Nimbly sidestepping Teral's ineffectual swing, Ariela wags her finger at the spellcaster before advancing a step, driving an uppercut into his ribs, eliciting a cough of blood from his mouth. As he falls, she bends, picking up his mace.
Talas lifts his head off the ground enough to see Ariela flatten Teral as well. He cringes a bit, since the memory of her fist in his jaw is pretty fresh despite the slow healing of the field. But most of his attention is on Eythil, watching as the other man picks up his team's ball.
Eythil felt a surge of confidence as he saw Teral go down under the power of Ariela. He didn't really know what else to think at that moment because he felt as though there was almost nothing that could stop them. With Vance still down and unconscious, and Garridan watching over Talas, he took a deep and began running. He didn't know, couldn't know, but he was fairly sure there weren't any of those fire traps in the middle of the field.
Just a little bit longer and we can do this.
About ten seconds after picking up the ball, Eythil begins to feel intense pain radiating out through his hands and into his arms.
Eythil staggered for a moment as he began to run, nearly dropping the ball but instead he gripped tighter and adjusted himself as he continued forward, grinding his teeth against the pain his whole body began to feel.
Either dashed to their team's home area and Darian whistled sharply.
"Good!" he yelled. "Catch your breath and bring it in. Time to talk."
Within about a minute, everyone's wounds had mostly faded. Vance was awake and nursing a fading headache.
"Alright." the headmaster said. "I saw some good instincts out there, and some good ideas. I also saw a lot of bad planning and bad luck."
"First off, pretty much all of you really need to work on your defense. We're going to help with that."
"Second, I didn't actually see a whole lot of teamwork aside from the trick with the rope. That was good teamwork. Unfortunately, the plan didn't actually put any of your opponents down. Teamwork should amplify your effectiveness, not diminish it."
"Start talking. What surprised you that you can plan for later? What do you know now that you didn't know five minutes ago?"
At the comment of no planning Ariela raises an eyebrow, before frowning slightly.
Having one person focus on dropping opponents, one pinning down the recovering ones and one to move the ball sounded pretty coordinated to her. Granted it was improvised once things started but hell everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
She gives each of the other team an apologetic smile accompanied by a little shrug.
"Well," Eythil began looking back over the field, "I think the first thing that surprised me was that I really didn't know what to expect from the other team. I started running in to get the other teams ball with only a little bit of talking from my team and suddenly Vance was getting bigger. I didn't think Vance and Talas would charge me. As I hit the ground, I thought that Vance might just stand over me and hit me until I was unconscious. I didn't really know what my team was capable of." he said, glancing back at Ariela and Garridan with appreciation. "That was bad planning."
"Something else that surprised me were the webs that appeared. Just because we were facing each other does not mean that others won't jump in." his eyes darted to the group that had sat on the side lines. "Also the fire. I didn't see where it came from. So learn more about where we are."
"Then the pain after I had grabbed the ball. It hurt all over, I almost dropped it twice." he reflexively clinched his hands against the memory of the pain. "I need to deal with it better."
"That's true. Knowing the battlefield would definitely make it easier to turn the surroundings to your advantage." Ariela agrees.
Talas watched carefully when Eythil picked up the ball, but other than a momentary grimace and a few wobbly initial steps, nothing happened-- certainly nothing stopped Eythil running down the field and putting away the goal ball. Ruefully, Talas sat up when Darian called the conclusion, and limped his way over to Vance to give him a hand up, and Teral as well if it was needed.
He gingerly stretched as he approached their instructors, rotating one shoulder.
"The rope was intended to be a force multiplier," he said. "And, ultimately, used to tie one of the other team up. When I heard the description of the field, it seemed to me that simply knocking a foe out wasn't a good solution, because they could heal and get back up-- to really turn the tide in your team's favor, you would need to find a different way to take them 'out,' so to speak."
Talas grins ruefully. "Turns out I was wrong about that. Hit someone hard enough and they're effectively out for long enough to make all the difference," he waves a hand at Vance, "--or they're flat on their back betting that standing up isn't going to do them any good. So there's more than one way to take someone out, really..."
He gave Garridan a mild elbow in the ribs. "I learned it's a poor thing to go up against a strong ranged combatant on an open field with no cover. And that the lady here punches like a bear." A little nod at Ariela.
"I could do with more training on open ground in general, I suppose. I've spent most of my life, and my fighting, in forests and hills and the odd ruin or two-- places where there's things to hide behind, climb, use for cover. My style's always been to strike, then try and disappear behind something, then strike again. It's worked for me until now, but as you say: my defense seems to need some work, so that I can adapt to other arenas. Or perhaps come up with a way to create my own cover."
Talas coiled up his rope as he speaks, slinging it neatly over his shoulder.
"I was half-expecting the ball to do something nastier, when it was picked up-- that's why I bided my time. I was hoping for a distraction, a moment I could use. So... I wagered, and lost, on that count. Waiting for your moment can be a risk, if the moment never happens."
Garridan nods as he listens to the others explain their observations. "I definitely could stand to do a little more teamwork. Before coming here the only other person I have worked with together was Talas and over the years we knew what the other was going to do without words being spoken." He shrugs. "I do realize that my biggest down-fall in a fight is my limitation to my skill at throwing weapons." He pats Talas on the back. "When it came to talking, I always let him handle that."
"Having the 'traps' in the field definitely made things much more interesting than what I was expecting." he added ruefully.
"You can blame Thedra for the traps." Darian said with a chuckle. "We're going to the armory. Then we're going to run this again."
Darian led them to a building at the edge of the training yard. The door opened as he approached, like it was waiting for him. He paid it no mind and entered.
Inside the room were racks of practice weapons, shields and armor of all types, all in Trainee white.
"Anything that suits you, we'll make sure you get a real version of exceptional quality at the end of the day."
Looking around the armory, Ariela turns to Darian. "While I know how to use quite a few of these, I'd rather not make myself too dependent on having a weapon."
Eythil's eyes glanced around the armory. Then he turned to face Darian. "Why again? Was this time not enough to... give us a good... assessment?"
Darian raised an eyebrow at Ariela. "Do you have a ranged weapon? Are you hands immune to an Ooze's acid? Your fists won't always be an option."
"Contingency plans are victory plans. Even if you have a specialty that will win ninety nine out of a hundred times, that still means you're setting yourself up for failure if you don't recognize that one in a hundred weakness."
Then he addressed Eythil. "It was good. I learned quite a bit. First and foremost that you all need a little help with your defense. Grab some good armor, and whatever else you think might be handy. You saw how Ariela and Garridan took apart their opposition? Think about what you might need in order to deal with them as adversaries. We're going to mix up the teams next time, so odds are one of them is going to be in your way."
Talas looks around at the gear with a thoughtful frown. "I'm not certain what more I can do for defense just with gear alone. I've not trained in how to fight with a shield, and most of this armor would probably slow me down...."
Talas picks up a small buckler that is perhaps light enough to not overly impede his swings. He supposes he can improvise. He also selects a shortbow and quiver of arrows.
"You definitely have a point there," Ariela concedes, taking a look at the weapons on display. "It can't hurt to be prepared."
Moving over to the racks she peruses the weapons.
Garridan looked around at the gear presented and shrugged. "There is not much here for me that would be helpful beyond carrying as much weapons as possible. Armor restricts my ability to throw and slows me down more than it would help."
Looking everything over, Ariela shrugs. "For the most part, these wouldn't really benefit me much but I guess I'll go with a shortspear."
"Defense huh?" Eythil said, heading over to the heavier looking armor sections. "Maybe something like this will do."
Teral wandered through the armory (quietly, for once) and selected better versions of his breastplate and morningstar, plus a lightweight crossbow and a few bolts. For a minute or two, he held a quiet, amused argument with Darian about whether or not mithril or glassteel should be allowed to cadets or not, then he laughed, clapped the Headmaster on the back, and stood at ease.
Once everyone was done gathering new gear, Darian walked them back to the training yard.
"Ok, one more time. Same scenario. New teams. Draw new rocks."
Teral, Eythil, and Vance drew white stones.
Garridan, Talas and Ariela drew black.
The players took their positions, and unlike last time, Darian blew the whistle immediately, almost before anyone was ready!
Perception DC 12
Initiatives
The recruits were all sharp and focused. No one was caught off guard. They bolted to action!
Teral, his mouth open to start planning, blinked and flung himself into the words of a spell instead, raising the holy symbol emblazoned on his shield high. His mace began to shine with a soft golden light.
Vance starts travelling across the field, determined to do better this round, rather then be knocked out again for the majority of the game. He didn't know what spell Teral was casting, but definitely wanted to remain his natural size.
Talas looked to his allies--at Garridan, who he knew from years of teamwork, and Ariela, who he know most recently from the jaw-bruising crack she'd given him. The teams seemed somewhat less than fair to him this go-around-- Ariela and Garridan were both formidable, after all-- but he supposed that too was a training exercise, because fairness was hardly assured when facing enemies. If the unfairness was currently benefiting him he wasn't going to complain.
"I'd toss out a plan," he joked, "but my last one didn't do very good. Ariela, should we go tag-team Vance? Just focus on one at a time until everyone's down? Garridan to provide ranged backup if anyone slips past us? It worked well enough for your team last time."
Unless Ariela objected, he dashed forward, unslinging his blade from his shoulder and trying to get used to the balance of the blade with the buckler on his arm.
"Works for me, I'm going to be less effective now though."
Eythil seemed unsure how his new strategy of wearing heavy armor and using a shield would pay off, but he was sure with the group he was facing he would need all the defense he could get.
"Be careful if you happen to pick up the balls. They give out a sickening feeling." he said as he began to move forward.
Garridan nods and moves forward a little to keep a relatively close distance to his companions, well maintaining defense upon their ball.
This second battle would definitely put Ariela at a disadvantage, she'd used her most powerful effects in the first fight. Concentrating, she calls forth some of her internal strength to empower her strikes as she ran forward alongside her team.
Darian smiled as the recruits sprang into motion, not one of them caught off guard. That was what he liked to see. Adaptability and action.
"Well, boys," Teral said, glancing around at his teammates, "I don't know about you, but I don't have a whole lot of steam left. May as well get to it."
With that, he shook his buckler down into place, gripped his morningstar, and moved toward the center.
As Vance continues to run across the field, he keeps his eyes on his opponents.
Talas nodded his head at the approaching figure of Vance. "Garridan, can you give him a hello with your flying sticks of doom?"
He ran thirty feet in the direction of Vance, still trying to get the hang of the buckler's foreign weight on his arm, and held his elven blade in a low, readied position at his side, obviously intending to take a swing at anyone who got close.
Eythil ran and he found that his new armor was indeed slowing him down a lot more than he had thought that it would. His movements were sluggish and he he made far more noise now than before.
He was unpleasantly surprised by this, but he thought that if he could succeed once, maybe he could do so again.
Garridan moves a little to intercept Vance when he spots the man rush towards the far edge of the field. "Ariela, may need a little assistance on this one. He was able to easily knock down one of my boomerangs before."
Cutting around Garridan, Ariela sets her sights on Vance, running through a few options to deal with his substantial skills and facilitate the others striking him.
"Good point," Talas called over his shoulder at Garridan when the other man pointed out what had happened last time he shot at Vance. "How about our other friend who's coming up, then?" He waved a hand at Eythil's approach down the center of the field.
Talas ran thirty feet closer to Vance and again adopted a readied position with his blade in one hand, but the other ready to grip the hilt and swing with both.
Vance noticed his opponents starting to make their way towards him, so he decided to pick up the pace.
As he neared Ariela he quickly tumbled by her and continued running.
Any slower and she would have hit me...
Eythil slowed his run now. He knew that both Talas and Garridan were fast. So he instead took a more defensive approach. He had to wait for the right opening as he moved forward.
Seeing Vance rush past Ariela, Garridan decides to bide his time on the monk and focus his attention on Eythil and sends a boomerang flying towards the strange fellow!
Falling in on the idea of getting Vance on his return trip, Ariela moves forward fanning out to close in on Erythil, wincing slightly as she sees the impact of Garridan's boomerang before following it up with a stream of icy cold.