Challenging Roar (Genis94)

[Tassadar]

Spoiler

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: HP = 78, PP = 34, EP = 34, Status = Fine

Glory, honor, and the wealth that came with them were hard things to come by in this day and age. It was a time when the sword was increasingly being phased out in favor of the gun, when the knightly orders of old were being relegated to reliquaries and historians rather than the champions that they had once been, and the chaotic age after the Empire's fall had given way to an organized conglomerate of allied Badarian nations once again looking to expand their borders and resources, albeit this time at the expense of a land across the sea. Even Crolia and Amazonia, long steeped in their honorable martial traditions and resistant to fully adopting the advances from their longtime enemies to the South and West respectively, were adopting more advanced weapons into their militias. Questing heroes and parties of adventurers were once more giving way to organized armies keeping a comfortable peace across the continent of Heloras, and it made for hard times for those with a heart for how things had once been.

That left few options, but not none. Prize fighting was still practiced in some parts of the world, and nowhere was that particular sport more popular than in Acheron. The Demon City, domain of the burning Queen who had forced her ever-violent kindred to adopt civilized mannerisms rather than a crude, maddened, backstabbing-laden facsimile of it. While much of Badaria and Anudor had dismantled their coliseums in recent years, the sport was still practiced there, and grand tourneys were held annually in the summer, promising glory and fame and a boon from the demon queen herself. It was late Spring now, and the cultivated plantlife along the sides of the old Imperial highway leading to Acheron were in full bloom and clouded by a legion of buzzing bees and fluttering butterflies. The cobblestones were well maintained and kept clean these days, further signs of the re-establishment of civilization, despite this being one of the less traveled routes to Acheron being that it came from the Southwest, a generally more sparsely populated region of Badaria where it bordered the Wastes of Anudor.

It wouldn't be as simple as striding into the arena and winning her glory, however. That would, as Leona had been made to understand by a goblin trader with a heavily laden backpack whom she had met going the opposite direction two days prior, do just fine for the normal arena battles, in which she could earn herself no small amount of glory, but to enter the Grand Tourney she would have to earn her way in before it began if she wanted to participate. That meant that Leona would have to either find herself a sponsor, gain entrance by the throne's personal invitation by service to the city or gaining the adoration of the crowd, or come up with the cash to pay her way in somehow.

Regardless, that was a problem for tomorrow. She could not yet see any signs of civilization up ahead, besides the old imperial postage outpost that she had passed a few hours ago; They had bunks, stables, stocks of firewood, and even some simple foodstuffs in storage, but people were expected to clean their own and replace what they used, either in coin dropped into the locked coffer or through work before they continued on their way. It was further telling of how well maintained the roads were that only one of them had had their coffer smashed open so far on her journey along Badaria's highways. It would be a ways yet before she reached Acheron, and Leona was making good time when, up ahead in the road, a single goblin stepped out into the road about thirty feet ahead of her and turned to face the oncoming lioness.

"Oi! Tin can! Uhhhh... Cat, I guess? Where err you goin' to? And where ya comin' from?" The goblin was clad in ill fitting chainmail that clung to her curvy frame, sporting a pot on her head with the handle snapped off and glued to the front to form a noseguard of sorts, a hammer in one hand, and a simple wooden shield in the other. Some messy blue hair was poking out in various places from beneath it, and she was grinning cheekily at Leona while keeping her weapon and shield held loosely at her sides.

 

[Genis94]

It was indeed true that Leona's path to glory was not so straightforward as waltzing into the grand tournament and fighting her way to the top. Hailing from a tribe of fierce warriors of Amazonia, Leona had learned the ways of the sword from a young age and harnessed her own natural affinity for some limited spirit techniques to bolster her skills with untold strength. Seeking to prove herself as one of the greatest martial talents in the land, she had struck out for Acheron, the issues of her entrance to the grand tournament being problems to solve once she got to the demon city. Seeing the goblin calling for her attention, the lioness raised a curious brow. Perhaps some highwayman sizing up a potential score? Maybe, but if that was the case, she and any allies she had would quickly regret such a decision. Keeping Lionshead at her waist, but resting a hand on the pommel of the meteor weapon, she continued approaching, keeping an ear out for any signs of trouble.

"Where I hail from is but a small village of Amazonia. Where I'm going? I seek the grand tournament to prove myself as one of the greatest warriors of the land. Forgive me if that means not indulging in pleasantries, but I must make for Acheron and secure my place in the tournament so I might begin that task." She said, continuing to approach where the goblin stood, but with the clear intention of proceeding apace for the demon city. Whatever the goblin did in response, she would react accordingly.

 

[Tassadar]

Spoiler

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: HP = 78, PP = 34, EP = 34, Status = Fine

"Ahah! I win!" The goblin replied following Leona's declaration of her intentions, turning and sticking her tongue out at someone over in the bushes. "Don't fuckin' look at us you dipshit!" A more masculine voice growled back in response, just barely audible enough for the approaching warrior to hear. "Play your fuckin' part already!"

The goblin with the pot on her head turned back to Leona and continued; "Aaanyway, a'right... You're pretty far from home, ain'tcha? And in a hurry sounds like... Well, 'round here we gots'ta collect tolls! Heheh... Y'know, keep the road in good repairs, keep the hedges pretty 'n free o' brigands!" The goblin paused to snicker, and if Leona continued approaching she would be about to walk past her, though she would sidestep directly into Leona's path to block her progress if so. "Y'know, I was thinkin' o goin' into that tourney too! If I scrape up enough o' me wages, maybe I'll see ya there? Ahem... It's three coins to get by, by the way!"

 

[Genis94]

Leona furrowed her brow at the banter between the goblin woman and the male attempting to hide in the bushes. As she tried to step past and was intercepted by the smug little creature, Leona drew Lionshead and ignited the slightly curved longsword.

"Let me make myself clear... I don’t have the patience to deal with little shits trying to extort me out of my coin. So I'll give you and your friend in the bushes one warning... Let me pass and I won't jam my sword between your ribs and burn you alive." She growled, her red eyes boring into the goblin's soul. While certainly no stranger to a good fight, Leona would rather spend her time getting to Acheron and preparing for the tournament.

 

[Tassadar]

Spoiler

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: HP = 78, PP = 34, EP = 34, Status = Fine, Grappled

Rolls

Spoiler

Perception: 5 successes vs 6 success. I feel compelled to post the rolls because lol, really didn't expect Leona to fail the perception check with her good roll, but dice happen.
[00:57.03] <Tassadar003> .d 6d10
[00:57.03] <Internets> :: Total 44 / 60 [73%] :: Results [7, 9, 10, 6, 3, 9] ::
[00:58.43] <Tassadar003> .d 5d10
[00:58.44] <Internets> :: Total 41 / 50 [82%] :: Results [10, 9, 8, 7, 7] ::
Attack: Autohit from Stealth, Leona is grappled.

"Eeep!" The goblin let out a shocked peep, turned, darted away, and ultimately dove into the bushes, her pot-helmet clinking and chainmail jingling. The bushes rustled for a moment before going still, and the goblin and her mysterious benefactor didn't immediately return, leaving Leona momentarily sure that her threat had worked. As she turned away, however, Leona felt one of her ankles locked in place and, when she looked down at it, that leg was yanked suddenly out from under her by a rope leading off into the woods. As she was recovering from that, another goblin came barreling out of the bushes on the opposite side of the ground and collided with her midsection, bearing her to the ground briefly and holding Leona by her midsection while another pair of the greenskins came out of the hedges from the same direction as the one who had tackled her. The goblin spokeswoman hadn't re-emerged, however.

 

[Genis94]

Smirking with a bit of smug satisfaction as the greenskin ran off screaming, Leona's ears perked and she looked down as the rope suddenly yanked her off her feet. Grunting as she hit the dirt, she was quickly grabbed by one of three new goblins by the waist. Growling fiercely, Leona roared out and began fighting to break free of the hold.

"Alright, that's it! I gave you a chance, so now it's time for all of you little shits to die!"

Spoiler

Using her action to break free of the current grapple before committing MURDER.

 

[Tassadar]

Spoiler

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: HP = 72/78, PP = 34, EP = 34, Status = Fine, Armor at 41/60 TP, Webbed x2 for 1 round

Webbed - For each instance of this status, the character takes a 2d10 penalty to all attack rolls, grapple checks, and Dodge, and a -5 penalty to Speed and to base casting. Webs can be removed using an attack equivalent action, eliminating either one instance, or one instance for every 4d10 of Grapple that the character has, whichever is higher. The character may remove instances of this status from an adjacent character. If the penalty caused by instances of this status would ever exceed the number of dice that they roll for grapple checks, that character gains the Bound status with an escape DC equal to 10 times the number of instances of this status on them, but do not take the grapple penalty from this status on escaping that check.

Rolls

Spoiler

Grapple: 53 vs 51, Leona's bad roll almost leaves her stuck.

The other gobbos come in and commit bonk.
Leona's Dodge: 46
Attack: 55 vs 46 hits, and 46 vs 41 hits. As explanation, fighting multiple opponents inflicts a -5 Dodge on subsequent attacks from different guys.
Damage: 22 and 22, which her armor lols at so it's min damage of 3 to her, and 3 to her armor.

A pair of bottles come hurtling out of the bushes.
Attacks: 58 and 56, both hit.
Damage: 7 and 6 to her armor. She is also Webbed x2 for 1 round.

Leona proved far stronger than the goblin who had tackled her, and threw him aside with little effort. The other two attacking her charged in, battering her with clubs as she sought to get back to her feet, but their blows did little more than bounce off of her heavy plate armor. "Tin can is right! Hit her with the stuff!" One of them declared as Leona got back to her feet, having shrugged off their assault practically unharmed. As she did so, glass jars hurtled out of the woods, smashing against her armor and covering Leona in an unpleasant smelling greenish fluid that hissed, melting into her armor's plating before suddenly solidifying into a very restricting layer of hard, bloated resin. Two more goblins emerged from the forest, leering at her as they closed in, but there was still no sign of the armored goblin who had originally confronted her.

 

[Genis94]

Tossing the goblin off of her and shrugging off the blows from his companions, Leona hefted her blade as two bottles smashed against her. Confused, she soon found the compound to solidify and slow her movements. But the lioness was far from deterred. Roaring in anger, she turned to the nearest of the goblins and lifted her blade, intent on ending his pathetic life in one stroke. "All of you are just pissing me off!" She shouted before bringing it down.

Spoiler

Attack on the nearest gobbo and she'll try to cleave if possible.

 

[Tassadar]

Spoiler

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: HP = 72/78, PP = 34, EP = 34, Status = Fine, Armor at 41/60 TP

Rolls

Spoiler

Attack: 67 vs 25, Leona hits.
Damage: 54 damage plus 10 heat damage, dead gobbo.
Cleave Attack: 91 vs their dodge caps at 80
Damage: 55 + 14, another dead gobbo.
Cleave Attack Two: 87 vs again, max 80.
Damage: 66 + 17 heat, a third dead gobbo.

The other goblin is going to flee. Gain 2 XP, for now.

As Leona surged and lashed out with her sword, it connected with immense force with the goblin's shoulder, cutting him in half diagonally. He looked up in shock and horror in his last moments, only for Leona's momentum to carry her weapon into the next with but a minor diversion, cutting him in half at the waist. A third goblin quickly fell as well, disemboweled, and the smell of sizzling demonic flesh from her burning blade filled Leona's nostrils. The last goblin, losing his courage, turned and fled back into the bushes, vanishing into them. Uproarious laughter in a now familiar high-pitched voice followed from the same bush, but no further attacks came from it or, indeed, from anywhere else.

The female goblin emerged a moment later, hopping excitedly towards the lioness without any apparent hostile intent. "That was amazing!!! I didn't know there was supposed to be anyone this cool coming down this road! Little sister said it was all lame weaklings who used this one! Oooh, ooh, what's your name? Will you sign my helmet?" She said rapidly as she hopped over. In the meantime, the resin stuck to her armor was turning flaky and fragile, allowing Leona to flex and break the majority of it off of her, thus freeing her full range of movement again.

 

[Genis94]

Roaring out ferociously, Leona swung down and cleaved cleanly through her first target. Spotting another in the corner of her eye, she used her momentum to tear him in half as well. And with a final twist, the third found his guts spilling out and scorched on the ground. As the last one fled, she grumbled and flicked the blood off of her blade. As annoying as it was to let one of the bastards get away, word might at least travel fast and others would know not to try and cross her. Feeling the alchemical webbing harden, she flexed to crack it off before brushing off any that remained stuck to her armor. The familiar voice, however, caused her to growl and snap to attention.

"Why are you acting so buddy buddy with me?! Weren't you in on this bullshit? Those stupid bastards dented my armor! Gah, I'm gonna have to find a smith to fix this when I get to Acheron..." She complained. After a moment, she sighed and turned back to the excited demon spawn, still glaring at her. "The name's Leona. And you'd better start explaining why the hell you're trying to get on my good side after helping these dumb bastards." She demanded, gesturing to the scattered corpses around them.

 

[Tassadar]

Spoiler

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: HP = 72/78, PP = 34, EP = 34, Status = Fine, Armor at 41/60 TP

"What, me? In on this? Nah... Well, not by me own choice anyway! They was me sister's friends... Associates more like... Acquaintances? Anyway, I got stuck hanging out with 'em, but ya gotta make the best of a bad sitch, ya know? Was saving up my cut to get into the tourney and make a name for merself!" The goblin replied, seemingly growing increasingly at ease despite Leona's fierce demeanor. "I'm Smidgen, by the way! Mom said she heard it at the market one day n' liked it! Eheheh.... Aaaanyway, why shouldn't I get on your good side? You're a bad ass! And ya got me outta havin' to sit around in'a woods with no one to practice with, no one smart enough to talk to 'cept for the garden girls who come 'round to tend the roadside plants, an' having to sleep with one eye open cuz them horny lil fuckers might'a tried something if I wasn't careful! Ya ever been to Acheron a'fore? D'yah need a guide?"

 

[Genis94]

As Leona listened to the explanation, her hard expression slowly eased up just a bit. If she was telling the truth, this goblin girl was only helping the others out of necessity. Sheathing Lionshead, Leona sighed and slowly began rifling through the pockets of those she had killed. She figured she might as well try to get some coin out of their stupidity.

"Well, you're right. I haven't been to Acheron before, so I guess a guide would be helpful. Once I'm done taking any valuables left on these dumbasses, you show me to Acheron, Smidgen. Oh, and try anything funny and I think it goes without saying what will happen." Leona reminded the goblin girl.

Once she got finished with her search, Leona would get up and continue heading for Acheron. She wanted to reach the city proper as soon as possible.

 

[Tassadar]

Spoiler

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: HP = 72/78, PP = 34, EP = 34, Status = Fine, Armor at 41/60 TP

Going over the head trio of goblins, Leona wouldn't find much. They had been in simple clothing, little more than rags, and had sported primitive clubs that were little more than carved sticks with some bits of metal driven into them. None of them had any visible valuables on them, and as she looked over the second one, Smidgen would reply; "They didn't keep their loot on them. It's over here," she gestured over to the bushes, "our camp's a lil ways into the woods. C'mon, the other two probly ran off, you can take all their stuff while I get mine!" She then hopped over into the bushes, and if Leona elected to follow the goblin, she would find herself looking over a small encampment on the other side of a few bushes.

There was a fire pit, a few bed rolls on some wooden pallets and covered only in fairly ineffectual looking wooden lean-tos. Smidgen walked over to one of them and grabbed a bag on it, set it aside, and then lifted a log to grab some stuff from underneath it. If she elected to search the place, she wouldn't find it too hard to locate most of the goblin's treasures on her own. She would come up with a handful of coins, a jar full of blue fluid, and two small red stones that pulsed with latent magic.

(Gain 2 darkhearts, one shorn nectar, and 26 denarii)

 

[Genis94]

Leona shrugged and followed Smidgen to the camp. It was a cobbled together affair, but it still had enough coin to make the short detour worth the effort. Placing the contents in her bag, she turned to Smidgen once she gathered her things.

"Got everything you need? If so, we're heading out. I want to reach Acheron as soon as possible so I can work on gaining entrance to the tournament." Leona explained.

Once Smidgen followed, the lioness would lead the way back to the road to Acheron.

 

[Tassadar]

Spoiler

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: HP = 78/78, PP = 34/34, EP = 54/54, Status = Fine, Armor at 41/60 TP
Smidgen: Fine

"Yeah!" Smidgen replied, hefting a fluffy looking pillow that was slightly dirty, with a crudely drawn bear stitched into the cover. She held it in her shield arm, hefted a ratty pack with one strap missing over the other shoulder, and once Leona strode out onto the rode, Smidgen quickly followed. The goblin's short legs had to move a lot faster to keep up with Leona's long strides, and she huffed and puffed along beside Leona as she alternated between a comfortable walk and a quick jog to catch up when she fell behind. "So, what'd'ya like to do when ya ain't being so cool, Leona? I bet yer gonna go right up to the arena first an' figure things out, right? Or, err... You mentioned a bath, I know a few bathhouses! Huff huff huff huff.... Could never afford to get into one though, had to settle... Huff huff, for whenever I could manage to clean up... Huff huff. Which I do regularly! Huff. Promise!"

Rolls

Spoiler

Perception: 5 successes for Leona, 2 for Smidgen.
Stealth: 3 successes

As they were walking along the road, some dips in the trees would allow Leona to see the larger buildings of Acheron peeking out over the treeline in the distance. The arena, a grandiose circular structure, and the palace, a grand tower of shining black obsidian, were the most noticeable of such, but wide swaths of the city had been carved out for a couple of other massive estates, each with outlandish and incoherent design, some of which even looked familiar from her Eastern homeland. While Smidgen was fielding any questions that Leona might have about the city and they continued down the road, Leona noticed a bush moving strangely beside them, a distortion in the air moving towards Smidgen from the goblin's blind spot.... And just a moment later heard the light scrape of clawed feet against stone from behind her, just barely audible over the clink of her armor and falls of her boots.

 

[Genis94]

As Leona and Smidgen traveled along the road, she found the goblin's enthusiasm a bit strange. It just seemed a bit odd for her to be so giddy after witnessing her comrades, even those of circumstance, getting slaughtered before her. As she asked her questions and struggled to keep up, Leona slowed her pace a bit and thought on the questions.

"When I'm not fighting or training, I love to eat. Particularly good meats like boar. And, uh... yeah, I enjoy a good bath..." She added a bit sheepishly. As they walked closer to Acheron, the spires of the city coming into view, Leona stopped and held a hand out to halt the diminutive companion. Her ears perked and she turned to face the bushes.

"We've got company!" She shouted before lunging at the creature in the bushes, her blade swinging from above. Assuming she dealt with this threat, she'd turn to face whatever was following them from behind.

Spoiler

Leona's going full offensive on whatever's in the bushes.

 

[Tassadar]

Spoiler

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: HP = 72/78, PP = 34/34, EP = 54/54, Status = Blinded, Armor at 35/60 TP
Smidgen: Fine, taken 3 damage Blinded.

Rolls

Spoiler

Leona's Attack: 67 vs 60, hits.
Damage: 59 + 13 heat, ded.

The one that had been sneaking up on Leona attacks her.
Attack: 79 vs 45, hit.
Damage: 17 + 13 + 6 - 36 = min damage of three, plus 5 more damage to her armor.

Seeing that, something in hiding attempts to hit her with Blinding Light.
Casting: 7 successes.
Attack: 86, he more than doubled Leona's dodge there. Smidgen's Dodge: 66, she is also hit.
Damage: 2 + 4 + 2 = 8, Not enough to get past her armor, so minimum.
Resistance: 45 vs 37, Leona is Blinded. 46 vs 34 for Smidgen, who is also Blinded.

Smidgen commits bonk upon the guy who attacked Leona.
Attack: 40 vs 42, miss, 42 for the shield though.
Damage: 4 + 10 = 14 damage.

"Ahhh, I love food! Back in Hell, all we ever got to eat were mashed hellworms, but here there's - wha?" Smidgen stumbled slightly as Leona interrupted her mid sentence, confused, only for Leona's sword to ignite in mid swing and cleanly bisect some sort of demon. It had been all but invisible, little more than a distortion in the air, but as her sword swept through its body, the camouflage concealing it seemed to fail. Leona was left looking at a hideous creature; It was roughly human shaped, with mottled grey skin and serpentine feature including incredibly sharp teeth, thick strands of black hair curling back over its head, and slitted eyes. The bisected demon fell in two pieces to the ground, silent save for the thumps, and Smidgen gave a shocked gasp and said; "Oh shit stal-aaaaah!"
A flash of light appeared suddenly, bright enough that Leona felt her skin burn slightly from it. More problematically, she was left seeing nothing but white, even after she snapped her eyes shot. "Fuckshitaaaaaggh fuck youuuu!" Smidgen's stream of cursing didn't distract Leona from the feeling of claws against her back, though fortunately she had been able to ensure that it only scraped against the plating rather than strike bare flesh. Though she couldn't see the creature that had just attacked her, she could hear Smidgen go for it, rapid tiny footfalls followed by a "whoosh" and then a solid connection. "G-got it! I got this one!"

 

[Genis94]

Leona lashed out and cleanly cut through the invisible demon, smirking as she saw her instincts were on point and she had made a vital strike. Unfortunately, she then found herself blinded by the searing light, recoiling and groaning before she heard the one approaching her. Lowering her head to make sure it struck her armor instead, she grunted from the impact and used her ears to try and make up for her eyes at the moment. She brought Lionshead out in another swing, trying to get the one that had blinded her.

"Stay on him! I'll help you in a second!" She called out to Smidgen.

Spoiler

Going to try and murderize the one that blinded her, then try to cleave the other if it dies.

 

[Tassadar]

Spoiler

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: HP = 72/78, PP = 34/34, EP = 54/54, Status = Blinded, Armor at 35/60 TP
Smidgen: Fine, taken 3 damage Blinded.

Rolls

Spoiler

Leona's Attack: 71 despite the blind vs 59, hits.
Damage: 56 + 5 heat that demon resistance lets him ignore, he almost lives.

Smidgen commits bonk again.
Attack: 58 vs 51, hit, 43 for the shield misses.
Damage: 23 damage.

It attacks Smidgen back.
Attack: 48 vs 49, miss.

Advancing into the bushes, Leona could hear something moving around her even through the rustling of the branches, and swung her burning sword in a wide arc towards where she heard the offending spellcaster. It gave a surprised hiss that became a choking gurgle, and then flopped to the ground with an audible thump. She could hear it flopping around, still alive but only just, and likewise she heard Smidgen smack the thing with a resounding "thunk" somewhere behind her. No further attacks came her way, suggesting that this ambush had been the doing of a trio rather than any greater threat.

 

[Genis94]

Roaring out as she found her target, Leona dug the blade deep into him and threw the demon to the ground. Hearing that he was barely clinging to life, she lifted her blade again to plunge it down and finish him. Once he was dead, she'd turn to go assist Smidgen with the last of the bastards.

"You dumb shits really picked the wrong target. I don't need my eyes to kill you!"

Spoiler

Finishing this dude before going over to help Smidgen.