New Year Battle Royal (Date 2/1/1)

The blow fell and Euwyn swam for a while in darkness. It was peaceful and calm, with no pressures or responsibilities. He thought he might float forever not knowing where the darkness ended and his body began, but suddenly, all at once, he wasn’t alone. There was another there in the void with him. “Happy New Year little prince,” it whispered, though it’s voice was like thunder in the void. “Is this it? Really? I would have thought you would be much further along by now. So sad... It looks like you’ll scarcely be able to mount a defense on my arrival. Well, you still have two years left. Try not to waste them.”

Euwyn awoke to confusion in his head and chaos in the world around him. Rough hands carried his limp body with ease as he was lugged like cargo toward the vast cage at the center of town. There his captor identified himself as Ensi Hablum, ruler of the Clan of the Cage. He chastised the Prince for invading his lands and said he would pay the price for not staying behind his walls. Hablum’s viewing box was raised into the air on massive ropes as his consort, Yarla crushed the prince in a vice-like embrace.

The Cage was a massive arena and the throngs mobbed the sides making a wall of flesh wherever the slats left vacant. Euwyn noted that many of the masses, including the Ensi, wore tattered remnants of imperial garb and armor, but there was little time for wonder as the gates below were thrown open and his friends were thrust into battle. Marty and Hedge were forced to scramble for their weapons along with a pair of local barbarians. They fought for survival against a trio of monsters. While they battled in arena, Ilyana attacked in the form of a giant mastodon. She threw volcanos, sleet and lightning before cracking the cage with a mighty charge. Hedge and Marty fought their way free and rescued the Prince, also, managing to save a barbarian named, Barsai. His companion, Zimudar, was not so lucky, but Marty snagged his severed arm on the way out in case Ilyana might be able reincarnate him. Together they fled back to civilization.