As of 12/22/97
Match 2
Kale, Byric, and Yaran face off against 3 orcs
armed with long swords
Match 2 Begins: Prior to Turn 1
As the three young adventurers were brought back into the Executioner's Pit, Yaran nudged the guard and asked, "Hey, am I allowed to use spells?"
The guard turned his head slightly toward Yaran. "Ya see those archers up along the wall?" he asked, pointing toward a distant figure holding what looked to be a long bow.
"Uh-huh."
"Ya go against what I tells ya," the guard sneered, "and me friend up there is gonna plug you with a barb-tip. No spells! Ya got me?"
"Uh-huh."
As Kale, Yaran, and Byric came to a halt in the center of the arena, the patrons seemed to explode with excitement. "Let the games . . . BEGIN!" the man in the white robe shouted over the noise of the crowd. The three turned toward the east end of the arena as the second pair of wooden doors slowly swung outwards.
"Guys, I think this is going to be a little bit tougher," Yaran said to Kale and Byric as three burly orcs, armed with long swords, came lumbering through the open doorway.
Kale leaned toward Yaran, his eyes never leaving the three orcs. "Hey, those pointed stars of yours are pretty nifty," he said to the Zambarian mage. "I myself favor throwing daggers."
Yaran smiled slightly. "How nice."
Sure, if only I was able to use them this match, Kale added in thought.
"They don't look too bad," Byric said, tightening his grip around the hilt of his long sword.
"That's what I thought about those goblins," Kale replied, tapping his tender stomach gently.
Byric nodded his head. "Good point, my friend. Good point."
Turn 1
As the three young adventurers move into their positions, the orcs slowly lumbered into theirs. The largest of the three orcs, the one with what appeared to be the image of a bleeding rose tattooed on his upper right arm, broke off from the other two, heading southwest and more towards Byric. The other two orcs, appearing as twins in the eyes of those not in possession of orcian heritage or culture, moved northwest to where Kale was preparing himself. Although acting as though they were ready for anything, the orcs seemed to stand back slightly, sizing up the three humans as the goblins had done in the first match.
Kale Lightweaver
Kale shifted his feet slightly as he bent at the knees, his long sword and small wooden shield grasped firmly in his hands. The slight pain that he had felt coming from his bruised stomach seemed to vanish as he prepared himself for the upcoming battle.
Yaran Tashimato
Yaran stayed a few feet behind Byric, each hand gingerly holding a shuriken. As the orcs moved closer to the human's position, Yaran considered releasing the two throwing stars he held at the ready. He checked himself at the last minute, though, figuring that the orcs were positioned slightly out of range. Yaran took a deep breath, and waited.
Byric Lugh
I'd feel a little better about this situation if we had been allowed to bring in some of our equipment, Byric thought to himself. My healing potions would have been nice. As the orcs approached Byric's position, the ranger-turned-cleric attempted to appear as calm and confident as possible. "Dor'KA chungla zug, suk'NAL!" he said to the orc nearest him, the largest of the three with the rose tattoo. For the briefest of moments, the orc's brow furrowed, and Byric thought his attempt at provocation had worked. Heck, no one likes to be compared to an elf maiden. A moment later, though, the orc smiled at Byric, chuckling slightly. "And you three look like a trio of pixies!" the orc replied in the King's Tongue, near-perfectly.
Turn 2
"Ghuk-HNA," the largest of the three orcs snarled. So be it. With reflexes the three young adventurers didn't think the big orc had, the humanoid lunged toward Byric, slicing expertly through the air before the cleric-ranger's chest, although missing its intended target. As the large, unbalanced orc stumbled to the left, the two other humanoids approaching Kale attacked. As the first advanced toward the left side of Kale, swinging poorly with its long sword, the second approached Kale's right, feinting slightly before attacking with a back-handed slice. The blade of the humanoids long sword smashed through Kale's small wooden shield, cracking it in two and knocking it out of the fighter's hand (Small wooden shield destroyed, no damage).
Kale Lightweaver
Before Kale had a chance to whisper to Yaran, asking the mage to cover him, Kale was surprised by the quick advance of the two smaller orcs. Although the first orc's attack was poorly executed, the second orc destroyed his shield. Kale took a quick deep breath, thankful that his arm wasn't attached to the broken shield that lay at his feet. Without warning, he leaned forward, raising his sword high as if seeking to strike through the orc's sword arm. At the last moment, Kale shouted "Kiai!" bringing his sword down and around, slicing through the orc's waist. Although the orc wasn't killed by Kale's expertly executed attack, the humanoid was bleeding. If it bleeds, Kale thought to himself, I can kill it.
Yaran Tashimato
"So the humanoid chunks of refuse know the King's Tongue, do they?" Yaran asked with a wicked smile as he armed himself with a pair of shuriken. "Well, we'll be teaching you something new! How to die!" Just then, the largest of the three orcs attacked Byric, missing the cleric-ranger's chest by but a few finger-lengths. At the same time, the other two orcs advanced on Kale's position. As the first attacked poorly, the second blasted the fighter's sheild from his hands. In a flash of tan skin and shining shuriken, Yaran flipped the two throwing stars at the first orc that had attacked Kale. Because of the orc's poor balance, the first star missed its target. The second, however, struck the orc across its left cheek, knocking the humanoid to the ground. It wasn't dead, but it was hurt.
Byric Lugh
Byric barely had time enough to position his sword and shield when the largest of the three orcs attacked, slicing its long sword at the cleric-ranger's chest, missing by mere finger-lengths. The powerful swing put the orc off-balance, allowing Byric the few moments he needed to get into proper position, moving in a steady pace, as if fighting the orc were as common as swatting a bug. "Bul chotz!" Byric exclaimed as he swung his blade at the humanoid, intending to carve him up. Being off-balance, the orc stumbled to its left as Byric's long sword hit home, slicing the humanoid's right ear off. "Bul chotz," Byric repeated with a smile as the orc's ear dropped to the ground.
Turn 3
By the stomping of their feet and the clapping of their hands, it was quite obvious that the patrons were very, very pleased with the three young adventurer's progress thus far in the second match. The three bleeding orcs, however, were not. The largest orc, least hurt of the three, regained its footing quickly. The orc glanced down at its severed ear, and then back up at Byric, the humanoid's face flushing a dark red, the likes of which most humans had never seen. Faster than its first attack, the orc lept toward Byric, dropping its long sword as it wrapped its massive arms around the cleric-ranger's upper torso.
Meanwhile, the orc with the deep slash across its stomach tried to stand but couldn't, falling to the ground with a snarl and a grunt. Although not dead, this orc was out of the match. The orc to Kale's left, on the other hand, still had a bit of fire left within. The humanoid got to its feet quickly, pulling the shuriken from its cheek with one hand while removing a foot-long piece of wood from under its tunic with the other. The orc took several steps past Kale and toward Yaran, pointing the piece of wood at the Zambarian mage as it chanted unrecognizable words. An instant later, a blast of energy shot forth from the tip of the piece of wood, racing toward Yaran.
Kale Lightweaver
Kale gripped his long sword with both hands, holding the blade shoulder-high and to the side and back, with the tip of the blade pointing toward the sky. He stood his ground before the orc with the stomach wound, waiting for the humanoid to make its move, all the while keeping the second orc, the one with the shuriken in its face, in the corner of his eye. As Kale prepared for a second strike, the orc with the stomach wound slumped to the ground. Kale lowered his sword slightly, aware that the fight was gone from the humanoid before him. As he turned his body toward the second orc, he saw the humanoid pull a piece of wood out from under its tunic. Before he had time to raise his sword into position, a blast of bluish energy shot out of the piece of wood and raced toward Yaran.
Yaran Tashimato
Two more shurikens found their way into Yaran's hands as the Zambarian mage prepared himself for his second attack. To his right, the largest of the three orcs jumped Byric, catching the cleric-ranger in a mighty bear-hug. To Yaran's left, the orc with the stomach wound fell to the ground while the second one quickly rose to its feet. "Now, you die!" Yaran exclaimed, turning back to Byric and the large orc, hesitating before releasing the first of his two shuriken. The throwing star hit its mark, sinking deep into the upper arm of the orc. This, however, didn't seem to slow the humanoid down as it lifted Byric off the ground. As Yaran arched his arm back, readying himself to release the second shuriken, he saw the orc to his left aim a piece of wood toward him. An instant later, a bolt of bluish energy was racing his way.
Byric Lugh
Byric readied himself as the large orc stood. The cleric-ranger smiled slightly as the humanoid looked down at its severed ear. As Byric prepared himself for another attack on the orc, the big humanoid rushed him, again with speed Byric didn't think possible. Before he knew what had happened, Byric was trapped within the orc's bear-hug. Although the orc had dropped its long sword just before grabbing hold of Byric, the cleric-ranger still held on to his weapon, if only just. With a tremendous squeeze that blasted the wind from his lungs, Byric was lifted off the ground. As the orc spun to its left slightly, Byric watched as Yaran released a throwing star his way. The cleric-ranger cringed slightly as the shuriken hit the orc's upper arm, sinking deep into the flesh. This, however, didn't seem to slow the humanoid down. An instant later, Byric caught what appeared to be a bolt of energy out the corner of his eye, racing toward Yaran. The vermin is faster than I thought it'd be, Byric thought to himself as he gasped for air.
Turn 4
An instant after the bolt of bluish energy blasted out of the tip of the piece of wood the orc wsa holding, the man clad in the white robe stood up from his seat within the pavilion. "Archers!" the white-robed man ordered. "Destroy that creature!" Suddenly, a volley of arrows rained down upon the wand-wielding orc. Before it knew what had hit it, the humanoid was dead. Nine shafts could be seen protruding from the orc's back, with a tenth sticking out of the ground to the humanoid's right, less than a finger-length away.
Not fifteen feet away, the largest of the three orcs continued to put the squeeze on Byric, knocking the cleric-ranger's sword out of his hand. "You fight like a pixie!" the orc exclaimed, squeezing Byric even tighter (5 hit points damage).
Kale Lightweaver
"Yaran, get down!" Kale shouted over his shoulder as he whirled around and charged the wand-wielding orc. With his sword raised high, Kale prepared to slash at the orc's back, but a volley of well-aimed sheaf arrows beat him to it. Luckily for Kale, he was able to stop his forward motion toward the humanoid, else one of the arrows might have found a home within him.
Yaran Tashimato
Yaran dove to his right, preparing yet two more shuriken as he hit the ground in a roll. He came up to on one knee as the blast of bluish energy raced past him. "What, the pitiful orc thinks he can beat me with spells?" Yaran snarled, followed by the sound of the magic missile exploding into the far southern wall of the arena. As Yaran arched his arm back slightly, readying himself to release a throwing star at the wand-wielding orc, a volley of sheaf arrows rained down upon the humanoid, cutting it down instantly. If only I had use of my spells, Yaran thought to himself. Suddenly, a painful sounding howl made Yaran turn to his right, where Byric and the largest of the three orcs were still at it.
Byric Lugh
Byric attempted to stab the orc in the leg with the tip of his long sword, but to no avail. With a snarl, the orc squeezed the cleric-ranger tighter still, causing Byric to lose his grip on his long sword. "You fight like a pixie!" the orc exclaimed, squeezing Byric yet again. As Byric gasped for air, he tried kicking the inside of the orc's knee. Realizing what the cleric-ranger was attempting to do, the orc spun quickly, tossing Byric's legs wildly about. The orc laughed as it continued to toss Byric around. Suddenly, the cleric-ranger locked eyes with the humanoid. The orc's smile slipped as an inhuman growl emitted from Byric's throat. Before it knew what had happened, the orc's nose found itself caught between Byric's teeth. The humanoid let out a howl of pain as Byric bit down harder, crimson red spraying across his face and cascading down his neck.
Turn 5
The patrons of the Executioner's Pit seemed ready to tear the walls down, so filled were they with joyous excitement! With one orc sprawled upon the ground, covered with sheaf arrows, and a second only a few feet away, unable to rejoin the fight, all eyes fell to the third and last of the humanoids - the largest of the three orcs. Some would have said, though, they would rather have been the arrow-covered orc, or the other one too close to death to move, for the third orc's situation was, in a word, painful. "Open your mouth, pixie!" the large orc shouted at Byric as it squeezed the cleric-ranger with as much might as it could muster (1 hit point damage). But with Byric biting down on the orc's nose, his teeth sinking deeper and deeper into flesh, the humanoid's strength was fleeting fast, and it couldn't muster much.
Kale Lightweaver
"Hold on!" Kale exclaimed as he pumped his legs as hard as he could, racing toward Byric and the orc that held him. In response, the orc turned its head slightly toward Kale. "Not you!" Kale said to the orc, advancing on the two with long sword in hand.
Yaran Tashimato
"Go help Byric," Yaran told Kale, but the young fighter was already on his way. "If I throw at the orc, I might hit Byric." Yaran sauntered over to where the one orc lay on its side, alive but unable to stand. You, I shouldn't miss, Yaran thought to himself as he knelt down next to the humanoid. With a well-gripped shuriken and a swift jerk, the orc slumped to the ground, lifeless. Yaran then stood and began to retrieve his throwing stars.
Byric Lugh
Byric couldn't remember the last time he had tasted something so foul. Small bits of orc flesh found its way in between Byric's teeth as the humanoid's blood covered the cleric-ranger's face.
Must . . . go . . . on, Byric thought to himself as the orc tried to squeeze the life out of him, but to no avail. Suddenly, the orc turned its head, allowing Byric a clear view of Kale approaching from the rear. This also allowed him the leverage and angle he needed to disarm the orc of its nose. With a twist of the head and a crunch like no other, the orc's nose found a new home - inside of Byric's mouth. Not surprisingly, the orc let go of Bryic. The cleric-ranger hit the ground and stumbled backwards, falling on his rump and nearly choaking on the orc's nose. "Pttuuuy!" went Byric as the nose arched through the air to land at the orc's feet. The cleric-ranger looked up at the humanoid and smiled a bloody smile and said, "That'll improve your looks." With that, the orc leapt at Byric.
Turn 6
Kugk, the largest and last of the three orcs, leapt toward Byric, the humanoid's face nothing more than bloody, torn flesh. A thousand words entered the orc's mind as it closed in on the young cleric-ranger, but the only thing that Kugk could say was "Gggrrr-eeehhhaaawww!" A moment later, the orc's advance was cut short, from the front as well as the rear.
Kale Lightweaver
Kale's mind was focused as he reached the orc. Although attacking from the rear wasn't his style, Kale thought it best to put morals to the way-side. With a swift swing of his long sword that arched downward from right to left, Kale sliced through the orc's lower right leg and left hamstring. With that, the orc began to crumble.
Byric Lugh
Byric watched as the noseless orc advanced toward his sprawled position. With his sword too far away and his shield resting in an unbalanced angle, Byric could think of only one thing that would slow the orc down. Quickly, Byric leaned his back flat on the ground, resting his hands at his sides, palm-down. When the orc was within two feet, Byric snapped his right foot up and out, connecting with the orc's groin. At the same time, Byric could see Kale attacking the orc from the rear. The inhuman roar coming from deep within the orc's thoat turned into a high-pitched wheeze as it crumbled to the ground.
Yaran Tashimato
Yaran was right behind Kale, coming upon the orc as it crumbled to its knees. As with the other orc, Kale slipped one of the razor-sharp points of his shuriken across the orc's throat. The humanoid's high-pitched wheeze became a gurgled groan as the orc slumped to the ground. "Do you understand the lesson, orc?" Yaran spat down at the largest of the three dead orcs.
Conclusion
As the orc exhaled for the last time, its body becoming still, the patrons of the Executioner's Pit cheered like never before. Some chanted out Byric's name, while others yelled for Kale. And still others cried for Yaran and his mighty shuriken. The three young adventurers even thought they heard someone cheering for a guy named Robb, although who this mighty warrior was was anyone's guess. The two large double-doors to the south opened quickly, as did the ones to the east. Byric, Kale, and Yaran were immediately ushered out of the arena as a clean-up crew come out of the doors to the east, retrieving the three dead orcs. Inside the large room, Jerrie and Justine were waiting for them.
"Nice style, lad," Jerrie Two-Toes said to Byric as he tossed the cleric-ranger a warm, wet towl. "Get that orc muck off your face while Justine here takes a look at you."
Byric was led to one of the cots to the right while Kale and Yaran were brought to two others to the left. Byric grunted slightly as Justine pressed against his chest. "Bruised, but not broken," the thin healer said as he glanced over at Jerrie. With a nod from the Havanathe, Justine handed Byric a glass vial filled with a blue liquid. As the cleric-ranger drank what he knew to be healing elixer, Justine gently pressed his hands against Byric's chest. The healing elixer worked instantly; Byric could feel the pain leaving his body (5 hit points healed). Justine sat back, examing the cleric-ranger. "Better, I should think."
"Yes," Byric replied, "thank you."
"That'll be coming out of your winnings," Jerrie said as he pulled up a stool. "Don't worry, though. I took what you three made from the first match and bet it on, well, you three to win in the second. Even though the odds were only five-to-one, you still made out like bandits! I, of course, took my forty percent."
"Of course," Yaran said with a smirk.
"What of the third match?" Kale asked.
"Glad you asked, lad," Jerrie said. "The first two matches were for warming you three up."
"It worked," Byric laughed as he wiped the last bit of orc's blood off his face.
Jerrie smiled, nodding his head. "Yes, well, Kugk was a pretty tough opponent. This was his tenth match, and many thought that you were licked," Jerrie said, pointing a stubby finger Byric's way.
Byric jabbed his chest with an extended thumb. "Including me."
"I knew better, though," Jerrie said. "That's why I bet your winnings against the orcs. You three boys . . . well, I've got a good feeling about you three, that's all. And let's hope it keeps as a good feeling for the next three rounds."
"Three more?!" Yaran exclaimed, falling back upon the cot. He held his arms up in the air, hands out, and prayed, "Theavia, protect me this day, and as many more as you see fit!"
"Ha!" Jerrie laughed. "You'll be needing that divine protection, lad, because it only gets tougher from here. Listen close so you know the what's what. The third match will have you three up against some more baddies. Now, don't ask me who or what, cause I don't know everything."
"Could have fooled us," Kale said.
"The good news is that you'll be able to use your own weapons and armor in the next three matches," Jerrie continued. "So the third match will be against what the gods only know, while the fourth match will be against three convicted criminals. In my opinion, nothing short of a red dragon is going to be tougher to fight than three blokes fighting for their lives. But as I said, you'll be able to use your own weapons and armor during the last three matches."
"What about our magical abilities?" Yaran asked, sitting back up.
Jerrie shook his head. "Not during the third match. Only weapons, as before. But come the fourth and fifth matches, you'll be able to use everything you've got. Some advice, though: hold back on wasting your energies during the third, and even the fourth, match. Again, I don't know everything, so I have no idea what you'll be up against in the fifth match. Take my word, though, that it'll be twice as hard as the convicts you'll be facing in the fourth match and five-times harder than the baddies you'll be fighting in the third."
"Which makes it ten-times as hard as the three orcs we just dealt with," Yaran said.
Jerrie grinned slightly. "Something like that."
"Swell."
Jerrie stood quickly, pushing the stool off to the side. "Rest up, lads, and get your weapons and armor ready. Leave your normal equipment here, though, else you want a back full of arrows like your orc friend. They'll be calling you out in a little bit, and that's when I'll be back." With that, Jerrie Two-Toes turned and made his way across the large room. With a final wave of his small, stubby hand, Jerrie was gone.
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