01/12/01 - Mega-Session

In the kingdom of Isionier, four separate travelers are waylaid. The travelers are Armand Tamsarian, a young human mecenary from the Company of the Ruby Coast, Jofar Malirood, a half-elven shopkeeper and part-time sorcerer from the small town of Isionier Ford, Ruric Ironheart, a dwarven monk of the order of the White Flame, and Magnus Garrett, a human thief and wagon driver, also from Isionier Ford. Each of them awoke in darkness.

A single manacle around their right ankles shackled them each. A chain bound all four of the manacles together. Jofar and Magnus had a passing acquaintance. The rest were a strangers to each other. A great flapping noise presaged the lifting of the darkness. Literally, a great dome is lifted off of them to reveal a great arena with hordes of goblinoids in the stands. Armand and Ruric saw that the four of them were to be pitted against other creatures in this place and began to work to get them all to work together. In a place of honor sat a mage stroking a black cat, he signaled that the game should now begin. Bugbears were released from cages scattered around the arena and fought the four and each other. Some weapons of low quality were to be found in the pit. Armand and Ruric's tactics worked, keeping all four of them alive through several foes and groups of foes.

As the action built to a crescendo, horns blared out from all around the place. The goblinoids abandoned their seats and ran off in answer to this alarum. The four made their way towards a gate in the arena wall and entered it by prying it open. A flutter of wings from above concerned them for a moment, but it was merely Jofar's familiar, Taka, returning to her master. She had apparently escaped unnoticed sometime after their capture, but had remained near. Under the arena, they managed to find clothing, food, some of their equipment and a few other useful items. It was in here that Armand found the long bow, intricately carved, with a unicorn's head at the top and a hoof at the bottom. Their searches revealed a few foes, including Gnolls whose attack had distracted the city. They also encountered the mage's black cat on a few occasions, but avoided it much of the time. The sight of the cat disturbed them slightly, as each of them had discovered a small, black cat's paw print on the sole of their left foot. However, they found no way to loosen themselves from their bonds. The Gnoll attack was furious; goblinoid bodies littered the ground everywhere the four looked as they cautiously made their way out of the city.

Underequipped, underarmed, lost, and with few supplies, they headed off in the cold wild lands that surrounded the goblinoid city.