Rith vs Taren Solther

[Rith]

Back in the Citadel, once again. A little fighting never hurt anyone here, or at least permanently that is. Rith stepped up to one of the Citadel monks and silently waited for one of them to again take him to his fighting arena. It didn’t take but more than just a moment, as it almost seemed the monk was reading his mind. As soon as he had come to a halt, a monk turned and slightly bowed his head and began walking. He assumed this was his cue to follow and did so at about ten paces behind the robed figure.

This time the walk was a little further than his first experience here and was down a series of short hallways. Rith was admiring the statues and finely crafted armors and weapons which lined the hallways between each set of doors. Before he knew it the monk had stopped and Rith walked right into his back. The robed man did not move a millimeter and it seemed almost as if he was a statue himself because Rith nearly fell to the floor. What the hell? Shit, I didn’t… Wow, here already? Almost would rather look at the weapons than fight now. Blah, we can forge later, get your mind right and let’s get to fighting. Rith began to apologize to the monk but before he could speak, the monk simply raised his hand as to silence him from speaking. The man smiled, bowed his head again and in a very soft quiet voice simply said “Good luck”, then walked away.

Rith opened the door and stepped inside to find that he was in the middle of field on the side of a cliff. There was a small weathered shed about twenty paces away from him and a wooden fence that divided the entire area into four separate square quadrants. He was standing in the first with the other three to his north, east, and northeast. Each section of area had its own unique simple feature. The area to his north had an old oak tree just offset of the center, the quadrant to his northeast had the ruins of a stone foundation to what was once a house but only one or two pieces of the outside walls were still partially standing, and the quadrant to his east had the remains of what used to be a small garden. What was left of the garden was now overgrown. The outermost fencing had a small strip of grass-covered earth to walk on. Three of the sides which were the ones to his back, front and left all suddenly dropped off and down to a valley below. To his right there was a very wide, fast-moving river that snaked the edge of the cliff the arena was sitting on. I think I’ll stay closer to the middle of this place than the edge, sure as hell don’t wanna fall over.

The weather was warm with a slight breeze coming up the eastern side of the cliffs. The sun shining from almost straight up into the sky but slightly off to the west, which casted shadows slightly downwards and to the east. The season seemed to be mid fall considering that a chunk of the leaves from the old oak tree had already began falling. The sound of splashing water filled the air as the river rushed past above the one side of the cliff and below the other. The grass stood ankle high in most places but the garden was also overgrown with weeds and some of the worse places actually would probably extend up to Rith’s mid-thigh.

Grabbing for his yew bow, Rith pulled an arrow from the quiver. He had his steel battle axe across his back with the head of it sitting on top of his quiver and the handle just across his back right shoulder. Rith’s iron dagger was tucked into the right waistband of his leggings and his steel knife was sheathed around the outside of his left ankle, everything was in a convenient reach for a different scenario. Rith began walking towards the conjunction of the four fields while mentally making a map of the new arena.

If you can’t really get an image for the arena into your head, I understand as I had a hard time picturing it myself when I started coming up with it. I had a little trouble explaining it to myself so I decided to draw a quick picture in paint so I could help describe it, you can find the link to the map here (http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i282/silentassassinx/Mapofarena.jpg). I also tried to show you about how much shadow each item produced by "blackening in" the sides of the different things. I was just trying to give you a scale so you could get an idea more or less. Any questions feel free to ask.

[Taren Solther]

In there?

Even though Taren remained just as silent as the monk who had led him here, his head echoed the simple question. When he had been informed that this place was as good as the best in finding a place to test your skills, he had been a bit hesitant at first. It wasn't that he had any fear of testing his skills, or was scared of some other random idea, but the way the bystander had described the Citadel was a bit... out there. The idea that he could fight in any setting he desired was an astounding claim, one that would definitely be filed under "have to see to believe". That was the most outstanding feature of the Citadel, it appeared, as that had been all the bystander had been able to babble about. He talked for at least thirty minutes on the wonders found inside, on the magics of monks that could make an arena in any fashion you desired. Taren had finally just cut him off, and walked in to see for himself. He wouldn't believe such outlandish tales himself. Why would he? The concept of any magic outside his own was a bit foreign to him, as he had been a bit sheltered for most of his years. If you could call it that.

But, he was inside now, and the ever so silent monk, only speaking what few words he felt needed, had explained the rules, concept, and told him he could hop into the action right away. Taren had issued a silent nod, and then had been ushered down a long series of small hallways, past glamourous weapons and artifacts, and into a final hallway with a large stone door at the other side. The monk had pointed at the large door, and Taren had gotten the point.

Odd.

"Good luck." The monk uttered his first words of the entire trip here, and it had been a long walk, and then turned and strode away. Taren blinked once under his hood, then let out a sigh, shaking his head and slowly walking forward. Reaching out one hand, he put some pressure on the stone doors, attempting to push them open. With a slight squeak, the doors opened less then an inch. Taren said nothing, merely applied one more hand. Putting most of his weight behind it, the shadow walker pushed hard, sliding the doors open and revealing the landscape behind.

Very odd.

He took a step forward, and entered the strange world, silent as the dead. It took alot to ruffle him, and this was no different. The possibility of another world behind just a simple door wasn't really that hard to believe, as he himself frequently practiced walking from one world to the next without much effort. So, perhaps he had been a little too quick in disbelieving what the bystander outside this place had said. Taking another step forward to put himself deeper in this world, he glanced around, his shaded eyes taking in everything at once. Green grass, a river, what looked to be the edge of a cliff, blue skies, a bit of scenery in the shape of ruins... It was a nice place, even if the sun was shining directly in his face. He bowed his head a bit, letting the hood that he wore shield him. Even though he was used to such drastic changes in scenery, it still intrigued him that there could be a different world just beyond a single do-

Where did the door go?

Turning around to observe more of the scenery, the door had now vanished, replaced by a... tree. A large tree. Well, that was just great. How did he get out? And for that matter, where was his opponent? A bit miffed now, both at the sudden vanishing of the exit to this place, and at the fact that the sun was beating down on him and he was dressed completely in black, which only made it hotter, he retreated around to the other side of the tree to get some time in the accompanying shadow. The cloak and hood that he wore to completely shroud himself in the darkness that comforted him so was nice, but not cooling by any means. It now protected his eyes, his slightly bowed head completely shadowed and dark, but the heavy cloak that hid everything from the neck down to the ankles only seemed to absorb heat. Sliding around to the other side of the tree, he felt his miffed state start to ease away as he bathed in the coolness of the tree's shadow. It was then that he saw Rith.

The dwarf-looking being was heading toward where the four fence squares met in the middle, glancing about for his opponent. Taren readied himself, knowing all he had to do was stand there until the dwarf saw him. Considering this was the only other being in here, the dwarf must be his opponent. If Rith glanced in Taren's direction, he would be quite easily spotted. Even though the black cloak and Taren himself seemed to blend in a bit too well with the shadow, it was bright outside, making everything quite clear to see. Observing the arrow in Rith's hand, and the readied bow not yet nocked, Taren mentally and physically braced himself for a shot. The tree to his back would conviently provide cover. He took a step back, feeling his cloak touch lightly to the trunk of the tree.

He did not trust any one with an arrow. Alot of archers in the lands of Dheathain had been trigger happy.

Thank you very much for the map, I appreciate it. That was very thoughful of you. If you ever have any confusion about anything I do, or any powers, please ask, I will be happy to answer.

[Rith]

Rith had approached the crossing of the fences when he noticed something black slightly off to the left in his peripheral. It was a solid black silhouette of a figure. Gripping with his left hand tighter around the grip of his bow, he mentally prepared for a shot. Looks to be about 50 paces off. Need to close some distance. No apparent sign of any ranged weapon. Sword at the side. The black figure was right against the tree trunk and looked as if he was wondering what to do. At least he can’t hide.

“A wonderful day to fight, eh stranger? Name’s Rith, how about yours?”

He notched his arrow onto the string of his bow and began closing more distance. Rith ducked under the fence and entered the same square patch as his foe. It was simply a matter of time before he would be in range. 40 paces now. Begin losing in 10. Stopping now to wait for a response from his hooded target, he held the arrow to the resting point with his left index finger so it would not fall. Now reaching for the quiver pulled another two arrows in preparation for the next shots. Both arrows were held by the shaft in his right hand overtop of his middle and pinky fingers then underneath his ring finger where he added pressure so they would also not fall when he loosed his readied arrow.

It was dishonorable to engage a foe without an introduction, proper or not. Before closing anymore distance he would at least the man, or thing speak for itself before he began trying to kill it.

No problem and will do.

[Taren Solther]

A slight cock of the head would be all Rith got at the moment, and even that small motion could be barely seen. The hood and cloak accomplished the purpose of making small movements almost impossible to see, such as a slowly moving hand, a twitch of the arm, or as noted, a cock of the head. Taren was merely biding his time, taking the slight lapse in time, a moment before most battles, to study the dwarf in front of him. It was a slow but studious process, and Rith would likely be able to feel the intense gaze of the man. Taren took in everything about him, from each visible weapon that was easily accessible, from every muscle that was visible, to his height and stature. He was trying to think up some kind of tactic to get over that bow that was ready to whip up and totally impale him, and so far, he was really only getting one idea. Letting out a deep sigh, he shrugged, once again in a barely visible motion. This could very well end up extremely bad, but the monks had mentioned something about healing him up after the fight, right? He spoke.

"Taren."

With that, he reached down for his sword, wrapping his fingers around the hilt, as if to draw. Provoking the dwarf into hopefully firing. Then, directly after, he vanished.

Darkness. Everywhere. It was so dark. So shadowed. He could see, and everything was so different. The dwarf was gone, but the landscape was there. It was so twisted, so insane. The tree was behind him, or so he thought. He briefly turned to glance at it, and it looked like it was behind him... But then again, maybe that was his front. He wasn't sure. Letting out another deep sigh, he shook his head and took a step forward. He had a bad feeling about this.

His breath caught hard in his throat as he reappeared in the real world, the sensation of the light and colorful landscape shocking him with the sudden reappearance. Such quick change in landscape was too much of a shock, really. He was quick to dart his head about, taking in his surroundings, hoping not to get caught unaware by the dwarf. Jumping to and from the Shadow Plane always left him in disarray, as he had not quite yet found out how to get from one place to the other, in exact terms.

From what he could see, it looked like he was still very close to his old position. He was facing the old ruined farmhouse, with the rushing river to his left. A old fence was on his immediate right. Briefly going over the details he had gathered about his immediate surroundings earlier, he instantly turned, realizing he hadn't gone very far at all. The farmhouse was fairly close to the tree he had originally been at. The dwarf had roughly been between the tree and the farmhouse.

Ah, hell. The dwarf was only about 50 paces to the south, southwest, somewhere in that direction. He hadn't gone very far at ALL.

Crouching next to the fence, he instantly began sprinting forward, skirting the old wooden fence as close as possible. The rickety old structure was the only thing between him and the dwarf, and as soon as the archer realized where Taren had vanished off to, Taren was particularly attached to the idea of having something between him and the arrows. He made sure to keep the small shadows cast by the fence underneath his feet, as they might be useful. He tried to move quietly as he ran alongside the fence, just awaiting the inevitable spotting by the dwarf, and only hoping he could close the 50 paces as soon as possible.

Okay. If you read the Shadow Walking skill, then you might know Taren gets shunted in a random direction when he comes back from the Shadow Plane. I know this may be a bit confusing, but I rolled some dice to determine where he would land. Click here! (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1784843/) I hope it makes sense.

[Rith]

“Taren”, Rith repeated the name softly to himself.

Just after Taren spoke Rith began moving forward and readied himself to engage his opponent. The figure motioned for his sword and Rith drew back the arrow incase he decided to charge. He’s still too far, let him close. Do not release, wait for the shot, wait.

It disappeared. Startled just by the sudden action of whatever it was disappearing Rith accidently set the arrow in motion. He watched it fly through the air and land about fifteen feet or so short and left to the tree. “SHIT! The hell! Where'd you go?!” Rith spun around checking his flanks and back, trying to find where Taren went. What did I get myself into?

Notching the next arrow in his fingers, Rith drew the bow and continued to turn looking for his enemy. He was at the ready, preparing himself for anything. Not knowing what else this black robed figure was capable of he didn’t know what to expect. Spinning back around to face the tree, Rith backed himself down towards the cliff against the fence which was between himself and the shed. It was then that he noticed Taren running on the opposite side of the other fence that Rith had just previously been standing beside. The black robes were flowing through the air behind Taren and it was essentially that which caught his eye and gave him away. 40 away. Shoot!

The arrow flew through the air and stuck itself into the rotting fence about 10 feet behind Taren. 25. Rith stopped where he was standing, notched the next arrow and drew it back while steadily leading the figure. 15. Rith loosed the arrow. This time the arrows flight was on track to meet the mass of Taren’s robes.

Now it's really time to fight! Dropping his bow to the grass, Rith reached to his right shoulder for his axe. Yanking it from the holster he swung it over and around with his left hand. After stopping the axe’s downward left swing, Rith crouched closer to the ground and moved his right hand about one quarter the way up the handle. He kept his crouched stance and slowly began moving forward. Closing distance and trying to keep as close to the ground as possible to make himself a smaller target for whatever else this thing could possibly deal out was not easy. Carrying an axe was troublesome enough for anyone, though Rith had been in a few situations like this in previous fights, doing so was still no easy feat.

Sorry for the few days of delay, I had to work both days this weekend without pay because I’m getting trained to bartend where I work so I opted to go in. Also, we got kicked out of our living quarters Friday because of mold and in doing so we got moved to a new housing location for 4 days and we go back tomorrow afternoon. Things are back to normal now though and also yes the PM did clear up my confusion, so thanks :).

[Taskmienster]

Due to the short nature of this thread, and the fact that it did not exceed 10 posts and was incomplete, I’m going to forego a full judgment. Both of you wrote well, and I wish the battle had been finished but that’s all I’m going to say. As you asked Rith: with the little bit of writing that you gave me it’s difficult to tell you what exactly is wrong and right. What I noticed most, however, was the continuity. You didn’t really give any true depth to where you came from, why you were there, who your character was. Things like that need to be taken into consideration because they’re very important to the reader, who had little to no prior knowledge of your character going into reading the thread.

As it stands. With this few of posts I’m not going to rewards experience, but will give you both 50 gold for your troubles. Good luck in the future and I look forward to reading something completed by both of you!

[Taskmienster]

Exp and GP added!