Innis — Roleplayer Guild

Alia of the Knife

The morning of the day before the Tournament’s start saw Alia of the Knife on the tournament grounds in new armor, looking for a sponsor to take her for their team. She was clean and tidy, having even gone through the trouble of plaiting her sandy blond hair into a thick braid that fell down her back, but it seemed as though none of this was making much of an impression on potential sponsors. They saw only her size and cared little that she might have skill enough to more than make up for it. She spoke to sponsor after sponsor, but even the one who she bested in a fairish fight (taking off a slice of his ear in the process) would accept her on his team.

Alia had all but given up on the whole gladiator plan completely when she heard rumor among the other yet unsigned would-be gladiators that a young, untried sponsor was looking to recruit a team. As far as the little thief was concerned, this was undeniably her last chance. What was there to lose? It didn’t matter much to her that he was untried; when had she ever needed someone else’s help getting what she wanted, anyway?

The real problem was going to be convincing this new sponsor to put her on the team. It was more than evident that the reputation she had gained for herself in Verum meant nothing here. She was going to have to put on a show, and it would have to be before he could see her and dismiss her as small and unintimidating. Oh and, she thought, I should probably leave his ears intact. If only the arena was shadowed… But no, Alia couldn’t trust that she’d be that lucky.

Alia was still working through a plan when she arrived at the manor, in between wishing she hadn’t been so quick to sell the horse, profit or no. It had been a long walk to the manor house from the tournament grounds, and she was thirsty from walking in the heat of high noon. Though, after a morning of being turned down on sight by every sponsor she approached, Alia was starting to think it might have been worth the walk just to get a chance to prove herself.

At the gates of the manor, Alia snorted in disgust. This place was the height of luxury; beautiful and elegant, but soft. She had a hard time believing any sponsor from here would make a good fight, but perhaps if she thrashed him he’d let her into the tournament. Instead of being lead down the path to the grand manor itself, Alia was escorted by two of the many guards across the lush front grounds and towards an arena. It was completely open (go figure) with training dummies and refreshments on one side and two men on the other; one sitting, one standing. She ignored the snickers from the guards at her side, immediately sampled something fruity to wet her throat, and purposely tripped into the table, overturning the bowl of punch she had just sampled. The guards had no trouble believing the little woman was clumsy from nerves before her test, so it was easy for Alia to melt into one of the few shadows while the guards called for servants to clean the mess.

Oh, what a heist this place would be! But Alia could see she was the first applicant to arrive, and she was determined to take advantage of that fact. True, if she had arrived later, she would have had the lengthening shadows on her side, but the thief had often found that an unaware enemy offered even better concealment.

Upon entering the bright arena, Alia moved snail slow across the sand to increase the effectiveness of her invisibility spell and to minimize the effect of her feet against the sand. She could see at once who the sponsor was— who else would be propped up so, in a stately chair with a circlet upon his head. Alia’s lip curled in the disdain born from the pride of having made something of herself from nothing, but she made no sound. A few feet away from the lounging nobleman, Alia silently drew a single dagger from its well-oiled sheath, wincing at the noises the guards were making as the attempted to find her. Ah well, at least it might provide a distraction. She slid another step, and then paused, not breathing. She took the last step. 

Alia plunged the dagger through her sponsor’s fine linen sleeve and into the beautifully upholstered arm of the chair, dropping the invisibility spell as she did so. “Hey there,” the thief said, grinning casually, “Which one of these pretty targets do you want me to mess up first?”

Endar stilled, and found himself eyeing the silver edge. Its sudden appearance unnerved him, but not so much so that he lost his wit. Instead, he turned his gaze upon the woman now in front of him; he'd seen her enter, and had glanced away momentarily to speak to Ezekiel. Then, when he looked back, she was gone.

"I assume that you are an applicant?" he asked.

"An applicant?" She asked, leaning back, "I thought the invitation was for a party."

Endar cocked his head. "I don't recall saying it would be for any party. Perhaps you've come to the wrong place?"

"Too bad... The punch was delicious," Alia laughed and yanked her dagger back from the chair. "Of course I'm an applicant."

Blinking at her sarcasm, Endar motioned to the guards behind her back. She wasn't dangerous. At the moment, anyway. "Well, then... I am Ignis Doman. Would you grace me with your name?"

Alia stood back and examined the would-be sponsor for a moment, taking care not to expose her back to the guards standing ready. He was certainly one to get right to the point.

"I am Alia of the Knife." She said simply.

"'Of the knife?' A strange name to possess if I might say so. In any case, well met, Alia."

The small woman shrugged carelessly. "I didn't choose the name for myself. Well met Ignis. Should we get down to it?"

Standing, Endar nodded. "Perhaps we will. Would you like to inform me of your abilities?"

"Well you've already seen some of them," Alia said with a wicked grin. "Other than some small talent with invisibility, I am fast and a talented knife fighter. I'm alive today because I'm good at figuring out the weaknesses of opponents."

"A valuable skill to have, where we go." Endar admitted. Stepping forward, he bowed.

Well, Alia had seen a lot in her short life, but being bowed to by a noble was a new one for sure. She gave a stiff nod, uncertain of her footing here. Alia did not particularly want to offend this man (He had not yet turned her down, after all) but neither was she going to expose herself so. 

"What did you have in mind for today's little meeting, noble?"

Endar smirked to himself. She was a little wary of him, then. Straightening up, he turned to the old man. "Ezekiel. I think you have an idea of what I wish."

Stepping forwards, the advisor swept aside his cloak. At his waist, there was a single dagger. It was worn at the hilt, and clearly had seen many battles, but it was still very sharp.

Alia slipped her second dagger out of its sheath but kept them both low, non-threatening. She bent her knees and looked between the sponsor and his advisor, an older man who had been silent before standing and coming to her attention. He was obviously a fighting man, but that was nothing new to the little thief.

"Alright, Ignis, what are the rules?" Alia called, keeping her voice casual. "I'm assuming you don't want to lose your dear old friend here."

"Well, that would be true, especially since we do not have the luxury of runes to prevent untimely deaths." Endar said. "So, it ought to be until one of you has proven overwhelming victory over the other. All else is fair game. Will that suffice?"

"You're the boss," Alia said, shrugging, but her eyes did not leave the face of the older man.

Ezekiel drew the dagger and bent his knees so that his eyes were level with the girl's. He might have sixty or so years under his belt, but Endar had seen him in a brief battle. He was far from being incapable.

"Begin!"

Alia ignored the order to begin the fight, standing still and watching Ezekiel closely. Sometimes making the first move was advantageous, especially with an inexperienced opponent, but this man had obviously won a few fights. So, she waited.

Endar switched between watching the girl and his advisor. She was waiting... but for what? Finally, Ezekiel lunged, with unprecedented speed for his age, just barely cutting at her unprotected neck.

Almost all opponents, Alia had found, gave themselves away before moving; a bunching of muscles, a shifting of their stance... With this man, however, the change before he lunged was barely perceptible. In the heat of the moment, Alia didn't act when she saw it, and the man scored a slight scratch as she backpedaled. No matter. She thought she had an idea of what to look for now.

Alia put distance between herself and her opponent and began to slowly circle him. She had no intention of attacking before she had a better idea of her opponent. Patience had won her many a fight, and she had the advantage in a longer fight with Ezekiel. Alia imagined he had three times as many years weighing on his back. So she slid her feet over the sand, staying low, her knives now raised protectively before her.

Spinning on his heels, the man snarled at the girl, almost ferally. He'd misjudged the distance and had landed awkwardly on his weaker leg. Endar moved forwards momentarily, about to go to his aid, but stepped backward instead.

Alia saw the older man stumble, noting the weakness in his right leg. She would get no better chance than this. She flew in at Ezekiel, blades ready to deflect the inevitable blows the man would throw when he realized his danger, but she didn't aim for any vital organs, instead planting a kick securely on the outside of the older man's weak knee. Yes, it was dirty, but no one as small as Alia lived long by fighting clean.

Without slowing, Alia rolled away from the man. Even unsteady, he'd probably be able to over power her if she was caught. She spun back towards him, ready to take advantage of her opening.

The old man fell to his knees in the dust, gasping in pain. The blow had knocked him, and when he tried to stand, his legs would not support him.

Alia did not step forward, instead looking to Ignis, "I have bested your man, noble," she said. The little thief did not think it in her best interest to overkill this little training match, so she added, "I would not like to harm your wise advisor. He fights bravely for one past his prime."

Endar nodded. "Perhaps. But that was not the terms of this bout. Overwhelming victory - nothing less. If you would, place your blade wherever you might choose to end it."

Sighing, Alia crouched again. Either the young noble was bloodthirsty or he still believed his advisor could give a good showing of himself, which she thought, might just be cause enough for caution. The old man could easily be pretending to be weaker than he actually was. The fight had seemed to go too easily, and she well remembered the speed of his first attack. 

Alia approached the older man without any great speed, hoping that he would take her caution as simple reluctance. She stayed primed for action, watching him for that tiny tell-tale sign that he would attack, but as she neared, Ezekiel stayed down. Alia lightly tapped the flat of her dagger against his neck and stepped back, right into the undeniable point of a drawn blade between her shoulder blades.

Endar, while she had been distracted, had drawn his own sword and walked up to her.

"You are a skilled fighter, I'll give you that. But you do need to be more aware of the enemies around you, Miss Alia."

Stepping away, and sheathing his rapier, he walked over to Ezekiel and helped him stand. Then, he turned to face the girl once more. "Welcome to the team."

Alia appraised Ignis anew. She had expected him to hold to a nobleman's rules of a fighting match and admittedly respected him more now, after he'd drawn his blade on her unprotected back. She would not again underestimate him.

"Alright then, boss. Should I stay for tryouts or meet you at the arena?"

"Feel free to watch any others that arrive. It will do well to learn who your teammates are." Endar said. Then, he sat back down in his seat, watching the doors for the next applicant to arrive.

Unwilling to slink away after being bested, Alia disappeared, reappearing a few minutes later by the food and drink. She helped herself to the fine fare and settled down to wait for more applicants to arrive.
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