[ You are all currently in one of the many cavernous training facilities beneath Black Peack. You've been here for a while, trying to help Sei figure out which end of a sword is sharp. ] (I have? @_@) ( Well, at least I was. ) [ Well, you might've just been pointing and laughing at him, Nebby. But you're still there. ] (That I believe.) (Heheheh.) [ At any rate, Sei's been attempting to batter a training dummy with a training sword. That is, one of the ones that doesn't try to batter you back; those are for the more advanced training sessions. And then, all of a sudden, the door to the room opens - yes, there's only one - and in strides Xivilai, followed closely by her right-hand bitch Sethra. Sethra is smiling, which is probably a bad sign. ] [ Things get worse when Sethra closes the door and then stands in front of it. Xivilai strides onward towards where you all are, and turns to Ethan. ] [ Session Start! ] * Nebrinel was looking composed about 5 seconds ago. Now she looks annoyed. * Sei puts down his sword, and bows politely to Xivilai. * Ada sits and watches Sei, trying to offer pointers while somehow (mostly) not laughing at him. She looks up as her Lady enters and blinks. Good Sei, good. But be careful how you're swinging that... you have to watch your wrist angle, or you'll just whack them with the side of the blade, instead of the cutting edg- *pauses; looks over his shoulder* Ack! *turns quickly; salutes* [ "So," says Xivilai, looking down at Ethan. "I understand that you have appointed yourself to be Ada's guardian." ] * Ada blinks again, some confusion showing through. * Ethan looks up at Xivilai. "Something like that, yeah." It's a trade-off. I keep people from stabbing her, she refrains from blowing me up when I make bad jokes. * Sei nods. [ "Well. And do you believe you are up to the task?" ] I do, yes. I handed myself pretty well during the war, and managed to hold my ground against Faydra. Mostly kept her attention while the others pummeled her with spells. * Nebrinel is still frowning. She almost brushes Plaguey, but stops herself. [ "Ah, but those are elves. Do you believe you are adequte to the task of protecting Ada from demons, gods, and Jenoine?" ] * Ethan does *not* say 'Well, as long as she stops wandering off alone '. Instead, he goes with "I think so. Now that I know how to hurt them, I think I can do the job." * Ethan shrugs. "Ada can take care of herself against most magical attackers, and even agaist the majority of physical attackers. My job is to keep the really nasty physical attackers off her so she can do her thing. And that's what I do well." [ "So you say. I do not find myself believing you, however." ] * Ethan raises an eyebrow. "Would you like me to prove it?" * Ada frowns now. * Nebrinel quirks an eyebrow. [ "Yes, I would very much like that, and I fully intend to give you the opportunity, in this way; Ethan Swordbreaker, I hereby formally challenge you do a duel, to be performed herein this hall. Do you accept?" ] * Sei does *not* tip over backwards. But it's a near thing. * Ethan strokes his goatee. "Am I correct in assuming this will be a no-soul- sucking duel?" [ "You are. Other than that, I seek to impose no conditions other than to say that the duel shall be to the death, pending the use of spells to ensure that both parties may be raised afterwards." ] ... yeesh. Awfully grim, aren't ya? * Nebrinel smiles faintly, and says, "I believe this is almost as good as actually leaving." * Ethan pops a donut into his mouth, and chews thoughtfully. * Ada rolls her eyes at Nebrinel's comment. She looks almost worried, though. "Ethan, you don't have to." ( Watching others suffer? I am SO there. ) (Screw the suffer thing. Know thy enemy, Yu. Know thy enemy.) * Ethan glances back at Ada. "Considering your Lady's reputation, Ada, I probbaly do have to. No offense meant, of course." (We all know we'll have to fight each other later. ;P) * Ada shakes her head, but doesn't say anything else. [ Xivilai raises an eyebrow. "None taken." She almost, ALMOST smirks. "And if I had taken offense, I would likely challenge you to a duel for it. To the death, of course." ] * Ethan strokes his goatee. "Such is life." [ By the door, Sethra takes out a tiny little gong and strikes it once with a tiny little mallet. Xivilai doesn't seem to notice. ] * Ada does. She eyes Sethra. ... I'm gonna take a wild stab in the dark here... should I refuse, you'll find me unqualified to protect Ada on this rather dangerous journey, and have me dispatched back to human lands, or sent down to the dungeons or somesuch? [ "Perhaps. Or I may simply decide not to give you this." She pulls from the folds of her cloak the sort of toothed mallet used for tenderising meat. The distinct and frightening aura of a Morganti weapon fills the air. ] * Sei raises an eyebrow. (...Morganti...mallet. YU! >_<) Ah. So you do have morganti cookware. Gotta love those soulless foods. ( It's the only way I'll eat meat.) [ "I believe that I have asked you a question, Ethan. I continue to await your response." ] * Ethan strokes his goatee. "So what you're saying... if I accept, I get a duel to the death with quite possibly the most powerful mortal being in existance, who has gods knows how many times more experience in fighting than me. If I refuse, and you even let me continue on, I don't get access to a Great Weapon piece that might make the difference in the fight against the various demons and the Jenoine." [ "Tsk. You're ignoring something you oughtn't." ] The fact that, if I refuse, I might never again experience Nebrinel's wonderfully witty banter? * Ada coughs. Quietly. * Nebrinel smirks very briefly, and says dryly, "It is nice that he thinks of the little things." [ "No. The fact that, throughought a fight with one who *has* fought demons, gods, and Jenoine, there is no telling what you may learn." ] Oh, I thought of that. Which is why I'd suggest you go put on some old, beat up robes. 'cause I plan on bleeding all over you. *grins* [ Xivilai smirks. "Excellent." And just like that, a large dueling circle suddenly becomes evident on the floor. "Now, in a duel such as this, it is customary to at this point select a second whome will aid you in negotiating the terms of the affair. I'll understand if you wish to forgo this, however." ] * Ada stays out of the circle and clasps her hands behind her back. Her expression's surprisingly neutral, considering this is (arguably) about her. * Nebrinel makes sure she is not in the circle as well. This is not her fight. Nah. I've been in a few duels in my meager time on this planet... I can do it myself. *pauses* You do realize, of course, that in assuming that Ada even really *needs* my protection, you're showing a rather impressive amount of disrespect to her rather prodigious skills. *grins* (Aah, in a siller campaign, now would be the time to pull out the commentater's mikes.) [ Xivilai moves to the far end of the ring, around which glowing script makes itself evident. Gee, it must be magic. ] * Sei makes sure that he's out of the circle, and looks on worriedly. ( No mics allowed, but there *is* a rectangular table with a trio of chairs handy. ) (Woot, Nebbie and I can heckle from the sidelines.) (And throw in Sei with folding chairs!) (And in a pinch, it will serve as minor protection when Xivilai detonates the castle to win.) (Wah!) And since you, presumably, taught her many of those skills... aren't you disrespecting yourself? ( Get under the desk, put your head between your legs, and kiss your ass goodbye! ) [ Xivilai smirks. "Ada is yet young, and I never believed such a situation as this would arise." ] * Ethan shrugs. "If you say so. I think you should have a bit more confidence in the lass... but heck, what do I know?" [ Meanwhile, she floats upwards a few inches, her cloak billowing out into a three-quarter circle around her. She folds her arms in front of her. ] * Ethan twirls his glaive, and moves over to the other end of the circle. * Nebrinel sits down at the table. Why not? Sitting doesn't cost anything. ( "Hey, if I win, do I get to be the new Lord of Shardae?" "..." ) * Sei sits down, too. Might as well. ( No, you may not. I shall not allow my kingdom to become Spleenaria. ) ( Darn. ) * Ada doesn't. She doesn't look like she wants to move anywhere, really. [ Init! ] d6+8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (d6+10) and gets 13. [ Ethan goes first! At least, Xiv doesn't seem to be making any move to go before him. ] [ ...Ethan? ] * Ethan takes a deep breath. "... well, like my trainer used to say. Fortune favors the bold and the stupid." He charges Xivi, leaping in with a right-to left diagonal slash, landing, then spinning stabbing right up at her heart. ( Shh! I'm tryin' to be dramatic here! ) ( Second shot is a called shot. ) 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 1. 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-2) and gets 5. [ Xivilai's cloak bats the first strike aside with an arm-shaped extension that appears out of nowhere, half-catches the haft of the glaive with another arm on the second attack, and then with the first arm, makes a swift jab at Ethan's gut! ] 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 5. * Ethan hops back, out of the way of the jab. "Spiffy cloak. Does it give you extra spleens?" * Nebrinel mms idly. [ Xivilai makes no reply, instead leaning forward and spinning to bring one of the 'arms' around at Ethan's face with remarkable speed! ] 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 5. * Ethan ducks. "Hoo boy. Very spiffy cloak." [ Xivilai's spinning abruptly reverses, one of the arms coming up for Ethan's lowered jaw! ] 2d6-1 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-1) and gets 6. * Ethan rolls to the side, out of the way of the uppercut. "Cripes. Like fighting a boxer with eight arms." [ Ethan's turn again! ] * Ada tilts her head. * Ethan narrows his eyes, and decides to try something different. He stabs at Xivi, feints, then rolls behind her and brings his glaive up in a long, sweeping slash, trying to cut the cloak itself right off of Xivilai. (2nd is Called Shot) 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 0. 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-2) and gets 7. [ The first is absorbed into the cloak, which tears with a sound more like a sheet of thick rubber being pulled apart than anything. The second shot is deflected, however, and the cloak soon begins to 'heal'. ] ... well shit. [ Xivilai promptly counters, taking a right hook at Ethan! ] 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 0. * Ethan leans back out of the way of the hook. [ The two hands come up into a clap far above Xivilai's head! There is a roar as they collide, and an arc of lighting spits out at Ethan! ] ( Ranged defense. ) 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-2) and gets 9. [ Ethan is zotted, leaving him singed and a tad dazed. The hands clasp while they're still over Xivilai's head, and then come down together for Ethan's head! ] 2d6-1 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-1) and gets 5. * Ethan shakes off the zapping fast enough to hop back once again, getting out of the way of the strike. [ Ethan hops out of the way to avoid the fists, which impact the ground with a mighty rumble. And it's his turn now! ] ( And the commentators are silent. What, do they need turns too? ;P ) (No, there's just nothign to say. They're not actually commentators.) Impressive. That looked like a very powerful lightning attack. ( What, they're not gonna talk about how this fight's nothing next to what'll happen next week on Raw? ) If it did not lay him out, I don't feel so impressed. * Nebrinel glances over at Ada. * Ethan dashes past Xivilai on the right, slashing at her midsection as he goes, then spins and stabs up at the back of her neck. (2nd, once again, a called shot) 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 3. 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-2) and gets 4. [ The first cut digs deep, but the second is blocked by an arm as Xivilai spins, bringing the first arm around to strike at Ethan with what would normally be the wrist. ] 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 0. * Ethan rolls under the blow, and under Xivi, coming up on the other side of her. [ The back of the cloak flashes, spouting forth several small balls of energy! (Single ranged defense, since someone's feeling nice) ] 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-2) and gets 5. Ack! *rolls again to the side, out of the way of the energy balls* [ Xivilai tilts, supporting herself on one of the 'fists' while her legs lash out to sweep Ethan off his feet! ] 2d6-1 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-1) and gets 8. [ Ethan is swept! Lucky him it's his turn now. ] * Ada keeps her attention on the fight, not acknowledging Nebrinel's glance. A slight frown is on her face. * Ethan nips up to his feet, spins, and tosses out an upwards diagonal slash, followed by a high stab. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 4. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 3. [ Xivilai avoids both shots, swinging a one-two at Ethan! ] 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 3. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 1. * Ethan ducks the first shot, then twists around the second. [ Ethan's turn! ] * Nebrinel chuckles, and murmurs, "Ethan's holding his own, but Xivilai isn't even trying yet." * Sei nods. * Ethan springs foward with a flurry of slashes, high and low, ending with a horizontal spinning slash. (Bum Rush) 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 7. [ The arms cross themselves in front of Xivilai, the forearms forming an 'x', and Ethan's attack spills off an energy shield that forms there! ] [ Xivilai counters with three punches in quick succession! ] (three defenses) 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 8. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 3. 2d6-1 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-1) and gets 5. [ Ethan gets nailed by the first strike, which sends him sailing through the air... albeit in such a strange way that he untryingly avoids the latter strikes. He lands in a heap at the far end of the ring. ] * Ethan hops up, rubbing his jaw. "Normally, at this point, I'd be making rude comments to try and get you angry and make a mistake... but I doubt that's gonna work, so why bother?" *charges; rolls and comes up with a stab, then jumps and throws out a spinning horizontal slash* 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 4. 2d6-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ethan (2d6-3) and gets 5. [ Before Ethan can reach Xivilai, however, there is the sound of an eggtimer going *ding!*. For some reason, this makes him decide to stop. ] ... the hell? [ Xivilai floats back down to her feet, her cloak dropping back to her sides. "Congratularion, Ethan. You lasted one minute." ] * Nebrinel smirks. ... so when you said 'to the death', you meant that I'd die of embarassment at having been snookered, right? [ Xivilai smirks. "Possibly. That or I had much less confidence in your abilities than I do now." ] * Ada sighs. * Ethan grins, rubbing his jaw s'more. "You're pretty good yourself. That leg sweep in particular was really nicely executed." * Sei smiles. [ Xivilai tosses the tenderizer, which she'd been holding the whole time, to the ground in front of her; it lands with an ominous CLANK. "Come forth and claim your prize, then." ] ... holy fuck, I just went a minute with Xivlai Shardae and I'm not ground into a fine paste. Pardon me for a moment. * Ethan then runs a lap around the room, screaming and flailing. * Nebrinel snorts. "Pride comes before a fall, I have been told before. Perhaps I am not the only one who ever need hear it." [ Xivilai watches in confusion. She turns to Sei. "Is this some strange Human custom?" ] Some strange Ethan custom, really. ( Not in celebration, mind you. More of a "You know all that terror I should have been feeling? Well, here it is!" ) * Ada facepalms. Yeah, strange Ethan custom about covers it. * Nebrinel stands. "Strange Ethan custom covers nearly every activity he engages in." * Ethan finishes his Lap of Terror (TM), and returns to the center of the ring to collect the mallet. "There. Much better." *picks up the mallet* * Ethan mutters. "Not dead. Holy fucking shit." [ Ethan cannot lift the mallet. ] * Ethan starts to walk away, then realizes the mallet isn't budging. "... well now." * Ethan shrugs, and sets Pantryfiller down on top of the mallet, the area with the slot where the spork went in resting on top of said mallet. [ Ethan lets gravity do the work. Unfortunately, gravity's not up to it. ] * Ethan taps Pantryfiller. "Oh, great. Hello? Sentient weapon? Big ol' piece of you, just waiting to be consumed? Nummy nummy!" * Nebrinel smirks, and rubs her neck. "Well, at least the fact that Ethan barely got touched means that the planned raid can go on as scheduled." * Ethan pushes down on Pantryfiller. "Okay then... if you don't wanna eat, I'm gonna hafta MAKE you eat, young man! Or woman. Or thing. Whatever." * Ada sits down now. "Yeah, wonderful. Maybe it doesn't want to." She looks at Xivilai. [ With a mighty exertion of force, Ethan succeeds in pushing down hard enough to hold himself in the air above the glaive. Xivilai smirks. ] [ Slooooowly, the glaive slides down onto the mallet. ] * Sei raises an eyebrow. ( ... must... resist... urge to yell "GIT IN YO BELLY!" ) [ After about a minute, the glave begins to shake violently! A deep rumble comes from everywhere and nowhere! Lightning flashes, even though you're indoors! ] (Good.) ( ... must... resist... urge to yell "It's alive... It's alive! IT'S ALIVE!" ) (Keep those urges down. c.c;) [ The sound of huge quantities of metal complaining at being bent comes from the glaive, which slowly expands to accept the haft of the mallet! And just when you think the noise is going to shatter your earts -- there's another *ding* and the mallet is now part of the glaive, down on the end opposide the blade-end. ] * Ethan frowns at Pantryfiller. "Geez. At least say excuse me. What were you, raised by wolves?" * Ada removes her hands from her ears. "Tell it to be quieter next time." * Sei winces. "That was...quite something." * Nebrinel shakes her head, as if to clear it. "Almost as bad as those metal dragons." Hey, at least you guys didn't have to hear it telepathically burp. * Ethan twirls the glaive idly, trying to get a feel for if the addition of the mallet-head on the blunt end has altered the balance. * Nebrinel frowns. "I suppose I should be grateful for slight favors." You should. Darn rude Great Weapon. * Ada snickers. Like you, really. Hey! I have better table manners than that. * Ada raises an eyebrow. I do! I don't belch aloud at the table. * Sei just sits back, and ponders. I use utensils, ask people to pass stuff rather than just reaching for it, I rarely throw food... ...rarely? * Ethan shrugs. "I've been known to peg people with pastries from time to time." * Nebrinel 's face becomes blank. "Belching and manners aside, we are all here." She pauses for a second, then says, "Are we all prepared to leave for our night assault?" She eyes Ethan and Ada in particular. Gimme a few minutes to figure out if Pantryfiller's gonna suddenly start shooting out lightning bolts, and I'll be ready. Last thing I need is to suddenly start breathing fire in my sleep. * Ada shrugs. "I wasn't the one involved in a duel to the death." I'm all set, I think. Knowing you, you'd roast lamb that way, Ethan. Eh. Xivilai tagged me good a coupla times, but I'll be fine in a few minutes. I had figured. [ And then, Ethan abruptly died. Session End! ]