Adventures in Syrada (updated 23rd August 2016)

B. Walk around at random and let Constance provide any important information.

X. Minor Action: try to find the exit.


I don't think Freya is interested enough in becoming a fighter to want a tour of the whole place, so I think she should just look for the exit as Constance provides some more information.
 
duskford said:
B. Walk around at random and let Constance provide any important information.

X. Minor Action: try to find the exit.

I don't think Freya is interested enough in becoming a fighter to want a tour of the whole place, so I think she should just look for the exit as Constance provides some more information.
Click to expand...
+1. Arena is a nice place to return later, but Freya is not a fighter and I see no IC reasons for her to look for a fight now.
 
Agreed as well. Though thoughts on minor Action:

Maybe Freya could think about the staff her mother was making. If the men with that blessing can't be harmed, maybe making them so sexually frustrated they couldn't fight would be another option? Freya could question Constance on that?
 
"I want to have a look around." Freya decided.

"I assume you don’t have a particular destination in mind?"

"No, I just want to see what else is here."

"Alright, I’ll let you know if we pass anything of importance."

"Great! If you can do that without 'accidentally' groping me – even better!"

They left the small square room and Freya started walking, followed closely by the older woman. Dozens of other people wearing masks passed by, none looking at them for long. Apart from a few more small rooms like the one they had visited there was nothing of interest to see and so Freya’s thoughts went back to the things that had happened this morning. As she remembered her mother’s naked body and the staff she had been making Freya suddenly got an idea.

"By the way…" The redhead began as she looked at the noblewoman. "You said Singra’s blessing makes people immune to harm. But what about effects that do not directly hurt someone? Will they work?"

"You mean like sleep, or paralysis, or arousal? The blessing offers no protection against such things, so it is up to the blessed person to find protection. There have been a few cases where people received Singra’s blessing, then got hit with Masturbation Curse and an orgasm denial spell, forcing them to masturbate until they die. Which is why nowadays people that receive the blessing make sure to get both protection and helpers, just in case someone comes up with a way to immobilize them that they did not expect." Constance explained.

"Thank you, I’ll keep that in mind."

"A, perfect! Look over there!" The noblewoman suddenly changed the topic and pointed with her hand.

"Huh? What is it?" Freya looked where her companion was pointing. "Is that a shop?"

"There are quite a few shops here where you can buy a number of different things but that’s not what I want you to see. Notice the sign on the wall? The two white swords? That sign means the shop is open to all – both visitors and arena fighters. If one sword is red that means some of the things the shop sells are reserved only for arena fighters. If both swords are red then the shop sells only to arena fighters and to people that are accompanied by an arena fighter. Most shops sell to all but you should still keep it in mind." Constance explained.

The shop was selling clothes and neither of them needed any so the two kept walking. For the next few minutes they saw nothing of particular interest, except for a few more small rooms where they could take a break – or do "other things", as Constance "helpfully" pointed out.

"Wait!" Constance called just as they were passing by a corridor leading left. "Let’s go this way. There’s a place I want to stop by. I promise it won’t take long." The noblewoman said as she grabbed Freya’s hand and tried to pull her to the left.

Since she wasn’t going anywhere in particular Freya saw no reason to object and followed her companion. The older woman led them to a room with multiple bored people inside, most of them talking to visitors. Constance approached a man that was doing nothing at the moment.

"Is there anything special two bored ladies should go see?" The noblewoman asked.

"The main thing of interest would be the upcoming team tournament to determine who will challenge Bronwen, the Archery Champion. It will start in a little over half an hour so if you hurry up you should make it there on time without issue. And before you ask: No, we don’t know if Bronwen herself will be there." He paused for a moment, thinking. "There’s also an upcoming battle between two women that want to become arena fighters. One is a warrior wielding a pair of swords, the other is an archer. The arena where the fight will take place is just 10 minutes away from here so you can get there on time to see the start and even bet if you want. That’s all the nearby events that will start within the next hour. The rest are either scheduled for later, or are a little too far away from here. Or both."

"Thank you." Apparently having no further questions Constance led Freya outside and pulled her near the wall of the building so that the two could talk without getting in the way of other people.

"So, would you like to go watch one of the two? The fight between the two newcomers likely won’t take long and might offer a chance to make some easy money, if one of them is obviously weaker. The tournament, on the other hand, will likely take a few hours but can be quite entertaining."

"Did I hear right? A team tournament to determine who will challenge the Archery Champion?" Freya asked.

"Yes, that’s a pretty normal way to determine a challenger." Constance paused as she thought about something. "Wait, I didn’t give you the impression that only warriors and similar can fight here, did I? I apologize if I did. While everyone who has qualified is called an arena fighter you don’t have to be a warrior to fight here. All sorts of weapons are allowed: swords, spears, axes, bows, spells… whatever you prefer."

"Thanks, but I’m more interested in why a TEAM tournament is used to determine the challenger."

"Ah, that. Well, Bronwen is one of the most arrogant elves you will likely ever meet, but she is also one of the best archers you will likely ever see. She has a large strap-on that she uses to fuck the ass of anyone that loses to her. Because of that most people hesitate to challenge her, especially most male competitors. If the whole team is allowed to fight her at the same time it will make the fight a bit more even – and a bit more tempting for anyone who wants to challenge her. At least I assume that’s the reason why it is a team tournament." Constance explained. "So, what do you want to do?"

Vote:
A. Go watch the fight between the two newcomers
B. Go watch the tournament
C. Continue walking around at random
D. Ask Constance to show her any other places of interest
E. Do something else (specify what)

X. Minor Action
 
LOL, now I'm split between a choice Freya would make and one that I'd make. Well, I'm going to vote for the choice that might allow us to see an arrogant elf get gangbanged.

B. Go watch the tournament.
 
A. Go watch the fight between the two newcomers

X. Minor Action - If possible bet 4 gold on an underdog in the fight, whoever it is.

One of that female fighters may become our friend
 
Damn so it comes down to me.... Flipping a coin on this since I wouldn't mind either. Here goes fate!

A: Watch the fight between the newcomers.

Minor Action: Why not, lets place a small bet.

Since there are stores selling just to fighters, that makes the idea of joining a little more tempting. Thought: Lets watch the fight and possibly go from there. We should have decent chance if we can get an easy opponent.
 
Lol glad you are good with that. Honestly, I don't think an arrogant Elf is going to be much use to Freya. Maybe not the newcomers either. But getting some info on the beginner scene might help with a decision about actually joining up.
 
"Let’s go watch the fight between the newcomers. I’m curious what it will be like." Freya answered after a few moments of thinking.

Constance nodded in agreement. "Hopefully it won’t be as boring as the 'fight' we watched earlier."

The two women went back inside and Constance asked the same man for directions to the arena where the fight of the newcomers would take place. She also asked for directions to where the tournament would take place, in case they decided to go watch it later.

The trip took slightly less than 10 minutes. When they arrived Freya saw that the arena where the fight would take place was circular, with a radius of 10 meters. Almost immediately the two of them were approached by a bald man wearing a crimson cloak.

"Welcome, ladies. The fight will begin in a couple of minutes. Bets are exactly 50 coins – no more and no less – and you can bet on only one of the two. The reward for betting on the winner is 100 coins. Let me know if you would like to make a bet." The man went back to where he had been sitting before their arrival.

As far as Freya could see there were only about a hundred other spectators – a lot less than the available seats. She chose a spot close to the arena and sat down, Constance sitting in the seat next to her.

As the man they had asked for information had told them one of the fighters was a woman with a pair of longswords on her back. She looked bored, like the fight was just a triviality. The other participant was a woman holding a bow. She was trying to look confident and intimidating, but her constant fidgeting ruined the effect.

"I’ll bet on the swordfighter. What about you?" Constance asked after taking a quick look at the two.

"What makes you so sure she’ll win?" Freya questioned, wanting to know if the noblewoman had seen something she had missed.

"The warrior looks like a person who has experience with fighting while the archer is trying too hard to look like someone experienced but instead ends up looking like a rookie that is trying to hide that she’s a rookie. If you take a closer look you will notice she’s very nervous, and that will surely impact her accuracy. I’ll be surprised if she manages to even scratch the warrior." Constance explained and signaled the man that she would like to bet.

Freya considered her options. 50 coins is half the money I have. If I’m going to bet I need to be careful who I choose. She took another quick look at the two women but saw nothing to suggest that Constance might be wrong with her assessment.

Vote:
A. Bet on the warrior
B. Bet on the archer
C. Do not bet and just watch the fight

X. Minor Action
 
B: Bet on the Archer. The warrior is too obvious and it would be nice to see Constance wrong about something.
 
Hmmmm.... betting and winning is good for our finances while betting and losing will create motivation for Freya to try it herself and get money back betting on herself in her own fight

Besides, I think Freya should be happy to prove that this arrogant noble is wrong...

B. Bet on the archer

X. Minor Action.: Use diplomacy skill and try to calm down the archer with enthusiastic and loud cheering. Also, use our tactics skill and give her advices)
 
Agreed with going for option 'B. Bet on the archer.'

I also second Hvast's suggestion for a Minor Action, it should be fun seeing Freya as a cheerleader, lol.

If she loses, it might spur Freya on to creative ways to earn her money back.
 
"I’d like to bet on the archer." Freya said when the man asked her if she wanted to bet. He raised an eyebrow.

"Very few people have bet on her. But if you’re sure…" He took Freya’s money without objection.

"By the way, are we allowed to give advice to the fighters?" The redhead asked the man, figuring that he is a more reliable source of information than her companion.

"You are, but once the battle starts they will be focused on each other and most likely won’t even hear you. They will begin shortly so if you want to try giving advice to either of them you better hurry up." The man answered before walking away.

"You just lost 50 coins." Constance commented as soon as they were alone again.

"Don’t write her off just yet. It takes just one arrow hitting the right spot to end the fight." Freya responded before thinking for a few moments. Since the battle could start any moment she decided to use the first idea that came to her mind. Taking a deep breath she turned towards the archer and loudly shouted: "Hey, archer girl! Quit shaking! What are you – a leaf?" Some of the nearby people that heard her words laughed.

The archer turned towards Freya and looked at her with annoyance that quickly turned into anger as people laughed. She turned back towards her opponent and glared at her. Just then a bell was heard and a voice announced the start of the battle.

The warrior remained unmoving, as if she had not heard the bell, while the archer immediately aimed an arrow at her. At the last moment the warrior stepped to the right and the archer’s arrow barely missed her head.

"Nice shot, kid!" The warrior shouted loudly. "How about you try aiming next time?" More laugher followed.

From her seat Freya could see the archer grit her teeth in anger as she aimed a second arrow.

"Well, she’s no longer nervous, so good job on that. But I don’t think anger is much better." Constance commented.

The archer’s second shot was aimed at the warrior’s body. It too missed but came even closer to hitting its target than the first.

"I don’t know, so far her anger seems to be doing more good than harm." Freya noted as she watched.

As the archer was aiming her third arrow the warrior finally unsheathed her swords but did not move to attack, instead waiting for the coming shot. When it finally came she deflected the projectile with one sword and then rushed at her opponent, trying to reach her before she can fire another one. That proved impossible as the archer switched from aimed shots to firing rapidly. Three arrows missed their target but another two had to be deflected by the swords, slowing down the charging warrior.

"Dodge, you idiot!" Freya shouted as she realized that the swordfighter would soon reach the archer despite the latter’s attempts to keep her at a distance. She had no idea if she had been heard, but at the last moment the archer dropped down her bow and the arrow she was going to use and rolled to her right. A second later the tip of one sword was pointing at where the archer’s head would have been if she had not moved.

While the warrior grimaced in annoyance the archer kept moving back as she pointed at her weapon with one hand and both the bow and the arrow quickly floated to her. She took aim again and started firing as she kept trying to increase the distance. Most arrows missed, a couple were deflected, and one actually managed to graze the warrior’s face, but in the end she managed to get close to the archer… then, instead of attacking with her swords as most would expect her to, she used one foot to sweep the archer’s legs.

With a yelp of surprise the archer fell down on her back. Before she could recover from her surprise both of the warrior’s swords were pointing at her.

"I surrender!" The archer’s announcement was followed by the sound of a bell and the same male voice from earlier announced the warrior as the winner of the bout.

Crap! There goes my money…

"I admit the archer got a lot closer to victory than I ever imagined she would… but even so you just lost 50 coins for nothing." Constance said while down at the arena the warrior was helping her defeated opponent get up. "You know, if you want to pass the test and fight at the arena challenging the archer might be a good idea. A few Arcane Bolts should be enough to take her out. As long as you don’t give her time to aim you should be fine. And you’ll get your money back, too."

She’s got a point. The archer seems like an opponent I can defeat, plus she just fought an opponent so she should be at least a little tired. If I leave it for later I might have to fight someone much stronger…

Vote:
A. Inquire about fighting the archer for the right to fight at the arena (you can specify what strategy to use: weapon, spells, etc.)
B. Inquire if there’s anyone else she can challenge instead
C. Decide not to challenge anyone and instead seek another fight to bet on
D. Decide not to challenge anyone and leave (specify where to go, or continue to walk at random)

X. Minor Action

---

Good idea about the minor action, but without knowing more about the two fighters there’s only so much Freya could do. Even so, thanks to her interference, the fight was a lot less one-sided than it would have been otherwise. :)
 
Might as well go with A. Freya has seen her fight now and would know how to react to her. Use arcane bolts right off the cuff and don't give her time to aim. Possible strategy would be to constantly moving closer to the archer so that if she runs out of spells, she can switch to a quick knife attack. She also has the shield to block with as needed.
 
+1 to above and - don't forget about ability to heal herself should archer get lucky AND use taunts to turn opponent's anger in uncontrollable rage and be more interesting for the public.
 
I agree with FallenSaint and Hvast, let's go with A.

I'd suggest throwing in a little bit of sex as a stake on the fight as well, but Freya probably wouldn't do that, unless the archer tries to set it up at the beginning of the fight.
 
With how Freya has been acting towards Constance, I think she's a little too guarded to be horny at the moment. But if the archer sets it up, she might have to.
 
Maybe the archer, frustrated by her previous loss, tries to bet something like 'the loser has to go down on the winner'?
 
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