Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Still worth trying then, do we at least have Advantage because of the Sneak Attack?
Fire Emblem: Last of the Manakete
- Thread starter SoaringHawk218
- Start date
- Fantasy
Still worth trying then, do we at least have Advantage because of the Sneak Attack?
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Great, odds are still broadly in our favor then. We've got +2 successes to begin with, and while they're rolling 15 dice, those only count on 9s and 10s, while ours count on 7s and above. Combine that with our bonuses from Ranged and Magical Superiority, and the odds are still well stacked in our favor, and with Advantage on top, we should be okay. Especially since Arcthunder adds +2 dice to our pool, meaning that Ryza's going to be sneak attacking them with 7 + Ranged + Magic, all as Strong Dice, and with 2 Automatic Successes, and we take the best of the three while they take the worst of their three.
And this all assumes our tactics gives us no benefit whatsoever. They might tilt the scales even further towards us.
Which isn't to say "There's no risk at all", combat is always risky, but letting them get their shit together when they know the target profile (And that we also fall into the profile of people who Get Fucked by Archers) and have what amounts to being complete surprise seems even riskier to me.
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Ferb_Ancos
The one under the table
- Pronouns
- He
"It's a beautiful night outside.
Friends are unwinding, wyverns are resting...
on nights like these, people like you lot...
Will be burning in thunderborn hell."
- Ryza Levinheart (out-of-character) to a random group of bandits who were expecting to capture 3 Whitewings. They were not expecting a mage capable of attacking them with Arcthunder.
Friends are unwinding, wyverns are resting...
on nights like these, people like you lot...
Will be burning in thunderborn hell."
- Ryza Levinheart (out-of-character) to a random group of bandits who were expecting to capture 3 Whitewings. They were not expecting a mage capable of attacking them with Arcthunder.
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Scary Story Training, by Alcor
I tried to envision how stat boost items would work narratively and my twisted mind ended up with this:
It's been a long season. It feels like that fateful night you lost Selena and ended up meeting Ryza was a lifetime ago, but the reality was it had been a mere couple of months. Mantrae's stupidity, the Emperor's death, and the slow but steady rising of the beats of war only weeks apart. Spirits, but you were tired. If you weren't treating with dignitaries that frankly weren't worth Father's attention you were keeping your training up or cramming some refresher courses on the smaller details of the various vassal houses being called to Agrithe each day to ensure you could tailor conversations to each lord or lady as needed. Rare was a day like today where you could take a short breather.
Which is what led you to wander the halls this afternoon - sitting still had never been something that agreed with you, truthfully you'd get less rest trying to force yourself to stay in your room and do whatever "proper" nobles did for recreation. No, better to people-watch or at least enjoy the breeze. However, your thoughts are interrupted by the sound of shrieks coming down the bend.
Instantly, you tense, mind racing through the possibilities. Ambush? No, no, that's absurd. You're in the heart of the castle, no assassin could make it past the legions of guards patrolling the grounds. ...But then you're sure Emperor Thaddeus thought the same before the knife found his back. You take stock of your position, you're near Master Shadebringer's -- no Ryza's now... or Mistress Levinheart's (now that was a surprise, though you always knew she'd have to take some mage name, she'll always be Ryza to you), you suppose -- lab. Could one of the newer arrivals have seen her and been shocked by her nature? You knew word had spread pretty far over the past weeks so you're skeptical any of the retinues hadn't heard but maybe a squire or something? Best to check, Ryza tried her best to hide it but you knew it still bothered her when people had a poor reaction to her more... draconic... aspects. You approach the door, and open it to find...
"No way! If the tomes all burnt here then the Archduke would tan my hide!"
"All that knowledge? Gone just like that!? That's terrible! Wouldn't humans keep backups in case of emergency? To lose centuries of accumulated knowledge...!"
...To see a somewhat eclectic gathering. Ryza and Siri, clinging to one another in distress, are one thing. Even Sypha's presence isn't that surprising, having become fast friends with Ryza. But standing as if addressing the group was Belle of all people. You also note Kelton leaning against a pillar off to the side with a grin as he watches on. Well, in retrospect, perhaps this wasn't the strangest grouping of people but with James absent it seemed unlikely this was entirely about magic. At least it seemed like your worries were for nothing.
"What's going on? I heard screaming," you say as you clear your throat.
Five heads turn towards you. Ryza brightens at your presence, "Oh! Hey Artemis! We're-" she pauses as if finally digesting your words, "Hey! I didn't scream!"
"You absolutely did," replies Belle with the same teasing smile you see her with on occasion.
"Sorry, Ryza, that was totally a scream," Kelton agrees, not hiding his amusement.
"You both did," Sypha pronounces with all the grace of a noble lady... before shattering the illusion by breaking down into giggles.
"Traitors!" Ryza exclaims with mock offense.
"Yeah! Who wouldn't scream if they heard such a scary story!" Siri chimes in.
"Scary story?" you ask with interest.
"It wasn't really a scary story," Sypha answers, "It was just the story about the burning of the Library of Starhelm."
Ah. You remember that. Centuries ago, when the Northern Kingdoms were still young, the Empire had sought to break the will of the fledgling upstarts by setting fire to the Library, which had long been a symbol of knowledge and enlightenment and even served as the meeting place for the various lords of the North when they gathered and declared their breaking from Imperial control. It was said to have been home to a vast number of books and scrolls, second only to the Marble Hall in magical knowledge and second only to the the Imperial Capital's own in knowledge besides. It was the latter that was most lamented, to be sure the loss of magical tomes there hurt - and it was this paper-thin justification the Empire used to claim it represented a valid military target - but the loss of various folk tales and histories was a grave one. Entire stories wiped out, or relegated to oral tradition in scattered villages to wither away. ...Come to think of it, you think you may have even seen Apollo shed a tear upon first hearing the story.
"It was too!" Siri protests, with Ryza nodding vigorously along.
The younger girls debate the horror value of a burning library while you turn your attention to Belle, who seems rather pleased with herself. "Okay, so I see why Ryza would scream about this but I wouldn't have expected you to be the one telling the tale. How'd that happen?"
"The boss said she wanted to hear scary stories. I've got a ton of them, but a lot of them aren't exactly... age-appropriate for our audience here... let's say. But then I got to thinking, girl like her? Crazy powerful mage, adorable little bookworm? What would she find really scary - that she couldn't just zap away herself? And here we are."
"I can't believe it got a better reaction than my story about the time Ardan made me hunt down the Monster of Miau!" Kelton pouts in good fun.
"...The 'Monster of Miau'?" you raise your eyebrow skeptically. You feel like you would have heard about anything that eventful from the knights, if only in passing.
"Spider. Big guy though. Really it's all in the telling, I was sure I nailed the build-up. Ryza hates 'em too, thought I had this in the bag," Kelton says with a completely straight face.
You let out a long suffering sigh, "Why'd Ryza even want a scary story contest?"
The manakete herself must have heard you, because she looks up from the fierce debate she was engaged in to answer, "Oh, right! Artemis, I had a great idea!"
You feel a headache coming on, but motion for her to continue.
"So, I was thinking about magic." ("Of course," you think to yourself.) "And I realized that something I could work on is how much magical energy I can call up at a time. See, normally one's body can only handle channeling so much energy at a time, so a major limitation in a mage's ability is how much, and how quickly they can call up that energy. The better your constitution, the more it can channel, so you can build up and use higher tiers of magic faster. Otherwise, you might be in a situation where you might be better off casting a lower level spell twice because you only cast the higher one once in the same amount of time, right? Well, sometimes you might want the extra firepower, but strictly speaking it's just a general upgrade all-"
"Got it, got it. You wanted to cast bigger spells faster," you hurriedly interrupt. You could tell that Ryza was revving up for a lecture that was going to be well beyond your, and possibly any modern mage's, understanding.
Ryza pouts briefly, but then cheerfully continues, "Right! So, I was reading my scrolls when I found out one way manaketes trained to improve this was by increasing their constitution, but at first the exercises didn't make sense to me. Well, they did, but I couldn't get why they'd help with magic. I asked everyone here if they had any ideas about that and they did. ("Cardio," Kelton mouths when you catch his glance and immediately feel your headache redouble.) But then I thought about it some more, and actually when you think about it, the body generates electricity too when it moves its muscles, right? Master Amberwing proved that in his thesis when trying to prove it was a sign that the Mother wanted us to train not only our minds and magic, but our bodies too-"
You sigh, "Ryza..."
"Ahahaha, sorry," Ryza says sheepishly before continuing, "Anyway, so I was thinking, if Kelton was saying that the exercises sounded like what humans call 'cardio' or 'heart' then I might be able to get the same effects by training my heart. You see, a scary story makes your heart race too, right? So it's the same principle! But more than that, you can work on controlling your emotions by dealing with the scary story without getting... well... scared! So it's like double training!"
She looks inordinately proud of herself for this reasoning so it kind of hurts to burst her bubble, but, "...O...kay. So I'm following you so far, and just for the sake of argument let's say you're right. If you get used to the scary stories so they don't scare you and make your heart race anymore... doesn't that mean you're no longer getting any training benefit from them?"
Silence. That's what you're greeted with as Ryza absorbs your argument. She hesitantly glances back at the others. Siri shakes her head, Sypha seems to be in some thought, Kelton gives an apologetic look, and Belle still has that shit-eating grin as if she had worked this out already but kept playing along regardless.
"Oh noooooo! You're right!" Ryza cries in defeat.
"Looking at it another way, wouldn't it mean you've achieved mastery?" Kelton helpfully(?) submits.
"T-That's right!" Siri latches onto this, "We can become masters of scary stories! And uh... magic too!"
"There, there..." Sypha pats Ryza on the shoulder to console her, "It was fun, wasn't it?"
"Yeah..."
Ryza gains +2 Constitution
Future "Scary Story" Meetings have no effect.
But they seem to be enjoying themselves, so it's probably okay.
I have no idea why in the world my mind went in this direction, but I made the Constitution -> Cardio -> Racing Heart -> Scary Stories leap pretty fast and the story just kind of came together naturally LOL. Obviously the burning of the Library thing is the quest version of the Library of Alexandria which led to me quickly trying to remember location names to put one somewhere in the world. But really it was just for the gag that this is what passes as a scary story for Ryza. Being a human story obviously I couldn't use the Manakete Era map and since I used Artemis as the POV to have a straight woman my mind went to where she currently is going.
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Thank you for this. It sort of reminded me of some of the Tales of skits, and I always liked those.
You also did a really great job of keeping everyone in-character, and Ryza would absolutely be terrified by a story of a library getting burned down.
Well, terrified and enraged. Dragon-her's probably seething about that in her mind.
Thanks. When I originally posted it, I had only done the bare minimum in proofreading - and missed how I changed from second-person to first-person perspective a bit towards the end somehow (now fixed... I think) LOL.
"Eventful" was intentional however, adjective basically meaning "full of memorable events." Basically Artemis was taking Kelton's mention of a "Monster of Miau" at face value and was skeptical because if something popped up that gained a title like that, she would have heard about it as gossip among the knights if nothing else. ...Only for him to reveal he was dressing up a "My sister asked me to get a spider" story to build it up way bigger than it was.
"Eventful" was intentional however, adjective basically meaning "full of memorable events." Basically Artemis was taking Kelton's mention of a "Monster of Miau" at face value and was skeptical because if something popped up that gained a title like that, she would have heard about it as gossip among the knights if nothing else. ...Only for him to reveal he was dressing up a "My sister asked me to get a spider" story to build it up way bigger than it was.
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
No, I'm not. I'm just assuming the Dragon is at least as intelligent as the average fish. It does not take a lot of foresight to recognize that scaring off people who don't pose an immediate threat to you or your pack is better than picking a fight.
I cannot stress enough, this is a basic instinct for basically every animal species with enough anatomy to be capable of fighting. (With a few exceptions for creatures with unusual social structures, like hive insects.) You are assuming Ryza's inner dragon is as dumb as a neutral Fire Emblem unit.
Assuming A. that the dragon murders all of the people it doesn't like on sight and B. nobody runs. You haven't actually explained why you think the rest of the wannabe kidnappers will wander into an obvious death trap. This isn't literally a Fire Emblem game—reinforcements aren't programmed to appear on turn 3, come hell or high water.
I feel like we had a bit more justification for fighting those people instead of giving them a chance to surrender. These people are less organized, less threatening, and haven't just murdered a bunch of innocent people.
TaliesinSkye
Occasional Editor
- Location
- Northeast Ohio, United States
By the way, can I just say that this one-off line is great? I really want to know now how Duke Roberts had an extremely ironic day with a hill and goats after his statement about the Whitewings, now.
I'm reminded of the fantastic quotes as a form of worldbuilding and entertainment that A Practical Guide to Evil would put in chapter headings, and those are the best I've encountered anywhere.
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
It sounds like it probably started as some kind of land dispute. There was a hill that was used as goat pasture, two groups both thought it was theirs, one group called in the Whitewings to either arbitrate or perform the aerial cavalry equivalent of gunboat diplomacy, things got bad enough that the incident was worth at least a footnote in the history books.
[X] Strike now. The bandits aren't all in yet, if you hit now, you might be able to drive them off before they can bring their greater numbers to bear.
-[X] You can see them, and they can't see you, you are also an accredited Mage who can fly even if you're not bringing your Dragon-Self into the equation, and presumably, they're not going to fight to the death if they don't have to. So you probably don't have to kill every last one of them before they'll break and run. You sincerely doubt they're going to charge into a chokepoint when there's a Mage who can cast Arcthunder blasting them from the shadows.
--[X] So the answer's simple, before they know you're here, take the one who can see out first, hit him with everything you've got! Take him out of the fight before he can guide his allies forward. Afterwards, focus on what you can cast quickly and get back on the move rather than sheer overwhelming power. Elthunder/Thunder level stuff for the most part. Speed and mobility is life here.
---[X] Between the flashes of thunder and your wings, and their lack of night vision for the most part, you should be able to relocate between every attack, keep your distance, make use of the terrain to keep them back--the noise of your blasting should wake your escort, and you can trust them to have their act together. But the most important thing is to keep them on edge, to abuse your ability to see while they're floundering in the shadows, and hopefully they'll break and run before you have to step things up a notch.
-[X] You can see them, and they can't see you, you are also an accredited Mage who can fly even if you're not bringing your Dragon-Self into the equation, and presumably, they're not going to fight to the death if they don't have to. So you probably don't have to kill every last one of them before they'll break and run. You sincerely doubt they're going to charge into a chokepoint when there's a Mage who can cast Arcthunder blasting them from the shadows.
--[X] So the answer's simple, before they know you're here, take the one who can see out first, hit him with everything you've got! Take him out of the fight before he can guide his allies forward. Afterwards, focus on what you can cast quickly and get back on the move rather than sheer overwhelming power. Elthunder/Thunder level stuff for the most part. Speed and mobility is life here.
---[X] Between the flashes of thunder and your wings, and their lack of night vision for the most part, you should be able to relocate between every attack, keep your distance, make use of the terrain to keep them back--the noise of your blasting should wake your escort, and you can trust them to have their act together. But the most important thing is to keep them on edge, to abuse your ability to see while they're floundering in the shadows, and hopefully they'll break and run before you have to step things up a notch.
[X] Strike now. The bandits aren't all in yet, if you hit now, you might be able to drive them off before they can bring their greater numbers to bear.
-[X] You can see them, and they can't see you, you are also an accredited Mage who can fly even if you're not bringing your Dragon-Self into the equation, and presumably, they're not going to fight to the death if they don't have to. So you probably don't have to kill every last one of them before they'll break and run. You sincerely doubt they're going to charge into a chokepoint when there's a Mage who can cast Arcthunder blasting them from the shadows.
--[X] So the answer's simple, before they know you're here, take the one who can see out first, hit him with everything you've got! Take him out of the fight before he can guide his allies forward. Afterwards, focus on what you can cast quickly and get back on the move rather than sheer overwhelming power. Elthunder/Thunder level stuff for the most part. Speed and mobility is life here.
---[X] Between the flashes of thunder and your wings, and their lack of night vision for the most part, you should be able to relocate between every attack, keep your distance, make use of the terrain to keep them back--the noise of your blasting should wake your escort, and you can trust them to have their act together. But the most important thing is to keep them on edge, to abuse your ability to see while they're floundering in the shadows, and hopefully they'll break and run before you have to step things up a notch.
-[X] You can see them, and they can't see you, you are also an accredited Mage who can fly even if you're not bringing your Dragon-Self into the equation, and presumably, they're not going to fight to the death if they don't have to. So you probably don't have to kill every last one of them before they'll break and run. You sincerely doubt they're going to charge into a chokepoint when there's a Mage who can cast Arcthunder blasting them from the shadows.
--[X] So the answer's simple, before they know you're here, take the one who can see out first, hit him with everything you've got! Take him out of the fight before he can guide his allies forward. Afterwards, focus on what you can cast quickly and get back on the move rather than sheer overwhelming power. Elthunder/Thunder level stuff for the most part. Speed and mobility is life here.
---[X] Between the flashes of thunder and your wings, and their lack of night vision for the most part, you should be able to relocate between every attack, keep your distance, make use of the terrain to keep them back--the noise of your blasting should wake your escort, and you can trust them to have their act together. But the most important thing is to keep them on edge, to abuse your ability to see while they're floundering in the shadows, and hopefully they'll break and run before you have to step things up a notch.
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Strike now. The bandits aren't all in yet, if you hit now, you might be able to drive them off before they can bring their greater numbers to bear.
-[X] You can see them, and they can't see you, you are also an accredited Mage who can fly even if you're not bringing your Dragon-Self into the equation, and presumably, they're not going to fight to the death if they don't have to. So you probably don't have to kill every last one of them before they'll break and run. You sincerely doubt they're going to charge into a chokepoint when there's a Mage who can cast Arcthunder blasting them from the shadows.
--[X] So the answer's simple, before they know you're here, take the one who can see out first, hit him with everything you've got! Take him out of the fight before he can guide his allies forward. Afterwards, focus on what you can cast quickly and get back on the move rather than sheer overwhelming power. Elthunder/Thunder level stuff for the most part. Speed and mobility is life here.
---[X] Between the flashes of thunder and your wings, and their lack of night vision for the most part, you should be able to relocate between every attack, keep your distance, make use of the terrain to keep them back--the noise of your blasting should wake your escort, and you can trust them to have their act together. But the most important thing is to keep them on edge, to abuse your ability to see while they're floundering in the shadows, and hopefully they'll break and run before you have to step things up a notch
-[X] You can see them, and they can't see you, you are also an accredited Mage who can fly even if you're not bringing your Dragon-Self into the equation, and presumably, they're not going to fight to the death if they don't have to. So you probably don't have to kill every last one of them before they'll break and run. You sincerely doubt they're going to charge into a chokepoint when there's a Mage who can cast Arcthunder blasting them from the shadows.
--[X] So the answer's simple, before they know you're here, take the one who can see out first, hit him with everything you've got! Take him out of the fight before he can guide his allies forward. Afterwards, focus on what you can cast quickly and get back on the move rather than sheer overwhelming power. Elthunder/Thunder level stuff for the most part. Speed and mobility is life here.
---[X] Between the flashes of thunder and your wings, and their lack of night vision for the most part, you should be able to relocate between every attack, keep your distance, make use of the terrain to keep them back--the noise of your blasting should wake your escort, and you can trust them to have their act together. But the most important thing is to keep them on edge, to abuse your ability to see while they're floundering in the shadows, and hopefully they'll break and run before you have to step things up a notch
One Day Heads Up
So with one day left, plan "Take out the thief and then kite them using darkness" is winning pretty hard.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Strike now. The bandits aren't all in yet, if you hit now, you might be able to drive them off before they can bring their greater numbers to bear.
-[X] You can see them, and they can't see you, you are also an accredited Mage who can fly even if you're not bringing your Dragon-Self into the equation, and presumably, they're not going to fight to the death if they don't have to. So you probably don't have to kill every last one of them before they'll break and run. You sincerely doubt they're going to charge into a chokepoint when there's a Mage who can cast Arcthunder blasting them from the shadows.
--[X] So the answer's simple, before they know you're here, take the one who can see out first, hit him with everything you've got! Take him out of the fight before he can guide his allies forward.
---[X] Between the flashes of thunder and your wings, and their lack of night vision for the most part, you should be able to relocate between every attack, keep your distance, make use of the terrain to keep them back--the noise of your blasting should wake your escort, and you can trust them to have their act together. But the most important thing is to keep them on edge, to abuse your ability to see while they're floundering in the shadows, and hopefully they'll break and run before you have to step things up a notch.
-[X] You can see them, and they can't see you, you are also an accredited Mage who can fly even if you're not bringing your Dragon-Self into the equation, and presumably, they're not going to fight to the death if they don't have to. So you probably don't have to kill every last one of them before they'll break and run. You sincerely doubt they're going to charge into a chokepoint when there's a Mage who can cast Arcthunder blasting them from the shadows.
--[X] So the answer's simple, before they know you're here, take the one who can see out first, hit him with everything you've got! Take him out of the fight before he can guide his allies forward.
---[X] Between the flashes of thunder and your wings, and their lack of night vision for the most part, you should be able to relocate between every attack, keep your distance, make use of the terrain to keep them back--the noise of your blasting should wake your escort, and you can trust them to have their act together. But the most important thing is to keep them on edge, to abuse your ability to see while they're floundering in the shadows, and hopefully they'll break and run before you have to step things up a notch.
Ferb_Ancos
The one under the table
- Pronouns
- He
To be honest is going to be pretty difficult to surpass the Mend vs Ellight vote in terms of how hard Mend won.
TaliesinSkye
Occasional Editor
- Location
- Northeast Ohio, United States
[X] Go, wake the Whitewings, and leave. You don't know how many bandits there are, but you do know there are only four of you, so if it comes to a fight you can't guarantee you'll win it. However, it will take the bandits time to get organized, so that should be enough time to simply leave.
- Location
- Somewhere between here and there
[X] Strike now. The bandits aren't all in yet, if you hit now, you might be able to drive them off before they can bring their greater numbers to bear.
-[X] You can see them, and they can't see you, you are also an accredited Mage who can fly even if you're not bringing your Dragon-Self into the equation, and presumably, they're not going to fight to the death if they don't have to. So you probably don't have to kill every last one of them before they'll break and run. You sincerely doubt they're going to charge into a chokepoint when there's a Mage who can cast Arcthunder blasting them from the shadows.
--[X] So the answer's simple, before they know you're here, take the one who can see out first, hit him with everything you've got! Take him out of the fight before he can guide his allies forward. Afterwards, focus on what you can cast quickly and get back on the move rather than sheer overwhelming power. Elthunder/Thunder level stuff for the most part. Speed and mobility is life here.
---[X] Between the flashes of thunder and your wings, and their lack of night vision for the most part, you should be able to relocate between every attack, keep your distance, make use of the terrain to keep them back--the noise of your blasting should wake your escort, and you can trust them to have their act together. But the most important thing is to keep them on edge, to abuse your ability to see while they're floundering in the shadows, and hopefully they'll break and run before you have to step things up a notch
-[X] You can see them, and they can't see you, you are also an accredited Mage who can fly even if you're not bringing your Dragon-Self into the equation, and presumably, they're not going to fight to the death if they don't have to. So you probably don't have to kill every last one of them before they'll break and run. You sincerely doubt they're going to charge into a chokepoint when there's a Mage who can cast Arcthunder blasting them from the shadows.
--[X] So the answer's simple, before they know you're here, take the one who can see out first, hit him with everything you've got! Take him out of the fight before he can guide his allies forward. Afterwards, focus on what you can cast quickly and get back on the move rather than sheer overwhelming power. Elthunder/Thunder level stuff for the most part. Speed and mobility is life here.
---[X] Between the flashes of thunder and your wings, and their lack of night vision for the most part, you should be able to relocate between every attack, keep your distance, make use of the terrain to keep them back--the noise of your blasting should wake your escort, and you can trust them to have their act together. But the most important thing is to keep them on edge, to abuse your ability to see while they're floundering in the shadows, and hopefully they'll break and run before you have to step things up a notch
Vote closed
Miho Chan
One with too many ideas
- Location
- Hummelstown
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Honestly, I feel like I should explain why I voted in favor of the wining vote from the perspective of RP:
Ryza is very stressed as a result of the load of annoyances she just went through at Mage School, and this is very convenient outlet for that stress packaged in the very nice form of a bandit trying to murder her.
Ryza is very stressed as a result of the load of annoyances she just went through at Mage School, and this is very convenient outlet for that stress packaged in the very nice form of a bandit trying to murder her.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Indeed. Like, she literally overheard these guys having unsavory thoughts about her escort, they're approaching in secret, and we know people had been going missing along this route in the past.
This is a perfect time for Ryza to vent some built up stress! She's very nice on the whole, but that doesn't make her meek.
This is a perfect time for Ryza to vent some built up stress! She's very nice on the whole, but that doesn't make her meek.
Lit by Lightning, Darkened with Fire
AN: A bit of a short chapter, the combat didn't go as long as I thought it would. However, I will warn you that there is some pretty ugly language and actions at the end.
"Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
-Lord Nietzsche Frederichson, prior to the First Felinceian War
As you listen to the big man quietly haranguing his minions still in the sky-door, your shock and confusion slowly turns to anger. These cowards bring so many people, enough that you can't even tell how many, just to attack three sleeping women! Three women who're doing nothing but flying you home! How dare they?!
Using your anger to sharpen your mind, you pull back around to corner to focus on what you're going to do. While you're outnumbered, you do have several clear advantages. First, the bandits don't know you're here, and by the sound of it they're expecting to sneak up on some helpless Whitewings, not have to have a fair fight right away. Second, you can see in the dark far better than humans can, which gives you a big advantage in these lightless ruins. Third, you can use magic, and you don't think any of these guys are mages. Together, these advantages lead to a simple plan of action: take a line out of the Black manaketes' scroll and use hit-and-fade tactics to thin the bandits' numbers and scare them off.
However... that cloaked man, if he's like Belle, then he can probably see in the dark enough to be a threat. He doesn't realize you're here now, but as soon as you start casting, he'll be able to point the others right at you. He's probably the reason they don't have torches: so that there's no light that might alert the Whitewings. He'll make your plan more challenging and risky.
Still, the faint flickers of your dragon's confidence and drive whisper in your mind, there's an easy solution to the threat he poses: kill him first. Without him, the bandits will be blind, flailing and lost, leaving you to pick them off at your leisure. If all else fails, you'll be able to slow them down enough that the Whitewings will hear the fight and come help you. It's foolproof!
Nodding to yourself, you allow your wings to spread as lightning flickers faintly around you. You're going to do this. You're going to protect yourself, protect your new friends, protect what last lingering threads of sanctity this place has. Channeling your magic, you create your own feedback loop and start building an Elthunder, readying Thunder's Cry to turn it into Arcthunder.
One hit of a third-tier spell, and that thief'll be on the ground.
Probably for good.
As you feel the Yellow magic peaking in your own feedback loop, you let out a breath and step back to the corner. Funneling the energy into Thunder's Cry, you hug it to your body to hide the faint glow even as enough heat radiates through your clothing to be genuinely painful. Still, better some temporary pain than being discovered early.
However, while you're able to muffle the majority of the light, unfortunately the thief still turns to look in your direction. "What's that?" you hear him muttering, stepping forwards. "Hey-"
The leader looks over, his eyes widening as you're forced to move the tablet away from your chest to finish the casting. "GET DOWN YOU IDI-"
Growling an almost draconic growl, you unleas your magic just as the big man tries to shove his smaller minion out of the way. Thankfully, you're able to twist the Arcthunder at the last second, sending the wave of electricity straight into the thief. The cloaked man doesn't even have time to scream as his body is thrown against the wall, utterly ravaged by Yellow magic. The scent of burning flesh fills the ruined hall as a massive flash of lightning and crash of thunder sends the other two bandits reeling away. Even you have to flinch back and cover your eyes for a second. It didn't really hurt, but it wasn't comfortable either.
(Whitewing Reaction Time: d6 = 6)
Still, you've succeeded in your goal. The lightning-scorched remains of the thief's body are certainly not going to be able to help the bandits find you anymore, and from the way the other two are covering their eyes you get the feeling that they're somewhat stunned. You start charging a second spell-
"Fucking bitch!" the bandit leader roars, scrabbling for a torch hanging from his belt. "Get in here, rogues, looks like we're doing this shit the hard way!"
The sheer rage in his voice causes you to flinch back for a second, your concentration wavering for an instant. Before you can get it back together, you see the bandit leader slamming the torch into his axe, somehow making a spark that lights it up just as another big, burly man wiggles his way out of the ruins of the sky-door.
"Come on, boys!" the leader roars, holding up the torch and forcing you to skitter back out of the light. "Hurry up! Those arrogant magic fucks die as easily as anyone else when you stick an axe in 'em!"
You feel your lip curling: what a thoroughly unpleasant person.
Still, as the three bandits charge, you know you'll need more space. Without your dragon-self's scales, the big man isn't technically wrong. You've hurt yourself on branches and rocks, you don't even want to think about that big, sharp, steel axe will do to your frail heart-form. However, this ground is rough and uneven, slowing the men down as they rush forwards. Spreading your wings, you jump and shoot down the corridor, over the remains of a large statue that had fallen over. That would provide you some cover and slow them down.
Landing, you turn and start casting: not taking the time to try and hide it too much. With the thief out of the picture, the faint flickers of Yellow light wouldn't be enough for normal human eyes to get more than a vague idea of where you are, and since they don't have bows you're not sure how much good that'll do them. If they got close, you'd just move again.
A moment later, the bandits round the corner, stumbling and cursing. Finishing your own feedback loop, you push your magic into the tablet, building from Elthunder to Arcthunder.
As you finish up your spell, your mind races. The leader… not only is he a terrible person, but Kelton once said that bandits tend to be driven as much by fear of their boss as by desire to do bad things. If you take him out, maybe the rest of them will realize they don't have to stay and keep fighting, and you won't have to kill them all.
Just because you don't like them and they're following an awful person doesn't necessarily mean that they all deserve to die.
Your mind made up, you almost don't notice the newest bandit's arm swinging back, holding a small axe. "HA!" he roars, launching the weapon down the hall in your direction! Forcing yourself not to yelp, you jump to the left, your wings keeping you steady. It turns out that wasn't necessary, as the hand-axe clatters against the wall several meters in front of and to your right, but if his aim had been a bit better… Shaking your head, you finish your casting, the bandits have reached the fallen statue, it'll take them a few seconds to clamber over it…
As the bandit leader climbs up onto the statue, he pauses. "Come on, boys!" he roars, lifting his axe over his head. "Let's get that-"
The tablet feedback loop, on the verge of overload, unleashes its power. A stream small of lightning bolts fills the hall, turning darkness to light as it slams into the man. He actually remains standing for several long seconds, bracing against your power even as you combine the disparate elements of the Arcthunder into a single bolt. Finally, however, your magic overwhelms him, and he topples backwards, his flesh all but burned away to reveal skeleton.
You still have a little bit of energy left, and a glint catches your eye. On instinct, you sweep some of the energy to the bandit with the small axes, who's also managed to clamber onto the statue and is pulling another one from the bandoleer over his shirtless chest. Before he can throw it at you (and possibly actually hit you), the remnants of your spell sends him reeling backwards. It's not enough to kill, you'd had to spend too much on the leader, but it should-
The man's foot slips, breaking off a fragile piece of the statue. With a cry, he falls backwards, off the statue, down out of sight… CRACK! You wince, ohh that sounds like it hurt. Hopefully that'll make him less willing to fight.
For a few long seconds, the echoes of thunder crash through the ruins. You can't imagine the Whitewings haven't heard what's going on; they're probably on their way. Even if the bandits do keep attacking, you just have to keep them busy. That's rather easy at the moment, as the last standing bandit doesn't seem to be advancing. Instead, he's simply staring down at the body of his leader, seemingly blinking the flash of your spell out of his eyes. You hesitate in your casting for a moment, he seems shaken…
Suddenly, the man chucks his axe wildly in your direction through the darkness. "I didn't sign up for this shit!" he screeches as he sprints back the way he came. You blink as the heavy iron axe clatters to the ground nowhere near you. He must really be freaked out if he's not even trying to keep his weapon! Shrugging, you spread your wings and glide forward after him, pausing briefly to look at the results of your last Arcthunder. The fallen bandit's laying still: his eyes wide and blank. For a moment, you think he's dead, there's blood running from an injury on the back of his head, but after a second you see that his chest is slowly rising and falling. He's unconscious, hopefully for long enough for you to finish this.
(Death Save: d3 = 3)
Moving on, you follow the screaming bandit as he runs and stumbles his way back down the corridor. "Run!" he's crying. "Turn around! Go back, go back, they've got a Void-bound mage!"
Peeking around the corner, you see the bandit trying to scramble past another new bandit, who seems to have just gotten out of the sky door. "What're you babbling about, man!?" the newcomer roars. "Where's the boss!?"
"The boss's dead!" the first bandit yells, jumping and trying to grab at the ledge of the old sky-door. "The damn mage'll kill us all! They're throwing around the really big lightning bolts and we can't even see 'em! We gotta get out of here!"
"But the bounty-"
"SCREW THE BOUNTY I AIN'T DYING FOR THE DAMN BOUNTY!"
Deciding to help make the man's point, you easily weave a simple Thunder in your palm and drop it on the ground right behind the newer bandit. He yelps, jumping away from the scorched stone and staring wildly down the hall. For a moment, you start to open your mouth to tell them to leave this place and never return, but you hesitate. Your voice is… soft, gentle and young, and it probably wouldn't do much to intimidate the bandits into leaving. In fact, it'll probably make them more likely to keep attacking, especially as you can hear curses and questions coming from the sky-door as more bandits try to get in. Right now, they still have more momentum to keep coming in rather than to turn around, so if you get them thinking they can get past you since you're a child…
A memory flashes through your mind, and you find yourself grinning cheekily. Spreading your wings as wide as you can, you lift into the air and allow Yellow magic to flicker along your membranes, creating a dim but noticeable light. The sight of your wings glowing in the darkness had scared Lancel and Axton, surely it'd scare these guys too!
"Bloody hell!?" the new bandit yelps. "Wait for me! Monster! Monster!" Weaving another Thunder spell, you toss it down the hallway like a spear, causing the man to throw himself to the ground for a second before scrambling up and leaping towards the sky-door after his retreating comrade.
What follows is… almost sad. You could have easily walked to right under the sky-door and started casting spells into whatever narrow passage the bandits had dug out, and you probably could kill most if not all of them as they struggle and squirm and try to turn around, getting in each other's way and slowing each other down. Mother, if you shifted, you could probably wipe the whole hidden tunnel clean of human life with a single breath attack.
However… as your anger and determination return to normal levels, you wonder why these people're doing what they're doing. What drove them to clamber into an ancient ruin turned rest stop to attack people who've done nothing to them? They'd mentioned something about a bounty, what was that about?
Besides… two more dead by your hand… you sigh. Ever since you've woken up, you've had to kill more people than you ever thought you would in your entire life! You know you've been in the right every time, or at least you hope you have, but still… this fight's over. Even if the bandits do get their nerve together and turn around, the Whitewings'll be here any minute. In fact, you're surprised they're not here now. If you could hold the entire group off by keeping them divided all alone, they had no chance against you and Mary and the others.
So instead, you simply sit down and watch the hole, folding your wings away tiredly. One enterprising bandit does poke his head out, but after you singe his hair with a Thunder spell he quickly starts clambering back up the sky-door. You'll have to block that off before you leave, to really make this place safe for travelers, but that can be done later.
Finally, as the last echoes of the bandit's retreat fades away, you hear Mary's voice coming from down the hall. "Ryza? Are you back there? Are you alright?!"
Standing, you turn and make your way back the way you came. A moment later, you find the three Whitewings approaching from the other side of the fallen statue. "Yes, I'm here," you say, hurrying forwards to reach her torchlight so she can verify that it's you. "There's an old sky-door back here. I thought it was completely collapsed, but it turns out there's a small gap that was either dug out or I just missed. There were some bandits sneaking in through it, but I scared them off. What took you so long?"
Mary grimaces. "Shit, that ain't good," she mutters. "Glad to see you're okay. When the thunder spell went off, or whatever it was you did, a pair of archers started shooting at us from outside. We couldn't fly out to fight them, but we had enough javelins to drive them off. I think they weren't expecting us to fight it out." She looks over the statue, a cold smile crossing her face as she sees the burned remains of the bandit leader. "If I had to guess, they were waiting for these guys to come and take us from behind, but you dealt with them." She frowns. "Why didn't you tell us what was going on before you left?"
You shrug. "I didn't know exactly what was going on," you say. "I heard something in my sleep, and it woke me up, so I just went to check it out. When I found them, they were already coming in, and I knew that if I ran back to tell you, enough of them would get in that I wouldn't be able to stop them without doing something drastic."
Mary nods slowly. "I guess that makes sense," she says. "How many of them were there? I count two here…"
"I don't know how many there were, maybe around ten?" you say. "They had someone who could see in the dark a bit, so I hit them first, they're back there a bit. These two and another chased me here, but after I zapped their leader and the other one fell and knocked himself out, the last one ran off and they all turned around and ran away."
"Shame that you couldn't kill more of them," Mary said. "But still, you probably saved our butts, so thank you." Her eyes narrow as she kicks the blackened corpse, causing the leg to fall off. "I guess this explains why nobody's here; girls who normally take this route have probably been killed in their sleep by these scumbags." She snarls furiously. "Or worse." Both Mercia and Jaine growl alongside her.
Frowning, you move to crouch next to the unconscious bandit, checking his pulse. It's still there, but faint, and the smell of blood is increasing. "I guess that makes sense," you say, lighting your hand with healing magic. "Though the leader was saying something about taking you all alive, so maybe some of the others are alive too."
"What're you doing?" Mary asks as you carefully extend your Mend into the man, working slowly to ensure that you properly heal his head-wound. From your study time before the accreditation test, head wounds are among the hardest thing to heal. Thankfully, the skull's still intact, so the brain hasn't been too damaged, but you still need to work slowly and smoothly. "He's just a bandit, kill him and be done with it."
"He's not a threat," you say. "And maybe he can tell us where the others are, so we can save them."
The three Whitewings look at each other. "She ain't… wrong, Mary," Jaine says through gritted teeth. "If the scum can tell us what's happened to our sisters, then it'd be worth letting him live a little longer."
Mary grunts, but nods. "Fine," she says. "The door, where is it?" she asks you.
"Just around the corner," you say, still focused on knitting together bone and re-connecting brain-flesh; the force of the blow must have sent shock-waves into the brain, so you're having to carefully track and mend the pre-existing connections while not accidently making any new ones or missing damaged ones. Mistakes here lead to memory loss, confusion, and potential permanent damage or even death. This is going to be tricky, but you're sure you can do it!
"Right. Mercia, you keep an eye on that, Jaine, you watch the entrance to make sure those archers don't try anything. I'll stay here to stick this pig if he tries anything as thanks for the nice manakete saving his stupid life." The other two Whitewings nod and agree, hurrying off. You force yourself to ignore them, instead keeping all your focus on your patient.
It takes the better part of ten minutes to fully heal the man to your satisfaction, but finally you sit back on your feet and let the White magic flow away. "Alright, he's patched up," you say. "I don't know when he'll wake up, though-"
Mary smirks. "Oh, I can wake him up," she says. Then, after taking another sip from the waterskin in her hand, she turns it over and dumps a generous helping onto the man's face.
Spluttering, the bandit's eyes jerk open. "What the fu-" he starts, only to flinch back as Mary jabs her spear right at his face. He isn't quite fast enough, and one of the sharpened prongs below the main head leaves a long scratch on his cheek.
"So kind of you to join us, scumbag," Mary says in a faux friendly voice, her teeth bared into something that could theoretically be called a smile. "I'd welcome you into the rest-stop, but you seem to have forgotten the way to the front door. Too much time leaving the thinking to the thing between your legs?"
For a moment, the man's eyes widen with what you're pretty sure is fear. However, after a moment he lays his head back, his fists clenching. "What do you-"
Almost faster than your eye can track, Mary's lance jabs forwards again, leaving another scratch on the man's other cheek. "I'm asking the questions here!" she snarls. "You and your coward friends came sneaking in here to attack us, how many other girls have you lot murdered?!"
The bandit's eyes narrow. "Fuck off, bitch," he growls. "Why should I tell you arrogant skirts anything, if you're just gonna kill me anyways?"
Mary bares her teeth even further. "I can think of four reasons," she says, slowly, deliberately tracing the point of her lance to the man's shoulder. "Four nice, blood-and-nerve-filled limbs that you don't really need anymore, but will sure hurt when I stab them every time you don't tell me what I want to know."
The man's arm other arm jerks up to try and grab the lance, but Mary's too fast, and he cries out as she slaps the approaching hand aside before jamming her lance into his shoulder.
"Mary-" you start, but the bigger woman ignores you.
"So start talking, scumbag. What did you do with my sisters?!"
Even as his face pales and he grimaces in pain, the bandit manages to glare up at Mary. "Do your worst, oppressor!" he snarls.
Fast as lightning, Mary's lance point leaves the man's right shoulder and is jammed into his left. "WHERE ARE THEY?!"
The man gathers up some saliva and spits at her. His spittle doesn't reach her face, splattering instead on her chest plate. She hisses like an angry cat, and in response she drags the blade of her lance slowly down his arm, leaving a long, bloody cut in its wake.
An arm gently wraps around your shoulders. "Ryza, come on," Mercia says softly, trying to pull you down the corridor towards the sky-door. "You don't have to watch this."
What do you do?
[] Leave this sickening situation. You don't see it going anywhere good, but you don't know how you're supposed to solve this level of mutual hate. Make sure that the area's secure.
[] You need to know what happened to the other Whitewings. Try to help Mary get the bandit to talk.
-[] Threaten him with magic: he's probably used to Whitewings, but a mage might be more frightening, especially one who just beat him and his boss.
-[] Humans are scared of dragons, right? If you're careful, you can find an emotion that will allow you to transform and scare the man into confessing without attacking him.
[] Try to play mediator and find a middle-ground. You'll need to convince the bandit that it's in his best interest to tell you what you want to know as well as convince Mary that killing him won't solve anything. It won't be easy, but if you can make it work…
[] Write-in
AN: I've slightly modified the level-up process: rather than gaining a point per encounter, you get one per combat round (win or lose), and an additional point if you win the encounter. Therefore, for this encounter you get 3 points, bringing you up to level 5.
Otherwise, leveling up at high levels will be almost impossible.
Also, before you get too comfortable with that win in the last round: the bandits actually won one of the iterations pretty convincingly.
[X] Strike now. The bandits aren't all in yet, if you hit now, you might be able to drive them off before they can bring their greater numbers to bear.
-[X] You can see them, and they can't see you, you are also an accredited Mage who can fly even if you're not bringing your Dragon-Self into the equation, and presumably, they're not going to fight to the death if they don't have to. So you probably don't have to kill every last one of them before they'll break and run. You sincerely doubt they're going to charge into a chokepoint when there's a Mage who can cast Arcthunder blasting them from the shadows.
--[X] So the answer's simple, before they know you're here, take the one who can see out first, hit him with everything you've got! Take him out of the fight before he can guide his allies forward.
---[X] Between the flashes of thunder and your wings, and their lack of night vision for the most part, you should be able to relocate between every attack, keep your distance, make use of the terrain to keep them back--the noise of your blasting should wake your escort, and you can trust them to have their act together. But the most important thing is to keep them on edge, to abuse your ability to see while they're floundering in the shadows, and hopefully they'll break and run before you have to step things up a notch.
-[X] You can see them, and they can't see you, you are also an accredited Mage who can fly even if you're not bringing your Dragon-Self into the equation, and presumably, they're not going to fight to the death if they don't have to. So you probably don't have to kill every last one of them before they'll break and run. You sincerely doubt they're going to charge into a chokepoint when there's a Mage who can cast Arcthunder blasting them from the shadows.
--[X] So the answer's simple, before they know you're here, take the one who can see out first, hit him with everything you've got! Take him out of the fight before he can guide his allies forward.
---[X] Between the flashes of thunder and your wings, and their lack of night vision for the most part, you should be able to relocate between every attack, keep your distance, make use of the terrain to keep them back--the noise of your blasting should wake your escort, and you can trust them to have their act together. But the most important thing is to keep them on edge, to abuse your ability to see while they're floundering in the shadows, and hopefully they'll break and run before you have to step things up a notch.
"Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you."
-Lord Nietzsche Frederichson, prior to the First Felinceian War
As you listen to the big man quietly haranguing his minions still in the sky-door, your shock and confusion slowly turns to anger. These cowards bring so many people, enough that you can't even tell how many, just to attack three sleeping women! Three women who're doing nothing but flying you home! How dare they?!
Using your anger to sharpen your mind, you pull back around to corner to focus on what you're going to do. While you're outnumbered, you do have several clear advantages. First, the bandits don't know you're here, and by the sound of it they're expecting to sneak up on some helpless Whitewings, not have to have a fair fight right away. Second, you can see in the dark far better than humans can, which gives you a big advantage in these lightless ruins. Third, you can use magic, and you don't think any of these guys are mages. Together, these advantages lead to a simple plan of action: take a line out of the Black manaketes' scroll and use hit-and-fade tactics to thin the bandits' numbers and scare them off.
However... that cloaked man, if he's like Belle, then he can probably see in the dark enough to be a threat. He doesn't realize you're here now, but as soon as you start casting, he'll be able to point the others right at you. He's probably the reason they don't have torches: so that there's no light that might alert the Whitewings. He'll make your plan more challenging and risky.
Still, the faint flickers of your dragon's confidence and drive whisper in your mind, there's an easy solution to the threat he poses: kill him first. Without him, the bandits will be blind, flailing and lost, leaving you to pick them off at your leisure. If all else fails, you'll be able to slow them down enough that the Whitewings will hear the fight and come help you. It's foolproof!
Nodding to yourself, you allow your wings to spread as lightning flickers faintly around you. You're going to do this. You're going to protect yourself, protect your new friends, protect what last lingering threads of sanctity this place has. Channeling your magic, you create your own feedback loop and start building an Elthunder, readying Thunder's Cry to turn it into Arcthunder.
One hit of a third-tier spell, and that thief'll be on the ground.
Probably for good.
Ryza: Level 4 = 4s + Character = 1s + Arcthunder = 2s + Magical Supremacy = 1s + Ranged Superiority = 1s + Mantle = 2 a.s. + Ambush = Advantage == 7s Rerolling + 2s + 2a.s
Enemy: Bandit lvl 6 = 6 + Steel Axe = 1 + Thief lvl 4 + Bandit lvl 4 = 11 + 4 (Rerolling)
Win by 3-4: Kill Thief
Enemy: Bandit lvl 6 = 6 + Steel Axe = 1 + Thief lvl 4 + Bandit lvl 4 = 11 + 4 (Rerolling)
| (1>2, 4>3, 7, 3>1, 5>9, 5>6, 5>5) (7, 1) + 2 a.s |
| 5 Success |
| (7>10, 6, 4, 10, 2, 3, 1,) (2, 6, 8, 8) (5>2, 2>3, 8>6, 4>2) |
| 2 Success |
Win by 3-4: Kill Thief
As you feel the Yellow magic peaking in your own feedback loop, you let out a breath and step back to the corner. Funneling the energy into Thunder's Cry, you hug it to your body to hide the faint glow even as enough heat radiates through your clothing to be genuinely painful. Still, better some temporary pain than being discovered early.
However, while you're able to muffle the majority of the light, unfortunately the thief still turns to look in your direction. "What's that?" you hear him muttering, stepping forwards. "Hey-"
The leader looks over, his eyes widening as you're forced to move the tablet away from your chest to finish the casting. "GET DOWN YOU IDI-"
Growling an almost draconic growl, you unleas your magic just as the big man tries to shove his smaller minion out of the way. Thankfully, you're able to twist the Arcthunder at the last second, sending the wave of electricity straight into the thief. The cloaked man doesn't even have time to scream as his body is thrown against the wall, utterly ravaged by Yellow magic. The scent of burning flesh fills the ruined hall as a massive flash of lightning and crash of thunder sends the other two bandits reeling away. Even you have to flinch back and cover your eyes for a second. It didn't really hurt, but it wasn't comfortable either.
(Whitewing Reaction Time: d6 = 6)
Still, you've succeeded in your goal. The lightning-scorched remains of the thief's body are certainly not going to be able to help the bandits find you anymore, and from the way the other two are covering their eyes you get the feeling that they're somewhat stunned. You start charging a second spell-
"Fucking bitch!" the bandit leader roars, scrabbling for a torch hanging from his belt. "Get in here, rogues, looks like we're doing this shit the hard way!"
The sheer rage in his voice causes you to flinch back for a second, your concentration wavering for an instant. Before you can get it back together, you see the bandit leader slamming the torch into his axe, somehow making a spark that lights it up just as another big, burly man wiggles his way out of the ruins of the sky-door.
"Come on, boys!" the leader roars, holding up the torch and forcing you to skitter back out of the light. "Hurry up! Those arrogant magic fucks die as easily as anyone else when you stick an axe in 'em!"
You feel your lip curling: what a thoroughly unpleasant person.
Still, as the three bandits charge, you know you'll need more space. Without your dragon-self's scales, the big man isn't technically wrong. You've hurt yourself on branches and rocks, you don't even want to think about that big, sharp, steel axe will do to your frail heart-form. However, this ground is rough and uneven, slowing the men down as they rush forwards. Spreading your wings, you jump and shoot down the corridor, over the remains of a large statue that had fallen over. That would provide you some cover and slow them down.
Landing, you turn and start casting: not taking the time to try and hide it too much. With the thief out of the picture, the faint flickers of Yellow light wouldn't be enough for normal human eyes to get more than a vague idea of where you are, and since they don't have bows you're not sure how much good that'll do them. If they got close, you'd just move again.
A moment later, the bandits round the corner, stumbling and cursing. Finishing your own feedback loop, you push your magic into the tablet, building from Elthunder to Arcthunder.
Ryza: Level 4 = 4s + Character = 1s + Arcthunder = 2s + Magical Supremacy = 1s + Mantle = 2 a.s. + Darkvision = Advantage == 7s Reroll + 1s + 2a.s
Enemy: Bandit lvl 6 = 6 + Steel Axe = 1 + Bandit lvl 5 + Bandit lvl 4 = 17
Win by more than 6: Kill bandit leader and one other, others retreat
Enemy: Bandit lvl 6 = 6 + Steel Axe = 1 + Bandit lvl 5 + Bandit lvl 4 = 17
| (5>7, 5>5, 3>10, 9, 1>2, 7, 9) (8) + 2 a.s |
| 8 Success |
| (3, 4, 8, 1, 3, 1, 4,) (8, 1, 9, 5, 2,) (3, 4, 2, 8) |
| 1 Success |
Win by more than 6: Kill bandit leader and one other, others retreat
As you finish up your spell, your mind races. The leader… not only is he a terrible person, but Kelton once said that bandits tend to be driven as much by fear of their boss as by desire to do bad things. If you take him out, maybe the rest of them will realize they don't have to stay and keep fighting, and you won't have to kill them all.
Just because you don't like them and they're following an awful person doesn't necessarily mean that they all deserve to die.
Your mind made up, you almost don't notice the newest bandit's arm swinging back, holding a small axe. "HA!" he roars, launching the weapon down the hall in your direction! Forcing yourself not to yelp, you jump to the left, your wings keeping you steady. It turns out that wasn't necessary, as the hand-axe clatters against the wall several meters in front of and to your right, but if his aim had been a bit better… Shaking your head, you finish your casting, the bandits have reached the fallen statue, it'll take them a few seconds to clamber over it…
As the bandit leader climbs up onto the statue, he pauses. "Come on, boys!" he roars, lifting his axe over his head. "Let's get that-"
The tablet feedback loop, on the verge of overload, unleashes its power. A stream small of lightning bolts fills the hall, turning darkness to light as it slams into the man. He actually remains standing for several long seconds, bracing against your power even as you combine the disparate elements of the Arcthunder into a single bolt. Finally, however, your magic overwhelms him, and he topples backwards, his flesh all but burned away to reveal skeleton.
You still have a little bit of energy left, and a glint catches your eye. On instinct, you sweep some of the energy to the bandit with the small axes, who's also managed to clamber onto the statue and is pulling another one from the bandoleer over his shirtless chest. Before he can throw it at you (and possibly actually hit you), the remnants of your spell sends him reeling backwards. It's not enough to kill, you'd had to spend too much on the leader, but it should-
The man's foot slips, breaking off a fragile piece of the statue. With a cry, he falls backwards, off the statue, down out of sight… CRACK! You wince, ohh that sounds like it hurt. Hopefully that'll make him less willing to fight.
For a few long seconds, the echoes of thunder crash through the ruins. You can't imagine the Whitewings haven't heard what's going on; they're probably on their way. Even if the bandits do keep attacking, you just have to keep them busy. That's rather easy at the moment, as the last standing bandit doesn't seem to be advancing. Instead, he's simply staring down at the body of his leader, seemingly blinking the flash of your spell out of his eyes. You hesitate in your casting for a moment, he seems shaken…
Suddenly, the man chucks his axe wildly in your direction through the darkness. "I didn't sign up for this shit!" he screeches as he sprints back the way he came. You blink as the heavy iron axe clatters to the ground nowhere near you. He must really be freaked out if he's not even trying to keep his weapon! Shrugging, you spread your wings and glide forward after him, pausing briefly to look at the results of your last Arcthunder. The fallen bandit's laying still: his eyes wide and blank. For a moment, you think he's dead, there's blood running from an injury on the back of his head, but after a second you see that his chest is slowly rising and falling. He's unconscious, hopefully for long enough for you to finish this.
(Death Save: d3 = 3)
Moving on, you follow the screaming bandit as he runs and stumbles his way back down the corridor. "Run!" he's crying. "Turn around! Go back, go back, they've got a Void-bound mage!"
Peeking around the corner, you see the bandit trying to scramble past another new bandit, who seems to have just gotten out of the sky door. "What're you babbling about, man!?" the newcomer roars. "Where's the boss!?"
"The boss's dead!" the first bandit yells, jumping and trying to grab at the ledge of the old sky-door. "The damn mage'll kill us all! They're throwing around the really big lightning bolts and we can't even see 'em! We gotta get out of here!"
"But the bounty-"
"SCREW THE BOUNTY I AIN'T DYING FOR THE DAMN BOUNTY!"
Deciding to help make the man's point, you easily weave a simple Thunder in your palm and drop it on the ground right behind the newer bandit. He yelps, jumping away from the scorched stone and staring wildly down the hall. For a moment, you start to open your mouth to tell them to leave this place and never return, but you hesitate. Your voice is… soft, gentle and young, and it probably wouldn't do much to intimidate the bandits into leaving. In fact, it'll probably make them more likely to keep attacking, especially as you can hear curses and questions coming from the sky-door as more bandits try to get in. Right now, they still have more momentum to keep coming in rather than to turn around, so if you get them thinking they can get past you since you're a child…
A memory flashes through your mind, and you find yourself grinning cheekily. Spreading your wings as wide as you can, you lift into the air and allow Yellow magic to flicker along your membranes, creating a dim but noticeable light. The sight of your wings glowing in the darkness had scared Lancel and Axton, surely it'd scare these guys too!
"Bloody hell!?" the new bandit yelps. "Wait for me! Monster! Monster!" Weaving another Thunder spell, you toss it down the hallway like a spear, causing the man to throw himself to the ground for a second before scrambling up and leaping towards the sky-door after his retreating comrade.
What follows is… almost sad. You could have easily walked to right under the sky-door and started casting spells into whatever narrow passage the bandits had dug out, and you probably could kill most if not all of them as they struggle and squirm and try to turn around, getting in each other's way and slowing each other down. Mother, if you shifted, you could probably wipe the whole hidden tunnel clean of human life with a single breath attack.
However… as your anger and determination return to normal levels, you wonder why these people're doing what they're doing. What drove them to clamber into an ancient ruin turned rest stop to attack people who've done nothing to them? They'd mentioned something about a bounty, what was that about?
Besides… two more dead by your hand… you sigh. Ever since you've woken up, you've had to kill more people than you ever thought you would in your entire life! You know you've been in the right every time, or at least you hope you have, but still… this fight's over. Even if the bandits do get their nerve together and turn around, the Whitewings'll be here any minute. In fact, you're surprised they're not here now. If you could hold the entire group off by keeping them divided all alone, they had no chance against you and Mary and the others.
So instead, you simply sit down and watch the hole, folding your wings away tiredly. One enterprising bandit does poke his head out, but after you singe his hair with a Thunder spell he quickly starts clambering back up the sky-door. You'll have to block that off before you leave, to really make this place safe for travelers, but that can be done later.
Finally, as the last echoes of the bandit's retreat fades away, you hear Mary's voice coming from down the hall. "Ryza? Are you back there? Are you alright?!"
Standing, you turn and make your way back the way you came. A moment later, you find the three Whitewings approaching from the other side of the fallen statue. "Yes, I'm here," you say, hurrying forwards to reach her torchlight so she can verify that it's you. "There's an old sky-door back here. I thought it was completely collapsed, but it turns out there's a small gap that was either dug out or I just missed. There were some bandits sneaking in through it, but I scared them off. What took you so long?"
Mary grimaces. "Shit, that ain't good," she mutters. "Glad to see you're okay. When the thunder spell went off, or whatever it was you did, a pair of archers started shooting at us from outside. We couldn't fly out to fight them, but we had enough javelins to drive them off. I think they weren't expecting us to fight it out." She looks over the statue, a cold smile crossing her face as she sees the burned remains of the bandit leader. "If I had to guess, they were waiting for these guys to come and take us from behind, but you dealt with them." She frowns. "Why didn't you tell us what was going on before you left?"
You shrug. "I didn't know exactly what was going on," you say. "I heard something in my sleep, and it woke me up, so I just went to check it out. When I found them, they were already coming in, and I knew that if I ran back to tell you, enough of them would get in that I wouldn't be able to stop them without doing something drastic."
Mary nods slowly. "I guess that makes sense," she says. "How many of them were there? I count two here…"
"I don't know how many there were, maybe around ten?" you say. "They had someone who could see in the dark a bit, so I hit them first, they're back there a bit. These two and another chased me here, but after I zapped their leader and the other one fell and knocked himself out, the last one ran off and they all turned around and ran away."
"Shame that you couldn't kill more of them," Mary said. "But still, you probably saved our butts, so thank you." Her eyes narrow as she kicks the blackened corpse, causing the leg to fall off. "I guess this explains why nobody's here; girls who normally take this route have probably been killed in their sleep by these scumbags." She snarls furiously. "Or worse." Both Mercia and Jaine growl alongside her.
Frowning, you move to crouch next to the unconscious bandit, checking his pulse. It's still there, but faint, and the smell of blood is increasing. "I guess that makes sense," you say, lighting your hand with healing magic. "Though the leader was saying something about taking you all alive, so maybe some of the others are alive too."
"What're you doing?" Mary asks as you carefully extend your Mend into the man, working slowly to ensure that you properly heal his head-wound. From your study time before the accreditation test, head wounds are among the hardest thing to heal. Thankfully, the skull's still intact, so the brain hasn't been too damaged, but you still need to work slowly and smoothly. "He's just a bandit, kill him and be done with it."
"He's not a threat," you say. "And maybe he can tell us where the others are, so we can save them."
The three Whitewings look at each other. "She ain't… wrong, Mary," Jaine says through gritted teeth. "If the scum can tell us what's happened to our sisters, then it'd be worth letting him live a little longer."
Mary grunts, but nods. "Fine," she says. "The door, where is it?" she asks you.
"Just around the corner," you say, still focused on knitting together bone and re-connecting brain-flesh; the force of the blow must have sent shock-waves into the brain, so you're having to carefully track and mend the pre-existing connections while not accidently making any new ones or missing damaged ones. Mistakes here lead to memory loss, confusion, and potential permanent damage or even death. This is going to be tricky, but you're sure you can do it!
"Right. Mercia, you keep an eye on that, Jaine, you watch the entrance to make sure those archers don't try anything. I'll stay here to stick this pig if he tries anything as thanks for the nice manakete saving his stupid life." The other two Whitewings nod and agree, hurrying off. You force yourself to ignore them, instead keeping all your focus on your patient.
It takes the better part of ten minutes to fully heal the man to your satisfaction, but finally you sit back on your feet and let the White magic flow away. "Alright, he's patched up," you say. "I don't know when he'll wake up, though-"
Mary smirks. "Oh, I can wake him up," she says. Then, after taking another sip from the waterskin in her hand, she turns it over and dumps a generous helping onto the man's face.
Spluttering, the bandit's eyes jerk open. "What the fu-" he starts, only to flinch back as Mary jabs her spear right at his face. He isn't quite fast enough, and one of the sharpened prongs below the main head leaves a long scratch on his cheek.
"So kind of you to join us, scumbag," Mary says in a faux friendly voice, her teeth bared into something that could theoretically be called a smile. "I'd welcome you into the rest-stop, but you seem to have forgotten the way to the front door. Too much time leaving the thinking to the thing between your legs?"
For a moment, the man's eyes widen with what you're pretty sure is fear. However, after a moment he lays his head back, his fists clenching. "What do you-"
Almost faster than your eye can track, Mary's lance jabs forwards again, leaving another scratch on the man's other cheek. "I'm asking the questions here!" she snarls. "You and your coward friends came sneaking in here to attack us, how many other girls have you lot murdered?!"
The bandit's eyes narrow. "Fuck off, bitch," he growls. "Why should I tell you arrogant skirts anything, if you're just gonna kill me anyways?"
Mary bares her teeth even further. "I can think of four reasons," she says, slowly, deliberately tracing the point of her lance to the man's shoulder. "Four nice, blood-and-nerve-filled limbs that you don't really need anymore, but will sure hurt when I stab them every time you don't tell me what I want to know."
The man's arm other arm jerks up to try and grab the lance, but Mary's too fast, and he cries out as she slaps the approaching hand aside before jamming her lance into his shoulder.
"Mary-" you start, but the bigger woman ignores you.
"So start talking, scumbag. What did you do with my sisters?!"
Even as his face pales and he grimaces in pain, the bandit manages to glare up at Mary. "Do your worst, oppressor!" he snarls.
Fast as lightning, Mary's lance point leaves the man's right shoulder and is jammed into his left. "WHERE ARE THEY?!"
The man gathers up some saliva and spits at her. His spittle doesn't reach her face, splattering instead on her chest plate. She hisses like an angry cat, and in response she drags the blade of her lance slowly down his arm, leaving a long, bloody cut in its wake.
An arm gently wraps around your shoulders. "Ryza, come on," Mercia says softly, trying to pull you down the corridor towards the sky-door. "You don't have to watch this."
What do you do?
[] Leave this sickening situation. You don't see it going anywhere good, but you don't know how you're supposed to solve this level of mutual hate. Make sure that the area's secure.
[] You need to know what happened to the other Whitewings. Try to help Mary get the bandit to talk.
-[] Threaten him with magic: he's probably used to Whitewings, but a mage might be more frightening, especially one who just beat him and his boss.
-[] Humans are scared of dragons, right? If you're careful, you can find an emotion that will allow you to transform and scare the man into confessing without attacking him.
[] Try to play mediator and find a middle-ground. You'll need to convince the bandit that it's in his best interest to tell you what you want to know as well as convince Mary that killing him won't solve anything. It won't be easy, but if you can make it work…
[] Write-in
AN: I've slightly modified the level-up process: rather than gaining a point per encounter, you get one per combat round (win or lose), and an additional point if you win the encounter. Therefore, for this encounter you get 3 points, bringing you up to level 5.
Otherwise, leveling up at high levels will be almost impossible.
Also, before you get too comfortable with that win in the last round: the bandits actually won one of the iterations pretty convincingly.
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- Pronouns
- He
Ooh! Birthday update! Nice
Edit: Holy shit did Ryza just blow out and reconstruct said brain? That's fuckin cool as hell!
[X] Try to play mediator and find a middle-ground. You'll need to convince the bandit that it's in his best interest to tell you what you want to know as well as convince Mary that killing him won't solve anything. It won't be easy, but if you can make it work…
Was debating about taking over entirely, but if we reveal that we're a mage that's competent enough to resurrect him from an exploded brain, maybe he's be afraid enough to just tell us.
After all, it won't matter how many times we have to kill him, won't it~?
Edit: Holy shit did Ryza just blow out and reconstruct said brain? That's fuckin cool as hell!
[X] Try to play mediator and find a middle-ground. You'll need to convince the bandit that it's in his best interest to tell you what you want to know as well as convince Mary that killing him won't solve anything. It won't be easy, but if you can make it work…
Was debating about taking over entirely, but if we reveal that we're a mage that's competent enough to resurrect him from an exploded brain, maybe he's be afraid enough to just tell us.
After all, it won't matter how many times we have to kill him, won't it~?
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