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A Clashing of Fangs

by Steel Claw

We received the announcement that the tournament would be reorganizing the order of fighting, due to scheduling conflicts. Milo's fight against Sigis was affected, affording him more time on the bench.

We met one more time before marching together to the arena. Yu Gin's Duneguards led us through the crowds to our front-row seating, and from above their leader welcomed all in attendance. "A special welcome to the Vanguard of Veradin," caused the crowd to go beserk.

"Once again, we will go over the rules. We have healers of all stripes on hand -- no death, no dismemberment. That being said, all magic is available to all participants."

With a wave of Yu Gin's hands, the very parapets we and the other combatants sat on shifted through the earth, gliding by magic until we all 'stood' before Yu Gin, for his blessing.

Round 1: Knives Unseen

Theo pressed something into Dannerick's hand, then wished our thief good luck.

Zorzol and Dannerick met on the arena, each drawing their crossbow and blade. Dannerick faded into invisibility, and Zorzol cloaked himself in magical darkness. The two met in that obscurity, blades clanging and flickering sparks illuminating once in a while.

Seconds passed, then Zorzol backed out of the darkness -- with an invisible Dannerick leaping after him! We cheered loudly.

It all came down to Dannerick's magial ambush: disappearing into the invisibility, Dannerick caught Zorzol off-guard with a hold person spell. Simple and effective: Zorzol was unprepared for the attack, and was paralyzed. Ever the showman, Dannerick paraded around his foe before knocking the master assassin unconscious.

Round 2: Fight Ice With Fire

As with Dannerick and Theo before, our thief passed off the strange marble Theo had given him. "It's bottled haste," he explained. I nodded, focused.

Ovidiun drew his sword, I my bow, and prepared myself.

Spell after spell flew through the air, as Oviduin and Vir-Withir charged towards us. I readied up, prepared Fang and Claw: they spat alchemical fire at our foes and I wove to and fro outside their reach. First to fall was the wolf: it had a primal magic that cancelled spells, so we lit it ablaze. Ovidiun, half-man and half-beast, charged with a rage inhuman. I dodged, ducked, and wove backwards -- always two steps ahead. Theo would have been proud: I rotated through spells like a true mage, varying my tactics and keeping Oviduin guessing. Fire and force rent his body, and when he was on his last legs I pulled together my work into an impenetrable wall of force. He slumped to his knees, defeated. And I bowed.

"Keep that dagger," he grunted. I laughed, heartily, and helped the two with the healers to the medical section.

Now, to beer.

Round 3: Glowering Divinity

There was a brief lull before Murg was called to the field.

Glower and Murg traded words, before the cleric raised his holy symbol on high. "I am a chosen of Abadar, and this is my return on investment!" ROI, the divine guardian assigned to Murg, descended from Abadar's halls of actuaries to alight on the field.

Glower simply sprinted around the flying guardian.

And the three clashed. Whereas Oviduin, Vir-Withir, and I traded many blows; Murg and Glower traded hits one for one, less than a dozen in all. The last strike was a divine smite from the grand auditor of Abadar, nearly sending Glower straight into the afterlife.

Round 4: To the mortal coil

When Milo and Sigis met on the battlefield, each let out a challenging roar before sprinting towards one another. There were no words, only the fury of combat in the air.

They clashed, blow for blow. Milo and Sigis let out more blood than I ever thought imagineable from a pair of mortal beings. Their rage, their vitaily filled the entire stadium as each tanked a hit and the next from his opponent.

It was close, almost too close to call: one blow nearly removed Milo's arm and shoulder, the next from Milo sending Sigis unconscious. The loxodon remained on his feet, shield and sword ready, but no longer in this plane of existence.

Milo won.

After the match

We reconvened, healing wounds and tending to each other.

Theo was alerted by a figure loping down the hallway.

"Stay... back..." It was the voice of Administrator Conor, eyes bloodshot and near death. "It was not... up to me..."

And in a terrifying burst of force and flame, the symbol spell within his ignited.

A second explosion rocketed the stadium above; we all ran. Many of the heroes and combantants had intervened to save as many as possible, but the attack left hundreds dead in the stadium.

After a few minutes, we gained this much: Yu Gin was missing.

And above, a rune larger than a ship of the sea wrought itself into the sky.

One of the combatants, a bard, messaged Theo: Yu Gin's court wizard had cast several spells before absconding with the leader.

Our thoughts may have been scattered, but we united: Theo polymorphed into a giant eagle, carrying the Vanguard towards Yu Gin's palace. Inside, through the windows, we could see the Duneguard fighting something in Yu Gin's throne room.

Demons.

We leapt into action: cutting our way through the throne room. Yu Gin's screams could be heard from the basement, and we ran as fast as we could to the downstairs.

The great basement held the Asmodaen wizard conducting dark rituals on Yu Gin. The leader was strung up like a puppet, connected to the undulating flesh covered with black, unreadable runes: the forming being of Maluseth, as a terrasque.

One heartbeat. Two. A third. "The victory is mine."

Asmodeus/Maluseth called, and on great wings the old one, Kreethi, responded.

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A Clashing of Fangs

Round 1: Knives Unseen

Round 2: Fight Ice With Fire

Round 3: Glowering Divinity

Round 4: To the mortal coil

After the match

Continue reading...

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