Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 25/50, Status = Fine, Maintaining a Wind Elemental, Aspect of the Wind, Blessing (x = 10), Avoided Being a Ryona Heroine Thus Far

Air Elemental (Maintained by Lyra): HP = 48, Status = Fine, Blessing (x = 10)
Erika: HP = 40, PP = 40, EP = 35/90, Status = Fine, Maintaining Blessing (x = 10), Suddenly Assertive,

Rolls

Spoiler

You were there for the rolls, so recap:
Lyra casts Aspect of the Wind.
Erika casts Blessing.
Wind elemental misses the wolf completely.

Giant uses shield barrage and misses every attack against Lyra.
Wolf misses against the wind elemental.

2nd round:
Lyra does 74 damage.
Giant misses twice.

Wolf dies between being punched by an elemental and set on fire.

3rd round:
Giant man takes a berserker mushroom, immediately takes 10 damage for a total of 84. Fun times will ensue.

The giant man did not dally in attempting to make good on his threats, apparently not caring to change his tactics despite Lyra announcing her own plans.

Lyra just barely finished her casting before he thrust the rim of his shield toward her face. The nimble faerie ducked out of the way in the nick of time to avoid a concussion before he followed with a kick, forcing her to shift her body to the side to avoid it. The knight's shift put her right back into the path of a second, downward swing of his shield intended to bludgeon her, but she managed to catch that attack with her own shield before resetting, backing away and regaining her footing.

A warmth would suddenly invigorate the knight, and it would quickly become obvious that Erika had vetoed her initial suggestion in favor of casting a blessing on the entire group. It proved fortunate, as her wind elemental proved much less effective against the wolf, managing not to take any hits but its own initial swings failing to land.

Back on her feet and prepared with several forms of magic, Lyra was able to take the offensive. She swung high, or as high as she could compared to the much larger man, causing him to instinctively move his own shield high to guard. Before her attack landed, however, Lyra enchanted her blade with a burst of wind, using that sudden push to maneuver her sword around the large man's shield and score a good cut against his left thigh, causing him to howl in pain. He tried to retort with his axe but she slammed the edge of her shield into his arm as he swung, thwarting the attack before it started and further bruising him.

At the same time, the wind elemental and Erika had some luck with the wolf. The wind elemental bashed the oversized dog and Erika incinerated it with a ball of holy flame, much as she had the previous one. The fight quickly went from three versus two to three versus one heavily injured giant. It seemed, at least, that Lyra's group would soon be victorious.

The giant seemed to see that as well, as he limped backward nursing his right arm. "Hah! It seems I underestimated you, naturekin. You are a fine warrior after all, and you would've given me many strong sons and hardy daughters.... But now I am defeated, my wolves are dead, and soon I will join them." He stopped backing away and dropped his axe and shield to the ground. "At least at your hands I will surely go to Elwilda's Hall and the eternal battlefield."

Any hope Lyra might begin to harbor that the giant was surrendering would soon die out, however, as he suddenly roared "but I shall go to Her Hall in glory!" Before the trio could stop him, he grabbed a handful of bright red mushrooms from a satchel on his belt and stuffed them in his mouth, nearly swallowing them whole and then roaring in a manner almost indistinguishable from a bear. Almost immediately his eyes became bloodshot and frenzied as he looked at Lyra as if for the first time, and carmine liquid began to pour from his mouth, staining his beard. "I'll take you with me as thralls!"

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Feeling much lighter on her feet with her spell in effect, Lyra was able to duck away from the man's first strike with his shield, followed by quick shift out of the path of a heavy kick. She brought her shield up to block his second strike with his own, easily catching it but feeling her entire body rock under the force of the blow. She managed to keep her footing, but this was no opponent she could take lightly, especially without her usual armour.

She used the opportunity to back away and regain her balance, feeling an empowering sensation wash over her as Erika cast some kind of enhancing magic over them all. A brief glance to her left revealed that her elemental was doing no better than the last time, but at the very least it was keeping the beast occupied and its attention off of herself or Erika. The brief reprieve gave Lyra just enough time to briefly assess the situation before charging back in, leading with a high swing from her sword. He moved to block, but she managed to perform a quick enchantment, a bust of wind propelling her sword past his guard, the nearly-invisible blade cutting into the flesh of his thigh. She repeated the same process with her shield, a burst of wind providing enough momentum for her to halt his retaliation halfway when she slammed its edge into his arm.

Another almost-blinding flash of light to her left drew Lyra's eye for a moment, and she was rewarded with the sight of the oversized wolf falling, bludgeoned into the ground by her elemental after it was set alight by Erika's flames. She called the elemental to assist her, having it strike at the man from behind, while she continued her own offensive.

She paused as he spoke again, throwing down his weapons, willing to give him the chance to surrender without further violence if that was his wish, but it quickly became clear that had not been his intent. "If you wish to go so badly, I will oblige you." Lyra retorted, not entirely certain what he was speaking of but making the assumption that it was some sort of afterlife he believed in, "But you will go alone!"

Lyra had reacted only a few moments too slow to stop him from consuming whatever it was he'd grabbed from his satchel, but she wasn't going to waste any time and let him recover from the seemingly traumatic effects. She lunged forward at the same time she gave her elemental the command to strike, hoping to keep him off balance with a simultaneous attack from both side. Another burst of wind from her weapon lent her opening thrust even greater speed, plunging her weapon forward before tearing it out to the right and using that momentum and her wind magic to slam the edge of her shield into his gut.

A man with nothing to lose was dangerous though, and staying within his reach for too long could prove disastrous. He'd thrown his weapons away, which meant he intended to fight with his bare hands. Lyra wasn't bad in hand-to-hand combat, but she didn't want to risk trying to wrestle with a man several times her size and weight. She was confident in her abilities to keep out of his grip, but there was no sense in being reckless.

She reversed the direction of her blade, another burst of wind kicking it into an upward swing just before she backed off to put distance between herself and her opponent, keeping her shield up and ready to fend off any attempt to grab or strike her. Even if she went on the defensive, he would go down to the attacks of her elemental and Erika eventually.

Spoiler

For the first round just making an attack with both her weapon and shield. Having her elemental try to flank.

Sword Attack: 13d10 + 40 (+10 more if flanking is successful)
Sword Damage: 2d6 + 30 + 1d8 Fire + 10 Force
Shield Bash Attack: 12d10 + 37 (+10 more if flanking is successful)
Shield Bash Damage: 3d4 + 23 + 10 Force

And her elemental's attack:
Attack: 9d10+23 (+10 more if flanking is successful)
Damage (Natural Attack): 2d12+16


Next round, assuming nothing changes, she will use defensive fighting for three dice and make a sword attack, using her shield for Intercepting Strike. Elemental will just attack again with the same stats as last time.

Sword Attack: 10d10 + 40 (+10 more if flanking is successful)
Sword Damage: 2d6 + 30 + 1d8 Fire + 10 Force

Shield Bash Attack for the Feint roll: 12d10 + 28 (+10 more if flanking is successful)
If her feint beats his attack roll it automatically misses and he loses any other attacks for the turn, and he gets a -10 dodge penalty until his next turn.


Lyra's defensive stats (For the second round)
Dodge = 18d10+29 (Plus either 6d10 or 20, whichever is higher)
Armor = 12
Grapple = 10d10+0

Reflexes = 25 (+10 for defensive checks)
Focus = 18 (+10 for defensive checks)
Willpower = 11 (+10 for defensive checks)

Also +12 to Resistance checks against being moved, Stunned, knocked Prone, Bull Rushed, Overrun, Dominated, Charmed, given the Horny status, or any other attempts to control her actions.

Elemental's Stats
17 Natural AV
Dodge: 11d10+24
Damage Reduction ½
Immunity (Force)

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 13/50, Status = Fine, Maintaining 2 Wind Elementals, Avoided Being a Ryona Heroine Thus Far

Wind Elemental (Maintained by Lyra): HP = 48, Status = Fine
Wind Elemental (Maintained by Lyra): HP = 48, Status = Fine, Now Comes in Pairs
Erika: HP = 28/40, PP = 40, EP = 1/90, Status = Fine, All Choked Up

Rolls

Spoiler

All handled in chat. You were there.

Lyra gains 6 XP!

Optional loot.
3x Berserker Mushrooms
1x Large One-Handed Axe 3d6 + 6 + Body/2, one handed, ignores 5 AV, takes a -3 penalty to attack rolls
1x Heavy Round Shield DB = 20, EV = 2, Bash Damage = 3d4 + Body/3 + 4
3x Beast Hide (1 from the giant, 2 if she wants to skin the wolves)

The giant man didn't even seem to recognize the incoming attack. He stood still and took the full of it. Her shield hammered directly into his stomach. Her sword pierced all the way through his back and tore a line all the way to and out of his side, unleashing a gory waterfall from him. Then Erika's attack came in, another blinding fireball leaving a tract of flesh on his other side charred. The wind elemental struck at his back, and though Lyra couldn't see it her elemental's cutting winds left long red bleeding lines across that side of him too. But even though their attacks had clearly done a massive amount of damage to him, Lyra's opponent didn't show any signs of even being able to feel pain any longer.

Instead he roared. "I can see it! Elwilda herself waits for me! To the eternal battlefield!"

The trio struck out again. Lyra's glass blade swung upward, leaving another carmine line on him. The wind elemental lashed out against his back. Erika left another portion of him burnt. Blood began to pour from him in even greater quantity than before. It poured from his mouth, his ears, and his eyes. It even gushed out of his wounds in greater quantities than it had from the initial strikes. And yet he looked at Lyra with eyes so unfocused and obstructed by his own life's blood that it was difficult to tell if he could really even see her, and then he attempted to charge-tackle her.

The faerie had no choice but to tumble to the side of the rampaging giant, lest he get ahold of her shield and use it to pull her into a grapple where she would be sorely outmatched. Unfortunately, his charge didn't stop once he had cleared the faerie. He set his sights on a new target: the fae woman's summoner. The spirit mage would have no such luck in avoiding the attention now on her, and her attempt to dodge out of the way was met by the giant wrapping both meaty hands around her throat and effortlessly raising her up to eye level. His hands immediately tightened and he began to strangle the oxygen out of Erika in front of Lyra's eyes.

"You'll be my handmaid in Elwilda's hall," he growled, spattering her face with his own blood by speaking, as he attempted to take her to the other side with him. She grabbed onto his hands and pulled and kicked ineffectively in her attempt to escape the life threatening choke hold she'd been placed into. "H-help!" she managed to sputter out. Around the same time, her blessing faded from Lyra.

The faerie was already acting though. First she commanded her elemental to try to pull the giant off of Erika. The gusty winds that formed her summon wrapped around the man's massive forearm and tried to pull his hand away from the mage. The first wind elemental had no luck, however, and he continued to singlemindedly strangle the spirit wielder. In the meantime, Lyra had called forth a second wind elemental which she sent forward to grab his other forearm. The faerie knight herself jumped onto his back, trying to gain control of his arms at the shoulders.

It was a herculean task. The faerie and her two elementals struggled against the giant's muscles as they bulged with effort. But after a few seconds they managed to make his grip loose enough for Erika to slip out of his grasp. She fell to the floor onto her ass with a soft thump and immediately scurried backward from her attacker until her back hit the wall. In the meantime, Lyra's elementals shifted to the task of pulling their opponent down, while the faerie herself rode the man like a backpack as she tried to keep his arms locked and establish some control over his legs with her own limbs. It took several seconds for them to wrangle him to his knees, and even then he struggled so fiercely that he nearly got free of them.

He continued to struggle and roar with indignity even as the blood poured out of him, staining Lyra's flesh and clothes and being flung everywhere by the wind elementals. But Lyra managed to establish enough control over his shoulders that he couldn't put his full strength into shaking off the trio holding him. And once he'd been forced down to his knees, she'd been able to step down onto his calves to get better leverage and join her summons in keeping him from rising again. While she was much smaller than him and her weight was practically nothing to the giant, as a faerie her strength wasn't limited by her size and she exerted more force than her summons in the fight to keep him pin.

But even the giant man couldn't survive through his own staggering injuries and blood loss forever, not even with the mushrooms he'd imbibed. After a few more seconds of struggle that felt like an eternity, he began to lose his strength and his voice. Not long after that he became so weak that Lyra would've been able to easily keep him pinned by herself. Another few seconds and he stopped struggling entirely, going quiet. "Elwilda's... hall...." The giant that had proved so resilient spoke his final words before finally dying.

Despite all the noise the combat had produced, nothing else seemed to be coming down the labyrinth hallway. Once Lyra was suitably convinced that her opponents were dead and let go of the giant, she would be free to decide what she wanted to do next. Erika seemed to be choosing the moment to rest and catch her breath. Once their opponents were all dead, the spirit wielder had breathed a sigh of relief, closed her eyes, and rested her head against the wall she'd backed into.

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Lyra thought for certain that the battle was over when her blade sunk into the giant man's flesh, leaving a massive bleeding gash behind when she tore it free. She couldn't see it, but she could hear her elemental tearing into his back and feel the heat wash over her as Erika's fireball struck true. Yet somehow he not only remained standing, but seemed to not even notice the grievous wounds inflicted upon him. He shouted, and though Lyra could understand the words she wasn't well-versed enough in human religion to understand exactly what he spoke of besides some vague sense of it being some concept of an afterlife.

His unnatural lack of response to his wounds was certainly the result of those mushrooms, perhaps they caused some sort of hallucinations as well? Regardless of his reasons though, he was leaving himself wide open, and Lyra wasn't about to let such an opportunity pass by. Even if he couldn't feel the pain of his wounds, if he lost enough blood his body would fail. Another slash left another deep gash across his torso, but that was all she could do before he finally took action again. Lyra was forced to pull her shield back and dive to the side to avoid him as he charged straight at her. Under normal circumstances she might have thought such a move was be suicidal, but he had already shown no reaction to wounds that would have brought down any ordinary man, she had no doubts that he was simply trying to take her and Erika down with him now.

Unfortunately, while Lyra was able to avoid his mad charge, she didn't seem to have been his only target, and Erika wasn't as quick on her feet as the faerie knight. Lyra whirled around at the cry for help from her summoner, but she was momentarily at a loss as to how to stop the man. Her legs were already moving as she tried to come up with some sort of plan, and her elemental flew ahead of her, obeying her unspoken command and latching on to one of the man's arms, trying in vain to release Erika from his grip. He was too strong for her to match if she turned this into a grapple in an attempt to save Erika, and she wasn't certain he would fall from his wounds fast enough even if she struck him from behind now.

Instead she halted for a brief moment, calling another elemental all but identical to her first into being at her side. She was wasting precious second by stopping to cast a spell, but she couldn't restrain a man his size and strength alone. Her second elemental mirrored the first, latching on to the man's other arm as the two tried to pull them apart, and this time Lyra was right behind it, letting both her sword and shield drop to the floor and the enchantments on them fade away as she made a running leap at him from behind. "Unhand her!" She shouted as she collided with his back, hoping to at least throw him off balance with the impact, but he still stood strong.

Her arms reached up under his shoulders, trying to gain some semblance of control over his arms as she gripped him with all of her strength. She had some experience with wrestling, but entirely in practise and involving other faeries not all too dissimilar to herself in size. It was only by virtue of numbers that she succeeded, the combined effort of herself and her two elementals managing to loosen his grip enough for Erika to squirm free. From there it was just a matter of keeping him restrained, but even that was far easier said than done. He couldn't last much longer, she just needed to ensure he couldn't do any more harm before his wounds caught up with him. He very nearly managed to throw her off, and Lyra was fortunate that her elementals were keeping him from using his arms against her, but eventually they managed to bring him to his knees. Even then he continued to struggle and roar, but his strength finally seemed to be waning. Now lower to the ground she was able to get some leverage, forcing him down to the floor.

Eventually his struggles grew weaker until her own strength was enough to keep him down even without the aid of her elementals, and then he finally breathed his last, yet again speaking of this "Elwilda's Hall". Her own breathing laboured from the strain, Lyra finally released her grip, first moving to collect her weapon and shield—just in case anything else chose this time to appear—and rushed to her summoner's side. She left her elementals on watch for the moment, each taking up positions several meters down the hall from her in either direction as an early warning. She would likely need to dismiss them to let herself recover soon, but for now she was more concerned with making sure Erika was safe.

"Are you alright?" She asked with some concern as she knelt next to her summoner. "I'm afraid I never learned any healing magic, but is there anything I can do to help?" She continued, trying to get a look at the damage. She could only hope she had manage to intervene before he could do anything worse than bruising.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 13/50, Status = Fine, Maintaining 2 Wind Elementals, Forced into the Duty of Being the Lone Sane Woman

Wind Elemental (Maintained by Lyra): HP = 48, Status = Fine, Can't Complain
Wind Elemental (Maintained by Lyra): HP = 48, Status = Fine
Erika: HP = 28/40, PP = 40, EP = 1/90, Status = Fine, Scratch a Mage and Find a Masochist

"Am I okay...? Are you kidding...?" Erika asked through pained coughs. Her neck was already starting to bruise from the giant's treatment, her limbs were trembling, and she looked worse for the wear of her adventure into the labyrinth. And yet, none of that matched up with what she said next. "I'm fantastic!" There wasn't a hint of sarcasm in the spirit wielder's voice. Despite the fact that she coughed just about every third word on average, she continued with unbridled excitement. "Imagine what this means! A race of ancient half-giants was right under all our feet! These could be the predecessors of humanity, or another branch off of those predecessors, and there still might be some living in here! There's probably all sorts of old artifacts and magic to be discovered! They're going to cite my name for centuries for this discovery! We're sure to get patronage with this..." her enthusiasm turned sour and she trailed off.

"I, um... I need to rest for a little while. I can heal myself, but I ran dry in that fight. When I'm back in shape to move, we need to find my sister and make sure she's safe, then we can leave and reseal this place." Lyra would be free to do and respond as she pleased. Given how dim Erika's spiritual presence felt to the magically-attuned faerie, it was likely that they'd be waiting at least ten to fifteen minutes in the corpse-strewn hallway for her to recover enough to weave her powers again and be on the move. The knight could take advantage of the downtime to rest herself, but doing so would require her to dispel her elementals. For the time being, at least, there didn't seem to be anyone coming to investigate the brawl which had just occurred, though that could always change.

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Lyra's worry shifted to a mixture of both relief and confusion, Erika's sudden excitement coming as a bit of a surprise. "Well, uh, I'm glad you found what you were looking for." Lyra nodded to her summoner's statements. "If it helps at all, he was saying something about "Elwilda's Hall" and an "Eternal Battlefield". They aren't terms I recognize, but it seemed to refer to some sort of afterlife." She added before standing once again, remembering that while she had been able to understand the man just fine, the language he was speaking was not the same as Erika spoke. The fact that she was so excited to learn about the people here meant that she might find that knowledge valuable as well.

"Get some rest, but keep your eyes open. I'm going to need to dismiss my elementals in order to recover a little myself. I won't go far, just shout if there is any trouble." With her summoner's health seen to, Lyra turned to the fallen man and his beasts, only to pause and turn back. "Oh, I'm not sure how you feel about blood, but if you're at all squeamish you probably shouldn't watch. No sense just letting the animals rot, and some of the artisans back home probably wouldn't mind pelts like these."

First she knelt next to the fallen man, checking the pouch at his side. All he seemed to have on his person were more of those mushrooms though, something she had no intention of using herself. Regardless, she took the three remaining, hoping to maybe have someone back home look at them and figure out what they actually were. Their effects were certainly potent, but the side effects seemed too strong to be worthwhile. His weapon and shield were too large and heavy for her to use, and didn't seem to have any particular properties that would make them valuable to anyone back home, so she left those where they had been dropped. The pelt the man was wearing over his back, and those of the dead wolves, might be useful to someone though, they didn't have wolves like these back home. After dismissing the two elementals she had summoned in order to let herself recover over time, she retrieved the dagger from her bag and set about skinning the wolves, but she did her best to remain alert as she did so. There were no immediate signs that their fight had drawn any more attention, but there was no telling when someone—or another of the wolves—might wander this way.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 50, Status = Fine, Even Bloodier

Erika: HP = 40, PP = 40, EP = 90, Status = Fine

Spoiler

Full regain this time. In the future things are moving to to the new rurus (in this case she'd have regained 19 and Erika would've regained 45).

"I don't recognize them either, but that's good to know for when we come back with a larger group. Maybe I can summon you then, too? I'd feel even safer and you could help translate!" The battered mage's suggestion was full of hopefulness. She still seemed utterly clueless at what it really meant to be indebted to a knight, and in her fortune that Lyra wasn't as interested in obtaining favors from summoners as she was in strengthening herself as a warrior.

The mage would nod at Lyra's instructions and keep watch both ways, taking her duty all the more seriously when the knight's wind elementals vanished and took their protection with them. For as sheltered as Erika behaved, the sight of Lyra moving to the wolves and beginning to surgically remove their pelts didn't seem to visibly bother her when she looked in the fey woman's direction. "We had to cut into magically corrupted wildlife and extract the darkhearts from them for enchanting classes," she explained as the faerie went about her gory business, staining her hands with blood as she worked. "I think it was just because the instructor was a bit of a sadist and needed to justify her hunting trips, but it's still good to know."

Beyond that, however, Erika would remain largely silent unless spoken to as Lyra worked her way around the massive wolf bodies. By the end of it, the faerie knight would be able to roll up her three collected pelts, take the mushrooms, and then rest. Their rest went uninterrupted, and soon enough Erika had recovered and began to cast healing spells on her throat to remove all evidence that she'd nearly just gone with the giant to the afterlife. It was as the last marks on the mage's neck vanished and she stood up in preparation to continue that a loud struggle erupted further in the direction they had been moving. "That might be my sister," the redhead remarked. "I'm ready to go. Do you think it's safe to move quickly?"

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

"I can try to tell you everything he said later, once we are done here, but I'm afraid that is the extent of what I can offer," Lyra replied to her summoner's enthusiastic questions. The girl simply didn't seem to understand the gravity of the kind of power she was playing with. It was fortunate she had been the one summoned, as many knights might not take well to being treated so frivolously. "I will have to repeat my previous warning, don't think to summon Knights for such tasks, many are less understanding than I am, and might take such a request as an insult to their abilities."

That line of thought brought Lyra another worry. If Erika was so uninformed about the nature of summoning, was her sister the same way? Erika had mentioned that her sister had summoned a demon, something which Lyra had already found distasteful, but demons were also known for their manipulative nature. She worried for what one might do with someone like Erika, if her sister was similar in behaviour.

Regardless, they needed to take a moment to rest, Erika especially. Lyra occupied herself skinning the beasts, somewhat surprised that Erika didn't seem at all bothered by it. Her explanation was sensible enough, though. She was a student in some kind of school of magic, from what Lyra had gathered, and so teaching them to harvest materials with uses in alchemy or enchanting was only natural. Just as she was finishing tying off the last of the pelts, Lyra heard sounds from further ahead and froze, eyes immediately up and staring down the hallway. After a few moments without any sign of movement, she quickly finished her task before rising, nodding to Erika's question.

"Yes. Don't rush ahead blindly, we don't know what is ahead, but we should be able to move quickly. The noise should cover any sound of our approach from a distance regardless." Drawing her sword and readying her shield once again, Lyra set off at a brisk pace towards the source of the sound. She understood Erika's worry about her sister, based on what they had encountered in this place already, so she moved as quickly as possible without running blindly around corners, stopping only long enough to check before rushing ahead. "Just stay behind me and keep a distance from anything suspicious, we don't know what else still remains here."

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 50, Status = Fine, Gonna Burn a Lowercase T on the Demon's Lawn

Erika: HP = 40, PP = 40, EP = 90, Status = Fine

Rolls

Spoiler

Unseen combat stuff happens.
Someone attacks someone, rolls 91 against their 58, and then proceeds to deal 132-10 damage in a single swing.

Someone else attacks someone else, rolls 114 which is higher than the opponent's dodge can even be, and then proceeds to deal 60-10 damage. Close enough to a kill though so whatever, they ded.

Erika nodded at Lyra's warning and stayed behind her as the duo swiftly made for the sound of the fighting. It wasn't a perilous journey, or a long one. Within a minute their path wound its way to a four way intersection. To their left was a small, empty room, straight ahead of them was more hallways, and to the right was another room with a dead half-giant lying face-up in the doorway with a deep diagonal cut through his torso which had left his blood and more spilling out of it. The faerie knight would be able to step over him to get a look into the room.

It was at least twenty feet by twenty feet wide. The walls were lined with statues of half-giants like the one that Lyra had fought, and each was flanked on either side by magical lights. In the hands of the statues were weapons and shields, some of which had seen the wood rot away or the metal rust into powder which stained the statue. At the base of each statue was an engraving, which Lyra would be able to read once she got close enough. The center of the room, however, while empty of decorations or furniture, was currently occupied by multiple combatants and bodies.

To the side of the room was a woman who looked to be Erika's twin sister right down to the identical clothes she was wearing, though her hair was tied on the opposite side and she looked to be more physically fit. She was facing down a dire wolf when the faerie knight caught sight of her, and two dead dire wolves laid by her feet. Before the fey woman could rush in to help, however, Erika's sister sent the third wolf after its kin. It charged her with fangs bared and the woman, using an obvious burst of magical strength, caught the beast's jaws and wrenched its head to an unnatural angle, breaking its neck before allowing it to fall to the floor.

To the other side of the room stood two more combatants. The first was another half-giant clad in tattoos and pelts and wielding a long axe in his massive hands. The second figure was no taller than Lyra. They wore darksteel plate with darksteel ring mail beneath it, both as black as night. Their armor was wholly utilitarian, free of engravings, inlays, and decorations and intended only for functionality, yet the evidence of the skill of its armorsmith was obvious in the way it protected every inch of the warrior's vulnerable flesh. They wielded a plain greatsword made of the same material which was similarly free of anything which didn't directly contribute to its effectiveness as a weapon.

Their tactics followed the same pattern as their gear. Lyra had come just in time to see the final exchange between the armored figure and the half-giant. Despite their size and reach disadvantage, the former attacked first. Their greatsword shot out like a coiled snake at the half-giant's forward hand, scoring a nasty cut through the large man's wrist and crippling his hand before he could effectively react. Perhaps in surprise at being forced on the defensive, the axe-wielding warrior made a sloppy counterattack from the side which the armored fighter easily caught with their blade. Before the half-giant could retract their hand, the swordsman unbound their greatsword from the axe and managed to cut that wrist too, disabling his second hand and causing the axe to drop to the floor. With the dangerous weapon out of the way and the half-giant's hands disabled, the smaller fighter wasted no time in ending their opponent with a frighteningly quick slash that removed the large man's throat and caused him to collapse to the floor as he simultaneously drowned and choked on his own blood.

Within seconds of their arrival, the fighting was over. Erika still hadn't seen her sister or the demon she had summoned, as she was stuck behind both Lyra and the corpse of a half-giant. Likewise, however, the fighting had masked the presence of the faerie knight and her summoner, at least for a few more precious seconds. Given the fey woman's concern about the presence of a demon, she could choose how to go about announcing the presence of her own summoner and herself, or she could choose to make preparations for whatever might come next if she thought it was a wise idea.

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

The first thing Lyra noticed upon reaching the site of the battle was the young woman who was all but identical to her summoner—Erika's sister, no doubt. She hadn't realized they would be so similar, but it left no doubt as to the girl's identity. A quick glance around the room revealed another figure, one which caused Lyra's grip on her weapon to tighten as she watched. The second figure was undoubtedly a demon, though in full armour as they were little in the way of details could be discerned. Erika's sister seemed to be unharmed however, so perhaps this demon was a reasonable sort, or even a proper knight. Regardless, she would not let her guard down around the demon, but her summoner's sister was still in danger.

Fortunately, both she and the demon seemed capable of handling themselves, their opponents falling before Lyra could even step into the room. Between these and the corpse in the hall they had just passed, it seemed that these two had encountered more combat than she and Erika had. The danger seemed to have passed though, and Erika would certainly wish to see her sister, so there was little reason to hide. Pausing only long enough to cast a quick protective spell on herself, still not entirely confident this would go peacefully with the demon present, Lyra motioned for Erika to follow and stepped boldly into the room, making no effort to conceal her presence.

"Greetings." She began simply, giving a quick half-bow before straightening again, her weapon still in her hand but held non-threateningly at her side. "You are the sister my summoner spoke of, I take it? It seems that you encountered similar resistance to us." Lyra was a little self-conscious of her appearance, covered in the giant's an wolves' blood as she was, but she maintained her composure as she spoke. It would be best if the two sisters could be reunited without bloodshed, but she couldn't afford to show weakness with a potential enemy present. Even as she spoke to the human girl, she never let the demon out of her sight, making sure they were always at least in her peripheral vision.

Spoiler

Casting Aspect of the Wind on herself quickly before entering, for a +6d10 buff to Dodge (Giving her 21d10+34 before the concentration penalty), and trading one die from Attack/Dodge for a +3 to casting to ensure a successful cast (Giving her a +36 to cast).

She's not really expecting to be attacked outright, but is being cautious regardless.

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 46/50, Status = Fine, Aspect of the Wind, Being Watched and Insinuated About

Erika: HP = 40, PP = 40, EP = 90, Status = Fine, Might Need a Talk About the Birds and the Bees/The Demons and the Hapless Summoners

Both living occupants of the room would spin to face Lyra, the other knight's weapon at the ready and Erika's sister assuming a practiced unarmed combat stance. At Lyra's announcing herself and her summoner's entrance into the room, however, the other spirit wielder would relax and offer a nod aimed at her demon. The armored warrior brought their greatsword up and set it across their shoulders, behind their helmet, with their hands on the handle and the blade. But despite being less on guard, they made no effort to hide the fact that their gaze was solely on the faerie. Erika's sister didn't seem to mind her demon's actions as she addressed Lyra though.

"Nothing insurmountable, though the real cost for it will come later. You've done me a great favor by bringing me my little sister before I incurred more debt," she offered, revealing that even her voice was nearly identical to Erika's with the exception of some additional force in her words.
"I'm only, like, two minutes younger than you!" Lyra's summoner would indignantly butt in from the faerie's side.
"She is... naive," the other woman continued, ignoring Erika's protest and the way she fumed at the assertion. "I hope that you didn't take advantage of that naivety when she summoned you. I understand fey... appetites, but I would hate it if her little tantrum caused us both to owe such a price," she trailed off sadly, to Erika's confusion.
"Come now," the demon would speak, finally taking their gaze off of Lyra for long enough to glance at their summoner. Even with the distortion caused by their helmet, the voice was sweet, melodic, and plainly feminine. "I was generous considering your desperation. Too generous. If word ever spreads I'll be accused of going soft. Ten minutes of your time for every one of mine you spent on this place is much cheaper than the usual price. And I'll be so very gentle~"
"Wait, what did you-" Erika tried to speak up only to be ignored and cut off again.
"I won't try to escape my debt. But I'd like to leave before I end up with more of it for no reason. I can lead us to the exit."

Barring any interjection from Lyra, that seemed to be the end of the conversation. The demon's gaze had returned to the faerie knight, though it was impossible to see any of her features to discern what she might be thinking. Erika seemed to have reverted into a silent, sullen mood and would likely accept any decision that was made on her behalf. The demon's summoner, perhaps understandably, seemed to want to move as quickly as possible. Lyra was, of course, free to speak and act as she pleased. She could also just as easily follow the lead of her summoner's twin and conclude her duties toward Erika by seeing the two humans to safety.

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Lyra's gaze held obvious distaste as she stared down the demon woman—or tried to as well as she could through the woman's helmet—but kept her sword at her side, blade pointed down at the ground non-threateningly. She didn't like the idea of simply walking alongside a demon like this, but the mention of the summoning price was enough to keep her from drawing things out. Unlike Erika, her sister seemed to understand what summoning beings like herself or the demon meant, and had evidently agreed to the price.

"Very well. I wouldn't wish to cause you any more trouble. Lead the way then, I will continue to protect your sister until we have left this place." Lyra spoke with a carefully neutral voice and expression before turning back to the demon for a moment, "As long as there will be no trouble between us?"

As long as the demon made no overtly threatening actions, Lyra would release the winds she had formed around herself as a shield, following along behind the other summoner. Part of her wanted to step in, to "save" her from whatever the demon surely had in store for her, but it wasn't her place to do so. This was the normal result of a summoning, and Erika's sister had clearly known the price beforehand. It would be dishonourable to try to clear that debt by force. Regardless, it left her with a distasteful feeling, to do nothing about this.

"Regarding your sister," Lyra spoke up again once they had begun walking, not wanting to waste any more time by standing around. She kept her voice quiet, trying not to be overheard by any but the one she was speaking to, but it was difficult to avoid eavesdropping when travelling in a place like this, and she refused to go too far from her own summoner. "You don't have to worry about her this time. I have my own reasons for answering summons like this, and asked for nothing in return this time." She glanced back at Erika, before sighing, "Though she could do with learning what this sort of summoning usually costs, before she tries it again."

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 46/50, Status = Fine, Facing her Greatest Fears

Erika: HP = 40, PP = 40, EP = 90, Status = Despondent

"Don't insult me, faerie," the demon warned in far less sweet a voice than when she'd interjected prior. "Whatever you may think of my kind, I am a knight of Acheron. I do not attack the unprepared and I do not backstab." Tension hung in the air for several long moments following the warrior's remarks, in which the demonic woman remained motionless and the twin summoners kept their eyes on both knights. Nothing would come of it unless Lyra decided to attack though, as the demon knight would choose not to escalate things. She stretched her neck and promised in a much lighter tone of voice: "On my word, I'd only ever attack you from behind in the bedroom~"

The demon's own summoner frowned at her and Erika seemed to shrink even more when the demon blatantly commented about her bedroom proclivities. It didn't seem that her effect on Lyra's summoner went entirely unnoticed by the other knight either, as she began to watch the increasingly despondent spirit wielder instead of the fey woman. "I think it wisest if I take the rear guard behind you three. I won't get many chances to get as nice a view, after all~"
"I know I'm not your summoner, but I would prefer to have you up front with me while I'm leading," the other summoner addressed Lyra. "My little sister will be safest in the middle of us all." Erika, for her part, would acquiesce to the proposed marching orders with a nod and quietly fall in line.

Assuming the faerie knight didn't reject the formation, it would work out to her benefit. There wasn't a large gap between the four of them but it was enough to ensure that their whispers were most likely unintelligible to the others as they exited the room and began to make their way out of the labyrinth. "Thank you for that. I'll be sure to have a talk with her when this is all said and done," the demon's summoner would whisper her own response. "Her inexperience is my fault. I sheltered her too much... solved too many of her problems for her. I never made her tackle anything on her own. I just never wanted her to have to give up her innocence," she admitted.

In the meantime, their trip had taken them out of the room and further down the winding hall which Lyra and her summoner had been traveling when they'd heard the fighting begin. It twisted and wound much like the part which the faerie was already familiar with and eventually led them to more intersections, but Erika's sister seemed confident in her directions and led them without ever second guessing which route to take. Her confidence seemed well placed, as every once in a while they would stumble across a dead half-giant or dire wolf which elicited no surprise at all from the leading summoner. And within no more than ten minutes of traveling, with all the implications that had for the human woman's debts, the smell of fresh air became obvious in the hallway. Before the group could get to the source of the air, however, there was one more encounter in store for them.

"WE MEET AGAIN, HOUSE EXPLODERS!" The voice came from Lyra's side as she and Erika's sister passed an elevated, dimly lit alcove. And when she looked, she would find none other than a familiar, feminine-shaped blackened slime sitting in the alcove with a collection of what appeared to be discarded garbage in front of her. The sudden appearance of the slime caused the entire convoy to stop, which the oozing woman took full advantage of in order to continue speaking. "... is what I would say, but right now I'm running a shop! So instead, let me just say what a joy it is to meet you again. You meat people are all looking very pretty and breed-able today! Are my advanced merchant tactics working? Do you feel like buying something from me? I really need the money for a new house! Well, you should know that already.... But anyway! Take a look at my wares!"

She waved her gooey hands in the air above the apparent pile of discarded trash, getting the entire collection filthier by dripping slime on it in the process. "I've got everything a meat person could ever want! Take this, for example," she motioned to what appeared to be one of the half-giant's braided beards, cut off and laid neatly upon the alcove floor. "This facial hair will give you great respect among your fellow meat people! They will all be impressed by your ability to maintain a well groomed collection of dead cells! Watch! The slime grabbed the beard and stuck it to her slimy face. To her credit, it really did almost look like she was a bearded slime for the ten or so seconds it took for the collection of hair to sink irrecoverably into her body. "Hm... I guess I'm keeping that one after all!"

"Ah! But what about this?!" This was a single half-giant's boot which had been chewed nearly into pieces by rats. "You meat people love protecting your feet from things like rocks! And dirt! Why, even a simple piece of glass can damage you irreparably! Or what about this?" A half-giant's bone this time, bleached white from age. It appeared to be a femur bone, but it was nearly longer than Lyra's entire leg. "You meat people have a lot of these! And they're all very fragile! You never know when one will get broken or lost! You should always have a spare ready for just such an occasion! So what do you say, want to buy one of my wonderful products?!"

The rest of the group seemed to be briefly stunned into speechlessness, offering Lyra the chance to respond first to the slime's sales pitch.

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

"Very well." Lyra replied tersely to the demon's decision to take the rear, taking her own position near the front of the group. The demon at the very least seemed to have some honour. The quite obviously lewd suggestion she made afterwards had immediately soured Lyra's opinion a little, but she could tolerate the woman's presence for now, as long as she stuck to the agreed deal.

Fortunately the path ahead seemed to be free of danger, though there were a number of corpses littering the path which spoke of the effort the other two had gone through to get this far. She had to grudgingly admit that the demon knight had likely earned her reward after all of this, even if she still found it distasteful.

"Sadly, there are few out there who will help and ask little in return," Lyra replied to Erika's sister with a soft sigh. "I would prefer it if you didn't have to do this either, but I cannot interfere with a deal like this, not one made with the full understanding of both parties." Lyra could only imagine how much debt the girl had already accumulated with the demon knight. Between the time it was taking them to walk back and the number of bodies they were passing, it must be several hours at least. She frowned at that though, but as she had said, she couldn't simply interfere with their deal.

Before she could speak up again though, a familiar voice shouted at them from somewhere to their side. Raising her sword and shield defensively and stepping between Erika's sister and the source of the voice, Lyra expected at any moment for the slime woman to jump out at attack. The knight was left momentarily stunned by the sheer oddity of what she saw instead, however. The slime's voice suddenly took on a much more pleasant tone, proclaiming, of all things, that she was now running a shop. A shop full of absolute junk, likely looted from the bodies left in the halls, but she hadn't even taken the useful things—and some, like the bone, looked to be much older, leaving Lyra with no idea where she'd found it.

"A... shop?" She asked incredulously, still not entirely processing what the slime was saying while she demonstrated her wares. She still felt a little bad about how their previous encounter had gone, even if she refused to accept the idea that the slime's box was the same as a house—and indoors, no less—but she was also well aware that she couldn't waste time here, for the sake of Erika's sister. "I'm afraid none of that is of particular use to us at the moment, and we are in somewhat of a hurry." Lyra began, only to sigh again, already regretting what she was about to say. She could only hope it would placate the slime woman and let them be on their way quickly. "Perhaps we could speak later? Once I am finished me business here?"

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 46/50, Status = Fine, On a Slimeventure.

Erika: HP = 40, PP = 40, EP = 90, Status = Despondent

"I wouldn't ask it of you. It's my price to pay," Erika's sister would make that much clear before they were waylaid by the slime.

"Of course! We here at Slime Co. are open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Mostly because I never have any idea what time or day it is!" The slime made her response with what passed for a grin on her oozing face.
"Hey, Kelda... you and your knight should go on." Erika would speak after having spent their return trip in silence, apparently prompted by the slime's words. "I have to take care of something real fast."
"And leave you two here with a slime and who knows what else?"
"I take offense to that!" The slime chimed in. "There's never been a single attack at Slime Warehouse in our entire fifteen minutes of operation!"
"I'll be fine. The entrance isn't that far away. The sooner you're out of this labyrinth, the sooner you stop racking up debt. Just go. We'll catch up soon," Erika irritably retorted, making it obvious that she wouldn't be talked down from this. "I'll be fine. I promise," she added.
"Okay. Well, if you haven't caught up in five minutes then I'm coming back. Be safe, Erika." With that the other summoner would reluctantly leave with her demonic knight in tow.

And once they were out of earshot, Erika would turn to the slime. "I want the bone. How much for it?"
A metaphorical glimmer entered the slime's non-eyes at the prospect of a sale. "Oh ho... caught your eye, did it? Well it's yours for fifty coins!"
"Are you insane? It's just a bone! It's not even magical! I'll pay you ten at the most," Erika made her counteroffer.
"Just because this is my first time haggling doesn't mean it's my first time haggling! Forty-five!"
"Fifteen."
"Forty!"
"Twenty."
"Thirty-five!"
"Twenty-five."
"Thirty!"
"Twenty-eight."
"Twenty-five, final offer!" The slime crossed her gooey arms.

Erika would, perhaps understandably, stare blankly at the slime for a few moments before answering. "Fine. Sold." She would pull twenty-five coins out of a purse on her person and hand them over to the slime, who in turn absorbed them into her body and presented the femur bone to Erika.
"A successful sale for Slime & Sons! Now, might I interest you in more of the same set?" From somewhere out of sight she produced a bleached pelvic bone which appeared to be the match to the femur bone.
"No. I just need this one. Let's go, dame Lyra," she commanded and then began off down the trail that Kelda and her demon had traveled earlier.
"Suit yourself! Thank you for shopping at SuperSlime!" The slime cheerfully called out after the two, assuming Lyra followed her summoner.

Her original estimate appeared to have been correct. Within another minute they passed a y-shaped intersection, and a minute after that and they were at a massive staircase which couldn't be anything but the entrance to the labyrinth. Natural sunlight illuminated what must've been several-hundred steps, and bitterly cold gusts of air blew all the way down the tunnel with nearly enough force to push the two women backward. Still, it wouldn't prove a difficult trip up the steps. And at the end of it, Lyra would find herself on snow-covered ground at the peak of a modest mountain, where the only thing keeping her from freezing was her faerie nature. The two of them would find Kelda and her demon waiting for them.

"The bone?" Kelda would inquire when she spotted Erika ascending the stairs with her purchase in hand. "You stayed back for a bone?"
"It's definitive proof of what we found here. They'll have to credit us if we return with this before anyone else sees this place," the younger twin answered.
"Oh... good thinking!" The older twin looked embarrassed at her lack of foresight on that matter. "Then we're done here. We can formally dismiss you two," she looked to Lyra and her own demon in turn, "and return to town. I'll... handle my payment there...."
"About that. I'm prepared to make a new offer." The armored knight began to approach the twins.
"And what might that be?" Kelda's voice betrayed her hope that the demon might be showing mercy on her. But her summon walked right past her and instead stopped in front of Erika, and her next words crushed any hope the older twin might've had.
"It's not an offer for you. It's for your sister." The faerie knight could almost hear the sadistic grin in the demon's tone as she began to speak to Erika. "The payment I'm going to take from your sister bothers you, doesn't it? The thought of her being at my every whim for, well, we'll round it down to five hours~ It's making your blood boil because you think it's your fault, don't you?"

She hit a nerve. Erika's fists were clenched so tightly that the femur seemed in danger of splintering. There was no doubt that she wanted to try and erase this demon from the mountaintop with holy fire. But before she could, the armored knight continued. "I'm prepared to offer you a deal. Lessen your sister's burden. Take half of her debt in her place. I'll get to have fun with both of you at once and it'll be paid off that much more quickly~ How about it?"
"Don't do it, Erika! This is my debt and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if you paid any part of it!" Kelda pleaded with her sister, though it was difficult to say if her sister's words made it through to Lyra's summoner. She looked like she'd made up her mind within a few seconds, and if the fey knight wanted to do anything about the demon's offer she'd only have a little bit of time.

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Lyra watched with no small amount of skepticism as Erika bartered with the slime over a bone, not entirely certain what it was the girl wanted with it. She remained silent though, letting the deal play out. Apparently the bone was worth something to her, because she ended up paying a fairly significant amount for it. What was the slime even planning to do with the money? It didn't sound like she left this place often, if at all, and it seemed unlikely that she'd find much trade down here.

"Of course. Let's go." She nodded to her summoner when prompted, following close behind her. She was torn about what to do next, however. Normally, this was where her duty ended, and she would return home after safely escorting Erika outside. With the demon knight still here, however, Lyra was uncertain if she should leave Erika alone. The knight had so far done nothing overtly wrong, but she couldn't shake her suspicions so easily.

Once they stepped outside, Lyra was greeted first by cold mountain air, finally getting a better idea of where she had ended up. It was fortunate that her faerie nature gave her some resistance to cold weather, as her current attire was far better suited for her desert home than a place like this, and she could feel the chill in the air even if it wasn't enough to cause her more than discomfort. Lyra nodded to Kelda's statement that they were done here, but just as she was going to suggest that she could accompany them back to town, the demon knight spoke up first. Lyra's eyes narrowed as the woman made another suggestion, trying to convince Erika to take half of her sister's debt. Erika looked angry at first, leading Lyra to believe she would not need to step in, but after a moment she seemed more uncertain.

"I would ask that you not try to guilt my summoner into giving you more than was agreed upon." Lyra finally spoke up, interposing herself between Erika and the demon, staring down her counterpart. "I said that I would not interfere because the two of you had agreed upon a price, as it was not my place. If you try to change that now however, and ask for more while involving my summoner as well, then I will not hesitate to do so."

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 46/50, Status = Fine, HONOR

At such a close distance Lyra could see the demon's red eyes through the slit of her greathelm, and they stared back at her as she stood between Erika and the predatory demon. "I didn't ask for anymore than I'm owed. You and I both know that she'll be lucky if she's able to do so much as crawl for a week if I get my full five hours with her~ It's just another kindness that I'd allow them both to pay two-and-a-half hours instead. I'm not forcing it on your summoner, she's perfectly capable of accepting or declining. Of course, if you really want to intervene then perhaps you should offer up your own body. In exchange for a chance to play with such an obstinate faerie, I'll settle for an hour apiece from each of you~"

"Or perhaps you'd like to make a little wager over it? A friendly sparring match. First to three strikes wins. If I lose, I'll forgive this debt entirely and run home with my tail tucked between my legs. If I win though... you'll pay in her place~ What do you say? If you're confident enough in your skills, this should be child's play, right?"
"I don't want either of you interfering in this," Kelda spoke up. "Don't fall for her provocations. This is my debt. I can handle a single night with a demon."

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

"Simply splitting the time does not make the value equal. You should know that full well." Lyra shot back, refusing to even deign the demon's offer of an hour apiece with a response. The insult was not something she was willing to simply let stand, however, and so the demon's wager was not something she could easily resist. The only thing that made her hesitate was knowing what she would be agreeing to should she lose. It wasn't something she could simply run away from, if she gave her word she would be forced to fulfill her end of the wager. To do any less would be to deny everything she was trying to be.

"Fine. I will accept your challenge." Lyra ignored Kelda's words, eyes never leaving the demon's. She knew she was being baited, knew the the demon knight was using this as another opportunity to get more than she'd originally agreed upon, but it was a matter of honour now. She could not allow such an insult to stand, even if it was slight. She was confident in her skills, and this sort of duel even favoured her preferred style. She wouldn't take the demon lightly, she'd seen evidence of the other knight's skills, but she was confident in her ability to win. "So then, what are your terms? Purely martial skill, or magic as well?"

 

[Hafnium]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

Spoiler

Lyra: HP = 70, PP = 60, EP = 46/50, Status = Fine, Friday Night Fights

"Magnificent~" the demonic woman giggled victoriously. Kelda looked devastated that Lyra had taken her summon's bait, but didn't seem to know what to say. Erika, in the meantime, was somewhere in-between her twin's expression and relieved that her summon had swooped in to save her sister from the demon's price. "And all it took was a little push to get what I really wanted. As soon as I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the only one worth pursuing in this dreary place. I could hear it in your voice... see it in the way you carried yourself. You're as knightly as they come. I couldn't care less about the humans. Getting a chance to cross swords with you is the finest prize here."

She would turn her back to Lyra, apparently trusting in the faerie's honor, and motioned with her hand for the Spring knight to follow her to a small, flattened clearing a short distance away, where she began to draw a large circle in the snow with her armored foot. She remained silent until her efforts were finished, the end result being a ring at least thirty feet in diameter. Kelda and Erika moved to take a position outside of the circle, both still clueless on what to say about what had transpired but at least aware enough to understand the purpose of the circle. The knight motioned for Lyra to take a position near the middle of the circle.

As the faerie knight took her position, her demonic counterpart began to discard her armor, removing each piece and setting it outside of the circle. She proved to be no different than most demons when it came to supernatural beauty. She had a perfect, heart-shaped face and flawless skin as pale as milk glass. Wavy, raven hair cascaded down her back nearly to her hips once it was freed from her helmet. And underneath her armor it turned out that she wore dark clothing consisting of simple shoes, pants, and a sheer tunic which allowed Lyra to see her lithe physique beneath it, along with the white fabric wrapping her petite chest. She still wouldn't have been immediately recognizable as a demon except for the presence of slightly pointed ears, teeth that showed fangs when she grinned at Lyra, and carmine eyes which contrasted against the lightness of her complexion.

"My terms are as follows," she would finally answer once she was apparently ready. "The first to three strikes is the victor and setting foot out of the circle for any reason counts as a strike. Use every skill at your disposal to win, whether it's magical or martial, and I will do the same. I don't want to hear any excuses about what you could've done when I've got you tied to my bed." Assuming Lyra didn't protest, the demon would take her own position and drop into a battle stance with her sword pointed at the faerie in the window guard position. "Show me everything you've got," she demanded.

The demonic knight was about fifteen feet away from Lyra. For the time being, the faerie's opponent was content to wait passively and watch her every move to see how if and how she might initiate. The duel had all but began, and Lyra's actions would soon determine if her opponent walked away with nothing but injuries or took her payment from the faerie herself.

 

[Astarte]

Re: Thou Art a Knight (Astarte) GM'd by Hafnium

"Oh? Well, I suppose I should be flattered then." Lyra retorted, though her serious demeanour was clearly at odds with the demon knight's. She had known she was playing right into the demon's hand, but that couldn't be helped. This was a matter of honour now, and the fact that she could spare Kelda from her debt only made the choice that much easier. She would be lying if she claimed that the potential consequences didn't bother her, but it wasn't enough to give her second thoughts. She simply had to win, and everything would turn out fine.

Lyra barely acknowledged the two human girls and their reactions as she passed, following close behind the demon. She was looking forward to this fight too, as much as she tried not to let her eagerness show. Stakes aside, the chance to cross swords with a skilled opponent was always a welcome one. She took her place in the circle as the demon knight began to remove her armour. That was understandable, its weight would only be a hindrance in a fight like this, where they were competing for strikes alone. She was a little surprised at how similar the demon looked to herself, so obvious demonic features aside from fangs, along with the pointed ears and unnatural beauty that spoke of some supernatural nature, in much the same way that Lyra herself looked little different from a human. In her case it was even less pronounced, no obviously unnatural features about her except perhaps the vibrant colour of her hair, and the fact that she managed to keep it so long without any real trouble.

"Very well then." She nodded in assent to the demon's rules, seeing no problem with them—and once again doing her best to simply ignore the not-so-subtle innuendos—and shifted into a ready stance, holding her shield forward between her and her enemy and her sword at her side. After a momentary staredown, Lyra realized that the demon didn't intend to make the first move. That meant that it was up to her to take the initiative. She briefly considered taking the brief lull as a chance to cast a protective spell, but she didn't want to leave her opponent the chance to act uncontested.

Lunging forward, Lyra led with shield, trying to conceal as much of her body from her opponent's view as possible as she advanced, before swiping her sword from behind the shield in a low slash at the demon's legs, a burst of wind magic accelerating her strike just as it began. A second burst of wind accompanied a strike with her shield, striking at her opponent's arm with its edge before returning it to a guard position, trying to stick close to her opponent and deny the reach advantage of her larger sword. She was testing the waters for now, judging her opponent's reactions before she risked overextending herself.

Spoiler

Using Enchant Weapon on both her sword and shield for 4 EP and 1 Upkeep each, DC20 casting checks, and giving them +10 Attack and Damage (Attack being the main thing here, of course).

Then making an attack with her sword (13d10+20 Attack, 2d6 + 1d8 fire + 40 Damage if that is being tracked here.) and shield (12d10+17 Attack, 3d4 + 33 Damage).

Defensive Stats:
Dodge = 15d10+29
Grapple = 10d10+0
Reflexes = 25
Focus = 18
Willpower = 11

Tumble Mod = 5
Bull Rush Mod = 5
Overrun Mod = 5
Fire Resistance = 10
Cold Resistance = 5
Electricity Resistance = 5

+12 to Resistance checks against being moved, Stunned, knocked Prone, Bull Rushed, Overrun, Dominated, Charmed, given the Horny status, or any other attempts to control her actions.