A Challenging Orc Tribe

   Not all stories have happy endings. I was able to catch a brief comment from a wounded man who seemed to have an altercation with an orc tribe. He goes by Toshi.

   "That town was horrible, no one should ever treat people like they did. A bunch of racists and bigots, however those orcs? Even worse. They can't be allowed to continue pillaging towns and killing innocents.”

   “The mission started off simple enough, we got to town and that's when things started to get interesting. The man sent to greet us? He should hate people for their actions not their race. The mayor wasn't much better, but at least he didn't want to outright kill them all.”

   “We tried our best to talk them down eventually doing so, but not before all hell broke loose. See, I had managed to sneak away from the worst music in the world and into the tent. Kalia, however, got spotted and came running into the tent with me. The orc's captain was in there and I tried to reason with him, but he wasn't having it.”

   “In the end we decided best option was to take him out; luckily, afterwards I managed to take all the blame, saving kalia I knew I was fine as long as I had this ring. It'll preserve me even in death for easy revival. They eventually decided to beat me unconscious and leave after Rylee talked them down heavily.”

   “I know they'll attack another town.....they might be right now. I have to get stronger and take them out, or make a friend who can."

   This is something to watch out for my fellow Teresyum Weekly readers! Let’s hope the orcs don’t decide to relocate too close, or else this may not be the last you read.

- written by Anonymous

Carl’s Confusing Challenge

   Luca, a guard at the prison, decided to talk to Carl a few times whilst he is imprisoned. He decided to write one journey down of his. Something to do with a pig and dragons, apparently all very strange.It is fortunate that Luca seemed to want his 5 seconds of fame. Looks like Carl has his too!

   "So... I saw this notice on the board. Some farmer lost his pig. And of course, first adventure and all that, I figured why not start small? Joined up with a bunch of other adventurers. Some dude in a fancy metal suit, a cat lady... and other people who just weren't that interesting... Not sure why we needed all of us there, but hey... metal suit dude said expect the unexpected."

   "We're walking to meet the guy and find out about his pig, when suddenly we end up in some weird room with no ceiling. And there's a voice... asking us if we're worthy. A door unlocks, we walk down the hallway... and then there's a room full of crystal spikes."

   "Abjuration Magic, if I remember correctly. Just while we're all figuring out what to do, these giant fucking dragons drop out of the sky. Gold scales. HUGE dragons... So I tried to talk to them... but they said it was a trial... and we had to fight."

   "We nearly died until someone had the bright idea to start breaking the crystals... and then the dragons died instead."

   "I told you this was weird."

   "Anyway. We killed the dragons, got some stuff, like that weird flaming circlet thing... and then the guy in the metal suit and I went back to actually talk to the farmer... one of the others was there too."

   "We saved his pig... and then I left."

   This story is an interesting thought. Given Carl is currently imprisoned for murder! The accuracy of this account may be questionable, either way it makes for a very good tale. And who doesn’t love a good story?

- written by Anonymous

Called Out

   Last week, I covered the inaugural Battlerite Tournament, which recently had its spectacular second installment. I have had the privilege of meeting the crowd's favorite combatant, a man whose strength and tenacity are well known throughout Lyal'Dream and the world beyond, the mighty Minotaur Great. He had grievances to share regarding his defeat in the first tournament, and several choice words for the one who eliminated him.

   “Everyone, as you may or may not have seen, but I was involved in some controversy in the new Battlerite tournament a few weeks ago…

   In an effort to remain true to my ideals I pushed for a rematch when I won in an unspectacular way using the fight’s over the top rules. I expected a unorthodox fight, but what I got was some of the most foul play I had ever seen. While leveraging the crows is something I can respect as a professional skill of a Wrestler, to make such a song and dance of fighting the good fight and then employing those bird tactics is absolutely unforgivable, and cant even be justified by calling it the most villainous of heel work.

   But alas, I lost that match as per the rules of being incapacitated, so that is why I felt it best to leave it and let sleeping dogs lie, I felt on the honour of my mask I needed to accept my defeat gracefully and move on.”

   The masked hero then became enraged, flipping tables and blowing steam from his ornamental nostrils.

   “But I realised I was Wrong! That is not what the honour of my mask, the legacy and symbol of hope for all who witness my battles, would have me do!

   You payed for a spectacle that day, and I swear on everything I have built up in the last ten years, you will get one, in this life or the next! I am hereby challenging Alijiandaa to a blow off match to our feud and end it in spectacle one way or another!

   If I was a tool in his Artificer toolbox, I would be nowhere near the sharpest, but even I understand that even with the power of the Artificer's toys,  Alijiandaa would never accept a 1v1 match with me with the condition I must put down, and that is to remove his bird from ringside.

   Because Alijiandaa knows that when you add Minotaur great to the mix, his chances of winning drastically go down! So he won't even try!

   I can at least respect playing to your strengths and negating your weaknesses, and participating in jolly cooperation is definitely a way to do that.

   So I put down these stipulations, our match will be a tag team match, 2v2. You can select anyone, anyone at all to be your partner and I will do the same. We will then meet at a venue of your choosing…

   On the ONE, SINGLE condition that the bird is and any other external thing that isnt part of your fighting style is barred! This will be a clean fight with no distractions, a solid and satisfying pay off! THAT is my challenge to you, Alijiandaa!

   And the fans can be sure that win or flat on his back lose… Minotaur Great will leave it all in that ring and make up for failing to do that at the battlerite… They WILL be shown a match that rights all wrongs created by the last one.

   Thank you for the time and please make sure this makes it to as many people as possible, especially Alijiandaa-lad! Have a nice day!”

   Alijiandaa, upon hearing of Minotaur's challenge, had a few words of his own.

   "Yes, yes, I have heard about the Minotaur fella being the salty. It is a very shameful thing. He talks about the honor yet he keeps proving that he has none. I ask him before the fight to have the fair fight and what does he do? He trips me and pushes me out of the ring like a coward. He accepts the rematch and then cries after I beat him the fair and square. Now he wants to fight me again but now I must be the buck naked.

   NO! Alijiandaa is the champion! This man is the nobody! And what is this tag match? Is he so much of the coward that he cannot even face me one on one? NO! I will not be accepting his ridiculous challenge. If he wants to fight the Alijiandaa he will do it like a man instead of a whiny boy in a silly mask. If he wants to fight me it will be in a NO HOLDS BARRED  match. None of the ring out, none of the disqualifications, none of the excuses. I will fight him and all he has to offer and he will fight me and all I have to offer and then he will have no choice but to admit that I am the better man. Now when I do beat him I will take of the silly mask and toss it into the gutters where it belongs."

   After hearing such harsh insults and powerful boasts from both fighters, I couldn't help but feel a great amount of excitement for their next bout. Whether it will be at Battlerite or somewhere else remains to be seen, but I can say with confidence that it will be a match nobody will want to miss.

- written by Kenneth Oberon

Get Busy Livin

   There are those who see criminals as the lowest element in society, dregs and lowlifes beyond any hope of redemption. Others, however, see them as people in need of help. Recently I spoke with Jerry of the city guard, who shared with me a story of a misguided soul who, rather than simply being punished and forgotten, was rehabilitated through the power of kindness and understanding.

   “It was several weeks ago when some adventurers turned Ric Roc in. They'd caught him in the Wandering Fox, and he was accused of murder and attempted murder, among other things. He was a small, red, amphibian creature - a Grung, they're called - and some of the guards taunted him, calling him ‘froggy.’ I'm not proud to admit that I was one of them.”

   However, Jerry's attitude toward the Grung quickly changed.

   “I quickly came to understand that, his whole life, Ric Roc had faced the same and worse. I felt sorry for him, and so I did my best to accommodate him. He was an engineer, a tinkerer, and I allowed him to keep some of his tools in his cell. Some of the other guards were suspicious that he would use them to escape, but he did something else entirely. From his cell, he voluntarily made gadgets to sell to the guards. He was one of the best behaved prisoners that I've ever guarded.

   Because of the usual bureaucratic red tape, it took a long time to investigate Ric Roc's charges. In that time, he and I became good friends. Then, at long last, word came down from my superiors. Ric Roc was to be released for good behavior and time served.”

   Jerry became very emotional as he went on to explain to me what this experience taught him.

   “We talk about things like good and evil as though they're absolute and ingrained into one's nature. But, that's not true. Everyone has the potential for both. An individual’s situation has the power to influence their character in a major way. When you think less of people because of their differences, it creates a world full of bitterness, resentment, and hate. However, Ric Roc is a perfect example of how compassion and empathy can help us all grow to not only tolerate, but to respect and love one another, no matter our histories or our differences.”

- written by Kenneth Oberon

I Tried To Join A Pride!

   This little one just seems so excited. I suppose the excited individuals always have the best stories, so I asked. O.’s wants to be included in Teresyum Weekly, so I took some notes about her story.

   “Ever find yourself in a situation where every option was wrong and you just had to choose the lesser of evils? That moment where every move feels like the odds are stacked against you and the world comes barreling into the harsh reality that you just didn't come prepared enough...

   Well, if you ever find yourself in that place, dig deep and fight. Because today I feel like the rabbit overcame the lion, and I feel a pride.

   It started simple, we were just going to investigate strange sounds in the nearby woods. Villagers complained and eventually put together a reward. I thought it was undead if I'm honest, I hate undead, but it's always undead. Annyyywayyss, we get there, there are these lion people. Not like Lion's acting like people, no people combined with lions. I think they called themselves Lamia, I'd never seen em. My party hadn't either. So we went and talked for a bit before discovering that they were batty. No like really batty, they had been killing lions, and combine them together into..what I could only describe as a silly Ferris Wheel Lion. It had a head on both sides, and had like 8 lion paws it rolled on like a wheel. They were really cute but the Lamia people said they were feral and if they killed someone, that no one should interfere. I thought that was really cool, that they were respecting nature like that. So I offered to find them a better spot, maybe in the wild away from the village. But then we saw the lions had killed a bunch of people...so we had to do what adventurers do.

   But man, I don't think the party really understood the paramount danger of fighting wild lions AND crazy cultist at the same time. The Lions like rolled around, it was soooo goofy, but it was less goofy when they raked the side of Zera's face off, and left him on the ground in agony. I remember it was like a panic as his magic went wild and stunned another party member as the lion's bit into him tearing his leg muscle as he dropped. The other caster was in some sort of darkness, but we myself and the mage fighter guy watched as that stopped really quickly. We turned to see the Lamia had impaled him....Remember those odds stacked, this was that moment. 2 versus 7 as the lions rolled goofily, it became very apparent we were the joke here.

   I remember panicking, my feet wouldn't move as I threw lances of energy at the beasts over and over and over. But they just wouldn't go down. I was crying as I turned to watch the lion's begin feasting on my friends. But then Hector, the mage, fighter was still fighting to the death. Every arcane ward he casted, raising my spirits. I closed my eyes and dove into the fray, using a magic item I had gotten from Daku, teleported to my friends and healed their grievous wounds. Hector slaying them left and right as we managed to escape that by the skin of our teeth.”

   I am not entirely sure how to feel about the entire story. It seems that there is chaos afoot, regardless our adventurers guild seems to have a handle on any problem thrown their way. I am sure the public is thankful for that.