|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 12:50 pm
Dammit.
Reyin had but a moment to catch his breath and try to regain his composure. The arena was slowly being covered in spikes by his opponent, and at some point Reyin was going to run out of ground to stand on. Meanwhile, the entire time the guy was just floating around above him.
Gotta come up with something. And fas-WHOA!
The ground once again erupted, this time the spikes heading towards the blonde swordsman. Reyin arched backwards and dropped into a back handspring, leaving his sword on the ground as he planted both hands on the ground, letting out a soft cry of pain as his left hand was used once again.
The handspring didn't take Reyin back too far, but it did put him at the edge of the previous pit of spikes, but it was luck that saved him from the oncoming spike flurry. Both his shoes and shins had kicked the majority of the small spikes up into the air, and while Reyin was still subject to taking glancing blows from the remainder of the spikes, his torso was relatively unharmed. His arms and legs were now cut up in various places, but at least he wasn't filled full of holes.
"You're not half bad, but..."
Reyin's eyes were following the spikes he had kicked up into the air. With both hands working in tandem, he moved to catch as many as he could.
"I don't think I'll be needing an encore!"
Reyin turned, about a dozen spike tips cradled in his arm or held in his right hand. And with not-so-much accuraccy he began hurling them two at a time at the bard, getting a good windup in the form of a spin with each new addition.
At one point in his rotation, Reyin's right hand sank downward instead of up to the bundle of spikes. It wasn't a very noticeable motion, since Reyin had his back turned to Saphen as he reloaded only to turn around and hurl more spikes. It would be even harder to notice if Saphen was worrying about dodging the things.
Because in the middle of all the spiked rocks being thrown at Saphen, there was something very metallic traveling his way.
Reyin's hunting knife, spinning end over end, was headed straight for his chest.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 5:53 pm
As the acrobat known as Reyin arched and dodged his spikes Saphen could only sigh mentally as the poem continued to echo through the arena. Every repetition perfectly memorized as he continued to eye his opponent with concern. No human in their right mind would take continued barrages with out some sort of counter attack if possible. As was the case with Reyin when suddenly the first duo of spikes flew.
Ripping apart air in their wake but hoping to reach their final destination with out problem. As the first two came Saphen realized it was a similar tactic as last time. Last way the problem was solved was to burst them into sand. It stands to reason that if it worked last time it would work this time since Saphen had realized much quicker what would be happening and was well prepared for his counter.
As the spikes flew they exploded about half way through their flight. As thew flew in duo's it was a lot easier to use destroy them in pairs. The sand floated down and just as the new spikes burst through it's haze they were quickly destroyed.
But as the next set flew up one of the two was not destroyed. It felt different...it was not stone...Metal! The knife was well aimed and forced Saphen to react suddenly.
The metal chest plate he wore tore through his shirt and intercepted the knife with a clacking thud only feet away from him. The once lovely shirt was now torn asunder revealing human skin and while his agility was no longer as powerful as it was the muscles defined naturally were still some what well created.
Saphen's eyes narrowed as he used the metal chest plate with knife stuck in to intercept the spikes breaking them apart. Sand was floating everywhere but with one hand using the armor to block spikes the other sent the sand at Reyin. A storm of sand was now flying through Reyin's general vicinity attempting to blind, irritate, and ruin the aim of the swordsman as he continued to counter the oncoming spikes with greater ease as he got use to the timing.
All the while the poem continued with out missing a beat, as if it was not a human speaking but a machine made for the sole purpose of speech.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 7:40 pm
"Tch!"
Reyin's knife was thwarted, and all he was left with was a sour taste in his mouth and a number of sore and bleeding wounds all across his body. He didn't have much time to worry about his current situation, though, because a wave of sand was being thrown at him next.
How the hell...
Reyin ducked his head forward and ripped his shirt from his back, holding the piece of cloth in front of his face.
Sand was an irritant, not so much an imminent threat, and as long as his face was covered Reyin wasn't worried about any other portion of his body. The bloodied portions were protesting loud enough for Reyin to ignore the sand pinging off of his recently-exposed torso.
...Do I knock this guy back to Earth?!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 9:58 pm
As the last spike was countered Saphen removed the knife from his armor and it melded back onto his chest. Since sand was holding down his opponent he decided to continue it's use.
The floor beneath Reyin's feet went from solid ground to soft sand but quickly whirled up around him adding to the sand he had before. As the sand continued to swirl it soon became a semi large sand storm (maybe about ten feet tall and wide) that swirled around Reyin constantly.
With the time he had to chant he continued making the sand spin faster and faster as it would cut and given enough time shred skin and keep his opponent blinded as he considered what to do next with his advantage.
Everything should be wearing his opponent down.
But a cornered beast was the most dreadful kind to cross.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 10:06 pm
"Teh!"
The ground beneath his feet gave way, and Reyin narrowed his eyes through the tiny slits in his shirt. That was never a good thing, and Reyin pushed off the soft surface, not getting as much traction but still propelling himself forward.
His only saving grace was his sword, which was left on the ground as a little indicator of where he should be positioned. Spotting the weapon was easy, picking it up was tricky, and trying not to accidentally run into a pit of spikes was even more troubling. Reyin scooped up his sword by the hilt and made a mad dash in what amounted to, more or less, a random direction.
Had he known that his opponent was intent on flying around the arena the entire time, Reyin might have brought his bow with him. Unfortunately, that crude little device was outside the arena with the rest of his junk, at least one hundred feet away. That in itself wouldn't have been a problem were it not for the fact that he was held back by a pit of water.
Free of the sandstorm, Reyin was stumbling forward, mainly because he was coated in sand, partially blind, bleeding, and had just bent down in mid-run to grab up his sword before it, too, was caught up in the whirlwind.
Reyin had no answer to the bard, his only projectiles on hand were the arena itself and his knife that had probably fallen into a pit of spikes or something by now. Knowing how well those two failed, Reyin was just surviving.
His attention was split between the whirling sandstorm, the bard flying high, and the platform that had turned into a living booby trap. The only thing Reyin had going for him was that the bard surely had to be running out of some sort of mana reserve.
The crowd, however, was getting upset. Boos started raining down from the stands.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 10:27 pm
The thing that made the bard a potent fighter was his ability to change what kind of fighter he was. At the start he was a melee fighter able to crash and brawl with the best of them though Reyin for the most part was stronger naturally in that field so he changed styles.
As he had increased his earth abilities he was at this point a mage of sorts. His physical prowess was no where close to Reyin as of now but his magical abilities were powerful and enduring. Before he could do little but manipulate his armor and maybe small bursts of earth attacks. At this point he was a mage in most matters of the word.
The issue of earth attacks would not fade anytime soon as long as he kept them simple and basic. Spikes here and the very small sandstorm were easy tricks for a mage but in his fighting form he would have been hard pressed to hold it.
The poem continued to enhance his skills and the crowd would be ignored...but might be amused as the sand suddenly appeared to be a dragon's head launching itself to consume his opponent once more in the raging current of minerals. His opponent was breaking and dodging solid stone but sand was a much more elusive foe to deal with.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri May 30, 2008 5:50 am
A quick look to the sandstorm would confirm one of Reyin's three fears. Sand was coming towards him again, but in this particular case the storm was a goddamn dragon.
Reyin turned and bolted across the arena, taking not more than five strides before stopping. It was tricky to stop in time, but Reyin managed to stop himself just at the edge of the platform, where the sudden shift in weight caused the platform to tilt downward, and the opposite end to lift up.
Reyin turned to look over his shoulder at the sand storm, simply smiled at it, and dropped off the the platform's edge into the water below just moments before the storm arrived.
The platform's edge that had shifted up into the air rocketed back down into the water, while Reyin's hands, clinging to the edge of the platform, became clearly visible as the end of the arena he was situated on lifted up into the air.
Reyin pulled himself up slightly, then pushed down on the platform, causing the opposite end to rock even higher into the air while Reyin's end came down with a splash. This time, Reyin was completely submerged underneath the water as the arena started rocking.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
