Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons

Maybe it had been a foolish thing to poke his head right down the hole that Baldassare had fallen through, but Rissul had just lost his opponent somewhere below the ice, and that was the only way to find him again… but still, a foolish move. He at least thought to snap his mouth shut as the giant weasel attacked him with another vial of acid, knowing not a lot of fun was headed his way, but too slow to pull his head out of the way. It caught him right across the nose (or where would have been a nose, if he had had anything vaguely resembling one), yelping in surprise and pain through his gritted teeth as glass shattered all over his face.

He retracted from the hole as quickly as he could, barely lifting his face above the ice before putting it down and rubbing it back and forth against the cold surface, trying to get the stinging, fiery liquid off. His tactic was marginally successful, but it was still painful where Baldasarre had got him, and if he didn’t clear the rest off properly soon, there would probably be some nasty consequences coming his direction. The same for his shoulder, too, where the other vial had got him. With slits for eyes, he squinted around to see if the weasel had managed to climb out of the hole while he was trying to get the potion off his face, then closed them again and crept to the edge of the hole, putting his front weight right on the ice until it cracked down into the hole. Try that for underhand tactics, getting crushed by falling ice wasn’t a nice way to go.

==X==

Kidas leapt across Talos as she rammed him to the ground, skittering on the ice and trying to get a grip with her clawed feet. It was a challenge, and she spent a precious few moments tipping from one foot to another as the avian slid across the ice, eventually gaining her feet properly by the time Talos had flipped off the ground. He was a chance for her, him on his knees. He looked a bit shaken- or that might just have been because he was slow to getting up again. It was hard to tell. She hissed, fluffing her feathers up more and sparing a slight glance for the avian’s lost scarf.

Well, that was one small victory. If you discounted the lost feathers. She was unwilling to tousle with Talos again, but at least she hadn’t been completely downed this time… Maybe her tactic would work a second time. It was worth a shot, so she tried it, bunching herself into a huddled half-crouch as she ran at him. Maybe she culd get him to the ground again before he had properly found his feet.

As soon as the ground collapsed under his weight, Rissul moved again, striding quickly away from the new hole he had made in the ice. He didn’t want to get all caught up in the traps he was laying for his opponent! Picking the direction that he had seen Baldasarre run in, he carefully stepped along the thick rims of ice underfoot, making sure not to chance any of the thin bits that the big weasel was passing under. He didn’t want the animal to get any more magic onto him, if he could get it through a layer of ice.

Trying to work out where he was headed, and if he had any big master-plan wrapped up in his seemingly random choice of direction, Rissul tried to ignore the burning sensation on his face from the poison vial-thing that Baldasarre had thrown at him. It was quite difficult to do. Mostly because when he lost track of whereabouts the weasel was, there was nothing else to distract him from the sizzling sensation. He kept a sharp lookout under the ice for a shadow to tell him where Baldasarre had gotten to, but didn’t spot him until he saw his head poking out from under the ice, not too far away. Quick as he could go, he strode over to where his opponent was, making his footsteps heavy to crack and break all the ice around, so that there were no more tunnels for Baldasarre to hide in, or run through. Then he could just trap him under one of the big slabs that were already starting to break off nearby, and it’d be done. Then he could get his burns seen to.

==X==

Talos’ ready position wasn’t good, but nevertheless, Kidas wasn’t going to give up her attack just because he was trying to look scary. That’d just give him more time to think, and that was the last thing she wanted. There wasn’t much plan in her attack, which was a bit of a drawback (well, a big drawback), because when she got close and Talos brought his swords across, she was right in the way, and didn’t have anything really to counter them with. Apart from the obvious get-in-the-way with her wings, body, and pretty much everything else that didn’t really want to come into contact with a sword.

Her feet slid as she tried to stop her pace, but claws weren’t much good on ice, and she was hardly going much slower when she barrelled right into the avian’s swords, sharply taking in her breath as they brought her to a quick halt. She winced, staggering backwards and putting her clawed hands to her middle, red blood soaking quickly into her dark feathers. She managed to hold her ground for a few moments more, face contorting as she fought to stay upright, then sunk to her knees, doubling up and wrapping her wings even tighter round her middle.

All Armeno felt as he finally got Bishop pinned down was a flood of relief. It wasn’t doing either of them any good, continuing this fight- neither of them needed to be any colder or more injured than they already were.
“Well, you fought very well, given you obviously haven’t had any training. It wasn’t a fair pairing, not in a lot of ways. Despite himself, the elf was now feeling oddly guilty just for wining. She didn’t sound vicious or rude anymore. When she finished speaking, he smiled slightly, replying, “I’m afraid you’re right, though. I don’t trust you at all. And I’m very, very cold.” He couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable at such a direct reference to her breasts- was she simply a blunt person, or was she trying to catch him off guard? He didn’t know, but he wasn’t about to leave it to chance. Leaning forwards over her, he gently lifted her face off the ground enough to slip his palm underneath and clamp it firmly over her mouth and nose.
“I promise I won’t kill you,” he assured her, for what it was worth. It couldn’t have been pleasant for her, but it wasn’t too likely to do her harm, especially when she was about to be seen by magical healers anyway. As soon as she went limp underneath him, he stepped off her back and stretched cautiously. With the adrenaline from the fight ebbing away, he suddenly felt all the cold and pain he had been brushing off, and abruptly doubted his ability to carry Bishop out of the place. Come to think of it, how was he going to get out? He looked blankly up and around, only to see a perfectly cut tunnel appear through the ice, obviously by magic. There was no sign of any assistance for him, though.

Heaving a resigned sigh, he crouched down to roll Bishop onto her back before carefully picking her up. She did look cold, especially where her face had been pressed against the ice- well, what did you expect? Being smaller than him, she wasn’t going to stay warm very well, even if he was a little worse off since his spell. Working quickly and with fumbling fingers, he tugged off his cloak and wrapped it about her like a blanket, wincing at the wound he had left down her front. Well, nothing to do about that now. Best thing was to get her out of here. Hurrying but careful not to slip, he made his way up through the tunnel and out onto the plain, trying to avoid aggravating his wounds as he did so. It took a little while to reach Velox in his corner, the horse looking rather sorry for himself but unharmed. He had no idea where Bishop’s dog had gone; likely it had run off somewhere and the organisers of the tourney had it. It was a relief to step into the sweltering desert heat and surrender his burden, finally letting himself feel his weariness.


ARMENO HAS WON HIS FIGHT AGAINST BISHOP.

Cracking the ice underfoot as much as he dared, to leave himself with a path away from the big broken slabs, Rissul was both pleased and relieved to hear the giant weasel shout his surrender. Quickly pausing in his destruction, he receded a few paces backwards, finding himself a good patch of steady ground and spreading himself carefully across it, wary of also falling through the ice. That would not do, not at all, not when he had just won.

Ignoring Baldasarre completely, now he knew that there would be no more attack from him (at least until someone dug himself out of the pit he had fallen into, and it did not seem likely that he would be able to get himself out on his own), Rissul pawed at the burnt, sizzling patches of his face and shoulder. Then, grumbling under his breath and paying no heed for any rule that said they had to stay where they were, or now keep within the bounds of the arena that they had been previously consigned to for the fight, he stalked off towards the exit, all too ready to find someone to fix him up, then leave. If they would let him.

==X==

Mouth open and panting, Kidas unwrapped one arm from her middle and checked the wound across her stomach, but that made it sting even worse with pain. She quickly returned to putting pressure on it, little gasps escaping her every now and then. Flinching away from his all-too-close blade, she looked at him with glazed eyes before whispering out her defeat.
“I surrender.”

She doubled over, moaning and trying to ignore Talos. Now that the fight was over, hopefully he would treat it as over, and would not slay her there and then, just for trying to win earlier. He would not be so despicable to kill her while she was undefended, would he be?

Either way, she was in too much pain to notice. She barely even registered when officials came their way to retrieve them and take them off the ice. By then, everything was a blur. Talos had definitely won this round, it was safe to say.



Rissul has won his fight against Baldasarre!
Kidas has lost her fight against Talos.

Attention all Ye Folk!

The first round of the non-dragon half of our tournament has drawn to a close! Everyone, please give a round of applause for the winners, and look forward to the next exciting round! For now, the arena will have a one hour break to be reset for the semi-finals of the competition and in the meantime our contestants will be healed by our experts behind the scenes. During this time, make sure to place your bets on next round's brackets!


-Static
1) You have skills in both combat magic and with weapons. Were you trained to be a fighter outside of the arena, or are you self-taught?
2) The long-range of the flail had your sword at a little bit of a disadvantage. How did you handle the challenge of facing an opponent with a longer ranged weapon?
3) The two of you took a bit of a tumble into the ice caverns on the field. How did being down in the tunnels affect your fighting style?

-Rissul
1) A lot of our competitors this round were struggling with the cold, but you seemed mostly unaffected by it. Do you come from a very cold region to be so used to the challenges presented on this kind of arena?
2) Your opponent had a few nasty attacks at their disposal. What was your strategy for dealing with an opponent who was so much smaller than you?

-Armeno
1) Your fight seemed a little unevenly matched at times. What did you think of your opponent bringing knives to a sword fight?
2) Our mages made sure that the arena was bitterly cold for this round of the tournament, and you came lightly clothed to the battle. What kind of effect did the conditions in the arena have on your fighting tactics?
3) You brought a mount with you to the tourney, but chose not to use it in this round. Do you think that having a horse will be a help or a hinderance in coming rounds?

-Jackdaww
1) You seemed to know your opponent upon walking into the arena. Did you ever expect to be fighting a previous acquaintance in the tournament? How did that affect your fighting style?
2) Your opponent pulled a rather unexpected attack as her finishing move. What did you think of it?
3) You fight was actually over rather quickly. Did you expect an end to the match so fast?
4) After this match, how do you think that you're going to fare in the next rounds?
5) My sources tell me that you have a dragon friend also fighting in this tournament. Are you worried about him advancing through the next rounds, knowing that he's up against two Elites?

-Eliza & Demitri
1) Your first tournament round unfortunately fell flat. Coming into the second round with a three-way battle, what is going to be your strategy for moving onto the next round, knowing that two of you will be able to advance?

-Talos
1) You seemed to be struggling with the wind and the temperature out in the arena. What was your strategy for dealing with the extreme cold?
2) Were you at all surprised to be meeting another opponent that could fly in the very first round?
3) Your next matchup will be a three-way battle. What are your feelings on going up against to unknown opponents, knowing that two of you can leave to fight in the semi-finals?

1) You seemed to be struggling with the wind and the temperature out in the arena. What was your strategy for dealing with the extreme cold?
Eh, well, yeah, I s'pose it was kinda bad. I mean, I was a'feared that maybe my wings'd fall off by the time it was all said an' done, but they're still on so I guess it was alright. Mostly, I jus' wanted t'keep my fingers from freezin' off so I didn't get clumsy with meh sword work an' the wind was hell tryin' t'fly. So yea…
2) Were you at all surprised to be meeting another opponent that could fly in the very first round?
Well, yeah, a bit, I guess? I mean, I can fight wif other fliers, so I wasn't really all like, a'scared I guess. But I ain't never seen a harpy, so that was interestin' an' those claws weren't nothin' t'be messin' with. But nah, not surprised, t'answer yer question.
3) Your next matchup will be a three-way battle. What are your feelings on going up against to unknown opponents, knowing that two of you can leave to fight in the semi-finals?
Haha, well, all the opponents here are unknown, yeah? But uh, feelin's? Well, nervous, I s'pose. Yanno, the pot money means a lot t'me, so I wanna win. I guess I'll hang back in the next round an' let the other two kill each other. Or I dunno, maybe we'll play a round-o ropopo* t'see who wins. That'd be nice. But at least I dun't have to knock out both the other guys to move on, that's some good news.

*Ropopo is an abbreviation for "Rock, Plow, Powder" that is exactly like "rock, paper, scissors". Rock breaks plow, plow spreads powder, powder explodes rock.

Jackdaww;;
1) You seemed to know your opponent upon walking into the arena. Did you ever expect to be fighting a previous acquaintance in the tournament? How did that affect your fighting style?
-Indeed I do know Silence. I suppose you could say we’re friends, I’m never really sure. However, I must admit that our previous encounters made me want to do as little damage as I could. I never expected to see her in a tournament like this, but I was impressed. For saying that she had no experience fighting when I last met her, she’s come on incredibly.
2) Your opponent pulled a rather unexpected attack as her finishing move. What did you think of it?
-I was stunned, to be frank. It was a foolish move, letting her guard down completely to attack, but if I hadn’t seen similar before I might have fallen for it.
3) You fight was actually over rather quickly. Did you expect an end to the match so fast?
-Well I don’t mean to sound cocky, but I had hoped the first round would be a walk through. I mean, I’ve been trained for precisely this, while my opponent has no real training to my knowledge. However, the abruptness of the end of our battle did surprise me
4) After this match, how do you think that you're going to fare in the next rounds?
-As I’m going to be against Armeno next round, I have high hopes for a good battle. However, fighting another trained opponent makes the future rounds completely uncertain, so I couldn’t say. I’m just sure that this next fight will be a lot of fun.
5) My sources tell me that you have a dragon friend also fighting in this tournament. Are you worried about him advancing through the next rounds, knowing that he's up against two Elites?
-Ah hells, Measle’s here? I told him to stay out of it… Well, the elites will be /tough/, but it will depend very much on the terrain next round. I wouldn’t want to bet either way on that match.

Eliza;;
1) Your first tournament round unfortunately fell flat. Coming into the second round with a three-way battle, what is going to be your strategy for moving onto the next round, knowing that two of you will be able to advance?
-Strategy? Are you being serious? I intend to pick out the one I think will be most fun in the next round, and knock the other one out of the water (which could be arranged literally if the terrain will allow for it). Anyone who thinks I’ll show mercy for my opponents is sorely mistaken. After all, I haven’t fed all week, and besides, like the audience I’m here for the sport.

Q) Your fight seemed a little unevenly matched at times. What did you think of your opponent bringing knives to a sword fight?
A) I can't say I look on it like that. I'd have to agree that it was unevenly matched, but I suppose that's just the way things will turn out. There's no reason why she should have used a sword over knives, and perhaps it could have earnt her an advantage under some conditions. It just so happened that I had a sword, and that seemed to work better than knives.

Q) Our mages made sure that the arena was bitterly cold for this round of the tournament, and you came lightly clothed to the battle. What kind of effect did the conditions in the arena have on your fighting tactics?
A) It wasn't a good one. I'm fairly heavy, of course, so I don't tend to get cold as quickly as I might, but once I did that spell it was suddenly a bit too much. I'm just glad there wasn't any wind down in the tunnels, but all the same my swordwork was a lot clumsier than it usually would be. There were some moves in there I'm not at all proud of.

Q) You brought a mount with you to the tourney, but chose not to use it in this round. Do you think that having a horse will be a help or a hinderance in coming rounds?
A) Truthfully, I don't know. Ice is one of the worst surfaces for a horse, so almost anything will be easier than it was in this round. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean I'll come in lucky- there was somewhere safe and relatively sheltered for me to leave Velox in this arena, but there's no saying what will happen next time.

1) You have skills in both combat magic and with weapons. Were you trained to be a fighter outside of the arena, or are you self-taught?
I taught myself magic, had a bit of help for weapons.
2) The long-range of the flail had your sword at a little bit of a disadvantage. How did you handle the challenge of facing an opponent with a longer ranged weapon?
I’ve never fought against a flail before, but I had my electricity as back up. I know how to deal with them now.
2) The two of you took a bit of a tumble into the ice caverns on the field. How did being down in the tunnels affect your fighting style?
I didn’t want to use too much magic down in the caverns, in case I brought the roof down, but things turned out alright. Sort of.

Can I go now?


-Rissul
1) A lot of our competitors this round were struggling with the cold, but you seemed mostly unaffected by it. Do you come from a very cold region to be so used to the challenges presented on this kind of arena?
Oh yes, I live in the far north, so I am used to cold conditions. It was refreshing, to get out of this desert heat; I do not know why I came here. I like the bitter cold and snow.
2) Your opponent had a few nasty attacks at their disposal. What was your strategy for dealing with an opponent who was so much smaller than you?
I did not think such a small thing was to fight in this tournament. Nor did I expect him to have such poisons at his disposal. My strategy seemed to be the most productive of choices.

The Terrain

After our first round with bitterly freezing conditions, what could our mages do to top themselves this round? Well, ladies and gentlemen, when our contestants left the field, our mages went right to work creating the next big challenge, and now see what they've done! The arena has been transformed into an ocean! Yes ladies an gentleman, that smell in the air is salt from the sea breeze, and those waves are real. How then our our competitors going to fight in a watery terrain you ask? Well, take a closer look! Our mages have given the combatants stone pillars sticking above the water for the fighters to battle on. These 10-foot diameter circles are placed just far enough that it'll take quite the leap to get from place to place. And they'd better get hopping on ending these battles quick! Each quadrant is controlled by the boundary mages and the tides will rise and fall unpredictably! I hope you're all as excited as I am for this audience! It's sure to be a wet and wild fight!

Round 2 Matchups!

Static vs. NPC A
Armeno vs. Jackdaww
Eliza vs. Dmitri vs. Talos

**NOTE: NPC. R designates an NPC played by Rogue while an NPC. A designates an NPC played by Aero.

See the brackets Here