Lord of Azure Flame: Chapter 15: Happy Birthday Esphyr!

[Ether]

"You alright Esphyr?" Damian asked, as she looked uneasy, and was frowning.

"You don't have to worry about Aiya, I'd be more worried about her opponents if I were you."

[Ansem]

"LADY'S AND GENTLEMEN! TODAY MARKS THE 33rd ARENA TOURNEY! TOday we have a slew of formidable warrior that braved over harsh weather just to be here. Lets here is for our first contender. In this corner, we have Chase, the young but gifted archer against Charles, the mercenary. START THE FIGHT!"

Edited August 2, 2010 by Solf J. Kimblee

[Snowy_One]

"I dislike Arena's. The whole idea of people fighting for money while other people make money off it makes me sick. And no snitty comments about my mercenary thing! Anyways, I am worried about Aiya. Well... Interested to say the least. Will she win, or will she die?"

[Ether]

"Aiya won't die. She's lived through worse than a place like this can throw at her. She won't die." Damian answered, although it sounded like he was trying to reassure himself.

[riariadne]

"Of all the luck... Thirteen always bad news for me. Ugh." Chase muttered, when he heard Aiya's comment.

Edited August 2, 2010 by Lightning

[Snowy_One]

"Think about what it would mean if she did though." said Esphyr. She knew what she had said, as she had said it intentionally. She didn't know what she wanted out of the statement though. Did she want Aiya dead? No. She liked Aiya. Did she want her to lose? No... Did she want Damian for herself? Maybe...

[Ansem]

"Number 13, please report to the arena stage."

[-Cynthia-]

Morgan gave Altion a look of utter contempt. "A threat if you must know, not a husband." She laid her head down on the table Just a short break, then I can finish up these interviews

Charlotte wandered around Anglenar with Eric at her side, taking in the sights of the large town. There were places she wanted to visit, but she thought it best to keep a low profile. Who around me is working for Jace? she thought to herself.

She ran into some familiar faces outside of a shop. "Oh hello there Kelas." she said to the nomad woman. "What are we needing again? I heard Sir Pary and the pegasus knights went off to get food."

Edited August 2, 2010 by -Cynthia-

[riariadne]

To Chase's relief, he was then called to the arena. "Guess not... whew." He made a run for the doors to make it on time, and arrived just as the announcer said his name. "Good timing... well, guess it's time to test this thing out for real!" he commented, drawing the Killer Bow and shooting an arrow straight across the arena, following it up with a second immediately afterwards. The swordsman managed to dodge the first, but was hit by the second. The swordfighter, scowling, charged at Chase with his sword ranged, but the hunter leapt back as he swung at the ground immediately in fron of him "Close one," Chase muttered, then fired a third arrow at his opponent, hitting him and causing him to stagger. Once again, the blade-wielder raised his sword to attack, and Chase once again moved out of harm's way, but the attack had been a feint and Chase was smacked by the blunt end of the blade in the stomach, knocking him down. "Urgh..." he uttered weakly, but got up and fired a fourth shot, which the mercenary dodged, and once again he charged at the archer. Chase was prepared this time, however, and shot an arrow at point blank range to end the match.

Edited August 2, 2010 by Lightning

[Snowy_One]

"Hey." said Altion, laying his head down as well. "You look tired. Let me order you a drink. Water?" he asked before raising his hand and sliding a coin down to the barkeep, who quickly responded with the drink in question. With a smile, he offered the drink to Morgan. "It's not poisoned, don't worry. If you're looking for someone intent on selling you out, it would probably make sense to deal with the people who's loyalty lies with money first, no? Just a thought Ms. Morgan."

[Ether]

"If... she did..." Damian looked at Esphyr, his eyes showing confusion and... fear?

Eyes. Window to the soul. They can say a lot of things about a person. Damian's normally calm blue eyes looked haggard and fearful... for a time.

Vision fading... no, fazing over. Everything spins, as for not more than a second, Damian's eyes stare into Esphyr's, shining blood red.

Damian shook his head, looking back at her. His eyes normal.

"Aiya won't die... she wouldn't let herself die over something like this... she'll pull out before that happens."

[Dark Sage]

"I guess we're numbers 19 and 20 right?"

"Yeah. You big guy are 19 and the girly here is 20. Stage names?"

"Stage names?" said Reika. An idea suddenly came to her.

"I'm the Nighthawk and he's Hapless Sidekick," she said, smirking.

"What?"

"Just kidding. He's the Mountain Man."

"Ok then. Wait till we call you guys up then."

[-Cynthia-]

"Clearly that would be sensible." said Morgan, replying to Altion. "Of course about half this group is made up of mercenaries, which makes detecting those who might be traitorous more difficult." She did not touch the water.

[Snowy_One]

"Well, which of the mercenaries approached party members for employment instead of being approached by others? Since you're the leader, I would assume you would know. I would think a mole would want to guarentee his position and thusly either beg to be let in, or construct some event to let him in. Then again, I could be the mole. Just following at a distance." he said, reclining as he watched the water. "If you want, I'll take a sip of it to show it's not poisoned, or if it is, that we'll be both poisoned together."

---

Esphyr looked up at Damian, her eyes catching the redness of his own. "Damian; you would go berserk? Why? Are you that unstable?"

Edited August 2, 2010 by Snowy_One

[Ether]

"Huh? What are you talking about, Esphyr?" Damian asked, confused. It seems that the slight lapse hadn't even registered in his mind.

[Ansem]

"And the winner is Chase, the archer!" One of the Fightmongers dragged the swordsman back and threw him out. "The next match, Helios the Wind Mage versus Robb, the Swordsmen. "Here goes nothing." He said heading out to the arena stage. He stood in the center, his eyes closed and his arms crossed. Robb looked at the wind mage. "Im going to cut you into little pieces." He threw his sword square at Helios' chest. The crowd gasped. "NO KILLING BLOWS! YOUR DISQUALIFIED!" But the yelling fell on deaf ears as it headed closer. Then a strong blast of wind deflected the sword. "You really want to die." He said opening his eyes. Then a blade of Archwind jabbed the mans arm as he fell. Another fightmonger dragged him out. "The swordfighter has been disqualified, Helios the wind mage wins!" Helios headed back to the room. He sat down on one of the couches. "Aiya, your next." He said passing on a message from a fightmonger to her."

Edited August 2, 2010 by Solf J. Kimblee

[-Cynthia-]

"You could be a mole, but not the one I am searching for as you have joined too late. And I believe almost all the mercenaries in the group approached the party, not the other way around, with a few exceptions. As for the water, you could have poisoned it with something you built up a high resistance to, such things have been known to happen." Morgan said, eyes narrowing.

[Balcerzak]

Kelas had returned from taking care of some business with a question. "You two need anything from the market?" she asked Arrin and Tessa.

The mage had replied in the affirmative, mentioning a need for a new tome, before also turning to hear what the troubadour's response would be. There really was only one response to give, though, so things shouldn't have come as a surprise.

"I definitely would like to come along. I... don't really know much about buying things, and well, I had asked Helios, Derek, and some others, but there was either never time, or they were elsewise occupied, or... But yes! Especially given the incident with those downtrodden souls that wound up in my losing my satchel and most of my things, I've been in dire need of some replacements."

Arrin was continuing to watch her carefully, clearly still worried about her condition, and probably thinking that she ought to rest from the looks of it, but he also seemed like he would be content to have her make her own decision, which she certainly appreciated. Overprotectiveness... was not something she handled very well, and for good reason.

Before they managed to actually head off, however, Charlotte swung by with some questions of her own. "What are we needing again?"

Turning towards the cleric... no, the princess, Tessa inclined her head a bit deferentially. "I'm not sure what her plans were, but Arrin was picking up a new tome, and I need another brush, satchel, and just a few other odds and ends. Though, I'm not exactly sure how easy they will be to come by..."

Edited August 2, 2010 by Balcerzak

[Inactive Account]

"Arrin needs a tome, and I could probably use replacements for the clothes what got holes cut through 'em," Kelas told Charlotte. "We all ready, then?"

"I'm ready," Arrin confirmed. "Are you bringing Amari with?"

"May as well," Kelas replied with a shrug. "She's still got my saddlebags, and she's as good as any of us at keeping cutpurses and the like away." She set off down the street, Arrin following.

[Snowy_One]

"You are a suspicious woman." said Altion, picking up the glass. "You are right though. The only thing I can do is this." he said, raising the cup up to take a swig before putting it down. The cool water flowed over his lips and down his mouth and into his belly before he put it down again; sixty percent emptier. "I drank more than half. I give you my word it isn't poisoned; and that is all I can do. Please, trust me."

---

"For a moment there, I could feel it's presence, clawing at my own. Seeking to set it free, to force me to summon it once again." said Esphyr. "Would you really summon your weapon over her death?"

[-Cynthia-]

"I could use some new traveling clothes myself." Charlotte said. "Probably best to keep changing outfits for...protection purposes. And I would love to help you pick out new clothes!" she said to Kelas, smiling.

"Trust is for the foolish." Morgan replied to Altion simply.

Edited August 2, 2010 by -Cynthia-

[Snowy_One]

"Then I am a fool, but a happy fool." said Altion, with a push, he slid the glass over to her again. "There is only one mole, and I would think the rest of your party fools then. There is no point in suspecting the innocent, and your wrath is wasted on them. Better to be a fool with friends, than a cynic without."

[Ether]

"All right, thanks Helios." Aiya replied, getting up and heading towards the ring.

As she stepped into her corner, the announcer began his obligatory rant to begin the match.

"In this corner, we have the lovely female swordfighter, Aiya!"

As Aiya stepped out into the ring, there were mixed looks. From betters now assured that her opponent would win, to the generic dogs of society who figured that this was an especially good day. Seeing Carnage and women in the same place? Absurd.

"And in this corner, we have the tenacious, the amazing, Maxamillion the White Knight! BEGIN!"

At the sound of the starting flare, Aiya rushed the knight, Zweihander in hand. The man's form was good, and he managed to deflect the crushing blow delivered by Aiya's blade.

'Range is still in my favour though.'

And so it was. While each swing of the elegant Zweihander was evaded or blocked, Maxamillion couldn't find an opening. the Steel sword in his hand measured 3 feet, far too short to compete with a blade twice it's length.

"Grah!" A heavy swing. The zweihander was torn from Aiya's grip at the sudden heavy impact, and Maxamillion moved in. She would be unable to draw the steel blade before he struck. He swung for her right side...

*clang*

"Nngh? Wha-?"

The steel gauntlet had blocked the swing, and Aiya now held a strong grip on Maxamillion's blade. As he tried to pull away, he saw the flash of metal in motion.

The steel boot Aiya wore collided with Maxamillion's face, the sickening crunch of his jawbone breaking under the force caused several spectators to look away, as blood began to pour from the knight's mouth and nose, which had also broken.

'Now, to finish this.'

Curling her left hand into a fist, Aiya used her right, still firmly holding his weapon, to pull Maxamillion forward.

The Steel fist flew into his gut, and the knight let out a weak whimper before losing consciousness.

"And our winner is, Aiya!"

In the distance, the swears of unlucky bet mongers could be heard. They would have to think twice before discounting a female combatant again.

**********************

"I-If Aiya were to die, I don't know what I would do... Esphyr... in the past, Aiya helped me keep my grip on sanity... when my father died, when those tests burned me like some sort of bloody nail tearing into mt flesh... she was there, comforting me... I can't say for sure I would be able to control what would happen..." Damian trailed off, before hearing the announcement that Aiya had won.

[Snowy_One]

"She matters to you a lot, doesn't she? Why does it pain you so much to admit that to me? Are you afraid of losing me as well? Me who never comforted you, nor aided you through madness. Damian, don't lie to me. She's your woman. And she won."

[-Cynthia-]

"How are you so confident there is only one mole?" asked Morgan of Altion. "I would not presume such a thing, unless you are privy to knowledge that I am not. Some I suspect likely are innocent, but not all."