D&D Campaign One: Scalebreakers - 015
The Arena's Shadows
The "Scalebreakers" found themselves at the beginning of the tournament in a sparse preparation room: a cell whose barred front was veiled by impenetrable, magical darkness. When the blackness finally yielded, the breathtaking sight of the roaring arena revealed itself, over which Drakon Ironlash held his opening speech before a herald announced the rules of the Clash of the Iron.
In the preliminary round, the group competed against a team of dwarves and a Tiefling woman. The battle was relentless, and the party was confronted for the first time with an opponent who could cast Fly. But the flying dwarf was quickly brought back to the hard floor of the arena by the group and eliminated. When the Tiefling woman saw that her dwarven companions had all fallen in battle, she abruptly took flight. With the words "That is not worth it" she fled back into the, as it seemed, preparation room of her team, and left the field to the group. The skirmish was made more difficult by treacherous fire traps in the floor. Since the group could not fully see through the exact rhythm of the mechanics, they suffered some burns, but could prevent the worst. During the events of the battle, Jebeddo used the opportunity and looted a vial with oil inside a tent. After their victory, the Scalebreakers were escorted back into their cell.
During a two-hour rest, the group drew new strength. The oil revealed itself as Oil of Sharpness and improved Jebeddo's arrows considerably. In the last minutes before the finale, they received an unexpected, but highly welcome visit: Olema had sneaked to them. She warned the group urgently that in the finale so far, without exception, the teams sponsored by Obsidian Solutions had won and the impending battle would become extremely dangerous. To assist them, she cast a ritual that gave back a valuable spell slot to every group member. Before she disappeared, she promised to sneak deeper into the arena vaults in order to lift the secret of what really happens with the "dead" of the battles.
The final battle held up to Olema's gloomy prediction completely. The secret of the undefeated Obsidian teams revealed itself quickly: Black obsidian obelisks in the middle of the battlefield dealt massive damage to everyone who wore no obsidian armor, while they simultaneously healed the opposing sponsor team. The brutal battle of attrition drove the Scalebreakers to the absolute limit. All magical reserves and spells were used up, and the situation threatened to run out of control. But with last strength, the all-decisive blow succeeded, and the group remained back on the field extremely battered, but victorious.
Drakon Ironlash stepped forward, congratulated the new champions and handed them the ceremonial obsidian key (or at least a copy of it). Without further ado, he sent them as "winners" directly into an underground corridor. The way down led the group into a hidden camp, whose setup reminded of a hideout of the Clasp. Out of the shadows, an unknown voice suddenly greeted them with the words: "So you are the new ones."