Rather than striking at the opening the creature has made by stepping away from him, Magister Helm simply lays his still shimmering fingertips upon the creature as it leaves his reach. He then swiftly levitates from his facedown position, rotating in mid-air as rises and moves forward, blending his movements with his gestures. As he arrives, his hand begins to calcify briefly. He then touches the flying tiger, who shudders briefly as arcane energy discharges onto his hide. Magister Helm pauses as he looks upon the statue of the creature he is battling. He sighs and shakes his head. That hide of yours is quite thick!
"BAH not thick enough it seems. Few have ever so consistently penetrated my defenses as you have in this bout. You are truly a rare adversary"
The tiger is clearly battered and tired but still he turns and grapples his foe yet again unwilling to yield despite the skill of his opponent.
Magister Helm struggles as the creature grabs hold of him again, attempting to wrestle him to the ground. He takes a moment to collect himself before touching his calcified hand to the creature's hide once more. This time, the creature turns to stone as the arcane energy pulses across his hide from the the touch. He slips out casually from the petrified creature's grasp, he sighs deeply and turns to speculate on the statue's form. Magister Helm wheels back around to face his comrades. Remmy! I'm in need of your services! My apologies. You know how I get. This ego contest has gone quite far, and it is the fault of none but mine. There is nothing sportsmanlike about turning a man to stone amidst a friendly duel.
YOU TURNED HIM INTO A STATUE!?!? My god man. I knew you couldn't stand not showing the size of your sword, but STONE!? Magister Rae turns to the two at his side and removes his hood, revealing an average man with a soft jaw, short, stout nose with curly black hair and circular spectacles. He takes off his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing in exasperation I'm begging you not to assault my egomaniacle friend here. If what it takes is the truth, I am willing to trust you with that if we can all avoid making a scene. Remulus, please attend to our stoned friend.
I cannot. My techniques for restoration allow me to rejuvenate only myself. My I am sorry for his behavior. His honor is my responsibility. Should you decide that his actions are beyond reconcile, then do what you must, but to me. Remulus speaks calmly before simply vanishing silently.
Well that's ok! Always have a solution to problems you foresee yourself causing! He quickly pulls out a scroll from within one of his pouches. Break enchantment! That should do the trick. He wheels back around and unfolds the scroll. It glows as he reads from it, and simultaneously the statue in front of him begins to revert back to flesh. He holds an outstretched hand to the winged tiger. See? Good as new...well... Sort of. You have caused me to burn a vast majority of my resources simply to compete with you in a spar. You, my friend, are one of the most worthy opponents I have ever faced. My conduct has been less than admirable, but your own has not wavered. For that, you have earned the truth from me as well. So long as you promise to keep it to yourself. So... no hard feelings?
The winged tiger stretches and shakes as it comes free from the stone."BY THE GODS I have not had a fight like that since I met yoshii in the ring. Although that last bit was an odd experience to say the least. Worry not about the damage you cause me, I can fix it myself in but a moment. As for the truth I'd believe just about anything about you know. A man of your skills I likely should have already heard of you and just am to ignorant to know who stands before me.
And with that the man beast takes a meditative pose before vanishing. The dwarfed man sits there for a minute before the tiger returns without any of the theatrics of his early transformation
"There all better. Now mine worthy foe, tell me your tale as it shall undoubtedly be fascinating. You have my word it shall go no further than you wish."
Yoshii stands still as stone as his friend is turned into literal stone. The words coming from the others seem to pass by him, leaving him completely unphased.
As Rae begins to speak, a curious thing happens. Two holes at the top of Yoshii's basket which, until this point looked to serve merely as decoration, have something pop out of them. It takes a second to notice, but it becomes apparent that they are horns.
Then things get serious.
Yoshii hunches, and tries to scrawl runes into the air, but is unable to do so. He clutches his chest and doubles over fully. His hands begin to take on a reddish hue, before finally settling on a solid crimson, and then he begins to grow. He shoots up past 20 feet in less than a second, his growth only slowing as he reaches near 30.
When finally Remmy cures the petrification of Chukie, the hulking, basket-headed giant clenches his fist, and struggles with itself. It roars out before finally beginning to shrink again. Yoshii stands once more where he was, hand over where his face would be. He wastes no time in walking directly up to Alaris and drawing his runes on the air to communicate.
Most of the text does not make it through, it is clear Yoshii is some combination of angry and tired such that his concentration is not up to par. Among the few bits that do make it through are the following:
"CROWNED F+$&ING...KNOW BETTER,"
"ALMOST LOST MY F@!*ING MIND,"
"THANK...GODDAMNED SCROLL"
"ABOUT...SLICE F**+ING HEAD...FOUGHT THE BEAST BACK!"
He then moves over to Chukie and gives him a quick pat on the back.
As the duel spar between the two masters progresses, Thane finds himself smiling, his fingers twitching in anticipation. This is what a true duel between equals should look like. Chukie, a master of defense, was shrugging off almost everything that Magister Helm threw at him, while Helm flowed around Chukie's strikes. Honestly, Thane was having a hard time keeping himself from stepping in and joining the fight, turning it into a general melée.
When he sees Chukie suddenly turned to stone, however, Thane's fingers tighten around his bow with an entirely different emotion. Petrifying his opponent was certainly not going to endear Magister Helm to his soon-to-be teammates in this competition. His hand strays to the quiver at his side, only ceasing when Helm breaks the curse he put on his opponent.
"What in the infinite layers of the Abyss were you thinking, Helm?" he growls. "While our tiger-souled friend may be able to laugh of the effects of your spell, I find myself having a bit more difficulty. If you get this carried away in a simple spar, what's to stop you from doing the same in battle and accidentally tagging me, or Yoshii, or one of your other companions with your spells in the heat of battle?"
He turns to Magister Rae. "I do hope you can vouch for your companion, Magister. Otherwise, I find myself wondering more and more if he shall be a liability, rather than a boon to our little troupe..."
The renewed tiger growls at Thane "Do not shun him for his actions. Unless I am much mistaken he had used a goodly number of his lower spells to subdue me. He was a heart's beat away from being pinned and stunned into submission. He did what he had to do despite his presumable distaste at resorting to such drastic measures. There was no other way to make me yield."
The man beast almost flaunts its body as it stretches once more
"And besides, my form is as glorious as ever and I am completely uninjured. He was prepared to undo his damage, No harm no foul."
and he turns to yoshii standing beside me before saying in an undertone "Your concern is touching friend. But do not lose yourself to the rage for me."
"Magister Helm" pulls down his hood to reveal a young, handsome elf with slightly shorter ears than one is used to, sharp purple eyes, and medium length silver hair. Upon his forehead, underneath his hair, rests a headband with an amber gem embedded in the elaborate and beautiful crest. It is the crest of the Baelgar House, the royal family of Valandaer. He shakes the hand of the tiger vigorously. I am Prince Alaris Baelgar, and it is a pleasure to call you an ally Chukie, son of none. I have hidden my identity, only loosely I might add, because in a grand tournament of this nature, my life is in more danger than the regular throes of being a member of the crown whether it be for ransom or regicide. As such, I have been forbidden by the Daerin, with approval from my father, to participate. I just couldn't, however, pass up the opportunity, the intrigue, the glory, the learning experience, the sights, and the inevitable camaraderie. Grand Vizier Aran and Daerinar Lirian have come as royal Valandaeran representatives, and so I must remain relatively undiscovered until such a time that my involvement is irreversible. This is my tale Chukie. Altogether uninteresting, wouldn't you say? He turns to the group at large, placing a mundane hand on Yoshii and looking directly with his vivid eyes at the growling Thane New friends, rest assured, I use "carried away" as a manner of speaking. I never lost control for a moment. If I had not been able to assure that the effects of my magics were not directly and immediately reversible by me, I would not have used them. In no world does a prince of any merit genuinely threaten the lives of people without cause, whether they be his own or men of a different land, and in no land is a prince of any merit unaware that when he is setting a stone, he is building a world. I should like to think that I am a prince of some merit, even for all of my imperfections. Also! It is unwise to come without solutions to problems you foresee yourself causing as I said. He suddenly gets very grave and there is no trace of his usual candid tone. Too many good men have been lost to arcana slung wantonly by boys n with no sense of safety or contingency He turns to look at Yoshii. I suppose you could say that I am, in fact, 'the genuine article'. It is good to see you again Basket-Head. I'm sorry for triggering your condition. You know, he returns to his usual varied semi-serious demeanor, you should really get to know Jayne. I think you and Magister "Rae" have a lot more in common than you would initially guess, isn't that right Handrus!? He says as he turns his head back to Magister Rae and winks.
Magister Handrus Rae Jayne chuckles briefly as he adjusts his spectacles. He looks gravely for a moment at the basket-headed man, and his expression is a mixture of sorrow, pity and acceptance. In a flash, it is gone. As his eyes shift slightly to meet Alaris', he begins laughing uproariously. Oh yeah, I vouch for his honor Thane. When times are tough, and the dragon's breath is upon your back, it doesn't get much more honorable than the two men I travel with.
Always with the theatrics eh, "Helm"!? Magister Jayne continues to laugh as he walks to the tiger, arm outstretched for a handshake. As he clasps the paws of the tiger, his look becomes grave again.
Well, since it's apparently Cellerus' truth festival, I am Magister Handrus Jayne, an alchemical Magister. For the longest time, on the books, I was Cellerus' number one fugitive, hence my part in the deception. Now, you would be hard pressed to find the existence of Remulus or myself on the books. Off the books we are still numbers one and two on a very private, but very important, most wanted lists, respectively. You see, I was a Cellerus State Alchemist. Due to my private and personal...research, certain government agencies consider me, and my knowledge, to be their property. I was treated as such. Remulus was a top member of the most important of the aforementioned agencies, ordered to oversee my transport from one facility to another. After realizing the true extent of the danger of my research, he made a judgment call that saved not just my life, but the life of possibly millions. For that, he is a traitor to the state, and I remain the piece of important property that escaped. Because of my...propensity to overreact to stress, and what Remulus has seen, we both prefer to avoid violence if at all possible. Now, you know our stories. I have no problem showing my face, as I doubt anyone will recognize it. We have painstakingly stricken all possible records in Cellerus of our existences. Remulus, however, has a past that goes beyond Cellerus, and must remain masked. Now that you know our stories, perhaps we can continue as trusted friends into this tournament?
Remulus appears moments later directly beside Magister Jayne. His hood is now down, revealing an overhead obsidian/onyx mask with no mouth hole and two semi-transparent crystal eyeholes. Indeed, I must continue to conceal my appearance. At a gathering such as this, there are many who would recognize my face.
The tiger stops for a moment after these last few pronouncements momentarily before beginning to laugh deep from his belly. The absurdity of this little group has simply overwhelmed him.
"So let me get this straight" he says in a deep rumble still quite clearly trying to contain his mirth. "What we have here in our unlikely group of companions is a banished half somarian; two sword mages of the highest caliber, one of which is an elvish prince and the heir to the throne of valender unless I am mistaken, the other who has a nasty tendency to lose control of himself, as we almost just witnessed; two fugitives from Cellerus one wanted because he presumably discovered a way to augment himself physically in a way not unlike myself, while losing control not unlike yoshii's self, the other because he decided for the good of all, to forsake his duty as what ever kind of special ops soldier he was, to free the previously mentioned gentlemen; and myself a magically augmented warrior who was a fugitive in my own right many years ago from when I discovered my gift who has a slightly unhealthy battle lust also."
The tiger shakes his head and begins laughing again
"The odds of such a diverse yet frighteningly similar group of people coming together must statistically speaking be zero. My friends new and old I think we shall do just fine in this little tournament."
Thane shakes his head ruefully, finally starting to relax now that his new companions had come clean with their stories. "Truly, I think you may be right, Chukie. With my bow, your iron skin, Yoshii and Alaris' prowess with their blades, Handrus' alchemy, and Remulus's..." Here he glances over at the quiet man in the black mask, unsure where to classify his area of expertise, "Skills... I think we shall do just fine."
After checking the position of the sun, Thane glances over at his companions. "So, now that we have all finished proving the size of our swords and bows, metaphorical and otherwise, what say you that we go register for this tournament? I do not know if there is a limit to how many applicants are being accepted, but I'd hate to be cut out of my share of glory and riches."
"Well we need to figure out a few things with regards to this tournament . First and foremost where is registration. Item the second do they accept such horribly contrived fake names as helm."
The beast flashes a tight grin at Alaris with that last remark. The events of the day have left the dwarf inside the giant in the most jovial of moods.
"And lastly do the tournament officials care if we accidentally the entire while we're competing. Oh and I forgot where do we collect the prize money?"
He chuckles at his own humor
Yes yes, we're all quite colloquial about the capacity for collateral damage aren't we. Magister Jayne is serious now; his brow is furrowed, the true weariness behind his eyes begins to show. We need to make sure that for all of our potential for disaster, we do our best to keep ourselves under control.
After that terse pronouncement a hush falls over the group the man beast never one for patience taps his paw expectantly waiting for someone to come up with a solution to their current dilemma. When no one is forth coming he looks around for someone official looking literally anyone in uniform.
Upon finding the nearest one he flys over to him "YOU MAN! GOOD FELLOW!" the guard looks startled upon seeing a tiger that stands taller than him while being twice as large fly over to him "might you be able to tell me where tournament registration is?"
The guards eyes go wide for a moment, and then the initial shock wears off "C...C...Courthouse steps. Right d...d...down the way." he says, pointing north.
"Thank you kindly my good man you are a credit to your order, I'd give you some coin for your trouble but ALAS I lack pockets." he turns to the others "Let's get a move on they likely close registration for the day at night fall. We can get signed up and then decide where were going to spend the night" and with that the tiger gracefully begins to stroll down the street the guard indicated.
"I...if you don't have a place already you're p...probably not likely to find somewhere." The guard calls out as the group begins heading down the way.
Thane grunts softly in annoyance at the guard's words. "This slightly complicates things... Does anyone else already have a place to stay? I just entered the city this morning, and had no intention of staying for more than a few hours until I heard of this tournament." He glances at his four remaining companions before shrugging and ambling off after Chukie. "Well, if worst comes to worst, I shall spend the night in the woods. It will certainly not be a new experience."
The group moves up the street, fighting through the crowd that only gets more and more dense as they near the courthouse steps. At the top there are at a dozen men standing, and a gross more all around. People are shouting out, and guards are trying to keep the peace as best as they can. At the top of the steps there is a man looking down, waving a paper in hand, and yelling out over the crowd. Even with his voice assisted by magic it is difficult to hear him over the din.
Alaris is clearly just looking about at the crowd, more concerned with sizing up his potential competitors than with actually registering for the event. The rest of the group manages to hear the crier over the shouts and general hullabaloo of the crowd.
"Please just send up one representative! There is no need for entire teams to come up here! One man, register with any of the men on the steps! Please do not push and shove, there is plenty of time!" He yells out, his voice assisted by magic.
The rest of his yelling seems to focus on trying to keep some semblance of order.
Chukie sighs as he thinks to himself, a mute, an outcast, and three fine gents who wish to remain concealed... I guess that leaves me to do the busy work and he briefly sticks his tongue out in distaste at the notion that there might be paperwork involved in registering.
"Bah I guess I had better go sign us up for this little endeavor..." and with that the tiger wades manfully into the throng of people. His large size and fierce visage helps immensely in parting the sea of bodies and using his wings to push the would be contenders out of the way doesn't exactly hurt either. He strides up the steps to one of the gentlemen indicated by the crier
"I wish to register myself and five other fine sirs as a team for this tournament."
"Hello... sir," he says after a second of deliberation, "I'll need you to tell me your name, the names of your fellows, and the group name you wish to enter by. If you're representing any particular lords or ladies I'll want their information as well. If you have claim to any titles or lands within the Great and Bountiful Human Empire of Cellerus I will need documents proving as much. I will also need this information for any other members of your group." The man dips his quill into his inkwell and begins to tap at the right corner of the page waiting for response.
"Quite the large number of people isn't it?" comes the cool, measured, always out-of-place voice of the man you met earlier, Nigel Marae, "I simply cannot fathom why these folk cannot take instructions appropriately. To be fair though I suppose I'm rarely one to follow the rules to the letter," he chuckles. "It's good to see you fine gentlemen again, and so soon. I see you're missing one of your group. The tiger-man. Is he registering for you?"
He seems to be smiling more broadly at having seen you again, or perhaps it was always that wide. You imagine he must practice at it quite a bit for him to be able to grin so... wide.
Thane glances warily at Nigel, slightly disturbed at his wide smile. I didn't think humans could smile that wide, he thinks to himself. I swear, it looks like his face is going to crack in half...
Outwardly, however, he remains courteous. He knew that this was a man to be wary of, so there was no need to antagonize him now, before the tournament had even begun. "Yes, our tiger-souled friend seems to have volunteered to register for us, he replies. "It seems that it was for the best, given the crowd here. After all, who wants to get in the way of a giant tiger on a mission?" He grins wryly at his little joke, his scars once again twisting fearsomely.
"Also, I do not believe I introduced myself when we last met. I am Thane, son of Aytaç, once of the Karahun Tribe." He extends his hand for a warriors handshake.
"Delightful," Nigel says in his slow drawl, "I am Nigel, son of Nethys, pleased to be introduced. And who are these other gentlemen here? Three hiding their faces from the sun. Two sons of men and an elf. And then another man. Well, either that or someone with the blood of a straw elemental in his veins." Nigel chuckles to himself.
Yoshii bows, "Not a straw elemental, just a headpiece. It's part of my order's vows. I hope you'll forgive my talking, I've a vow of silence."
The beast ponders when asked for a group name.... creativity has never been a strong point for him... "You may call us Four Monks, Four Mages and Three Swordsmen and I am Chukie son of none." the tiger ponders a moment longer while the registrar scribbles that down "My team consists of myself; Yoshii the basket-head; Thane Makiri; the Magisters Helm and Rae and Roger a uhh Shrubber by trade."
the man inside the beast winces at that last particular lie. He had not been expecting to have to give full details for the group and Remulus a wanted fugitive had for some odd reasons introduced himself by his real name. The fake name was a combination of the first R name he thought of and the association of lotus as a plant that somehow lead his train of thought to shrubberies. Hopefully the registrars apathy will keep him from asking more question.
"We represent none but ourselves and hold no titles in this great and bountiful nation of Cellerus. If you have no need of any other information I could use some from you good sir. When will details of the first task be made known to us and where shall this tournament begin?"
32
40
It isn't every day you meet a man so bold as to claim to be the progeny of the scion of magic himself. I'm known as Magister Vanwill Helm , and it's pleasure to make your acquaintance. Alaris stretches a hand in greeting.
The man fills in the information dutifully, before commenting "haven't had a shrubber sign up yet." He nonetheless continues to write down everything and when Chukie has finished he passes a hand over the papers and whispers an incantation, "All I need you to do now is sign here. You can write I assume"
As he waits for Chukie to write the man responds to his question, "registration ends in five days, information will be given then, events start two days later."
I am Richard Marquis, hired hand to my associate, Magister Rae.
Remulus gestures towards Magister Jayne before turning to also shake Nigel's hand.
I'm the son of Serule, a pleasure to meet you Son of Nethys Magister Jayne Chuckles as he waves casually to Nigel. I take it you will be showing us the gift of your father in the tournament?
The man fills in the information dutifully, before commenting "haven't had a shrubber sign up yet." He nonetheless continues to write down everything and when Chukie has finished he passes a hand over the papers and whispers an incantation, "All I need you to do now is sign here. You can write I assume"
As he waits for Chukie to write the man responds to his question, "registration ends in five days, information will be given then, events start two days later."
The tiger smiles and wiggles his paw which quite clearly has an opposable thumb and signs the form with a flourish
"Where will the information be given? I rather dislike wandering around without a notion as to where Im supposed to be or when Im supposed to be there."
"Town square. Now if there are no more questions... NEEEEEEXT" the man then motions for you to leave, snapping his fingers as your paper disappears in a puff of smoke.
"I hope you'll get to see my gifts in the tournament. Though I've heard through the grapevine that the first couple of rounds will involve trial against static challenges as opposed to each other. So who knows." Nigel says while shaking Remy's hand.
"Tell me new found friends, what do you have planned for the evening? I'd love to extend an offer for you to drink with my group, I'm sure the Holyfields wouldn't mind, and the dwarf is under the impression that drinking is a sport. What do you say?"
The man tiger is amazed at the callous bravery of a man who can dismiss a tiger that stands higher than he is tall and offers no complaint at his abrupt dismissal. The beast walks up to his compatriots as Nigel finishes his generous offer.
"Not that I speak for us all and not that an evening of drinking doesn't sound pleasant but we've yet to find a place to stay for the next few evenings and I'm beginning to think it might be rather difficult with this many competitors in town. I'm afraid unless accommodations magically appear well likely not have the time to drink with you this evening."
Another look of disapproval crosses his face "Bleh another night in the woods most likely. Just because I'm used to it doesn't mean I have to like it."
"I'm not the kind of man who would have his drinking cancelled for something as small as a lack of accommodations. Come with me, I'll see about getting you a place to stay for the week. Town should clear out after the first round anyways," Nigel says after a moment of deliberation. "I can't promise your lodgings will be of the highest quality, but certainly I can find a place with decent wine to make up for it."
"I just need to go up and register quickly, ya'll just gimme a second and I'll be right back." With that he proceeds to turn up toward the steps and move through the crowd, having no trouble getting through by moving with a fluid grace.
"Well this is most fortuitous; I see no reason to distrust this man for the nonce. Until the tournament leaves us at cross purposes I am willing to accept his hospitality."
The tiger looks unmistakeably relieved that such an chance has presented itself.
Thane shrugs. "I don't see any reason not to accept his offer. Anything is preferable to having to sleep in the woods because all the lodgings are filled up."
Really? Yeah, no, sure. I have no problem trusting him either. It's just a gentleman who can levitate men with no sign of arcane play and no trace of appendage. No monumental event. And it's not like you lot have a habit of not trusting strangers without a ridiculous spectacle or anything. Magister Jayne's words drip with obvious sarcasm. Plot holes gentlemen. Plot holes. But I suppose we aren't necessarily full of options are we? Why not, let's do it.