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originally posted in:The New Dojo
12/28/2017 4:43:36 AM
111
[b][u]Empress of Fire[/u][/b]
[b]Chapter Two - The Fires of Combat[/b]
[spoiler]For Splash and Cthulhu[/spoiler]
[b]Khaom, The Arena of Thorns, 2:30 PM[/b]
[i]A single horn. And all that followed was cheering, as the first fight had begun.[/i]
[i]The first of the battles that transpired within the massive, circular fighting pit would be held between two nobles and their prized slaves: one a hulking brute of a man, with a great mace and a shield in hand, and the other with a shortsword and a dagger, built in a lean, adaptable manner.[/i]
"They say that most fights only last ten seconds. Fewer, even." [i]Rue whispered to the disguised Traci next to her, as her fingers dug into her seat as the signal horn rang throughout the arena. At that, the two warriors charged against each other, entering the ring of sunlight overhead and clashing as the crowd cheered in bloodlust.[/i]
[i]And on the other side..[/i] "A gift, for my Guardian." [i]A cloaked Charla whispered to her champion, whom was disguised in an attire himself. Fabio looked different than beforehand, though still comfortable yet, while his Khaomite buyer offered to place a grape into his mouth.[/i]
"Your fight will come, soon. You will fight. And you will win. You will be rewarded with the finest prizes imaginable, dear champion.
Or.. you will die."
[i]At that, the dexterous foe then fell to the ground, drowning in a puddle of his own blood, as his opponent raised his mace and finished his target for good.[/i]
--------------------------------
[spoiler]For JT.[/spoiler]
[b]Khaom, 2:30 PM[/b]
[i]She had made it inside.[/i]
[i]Natalie would blend in with the crowds of Khaom, for the most part, though she needed leads on this Charla individual. She wouldn't likely get any information from a normal passerby - but an agent had been assigned to a nearby bar, yet. Checking it out would be beneficial.[/i]
English
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"Woah..." Traci stared in well acted wonder. On the inside however, she was having terrible memories of her times with WM running through her mind from the sight of the arena. Her foot shook a little as she tried to control herself from just slaughtering Rue and everyone else in the stands.
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"Hey.." [i]Rue looked over, as the taller woman would then hold Traci's hand as she met her gaze.[/i] "Are you.. feeling well? I don't want to be here, either. But we have to. It's the only way that these twisted politics will work. Do you understand?"
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"Huh?" Traci looked up at Rue and nodded before gazing back at the arena. "Y-Yeah, I get it. I'll be fine."
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[i]Rue would fall into silence, as she would sigh then. A slave servant would approach the two in their seats, bowing towards Rue and the disguised Traci before he spoke.[/i] "My ladies - it is requested that both of you to report to Our Glorious, Sir Erandes." "The pompous dictator of this shithole." [i]Rue muttered.[/i] "And why is that? Interested in a duel, is he?"
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Traci fell silent, just listening to the interaction play out.
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"...Interested in both of you dueling, actually. Two.. honorable women, in the arena, against Khaomite's finest-" "You are a despicable thing." [i]Rue muttered, staring down at the servant still.[/i] "Fine, then. Elizabeth.. I trust you brought your weaponry?"
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"Yes, of course, Rue." Traci nodded, having her own sword with her at all times.
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"...Come, then. This "Sir Erandes" requires us." [i]Rue would shove past the servant, and as if without trying, sent him sprawling onto the concrete floor of their stands. The surrounding watchers upon the stands would guffaw at the man, who stumbled upwards and tried to avoid confrontation.[/i] [i]As Rue and Elizabeth made it to the highest point of the arena's stands, they would be greeted by a shorter man. A portly thing, practically a dwarf at his height, but seemingly wealthy too.[/i] "Miss Rue-" "Morning, jackass. Where is this Erandes?" [i]There was a silence between the two, until Rue sighed and chuckled to herself.[/i] "[i]You're[/i] Khaom's reclusive lord, Sir Erandes? You've never fought in the arenas, I take it. This is my younger sister, Elizabeth. Do take caution in her presence, she is deadly as well as polite." [i]A jest on Rue's part, though one could take it as a threat.[/i]
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"My sister would be correct, lord." Traci grinned a little at the man as she stood beside Rue.
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[i]Erandes went a little pale at the comment, before speaking again.[/i] "Well, as you know, i-in order to change the political affairs of this city-" "One must prove their worth in combat. Alright, asshole - trial by combat, you and me." [i]Rue responded, as a few of the nobles that walked by the three's conversation would smile at Rue's challenge to the dwarf. Erandes seemed shocked.[/i] "I-I may employ my own champion-" "Exactly what I fuсking expected, from Khaom." [i]As if desperate, Erandes would look to Traci.[/i] "Understand, I-I'm more valuable to you and your sister.. alive. If I die in those pits.." [i]Rue finally fell silent, looking over at Traci in her moment of thought. Her gaze would then return to the dwarf.[/i] "...I want resources. Gold, soldiers, and whatever's underneath this arena." [i]Erandes fell silent, at that. Traci would have to take note of that - Rue's greed seemed to be endless, as she revealed three assets to the Trayven army that Traci could force the dwarf to surrender. Though he didn't seem excited about the last part.[/i] "[i]No[/i]. I will fund your Tribune, i-if I live. But I cannot allow for what is below to be released.." [i]It seemed as if Traci could put her opinion in the mix: ask about what was beneath the arena, support Rue in this one-on-one and end this, or.. fight in the arena, gain the favor of these Khaomites, betray Rue, and find Erandes' favor.[/i] [i]The Khaomites didn't seem to mind betrayal too badly, after all.[/i]
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Traci turned to Rue. "Sister, why don't we have a look at what's beneath this arena first? We should check if anything is actually down there ourselves before going further, if you ask me."
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"That would work out for us, if our little friend here decided to show us.." [i]Rue murmured, crossing her arms.[/i] "It's too dangerous- it is illegal for you to head down there, violence and death will be the only result-" "Then I will have violence and death." [i]The woman interrupted Erandes, staring down at him quietly.[/i]
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"There will be death and violence either way, won't there? I don't see the problem." Traci stared at the man as w ell, backing up Rue.
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"I-I.." "It's been a pleasure speaking with you, dearest Erandes. I'll see you in the pit." [i]As Rue would lead the disguised Traci away from the short man, the woman would sigh with a seemingly despairing attitude. Least, when she was out of range.[/i] "...We have a head start. It's either an arena fight so we can discover this object of war with a willing Khaom.. Or we take it for ourselves. Your thoughts?"
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"I think the arena would cause less of an uproar and couldn't be too hard anyway. Who knows, we might have fun?"
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"We might.. our fight should be the last, however, seeing as it is-" [i]Trumpets would then interrupt Rue, as the woman appeared shocked, as the crowd began to scream in celebration. Her fist tightened as she scowled, only to look down at the arena.[/i] [i]A heavily armored carriage sprinted through the arena, and within it, seemed to be this Erandes. It almost seemed comedic: a dwarf, yelling[/i] "Where is my challenger, o people of this fine city?!" [i]as the people cheered for him. The carriage driver was a heavily armored brute of a man, adorned within golds and metals, while he only seemed to pack armored gauntlets upon him.[/i] [i]Rue looked at Elizabeth, one last time.[/i] "Last second choice. You sure?"
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"I'm sure, sister. I've got this." She smiled confidently at Rue. "Have I ever let you down?"
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[i]Rue would fall into a distant silence, yet she would shake her head in response then. She would sigh, as the two would descend down the arena's stairways, into it's walls until they found a caged entrance into the arena itself.[/i] "...No mercy, remember?"
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"Yes, Rue, I've got this." She grinned at Rue, facing her. "No mercy."
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"No mercy." [url=https://youtu.be/yCWYiAJ7zcI]Arena of Thorns Theme - On To Winterfell (1:02)[/url] [i]The mighty iron gates would rise up for the two women, as Rue would swiftly exit, hoping to find Elizabeth to follow her. The armored carriage circled around the arena rapidly, as one of the riders within would hang off on the side, a crossbow in hand.[/i]
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Rue followed closey behind her fake sister, eyeing up the arena a bit more as shdme did so. Her hand twitched a little, ready to fight back.
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[i]It didn't seem like there would be much of a fight.[/i] [i]As the carriage flew towards Rue, the woman would drop down to a single knee, with the hulking carriage driving straight towards her. The man with the crossbow would carefully take aim, his finger resting upon the trigger-[/i] [i]A shard of rock suddenly erupted from the earth, sending the carriage flying to Rue's right. The crossbow man was crushed underneath the crashed carriage, as the crowd screamed in terror. Rue would only smile, rising up and bowing as if taunting.[/i]
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Traci clapped a little and smiled at Rue. "Good job, Rue! Though, that wasn't much of a fight. The guy didn't stand a chance."
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"Serves them right. A fuсking carriage.." [i]As Erandes crawled out from the wreck, the giant driver would exit and pull the little man up. Rue would smile sickly, before sending a barrage of rocky shards to the man. Only, he quite literally bashed them aside, with a single swing from his arm: his arm would dent, almost, yet repair itself, as he approached the two.[/i]
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"That's...different." She chuckled, amused. "Finish it, sister?"
