The Games of Saberhaven
Dakkon vs. Sir SapphireTears
The doors to the Arena open, and the two combatants step forth. At one end stands Sir SapphireTears, resplendent in his trademark armor, covered from head to toe in glimmering blue steel. He salutes the judges, then turns to his opponent.
At the opposite end of the Arena, Dakkon enters. Standing about six feet and two hundred pounds, Dakkon appears unarmored, but is clad in a cloak, tunic, pants, and boots. The cowl of his cloak is dropped back to reveal a face that only his mother could love, but the misshapen features speak of years of tough fighting which could serve him well in the Arena. Swinging his cocked and loaded crossbow into position, Dakkon yells across the Arena to the paladin, "You are not but the first rung on my ladder to Greatness!"
Without further ado, he launches a quarrel at Sir SapphireTears. Despite the great distance, the bolt flies unerringly, the head burying itself into the right elbow joint of SapphireTear's blue armor. The paladin flexes his arm and the quarrel snaps off at the head. Immediately thereafter, the knight disappears from view.
"Greatness is achieved not by battle, but by faith in god!" responds the invisible knight, in a reproachful voice. Dakkon, meanwhile, is ready to shoot again his crossbow seems to have cocked itself, and he loaded it with great skill but he seems to be denied a target. Playing it cool, Dakkon takes aim in the direction of the door, letting loose a bolt. The quarrel lodges in the wooden gate, and Dakkon yells out, "Cowardice does not become one who is supposed to live in honor!" The unseen SapphireTears responds, "I only seek a fair duel of swords." Homing in on the voice, Dakkon lets fly another bolt, but this one finds only the dust of the Arena floor. Now Dakkon is silent, listening for the clumsy armor of the paladin over the murmur of the crowd.
Suddenly, he hears a faint clanking to his left, and sweeps his crossbow to aim towards it. This time the bolt hits its mark, and he hears also a grunt of pain from Sir SapphireTears. In his haste, Dakkon aimed low, but the bolt appears, from its position inches off the ground, to have penetrated one of SapphireTears' boots. Dakkon sees the quarrel draw nearer, almost in hand to hand range, when he hears a distinct "Oof," and the floating bolt stops short, right about where the cube of force's barrier lies. Aiming more carefully, Dakkon launches another quarrel with remarkable speed, for a heavy crossbow and hits, he guesses, at about shoulder-height.
"Ha ha ha!!! Fool, a fair duel of swords. Fancy words for some one cowering under invisibility. Come get duel then, if you can!" Dakkon taunts. Aiming again at the floating quarrels, the mercenary's shot bounces off the knight's armored boot with a clang.
"By the Word of the Lord and the Might of His Sword, I command this sorcery to begone!" intones Sir SapphireTears. The hovering bolts draw hesitantly closer to Dakkon, and apparently encounter no resistance. "Aha!" shouts SapphireTears, "Now, draw your swoAAaaagh!" Before the paladin can finish his sentence, Dakkon looses another crossbow bolt, apparently penetrating SapphireTears' helmet. Finally, the blue knight reappears, somewhat bloodied from the quarrels lodged in his armor, boots, and helm, but ready to strike with his longsword.
"So, you get your wish for us to be face to face," says Dakkon, "I'll not yet draw my swords." The soldier launches another bolt at point-blank range, shooting below the knight's enormous shield to puncture his left boot yet again. Sir SapphireTears swings his mighty longsword, only to cut empty air as the nimble Dakkon leaps almost ten feet backwards to relative safety. As his feet touch the ground, Dakkon fires once more, but this time the shot goes wide. The knight, in response, begins to charge forward. It looks like Dakkon needs to try a different evasion tactic this time, because his back is nearly up against the wall.
"Enough of this, you bore me." With this, Dakkon lets his crossbow swing down to his side, drawing both of his scimitars. The scimitar in his right hand flashes out with great speed, knocking the longsword from SapphireTears' grasp. Dakkon looks almost surprised at his own success, and this mental hesitation gives the knight enough time to reach over his shoulder, draw and swing his second longsword at the motionless Dakkon. The sword leaves a slash down the man's chest.
Gathering his senses, Dakkon springs away to the left, covering a good amount of ground with the jump, but immediately rushing back towards SapphireTears. The knight turns to meet him. Dakkon attacks with his left-hand scimitar, again attempting to disarm, again succeeding. The soldier finishes up with one more attack from his right-hand weapon, slashing away around the knight's shield, landing a blow on SapphireTears' left arm. SapphireTears merely grunts and turns to fetch one of his dropped swords.
Eyes flashing, Dakkon takes advantage of SapphireTears' distraction to rake him with his slashing scimitars. The first sword-stroke crosses SapphireTear's right calf, biting deep into the muscle and hobbling the knight. The second tears down SapphireTears' sword arm, opening it up from elbow to wrist and knocking the quarrel head still lodged there askew. Without a sound, Sir SapphireTears crumples to the Arena floor, unconscious from loss of blood and shock. "You should try to keep your weapons," smirks Dakkon to his fallen foe, "They help in the course of battle."
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