Slaver's Arena - Tuv Vs. Burning Ice Vs. Xael

Swirling gas, a skeletal horse, burning souls, and then... He woke up.

Artua was lying there, face down on sandy stone, his head pulsing in pain, and his mind weary. He looked around, and then stood up, he was in a cage of rusted iron. He almost hit his head when he stood up, the cages were probably made to hold animals.

Artua looked upon a great colosseum, round and stony, it appeared to have been in ruins at one point, but was repaired with shoddy stone-work. That did not stop the walls from being smooth and imposing, there would be no way to climb out quickly. There were several other cages, but they were too far away for Artua to see what they contianed.

He looked up into the stands. They seemed barren, and then he noticed them. Bandits... atleast one-hundred of them, "they must earn profit as slavers when they can't find a village to ransack" thought Artua. Then he saw a great hulking man, sitting on a make-shift throne. A large lumbering man, who looked more like a bear than a man, dressed almost all in fur and animal bones, despite the warm weather, "a sign of strength, hubris, or insanity" though Artua.

Dyso yawned and sat up.
This... This is not a tree.

He got to his feet and looked around him. He seemed to be in some sort of odd structure. Perhaps a temple of some sort. He gazed into what appeared to be a large , ring-shaped staircase leading from the outer edge of the temple to the dusty pit where he was now. There were 112 people located on them, either sitting or standing. He pressed his hand against the worn surface of the stone wall.
I and two others seem to be in cages. Are we meant to be as sacrifices? These bars and walls are not nearly enough to hold me, but the bows that those men carry may prove fatal.

He looked at the giant sitting on the throne. He didn't appear to have armor so much as some type of a ritualistic outfit.
Well, that man must be their leader. His death will either disband or rally them. I wish i knew which it was.
He leaned back against the wall and began to think of how he might escape.

Torin awoke with a groan. His cheek pressed against the bars of a cage, his head pounding.
Surely I didn't drink that much, did I? he thought, casting back to last nights memory, he had had some drink but it hadn't been much...the last thing he could remember was a man stopping at his campsite on the roadside, throwing something onto the fir-Oh. Shit.
He could distantly hear some talking muttering, distant yells and cheers. He tensed himself, and his field of awareness expanded.
Two hearts, about equidistant from me, on level....above and surrounding the three of us a ring of people...a crowd? An elevated crowd surrounding 3 people. This can't end well
He grunted and climbed to his feet, only his poor posture stopping him from rapping his head on the top of the cage. He swept out his awareness again, this time searching for something different, something unique. The two in the cage appeared normal, most of the crowd seemed to be restless, almost eager and...there! A tremendous man, the other approached him only in ones and two's, indicating that the giant was either unstable or a leader.
He shook the bars gently, they were shoddy and a little loose but strong enough that it would require some work to dislodge them. He knelt briefly and cast about, finding his staff and sending a little prayer to any gods that might be listening for small mercies.
He settled into a ready position and checked his knives.
Nothing to do now but wait

The crowd picked up, what was the constant din of muttering, because hoots and hollers and yelling. "The others must be awake now too" thought Artua

Then the large man stood up, a giant in his own right, stout and gruff, with a claymore larger than he was, trailing behind him, and kicking up sparks across the stone stands. He stood at the edge of the ring, and yelled in a bellowing voice, that seemed to shake the heart inside Artua's chest. "Fellow countrymen! our last raid bore us many supplies! so much so, that will not have to pillage for several months! but i know how bored you all get, and so I am re-starting the Slave Arena! we will feast, and watch great battles unfold! Bets are suggested! We have tonight a three-way battle, a blind man, and two young men! it will be a battle to the death, and the winner will be allowed to live, or join our ranks if he so chooses, if they choose to be pacifist sissies, we get to have a live-target archery contest! now, LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!"

A gong sounded, and men hoisted the cages from atop the captives, curses and objects already being thrown by the crowd.

The people on the stairs became noisy as the other man in the pit awoke.
I wonder-
his thought was cut short as the giant delivered his speech.
So thats what this is. Can I really trust the giant to keep his word?

Just then the cages began to screech as they were lifted, throwing off flakes of rust here and there.
It would seem I have little choice in the matter... fighting is my best option right now.
Dyso tosses back the hood of his cloak and pulls out a dagger. He passes the blade under his right hand, inscribing it with a cleavage rune(just before it hits it's target, it will split apart into several large metal splinters, about half an inch wide in the middle, and 8 inches long).

They mentioned a blind man... should I kill him first, or focus on the other one? Well, what can a blind man do? They probably only put him in here for their sadistic amusement.
Dyso throws the dagger towards Artua.

An arena? Gods, no...of all the possible things to happen, why this? I can't avoid fighting, without knowledge of the walls of this place I can't hope to escape. It seems I have little choice but to fight.
Torin shaped his awareness, making it into a wide disk, about 7 feet in height, enough to sense the arena, but not so large that the motions of the spectators could distract him.
Before he could take any more action though the other combatant off to his left suddenly became a brief flurry of movement, ending with a knife whistling through the air towards the other fighter.
Pick off the blind guy last huh? Well I certainly have no complaints. But...what was that flurry of movement? It was so fast I couldn't track what he actually did...
Torin then held out his staff before him, tapping the ground and stumbling forward, crying for aid and succor, knowing he would receive none.
With his off hand he reached into his jacket and let his thumb slide over the runes on his various knives, searching for one that could give him some advantage.

The man to Artua's left appeared to be the blind man that the leader had spoken of, but Artua did not trust the harmlessness of the man, he had seen far more harmless seeming things, be much more deadly.

The man to Artua's right, then suddenly threw a knife; not wanting to reveal the true extent of his power just yet, Artua held his hands out in front of himself, above his head, and drew them downwards to the ground, creating a "ribbon" in front of his body, "That will stave off the projectile" thought Artua, "Then I will find the truth of this "Blind Man"".

The old man began crying for help, but it was soon washed away by the roar of the bandits. The dagger split apart and either missed Artua, or struck the 'ribbon'.
A shield? Damn! He managed to react fairly quickly to that... A frontal attack will not work, I'll have to try something else.

Dyso pulled another dagger from his cloak, and passed it under his right hand. He held it there, beginning to inscribe a complex rune in it.

If I don't do anything though, they may think I have stopped fighting... I should take some other action as well...
Dyso cautiously began moving towards Artua.

Bloody hell. Magic. Why is there always magic? Torin thought as he felt the first man's knife get caught up in the second man's strange new spell.
Torin changed his route slightly still stumbling forward and crying for someone to help him, but now he was headed towards the man with the knives, or at least Torin presumed the man had more knives, only a fool threw away weapons if he did not have more. Regardless he felt it wiser to head towards the knives who's dangers were known, than towards a strange new magic, who's dangers were as of yet unknown.
Damn it, they're both too defensive, at this rate their going to outsmart themselves and decide that I'm the bigger threat he thought nervously No...I have to make the first move, if I get put on the defensive from two sides I'm as good as dead...
As Torin approached the man he suddenly drew the runed knife he had selected and tossed it, not at but simply towards the man, hoping that this old tactic would prove as sound now as it would in the past.
Almost as soon as it left his hand the rune activated and the knife began to glow, Torin closed his eyes, to preserve what little was left of his sight from the powerful flash of light he knew was to come.
Well there goes my cover, and with luck, their sight.

Artua's "ribbon" worked perfectly, "that man likes daggers" though Artua, "hmmm I can use my defence as offense..."

Artua formed another "ribbon" this time it was much wider, it ruffled at the edges, and dipped towards him in the middle. Then he charged it with fire, making it glow bright yellow. "There" though Artua, "Anything he throws at me, will get projected back at twice the speed"

Artua then began walking towards the man who so loved his knives, keeping the barrier in front of him.

The old man moved in Dyso's direction.
why is he coming over here? Does he seek protection? Or does he really mean to fight me?
His question was answered when the man tossed a knife out, which emitted a blinding light.

Damn! No matter, I can still do this...
Dyso completes the reflection rune. When this rune hits the stone walls, it will be absorbed into them and send a new dagger out at a different angle without losing any velocity. The knife has also had its weight shifted, so it now moves in an arc rather than a line. It was also coupled with an exploding rune, such that the more times it reflected, the greater the detonation would be.

Dyso throws the knife towards Artua's last known location, purposefully missing.
There. This should hit them where ever they are in here. I calculated the vectors perfectly. Where I am is the only place it won't hit. If all goes as planned, it will reflect 3 times before hitting the shielded man, or 7 times before it hits the blind man should it miss.
Dyso then pulled out two of his knives and assumed a defensive stance.

Torin grinned widely as his little trick came together. The knifeman was blinded and the magician...at least inconvenienced. The knifeman however did get off one last throw, his dagger flashing out once more towards the magician befor settling into a defensive position.
His mind idly tracked the knife.
What am I? Chopped liver? Torin thought irritably, he was tired of being underestimated because of his sight, this man would learn soon enough. He drew his staff and rushed to his new target, reaching the man in mere moments, he unleashed a volley of well aimed strikes and swings, his first blow aiming low near the ankle in hopes of unbalancing his foe, using his staff's full range to take even further advantage of his opponents blindness
"Sorry stranger, but it's you or me."

The flash blinded Artua, and the bang deafened him. All was white around him. Then the second dagger came, it bounced behind him, and hit in the back, he could not hear anything, but his armor had deflected the projectile. But then another explosion,this one Artua's armor was not ready for, it blasted him forward, and burnt his back.

Artua was hurtled through the air, and instinctively formed a sphere of energy around him, and coated it in coarse spikes for traction. So he flew through the air, a human pinball, in the opposite direction of the blast from the dagger.

Dyso could hear Torin's footsteps coming near. Then they stopped.
Now!
Dyso spun out his right arm, spinning the knife at an insane speed in the hopes of catching Torin's staff with it. However, he felt the staff strike his right ankle from the side. As he fell to his right, he dropped the knives and grabbed his spear. He quickly jabbed the head into the ground and used it to swing around and send himself flying feet first towards Torin.

Torin almost laughed as the man attempted to block a blow that went nowhere near his hands. The staff swept cleanly under his guard and struck his ankle, sending the man toppling off to Torin's left. However the man surprised Torin by sweeping the spear off his back and using it to not only break his fall but to re-direct it, swinging around into a feet first tackle. Though Torin could feel him reaching for his spear the whole time he had not expected such an acrobatic maneuver. He wasn't able to properly dodge the blow, but he jumped backwards instead. It wasn't enough, the man still struck him and Torin lost his balance, landing on his back and rolling backwards into a crouching position . Staff held in one hand, the other already reaching for a knife.
He is a better fighter than I thought....

Dyso, now being on his feet, had the man at a disadvantage. He quickly arced his spear over his head, slashing down towards Torin.
With this, it should end.
"I'm also sorry, old man. It is you or me, just as you said."

Torin raised his staff over his head, holding it open palmed to stop his fingers from getting cut by the blade, the force sent him to his knees but his other hand arced up, the blade of the knife he was holding melding smoothly onto the spear.
"I can't die yet I'm afraid, I have work yet to do"
Acting quickly he swiveled on one knee and his foot lashed out towards his opponents injured ankle, while simultaneously he opened up a standard cube of grayspace portals around his opponents head.

"Dizzy Dizzy Dizzy" thought Artua as he span around madly, he threw up in his mouth a little, and sped towards his lingering foes. "It is out of my hands" though Artua, "Besides, why would I let a chance to slack-off, AND defeat my opponents, slip away?"

Suddenly Dyso's vision was cut off. He felt a blow to his ankle again, and his head came out of the cube as he fell. He tugged on his spear to pull himself towards Torin. He used his left hand to keep weight on it, and with his right, he quickly grabbed a third knife and thrust it towards Torin's face.
"If I die now, all the people I killed will have died for nothing!"
Wait... that wasn't me... Dammit, they're leaking into my thoughts...

As his opponent fell the knife came rushing in at an angle, and he had somehow managed to keep his weight on that spear. In the back of his mind Torin could still feel the magician, or rather he could feel the spinning orb the man had encased himself in, and it was getting closer quite rapidly.
This is going to hurt he thought to himself as he pushed off with his other leg. The other man's weight was still on the spear, but since he was falling there would be little he could do to stop it's movement, the push was enough and Torin rolled forwards out from under spear, and out from the path of the magician.
Not fast enough however, as the man's knife cut a burning ribbon of pain from just above Torin's jawline, curving around to the back of his neck.
Torin clamped his free hand around it, hissing in pain, the cut wasn't deep but anything on the neck could be fatal given enough time to bleed out.
I have to buy some time he thought.
"Maer garvaran!" he shouted, activating the secondary rune on the hilt of the knife that had melded onto the spear, if all went as it should that hilt should now be so strongly attracted to the earth that it would seem as though there was a bull standing on the spear.

Dyso's spear suddenly sank as thought it had a huge weight on it. Try as he might, it wass to heavy to lift the bladed end.
Hmmm... this may yet be advantageous....
He dug the blade deep into the ground, and stood the spear straight up, so that the open side of the hook was now facing Artua. He then crouched and put his full weight against it.

With this much inertia, there's no way he can move it. Now lets see if that bubble is at all breakable...
Dyso inscribes a energy sink rune into his spear. It will now absorb the energy from what it touches(Dyso excluded). However, this strips away it's protection against thermal damage.

Artua caught glimpses of what was happening during his mad spinning, the one man tripped... the blind one was not as inept as he seemed, just as Artua thought. In his next glimpse, the tripped man was struggling with his weapon, and in the next he had it propped up, at the ready, as a pike before him.

Artua struck the pike-like object with the force of a boulder dropping from a cliff, a large *BANG* ensued, and Artua's sphere was propelled backwards, towards the rounded arena-walls again, spinning even more feverishly now. "Oh Gods, im going to be sick" Thought Artua as he threw up a bit again.

The orange ball hit Dyso's spear and exploded. Fortunately, the position Dyso was in allowed him to take little damage from it.
So, there really isn't a way to break it... why then doesn't he just escape?

Dyso abandoned his spear after locking the energy sink rune and collected the his knives from the ground, storing them back in his belt. He quickly calculated the future path of the ball, assuming it would also deflect off of the walls. He pulled out a dagger and inscribed it with a rune, and threw it into the ground where he assumed the ball would be moments later. The rune would absorb heat from the ground, and then send the force upward into the ball, changing it's trajectory, should it succeed.

That should take care of him. Probably not fatal, but he will be out of my way. Now I need to focus on the old man again.

Torin payed no heed to the battle, instead focusing on using the first knife he could find to slice a long thin strip from his coat. Working quickly he wrapped the makeshift bandage around his neck.
There, it's not much but it should be enough to staunch the bleeding. he thought.
Spinning around he briefly surveyed the scene before him before he began summoning portals. Within a few seconds he had managed to form a rough quarter-sphere in front of him, with more to come....

Artua had been spinning for quite some time now, and was thoroughly sick. He was also running out of air, and desired some change of pace. He bounced off the wall of the arena again, then when he was upright in his spin, he caused an explosion in the direction of his feet, launching him skywards. His ball dissapated, or rather, peeled away, forming large petal-like layers.

Artua had the advantage now, he was in the air, and had the advantage of surprise. A man within the center of what could only be described as a gigantic blooming onion.