016573 vs. Abenaki: Possessed

[Breaker]

The sky held a light blue color, appropriate for the early morning chill.

The air bit like a snapping turtle, misting my breath into tiny wisps of fog which haunted the otherwise clear atmoshere. It was perhaps a half hour before dawn, just light enough to see easily, although the sun had not yet crested the horizon. Pulling my gloves tighter, I increased my pace. The road crackled underfoot, the season's first frost giving voice to the elements beneath my heavy hiking boots. Just two hundred metres ahead my arena loomed, ornate patterns of frozen condensation decorating the domed glass roof. It looked like some odd form of alien technology, placed at the end of a long road with forest surrounding on three sides. I stepped up the pace again, pushing myself to get there faster. Soon my challenger would be arriving, and I wanted to be ready.

No wind moved the long grass which grew around the building, for which I was glad; even the slightest breeze would have added an unbearable windchill to the frigid morning. The still air gave a surreal feel to the area, it was almost like looking at a postcard photograph. Not wasting time enjoying the aesthetic provided by the cool weather, I pushed open the front door and stepped inside.

Few things startle me, but I was so surprised by what I saw that I froze in my tracks; two men were removing all of the iron weapons from the west wall of my arena, laying them onto blankets which would make easy to carry bundles. The men were equally surprised to see me, but they had evidently felt nervous about being caught, for they reacted swiftly. One threw the dagger he had been holding, the straight edged blade spinning towards my heart. His companion moved as quickly, shuffling two steps towards me before swinging the longsword he was trying to steal in a wide beheading stroke. My own well honed reflexes kicked in then, and I dove to the ground, rolling twice before twisting and arriving on my feet, ready for action. Unfortunately, I had not anticipated that the would-be thieves might make a run for it, which they did, dashing out the now unprotected doorway. Cursing, I ran after them, reaching the door in time to see both disappear into the dense foliage.

Chasing them would have been fruitless; I had little to no tracking knowledge, and wasn’t particularly good at running through the forest. In anger I pounded the door, realizing my mistake as my fist smashed through the heavy wood. Swearing under my breath I freed the limb, careful to avoid cutting it on the sharp slivers of shattered timber. “I’ll just have to chalk it up to another training mishap.” I told myself. The Dajas Pagoda was used to repairing my arena; not so long ago a duel against the vampire Lorenor had left the place looking like a warzone. Glancing up, I saw that golden streaks had begun shooting over the horizon, piercing the dull sky like arrows of fire. The glass dome of my arena began to glow like a yellow lava lamp as the sun melted away the frost. Before long, the interior had begun to warm up.

“Shit, my challenger... Jada or whatever... will be here soon. I gotta get this cleaned up.”

Working like a machine, I began returning all the weapons to their hooks on the wall, tracking water across the blue mats at the centre of the arena as I did so. I wondered whether I would finish the task before my challenger arrived in the octagonal building.

“I’ll look real professional, doing housecleaning when he shows up. I should really see about getting some security set up around here.”