Round I, Fight 1: Dorian Gray vs.
Ellesar Palintir (
Challenge)
Dorian hated the jungle with a passion. Its many vines and thorns and… plants tore on his expensive clothes and it was full of little insects which stung him and covered his skin with itching little boils. He missed the city. Duelling there was so much more convenient – you only had to walk a few steps into the next best Arena, defeat a dim-witted opponent, be hailed by a roaring crowd and be back for dinner. This expedition, however, was the exact opposite of the duelling in Rezephua. Why had he agreed to join this expedition-which-was-actually-none in the first place? Oh, right, because of the riches. And because he had been rather bored at that time. But now, almost two days worth of travel southwards his mood had changed. Annoyed by the humid and hostile environment he wished he hadn’t taken the journey.
It was getting boring – the first few Kroxigors and Carnosaurs had added a bit of variety to the marching but slaying them had soon lost its fascination – with nobody witnessing Dorian’s elegant swordplay and witty remarks the fights kind of missed their main point. Dorian drew forth the amulet he had received from beneath his shirt and stared at the elaborate piece of jewelry – the talisman was shaped in the form of a tiny silver fist which held a perfect violet gem the size of Grey’s thumbnail. If one looked really close a small black blemish in the middle of the jewel could be distinguished which inexplicably seemed to waver in its crystalline confines.
Dorian shrugged. The sophisticated and fascinating lady in black back in the Pit had told something about magical protection he would encounter in the Tomb and which the amulet would help overcome. So it was a magical talisman and of course HAD to look a bit impressive, right? The damn Tomb! It had to appear rather soon or Dorian would simply turn back. He half-heartedly hacked at a wall of vines blocking his way when his sword glanced back from a hard resistance. Dorian looked closer and as he brushed away the vines he uncovered an overgrown Lizardmen waystone.
The eroded half-relief showed a toad-like creature surrounded by a line of glyphs Grey failed to comprehend. The amulet however seemed to respond to this discovery and wormed a single whispered word into his mind:
Xuculkhan. Disturbed by the unwelcome sensation Dorian rocked back – he really hated being disturbed in his own world of thoughts, especially by magical doodads.
He angrily stared at the pendant when he noticed a flash of white from the corner of his eyes. He turned around, quickly regaining his poise and haughty attitude. An audience, at last! Before him stood a tall Elf, clad in shining white robes which partly covered a polished ithilmar armour.
Wait… shining? And polished? How come the newcomer wasn’t covered in grime and sweat like Dorian? That was just not fair. Then Grey recognized the helmet – with feather wings, by Shallya, no wonder the High Elves were a dying race considering this fashion sense – it was the Elf he had challenged in the Arena. He had almost forgotten about it but at least the Asur seemed to have remembered it.
“I am Ellesar Palintir from Ulthuan. Surrender the amulet to atone for your insult and I will spare your life.” The Elf spoke in a calm voice, his right hand casually caressing the pommel of a well-made longsword dangling from its belt sheath.
“I bet you mean what you say!” Dorian laughed, his spirits roused by the prospect of a duel – even considering the lack of publicity.
“But please understand that I cannot give away this trinket to somebody with such a terrible taste. If you really want it you will have to fight for it.” Dorian chuckled, teasing his opponent.
Ellesar nodded slowly, seemingly untouched by the taunt.
“Then you will have to die.” Before Dorian could formulate another insult Palintir’s sword flashed out of its sheath in the blink of a second and lashed at Dorian – but cleft hit empty air instead of burying into the neck of Grey. Palintir tried to adapt to the lightning-quick change of position of his enemy and reversed his swing to strike at Dorian’s abdomen but Grey’s sword flickered forth and scored a shallow wound across the Elf’s back, his saber piercing the Ithilmar with ease and dotting Ellesar’s cloak with crimson. The Swordmaster recovered quickly and jumped back, assuming a defensive stance. Dorian whooped with joy and dashed forward to deliver another humiliating small wound to Ellesar but this time the Elf was the one who had foreseen the attack. Batting Grey’s lighter sabre aside with his heavier blade he opened a wide gap in the human’s defense and with a quick reverse stroke his sword bit into Dorian’s belly, cutting through his fine clothes and burying deep into his intestines. Yet no gush of blood surged forth as Ellesar had expected – in fact the impaled human grinned at him despite being pretty much eviscerated. A glint of shock appeared in the Swordmaster’s eyes and Dorian began to laugh heartily at the surprise of his opponent.
“You did not think I would let myself allow to die against such a lame stereotypical goodie two shoes like you, would you?” He raised his blade to retaliate on the Swordmaster whose weapon was still trapped in Grey’s guts. “Any last corny words, my unlucky friend? At least you can say that you were beaten by Dorian Grey, the b…” Ellesar mustered all his strength and pulled his sword upwards with both hands. The ithilmar edge cut through vertebrae and ribs in a red arc and cleft through Gray’s collarbone, setting it free. On its way through Dorian’s torso it severed the small leather thread holding the amulet and catapulted it into the air. A few droplets of blood – much too few to be shed by a normal human – accompanied it and sizzled as they sloshed against the crystal.
“…” Dorian collapsed to the ground, dumbfounded. His body began to vanish quickly, leaving only a pile of rent clothes where he had fallen.
Ellesar suspiciously poked the pile with his longsword and shrugged, then knelt down to pick up the amulet.
“Asur fashion is timeless, you human jackass.” he murmured before continuing his way past the glyphstone.
Ellesar Palintir prevails!
Documentation:
Code: Select all
WS S T W I A AS WS
Dorian 10 5 4 3 6 4 2+ 5+
Mount 3 3 3
Ellesar 7 7 3 3 8 4 3+ 5+
Dorian strikes with Birthsword.
4 attacks hitting on 3s: 1,3,4,6.
3 hits wounding on 2s: 2,2,5.
3 wound caused.
Armour save of 3+ modified to 5+ due to strength: 2,2,5.
Re-roll successful armour save due to Birthsword: 6.
Ward save of 5+: 2,3.
2 unsaved wound caused.
Ellesar has 1 wounds left.
Barded Warhorse strikes.
1 attack hitting on 5: 2.
Missed.
Ellesar strikes with great weapon.
4 attacks hitting on 4s: 2,2,5,5.
2 hits wounding on 2s: 2,3.
2 wounds caused.
Armour save of 2+ modified to 6+ due to strength: 3,6.
Ward save of 5+: 5.
No unsaved wound caused.
Round 2: Ellesar strikes first due to initiative.
Ellesar strikes with great weapon.
4 attacks hitting on 4s: 1,2,4,4.
2 hits wounding on 2s: 5,6 (Dorian is immune to killing blow).
2 wounds caused.
Armour save of 2+ modified to 6+ due to strength: 2,3.
Ward save of 5+: 1,3.
2 unsaved wounds caused.
Dorian has 1 wound left.
Dorian strikes with Birthsword.
4 attacks hitting on 3s: 1,1,5,6.
2 hits wounding on 2s: 5,6.
2 wounds caused.
Armour save of 3+ modified to 5+ due to strength: 1,6.
Re-roll successful save due to Birthsword: 5.
Ward save of 5+: 6.
No unsaved wound caused.
Barded Warhorse strikes.
1 attack hitting on 5: 2.
Missed.
Round 3: Ellesar strikes first due to initiative.
Ellesar strikes with great weapon.
4 attacks hitting on 4s: 1,2,6,6.
2 hits wounding on 2s: 2,6 (Dorian is immune to killing blow).
2 wounds caused.
Armour save of 2+ modified to 6+ due to strength: 2,4.
Ward save of 5+: 3,6.
1 unsaved wound caused.
Dorian has 0 wounds left.
Ellesar prevails.
