(9) Baneblades v (16) Grave Advocates

[Ashiakin]

Round One starts at 12:00 AM EST on Sunday, April 30th and will last two weeks. Good luck!

[Rheawien]

“Goddamned marshes. Out of all the possible sceneries I get stuck with the bloody mud capitol of Althanas.”

Rheawien was dowsed, chafed and utterly miserable as she trudged through the sopping soil as the sky above decided to release cats and dogs. It was around midday but the environment around her got that dour evening color already, amplified by the saturation and the gloomy dome above. Her every step sent her foot about half a feet into the mixture or stringy grass and mushy mud, taking her through the endless forest of mossy trees littered with vines and animals she couldn’t even begin to recognize. Her father always told her that if you can’t determine if something is dangerous or not, you stay the hell away from it until you have more information. A lot of animals here seemed to fit into the stay the hell away category, especially the picturesque greenish snakes that could easily be mistaken for vines.

This wasn’t what she signed up for. She entered the Lorinus Corporate Challenge with the sole purpose to blow some steam and get away from the predicaments in her life. Sarah was a good Mistress to her most of the time, but she kept the half-elf on a tight leash, providing a precise list of dos and don’ts, limiting the options for Rhea. And while the subjugation and the humiliation was something Rheawien learned to love – and loved to learn – she still needed an outlet, a place where Sarah wouldn’t see her and survey her every move, her every word.

The island of Lorinus seemed like a perfect place for it. Sarah Dahlios wasn’t participating in the tournament and it seemed like a perfect chance for the white-haired woman to temporarily revert to her former frigidity. She could be a cold assertive bitch again, spit out some curses, shed some blood and then return to Corone and be the good little pet all over again. What Sarah didn’t know couldn’t hurt Rheawien and the thiefling minx wasn’t around to find out the details of the battles that would transpire. It was perfect, foolproof, an ideal release of the tension that built up in her with time.

Of course, the fact that Sarah most certainly wouldn’t approve her actions made it that much more exciting. To lie and cheat her Mistress was like tasting the forbidden fruit; it wasn’t about how tasty the fruit really was, but the path and the fervor that occurred before tasting it. That thought alone was enough to make Rheawien smile coyly despite her miserable condition.

Her foot caught a stubborn unyielding root for gods-knew-what time in the last ten minutes. Only this time her mind was clouded with thought of Sarah and it failed to provide enough time for the woman to react accordingly. Instead she toppled forwards, falling into the mud with a loud splash that defiled her seductive outfit with a crummy brownish coating. Her bare stomach, her cleavage, her face, her arms, even the two bangs of white hair that fell in front of her face were completely tainted as she pushed herself up and spat a curse in a muffled groan.

“To hell with this stupid island!”

Rheawien regained her footing abruptly, her hands managing to get most of the mud from the face that might have been beautiful a couple of hours ago. Now it was a filthy frowning mask of a menacing raptor that was out for blood. She marched furiously the next hundred paces, purposefully catching the stringy grass threads and kicking them until they gave in and snapped, until she found herself in a small clearing. There was nothing unique about it, just a pair of decaying wooden logs at the center and a slanted ancient oak, but it looked close enough to her designated battlefield. And even if this wasn’t it, she wasn’t in a mood to advance further into the marshy woods. She nearly collapsed on one of the logs, exhaling audibly as the rain showered her scantly dressed body amply. The rivulets ran down her face, washing the mud away and sending it down her muscled neck, down her impressive cleavage and into her scandalous tank top before washing down her flat pale stomach.

“Ah, this is good. Now if only this Asuka Murakama would finally show up so I can actually see who my ally is.” she muttered more to herself as he enjoyed the natural shower and the thousands of tiny fingers hitting her suave skin. She knew no more of her companion then she knew about her opponents. And she was really ignorant when the official presented her with the facts about her foes.

[AsukaStrikes]

There was something about competitive combat that held the red-hair maiden's interest. Something about facing off against foes after foes, clashing blades with legends and the mundane. Besting them in the end. Perhaps that was the reason Asuka decided to get involve with these kinds of contest to begin with. To best her foes any way she can.

To get the best of Letho Ravenheart.

Asuka scanned her path as she advanced upon the marshy outcrop, contemplating her position in this equally prestigious and blooody tournament. The putrid stench of death and decay pricking her nosrils was enough knock any regular women unconscious. Feh. Who chose this place, anyways. The chocolate mud swirled and mixed together with the dying grass, a sure sign someone had been here before her. Hmm. Who could this be? She could make out an imprint of something round and large, a pair of it along with another indent that appeared to be a head. Strands of stringy white hair remained stuck in the mud, nearly obscured in the light downpour.

Hope I'm not late for the party. The swordsmaiden grinned and proceeded through the mud, following the trail of disturbed mud and grass.

~~~

It didn't take long before Asuka found herself on firm ground again. Her travelling boots and mud-brown pants provided much protection from the marshy pulp. Still, the stench remained stuck to the redhead's clothes and she wished there was some sort of path that could've been taken. Hmph. No use complaining now. What's done is done. By the by, where's this "Rheawien" the officials told me about?

The LCC was, after all, a two-on-two fighting tournament. Asuka had merely signed up because she happened to catch a glimpse of that demonic swordsman's name on the registration papers. And the best way for revenge without having to run from the law was to kill the man in a tournament. Letho... I'll make you pay for giving me this curse.

A tired sigh caught the Akashiman's attention and her right hand immediately went for kazeryu, poised ready in the all-too-familiar reverse hold. It was a style she had become acquainted with and saved her life many times. Her emerald eyes spotting the white-hair elf, causing the lass to tense up. The last white-hair elf Asuka had met was a formidable opponent, Zephyriah Ablione. Perhaps, this lady here was a foe as well?

"Hey, who's there?" She inquired, glaring at the finely chiseled body seated wearily on one of the logs. Wait. Maybe she's Rheawien. But no one can be sure.

No one can be sure in these kinds of tournament. Not even if that person was your friend.

[Rheawien]

She managed to rinse most of the mud from her skin and face, but her hair was still sticky and her clothes were still unsalvageable. The two bangs hung at the side of her face like oversized dreadlocks, resisting the torrent that kept washing them. She tried to tuck them behind her ear, but the damn things had a mind of their own and kept falling in front of her eyes and ultimately sticking to her cheeks. Her clothes weren’t much better. They didn’t hug her refined curves, they clung to them desperately, completely soaked and sickeningly brown at front. She recalled some of the stories she heard, about mud baths and even mud fights. Right now she thought that whoever willingly got himself in this situation was a few links shy of a full chain.

Luckily, her Dram heritage enabled her to be in that kind of a situation and not feel cold to the bones. Compared to the temperature her body could sustain, this downpour on the island of Lorinus seemed like a random hot shower back home. These days, more and more, she started to gain the characteristics of her mother. She could still remember with immaculate accuracy when her mother dived of the ridge and into a frozen lake below only to emerge out of it seconds later, proving to her daughter that advantages of the barbaric Dram blood. Compared to Ferioh winter, this was small potatoes. If only she had a towel to dry herself. But then again, she didn’t come here on a leisurely cruise. She came to fight and her opponents were nowhere in sight.

“Hey, who’s there?”

It was a female voice, coming from behind her and making her head snap towards it origin. Her locks followed with a minute delay and ending up as a makeshift blindfold for the half-elf. “Great way to start a fight.” her mind commented as her hands swiftly moved to her face, pulling down the soiled hair threads. The girl that stepped into the clearing was rather unremarkable, save for the red hair that refused to lose the liveliness even when completely drenched. Her face was strict though, surprisingly firm and determined for one so young and frail looking. She didn’t have a sizzling body on her; if damp clothes revealed something perfectly, it was the figure beneath. Still, there was enough of her to make Rheawien smile. She was a sucker for redheads, but then again, who wasn’t?

“Easy, no need for weapons. You are Asuka Murakama, right?” the white-haired woman spoke, getting up from the log and spreading her hands at her side to prove she means no harm. She made a handful of careful steps around the decaying piece of wood, stopping just out of sword distance. Her eyes stood focused on the emerald ones of her probable ally. “I am Rheawien. We are teamed up together. Though there’s nothing to fight here but bogs and strange animals.”

She moved back slowly until she reached one of the logs again, lowering her damp body to it once again. “I guess all that’s left for us is to wait, maybe have a little chat as well. Tell me, what brings you to this island in the middle of nowhere?”

[Ashiakin]

Baneblades defeat Grave Advocates due to activity.