battle (closed)

[sdwdrake]

(closed to chiroptera, eusimoto, vamrsh)

Crum is wandering around a town waiting to get word from his merc leader on his next fight.

He is wandering around a forgettable town hoping someone has a big ego and a small brain and will try to pick on him, when he spots a man approaching him. Crum recognizes the man as one of his merc leaders most trusted advisors.

“Greeting’s Crum how are you today?”

Crum just glares “What do you want?”

“I have bad news you know the battle we’ve been eyeing to the north.”

“Yes.”

“The battle wont be happening.”

Crum sighs, “Dam.” He eyes the advisor, “That doesn’t warrant you coming to see me, what do you want?”

“I have an alternative to that war.” He pauses, “the citadel.”

Crum eyes him, “what?”

“It’s a place for people to go to prove that they are the best.”

“Sound like there are a lot of fools out there. Good. So where is this place?”

“It’s in Corone.”

Crum laugh’s “good I’m close then.” And takes off towards the citadel.

The citadel was fairly impressive the massive main spire was quite impressive, there where many monks and many warriors and mages many of different races. Crum approaches the citadel but one of the monks stop him.

“I’m sorry son this is no place for a child of your age.”

Crum sees the other warriors laughing at him for trying to get in. He lift’s the monk off the ground with one hand.

“You SHALL let me in or I will KILL you!”

“Ok, sorry! We have a field open if you’d like.” The monk says while practically pissing himself. “go straight through the portal and you’ll be right there.”

“Thank you for cooperating.” As Crum places the monk on the ground and enters the portal.

[Eusimoto]

((happy birthday, by the way))

"What do you know about the Baron DuBoe? I've heard he's been having some trouble of late." Kalamu kept his voice low. The conversation was innocent in its own right, but as a general rule, he disliked being overheard.

The warrior, a Scarabrian knight taking a few weeks respite from conflicts with the Scourge, readusted his cape around his shoulderplates and frowned. "Not much. Just the usual rumors. I caught some news about a brawl at the Golden Crabscale a while ago. I mean, it was just a bar fight, but it certainly seemed to catch DuBoe's attention. It's rumored there was another noble involved, though why a nobleman would want to scuff up a dockside tavern is beyond me."

"Hm." Kalamu had heard of the Argente family's rabble-rousing on the docks, as well as their rivalry with DuBoe. The extent of the story, however, still escaped him. It was something he seeked to remedy, but this knight seemed to be as ignorant as he was. In that matter, at least. But the thing about the Citadel that had drawn him in the first place was that, with patience, one could find people who knew just about anything. "And what of--"

But he never finished the thought. Something unheard of happened in the doorway just next to him: a warrior threatened--physically threatened--one of the Ai'Bron.

“You SHALL let me in or I will KILL you!”

The boy couldn't be older than fourteen--or rather, didn't look like he could be any older than fourteen. But Kalamu knew better than anyone not to judge age by appearance. He raised an eyebrow and turned back to the knight as the peculiar child entered one of the open gateways. Of course, he had come here for the gossip--but there was nothing wrong with a little fun while he was at it.

"If you will excuse me," he said, bowing shallowly.

The knight grinned. "Off to beat up on little children, are we?"

Kalamu laughed. "Perhaps--but perhaps not. We shall speak again, Sir Vorstein."

"Aye, we shall."

Kalamu spun toward the portal, his cape flowing behind him, and strode through the doorway, nodding at the flustered monk as he passed.

[Chiroptera]

Eltarri Jordel walked unconsciously on her toes, lifting her heels so that her boots wouldn't ring against the marble floor. The towering pillars and limestone statues that lined the hall, accompanied by the robe-clad monks that moved quietly about, cast an ambience of serenity that made the Citadel seem more like a temple than a battleground. The few people that spoke did so in hushed voices; the only noise above the hum of soft conversation was the occasional shout of a particularly robust braggart. Eltarri had to force herself to keep her eyes facing forward so that she wouldn’t appear a complete idiot, waving her head around to see the foreign and exotic apparel and weaponry of the waiting battlers. Not for the first time the half-elf bit her lip, questioning herself for even being there. She didn't belong among all these warriors and mages. How had she convinced herself that this was a good idea?

“Is there any way I can assist you?”

Eltarri jumped and spun at the soft voice, blushing when she saw the brown robe and hood of a calm-faced monk. He was about her height and stood without a hint of challenge in his posture, but the girl felt the need to straighten her spine and throw up her head imperiously anyway, as if her presence could be validated by her attitude.

“I’m looking for a fight,” she declared, wincing as her voice echoed against the marble.

“Then you’ve certainly come to the right place.” The monk spoke in the same even tone, but his lips seemed on the verge of curling into a smile. “Any particular requests?”

The fact that the monk was obviously unimpressed by her pretense of competence deflated some of her eagerness, but Eltarri pushed her reluctance aside, glancing at the people around her, and spoke in a quieter voice.

“Is it true that you won’t really die if you get killed?” The inanity of the question made her blush.

“Partially. We revive our dead, so even if you are killed it isn’t permanent.”

“I’ve heard that the only way to cure oneself of fear is to face that which one fears the most.” She spoke in a murmur, half to herself, with head bowed and arms hanging loosely at her side. The monk let her wrestle with herself, patiently watching as the girl thought. After a moment she lifted her head, and her golden eyes glinted as she looked determinedly at the monk. “I want to be up against insurmountable odds.”

The monk nodded. Such requests weren’t as uncommon as might be expected. “I can't promise you anything, but if you're looking for a good challenge, your timing is perfect. There’s space in one of our open fields for another challenger. Are you interested in combating multiple opponents?” At her nod, he continued, “Then please follow me,” and led her down the hall to an open doorway through which Eltarri could only see an impenetrably bleak darkness. Another monk stood beside the door, conspicuously lacking the placid air that marked the rest of the monks she’d seen. His lips quivered and his eyes were wide as he watched her approach.

“Right through here," her guide said, gesturing towards the doorway. "Your rivals should be on the other side. I hope you find what you need, even it turns out not to be what you're looking for.”

For a second the girl looked expectantly at the monk, waiting for further explanation, but he only gave a slight bow and walked smoothly away. Too nervous to trouble herself with puzzling over the monk’s words, Eltarri took a deep breath and touched the hilt of her sword to assure herself of its presence. Standing up straight and steeling herself for whatever waited in the darkness, she stepped into the portal.

[Vamrsh Skylare]

Yes happy birthday to you. Sorry I was scowering the site for this thread but I couldn't find it...here we go.

As Vamrsh reaches the Citadel he finds upon him a great building resembling that of a religious temple... one that has the stench of blood and sweat and death, perfect. He passed the monks guarding the entrance without any disturbances yet only a few moments after he passed through he heard a yell from behind him.

“You SHALL let me in or I will KILL you!”

Well someone is quite aggitated Vamrsh smirked to himself. Yet it was the foolish monks fault for not realizing that the boy wasn't actually as old as he appeared. That kid just got everyone in this place to notice him and more than likely target him. In fact Vamrsh was thinking that he would be quite an interesting fight for himself.

Now that he was inside Vamrsh scanned the area seeing if he could see anything to notice about some fighters. But many were in towards themselves and he could barely tell if they were all awake, from thier lack of movement or sound. Then he spots a monk walking away from an elven woman... looking a little lost in this place.

"Excuse me sir, do you have any openings for fights?"

"Well there are always fights, however they have different types of them. Which would you like to participate in?"

"Since I can't die I might as well get my battle instinct back and try a tougher match... anything you could suggest?"

"It seems we have many participants that want a challenge today, there is a multiple opponent battle that has an opening you could join in."

"That sounds good, thank you good sir now which way is it to the stage for this fight?"

"Right this way, and please enjoy your fight." Motioning towards the same portal he did to the elven girl just a moment ago.

"I just might." Nodding to the monk and passing him to go towards the portal. Hmm so it seems I know one opponent thus far... Vamrsh thought to himself as he stepped through the portal with one hand on the hilt of one of his swords, covering his head with his black cloak.

[sdwdrake]

Crum enters the arena and looks around, the arena was fairly large, and it had a sand turf and an open sky above, it had little to no pillars and cover. There are 4 entrances to the arena including the one he just cane through.

“Perfect this is my kind of place.” Crum said to himself.

Crum draws his sword, knowing that to humans he looks like a child so he makes sure that his blade is slightly quivering and he has a pathetic look on his face.

Crum watches as a female human enters through another one of the portals wielding a massive sword looking confident, but Crum could tell differently the girl smelled of fear. This mad Crum laugh slightly in his mind, and thinks ‘this had better not be my ally.’

Then a phoenix enters through another portal wielding a strange blade Crum has never seen before and sees the calm assured look of a seasoned fighter and thinks ‘look’s like this is going to turn out fun after all’

And the last to enter was a male elf, he sees 2 blades on the elf ‘ah a duel wielder FUN!’

‘Looks like the adviser was right this will be very fun’ he thinks to himself, and mentally prepares himself for a fun fight.

[Eusimoto]

((many apologies for the delay!))

Dunes.

Kalamu smiled. Perfect. He hadn't been so close to home in a long time. The heat cascaded over his bronze-colored skin as he breathed deeply of the dry air. Arenas like this were half the fun of the Citadel.

He almost called out to the young-looking creature, but footsteps behind him bid him wait. He turned to see two more opponents appear on the sand before the portal faded away.

A dark-haired girl, barely a woman, clutched nervously at the hilt of her sword. He blinked as he eyed the weapon--she had to be certainly stronger than she appeared to wield such a colossal blade.

He smiled and bowed to her, offering his hand. "Hello. I am Kalamu." He didn't use an alias--he probably should have. Mentally he prayed the slip didn't bite him later. But for now, at least, it did no harm. "May I ask your name?"

[Chiroptera]

Eltarri stepped through the doorway of the portal and immediately threw an arm over her forehead, unprepared for the bright light that blazed suddenly in her eyes in stark contrast to the dim lighting in the Citadel. Her booted feet sank into almost four inches of golden sand and a cold rush of air from the closing portal behind her combated the hot wind that assaulted her from the front. She peered warily from beneath her arm, squinting in the sunlight and trying to pinpoint her opponents.

Before her stretched a rolling field of sand, dotted sparsely by sections of fallen pillars and the occasional small boulder. The blue sky overhead promised clear weather, providing not even a single cloud to block the scorching rays of the sun.

Oh gods, not another desert. . .

Her gaze landed on the slight figure of a boy who stood uncertainly a few paces to her left with a sword in his hand, eyes wide as he looked back at her. Rage blossomed in the girl’s chest. Wasn’t there an age limit on who could battle at the Citadel? Death was probably going to be a scarring experience! How could they let in a child? She took a step forward, determined to get close enough to the boy to protect him as best as she could. There had to be some kind of mistake.

She stopped mid-stride when a tanned man stepped suddenly in front of her through an empty stone doorway like the one she had just left. Glancing quickly behind her, she saw that there were four total, all only about a foot away from each other and – judging by the direction of his appearance – facing the same direction like cell gates in a prison. The man was tall and carried himself with an easy grace, like a lion who considered himself too in-charge to need caution. Eltarri stared at him warily, wondering if he was about to attack her, but the man unexpectedly gave a bow and stuck out a hand as though expecting her to shake it. He introduced himself, but Eltarri could only stare at him stupidly in response. Wasn’t he going to be trying to kill her soon? Why the hell was he smiling?

Her confused train of thought was interrupted when a rushing noise warned her of the arrival of her third opponent, who stepped from the fourth doorway that was beside her. This one wore a black cloak that covered his head, hiding even his race and age from Eltarri’s questing eyes. Her gaze whipped back around to the boy, then returned to the strangely polite fighter. Still perplexed by his behavior, she took advantage of his unthreatening stance and darted around him, nearly stumbling in the thick sand and hoping she wouldn’t find herself face-down with a dagger in her back for being dumb enough turn away from her enemies.

It took only a moment for her to reach the boy, and when she did she took one look at his face and decided that this one required some smooth talking. He looked frightened, but his eyes gleamed with some hidden strength and inner resilience, and she decided that telling him she would try to protect him wouldn’t do much standing up against his pubescent pride. She turned quickly and stood at his side so that she could see him out of the corner of her eye while her attention remained fixed on the other two.

“What do you say we tilt the odds in our favor?” She spoke to him in a quiet murmur as if he were an equal, hiding the worry she felt behind a façade of eager bravado. His arms were skinnier than hers! “Want to see how we’ll fare working together?”

[Vamrsh Skylare]

Stepping through the portal Vamrsh found himself to be in a desert with the sun beating down on him, yet he had his hood up luckly and it covered the beams. This was an interesting place to fight in. The sand would make it difficult for even Vamrsh to get good footing, thus lessening his dodging ability and his speed. Hopefully he could learn to make the sand work in his advantage.

After letting his eyes adjust to the bright light, Vamrsh looked around to see that the other opponents were here already. There was a man bowing to a young woman, and after stating his name asked her for hers. The man had a strange feeling to him, that somehow he was hiding something. But Vamrsh had no time to waste on things like this. Instead he focused on the girl. She was average sized with a not so average sized sword. Yet he could tell she was also part elven, from her pointed ears, so she could probably weild that sword well. Lastly was the small boy, he was quivering yet Vamrsh could tell that the quivering wasn't from fear. It was half forced, and half excitement. This boy could be trouble.

Just then a sudden movement caught Vamrsh's attention and brought one hand to the hilt of his left blade. But then he noticed it was the girl running around the man bowing to her, and clumsily making her way to the boy trying to whisper to him. Unfortunatly for her Vamrsh had greater hearing than humans because of his Elvish heritage. He overheard that she was planning on teaming with the boy and hoping to gain advantage in this fight. Hearing this inspired Vamrsh to make an alliance with the seemingly polite fighter.

Trying to determine a good way to keep his footing on the sand, Vamrsh walked over towards the man whom had called himself Kalamu and nodded to him trying to imply that he was not intending to fight with him, at least until need be. To this hope he wanted to make this an even 'bout and also make it fun to participate in.

This is starting to look promising.

[sdwdrake]

Crum watches as the one man greet the woman with the massive sword, Crum’s immense from both elf and dragon parents they sound like they were right next to him.

"Hello. I am Kalamu. May I ask your name?"

The confusion on the woman’s face was very easy to see.

‘Foolish woman’ Crum thinks.

He also notes that she is upset that a “child” would be allowed in, she was in for a surprise.

She rushed around the man tying to greet her and rushed up to Crum.

Crum was hoping that this meant the beginning of battle but was severely disappointed she was just trying to protect the “little kid”.

“What do you say we tilt the odds in our favor? Want to see how we’ll fare working together?”

Crum glanced up at the woman but never lost his frightened visage.

Crum could easily see through the brave face she put on it was easy to tell (for Crum) she was afraid, her smell of fear got stronger once she saw him, a “child”.

Crum quickly shifts his glance to the 2 others one obviously heard and looked at the other man and asked if they also wanted to team.

This was going to turn out to be very fun.

[Eusimoto]

The girl hesitated and darted around him to the other child. Kalamu hung his head and chuckled.

"Or we could skip to the carnage. Maybe chivalry is dead..."

He looked up to see her whispering with the young-looking one. He saw something in those eyes...those fearful, pathetic eyes...

His eyes. It was his fearful, pathetic guise, almost exactly. He used the trick all the time.

He caught the gaze of the final participant--an elf, no doubt sweltering under his cloak--and nodded back, before casting a wary gaze at the "child."

"There's something about the smaller one...there's more to him than meets the eye. I don't suppose you're a professional soldier..."

His hand went to his shamshir.

[Chiroptera]

Eltarri ground her teeth in frustration as the child merely looked blankly up at her with large, fearful eyes.

Great, he’s a halfwit, too!

She looked up at her opponents, squinting in the desert sun. How was this supposed to be fair? The hooded man was looking at the other one, but his eyes held none of the maliciousness that she expected to see in a person about to attack. The tan man must have spoken to him in the same unexpectedly polite manner that he used for her.

What does he think this is, some kind of social gathering?

A cold layer of sweat broke out on her forehead as she considered again that her sudden rush might not have been the wisest move, that perhaps the two men might have used her rash charge as a justification to ally against the boy and herself. The two men were larger and probably more experienced with their weapons, and neither one seemed worried in the slightest. Did she and the boy stand a chance against such an alliance?

Eltarri looked again at the boy beside her, who was staring at the men before them. Looking back at the muscular warriors herself, Eltarri wondered if it wouldn’t be wiser to just surrender now and ask that they let her take the boy back to his mother, who was probably waiting with frantic worry on the other side of the portals. I can always die another day . . .

Opening her mouth regretfully to call out her request, the girl stopped when she suddenly thought back to the conversation she had had with the monk moments before stepping through the portal. She’d asked him for insurmountable odds. What if the situation was more rigged than she had guessed? The monks didn't exactly have to know her to guess her actions in a situation like this. What kind of person would sit back and let herself die when there was an innocent child's mental stability at risk?

Glancing back at the boy, Eltarri thought again of the unlikelihood of a real child being allowed to fight grown warriors, even in an artificial arena. There had to be an innumerable number of magicians at the Citadel to provide the magic needed to generate the fields and to bring fallen fighters back to life. Who was to say that it wouldn’t be possible for them to create a life-like dummy, a puppet intended to trick the eyes of someone who was as admittedly gullible as she?

If I told them I wanted to lose, why wouldn’t they make it a team competition and give me an artificial ally? The boy must be a handicap.

The thought made the corners of her mouth lift in a slight smile. Tricky bastards. The new parameters made her feel as though the impending fight was more like a game, as if she shouldn't be surprised if the men in front of her attacked with wooden sticks instead of real weapons. Everything was in the control of the monks, so how would it hurt to play their game?

Determination filled her as she flexed her empty hands at her sides, eyes fixed on the warriors who stood only a few feet away. Which one would kill her? The question sent a tingle of anticipation down her spine. Desired death was imminent, but it couldn’t hurt to have some wholesome fun before she died.

“I'll take that as a 'yes,'” she murmured to the boy, "and my name's Eltarri." Her eyes narrowed and her smile grew into a vicious grin as the wind whipped dark hair across her face and sent sand spewing into the air. “What, are you two going to just sit there and drink tea all day? Let's get it on!"

[Vamrsh Skylare]

"There's something about the smaller one...there's more to him than meets the eye. I don't suppose you're a professional soldier..."

"I was... long ago, now I'm far less than I was but hopefully enough for this. And yes I can tell that child is hiding something... something powerful."

Just then Vamrsh noticed a change in moods of the woman by the child. She had seemed to be afraid at first, or maybe scared for the child. Either way she was not feeling that way now. Somehow she had changed her mind about this fight. Now her muscles were a little more relaxed and she had a smile, an almost happy smile. She seemed to be enjoying this for some reason...

"Watch out for the woman also, she seems to be ready to fight now."

Just as he finished whispering his sentence the woman shouted,
“What, are you two going to just sit there and drink tea all day? Let's get it on!"

"See what I mean?"

Now feeling challenged Vamrsh tensed up and grabbed the hilts of his swords. Gripping them tightly and pulling them ever so slightly from their holders, ready to be pulled out. This fight seemed one sided, but his experience told him to never judge a fight from the first look. Unless of course the first look was several scouts with extensive information on the enemy. Anyway he believed that they could still win if they played it smart... and if this man next to him would fight with him for the whole time, or just turn on him.

Either way he knew this fight would be a great way to get him back into fighting shape, in mind and hopefully a fully intact body.

"You shouldn't be so eager to die... especially after just meeting your enemy." Directing his voice at the woman, making it as threatening as he could.

[sdwdrake]

Crum watches the fool of a woman next to him, there was a subtle change in the smell emanating from the woman, she was no longer afraid.

She than whispers to him “I take that as a yes. By the way my name is Eltarri.” And a vicious grim appeared on her face.

Suddenly she yells “What, are you two going to just sit there and drink tea all day? Let's get it on!"

In his mind Crum couldn’t help but laugh.

Crum watches as the men discussing things to each other. Crum wasn’t paying much attention to them because this fearful look he was holding was starting to get very annoying.

"You shouldn't be so eager to die... especially after just meeting your enemy." The twin blade yells back.

‘Good the fights about to start’ Crum thinks to himself.

[Eusimoto]

"I was... long ago, now I'm far less than I was but hopefully enough for this. And yes I can tell that child is hiding something... something powerful. Watch out for the woman also, she seems to be ready to fight now."

Kalamu nodded. "I noticed that," he murmured.

The girl had displayed a surprising shift of tone. Her facial expression and body language had changed drastically and abruptly. He tried to guess her thoughts--he always tried to guess people's thoughts, especially when they were some kind of opponent--but he didn't know enough yet to project hypotheses. Certainly she'd had some kind of epiphany--but just what she had realized, he had yet to discover.

Then he grinned at the elf. "But once a soldier, always a soldier. It will be a pleasure fighting beside you, sir."

With a wide, dramatic flourish, he drew his shamshir from its sheath and swung it twice around his wrist, starting to circle around to the young pair's right flank. "Indeed, child. You know what they say--Fools rush in where Haidians fear to tread."

He wouldn't make the first move. Very rarely did he ever make the first move, no matter what kind of contest it was. If he did, it was always an experimental poke--just to measure his opponent's response. His feel for the girl's personality suggested she might be the same--but he wasn't so sure about the elf. Perhaps he would be the one to ignite the bloodbath. And then there was the boy...

This was getting interesting.

[Chiroptera]

Eltarri’s fingers twitched as the tanned man – Kalamu, had he called himself? – drew his sword and twirled it confidently before beginning to move through the thick sand. Her golden eyes flickered quickly to the elf, then fixed back onto the man with the naked blade as her right hand rose to encircle the long hilt of the sword on her back, the left lifting to rest at the clasp on the harness across her chest. Let the game begin!

For one second the man’s direction confused her. Why was he walking to the side when his adversaries were in front of him? Then the girl remembered the way wolves hunted in packs, spreading themselves to encircle their prey before all attacked at once from different directions. Her smile faded as her eyebrows lowered from a flash of worry. That seemed a rather basic strategy, but if these men were both seasoned warriors, who knew what other kinds of schemes they would have up their sleeves?

She kept her hand on her sword and began stepping sideways, matching Kalamu’s pace so that he wouldn’t be able to flank her without decreasing the distance between them. With a pang she realized that moving away from the boy might leave him open to an attack from the cloaked warrior, but it seemed more prudent to ensure that the one that was already armed wouldn’t have the opportunity to attack them from behind. She hoped the boy had the sense not to do anything too absurdly stupid, in case she needed him later for a distraction. The reminder of her dummy-partner made her remember, almost with embarrassment, the rigged nature of the match. Who was to say that their entire strategy hadn't been formalized in advance? Tightening her sweaty grip on the sword, Eltarri pushed aside her worries and focused her attention on confronting the situation at hand. She had asked to lose and was destined for failure. Why waste energy worrying about it when she could be having fun?

“Forgive my earlier brusqueness, sir, I am unaccustomed to fights that begin with cordial introductions." She spoke with as much sarcastic mockery as she could muster, smiling as she stepped across the sand. "My name is Eltarri, and I look forward to trying to kill you.”

[Vamrsh Skylare]

"Greetings Eltarri, I apologize for this but I think its time we start."

At this Vamrsh pulls out his short swords and starts to strafe to the left opposite that of his ally. Time to begin the fight... it was time to test his abilities again, and to see if he could at least test the abilities of others. If he could do anything productive in a fight... of course he could.

What was he thinking... he was a warrior a soldier of an army he has to be able to help in fights, that is what he was trained for. Now was his chance to do that... this is his chance to shine. Suddenly a bloodlust started creeping into Vamrsh's mind as he leaned forward and started to charge at the two fighters in between himself and his ally. Pulling his swords infront of his face, Vamrsh ducks his upper body forward and goes into a mad dash towards his enemies.

Now the fight truely begins...

[sdwdrake]

Crum watches as the fight begins.

‘FINALY IT’S FUN TIME’ Crum thinks in joy as he watches the woman and the duel wielding man stalk to his left and the other man begins heading to his right, Crum didn’t care about the man the woman was fighting, the elf was his!

Crum had no plans on striking first, he never had any luck when he did that so he waited, still determined to have his “fun” and kill this man early.

Crum watches as the fool charges.

Crum waits till the man is right in front of him to strike.

“DIE!” Crum cackles in glee as he lunges at the fools chest.

[Eusimoto]

Kalamu laughed, leaning his head back casually. "I as well, Eltarri. May it be a stimulating contest."

Yet another ruse he had found much use for over the years. Casualness. The laid-back, unattentive, overly-cocky fighter. He held his blade loosely, waving it undeterminably through the dry, hot air--but not too loosely, not too casually. Even as he laughed, he stayed perfectly alert. One thing was clear: There was little that was clear about these two children. Caution, care, and cunning were irreplacable when dealing with types like these.

He started to say something else--

And then his partner charged. His prediction had been correct.

He leaned in, pushing through the sand. The move had to be quick. They had to engage at the same time, to prevent their opponents from reuniting. The ground slid, shifted--like walking through water, against the current. This was why his kind preferred wings.

But he dashed on across the dune, breathing deep of the waterless desert sky. It smelled hot--an odd sensation, to be sure. A stinging scent, devoid of all else--like cinammon without the spice.

And then his shamshir was arcing up, and then the blade was racing down...

[Chiroptera]

If there was one thing Eltarri didn’t like, it was a confident opponent. It was hard enough to fight people who were crazy with their weapons, swinging wildly out of fear and desperation, but facing someone who laughed easily and who held their weapon as though it were a friend and not some kind of volatile serpent was definitely a most unsettling situation. She realized after she’d spoken that her words may have made her sound cocky, but by then it was too late to take them back, and Kalamu's response told her that her bravado was unimpressive anyway.

A ‘stimulating contest?’ Is this guy a fighter or a minstrel?

A blur of movement made Eltarri’s head whip to the left in time to see her cloaked opponent duck into a mad dash towards her partner, sword at the ready. Eltarri swallowed a curse, ruing what she assumed would be the loss of her decoy. Movement in front of her brought her attention back to the polite warrior, who was no longer laughing.

Eltarri’s mind froze for half a second at the sight of the large man bearing down on her, weapon in hand. Clouds of sand kicked up behind his feet, and it was only due to the hindrance of the sand that Eltarri was able to react before he’d cleaved her in half. Yelping involuntarily, her left hand flashed to the harness across her chest and the right swung up to grab the handle of her sword. Her eyes were focused on the man as she tried to block out the distracting feeling of regret over the loss of her partner.

Three, two, one-

When the man was less than two feet away from her, Eltarri moved. With a harder-than-necessary yank Eltarri pulled the harness’ clasp and ducked, stepped as far to her right as she could, out of the weapon’s descending path and to the side of the warrior. Triggering the clasp made the sling on her back release her sword, and the half-elf used the one hand that held the hilt to swing it in an arc around her right side, bringing her left hand to join the other on the hilt and tightening her muscles to add momentum to the sweeping blow directed at the warrior’s unprotected back.

[Vamrsh Skylare]

Crum waits till the man is right in front of him to strike.

“DIE!” Crum cackles in glee as he lunges at the fools chest.

"Hmph, what do you take me for a fool?" Vamrsh smirked while saying this statement. To back up his remark he shifts his weight to his right foot and starts to strafe to the right, around the lunging blade with ease.

Now with his small opponent open to a strike he pulls both swords to his front and holds the hilts to just the right angle to point the tip of the blade towards the childs chest.

"Don't think you know your opponent that quickly!" shouting to increase his energy and create a sense of intimidation.

[sdwdrake]

Crum cackles in glee as the man dodges to the side and sees the attack coming.

“OH BUT I DO!” Crum Cackles, and dodges to the left as the elf strikes at him. “NOW DIE!” and swings at the mans legs trying to hamstring him, and then continues into a violent series of attacks.

[Eusimoto]

((if I killed this thread I'm gonna feel really guilty...but drake's pmed me, so he's around, and i've seen chiroptera about...apologies, guys!))


Fascinating.

She was fast. Granted, children were usually quick on their feet, but this one was quick with her mind as well. He barely had time to see what she was doing, correct his weight, bend a knee--

He rolled over the crest of the dune, pivoting to one side and just missing the blade. He kept his momentum, using it to spin to his feet.

She would have to be slower now. With such a colossal blade, she only had to manage one hit for a kill--but each swing would take longer than his weapon would. He loved the lightness of glass. He would plan accordingly--

And though he couldn't see it, just hearing his partner's duel was enough to surprise him. What kind of demon was that boy?

Speaking quickly, he managed to say, "I think your partner is from hell." He continued the motion, the spinning arc, as he rose, extending his arm for a horizontal swipe. She would be hard-pressed to raise her sword in time.

[Chiroptera]

((Glad to see you back, Eusimoto! You had me worried there, for a second. Or two . . .))

Eltarri was already patting herself on the back for her unprecedented good timing when the man suddenly disappeared beneath her blade, leaving nothing to stop her momentum from spinning her in a complete circle. Embarrassment made her neck red as she did her best to stop, but the shifting sand provided little friction.

You’re in a life-and-death battle and twirling around like an idiot!

A jerk of her wrists brought the sword down until the tip slid into the sand and the girl twisted her hands to grab the hilt point-down, giving her a tentative anchor to stop her uncontrolled whirling. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Kalamu moving even faster than she had, popping out of his roll and rotating towards her, thin blade sweeping at her back as hers had towards his only seconds ago. Hands still on her hilt, Eltarri allowed herself a half-smile. Her Elven heritage did give her some natural inclination towards nimbleness and speed, but not even a human would have to work hard to surpass her reflexes. That being the case, it was with relief that Eltarri recognized it was not on her own skill that she was relying.

She saw the warrior’s mouth moving and heard “partner from hell,” but then the red bracers on her arms tightened, and her hands were involuntarily moving faster than she ever could have intentionally. Still holding the sword upside-down, her arms jerked the weapon out of the sand and swung it into the path of the approaching weapon, intercepting the blade near the hilt of her own sword. Eltarri barely felt the force of the hit as the bracers tightened her arms to take the blow, but her mind had jumped to the duel that was going on a little ways away.

Was he talking about his partner or mine? She didn’t know how fast Kalamu would attack again, but the bracers didn’t need her attention to move her to defend herself. Sparing a glance at the cloaked warrior and the boy, Eltarri rapidly went through her options.

He can’t hit me and I can’t hit him. My decoy’s in trouble and I definitely can’t lose him because even with the bracers I won’t be fast enough to take on two at once.

Not for the first time, she wished that the magical armbands would guide her in offensive strikes as well, but such wishing never seemed to influence her armor.

On impulse Eltarri didn’t wait for the warrior to withdraw his blade for the next attack. Instead she pushed forward on her horizontally-held sword, driving her own weapon perpendicularly against the smaller one of the warrior before jumping back and breaking into a struggling run as fast as she could across the meters that separated her from her partner, hoping the push had put Kalamu off-balance enough that he wouldn’t try to hurl something sharp into her back.

[Vamrsh Skylare]

Barely seeing the strike coming from behind him Vamrsh was able to dodge the cut towards his lower legs, but is unable to move fast enough to get away from the other swings at his body.

"Hmph, hell... I doubt it." Vamrsh says while examining his wounds quickly having backed far enough away from the boy that he had a few seconds to rest.

Damn Vamrsh, what are you doing? This is just a child you were an elite warrior, no one could defeat you and your team back then... my team... . Maybe they were his strength... maybe now he was worthless because he had no backup.

"NO!!!" Vamrsh shouted to the skys telling himself that he was able to fight still, but not for his team, he fought for himself now.

Now he advanced slowly towards the demonic-like child. A quick rush was obviously non-effective, especially with all this sand slowing his movements and making him sloppy. He knew he could fight and that was all he needed, he drew his blades upward again holding them near his waist and preparing for a close-combat match.

Drawing close to the boy Vamrsh jumps into the air above the boy and uses his right arm to swing a blade downward towards his enemy's head. This distracting him from the blade that would follow, directed towards the side of his chest.

[sdwdrake]

Crum watches as the elf jumps high for his attack, and the only way as far as Crum could see to stop him was swung violently at the descending elf, and try to launch him, Crum knew the sand under him probably wouldn't be able to take the strain of the hit but he stood his ground anyway.

"Fool you think you can beat me!" and laughs. "you shall DIE!"

[Eusimoto]

Or perhaps she wouldn't be hardpressed at all. For the briefest of moments, the blurred motion of Eltarri's parry threw a wrench into the machinations of Kalamu's mind.

How could she possibly have managed--

And in that tiny lapse of confusion, the girl found her window to literally knock him off balance.

He stumbled backwards, driven by the flat of the great blade. He should have been thinking, should have been prepared, but he wasn't ready for the purchase-less slope down the backside of the dune and fell clumsily backwards. The spray of sand offered him just enough clarity of vision to see her darting toward his partner.

No!

The pincer was broken. If she made it to the other pair and eliminated the elf, he'd have to deal with her and the hell-child at once, and quite honestly, he was having enough trouble with her.

Slower than he would have liked, thanks to the sand, he stood, readied his blade, spun, slashed the air--

There would be no better time to play his trump card.

A swath of flame lashed out from the shamshir, enhanced and concentrated into a great rushing blade of fire by the sword's channeling. The blaze swept through the air toward Eltarri's back, and Kalamu charged after it.

[Chiroptera]

How the . . . Eltarri nearly stopped in shock at the height that the cloaked man had attained. No human she’d ever met had been able to jump so powerfully, certainly not out of ground as unsteady as sand! But more perplexing than her opponent’s actions were those of her ally. The boy’s face was contorted in a sinister laugh, a chortle that sent shivers down her spine. Where was the frightened lad she’d seen before? Taunting words were pouring in a harsh tone from his lips, but he stood unmoving, even though his sword was out and stained with . . . was that blood?

Eltarri pushed herself to run faster, racing to reach the decoy before the cloaked man's sword could. The boy may somehow have managed to hit the warrior, but he certainly wasn’t moving defensively now. She was a foot away from the boy when the bracers on her arms suddenly tightened, twisting her torso around and pulling the sword into a horizontal shield facing the direction that she had just come from. She expected to see some manner of shiny object flying towards her, but her eyes widened when all she saw was a line of blazing flame shooting through the air.

He’s a magician?

The sword of fire slammed into the flat of her blade, sending a wave of heat across her face and smashing the other side of her sword against her chest, the force of the flame acting like a shove to propel her backwards towards the boy.

[Vamrsh Skylare]

Vamrsh decends upon the boy and uses his sword in his right hand to deflect the first wild swing and using this moment points his sword down towards the boys ribs in hopes of taking him out of the fight now.

As he nears the sand he shoves his sword right at his target, knowing that he had deflected the boy's sword so he was open. He needed to get a lead on the boy because he could see the partner was trying to leave her battle and help the child.

It seemed even worse when he saw flames and the girl coming faster, but backwards... must have something to do with his partner.

But now Vamrsh's full attention was on his target, and making it stop fighting.

[sdwdrake]

Crum just sees the attack from his opponent in tim to dodge it, but he was just not fast enough, the short sword cuts a shallow wound in Crum's arm.

"YOU BASTARD ELF YOU FUCKEN BASTARD ELF!! I WILL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT!" Crum screams in absolute rage, 'how dare that elf hurt me' Crum thinks to himself, as he enters half-dragon form.

Crum flares his wings in rage and lifts off the ground, to start attacking from above.

"YOU FUCKING ELF!! I'LL KILL YOU ALL!!" Crum yells.

[Eusimoto]

Kalamu spun his blade in a tight cross-arc, releasing three more smaller swaths of fire. The girl's reflexes bordered on the unnatural...what was she?

And then a pair of demon wings sprouted from the boy's back, and he rose into the dry, searing air, roaring obscenities that obliterated his earlier "innocent" ruse.

More importantly, what was he?

With even greater urgency, Kalamu darted over the sand, readying Nurusima to strike as soon as physically possible.

But then he heard the hissing, the creaking, the soft hush of falling sand whispering from under the ground.

What in Mitra's fire?

Off to the right, a nearby pillar, riddled with fractures, shuddered, and sank beneath the dust. Kalamu skidded to a halt when he realized what was--

But then it was too late.

A great rumbling moan shook the dunes, and then the sand was crashing, roaring, rushing down in a mad torrent of fire and dust. The great hissing of it drowned out all other sounds as the ground all around the fighters gave way.

Kalamu bent his knees, digging his free hand into the dust, trying to ride the earthy current.

Cursed monks, may Mitra consume you...

The sandy cataract finally struck the bottom of the abyss. Enough sand had fallen that Kalamu landed shocked, aching, but unharmed. He rolled, spun to his feet, and swept his gaze across the cavern. Great amber slats of light radiated in a great star from the hole in the roof of the chamber, and swirling swarms of sand spiralled around inside of them. In the haze, he couldn't see his opponents, or even his ally--only the barely illuminated walls of the cave, the great, ancient pillars, and in the shadows, rumors of immense, age old murals, spanning from the half-lit ground into the darkness far above.

The Ai'Bron have outdone themselves this time...

Quickly, he ducked into the shadows.

[Chiroptera]

While falling towards her partner, Eltarri had time to notice his foul language with astonished reproach before her back hit the sand, and then she was staring up at a pair of reptilian wings that stretched out from the now not-so-boyish form of her partner. She gawked stupidly, too stunned and alarmed to do more than stare.

Maybe the dummy theory wasn’t quite so apt . . .

But then the ground was falling out from beneath her back, and even the dragon-boy-partner thing didn’t seem like such a big deal compared to suddenly having to feel the full effects of gravity on an unanchored mass. Her stomach flew into her throat as she fell, barely managing to keep her grip on her sword as she plummeted with the waves of sand. Hitting the ground wasn’t as painful as she was expecting it to be, but it was still forceful enough to jar every bone in her body. Breathing was laborious and painful through cracked ribs, but definitely worth the trouble.

Who the crap did that? It couldn’t have been natural, could it? Maybe the elf was a magician who could make earthquakes strike, or maybe Kalamu had fancy tricks other than flaming projectiles hidden up his sleeve. Eltarri pushed herself to her feet and ran for a wall, coughing up sand and trying to regain her breath as she moved. Her hand moved to rest against her side, feeling the ribs that already ached from the fall. She was starting to get the feeling that this fight was way over her head.

The walls were smooth and damp, dark stone made darker by the fact that the only light came from the monster-sized hole in the ceiling through which they had all fallen. Sand had showered in copious-enough amounts that a thick layer now covered the floor of the cavern, but the sand was rapidly turning into gritty mud from the fetid water that had stayed at the cavern floor for longer than was advisable.

“Blast, blast, blast!” She couldn’t think of a better way to express herself, and only realized after the utterance that it was probably a stupid thing to announce her location to whoever or whatever else was in the region. The darkness suited her fine; her half-Elven heritage gave her relatively good vision in the dark, but it was the strange turn of events that was throwing her off. What had happened to the innocent-looking boy who she was supposed to be allied with? Sure, he’d turned into that dragon-thing, but how did that affect their relationship? Had he been serious when he’d said that he was going to kill them all?

And where were her opponents? She’d seen more fiery darts whizzing through the air before the fall, but where was the gentlemanly Kalamu now? Buried beneath the layers of wet sand? Waiting behind a boulder to throw another fiery spear at her heart?

Blast, she thought again, panting asthmatically with her back to the cold wall, her sword loosely held in one hand and her ribs tightly clutched in the other. Wish that monk had warned me about this kind of crap . . .

[Vamrsh Skylare]

Vamrsh watches as his small oppenent now transforms himself into a half-dragon type being. Then he spreads those newly made wings into the air and takes off.

"Oh shit, I guess I pissed him off a little too much." Vamrsh grinned as he said this and was now thrilled to be fighting such a close fight with a rude opponent.

But as he was starting to think about his next move, the ground beneath him started to shake and slide. He looked down and noticed that the sand was starting to fall into a hole that had appeared near them. The other opponent had already fallen in and so had his new-found ally.

"Heh, guess they like to make it interesting in here don't they." Vamrsh wasn't cursing this new development because it gave him a chance to take this flying menace out of the skies.

He ran towards the hole and kept his balance while sliding down the sand-slide flowing down the hole. Just when he reached a hard enough spot in the pile of sand he threw his weight forward and rolled to the stone floor around the hole. Quickly surveying his surroundings of a cavern of some sort Vamrsh dashed at one of the pillars in this ancient place to hide. Luckly there wasn't any light besides the hole so he could use his cloak finally and hide himself in the shade to determine a new strategy for this fight.

As he was dashing behind the pillar he saw his 'ally' a little deeper in by another pillar and quietly went towards him making just enough noice to let him know he was coming.

[sdwdrake]

Crum seeing his prey escaping roars in fury and charges after him.

"GET BACK HERE YOU FUCKING ELF!!" Crum roars in fury.

and watches as his opponent sinks into the ground. Seeing the elf fleeing Crum couldn't help himself and dove right in after him.

"Where are you elf?" Crum says with a laugh, "Come out, come out, where ever you are." and starts to sniff the air in an attempt to find him. Crum was quickly able to find his 'ally' and her opponent, 'but where is the ELF' Crum thinks to himself in frustration, finally he finds him, the sent of his wound was so easy to track.

"there you are." Crum whispers to himself, as he lifts off into the air, wanting to have some fun with his opponent, he stays in the shadows, trying to get a lock on his opponent.

"You shall die elf..." Crum whispers to him self in anger, "All elf's deserve to die."

[Eusimoto]

Kalamu breathed, and listened.

This is what you wanted, is it not? A contest to challenge your tactics, your cunning, your skill? The task is before you. Now, complete it.

He heard the dragon-thing's shrieks as it descended into the cave. Risking a glimpse from behind a pillar, he saw the demon child whisk itself into the shadows and out of sight.

Interesting.

It's not a complete beserker. It still maintains tactical strategy, reason. Perhaps it's just crazy. Skilled, and at least moderately intelligent, but crazy. Which makes it as dangerous as I had feared.

From somewhere across the cavern, Eltarri shouted her own curses. Kalamu smiled. The change in terrain had caught her off guard, thrown her off balance. He doubted the instability would last, though. From what he'd seen of her, she was very good at handling herself and would regain her bearings quickly.

But what of...

Footsteps.

He spun silently, bringing his blade to bear. But the steps were measured, refined. Not the steps of the crazed dragon creature. He lowered his shamshir, nodding to the elf.

Hurry, now. There's not much time before the girl gathers her senses.

He hurried away from his ally, keeping to the blackness by the wall. He peered hard across the cavern, but saw nothing. He stopped and took a moment to breathe. Raising his right hand, he let a small fireball fly across the cave.

Immediately he darted away so the move wouldn't give away his position. But as he ran, he watched, searching the glow around the firedart as it traveled for any sign of movement.

[Chiroptera]

As the dragon’s voice echoed in the underground chamber, Eltarri couldn’t stop a plaintive whimper from escaping her lips. The lack of muffling and her Elven hearing combined to allow her to hear the whispered convictions of her partner, and his angry declarations chilled her to the bone.

All elves deserve to die.

Suddenly Eltarri felt very small, very helpless, and very, very alone. The dragon-boy had gone renegade, leaving her alone against the other two armed warriors who were no doubt sneaking up on her even now. Her gaze darted around the chamber, but she could only see about ten feet in front of her, and every shifting shadow looked like a cloaked assassin or a trained killer.

Come on, get it together. Strategize. You need to think!

Light flared suddenly from across the cave, ruining Eltarri’s night vision and temporarily banishing her capacity for thought. It grew steadily and speedily and as it dawned on her that it was another fireball that was racing towards her, she pushed her sword out in front of her and dived sideways onto the ground, grunting as her ribs slammed again into hard rock. The fireball shot by her, far enough to her left that it wouldn’t have hit her even if she hadn’t attempted evasion, and smashed into the wall behind her, leaving a dark imprint in sizzling stone.

Eltarri lay frozen in the wet sand, paralyzed by indecision. She had an inkling of where Kalamu was, at least, which might be useful if she ever wanted to risk the dragon’s wrath by running across the middle of the cavern. On the other hand, now that he and everyone else knew where she was, it probably wasn't a wise course of action to draw further attention to herself by moving. But wouldn’t it be even more stupid to lay there and wait for them to come?

Stifling another groan, the half-elf pushed herself to her hands and knees and dragging her sword beside her across the few feet that separated her from a boulder that rested two feet away from the wall. She crouched behind the boulder and, picking up a handful of sand and small rocks, tossed it back in the direction that she had come from. It wasn’t the cleverest of ruses, but she hoped it would buy her enough time to think up a plan that didn’t end with her getting crisped by a fireball or squashed by a traitorous dragon.

[Vamrsh Skylare]

Vamrsh heard his ally but had not cared about the girl at this time. He was more worried about the half-dragon that was flying down the hole in the sand.

He hears the dragon cry out with anger then suddenly it is quiet, too quiet for the beast which was becoming outraged... then he realized that his wound was bleeding profusely so he wrapped it up with a part of his shirt and then it hit him. This dragon must be able to smell him and has tried to catch the scent.

If this were true then he wouldn't be able to hide anywhere in here but he could use the darkness to his advantage in the fight. Using his advanced agility he glided across the floor nearly soundless food steps fell while he found himself behind a pillar that was closer to the hole but still partially in the shadows.

He pulled out of his daggers and used it as a mirror scoping out the area where the dragon-man had flown into.

[sdwdrake]

Crum couldn't help but smirk, the smell of blood that the elf was giving off was almost intoxicating, to Crum it was one of the most beautiful smells in the realm, the elf was going to die, that was all Crum could think as he started his attack on the elf, he came in low and quiet, planning on taking the elf unaware and slicing him to ribbons. Crum's blade inches out beside himself and gets ready to strike, his opponent was so close, elf blood there was nothing sweeter than that.

Crum swung his sword silently and deadly at where he believed the elf was, the smell was strongest near a pillar so he struck with all his strength and hatred for the elfish race.

[Eusimoto]

A twitch of a shadow at the rim of the fire's gleam, a grunt from the darkness just beyond.

Got you.

The light faded as quickly as it had flared, immediately followed by a scuffle of gravel and sand. Kalamu frowned. The sound had come from the opposite direction of her movement. Either she'd been very quick--or she was being clever.

He chanced a silent sprint across the corner of the chamber, straining his ears for further movement from the girl's hiding place. Unfortunately, the only sound was his--one step landed loudly in a stagnant drip pool.

He ran hard and drew flush against the far wall, gritting his teeth for the slip.

Quickly, now!

But he paused, feeling the wall. Bumps. Little round, smooth protrusions, gathered all in patterns. Glass. A mosaic of glass beads.

He brushed one hand over the surface, and a handfull of tiny beads fell away. He caught them in his other hand and smiled.

This will be interesting.

He drew part of his cloak over the handful of glass, and a soft gossamer glow grew against the underside of the fabric. He bent his mind to the task, funneling the sharpest feelings of pain he could find in that short moment into the tiny orbs. In less than a moment they were full to bursting, ready to pour out that knowledge, those memories, that pain, with even the briefest touch.

It was by far the strangest application of a phoenix egg imbuement he'd ever thought of. It made him rather proud.

Then he sprinted again along the wall, toward the next corner, adjacent to where he'd seen her dive. Whether she really had managed to dive back the way she'd come, he did not know--but the little enchanted beads would remedy that shortly.

As he reached the corner, he raised his fist and let fly into the darkness.

[Chiroptera]

Eltarri winced at the rush of air as the large winged mass of the dragon dove from the sky, swooping in a fiendish attack that sent reflected light off his sword bouncing across the opposite wall. Eltarri breathed a sigh of relief. The dragon was heading towards the wall on her right, probably towards that hooded guy since Kalamu, who'd been across from her, hadn’t shown any signs of having super-speed in his already impressive arsenal.

I need to pick up some magical abilities, she decided. Everyone around her always seemed to be able to do things that she had never even imagined possible. Did everyone in the world beside her know how to shoot fireballs or turn into a dragon or fly? It was about time she started working on a way to diminish their unfair advantages.

A splash of water not unlike the noise of a foot in a puddle jerked the girl out of her thoughts, whipping her attention away from the lunging dragon and towards the other side of the chamber, her heart suddenly pounding again. She strained her ears, but not even the whisper of cloth followed.

Blast! Was it safe to stay put? She didn't want to have to venture out into the lit ground, but the pyromancer might be sneaking around the perimeter of the room, creeping up to blow her to tiny bits with a well-aimed fireball! Eltarri glanced warily up towards the top of the boulder that shielded her from most of the room, tightening her grip on her sword. She didn’t like this kind of fighting, this covert game of subterfuge and stealth. Her immobility was just making her more nervous as every fiber of her being screamed to run, to flee, but where was there to go? She could careen around the room like a headless chicken, but that was an even worse idea than standing around.

A flurry of noise from her left made Eltarri jump to a standing position, glaring through the darkness for signs of the warrior. Normally her night vision was fairly good, but with the semi-bright beams coming through the hole in the roof, her eyes couldn’t get fully adjusted to the darkness around the edges. She caught a glimpse of motion along the wall, and then tiny dots of soft light were suddenly flying at her, spreading like a web as they arced through the air.

What the . . .

Her muscles were tense, but the bracers on her arms never tightened. That usually meant that whatever was approaching wasn’t a threat, but cowardly instinct made Eltarri twist sideways and attempt to shield herself from the shoulder down with the broad flat of her downward-pointing blade, just in case. A moment later the shower of beads splattered against the sword, her bracers, her hair, and her boots.

In the moment that imbued bead made contact with flesh, Eltarri knew pain.

What started as tiny pinpricks of discomfort across her face, neck, and hands grew exponentially into sharp throbs of pulsing agony. It was as if someone had set fire to her skin, a fire that sought out her pain recepting nerves and maliciously burned away the ends of them. Eltarri lost her grasp on her sword as she stumbled backwards against the wall behind her, scratching at her face and neck with her stinging hands and trying to stifle the agonized whimpers that were coming out of her mouth. She wanted to drop to the ground and rub sand onto her burning skin, to lie in a bath of cold stagnant water and let mildew grow on her until the pain seeped away, but rubbing at the afflicted skin did nothing to alleviate the suffering.

Stupid coward, hiding in dark corners and throwing agony at people who just want to have a quick death . . . Pain lingered on her skin, but now anger was burning as well, making her do her best to find her sword on the ground through eyes blurry from tears. Was that a legal move, to strike pain without causing any damage? It certainly wasn't fair. She still expected to die, but she was starting to entertain the notion that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to take at least one obnoxious warrior with her.

[Vamrsh Skylare]

Vamrsh heard the dragon pulling closer but then went farther to where he had been standing before. Then a loud CLANG rang out as the half-dragon's sword smashed into the pillar that must have been where he was before and was bleeding all over it.

So he is detecting me by smell when it is too dark. Its information but still won't help me much since he can hear too. I've got to try and end this now.

With that thought he charged from behind the pillar he was hiding dashing towards where the clang came from with a sword in each hand by his side ready to strike. Ready to attack the half-dragon that was blinded by rage and confused by blood.

[sdwdrake]

Crum watches the area around himself carefully and lets his nose lead him to the elf, blood is always an easy way to track an opponent, the smell slightly permeates the air but he was still able to track it, and quickly finds the newest traces of the blood he can find and begins to silently follow it, the slight updrafts from the warm sand below allows him to glide with ease.

Crum couldn't help but laugh at the game of cat and mouse, "I will find you elf, I will kill you elf, I will kill you, yes i will, slowly and painfully you shall die elf, come to my blade ELF!!" Crum laughs evilly as he follows the elf, Crum also knows that speaking would have given up his location, so he turns and starts to follow the elf from a different direction.

[Chiroptera]

((Eusimoto seems to have gone MIA. We’re going to continue without him, bunnying as necessary.))

The dragon’s cruel voice poured down from the sky, but the shudders that wracked Eltarri’s body were caused by the pain that lingered in her skin. She was crouched in the sand, her hands sliding frantically across the ground, her head wrenching from side to side in the desperate but futile hope of catching a glimmer of light off her black blade. It had to be somewhere nearby. She did her best to ignore the pain, but it seemed to have been engineered to be most effective in the long term. It flared and subsided erratically like a bad case of herpes, attacking with enough force to leave her gasping and then fading to a simple sting that hurt all the more in expectation of the greater pain to come. The swishing of sand beneath her fingers was like a roaring waterfall in the silence following the dragon’s latest articulation, but by the time the stupidity of her own loudness had registered in her head, she was too late to get out of Kalamu’s way.

A flash of light in her peripheral vision made Eltarri’s head whip to the side in time to see a burst of flame fly like a stretched drop of blood from the end of a curved sword that seemed to glow in the firelight. The swathe of flame lit Kalamu’s unsmiling face as he ran after the flame towards her, and she had half a second to appreciate the fact that he at least pretending not to enjoy her torture before the fire swathe slammed into her face.

The little dots of pain had been bad, but the enchanted fire on unprotected flesh was far, far worse, and not even the flame’s almost instant extinguishing could take the edge of the agony that flared blindingly in her skull. The fire struck like a whip across the right side of her face, engulfing her hair, ear, cheek, and eye in a deluge of agony that—this time—was actually quite damaging. The scream that poured from her blistered lips was bloodcurdling, a shriek of pure suffering that rang cacophonously throughout the vaulted underground room.

Eltarri didn’t have the luck of blacking out. Adrenaline still pumped through her veins, charging her with energy, awakening every nerve to every stimulus available for perception. It was almost cruel, the way her body was working so hard to keep her alive when all she had to live for was pain. As soon as shr was hit the girl dropped and rolled, clutching once again at her melting face as she writhingly clambered away from her assailant. It wasn’t really an attempt at evasion because the only thing her mind was conscious of was the smell of burning flesh, the sound of her hair crackling as it burned, and the feeling of her cheek sliding down her jaw. No amount of self-control could keep her from wailing in pain as she moved on elbows and knees across the sand. Her pathetic crawling didn't help her go anywhere fast or far, but it fortuitously moved her out of the way of Kalamu’s jabbing glass sword. The pain was drowning, but it flooded her brain with the singular mandate to stay alive that kept her on the move as she scrambled across the sand.

Her crawling pulled her out of the shadows of the room’s edges and into the circle of sunlight that trickled down from the hole in the ceiling. She glanced over her left shoulder, gaze flickering across the dark wall behind her in search of the warrior. He was there, coming into the light and at her with sword raised, and she threw herself sideways and kept rolling until her side slammed into a boulder. She knew she didn’t have much time before Kalamu figured out her genius plan of hiding behind a rock. Then again, he probably wouldn't dare stay out in the open for long with that dragon-boy circling overhead. Heck, the kid was supposed to be her partner and she didn't even feel safe in the light. The sun's warm beams ignited throbs of pain in her face, and she bit her tongue hard to keep from screaming as she scooted around the edge of the boulder. Her back was resting against the stone, and her fingers fluttered anxiously over her face even though touching it was too agonizing to consider.

My ear is gone.

She shoved the thought away. There would be time for assessing damage later . . . maybe.

I’ll never be able to get the smell of smoke out of my hair.

Was that an attempt at humor? What part of her brain thought any of this was funny? She heard feet moving through sand, but her hearing was one-sided.

Blast!

Without the enchanted mythril earrings, she was deaf as a rock. And without the ear . . . Eltarri pushed herself off the stone behind her and started running across the clearing before she bothered considering her actions. Kalamu could throw fireballs! How the heck was presenting an easy target supposed to be life-preserving? Not only that, but her sword was still buried somewhere in the sand at the warrior’s feet. She didn’t stand a chance without it!

Eltarri spun on her heel and darted off to the side of the room, wincing at the rush of hot air that whisked past her shoulder as a fireball whooshed past in a near miss. If she could get him to follow her away from where she’d been, maybe she would have the time to double back and search some more for her sword. If not, she might as well stand still and let Kalamu run her through with his flaming sword.

But the idea of dying didn’t seem as romantic as it had before she'd entered the arena. Getting stabbed had seemed like it might be a mildly unpleasant experience, but she hadn’t been ready for the barrage of agony that apparently was meant to accompany one's demise. She couldn’t hear out of her right ear, she couldn’t see out of her right eye, her face was a bubbling mass of ruined, painful flesh, and her hands were still hurting from the bright dots that he’d thrown at her earlier! If this was all just foreplay, who knew how excruciating death itself would be? Who would want to? Why had she considered death to be something she'd appreciate having to experience more than once in a lifetime?

As destroyed as she already was, the half-elf was rapidly undergoing a change in objective. She reached the darkness on the side of the room to Kalamu’s left and stood behind a pillar, trying to quiet her frantic breathing as she crept to the wall and snuck almost silently against it towards the—hopefully—unsuspecting warrior. One side of her face was a seething wound that even hurt from the tears that dripped like salty acid down her face, but the girl’s mind was so set on survival that she almost convinced herself that she didn’t notice. Death was waiting just around the corner for at least half of the people in this room, and she was certain that she didn't want one of those people to be her. Screw the crap about learning not to fear death. It deserved to be feared! She was learning, all right, and the lesson was that there was nothing you could gain from dying that a near-death experience couldn't impart just as well.

Screw you, Kalamu. I'm going to LIVE.