At the end of the last game, the Hedgepeth finished its search for the explorer Ammiral on Hilde and turned for home. But now leaving Hilde's waste, the party found they had inexplicably lost two years, just as Ammiral had before.
When the Hedgepeth arrived back in Hollin, it was time to settle up on treasure.
"Extortion!? I'd just be providin a service on a few special fight nights (no common blokes, only quality fighters), makin sure that certain folks get a good view (for a few coins) with not much jostlin from the riff raff (those that don't pay a few coins), and that a few special merchies have good spots to sell their wares (for a few more coins of course). If'n called fer I may hire a couple o' bashers ta be sure the merchies are looked after an no one hassles the payin customers."
Kasskar would be watching his pennies and looking for a profit, but would be willing to ante up as much as 20 gold pieces in this endeavor (maybe more depending on the proceeds of the Hilde expedition) to acquire supplies, provide a winner prize purse, or otherwise prime the pump. He knows the streets and might have to grease a few palms. If things go well, he might try to stage a big fight for paying only customers.
Mulebeck, the Whipsaw crowd favorite who'd boxed Beowolf in Game 2, was a natural candidate to fight in Kasskar's featured matches. But plying his street contacts, Kasskar also found some other promising amateurs among the professions requiring strength and man-handling.
Kasskar chose Kajal and Godwin for his first fight, and he made 25 gold pieces and 25 silver pieces selling seats. But unknown to Kasskar, Kajal was a member of the Hobnail gang, which ruled Braddock's streets, whereas Godwin was a member of the Coopers' Union gang, the Hobnails' hated rivals. When Kasskar signaled the fight's start, Kajal pulled a hidden knife from his pants and thrust it into Godwin's belly, screaming maniacally. He then thrust up into Godwin's rib cage as hard as he could, trying to reach his heart.
As the Whipsaw erupted in chaos, other Hobnails in the audience jumped the party from behind, trying to strangle them with garrotes:
Some Hobnails dressed like the Gangs of New York, wearing ragged overcoats with tall upturned collars, suspenders, or top hats. Others wore leather skullcaps with ear flaps. Beside the garrotes, they carried cleavers and pickaxes whose handles were notched with previous kills or decorated with animal tails. They had the stats of gladiator novices with the additional powers Garrote Strangle and Steeled to Violence.
Two allies came in on the party's side: Kasskar's boxer Brainard and Mulebeck. Ultimately, the party killed all of the Hobnail attackers, but Mulebeck was also killed. Afterwards Kasskar claimed a special item from the Hobnails' bodies, a garrote with the encounter power that a successful attack also stuns the victim, save ends.
I mined some of Kasskar's boxers' names - Belwe, Eldred, Godwin, Jared, Kajal, and Rurik - from the old Dragonmaster card game.
