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Dungeon Crawl Classics - Vornheim
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<blockquote data-quote="Sammael99" data-source="post: 7066006" data-attributes="member: 1157"><p><strong>Session 6: An Unfortunate Rescue</strong></p><p></p><p>Elan runs to the Bleak Beaver where he finds Jack and Valya in a deep drinking session. Breathlessly, he explains the events of the evening and tells them that they need to find Dwimberg. Valya casually mentions that Elan is welcome to break into his no doubt highly secure Antiquarian shop, but that things will otherwise wait 'til the morning. Elan is worried about Wistul's fate, not so much about Sabrina's. </p><p></p><p>In the morning, the three of them walk up to Dwimberg's shop. When he sees Jack, the dwarf clearly registers that something is wrong and signals for them to head into his office. </p><p></p><p>- "It is not a good sign to see you here without your diminutive female leader..." he starts. </p><p>- "She's not our leader, but apart from that your assessment is correct. Things did not go well last night, and my friend Elan can tell you all about it", Jack answers. </p><p></p><p>Elan retells his tale without embellishing it in anyway. </p><p></p><p>- "And so", Elan concludes, "I managed to convince Rallentando to let me go by promising I would rob you of your bracelet."</p><p>- "And do you intend to do that?" Dwimberg asks defensively.</p><p>- "If I was I wouldn't be telling you about it..."</p><p>- "So then what do you intend to do?"</p><p>- "Do you think it would be possible to get a copy of the bracelet?"</p><p></p><p>Dwimberg takes a moment to think and says that he can probably work out something to look like the bracelet from a few meters away. It will not withstand close scrutiny, but in the allotted time, that's the best he can offer. He also suggests that Rallentando most likely keeps the bracelet on his person at all times but does not wear it. Finally, as Jack asks him whether he can help them in case they get into a scuffle, Dwimberg reluctantly offers him a phial of Elixir of the Furies. "It will make you greatly more powerful as a warrior" he says, "while it lasts."</p><p></p><p>Elan, Jack and Valya decide to head out towards the circus around the middle of the day. They haven't decided on a plan yet, they are just looking up the place. Elan makes sure he's discreet and not easily recognizable.</p><p></p><p>Jack, thinking back on the fact that Madame Sosostris seems to have anticipated the attempted robbery the night before decides to see if there is something to her divination or not. He queues up to get his palms read and enters her tent.</p><p></p><p>Madame Sosostris puts her hand over his and slowly follows the various lines on his calloused hands. She then makes some generic statements promising prosperity and danger. Jack is not impressed. Still, he decides to take her out of the picture and extracts his machete from inside his cape while she isn't looking. He hits her with the blunt side of the blade to knock her out, but fails. She starts yelling "Murderer!" and alternatively mumbles incomprehensible phrases while Jack repeatedly hits her on the head until she finally collapses. </p><p></p><p>Outside, the seer's cries for help have been heard and when Jack emerges, there's a crowd in front of the tent. A few men who clearly seem to be guarding the circus move forward towards Jack.</p><p></p><p>- "She's a witch!" he yells. He puts his hand up, the one with the massive brown and unnatural scar from the shambling corpse. "A witch! And she cursed me with a deadly disease!"</p><p></p><p>Some in the crowd walk back a few meters. This is the moment Valya decides to use to create a diversion. In front of one of the animal cages in which a truly massive bovine with enormous horns is held, he shakes his hands and intones the words to Ludurafet's Igneous Eruption. A massive gust of flames erupts from his hands, setting fire to the straw in the bovine's cage, but also the wooden floor and roof of the cage itself. The buffalo like creature starts to moo desperately and rock the cage. Valya turns around as if in a panic and leaves the circus grounds.</p><p></p><p>Elan has already exited the grounds, worried that Rallentando might recognize him. Jack takes advantage of the panic and starts running towards the inside of the grounds, yelling "Sabrina, Wistul, where are you?" Sabrina actually answers, but Jack is being pursued, he cannot stop. He manages to run faster than the circus strongmen and exits the grounds as well.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Sabrina and Wistul are tied at the back of the tiger cage in a small enclosed area where the tigers sleep at night. They cannot be seen by the circus' visitors but Rallentando didn't think it necessary to gag them. Sabrina has already tried to negotiate with the tigers for them to gnaw the knots that bind her, but she has nothing to offer them in exchange... When she hears Jack's voice asking where she is, she yells in return, and the tigers start growling at her, so she stands still, biding her time. She attempts to summon animals, but her binds make it hard and ineffective. Wistul's attempts to make himself larger similarly fail.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Elan, Jack and Valya regroup outside the grounds and decide to go back in in full attack mode, heading out for the back of the tiger cage. Jack drinks the elixir given to him by Dwimberg. It burns his innards but he feels energy pump into his veins. As they walk towards the circus grounds, still in chaos and smoke following the fire of the bovine cage, Valya lays his hand on Jack's shoulder, and Jack doubles in size. The warrior grabs his cleaver (similarly grown) and runs towards the tiger cage. </p><p></p><p>From the shadows of the circus tent emerges a silhouette nearly as tall as his: it's the giant and deformed creature that Rallentando called Gorm the night before. Jack then notices a small silhouette standing on a barrel: it's signor Rallentando himself. "Be a good ogre, Gorm! Attack the intruders and you will get to eat their flesh!" he yells.</p><p></p><p>The circus guards are also joining the fray. Elan tries to discreetly get closer to Rallentando, but he is spotted and chased by a guard. Valya is the only one who manages to head out to the tiger cage without being seen. He decides that since his previous tactic of setting a cage on fire using Ludurafet's very effective formula worked so well, he might as well use it again. He sets fire to the tiger cage. </p><p></p><p>What Valya doesn't know is that Rollentando has sent some guards to retrieve Wistul and Sabrina from the back of the cage. They have just at that instant opened the backdoor to the cage. One of them has a crossbow armed and pointed at the prisoners. The other one unties their knots. Sabrina attempts a discreet spell, but fails. Wistul punches the guard that has just untied him towards the other one, and quickly intones the words to Caskel's Distant Direction. The spell conjures up an invisible wall between him and Sabrina and the two guards. When the armed guard manages to find a line of sight and shoots, his bolt inexplicably bounces back. </p><p></p><p>Sabrina then crawls through the open semi-circle passage that connects the back of the cage with the main cage. Wistul follows. But the cage is now on fire, and the tigers are in a panic. </p><p>- "Help us survive the evil flames!" one of them growls at Sabrina. </p><p>- "I asked you for help earlier and you refused. Roast in hell!", the wizardess answers. </p><p></p><p>The two quickly crawl back to the guards waiting for them, and in a desperate gamble, Wistul jumps on one of them, toppling him down outside the cage. Lithe Sabrina manages to squeeze out as well. Wistul avoids the sword blow of the second guard as he stands up then punches him in the face and runs. Sabrina hides under the cage until she can safely crawl to the next caravan and thus closer to the exit.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, Jack is starting to discover that despite his enhanced size and the effect of Dwimberg's elixir, he is no match for the muscular ogre. He manages to land a blow on the creature, but the ogre's spiked club hits him repeatedly. Finally he decides to try and run away, but the ogre lands a solid blow on his back and he collapses. </p><p></p><p>Elan attempts to escape the guard chasing him by rolling under the circus tent flap, but he misjudges and hits one of the big stakes that keep the tent tied to the ground instead. The guard hits him with his club. Elan scrambles to crawl under the flap in a different area but hits a bench on the other side. A second club blow puts him out. As he dozes out to unconsciousness he hears the distinct whistles of the Vornheim militia storming the circus grounds.</p><p></p><p>Outside the grounds, Valya has retreated to a safe place where the milita men can't spot him. From afar he sees Wistul emerging from the circus grounds and discreetly slide through a manhole in the sewers below. A moment later, Sabrina crawls from the wreckage. She walks to him casually and says: </p><p></p><p>- "I never though I would ever say this, but you are a sight for sore eyes..."</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>- "Judges, here are the three accused," the advocate says. </p><p>- "Introduce them to the judges!" the spokesperson responds. </p><p>- "First, here is one Elan, known in the District of the Forked Tongue as "the Petty Thief". He has a reputation for burglary and small time scamming but to this day was never arrested or accused. He was found unconscious on the grounds of Signor Rallentando's Circus."</p><p>- "Second is one Aventine Jack, deserter of the Third Army of Melliflu in the Southern Realms. He earns his living as a part-time bouncer at the Bleak Beaver drinking and fornicating establishment, with no known family or attachments. He was also found unconscious on the same Circus grounds."</p><p>- "Third is Signor Rallentando of Halfling blood, a stranger to the City of Vornheim and owner of the Circus that bears his name. Signor Rallentando accuses the other two of breaking and entering with intent to burgle and kill, resulting in the fire of his animal caravans and the death of one Giant Marsh Buffalo and two Southern Green Tigers. He however is himself accused of aiding and abetting a known criminal barred from the city, an Ogre known as Gorm. Gorm has been captured and will be tried separately."</p><p>- "What say you, judges?" the advocate asks. </p><p>- "Here is the Judges' deliberation" the spokesperson answers, "in accordance with the will of Vorn: the case of Elan and Aventine Jack vs. Signor Rallentando shall be tried by Proxy Combat. Are the accused familiar with this Trial Method ?"</p><p></p><p>None of the accused know of this method. The Spokesperson continues: </p><p></p><p>"In a trial by Proxy Combat each party shall name three proxys. These must be personal friends or acquaintances of the accused. The Minister will concurrently appoint three officially sanctioned Judicial Assassins. Assassins and Proxys must eliminate each other. Should the three appointed assassins be eliminated first, the accused will go free of any charges. Should the (in this case) six proxys die first, the accused will be proved guilty and hanged. You have exactly one day to name your proxys."</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Sabrina waits in front of the Red Mansion, where the Vornheim militia has its headquarters. She's been waiting all day for Rulius, the new fangled detective of the force. He finally walks out, heading for a nearby wine bar. Sabrina follows him and, once he's seated with a glass of mulled wine in front of him, she slips in the seat next to his and says: </p><p>- "Can I buy you that drink?"</p><p>- "I hope this is not an attempt at bribery, young lady..."</p><p>- "No, of course not. But I do need to speak to you."</p><p>- "I'm listening..."</p><p>- "It's about my friends. They have been arrested, and are awaiting trial."</p><p>- "Yes, I am aware. Elan the thief and Aventine Jack. To be tried by Proxy Combat."</p><p></p><p>Sabrina blanches when hearing the trial method.</p><p></p><p>- "Listen, they are wrongly accused. They came to rescue me. I had been abducted by Signor Rollentando. He seduced me, then drugged me. He intended to feed me to his tigers. I was tied at the back of that cage. That's why they set fire to it, to help me free myself."</p><p>- "Well, you see, that is all well and good", Rulius answers, his voice thick with irony, "but the beauty of our legal system is that Vorn will help decide who is right and who is wrong... No doubt you will have a chance yourself to face the Judicial Assassins and prove your friends correct..."</p><p>- "No, we don't stand a chance. Listen, can't you do something?"</p><p>- "How could I? As absurd as I think our legal system is, my duty is to arrest the guilty, not to try them."</p><p>- "But you must know people, you can pull some favors maybe..."</p><p>- "And why would I do that?"</p><p>- "Because my friends aren't guilty and that matters to you? Because we helped you with the Taxidermist' case and probably eliminated a very real threat to the safety of the city..."</p><p>- "Hrm... I will see what I can do."</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>A few days later, Elan, Jack and Signor Rallentando are summoned in front of the Judges again. </p><p>- "Two of you have not named any friends. Why is that?"</p><p>- "Because we don't have any friends", Jack answers defiantly. "We only have each other."</p><p>- "In consideration of this fact, and because it has been pointed to us that this case is not Vornheim vs. the accused but rather Elan the thief and Aventine Jack vs. Signor Rallentando, the Trial Method is commuted to a Trial by Crowd Duel. Are the accused familiar with this Trial Method?"</p><p></p><p>None of the accused are. The Spokesperson continues: "Fourty and six citizens will be recruited. Each party may also directly recruit two, for a total of fifty citizens. The accused (or, in the case of Elan the thief and Aventine Jack, one of the accused) will each be standing on the shoulders of one of their named recruits. They will fight bare chested with swords handed over by the Minister. The first of the accused to pass out from wounds or fall to the ground shall be deemed guilty. That party will be hanged, the other will be free."</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>During one more week, Elan and Jack are looked after and made to rest until they are fully healed. Then comes the big day of the trial. Jack named Sabrina and Wistul as their recruits, pretending that they are not friends but only known by reputation. Jack is escorted to a small room where he meets Sabrina and Wistul. He doesn't say a word to the Wizardess, but hugs Wistul and tells him that he couldn't hope for someone better on whose shoulders to stand for this fight that may be his last.</p><p></p><p>They walk out into a small round arena where people picked randomly from the streets are massed. Wistul and Jack walk to the center of the arena. There they see Signor Rallentando and one of his named recruits, a tall and muscular man. Jack is helped onto Wistul's shoulders while Rallentando hops on his friends'. The swords are handed out to them, and the officials close the arena and go walk to the side. Elan is also there, in a position to see his friend and associate succeed or fail. </p><p></p><p>Things start well, with Jack landing a solid blow on Rallentando's left shoulder, but the halfling is nimble and surprisingly good with his sword. Repeatedly, Jack tries to push his advantage and topple his diminutive adversary, but the Halfling not only hangs on, he gives as good as he's getting. </p><p></p><p>Sabrina tries to summon some rats to crawl up the legs of Rallentando's, but she fails miserably. Her other magical formulas are all too blatant to use in public and get away with. She can do nothing but helplessly watch Jack get slowly hacked by his unexpectedly effective halfling opponent.</p><p></p><p>Finally, one last blow from Rallentando saps out Jack's energy for good. He slowly falls back from Wistul's shoulders. The elf turns around to stop his fall and slowly lays him on the ground. He sees immediately that Jack is dead. Wistul closes the warrior's eyes. Outside of the ring, Elan starts pulling his hair out as the Judicial Guard escorts him away.</p><p></p><p>The next day at dawn, a gallows is erected in one of the squares in Under the Mountain. Elan is escorted there and summarily hanged.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Sammael99, post: 7066006, member: 1157"] [B]Session 6: An Unfortunate Rescue[/B] Elan runs to the Bleak Beaver where he finds Jack and Valya in a deep drinking session. Breathlessly, he explains the events of the evening and tells them that they need to find Dwimberg. Valya casually mentions that Elan is welcome to break into his no doubt highly secure Antiquarian shop, but that things will otherwise wait 'til the morning. Elan is worried about Wistul's fate, not so much about Sabrina's. In the morning, the three of them walk up to Dwimberg's shop. When he sees Jack, the dwarf clearly registers that something is wrong and signals for them to head into his office. - "It is not a good sign to see you here without your diminutive female leader..." he starts. - "She's not our leader, but apart from that your assessment is correct. Things did not go well last night, and my friend Elan can tell you all about it", Jack answers. Elan retells his tale without embellishing it in anyway. - "And so", Elan concludes, "I managed to convince Rallentando to let me go by promising I would rob you of your bracelet." - "And do you intend to do that?" Dwimberg asks defensively. - "If I was I wouldn't be telling you about it..." - "So then what do you intend to do?" - "Do you think it would be possible to get a copy of the bracelet?" Dwimberg takes a moment to think and says that he can probably work out something to look like the bracelet from a few meters away. It will not withstand close scrutiny, but in the allotted time, that's the best he can offer. He also suggests that Rallentando most likely keeps the bracelet on his person at all times but does not wear it. Finally, as Jack asks him whether he can help them in case they get into a scuffle, Dwimberg reluctantly offers him a phial of Elixir of the Furies. "It will make you greatly more powerful as a warrior" he says, "while it lasts." Elan, Jack and Valya decide to head out towards the circus around the middle of the day. They haven't decided on a plan yet, they are just looking up the place. Elan makes sure he's discreet and not easily recognizable. Jack, thinking back on the fact that Madame Sosostris seems to have anticipated the attempted robbery the night before decides to see if there is something to her divination or not. He queues up to get his palms read and enters her tent. Madame Sosostris puts her hand over his and slowly follows the various lines on his calloused hands. She then makes some generic statements promising prosperity and danger. Jack is not impressed. Still, he decides to take her out of the picture and extracts his machete from inside his cape while she isn't looking. He hits her with the blunt side of the blade to knock her out, but fails. She starts yelling "Murderer!" and alternatively mumbles incomprehensible phrases while Jack repeatedly hits her on the head until she finally collapses. Outside, the seer's cries for help have been heard and when Jack emerges, there's a crowd in front of the tent. A few men who clearly seem to be guarding the circus move forward towards Jack. - "She's a witch!" he yells. He puts his hand up, the one with the massive brown and unnatural scar from the shambling corpse. "A witch! And she cursed me with a deadly disease!" Some in the crowd walk back a few meters. This is the moment Valya decides to use to create a diversion. In front of one of the animal cages in which a truly massive bovine with enormous horns is held, he shakes his hands and intones the words to Ludurafet's Igneous Eruption. A massive gust of flames erupts from his hands, setting fire to the straw in the bovine's cage, but also the wooden floor and roof of the cage itself. The buffalo like creature starts to moo desperately and rock the cage. Valya turns around as if in a panic and leaves the circus grounds. Elan has already exited the grounds, worried that Rallentando might recognize him. Jack takes advantage of the panic and starts running towards the inside of the grounds, yelling "Sabrina, Wistul, where are you?" Sabrina actually answers, but Jack is being pursued, he cannot stop. He manages to run faster than the circus strongmen and exits the grounds as well. *** Sabrina and Wistul are tied at the back of the tiger cage in a small enclosed area where the tigers sleep at night. They cannot be seen by the circus' visitors but Rallentando didn't think it necessary to gag them. Sabrina has already tried to negotiate with the tigers for them to gnaw the knots that bind her, but she has nothing to offer them in exchange... When she hears Jack's voice asking where she is, she yells in return, and the tigers start growling at her, so she stands still, biding her time. She attempts to summon animals, but her binds make it hard and ineffective. Wistul's attempts to make himself larger similarly fail. Meanwhile, Elan, Jack and Valya regroup outside the grounds and decide to go back in in full attack mode, heading out for the back of the tiger cage. Jack drinks the elixir given to him by Dwimberg. It burns his innards but he feels energy pump into his veins. As they walk towards the circus grounds, still in chaos and smoke following the fire of the bovine cage, Valya lays his hand on Jack's shoulder, and Jack doubles in size. The warrior grabs his cleaver (similarly grown) and runs towards the tiger cage. From the shadows of the circus tent emerges a silhouette nearly as tall as his: it's the giant and deformed creature that Rallentando called Gorm the night before. Jack then notices a small silhouette standing on a barrel: it's signor Rallentando himself. "Be a good ogre, Gorm! Attack the intruders and you will get to eat their flesh!" he yells. The circus guards are also joining the fray. Elan tries to discreetly get closer to Rallentando, but he is spotted and chased by a guard. Valya is the only one who manages to head out to the tiger cage without being seen. He decides that since his previous tactic of setting a cage on fire using Ludurafet's very effective formula worked so well, he might as well use it again. He sets fire to the tiger cage. What Valya doesn't know is that Rollentando has sent some guards to retrieve Wistul and Sabrina from the back of the cage. They have just at that instant opened the backdoor to the cage. One of them has a crossbow armed and pointed at the prisoners. The other one unties their knots. Sabrina attempts a discreet spell, but fails. Wistul punches the guard that has just untied him towards the other one, and quickly intones the words to Caskel's Distant Direction. The spell conjures up an invisible wall between him and Sabrina and the two guards. When the armed guard manages to find a line of sight and shoots, his bolt inexplicably bounces back. Sabrina then crawls through the open semi-circle passage that connects the back of the cage with the main cage. Wistul follows. But the cage is now on fire, and the tigers are in a panic. - "Help us survive the evil flames!" one of them growls at Sabrina. - "I asked you for help earlier and you refused. Roast in hell!", the wizardess answers. The two quickly crawl back to the guards waiting for them, and in a desperate gamble, Wistul jumps on one of them, toppling him down outside the cage. Lithe Sabrina manages to squeeze out as well. Wistul avoids the sword blow of the second guard as he stands up then punches him in the face and runs. Sabrina hides under the cage until she can safely crawl to the next caravan and thus closer to the exit. Meanwhile, Jack is starting to discover that despite his enhanced size and the effect of Dwimberg's elixir, he is no match for the muscular ogre. He manages to land a blow on the creature, but the ogre's spiked club hits him repeatedly. Finally he decides to try and run away, but the ogre lands a solid blow on his back and he collapses. Elan attempts to escape the guard chasing him by rolling under the circus tent flap, but he misjudges and hits one of the big stakes that keep the tent tied to the ground instead. The guard hits him with his club. Elan scrambles to crawl under the flap in a different area but hits a bench on the other side. A second club blow puts him out. As he dozes out to unconsciousness he hears the distinct whistles of the Vornheim militia storming the circus grounds. Outside the grounds, Valya has retreated to a safe place where the milita men can't spot him. From afar he sees Wistul emerging from the circus grounds and discreetly slide through a manhole in the sewers below. A moment later, Sabrina crawls from the wreckage. She walks to him casually and says: - "I never though I would ever say this, but you are a sight for sore eyes..." *** - "Judges, here are the three accused," the advocate says. - "Introduce them to the judges!" the spokesperson responds. - "First, here is one Elan, known in the District of the Forked Tongue as "the Petty Thief". He has a reputation for burglary and small time scamming but to this day was never arrested or accused. He was found unconscious on the grounds of Signor Rallentando's Circus." - "Second is one Aventine Jack, deserter of the Third Army of Melliflu in the Southern Realms. He earns his living as a part-time bouncer at the Bleak Beaver drinking and fornicating establishment, with no known family or attachments. He was also found unconscious on the same Circus grounds." - "Third is Signor Rallentando of Halfling blood, a stranger to the City of Vornheim and owner of the Circus that bears his name. Signor Rallentando accuses the other two of breaking and entering with intent to burgle and kill, resulting in the fire of his animal caravans and the death of one Giant Marsh Buffalo and two Southern Green Tigers. He however is himself accused of aiding and abetting a known criminal barred from the city, an Ogre known as Gorm. Gorm has been captured and will be tried separately." - "What say you, judges?" the advocate asks. - "Here is the Judges' deliberation" the spokesperson answers, "in accordance with the will of Vorn: the case of Elan and Aventine Jack vs. Signor Rallentando shall be tried by Proxy Combat. Are the accused familiar with this Trial Method ?" None of the accused know of this method. The Spokesperson continues: "In a trial by Proxy Combat each party shall name three proxys. These must be personal friends or acquaintances of the accused. The Minister will concurrently appoint three officially sanctioned Judicial Assassins. Assassins and Proxys must eliminate each other. Should the three appointed assassins be eliminated first, the accused will go free of any charges. Should the (in this case) six proxys die first, the accused will be proved guilty and hanged. You have exactly one day to name your proxys." *** Sabrina waits in front of the Red Mansion, where the Vornheim militia has its headquarters. She's been waiting all day for Rulius, the new fangled detective of the force. He finally walks out, heading for a nearby wine bar. Sabrina follows him and, once he's seated with a glass of mulled wine in front of him, she slips in the seat next to his and says: - "Can I buy you that drink?" - "I hope this is not an attempt at bribery, young lady..." - "No, of course not. But I do need to speak to you." - "I'm listening..." - "It's about my friends. They have been arrested, and are awaiting trial." - "Yes, I am aware. Elan the thief and Aventine Jack. To be tried by Proxy Combat." Sabrina blanches when hearing the trial method. - "Listen, they are wrongly accused. They came to rescue me. I had been abducted by Signor Rollentando. He seduced me, then drugged me. He intended to feed me to his tigers. I was tied at the back of that cage. That's why they set fire to it, to help me free myself." - "Well, you see, that is all well and good", Rulius answers, his voice thick with irony, "but the beauty of our legal system is that Vorn will help decide who is right and who is wrong... No doubt you will have a chance yourself to face the Judicial Assassins and prove your friends correct..." - "No, we don't stand a chance. Listen, can't you do something?" - "How could I? As absurd as I think our legal system is, my duty is to arrest the guilty, not to try them." - "But you must know people, you can pull some favors maybe..." - "And why would I do that?" - "Because my friends aren't guilty and that matters to you? Because we helped you with the Taxidermist' case and probably eliminated a very real threat to the safety of the city..." - "Hrm... I will see what I can do." *** A few days later, Elan, Jack and Signor Rallentando are summoned in front of the Judges again. - "Two of you have not named any friends. Why is that?" - "Because we don't have any friends", Jack answers defiantly. "We only have each other." - "In consideration of this fact, and because it has been pointed to us that this case is not Vornheim vs. the accused but rather Elan the thief and Aventine Jack vs. Signor Rallentando, the Trial Method is commuted to a Trial by Crowd Duel. Are the accused familiar with this Trial Method?" None of the accused are. The Spokesperson continues: "Fourty and six citizens will be recruited. Each party may also directly recruit two, for a total of fifty citizens. The accused (or, in the case of Elan the thief and Aventine Jack, one of the accused) will each be standing on the shoulders of one of their named recruits. They will fight bare chested with swords handed over by the Minister. The first of the accused to pass out from wounds or fall to the ground shall be deemed guilty. That party will be hanged, the other will be free." *** During one more week, Elan and Jack are looked after and made to rest until they are fully healed. Then comes the big day of the trial. Jack named Sabrina and Wistul as their recruits, pretending that they are not friends but only known by reputation. Jack is escorted to a small room where he meets Sabrina and Wistul. He doesn't say a word to the Wizardess, but hugs Wistul and tells him that he couldn't hope for someone better on whose shoulders to stand for this fight that may be his last. They walk out into a small round arena where people picked randomly from the streets are massed. Wistul and Jack walk to the center of the arena. There they see Signor Rallentando and one of his named recruits, a tall and muscular man. Jack is helped onto Wistul's shoulders while Rallentando hops on his friends'. The swords are handed out to them, and the officials close the arena and go walk to the side. Elan is also there, in a position to see his friend and associate succeed or fail. Things start well, with Jack landing a solid blow on Rallentando's left shoulder, but the halfling is nimble and surprisingly good with his sword. Repeatedly, Jack tries to push his advantage and topple his diminutive adversary, but the Halfling not only hangs on, he gives as good as he's getting. Sabrina tries to summon some rats to crawl up the legs of Rallentando's, but she fails miserably. Her other magical formulas are all too blatant to use in public and get away with. She can do nothing but helplessly watch Jack get slowly hacked by his unexpectedly effective halfling opponent. Finally, one last blow from Rallentando saps out Jack's energy for good. He slowly falls back from Wistul's shoulders. The elf turns around to stop his fall and slowly lays him on the ground. He sees immediately that Jack is dead. Wistul closes the warrior's eyes. Outside of the ring, Elan starts pulling his hair out as the Judicial Guard escorts him away. The next day at dawn, a gallows is erected in one of the squares in Under the Mountain. Elan is escorted there and summarily hanged. [/QUOTE]
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