Turn 64

To Return a Blade

Brief Recap: Last turn, Blade and Fyona faced the ten mercenaries and buried eight of them with a landslide courtesy of Blade's Ring of the Ram.

"We End This Tonight"

Blade surveys the villa from atop another building across the empty cobblestone street. It is two in the morning, and the new moon leaves the scene blanketed in darkness. He can see the front face of the building, and there are two guards on duty this time, walking their shift diligently.

While Blade has his thieving skills, Fyona has none. However, "Where skill leaves off, magic picks up," or so the mages say. She wears a magical cloak that allows her to become like a phantom, passing through solid objects. A gift from King Ozrik, she and Blade experimented with it recently. Once activated, the cloak allows her to pass through solid objects. It also makes her much more difficult to see in low light, making her appear as a shadow and nearly invisible when she stands still even in torchlight. Without it, she would not be able to accompany Blade on this mission.

Blade, too, uses magic to enter, and a bit of planning. He earlier doused the street lamps at the nearest end of the block, reducing the light even further. At a blind spot in the guards' rounds, he flings his Rope of Climbing from his third story perch to the rooftop of the building he wishes to enter, one story lower. Once attached, the Rope quickly tightens until Blade can slide down it using a bent and polished piece of metal designed for doing exactly this. He lands without a sound on the front balcony, and withdraws the rope by snapping it back to himself, quickly gathering it up before one of the guards returns. Concealed beneath his cloak, he is not seen.

When the guard is past, Fyona fades through the wall of the property and dashes almost invisibly to stand beneath the balcony. She steps into the wall of his house using her cloak when a guard passes view. She waits until he is past. Blade silently lowers the Rope down, ordering it to knot. Fyona climbs it (with Blade pulling) and is barely concealed beneath Blade's cloak before the guard passes by again, this time directly beneath the balcony itself. These were not untrained guards. They mixed their rounds up but seldom left any spot out of view for more than a few seconds.

When it is clear again, Fyona fades through the double doors of the balcony using her cloak and unlocks them from inside. Blade closes the doors quietly and moves through the darkness to an open doorway across the room. Fyona follows more slowly, trying to be quiet. Each of them wears leather armor, as it would be impossible to have made it this far with any extraneous metal. Tools and weapons are all they carry.

A hallway stretches left and right. To the left the hall ends in a window, with two doors on the left and stairs on the right at the end, all dark. To Blade's right, the hall leads to the open door of a lit room. He hears the rustle of papyrus and sees a shadow move.

Blade advances silently down the hall, both swords now drawn.

Bruce looks up in surprise, seeing a hooded figure in his doorway with two strangely familiar swords drawn. The figure pulls the hood from its head, revealing the face of Blade. [Bruce is sitting in his second floor study at a table facing Blade reading what look like trade reports. He is still dressed (not armored), though he looks like he was about to turn in. His axe is hanging on a hook directly behind him, within easy reach. The only other items present are books, papers, and two lanterns on the table, and some other furniture.] [Keith, please insert what Blade says here...]

Blade looks at Bruce grimly. The time for talk was long over. They both knew why Blade was here. " Arm yourself." is all he says.

Blade had discussed the plan with Fyona prior to their entry. She was to remain hidden and was not to interfere in any way with the battle between Blade and Bruce. Her purpose was to prevent any guards or other would-be saviors from entering the fray. The most dangerous of course being Bruce's magic using wife. If she appeared, she was to be Fyona's main concern and taken out of the equation as quickly and mercilessly as possible. They were vastly outnumbered and in hostile territory, their was no time for flashy swordplay, just deadly efficiency.

Blade waits for Bruce to grab his axe, then rushes forward to engage him. That will be the last bit of courtesy Blade shows the merchant before killing him.

[I add this bit of description to answer Anne's question of where Bruce got the xbow:]

When Bruce saw the hooded man enter, he kept his right hand below table height (concealed by the paper he was already reading) and grabbed the crossbow. It was attached to the bottom of the table and aimed at the doorway.

When Blade speaks, Bruce shoots his crossbow at Blade, before grabbing his axe. He then stands and says, "What is the meaning of this?!!"

As he stands, he pushes a small figurine of a dog off his desk onto the ground. It begins to transform into a wardog.

Blade tries to dodge the bolt and presses his attack. He doesn't respond to Bruce's question.

Blade hears the bolt discharge before he sees it, and tries to leap out of the way. However, he is too close and the bolt grazes his left thigh, drawing blood and burning unnaturally.

Then the two fighters, once members of the same company, prepare to engage in melee combat.

Blade sneers when he sees the figurine transform into a dog. "Just like you to hide behind others when there is a debt to settle. A coward to the last." He then says loud enough for Fyona to hear, "Fyona it appears you are needed already. Please take care of Fido so that I can settle the score with his master."

Noticing the burning in his leg, he adds, "Fyona, we must end this quickly, I believe I've been poisoned."

"I have an antidote! I don't wish your death!" Bruce says this to Blade as he hefts his two-handed vorpal axe, preparing to engage his former companion. "Stop this now!!!"

"Go to hell." says Blade swinging his sword.

"Then we shall die together." Bruce attacks.

The sounds of multiple voices from inside the house has alerted the guards. [It will take them a couple of rounds to get there at least, starting from the first round of melee.]

[I am not going to waste my attacks on the dog. I will still use them on Bruce. ]

[Here is how I am ordering combat: The xbow attack was not a surprise, but it happens in a round by itself. The next round, you two can enter melee. The round after that, the war dog will be ready to enter combat.]

[NOTE: Blade also still has Bruce's Helm of Comprehending Languages and Reading Magic. We seem to have forgotten about that last time. I am open to suggestions as to how to deal with it.]

[Those were actually freely given by Bruce if I remember correclty. Not that it will matter much after this, ] ___

__

COMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!

ROUND 1: HAJIME!

"Then we die together," says Bruce. He and Blade lunge at each other. Bruce's axe is first to strike, a short hacking motion as they close. The axe cuts Blade's left shoulder, though the duelist nearly twists out of the way. It is not a mere scratch, and blood quickly begins to flow from the cut.

But Bruce pays heavily for this success. As the two fighters pass each other in the room, Blade's longsword is a blur and cuts two deep wounds on Bruce, the first a slash across his chest opening a deep gash and splitting the shirt open with a spray of blood, the second a thrust that sinks into Bruce's left thigh to the bone. Blade whips the steel from Bruce's leg as quickly as he had thrust it in. After the burst of adrenaline from the initial attack, nausea wells up inside Blade like a black tide, and his leg is aflame. The room seems to spin for a moment, and he tries to steady his vision.

Fyona hears the guards outside yelling and the alarm being raised. She can also hear another guard, probably one already stationed inside the house, pounding up the stairs at the opposite end of the hall from where Bruce and Blade duel. They are not an immediate threat, and Fyona moves toward the duel.

Bruce's Onyx Dog begins its transformation, growing to its full size as a war dog. It looks around the room, sees its master under attack, and prepares to attack Blade. Fyona sees it and moves toward it to intercept it.

[DM NOTE: Bruce is down to 54/80, Blade is down to 116/133. Blade is also at a small penalty to hit, -1 for now. Since no one died, I will conduct a second round of combat.]

ROUND 2: HAJIME!

The war dog leaps at Blade, but Fyona catches it in the side with a thrust of her rapier, impaling the animal. It falls to the floor, not yet dead, and still scrambles toward Blade. Fyona stabs it again, silencing it.

Meanwhile, Blade and Bruce try to maneuver into attack position. Blade feints low, then attacks high, slashing with his longsword and then thrusting overhand and downward with his short sword. Bruce does not fall for the feint, but still only barely gets his axe between himself and Blade's lightning quick attacks. The longsword rakes his knuckles where they hold the axe, splitting them open to expose the bone and nearly severing the smallest finger on Bruce's right hand. The short sword thrust sinks into Bruce's shoulder, just missing the jugular in his neck and staggering him with pain. He falls to one knee.

Bruce shoulders Blade to make space between them, rising, then tries to swing his axe. But Blade uses the momentum of the shove and moves out of range, making Bruce miss. Bruce follows him with a second attack, but Blade sidesteps him in the small room. Bruce's axe smashes into a large bookcase, which falls into the middle of the room scattering a hundred books across much of the floor between the two of them.

Blade is thankful for the interference, because his nausea has become nearly intolerable. He vomits once, a quick spurt that escapes before he can stop it, spraying straight out before him. He thankfully had not eaten dinner. The room swims before his eyes, his palms sweat, and his neck aches like a pinched nerve. He feels as though he could lose consciousness, but succeeds in remaining standing. A moment after puking, he steadies a bit and focuses on Bruce again, his enemy's back to a window.

Blade slumps to the floor. "Fyona," he gasps, motioning her toward him as his stomach begins to cramp painfully and sweat begins to bead on his brow. Fyona's face fills his blurred vision as she crouches over him. "find antidote..ifnot... save self" he says through clenched teeth. He presses his Luck Stone into her hand and kisses her on the lips, "For Luck. " He manages a faint mischievous smile as his eyes begin to roll back into his head.

Fyona pushes the stone back into Blades hand. "I think you might still need it."

"If i die. I want you to have it. To remember me by."

Bruce stands hefting his axe, awaiting his death, but he does not advance over the pile of books. "At least tell my why you brought the sword back to me if you only intended to kill me for it later," he says to Blade, panting. He steadies himself by placing his hand on the windowsill.

Bruce's voice pulls Blade back into consciusness. "Why don't you ask the mercenaries you hired to kill us after we left here the last time?"

Blade then fires the Ring of the Ram at the wall next to bruce's head, punching a hole through it. "Hand over teh antidote or the next one sends you to your death. "

"I sent no one after you, you arrogant ass! Do you think your death was THAT important to me! I am a businessman, not a murderer. Besides, I have much bigger fish in the pot." Bruce drops to one knee clutching his abdomen in pain.

"The antidote!! Where is it?!" says Blade. he then begins a countdown. "5...4... 3..."

Bruce looks at Blade, understanding dawning. He begins to laugh. "We have been played somehow. We have been pitted against one another. Someone is trying to kill us both, or me, at least." He continues to laugh. He reaches down and grabs his crossbow and twists its end. He pitches the antidote to Fyona. "Here, this will do the trick."

Fyona quickly opens it and puts the small vial to Blade's lips. Blade says a mental prayer to the Lady Luck and quickly drinks down the antidote.

The taste is rather chemical, almost metallic. It burns Blade's throat as it goes down, but after only a few seconds, the queasiness recedes. His leg still burns, but the pain in his neck is gone and his vision is clearing.

The first guard reaches the room just after Blade takes the antidote, before Fyona is in arm's reach. Seeing the combat halted, but Bruce badly wounded and bleeding, he says, "Sir, instructions!" His weapons are drawn, he wears chainmail and carries a longsword and shield. He is a very large man.

"You need to call off your men, " says Blade rising to his feet. "They'd be expensive to replace."

Fyona watches as the look of pain leaves Blades face. She stands and sheaths her weapons. Using her cloak she moves through the books and shelf that block her way. As she comes close to Bruce "do you really expect us to believe that this is the second time you didn't tell someone to try to kill us and they did any way?" As she speaks looks Bruce intently in the eyes watching for his answer.

"Stay your ground woman!" Bruce says."Jacob (his MOST loyal guard) secure the building. We are likely to be overrun tonight. Gather the remaining men at once and report back here on the double."

Blade remembers the words Bruce spoke the last time they had met. [flashback] "Those are not threats Blade. They are CONSEQUENCES! When you steal from others, then have the audacity to act as if you have done them a favor, consequences WILL follow. Keep your eyes open Blade, for this is hardly over.' Bruce then said to Fyona, 'I hope you have the good sense to stay out of this, as I fault you for none of his arrogance. But please be smart enough to stay out of the way." [end flashblack]

"Careful, Fyona. He's not to be trusted." says Blade. He keeps one eye on Bruce and the other on the guard (assumong the guard hasn't left already), prepared for anything. .

Bruce says "Blade, I haven't time to tell you I speak the truth. Either you believe it or you don't. I was angry before, but I am not stupid enough to send mere mercenaries to disarm a swordsman of your caliber. We have been set up. Whomever did it is not likely to wait long to see if their plan was successful. I suggest we stand together, for now. We can work our differences out later." He then attempts to move away from Fyona and back to his desk.

"Stay where you are. " says Blade. "I don't want you anywhere near that desk, for obvious reasons." He thinks about what Bruce has said and comes to the conclusuion that Bruce cannot be trusted. He is a coward without honor, and as such no honor will be afforded him. "Fyona. Finish him."

Fyona glares at Blade. She hopes that he can recognize her look of anger in this state (that is with the cloak activated). He should know by now that she doesn't like to be ordered to do anything. Luckily for him her disdain for Bruce is much strong especially since he didn't answer her question and then commanded her to 'stay' like a dog.

Fyona moves toward Bruce and then through him. With her knife ready under her cloak and now standing behind Bruce she aligns the hilt of the knife between his shoulder blades. "This is your last chance." She holds the hood of her cloak in the other hand ready pull in down if necessary. "Call off your men now or you will die."

Bruce swings his vorpal axe at her head. Bruce looks at Blade. He says, "You fucking idiot! Never could use logic, even to save your life. Must be why you worshipped blind chance. Kill me if you like, for if you think I just saved your life because of fear then you are even dumber than everyone thought." Bruce continues toward the desk. If Fyona attacks him, he attacks her, aiming for her head with his vorpal axe.

[Sorry Bry, Blade cannot let you get to that desk after what happened last time he was there.] Seeing that Bruce is still attempting to get to his desk, Blade fires his Ring of the Ram at him at full strength (expending three charges for a total of 3-18 damage, If hit, Bruce must make a save vs spell or be knocked out of teh window. Adjustments to saving throw: -2 due to three chaarges being expended. Note that Fyona is still desolid at this point so there is no chance the Ring, or Bruce hitting her.)

If Bruce manages not to fall out of teh window and is still alive, then Blade will close with him and finish him in hand to hand.

When Jacob (the large guard) sees this beginning to happen, he attacks Blade, yelling at the top of his lungs for support from the other guards, who have not shown themselves yet. [You don't hear the alarm being raised anymore outside though, that happened briefly then stopped, so they are probably on their way, inside the house by now.]

[this following is contingent on Anne clarifying, and may change due to recent rulings on the claok's functioning and also from Blade's address to her]

Once she is in arms reach she will shove him with both arms trying to knock him down. Then she pulls her arms back under the cloak and kneels down next to him. (let me know if i knock him down and i will continue.)

[If Bruce reaches the desk, the following may occur] He removes two healing potions from his drawer and tosses one to Blade. "It is healing." Bruce drinks the other.

[DM NOTE: I deleted the other alternate posts, we can always put them back in if you two decide you still want to kill each other.]

[DM Note: Bruce is down to 23/80. Blade is at 116/133. Blade is also at -3 to hit next round, and he will have to make a CONx4% to remain conscious.

Note also I still calculated Blade's attack as two longsword attacks, I just described it as mixed.

Note also the books: you can't engage each other without standing on them. If you both advance, you will both be at -2 to hit. If only one of you advances and the other stays where he is, the advancing person is at -4 to hit and the stationary person is at 0 penalty.

Note also the battlemap, which I will append to an email and post.]

Posting Instructions: Please add as you like, and feel free to revise any actions I have portrayed you as taking.

HOME