Fight against fantasy - IC

[wonderweiss]

The man stares at his card. He looks as if he recieved a christmas gift. I smile.

"Go on. Say it."

The man grins widely. Then he gets up, pumps his fist in the air, and gave out a hearty cheer. "HORAAAAAH!!!!!!"

He repeats it over and over agin. Soon, the entire bar joins in with him. I hand him a freshly cooled drink.

"And your prize."

He drinks it all. "Ah, Frank, yer the best! Yer the light of town, ya know that? Makes me wanna freakin live here, away from all the crime!"

"Oh, come on, you're too kind."

"Hellz yea, but it's the truth!"

I get up and go back to the bar.

"Everyone, feel free to grab a drink or challenge me in a card game! I'm here all night!!!"

Everyone cheers. It warms my heart to see this.

It really takes the pain away from my ever aching head.

[S121]

Skógur town - "Dueling Arena"

Azeruk was surprised that he was stuck in a bubble of darkness with popping noises around him, but he had been in worse situations, such as the time when he was heavily wounded by one of the bandit assaults. Azeruk looked at the inside of the bubble and thought a moment.

(Hmm... The removal of time...)

Azeruk may be stuck, but he wasn't defenseless. All of a sudden, Azeruk began to charge up the light inside of his body. A brilliant aura of golden light filled up the bubble and caused everything to get bright. Next, Azeruk bent all the light away from his eyes, protecting his eyes and allowing him to see without being blinded. The light inside of the bubble got brighter and brighter, to the point that it was as if Azeruk was encased in a miniature star. As Azeruk expelled light, he also charged up more, allowing his attack to become even brighter. Sidna wouldn't be able to see what was going on inside, so this would definitely take her by surprise and disrupt her magic. All Azeruk needed was a single instant. In that single instant, the duel would be over.

[Katrix]

Skógur town - "Dueling Arena"

After waiting for some time Sidna decided that the battle was over. "Lockdown" she whispered quietly for herself. At the same moment Azeruk lost control over both his body and his magic, Sidna had removed all magic and motion off his body. What magic he had already been charging up would disappear. Now that Azeruk was safe and down she proceeded to removing the bubbles of removed time. The first one she restored was the small one at ground level. What light they had catched was released all at one in a bright light. However Sidna was prepared for this so she simply removed the light heading for her.

The last thing to do was removing the big bubble that Azeruk was inside of. When she removed it however something she did not expect happened. A big amount of light appeared, much bigger than she was prepared for. As a resault she lost control over the other magic she was using. The most noticiable thing was that Azeruk fell all the way down to the ground, maybe 7 feet. In the meantime Sidna tried to get up her magic as fast as possible again. First off was the field that protected the building around them. Luckily ther hadn't been any damage from the light.

[S121]

Skógur town - "Dueling Arena"

At the very instant Azeruk was released, the light exploded forth, bathing the whole arena in light and disrupting the student. Azeruk was blinded, but he closed his eyes and easily memorized the student's location. All the voids disappeared as the girl tried to regain control of her magic, allowing Azeruk a split second to react. He may not have had any magic reserves left, but for his next move, he wouldn't need any. In a single instant, Azeruk traveled by the light from his explosion and the "lockdown" and flew straight for the girl as pulled out his black, foldable combat knife. As soon as he got within arm's reach, Azeruk stabbed at her chest with his knife, only that he never opened up the blade. This was a duel after all, it wasn't like he'd actually kill her.

[bookdragon2000]

Southern side of the river between Blómlegt Forest and Myrkur-5:00pm

Wen Xuan contemplated the simple wooden bridge and the dark and dismal-looking town that it led to. The squirrel had left earlier, just before he arrived at this swampy area. He still had not found anything to trade, he knew he could have just shot a few animals or somethings, but he found that repulsive. So instead he had been searching for herbs or spices to trade, but his woodcraft left a lot to be desired and he had not been able to find any that he had recognized in Blómlegt Forest. But now that he was in this swampland, he recognized some edible plants: torch ginger, arrowhead and cat tail. He set about collecting them, he would prefer to trade them for a warm meal and possible some other things, but if not, he supposed he could always eat them himself.

Before long, he had collected enough cat tail shoots, arrowhead tubers and torch ginger buds to fill the space previously occupied by the protein bars which he had already eaten or given to the squirrel. " There really is not much space for other things than my archery stuff in this bag...I wonder if i could acquire another bag in this town." Wen Xuan put his stabiliser back into the bag, he had heard that most towns like this resented the SYSTEM and although he was no longer part of it, the high-grade metal might give the wrong impression. He left an end of it sticking out the top of the bag where he could easily pull it out though. Just in case.

He glanced up at the branch where Madge was perched, she was busy tearing at something that he took care not to examine too closely. He waited until she had done with her meal, then he set off across the bridge towards the town with her perched on his bag so as to not accidentally scratch him with her claws, there was not much space for her to fly due to the dense canopy.

As he entered the town, he saw many locals looking at him. " of course, I am a stranger with a great big bag and a falcon, of course everyone is staring." since he had already drawn attention, he approached one of them and asked for directions to an inn or pub.

He paused at the door of the pub, even from out here, he could here shouting and laughter. Looking at the low doorway and Madge's uniqueness, he told Madge to just fly off and maybe enjoy another meal. Once she left, he tried to as silently as possible push open the door and stepped in, ducking as he did so to avoid whacking his bag against the frame. He noticed that most of the noise seemed to be coming from a crowd with two men playing a card game. Dismissing this,Wen Xuan headed straight for the bar to speak to the owner of the pub.

[Katrix]

Skógur town - "Dueling Arena"

Just after all the light was released Azeruk used little time to find her and come towards her. When got to her he readied to stab, although it was already to late at this point. The knife disappeared when it got to close too Sidna. It had hit Sidna's personal void shield. "Know that I could have won this battle the very instant it started. Lockdown". She did the same magic again on Azeruk limiting his movement and magic. At this point he couldn't move and was helpless, he was only able to talk.

"You are one of the best warriors I have seen. Do know that winning against a single Void mage is deemed pretty much impossible. You see, a void mage often use more magic than it looks like. In this battle you may have know about nearly all the areas I affected with my magic. There is one place however, the place I always restore first in cases like these. My personal armour. As long as you cannot create than big amount of light and attack at the same second I could recover. If you had a friend to attack when you released the light however. Well, you were a great warrior anyway."

[S121]

Skógur town - "Dueling Arena"

Azeruk was a little surprised and a little angry by the outcome, but it wasn't because he lost. It was because if this was a fight against an actual opponent, a bandit, he would be dead. He would have been gutted, tossed to the ground, be forced to see his own entrails, then have his broken body stomped until there was nothing left to destroy. He would meet a similar fate to that of his parents. The bandits showed no mercy to his parents, so it was obvious that they would show absolutely none to him, especially with what he had done to their numbers. Azeruk did not tolerate failure, at least not his own. For him, failure meant a horrible death. He would die cold and alone, with his enemies hovering over him, smug that they finally killed the one that had been the root of so many of their problems.

"Hm. Perhaps if I simply used my more advanced attacks, things would have been different. I'll be sure to not hold back next time.", Azeruk calmly said to the student as he floated there.

[wonderweiss]

I saw as a... rather attention grabbing young man walked in. He must be a traveler. I would be lying to say that I share his pain, but if he wants a drink, then, well... Who am I to stop him?

I went over to the young man. "Good evening, young man. I see you're new here. Well, you can have as many drinks as you like. However, as our policy, we here require you to drink a special drink. It is used to cancel the violent effects alcohol gives off and enhance the cheery effects. It almost sounds like we're drugging you, yes, but it is policy... the town is dangerous enough. It won't endanger your life. Well, not any more than a drink can." I said with a chuckle.

"So what can I do for you today?"

[bookdragon2000]

Myrkur town-pub

Wen Xuan was just setting down his bag when the man spoke, he jerked in his seat and started reaching for his stabiliser before relaxing as he saw that the man meant no harm. " I'm really just too tense..." He had just remembered that the stories he had heard about this area was about a vampire that attacked strangers. The sun was still up, so he should be fine, but it was already setting.He reached into the side pocket of the bag and pulled out half of the spices before speaking to the man.

"I don't drink,I prefer to remain in full control of myself... especially in this situation. But never mind that, I assume you are the owner of this pub, so could I trade these spices for a warm meal and where can I acquire small bag?" As he said this he glanced around once more.

[wonderweiss]

Frank just looked on. He thought the man looked a little underfed.

"Well, where do you come from? And why Myrkur? Not many at all decide to come, what with all the rumors."

[Katrix]

Skógur town - "Dueling Arena"

Sidna began losing the grip she had on Azeruk while allowing magic to flow to him at the same time. "Hey you did good. If this is the very first time you have fought a void then you did unnaturally well. Using more advanced attacks wouldn't help you at all. The only wayyou could have survived longer is disrupting my magic just as I am about to do a lockdown. I have a friend that survived 3 lockdowns before being taken down by a fourth one. If I didn't hold back you would have been lying on the floor from the beginning of the battle. The only sure way to take down a void mage is numbers."

At the same time as they talk a man with weird looking clothing that was holding a strange metal box came walking down the streets. When Sidna saw the person she dragged Azeruk along with herself behind a corner and began removing their magic at the same time. "Be quiet and watch out. That's SYSTEM, you don't want to mess with them" she whispered.

[bookdragon2000]

Myrkur town-pub

" where I came from is none of your business. And as for why Myrkur, well, I didn't exactly decide to come here, it was just along the way. I totally forgot about the rumors until i was right on the outskirts of town." Wen Xuan stood up and picked up his bag. " Talking about the rumors, I am a bit pressed for time and if we can't get this transaction over fast, I need to leave." He looked pointedly at the lengthening shadows outside the pub, visible through the windows.

Wen Xuan sent a mental call for Madge to come. He knew that he had implied that he was worried about the vampire, but his true worry was the SYSTEM. It had been nearly 24 hours since he left, they should have found out he was missing by now. Hopefully they wouldn't think he was worth chasing down, but he still wanted to get as far east as possible.

[S121]

Skógur town - Hidden Corner of "Dueling Arena"

Azeruk was a little more calm now that the student had released him and tried to reassure him that he did fine. He was a little surprised that she was able to tell that something bothered him, despite him hiding it. Perhaps she was good at reading the little details in faces? Before Azeruk could say a single word, he was then quickly dragged to a hidden corner in the arena and removed their magic. Azeruk was confused as to why they were hiding in the shadows without magic until the student pointed out towards a strangely dressed man with a box in his hands.

"Be quiet and watch out. That's SYSTEM, you don't want to mess with them.", the student said.

Azeruk continued to stare at the strangely dressed man from SYSTEM. What was SYSTEM? Why were they bad? Most importantly, what was the man holding? Was it a bomb? Was it harmless? Finally, Azeruk couldn't resist his curiosity and quietly whispered to the student.

"What is that in his hands?", Azeruk asked in a curious tone.

[wonderweiss]

"Hmm... shame. It's really a nice town once you clean up the place... well, as far as the closest exit to town, you would have to decide between the east exit and the west exit. The west exit is the best way to go. The eastern exit, however, is lined with thugs, angry drunks from another pub, and there are even shadow lurkers. There aren't that many outside of town, but being the darkest town in all of the country, they are very abundant this time around.

"I'm sure you've heard of them, but take this advice from someone who lives in a town known to be native to them. It's true they lurk in the shadows, hence the name. However, they travel in groups. They are known to completely 'wipe someone off the face of Earth..' Of course, they only say that because shadow lurkers drag their enemies to their dens or nests after knocking them out. There, the victim's fate rests in their hands. No one has ever seen what happens to a victim, nor has anyone who ventured into their dens ever escaped with their lives. My advice: take someone along with you. Safety in numbers."

Then a man called out to Frank. "Hey, can ya get me a sweet n' sour rum on the rocks?"

"Right away! Excuse me."

Frank rushed into the bar and prepared a glass to the customer. When he finished, the man walked up to the counter. "Thanks, mate!"

Frank returned to the man. "Sorry about that. Anyways, they're a being you don't want to mess with. They're ranked 'threatening' on the Beast Threat Level scale (BTL). That's like three on a scale of one to five. As for the angry drunks, try your best to ignore them, but don't look like you're purposefully ignoring them. They'll find any reason to start a fight. And the thugs, well, want your money. They use the money to buy alcohol and get drunk. They're the sober versions of the angry drunks. If they see you, they'll follow you. You aggravate them, well, you can kiss your wallet good-bye. And don't try the no money excuse. If they don't find money on you, they'll knock you out and leave you in the forest for dead. But, they're nothing compared to shadow lurkers, so don't worry there. If you can rid a pack of shadow lurkers, you should be fine for the most part."

All of a sudden, a drunk walks up to the man with a glass in hand. "Hey, yer new here, aren't ya? Come on, grab a glass, ah brother?! Ya won't regret it!" He shoves a glass towards the man's chest with a heave and laughs heartily.

"Sorry," Frank says. "These guys are eccentric. Well, thanks for stopping by. Anything else I can do for you?"

[bookdragon2000]

Myrkur town

Wen Xuan set the glass onto the bar, thanked the man for the advice and left. He loitered for a short while outside the pub, waiting for Madge. Meanwhile, he considered what the man had said. He wanted to continue east, but the east exit out of this town was apparently extremely dangerous. Just then, Madge flew into sight and landed on the bag. Once he had recovered from her sudden heavy weight again, he considered her and smiled grimly.

" Those thugs maybe 3 on this "Beast threat Level" scale thing. But I have my own beast too." Madge was not really terrifying to humans and would probably only be considered a 1 on this scale. But Madge was a top predator, and she exuded an aura of fear to those she preyed on. Now all he needed to do was enhance that so that even humans will feel uneasy and try to avoid her. First he asked her for permission and once it was granted, he subtlety changed her looks. Her eyes which had always looked like she was staring daggers into everything she looked at, now looked like they could literally burn a hole through you. Her claws and beak now looked so sharp that they could not only tear through flesh, but also bone. Of course this was just an illusion, but it could instill an instinctual fear into anyone that looked at her. Even as she changed, he heard small animals running away, even he himself felt like hiding from her fierce gaze, only the knowledge that this was an illusion and that she would not attack him prevented him from cowering.

"Now she looks like a "5", and even if any of those thugs manage to overcome this fear, her claws and beaks are still there, they are not made any less real by the illusion. But just in case..." He thought as he quickly and efficiently set up his recurve bow(http://www.dragonarchery.com/images/...v_20120522.jpg like that except the riser is blue, the bow is the same height as Wen Xuan), even so,it took 10 minutes due to all the equipment. The sun was beginning to sink below the horizon when he set off east, satisfied that his security was taken care of, but he still felt uneasy. " I really overdid the magic on Madge, maybe i will try just for a "4" next time."