Danyel
datadogie
The Red Seelie
rush99999
Xiro Zean
Cu Chulainn
Alfhedil
Ojiro Mashirao
Gerlando
Izurich
Warlord and a Skill Seeker
@Crimson Paladin@VitaVitaAR
The hunters would remain mostly silent, unease overcoming them as they’d wait for their captors to decide what to do from here. Akando though, would listen to Novak with mild confusion.
“Lazhira? She has something to do with this?” He would question. “...I get that she’s a bit of an oddball compared to the rest of us, but she’s always been one of the nicest people in the village...” A deep frown would overcome his visage as he’d shake his head. He needed to meet up with Donovan soon if he needed his help with something.
“Can...can we go now?” One of the other hunters would ask Nobunaga and Novak. They had been disarmed, certainly...but who knew what they would do if they were allowed to leave. They didn’t seem remorseful or believed themselves to still be in the wrong.
Her Majesty
@Click This
“H-hey wait I said she’s busy!” The Oni that had also stopped Donovan would say as Narkissa would disregard him and instead just walk fairly easily into the Foxes’ tent.
“Ah? No, not interrupting anything...its fine, she’s a friend.” Mie would say to the Oni that was making a move to intercept Narkissa. He’d give a gruff huff before shrugging and going back to whatever it was he was doing before. “A letter and supplies, though? I’m afraid I’m not really open for the rest of my time here. Everything is getting packed up to be moved.” Assuming Narkissa would hand over the letter, the fox would accept and open it, blinking in mild surprise as she’d read its contents.
“...oh, I see. I see. Finally making a move, is he? Well, that’s fine.” Mie would stuff the letter into her coat. “If there’s nothing else you need immediately, Misaki, I have something to attend to with Narkissa here now.” Mie would say, standing up and supposing Misaki no longer had need of her, would motion for Narkissa to follow. Once they had left, Mie would turn to the human.
“Tell me what you need then. As for the other thing...Come back tonight. Alone. I’ll give it to you then. Its not something I can just wave around out here.”
A Traveler
@PaulHaynek
Nicholas would move through the snowfield, towards the forest in the distance. Undead would climb out of the snow, their frost bitten bodies would crack and jerkily move towards the source of the commotion in the snowfield - that is, Elisette. The charm seemed to work thankfully. Though some would cross his path, it seemed as though they didn’t pay any attention to him, stumbling across the snowfield towards Elisette where they would promptly meet their end.
Of course, it would seem that no matter even if she’d cut them down - some would eventually get back up. Seemed whatever magic was keeping them alive was particularly pervasive. Still, aside from having one literally bump into him there wouldn’t be any incidents, and soon he was at the edge of the forest.
Unlike the one that was full of life and vitality back at the village he had seen first...this one was a stark contrast.
The trees were frozen, dead. A cold wind constantly pervaded the area, and the entire forest felt...somber. Lifeless. As though he was looking at the corpse of a forest, rather than a living place. Considering this worlds climate though, perhaps all of this was just natural.
However, as he’d walk, he’d soon see something in the distance.
What seemed to be a figure in a red cloak, walking along the path some distance away. They didn’t seem to notice Nicholas, but before he could give chase, however, a loud howl would pierce the silence as several undead hounds would leap into the path in front of him. He wasn’t surrounded - there were only three of them but considering they had noticed him despite the rosary they likely were more powerful undead.
They were barking and snarling, teeth gnashing as they’d slowly advance before one would leap, fangs bared, towards him.
The Roma Mob
@ERode
“Heh,” Nesherit would chuckle. “You’re probably right about that. Anyways, Old Naraheim is...an odd place. We don’t know much of the demons before the Moonless Era, and Rullphana could likely tell you more - but from what I’ve seen myself its a realm that’s uncharacteristically hot.” He’d assert, folding his arms against his chest. “Its hard to describe - Molten rock and roots of a massive tree, intertwined with massive steel and metal structures half submerged in the ground, if you can believe it. Geysers of steam from iron roots of metal trees permeate the area, too. Not to mention dangerous. Demonic beasts of all kind call the place home...thankfully we haven’t seen a high demon there in ages, but demons can be...crafty.” A fairly rudimentary explanation, just giving Isidore enough to know that it’d probably just be hot and dangerous. The guard wouldn’t be very long on their return either, and soon after the Prince had finished his explanation he would return with a pouch full of coin, fifty silver exactly if he cared to count it out.
“As for the silk weavers...I went harvesting once because I wanted to see how it was done - their habitat is typically near where the tree-roots meet the earth. They make their homes in them. They look a bit like butterflies, and are fairly timid but don’t let more than a few of them linger on you. They’re carnivores and an entire swarm can devour flesh from bone within seconds.”
Octavia was seemingly getting a bit restless, rolling around on the ground and lightly pawing at the ground in a mildly anxious manner.
@Pyromania99
“If death frightens you, then you’ve already failed.” Sorcha said with a rather curt tone as she’d gaze into Augusta’s own eyes. It was clear she was measuring Augusta’s worth for herself, but eventually she’d merely let out a long, drawn out breath as she’d tell her to stand. “Follow me. You’ll likely miss the start of Rullphana’s lesson, but you’ll just have to deal with it.” She’d say, leaving the room. “Leuca, look after yourself. I’ll see you sometime this evening.”
“O-okay! I’ll do my best!”
“I suppose that’s true in a sense.” Augusta said under her breath as Sorcha started to walk off. “I’ll see you at Rullphana’s lesson later, Leuca.” The elf woman said with a happy smile as she walked off behind the strict sounding swordswoman. Really, she wondered how anyone didn’t fear death. Truthfully, she was frightened of being stabbed in the torso again. There was a small trauma about it, of course. As the two walked together, Augusta decided to break the silence. “So, I have to let go of any fear of death?” She asked, looking to the woman for an answer.
“Hm, I wonder...” The woman would walk, footsteps echoing in the silent halls as they’d walk through them. “There is no being in this world that can truly say they do not fear it in some manner...save perhaps, the Gods who have very little concept of it.” She’d chuckle, leading Augusta through one of the halls, down some stairs into part of the castle she hadn’t been to yet.
“The king has spoken to me at length about the Leargas, you see. It was something I had trouble understanding, back when we first met. He explained it as ‘Achieving Emptiness’ a sort of state of equilibrium with you and the natural energies of the world around you. When you take on the memories, experiences, and talents of your ancestors - you must also contend with their personalities, experiences, and emotions as well. You must have absolute control over your emotions or lose yourself.” She’d chuckle, a small smile. “Something I’d never be able to do.”
Augusta listened to Sorcha’s bit of information. It wasn’t a bad thing to have. If she learned one thing about her time on Earth, it’s that information was the key to everything. “Achieving Emptiness?” She questioned, thinking about it some. That was like… Buddhists? Or something like that. It was more enlightenment than nothingness she supposed. It wasn’t a subject she had great knowledge over.
“So it ends up a battle of personality where you have to control yourself. Fight years of experience while exerting yourself through sheer force of will, is it? Huh.” Augusta thought about for a small bit as they walked. “I wonder what my ancestors would say to me. ‘Don’t let yourself get stabbed again’. Perhaps.” She wondered aloud. “Ahh, but that aside, you wouldn’t be able to control your emotions?” She asked as she looked at the swordswoman. “You look pretty in control of yourself, though I suppose you can’t quite tell everything by looking at someone.”
“You think?” Sorcha would respond, a small smile. “We hardly know each other, now don’t we? I suppose you wouldn’t know this,” The swordswoman would stop, looking towards Augusta just in front of a large open field on the western side of the palace. Several shadow elves had already gathered in the outdoor training area. A few shot dirty looks towards Sorcha and Augusta both, but the former didn’t particularly seem to mind. “But there is a reason the Sirithen of Tamaln fear me.”
She would walk into the center of the field.
“Pick your weapon. I need to see your skills for myself.”
“You’re right, we don’t really know each other, though I wouldn’t be opposed to it.” Augusta said as she followed the swordswoman. She wasn’t exactly sure what Sorcha was wanting from her in particular. She was green when it came to the sword or spear or axe. “Just don’t leave a scar. I don’t know what a bride would do if her face was scarred before her wedding day.” The woman joked as she unsheathed her rapier. “My skills are a small bit bare.” She added, “Please teach me well.”
“Hm...perhaps, we could as we spar.” Sorcha would slowly turn to face Augusta. “And don’t worry, I won’t rough you up beyond any bruises. Now then...a Rapier” The woman would fix Augusta with a pointed look, followed shortly by her blade pointing in her direction. “A weapon, good in close quarters. Slightly flimsy, but good at stabbing and piercing. Good if you have a keen hand and eye to stab at openings in armor, but otherwise good for little else.” She would explain briefly. “Hope your hands are as sharp as your looks. If you desire to test another, there are plenty here to train with.”
Sorcha would breathe in, taking a defensive stance.
“The only rules here are no magic. Come at me, then.”
“No magic. Wouldn’t matter if I could use it or not I feel.” Augusta commented, though she knew why the woman had said that. After all, she wanted to see how the woman handled a weapon at base. She swung the weapon a few times to get a good feel for it’s weight. It was light for the most part. She took some fencing lessons when she was little but real fighting was much different from a couple of hits with a mostly harmless epee. With a small sigh, she took a stance similar to fencing though her knowledge from then was mostly tenuous.
Her focus was fully on this now, however, moving closer… Slowly, until she took a quick step forward and thrust the point of her weapon forward, aiming at an open spot on Sorcha’s body.
Of course, that was rather obvious opening move for a rapier.
Sorcha would rather effortlessly swing her blade upwards, catching the rapier upon the edge of ot as she’d completely deflect the other womans blade. Sorcha would say nothing as she didn’t move, seeming content to let Augusta make moves for now.
Augusta retracted her arm and took a small step back. Her face was like stone, unphased as she started to take her step back forward and starting to take a couple of swipes at Sorcha’s midsection, expecting them to be deflected again before lifting the hilt up, with the blade pointed down and going for another stab.
As Augusta had expected, Sorcha would easily deflect or parry the blows delivered her way. Clanking of steel upon steel filled the training area as a few shadow elves would look on in mild amusement. However, perhaps something she wasn’t expected. When she went for another stab, Sorcha would instead simply side step to Augustas right, the point of her own blade for Augusta’s neck.
The elf, for her part, would step to the left, dodging the stab and she would turn toward Sorcha taking her high up hand down, slashing at the swordswoman’s belly. Sweat was catching on her brow a small bit as she took a step back, giving a small distance between her and Sorcha.
Sorcha wouldn’t make an attempt to deflect this blow - rather instead she’d let her armor do the job. Augusta’s opponent would let the blade of the rapier harmlessly bounce off her armor, moving just slightly to let the blade slide off.
“You realize I’m wearing armor, right?” The next sequence of events would happen far too fast for Augusta to really process. The elf would have merely a few seconds before Sorcha’s fist would smash right into her face and send her reeling backwards. However, she wasn’t going to give the elf a moment to even process that as she’d quickly approach before she even recovered, and she’d feel her legs being knocked right out from under her from a swift, but harsh kick right to her knee and sending her to the ground.
Augusta stumbled backward as she was hit in the face. She could only be glad that she could heal it so there was no bruise. Then, a sharp pain at her knee as she took to the ground in an unconscious movement not exactly of her choice. Still, she gritted her teeth and pointed her sword up towards Sorcha’s neck. “Geeeh…” She grunted, trying not to cry out from the pain.
Sorcha responded with a small grunt as she’d instead turn towards the other gathered elves. A few shadow elves watching would snicker at their fair skinned cousins apparent complete shutdown. A few more had started to trickle in, it seemed.
“That’s enough. I think I have a decent grasp of your abilities.” She would say, standing over Augusta, staring down at the blade pointing up at her. “Your body is quite deceptively strong, but I expected as much. What you lack though, is proper weapons handling and training, as well as the ability to properly assess your opponent. Therefore we can skip the strength and overall stamina training and move right to your weapon handling. A problem solved enough by itself simply from doing and practice.”
She would go on.
“Now then...we will spar every morning and evening from now until the dance here. I don’t have much time to drill more than that. The rest of you will get your training shortly...and all of you will stand at the edge of the field at attention until I’m ready for you.” Sorcha would turn back to Augusta now. “Now stand up. We’ll do this again.”
“Very well.” Truthfully, she wasn’t surprised by Sorcha’s words. After all, this body was suppose to be above average after all. “Oh, forgive me for small minute.” She held her hand out and let a flame come to her hand and held it to her face where she had been punched earlier. Her biggest asset was her face at the moment, she’d hate for it to be bruised. She stood and took a stance. She took a deep breath and was then ready as she assumed her stance.
“...vanity won’t serve you on the field. Each wound is a reminder of a mistake you made in combat - one you should remember.” Sorcha would harrumph. “In these three days, you will be barred from healing magic until my training is done. Now then, prepare yourself!” The training was, as expected, rather brutal. Sorcha’s teaching method was the epitome of ‘trial by fire’ and ‘learning through experience.’
She’d give instruction as well as guidance of course, telling Augusta the best way to wield her chosen weapon. A rapier was better with quick thrusts, and wouldn’t do amazingly well against any heavier armor. It would take a quick and deft hand to use such a weapon, using it to strike at an opponent’s weak points. Not that Augusta was given much of a chance to do that. Sorcha’s armor was both surprisingly tough as well as light it seemed, and though she wasn’t fully armored, the swordswoman was extremely skilled, effortlessly blocking the elvish womans blows.
One time she’d eat dirt, after Sorcha would quite literally, kick her in the ass after ending up behind her.
Another would see Augusta losing her weapon and then having it pointed at her in turn.
A bloody nose. A slash on her shoulder. A cut on her chest. Her trainer was pulling no punches, the hour training session was relentless. By the end Augusta would be both mentally and physically exhausted. Her body ached. She was bruised quite heavily in multiple areas. Drenched in sweat and probably hardly able to stand.
Sorcha, on the other hand, had not even broken a sweat and was barely just breathing a bit heavier than normal.
“Hm...alright, I think that’s enough.” Sorcha would sigh, sheathing her blade. “Any more, and I might actually kill you.”
“I’d say…” Augusta said, kneeling. Exhausted. She should have expected the warrior to train her this hard but this was a little more than she expected. She didn’t really expect to be beaten and bloodied. And then told not to heal! The gall. She wondered if this was even worth the training. She set her rapier at it’s place on her hip. “To my next lesson then.” She said, wondering if she’d even make it far enough without collapsing. Perhaps she’d heal herself slightly later. How vexing this woman was with “No healing”. Vanity was it? Why not take pride in her beautiful looks?
“Those who truly are deserving of vanity and pride look the part no matter the circumstance they find themselves in, Augusta!” Sorcha would shout as the elf would leave. A few of the shadow elves had utterly disregarded her instruction from earlier, however...and she would soon turn their attention to them.
“Now then, if you shadows think you can get away with not following orders...well then, you must be strong enough to beat me then! No either run twenty laps around the entirety of gloomhaven or draw your blade so I can kick your ass!”
...she seemed to be enjoying the ass-kicking a little too much, perhaps. Regardless, Augusta wouldn’t be pestered as she’d leave. Perhaps she could at least clean herself up a little later, though.
@Guy0fV4lor@Cu Chulainn
Finding the carts would be easy enough. After Malphas would negotiate and tell the Oni what was up, they'd be rolled out front of the camp, along with giving Donovan two Kamaitachi to pull them with. The beasts, were far more amicable and peaceable than when Donovan had last encountered one and seemed like they'd be able to haul far more weight than what Donovan could have by himself...of course, supposing whatever he had planned worked.
"Eh? Who's callin' me name?!" The familiar sound of the dwarvish lass would be followed shortly by her poking her head out from behind some crates seemingly filled with ores she was helping sort or take inventory of. "Oh, Donovan. Whatever it is, if yer gonna manhandle me more: No." She'd respond with a chuckle, walking over. She had ditched the sword and armor and was wearing a clothes more suitable to leisure or day to day business. "What ya need, friend?"
Malphas, once he had finished the task given to him would find a little fox scurrying back to him with a mildly annoyed, though seemingly curious expression. Ayumi would position herself on a box.
"Just going to let it leave?" The fox would question. "I suppose if he keeps up his end of the bargain...but I think I'm going to watch him, just in case. You should probably tell Mie."
@Crimson Paladin@VitaVitaAR
The hunters would remain mostly silent, unease overcoming them as they’d wait for their captors to decide what to do from here. Akando though, would listen to Novak with mild confusion.
“Lazhira? She has something to do with this?” He would question. “...I get that she’s a bit of an oddball compared to the rest of us, but she’s always been one of the nicest people in the village...” A deep frown would overcome his visage as he’d shake his head. He needed to meet up with Donovan soon if he needed his help with something.
“Can...can we go now?” One of the other hunters would ask Nobunaga and Novak. They had been disarmed, certainly...but who knew what they would do if they were allowed to leave. They didn’t seem remorseful or believed themselves to still be in the wrong.
Her Majesty
@Click This
“H-hey wait I said she’s busy!” The Oni that had also stopped Donovan would say as Narkissa would disregard him and instead just walk fairly easily into the Foxes’ tent.
“Ah? No, not interrupting anything...its fine, she’s a friend.” Mie would say to the Oni that was making a move to intercept Narkissa. He’d give a gruff huff before shrugging and going back to whatever it was he was doing before. “A letter and supplies, though? I’m afraid I’m not really open for the rest of my time here. Everything is getting packed up to be moved.” Assuming Narkissa would hand over the letter, the fox would accept and open it, blinking in mild surprise as she’d read its contents.
“...oh, I see. I see. Finally making a move, is he? Well, that’s fine.” Mie would stuff the letter into her coat. “If there’s nothing else you need immediately, Misaki, I have something to attend to with Narkissa here now.” Mie would say, standing up and supposing Misaki no longer had need of her, would motion for Narkissa to follow. Once they had left, Mie would turn to the human.
“Tell me what you need then. As for the other thing...Come back tonight. Alone. I’ll give it to you then. Its not something I can just wave around out here.”
A Traveler
@PaulHaynek
Nicholas would move through the snowfield, towards the forest in the distance. Undead would climb out of the snow, their frost bitten bodies would crack and jerkily move towards the source of the commotion in the snowfield - that is, Elisette. The charm seemed to work thankfully. Though some would cross his path, it seemed as though they didn’t pay any attention to him, stumbling across the snowfield towards Elisette where they would promptly meet their end.
Of course, it would seem that no matter even if she’d cut them down - some would eventually get back up. Seemed whatever magic was keeping them alive was particularly pervasive. Still, aside from having one literally bump into him there wouldn’t be any incidents, and soon he was at the edge of the forest.
Unlike the one that was full of life and vitality back at the village he had seen first...this one was a stark contrast.
The trees were frozen, dead. A cold wind constantly pervaded the area, and the entire forest felt...somber. Lifeless. As though he was looking at the corpse of a forest, rather than a living place. Considering this worlds climate though, perhaps all of this was just natural.
However, as he’d walk, he’d soon see something in the distance.
What seemed to be a figure in a red cloak, walking along the path some distance away. They didn’t seem to notice Nicholas, but before he could give chase, however, a loud howl would pierce the silence as several undead hounds would leap into the path in front of him. He wasn’t surrounded - there were only three of them but considering they had noticed him despite the rosary they likely were more powerful undead.
They were barking and snarling, teeth gnashing as they’d slowly advance before one would leap, fangs bared, towards him.
The Roma Mob
@ERode
“Heh,” Nesherit would chuckle. “You’re probably right about that. Anyways, Old Naraheim is...an odd place. We don’t know much of the demons before the Moonless Era, and Rullphana could likely tell you more - but from what I’ve seen myself its a realm that’s uncharacteristically hot.” He’d assert, folding his arms against his chest. “Its hard to describe - Molten rock and roots of a massive tree, intertwined with massive steel and metal structures half submerged in the ground, if you can believe it. Geysers of steam from iron roots of metal trees permeate the area, too. Not to mention dangerous. Demonic beasts of all kind call the place home...thankfully we haven’t seen a high demon there in ages, but demons can be...crafty.” A fairly rudimentary explanation, just giving Isidore enough to know that it’d probably just be hot and dangerous. The guard wouldn’t be very long on their return either, and soon after the Prince had finished his explanation he would return with a pouch full of coin, fifty silver exactly if he cared to count it out.
“As for the silk weavers...I went harvesting once because I wanted to see how it was done - their habitat is typically near where the tree-roots meet the earth. They make their homes in them. They look a bit like butterflies, and are fairly timid but don’t let more than a few of them linger on you. They’re carnivores and an entire swarm can devour flesh from bone within seconds.”
Octavia was seemingly getting a bit restless, rolling around on the ground and lightly pawing at the ground in a mildly anxious manner.
@Pyromania99
“If death frightens you, then you’ve already failed.” Sorcha said with a rather curt tone as she’d gaze into Augusta’s own eyes. It was clear she was measuring Augusta’s worth for herself, but eventually she’d merely let out a long, drawn out breath as she’d tell her to stand. “Follow me. You’ll likely miss the start of Rullphana’s lesson, but you’ll just have to deal with it.” She’d say, leaving the room. “Leuca, look after yourself. I’ll see you sometime this evening.”
“O-okay! I’ll do my best!”
“I suppose that’s true in a sense.” Augusta said under her breath as Sorcha started to walk off. “I’ll see you at Rullphana’s lesson later, Leuca.” The elf woman said with a happy smile as she walked off behind the strict sounding swordswoman. Really, she wondered how anyone didn’t fear death. Truthfully, she was frightened of being stabbed in the torso again. There was a small trauma about it, of course. As the two walked together, Augusta decided to break the silence. “So, I have to let go of any fear of death?” She asked, looking to the woman for an answer.
“Hm, I wonder...” The woman would walk, footsteps echoing in the silent halls as they’d walk through them. “There is no being in this world that can truly say they do not fear it in some manner...save perhaps, the Gods who have very little concept of it.” She’d chuckle, leading Augusta through one of the halls, down some stairs into part of the castle she hadn’t been to yet.
“The king has spoken to me at length about the Leargas, you see. It was something I had trouble understanding, back when we first met. He explained it as ‘Achieving Emptiness’ a sort of state of equilibrium with you and the natural energies of the world around you. When you take on the memories, experiences, and talents of your ancestors - you must also contend with their personalities, experiences, and emotions as well. You must have absolute control over your emotions or lose yourself.” She’d chuckle, a small smile. “Something I’d never be able to do.”
Augusta listened to Sorcha’s bit of information. It wasn’t a bad thing to have. If she learned one thing about her time on Earth, it’s that information was the key to everything. “Achieving Emptiness?” She questioned, thinking about it some. That was like… Buddhists? Or something like that. It was more enlightenment than nothingness she supposed. It wasn’t a subject she had great knowledge over.
“So it ends up a battle of personality where you have to control yourself. Fight years of experience while exerting yourself through sheer force of will, is it? Huh.” Augusta thought about for a small bit as they walked. “I wonder what my ancestors would say to me. ‘Don’t let yourself get stabbed again’. Perhaps.” She wondered aloud. “Ahh, but that aside, you wouldn’t be able to control your emotions?” She asked as she looked at the swordswoman. “You look pretty in control of yourself, though I suppose you can’t quite tell everything by looking at someone.”
“You think?” Sorcha would respond, a small smile. “We hardly know each other, now don’t we? I suppose you wouldn’t know this,” The swordswoman would stop, looking towards Augusta just in front of a large open field on the western side of the palace. Several shadow elves had already gathered in the outdoor training area. A few shot dirty looks towards Sorcha and Augusta both, but the former didn’t particularly seem to mind. “But there is a reason the Sirithen of Tamaln fear me.”
She would walk into the center of the field.
“Pick your weapon. I need to see your skills for myself.”
“You’re right, we don’t really know each other, though I wouldn’t be opposed to it.” Augusta said as she followed the swordswoman. She wasn’t exactly sure what Sorcha was wanting from her in particular. She was green when it came to the sword or spear or axe. “Just don’t leave a scar. I don’t know what a bride would do if her face was scarred before her wedding day.” The woman joked as she unsheathed her rapier. “My skills are a small bit bare.” She added, “Please teach me well.”
“Hm...perhaps, we could as we spar.” Sorcha would slowly turn to face Augusta. “And don’t worry, I won’t rough you up beyond any bruises. Now then...a Rapier” The woman would fix Augusta with a pointed look, followed shortly by her blade pointing in her direction. “A weapon, good in close quarters. Slightly flimsy, but good at stabbing and piercing. Good if you have a keen hand and eye to stab at openings in armor, but otherwise good for little else.” She would explain briefly. “Hope your hands are as sharp as your looks. If you desire to test another, there are plenty here to train with.”
Sorcha would breathe in, taking a defensive stance.
“The only rules here are no magic. Come at me, then.”
“No magic. Wouldn’t matter if I could use it or not I feel.” Augusta commented, though she knew why the woman had said that. After all, she wanted to see how the woman handled a weapon at base. She swung the weapon a few times to get a good feel for it’s weight. It was light for the most part. She took some fencing lessons when she was little but real fighting was much different from a couple of hits with a mostly harmless epee. With a small sigh, she took a stance similar to fencing though her knowledge from then was mostly tenuous.
Her focus was fully on this now, however, moving closer… Slowly, until she took a quick step forward and thrust the point of her weapon forward, aiming at an open spot on Sorcha’s body.
Of course, that was rather obvious opening move for a rapier.
Sorcha would rather effortlessly swing her blade upwards, catching the rapier upon the edge of ot as she’d completely deflect the other womans blade. Sorcha would say nothing as she didn’t move, seeming content to let Augusta make moves for now.
Augusta retracted her arm and took a small step back. Her face was like stone, unphased as she started to take her step back forward and starting to take a couple of swipes at Sorcha’s midsection, expecting them to be deflected again before lifting the hilt up, with the blade pointed down and going for another stab.
As Augusta had expected, Sorcha would easily deflect or parry the blows delivered her way. Clanking of steel upon steel filled the training area as a few shadow elves would look on in mild amusement. However, perhaps something she wasn’t expected. When she went for another stab, Sorcha would instead simply side step to Augustas right, the point of her own blade for Augusta’s neck.
The elf, for her part, would step to the left, dodging the stab and she would turn toward Sorcha taking her high up hand down, slashing at the swordswoman’s belly. Sweat was catching on her brow a small bit as she took a step back, giving a small distance between her and Sorcha.
Sorcha wouldn’t make an attempt to deflect this blow - rather instead she’d let her armor do the job. Augusta’s opponent would let the blade of the rapier harmlessly bounce off her armor, moving just slightly to let the blade slide off.
“You realize I’m wearing armor, right?” The next sequence of events would happen far too fast for Augusta to really process. The elf would have merely a few seconds before Sorcha’s fist would smash right into her face and send her reeling backwards. However, she wasn’t going to give the elf a moment to even process that as she’d quickly approach before she even recovered, and she’d feel her legs being knocked right out from under her from a swift, but harsh kick right to her knee and sending her to the ground.
Augusta stumbled backward as she was hit in the face. She could only be glad that she could heal it so there was no bruise. Then, a sharp pain at her knee as she took to the ground in an unconscious movement not exactly of her choice. Still, she gritted her teeth and pointed her sword up towards Sorcha’s neck. “Geeeh…” She grunted, trying not to cry out from the pain.
Sorcha responded with a small grunt as she’d instead turn towards the other gathered elves. A few shadow elves watching would snicker at their fair skinned cousins apparent complete shutdown. A few more had started to trickle in, it seemed.
“That’s enough. I think I have a decent grasp of your abilities.” She would say, standing over Augusta, staring down at the blade pointing up at her. “Your body is quite deceptively strong, but I expected as much. What you lack though, is proper weapons handling and training, as well as the ability to properly assess your opponent. Therefore we can skip the strength and overall stamina training and move right to your weapon handling. A problem solved enough by itself simply from doing and practice.”
She would go on.
“Now then...we will spar every morning and evening from now until the dance here. I don’t have much time to drill more than that. The rest of you will get your training shortly...and all of you will stand at the edge of the field at attention until I’m ready for you.” Sorcha would turn back to Augusta now. “Now stand up. We’ll do this again.”
“Very well.” Truthfully, she wasn’t surprised by Sorcha’s words. After all, this body was suppose to be above average after all. “Oh, forgive me for small minute.” She held her hand out and let a flame come to her hand and held it to her face where she had been punched earlier. Her biggest asset was her face at the moment, she’d hate for it to be bruised. She stood and took a stance. She took a deep breath and was then ready as she assumed her stance.
“...vanity won’t serve you on the field. Each wound is a reminder of a mistake you made in combat - one you should remember.” Sorcha would harrumph. “In these three days, you will be barred from healing magic until my training is done. Now then, prepare yourself!” The training was, as expected, rather brutal. Sorcha’s teaching method was the epitome of ‘trial by fire’ and ‘learning through experience.’
She’d give instruction as well as guidance of course, telling Augusta the best way to wield her chosen weapon. A rapier was better with quick thrusts, and wouldn’t do amazingly well against any heavier armor. It would take a quick and deft hand to use such a weapon, using it to strike at an opponent’s weak points. Not that Augusta was given much of a chance to do that. Sorcha’s armor was both surprisingly tough as well as light it seemed, and though she wasn’t fully armored, the swordswoman was extremely skilled, effortlessly blocking the elvish womans blows.
One time she’d eat dirt, after Sorcha would quite literally, kick her in the ass after ending up behind her.
Another would see Augusta losing her weapon and then having it pointed at her in turn.
A bloody nose. A slash on her shoulder. A cut on her chest. Her trainer was pulling no punches, the hour training session was relentless. By the end Augusta would be both mentally and physically exhausted. Her body ached. She was bruised quite heavily in multiple areas. Drenched in sweat and probably hardly able to stand.
Sorcha, on the other hand, had not even broken a sweat and was barely just breathing a bit heavier than normal.
“Hm...alright, I think that’s enough.” Sorcha would sigh, sheathing her blade. “Any more, and I might actually kill you.”
“I’d say…” Augusta said, kneeling. Exhausted. She should have expected the warrior to train her this hard but this was a little more than she expected. She didn’t really expect to be beaten and bloodied. And then told not to heal! The gall. She wondered if this was even worth the training. She set her rapier at it’s place on her hip. “To my next lesson then.” She said, wondering if she’d even make it far enough without collapsing. Perhaps she’d heal herself slightly later. How vexing this woman was with “No healing”. Vanity was it? Why not take pride in her beautiful looks?
“Those who truly are deserving of vanity and pride look the part no matter the circumstance they find themselves in, Augusta!” Sorcha would shout as the elf would leave. A few of the shadow elves had utterly disregarded her instruction from earlier, however...and she would soon turn their attention to them.
“Now then, if you shadows think you can get away with not following orders...well then, you must be strong enough to beat me then! No either run twenty laps around the entirety of gloomhaven or draw your blade so I can kick your ass!”
...she seemed to be enjoying the ass-kicking a little too much, perhaps. Regardless, Augusta wouldn’t be pestered as she’d leave. Perhaps she could at least clean herself up a little later, though.
@Guy0fV4lor@Cu Chulainn
Finding the carts would be easy enough. After Malphas would negotiate and tell the Oni what was up, they'd be rolled out front of the camp, along with giving Donovan two Kamaitachi to pull them with. The beasts, were far more amicable and peaceable than when Donovan had last encountered one and seemed like they'd be able to haul far more weight than what Donovan could have by himself...of course, supposing whatever he had planned worked.
"Eh? Who's callin' me name?!" The familiar sound of the dwarvish lass would be followed shortly by her poking her head out from behind some crates seemingly filled with ores she was helping sort or take inventory of. "Oh, Donovan. Whatever it is, if yer gonna manhandle me more: No." She'd respond with a chuckle, walking over. She had ditched the sword and armor and was wearing a clothes more suitable to leisure or day to day business. "What ya need, friend?"
Malphas, once he had finished the task given to him would find a little fox scurrying back to him with a mildly annoyed, though seemingly curious expression. Ayumi would position herself on a box.
"Just going to let it leave?" The fox would question. "I suppose if he keeps up his end of the bargain...but I think I'm going to watch him, just in case. You should probably tell Mie."