Last time, we interrogated Tracker Johnny about who wanted to kill Sifu, and it turned out to be a Master of Terec- Victor Richards. Then we went shopping and explored the city a bit. We've got some bitching new armor from the Daedalus Workshops, as well as a fancy watch. Afterwards, we went on a date with a hot redheaded alchemist, who surprised us with her skill when we were attacked by a mugger.

Here's a list of techniques that you know and can learn later on: http://pastebin.com/QrrNkwWn
Feel free to reference it whenever.

Inventory: 5 wooden shurikens, 1 dose of Heaven Berries, 545 gp (10014 in the bank), a pendant of Ward Fear, 1 emerald gem, two medical kits, about ten feet of rope, 6 healing potions, a watch, and a compass.

In a haze, I wake up from my afternoon nap, yawning. Chiebriados curse the sun. Damn thing always wakes me up. Blinking, I raise my old hands to wipe the crust away from my eyes.

As always, my son’s training. Looks like he’s trying to get his throwing skills honed. Heh, I remember when I was that green. His short black hair is dripping with sweat as he heaves his arm yet again, trying to hit a mark on a tree. The grass is awfully comfortable… a man could just go right back to sleep…

“Sifu.” Hell’s bells, boy, I’m trying to sleep. “Sifu!” My eyes open groggily. “I think I’ve finally got it!” Eyes heavy, I shift my attention to where the boy is pointing… Looks like he’s almost put a hole in that tree of him.

I grumble, “That’s great, Shun, maybe someday you’ll be as good as Akira.” And then I roll over, trying to enjoy the warm grass beneath me. Only when he speaks do I realize my mistake.

“Akira?” Oh, damnation and hellfire.

“My master, Akira. She could hit a fly with a dagger from a mile away.”

His intense eyes bore into me. “She sounds like she was amazing.” I nod. “How did she get so good?”

“Practice. Talent. She specialized, just as every Fist of Shadow should.”

“Sifu, what’s your specialization?” I grumble. “What?”

“Weapon creation. I excel at making, manipulating, and fighting. With weapons. Now let me go back to sleep…” Ignoring his protests, I close my tired eyes yet again. The boy will find something to do. He always has.

You roll out of bed, still a little flittery over last night. Damn, that was something.

But a Fist of Shadow has no time for distractions. Or so you keep telling yourself during your morning ritual. After thoroughly not convincing yourself of anything, you review your tasks in your head. The tournament is in a month… and you still haven’t signed up. Damn, you should probably get on that. Leaving your room, you head back to the front of Ingrid’s Inn. The barely risen Shard streams a bit of light through the windows as you sit down at the bar and order your usual.

What’s the plan for today?

>>18974970
Greet Ingrid, have breakfast.
Go to the arena and see what the tournament is actually about

What?
It's Friday already?
...
Sheet, it is! Fuck, I thought it was Thursday.
Daaaaaamn.

>>18975029

Modifying that to

>have awesome morning eye-opener sex with Ingrid

>go enter tournament and win hands down

>>18975080
Looks like you haven't even read the previous threads.
Do it, the quest is pretty damn fun and intresting.

>>18975080
>implying Shun isn't a virgin
>implying you're going to win the tournament

>>18975110
>>implying you're going to win the tournament
That's..... not really reassuring.

As usual, you make small talk with the friendly bartender. For the sake of brevity and because you don’t really feel like talking about it, you omit your date last night.

You should probably go and register for the tournament before it’s too late. That thirty thousand gold could really come in handy at some point. Once again, you exit Ingrid’s Inn into the dawn of Terec. The arena is actually right next to the spires housing the Alchemist’s Guild in the center of the city, so it doesn’t take you too long to get there. When you do arrive, you walk up to the entrance, a marble gateway inlaid with names of some sort, where a muscled man sits on a wooden chair, reading a book of some sort. Looks like it’s about various theological discussions. You cough to get his attention. He looks up at you, different colored eyes piercing you. One of his eyes looks very… glassy.

“Yeah, what do you want?” he says gruffly. He looks you up and down. “You here for the tournament?”

>>18975093

...is Ingrid an ugly chick? If so, then HOW ugly is she?

If she's ugly, then NOPE on the sex.


>>18975110

Shun is the protag. Winning plot relevant shit is what he does.

>>18975137
Ingrid's a fairly attractive, busty brunette in her mid thirties.

>>18975123

"But of course! Why wouldn't I be here?"

>>18975123
"Yes.
I'd like to know more about it, if possible. What are the rules, what kind of weapons are allowed etc.
And how does one sign up?"

>>18975143

So...sexyteims are go then?

You grin at the man. "But of course! I’d like some information on it first, though. What are the rules?”

The grizzled man folds a page in his book and sets it down on the ground. “It’s pretty simple: no decapitations, dismemberments, eye gouging, or endangering the crowd. Do that, and you’re instantly disqualified, and you’ll probably go to jail, given the severity of the fuck up.”

You nod. Sounds easy enough. “What weapons are allowed?”

“Anything. Literally anything.” Um… sounds interesting. You open your mouth to ask another question, but he cuts you off, saying, “And you can wear whatever you want, too. As long as you don’t break the rules, we don’t really care what you do.”

Okay then. “How does one win a bout?”

“You win by either knocking the other guy out, cause him to submit, or by killing him. Without hacking anything off, of course.”

“So, wait, I can kill someone, but I’m not allowed to cut off body parts? Why?”

“It’s messy.” Fair enough.

>>18975187
Seriously, read the previous threads. Your suggestions are uniformed.
Besides, we have much more beautiful romantic interest with whom we had a date already and another girl that might or might not become another interest in the future.

>>18975210
"Can one bring supplies with him like potions?"
"How often do the fights end in death?"
"And is it all or nothing type of tournament or do the runner-ups win prizes too?"

"Can one bring supplies with him like potions?"

The man sighs. “I said anything goes.” He must mean ANYTHING then.

"How often do the fights end in death?"

Shrugging, he replies, “Depends. I’ve seen some tournaments where nobody dies, and I’ve seen a couple where only one man was left standing.” Well… damn. You hope your fights don’t end like that.

"And is it all or nothing type of tournament or do the runner-ups win prizes too?"

For some reason, this makes him chuckle. “Not officially, no. But almost the whole city’s going to be watching. Perform well enough and you might impress the right people. You never know.” Sounds like a good opportunity to find a ride to the Starry Seas, maybe.

>>18975273
"So anyone can participate? Mages, fighters, alchemists, etc?"

"is there an entry fee?"

sign up for the tournament then.

"So anyone can participate? Mages, fighters, alchemists, people like that?”

He blinks. The glassy eye seems a little less responsive than the brown one. “Anything. Goes.” Well, damn, man, anything is kind of broad.

“Is there an entrance fee?” he shakes his head. “How can I sign up, then?”

He asks you if you’re sure, and you nod. “Alright, what’s your name?”


“Shun.”

“Consider yourself signed up. Be back here at the end of the month.” That was… surprisingly easy. You’d think that a lethal tournament would have a screening process or something.

>>18975353
Well damn, now we're officially signed up.

Okay. What can we do now? Oh, I know. Lets try developing that Shadow stat boosting technique. They way it works, it should not be obvious to anyone else. The shadows should stay under our clothes and helemt, so that no one can see we're using shadow to boost our strength and speed.
Develop it while wearing full combat outfit, including the helmet/mask.
Do it somewhere secluded.

>>18975390
I hope it doesn't take weeks to do it though. I'd like to do things in meantime too.

>>18975353
That was a really easy sign up process, who would have thought they don't even do checks and the like.

Considering it's everything goes it won't just be a martial arts fight we might be forced to actually use some portion of our powers to win, which will kinda draw attention.

Second learning how to use our shadow to reinforce our body, strengthen us and maybe make us faster.

You should spend the month you’ve got training. You’ve got this idea for using shadows to make you hit harder, move faster, react instantly… but it’ll take time. And you should probably do it outside of the city walls. Yeah.

For weeks, you leave the city each day, steeling your body and mind outside. It’s a little difficult. You’ve got to use a burst of shadow when you act- if you need to run fast, a little bit of shadows kicking off of your feet give you that extra speed. If you want to hit harder, blasting a bit from your elbows gives you that extra force you need. Since you can’t be training all the time, you wander around a bit. About a week before the tournament, right when you feel you’re about to master it, you stumble across a large wooden building with a steep, steep tiled roof and large glass windows. You’ve still got a couple hours of daylight left.

>>18975510
Dammit, weeks?!
You should notify of things like that. I wanted to meet the alchemist chick again.

Anyway, what is that building?

>>18975510
Looks like a pretty nice place, take a look around it from the outside first, then climb up one of the walls to get a look inside. Once we have a better idea of what's in it we should find a door and go in.

>>18975519
You can't train all damn day, that's just impractical. Shun's dedicated, but not foolish enough to put undue stress on his body. Of course you can meet with her again.

You’ve learned not to go into strange buildings in the middle of nowhere without a little bit of reconnaissance. Looking around, it seems like the only entrance is through the massive double doors in the front. Strangely, the back doesn’t have windows. When you look inside, there’s a row of benches facing what looks like an altar of some sort. A lone man sits in the back, hands clasped, head bowed.

>>18975582
Totally not suspicious. But I'm curious as can be about a quiet church hidden away somewhere.

Knock on the double doors and open them. Leave them open behind us in case we need to make a quick exit, also if they suddenly slam shut it'll be our first clue that something is seriously up.

>>18975582
Oh, it's a temple.

... Do we need anything there? Why not ignore it and be on our way.

>>18975542
I mean, we could have done things in meantime. Like doing more bounty work or something. As we are right now, I doubt we're going to be even close to winning the tournament.

Lets go in and ask the man what this place is. We're just curious

You open the doors to the temple and head inside. The first thing you notice is the massive face above the altar: a clean shaven male with… rays coming from behind him? Sun rays? Your thoughts are interrupted when you hear a voice chanting to itself.

“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, and the blood on your hands bespeaks volumes of truth. The blood in your veins crying loudly for justice. That old Prince of Lies whispers warmly to trust us. Pray the good Lord will find him and root out his tongue.”

Turning, you see the man on the bench. A wide brimmed hat sits next to him, a strange crossbow on his other side. His long, unkempt black hair, tinged with grey, hangs around his face. A long, dusty brown coat covers the furry vest underneath. His boots look well traveled. This man’s seen a lot.

He doesn't notice you.

>>18975770
>The first thing you notice is the massive face above the altar: a clean shaven male with… rays coming from behind him? Sun rays?

Oh no, the all burning hate.

Find someone who seems to be in charge of here or at least works here and ask them what this place is about.

You don’t feel like talking to this guy right now. He’s kind of creeping you out. You look around, hoping to find… anyone else. You even go into the back searching for another person. No dice. When you come back out, you see the man has finished his prayer and is putting on his hat to leave. This time, however, he notices you. Black eyes staring, he waits for you to say something.

>>18975873
"Uh.. Hello.
What is this place?"

"Uh... Hello.” He stares at you, strangely blank, yet intense. It’s almost as if he’s looking past you. “What is this place?"

His words echo throughout the room. “A temple of Zarus, Father of Humanity. Have you come to worship our father?” Um, you’ve never really given too much thought to religion.

>>18975923

"I just saw the magnificent building and wanted to see what it was about."

"And no, I didn't come here to worship."

"I just saw the magnificent building and wanted to see what it was about." You notice the man fingering something hanging from his belt. Are those… small, shriveled hands? "And, uh, no, I didn't come here to worship." He blinks slowly.

“Understandable.” He turns to walk out, and stops. Back turned, he calls to you. “Do you know why I am here, brother?” No, not really. You tell him as much. “I have sought refuge in our father, for my family has been killed, or worse, kidnapped. There is no greater sin in the eyes of Zarus than to enslave another, barring the murder of those who follow our father. You’d do well to remember that, brother.” He says ominously as he strides out of the temple. Raising a hand to the skies, a hawk lands on his gloved arm, and just as strangely as he showed up in your life, he leaves.

>>18976027

"Wait!
Kidnapped? When did that happen?"

You run out of the temple, shouting, "Wait! Kidnapped? When did that happen?" But… you don’t see him anywhere in the rolling hills of the countryside. Nor do you see any trace of him. What the hell just happened?

>>18976027
This is the guy who's reaction pic you've been using all this time..

>>18976064
Weird. He's damn fast.

Anyway, we have some free time I suppose. Lets go and see how Erin is doing!

>>18976087
Really? I think I've only used it once.

>>18976091
I think I've seen him more than once. It's a memorable face so my perception on the things might be a bit off.

Oh well, the night isn’t even here yet. If you hurry, you could probably catch Erin before she leaves work. Slipping on your trusty belt of speed, you run back to the city in minutes. Before the Shard’s set, you’re back at her shop. Walking inside, she gives a slightly crooked smile when she sees you. It’s actually kind of cute.


“Hey Shun! Long time no see, huh?” You just remember that you haven’t even spoken to her since your date… three weeks ago. Shit.

>>18976149
"Yeah, I was busy. With my monk stuff.
How have you been doing?"

that's why I said you should have notified of 3 week timeskip. Training does not mean that absolutely every single second of the day gets dedicated to that.

>>18976167
My bad.
On the bright side, it's a good way to show that Shun isn't a master of romance and sometimes gets a little lost in his training. YAY CHARACTER DEPTH

>>18976173
HOORAY!

Seriously though. I did find it weird how good of a playa he was.

>>18976190
I blame Martial Arts Artist for that. That smooth bastard.

So, do you have anything you want to talk to her about? I really don't feel like writing small talk.

>>18976195
heh.

Quick, while he's not here, turn Shun into a socially awkward guy!

>>18976227
Well. I wanted to see how she's doing, what she's been up to. How her progress towards Jorneyman status is doing, etc.
We can also tell her that we finally signed up for the tournament.

make plans to do something with her, before and after the tournament?

>>18976241
Yeah, ask her on another date.
This time we'll buy some appropriate clothing though.

Shit, Shun, think of something! "Yeah, I was busy. With my monk stuff.” You cough awkwardly. “How have you been doing?"

She tilts her head and says that she’s been doing fine. You two chat for a while. Turns out that her final exams are coming up soon, which will determine if she can progress to a Journeyman or not. You’re sure she’ll do well. She’s just been studying and working, and you’ve been training. It’s been busy. When you tell her that you’ve entered the tournament, she giggles in glee and promises that she’ll get a front seat. Since she seems to be pretty receptive to the idea, you ask her out on another date in a couple of days. She would gladly do so.

Well, great, you should probably get some fancy clothes now, you stud, you.

>>18976284
Oh yeah. We're SWAG master. Yep. Totally not awkward.

"Great. Where would like like to go this time?
And are you busy right now? Want to grab some tea?"

to the taylors!

also, could we conceal our shadows when we use that thing we've been working 3 weeks for if we added some leather tassels or something to the elbows of our clothes and boots?

"Great. Where would you like to go this time?”

She grins and says, “The museum! It’s got so many interesting things there, and I haven’t gone in years?” The museum? Shit, that’s 75 gold for each of you to get in! Does she think you’re made of money?
Looking into her deep blue eyes, you think that yeah, maybe you are.

“Sounds good. Are you busy now? Wanna grab some tea?”

She pouts. “Sorry, Shun, but I’ve got hardly enough time to study as it is. Maybe next week?” Oh, dammit, fine.

>>18976351
It's hardly noticeable. It's a small burst that your opponent would have trouble seeing, much less a crowd dozens of feet away.

>>18976366
"Oh, that busy, eh?
Alright, Erin, see you in couple of days. At what time should I pick you up?" Also decide what day.

Then go to the tailor's. This time we'll be in full-swag mode.

"Oh, that busy, eh?” She shrugs, her wavy red hair bouncing slightly.

“Gotta keep up with school.” You kind of understand. Martial arts is like school, right? You two hammer out the details of the date and you wish her farewell. She blows you a kiss as you leave. Oh goodness, Shun, is your face red? You didn’t even know it could turn that color. Deciding that it wouldn’t be a good idea to show up to another date in your work clothes, you head to a tailor and get measured for a fancy suit, one that accentuates your fancy scarf well.

Hell yeah you're gonna look good.

>>18976462
Sweet.
When is the suit going to be ready and how much will it cost?

>>18976473
Next week, and 50 gold.

>>18976479
Just in time for the date I hope?

>Fancy pansy suit is cheaper than the museum we're going to visit.
What the hell.

Lets have it enchanted to always look like it's in the best condition.

>>18976503
An extra 100 gold.

>>18976503
Also, the museum is high-brow as balls.

>>18976506

If we actually have that much on us, FOOT THE DAMN BILL FOR IT.

OUR SWAG IS THE SWAG THAT WILL SWOON THE HEAVENS!

>>18976506
Do it. Wanna look radiant all the time and since we're visiting such a high-class place, it will be appropriate.

Consider it done. Anything else you want to do in the week before the tournament?

>>18976528

Maybe go practice our GAME-WINNING moves?

>>18976528
Did we finalize that technique? Stat-boosting technique I mean?

Lets try it out at Phoenix School to familiarize with it. First try it without the belt, then with the belt.
Notify the Sensei when we put the belt on since he wont pay for that. Also tell him we want to try out the new technique, it will make us much better than before but we're solely using our own skills, no potions or magic equipment.

You continue your training on the outskirts of the city. A couple of days before the tournament, you think you’ve got it juuuuust right. (You’ve learned Shadow Burst – A stance that increases your speed, and gives you a +1 to defense and attack rolls.)

You’re pleased with your new technique, but you won’t know how effective it is until you give it a shot in a fight, and you know just who to go to…

As the sun goes down, you stand over the battered bodies of twenty students. You’ve never felt so… attuned to a fight. You felled your targets with a single hit, moved in the blink of an eye, had lightning reflexes… belt and cape swaying in the wind, you bask in the commendations of Master Enkidu, who gives you 50 gold for your display. It’s a good stance, a great stance for all-round combat. You’ve got a good feeling about the tournament.

rolled 48 = 48

>>18976618
Great.
Lets wash ourself and get ready for the date.

Also, we should buy an endurance potion.

>>18976635
Er, the date is after the tournament. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

>>18976644
Wait. The tournament that was supposed to be a big plot point and a place where we could die?
I was specifically aiming to go on the date BEFORE the tournament.

Eh...
Anyway, buy an endurance potion, it will come in handy if we're on the brink of death. Then skip to the tournament.

how can we possibly lose?

>>18976679
Shit, man, girl's got finals. You know how it is.

You stop by her shop the day before the tournament and make some small talk with Erin, shelling out 100 gold for an endurance potion. You never know when it'll come in handy.

>>18976692
You're just asking for it.

>>18976692
How can we possibly not!?

Seriously, read the entire quest. This quest is on hard mode and the dice rolls completely dictate the outcomes. We could breeze through the fights with no problems or we could die on the first fight.

>>18976711
Oh man. I wonder if we could get a blessing at the temple even if we do not follow their religion?
Doesn't hurt to ask, right?

that shadow burst was just so confidence inspiring


can't wait to see the line up for the tournament

>>18976738
Maybe, just maybe you can get a blessing from a cleric at the Temple of Zarus. It's worth a shot, right?

When you stop by the day before the tournament, you're happy to actually see someone normal looking here. A bald man in robes greets you, and asks why you're here. When you ask for a blessing, he chuckles at you and tells you that you should be inspired to achieve the greatness of Zarus on your own terms, and for Him to give you His blessings would dilute that journey.

Well, shit.

>>18976775
Thank the man anyway. It was worth the shot.
Bid him a pleasant day and timeskip to the tournament.
Nothing else left to do.

>>18976618
Oh God.
The Phoenix School students must hate us by now.

>"Why does he keep coming and beating us up? Will he never get satisfied!?"

>>18976788
WAIT
WAIT.

Lets buy throwing daggers before we enter the tournament. Like 6 of them!
Good ones. High quality!

how about we enchant something to deflect powerful projectiles?
in case that guy we met in the church is fighting in the tournament

and how about grabbing one of each potion for the tournament?

>>18976833
>>18976857
You two sure about that?

yes, we have the funds, right?

>>18976913
What do you want to enchant, exactly?

hmm, can we buy a a bracelet or something and use that?

>>18976968
What, like Wonder Woman?

>>18976906
I'm sure I want to buy 6, well-balanced, high-quality throwing daggers.
Not quite sure about enchanting.

>>18976984
Very well. Stopping by a weaponsmith, you pick up 6 masterwork throwing daggers for 60 gold.

fuck, i just want something that won't get in the way during a fight. how about a headband with the deflecting thing and the same enchantment on the scarf that doesn't let anyone but us touch it?

oh, the throwing daggers might be good to so we don't use the shadow daggers, those wooden shurikens might actually see some use now

oh, and something that makes us immune to poison. i can see that hunter asshole using something like that on us

>>18977022
Wizards are good enchanters, but not good enough to put an arrow deflecting enchantment on anything but a shield. If you want to defend against arrows, then you'd better evade them or catch them.

>>18977035
Damn you're paranoid.

>>18977035
Where did you get the idea that that hunter is going to be in the tournament and that he's an asshole?

>>18977067
Practice with the throwing daggers while waiting for the tournament to start.

>>18977110
But you know how to use them. You're trained with many weapons, remember? Getting used to the extra weight only takes a moment.

>>18977122
Well. That's what I meant. Getting used to them. Besides, we haven't thrown actual weapons for a while.

You arrive at the marble arena at dawn, fully prepared for war, belt donned, mask on, scarf discarded. The grizzled man escorts you to your own little room, and explains to you that you won’t know anything about your opponent until you’re in the fight. Damn, you were hoping to be able to plan ahead. After about half an hour of waiting in the tiny room, meditating and psyching yourself up, the man comes and finally introduces himself as Hank, the Arena Master. It’s time for your fight.

Stepping from the dark hole you waited in, the light from the Shard blinds you for a moment, but you keep walking, feeling the sand beneath your feet, the roar of the crowd at your back. When your eyes finally adjust, you look around. Thousands upon thousands of people cry out for blood and pain around you, each more eager than the last. The white walls of the area provide a stark contrast for the red ichor you know will stain it soon. Your eyes are drawn to a box a few feet above the opposite gate, and you see him. High Master Blaine, standing ominously, waiting, watching, studying. You think you see the slits in his mask glowing slightly. You suppress your shiver as your opponent enters the ring.

He’s… massive. Standing at least 8 feet tall, marble armor covers him from head to toe, laced with gold. His lance is twice his height, and has a strange mechanism right before the tip. You can tell that his weapon and armor are both Daedalus made. That could be a problem.

A magically amplified voice echoes over the din of the crowd.

“Welcome to the annual Gold Tournament, citizens! I am your announcer, the exalted Master Victor Richards!” You look around, and see a tall man on a platform above you, his robes more ornate than even the armor in front of you. It’s him, the man who wanted Sifu dead. “In the first round, we have Shun, the man who appears to be a wanderer of some sort, fighting Gallius, one of the most revered guards in all of Terec! I hope you’re ready for a beating, Shun!” Is this asshole really calling you out?

With a loud crash of shouts from the audience, the behemoth stands over you, and Richards yells, “Fight!”

Dare you initiate?

>>18977162
He's big and strong. That means we must evade as much as possible. His single hit with that lance of his might take us out in an instant.

We're in shadow-boost stance, right?
try to get behind him and attack from there. Go for the weak-points. Head, joints, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EC1N-1SMAXQ&feature=relmfu

With no time to waste, you kick off, appearing behind the beast in an instant! Your hardened fist jettisons towards the back of his knee, a little explosion of shadow behind your elbow…

(Attack roll = 16 + 1 = 17.)
Your arm crashes into his joint, making a loud smack, and… holy shit your fist hurts! That hit was almost perfect, how strong is his armor…?

(Defense roll = 15 + 1 = 16!)
You notice his lance swinging around astonishingly fast, and at the last second you scurry underneath his massive, thick legs. Shit, you didn’t think he’d be this fast…!

trip him up and go crazy on him when he falls face down on the ground

>>18977297
Probably on potions.
Damn.

Well have to aim for head blows from now. Try to knock him out. It should work even he has helmet. Especially if he has helmet. Blunt attack on helmets are really effective.

Does he have any exposed parts in his armor? We could use our daggers for that.

>>18977325
Looking over him, his armor is exquisitely made, and what openings you do see have chainmail underneath. This guy isn't fucking around.

>>18977389
Slowly?

Maybe his speed is only in his lance?
It had strange mechanism on the top, right? Lets try to mess it up by throwing a dagger at it.

>>18977417
Ignore that, my extension goofed and I didn't see >>18977325

>>18977424
oh
okay

If you somehow trip him, you can probably use the opportunity to wail on his head! The crowd roars as you grab one of his massive legs and put your entire body into making him fall…

(Attack roll = 6 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 7.)
You’re not strong enough for this, you’re getting nowhere! While you’re grabbing his leg, a marble fist comes twisting towards you!

(Defense roll = 10 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 11!)
In the nick of time, you jump back as the giant arm swings past where you just were. The behemoth quickly turns around, lance swinging!

(Defense roll = 7 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 8.)
You’re barely able to cushion the blow when the lance crashes into your side, launching you away! You flip and land on your feet while the juggernaut slowly advances on you!

>>18977514
Okay. Now do this >>18977417

Also. To try to trip him, we should use our entire bodies weight. Like launching ourself to him.

can we use blinding strike and have the shadows work under his armor?

>>18977551
You have no idea, you've never tried that on a fully armored opponent.

>>18977551
Lets not use any active shadow techniques while the big man honcho is around. I bet he could detect them if he hasn't already.

Maybe you just need to apply a little more force this time. Rushing at him in a blink, he barely has time to raise his lance against you…!

(Defense roll = 8 + 2 for surprise speed and Shadow Burst = 10!)
You sidestep it in an instant and leap forward as you hear the announcer saying something…!

(Attack roll = 14 + 2 for speed and Shadow Burst = 16!)
Thanks to your sheer momentum, you smash into his leg, causing the giant to tumble over and lose the grip on his lance! Now’s your chance! You bring your fists together and rocket them towards his helm…!

(Attack roll = 7 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 8.)
God DAMN that still hurts! You feel the body underneath you shifting…

>>18977653
>causing the giant to tumble over and lose the grip on his lance!

Grab the lance and throw it away.
Hit him again.

We should get armored gloves after this match

land on his shoulders and keep wailing on him, drop to the ground as soon as he starts raising his hands towards you

>>18977693
wot
He's already on the ground, and you're already on top of him.

>>18977653
>God DAMN that still hurts! You feel the body underneath you shifting…

We'll drink a potion when this is over. For now keep hitting him even if that means breaking our hands.

>>18977709
Try to use shadows as Cestuses, they're like boxing gloves mixed with brass knuckles. They ought to be hard for the crowd to notice and will protect our hands as we punch him in the face.

oh, i thought he got up

we're on sand, right?
just keep up the assault till he passes out

Dammit, you’re not getting off of him that easily! You call your shadow, and it leaps to your hand, making a hard glove, which you slam back into the helmet!

(Attack roll = 19 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 20!)
You hear shattering as you smash the front of the helmet, revealing a sweaty, clean shaven face and beady eyes underneath!

(Defense roll = 3 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 4.)
Feeling a hand grabbing your cloak, he swings his arm up and down in the air, crashing you into the warm sand, and you hear the crack of something breaking! The sharp pain in your chest confirms that you’ve probably gone and cracked a rib…

>>18977771
We broke his helmet. Great!

Throw daggers at his face. Even if they do not hit him, he will try to evade and will be distracted.
Throw daggers while charging him. Jump and kick/punch him in the face.

>>18977771
His head is now exposed, which is seriously good.

I'd say to use Elemental Riposte on his head, except that would probably explode his face off.

So just knock him straight in the face until he goes down or surrenders.

>>18977818
DO NOT. USE. SHADOW POWERS.

For fucks sake. How often must this be repeated?

unless you can keep that shit hidden
wooden shurikens in his eyes

>>18977851
I said I was tempted but that it'd explode his face, very non subtle, and it might count as a decapitation and eye gouging.

As you stagger to your feet, ignoring the pain, you pull out your daggers to distract him… but he’s already gotten up and is dashing at his lance faster than a man with that much armor should! You throw a dagger at his head…!

(Attack roll = 1 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 2.)
Gallius pulls off his broken helmet and deflects your dagger with it easily, and he drops it to the sand as he picks up his spear and points it at you, face red with determination. You see his hand move…

(Defense roll = 10 + 1 for Shadow Burst – 1 for surprise attack = 10!)
And the head of his lance shoots out at you on a chain! Narrowly rolling out of the way, the chain retracts back into the lance, and he stands his ground, daring you to advance!

>>18977884
Screw the shurikens. Use the daggers!

>>18977897
Well. His head is exposed.
More daggers!

Next time he tries that chain-lance thing, try to grab the head and piggyback on it towards him, aiming a kick to his face.

>>18977897
Grab one of our daggers behind our back, tempt him into trying to shoot us with the Lance head, dodge and pin the chain into the ground with a dagger.

damn, should have broken that thing, oh well
dagger strikes to his neck

Pulling out another dagger, you get ready for him to shoot again…

(Defense roll = 12 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 13!)
You manage to sidestep it, and you bring your dagger down, hoping to pin the chain, and it works! But the lance head pulls back anyway, breaking your throwing dagger! Shit!

Maybe a different approach…

(Defense roll = 19 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 20!)
It shoots past you again, but this time, you grab the chain as it pulls back, rocketing you towards him! Sticking your legs out and covering them with your shadow, you crash into his chest, causing another chunk of his armor to fall off, revealing the chainmail underneath!

We're near him, right?
He should be at least a little bit disoriented.
Punch him in the face!

>>18977984
Punch him in the face until he gives. Use the Cestus, it probably won't kill him.

>>18978007
Cestus?

>>18978015
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cestus

It's pretty much a leather boxing glove thing with metal plates or spikes.

It's an easy shadow weapon that won't ping on anybody's radar as we already have armor, with gloves, so putting a layer of shadow on it to protect them and make it hurt more won't be noticeable.

With a jolt, your empowered fist sails for his bald head…!

(Attack roll = 8 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 9.)
Throwing himself forward, the juggernaut knocks you away while following up with a lance thrust!

(Defense roll = 2 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 3.)
FUCK! You take the lance head on, and you feel your armor crumpling underneath as your clothes become stained with blood, and a loud CRACK as more of your ribs break. You can’t take much more of this…

>>18978052
Drink a healing potion I guess.

healing then throw more daggers at his neck

>>18978052
Arent we wearing arm guards? Those should allow us to deflect the blade, at the very least.

Oh and if we get up close again, we should grab some sand.and throw it in his eyes.

Its not eye gouging.

Staggering backwards, you reach for a healing potion as your vision starts to get hazy, but the giant won’t let you heal that easily!

(Defense roll = 20 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 21!!!)
In a flash, you’ve chugged the potion, and you feel your ribs stitching back together as you grab the chain on the lance and pull back with a monstrous display of strength, ripping the chain and the head of the spear out of the mechanism!

>>18978157
Spin the chain with the head of the spear on it, and once it has built up a good pile of momentum throw it right at his chest with the exposed chainmail. While he's dealing with his lance head flying straight at his chest, kick him in the face.

>>18978168

Jesus.
Now we have an actual weapon.
Use it as a flail and hit him on the head. If that doesn't work, we can always try to entangle his feet with the chain.

>>18978168
"Your weapon is gone. Submit." If he doesn't, use the riposte on him, but with out the shadow element. Like we did against the phoenix students.

>>18978228
How can we use riposte without shadow?
I don't remember doing that.

we can also break the damn thing before he somehow gets his hands on it again

The crowd is whipped into a frenzy at your comeback, and you pick up the chain and begin to swing it around!

(Attack roll = 11 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 12!)
You launch the weapon straight at his exposed chest, as you follow up with blinding speed, jumping for his face!

(Attack roll = 8 + 3 for speed, distraction, and Shadow Burst = 11!)
He can’t decide if he should defend from you or the spear, and as a result, the spearhead pierces his chainmail as you smash your leg into his face, breaking his jaw! He staggers backwards, still holding onto the pole as his jaw begins to bleed and drool.

>>18978242
We used it against the phoenix students before.

>>18978271
You can't riposte without getting hit.

>>18978255
Keep attacking.
Punch him in the face. Kick him in the chest!

>>18978255
Give him the choice to submit. If not keep putting the pressure on him with our attacks.

Whoever decided the Gold Tournament should be a deathmatch (that even guards participate in) is retarded.

Whoever keeps clamoring for throwing daggers even though we have our own shadow arsenal is a bit paranoid. Granted, it'd do well to keep us from exposing our power in hindsight, but I wouldn't worry too much.

Whoever keeps clamoring to throw the daggers at Gallius's head can sod off, though. I'm of the mind that Shun doesn't believe in unnecessary death, especially in a tournament setting like this. Shun will always aim for surrender or KO, if possible.

Whoever said we wear our easily-grabbable cloak into the match doesn't believe in minimalism and got penalized for it.

Whoever made that lance able to shoot its head as often as it does (every 1.5 posts has him firing that lance head like the heavy units in Fire Emblem) should be commended for his work and condemned as a dick at the same time.

I was wondering how long it'd take us to address religion in this world, especially with the mention of Zarus here and there.

ALL THAT SAID,
>>18978255
Press the advantage. Keep him off balance and blast him onto his back. Then ground-and-pound until he submits.
>>18978271
No we haven't. The Riposte is a counter-attack. Hence the name "riposte."

Posting Bob Sapp for POWER INSPIRATION.

>>18978300
Addendum: whoever got Shun to complete the Shadow Burst stance (that sounds like it needs a better name) is a scholar. I love a good well-rounded style, and it gives us important buffs.

He deserves the chance to bow out gracefully. “Submit. Your weapon is broken.” He answers by spitting blood and drool on the sand, and swings the pole at you!

(Defense roll = 5 + 1 from Shadow Burst = 6.)
It still hurts like a bastard when it smashes into you, but without the added weight of the chain and head, it doesn’t hurt nearly as bad. Blindlingly, you sail at him yet again!

(Attack roll = 11 + 2 for speed and Shadow Burst = 13!)
Exploding at him, you imbue your fist with shadows yet again, and deliver a leaping blow to his face, knocking him to the ground as he drops his pole! For a second, he doesn’t move.

>>18978330
It's a custom stance, name it what you want.

>>18978349
Punch him a few more times until the officials stop the match or we note he's KO'ed.
>>18978354
I'll let you know.

>>18978330
You called me a paranoid, retarded scholar.
I don't know what to think.

Also, I was meaning to tell this before but, MAA, can you stop posting Gifs? I have auto-gif on and it becomes a little annoying after a while and I have to hide your posts.
Another thing, you should be really careful with image dumping. In the next archive purge these threads could be identified as Image dumps and be deleted. That happened to Gargoyle Quest.

>>18978349
Grab the pole and throw it away.

>>18978361
I only dumped gifs in the last thread as a change of pace.
>NOTMYPROBLEM.gif
I think it'd only be construed an image dump if there are non-useful posts connected to the dump (depending on how loosely you interpret the term "non-useful). The post-to-image ratio in FoS Quest is always vastly favoring the posts, plus even with my images, we never reach image cap. That'd be dumb if they purge because of that. I'm just trying to spruce things up.

You grab his pole and throw it away to make sure he can’t get his hands on it again. You look at him. He’s still immobile. After a few seconds, you hear Richards’ voice over the crowd, “And it’s over, citizens! The newcomer has defeated one of our greatest guards! What an upset!” Breathing heavily, you look at the crowd, ecstatic in your victory. You look around… and sure enough, in the front, there Erin is, cheering you on. It feels nice. Turning your back to them, you stride back into the darkness, complacent in your victory. Hank greets you and takes you back to your room.

“I’m impressed, kid. Not many people can punch their way through Daedalus heavy armor.”

>>18978415
"No one ever said I was many people, sir." Quietly return to our room.

Jesh. What have I missed out on again. Throw the pole away and give his face a smashing. That's for breaking our ribs.

>>18978423
You're in your room.

>>18978415
Will the next fight be today again?
Can we go out before we are called it again? I realized that we don't have any weapons except the daggers. We need a shield, sword and a mace.

"hurt like hell, just glad it's over. so when's my next match and how many til i win?"

>>18978431
Then just take a sit and recoup.
"Can we observe other matches, or are we to remain sequestered?"

>>18978437

Implying our bear hands and some subtle non-visible shadow techniques should get us through this. I could be wrong now - but I don't think so

>>18978437
We don't use weapons. We are a MONK. We don't need no STEENKIN' weapons. At least we shouldn't. You don't want us turning Shun into some dirty unwashed man-at-arms, do you?

i wouldn't mind getting some more daggers though.

oh, if we use that shadow feint attack with a dagger, can we make the real shadow of the dagger strike their feet?

"No one ever said I was many people, sir." He chuckles at this. "Can we observe other matches, or are we to remain sequestered?"

“You’re stuck here, kid. Watching the other matches might give you a leg up on the next fight.” Eh, whatever, it’s their rules.

“So when's my next match and how many until i win?"

He looks at you, stonefaced. “A couple of hours. You’ve got two more fights and then the final bout. If you’re hurt, which… it looks like you are, a healer will be coming in a few minutes.” You let loose a sigh of relief. That’s good.

“Can I leave before I get called again?”

He shakes his head. “Nope. Shoulda been prepared before today.” Well shit, that would’ve been useful information to have a month ago, asshole. “Besides, you looked like you didn’t need much to win out there, if you’re thinking about shopping.” Well… that’s true. But still.

>>18978482
It's a thought. Like I said, though, Shun is a monk before everything else, so he shouldn't need to use weapons. We'd be using our shadow powers more liberally, but we're trying not to be exposed, especially if Master Richards of all people is the master of ceremonies.

>>18978476
The hell are you talking about?
We have always used weapons.

At least we should get some armored gloves or knuckles. We almost broke our hands against that guard.

>>18978408
Whatever you say man. I just know that about 10 threads of Gargoyle quest got deleted. I doubt they bother to even look at what they are deleting.
I certainly wouldn't, when I have to organize thousands of threads.

hmm, think alchemy girl can visit us here?

>>18978503
No.

>>18978499
We've used shadow weapons and whatever is in the area.
Closed fist isn't the only way to strike. We've got knife hands, we've got open palms, we've got elbows, we've got knees. Shit, what don't we have?

so we're stuck here for hours?
fuck
hmm, i wonder if the lady from the inn, the dadelus guy with the robo arm and the rising phoenix teacher are watching

>>18978506

What exactly IS our current inventory? I think you bought some stuff earlier on in this thread. I'm losing track.

>>18978521
Inventory: 5 wooden shurikens, 1 dose of Heaven Berries, 385 gp (9914 in the bank), a pendant of Ward Fear, 1 emerald gem, two medical kits, about ten feet of rope, 5 healing potions, 1 endurance potion, a watch, and a compass, 5 masterwork throwing daggers, belt of GO FAST.

>>18978521
>>18978527
Dudes wanted to get some enchanted swag gear for the post-tournament date with Erin, too. A nice thought, but I'm worried that's a little excessive. Remember, Shun doesn't believe in materialism. At least he shouldn't.

>>18978527
We never did get that Mucktouched emerald ID'ed, did we? We should probably get on that.

>>18978527
My face when we end this tournament in an epic final blow à la wooden shuriken. I guess it is implied that we should wear all our enchanted items and perhaps we could take the coil of rope and the daggers to battle (and of course one wooden shuriken for the KO-hit

>>18978488
Well, if we're not going anywhere for a couple hours, let's get to meditating. We have to be centered and in-tune with ourselves in order to be in tune with the world.

>>18978543

We should also keep our eyes open for a reliable and powerful source of light. We're probably bound to visit Darklands at some point and it might be worth visiting the temple to get our shard which was apparently worth quite a bit (can't remember the exact evaluation from our visit to the workshops).

>>18978495
Since when did YOU get to decide what we are and what we are not. Shun has been trained in all weapons.
If anything, going by some "cool" idea and limiting yourself is vehemently retarded. There is no reason to ignore weapons just because they don't fit your image even if they are useful. In the fight we just had, a mace would have been really useful, for example. We were just lucky with some good critical rolls.
Next time we might go against a ranged fighter. There, a shield would be very useful. Etc.
And I'm not okay with ALWAYS going moralfag route, even though I am a MASSIVE moralfag. "I don't kill because I don't believe in death" is a good way to get killed because we hesitated during a vital moment.

>>18978573
>using weapons
>when you can just make them
>implying you can't make shadow shields

>>18978569
A fist-sized Shard is worth a couple tens of thousands minimum, I think the estimate was.

>>18978573
I never said he doesn't believe in death. I'm saying he only ought to kill those that deserve it. Remember the hostage situation?

>>18978584
Oh. I forgot that we can enchant shadow weapons. Can we? I guess not.
Also in scenarios where we cannot use shadow weapons, just like the one here, they would be really useful.

>>18978607
Ah. Okay.
You seemed quite peeved about throwing daggers at the guards head. I only suggested it once, after his helmet was broken. I actually aimed not to kill him during this whole fight.

>>18978573
Nor am I saying Shun must turn down all physical weapons forever. I'm just saying that in a best-case scenario, he shouldn't need to use them. Not many of our scenarios have been best-case, granted.

>>18978620
I was concerned because generally, a dagger to the head rarely ends well.

>>18978628
To tell you the truth I would LOVE for him to be physical weapons monster but as you know, we cannot rely on our powers even on a good day. So we should be always stacking everything in our favor.

>>18978645
Well. The fight was not looking very favorably so I thought to end it with a decisive throw to the face.
I'm glad we didn't have to kill him though.

have shun spend the hours playing with shadows?

Alright guys, it's that time of the day again. I'll be back from work in a few hours for the next fight.

>>18978768
okay, see you later.

>>18978770
Looks like you're stuck waiting a bit longer.

>>18978768
Good a time as any to go grocery shopping.

>>18978784

How many hours approx are we talking? It's 1 am so I might consider sleeping right now and waking up relatively early to catch the continuation. After all it's already Saturday here.

>>18978816
Be responsible and go sleep. I think Student doesn't come back until relatively late. Like, almost midnight EST-late.

>John tsuages
No John, you are the tsuages.
And then John was a ninja.

>>18978834
This.

Ugh, note to self: eat before you go to work next time, you can only sneak so much food.

>>18982355
>awpoorbaby.avi

Hank tells you that he has to leave, and departs, leaving you alone. A couple of minutes later, a healer shows up and tends to your wounds, and you’re back in top shape. Magic has its uses, you think. For the next couple of hours, you contemplate on the tournament. Possible scenarios, what you’ll do if you win, what you’ll do if you lose… eventually you clear your mind of such extraneous thoughts, and simply relax.

Hank returns, and tells you to follow him back out. Your next match is beginning. Again, you’re blinded by the glare of the sand, and again you acclimate. The crowd yells for you, listing for blood. This time, your opponent is out before you. You’re a little relieved to see that he’s far smaller than your last opponent, in fact, he’s about half a foot shorter than you. You aren’t too keen on his green, sparkling robes, and you’re even less pleased to have a sudden headache now.

Yet again, the bombastic voice of Victor Richards raises itself over the crowd, “Welcome, citizens, to the second round! This fight, we’ll be seeing the martial artist Shun use his enigmatic style on Benedict, master of the arcane!” Shit, he is a wizard. “Let’s see if the newcomer can handle this display of magic!”

The crowd roars out as the slim man across you raises his arms, crackling with energy. “Fight!”

>>18982500
Charge him, disrupt his flow immediately. The last thing we want is a wizard gaining momentum. Once he gets rolling, we are so screwed. Keep him from maintaining his focus. Don't let him have two thoughts in a row. That'll be the main key to this fight: keeping the wizard unfocused.

fuck, a wizard

throw daggers and shurikens at him to disrupt his casting

You can’t let him get any attacks off! Your dagger was already ready, and you shoot it off at the mage who collects energy from somewhere, shadows kicking your arm off…!

(Attack roll = 19 + 1 = 20!)
And it digs right into his leg! With a grunt, he waves his arm, and the floor beneath you changes, almost imperceptibly so, and your feet… they’re stuck! Goddamn fucking wizards and their goddamn magic.

Throw a dagger in his heart

try and dig yourself out

>>18982638
What kind of "stuck?" Is it "feet dug in the sand" stuck or "fused with concrete" stuck? Were we just shuffling our feet? Ergh.
Keep an eye on the wizard while we free our legs? Can we manipulate his shadow to imperceptibly trip him up?

>>18982662
Your feet don't actually look stuck, but it's like there's something really, really sticky underfoot.

As for the shadow, you can't manipulate his, but you can certainly start throwing bigger things than daggers.

>>18982675
We're not going to out ourselves yet, especially not in front of Master Richards. Like I said in the first post, charge him and stay close. Don't just throw daggers all day.

Are there weapons around the arena?

>>18982703
Just sand.

>>18982707
Hurf durf durf.
Then just charge him and stay inside. Slap him around, keep him incoherent.

fucking mages

try running some small shadows under your feat and push off the floor or something

>>18982738
We're already in Shadow Burst Stance, which improves our speed, and we have the enchanted Belt of Speed as well. There's no reason why we can't close on this guy.

oh, so the stuck to the floor thing was temporary?
sweet, mages are notoriously frail!

Shit, you’ve got to get out of this… whatever it is! You go down to pick up your leg and, at the same time, jettison a dagger at Benedict!

(Attack roll = 3 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 4.)
You were a little too distracted, and the wizard easily sidesteps your throw and begins to chant something. Fortunately, you’re given enough time to pull yourself free and get out of that area. You make a mental note to avoid it while you charge at him, at a blinding speed! Unfortunately, he had enough time to get off another spell, and disappears in a cloud of smoke, which washes over the arena! You hear him laugh… then you hear him do it again. And again. It begins to overlap, and you think you can make out at least 6 of the same voice echoing throughout the fog.

Fuck.

>>18982777
He wants to try and out-stealth the heir to the Fist of Shadow? Fuck this guy.
Assuming no one in the crowd can see us obscured in this arena-covering smoke, engage our Cloak of Deception and disappear. Dispatch these clones one at a time.

>>18982798
slick

The wizard thinks he can stealth like you can? Fine, let him, it’ll just make it that much easier to take him down. You call the shadows to yourself, feeling that familiar embrace as you crouch to the ground and go on the hunt. You hear a high pitched voice laugh, “Do you really think I’m so stupid as to let a master of hand to hand get close to me?” It’s difficult to make out his voice over the crowd, but… “Get real!” There. He’s to your left. Sneaking to the ground, you crawl towards the source of the voice, and… you see him. One of him.

(Stealth roll = 17 + 2 for cloak of shadows and concealment = 19!)
He never sees you coming. You stand up behind him and…

(Attack roll = 16 + 1 for sneak attack = 17!)
You wrap your arm around his neck and feel the air try and get into his lungs. You don’t let it. Just as his body goes limp, it poofs away, and some of the fog around you starts to disperse. It’s getting a little easier to see, although you still can’t make much out…

>>18982889
Keep up the pace. Once the cloud dissipates enough that people can see us again, turn off the Cloak of Shadows. Again, we don't need to reveal our powers to the entire city.

be careful, if the smoke lightens up when you kill one he'll be on guard and expecting you

“Oh, the little monk thinks he can take out my clones!” Why does he keep revealing his position? “How cute.” It’s too easy to pinpoint the next one.

(Stealth roll = 13 + 2 for cloak of shadows and concealment = 15!)
It’s even easier to sneak up on him, too.

(Attack roll = 20 + 1 for sneak attack = 21!!!)
You grab the man’s head, put your hand on his back… and tear it off. A little brutal, but he dissipates and the fog gets a little clearer. You can vaguely make out the crowd now, but just that it’s there at all. What is he playing at…? “I’ve found yooouuuu, little monk!” Wait, what…?!

(Defense roll = 15!)
Spine tingling, you quickly throw yourself to the ground as a bolt of lightning sails over you! Shit, that was close! “Oh, you can dodge lightning? How many times, I wonder?” Shit, shit, shit!

>>18982998
Either he can see through our shadows (which is bullcrap), or he can tell which of his clones has been dispatched. Either way, this isn't going to get less annoying until we take out the rest of the clones. Now we know to keep an eye and ear out for any immediate reprisals.

throw a knife to break his next spell and rush him for a lethal attack

>>18983030
This wizard may be a dickhead, but we're not going to kill him. At least until he justifies such.

>>18982998
Follow the path the lighting came from.

Also those who suggest outright killing them? Shame on you.

oh right, this is a tournament, kind of forgot
stick him with blinding strike when we find him to distract him from casting

Go for a sweep. If he falls, mount him and punch his lights out. If he dodges, POCK---wait its not in your pocket. Fine Shun, SAND ATTACK to his face.

>>18983079
A tournament that permits deathmatches, granted, but we're not that kind of guy.

aye, i just kind of forgot about shuns character cause mages are annoying as fuck and i wanted him put down hard and fast

“Dodge this!”

(Defense roll = 18 + 1 for concealment = 19!)
Fortunately, you’ve already moved away from your last position and he fired that one into the dark. But you think you can tell where it came from. Can his clones cast magic? Only one way to find out…

(Stealth roll = 1 + 2 for cloak of shadows and concealment = 3.)
As you creep on the next one, his head swings around, actually looking for you this time! “Oh, look at this!” From behind you hear crackling, and your mind screams at you to move…!

(Defense roll = 12.)
You try and throw yourself out of the way, but it still strikes your arm, sending jolts of pain throughout your body! Shit, that hurts! You try and shake your shouldering arm to see if it works… and while it hurts like a bitch, it still operates. And you’ve got to take out this one in front of you now…!

(Attack roll = 12.)
It’s too easy. He tries to swing at you, but you dip underneath it and, a sword of shadows forming around your arm, slice his leg off. Of course it’s a clone. The real Benedict would’ve ran away. But, this one isn’t dissipating, it’s glowing… oh, hell.

(Defense roll = 4.)
You realize it too late, and the clone explodes violently in a magic burst, throwing you away into the thinning fog. Picking yourself up, you can begin to make out individuals in the crowd… shit. There should only be three of him left…

>>18983126
Take out one more clone, then disengage our Cloak. There's only so much space two clones can hide in, and if there's anyone who knows how to flush someone from hiding, it's someone who knows how to hide.

>>18983109
True Nogram, but we don't need to resort to straight up killing. Unless we are doing it to save ourself or others.

There are of course exceptions, to the rule and we push then line with torture, but thats something we don't pull unless we really need it.

>>18983126
Unless he can sense his own clones, I say we trick them into attacking each other.

>>18983145
After we dispatch this next clone and de-cloak:

"What's the matter, Benedict? I've seen better cantrips from a Mucktouched!"

“Awww, did that hurt the baby? If you weren’t so stupid, you’d have learned magic instead of your silly punching games.” Goddammit he’s starting to grate on your nerves…

(Attack roll = 17 + 1 for sneak attack – 1 for enemy concealment = 17!)
Unleashing a hail of shadow daggers into the fog, you hear a scream, followed by an explosion as the fog regresses into a mere mist. The shadows that cover you fall off and scurry to their original places. You can’t let people see this. “I’m a little impressed at that shot, Shun.” Your head explodes in pain! “But not impressed enough.” The mist gets hot… why is it getting hot?

(Defense roll = 20!)
Everything around you erupts into a pillar of flames, and there is no escape from the torrent. You had the feeling this would happen, so you didn’t even bother to avoid it. Instead, your shadow jumped to your aid, forming a shield below you to defend from the jets of fire rising from the ground. It persists for a few, incredibly tense seconds… and stops. Looking up from the ground, the fog is gone, and two astonished mages look at your untouched body, sputtering.

"What's the matter, Benedict? I've seen better cantrips from a Mucktouched!"

>>18983215
NOW we rush him and break his nose twenty times.

>>18983215
How close are they? If they are next to each other, then..

Get at them with our superior speed and bash their head's together. If not then grab one and throw him at the other.

damn, no more obvious shadow moves.
do either of them have the wound from before he summoned his clones or do they both have it?
well, go after the one that screamed when you shot those shadow daggers at him

You explode at him! Now that you can see, you notice that one of them is bleeding from his chest… In a blink, you appear in front of him…

(Attack roll = 20!!!)
You take no chances with this one. With one punch, you break a kneecap. With another, you shatter his jaw. With a kick, you make his other leg bend in a way that it definitely shouldn’t, and you grab onto him. You’re not done yet. Swinging around behind him, you use your momentum to swing him up and slam him into the ground, face first. Your fist meets his elbow as you make sure he can’t cast. Your leg meets the other just to make sure. Picking him up, you throw him at the wall, and you throw him so hard he bounces off. Blood gushes from him in several places as he looks like a doll a child let a dog chew. With a roar, the crowd commends your ruthlessness, and you hear Richards cry out, “Shun has done it again! And… goodness, it looks like Benedict could really use a medic!” Yes, he probably could.

>>18983277
Strike a snake-fist pose at Benedict before we head underground. Job well done.

>>18983277
Pump our fist into the air for the crowd, take a slow walk around the arena, if we see Erin blow her a kiss.

>>18983277
His other clone has dispersed right?

"When he wakes up, tell him to work on his dodge."

>>18983295
shun you sly dog

You raise your fist to the crowd, basking in your first moment of glory and adulation. You’d walk around for dramatic effect, but that seems… rather showboaty. You look around for Erin, and you spot her, bouncing up and down, ecstatic at yet another victory. You move to blow a kiss at her… oh, shit, you’re still wearing your mask. Oh shit, that must’ve looked weird as hell.

Yeah, it’s time to go. Jeeze. Hank meets you again, and gruffly says, “Nice job, kid. What happened out there?”

>>18983345
"A man in a fluffy robe tried to be sneaky. I showed him the error of his ways."

>>18983345
I kicked a man wearing a dress in the face, and broke his leg, perhaps not my proudest moment.

>>18983349
"If you see him next, tell him no hard feelings, but leave being clever to the professionals."

>>18983345
"I got lucky. First it was all physical, next was magic. I expect the next one may be a mix."

"A man in a fluffy robe tried to be sneaky, so I kicked him in the face, broke some legs. Not my proudest moment, but if you see him next, tell him no hard feelings, but leave being clever to the professionals." He chuckles. “But really, I got lucky. First it was all physical, next was magic. I expect the next one may be a mix."

Hank looks contemplative for a moment. “Yeah, you’re right. Probably will be.” You’re a little surprised that he told you that so freely. “Don’t tell anybody I told you.”

>>18983389
"My lips are sealed."

>>18983389
Your secret is safe with me. Thanks.

Get medical attention to make sure we're in tip top shape, we got a few bumps and bruises, and mentally prepare for the next fight.

>>18983389
"My lips are sealed. Will the healer be coming again? I want to start making my plans for the next match. I've been making them up on the fly, but I feel I may need to actually plan."

>>18983410
Come to think of it, I doubt we have time for the next fight right now. We got through, what, the elimination round and the quarters, right, assuming this is an elimination-style tournament? Next is the semis.

>>18983424
Is there a bracket we can read somewhere, or are we totally in the dark?

>>18983429
Completely and utterly in the dark. That's why it's kind of a big deal that you got a hint from Hank.

>>18983431
Hell of a tournament. Organizers got balls of adamantite to run a fully-blind bracket like this.

>>18983447
Fully blind deathmatch tournament.
Those guys are dicks.

>>18983447
I doubt it's completely blind if you poke it hard enough.

Someone who prepared properly and had some connections and/or money could probably get information on who they're probably going to fight next.

You nod at the middle aged man. "My lips are sealed. Will the healer be coming again? I want to start making my plans for the next match. I've been making them up on the fly, but I feel I may need to actually plan."

“Yeah, healer always stops by after every match and gets the fighters back on their feet. Poor Benedict’ll be sore tomorrow, but he’ll be fine. As for planning… well, let me just say that nothing can prepare you for who I’m sure you’ll fight next.” That’s hardly reassuring.

“When’s my next match?”

“One hour.”

>>18983499
Heal up and meditate. Not much beyond that.

>>18983499
This sounds rather ominous. nothing we can really do about it. All we know is that it's going to be a hard and unexpected fight, we're going to have to remain flexible.

Heal up, meditate, see if we can remember any teachings Sifu taught us about being forced into Arena matches against unknown opponents. It's a bit of a niche for teachings I admit, but he still could have covered it.

>>18983499
"Then I wi simply prepare for the unpreparable."

So plans? We should try to obscure the area again. Perhaps slide our shadow under the sand, and create a fan or multiple fans in order to block the view. So we can break out our shadow.

>>18983560
As if that's not already suspicious.

>>18983568
It could lead people to believe we use some sort of wind magic.

The healer comes after a few minutes and silently heals your arm. Finally, the dull pain goes away. Thanking her, you sit cross-legged on the ground, and think. What did Sifu say to do against an opponent you haven’t prepared for? The red haired old man pops into your head, grinning at you, “You let instinct take over, Shun. If years of training can’t prepare you for a little surprise, then what’s the point?” It doesn’t mean much, but… it reassures you to think about him. You spend the rest of your time planning anyway. It never hurts to have a general plan of action.

Right on time, Hank shows up, looking a little morose. “Let’s go.”

For the third time, you enter the battlefield. Fortunately, the Shard isn’t in your eyes, so you can actually see. The arena… is a lot bloodier than you remember it being. The metallic stench burns your nostrils. Again, your foe is already here. Unlike the last two, or anyone you’ve fought in… a long time, this one’s a woman. A slender girl with brown hair pulled up into a bun, eyes closed. She’s armored very lightly- all she’s got are arm and leg guards over her loose-fitting red outfit. She’s unarmed. You’ve already got a bad feeling about this, but the crowd seems more excited than ever.

“Here we are at round three! Starting us off yet again is Shun, the mysterious monk, fighting the grand champion of the past three tournaments, Jeanne! Can Shun pull off another victory out of nowhere, or will Jeanne reign supreme yet again?”

As he says this, the girl crouches onto the ground, both hands in the sand. You reach for your daggers… “Fight!”

>>18983623
Oh what.
Oh what the fuck.
Are you fucking kidding me.

Should we end the quest here just so we can tackle it later? This one sounds like it's gonna take a while.

>>18983649
I've got adrenaline rushing through my veins.
We're not done yet.

>>18983623
Balls, this is bad. Our advantages, she's lightly armored, any strikes we do to her body ought to do some serious damage. Our disadvantages, she's going to be fast as hell, we don't know her actual capabilities except that she is extremely fucking dangerous.

Test the waters by throwing a dagger in her path of movement if she charges us. Keep our distance and play it cautious until we have a firmer idea of what she can do. Though I'm guessing she's a supernaturalish martial artist much like ourself.

>>18983623
She must be a martial artist.

One like us, if my paranoia is correct. We should strike fast, but remain evasive. Test her defense, but if we see an opening, go for it.

>>18983659
This grand tournament turns out to be a really shady, fully blind deathmatch tournament, and now out of nowhere we're fighting the THREE-TIME GRAND CHAMPION.

Fine, fuck it. Sidle inside slowly, take a stance, and feel her out.

Three time grand champion? Fuck, you need to be cautious with this one. You fling a dagger at her, and it rushes straight for her face, it can’t miss…!

(Attack roll = 5 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 6.)
And it doesn’t. Or, it wouldn’t have, if the girl hadn’t pulled her hands from the sand grasping a slender sword as tall as her. She gracefully deflects the dagger with almost no effort. You notice the sand she had her hands in has now formed a fairly sizable crater. Wait. Wait a damn second. Is she an alchemist?!

>>18983712
Sidle up slowly, don't go for any sudden movements. We need to know what she's planning.
Shoot a look to Erin in the crowd, as if asking for advice. Hopefully we can hear her.

>>18983712
Close range and try to mix things up. Throw daggers to cover charge.

http://endlessvideo.com/watch?v=q52bJ3E19DU

For once, the arena is completely silent. The air is… tense, tense enough that you can hardly move. You crane your neck to look at Erin, and her face is frozen in a look of absolute horror as she shakes her head at you, mouthing “surrender!” Is… is this really going to be that bad? You turn your attention back to the girl. Noticing that she still hasn’t opened her eyes, you shiver a bit as you begin to move in closer. But something happens that strikes deadly fear into your heart the second your foot leaves the ground.

Her blue eyes open.

Like a blossom, she bursts forward, almost faster than you can see…!

(Defense roll = 17 + 1 for Shadow Burst = 18!)
Oh, shit! The greatsword comes slicing straight for your neck, and you barely manage to duck under her blow! That was fast, almost faster than you could see!

>>18983712
And this is where arm guards come to play. Armguards are good for blocking and deflecting swords.

>>18983776
Would that have triggered an elemental riposte, or it didn't because we dodged?

>>18983791
Nope. You've got to be hit.

>>18983795
Hurf.
Okay, yeah. This fight is gonna be pretty obnoxious if we don't break our "no shadows" rule. Still, let's keep at it. Charge her down. If we get caught, Elemental Riposte.

>>18983776
She's able to turn the battlefield into weapons, but it should take some time and hopefully she can't go Unlimited Blade Works on us and turn the entire field into swords.

She's fast, but someone that fast has to have wasted movement and on the loose sand might not be able to change directions easily, bait her and given that part of our style is using the enemy's force against him, try to focus on that aspect.

>>18983776
Get inside her reach, try to tie her up.

You need to go on the offensive, but like a waterfall, she crashes onto you again, sword swung vertically at your head…!

(Defense roll = 15 + 1 for shadow burst = 16!)
It’s a good opening- you smash the sword away from your head with your arm and follow up with an uppercut…!

(Attack roll = 14 + 1 for shadow burst = 15.)
With reflexes that shouldn’t even be possible, she spins around your punch, bringing the sword into your side!

(Defense roll = 6 + 1 for shadow burst = 7.)
You bring your arm down to try and deflect it, but it’s not enough! You feel her sword cutting a gash into your arm! Gah, it stings… but you can keep going, and you’re not going to win this without going all out…!

(Attack roll = 15 + 1 for shadow burst = 16!)
Moving purely on adrenaline and instinct, you instantly focus your shadow into your palm and smash it into her chest, darkness exploding from her! The force knocks her back a few feet, but she digs her feet into the sand and begins to back off…

>>18983864
No.
Noooooonononononononono.
You're not going anywhere.
Rush her down again. Dig a foot into the sand and kick a full foot's worth of sand at her. While obscured by the sand, hit her with a few small shadow blasts hidden therein, quickly followed up with some melee to mask the damage.

>>18983888
If we're going to get away with using our shadow power, we have to be as stealthy about it as possible.

>>18983864
Use our wooden shurikens! While she's distracted, wrap our shadow around her sword and take it from her.

>>18983864
Rush her down.

How noticeable by the crowd is blinding strike? If it's hard for them to tell than we should probably use that. I doubt she's used to not being able to see in a fight.

If anyone asks how we did it, we'll give an answer along the lines of ancient mystic pressure points.

>still trying to be stealthy about your shadow powers
>'you instantly focus your shadow into your palm and smash it into her chest, darkness exploding from her!"
>exploding

>>18983864
Keep on her. We need to keep her momentum off.

>>18983910
That could've been anything. We aren't showing more than we have to. We're not going to compromise ourselves to THE ENTIRE FUCKING CITY AT ONCE so readily.

>>18983910
Don't worry, we'll just tell everyone that we had a smoke bomb or something like that hidden up our sleeve. Not suspicious at all.

Blinding strike should give us a serious advantage if it connects.

>>18983925
Considering the secret nature of the Fist of Shadow, this is really not conducive to fighting in front of a crowd.

You need to keep her distracted! You rush at her and kick up a ton of sand in her face…!

(Attack roll = 5 + 1 for shadow burst = 6.)
But that was just a distraction, you fire off a few bullets of shadow from your hands…!

(Attack roll = 20 + 2 for shadow burst and distraction = 22!!!)
She falls for it, and the bullets smash into her, staggering her! It’s the perfect chance for a blinding strike, so you charge through the sand, through your projectiles and land your palm right in her face, blinding her instantly! That should be secretive enough, and you doubt she can fight blind…

(Defense roll = 2 + 1 for shadow burst = 3.)
You’re in too close, and a monstrous kick sends you flying into the air, five, ten, twenty feet away…. What?! The crowd roars as you hear something change underneath you with a bright light. Shit. Your back collides with cold, hard steel, making a loud banging sound. When you stand up, you realize that your footsteps echo off of the ground. Shit.

>>18983969
Shit, at the very least she's blind. Get our bearings, find exactly where we are, if anything has happened to the Arena and get back in the fight.

She's might have changed the arena to something else so she can track us by sound, quick thinking on her part, but when we go sneaky our feet make the sound of a feather landing on a plush rug.

>>18983969
She turned the ground to metal. Fancy her. It doesn't change that she's blinded and hurt. DON'T RUN at her, though.
Make BIG JUMPS here and there. Juke back and forth if we can't get to her in a minimum of jumps, but the less noise we make, the better off we are. Don't give her anything sensory to work with, and jump in the air above her for a monster axe kick to the head/shoulders.

>>18983969
We are students of the shadow fist school! Our footfalls will be as heavy as feathers. Toss a few things to make impact noises to distract her.

>>18984012
This. While we're jumping about, when we land, hurl a shuriken in a different position to at least mildly confuse her when both clang at the same time.

>>18983969
Stance of the cold phoenix, time?

Looking around- yup, the floor’s now made entirely out of very, very loud metal. Fine, you can deal with that. You take a dagger out and toss it in one direction as you jump in another, hoping to distract her… wait, why’s she crouching down again? Oh, shit, shit! Her hands are touching the ground again!

>>18984024
That's a stance that prevents tripping.

>>18984036
It gives you a +2 to attack rolls, too.
And yes I did just make that up so it wouldn't result in Shadow Burst being a direct upgrade, why?

>>18984030
Hands on the grown means no hands to defend! BIG LEAP, AXE KICK!

>>18984030
Throw a dagger right at her, she should have more trouble blocking it, and we don't want to give her a chance to turn the battlefield into a giant pile of spikes.

Close the distance, she has control of the battlefield so we need to get close and take as much advantage of her blindness as we can.

>>18984046
Time to drop the hammer.

NEW THREAD
>>18984111