Gladiators - A New Fight -- Round 1: Raybur Ravenloc vs Cielwyn Meaglin

[Naithin]

Modified Open Arena

A large, circular arena. The floor covered with a fine sand, soft to the touch of bare feet. Yet still firm to stand upon, packed down as it is. There are four large iron gates at opposing sides, North and South, East and West.

Slowly the North and South gates start to raise, the clanking of their chain mechanism bringing an anxious hush over the crowd which sits all around the pit. The walls of the pit are of grainy wood, over 3 metres high from pit floor to the railing of the first row of seating.

The sun shines high overhead. Not a brutal heat, indeed, the air has a bite of chill to it. But the chill will soon be chased away by exertion as the battle looms nearer.

As the fighters step out into the open, a fanfare of trumpets sounds above, signalling to all around in the outskirts of the city, that two brave people have entered the arena, prepared if nessacery to give of their very lives for the entertainment of all.

But this is not all, miraculously, a large maze-like wooden structure is lowered into the pit, covering it in it's entirety. It fits snuggly into the arena enclosure, dropping almost noiselessly at the last moment into the sand. There is no trace of any ropes having dropped it in, but there is the faint scent of magic in the air.

This enclosure is absolutely mazelike. It has walkways of 2 metres wide along the sand, with sharp 90-degree turns, intersections, and dead ends. It is the ultimate death trap for the unprepared. Gazing upwards, you can see that the walling is very sturdy, constructed of logs. This however would possibly allow you to climb upon the walling, and with enough balance and agility, let you travel above..

The crowd watches, waits, expectantly silent, waiting for what will be, to be.

[Raybur Ravenloc]

Raybur stood behind the closed northern gate, waiting for the fight to begin. He took the time to take one of his broadheads from his quiver and nock it, then waited patiently.
Then the gates opened to a blaze of trumpets, and he could see his opponent on the other side of the field. Without hesitating Raybur loosed his arrow at his opponent's belt buckle, or the place he imagined the belt buckle would be had he been able to see one. With that, Raybur began to stalk forward as he drew and nocked another shaft. Then he noticed the maze lowering..
NOT AGAIN!!!! Ohh I'm gonna give Naithin another sore cheek for this.. sillyness
Raybur dropped his bow and sprinted forward as far as he could before the maze touched the arena floor, diving and rolling at the last moment into a hallway that seemed to head south for at least a short while.
God I hate playing hide and seek..
Raybur drew his gladius with his right hand and the dirk from his cap with his left. Then he began stalking towards the south end of the field silently, he had learned his lesson about being too hasty the last time. At every turn of a corner to the right Raybur swung his dirk is if for a throw and only pulled it when he saw that there was no enemy there, and with every left turn he made a silent jab with his gladius. Stalking and listening, waiting for his prey.
Gah, I hate having to stalk people, why cant we just have a face to face fight, man to man, blade for blade... oh well, I'm not gonna risk getting circled again..

[Sprite]

Waiting to enter the arena, Cielwyn rubs his face and yawns. As an afterthought he adjusts the leather headband, if it came loose during the fight it could be disasterous. Bringing his hands down to his waist, he considers for a moment. Hmm, in an open arena my bow would be favored at the outset, but I doubt a distanced shot across the arena will do anything other than waste an arrow. The man I am fighting, Raybur, certainly comes well prepared according to my information, he carries numerous weapons and uses them all with skill. This should be an interesting fight. Setting down the hallway with a smile, he loosens his rapier in it's sheath and grips his main gauche tightly in excitement. He draws both and does a few practice thrusts and parries in the air, his blades move quickly, the thin rapier seeming to vanish from sight as it moved. Swinging his blade around, he returns it to the salute position as the gate opens.

Cielwyn raises the hand with the main gauche and gives a little wave, then brings it back to his face and blows a kiss to his opponent as the maze began it's descent. He quickly presses back against the side of the hallway as an arrow whizzes past. I see hes as excited about this as I am! Well, I shant keep him waiting. Leaning back out, he shouts: "See you soon Raybur!" and takes the first step into the maze. Cielwyn studies the maze walls with interest, then sheaths his rapier. Digging his main gauche into the rough wood, he manages to climb to the top. He carefully crouches low to lower his center of gravity, then sets his feet to maintain his balance.

Grinning to himself, he reaches behind himself and unstraps the recurve bow from his back. Powerful and accurate at short range, it was the ideal bow in this particular situation. He carefully knocks back a wickedly barbed arrow and leans back against the arena wall, keeping sight on the first turn into the maze from his entrance and allowing his peripherals to watch to make sure Raybur didn't climb up himself.

[Raybur Ravenloc]

Gah, another dead end.. I'm REALLY gonna beat Naithin next time I see him..
Raybur turned back and went down another path, then another and another, all the time judging his approximate position by using a particularly ugly man sitting at the top of the stands just above and behind the north entrance as a compass. He gave up making stabs around every corner when he noticed the crowd laughing every time he did so. But this gave him a new idea.
Stopping at a choice between left and right, unable to continue due south, Raybur raised his voice above the mostly silent crowd.
"YOU ALL WANT TO SEE BLOOD, NOT A RAT RACE!! AM I CORRECT??"
The crowd quieted down even more for a moment at being addressed, then broke into a roar of what Raybur assumed was agreement.
When the crowd quieted, he raised his voice again.
"ALRIGHT, THEN WHICH WAY WILL BRING ME TO BLOOD??"
Raybur pointed his gladius high over his head and pointed it to the left, and the crowd began to make booing and hissing noises. He pointed the sword over to the right instead, and the crowd burst into a cheer of approval again. Raybur went along the right path and continued working his way through the arena this way.

[Sprite]

Cielwyn's emotions fought over his opponent's use of the crowd. On one hand he was delighted that Raybur had revealed his location by shouting to the crowd, on the other hand the crowd would eventually lead Raybur to himself. Judging that Raybur was making his way through the maze, he fixes his gaze on the first turn into the maze and pulls back on his string. At least it won't be so long now. His features calm, as he clears his mind to focus on the shot. Once he presents himself, aim, release, and if it looks good, reload and fire again. Confident of his plan, he waits, muscles tense and ready to spring into action.

[Raybur Ravenloc]

Raybur was becoming more and more wary as he came closer and closer to the south gate without any signs of his opponent and the crowd not seeming to change his direction at all. Judging by the ugly man, Raybur could be no more than a few dozen yards from the southern gate.
That wuss must be sitting there waiting for me, content to let me be the rat and him the cheese.. Or the cat.
Raybur finally came around a bend that went right, parallel with the arena wall, no more than 15 yards from it. From here he could see down the way a bit was a branch to the left, exactly in front of the ugly man.
Well, this is it.. he's had plenty of time to get ready for me, I wonder where he is back there.
Beyond the left branch, the path continued a short distance before turning back to the right, away from the gateway.
Well, I know he has a bow, and I know what I would do if I had an opportunity for an ambush like this. The question is, is he balanced enough to keep his position while firing a bow up there, and which side he picked. Well, this should answer that..
Working into the silent dash that he had used many times in his days of stalking prey, Raybur didn't make a sound until the last footfall possible before his head became visible from inside the branch, then he put as much force into a leap as he could muster, launching himself into a dive across the opening. His hope was to be more than halfway across by the time Cielwyn could release a shot, and safely on the other side by the time the arrow struck the wall opposite the opening. As long as this guy doesn't have the reflexes of a god, and as long as he isn't slow enough that he doesn't fire a shot at all, I'm good..

[Sprite]

Keeping track of his opponent's position as he moved through the maze thanks to the crowd's roaring at various intervals, Cielwyn grew restless and eager. However, he kept his sight on the target hallway. Cielwyn grinned, the crowd had grown silent... his wait was over. Has he discerned my plan? I'm certain he has.. he likely made sure to learn what I was bringing to fight with.

Cielwyn kept his draw tight, waiting for the moment when his opponent would peek around to see where he was. He was momentarily surprised then, when Raybur took a running leap across the hallway. Holding his arm still, he started to smile. A clever move, however, in a leap you cannot turn enough to see me at this height. I can sit up here and time my shots out, your tactic will not evade me long. He shifts his aim towards the direction Raybur was now at, prepared to move quickly and re-target if needed.

[Raybur Ravenloc]

Raybur landed on the other side of the entrance and looked back. Hmm, he didn't shoot. His reflexes must not be what I thought, he wastes time thinking before he makes his move.
Raybur was stumped for the moment. If I poke any part of me around that corner now, I'm a dead man. Raybur yelled in frustration, "Come on out here and fight me you coward!" The crowd cheered.
Bah, listen to myself, I'm turning into one of these arena attention-whores.


Then Raybur came up with the beginnings of a plan.
Raybur sheathed his dirk and gladius, and began untieing his coin purse. He took out a shiny copper penny. Taking the penny, he stood just around the corner, and lobbed it over the wall towards the gateway beyond. Clink. Thump. The coin bounced off a wall and hit the sand. Producing another coin, he continued this process, scouting out by sound, the contents of the hallway beyond, and the tops of the two maze walls leading back to the arena wall.
Clink. Thump. Clink. Thump. Clink. Thump. Clink. Thump.
Heh, I've heard you can throw money at any problem, but..
Raybur continued, waiting for the sound that would signify a coin hitting something other than the walls or sand.
Eventually, he was pitching a coin at the top of the wall, where it connected to the arena wall. First the side nearest him, then the other was planned after that.

[Sprite]

Cielwyn almost let himself chuckle at the frustration in Raybur's voice. What will he do now? I bet he regrets being a little overzealous in his approach. Grinning, he waits to see the next move. Not having long to wait apparantly, his grin fades into a look of curiosity when Raybur began throwing coins around the corner. He shakes his head in wonderment. Truly a brilliant man, making use of everything at his disposal. However...

He patiently waits as Raybur clears the wall across from him, the regular throws clinking against the wall and falling with a thud to the ground. Waiting for the man to grow confident in his plan and his movements, Cielwyn thinks through a plan of his own. He'd not be wise to underestimate me! Measuring out the time between throws with his breathing, Cielwyn counts, and releases his barbed arrow a split second before hes calculated Raybur's hand will sneak out again to throw another coin.

Quickly, he reaches down for a second arrow from his belt, awaiting a cry of pain or a reaction from the man below.

[Raybur Ravenloc]

Raybur wasn't foolish enough to put his hand out in the same spot every time. Nonetheless, Cielwyn must have figured on some sort of pattern to the throws, because just as Raybur's hand went out for his next throw, an arrow whizzed by, slicing a nice gash through the leather glove on the back of his hand. "Damn it!"
This is my chance. Continuing a long stream of vulgarity at Naithin, Cielwyn, the arrow, the arena, and several other subjects he thought up spontaneously, Raybur ignored the pain in his slashed right hand, and pulled free his bola with the left. Still cursing and stomping around as if he were out of ideas, Raybur twirled the bola silently, being sure not to give his opponent any notion that it existed, such as a sighting around the corner or a clacking of stones on wood. That arrow embedded in the wall behind him must now be pointing directly at where his opponent had fired it from. Taking as little time as possible, Raybur got the bola to speed and whipped his arm out wide around the corner, flinging it with as much power as he could along the same path the arrow had traveled only seconds earlier.
Not wasting any time, Raybur drew a long clean rag from his satchel and quickly wrapped and tied it tight around his hand to keep some of the blood in. Then he drew his dirk with his left and his gladius with his right and went around the corner, leading prepared to throw the dirk and draw a stiletto at the first sighting of his opponent. If he had time to move and prepare another arrow after that then he deserves to win this fight.

[Sprite]

The man had been silent for too long. Nervously Cielwyn sat his post, carefully holding his arrow ready. This won't work, hes not going to charge me and let himself get shot. It was then he heard the slight whistling sound in the air of the spinning bola. His eyes widening in surprise, Cielwyn quickly rolls off to the right and drops into the opposite passage in the maze. Dammit! He hit the ground in a roll about the same time the bola cracked against the arena wall where he had been the moment before.

Shaking his head ruefully, he stands up and dusts himself off while taking stock of his new surroundings. His view from above had showed him the way around back to where his standoff with Raybur had been, but would Raybur still be there? Perhaps this time, he will be the one to ambush me. Chuckling silently, he reaches around and straps his bow onto his back. Cielwyn's hands drop to his sides, finding the familiar hilts of his main gauche and rapier. Drawing them with a flourish, he cautiously makes his way back towards the corner Raybur had been, keeping his footfalls silent and doublechecking each corner before he rounded it.

[Raybur Ravenloc]

OOC: hmm, little pissed about that, there was no silence, I was Still cursing and stomping around as if he were out of ideas
in order to mask the sound of the bola.
and this is the second time you've misread. i said i was lobbing the coins over the wall, and you had me putting my hand around the corner to throw them around the wall, big difference.
Oh well, I'm just just going to roll with it, like I did before, but please read more carefully from now on.


Coming around the corner Raybur saw that his target was gone, and then he heard noise from beyond the wall to his right. Sheathing his gladius, Raybur walked down to where his bola was draped over the wall his opponent had been occupying, and pulled it down. As he tucked it back into its place, Raybur turned and walked back towards the opening he had just come through.
I'm am going to rock that little man's world when I catch him in a close fight. Anyway, if he hides again, I'm not going after him, he had better be coming here to me or this fight will never end.
Turning left Raybur walked down to the next turn. Peering around the corner, he saw that it led down to a right turn after 20 yards, and had an opening to the left halfway down. This looks promising. Raybur took a long and narrow but heavy rag from his pack, and as he walked silently down the hall, he dragged the rag carefully over any sand disturbed by his boots, erradicating any marks.
After he had gone around the turn at the end of the hall, he turned back and drew his gladius again. Raybur then stuck the very tip of his gladius around the corner, near the bottom of the wall. He adjusted it so that it cast its reflected sunlight up at an angle that no glint would be visible from the entrance halfway down the hall. Finally, he positioned himself to watch the entry halfway down the hallway using the gladius as a mirror.
Unless he manages to spot a bit of steel the size of my three fingers from 15 yards away in the tenth of a second before I ease it away, he will never think to go this way.
Settling in, Raybur prepared himself to step out into the hallway silently and throw his dirk when he judged that his opponent was walking in the opposite direction down the hallway.

[Naithin]

Naithin emerged onto the balcony chuckling at Raybur's distaste for this particually arena.. He would need to remember that for future battles.

"Ease your distate, friend Raybur! For this has brought you a victory of a sorts. You will proceed to round two!"

---

OOC: Good fight guys, the decider on this ended up being the noise issue Raybur pointed out. It was a fairly critical issue as the silence was used to detect the passage of the projectile, a silence that did not in fact exist.

However Raybur, you forget that these walls are 3 metres high. There is no way you could have lobbed a coin over it at the near wall, while also up against said wall so that you couldn't be hit. You could concievably have hit the next wall over with a fair degree of accuracy, if you were to extend your arm out entirely in front of you and try lob like that, but that would have exposed you to an arrow right through the arm for the entire duration of the lob, every time ye did it.

So it was a close call. Cielwyn will be held in reserve in case another fighter of Round 2 does not show up, so as not to totally waste his talents if we can avoid it.

Again though, good fight to both of you.