Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Fri Oct 12, 2012 5:14 pm

This was… not good. Not good at all. Everywhere Kassandra looked, there was water, and if there was something that she really really hated, it was water. She shuffled to the middle of her pedestal, eyes wide, gripping her sword tightly in her hands. Her head twitched from side to side as she tried to keep an eye on all the water at the same time, stepping this way and that as waves lapped up the edges of her little stone plinth. And she was supposed to fight, as well?

Well, this was not going to be good. For starts, she was going to have to either send her opponent down at lightning speed, risking a little electricity (but that wasn’t a fun combination, not with water, and she had experienced the two mixed together before), or chance whoever it was fighting her coming close, and using her sword. She sure as hell wasn’t jumping to another platform though- miss one of those, and not only was her electricity out of the game, but she probably would be too.

Not being able to swim was definitely a hindrance here. She muttered worriedly to herself under her breath, trying to calm her already taunt nerves. Those were not going to help either her balance, or her aim with electricity. She needed all the electricity she could get, too, with a probable small number of strikes before she started to hurt herself with any backlash.

Last edited by Stormkatz on Mon Aug 19, 2013 8:40 pm; edited 1 time in total

Jackdaww stood on his plinth reasonably comfortably, surveying the new terrain. Sure, it would be tricky to fight underwater, and he wasn’t a strong swimmer, but he did float. He had been wearing chainmail, but considering the huge body of water around him,it didn;t seem sensible. He had a thin layer of padding and a white(ish) shirt underneath, so stripped off the heavy armour and left it to one side, waiting for his opponent. He clicked his sword loose in its sheath and stood ready, waiting. It was certain to be a more challenging fight than the last, but that meant a bit of sport surely. He so rarely got to practise combat against another man, and was looking forward to it. Assuming he had time to kill, he ducked down and tested the water with one hand. It was cold – very cold. So, stay out of the water, he made a mental note to himself, still feeling confident.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Fri Nov 23, 2012 9:38 pm

Stroking Velox's nose absently to calm the- understandably- nervous horse, Armeno surveyed this new terrain with a frown. It was no more expected in the middle of a desert than the icy wasteland had been, and he doubted that he would be much better suited to it either. At least he was back in prime physical form; along with healing all the minor injuries he had acquired, the healers’ spell had restored his former level of body fat, which would hopefully be helpful if he were to fall into the doubtless freezing water. Velox, of course, would have to remain behind again. He hadn’t realised how much of an inconvenience it could be for him to bring the horse, and he was beginning to wonder if he should have simply not done so. Well- hopefully, if he got through to the next round, that would be a better terrain.

Having firmly impressed upon the horse that he was to stay put, Armeno turned his attention to looking for his opponent. One good thing about the arena was that visibility was easy; it didn’t take long for him to take out a figure, far off, standing on an identical plinth to his own. A swordsman, he’d heard. While he could have taken a few shots at the man with his bow and there would have been little he could have done to avoid them, something kept him from doing so. If they were trained in the same weapon, then it only made sense for that to be the weapon they used. Ensuring that all of his equipment was well secured, Armeno stretched his legs briefly before taking all of the ten-foot run-up he could get and launching himself off the very edge of his platform. The first two seemed to be closer together than all the others, presumably so that the contestants could get a feel for the jump, and he overshot it enough to land comfortably, sinking into a half-roll to avoid hurting himself. Injuring himself before coming within twenty metres of his opponent two fights in a row would be truly idiotic, after all. He took a moment to assess what this Jackdaww was doing before making a second leap, this time landing alarmingly close to the water. This would be an interesting fight, for sure- and it was approaching imminently. They were far closer now.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Sat Nov 24, 2012 9:27 pm

Well this was ALREADY worlds better. Dmitri was only human... he probably wouldn't have survived in the icy wastes for long. But this terrain was easier by far. Being somewhat small himself, ten-feet in diameter pillars seemed enough room for him. He wasn't particularly afraid of heights or drowning either. His confidence came back in a hurry. For good measure though, he felt it might be best to take his shoes off, since even shoes could drag him underwater if he fell. Hopefully that wouldn't happen though. He spotted Liza a distance away and looked around for his other opponent, Talos. IDEALLY, they would take each other out and then he could just focus on fighting the remaining combatant. He didn't expect that he would win by any means, but he wanted the challenge of a fight regardless.

So he kicked his shoes off and his jacket off, too, only galavanting in his light, blousey shirt and blue knickers for now. The leaps from the stones were a bit father than what he was comfortable with, but it's not like falling into the water would kill him. So he hopped back a bit, and took a running start - giving him enough inertia to leap from his current pillar to the next. He ALMOST missed it. He wasn't going for a perfect landing, though, just getting ON the pillar was enough, so he landed less gracefully than he wanted to, and rolled up to his feet. Phew! Stupid big gaps... obviously meant for adults. Well, that was just fine. he brushed himself off with his free hand, and drew his sword. He was still at least three pillars away from Eliza, but he was in no great hurry to get to her. He decided he was just going to wait for people to come to him. If he was disqualified because he missed a leap and fell.... well, that would just be embarrassing.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Sat Nov 24, 2012 9:59 pm

Jackdaww watched his opponent leap twice, making his way much closer. It was tempting to allow the other man to do all the work, but curiosity forced Jackdaww to leap onto the next pillar. It was reasonably close, and a small run up allowed his to propel his lightweight frame over to the next bit of stone. He slipped a little as ha landed, as the perfectly smooth stone was wet and slippery, but kept his footing well enough.

They were close now – too close to continue unarmed. Jackdaww drew his sword quickly – a thin silver rapier - and held it by his thigh, ready to throw it between himself and his opponent to parry the first blow. He had been lax with his defence when fighting Silence in the last round because he knew the woman and knew that she had no training. Armeno, however, was most certainly a trained swordsman, and that meant Jackdaww would have to treat him like one.

Walking confidently across the wide pillar, Jackdaww bobbed his head in a polite half-bow, and altered his grip, breathing deeply. No more time to panic: his mind would have to work like clockwork to fight here.

Last edited by Aero on Wed Feb 27, 2013 10:02 pm; edited 1 time in total

The ocean! Talos could have wooped for joy. After the tundra experience, he was glad that the game masters had picked somewhere warm. His poor wings could only handle so much cold, and there had been a real scare backstage after the fight with his near frostbite, but those wizards really had a knack for healing. Stepping out onto one of the pillars, Talos lifted his wings to the sea breeze and inhaled the salty air gladly. It was almost like being home.

Water lapped at the toes of his boots, covering the top of his pillar in a shallow sheet of salt water. Quickly he sized up his opponents, looking first at the guy who was playing leap frog with the stone pillars and smirked. It was going to be so much easier to pick the other two off since they didn't have wings… he just had to decide which one to focus on and go from there. Though inwardly he groaned at seeing the girl, his second opponent. He hated fighting girls. It always felt dirty. The harpy had been a bit of an exception, but Eliza was definitely more girl than beast. Or so he thought, having no idea that she was actually a water monster, in which case he probably wouldn't have felt so bad.

"No time like the present." He muttered to himself and shrugged his bow off his shoulder. His quiver was half empty already, most of his arrows either fired or scattered across the tundra from last round. They hadn't let him collect his bolts. Well, hopefully he'd get them back at the end of the tourney. Arrows were a pain to make. With a flare of his wings he crouched and took off into the sky, hovering above the water. He didn't get very high before running into an invisible barrier however and cursed when he was pushed back down by the invisible force. So, only a few feet up, huh? He could work with that. Drawing an arrow he set his sights on the girl, intending to get the messy business out of the way first and let fly, aiming for her belly.

((AS CLARIFICATION! Only one person in this round needs to be disqualified! The two remaining fighters will advance to the next round!!))

-----

Blugh. Water. He didn't like water. He'd come to a desert. Why wasn't there desert in the desert? Humans. Blugh. They were always changing things that had no business being changed. Genchu shifted his feet and shivered as a spray of salt misted against his thick hide and grumbled again. Swinging his horned head around, Genchu looked for his opponent, gripping the log-turned-club reflexively when he saw a little human perched on the opposite side of the ring, a low purr of delights resonating in his chest. Well, if it was just one little human, he could deal with that easy enough. Maybe they'd let him eat the human afterwards. But humans didn't like it when he ate other humans. Blugh! Maybe he'd just squish her. Then they wouldn't care so much if he ate the mush.

But first, he'd have to get over there.

Genchu was rather top heavy, with arms made for crushing and claws made for ripping and horns made for bashing. He was big for trollaks, but not big enough to simply step over the distance between his platform and the next one. He would have to jump it, which, given his rather short legs, would be an interesting endeavor. Briefly, he entertained the thought of throwing is log at the human across the way, but decided that it might be better to keep it as a flotation device in case he fell in the water. Genchu backed up to the opposite end of his platform and with a grunt started into a lumbering run. He took a flying leap at the edge and soared across the distance, landing on the edge of the next platform over and skidded to an ungraceful stop in a spray of water. Well, one down.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Fri Dec 28, 2012 5:24 pm

Jackdaww seemed composed- and it looked like he was prepared to observe decent etiquette, as well. Perhaps this fight would be something he was more suited to. His training had encompassed many areas, it was true, but a straight-up sword fight with no brawling tricks was still his forte, and it was by far the most enjoyable way to fight as well. Perhaps he wouldn’t have chosen slippery pillars in the middle of an apparent ocean as the battlefield, though.

There was only one more gap between them now, and Jackdaww didn’t look inclined to cross it. Really, the elf couldn’t blame him. It was a good deal larger than the others he had already jumped, and he severely doubted his ability to jump it- meaning that humans probably didn’t have a chance. Were they expected to have to swim? That would put him at a terrible disadvantage.

However, after a few moments of scrutinising the waves with a scowl in place, he noticed a much smaller pillar rising from the water to a slightly lower height than the ones they stood on now. It was no more than half a metre across; usually that would be enough to stand on with ease, but when it was covered with water and he would have to make a big jump to reach it at all, the situation was somewhat different. Still… it had to be better than nothing.
He paced tensely across the platform he stood on now, flexing his hands and trying to stretch out his legs a little more as he worked out his plan. Eventually, he rubbed his palms together, backed up to the far edge of his pedestal and gave a returning bow before running at the gap.

Clearing the distance to the stepping stone in the middle was no issue; the difficult part began as he tried to place his foot on its slippery, sloping surface. He twisted as he hit it, redirecting the impact of his landing into a second jump as he pushed off into a tight flip. In a feat of acrobatics which surprised him- he did practice these kinds of skills to keep them up, but rarely to this extent- he managed to make his landing roll neat enough that as he came back onto his feet, one hand was free to draw his sword in a fluid attack on Jackdaww.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Fri Dec 28, 2012 6:06 pm

Darn, the Avian was an archer, was he? It looked like Eliza wasn’t going to get to hide her identity long after all. The second she realised she was his intended target, she hauled herself sideways, over the edge of the pillar with a slight laugh, hitting the water with a small splash. The arrow hit the water a few feet to her left, having sailed through the spot where she had been standing, but it was far enough away not to bother the Sylph. She had turned a pale green-blue colour the second she hit the water, which allowed her to blend with the deep water excellently, but after a few seconds her human shape melted away, leaving long flippers on each foot and a flash of purple gills across each side of her neck. Yes, this was worlds better. The lenses over her eyes shimmered before clearing, the gel-like coating over them giving her reasonably clear vision through the rippling water. Shedding her armour has been a good call – she didn’t feel that she needed anything but her sylph form now to pick off at least one of her opponents.

Swimming silently through the water, deep enough to at least hope her natural colour would hide her from the Talos’ arrows, she made her way towards the column that the human was standing on. With an almighty kick of both rubbery legs, she rocketed to the surface; her smile filled with pointed teeth, and attempted to catch the boy’s leg.

--

Had Jackdaww’s sword not already been drawn, the first attack would have caught Jackdaww painfully unaware. He hadn’t been expecting such a fast start to the fight, or the articular angle that Armeno has rolled in /from/, but managed to angle his blade up to meet his opponent’s with a crash. ‘Messy,’ he thought to himself, checking his footing quickly as he tried to sweep his blade back around to catch Armeno’s side. There was always an opening after a big strike, but Jackdaww doubted he’d been fast enough to catch that one after the surprising first attack.

Both motions so far had been too strong and rash – his blade was designed for dancing not hacking aimlessly. He was not about the let that continue. Jackdaww was nothing if not a show-off, and even if he lost that battle he wanted to show a little refinement. He hadn’t trained for half a lifetime just to act like a child with a stick-sword now.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Sat Jan 12, 2013 1:09 pm

If things had looked bad to start with, when Kassandra caught sight of her opponent… she did not like the look of the big, blocky monster she was supposed to be facing up against; at least, if it came to blow-on-blow. On the other hand, it looked no more suited to water than she was. This could be only a good thing. She hesitated in the middle of her pedestal as the creature leapt from its starting post to the next one along, spraying up water in its wake.
Ooh, she would have to do the same, as much as she hated the idea of having to cross water. What if she fell?
No, no. There could be no thoughts like that, otherwise she would fall, and that would be the end of everything. Strong, focussed.

She calmed her breathing a little and tucked her sword back into its sheath, slipping out of her cloak and depositing it to one side with regret. That would help none, if the monster caught hold of it, or she slipped on her jump. Then she backed across to the far edge, giving herself no time to think as she pushed herself into a run and flung herself across the gap to the next pedestal, sliding a little on the damp surface, but otherwise fine. Luckily it was not any higher or lower than the first, and not too wet either.
Closer now, she rubbed her fingers across her palms, charging a little loose electricity in readiness for the monster’s attack. It was a dangerous tactic, but weren’t they all?

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Sat Jan 12, 2013 5:08 pm

As the two blades clashed together with a sound that made Armeno wince- no sword was designed for that, more like axes- he danced backwards, edging around the perimeter of the pedestal to try and get some space while still leaving a good couple of metres between him and the water. Jackdaww took surprisingly little time to recover from the surprise blow; bringing his own sword round to his side, the elf managed a decent parry of the other man’s strike.

With the first exchange of attacks over and the two swordsmen getting a feel for each other, there was a brief pause in the fight as they separated slightly and watched each other’s every move. Abruptly, Armeno made a feint towards Jackdaww’s upper leg, before flicking his sword upwards in an attempt to slash it across his forearm. After all the time wasting with Bishop, he’d like to get this over with as soon as possible. Preferably before he fell into the water rather than after.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Sat Jan 12, 2013 11:12 pm

Dmitri lept out of the way in a hurry. He was most assuredly NOT letting his guard down at all, and had been trying to keep his eye on the two more experienced fighters, so her surprise emerging hadn't been terribly surprising. It was, however, quite distressing. He really had been hoping that the two older folks would duke it out with themselves for the sake of the challenge, and then he'd get to fight whomever was left standing - which would still be somewhat distressing, but less distressing than having to concentrate on two people at once. Once he saw Talos flying, his strategy had been to be very good at dodging, but he wasn't going to be able to focus on that if he had to fight this pointy-teethed lady. Well, it was time to get ready, then.

He tried to angle around the pillar to NOT be so obviously flanked, trying to keep the flying Talos on one side of him and the weird woman on the other side, rather than someone in front of him and the other behind him. He was not in a good spot. Nope. But his sword was drawn and he was at least ready to fight the woman in melee combat.

Well, he decided he was just going to have to not worry about arrows. It was a dangerous thing to not worry about, but hopefully just fighting with someone would make him a more difficult target. Besides, shooting into melee was always a bad idea, since either target could be hit. Since he was the smaller of the two targets, maybe he'd just get lucky.

So, his sword was out and Eliza was on the edge of the pillar. You know what would probably make this more difficult for her? Not being able to get onto the pillar. So with his feet a safe distance a way, he took a slash at her arms, hopefully to drive her away from the pillar he was defending.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Sun Jan 13, 2013 7:47 pm

Jackdaww took the slight pause in the battle to compose himself, taking a deep breath and mentally scolding himself for letting his form slip. His mind was therefore a little clearer in time for Armeno’s next attack. He took his own sword in a backwards arc, blocking the feint attack briefly before continuing the arc to lightly parry the true strike. He leaned to his right, his weight sliding around to the edge of the pillar as the swords skated against each other, protecting his face from the blow intended for his arm that he had directed upwards and over towards his left, before letting his own blade fall quickly, angling an attack towards Armeno’s shin from his new angle off to the side. It was textbook – one of the pre-learned sets of motions he’d been taught, but he was hoping the simplicity would keep him safe a while longer. Once a more unusual fighting scenario came into play, Jackdaww was a little less comfortable, with his reputation for making slip-ups in everyday life. Straightforward swordplay was fine though, and his less than advanced way of thinking made it easy to only think about the two blades.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Fri Feb 01, 2013 7:33 pm

The parry which Jackdaww moved into easily didn't exactly surprise Armeno, but he equally hadn't entirely expected it. There were more than a few men out there who had picked up a few tricks with a sword and fancied themselves to be fighters. They could usually be found out after the first couple of attacks, once they'd run out of their practiced moves. Jackdaww, on the other hand, had obviously had genuine training in swordfighting. His attack was a well-known form, the kind of thing which more complex sequences tended to be based on, and the elf wondered errantly if he was being tested or if the other man had simply slipped into the obviously familiar movement without thinking about it. Or, indeed, neither of the two.

His own blade dropping, Armeno took a small step backwards out of the way of the attack, before swinging in his sword to meet Jackdaww's and knock it sideways on the flat of his blade. Whether he chipped the edge of it, knocked it out of his opponent's grip or simply threw it slightly off-balance wasn't too important- they were still sounding each other out, getting the feel of the fight.

As his feet came down, however, he slipped slightly on the spray which coated the smooth rock, and was forced to take an extra few steps to regain his balance. The movements came without thought, but the slip up could still mean problems for him.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Sat Feb 02, 2013 1:47 pm

Well, that motion hadn’t worked as well as Jackdaww had hoped; Armeno’s training had clearly prepared him for whatever Jackdaww’s most basic attacks had to offer. No matter: he was starting to get an idea of how he would have to fight when the battle intensified. Best not to exhaust himself until that time arrived.

‘Never catch a flat blade with the edge of your sword’ was one of the most basic rules, and Jackdaww did care for his sword. He turned his wrist, protecting the blade, as he realised his attack was going to be cut off, and allowed his opponent’s strike to carry both blades around in an arc, allowing his arm to move freely. Absent-mindedly stepping left gain, he turned his blade and lunged. Armeno’s slip, however, put more distance between them than Jackdaww had expected, so the attack didn’t land. That left his side open to an attack.

It was too late to pull the lunge back, so Jackdaww decided to try a different tactic. He allowed his own momentum to carry him forward and over balance, tucked his sword in to him, with the point to his side, and rolled over the blade, coming up with the sword held out low, ready to swipe at Armeno’s legs from the side.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Mon Feb 18, 2013 4:51 pm

Miraculously, his slip up managed to act as some kind of messy dodge from Jackdaww’s attack. Seeing an opportunity, Armeno stepped in to strike at Jackdaww’s briefly exposed left side. It could be a deliberate trap, true, but it didn’t seem like it.
Much to his surprise, Jackdaww suddenly dropped out of range, leaving his sword to swing harmlessly through the air where the man had stood. There wasn’t time to look down and see where the man was aiming, no time to plan; he couldn’t afford to lose his mobility this early in the fight. Anything more than a scratch to the leg would likely lose him the fight. Stabbing his sword down into its sheath and taking a deep breath, Armeno leapt off the stone and executed a backwards dive which was relatively neat in the circumstances.

Weighed down as he was, swimming was far from easy, but submerged just below the surface the waves weren’t too violent. He skirted the stone carefully, determined not to lose track of which one it was, and kept his movement determinedly calm to save his breath. He had no idea what Jackdaww was doing now; he could only hope that he would surface behind the man. Quietly enough that the noise was lost in the general splashing of waves, he stuck his head out of the water and took in the back which now faced him. Armeno pulled himself out onto the pedestal and rushed at his opponent in the same movement, before he had a chance to react too much. If he could just tackle the man then he should be able to overpower him… He might not have any short weapons, either, which would work in Armeno’s favour.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Mon Feb 18, 2013 5:51 pm

Jackdaww hadn’t been expecting the dive, and for a moment just watched dumbfounded as his opponent vanished into the water. Heaving his gaze away from the ripples on the water, Jackdaww rose to his feet, turning slowly to try to spot where Armeno would surface. Unfortunately this didn’t work, and Armeno came up behind him. He almost lost his balance as Armeno tackled him, and sheathed his sword quickly to avoid damaging it. He had a knife if his left boot, but he didn’t want to use the blade until he was at least facing his opponent again. He would rather not use it at all, since it was more suited to cutting bread and meat than fighting, but it should do some service at least.

Jackdaww thrust his elbow back into Armeno, pulling his shoulder away at the same time in the hope of getting away. There wasn’t much space between them and the edge of the pillar now, since the platforms really weren’t very big, and falling in the water wouldn’t be a brilliant idea right now, since his armour was so heavy. He hoped the extra weight from the water that Armeno had gained would slow him down.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Wed Feb 27, 2013 10:01 pm

He'd seen a lot of strange things in his life, but Talos did not at all expect for the girl to pitch herself straight off the edge of the platform that she was on. At first he was baffled as to why, but the second that she hit the water he immediately saw the reason and unconsciously tucked his toes up tighter to his body. A mermaid! By Enririn's bones! It was a good thing that he'd gotten out of the water when he could! The last thing that he wanted for for the sea monster to grab him by the ankles and drag him under the surface where he would be subject to all of her evil fish-woman whims. Drowning probably being the kindest of those whims. He almost felt pity for the lad that the mermaid had turned her evil eyes on to attack instead, and he lost her when she went under the water. Talos could barely discern the edges of her body when she moved under the rolling surface of the mini-sea that had been conjured and couldn't possibly think of a worse setting to try and fight her in. One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to be landing any time soon.

When he saw her jump out of the water though, he couldn't help but to fear for his mortal soul just a little bit and understood immediately why the magical ceiling was so low. He was well within leaping reach if the mermaid put her mind to trying to grab him out of the air. "Get her!" He yelled encouragement to Dmitri, egging the fellow fighter on and had zero intention of getting any closer. "You've got to cut off her head, or she won't die! And her head will still be able to bite you!"

----

So, the little human was going to come his way? Blugh! Good! That meant that he wouldn't have to jump nearly as many times. Backing up to the edge of his current platform, Genchu took another flying leap and then there was only one pedestal between him and his opponent. Weighing the heavy club in his hand, he decided that he didn't really want to jump again and backed up to the edge of the platform.

Holding his club like a javelin, Genchu took a running step and with a grunt launched the giant log the the squishy little human woman, leaping after his projectile to collect the spoils before they well… spoiled.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Wed Feb 27, 2013 10:19 pm

Eliza hissed as she missed the boy’s ankles. It would have been so nice to swipe him off the platform nice and early. But he had a sword, and even her sylph-mind knew those were pointy. But she had one too, and a breastplate still, so she was far from defenceless. She dived down, quickly finding the bottom of the magical ocean. Deep enough to drown a human, but for one so used to water it was no issue. Her legs in this form didn’t have the most strength when pushing off, but it meant that as she turned towards the surface again, she had just that little bit more speed. She would need it to leap over the pillar. She couldn’t stand on one anymore – a shame really since her opponents were stuck above water – so she would have to slide over the top and hope.

Breaking through the surface, she flared her gills, bared her pointed teeth and unsheathed her short sword. It had a pebble stuck in the metal at the top – just a greenish stone out of a river, nothing fancy, but it was just as sharp as her teeth. She pointed it at the smaller man, soaring past him from the momentum of her dive, and vanished below the surface of the water. She would need to remove the last bit of armour she had to jump high enough to reach the flying-man, but he seemed more entertaining. Her appearance had certainly had a better effect on him, and she really did want to have more fun with that one.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:22 pm

"Cut off her head?" Wasn't this just a friendly tournament? He knew that there were winners and losers, but... Well, crap.

Well it seemed as though everybody else was playing by a different game, and HE certainly didn't want to die. Unless the person in the air was just tricking him? But in all seriousness, the sea-creature just... looked merciless. He was more inclined to listen to Talos after Eliza had tried to scratch his ankles up. But how...? He wasn't ranged at all...

Oh hell. He WAS actually considering re-engaging Eliza. He was freaking crazy! The stupid flying archer should be able to take her down easy-peasy - an archer against a melee figher was no contest at ranged. But he could figure that the jumping mer-creature could unsettle somebody who thought they were safe in the air. So, against his better judgement, he scooted closer to the edge of the platform, and pulled his sword back, ready to swipe at the place he thought Eliza would re-emerge from. As soon as he saw her head emerge, he was going to swing, hoping to either slice her, or base-ball-bat her back down. Hopefully he was at the distance he wanted to be at - far enough from the edge that she couldn't see him get closer from under the water, and close enough that his sword could reach her when she emerged.

As soon as Eliza started her jump back up, Dmitri acted - he lunged forward to give himself extra reach, and swung horizontally as hard as he could, hoping his timing was all right. Simultaneously, he ducked his own head down. Now that she had her own sword, she might try to take full advantage of his close proximity, and he didn't want her to retaliate by decapitating him, hence ducking his head. He could only hope she was surprised enough that she had no time to block or stab at him instead.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:52 pm

Breathing in to fill her gills with the lovely salty water, Eliza turned to leap again. She hadn’t made contact, which was annoying, so she was going to have to leap again. Powering up through the water, she jumped, employing the same tactic… until she found a blade in her way. She had exactly no evasiveness going the speed she was, so the blade nicked her skin where it touched. Luckily the chest armour she had opted to keep covered her heart, but the flesh across her left shoulder and over onto her collarbone split easily. She hissed and snapped her teeth at the human that had spiked her, dripping water from her wound onto the plinth he was stood on, and landed messily on the other side of the column instead of in the water. Hurling her sword up to protect her vulnerable form, she slid into the water backwards, hissing and shouting incoherently. She left no blood on the stone, only a puddle of fresh water. Unfortunately water ran away faster than blood, so she was in more danger from a small cut than a human would have been.

Once she was under the surface, Eliza bit her lip and employed the only magic she was actually in control of. In a way it was healing, but in truth the wound was only moved to her other form. Shifting the slash onto her human figure was painful, and left a pink line on her sylph form that burned like fire, but it would stop her bleeding out. If she changed form now, she might be in some trouble… luckily she had no intention of that.

She shed her remaining armour, her shoulder unbelievably weak, and headed back to the surface with it tucked under her sword arm. She slid onto the plinth she had started on and held it out, hoping to fend off any arrows the flying man threw her way. “Is that all you have, ssssssskinny one?” she hissed with a wide grin, bearing as many teeth as she could. “Why don’t you sssssssswim with me?” She laughed, twirling her sword carelessly in her hand. It was mostly a show to cover the slowly fading pain in her shoulder, but she liked to think the fear factor was on her side. And she was getting hungry - SO hungry.

((SORRY WE MISSED YOU AERO!! It was too complicated, with the jumpy-fighty-crazy-timeyness

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Wed Mar 27, 2013 5:21 pm

Kassandra picked herself up to crouch at the centre of her platform, fingers curled tight like claws to try and give her any more balance than the little pedestal gave her. Her clothes rippled in the light wind that blew across the water, and she held on all the more fiercely; to hide her light trembling, too. This monster she faced was much worse than Rhys from the round before, which might have been expected, but even still, with environmental difficulties too…
So worried she was about the water, she barely had time to react properly to the earth monster’s action when it came, completely unexpected as he threw his club at her with all the force a dragon might be able to put behind the object. She screamed out of unintentional reaction, scrabbling upright and leaping back towards the platform she had come from previously, sliding across the top of the slippery surface with her arms and legs kicking for traction, then grasping the far edge with all the strength she had as she slipped off and almost fell down into the water under her own accord. She had a tense few moments as she struggled to hold on, then hauled herself up onto the flat with her heart pounding, assuming her previous position with much more caution than she had had before.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Thu Mar 28, 2013 2:44 pm

He had no intention of doing any swimming. Not. At. All. Actually, Talos was quite content to keep as much distance between himself and the water as was physically possible given that the mermaid could leap up, grab him by the ankles, and then the match would be over and he'd be done for. Deciding that the fish woman was the greater threat here, he dove to the side when he saw the ripple of her form under water heading back toward one of the pillars, skimming dangerously close to the surface so that he could get a better angle on the fish woman. "I'll keep her distracted!" he shouted as he zoomed past Dmitri, deciding that if he had to pick an ally, it would be the one that couldn't disappear underwater and get him. He knocked an arrow and pulled up from his glide until he bumped his head against the magical ceiling, aiming for the girl as he hauled herself up on the pylon. The breastplate shielding her would make it harder to get a clean hit, so he aimed for what used to be her legs instead and let fly. It wouldn't be a fatal wound, but it would definitely hurt.

[*~*~*~*]

Genchu landed in a spray of water again, slipping on the wet surface of the submerged pillar and barely came to a stop before he skidded off the edge entirely. Blugh! The little human hadn't died! But it had screamed, which was an amusing noise that humans made shortly before they died and Genchu's resulting grin was fearsome indeed. Now only a few feet of water separated him from his intended prey, and he had every intention of finishing up that distance so that he could get the squishy little thing in his claws. He made the last leap with a grunt, nearly missing the pillar this time and barked his shin on the side, but made it over. "Blugh! C'mere girly!" He growled and stretched out his muscled arms, claws extended and bull rushed straight for Static.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Fri Mar 29, 2013 6:08 am

Well. That was pretty much the creepiest thing he had ever seen. This entire person. So creepy. It gave him the heebie-jeebies. The fear factor was definitely on her side, and boy it was working for her. He also wasn't really sure of how hurt she was. Without bright red to make her injury manifest, he kind of thought he had just knocked her off-course and pissed her off. So for now he wasn't taking her shoulder into account as an advantage. He also wasn't particularly good at talking big. He really didn't want to kill anybody. He had gotten in WAY over his head in this tournament. He certainly hadn't been expecting to be paired up against a sea-monster.

"While I enjoy a good swim as much as the next person," he started, trying to sound cool and composed, much more so than he felt, "... I have a counter-offer for you. Why don't you... uh... stroll with me?" Ahha! Take that-- the unexpected ironic twist on her own words being used against her but involving not swimming instead! Classic.

He actually chose not to take advantage of Talos's distraction. He couldn't. While he was close enough to lunge at her, he was also too far away to not telegraph his movements before she could block. But... he had another idea. If he couldn't hit her... maybe he could give Talos a clearer shot. So, hoping she would use her breastplate as a shield, he thrust his blade directly towards her face, deciding that HE could be the distraction instead. Still keeping his feet plenty far away out of her reach.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Fri Mar 29, 2013 8:50 pm

The two attacks from the other competitors came at almost exactly the same moment, which put Eliza in a rather awkward position. She had her own sword, and so flung that in front of herself messily to block the attack, but let the breastplate-shield slip down a little. As the arrow was aimed at her legs, this was less of a problem, but it the attack had been aimed at her chest, she could have been in some serious danger. The distraction of the sword did mean that the arrow caught the webbing between two of her extremely long, flipper-shaped toes. The thin film of skin split, and although it didn’t bleed much, it hurt like hell. She hissed again, and focused on trying to stab Dmitri, jabbing a little randomly. She wasn’t a very refined fighter, but she had never had to be before. She was still hopeful that her appearance (and now her nudity) would frighten off the other two a little.

“Stroll with you? Ooh I’m ssssso ssscared.” She spat through her teeth. If it wasn't for the deep shoulder wound on her human form, she would have dried herself off and changed again just to spite the young man, but it wasn't worth it just yet. “What about you, bird-man? Fancy a dip?” she shouted in her raspy voice up to Talos, still stabbing randomly in the direction of Dmitri.

Subject: Re: Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Non-Dragons Sat Apr 06, 2013 3:09 am

Even from a distance Talos heard the ridiculous comeback that the boy had retorted with and would have smacked himself in the face for the lameness of it if he didn't have his bow in hand and was in the process of drawing another arrow. His shots had to count, he only had five left. So when Dmitri decided to instead become the distraction he almost shouted at him for deviating from what little plan there was to be had. Although, given that he was now confronted with a bare-breasted water-beast-woman, he wasn't sure if he should shoot for the heart or avert his gaze. Did sea monsters care about propriety? Should he care about a sea monster's propriety?

Her address of him on the subject of swimming snapped those thoughts quickly out of track and the sight of her teeth were enough to convince him that no, he didn't care about the decency or lack thereof of a mermaid. "No!" He shouted back and shot his readied arrow, aiming this time for her chest. If he hit Dmitri, oh well. One of them would have to be knocked out of the competition if he planned to advance, and while the boy seemed like a better alternative to have around than the fish woman, he wasn't going to be too picky. "I do NOT want to go for a dip!"

» Grande Tourney of Kaionar :: Dragons
» Grand Tourney! Fight for the Purse!
» (T4, Kaionar) Like Herding Cats (18th Board)
» Snazzy post-tourney times [Kat/Rogue/North]
» The Dragons Have disappeared.