Reason:
A copy.
Post: Nevron2000(William and Devokh) vs. 6Asmo6deus6(Abra)
Forum: wRHG Battles
Assigned Moderators: acutelatios
Posted by: Nevron2000
Original Content:
I censored some parts due to language.
Spoiler (Click to Show)
“Agreed.”
I glanced around at the crowd in town, getting a few strange looks as I tried to find a place to sit down and get a bite to eat. I hadn’t eaten since the day before, and I was starting to feel a little woozy. That fact, combined with the lingering tenderness in my ribs was starting to get on my nerves and I wasn’t too fond of large crowds to begin with.
Looking around the plaza I had found myself in, I noticed a couple of promising locations, but a small coffee shop sitting largely abandoned in light of a street performer caught my eye. Shrugging, I figured that a decent cup of coffee and something quick to eat might get me through the morning. Shoving the flyer that I’d grabbed as we’d entered town into a pocket of my jacket, I darted somewhat clumsily over to the coffee shop and held onto the door handle for a bit of support as a wave of fatigue washed over me.
“Noted,” I muttered before taking a deep breath and opened the door, a small bell alerting the barista at the counter. I stifled a laugh at how quaint that was before walking up to the counter.
The barista glanced at the door, quickly saving the page in her book before sliding in under the counter and donning a smile. A bit of worry flashed across her eyes before quickly vanishing, likely because of how unkempt I looked walking into a deserted shop. I was suddenly very thankful that I’d thought to attempt shaving and washing out my hair in a stream before coming into town.
Despite the worried glance, she started warming up the brewer before turning back to me to ask what I might want.
“Welcome to Coffee Shack! What can I get started for you today?” She seemed to have a slight accent, indicating that English wasn’t her first language, but it was hardly noticeable unless you were looking for it, or had travelled often. I gave her a slight smile, trying to put her at ease and quickly moved my pack and bow over by the door when I realized that they might be intimidating. Awkwardly smiling once more, I tried to shrug it off and give her my order.
“Thanks, and I’ll just have a straight coffee. Black and medium please, and if I could have one of those bagels as well?”
“Sure thing!” She typed in the information, and a few seconds later she turned away from the computer to start brewing.
“Alright, that comes out to be three dollars, seventy-nine cents,” she pointed to the card reader, and I reluctantly pulled out my card after seeing that I didn’t have enough cash.
“I don’t suppose that you offer cash back here?” I nodded as she shook her head and quickly typed in my code and gave her my name before sidling over to the door and sitting at one of the tables there. Using a card was a risky move: I had plenty of cash left in the account, but there was no guarantee that it wasn’t being watched by the Council, and if they were…things could get complicated, and after the events of last year I probably wasn’t in good standing. I rand my fingers through my hair before crossing my fingers and setting them under my chin, staring at the table in thought.
It could be possible that they weren’t actively watching me: it had been almost a year since they’d last seen any sign of me, and the council members had more to deal with than a renegade journeyman such as myself. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath before letting it out after a few moments, deciding that I would just be a bit more careful about covering my tracks in the future. If they did end up coming after me, then I would just have to deal with it then.
I was shocked out of my reverie by a hand on my back, and I almost jumped out of my chair before I realized that it was just the barista. I quickly apologized for startling her and thanked her for bringing over the coffee and roll, after which she walked back behind the counter and resumed reading.
I took a deep gulp of the coffee, grimacing slightly at the heat and bitterness, but managed to choke it down before tearing into the bagel, glancing out the window at the performance between bites after noticing Devokh doing the same. Within a couple minutes, I sat back into the chair feeling much more myself as I slowly sipped at the remainder of the coffee while I stared at the masked performer outside.
I snorted, taking a light sip of the coffee before setting down the half-full cup. The performer was a magician, and a decent one at that: he managed to pull off some interesting tricks out of his hat, and even hypnotized a couple audience members…but he was still just a stage magician.
Devokh shot a glance back my way before a screeching laugh echoed in my mind, making me visibly wince. The creature moved in a circle around me before settling it’s head on my right shoulder, snaking a few tendrils of magic across my brow before sinking them into the tattoos around my eye and forcing me to look.
I let out a shuddering gasp as the magic sunk into my flesh, my vision shifting uncomfortably into the spectrums of magic. I blinked my eyes, trying to adjust my focus after so long without the sight…and then I saw it.
I felt my face flush as I sucked in a breath in surprise.
The performer was a mage.
Lines of magic swirled around his form, and flowed over the courtyard as well as afterimages of what he was doing. Moreover, there was a shadowy figure floating about among the spectators, glowing points on the people that had been hypnotized indicating that something very strange had happened. I shook my head as Devokh removed its influence from the Tattoos, a muted gasp from behind indicating that the barista has seen the subtle glow begin to fade.
I ignored her, instead focusing on the implications of what I had just seen. We were deep in council territory now, where we could be easily found, and where rogue mages and wizards would be hunted down like wolves…lycanthropes too. This made my particular situation especially difficult, but necessary since I came here seeking out aid from the dragon Halifax, who I knew was somewhere in this region.
This mage however, he had no business here: no true mage had any business with the council, not for the better part of fifteen generations, after the last crusade resulted in one of their kind devastating an entire realm. Which begged the question: why was he here?
Now there was a thought, one that raised my eyebrows as I watched the crowd begin to clear: had this mage had been hired by the council? I rolled the thought over as I gulped down more of the strong coffee, before discarding it. The council would never work with a mage, let alone one that had also formed a pact, which meant that this one was an outlaw and could very well be dangerous.
Which still left other possibilities open I realized, slowly standing as I finished the coffee and walked over towards my pack. Grabbing it, I quickly walked up to the counter and gave the attendant, Kayla as I looked at her name tag, the last of my cash as a tip, and walked out the door as I tossed my coffee cup in the waste bin. I merged with the slowly dispersing crowd, slowly working my way towards the front while I contemplated what could be going on.
He could just be passing through, and given the circumstances it was the most likely of possibilities. It was also the most troublesome, since that could lead the council directly to this town if he was careless. I shook my head: he already was careless. All it would take is for the wrong person to see him and trace their way back down his path.
The least likely option would be that he was there seeking me out, but I would need to confront him either way. Groaning as I neared the front, I loosened my hilt and bag of flash-marbles in preparation for whatever may come. He quickly noticed me, though given that I was the only one in the crowd with a bow and cutlass, I wasn’t exactly the most inconspicuous.
“Ah, yet another of my adoring fans! Though, a strange one to be sure. Come to make a donation to the grand maestro Abra, the greatest magician ever known?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle, which caused Abra to tilt his head in a slightly confused manner. Looking at his mask, I tapped it, wondering if there was anything underneath it before shaking my head as he flinched back a couple steps.
“Sorry man, but I’ve seen people a lot more refined than you are fall short of that title. Not that you aren’t decent, and you have more control than a good few mages that I’ve met,” I watched him rub at his mask, seeming slightly annoyed, “but you aren’t the best out there.”
He pulled out a few playing cards, flipping them between his hands in an admittedly dazzling display as he looked directly at me. “And who might you be to make such a claim, if I may ask?”
I tightened my gaze, wary of what he could be planning, “The name’s Will, one of the more experienced wizards you’re likely to meet.” I smirked as he stopped shuffling those cards. “But, that ain’t why I’m here: this region is under the jurisdiction of the local councils, and rogue magi such as yourself aren’t exactly welcomed with open arms.”
“And how, pray tell would you say that I am one of these ‘rogue magi’? Or have you no proof.” I could almost sense the smirk from under that mask, and I grit my teeth before I returned it.
“Look, I honestly don’t care who you are, or what you wish to do with your magic. Just keep it out of the eyes of the council: bad things happen to mages when they get caught.” I grit my teeth once again at the memory of an unfortunate mage that was put down some years prior…but, quickly shook my head free of the memory and started to turn away.
I didn’t make more than two steps before I felt an indefinable chill grip my bones, and I started to turn around to the clapping of the rogue mage. I heard him give out a light chuckle that turned into a cackle, which caused some of the crowd to start returning.
S***! This is bad…why can’t I move?
I tried to turn away, speak, do something other than walk towards the clearly unstable masked man in front of me, only to have him dart up and pat my cheek and chuckle.
“Oh dear, I do believe that you’ve become a puppet dear poppet. Ah, sad to say that my Marionette won’t relinquish its control as I would love to hear your response, but there is a principle involved.”
He quickly moved back into my field of vision, close enough to my face that my nose almost touched his mask. I could see something moving behind the eye sockets, but while it looked alive, it certainly wasn’t human, though he moved away before I could discern any more.
“See, you seem to have mistaken me for someone you know, or that I know something that I do not. Which means that it falls to me to set you straight, and right after I put on such a magnificent show! Tsk, tsk.”
He twirled around, showmanship calling in more of the previous crowd before turning around and noticing my side pouch. I called out mentally to Devokh, hoping that whatever was going on was something he could manage.
“What’s this? A bag of tricks, now you shouldn’t have!” I watched silently as he pulled out one of my flash marbles before dropping it on the ground, seeming disappointed after it did nothing. “Honestly, if you believe that you’re of my caliber with such things as a bag of marbles, then you truly are mistaken. Pray tell, what were they supposed to do? Float, stack, glue me to the floor?”
I felt an agonizing heat, and then a strong tug that nearly knocked me off my feet as whatever held sway over my movement vanished. I brushed off my clothing, then knelt to the ground and picked up the marble, carefully brushing it off as I planned my next move. As the dust wiped away, a faint glow could be seen inside as the activation charm primed the energy supply for release.
Abra stood there, clearly somewhat baffled that I could even move, so I cleared my throat as I stood, marble in hand.
“Well, they do this.” I quickly tossed the marble as close to the mask as possible, turning away as I did so to ensure that I wouldn’t be blinded. A loud popping sound momentarily deafened me as a bright light illuminated the area, the crowd starting to run in the wake of the small explosion. I continued running, pushing through a few people and into a side street to draw attention away from civilians and so that I could plan my next move, Devokh’s wispy form materializing as I did so.
“What the hell took you so long?! That b****** almost had me down for the count!” I dodged behind a dumpster for a moment to assess my options and figure out where to go next.
I closed my eyes, shooting a glance down the alley and throwing a whistle to make sure I was followed before looking at Devokh. “Alright, keep that up. I won’t be able to do a whole lot, but if that thing gets a hold of me again that won’t be a problem.” I started running again, huffing out a quick command as I figured out a plan, “Just be ready to come when I call: I’ll need help for the binding.”
Devokh quickly vanished, and immediately after I felt an impact in my shoulder strong enough to make me stumble to the ground. I rolled to the side, catching a glimpse of something flying through the spot where I just was, and grunted as whatever hit my back pushed against the brick and mortar. I quickly reached over my shoulder as I started moving again, pulling out a playing card with the king of hearts imprinted and some blood oozing down the back.
“Jack*** uses playing cards as weapons…of course! Because that makes sense!” I walked into an alley junction and quickly unsheathed my sword, eyes darting around the area as I reached into my pouch and fumbled for my chalk with my left hand. Before I could find it though, I saw movement from my left side and attempted to spin and backstep to counter with a slash…only, there was nothing there. I felt more pressure on my left side, realizing that I had yet more playing cards sticking out of my side, the thick clothing and light armor only just stopping them from going deeper.
Careful not to let them touch the ground, I slipped them into my pocket and quickly located the chalk just as I saw a flash and a fist managed to solidly clock me across my jaw, knocking me to the ground. Picking myself back up again, I turned toward the source of the impact just in time to see Abra vanish into the air as he finished the follow-through…and just in time to receive a kick over my shoulder that took me to my knees. I could only groan as I thought about teleportation, and tried to ignore the pain as I hastily scribbled the beginnings of the circle on the hard cement.
We traded blows like this for several minutes, all the while I kept taking hits from nowhere and tried to build up more of the sigils on recovery. Every so often, a finished set would glow faintly, solidifying as Devokh darted through the matrix of the forging spell, but attention would quickly be drawn back towards a boot or fist flying out of the air. And then he pulled a new trick out.
On the recovery after one of his attacks, I darted up faster than expected and managed to draw a gash through Abra’s shoulder, the glint of a slight amount of blood on my blade whic