The Games of Saberhaven
Teal vs. Kalla
As the introductions are made, Kalla strides forth, her huge antique two-handed sword resting on her shoulder. Her red tresses fall freely down to the shoulders of her hardened leather armor. Though her red cape would easily cover a normal-sized man, it seems almost puny draped across her tall, burly figure.
At the other end of the Arena, the door opens to barely reveal the bladematser, who immediately turns invisible.
"Coward!" Kalla cries out. "You may beat me, but it'll be no test of skill. You call yourself a blademaster? I've never heard of a true swordswoman who hid behind magic!" The seconds tick by as Kalla waits for the invisible Teal to strike. She seems far from on edge, letting her giant sword droop to the ground and fiddling with her rope of entanglement. Still, she seems mainly focused on peering around the Arena, looking for telltale shimmers or other signs that her invisible opponent is nearby.
After nearly two minutes of idleness, Kalla suddenly comes to life. "Fillith!" she cries, launching her rope to her left. It wraps around the unseen Teal a little under twenty feet away, constricting its length so that her silhouette is almost completely visible.
Kalla laughs and begins swinging her sword side to side as the still-invisible Teal wriggles in the rope. "So, Teal, do you give up? Or do you have sorcery to overcome this?" she asks. The only response is furious wriggling inside the rope, but apparently to no avail. Kalla struts over to the captive figure and, with a grin, kicks her over into the dust. The barbarian's smile vanishes in a grimace of pain, as a crackling aura of energy sizzles up her leg. "Ow!" she yells, "Bitch! You're gonna pay for that!" Kalla hefts her sword and walks around to where Teal's head should be.
The mighty barbarian woman swings her sword down, apparently striking Teal's skull - but the heavy blade bounces back, and another shock of electricity follows it up to Kalla's arms. Enraged, Kalla smites another mighty blow. It seems as if this is sure to cleave Teal's head in half, but instead a CLANG is heard, and again electricity shoots up to scorch Kalla. All the while, the enwrapped Teal squirms as much as possible to make her head a difficult target. More cautious this time, Kalla swings again, and again there is the sound of metal hitting metal, and another shock. Kalla is clearly injured by the jolts of energy, but seems determined to continue.
Kalla's blows rain down upon her opponent. She hits with another devastating blow that is knocked aside by Teal's enchantments. The next strike goes awry, hitting the rope, but not strongly enough to cut it. She swings again, hitting Teal's head with a clang, but Teal manages to dodge the next blow, and the claymore strikes the dust. With every blow - excepting the last miss - Kalla is burned by the jolts of energy that shoot forth from Teal's body. Kalla is looking flushed and dizzy now, but angrier than ever.
The barbarian woman throws her sword on the ground and, with a yell, dives at Teal. She grabs the blademaster's invisible head, and electricity streams up her arms. With another cry, she wrenches Teal's head around. Finally, the body of Teal lies still. The audience erupts in huge cheers, but Kalla seems to be swatting at flies above Teal's head for a moment before standing.
The audience erupts in huge cheers as Kalla gets to her feet. She raises her fists in triumph, nodding in acceptance. "See how sorcery and enchantment has protected this 'warrior' from her fate!" she laughs. As the healing clerics run up, Kalla calls to her rope, and it slackens. She pulls it away and coils it around her arm. "Go ahead and heal her," she says to the priests, "If you can find her corpse."
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