Brie strolled into the Arena alongside Kree and any one else who had came with them.  She held her head up high and as proud as a fellow Arrow could be.

She looked around and then to Kree.  Where do we head first?  Box seating?

  Kree  turns up the steps  towards the Box and Is Ushered in, most of thr party was seats  to either end  and behind, but  above  some  fancy chairs That the emperor and his party will sit.

Kr'wyn leaves the sage-quater of town andreaches the Arena in time to follow Kree and his fellow Arrows into the Emperor's Box, where he seats at the far end of the box. He is curious what the program will bring and what will happen with the one who will survive the fight between the Priest and the Colonel. He would set his bets on the Priest, as his spells could save the day for him.

  There  are Horns Blaring  and   troops  spread out to give  the Emperor and his people a clear path to their booth. Neck  does not where the robes of  a Mage  this day, but is  dressed in expensive leathers,  that would make him look like  an Adventurer , ( except  for all the  finery added to it)

 The Princess walks alongside Luthien, she  too is dressed in Leathers and carries her bow, Trying to look the part of an Arrow.

  the   remaining  handmaiden is dressed likewise, Minus the  circlet on her head.

  Axe handle  brings up the rear, and they settle into their  seats

  The Emperor and his consort are in the Middle, (she wears her robes, but bears a nasty  , curved long knife)  Axehandle sits on the other  side of the Consort, along  with the  Chief  Sage.

  The  Princess sits to the right of the Emperor  with Luthien  next, and her Handmaiden next to Luthien.

  Nelk seems in grand spirits,..Captain Quickshadow?... How long since you have watched the Games?

 ...Must  be  years, Your Highness...not since the  CatFolk captain had to  fight the Bog creature...

 The Chief Sage  spoke up, in a very sickly sweet Voice  as he said, I find it ....refreshing, who you give he Elf the Title of Captain, when he is not longer  in your service?...and..that it wasn't more the  3 years ago, he had to fight in this very arena , to Prove he was not guilty of treason...

 Nelk Appeared , not to notice, the tone of the Chief Sage. He looked  out over the    arena, it was , indeed filling. His head inclined as he looked down his noce, with half lidded eyes  , noting the   different 'types' of people,..Good Sage,  Captain Quickshadow is the leader of his  unit... and...he served my father and  myself, well, until he felt he needed to leave....

 Kree , accepted cold glass of wine from the attendant, added,..aye.... fight i did, Chief  Sage. I am sure your books  recount, that i am still here, and the three accusers ...are not...

 Axehandle speaks up,...Your Highness... in a few moments you will have to announce the start of the games.

By this point, Luthien is back in his gleaming plate...if everyone else is going to be wearing leathers, then it is appropriate he wear the armor of his station, polished bright so the morning sun reflects off the metal. Shining Armor, indeed.

Brie sat a seat or so away from Kree, but still within earshot if she had questions.  She left room for Ivy to come sit in case he decided to show up.

Boy, they don't let up, she said leaning towards him.  Like a bunch of carnivorous carrion.

She nodded and greeted the others who arrived and gave the Princess with her newly acquired Arrow ornaments.

Madame, she said to her politely.

Diana decided she didn't want to sit in the box seats with the others. She wanted to experience the games from a "local" perspective.  She always found it interesting what people thought about things, and "mingling" was a good way to find out.

So, she bought a ticket of her own, and went to take her seat.  She stopped by to get something to drink and eat.  It had been a long time since she had been to the Arena.  She was glad she was on this side during the games.

Lucy had never been a big fan of the Arena games.  Although, they were quite popular up north.  She had been on both sides of the Arena.  Having spent time inside the Arena, as well as an observer.

Ironically, the Marauders had volunteered to fight in the Arena.  It was a complicated turn of events.  It had been a mercenary unit vs Mercenary unit affair, and the losers were to be the slaves of the winners.  All or nothing.

There were no survivors of the other unit.  It had been a nasty, bloody affair,

Still, she was looking forward to today's games.  The Priest vs Colonel, no doubt, was the "Main Event"

She got a program, and decided to make a few bets on the early contests. For the Main Event, she would put her money on the colonel.

Roused from her deliberation by the fanfare which heralded the Emperors arrival; Myranda rose from the seat she had occupied. Moving to one side of the pavilion she followed Kray's lead, in greeting the Royal party as it moved closer.

  Nelk stepped ujp and the horns blared,  he  Spoke into the grand Brass  horns that were in front of the  box,..Greetings, this  day,  People   of Ironmound, and  her visitors....

Axehandle handed him a paper.

 The  contests today will be of a mixed bag..something for everyone,,,,as they say.... he reads then speaks, The first  Contest is to first blood... The members of the Gilded Helm will face  three members of the  Iron Blades..the winners  will be awarded a contested contract they feel  they are both owed...

 ..The second contest is between  archers of various  compaines a series of  targets,  the high score  will recieve 100 gold..


 ..The Third Contest, is the  right  of freedom... Brerl of  Ancot was captured  aboard  a pirate ship, and deemed a pirate..he said he only fought in self defense.. he will face off  against the SGT of the   Marines that boarded his vessel.. if he wins, he will be set free..if he looses  he will be sent to the shipyards  as a convicted  worker....

 ..the LAst contest..is to the death... The High Priest of   The Alpower,  Vs   The Former  Colonel of the Palace Guard... the winner  will be exiled  from the City, and will liked on sight, should they be found in any Empire lands....

 LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

 The Crowd  roared.....

Brie leaned towards Kree. That last one should be altogether interesting.

She say back in her seat and relaxed. She pondered who else would be coming.

Diana made a few wagers on the games.
She put money on the Iron Blades, mostly because of the name.  Although, she did put another bet on the Gilded Helm, after hearing some of the patrons around her talking.

As for the Archer's contest she didn't bet much, only a gold here or there.  She didn't really thing much of them, although, she did watch with interest.

The third contest she found interesting.  She also double betted on this match.  Although, she bet more on the Marine then on the former pirate.  Again, she was persuaded somewhat by listening to those around her.

The last contest, though, was the one she was looking forward to.  The Colonel vs the Priest.  Sure a priest could heal themselves, but what was the fighting skill level.  That was everything.  Healing oneself didn't matter if you were missing body parts.

She put most of her money on the Colonel, although, she did wager a smaller "cover your butt" bet on the priest.

Either way she hoped the day would turn a nice healthy profit.

Lucy didn't met on all the games.

She bet on the Iron Blades.

She passed on the archery contest, although, as she watched it, she figured any of the members of the Arrows could probably shoot better.  Although, she did appreciate some of the harder contests.

The pirate vs Marine she also bet on.  she bet on the marine, although, did place a smaller bet on the ex pirate.  He would be desperate, and it meant a hell of a lot more to him, then the to the marine.

The Colonel vs priest she bet on the colonel.  She actually bet rather heavily on the colonel.  Although, at the last second, just before the contest started, she did place a smaller wager on the priest.

Sir Luthien, as both a Knight and as one sitting with the royal family chose not to bet at all, figuring it wiser to maintain the dignity of himself and those who've elected to him sit with them.

Kr'wyn placed a bet on the fight of the priest and the colonel only. He betted in favor of the priest; not only could he heal himself, but priests with an evil background were often able to cast nasty offensive spells as well and could deal quite a lot of damage themselves with their deity's favorite weapon too.

Watching the matches with an speculative eye Myranda assassad the skills of the various contestants. During lulls in the events she spent time watching the Emperor and his entourage or the immediate area to pick up a feel for the crowd .

Haildas' ship pulled into port late in the morning. After gathering his belongings he decided it was still early enough in the day that he might as well do some exploring.

"Plenty of time for an inn", he thinks to himself,"let's see what marvels I can't locate."

He winds his way lazily thru the streets until he begins to realize that the town seemed a little empty. Inquistively, he approaches a local vendor to ascertain why and, to his delight, is informed of some sort of gaming event. Having never seen such things he immediately asks for directions and heads off to see for himself.

    A Blare  of trumpets  the   two Merc Guilds  spread out, 4 of  each,  ..each team had  an archer.

 the Moved  around the   oval... min the  Middle of  the area  was   round lake  that was   groomed to be a perfect circle. The waters from Pike  Lake to the east near the wall, The Ivory Stream that flowed into the Storm also fed the   constructed lake.

 the trees  from the orchard  could be seen if one looked  right, and on the Storm River  side of the   arena the   top of the prison factory and  shipyard, .. the masts of a Man-of-war  that was  almost finished towered  over the prison walls

 the   lake in the middle served as  something to race  around, or cover... some  folks braved  , swimming  across the  100 yard diameter , to  try to escape or head of others..but..no one knew what lurked in the waters

 The  Archer  for the   Gilded Helm ( all of them had greek-like golden closed face helms ) Fires two shots at the Archer  for the iron Blades, the first Missed , but the second One stuck in the fellow thigh, he howled  and went down.. the  crowd roared or cursed, depending on their Bets, the fellow  was   taken from the file d my prisoners as the Iron Horn  spread Out  and began to close in .....

  The Archer for the Gilded Helm turned  to his right and  Fired  two more shots  at one of the Man closing in from that side. The arrows sailed   high, and to the Left, all three men sprinted towards the groups that stood in front.

   The Iron Blade  From the (his) right closed  in  and  smashed  shield to  Shield againt the fellow at that end, He slashed with his sword, and  Cut the man's  right  ankle  slightly, But enough for a proctor to raise  a Flag , Guards  escort that Gilded Helm help off the  Field

 The two remaining  Helms moved to  keep a wall in front of the Archer  who tried to  fire  at the  Fellow he missed before, but had to  wait for a shot, becaus e  he was fighting one man, while  the other  two shifted  and were attacking  the other...

 It was plain they had to get rid of at least one swordsman

In reply to fight (msg # 22):

Stiffling a yawn brought on by the way this contest was developed Myranda rose from the chair and strolled to the rear of the Emperors booth. Turning to scan the audience on both sides of the enclosure.

Brie shifted in her seat as she watched the battle proceed on and would give a low murmur of cheer when the Gilded helm would gain strides.

  The  Bets were now  closed  on this fight, the   fighters  Moved in carful jabs and steps, trying spread the Guild Helm apart,  the Archer  fired off to the Left , but the   Iron Blade deflected the arrow with his chiled,  the other  two men rushed the  left side of the Archer,  Blades  and  shields flashing, the left most Guilded Helm went  dwon with a cut across his   sword arm and   left thigh...

 marshals  came int to heard him away. Now?   two  Now  one  swordsman and the archer, against two Iron Blades ....

This was indeed quite the display, something Haildas had never encountered.

"What a most gruesome and spectacular engagement", he stated aloud to no one in particular. "There certainly must be some wonderous prize to be had by these combatants."

   One of the people a few rows in front , turn back...these two Merc Groups  are fighting a Contract contest. Winner gets a  500 gold  contract for the Merchant's Guild, to escort  caravan in round trips for the enxt month.

 He sees a few others  lookign at the Chits they recieved from the  'bookies' as the  betting was closed  for this fight.

"Ahh yes, of course...that most powerful of intoxicants, gold. In time, many shall come to realize the foolishness of such endeavors.  Gold will eventually lose its luster, and gems will cease to sparkle. Tis a tragic life indeed."