“It is a misconception that a great distance must be covered to find the realms of chaos. In truth, chaos is never far away. Take for example the chaos team Exalted Court. The stadium they called The Courtyard stood on the edge of the Badlands and was an easy ten day journey East from Avelon.

Nevertheless, most travelers steered clear of the region due to the infestation of Brigands and Marauders. The Archers however, traveled wherever they chose. Only a large band of orcs would dare challenge a dozen or more well-armed elven marksmen.

Today, they rolled right up to The Courtyard. Clearly it had once been a great stadium that hosted a successful but now long forgotten empire team. The façade had crumbled but the structure stood strong. Likewise the team that played here was ugly but it was built on a strong foundation. And just in case anyone doubted, the Exalted Court was unbeaten in their young professional existence.

As usual, in hostile territory, the Archers sent Kondor to the front door of the stadium first. As the coach he would make first contact, but as a human, he would serve as bait.

Once he was a stone throw’s distance from the main gate, it began to creek open. Through the opening came the largest beastman Kondor had ever seen. He would have thought the creature was a minotaur had it not possessed curled ram horns. Though the horns prevented any effort to wear a helmet, the beast was clad head to hoof in the Chaos Armor of Slaanesh.

“Hail Archers of Avelon!” came the greeting from the monster in the common tongue of the empire. “I am Coach Guardikai. I assume you fancy a match?”

“We do.” Shouted Revwe from the lead wagon before Kondor could speak. “Direct us to our lodgings. We will have no further dealings with your kind. Negotiations will go through Kondor.”

Annoyed at being rebuffed by an elf, Guardikai snorted and stomped the earth. “That suits me well. Go through the South gate. Your lodgings will be the rooms on either side of the corridor. See you on the pitch!”

Kondor donned a horned helmet and strode to Guardikai. Lowering his head, he offered the beastman a traditional greeting. Shocked at the human’s display of good manners he reciprocated and met the offered head-butt with just enough force to show respect without the danger of breaking Kondor’s neck.

Kondor found himself on his backside but chose to take it one step further. He stood and again lowered his head in a traditional challenge. The stunned chaos coach lowered his as well and delivered a blow slightly stronger than the first.

Kondor was better prepared for the blow and this time it only knocked him to his knees. He was slightly dizzy but he again stood. This time he took a step backwards and spread his arms. “It seems you remain dominant in your abode. Will you be so kind as to show me around the premises?”

The beastman stepped forward and extended his hand to clasp Kondor’s in the traditional human form of greeting. “I will do so joyfully, and I hope you will accept the full hospitality of Slaanesh. And if you so choose, there is room for you among her followers.”

Guardikai turned and led the way through the main entrance. Once inside, Kondor was stunned by what he saw. The stadium was not only where the Exalted Court held games, it was the decadent abode for the followers of Slaanesh. Slaanesh devotees lived within the stadium and dedicated the building as a perverse temple to the pursuit of earthly gratification, hedonism and pleasure simply for its own sake.

Most of the denizens were beastmen or minotaurs, but a large faction were humans and there were even a few dwarfs and dark elves. Each race occupied a section of the stadium and they pitched their tents squarely upon the bleachers. On game-day the tents were dismantled so as to not block the view of the field. The rank of each house was easily understood by its proximity to the field and the size of their tent.

The dominant house was clear. At midfield on the home team sideline stood a magnificent stable. The posts were made of eight foot tall mahogany beams with an entrance directly onto the field. From his vantage point at the entrance of the stadium, Kondor looked down on the field and could clearly see the activity within the black, wooden corral. The beastmen within were not interested in gold or jewels, but stacks of weapons and armor were piled high. At least a dozen skaven and human slaves bustled around catering to the whims of the beastmen and beastwomen. Even the bedding made from straw was so clean and pure it gleamed in the sun.

Still, the beastmen were only the most dominant race in the arena, and the division between races was very fluid. The dwarven area was gilded while the dark elf section was velvety and seductive, and the human section was speckled with various proclivities.

Yet the separations were not always based on race. Some areas seemed to cater a preferred overindulgence. There were tents and stables dedicated to greed, gluttony, slothfulness, and lust. The most prevalent of these was clearly lust located in the Southern end zone from which came the beast and human sounds of pleasure and pain.

Looking at the thousands of revelers worried about nothing but their own desires, Kondor temporarily gave in to the temptations.

“Honorable Guardikai, will I be required to be on the sideline for the game tomorrow, or will it suffice for me to simply be in the building? If I choose to watch the match from the vantage point of the stands, will I fulfill the requirement that a Coach attend the match for each team?”

Guardikai smiled broadly. “It would be against the Slaanesh creed to require a guest to do anything but follow his own pleasures.”

“Thank you Guardikai.” Said Kondor. “Please do not allow the wagon train to leave me hear after the match unless I decide to stay.”

Two days later, Kondor forced himself to leave the stadium and join the wagon train. As Guardikai had hidden the mules, the Archers of Avelon had been forced to set up a small camp outside of the stadium to wait for Kondor. Corbis did not rejoin the team until three more days had passed. Only then did Guardikai returned the mules.

Neither Kondor nor Corbis learned the final score of the match until they returned to Avelon and caught a three week old copy of the Avelon Gazette.
”