Hour of Battle 2. (Closed)

[~Humphrey_Nonyton~]

(Closed to Bellator Magus)

After his initiation into The Citadel's league, Humphrey had to say he was fairly disappointed with how his first battle turned out. Humphrey looked at The Citadel, and decided that if he was to make his career as a Freelance Makai Slayer, he better start slaying Makai. Walking towards the front gates of The Citadel, Humphrey looked at a nearby reception area. He calmly walked towards the gathered Monks of the Order and nodded to them with considerable respect. Humphrey knew that the illusion and curative powers of The Monks were known throughout the world.

Humphrey took a moment to study the architectural design aesthetics of The Citadel. It boasted arches contributed from The Dwarves of Jagged Mountains, and mortar and bricks contributed by them as well. Artistic aesthetics were contributed by The Elves of Concordia Forest. Humphrey's gaze returned back to the head of The Monks who stood before him now. There was a registration desk set up where several freelance adventurers, and members of The Citadel Leagues were visible. Humphrey had ventured into The Citadel on a previous occasion and was known to The Monks. They had analyzed Humphrey's combative tactical properties and added his information to their compendium of Citadel League fighters.

Humphrey smiled when he looked at The Monk.

"Ah. Sir Nonyton. Welcome back to The Citadel. What can we do for you today?" The Monk asked.

Humphrey grinned at the question. "Well I'm a little teed off at how things went with my last opponent, so I want to fight someone with a little competence than him." Humphrey said, his heart still wounded by the events of the last battle. Humphrey always pictured The Citadel Leagues, to be a more balanced affair. Skill versus skill, talent versus talent. Not a one sided affair where one opponent literally crushes the other. However, Humphrey was no quitter. He got back up on The Citadel horse and kept marching right on into the sunset. Humphrey would be remembered! Humphrey decided that a return to The Jagged Mountains would be necessary. He would regain his honour after the events of that last battle.

This is now about honour. This is not about a personal vendetta against The Makai. I will defeat a superior Makai! Humphrey's smile grew into a grin. "Well it's like this Master Elder." Humphrey began. "I would like to return to The Dwarves of The Jagged Mountains and reclaim my honour after my last battle with Jack Frost." Humphrey scowled as he thought of that Makai. Despite his best effort, Humphrey was unable to exorcise that devil. He would be better prepared for the next time he fought Jack Frost. "I would like to use the same Arena as before sire." Humphrey said.

"As you wish young Master." The Monk said softly. "Be aware that your battle strategem will be recorded for The Citadel Leagues." The monk said with a hint of seriousness in his voice.

"I am well aware."

"Then you may proceed to the same chamber you used before. Chamber Number Twelve." The monk said casually and waved Humphrey off.

***

Broiling fire pits were adorned with the carcasses of great boars and other beasts that were common to Concordia Forest. They were dragged back to The Jagged Mountains by the stout Dwarven folk. Humphrey had grown to like the long-bearded folk as he studied the folk in their natural habitat. He sat amongst them, drank amongst them, and ate amongst them. But he accepted that he was not one of them. He was an outsider in an alien culture but it was one that he respected. Humphrey did not like the taste of Ale, but he accepted it as part of the customary practices of The Dwarves. A frothing goblet of ale known as "Strong Hammer Whiskey" sat in front of Humphrey. It burned when it went down his throat, but Humphrey was growing to like the spicy flavor of the hard liquor.

He took several gulps of the substance before biting furiously down on a leg of some wild creature or another. The meat was grilled over an open fire, and Humphrey decided that he rather enjoyed the succulent flavor. Wiping the fur of his face from food debris and grease, Humphrey was full and rather content with the situation. He'd been eating with The Dwarves in their feast for several hours now, socializing and getting to know his superior officers. It was adequate training. Most important, he was beginning to learn The Dwarves' native tongue. Humphrey looked at the foreman of the mining company he had joined prior to the battle with Jack Frost. The man addressed Humphrey.

"You have to return to that mine-shaft today Humphrey. You are getting better at basic Mining Skills. Once you meet your quotas for the day, you can have the rest of the day off. We shall be certain to send you a suitable opponent for your training. He will now how to find you. And Humphrey, take this with you. On top of your mining equipment." The foreman handed Humphrey a small orb. Humphrey could see the powerful rune symbol etched on the clear orb. Humphrey felt magic within it. "It's a glow-ball. Simple artifact really. We don't want you getting lost in the dark now." The foreman said.

Humphrey nodded.

***

After he'd fixed the glow-ball on a light fixture near his person, Humphrey blinked several times as the rune attached to the object lit up. It brilliantly released a glowing light. Humphrey sighed but kept a smile on his face, he was always ready for a good battle. He was always ready to put a Makai to it's eternal peace. Humphrey picked up his mining pick and began to work on a nearby Iron Node. His muscles tensed as he prepared for many hours of hard physical labor...

...and soon, The Monks would bring him his opponent.

[Bellator Magus]

Bellator winced, looking up, staring at the crystal skies, clear and devoid of anything; the Sun blazed downward, warming the side of his face; birds cawed to themselves musically and sent messages through the air; a single cloud hovered lazily through the air, clearly defying any and all hopes for rain, not that it was too hot or anything. It was the perfect scenery.

He got to his feet, groaning slightly. He hated perfect anything. And he also knew that he’d lost his last battle; they’d be coming for him soon; his skills could keep him alive for a while, but he knew even he couldn’t last forever; at most, he’d be taken out of commission within the year if he didn’t deliberately take himself out of the equation. Bell gave a shuddering sigh. The Monk looked down on him in concern. He’d told his crisis to the man beforehand.

There was a pause, before he spoke: “You… may need more help, if you plan on surviving. I know you don’t need help with stealth, but perhaps you could learn on how to fight in close range; I’ve set up an emergency battle for you when I realized you would die; if you’d rather not, I could cancel, but I would imagine you’d like the challenge.”

Bell gave a small grin before putting his hands on his hips and forcing his back forward, feeling the bones crack slightly. He sighed. “Thank you. Which chamber?”

“Chamber Twelve.”

Bell nodded, thankful for the kindness of the Monk and went back into the Citadel, prepared to win. He would not lose this battle. Losing this one would mean that he will lose in a situation that could cost him his life soon enough.

~~~

Stepping into the chamber, he was immediately assaulted by a swirl of scents, none of which seemed to meld together; the harsh scent of burned meat, mingled with the sweet smell of the grasses and trees of winter forestry combined with that of human body scents and feces from creatures he’d rather not be informed of all made him gag.

He started to walk back out before forcing himself not to. “I have to do this,” he softly murmured. A man noticed him then and began walking quickly towards his position. So this is my fighter, then, he thought, lowering himself into a defensive stance; he pulled out the small dagger-sized arrow he’d formed in his previous Citadel fight but never returned to original size, he started to creep forward, before the man immediately started shaking his head and shouting, “No! No! I’m not the one you fight!”

Bell hesitated, and lowered the arm holding his weapon and the man immediately sighed, wiping sweat from his brow. “I’m the foreman here,” he explained. “You will be fighting Humphrey. He’s already left for where you two fight at, and I promised I’d lead you to him, so follow me.”

Bell cocked his head in surprise. “…no?” He pushed past the crotchety old man, searching for anyone who appeared to be a worthy opponent. Suddenly, he felt a slight pain in his wrist and his hand involuntarily released; the arrow hit the ground.

“Never underestimate anyone here.” The pressure was released, and the arrow was handed back to the extremely embarrassed assassin. I’m doomed… he thought. “Will you follow me now?” The foreman asked, exasperatedly.

Several minutes later, the foreman stopped walking. “He’s down there, Humphrey.” He pointed to a small cave about 100 feet in. “This is where I leave you. Have fun, I suppose. Try not to hurt Humphrey too much. He still needs to finish his quota after this.”

Bell smirked. “Of course.” With that, he took note of his surroundings, and was surprised to note that there was little to nothing he could use besides what he had on him. “Damn…” Dejectedly, he started slinking forward to the entrance, watching carefully for any sign of movement. There was none, so he walked in casually, keeping to the walls and making as little noise as possible, until he heard the sounds and grunts of heavy working. Finally, he thought. I thought I’d never get to the fight. But he soon looked around and saw that he had a light somewhere near him; there would be no way that Ball could get closer to the human(oid?) without being immediately spotted.

Realizing this, he immediately bent to one knee and put away the small dagger. He grabbed the bow from his back and a single arrow from the quiver. Placing it silently into the notch, he lined up the arrow into place and took a slow, deep, calming breath. He then let go of the feathery tip and let it fly.

It’s target? Not Humphrey, of course. No, the target was the ball of light.

Without any following ado from that instant, he grabbed the small dagger from the ground, shrugging the bow back onto his back with the practice of a seasoned veteran and rushed for the competitor, intending to end this fight as quickly as possible, the way he was used to it – swift, violent, quick, and in the dark shadows of the night.

[~Humphrey_Nonyton~]

The next couple of moments became a blur. One moment, Humphrey was about to procure some ore from the node he was working on, when the next moment turned into bedlam. Humphrey heard a loud explosion where the hallway was once silent. The explosion was the result of a trained arrow striking the glow-ball on point. It was a bull's eye mark. Humphrey's senses were suddenly thrown into a chaotic spin. At once, a headache pierced his skull as a result of a sudden, bright, arcane light that filled the hallway. The symbol on the glow-ball manifested violently for a moment or three, then dispersed into the air.

As the glow-ball shattered there was a loud noise that created a magical vibration in the air. The headache was caused from a combination of the brilliant light, and the loud noise. It sounded like a thunderclap going off right next to him. Humphrey suddenly dropped his mining pick and clutched his head in pain. He had no way of evading the incoming attack.

Spinning around him, Humphrey became lost to the world. As he tried to regain order in chaos, the makai slayer felt a new sensation. Pain. Humphrey had felt pain before, but this pain was sudden, precise, and exact. Humphrey was stabbed in the arm facing his newly found opponent, the right arm, and cried out with a mixture of emotion. Blood trickled down his arm from the gash and then started to pour out. Humphrey hissed loudly at his foe, but his senses were still spinning out of control...

[Bellator Magus]

Bell raced forward, feeling his controlled breath, and gave a small smile. Success. But just before he reached the mammoth human standing before him, the orb blasted out a wide spray of glass and blinding light. Seeing as he was not only facing the ball but was actually running in its direction, he literally saw nothing for a long moment. He felt resistance on his arm and numbly was aware of the fact that it meant he’d made contact with the body.

Bell knew he was in a vulnerable position, not knowing exactly whether his opponent could see or not, so quickly pulled his arm back and felt the “dagger” leave the flesh as he rolled away, literally. Which wasn’t any better than anything else. The now-destroyed sphere had been made of glass or something similar, because he cut himself several times in his roll across the cavern. But still he got back to his feet, lowering his stance and turned to face a quick hissing sound, the sound of what he hoped was –.

Figuring his cover was blown anyway, he might as well introduce himself. “Why hello there,” he began cordially, still hoping he was facing the other. With the small walls, it was impossible to tell it hadn’t just echoed, but oh well. “I was told to come here and, ah, duel with you. My name is Bell, by the way. I’ll be the one who’s beating you.”

With the slightly vain introduction out of the way, he began to blink sharply, and started to see in chrome, which of course, was just as bad as the grayscale he’d been attempting to visualize before, if not worse. But no matter. At least he could tell he was staring at a wall, and quickly spun around until he saw a body and stopped suddenly.

A small smile crossed his face. He already had the advantage, but wouldn’t press it. He may be an assassin by profession, but damn it, he could be fair. So he made no more aggressive movements. Not yet, anyway. At least this man could exchange pleasantries with him before anything else happens.

[~Humphrey_Nonyton~]

Like a scorpion's tail, the blade stung him. Humphrey's head felt like it was going to explode. There was a loud ringing in his ears, and his skull was pulsing. Bright lights flashed all around the kitsune as he struggled to regain his balance. He did not scream, he did not falter. He simply resigned himself to his fate. Whatever had destroyed the glow-ball was more than likely coming for him too. Humphrey struggled against the heaviness in his lower body. His tail flickered about violently as he felt in the darkness for a sturdy surface to lean against. With the spinning world, it was hard to focus. It was hard to discern reality from the brilliant colours.

Humphrey finally clutched a nearby wall and leaned against it. His chest hurt, his breathing was heavy and he could feel blood flowing from the injury. A stranger spoke to him from the darkness, and he could not discern what the fellow was saying. It was all gibberish. But Humphrey did guess that the fellow was the on who had probably instigated the attack on his person. Grinning, Humphrey secretly admired the cold effectiveness of whatever mask his opponent chose to wear. It was dark then, but colours still spiraled around as a result of the elemental residue. It took a few moments, but the world finally righted itself.

Humphrey's excited breathing returned to a normal pace. Heaving up and down, his chest was gradually releasing the pain it had felt earlier. Clicking his teeth with his tongue, Humphrey turned to face the stranger that had so cleanly made his initiative attack on him. There was blood all over the acrobat. Shrapnel jutted out of various places of his flesh. Humphrey's body burned. But, that pain would become focus and drive. His eyes narrowed as he studied his opponent in the dark, accessing his night vision. Once that act was done, Humphrey's hand moved to the hilt of his katana.

There was a flash of metal in the darkness, and a steady glow that accentuated pitch black. The glow came from the enchantment on the slayer's sword. It was an anti-makai symbol. However, the symbol was not flared which meant that his opponent was no makai. Pity. Humphrey thought to himself as he stared in Bellator's general direction. Humphrey had not heard the man's words at all. They had sounded as a bunch of gibberish might. Keeping his weapon at a middle center of gravity, Humphrey covered the distance between himself and his opponent. There would be no diplomacy after the previous stunt.

"That was a clever trick." Humphrey said as he prepared to attack Bellator. "Caught me off guard with that one." Humphrey was angry, with his rage increasingly rising. "But you won't get lucky again." The acrobat hissed. "Now, I will show you what Akashimans are made of." With that, Humphrey did not waste a single moment and attacked. Using the skill of Akashiman martial tactics, Humphrey swung his weapon mightily with both hands on the grip. At about the apex of his swing, Humphrey suddenly slashed in a downward movement. He moved his wounded body forward as he slashed downward into a thrusting movement. The attack was meant to clip one of Bellator's legs.

Humphrey stared at Bellator the entire time, as if taunting.