No, I don't need double glazing!

[Tobin]

WC: 490

In the start of the new year, rumours had long since circulated of the Dwarf's dwelling. Perhaps surprisingly the fellow had been considerably coy about his home address, unlike Kumori and Caer. Instead, contradictory to his nature the dwelling of the half strider was somewhat mired in mystery, only the local wood smiths of the land were hired for the task and when it was completed the Dwarf had only sparingly been seen at the premise, often with large quantiles of raw goods before he departed again someday later with an empty cart.

Of course though it was a secret intended to be kept inevitability rumours began to spread of the mysterious lone hut and what exact reason for it's being. Some assumed he was preforming research away from human eyes, others suggested that he picked the dwelling to be closer to the mobs of the land's further north. The quietest whispers suggested that the squad fellow used the hut to preform dark rituals, using alchemy to create a shape shifting potion or more disturbing; an actual love interest. Of course, none had been within the walls, most dared not approach the dwelling of the adventurer and those few that did denied entry.

Located toward the outskirts of the Avon River, where the trees grew thinner and the steady slopes ever larger was the Dwarf's dwelling that rested above the treeline, tucked up into the slope into the mountain. The walls consisted of horizontal trunks that had been sawn in half, creating wooden walls that were at least half a meter thick and though the house was tucked neatly into the hillslide, a small roof lain with slate covered the roof, punctured by a small chimney that gave off a white smoke for much of the year round. No windows were punctured into the premises and the only opening was a single great oak door reinforced with tempered steel.

Just down the slope from the house, in a large clearing stood two particilar objects among the treeline; the first, sheltered within a great hollowed out tree was a big brass bell that hung from a dense cord of rope. The second, etched across several sign's nailed to the trees was a simple message to any that came to this region

"Dwelling of the Halfstrider

Toll the bell once if I know ya, twice if ya want ta spar, trice if ya just here for business. Any more then tha' then ya just bein' a bellend and I'll probably send ya back ta tha' cathedral. I'll come to ya, so don't ring more then once unless more then 10 minutes have passed.

If ya lookin' to home ya skills in sparin', then I can

As firm warning, I don't take kindly to thieves. Any tha' dare trespass in my property will be killed on sight. Survivors will be killed again. This is private property so don't expect to be let in."

(OOC: Basically, toll the bell and address the Dwarf. Feel free to assume that exit's his property and address him in that manner.)

[Valerie]

Valerie had been wandering around Avon, trekking around the many mountains in the area. The girl was not hunting for monsters, but instead, spending the day simply enjoying herself in the world of Elder Tale. With that being said, the level forty Swashbuckler was always ready for a fight and would welcome any that would come her way. She had been quite interested in fighting the monsters in the area and enjoyed the scenery in Avon. It reminded the young woman of home, where she would often go hiking in her free time, enjoying being away from the loud sounds of the city she lived in.

While the girl was hiking through the woods, Valerie took the chance to use her one and only roleplaying subclass skill, Pacifying Dance. It was useful if there were any monsters that were nearby, but out of the Swashbuckler’s sight. Every once in a while, she would activate the skill and dance to a song that floated through her head at the moment, sometimes pop songs she remembered from the real world or repertoire she danced to previously in her classes. As the girl started her third dance to a waltz from “The Sleeping Beauty” by Tchaikovsky, she spotted a small Brier Weasel in the distance. Valerie slowly made her way toward the monster, keeping the skill activated.

As she got closer, the girl saw that is was a level ten monster, quite a bit lower than Valerie herself. When the skill came to a finish, the Adventurer activated [Fireball Pitch], summoning a fireball in the palm of her right hand before launching it at the small monster. Once her dominate hand was free, she drew a single dagger and sprang toward the Weasel. The lower level monster was not going to last very long against the Adventurer as she brought her weapon straight down onto the back of the monster. The Brier Weasel’s vine tail lashed at Valerie’s wrists in defence, but it didn’t faze the girl. Then she withdrew the dagger and replaced it with her left fist, smashing the creature into the ground and her hand soon met the ground as the monster dissolved into colourful bubbles and floated into the air.

The Swashbuckler pouted slightly when the monster disappeared, as she hoped for a better fight, but her pout disappeared when she spotted a wooden building in the distance. Valerie stood up and quickly sheathed her dagger before heading toward the unknown building. With her very limited knowledge in Elder Tale, she assumed it was either an abandoned Lander home or something similar. The girl had assumed that most Adventurers had found homes in the town since it was much safer due to the protective barrier that prevented monsters from entering.

Soon, the simple looking house appeared clearly in front of the girl. It was entirely made of wood, with no windows and only a single door that was also made of wood. The house had a chimney that
released white smoke into the nearby environment which, to Valerie, meant it was currently occupied with a living being of some sort. As she approached the area, the female Adventurer noted the two large objects that stood between herself and the house; a big brass bell in a large tree and sign that had a message on it.

The girl read the note and tilted her head to the side as she debated what to do. Valerie had no idea who the “Halfstrider” was, or knew what kind of business he ran. A nice sparring would be quite nice after easily beating the Brier Weasel, so she reached up and rang the giant bell twice, wincing both times as the peaceful silence of the riverside.


Words: 624
Tobin

[Tobin]

(OOC: Clearing off the rust. Heheheh Valerie Let me know if anything need improving.)

WC:895

As the bell rung it’s last chime seemed to be embraced into the silence as the seconds after heard that loud tone linger in the air. It would take thirty of those seconds of this silence before several loud crack broke the silence, before with a loud shift of groaning wood the heavy door was pulled inward. Soon after a lone figure strode out of the gap and drew the slab closed behind him, dark brown cascaded off his head and his beard was just as dense, with little of his pale skin mared by symbolic tattoo that ran from his right brow to encircle his eye.

It was Tobin Strider, Guildless, The Lawless one.

The man bore very little sense of urgency in his movement as his sharp blue gaze swept across the clearing, his exposed biceps robust as the bark of a tree and his forearms clad in gauntlets with a metal clad in the darkness of the night. A sharp contrast to the yellow’s and greens of his modest monk gear and an ascot tie that humbly stated his previous allegiance to Aeryn. Though as he leisurely strolled down the steps into the clearing, arms curled behind his frame, that it became apparent that this individual wasn’t a human at all, indeed he was a short Dwarf with the frame at least a head shorter than that of the stranger. Yet as the gaze swept around once more that Dwarf muttered to himself softly as though in his own company, evidently unthreatened by the company he kept.

“Hm, surprised ther’ were no ambush set fa me.”

It was only after that, that his gaze finally turned to directly to acknowledge the individual, first his gaze flicked over her attire, flicked upward to read the class. It was only then that locked gazes with Val, all the while his hand scratched under his chin gently as frown creased his features, as though contemplating what to do with the nuisance that had arrived at his doorstep; the petite lass seemed curious, youthful spirit though by now the Dwarf had learnt not to put much value on the appearance of their avatar. Suddenly his silence was again broken with the most unusual of sounds; that of a rumbling laughter.

“Swashbuckler! Bahahaha! Iv’ nut seen one oaf ya kind fa a while.”

The words were muttered out in a slur as with a bemused chuckle he turned and strode leasurely back to the bell tree. The way the two syllable word rolled off his tongue seemed to amuse him on some level as it was repeated gently. Yet as the bottle was placed in a notch of the bark Tobin turned his gaze back to the lass, having got over the simple amusement the squat individual had seemed to acknowledge enough to talk in a coherent sentence.

“Must admit, nevar seen a swashie ‘bove level 30 befor’ so et’s a rare treat fa me.”

Another few moments passed, the Dwarf’s gaze drifted around the clearing at the scarce foliage he pointed at the bottle lazily; if any other adventurers had reminded hidden he seemed not to notice, if the lass hadn’t attacked him already for his slow entrance then the Dwarf wasn’t going to delay any longer. Most notably his level had dropped nearly by half as the teacher system was engaged; the settings of which the Dwarf described.

“Fine, I’ll bite, tis area ‘ere has a program tha’ allows me ta make sparin’ somewha’ more interestin’. Ya hav’ ninety seconds ta surivie as I fight ya in three, 30 second stages. First at ya level, level 60, den’ full power. Since these thing’s aren’t nu good wid-out a gamble, fa each stage ya last I give ya a bottle oaf mah finest. Ya hav’ enough? Ya yield befa I kill ya, if dat happens, ya git nuffin’. Sound fair?”

A silence passed for a moment as he spoke quite causually; though to refer to that particular frame of time as such was exceedingly generous, as almost as soon as the words stopped the dwarf shaped his fingers like a gun as a –Wind Bullet- at the bell, the quiet ambience of nature replaced with the clanging of brass. With a smooth continuous moment the biped put his two stocky gauntlet together to create a larger -Air Magnum-, this time directed at the swishy as a slight grin finally perked up on his features.

“Sound’s fair ta me.“

A sharp crack sent the wind missile at Val and though it was fairly easy to predict the wind shot despite it being practically invisible, Tobin immediately followed after the shot to cut off the dodge. As the distanced closed, he would bound in the air and twisted into a -Amazon Tornado- into a firm, earthbound kick that bore the weight of his mass into her chest, such a direct impact would likely send a petite person reeling. After that the Dwarf seemed to pause as he landed with a heavy crunch of dirt; though his assault was quick there seemed to be a certain hesitation; though he was quite an experienced combatant a doubt lingered in the back of his mind; Tobin knew little about this particular class, perhaps that would be something that would play into her advantage.

Though funnily enough he neither asked for nor gave his name; how awfully rude!!! Though the bell’s fading chime rapidly became irreverent in this session of spars.

[Valerie]

The girl waited alone in silence for thirty seconds, counting every single one of them, wondering if anyone was home. During those thirty seconds, she mentally debated whether anyone was home, maybe the smoke coming from the chimney was some appearance thing that the person wanted for their house to make it look prettier, or maybe they were at home, sleeping and was about to burst through the door and yell at her. But once those quiet seconds were over, several loud cracks sounded from the wooden house as the heavy door opened and a short figure walked out before closing the heavy door. Valerie cringed at the cracking and groaning that came from the house, but she composed her face into a neutral, but rather curious expression.


The sign next to the large brass bell had said that the owner of the property was known as the Halfstrider, which suddenly made a lot more sense as her violet eyes scanned over the man stepped out of his house. The man was short, a few inches shorter than Valerie herself, and bulky compared to Valerie’s lean human figure. According to the interface that popped up over the Adventurer, his name was Tobin, a Dwarf Monk, a level 81 player. The Dancer shivered slightly, but her eyes continued to observe the new person. Tobin had thick dark brown hair with an equally large beard that cover quite a bit of the man’s face. What was most striking about the stranger’s appearance was the strange looking deep blue tribal tattoo that circled the Dwarf’s right eye. From the screen, she knew he was a Dwarf, not a Race of Ritual who naturally have tattoos covering their bodies, so from that assumption, she guessed it was a style choice.


Leisurely, the owner of the house walked toward the girl, muttering about being surprised no ambush awaited him, but she wasn’t too sure what he said, as it was very soft. The Swashbuckler shrugged her shoulders as she thought about it. An ambush would have been fun, with all the planning then watching it, but if she had no reason to attack, she would not attack. In that moment, she sensed no need for an ambush, so she did not make one. The Monk stopped and the girl watched the other’s cyan blue eyes scanning over the girl, before lifting them to meet Valerie’s own eyes. Tobin frowned slightly as he seemed to sink into his thoughts. The Swashbuckler stared at the man blankly, blinking a few times, unsure of what to do or what to say.


When laughter reached her eyes, the girl tilted her head to the side, slightly confused with the suddenly laughter, but a small smile crept onto her face. Tobin laughed out some words, slurring them slightly as he chuckled. Apparently, he hadn’t seen a Swashbuckler around for a while, but Valerie shrugged her shoulders again, a habit when she wasn’t sure what to do, but felt it was appropriate to do something. To be honest, the girl, herself, hadn’t seen many other Swashbucklers herself, except Steel during her level one days. However, she didn’t bother trying to meet new people, so seeing anyone of a different class would surprise her. The girl had also gotten to know a Monk in her earlier days, who mentored her when she was a level one player and Valerie eventually joined his guild.

As Tobin strode over to the large bell, Valerie followed him cautiously, keeping a respectful distance between her and the Monk. When the Dwarf placed a bottle in a hole in the wood was when the Swashbuckler first noticed the bottle that the Adventurer held. By the appearance of the bottle and the way he held it, the girl assumed it was some sort of drink, but she didn’t think too much about it.

“I guess.” The girl said softly, feeling slightly bad for saying so little.


After a few moments, Tobin continued talking, explaining how the fight will work which reminded Valerie that she had rung the bell for a fight. The fight was going to last 90 seconds, which would be further divided into 3 stages where the level 81 Monk would lower his level to 40, then 60, then 81, his current level. Every time she lasts one set of 30 seconds, she gets a bottle of “his finest”, which she assumed was some sort of drink by the way he had phrased it. Thankfully, Tobin seemed to be a reasonable fellow, allowing Valerie to yield if she wanted to, but as expected, she would get nothing out of that. The girl nodded in response to his question, accepting the rules and how the fight will be. From what she had heard, this fight would be one of which she had to know her skills and cooldowns very well, while keeping track of the time.


When the Monk shaped his fingers into a gun, Valerie’s brows furrowed in mild confusion that soon became a cringe at the loud clash of metal that rang out through the forest. It was an air skill, sort of thing. Tobin had shot air into the bell from his hand that made the bell ring, but the Swashbuckler forgot the name of the skill she had once learned about. Then the Dwarf clasped both hands together, forming a two handed gun that pointed at her, as a grin appeared on his face. From watching the Dwarf firing at the bell, made Valerie realize this incoming attack would most likely be quite similar, but even stronger, that it required two hands. Before he spoke, the girl drew her weapons, two level 10 daggers, since she hadn’t had a chance to make better weapons for herself. At the moment, they would hopefully be enough.


The moment the Monk finished his words, Valerie bent her left knee and sprang right before pivoting slightly to run toward the Dwarf from a new angle. But she found him coming toward her, so the girl grit her teeth together as she planted her foot in front of her as she skid to a stop and bent her knees to fall onto her shoulder so that she would roll over her back and land back on her feet in a crouch a few feet beside her previous position. In a fight with someone taller than her, the small Swashbuckler could have easily dodged the attack by simply crouching down, but Tobin was shorter than her, which was quite was a situation she had never previously faced. So instead of being able to dodge it like normal, it hit her in the shoulder as she bent her knees to roll onto her back. The powerful hit slammed into her shoulder as she rolled, giving the girl a spin that caused her to land with her back toward the Dwarf instead of her front. The Dancer whirled around as her violet eyes darkened, becoming more serious about the fight. As she sheathed her left weapon, Valerie raised her remaining dagger above her head and swung it down, using [Splitting Fang], and caused a one meter high thin white projectile to extend from the dagger and slide across the ground in the direction of the Monk.


Right when the skill ended, the girl drew her recently sheathed dagger and darted close to the Monk’s side, crouching down by the Monk’s ankles and held her arms out, and then activated [Shuffle Windmill], rapidly making four rotations and rose up, and ending up standing beside Tobin. If not dodged, the Swashbuckler would have made a total of eight cuts as she had two weapons. The skill worked amazingly well against slow moving monsters, but against other Adventurers, probably not so much.



Words: 1298
(OOC: Yeah, I think you could tell I getting tired af the end XD Anyhow, I hope this was alright! )

[Tobin]

(Sorry; I edit this post a bit latter to tidy it up. ^^; Hope you enjoy!)

WC: 660   HP: 65%: Mana: 92%

Tobin found the lass most curious; after all few had the patience to wait around in this modern mind-set, people were all about their facebooks, their Instagram’s and instant gratification so it was surprising that the person he assumed was an adventurer (after all, few landers he knew dressed that modern) exercised the level of pretence. Most young person’s her age would be fiddling with mobile device or som-

-Oi, Tobin, are you going to get on with the post or are you going to twitter on about social trends of a real world you left over a year ago?-

-….-

His only other reaction was a slight raised eyebrow at her choice of weapon; most adventurers either opted for fists or great big weapons thus the intrigue had built. In any case the first blow was stuck and as the Dwarf landed, the glare from those violet eyes caused something quite unexpected. Hesitation, a slight widen of the eyes as his body stiffened and locked up as for the briefest of moments he seemed to see something else, A similar sized person whom drove a cold spike of terror into his iron clad heart. It was just a fleeting moment; but it was enough that the ranged mana blade caught him completely unaware, with a surprised grunt the dwarf barely dodged the blade of magic as he dived backwards to the floor.

“Gah, ta shame, hav’ I developed a phobia of youthfa girls?! Damn ya Cear!”

Although quick to regain his footing with a rolling backflip, young lasses tornado of nipping blades drove him back, even as he dodged and weaved the blades found their target several times upon arm and torso drawing flashes of red and clashes of metal as hands attempted to divert the otherwise deep blows. Then; as her offensive eased up the dwarf suddenly bolted forwards his arms reached around and crushed the lass in his vice like grip, teeth gritted into a great grin.

“Gacha.”

With a bellow he gave a great bound, several meters high as he twisted into a –suplex- ; now, it was fairly common knowledge that a monk could release a suplex at any point to fling the target into the ground. Yet as they spiralled down toward the ground, his gaze remained locked as the grin widened. No, Tobin didn’t fight clean; things like reason and common sense didn’t apply to him as long as he got results. Oh yes, the result he desired right now was that expression when she found that he was riding this suplex all the way down.

“TOMBSTONE PILE DRIVER!"

If she didn’t break free, they would both smash into the ground with a high velocity crash, dirt and stone dislodged in a shower of strength, a loud laugh escaped the dwarf’s lips as he rolled out of the crater onto his feet as a fresh trickle of blood flowed from the head, his vision swum as concussion took hold yet curiously the gashes upon his torso and arms had shrunk considerably. With a grunt the Dwarf gripped his arm as it hung loosely and with a loud shove and a click a harsh gasp rushed out, before the gaze swept across the clearing in search of the student.

“Lesson one, dun’t be takin’ kniv’s ta a fist fight, specially ya newbie daggurs lik’ tha’.” The right hand reached out toward her as his fingers flexed, accompanied by the soft clatter of small plates as he chuckled. “Thes’ heal with every attack, so tha’ hurt meh less then et did ya.”

That were a bluff; there was a good reason why most people didn’t go down with their target because the attacker always came off worse in the exchange; just Tobin enjoyed his mind games and making attacks stick, a pair of gauntlets that healed with every strike just made those engagements less painful in the long run.

[Valerie]

When she finished the skill, the Swashbuckler’s dark violet eyes darted over the Monk, surprised when she saw various cuts on the Tobin’s hands and body. While she was catching her breath to steady herself from the skill, the Dwarf darted toward the girl, crushing Valerie with his hands, a grin on his face. The Swashbuckler’s face paled for a moment, clearly aware of the experience the Monk compared to her, but the girl bit the inside of her cheek and struggled to grin back at the Dwarf. The man yelled out loudly, his voice bellowed close to her ears, causing her head to throb painfully. The girl was not used to loud, sudden sounds and it still shook her up quite a bit.


Without further delay, the Monk had done something Valerie had never seen before and the girl felt her back getting closer to the ground with the Dwarf pushing her down as well. If nothing was done, the small girl would be a meat patty, between the Monk and the ground. The girl gritted her teeth and braced herself for the impact. Many times before, she had been pinned down by someone many times her size as the girl was quite a tomboy in her younger years. Instinctively, the girl tucked her head into her chest and pointed her daggers outward to prevent accidentally stabbing herself.


Valerie heard the man laugh as he rolled off of her and landed on his feet. The girl took a deep breath, filling her lungs with oxygen before coughing slightly, still slightly shaken by the impact. I need to get up. The girl told herself, and her body tensed as she rolled over, landing on her stomach and out of the crater from the impact of two people landing on the ground. She pulled herself up onto her knees before rolling over, somersaulting over her head and also landed on her feet, a distance away for the Monk. The Swashbuckler was wary about her unpredictable opponent. She had never fought another player and from the first few second of the fight, she had already planned to avoid player vs. player fights. The girl continued to pant slightly, trying to regulate her breaths as she took in the current condition of the Monk.


His head was bleeding slightly, but the previous wounds which Valerie had dealt on the Monk had disappeared. One of the Dwarf’s arms hung limply from its socket which the man had noticed and had gripped it in one hand, and with a snap, it locked back into place, causing the girl to cringe slightly. She didn’t understand why people who use moves that hurt themselves as well as other, it simply made very little sense to her. She could attempt to find the benefits of it, but at the moment, there was none coming to her mind.


Then Tobin began to speak, talking about how it was silly to use her daggers against him, reminding her that they were simply level one weapons. The girl harrumphed softly at his words and sheathed one of her daggers. If the man said it was silly, then she would do so. But it was simply stupid for a Swashbuckler to go against a Monk with her bare fists, so she kept her right hand equipped with a dagger and her left clenched tightly into a fist. She had two skills that allowed her to keep a similar amount of attack power, one that enhances the attack damage to her only equipped weapon and the other skill allowed her to deal more damage with her bare hands.


Although the change didn’t affect the girl’s DPS much, her lack of experience in using this particular fighting style will definitely show itself. However, the girl didn’t have to worry much, if she was ever disarmed of her one and only weapon; she had another one on the other side. Valerie’s mind spun, trying to find a way to push the fight into her favor, more at least more balanced. The girl tensed slightly as her left hand once again reached for her second weapon and sprang toward the Monk, aiming to hit the player’s forearms, using [Viper Raise]. If successfully cutting both of the Monk’s arms, it would slow him down a bit for the next few seconds, as well as slowly drain his health bar. It was going to be difficult to keep up with the experienced fighter in a close combat fight, and the girl knew she had to do something about it, or she would simply be dead within the next few seconds. With a quick glance at her health bar indicated that much. It had about 55% percent remaining which was supposed to last her for the next ninety seconds.


Jumping back, she quickly slide her left dagger back into its sheath and braced herself for any incoming attack, as any NPC monster would do after an attack. But, the person she was fighting was no mindless monster, but someone like herself, intelligent life forms from the same world she had come from, living in the game, Elder Tale. The girl still braced herself as she prepared to launch another attack on the monk. Quickly, she casted the Heal skill on herself, hoping that it would keep her alive a bit longer.



Words: 892
HP: 67%
MP: 80%

[Tobin]

HP: 65% MP: 58% WC:1200

A curious eyebrow flickered at the strong response, fists tensed as his immense muscle began to budge as strength was gathered. The lass however was quicker than Tobin gave her credit for, a quick twist and a half stride back intended to dodge the attack instead dealt a stringing sensation onto his left wrist. With a frantic strength Dwarf threw his bullet punches, the air before him reverberated with the renewed assault, yet even as he began to throw them the lass had already withdrew from his response, catching a couple glancing blows before she slipped away like the air much to his ire as he hopped a pace back, a frown flickered.

“Hmm, I guess I understamated ya. Not bad, not bad at all”

The voice came out clearer, more coherent tone that carried an strong Irish lint. As he gave a flick of the wrist, Tobin’s nose twitched the glistening life fluid few freely like glistening rubies in the lazy midday light. His demeanour had shifted as the Dwarf shifted foot to foot, eyeing his opponent wearingly; his eyes to flicker a shade of purple underneath his glasses as he applied –acupuncture- to himself. If before Tobin had been asleep and absent minded around the lass, now he was awake.

“What’s ya name and what guild do ya hail form, lassie? It isn’t evary day tha’ someone has ta gill challenges ta only Dwarf Adventurer. Tobin Stryder.”

How much did she know of the name? That was up to her, once Aeryn had been the largest guild in the land that had once explored every inch of the land and helmed by Kumori and a hyperactive Samuari schoolgirl, Caer. While the former had been possibly the most subdued person in existence, the school girl Samurai and a Dwarf monk in particular had been widely regarded as loose cannons involved in the war against the golems and the ultimate destruction of Stonehenge, and several pubs along the way. Since Kumori and Caer had vanished into twilightdum, Aeryn had disappeared off the map as a major guild with only rumours as to the locations of the remaining members. Tobin being one of them.

A flicker of the wrist cancelled his rise up to level 60 as the greatest sigh was brought out of his lungs, though it felt it would be a decision that he would very likely regret had lost too much hp due to the edge he had lost. With -Heated combat- triggered. Then, as strength was gathered within the stubby pylon of leg it was brought it up high for an axe kick as the decision was finally made. His lawn was going to have to be redecorated after this was all over!

“Fine, I’ll stop screwin’ ‘round, DUN’T COME CRYIN’ TA ME IF I KILL YA!!!”

A sudden, thunderous crack liberated stone from the earth, great husks of dirt, congealed root and stone, each of which projected in the lasses general direction with a firm shove (as one could only be so precise with hunks of earthbound crap!). The husks shattered on impact upon hitting tree or ground, scaring the bark and petered the ground with barrages of peddles, yet as the attack neared its end the Dwarf was must curiously absent though a quick glance confirmed that the Dwarf had taken the opportunity to jump upon one of the husks and rode upon it, already a slight grin bore upon his face as he fell in style.

“Ya wanted entertainment? Well ‘ere et comes! Experience first hand ta full power of Tobin Stryder, monk of ta down under fiisssstttt!”

Well, I guess he had to find time to do a ridiculously long anime speech at some point. How time allowed him to do this, only the Lord (biscuit) knows. And about his self-professed title? Well he's a short arse so every punch comes from down under to most people, intended or not.

With a great leap the dwarf vaulted over Val with a great roar to land hard on his legs with a loud crack the great rock crashed before the lass harmlessly. With loud crack, accompanied by the ripple of tearing earth ground, the Dwarf feet dug deep into the ground as he twisted and lunged backwards, frame budged under the strain to resist his own momentum he extended a right hook, an attack amplified by the four other clones that phased into existence around her -Incarnated Assault-, after the first blow the stride found traction the Dwarf continued to pushed the advantage as clones surrounded her, a rising knee, followed by an arm thrust followed by a broad haymaker. It was impossible for this author to describe the flurry of blows that fell upon her like the crashing tide, as though water itself lacked weight, the sheer volume that followed was enough to wash even the sturdiest of sandcastles away.

Then his last blow came in a balled fist directly to her face as the clones fell away, as he imagined her reel the gauntleted fist clenched tight with a fearsome red glow as for a moment he appeared to be wide open; then down slammed the –Tiger Echo Fist-, everything in the immediate area was flung by the shockwave, rocks, weapons, even her, if she was so unlucky. Then both palms slammed together, the black iron of the gauntlets still blazed as he formed a revolver once more as a twisted grin twisted upon his features.

“Dance fa me.”

Using both –air magnum- and –wind bullet- fired in rapid succession after the airborne lass, the searing rounds of condensed scorched and blasted the surface of whatever it hit. Then he paused, before in a blinding flash of light the Dwarf blasted towards the lass, the -lightning straight- covered the distance between the two in less then a second before his balled fist smashed into her stomach, the immense behind that blow by now seemed closer to that of a level 50 as it carried an immense, super natural force. Enough to catapult her off once more into a tree, if she was unfortunate enough to get caught in the full barrage of his attacks.


Yes, one thing to note was that the Dwarf wasn’t providing any pause for breath or stamina conservation, every attack coming in heavier than the last. Rumours compared a truly driven Dwarf compared him to that of a honey badger, once really rattled only a determined counter assault would stop the constant combination of attacks, otherwise one would find them swept away in a wave of violence and immense ego. To be honest, even Lord Biscuit isn’t entirely sure which of the two fates was worse!


-Summery: Tobin used heated combat, then used a combination of attacks, terta orbital kick, Incarnated Assault, Tiger Echo Fist, Air Mag and Wind Bullet, finally lightning streight. On the last attack, Tobin used Acupuncture to hit a weak point. I really need to make a new method of writing which is more fluid then that clunky rubbish. XD

[Valerie]

“Hmm, I guess I understamated ya, Not bad, not bad at all.” The Dwarf had said, an heavy accent laced his words as blood ran red from his nose. Her opponent watched her warily, shifting from side to side. Valerie’s leg twitched uncomfortably, not sure whether to flex to brace herself for an attack or spring toward the male player and attack. Her entire from tensed visibly as he spoke, asking her about her name and guild. He seemed to be surprised that she had challenged him, but by the way Tobin put it, the Swashbuckler grew weary.

“I’m Val, short for Valerie.” She said her voice clear and her words short and crisp. “I’m from… Apo… cryp…ha?” Valerie said, unsure of how to say her own guild’s name. “But I haven’t done much with my guild and I only know my two leaders, Hiro and Midori.” She laughed sheepishly.

As an introvert, Valerie had never made any move or intended to make friends with other people. Being extremely withdrawn in the world, she never bothered to keep her ears open about things that don’t concern her. She had never heard of Tobin before today, and innocently stumble onto the front of his land. Being a curious young woman, she decided to know who was living there. Not knowing what he sold, or who he was, the only option was to ask for a fight, which she may soon regret. The shy Dancer was trying to work up the courage and friendliness in the new world she lived in. As much as she wanted to live alone and without human contact, it was pretty much impossible if she wanted to survive without going crazy eventually. No one knew how to get back to the real world, or even knew if they arrive in the world of Elder Tale. She was never one to sit back and wait for people to help her. No, she was the one to blindly stumble in the dark, feeling for a door. And in order to ever reach the door, she needed the help of others.

Anyhow, back to the fight in front of her, the Monk had changed his level from 40 to 60 and the man seemed to be very relieved. On the other hand, Valerie was wondering how and when she should surrender, slightly nervous about the fight. It was her turn to shift uncomfortably and the Swashbuckler bent her knees a bit, trying to steady herself. Tobin yelled loudly, taunting the girl who took a quick step back. The Dwarf had his leg lifted and quickly brought it back down onto the ground, but it was no normal stomp. A booming crack sounded as all different things from the earth rose into the air and came straight towards her. Her deep violet eyes widening, the girl did what she normally did in a game of dodge ball, and fell to the ground in a low crouch, hoping that nothing would hit her. A few pebbles that flew off from the larger chucks of earth, rained down on her, dealing little to no damage at all to the girl. Sounds of dirt crashing into the nearby vegetation and earth filled her sensitive ears and the girl winced instinctively as her head throbbed a bit. She had not even heard the Dwarf’s words as he flew over her.

As most of the large chucks of earth reached their final destination, she looked up from her position and almost jumped as a large hunk of earth smashed right in front of her, missing her by mere inches. The ground rumbled as something else fell, right behind Valerie. A cold shiver ran through the girl’s back and she whirled around, standing up from her crouch as she placed a foot behind her and prepared herself for either a giant piece of earth or the Monk’s fist. Seeing the Dwarf’s fist coming toward her, she shifted her weight back, only to be hit in the back and her body recoiled from the impact and slammed into the Monk’s waiting fist, a flurry of hits fell upon her from all directions.

Suddenly, the attacks from all around stopped and Valerie dropped to the ground immediately, trying to collect herself from the series of hits she had received as her body throbbed. The feeling of being completely surrounded, kicked and punched, reminded her of a child being beaten up by a group of bullies. However, the girl had little time to wallow in her pains as she was lifted into the air as a shockwave pulsed from the Monk and threw the girl’s tiny figure into the air. Valerie folded herself into a fetal position, closing her eyes, hoping that she wouldn’t land on her head or neck. Her body shook as she landed on her side, smashing her shoulder into the ground and a sharp stab of pain came from her arm.

Opening her eyes, she saw the Dwarf’s hands in the shape of a gun, before he disappeared and reappeared right in front of her. With little time to react, Valerie tried to get to her feet, but as she had shifted herself to stand, the man slammed his fist into her stomach, sending her flying into the base of a tree trunk. Her back hit the tree with a loud crack, making her suspect whether her back broke as her entire body was numb from the nonstop attacks. Her body shook fiercely as a cough caused her ribcage to ache and she spat out blood. I will not let it end like this. Valerie thought stubbornly and sat up and casted [Trigger Jackpot]. Five card shaped markers appeared on the Monk’s body and she let the cards detonate, flashing all at once before exploding on his body.

Trigger Jackpot was one of a Swashbuckler’s few skills that didn’t require direct contact with the target, as long as the target was within the Swashbuckler’s sight and not too far away. The moment the skill was over, she hopped to her feet despite the protests of her sore body. Valerie casted [Fireball Pitch] and summoned a fireball in her left hand and launched it at the Monk, not caring if it hit the player or not. Once the fireball was released, she casted [Missile Strike] and threw her right dagger at the Monk. The flying projectile multiplied and rained in the direction of the Dwarf.

Pulling out her left dagger, she threw it toward the Dwarf, even though her aim with her left hand was simply horrible. With a quick glance at her health bar, the girl raised both hands, surrendering. “I give.” She said weakly, coughing up more blood. There was no point in dying now… her body already felt the damages from the fight and cried out for Valerie to stop moving, and also, she was not ready to visit the moon.


HP: 23% 
MP: 68%

Words: 1157
Tobin

[Tobin]

WC: 1550 HP: 81% Mana: 61%


When Tobin tossed aside his encumber some sense of playfulness and actually started fighting seriously; he was a relentless bastard of a Dwarf. Stemmed from a year and some of experience, the Dwarf by now intimately knew how to flow the ripples of each of his moves into a torrent of blows, a cascading river that threatened to wash away all signs of resistance unless one stood firm. Even as Tobin delivered continuous unanswered attacks, there was an unease that the Dwarf couldn’t suppress from his Intuition. Countless battles had taught him that most opponents, mortal or otherwise usually snapped when wounded or cornered, his grin broadened; crushing that final resistance was usually the most exciting part of a battle.

-What is she hiding? Bleh, whatever it is, I’ll deal with it-

With a crackle of lightning he threw her with a hefty blow, by now his clenched gauntlets radiated in barely visible flame as with a loud crunch his steps became anchored into the earth to propel the stocky figure onward, the ground ruptured under him as his brawny frame pivoted forward and the distance closed; three punches and a stomp he reasoned would be enough to finish the swashbuckler off. It was then that Val acted as a flick of the wrist caused the Dwarf to suddenly freeze up and lurged to the right, yet no object came as he skidded to a halt a few fleeting strides from the lass, eyebrows raised in a queer expression over the singular card tattoo that flickered on his chest. Shock perhaps shared by the author of Val who would read the move and find that not every card would be deployed at once though the move would have a unexpected outcome; the Dwarf was confused.


“Did ya just yield? Wha’ ar’ ya pla-“

The curious question was rewarded with another flick, another retro card tattoo. His expression darkened, accompanied by a soft growl erupted from his throat as he gathered tremendous strength within his fist (-battering ram-). After all she had hit on his psychic elemental weakness; he hated being outwitted.

“You, how dare you!”

With a great bellow the Dwarf fling himself forward, prepared to brush aside whatever trick she had in store head on; all tricks aside from the loud cracks that stopped his movement cold, the tattoos detonated all over him to interrupt his attack. The blast staggered the usually firm footed Dwarf , only a desperate sideway lunge was just enough to dodge the orb of flame launched at him precious meters away, instead, he stumbled right into the path of the knife. His heartbeat quickened.

-Dangerous! It's a trap!-

Suddenly on instinct great imposing transparent armour flung up around the Tobin, arms drawn tight over his face as one dagger began many as his location was blitzed with many small, blades that were slowed by the –iron rhino- aura to pinprick the Dwarf like a porcupine. A loud crack send the dwarf advanced forward again in a slow purposeful stride, his eyes ablaze with purple as the injuries galvanised him onwards as the dagger was turned aside with a swing of his arm.

“Clevar girl, wonder how ma-“

“I give.”

The Dwarf’s face dropped as his leading foot became rooted to the ground. A few seconds passed wordlessly, the heaving of rushing air the only sound the billows of his chest emitted as it rose and fell. Then suddenly the squat turned and strolled towards the tree, it was then that he spoke softly, his gaze distant as the words trickled from his lips like the wind trickling on the ocean of air.

“Do ya evar get the feelin’ tha’ we ar’ little moar then tools of some author?”

Wait, what? How do you kn- Loud laughter? Tobin don’t violate the 4th wall like that! You mad mad character! Needless to say his mood inexpectably pecked up.

“I kid, just what? Ya give up? Damn it, guess ya lasted fa just under a minute, so one gewd somethin’ fa ya.” A great grin erupted from within his beard as he yanked the bottle from where it had remained hidden within the protective oak and, after a moment of consideration tossed another bottle of a clear liquid to the lass instead, hued with a most delicate hint of red. A simple label, simply entitled “The First Impression.” was etched on the paper attached to the bottle by a crusty adhesive. Sure Dwarf had cheeped out on scribes for his bottles that only used 8% horse glue but the flavour of his beverage was very real, with the strong crisp punch of fresh apple sharply accompanied by an equally potent punch of alcohol.

“Well, figured tis should be mor’ ta ya taste then ta realleh strong stuff, only 40% Alcohol, I lik’ta make a good first impression. Git-It?”

It was at that point that the Dwarf waddled out of the clearing towards the stream and lent against the tree, the view that could be seen above the treelines was vast in scale from the gentle curve of this great mountain, a view that stretched over the rolling hills of that made up the provence of lower Avon. Beyond that the highlands of Secum that seemed to stretch on forever like a sea, bare of tree life with graceful dips and troffs, the same simple beauty that once captivated the image of the home most had left behind was also the most deadly, as last year the golem armies could see movement from many miles away, only recently had it been safe to settle.

There was one great scare to the idyllic landscape as far off in the distance, towards the centre of the planes stood a great hill, perched next to the river it had once been a painstaking recreation of Stonehenge, a nod to the lands that the lost kingdoms was based upon. Once was was the key note here, as the hill had a gigantic crator gorged upon it’s flesh, much like if a child had scooped out the innards of icecream, roughly the size of several football pitches it had devastated where the stones once rested, instead pillars of stone jointed in the landscape around, as though it were grim tombstones to comermorate the long fought battle. In particular the Dwarf’s gaze lingered on the far flung wound in the land and with a heartly rumble the Dwarf toasted the far off landmark and proceeded to take in a dwarf of the dark liquid within the bottle, drawing a loud, hot sigh as the potent spices hit that spot. It was then it twigged; something before seemed much more sangificant.

“Acop right? Ah, I nevar could prounounce tha’ name. Onleh really saw one oaf ya guys befor’.” It was naturally directed to the lass as his orbs of blue peaked over his glasses. "Well, I used to know that Guild. It were back in the planes of sacem that ta five oaf us collaborated ta take down the mighty Stonehenge at ta end of the golem wars.”

Almost as if for extra enthesis, Tobin pointed there with a great grin on his lips; an expression that simply stated “ya, I did that”, though

“Hiro was the only one there from ya guild width 4 from Aeryn, but between ta five of us we battled the great beast fa a day ‘n’ a night, only in ta rise of the mornin’ did the creature explode, leaving a gigantic crator ‘n’ huge pillars tha’ remain long ago and thus ended ta war against ta golems as the cold bite of winter came.” Tobin gazed out for a moment longer, in his expression he seemed lost; it had been some time since he had shared a great deal of banter with anyone. After all he had arruptly disappeared soon after the winter ball; none really knew the reason. “ As fa who I am I were part of Aeryn, ya looking at Tobin Stryder, slayer of henge ‘n’ et’s current guild leader! Bahahahah! I jest, most ta founders just gav’ up ‘n’ buggered off fa some reason. I gav’ runnin’ it a try but it didn’t work out. So I shut the bloodeh place down! Should hav’ seen their faces when I did tha’, well it’s as ya say, ya git wha’ ya put in ‘n’ I hav’ memories ‘n’ actual character development! Not all could hav’ bin said fa those tha’ remained. Though it’s strange, bein’ alone fa all tis time with no guidlies ta watch ya back. Takes some gittin’ used to.”

His laughter echoed throughout the forest as once again he took a swig from his bottle and let a great gasp erupt from his chest as he supressed the punch; for a moment his mind turned back to the immense repair bill for trashing his own lawn; something he quickly repressed with a second swig of liquor. Strong as it was, Tobin's alcohol had potent regenative properties; something that did little for his immense hp but as Valerie was a level 40, the healing power behind just a single swig was incredable, envigorating! Though it was equally potent at making the receptiant drunk.

“But ya, ya turn. Why don’t ya tell me a story ‘bout ta great build world ther’? Surely as a level 40 ya hav’ to have seen some sight’s befor’ arrivin’ ‘ere, no?