Vorin vs. Grimold
Grimold tests the weight of the mace, but doesn't seemed thrilled with it. As Fisk begins the fight, Grimold darts in toward Vorin, weaving back and forth as he moves.
Grimold hasn't seen enough of Vorin's fighting yet to know how to handle him. He tries to close the distance early, taking a half-hearted swing to test the other boy's reaction.
Eilidh grabs her sister's hand, squeezing it tightly. [smaller]"You w-were g-going to tell me something about w-what you learned earlier? Maybe...Maybe you c-could tell me n-now."
Vorin v Grimold
Vorin moves in close, making the swing with the heavy mace futile and swings toward the side of Grimold's head. As he does, Grimold sees his pupils dilate, his teeth grit tightly together. for
Rans smirks at Eilidh. "Worried about your boyfriend fighting that monster, Tilernos?"
Zohruk vs. Ardis
Zohruk pivots and counters Ardis' strikes, but still finds himself unable to land a telling blow.
Eilidh grabs her sister's hand, squeezing it tightly. "You w-were g-going to tell me something about w-what you learned earlier? Maybe...Maybe you c-could tell me n-now."
Kassie looks around at her sister, thinking for a moment. "We didn't manage to find the girl, Grimold and me, but we got a message from... the leaders of the... organisation that attacked us the other night. Apparently we've got nothing to fear from them. It was an... unauthorised attack." Well it's not really a lie. She'd be so cross with him if she found out he met with the Sczarni!
Ardis v Zohruk
Zohruk has his arm grabbed by Ardis's offhand, the weapon pushed away as the boy swings his elbow in, striking at Zohruk's sternum. for
Zohruk vs. Ardis
Twisted out of position by Ardis' maneuver, Zohruk finds himself unable to land an effective blow on his opponent.
Ardis v Zohruk
"Stop dodging!" Ardis growls as he catches Zohruk's blade with his, pressing close before twisting his weapon away and slashing at the orc's head. for
Crack! Grimold's world goes black for a moment as he stumbles backward from the force of Vorin's blow. He shakes his head, blinking the spots out of his eyes. Grimold glares at Vorin as he pulls his arms in for a tighter defense. Clearly, Vorin was not one to be trifled with.
Zohruk vs. Ardis
Zohruk roars in reply, and swings a wild backhanded slash at Ardis, "Zuryo t'suk!"
Eilidh whirls, eyes slits, and glares at Rans. "N-no, but I b-bet you're s-scared of him." She wheels around, looking at Fisk. "If n-no-one's g-going to ch-challenge me, I'll f-fight Rans..."
Kassie turns as Allie issues her challenge, leaning forward and whispering so that Rans can't hear. "Watch out Al. He's strong, and he hits hard!"
Vorin v Grimold; Round 2--
Those who know Vorin, would expect at quip or a smile or something. However, his expression doesn't change. He stays completely focused and on target, cracking his neck, eyes narrowing as he moves around Grimold, forcing the boy to turn his stance. He'll rush forward, feinting with a punch before swinging his weapon around to slash at him. Grimold holds his stance, forearms and weapon held defensively to protect himself from the onslaught.
for damage.
Vorin's intensity is something rarely seen in Lastwall, Brevoy or Taldor. While his fighting style is a blend of mostly what they've been taught at the school, he is utilizing a style similar to, and yet different from, the trances used by Tengu blademasters. It's a style rarely seen outside of Kellid Gaestae who were mostly killed off when Sarkoris fell.
While Vorin is much more involved in this fight than in past fights, you get the impression he is still holding back somewhat.
Ardis v Zohruk
Eilidh's statement is met with a round of laughter from the blonde. He stares at her in mock shock. ”Afraid? Of Ardis of all people? Eilidh, have you seen him fight?” Rans gestures to where Zohruk and Ardis seem evenly matched, unable to gain the upper hand on one another. ”He's learned..but not by much.”
”Keep your opinions to yourself until after the challenges, if you please, Rans. It is quite unseemly to disparage opponents that are currently engaged and have no way to defend themselves.” Jalen shoots the boy a glower, his jaw tensing up.
As the other fights conclude, Kassie turns to Daen with a grin. "I don't think we can let you stay at number one for too long without getting any exercise." she says with a wink. [b]"Care to dance?"
Ardis v. Zohruk
Zohruk growls out, frustrated with the fight. Ardis deflects the blow with his weapon but the orc powers through the deflection and breaks through the weak guard! The weapon slams into Ardis --or it almost does as the boy barely takes the brunt of the blow on an armored arm, dropping low to the sand and lashing out with the sickle. for
The harsh fight finally comes to an end as Ardis gets a blow through Zohruk's tough guard and brings the orc crashing to the sands.
Vorin v Grimold
Grimold stands defensively and brings the weapon up to block Vorin's blow, only to have the other boy swing around the blow in a surprise attack and slam the blade into the urchin's kidney! Dropping from the pain, Vorin finally drops his guard and steps back, his intense concentration vanishing.
With those challenges complete, Elyssa has a chance to go up next. She frowns at Grimold, glancing over the wounds still on him from his fight with Vorin and then smirks. She arches an eyebrow and gestures with her head toward the arena at him, shrugging.
Walking to the center of the circle, she turns around and looks straight at Grimold. 'Austyn! Get your ugly rear out here so we can show you why you should stop trying to bully other people.”
Second tallest in the cohort now that Urias has gone, Austyn has built significant muscle in the last few weeks. Where Elyssa is short and lithe, he is tall and built. More than a few in the cohort think she's crazy to pick a fight with him. Others glance to Kassara who, while far more attractive, has a similar build and recall how easily she beat others under her.
The two square off
While the weapons Elyssa and Austyn receive are used similarly, they look quite different. Elyssa receives a Garundi terbutje from the jungles to the south--a wooden stick lined with metal shards. Traditionally it is lined with stone, bone or obsidian, but this version was likely made here in Lastwall. Austyn, on the other hand, gets a simple stick. He looks at it, then at Fisk and scoffs. "What is this? Seriously? This is hardly a weapon!" Fisk smacks him in the side of the head and growls something low and difficult to hear.
"You fight with what you get or you'll be flogged for insubordination. Take that tone of voice with me again and you will fail out."
Elyssa hardly waits for Fisk to start the fight before hurling the weapon at Austyn and leaping after it. She flies into his chest, her heel colliding with his sternum and knocking him backward. He blinks and looks up, swinging the weapon around in an overhand strike, only to hit sand as she slides around it, serpentine eyes blinking rapidly. In the same motion, she kicks the terbutje back into her hand and smashes him in the side with it. Austyn keels over. Grinning, Elyssa turns and bows to Grimold, winking at him before resuming her place in the circle. "I'm done."
Grimold watches Elyssa's fight from the sidelines, silently thanking Desna that she didn't challenge him, especially as she makes short work out of Austyn. Her victory wink takes him off guard. Is that a threat or is she... flirting with me? He flushes as some of the more interesting poses from Contortions of a Vudrani Acrobat flash into his mind. She isn't that snake-like, idiot!
After Elyssa's fight, he slowly walks toward the ring, removing his hand from his side. It's still throbbing from Vorin's strike, but at least the pain in his head is gone. He looks between Vorin and Eilidh, swearing under his breath. There was no chance he'd be able to challenge Jalen this week, and his frustration is mounting. Blowing out hard through his nose, he calls out his challenge. "Vorin!"
Vorin vs. Grimold - Rematch
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
When Zohruk comes to after his match, he is furious at himself. The staggering number of times in the fight that he couldn't capitalize on an opening replay in his mind, stoking his anger at himself, further fueled by the perceived slight of Ardis' disrespect of him with... whatever the Hell that was he called him to start the match. He spends the first few moments after he pulls himself upright not really processing a single thing around him, just silently berating himself and all the fates that brought him here.
After a few moments, his facial expression tones down from "active volcano" to "pretty annoyed". Okay, that's enough. Stop it. He beat you. You want payback? Get better, and next time, you can do it to him. Calmed enough to care how the rest of the day might play out, he turns his attention back to the challenge floor, They gave Vorin a bow? That's not really his... ouch! Geez, she could've lost an eye from that shot! He watches Vorin reel off a pair of victories, then gets the vicarious thrill of watching Elyssa flatten Austyn with seemingly no effort.
After her fight, Zohruk waits for an opportunity to approach Elyssa, if she doesn't want me there, I figure I'll smell ozone or sulfur or something, have maybe two seconds to get clear before she incinerates me. "I was a little concerned after you took that shot to the face, but you certainly don't seem the worse for wear from that." If Elyssa looks at him, Zohruk points to his own eyes. "That's new..."
The weapon handed to Grimold is large and bulky, although effective in many hands. The curved, dulled blade and spike on the back provide multiple means of attack. A Lastwall halberd and standby for guards on the wall. Vorin receives a familiar weapon..the curved sickle Ardis had used.
The two face off again in the arena and Vorin laughs and shakes his head, moving into the arena. He takes a deep breath and stares Grimold down. "Come, let us do this dance again and see what happens! You're a worthy challenger, Grimold."
As soon as Fisk's hand drops, the smile on Vorin's face vanishes and a glazed look enters his eyes. He rushes forward, flexing his knuckles around the small weapon and swings it overhand, the curve facing toward his target. for
Grimold takes the blow across his chest, gasping for breath. However, he focuses on the pain and retaliates with a strong blow.
Daen pursed his lips and nodded at the blonde. She was indeed very cute, but he should be able to keep a lid on himself. Should. Some may not consider it respectful to lose to a girl because one was caught looking, but in Daen's mind, a person should use whatever advantages they had. Doing his best to not think of Kassie's advantages, he responded. "As much as I'd like to do that, we're going to have to wait. I'm not so sure you'll go unchallenged this week, there's a few people envious of your position as well."
Grimold vs. Vorin Rematch
Round 1
Before Grimold has a chance to move, Vorin is on him, the sickle biting deep. Gritting through the pain, Grimold rolls with the the blow, spinning around backwards. As he spins, he shifts his grip on the halberd, swinging it into Vorin before losing his grip on it. His eyes go wide as the weapon slips out of his grasp, and he reflexively starts moving in a wide ducking and weaving pattern.
Round 2
Eilidh waits until she thinks Fisk's back is turned before slipping a hand into Ardis's and giving it a quick squeeze. "G-good job, b-but you didn't get his n-name right. W-we had a t-talk a w-while back, and we're t-trying to at least be c-civil. It's Zohruk, I th-think."
Grimold v Vorin
The halberd smashes into Vorin and the boy's concentration seems broken, or at least bent, as the silent fighter lets out a groan of pain. The cracking sound shows he'll likely have significant bruising—even after the healing from the wand. With his momentum slowed, he comes after Grimold with less power than his previous attack.
for
Ardis staggers back into the ring, blushing red at the squeeze and returning the gesture. ”Th..thanks. I did? I-I didn't mean to! Orcish names is so-so hard to speak.” Ardis looks over to Zohruk and waves at him. ”I-I thought it'd be nice to defeat him a-after how you two were g-going at it. H-he doesn't seem l-like a bad guy though.”
”Eilidh! You wanted to challenge Rans, correct? Get in the arena you two!”
Eilidh v Rans; Round One--
Eilidh steps into the circle, muttering a prayer under her breath and waiting to be assigned a weapon. She looks at her opponent nervously, trying to come up with a strategy that'll win the fight.
For the second time in as many fights, two hits from Vorin is enough to lay Grimold low. At least he'd gotten a decent hit in this time. Even as the halberd slipped out of his hands, he knew what was to come. Sure enough, Vorin's retaliation sends Grimold reeling into the black once again.
When he comes to moments later, the magic has healed his bruises but has done nothing for his wounded pride. Sitting up, he throws a handful of sand at the ground in frustration, and he refuses to make eye contact with anyone as he moves back to the sidelines. If I cannot beat Vorin, how can I expect to make Jalen pay for what he did to Felipe?
You never could take a punch, eh Grimold?
Says the dead man.
Whatever self-satisfaction Grimold feels at besting his own imagination in a contest of words, it does nothing to lighten his mood. While he watches the next fights, he doesn't really see them. Instead, he examines his memories of both of his last fights, to see where he went wrong. Aside from ever getting into the ring with Vorin, that is. The other boy was fast, but he was strong, too. It seemed everybody at the Bonewatch hit like a raging bull. They were learning hand-to-hand combat before I arrived. Maybe I missed something in the training? It would certainly explain why Elyssa could hit like she did, but there was something different about the way Vorin fought. There was something in his eyes, like he was an entirely different person. Bards told tales of men possessed by battle spirits and bottle spirits alike, but Vorin didn't seem to be a drunkard or a shaman. He would have to talk to Fisk after the challenges in case there was something useful he missed in the first week's training.
Zohruk notices that Grimold looks almost as aggravated as he does, and walks over. In a low voice, he says, ”Could be worse, man. I’d take two rapid losses to Vorin over one drawn-out defeat by that durnok Ardis.” From across the challenge floor, Zoh catches Ardis’ wave as he stands with Eilidh, and acknowledges with a nod and a forced smile. If I win a rematch, I’m gonna carve my name across him so he’ll know it. I’ll have to remember to leave enough room for him: ‘Z-Z-Z-Zoh, Z-Zohruk’. Yeah, you’ll know my name before I’m done here...
”Anyway, I wanted to say I liked what you were trying to do, using the…” He holds two imaginary weapons and broadly mimics going into Inner Sphere Stance. ”Agh, what’s the word…? Okhmol durkona… ‘The Dragon’s Path,’ maybe? I was only just being introduced to those techniques when my Chief called me away to this; I never got a chance to really pick up on it.”
“That’s all I wanted to say, I’ll let you get back to being all.. rokhlust.”
Fisk glances at the scrips of paper before moving to the rack. He lifts up a huge Kellid club and a matching Kellid francisca (handaxe). He moves back to the pair and offers the francisca to Eilidh while Rans gets the giant greatclub. Receiving the weapon, Rans grins viciously at Eilidh. ”Ready to lose ,Tilernos?”
Eilidh stares at Rans, accepting her handaxe quickly. She gives it a few experimental swings before offering a quick prayer to Sarenrae and touching the weapon's haft with her free hand.
Round 1; Eilidh v Rans
While Allie prepares herself with a prayer, Rans moves in to strike. He moves incautiously, relying on his superior strength to bring the other girl down quickly. for Allie's enchantment brings her with speed and she tries to slide around the clumsy blow. However, Rans moves faster than expected and re-directs the weapon to collide with her in the side of the head and knocks her clear out as well as a few feet away. Rans looks momentarily worried until Fisk moves forward and heals the girl and her eyes snap open.
"Almost worried I hit you a bit too hard there.." He shakes his head and moves back into the circle before declaring his challenge.
As expected, Rans and Jalen move into the ring for yet another match. Rans has yet to win against the other boy, but with Daen beating Jalen it seems to have enflamed him even more. Rans receives a sickle for this fight while Jalen gets a slim longsword. He roars and charges at Jalen, who sidesteps and elbows him in the back of the neck. Rans spins, swinging his weapon low at Jalen's legs and knocks him to the ground. Jalen thrusts upward, the tip of his blade knocking Rans backward and eliciting a whoosh of air as he falls to his knees and blacks out. Once again, Jalen succeeds.
Kassara v Daen; Round One.
Fisk pulls out the scripts of paper and arches an eyebrow. When he returns, he hands a Taldan infantry bill to kassara. The long weapon has a block blade on the end with a long spike and a curved hook behind it. Daen, on the other hand, receives a thick flanged mace as often found amongst the Abadar priests in Brevoy. A stamp of Abadar's vault key on the base of the weapon helps with grip and shows evidence of the weapon's history.
Kassie watches on nervously as Rans moves forward into his attack. Gazing as she ducks into the slow but cleverer than expected strike. As Allie drops Kassies is already running towards her. Nervously she waits as Fisk moves forward to heal her. When she awakens Kassie kneels next to her [/b]"I told you he hit hard! You had me worried there for a moment!"[/b]
when Fisk calls her name Kassie steps forward and takes the bill from The trainer's hand looking at it for a moment and shaking her head. As they take up their positions int he arena she raises an eyebrow at Daen and grins before stepping forward and lashing out with the weapon, however its clumsy weight causes her to misstep and Daen easily sways back out of the blade's way.
The half elf cringed when he saw Ellie take that hit. He knew it wouldn't be fun when she woke up.
Daen scowled as he looked at the weapon he had to use. He scowled again as he recognized the Abadaran symbol on it. There wasn't anything to be done for it. He'd seen Kassie fight before, and she was a little quicker with the sword than he was, the fact that neither of them had weapons they liked, could make them near even. Or it would have, if Daen didn't have a few tricks up his sleeve that just might turn the tide in his favor.
As Kassie took a swipe at him, Daen didn't even have to move his feet to be missed by the bill that came his way. If all bills were this easy to avoid, it might be easier to become rich. He smirked a little, and showed off his trick. The blade let off a firey blue eldritch glow as magic coursed into the heavy mace. He hadn't had the chance to show this one off in the duels yet, due to the lack of weapon use as of late. He hadn't figured out how to just affect his fist yet, it may not work that way.
He stepped in on Kassie and took a swipe with the heavy mace, only to have her nimbly step back. That might work with some people, but keeping Daen at a distance wasn't always a good idea. He had tricks for that too.
Jalen watches the fight with interest, keeping his eyes on each scrub's movement. He is obviously planning to challenge whoever wins.
Kassie barely manages to avoid the heavy blow, ducking out of the way at the last moment and rolling backwards, only to come back to her feet with the bill levelled out, the blade pointing at Daen. Narrowing her eyes as the blue glow envelopes his weapon, she strikes forward, aiming not at the Half-elf himself, but at the glowing mace.
Clanging together with her weapon, his mace felt like it was being wrenched out of his hand. Still, with the training and the outside practice, he was able to adjust his grip enough to keep it in his hand. So, she feared the weapon? He decided to use it again. Stepping in close, he whirled the mace across and down, but the heavy thing was too slow, and she easily backed away with the mace hitting the training floor knocking up a fair bit of dust.
Kassie jumps back, easily avoiding Daen's clumsy strike. As she spins back and away from the blow she spins the bill around and strikes outward but her unbalanced stance sends the strike far wide of its target.
Daen sees an opportunity in her unbalanced posture, that leg wasn't going to move very quickly. He brought the mace up, hitting her in the hip, causing her slight frame to be pushed a good foot from where she was. She did well to remain on her feet, but that wasn't an easy hit on her, he could tell.
Kassara rocks backward as the mace slams heavily into her side. Gasping in pain she steps backward and brings the bill around in an arc but Daen easily avoids the slashing blow.
HP: 2/12
Daen sees his opportunity as she goes back on the defensive. He winced a little at causing the pretty girl pain, but it didn't slow him down. This wasn't a fight that would cause her permanent injury. She could take it. It was best not to dwell on such things.
Stepping into her closely, Daen lobbed the mace sideways, across her face to distract her. He made a lazy punch toward her injured side, and reversed his pivot, spinning around and finishing with a round house kick to the head.
He waited around to give her a hand up after Fisk came up with the wand. "You were dealt a rough hand, I look forward to meeting you with your proper sword in your hand. That should be interesting."
After his chat, he headed back to his normal spot in the circle, focusing on his next fight. Jalen would not be easy, but he had prepared a surprise for the former number one. Hopefully it would work.
Kassie sways away from the mace and steps easily back from Daen's punch and lets his kick sail through the empty air where she had been standing seconds before. In retaliation she strikes out at the half-elf again, the hooked blade catching him in the thigh. As he steps forward again she drops the bill, hoping that she can avoid his next strike.