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Journal of the Souls of Legend (completed)
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<blockquote data-quote="Nthal" data-source="post: 7525068" data-attributes="member: 6971069"><p><strong>"Big D"</strong></p><p></p><p><strong><p style="text-align: center">“Big D”</p><p></strong></p><p><em><p style="text-align: center">When sizing up your opponents, you always need to look at every angle. Their speed physically and mentally. Their confidence; is it real or for show? Their choice of weapons; big, small, fast, slow, physical or magic?</p></em></p><p style="text-align: center"><em></p></em></p><p style="text-align: center"><em>And lastly; sometimes size does matter.</p><p></em></p><p>I looked at our Tinman, with what I am fairly sure was a puzzled look on my face. His attention was focused on the now closed door. He had a hungry look on his face with the just the slightest grin on his lips. </p><p></p><p>The Knight noticed this as well, “Wait, are you seriously thinking about entering the ring here?”</p><p>Without turning his head, he nodded and explained, “Yes I am. It’s how I acquired the money to buy my gear. It’s a bit of fun”</p><p></p><p>“This seems to be a waste of time! Should we not be making plans to…head north?” the Fingerpainter said looking hard at the Tinman.</p><p></p><p>The Knight turned his head and responded, “Probably not till after Daneath has his fill. Besides, it’s late afternoon. We aren’t going to get far in the dark anyway.”</p><p></p><p>The gnome made a face at this and nodded, “Your probably right there. We should get a room then at least so I can get some work done.”</p><p></p><p>“I agree with that. Come with me and let's make some arrangements. Don’t get started without me Deneath; I want to see this.”</p><p></p><p>The Tinman looked at the Knight and sighed, “Just hurry it up. I’ll see you inside. Coming Myrai?”</p><p></p><p>Startled for a moment I quickly said, “Sure, beats sitting here at a table alone. Let’s take a look.”</p><p></p><p>The Tinman and I got up and made our way to the closed door. A burly guard stood at one side of the door, and quickly sized up the Tinman. He nodded approvingly and opened the door. As he was doing so, I quickly grabbed the Tinman’s arm and locking my arm around his. Smiling I said, “We’ll…you know how to show a girl a good time,”</p><p></p><p>He was surprised at first, but it was replaced quickly by a wolfish grin, “Well, let’s see what the locals have as far as entertainment.” Together arm and arm we entered the darkened room.</p><p></p><p>If the rest of the taproom looked worn down and dilapidated, it was because of the arena we entered. The owner or owners put more money down here; the bar along one wall looked newer and better cared for. The chairs and tables around the room were better quality, and the serving girls were more attractive. The room itself was square, but in the middle was a thirty-foot diameter pit, with a pair of stairs on opposite ends leading down into it. The pit had a rail, and the tables surrounded the pit in tiered layers, so every table had a decent view of the fights.</p><p></p><p>Opposite of where we came in, the wall was covered in slate boards. The boards were covered in chalk and on them were names, brackets and odds. One board that was in use this evening, clearly covered the odds of various fighters who were in the pit and in front of it were several humans, exchanging coins for chits. </p><p></p><p>The Tinman, pointed over to the boards and we made our way to the far side of the room. Once there, he was looking around and finally settled his gaze on a nearby red-haired human with mutton chop facial hair and holding a flat board in one hand and a quill in the other. Upon approaching him, he regarded the Tinman and I for a moment and spoke. “So, you both looking to enter the ring?”</p><p></p><p>Grinning the Tinman replied, “Of course, but only I. What’s the setup tonight?”</p><p></p><p>“Basically, it’s an open king of the ring; you enter one at a time, and whoever holds out for the night is the winner. But I’ll tell you, the crowd is a bit bored.”</p><p></p><p>At that I look around, and while the room is pretty full, they crowd didn’t look enthusiastic. It stood in contrast to the moments before we entered the room where I remember more cheering and excitement.</p><p></p><p>“Fickle crowd?” I asked</p><p></p><p>“No…conceding to the inevitable. Everything is nice and fine, until the ‘Apple-King’ decides to play. Then, it all stops. No one likes the odds.”</p><p></p><p>“For or against this ‘Apple-King’?” I asked.</p><p></p><p>“He’s got a good local rep; can’t make money betting for him to win. And few make coin betting against him. Usually he shows up late in the evening to clean up, but he decided to step in early. Mucks up the betting,” the human frowned.</p><p></p><p>“And why is he called the ‘Apple-King?’” </p><p></p><p>“Heh, that has to do how he punches. He hits a bit low most of the time.” The human grinned.</p><p></p><p>“Sounds like he could use to be taken down a peg. What’s the rule of the pit?” the Tinman asked, cracking his knuckles.</p><p></p><p>“Well, usually bare fisted and no armor. But when the King is in the ring, we let folks use armor. Not that it helps much.” The man replied. “So are you interested?”</p><p></p><p>“Of course, he is,” as the Knight clasped the Tinman on the shoulders to our surprise, as neither of us heard his approach. “This is ‘Big D’ after all!”</p><p></p><p>The Tinman blinked and was about to interject, when the Knight continued, “He doesn’t like talking about it, but he’s well known in the Sword Coast rings!”</p><p></p><p>“I’ve never heard of…” the red-haired man tried to say</p><p></p><p>“Of course not! He’s been on the coast itself; Luskan, Neverwinter and Waterdeep mostly. This is his first time out this far east. So, let’s get him in and start the fighting!”</p><p></p><p>The Tinman turned back to the man and said, “Well…I agree with that. I don’t mind fighting with armor. It’s his loss.”</p><p></p><p>The man nodded, “Alright…let me get your name here…’Big D’ I’ll get it up on the board.”</p><p></p><p>“Wait no…I’m not call…”the Tinman attempted to correct, before the man walked off towards the main chalk board. He stopped and turned to look at the Knight instead, “Really? ‘Big D’? That sounds silly.”</p><p></p><p>“Nah…trust me, it’ll work.”</p><p></p><p>“What do you mean by that?”</p><p></p><p>“You’ll see…or hear” the Knight grinned.</p><p></p><p>“Fine. Better hold my gear.” As he took off his pack, bow and unbelted his sword, passing them to the Knight. He looked at his shield and decided to hand that to the Knight as well. </p><p></p><p>“Where’s your stuff?” I asked the Knight.</p><p></p><p>“Oh, it’s with Beepu in the room. Here, hold his sword. I need to warm up the crowd.”</p><p></p><p>The Knight then entered the crowd and was talking to a table with one of the serving girls at it. As I watched he quickly, hit up several tables, pointing excitingly.</p><p></p><p>The Tinman ignored this and flexed. “Well, I don’t usually do knuckledusters. Prefer blunts. Still something seems odd about this.”</p><p></p><p>I shrug, “Kind of reminds me of the ‘Bottle and Jug’ as they do some pit fighting there. But they are a bit more closed door about it.”</p><p></p><p>“Oh why?” he asked</p><p></p><p>“Mostly because some of the fights, people don’t walk away from.” I said and looked the Tinman in the eye. “It’s a rough place in an even rougher place.”</p><p></p><p>Looking at the chalk board, I see that they have written his name near the top of the board as ‘Big D.’ Alongside his name were set of odds, but I wasn’t clear on why so many, and what the odds meant.</p><p>His name was written below another one, that said ‘Apple-King’ but in comparison it was a single set of odds; in the house’s favor. No one in their right mind was going to make a bet on a sure winner.</p><p></p><p>At this point an older blonde, heavy set woman made her way to the edge of the ring and started shouting:</p><p>“All right! We seem to have a new comer to the ring. Someone with experience and a name.”</p><p>At that point I could hear a voice in the crowd. It sounded like the Knight, and he was chanting loudly “Big D!”</p><p></p><p>Quickly around the room, others started to cheer and chant. What was malaise and disinterest before, started to change to excitement.</p><p></p><p>“Big D!”</p><p></p><p>“Big D!”</p><p></p><p>“Big D!”</p><p></p><p>I nudge the Tinman, “I think you should make an entrance now.”</p><p></p><p>He nodded and stepped down the stairs into the pit. He lifted his right arm aloft in beat with the chants. Encouraging the crowd and drinking in the adulation.</p><p></p><p>I moved to a rail near the edge to watch. The Knight kept the chant going, moving in the crowd. I turned to look at the board, and I saw a flurry of activity. Bets were being made, odds being revised. </p><p></p><p>The woman at the rails was nodding approvingly, “Big D it is! My, can this…majestic form of a man hold his own? Does he have what it takes to be the next king of the ring here? Or does he have yet another set of apples to be bruised? Because we all know his opponent, our local scourge of the ring, our own ‘Apple-King!’ And into the ring strode in a figure.</p><p></p><p>The figure was diminutive compared to ‘Big D’ barely half his height. He wore only a pair of breeches and no shirt or even shoes. His chest and arm muscles were defined, but to my eye looked wiry. His brown hair was pulled up into a top-knot and he looked very, very sure of himself. He looked at ‘Big D’ with a knowing smile. He flexed and waved to the crowd, unconcerned about the fight.</p><p></p><p>“Well…get your bets in…no telling how long it will…or won’t last.” The woman said with a smile. “Now get it on!” and the crowd responded in cheers.</p><p></p><p>The short figure was quick, skirting around the edge of the ring, while our Tinman circled as well, keeping his distance and sizing up the King.</p><p></p><p>Finally, the Tinman had enough and made a sudden move and jabbed with his left hand, connecting in the side of the small figures head. He then followed up with his right fist clenched, bringing it down on the left shoulder of his opponent. </p><p></p><p>The crowd for a moment was quiet, but once the two blows connected it grew wild. They expected something, but not for the heavily armored one to strike first and hard.</p><p></p><p>The figure was also surprised at the speed of his opponent, and his eyes narrowed into a glare. Now focused, he moved quickly, throwing a pair of punches and a kick at the Tinman. None landed squarely, being either blocked or glancing off the chest plate of the Tinman’s armor.</p><p></p><p>The Tinman saw an opening and landed a right mailed fist into the side of the figures face, but missing with his left. </p><p></p><p>“Oh, he’s just pissin him off now,” said a man next to me to another human. That human nodded, “Yeah. Not often someone lands a punch on the halfling, but he’s going to make this ‘Big D’ pay.”</p><p></p><p>The halfling (I guess) again moves quickly and punches three times. Each one connects with armor solidly. But if it had an effect on the Tinman, he wasn’t showing it. Nor did the fact he was punching metal seem to bother the halfling either. </p><p></p><p>The Tinman kept close and swung twice, neither finding their mark. The halfling kicked and punched with quick strikes, but nothing seemed to be a solid hit that the Tinman noticed. While the halfling was fast, the Tinman had solid reactions; always moving in a way so his armor took the brunt of the punches instead of trying to dodge the blow.</p><p></p><p>By comparison the halfling started changing his tactics, attacking less and spending more time dodging the Tinman’s attacks. </p><p></p><p>After several minutes of probing, the Tinman landed a pair of punches on the halfling, the right pounding down on right shoulder, and the left punch landing with sickening crunch of metal on bone, knocking the halfling to the ground. </p><p></p><p>The crowd was wild. Again glancing at the slate, the chits and coins exchanged was fast. Money was being made, although it was hard to see in whose favor. But by ‘Big-D’s name, odds were being crossed off, from left to right, and as I watched another was crossed off again. It finally dawned on me what it meant; the odds were for how long ‘Big D’ would last in the fight. And he had defied all expectations; there were only two odds left.</p><p></p><p>No matter what, the house expected ‘Big D’ to lose. The payout of the fight was twenty-three to one for him to win. </p><p></p><p>But the Tinman was oblivious to this, focusing on his opponent. The halfling was only down briefly and rolled quickly backwards and was back upright in a flash. He was bloodied and smiling, altogether unconcerned. He glanced at another halfling at the side of the ring who gave him a quick hand signal. And with that, the fight changed.</p><p></p><p>The halfling changed his tactics. He repeatedly dove towards the Tinman and only kicked, no longer attempting to punch. He then kept moving away from the Tinman, attempting to force the Tinman into chasing him.</p><p></p><p>Looking at the Tinman, I could see him nod and smile; he knew he was being baited into chasing. He moved himself to an edge of the ring and waited. He didn’t chase, and let the halfling come to him, as he prepared himself to strike when the halfling got close.</p><p></p><p>The halfling never let up, and tirelessly came in, kicked and left striking range. The Tinman was not connecting with any of his swings however, and it appeared that the fight was moving to a standstill when it happened.</p><p></p><p>The halfling charged in and jumped, and instead of kicking threw a punch which hit the Tinman on the left temple. Taking the blow, the Tinman spun away from the wall stumbling. His eyes were unfocused, and his head turned slowly trying to track the halfling.</p><p></p><p>Only half aware, he didn’t see the halfling dive between his legs and throw a single punch. The single punch was aimed straight up into the armored codpiece of the Tinman. And like that, the Tinman collapsed on the ground of the pit. </p><p></p><p>The crowd was hushed with the sudden reversal of events, and then it erupted in cheers. The ‘Apple-King’ at first smiled rose both arms in apparent victory. But his brow furrowed, and he looked around, mystified at the crowd’s chant.</p><p></p><p>“Big D!”</p><p></p><p>“Big D!”</p><p></p><p>“Big D!” </p><p></p><p>I was surprised as well. But I didn’t have much time to process it, as I made my way to the pit stairs to collect the lump formerly known as Daneath.</p><p></p><p>The Knight had made it to him first and was checking him over, laughing as he did so. I reached him and knelt down and held his head. His eyes were rolled back, and he was breathing, but he was out cold. The Knight and I with some effort stood up ‘Big D,’ each of us under an arm and dragged him back up the stairs out of the pit.</p><p></p><p>On the way up, the crowd was excited and still chanting “Big D” and giving all sorts of accolades. Meanwhile I could hear this shrill voice behind him in the pit:</p><p></p><p>“Why are you cheering him? I’m the one that won!”</p><p></p><p>Dragging him out of the arena, the Knight led me down a hallway to a door, which he kicked a couple of times. The door flew open and the Fingerpainter glared at us.</p><p></p><p>“I am trying to work. Can you not work a door handle yourself?”</p><p></p><p>“Not with my arms full. Daneath is heavy.”</p><p></p><p>“Move! Let’s drop him on the bed,” I said rapidly tiring. The Gnome backed up and we stumbled in and unceremoniously dropped the unconscious warrior on the bed. The Gnome closed the door and looked at the three of us with some disbelief.</p><p></p><p>“I hope you are satisfied. We need him functional, so we can get to ‘Flint Rock’ tomorrow.”</p><p></p><p>The Knight looked at the sprawled-out figure and shrugged, “He just needs to sleep it off. He’ll be fine.”</p><p></p><p>“I am a little concerned if he was so easily beaten in the ring,”</p><p></p><p>“He wasn’t. In fact, he outlasted everyone that had tried to take on the Apple-King in the last season.”</p><p></p><p>“So, you lost money on him I suppose.”</p><p></p><p>“Nope. I bet on him going down.” Smiled the Knight.</p><p></p><p>“What? You bet against him?”</p><p></p><p>“No. I just didn’t bet on him to win.”</p><p></p><p>I laughed. “So, you just stoked the crowd…and encouraged him with their enthusiasm.”</p><p></p><p>“Yep, and now we have a legend of note with us; the warrior extraordinaire; ‘Big D’!”</p><p></p><p>To which ‘Big D’ replied in the only manner he could. </p><p></p><p>He started snoring.</p><p></p><p><strong>Session Notes</strong></p><p></p><p>When you ask your DM to taking on a stronger challenger, and punch above your weight...you get a Hin Fist halfling.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nthal, post: 7525068, member: 6971069"] [b]"Big D"[/b] [B][CENTER]“Big D”[/CENTER][/B] [I][CENTER]When sizing up your opponents, you always need to look at every angle. Their speed physically and mentally. Their confidence; is it real or for show? Their choice of weapons; big, small, fast, slow, physical or magic? And lastly; sometimes size does matter.[/CENTER][/I] I looked at our Tinman, with what I am fairly sure was a puzzled look on my face. His attention was focused on the now closed door. He had a hungry look on his face with the just the slightest grin on his lips. The Knight noticed this as well, “Wait, are you seriously thinking about entering the ring here?” Without turning his head, he nodded and explained, “Yes I am. It’s how I acquired the money to buy my gear. It’s a bit of fun” “This seems to be a waste of time! Should we not be making plans to…head north?” the Fingerpainter said looking hard at the Tinman. The Knight turned his head and responded, “Probably not till after Daneath has his fill. Besides, it’s late afternoon. We aren’t going to get far in the dark anyway.” The gnome made a face at this and nodded, “Your probably right there. We should get a room then at least so I can get some work done.” “I agree with that. Come with me and let's make some arrangements. Don’t get started without me Deneath; I want to see this.” The Tinman looked at the Knight and sighed, “Just hurry it up. I’ll see you inside. Coming Myrai?” Startled for a moment I quickly said, “Sure, beats sitting here at a table alone. Let’s take a look.” The Tinman and I got up and made our way to the closed door. A burly guard stood at one side of the door, and quickly sized up the Tinman. He nodded approvingly and opened the door. As he was doing so, I quickly grabbed the Tinman’s arm and locking my arm around his. Smiling I said, “We’ll…you know how to show a girl a good time,” He was surprised at first, but it was replaced quickly by a wolfish grin, “Well, let’s see what the locals have as far as entertainment.” Together arm and arm we entered the darkened room. If the rest of the taproom looked worn down and dilapidated, it was because of the arena we entered. The owner or owners put more money down here; the bar along one wall looked newer and better cared for. The chairs and tables around the room were better quality, and the serving girls were more attractive. The room itself was square, but in the middle was a thirty-foot diameter pit, with a pair of stairs on opposite ends leading down into it. The pit had a rail, and the tables surrounded the pit in tiered layers, so every table had a decent view of the fights. Opposite of where we came in, the wall was covered in slate boards. The boards were covered in chalk and on them were names, brackets and odds. One board that was in use this evening, clearly covered the odds of various fighters who were in the pit and in front of it were several humans, exchanging coins for chits. The Tinman, pointed over to the boards and we made our way to the far side of the room. Once there, he was looking around and finally settled his gaze on a nearby red-haired human with mutton chop facial hair and holding a flat board in one hand and a quill in the other. Upon approaching him, he regarded the Tinman and I for a moment and spoke. “So, you both looking to enter the ring?” Grinning the Tinman replied, “Of course, but only I. What’s the setup tonight?” “Basically, it’s an open king of the ring; you enter one at a time, and whoever holds out for the night is the winner. But I’ll tell you, the crowd is a bit bored.” At that I look around, and while the room is pretty full, they crowd didn’t look enthusiastic. It stood in contrast to the moments before we entered the room where I remember more cheering and excitement. “Fickle crowd?” I asked “No…conceding to the inevitable. Everything is nice and fine, until the ‘Apple-King’ decides to play. Then, it all stops. No one likes the odds.” “For or against this ‘Apple-King’?” I asked. “He’s got a good local rep; can’t make money betting for him to win. And few make coin betting against him. Usually he shows up late in the evening to clean up, but he decided to step in early. Mucks up the betting,” the human frowned. “And why is he called the ‘Apple-King?’” “Heh, that has to do how he punches. He hits a bit low most of the time.” The human grinned. “Sounds like he could use to be taken down a peg. What’s the rule of the pit?” the Tinman asked, cracking his knuckles. “Well, usually bare fisted and no armor. But when the King is in the ring, we let folks use armor. Not that it helps much.” The man replied. “So are you interested?” “Of course, he is,” as the Knight clasped the Tinman on the shoulders to our surprise, as neither of us heard his approach. “This is ‘Big D’ after all!” The Tinman blinked and was about to interject, when the Knight continued, “He doesn’t like talking about it, but he’s well known in the Sword Coast rings!” “I’ve never heard of…” the red-haired man tried to say “Of course not! He’s been on the coast itself; Luskan, Neverwinter and Waterdeep mostly. This is his first time out this far east. So, let’s get him in and start the fighting!” The Tinman turned back to the man and said, “Well…I agree with that. I don’t mind fighting with armor. It’s his loss.” The man nodded, “Alright…let me get your name here…’Big D’ I’ll get it up on the board.” “Wait no…I’m not call…”the Tinman attempted to correct, before the man walked off towards the main chalk board. He stopped and turned to look at the Knight instead, “Really? ‘Big D’? That sounds silly.” “Nah…trust me, it’ll work.” “What do you mean by that?” “You’ll see…or hear” the Knight grinned. “Fine. Better hold my gear.” As he took off his pack, bow and unbelted his sword, passing them to the Knight. He looked at his shield and decided to hand that to the Knight as well. “Where’s your stuff?” I asked the Knight. “Oh, it’s with Beepu in the room. Here, hold his sword. I need to warm up the crowd.” The Knight then entered the crowd and was talking to a table with one of the serving girls at it. As I watched he quickly, hit up several tables, pointing excitingly. The Tinman ignored this and flexed. “Well, I don’t usually do knuckledusters. Prefer blunts. Still something seems odd about this.” I shrug, “Kind of reminds me of the ‘Bottle and Jug’ as they do some pit fighting there. But they are a bit more closed door about it.” “Oh why?” he asked “Mostly because some of the fights, people don’t walk away from.” I said and looked the Tinman in the eye. “It’s a rough place in an even rougher place.” Looking at the chalk board, I see that they have written his name near the top of the board as ‘Big D.’ Alongside his name were set of odds, but I wasn’t clear on why so many, and what the odds meant. His name was written below another one, that said ‘Apple-King’ but in comparison it was a single set of odds; in the house’s favor. No one in their right mind was going to make a bet on a sure winner. At this point an older blonde, heavy set woman made her way to the edge of the ring and started shouting: “All right! We seem to have a new comer to the ring. Someone with experience and a name.” At that point I could hear a voice in the crowd. It sounded like the Knight, and he was chanting loudly “Big D!” Quickly around the room, others started to cheer and chant. What was malaise and disinterest before, started to change to excitement. “Big D!” “Big D!” “Big D!” I nudge the Tinman, “I think you should make an entrance now.” He nodded and stepped down the stairs into the pit. He lifted his right arm aloft in beat with the chants. Encouraging the crowd and drinking in the adulation. I moved to a rail near the edge to watch. The Knight kept the chant going, moving in the crowd. I turned to look at the board, and I saw a flurry of activity. Bets were being made, odds being revised. The woman at the rails was nodding approvingly, “Big D it is! My, can this…majestic form of a man hold his own? Does he have what it takes to be the next king of the ring here? Or does he have yet another set of apples to be bruised? Because we all know his opponent, our local scourge of the ring, our own ‘Apple-King!’ And into the ring strode in a figure. The figure was diminutive compared to ‘Big D’ barely half his height. He wore only a pair of breeches and no shirt or even shoes. His chest and arm muscles were defined, but to my eye looked wiry. His brown hair was pulled up into a top-knot and he looked very, very sure of himself. He looked at ‘Big D’ with a knowing smile. He flexed and waved to the crowd, unconcerned about the fight. “Well…get your bets in…no telling how long it will…or won’t last.” The woman said with a smile. “Now get it on!” and the crowd responded in cheers. The short figure was quick, skirting around the edge of the ring, while our Tinman circled as well, keeping his distance and sizing up the King. Finally, the Tinman had enough and made a sudden move and jabbed with his left hand, connecting in the side of the small figures head. He then followed up with his right fist clenched, bringing it down on the left shoulder of his opponent. The crowd for a moment was quiet, but once the two blows connected it grew wild. They expected something, but not for the heavily armored one to strike first and hard. The figure was also surprised at the speed of his opponent, and his eyes narrowed into a glare. Now focused, he moved quickly, throwing a pair of punches and a kick at the Tinman. None landed squarely, being either blocked or glancing off the chest plate of the Tinman’s armor. The Tinman saw an opening and landed a right mailed fist into the side of the figures face, but missing with his left. “Oh, he’s just pissin him off now,” said a man next to me to another human. That human nodded, “Yeah. Not often someone lands a punch on the halfling, but he’s going to make this ‘Big D’ pay.” The halfling (I guess) again moves quickly and punches three times. Each one connects with armor solidly. But if it had an effect on the Tinman, he wasn’t showing it. Nor did the fact he was punching metal seem to bother the halfling either. The Tinman kept close and swung twice, neither finding their mark. The halfling kicked and punched with quick strikes, but nothing seemed to be a solid hit that the Tinman noticed. While the halfling was fast, the Tinman had solid reactions; always moving in a way so his armor took the brunt of the punches instead of trying to dodge the blow. By comparison the halfling started changing his tactics, attacking less and spending more time dodging the Tinman’s attacks. After several minutes of probing, the Tinman landed a pair of punches on the halfling, the right pounding down on right shoulder, and the left punch landing with sickening crunch of metal on bone, knocking the halfling to the ground. The crowd was wild. Again glancing at the slate, the chits and coins exchanged was fast. Money was being made, although it was hard to see in whose favor. But by ‘Big-D’s name, odds were being crossed off, from left to right, and as I watched another was crossed off again. It finally dawned on me what it meant; the odds were for how long ‘Big D’ would last in the fight. And he had defied all expectations; there were only two odds left. No matter what, the house expected ‘Big D’ to lose. The payout of the fight was twenty-three to one for him to win. But the Tinman was oblivious to this, focusing on his opponent. The halfling was only down briefly and rolled quickly backwards and was back upright in a flash. He was bloodied and smiling, altogether unconcerned. He glanced at another halfling at the side of the ring who gave him a quick hand signal. And with that, the fight changed. The halfling changed his tactics. He repeatedly dove towards the Tinman and only kicked, no longer attempting to punch. He then kept moving away from the Tinman, attempting to force the Tinman into chasing him. Looking at the Tinman, I could see him nod and smile; he knew he was being baited into chasing. He moved himself to an edge of the ring and waited. He didn’t chase, and let the halfling come to him, as he prepared himself to strike when the halfling got close. The halfling never let up, and tirelessly came in, kicked and left striking range. The Tinman was not connecting with any of his swings however, and it appeared that the fight was moving to a standstill when it happened. The halfling charged in and jumped, and instead of kicking threw a punch which hit the Tinman on the left temple. Taking the blow, the Tinman spun away from the wall stumbling. His eyes were unfocused, and his head turned slowly trying to track the halfling. Only half aware, he didn’t see the halfling dive between his legs and throw a single punch. The single punch was aimed straight up into the armored codpiece of the Tinman. And like that, the Tinman collapsed on the ground of the pit. The crowd was hushed with the sudden reversal of events, and then it erupted in cheers. The ‘Apple-King’ at first smiled rose both arms in apparent victory. But his brow furrowed, and he looked around, mystified at the crowd’s chant. “Big D!” “Big D!” “Big D!” I was surprised as well. But I didn’t have much time to process it, as I made my way to the pit stairs to collect the lump formerly known as Daneath. The Knight had made it to him first and was checking him over, laughing as he did so. I reached him and knelt down and held his head. His eyes were rolled back, and he was breathing, but he was out cold. The Knight and I with some effort stood up ‘Big D,’ each of us under an arm and dragged him back up the stairs out of the pit. On the way up, the crowd was excited and still chanting “Big D” and giving all sorts of accolades. Meanwhile I could hear this shrill voice behind him in the pit: “Why are you cheering him? I’m the one that won!” Dragging him out of the arena, the Knight led me down a hallway to a door, which he kicked a couple of times. The door flew open and the Fingerpainter glared at us. “I am trying to work. Can you not work a door handle yourself?” “Not with my arms full. Daneath is heavy.” “Move! Let’s drop him on the bed,” I said rapidly tiring. The Gnome backed up and we stumbled in and unceremoniously dropped the unconscious warrior on the bed. The Gnome closed the door and looked at the three of us with some disbelief. “I hope you are satisfied. We need him functional, so we can get to ‘Flint Rock’ tomorrow.” The Knight looked at the sprawled-out figure and shrugged, “He just needs to sleep it off. He’ll be fine.” “I am a little concerned if he was so easily beaten in the ring,” “He wasn’t. In fact, he outlasted everyone that had tried to take on the Apple-King in the last season.” “So, you lost money on him I suppose.” “Nope. I bet on him going down.” Smiled the Knight. “What? You bet against him?” “No. I just didn’t bet on him to win.” I laughed. “So, you just stoked the crowd…and encouraged him with their enthusiasm.” “Yep, and now we have a legend of note with us; the warrior extraordinaire; ‘Big D’!” To which ‘Big D’ replied in the only manner he could. He started snoring. [B]Session Notes[/B] When you ask your DM to taking on a stronger challenger, and punch above your weight...you get a Hin Fist halfling. [/QUOTE]
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