The stands of the Arena are sparse as the bookies try to get bets on the
next fight. A battle between a pair of psionicists isn't likely to be rife
with excitement, especially between a newcomer and ex-paladin who hasn't
been seen in the last six months. Nor does the rain help. Even the
announcer's voice seems devoid of anticipation as he declares the opponents
in the next fight.
The first of the mentalists steps into the Arena. Dressed in rough grey
studded leather and a brown cloak Karbrak appears scrawny and unlike
everything a dwarf should look like. He is rather long and thin and
completely hairless, not even a beard. Instead of that, strange symbols are
tattooed across his skull and neck. His black eyes stare out of a scarred
face which is utterly expressionless. Twin scimitars hang on his back,
barely visible underneath his cloak. Several stones spin in the air above
his head and an amulet hangs around his neck.
Across the Arena, coming through the other set of doors, is an old man.
He looks like he must be at least 75, with wispy white hair peaking out from
under his cap. He wears an old suit of leather armor and a pair of swords
hang from his belt, which sags slightly under their weight. He walks into
the Arena, with the help of the staff in his right hand, and looks at his
opponent across the way, squinting his eyes slightly to see better.
The announcer declares the start of the battle, and Karbrak disappears.
The dwarf pops back into existence 90 yards closer to his opponent. At the
same time, Dudley reaches to his ring and whispers something. His skin
begins to darken, then splits and cracks. Within seconds, his entire form
has changed to a deep brown stone. Some in the crowd wonder what is going
on, then notice that Dudley is still moving. Whatever the spell was, it
hasn't harmed him.
Before Karbrak has a chance to move, Dudley sprints forward, and stops
about 30 feet away from the dwarf. It is obvious that even a man in his
prime couldn't mave that fast. Dudley covered the ground in under two
seconds. The jaws of some in the crowd drop at such speedy movement.
The two opponents lock gazes, and some in the crowd groan as they see
the fight devolving into mental combat. However, it only lasts a few
seconds before Dudley looks down, and reaches for one of his swords. He
grabs the handle, and light seeps from the sword. It crawls up his arm,
quickly spreading across his body. As it fades, he stands a little taller,
infused with energy. Releasing the handle, reaches back and pulls out his
bow. With smooth motions he draws, aims, and fires two arrows, only to have
them hit Karbrak and fall to the ground.
Dudley continues to pelt his opponent with arrows, while Karbrak raises
his hand. Pointing at his opponent, the ring on Karbrak's hand pulses with
light. Suddenly a beam of energy shoots from the ring, heading straight for
Dudley. His eyes widen as he sees the oncoming energy bolt. However, the
bolt fizzles out several feet away from the ex-paladin, leaving him
unharmed.
A frown of irritation can be momentarily seen on Karbrak's face, before
it turns to deep concentration. While Karbrak no doubt looses a mental
assault, Dudley looses several more arrows. All told, a dozen of the
missiles streak across the distance seperating the two. Seven of the arrows
hit Karbrak, but they do no damage, instead joining the other two at his
feet. A look of recognition flickers across his face, and he starts to put
away his bow. However, as he reached to sling it onto is back, he suddenly
freezes.
Apparently Karbrak's mental attacks have broken through Dudley's
defenses. His hand wavers, as though he were struggling to move it. His
face changes to a mask of concentration. Seconds tick by, with neither
person moving. Then, Dudley's arm reaches back and slips his bow back into
place.
Looking across at his opponent, Dudley begins to sink into the ground.
Within a few seconds the top of his head slips beneath the stone floor of
the Arena. Glaring over at the spot where Dudley just disappeared, Karbrak
remains standing in place, the ground around him littered with arrows.
Karbrak stands still, focussing his mind again. He whispers something
under his breath, but seemingly to no effect. Behind him, rising from the
stone of the Arena floor, is Dudley. Both scimitars are out, but the
ex-paladin rings them together to draw his opponents notice, rather than
attack from behind.
Spinning around to face the ex-paladin, Karbrak glares at Dudley as he
backs away. His dark eyes are locked on his opponent, almost seeming to
flash as he looks at the human.
Dudley starts to advance on the retreating Kabrak, but then seems to
tense up under Karbrak's gaze, and there is a faint shimmering in the air
around Dudley.
Raising his right hand, holding the symbol of his god (a small metal
token engraved with the symbol of a stormcloud belching forth lightning),
Dudley begins a prayer. He hurries through it, but there is no visible
effect. He starts over, with a new prayer, again finishing quickly. Then,
as if he does so all the time, Dudley steps up, into the air. Walking at
almost a 45 degree angle, he walks along, gaining height as well as distance
from his opponent.
Looking up to his foe, a scowl evident on his face, Karbrak raises the
hand bearing his ring. The band brightens as it is again activated, and a
beam shoots from it. The beam arcs toward Dudley, but diffuses into
nothingness just a little before it hits him.
Walking with uncanny speed, Dudley soon nears the top of the Dome of
Force which surrounds the Arena. Now almost 140 feet in the air, Dudley
glances down at Karbrak once, before again raising his voice in a litany to
his god.
Glancing up at the still-floating Dudley, Karbrak grunts in disgust, and
a look of concentration crosses his faces. Seconds tick by, and he closes
his eyes. His flesh seems to ripple, the his eyes flash open and he lets
out a loud hiss, almost like a serpent. Suddenly two large, leathery wings
erupt from his back and fold out majestically. Over twelve feet from tip to
tip, the wings beat the air a few. Then, Karbrak vanishes.
Reappearing in the air beside Dudley, Karbrak makes a grab for him.
Still concentrating on calling to his god, Dudley is unable to duck to the
side, but Karbrak's wings weren't ready for his sudden teleport, and aren't
yet ready to support him. He drops a few feet before managing to stabilize.
His wings beat the air, sending him forward and up, back to Dudley's
level. At the same time, he pulls his scimitars from their sheaths.
Dudley, still intoning his prayer, moves a few feet to the side. It,
however, is not enough. Kabrak manages (barely) to alter his course, coming
straight at Dudley.
Karbrak's scimitar's slice in, the first one going straight for Dudley's
throat, the second right behind. Both however, are deflected by a
shimmering aura, barely noticeable before, but glowing each time the blades
strike. The scimitars slice forward several more times, but are deflected
each time.
Karbrak, forced by gravity (which seems to have no hold on his opponent)
to continue forward in his flight, arcs around Dudley and away.
The dwarf continues in his flight, slowly going through his turn. Those
in the stands with sharp eyes can see him whisper a single word. The air
shimmers around him for a second before he suddenly disappears, a smile
plain on his face.
With a pop, the psionicist appears behind his foe, already reaching out
for him. However, no sooner does Karbrak appear than Dudley starts to fall.
Karbrak's reaching hand just misses catching hold of Dudley's shoulder,
meaning there is nothing to stop Dudley from smashing into the ground.
As the paladin plummets toward the ground, his body seems to be fading
away. By the time he nears the Arena floor, he is almost invisible, having
almost entirely faded away into thin air. There is a slight distortion in
the air that might be Dudley, and the breeze carries his voice to everyone
in the stands.
"I had resolved not to kill you Karbrak, despite your despicable ways.
Your surrender was all I wanted. But that time has passed."
Hovering above, Karbrak snorts. "Oh my, I am shaking all over. Stand
still then coward so we can fight!" he grins before the wings fold behind
his back and he almost plummets down. Only a few feet off the ground the
wings spread and slow his fall so that the dwarf lands easily already
swinging his scimitar... and bare hand.
Stepping forward, into melee range, Karbrak's scimitar swings in at what
little remains of his foe. However, the blade swings straight through
Dudley in his current state, apparently doing no harm whatsoever. The
scimitar attacks twice more in rapid succession, punctuated by a punch with
Karbrak's off-hand, but none of them seem able to harm the paladin (although
for the audience it is hard to tell much of anything about Dudley at this
point).
Then, suddenly, Dudley fades back into solidity. No sooner has he done
so that Karbrak's scimitar swings in, slicing across the paladin's throat.
As his blood pumps out of his neck, Dudley collapses to the ground. The
judges declare Karbrak the winner. (
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