[IC] Gunnaya Njordsdottir vs Blithe Marrowdwell

[Jotunn Draugr]

A crisp layer of fresh snow crunched under Gunnaya's thick fur boots. Small additional flakes fluttered among the pine branches, dancing on the mild winter breeze, before joining their compatriots on the ground. A nearby fox scrounged through leafless bushes. After days of travel, with neither horse nor carriage, Gunnaya's feet grew sore. It was a long trip, but well worth it. The elves grew herbs of incomprehensible potency within their boarders, and she had to have them. The potions she could concoct, the lives she could save, were worth the risk of trespassing on elven land.
Spying a particularly thick tree to her left, with low hanging branches, she found her outpost for the day. She swung her bow over her shoulder, planned out a rout up, and began climbing. Each branch held, as she planted her foot on it, as did each that she grabbed. After years of experience, and countless falls, she'd learned how thick a branch had to be to support her weight. Without fail, she reached as high as would hold her weight, which was just enough to see over the tree line. Peering to the horizon, she could see the towers of a city. The elven capital, no doubt. This meant she was well within their borders, and the herbs were nearly within her grasp.
She climbed halfway down the tree, staying high enough to be hidden among the branches, and out of any animal's reach. There she found a particularly thick branch, that would be her bed for the day. With a sigh, Gunnaya propped her back against the trunk, stretched her legs out, nuzzled herself into her warm fur hood, and rested. As far as she could tell, the elves would have no reason to scout this far into the woods.
The caws of hawks and ravens sounded in the distance. Gunnaya was at peace, knowing she'd have backup, if she needed it. Besides, her own flock wasn't far away either, at least by air.

[The 42nd Gecko]

Gunnaya would waken to the sound of harsh footfalls upon the crisp snow, combined with the muted creaks and clinks of well made armor. And then the far less subtle, CLONK CLONK of a shield banging against a nearby tree. "Hello! I'm sorry to assail my words upon on your poor defective senses, but they seem to have lead you into Elven territory. I'll be escorting you out now."

Below Gunnaya currently resided a rather grumpy, speciest, and cold elf. Though bundled as best she could, she was still wearing plate armor in dead winter. Blithe Marrowdwell's shield was on her arm, but her blade was not drawn yet, her free hand impatiently tapping away on her other arm. The elf's eyes were glaring away at Gunnaya, not quite so well hidden as she thought.

[Jotunn Draugr]

Gunnaya woke to the sound of clanking armour and rustling snow below her.
"Gods damn it", she muttered to herself. It was an elven soldier, in full battle armour no less. Perhaps it would pass her, without noticing.
*CLONK*, *CLONK*. No such luck, it would seem. Guard rapped its shield against a neighbouring tree.
"Hello! I'm sorry to assail my words upon on your poor defective senses, but they seem to have lead you into Elven territory. I'll be escorting you out now."
How paranoid must the elves be, to have patrols so far from the city limits? Either way, this was bad news. She HAD to get those herbs. Gunnaya jumped into a crouch, and drew her bow and arrow, aiming directly at the elf's head.
"'Tis strange to see a battle-ready guard in the middle of the woods. Are you alone, elf?", Gunnaya inquired, still perched on her branch.

[The 42nd Gecko]

"No, I have a full platoon hidden down my trousers. We elves are very stealthy." Blithe noticed the bow and immediately ducked into her shield, hiding her body and head.

A slight rustling could be heard as Blithe fished something from her pack, that was then lobbed into the tree's inner area from behind the shield. And when it broke against the harsh bark, it exploded into flames. The snow was fresh and unmelted currently, and thus tree was rather dry on the inside. Gunnaya might want to do something about that.

References

[Jotunn Draugr]

The fire was quickly climbing Gunnaya's tree. She slung her bow again, and rummaged in her satchel for a moment. As the flames began licking her feet, she drew a vial of metallic-looking liquid and tossed it at the elf's shield. Wherever it landed, shield or nay, it would explode into a noxious gas.

As the vial flew, Gunnaya made a quick leap into the branches of a nearby tree. Grasping a thick branch, she safely landed, still off the ground.

References

[The 42nd Gecko]

Blithe peeked out from behind her shield to see the results of her attack, not quite in time to dodge, though in time to see the vial incoming. As Blithe activated her Burst of Speed to sprint away, the vial shattered off the edge of her shield, toxic gas being released into the air.

Whether or not Blithe would get poisoned would depend on how quickly the gas spread, how far, and the mere luck of whether Blithe's surprise expressed itself in a gasp or another dead sprint step. But luck was on Blithe's side, as her instinct of "Auuugh, she's got a bomb too" provoked the reaction of "breathless sprint my way out of here".

Blithe skidded to a halt behind another tree for cover to catch her breath and reexamine Gunnaya's position, giving Gunnaya time to climb up or down and generally recover from her movement.

[Jotunn Draugr]

Gunnaya saw Blithe bolt in away in a different direction. Damn, she was fast! At least this gave Gunnaya a moment to get ready. With all her might, she let out a shrill caw, echoing through the woods. It would take her main flock a while to arrive. Hopefully, the local birds were tenacious enough to hold the elf off until then.

As the caw echoed, she made one more leap, trying to put a bit more space between herself and the elf. A moment of weightlessness and... *SMACK*. Her hands slammed down on the branch in front of her. Breathing heavily, she hoisted herself up and began readying her bow, eyes darting around frantically.

Gunnaya was limited to leaning up against the tree's trunk, where the branch could support her. This wasn't great for mobility, if this fight continued much longer.

[The 42nd Gecko]

Gunnaya would spot Blithe closing the distance faster than she could traverse from tree to tree. As Gunnaya readied her bow, Blithe noticed and took cover next to a tree trunk, the combined shield and trunk making a mini-little fortress. Blithe peeked through a small hole, likely designed for her to be able to fire her crossbow out of from behind the shield.

[Jotunn Draugr]

Gunnaya took aim at the heavily armoured elf, but she'd need an opening if she wanted to do any real damage. The majority of local birds who'd have heard her call would still be on their way, with only a couple small kestrels circling above.

"I need to keep this elf on the defensive", she thought. "On the other hand, if that shield is as thick as it looks, I'm not going anywhere. Let's see if it is."

With that, Gunnaya let out an ear-piercing whistle, communicating "follow this" to her avian brethren. She let a single iron arrow fly, aimed for the mid center of Blithe's shield. This motion would direct the two circlers to the elf. Being untrained wild birds, and not large ones at that, they'd be little more than a nuisance to the warrior. Still, a couple birds pecking and scratching at one's head is a fine distraction, potentially leaving openings.
As the arrow flew, Gunnaya's free hand took firm grip of the branch beneath her, and she began to swing herself down, aiming for a landing on the solid ground below.

[The 42nd Gecko]

The arrow landed solidly, sinking into the shield. By luck, it managed to glance off the arm carrying the shield, but it wasn't quite a direct hit and only dented it. Her arm was just a bit above center due to the shape of shield tapering down in width near the bottom, meaning the center of mass was shifted up a bit.

As Gunnaya began to move down, Blithe took that as her opportunity, rushing forward with another Burst of Speed as the birds began to attack her from the side. While the birds could be very distracting, if a bird attempted to get in front of her to peck at one of the eyeholes in her helmet while Blithe was moving flat out, it would get smacked by a very quickly moving and much heavier than it and quite unyielding force. Trusting in her armor, shield, and helm, Blithe aimed to shield rush Gunnaya before she could fire another arrow after landing. Just before Blithe expected impact, she put her free hand on her shield, twisting it so the tall shield was closer to horizontal, making the rush harder to sidestep.

[Jotunn Draugr]

Gunnaya's leather-bound feet struck the fresh snow with a heavy thud. The arrows in her quiver, and the skulls on the staff strapped to her back, gave a hearty rattle. Looking up, she saw the elf's shining metallic form charging toward her at an outstanding speed. She hadn't risen to her feet after landing, so she was already low to the ground. The thought occurred to her to swing around and stab the elf as it passed, but her reflexes kicked in first.

As shield came closer to smashing her in the head, she cringed, tucked her head in, and made a sudden roll to the left. The thunderous metal form blew past her, clipping her right foot with a disturbing *SNAP*. As she tumbled, nine arrows fell from her quiver, and the bindings on her back snapped, leaving her quarterstaff planted in the snow. She landed prone on the ground, another tree by her left side, and the elf behind her. As her forearms hit the ground, she heard the whiz of the two falcons giving chase to their target. Given the weight of metal plate armour, elven or otherwise, and the speed her opponent was dashing at, Gunnaya assumed she'd have time to stand and ready herself, before the elf could come to a complete stop, and turn around to face her.

[The 42nd Gecko]

Gunnaya indeed had time to get up... because Blithe was getting up as well, having tripped over Gunnaya's right foot. Fortunately, she was well trained in the art of getting up in armor, not too troublesome, save that, well the falcons were pestering. Blithe crushed one with a shield, but the other kept at her while Blithe got up. This would certainly mean Gunnaya could get up first.

[Jotunn Draugr]

Gunnaya leapt to her feet, and spun around to meet her adversary. As she did so, however, a bolt of pain shot up her right leg. It gave out and she sluped herself against a nearby tree. The force of Blithe's impact had twisted her ankle, and broken at least one toe. She was relieved, at least, to see Blithe struggling to rise from the ground, swatting the two falcons away from her face. It seemed that what struck Gunnaya's foot was Blithe's own.
With a smirk, she plunged her hand into her traveling pouch, and withdrew a vial of deep red liquid. Popping the cork, she lifted the bottle to her lips and consumed it all in a single swig. Nearly instantly, a wave of warmth ran down her body, removing all pain from her injured ankle.
A loud *KONK* drew her attention away from the potion's effect. The elf had slammed her shield into one of the falcons, sending its lifeless body hurtling into the snow. With that, Blithe began to hoist herself up from the ground.
Gunnaya gave another shrill screech, as she swooped down, picking her quarterstaff from the snow. More birds would soon be on their way. As her opponent rose to her feet, Gunnaya swung her staff through the air, knocking all the snow from it. She struck a firm battle stance, thrusting her staff forward, ready for combat. The skulls hanging at its upper tip gave an eerie rattle, swinging in the winter breeze.

"Tell me, elf.", Gunnaya requested, "Have you ever been to war?"

[The 42nd Gecko]

As Blithe finished rising, a lone falcon still pestering, Blithe slew it with a swing of her blade, a single target far less able to juke around her. She stood ready, shield planted and blade drawn.

"Hmph? War? No, never a war. It's only called a war if the other side is strong enough to fight back." Blithe smirked, speaking her lines with a haughty tone, before she resumed her advance. This time it was a slow steady advance, just to close within striking range, keeping her shield front and center.

She kept her blade back and low, the tip slicing through the crests of snow dunes.

[Jotunn Draugr]

"Ah then!", Gunnaya exclaimed, "That's good for me!. An opponent who's never known true horror."

As Blithe grew closer, Gunnaya strafed to the left, slowly circling around her target. Her softly looked up and down, waiting for an opening.

"You see, elf", spoke Gunnaya, clearly, gauntly, "Every day I hear the screams of fallen warriors. They tell me every detail of their miserable deaths, as soldiers in a great army."

Veering further and further to the left, forcing Blithe to turn around to face her, Gunnaya's body grew tense. As she stepped, she drew her staff backward, ready for the strike. The gap grew smaller between the two of them.

"Simply put, I know how good soldiers die...", Gunnaya paused, thoughtfully, "And I know how better soldiers kill."

Distant chirps began to fill the air, high above the tree-tops. It was time.

"Tell me, ho-", in an attempt to catch her opponent off guard, Gunnaya cut herself off. She swung her thick, steel-tipped staff around to Blith's sword-arm side. This strike was designed to reach around Blithe's shield from the more-awkward side, and break her sword-arm. A quarterstaff in two hands throws a lot more weight than a sword in one, and Gunnaya hoped her blow would be enough to break through.

[The 42nd Gecko]

"Heh, every day, I see entire kingdoms of men fall into ruin. All a matter of perspective." Blithe matched Gunnaya's facing, keeping their facing equal. That said, Blithe's left side was forward, her right side back. Like a fencer, she did not present her chest straight towards Gunnaya.

As such, an attack on her sword arm side was only possible from Blithe's rear facing. As Blithe saw the attack coming in she crouched into her shield, lowering her head and reinforcing her shield arm with her shoulder. The two handed strike smashed heavily into the shield and halted Blithe's advance, but did not reach her sword arm side. Blithe's shield arm would probably not feel great in the morning, but for now, she was alright.

As soon as the impact was over, Blithe then shoved forward and up with her shoulder and her shield, aiming to push Gunnaya off balance slightly and obstruct her vision with the distracting shield as Blithe's blade swept in low to make a quick cut to the legs. It was not a powerful blow with a wind up to hew limbs, but a darting strike aimed to cause a shallow bleeding wound. The swing would just barely lodge in the leg, and then the pull back would cut open a bloody wound. There was little weight to the strike, as most of Blithe's force was in her shield, and she did not want to be off balance if the attack missed.

[Jotunn Draugr]

Gunnaya's initial swing failed to hit its target. Instead, it crashed against Blithe's shield. In an instant, Gunnaya recoiled into a fighting stance, ready to strike again.

Just then, the elf put all its weight into the shield, thrusting it forward and upward, into Gunnaya's face. This was too close-quarters for the reach of a quarterstaff. Responding quickly, Gunnaya firmly strode backward, restoring the distance between the two. The elf was making small steps, hidden behind its shield, so it wasn't hard to compensate for the approach. With two great steps backward, Gunnaya's left foot planted stalwartly behind her, allowing her to turn and put all her weight into a swing from the right. As she wound up for the blow, she noticed a tinge of pain in her left leg. She didn't have time to look, but no doubt the elf had made a swing, and sliced her shin as she stepped backward with the other foot.

No matter, this was a full-bodied blow, intended to knock her opponent off her feet! Shield or no shield!

[The 42nd Gecko]

Blithe was not in the mind to let Gunnaya retreat easily, pursuing Gunnaya's steps backwards as quickly as she could, though Gunnaya did make some headway backwards, until Gunnaya planted herself to strike. A full bodied blow required wind up in body and weapon. Blithe noticed the tell tale signs and lunged forward, already having forward momentum from her pursuit, shield first. If Gunnaya were to retreat and maintain distance, her body weight would no longer be behind the swing. If Gunnaya stood her ground, the shield would catch the staff before the swing was complete, preventing the leverage of the haft from working to her advantage and making it a straight contest of weight and strength.

Of course, because Blithe was lunging shield first while in an already defensive stance, this left her weapon to far out of position to do anything in this particular exchange. Hoping to switch to a more aggressive stance and launch more lethal minded attacks, after the lunge, presuming all went well, Blithe, brought her right foot forward, switching to a more neutral body stance, rather than her previous defensive one, while Gunnaya's staff was on the shield size.

[Jotunn Draugr]

As Gunnaya wound up for her strike, she saw that her target wasn't backing off. Rather, Blithe was pushing ahead quite aggressively, trying to get her off guard. Following Gunnaya's staff, Blithe propelled herself, shield-first, toward Gunnaya's right side. Thinking quickly, Gunnaya sidestepped to her left, switching the weight on her legs and weapon. Instead of facing her adversary head-on, Gunnaya used her left hand to thrust the other end of her staff forward. This would strike Blithe's right side, pushing her forward with the momentum she already had, instead of against her body's weight.

As the weighty, metal-tipped staff collided with Blithe's right shoulder, she would likely be sent stumbling forward, past Gunnaya, if not tripping from the sudden push and falling on the ground.

[The 42nd Gecko]

Gunnaya's attack would likely be successful, because Blithe lost sight of Gunnaya's motion when Blithe prepared to receive the blow that never came, at least, not from that angle. Blithe did not have time to reanalyze all of Gunnaya's position and stance, only gut react, once she caught sight of Gunnaya again. However, the time taken to prepare to attack, prompting Blithe's reaction, and then react to the reaction with a sidestep and a different attack took enough time for Blithe to begin putting in motion her previous plans (see above post.)

However, Gunnaya might have chance to reconsider, as she sidestepped the shield and saw the opportunity for striking, she would see Blithe's follow up, the shift of weight bringing her right side forward along with her sword (See above post). If Gunnaya struck as intended, she would have to deal with Blithe's right arm, coming in low and fast, blade in hand, likely turning into some sort of thrust. Blithe was moving her right side forward, and, with Gunnaya's movement, this suddenly changed Blithe's weapon back defensive stance into a weapon forward aggressive stance. It also changed the angle of impact of Gunnaya's potential blow dramatically, and meant her forward moment had mostly stopped.