Princess Hot-Bottom squeaks and flutters away from Orchid. "I didn't clobber her! The monster did! But I'll heal her if it will make you feel better!"
The fairy conjures healing mist around Akira!
"That's a pretty fine distinction," Nomi says, the glaze slowly beginning to fade from her eyes.
"So you want us to participate in this tournament?" she asks. "What's the prize to the victor?"
"The prize is a single artifact of the team choosing from the famed vaults of Hao Jin." Irekeek says as she straightens "Besides the fame and glory of course." added by rote.
"A single artefact?" Akira starts, as if about to disagree with the whole scenario presented to them. "FROM THE VAULTS OF HAO JIN?! Of Course, how could anyone turn doesn such an offer? That would only be the most ordinary, and usual person of course. Both Orchid and I's path has led us here to this day, fate bringing us together that so we can all win this competition and meet the legendary Hao Jin." Akira doesn't seem to be concerned about how anyone else's stories have bought them here or what the others' motivations might be.
"Don't dismiss fame and glory so quickly," Nomi says with a widening grin. A look similar to hunger slowly appears on her face. "This sounds like it could be profitable."
"Well, then, no time to waste! Let's go!" Princess Hot-bottom leads you away from the market and along a well-trod dirt road. The scenery here in the First World is bright and vibrant, the colors just a bit too bright, the sounds of chirping birds just a bit too clear.
The rolling hills around you seem to fly by even though you are walking at a normal pace. Soon enough, a small arena rises up to greet you. The fiery sprite darts off ahead, and by the time you catch up to her again, she's already nodding and shaking hands with a wide-eyed brownie.
"Okay, we're all set for the tryouts! Eat this cake--it will revitalize your bodies and minds! Just give the word when you're ready and we'll get things started!" The fey offers you each a plate with a delicious-looking slice of cake on it!
"Because everyone loves cake," Nomi says with a grin and digs into her piece with dainty gusto.
Once she's finished and cleaned her fingers she turns back to Princess Hot-Bottom. "So what's this 'Try-out' entail? Didn't we already prove ourselves against the beast that you ... that someone ... sent against us?"
"You proved yourselves to me, but now we all have to prove ourselves to the Lantern King!" says Hot-bottom. "As I said before, we have to best his current champions to secure our place as his new ones!"
Irekeek tilts her head down toward the cake, then to the side in a question of Why, but relents and eats. After wiping her mouth with a bit of cloth, she asks "Do you have any information you can share about these champions?"
Orchid looks at the cake sidelong and then gives it to Akira instead, shooting the fairy a look that seems to dare her to object. The abundant energy of the First World seems to be doing the leshy a power of good regardless - with bright flowers and strong green vines.
Akira happily eats both portions of cake, giving Orchid a pat on the tendrils as she does so. "I'm fine Orchid, stop worrying your pretty flowers about me. This is nothing but a footnote in our tale."
The prospect of entering the Phoenix tournament is plenty of inducement for the cleric. "Of course! Championing a fey lord to win the Ruby Phoenix Tournament? That's a wonderful story! We're in."
There seems to be no chance of Orchid disagreeing.
"Only one of the Lantern King's current champions is a local. A nereid named Morne. There's an einheirji warrior from the Maelstrom, a weird not-dead gnome guy, a fire giant, and a troll. A pretty tough team, but I know we can take 'em!"
Once you are ready, trumpets blare to announce the upcoming match. The crowd of fey folk erupt into cheers as you step into the arena. At the highest point, dozens of glowing sprites perch on a large stage, and above them all floats a 1-foot-wide ball of floating golden light circled by glowing runes in the shape of a coronet--the Lantern King himself. The Eldest fey chuckles and calls out in a booming, merry baritone. "So, Hot-bottom! These are the champions you bring before me? Let us test their mettle, then!"
At the opposite end of the arena, the gate opens to admit the opposing team. A female fire giant in plate armor steps in first, brandishing a burning greatsword. A hulking troll trundles in, moving to keep a fair distance between the giant and himself. An Ulfen warrior follows next, eyes glowing with power as she clangs her sword against her shield. Trailing behind them are a gnome with sickly gray skin dripping ectoplasm from his fingertips and a comely fey wearing naught but a shawl of flowing water.
"Have you anything to say for yourselves before we begin the challenge?" the Lantern King asks.
'Possibly the strangest crowd I've ever performed for' Irekeek notes to herself. Taking a deep breath, she straightens to perfect posture, ruffles her soft wings out, and becomes a Princess Warrior of the Arena.
A mighty flap of those wings takes her into the air as high as the giant is tall, "Majestic lords and ladies of the fey, eldest and most powerful of us all, we come before you as strangers, both to you and to each other." her voice is practiced in her strength and volume, but respectful "But we all share a common Burning Passion for Battle!.
Strangers were are now, but soon you will only know us as CHAMPIONS!" her wings bring her back down to the ground with gentle flaps.
Back down next to her new companions, "They are even weirder than we are, aren't they? Anyone know of any particular weaknesses or strengths we should be aware of." she asks while watching her enemies, gripping her polearm tightly to settle her nerves. Waiting for it to start was always the worst.
As Irekeek rises into the air, Nomi incants a spell and joins her.
"Not only will you know us as champions," she adds. "But you will know us by our names. Irekeek. Akira. Orchid. And my humble self, Mizuta Nomi." She bows in the air and descends along with the strix.
Orchid simply eases its way through a few warm up exercises, ending up resting gently in crane stance.
"Stay behind me this time." The leshy says firmly to Akira.
As the two women's feet touch the ground again, Irekeek's lip curl into a smile "Humble?" her voice holds both amusement and disbelief in equal amounts.
Nomi turns to her companion. "Of course," she says with a playful smile. "The mindful woman is always humble," she says. "Even if she is confident that she can blast her opponents into oblivion, she would not suggest such a thing."
"Then let the battle commence!" shouts the Lantern King.
The enemy team moves just a fraction of a second faster than the rest of you. The einherji rushes across the arena to reach Irekeek, slashing with her sword! Her blade slices deep into the strix's belly as she draws first blood!
The troll lopes towards you before unleashing a bestial roar! The fire giant stomps near and hurls a fiery rock at Nomi. The gnome casts a spell, zapping several of you with a lightning bolt. The nereid casts a lenghty spell, summoning a water elemental!
Critical Success The creature is unaffected.
Success The creature is frightened 1.
Failure The creature is frightened 2.
Critical Failure The creature is frightened 3.
As the battle begins, the winged woman crouches ready to spring across the battlefield to engage with their mages in a bloody brawl that would leave bodies flung around like children's toys. "Fudge" she swears, in character, at the speed of this blonde swordswoman. If she leaves now, with the giant closing in, their own 'Humble' mage would be swarmed with ease.
Irekeek dodges left, but not fast enough, getting a gash opened up on her chest. She tells the woman (loudly enough for the audience to hear of course), "My people demand a sacrifice for the horrors your kind bleed into the land. Your soul will be their plaything for all time in penance. And for that I am truly sorry."
Now that banter had been done, and the battle has started, she lets the anger she is always feeling out accompanied by a terrifying hawk-like screech across the battlefield.
She thrusts the pointed end of the guisarme at the other woman. As the point strikes armor, flesh, or shield, she moves forward with the momentum, sliding her hands up the shaft of the massive polearm, and then hacks downward like a giant clever to try and catch the woman's steadying leg.
Orchid reels from the unexpected noise and the lightning but recovers enough to move between Nomi and the approaching giant. Firmly in stance the leshy holds up its tendrils and beckons the giant closer.
The lightning catches the sorceress flat-footed and she takes the full brunt. However, the roar seems to affect her not at all as she rises into the air to avoid being the target of any swung clubs or other such primitive weapons.
She then targets Irekeek with a spell of speed.
Princess Hot-bottom leaps aside, evading the lightning bolt. A bit shaken by the troll's roar, she marks the einherji as her chosen foe. She nocks an arrow, infusing it with enchanting power as she lets it fly!
Caught off guard, Akira exclaims with frustration. "Hang on hang on hang on. I don't believe I said that I was ready!" Realising noone else is paying attention, she shrugs her shoulders and gets on with it. "I'd have been able to make this a lot better for us if you'd just given us a minute!"
The einherji is badly hurt by Irekeek’s and Hot-bottom’s attacks, but she grits her teeth and fights on! She charges her blade with power and slashes Irekeek before raising her shield.
The troll bellows and charges past you, lashing out as it thunders by! It repays Orchid’s strike with a claw across the middle, but Akira and Hot-bottom dodge its other claw and gnashing jaws!
The fire giant moves to support the einherji, swinging her greatsword.
The gnome targets Nomi with a phantasmal killer spell! The nereid and his summoned elemental move closer.
The flying sorceress pales and falters a moment as the fears in her mind are made manifest. With a flutter of feathers, Shigi takes to the wing as well and begins circling the melee.
Hatred fills her eyes. She snaps off a quick spell followed by a longer one and directs a beam of green light towards the gnome.
The giant barrelling down on her distracts the raging Strix from the little human woman, getting cut from both of them in return. "Size and numbers are meaningless against those that simply Will Not FALL!" she yells at them as she GROWS.
In seconds she is eye to eye with the giant "If you had chosen a different path, you could be by my side." the winged princess declares to the huge warrior "but no, now your only choice is to KNEEL before your betters!"
The curved hook of her guisarme seeks the man's knee and pulls him to the Commanded On position as she twirls her blade then slams it down into his shoulder.
Akira takes her chance to rush forwards to distract the troll with this so-called Princess.
"Orchid, do the trick from Hiyosai! Remember that idiot of a bugbear? This troll is about as clever!" Akira points out.
Orchid scarpers around the troll's legs in concert with Akira's suggestion and then starts battering the beast's knees.
Princess Hot-bottom blinks as everybody breaks off to attack different foes. ”Come on! The einherji is almost down! Focus fire!” she shouts. Unfortunately, the warrior deflects all of the arrows the tiny sprite sends at her.
The disintegration beam strikes the gnome square in the chest. He shrieks in pain before a green glow suffuses his body and he crumbles into a pile of ash! The fey crowd goes wild!
Irekeek grows in size, tripling the fire giant before slicing into her shoulder! Akira and Orchid flank the troll, the kitsune scoring a critical hit and the leshy landing two blows.
The einherji keeps her shield up before delivering another empowered critical hit, tearing into Irekeek’s hamstrings!
The troll’s wounds begin to regenerate as it attacks Akira. The kitsune ducks under its claws!
The fire giant gets back to her feet, provoking an attack of opportunity. She swings on Irekeek, a critical hit and another deep slice!
The nereid commands his elemental to attack Irekeek as he maneuvers behind Orchid. Fortunately, the elemental misses the strix.
"Akira, get back! I've got this!" Orchid cries as it begins to swing its way up the troll, battering as it goes.
As the fire giant stands, Irekeek's hook tears into her rips, only to be answered to with a cleave into the winged woman's chest.
She is bleeding from hacks, stabs, and slices, but smiles through heavy breath "Still I have not fallen." she says simply and starts attacking the little woman in front of her. A feinting stab, a twist and a hack down, trying to catch with the hook, before reversing and slamming the butt of the polearm into her. A violent dance. She knows she won't last another round and wisdom says she should have withdrawn in hopes for a healer. But the performance demands, and so the princess provides.
Taking a strike at the troll in front, Akira hears Orchid's suggestion and scans the battlefield as she sees their new winged companion take a colossal strike.
Akira quite likes this woman and all her performances and knows it would be a shame if she fell too soon for any story.
Suddenly some of her wounds close up, making her spare a glance behind her to see Akira with her hand pointed at her. A look of relief flashes in her fierce face, Not over yet
The blood drenched massive winged warrior looks back at the fire giant, with her own deep gashes and leaking fluids "Akira, the legendary fox spirit of grace, beauty, and battle, declares that we will have more time together. For that I give her thanks, I hope you do as well." she pauses for effect, tensing for her next strikes "Now, Come At me."
"Oh wonderous audience!" Nomi calls out. "One of our enemies has paid the ultimate price for standing against us! Which shall be the next?!" She appears to listen to the shouted responses for just a moment before moving through the air to reposition herself for her next spell. "Two enemies this time?! So you have decreed!"
Princess Hot-Bottom casts a spell, infusing an arrow with fire, then shoots it point blank into the troll's bulk!
Irekeek wounds the fire giant and cuts down the einherji, shattering her shield and sending her sprawling to the sand! Everybody else beats on the troll, the fires from the arrow spreading over its body and the crackling enervation beam leaving it drained. The nereid resists the worst of the enervation.
The troll claws at Orchid, ripping into the leshy and rending leaves from their body. Then the fire and negative energy overwhelms it, and the troll collapses in a smoldering heap!
The fire giant attacks Irekeek, landing one hit.
The water elemental misses the strix.
The nereid reaches out to touch Orchid, filling their lungs with water!
Failure The creature becomes sickened 3 as it chokes on the water.
Critical Failure The creature chokes on the water and runs out of air. It falls unconscious and starts drowning. If the creature is above water, it recovers from drowning as soon as it succeeds at a saving throw against suffocation.
Plants like water, but this is too much even for Orchid.
The leshy pounds on its own chest, spewing out water before taking a rapid one-two swing at the elemental.
With the majority of the enemies down, Irekeet hooks the giant's leg again, bringing it to its knees. Then peppers the other warrior with taps and jabs, none of which make it through the giant's armor.
"Nothing can separate the mighty Orchid and Astute Akira!" The Kitsune calls as she strides to support her companion.
The fire fairy marks the nereid and shoots him with an enchanting arrow!
With the troll down, Nomi focuses her attentions on the nereid.
The nereid resists being stunned by Orchid’s flurry. Akira and Hot-bottom land good hits but Nomi narrowly misses with her disintegrate beam. Meanwhile, Irekeek trips the giant so hard that the fall hurts her, but she parries all of her follow-up attacks.
The giant stands back up and attacks Irekeek, scoring two big hits!
The summoned elemental misses again.
The nereid touches Orchid, sending poison coursing through the leshy’s body.
Orchid spews a final gout of water and then sets to hitting the nereid around the head as its body reforms in the bright sunlight!
With Orchid taking down the nereid, Nomi appeals to the crowd again, waving her hands to incite them further. "What is that you say?! You want to see the fire giant burn?!" She laughs. "I believe I can arrange that!"
She prepares with a quick spell of luck and then sends a sizzling green bolt towards the giant.
When the great sword the size of a tree impales her stomach, Irekeek the blood-drenched princess of polite battle rage does finally fall.
The nereid crumples to the sand after Orchid lands two heavy blows to its head! Princess Hot-Bottom shifts her focus to the fire giant, firing an enchanting arrow into the giant's neck and narrowly missing her jugular! The giant staggers, nearly defeated.
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"No, no, no! This isn't how the story ends!" Akira declares, calling upon Hei Feng's might to bring the warrior princess to standing once more.
"Get up Xena!" She calls, although honestly she's not sure why.
Irekeek falls to her knees as the sword slides out of her midsection. Darkness closes in but then the warmth and an odd scream for someone names Xena makes them tear open. The fire giant's gaze had already turned to the others, discounting her. Mistake.
Both hands tighten to breaking on the shaft of her weapon. Her wings extend with a crack, flexing, propelling her from kneeling to shooting upward. The steel hook enters the giant between the legs ripping upward, catching in her ribs.
Wings flap in strong beats, bringing both the princess and the giant up into the air, opening Irekeek's wounds again but it doesn't matter. "We DID NOT FALL. NONE OF US. But they..." and she lets go of her weapon, both it and the giant falls, resulting in a loud wet thunk. She leaves that to be the end of her sentence and moves on.
"They are great warriors, fast, strong, and beautiful." other than that gnome, ick she thinks "But they were not... US!" goodness it would be great to have a name here but she is flummoxed.