddish-tinged mithral full-plate. A Chultan or Tahshaltan in grey along with a young foppish half-elf completed the entourage.
"I present the new master of the house, Jenner Stormwolf," announced the page.
Crownwood introduced himself and the staff and approached the new Lord of the House.
"Hail and well met," said Jenner bluntly and attempting a smile, offered his hand.
The butler furrowed his eyebrows. He hadn't heard that greeting in years!
"Hail," he said as he shook the hand that had been offered.
Business-like, Randall Crownwood described the house and volunteered more information about the staff. The knight in mithral listened, his eyes scanned rapidly back and forth. To Jarvis it was disconcerting. The page and the red knight also studied everyone with some concentration, while the grey-cloaked man scanned the room.
Who are they hiding from? thought Randall.
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As the Agent had promised, he led the chain-gang. Two armored and heavily armed athachs accompanied the procession as it wound its way through the streets of Westgate. Because he could, the agent led a whimpering halfling by a chain that ran to an iron collar. Free advertising was always a good thing. Servants carried the gladiators' equipment. Manta was grateful that nothing had happened to his guys and thought ahead, marking alleys and other hiding places for when they made a break for freedom. At the house, one of the armored monsters tapped on the door. A tall, thin middle-aged man answered and looked shocked. Before he could recover, the Agent stepped forward and asked for a Jenner Stormwolf. Then an adolescent page gently pushed the butler aside and waved them into the house. The athachs flanked the door as the six gladiators, led by Manta del Ray, entered. The chains rattled on the floor noticeably, and the sound echoed in the foyer. Manta noticed the air genasi right away.
Hah! Not a drow after all!
The Agent handed over deeds and ownership papers to Jenner Stormwolf who in turn handed them to the mithral knight. The warrior opened them and read them very quickly, passing them to the half-elf. The red knight and the page inspected the gladiators. Manta saw some of his students blush as the tall woman stared at them for a few seconds. He stared back when his turn came, but the warrior woman only smirked. Soon it was only the Stormwolves, the house staff, the chained gladiators, and a grovelling halfling.
"Mercy, master..Please show a poor halfling with a bad habit mercy," Thornwiggle kept repeating.
Manta's new owner did not even look down as he said, "Khiros, Nosr, take this halfing to the Abbey of the Blinding Truth. I am sure that High Abbot Grigor can provide what the wretch needs."
Khiros nodded and with the half-elf, escorted the halfling from the foyer. He then looked at the gladiators and motioned to the page. The young lad began to unshackle all of them.
"You are free," the air genasi said simply.
The last shackle clattered to the ground and Manta was still not sure he had heard his new owner correctly.
"You can stay and be part of something that will someday be a legend, or you can go."
His students looked to him, also confused. If this was a trick, he would seperate this Jenner Stormwolf's head from his shoulders. But looking at the followers that this man had already assembled, he felt he had only one choice.
Manta sighed, "What choice do we have? We have no where else to go."
Jenner smiled. The Legion was growing.
Later....in what Jenner had called the war-room....
"My Lord, the gladiators can be trusted. So can Randall Crownwood. The maids are frightened and are thinking of quitting. The groundskeeper is being blackmailed and one of the cooks is an agent for the Night Masks. I would fire both cooks and the groundskeeper. I can do both jobs. Nosr can help me in the kitchen."
"And the rest, Kith?"
The doppleganger, still in the form of the page smiled.
"I don't read the minds of my friends. However, Jhovan is still skeptical but will not do anything rash. Valeria is getting impatient. Nosr wants to blow things up. Sir, I would like to learn from Khiros some of the art. I think I have some natural talent in that area, and it would benefit the legion."
Before Jenner could answer, Nosr, followed by the rest of the heroes burst into the room. They were all smiling, even the ex-Fire Knife.
"Boss, we're in!"
"Excellent," replied Jenner Stormwolf thrumming his fingers together.
Three days..., he thought leaning his chair back, Just three more days...
) but then people underestimate the power of a cleric with nifty little combos.. like everyones favorite 
