Worthy Core

There had been a bit of a minor competition for who would get to be the master of ceremonies for the big public event. Xenia had taken herself off of the list - even if she was willing to burn avatar time in order to be visible, she was a little hesitant to actually show herself in front of so many strangers. That also crossed off Em wearing Xenia's face, although the reflection had still argued that their position as bar manager meant they were officially in charge of any events occurring within the bar. DEATH had volunteered for the role and gotten a bit of support, but the suggestion fell apart due to the fact that the vast majority of people didn't speak demonic. Xenia had granted him the ability to speak in other languages, but in any other tongue the man just didn't sound...DEATH-like, and branding took precedence over convenience.

There'd even been talk of having a mortal help out with the job, but there weren't many good options there. The mortals who had spent the most time in the dungeon, the Dungeon Fuckers, had actually left a few weeks previously in order to finally get their long-delayed Master class ranks. Kelsey had been asked but Alizz had turned it down on his behalf, on the basis that it wasn't the place of the Association to be representing dungeons in such a direct way. Paladin Sable, who was normally quite bold when it came to showing off her physical assets and skills, turned out to actually be rather shy when presented with the task of actually speaking in front of and organizing large groups of people.

Two official representatives had eventually been chosen though, and so the party finally gets officially kicked off when Taly makes her way onto the tavern's performance stage. "Welcome Challengers, people of Grassbrook, devouts of the Church of Bounty, and everyone else who was willing to climb a mountain in exchange for free booze! We're here to celebrate a birthday today, if you hadn't already heard - Worthy Dungeon is one year old today!" There's loud shouts and cheering from the crowd, especially at the mention of free booze, and the banshee has to wait a moment before she can continue - although at least the woman has no need of a microphone in order to be heard over the rest of the shouting. "We got a lot going on tonight, but I won't be doing it alone, so let me welcome my party partner to the stage! The man with more intrusions to his name than anyone else, and amazingly, still has all his limbs! Scout Tafyaf Srooll, come on up here!"

The gnoll climbs up onto the stage with a wide grin on his snout, waving to the crowd as he steps beside Taly, especially to a slightly embarrassed-looking Grayana Goldleaf who's left sitting at his table and is apparently rather surprised to find out her date is part of the evening's events. "Thank you, thank you, yes, yes, I am amazing. Honored to be part of events as well, yes, thank you Banshee Queen Taly."

The banshee in question turns to give the man a smirk. "Nice to see you on my stage, Taffy - think you'll ever find yourself in my arena?"

"I am happy to play guide whenever I am hired, and my army duties do not keep me occupied otherwise. But to make my way to Floor Six?" The gnoll smirks back. "Would need to be paid very very well, yes."

"Good to see a man who knows his worth. And in recognition of that, allow me to hand out the first present at this birthday party." Reaching into a hidden pocket on her black party dress, Taly pulls out an amulet which she then moves to place around Tafyaf's neck. It's a dungeon reward item, enchanted to provide accuracy bonuses with ranged weapons, but what everyone watching notices is the inscription on the round golden centerpiece: #1 GNOLL.

After reading it, Taffy gives a barking laugh. "Haha, good to be recognized indeed. But you say first present - far from the last, yes?"

Turning back to the crowd, Taly puts on her brightest smile, although the effect on an undead woman's face still manages to be slightly terrifying to the non-Challengers in the room. "Far from it! We got a lot of shit going on tonight - we got music, food, and drinks, but more than that, we got events! It might be a party night and the floors might be closed, but this is still a dungeon, gods damn it! There's gonna be challenges, and there's gonna be loot! Now, 'safe floor' rules are still in effect, so nobody's getting killed tonight...but we might injure your pride pretty bad if you aren't careful! So don't go getting too drunk just yet - or do, cause honestly, it'd be a hell of a lot funnier that way."

"Haha, yes, yes, many egos shall be left bruised and broken tonight! But not now, no! Now, it is time for music! Ladies, gentlemen, and guestbeings, welcome to the stage - Bill and the Bloody Band!"

There's a bit of confused applause as the two hop off the stage, although the audience gets more into it when BB and a few other rabbit-folk take to the stage and ready their instruments. BB was a common sight in the inn these days, and his musical repertoire had become rather impressive, so the regulars were excited to see what the man could do with a backup crew. The confusion returns in full force however when a massive blue-haired human takes up center stage with a stringed instrument. Few in the inn had been alive back when Bill of the Blue Hair had accomplished his heroic deeds, and none present had known him personally. Rumors of the dead champion's association with the dungeon had slowly begun to spread, as his presence was known to both the Association and the Church, but few had ever expected to actually run into him in the flesh.

The realization finally sinks in when a red-skinned Paladin begins shouting out his name. "Bill! Bill! Bill!" A wave of realization begins to wash through the gathering, and the shout is soon picked up by more and more of the audience until Bill finally waves for silence with a smile.

"Hey all, good to be back, live and on stage for one night only, hahaha! I know you all know me for my monster-slaying skills, but you might not know that I can kill it with a guitar pretty damn good, too! Now, there's one song I always wanted to rock out to with you folks and never had the chance, but we're gonna start with it tonight - a little something special I wrote myself called 'Johnny B. Goode'. Let's rock!"

The song wasn't quite the same on a non-electric guitar, but Xenia had to admit to herself that the man knew how to play. Then again, he'd probably spent most of the last century with little else to do aside from his heavenly wives, so perhaps it wasn't so surprising. The band did one more song after that, a rocked-up version of a Rainlander classic, but after that it was time for more events. A round of trophy giveaways was done, handing out freebies to Challengers who had managed to get the dungeon's attention in some way, with one very unlucky dwarf getting the best prize. The man had the dubious honor of having lost more limbs in the dungeon while still coming back for more than anyone else, having lost his arms three separate times, and thanks to some very expensive health potions and healers he actually still had all of his appendages when he walked up on stage to claim his prize. His new amulet was enchanted to increase durability, but the attention-getting part was the inscription which read 'BEST TARGET PRACTICE'. It was plainly visible on his chest after he put it on, given that his beard was still recovering from the last time Lollyp had burned it off.

With the freebies handed out, Taly and Taffy get to the business of the prizes which require a bit more effort. "Attention! Next, we shall put the Challengers to the test and see who is mightiest, yes? We have...trapped the inn, I am told?" Tafyaf gives Taly a slightly concerned look, mirrored by many of those watching, but the banshee quickly smiles back.

"Oh, we've got traps, but I also bet we're gonna have ourselves some volunteers! Trush, show us the cursed swords!" At her cue the Rabbit Knight pulls aside a curtain hiding a section next to the stage, and reveals three pedestals of stone. Each comes up to about waist height on the average Challenger, and planted into the top of each of them appears to be a sword, with only the hilt visible. As the crowd looks them over, Taly explains the test they have in store. "Now I know what you're thinking - strength test, right? Pull the swords from the stone? Wrong! These swords are trapped to generate a nice painful sting when you grab onto them - non-lethal, of course, but trust me, you'll notice it."

Tafyaf nods along, getting the idea. "Ah, yes, I see! A test of endurance! We look to see who's dumb enough to hold on to the thing for the longest, mrmm?"

"Exactly! Now, who's the three dumbasses out there who want to grab onto a cursed sword for honor, glory, and prizes? Open to all, but no pain-negating gear or spells allowed!"

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Sable's the first one to stand up. "Oh, ooh, pick me, pick me!"

Taly's grin grows as the sight of the first volunteer. "Thought we'd see you up here tonight. We got two more?" If anything there's almost too many volunteers at first, as intra and then inter-party debates quickly occur about who would be the best suited to represent the Challenger community. It's sorted out in short order though, and soon two more candidates have stepped up - a minotaur man named Valen, and kobold woman who introduces herself as Rainy. As the three step up to the pedestals, the minotaur snorts at the competitor who's barely a sixth of his body mass.

"You really think you're the toughest here, pipsqueak? Thing might just knock you on your ass."

Undeterred, the kobold rubs her palms together. "I might not be the toughest one here, but I just might be the dumbest! Let me at it!"

"That's the sort of eager attitude we like to see in our Challengers! Alright, step on up, and grab hold on the count of three! You let go, you lose! One! Two! Three!" The moment Taly finishes her count the trio grab on to the sword hilts, and almost as quickly all three of them start to groan. Although bets had already been going around putting down solid money on the kobold, within five seconds she practically falls onto her tail with a shout.

"Ahhh, holy fuckballs that was dumb! Fuuuuuccccckkkk..."

The Paladin and the minotaur both hold out for quite a bit longer, their voices restrained but their faces a rictus of pain. The traps had never really been designed for this sort of continuous use, the idea being that they would unload a large, quick burst of damaging magical energy into a foolish looter within the brief second or so it would take for said looter to realize that they needed to let go. Instead, Xenia had redesigned them to produce a lower amount of damage but over a longer time, with a chance of actually knocking someone unconscious if they kept at it for long enough.

It's twenty seconds before Sable finally lets go, quickly grabbing at her wrist with her free hand. "Blessed Kahlia, that burned! Shit, I should've used my other hand, I was hoping to use ol' righty later tonight!"

Tafyaf laughs at her pain. "Drinks and health potions are free for all competitors, yes! But we have a winner - Valen, the Bannerbearer! ...You can let go now, Valen, yes."

The minotaur grunts. "Can't...fingers...not...working...agggghhh!" With a sudden cry the man falls back, his collapse creating a much more resounding boom than what Rainy had produced not long before. Perhaps slightly more alarmingly, there's also faint traces of smoke being produced from the man's hand and arm. When his eyes roll back into his head, Taly quickly moves to test his pulse.

Rather relieved to actually find one, she lifts the limp and twitchy limb into the air. "He's alive!" There's a loud round of cheering and applause, although not so much from Sable and Rainy who are still massaging their injured digits. "And we have a winner! As soon as Valen wakes up, he'll be the owner of a shiny new set of gauntlets, custom-sized! Cause he's gonna need em, apparently!"

A barbunny brings them up to the stage, generated on the spot by Xenia to fit the minotaur, and as she presents them to the crowd Taly prepares them for even more action.

"So - who's up for a little more, eh?"