Protea leans back slightly, and waves a hand in dismissal. The barbazu remove their glaives from your respective necks, and fly up into the air to float near the ceiling. You can feel their malevolent gaze on you from above -- it's hard not to look up at them every so often.
"I'm glad we understand each other," she whispers, and sits again. She continues, "You need not worry about my counterparts. We have an agreement not to interfere with each others' teams, and though that idiot the Ravager will almost certainly try to cheat, he has the subtlety of a zombie troll, so you should be able to use your elixirs to prevent any... mishaps. Though, of course," she smiles sinisterly, "if any of them do find out, they will probably kill you. An inconvenience, I suppose..."
She stands again, more animated. "Now, to the games themselves. I know nothing about the other contestants, nor do I care. You have all received training in preparation for these games, and your team was carefully constructed by the Rebellion in order to win them, so you should be able to accomplish your goal without much assistance from me."
"I can tell you that your first challenge will begin one hour from now. In preparation for the games, the Magi have allowed the ratmen that live in the Dungeon to steal four identical items. They all have the Imperium's sigil written on them (though it is invisible), and they all give off a faint necromantic aura. The ratmen do not know what they have."
"You will have 48 hours to collect one of the items. At the end of that time (and not before), you will return to the auditorium, and the team that does not have an item in their possession will be eliminated. Until the time limit is up, you can use any and all methods to obtain and secure one of the items (including destroying one of the other teams to procure theirs)."
She tosses a clear glass marble onto the table; it rolls to the center and stops. "This marble will glow for 3 minutes whenever one of the items is acquired by a contestant in the games. If you look through it while it is glowing, you will see the face of the person who has the item in their possession, so that you can know which groups to target."
"Finally, here are the rules. First, Imperial law is still in effect, and the City Watch does not know about the games. This means that if you are caught breaking a law by one of the Watch, you will have to deal with them as normal. Second, you will receive a bounty of 50gp for each contestant that you personally eliminate. Additionally, any gear they carry on them, as well as any other treasure you find while participating in the games, is up for grabs. Third, the top three teams that complete this challenge will receive a bonus."
She tosses another marble onto the table, this time made of obsidian. "This marble will allow you to contact me via a sending whenever you wish. It will only send a message to me, and I will be extremely annoyed if you bother me with trivialities. I expect you to take care of this on your own. If you succeed at this challenge adequately, then perhaps for the next one I will take a more direct interest."
She waves another hand, and the barbazu waver out of existence. She leans forward, placing both fists on the table; the winter wolf begins growling again. "Do not think to betray me to my peers. They will destroy you more quickly than I, and with less mercy."
Then she turns and walks out of the room, followed by the wolf.
