Adventure: Trouble at the Arena!

It was another blazing hot day at the arena. Sunlight made the sandy floor of the pit seem to glow an almost white color, and the stone walls looked positively hot to the touch. The stands were packed with every sort of Enferian citizen, from royalty to commoner. Queen Syndra sat, far away from even those considered the most affluent members of the audience, looking cool and dry in the shade of her pavilion. The striking all-female royal guard members around her, intimidating even in their skimpy gold armor, were all sweating slightly. The red haired voluptuous queen was as stone-faced and bored as ever, as if unaware of the brutal heat.

The round little man, the arena announcer, was dabbing at his bald head with a little cloth and tugging at his collar. His face was reddened by the sun, but as usual he looked excited about his job: calling out the next two combatants.

"We have a fun little match today for our beloved Syndra, and for all of you thirsty viewers. On one end of the arena, we have the up-and-coming "Iron" Ashley, spellsword and metal transmutation expert!" he continued as the crowd cheered. "The smith's daughter has returned to the a arena to pay the bills for her sick ole pop, and she's got her work cut out for her!"

At one end, near one of the portcullises that led to the cool, dark halls below the arena, Ashley stood, shielding her big blue eyes from the sun with one hand and holding a stout, naked broadsword in the other. The giant, glassy viewing sphere that hovered above the arena showed her give a little wave to the crowd in response to her cheering fans, though otherwise she kept a stoic look on her youthful face. With a toned arm she gave her sword a few practice swings, then stopped to check the armor she'd been afforded today: a reasonable but simple breastplate covered her simple tank top-like garment and modest breasts, and she had a series of protective plates over her baggy brown pants. The girl brushed some of short, dark hair out of her eyes and seemed to be a little put off when she saw her opponent.

"Challenging Ashley today in order to stay out of jail is a charming woman for all you lovers of the 'healthy' figure out there." The announcer seemed to grin appreciatively as Niniane was prodded into the arena. "I give you a woman with a very special skill set, Niniane the Maladroit!" there was mixed applause and chuckling from the crowd as the announcer gestured dramatically, unaware even that Niniane did in fact have something like a special talent.

There were other figures of note in the arena that day, though. Near the noble section, Jacqueline was milling about, disguised as, well, someone who could get away with milling about in the noble section. Her mark, a pretty young noble by the name of Contessa, was sitting in the stands being fanned by her servants. She had her curly blond hair done up in a ponytail that allowed a few blond ringlets to hang loose, and she was dressed lightly in a white dress and lots of jewelry. Somehow, Jacqueline was supposed to relieve her of a single piece of supposedly magical jewelry -- a slender silver chain worn about her waist beneath her silky, loose dress.

Also milling about the noble section was the exotic young woman, T'Cryse. The people who kept the arena running had given her a modest sum to keep the wealthy comfortable in a number of ways -- icing down drinks and keeping a cool breeze going throughout the area. It was a bit of a misuse of her talents, but it kept coin in her pockets.

Jacqueline and T'Cryse both heard Ashley's complaint to the guards from where they were. "I'm not supposed to be fighting any criminals," she called up, a bit of confusion on her face. The uncaring guards responded with something like "it's too late now, you need the money or not?" much to her frustration. With a heavy sigh she regarded her opponent, sizing her up.

Everything seemed normal. The battle was about to begin, but for the briefest of moments the sun itself seemed to flicker a different color, as if a strange cloud had passed in front of it. If anyone noticed, they didn't mention it, though.

((Sorry for how long it took to get this going! I'm here pretty much all day though. Let me know if any details I included are inappropriate or inaccurate, and we'll get this thing rolling! If Niniane is the type, she can make an attack on Ashley while she'd distracted talking to the guard, otherwise, go about your actions as you otherwise would. ))

Niniane regarded her opponent, concerned at the implications of a spellsword. "Metal trasnmutation, eh?" she thought out loud. She was glad she wasn't dressed in armor, but her usual layers of tavern maid's clothing wouldn't offer her much protection from that sword, either. Her best tool was that her opponent seemed to disdain her; she was used to that, and knew how to use it to her advantage.

She didn't really want to be in the arena, but she was also loathe to lose. "What was that, just now?" she wondered, but not long enough to prevent her from taking action while her opponent looked up. After all, she was slower and clumsier than most she might face in the arena, and she knew she'd have to make the best of the opportunity given.

(Attack on greaves, STR 6)
(ooc: no worries on the start time, I was pretty busy myself there--should be around for most of tonight and tomorrow though)

((I don't think we've ever seen Niniane attack someone before -- how does she generally go about it..? Also, how is she generally dressed..?))

(Apologies!  I should have explained!  I forgot in my excitement to get underway.  Her outfit contains a white blouse, a corset, a skirt and apron, over a simple bra and panties, with the satchel (magic item on character sheet)--her attack is to cut the armor straps with a fancy foreign-looking (non-magical, but ceremonial-looking) knife.)

T'cryse felt pity for this Ashley Girl, it seemed to her that many contestants had been given raw deals in the arena, unfortunately she knew causing a scene wouldn't really help matter so she secretly wished Ashley a noble battle and continued her work

The day was beautiful, more perfect weather T'cryse had never seen beyond the boarders of her jungle homeland, so perfect was this day that T'cryse brushed off the strange looks people kept giving her, "they must not be used to someone of my complexion around here" she thought and though her skin colour was a bit rare the looks of confusion came far more from seeing a woman dressed in a full fur cloak, heavy woolen mittens and tundra gear without even a bead of sweat while walking in the blazing sun

Of course these people quickly forgot such speculation when receiving ice cold refreshments that quickly relieved them of the sun's torment

((since it's not essential that Jacqueline act -just- yet, I'll probably have another round of posts before I need everyone active. Btw, if I seem to be messing up the rules, just let me know -- this will be my first time running an adventure with the use of these rules))

Str attack vs. Ashley's greaves:

Niniane: 9+1=10
Ashley: 8+1=9
Successful attack.
1+1=2 points of damage

Ashley was just turning back towards her hapless-seeming opponent, broadsword held loosely at her side, when Niniane charged her and came slashing with her ceremonial knife.

"Wha-Hey!" she shouted in surprise as the knife made contact with the side of her leg. Sure enough, Niniane sliced some of the leather straps quite cleanly, as well as the pants beneath them. Some of the metal plates on her thigh hung free, and a sliver of fair, unharmed skin beneath her breeches showed on Ashley. The girl narrowed her eyes as if regretting her apprehension, slashing suddenly in a horizontal motion, aimed at the woman's waist.

Strength attack against Niniane's apron
Ashley: 2+2=4
Niniane: 6-1=5
Successful defense.

The attack wasn't the best, but Niniane wasn't the most nimble opponent, so it seemed like Ashley's sword was going to connect. At the last second, however, Niniane stumbled backwards a few feet, bringing her just out of range of Ashley's sword swipe.

All the same, Ashley pointed her sword at the woman meaningfully. "I guess I can't take it easy on you," she frowned, checking the straps on her thigh armor to confirm that they were indeed cut. Against her better judgment Ash glanced up at the sky for just a moment, as if getting a strange feeling. Niniane, Jacqueline, and T'Cryse would feel it as well: a sensation that something was amiss that couldn't quite be placed. The feeling passed as quickly as it had come, however...

((I'll get around to listing gear durability when I feel it necessary... and when I've double checked my understanding of the gear system. Once again, this may be a little different from Phantom's execution, since I'm just gonna try and copy the statistics of the most recent adventures/matches, but I trust I'll get the hang of it quickly enough. When all else fails I'll just improvise.))

(No worries--I forgot this character hadn't used anything but her special attack in public yet!  Lol  Good job so far.)

Niniane, satisfied with a good start, moved on to the spellsword's pants, grinning that she had successfully defended, herself, a feeling she was less accustomed to than the feeling of a successful strike.  "As if you ever planned to take it easy!  I've seen how these matches play out! Wha--"  "Nevermind," she thought silently this time, "keep your head in the game, and you might come out alright yet."

(Str attack 6 vs pants, (or BP if there are rules about the order))

(On another note, a few pics are up at http://myds6.deviantart.com/gallery/50515581/Adventure-Trouble-in-the-Arena been working as I play.)

((nice response time, hehe... always exciting stuff. We'll need to wait for everyone for this next part, however.))

Jacqueline always enjoyed a chance to dress up as nobility, and this job was no exception. Having dressed up in her finest dress, of course with breeches and a corset underneath, the thief found herself quite at home in this section of the audience for a reason she couldn't quite place.

Jacqueline's excitement for her wardrobe was easily countered by the difficulty of the task placed before her. She was supposed to steal something Contessa was wearing around her waist? Jacqueline figured her best option was to distract the noblewoman. Distract her a lot. However, this plan would require a bit of set-up.

Jacqueline planned to split the bottom of Contessa's dress down the back. To accomplish this, she threw a knife with the intention of hitting only the dress and pinning it against the seat. Hopefully everyone would be too engrossed in the match to notice this. Then, Jacqueline would walk into one of Contessa's servants, knocking her into Contessa, knocking Contessa out of her seat. If everything went well, the knife would rip Contessa's dress, and Jacqueline would be in a position to pull the chain off, down Contessa's legs. ((Sorry for the long and probably hard-to-understand plan.))

Jacqueline was about to throw the knife when she got that feeling, but she quickly shook it off as she had more important things to worry about. Hoping her plan would work, Jacqueline let her knife fly.

T'cryse, always in tuned to the greater forces at work is suddenly shocked by the feeling of future trouble.

She knows she must warn someone, and looks over to queen Syndra. T'cryse quickly reconsiders, she'd not want to incur the queen's wrath. instead she begins making her way to the portly announcer, who better to warn of possible danger.

Niniane: 3+1=4
Ashley: 4+1=5
Successful defense

The young smith grunted and blocked the knife this time, knocking it aside with her sword as Niniane slashed at her.

"I'm not here because I like doing this to people," Ashley said with a frown as she whipped her sword up again, dragging it along the sand.  When she brought her blade up, there was a thick cylinder of rough silt swarming through the air around it.  This magical coating of sand and grit seemed like it was supposed to assist the sword in cutting off huge swaths of cloth.  She promptly cocked her arm back to swing it.

"So, what did you do?  Who'd you piss off to get stuck in here?"

Even as she was asking, her sword was slashing out and at Niniane's midsection again.

Ashley: 5+2=7
Niniane: 3-1=2
Successful attack.

The cloud of silt surrounding her sword did wonders in fraying the surrounding clothing, but mainly she was able to whack the apron right off of Niniane's waist.

As the crowd began to applaud and get worked up, Jacqueline edged her way closer to Contessa.  It just so happened she saw an opportunity to throw her knife coming up -- she'd have to wait a moment for one of the noble girl's servants to move out of the way.

"Oh, you, ice girl," Contessa said with a haughty but distracted air about her.  She was definitely referring to T'Cryse, at whom she was snapping.  A handful of servants were in between her and the path around the edge of the arena that would lead her to the announcer.  "I require you to chill this," she said, gesturing to one of her servant girls nearby, holding a large jug of water.  Of course, T'Cryse realized that refusing this noble could get her into trouble...

"You have our thanks," the servant girl said as she placed the water jug into T'Cryse's hands suddenly. Jacqueline could make her move.

((Dex attack requiring 6 or higher))

Jacqueline: 4+3=7
Success!

Contessa's dress was loose-fitting enough (chosen do to its lightness, she'd guess), so getting the blade to pin her dress to the seat was easy enough for Jacqueline.  She felt the rush of success as she moved around into a closer position, pretending to mingle with some of the other nobility standing about.  The next part would be a little trickier.  Getting Contessa to stand suddenly or getting someone to stumble into her would be her best bet at putting her plan into motion.

((Since she's trying to do it without being noticed, Jacqueline will have to wait until the next round to sabotage Contessa's dress.))

((I'm going to assume that you meant getting Contessa to stand suddenly.))

Jacqueline allowed herself to be a bit excited about her successful attack, but she kept it all in her head. Thinking that it would be easier to steal the chain without being noticed if there were several people on the ground at once, Jacqueline opted to stick with her original plan of "accidentally" stumbling into servant, then into Contessa.

Not wanting to anger a noble, but also not wanting to risk the dangerous power endangering the crowd, T'cryse sighs and submits to the noble's desire.

"Of course my lady" spoke T'cryse bowing her head slightly
she then drew her wand and directed a light chill spell to the jug

Niniane blushed, the viewing sphere capturing the redness in her cheeks as the heavy cloth protecting her skirt fell to the sand in pieces. Losing her apron hadn't yet exposed any skin, but she was one step closer to naked in front of the teeming crowds of the great arena, and that was unacceptable. She had to defend herself. If her opponent "went easy on her," it would assume she already lost and was fully exposed. She was going to use every ounce of skill and energy to prevent that from happening. She felt ill-at-ease, but she assumed it was the impending stripping that she might be able to avoid if she focused enough on the task at hand.

"I, uh, laughed when something unfortunate happened to a guard..." she panted as she lunged again, seeming unconcerned for her balance as her hands and blade both reached out for the pants.

(attack on pants, str 6
reminder: she suffers a -1 penalty on her next attack as she tries to cover up, but a +1 on defense)

((correct. Gonna edit that.))

T'Cryse concentrated on the jug of water in her hands, and it quickly began to cool. Unnoticed by either her or Contessa was Jacqueline, blending in with the audience.

((Jacqueline rolls INT to get someone to bump into Contessa without being caught against a difficulty of 6))

Jacqueline: 6+1=7
Success!

Jacqueline managed to bump into one of the servant girls in a relatively innocuous way. A quick chain reaction occurred, with one servant girl bumping into another, and sure enough, she stumbled onto the sitting Contessa. Unfortunately, one of them would also grab onto T'Cryse on the way down, yanking hard on her arm.

((Dex check with a target number of 5))
T'Cryse: 4+0=4
Failure!

Contessa was shoved roughly to one side as a servant girl crashed into her. With a surprised shout, Contessa went flying to the side herself, a loud "shrrrip" signaled the shredding of her dress.

"Who-what's going on here!" Contessa yelled angrily as she shakily pulled herself to her feet, shoving one of the girls aside. The look on her face of dawning horror seemed to indicate that she was noticing the large tear down the back of her skirt, starting near the small of her back and going all way to the bottom of the dress. Her pale, slender legs and thong-clad, skinny butt were on display as the cloth flapped in the breeze, reddening her face and causing her to throw her hands over her backside. Unfortunately for Contessa, T'Cryse was barely managing to stay on her feet but had to sacrifice the large jug of water she was holding. There was a splash.

Seconds later, the empty water jug was rolling around on the ground. Contessa was absolutely soaked with icy water, shivering and holding her arms out to the sides. As the chilled water dripped from her body, it was clear that she was bra-less from the way her tiny, firm nipples showed through the nearly transparent dress. The way the silky material was clinging to her breasts also showcased their small, perky shape. If her dress wasn't hanging loosely in front of her, one could easily see just what her soaked thong was revealing.

The noble girl was too shocked to be angry just yet, and with all the attention on her, no one had yet noticed the throwing knife that was sticking out of her chair from where Jacqueline had thrown it. The rogue noted, at this point, the location of her target: the slender, silvery chain was indeed clasped around Contessa's waist. It was just wide enough to hang on her narrow hips at a slight angle without falling off of the girl. Jacqueline might have been able to just slide it off, given an opportunity. Luck wasn't with her, though. Somehow, it seemed, the chain was stuck on the edge of Contessa's silky white thong.

Meanwhile, things were heating up in the arena. Niniane was just about to make a go at Ashley's pants when the entirety of the arena quaked suddenly. The little disruption in the crowd was quickly overshadowed by the growing panic in the arena. The ground was shaking, causing the sand to vibrate on the surface of the pit. Syndra's guards immediately adopted defensive positions, looking around confusedly, but as usual, Syndra herself remained unimpressed and unfazed.

A strange wash of color then splashed over the whole arena. The sapphire-blue tint that now covered everything seemed to be coming from the now azure sun. Looking up, everyone could see that the sun did indeed seem blue, but only because the enormous viewing sphere had repositioned itself in front of it. The giant glassy orb was pulsating with a strange, deeper-blue energy that sent tendrils of electricity running along its surface. The crowd really began to panic now, those that weren't staring up at it in wonderment.

As everyone began to decide leaving the arena might be the best idea, the viewing sphere suddenly seemed to act with a life of its own. It moved, swiftly, positioning itself a bit higher up, still casting everything in a surreal blue haze, before a bolt of lightning shot out from it towards the arena. Ashley was the first struck, as she instinctively brought up her sword as if to deflect the bolt.

Looking down, Ashley held up her hand, in disbelief that she was unharmed. Her body wasn't burned or singed by the lightning at all... however she seemed a bit transparent and ghost-like. Her edges seemed smoky and insubstantial.

The second bolt hit Niniane, seconds later. Niniane felt no pain, only a severe bout of disorientation as she lost sight of everything for a moment. When she blinked, she saw she was still in something resembling the arena. The sky was black and filled with stars, however; a large blue one about as wide as the sun seemed to provide very little light. The arena itself seemed much older and overgrown with vines, and she could hear strange tribal drums in the distance. Tiny glowing eyes seemed to peek out of the various bushes growing up through the white arena sand. To Niniane, she and Ashley seemed perfectly substantial now, while everyone else was ghost-like. The entire audience was wispy and see-through...

((Int check against difficulty 5))

Niniane: 2+3=5
Success.

Niniane came to the conclusion that she and Ashley must have been sent to some other dimension. Which dimension that was was unclear, although it must have some direct connection with the prime material plane. Everything seemed to overlap. Perhaps this was some ghostly ethereal plane ruled by some spirits, or perhaps it was something governed by the fey. Why or how this was happening also eluded her for now.

"Are we dead?" Ashley asked, her voice sounding perfectly loud and clear. The crowd's murmurs and shouts sounded like whispers now.

"The Games will continue," said a sudden, loud, reverberating female voice. "Do not fear."

To Jacqueline, T'Cryse, and the rest of the attendees, it sounded like a loud but hollow, ethereal echo. Everyone agreed on one thing -- it was coming from the viewing sphere. Interestingly enough, the sphere was the only thing that appeared the same in both worlds.

People were still freaking out, and reasonably so. Within seconds the viewing sphere had zapped one, two, three more people, seemingly at random. Every time the result was the same. They were replaced with a smoky, ghost-like version of themselves as they were transported halfway between planes of existence. Syndra calmly looked up and regarded the viewing sphere, as if noticing something.

Sure enough, on the viewing sphere above, everyone could see a clear image of Niniane and Ashley, standing in the middle of the arena in... whatever dimension it was.

"I don't know what this is," Ashley said, turning and sheathing her broadsword. "But I'm not fighting you anymore for now. Something tells me it's not Syndra that's doing this," she said, looking up at the sphere, which was showing the bright and sunny arena in the material plane. "I'd like to get out of here, personally."

((man that was a lot of post. I should have time to do another one later tonight if everyone responds. Also, it's worth noting that the calamity and all the actions going on required a pretty big post to address, but once the plot brings everyone together (which will be very shortly) things should go much more smoothly. This is just the intro, still, really))

Niniane shook her head and ran her fingers down the back of her knife blade, pensively before putting it away. "Agreed. I didn't really want to be here fighting you in the first place. We've been brought somewhere...else. We should look around...and try to find who did this, or someone who knows what was done, or some clues as to where we are." Looking down at her missing apron and Ash's lost greaves, she added, "We might need to save our...energy to find a way out of here."

T'cryse apologizes quickly, and curses herself for delaying in the first place, this could of all been avoided.

T'cryse turns her attention back to the announcer, he always controlled the orb before? perhaps this is all his scheme! T'cryse continues her original task of getting to the announcer box hopefully this can all be undone she hopes!

Jacqueline was quite confused by what was happening with the viewing sphere, but she figured that all the confusion would help her with her task. Relying on this confusion, Jacqueline could go with a slightly bolder plan. She tried to walk up behind Contessa, and wait for a time when she would be distracted enough for Jacqueline to pull the chain down.

T'Cryse managed to work her way through the panicky, confused crowd, and began running toward the announcer's box.  She bumped into a number of guards who were trying to keep order, she nearly barreled over a blank faced young woman who was standing in the midst of the crowds, and she nearly tripped over the belly of a large, bearded man who had passed out in the walkway and had miraculously avoided being trampled before now.

Finally, she reached the announcer's box.  Aloysius, the round little man in the box, was scrambling about, struggling to keep his little cap held in hand, shouting a combination of frantic orders and questions.  "WHY can't we stop it?  Get the exits secured, we won't have anyone hurt, and- What do YOU want?" he finally blurted out, flabbergasted, as she noticed T'Cryse at the little half-door to the announcer's box.  As he looked at her with his cherry-red face and wide eyes, the two of them were vaguely aware of a sensation like they were being looked at.  Without much further ado, a bolt of blinding white lightning lit the area up.  T'Cryse immediately felt that disoriented, lost feeling, and looked around to see the surreal version of the arena in which she and the announcer now stood.  Large, pale, winged creatures were circling the pit from above at an impossible height in the now-night sky.  A low, eerie-sounding wind was blowing across the arena floor, kicking up little spirals of dust.

"Oh, wonderful!  We've been whisked into the pocket realm of-OOF!" he was cut off suddenly with grunt as someone elbowed him in the gut nearby.  The 'director,' a silent, tall, comically lanky man next to Aloysius, had elbowed him in the side and was staring at him with wide, reproachful eyes.  Aloysius seemed to realize he had been doing something wrong as he looked down at T'Cryse.

"Well, it seems like we're part of "The Games" now, whatever the hells that means.  I reckon we should get back to doing our part! ...whatever that is," he said, stepping cautiously back into the middle of the announcer's box to survey the scene.

"Anyhow, no one allowed in the box.  I'll have to ask you to step back, even in these ridiculous circumstances.  Go... chill someone's arse, or something," he offered, honestly at a loss.  The director frowned from behind Aloysius, giving T'Cryse a sympathetic look and glancing out at the arena floor with a sense of foreboding.  He nodded once as if to say "you better had find something to do."

Nearby, Jacqueline had a chance to act.  She stalked up as the noble's servants were attempting to pat her dry without denuding her any further, and boldly whisked the chain down.  Sure enough, the thong peeled right out of her crevice as the chain went down, getting tangled up around the noble girl's ankles.  She didn't notice right away, but seconds later her hands flew back to her bottom to cover it up as she shrieked in confusion.  "My underthings... my chain!" she shouted, drawing the attention of her two intimidating female bodyguards, who had previously been looking for threats around the noble (e.g. wild crowds, opportunists), as opposed to the opportunist right next to her.  The slightly more toned, darkly tanned one furrowed her brow and gripped the hilt of her sword.  The fairer but still tan brunette next to her was a touch smaller but a little more nimble and lithe, it seemed, with a short sword, no doubt match her fighting style.  It was fashionable to have attractive protection in Enferia, and these two were no exception -- by modern standards they could have easily been fitness models, with their soft faces and hardened bodies.

Jacqueline was ready to shove Contessa off her feet to facilitate the removal of the chain from around her ankles when the two tall, lightly armored women turned to see the now conspicuous woman standing behind their ward.  Fatefully, there was a flash of light as a bolt of lightning from the viewing sphere struck the whole lot of them.  Within seconds, the disorientation had passed, and Jacqueline was in the ethereal, alternate-dimension stands of the arena.  Contessa was there, panties and chain around her ankles, dress flapping in the breeze. She barely managed to keep the cloth pressed down over her front, keeping her crotch covered, but her small, stiff nipples were still poking eagerly against the wet cloth.  Her two guards were looking around, confused, hands on the hilts of their swords.  Contessa blinked and looked around, shocked.  "Wha... what is this?  Who are you?" she said, finally addressing Jacqueline. Her face was red cheeked and somewhat adorable in its vulnerability.

"Don't come any closer," one of the guards managed to say in an even voice, hand on her sheathed weapon.

Across the alternate stadium, a few people in the crowd stood, confused, while the rest of the crowd seemed ghostly and generally not-there.  Swarms of whispery, insubstantial ghost people swarmed the exits unsuccessfully. The viewing sphere remained constant, appearing substantial and focused in both worlds.

Ashley looked across the sands at Niniane with a stumped look of frustration on her face.

"So, it brought us here... what now?" she asked.  As if on cue, the booming voice sounded out again.

"The Games truly begin now.  The first unlucky contestant is named Ruby," said the echoing, powerful female voice from the sphere above.  A beam of moonlight suddenly highlighted a petite, lone girl in the crowd, a beautiful wisp of a thing with curly scarlet hair, dressed like a barmaid.  Her simple white peasant top shone in the unnatural moon, and she gripped the sides of her simple brown skirt as if prepared to run.  She was material, here, as if she were one of the handful struck by the bolts.  Totally clueless, she began to run as if out of instinct.  Beneath all that cloth she must've been somewhat athletic, given the clip at which she made for one of the exits.

"I don't know what this is but I'm getting the hells out!" she whimpered, scurrying down the stairs towards the central ring of the arena.

"Game number one will set the pace for the rest of the games:  The first one to strip her completely naked will get a prize!  An advantage in the games to come.  Those who strip nothing from her will suffer the consequences.  Rose, your job is to keep your clothing on as long as possible... now go!" she boomed with a sudden sense of urgency, causing both Niniane and Ashley to look at each other appraisingly.

"What... what do we do? She seems innocent..." Ashley began.  In her moment of hesitation, several small tendrils of vine-like growth seemed to burst out of the sand beneath her feet.  Wrapping around her boots, Ash struggled to stay standing, eventually realizing she needed to tug her legs free or risk getting further entangled.  With a grunt, she ripped herself free, only to find the damage was worse than she'd expected.  Both her boots and the bottom half of her pants came free, leaving her in thigh-high shorts, essentially, and bare feet.  She spat and cursed as she kept one eye on the treacherous arena floor.

"This whole place is cursed... Niniane, look!" she warned, pointing.  Similar vines had wrapped up and around the woman's calves, little barbs sinking into the cloth of her skirt and her footwear.  She'd have to choose her next course of action carefully, or she'd lose more clothing than necessary.

Though frustrated by the directors silencing Aloysius, at least she had learned something, that this was merely a pocket realm, not a true alternate dimension.

Her thoughts however were interrupted by the booming voice.
Upon hearing it's demand, T'cryse scrunched her face in disgust.
pitting us against each other for simple amusement, at least the arena matches were fair one-to-one! T'cryse knew she had to do something! she couldn't let the voice have it's way!

"Everyone!" cried out T'cryse, hoping her voice could be heard in the confusion "there's an easy solution to this without hurting anyone!" T'cryse then turned to Rose "if you give me but a strip of your cloth, I can freeze it solid and break it into enough pieces for everyone, that way everyone will have taken something from her meeting the rules!"
T'cryse then breathed exhausted from the public speaking, and Added "If we work together we can find a peaceful solution that will see each of use home clothed and happy!"

"Hmm, insubordination," the voice hummed, loud above the arena. A sudden beam of moonlight struck T'Cryse's legs. The immediate, magical effect was obvious: she was suddenly naked from the thighs down, suddenly showing off a good bit of dark skinned leg. Her boots remained, though. The cool-feeling breeze made goosebumps rise on her smooth skin.

"Your honor is admirable... But there's no place for it here! The last piece of clothing before she's naked marks the winner, nothing else!" declared the voice.

"Niniane looked down, unhappily at the tendrils...Ash, I agree with you...but whether we listen to the voice or defend her from whoever else is here, one thing is clear, we need to catch her.  Maybe it will give us time to plan.  Come on."

And with that, Niniane tried to extricate her feet so she could run after Ruby.  She wouldn't need to act like she moved slower than Rose--she was.  And she felt the desire to defend her, but action needed to be taken now--if whoever controlled this version of the arena wanted everyone to chase her, she thought, there's absolutely nothing that could be done--whether for or against--before catching up with her.

Ruby runs for it!