Quote from: Coffee;257695Zarko moves among the recruits and organizes a watch -- at least two men on at all times, keeping an eye out for trouble. As a leadership exercise, Zarko himself will take the first watch (along with one of the recruits). Everybody else gets to rest.

The afternoon is quiet.  Despite the violence of the morning there's an oddly collegial mood, with fighters strolling the arena in small groups, and gathering around the drinking trough to compare scar tissue and fighting techniques and trade tall tales, shaggy dog stories and outright lies.

Zarko sees to the watches, which turn out to be fairly informal since the recruits are just hanging out anyway.  The silent amazon Muruzabal tinkers with her spinning body cage.  One Eye Malone smokes cigars pensively and swears like a dockworker -- which is, after all, his trade.  The klengons glower and grumble at Wiggy Plop's clowning.  Schleppy the Tote-Golem organizes a few of his numberless pockets, withdrawing objects a few at a time -- a plaster model of the Dog Moon; a ten gallon hat; a pink t-shirt; a checkered flag; a packet of Instant Sea Monster mix ("Turns out they're just brine shrimp," he shrugs.) -- and then stowing them again according to some private system.

As they come back from trips to the water trough the recruits pass along the fight news.  The largest camps seem to be those of the mutant Pegasus Lad and Richard the Bold, both well-known heels on the Vanthian wrestling circuit.  A psi-witch known as Starshine Moonchilde, practitioner of something called Recumbent Kung Fu, has so far defeated all challengers and refused all alliances; many suspect him of secretly using his psychic powers.  And Creature too has earned a bit of a reputation -- his brutal beatdown of the goons has not gone unnoticed in the arena.

There are also a lot of rumors about the crane incident.  It's speculated that the warlock responsible was either a cannibal sorcerer from Citadel Carcosa or a saboteur bankrolled by one of God City's crime families.  The biggest buzz, however, is that Bigby himself is fighting in the brawl incognito, in hopes of finding a successor to run his company.  Most greet this notion with derision but it's nonetheless the talk of the day.  

Creature's feeling quite a bit better when the sun sinks below the western wall.  A crowd begins to gather at the far end of the arena, where a trapdoor opens and a stage ringed with barbed wire rises from the floor.  A trio of pantheroids tune up their instruments, and the Tenmen begin to play.

[Creature heals 9 hp, back up to 10 overall.

[Sorry for the day off yesterday.  Hope you all had a good weekend!]

[image copyright Chris Onstad]

Buck's thoughts turn to Daryl's condition...."well, gentlemen....we need to find out about Daryl....", Buck starts looking around the arena for a paramedic in order to ask some questions.

Any new guys join up with our posse?

Quote from: wulfgar;258683Any new guys join up with our posse?

Not so far.

Quote from: ttagxamm;258094"You're not from around here, are you, Officer?" smiles Tallbard, an edge creeping into his voice, "So let me rehearse this for you.  If you want to keep right in this town, you gotta keep right with Mr. Smalls.  Is that catchy enough for you?"

"Well, officer?  Can you follow the tune?"  drawls Tallbard. " 'Cause I'd sure like to interrogate this freak here and get on with my business."

Quote from: Rondo;258679Buck's thoughts turn to Daryl's condition...."well, gentlemen....we need to find out about Daryl....", Buck starts looking around the arena for a paramedic in order to ask some questions.

During the afternoon Buck flags down one of the goblin apothecaries.

"Darryl who now?  Lizard, hunh?" the goblin shrugs. "Look, there's more'n hunnert fighters down below, in ever' state of re-pair.  You wanna send'm flowers an' a bou-quet you gonna have to do it your own self, chum.  Retreat chutes there, there, an' there," he points.

Quote from: ttagxamm;258504A crowd begins to gather at the far end of the arena, where a trapdoor opens and a stage ringed with barbed wire rises from the floor.  A trio of pantheroids tune up their instruments, and the Tenmen begin to play.

As the Tenmen fire up a snarling surf-raga medley several of your crew ask to check it out.  The afternoon's informal truce seems to hold among the crowd watching the band.  As if in response, a pair of harnessed goons rolls out a half-dozen barrels of dwarven grog and cheap wine.

Buck returns to the party, "Guys, I'm heading to the "retreat chutes" to check on Daryl...Zarko, Creature...one of you wanna go with me?"

"Will we be able to get back in?" Zarko asks. "'Cause I don't wanna leave our boy here if it means we can't come back."

Does Buck have a phone or communicator or some such device?  If he does, can't he just call Darryl's mom?  Or if he doesn't maybe one of our guys "on the outside" (the hobling pimp or Quarzan) could get to a phone.

"Hmm...good point, Zarko" (problem with the phone thing: what are we gonna tell her?  I want to go physically talk to the kid)...."I'll go alone and risk not getting back in....ain't much left to do here anyhow....",  he waits to see Zarko's and Creature's response...

[Zarko is right, Buck, if you leave the arena there's no getting back in.  And sadly I don't think you have a phone on your equipment list.]

(Alright....screw it....enough about Daryl...it's obvious there's a seperatin' technique at work here ...i won't push it any farther)....."Well, okeedokee...I give up...you guys are right I suppose, we'll have to take our chances that Daryl ends up on the okay side of things".

Hmmm, well if we win the brawl and Darryl ends up dead, I don't think we'll be able to enjoy our winnings much.  So perhaps bailing out and tracking down Darryl does make the most sense.  Creature is willing to follow Buck's lead.

Well, you guys might be right too...i mean, it depends on if you trust what's going on with the scene behind the scene.  I tend to ere on the side of distrust and caution, but you guys are probably right...he's probably being taken care of...the problem as i see it is what happens if mom finds out we let him die or any other fill in the blank situation....is the idea here to be the last fighter standing?  If so, let's get it on, and then get out of here...that's my vote anyhow