"Ow." Sora said as her friend gave her a big hug. "Thanks guys. Your cheering really helped a lot. ... But seriously though everything hurts and you're squeezing me very hard."
Nemeia- You aren't sure how it works, but you are pretty sure that the arm guards and leg guards that the Minotaur used during that battle was some manner of artificer device. Though definitely nothing you've ever seen.
Meanwhile back at the Study Unicorn Inn...
Gus considers 9's question for a moment until a hint of realization crosses his eyes,"Ah, I see. Why yes I believe they hold a small temple down in the Labor district somewhere. As you might imagine, people tend to be uncomfortable with the Dark Lady watching over them too closely. So the locals were not terribly fond of putting a temple to death's glory in the midst of the Noble or Merchant districts. Sad to say, but I imagine that might have dulled tourism, so I'm afraid I would probably have to agree with them. But by all accounts the Lady's faithful are quite happy with their accommodations so I imagine there's no harm no foul there."
9 nods and informs Witt that she’ll be back later. She exits the tavern and goes to spend a little while in the temple of the Lady, meditating and thinking about all of the information they got recently.
Witt smiles and waves to 9, and then bids goodnight to Gus. Oh, by the way, do you have anything to read that I might borrow? I fancy a nice quiet night in with a book, curled up in front of the fire, you know how it is? But I haven't brought any books with me. History would be nice, if you have it.
9 - You make your way through the labor district, it takes you some time as it's starting to get late at night, but a few people walking about between pubs managed to give well enough direction that you will eventually find the temple to Lady Death. The temple is not large by any means but it is surprisingly warm and comfortable inside. The acolytes within the temple welcome you and mostly leave you to your meditations. You notice, interestingly enough, that the Temple is built against the outer most wall of town. Next to it is a secondary exit which is guarded carefully by the royal guard. On the opposite side of the outer wall is the town's cemetery. (( Let me know if there is any particular communion or questions 9 would like to ask. ))
Witt- Gus doesn't have anything immediately but promises to get something for you right away. True to his word he has a borrowed book delivered to the room shortly after you get back. It is a history book providing a basic history of the Kingdom. It talks a bit about the first true regent, King Tarrin, and how he built the castle here originally as a purely military installation built to defend against an attack. Which proved so successful that eventually he expanded it to a full castle. Which eventually a town would grow around it. Interestingly it appears his wife was actually a dwarf woman who is credited with recognizing the value of all of the raw resources available in the surrounding stones, and the eventual mines that were created as a result.
Letting go quickly "Sorry. Oh I almost forgot I placed a wager for you to win." I dash off to collect my winnings. While doing so I keep an eye on the pit to see if anyone else jumps in.
Witt spends a pleasant evening, warm and comfortable, reading the book and nibbling on bits of food leftover from dinner. He tries to get a sense of the people of this land, of what they value, of how they see themselves, and also looks to understand how important the mines were and whether they still are. What is the foundation of the royal family's power? Is it wealth, name, military strength?
Witt- Make a History check to see how much you gleam from the history book you're reading.
Sora- You were healed for 16HP, unless you want to resist it.
While Moira is collecting her winnings she looks over and sees a couple of the locals are helping the Minotaur get out of the ring. It seems a friendly cleric of some kind healed up some of his wounds enough to allow him to get up. Which he does so without help as he climbs up and out of the pit.
Indeed as he gets to the top of the ladder he looks around and, if making eye contact with Sora, gives her a big happy smile and a nod of respect at the fellow warrior.
A moment later a hand touches Sora's shoulder, and she feels quite an amazing sensation of light and warmth inside her. Looking over you see a tabaxi cloaked in a light yellow robe. Next to him is the half-elf that had been next to you just before you jumped into the pit.
"I hope you do not mind Sura's blessing. It seems only fair given the fortune you've given me and my friend." The tabaxi explains.
"What'd I tell you, I knew you were a lucky one." The half elf smiles at everyone on the group, "By the way, I'm Jorel, and this is my pal Toiel. Thank you for paying for our drinks tonight!" The half elf holds up his own bag of winnings.
As I rejoin the others I slip my coin pouch into my bag and pull my wand out. Tucking the slender piece of wood in my belt I hand the pack to Nemeia. "I know its dumb but I think I wan to try." Not giving the chance to talk me out of it I walk to the pit and climb down.
Upon seeing the minotaur smiling at her, Sora would smile right back, her grin every bit as big as his, nodding back in recognition of her respect for him as well.
When she feels the touch and healing spell, Sora initially flinches, but upon seeing their intentions she accepts the healing help as she's hardly in a position to object. Still for a moment the cleric brings back some memories from a distant past she'd rather keep buried, and she has to remind herself that this is a faithful of Sora, so she has no reason to complain.
"Thank you, much appreciated, not gonna lie that guy hurts a lot." She then gave the two guys a big smile in return, "But over all I had a blast. Glad you all won but honestly I'm just here for the fun."
When she sees Moira getting into the pit she gives her a passionate cheer of support, "See? looks like I'm not the only one wanting to get in on the fun! Go Moira! The Red Devil! You got this!" Very quickly afterward she would look for someone taking bets and put up one gold for Moira's win.
Witt- You don't get much of a sense of the people of this land from the book beyond what you've already witnessed yourself. It's very obvious that the mining operations throughout the kingdom are very important as they are the main source of income for the entire kingdom. Being mostly covered in thick swampland you don't imagine it would have much else of value to offer the rest of the kingdoms otherwise.
Once the pit is cleared and Moira steps inside there is a soft murmur throughout the crowd as they try to determine the human's chances, curious as to who will take up the challenge. Eventually from one side of the pit you hear a heavy tone of a woman yelling through the crowd,"ACH! Git Outta the Bloody Way! I'll show this frial human lass, wha' tha' Blood Pit's all about!" The crowd parts as a stocky dwarf woman makes an appearance. She seems completely dressed in rags, but you quickly realize those rags are clean are deliberately worn. She has her head completely clean shaven, if not for her eyebrows, you might imagine she was incapable of growing hair, but clearly this style is a deliberate choice on her part.
She's not looking directly at Moira when she appears at the edge of the pit, instead just standing there looking at the crowd with a tankard of ale in her hand. Her gaze catches Moira for only an instant and you can see a fire there eager for battle. Then she leans forward and just as it looks like she's going to fall flat on her face she placed her free hand down on the edge of the pit - performing a one handed hand stand briefly while the contents of her mug fall perfectly into her open mouth - before she continues leaning back and falling into the pit directly. She lands perfectly on her feet at the floor of the pit, still not spilling a drop of ale. Then immediately chugs the entirety of her tankard back, emptying its contents as she leans back so far she falls flat on her back, the remaining ale spilling all over her mouth and floor.
Before you can check to see if she's alright she immediately kicks up to her feet in a flashy acrobatic maneuver and stands ready in a fighting pose that weaves around in an unpredictable drunken pattern. But still the message is clear, she's not hiding the fact that her drunkenness is just an act, and part of her fighting style.
Nemeia's eyes go wide as Moira climbs into the pit. She wanted to be there for her friend and cheer her on, but something had caught her eye. It had been too long since she'd seen crafting of this type and Moira could handle herself anyhow. Right? Sure.
Nemeia moves through the crowd toward the minotaur. "Excuse me. Where did you get those?,"she asks brazenly while pointing at the minotaur's bracers and leg guards. Her tact seems to be absent as her thirst for knowledge needs answers.
(( I'm working on writing up Moira's match for everyone :) ))
The minotaur looks up at Moira, giving her a surprisingly cheery smile in response to her question which seemed at odds with the swollen eye and other bruises that he was showing. It seemed Sora really did a number on this guy, but you wouldn't know it from his attitude.
"Oh? So you're interested in these? Aspiring artificer perhaps? Well I made these." He looked rather proud of himself at that fact,"Well I had help from a friend of mine. I must admit, I like to make things as a hobby, but I'm not nearly as good as my friend is. But I'm glad you found my designs impressive enough to ask about them."
While this was happening, back in the pit the fight was about to begin.
At first Moira looked like she was about to approach the monk once she fell backwards before her. But as soon as the dwarf stood up and looked back at her with a serious gaze Moira knew the battle was on. For quiet moment in time they simply stared at each other, waiting to see who would make the first move. Then Moira suddenly pulled out her wand and called forth the ancient words.
The monk put her guard up expecting the worst, and in response to her summons dark shadows stretched out from all around the dwarf seemingly reaching out and grabbing hold of her, seeking to slow her movements and reactions. ... and nothing more. Nothing seemed to happen so the dwarf simply blinked and looked around at the shadows attached to her.
"Is this bloody supposed ta hurt me?" the dwarf asked.
"No, he is." Moira said. In response Rusty popped into existence immediately behind the monk, scrambling up to her and biting the dwarf in the ankle. The bite itself doing nothing but allowing Moira to channel a spell through Rusty's attack. Suddenly a massive burst of lightning exploded all across the dwarf's body in an impressive display of eldrich power. The crowd was awed by the display and light show that Moira was providing. It seemed like any normal person would have been knocked out immediately after an attack like that.
This dwarf, however, looked simply annoyed."Why ya nasty bloody overgrown shit rat!"the monk let loose an impressive string of curses one right after the other as she immediately turned around and started swinging at Rusty with well trained punches and kicks meant to decimate any opponent they struck.
Unfortunately for her, those punches and kicks failed to actually strike anything as, almost miraculously, Rusty kept dodging every attack, moving wildly in every direction as he desperately tried avoiding strike after merciless strike.
Moira just looked on casually as she cast a quick spell, causing three illusionary forms that matched her own to appear all around her. From there she walked forward, nonchalantly towards the monk, getting up close to the melee without a care."You seem to be having a hard time. Perhaps you hit your head harder then you thought."
"Don' Tell me how hard I cannae hit ma head!"The dwarf yelled back angrily, still swinging after the familiar in a furious flurry of martial arts assaults.
"Fair enough."Moira simply took advantage of Rusty's distraction and reached forward, touching the monk on her shoulder. Again another blast of lightning exploded from the point of contact. This time the effect wasn't quite as strong but it still looked painful.
The crowd, in the meantime, were completely eating this up. Between the impressive light show that Moira was giving them and the hilarious antics of Rusty managing to avoid getting hit, the crowd was looking very entertained. So far betting seemed to be divided evenly between the two combatants, which was always the sign of a good fight.
The dwarf, however, was not so amused. She turned back to Moira, focusing on her true opponent. This time she didn't provide any retort, she simply focused on hitting Moira through her entourage of illusionary clones. Her attacks were precise but chaotic, making them difficult to predict, and two solid hits landed against Moira. While Moira was still wincing form those attacks, the monk had already slipped past her and Rusty, getting a great deal of distance between her and the human opponent. Putting her guard up as she prepared for any attack.
"Running won't help you."Moira told her as she turned around to face the monk. In their hands four copies of Moira gathered eldritch power into a tight ball of energy before shooting out at her dwarf opponent. All four attacks quickly merged into a simple eldritch blast - as only one of those was real to begin with - and streaked across the length of the pit, easily reaching the monk's position.
The monk kept her guard up as the blast of energy slammed into her. Grimacing through the pain as she watched Moira walking towards her.
"Who said I'm bloody running?" With her eyes focused on her target, the dwarf rushed forward suddenly, reaching out with a powerful strike that drove deep into Moira for a devastating amount of damage ... ... had that actually been Moira and not one of her mirror images. The illusionary clone completely disappeared under the force of the attack, but three other Moira's remained behind.
The monk recovered quickly and locked her eyes on the real Moira this time, shooting forward with a deadly kick. As much as Moira tried, she just wasn't able to avoid the strike and grunted as she felt it make contact. The monk reared back for another strike but this time one of Moira's illusions jumped in the way distracting the dwarf enough to cause her to miss the attack.
"Impressive."The real Moira said as she whirled around to face her opponent,"But you forgot one thing."
"Oh aye? An' what's that?" the dwarf shot back at her as she got ready to strike once more.
"That would be Rusty."Moira smirked. From behind her shoulder, her familiar popped up suddenly and jumped off Moira with his furry arms and legs spread wide in a soaring leap.
The monk only had enough time to stare wide eyes at the flying red panda before it slammed against her face, the familiar wrapping itself around the dwarf's face. That was more then enough to allow Moira to draw more power and channel it through her familiar once more. Once again a massive explosion of lightning lit up the entire tavern as a powerful bolt of power surged through the monk's body. This one was the biggest shock yet.
In the aftermath the dwarf just stood there shocked, literally and figuratively, before unceremoniously flopping backwards unconscious. After which Rusty casually jumped off her and walked over by Moira.
Moira, who was about to rush forward to make sure her opponent was ok, found herself stopped by a sudden rush of vitality. It was a quick but intoxicating feeling. For a moment she could almost hear a deep, sinister laughter seeming off in the distance. She quickly shook herself out of it and rushed forward, casting a quick cantrip just to make sure the dwarf would be alright. Slowly, eventually, the dwarf was able to come back to the land of consciousness on her own, in a display of dwarf hardiness, or perhaps stubbornness.
"Don't feel bad."Moira told the dwarf as she helped her to her feet,"You fought well. But Rusty here is a tough competitor."With that Moira shook the hand of her still woozy opponent before heading back to Sora and the rest of the people cheering for her.
"WOOHOO! Moira! Moira! MOIRA! Rusty! Rusty! Go Rusty!" Sora cheered her friend on and celebrated her victory, helping her up out of the pit before heading off to collect her own winnings. "Haha! At this rate we'll have free drinks for out entire stay!"
"Oh you made them?," Nemeia says doing her best to not seem surprised that the Minotaur would be so skilled. "Perhaps we could share notes some time over a tea? I'd love to talk to your friend as well. Do you have your own workshop nearby?" She says all this while staring at the pieces. "I must learn how you've done this..."she trails off trying to understand the functioning properties.
"Ha! Sounds like you'd have more in common with my friend."The minotaur explains,"She's the one with the workshop in the ass end of the Merchant sector. I just like messing around a bit as a hobby. The pit's one of the few places I can test my wild creations without worrying they might explode. I mean they still explode sometimes, but at least in the pit you don't really worry if it does. The name's Orajin, by the way, Orajin Gormir. What's yours?"
"Pleasure to meet you. My name is Nemeia. I will most certainly visit her shop in the morning. I assume it isn't open this late?" Nemeia laughs about testing out inventions. "It is important to test them in safe spaces. You don't want to go and blow up the entire academy workshop!" She gives a hearty laugh as the alcohol works its way through her system.
Orajin chuckles loudly, "Spoken like a true artificer. Yeah, Krin's definitely closed up shop by now. I'd say it's a 50/50 chance she's either still in her shop working on whatever latest crazy brilliant idea she's come up with, or somewhere in here, getting stupid drunk."
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Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
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"Ow." Sora said as her friend gave her a big hug. "Thanks guys. Your cheering really helped a lot. ... But seriously though everything hurts and you're squeezing me very hard."
Nemeia - You aren't sure how it works, but you are pretty sure that the arm guards and leg guards that the Minotaur used during that battle was some manner of artificer device. Though definitely nothing you've ever seen.
Meanwhile back at the Study Unicorn Inn...
Gus considers 9's question for a moment until a hint of realization crosses his eyes, "Ah, I see. Why yes I believe they hold a small temple down in the Labor district somewhere. As you might imagine, people tend to be uncomfortable with the Dark Lady watching over them too closely. So the locals were not terribly fond of putting a temple to death's glory in the midst of the Noble or Merchant districts. Sad to say, but I imagine that might have dulled tourism, so I'm afraid I would probably have to agree with them. But by all accounts the Lady's faithful are quite happy with their accommodations so I imagine there's no harm no foul there."
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
9 nods and informs Witt that she’ll be back later. She exits the tavern and goes to spend a little while in the temple of the Lady, meditating and thinking about all of the information they got recently.
Witt smiles and waves to 9, and then bids goodnight to Gus. Oh, by the way, do you have anything to read that I might borrow? I fancy a nice quiet night in with a book, curled up in front of the fire, you know how it is? But I haven't brought any books with me. History would be nice, if you have it.
9 - You make your way through the labor district, it takes you some time as it's starting to get late at night, but a few people walking about between pubs managed to give well enough direction that you will eventually find the temple to Lady Death. The temple is not large by any means but it is surprisingly warm and comfortable inside. The acolytes within the temple welcome you and mostly leave you to your meditations. You notice, interestingly enough, that the Temple is built against the outer most wall of town. Next to it is a secondary exit which is guarded carefully by the royal guard. On the opposite side of the outer wall is the town's cemetery.
(( Let me know if there is any particular communion or questions 9 would like to ask. ))
Witt - Gus doesn't have anything immediately but promises to get something for you right away. True to his word he has a borrowed book delivered to the room shortly after you get back. It is a history book providing a basic history of the Kingdom. It talks a bit about the first true regent, King Tarrin, and how he built the castle here originally as a purely military installation built to defend against an attack. Which proved so successful that eventually he expanded it to a full castle. Which eventually a town would grow around it. Interestingly it appears his wife was actually a dwarf woman who is credited with recognizing the value of all of the raw resources available in the surrounding stones, and the eventual mines that were created as a result.
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
Moira
Letting go quickly "Sorry. Oh I almost forgot I placed a wager for you to win." I dash off to collect my winnings. While doing so I keep an eye on the pit to see if anyone else jumps in.
Witt spends a pleasant evening, warm and comfortable, reading the book and nibbling on bits of food leftover from dinner. He tries to get a sense of the people of this land, of what they value, of how they see themselves, and also looks to understand how important the mines were and whether they still are. What is the foundation of the royal family's power? Is it wealth, name, military strength?
Witt - Make a History check to see how much you gleam from the history book you're reading.
Sora - You were healed for 16HP, unless you want to resist it.
While Moira is collecting her winnings she looks over and sees a couple of the locals are helping the Minotaur get out of the ring. It seems a friendly cleric of some kind healed up some of his wounds enough to allow him to get up. Which he does so without help as he climbs up and out of the pit.
Indeed as he gets to the top of the ladder he looks around and, if making eye contact with Sora, gives her a big happy smile and a nod of respect at the fellow warrior.
A moment later a hand touches Sora's shoulder, and she feels quite an amazing sensation of light and warmth inside her. Looking over you see a tabaxi cloaked in a light yellow robe. Next to him is the half-elf that had been next to you just before you jumped into the pit.
"I hope you do not mind Sura's blessing. It seems only fair given the fortune you've given me and my friend." The tabaxi explains.
"What'd I tell you, I knew you were a lucky one." The half elf smiles at everyone on the group, "By the way, I'm Jorel, and this is my pal Toiel. Thank you for paying for our drinks tonight!" The half elf holds up his own bag of winnings.
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
Witt's History check: 4
Moira
As I rejoin the others I slip my coin pouch into my bag and pull my wand out. Tucking the slender piece of wood in my belt I hand the pack to Nemeia. "I know its dumb but I think I wan to try." Not giving the chance to talk me out of it I walk to the pit and climb down.
Upon seeing the minotaur smiling at her, Sora would smile right back, her grin every bit as big as his, nodding back in recognition of her respect for him as well.
When she feels the touch and healing spell, Sora initially flinches, but upon seeing their intentions she accepts the healing help as she's hardly in a position to object. Still for a moment the cleric brings back some memories from a distant past she'd rather keep buried, and she has to remind herself that this is a faithful of Sora, so she has no reason to complain.
"Thank you, much appreciated, not gonna lie that guy hurts a lot." She then gave the two guys a big smile in return, "But over all I had a blast. Glad you all won but honestly I'm just here for the fun."
When she sees Moira getting into the pit she gives her a passionate cheer of support, "See? looks like I'm not the only one wanting to get in on the fun! Go Moira! The Red Devil! You got this!" Very quickly afterward she would look for someone taking bets and put up one gold for Moira's win.
Witt - You don't get much of a sense of the people of this land from the book beyond what you've already witnessed yourself. It's very obvious that the mining operations throughout the kingdom are very important as they are the main source of income for the entire kingdom. Being mostly covered in thick swampland you don't imagine it would have much else of value to offer the rest of the kingdoms otherwise.
Once the pit is cleared and Moira steps inside there is a soft murmur throughout the crowd as they try to determine the human's chances, curious as to who will take up the challenge. Eventually from one side of the pit you hear a heavy tone of a woman yelling through the crowd, "ACH! Git Outta the Bloody Way! I'll show this frial human lass, wha' tha' Blood Pit's all about!" The crowd parts as a stocky dwarf woman makes an appearance. She seems completely dressed in rags, but you quickly realize those rags are clean are deliberately worn. She has her head completely clean shaven, if not for her eyebrows, you might imagine she was incapable of growing hair, but clearly this style is a deliberate choice on her part.
She's not looking directly at Moira when she appears at the edge of the pit, instead just standing there looking at the crowd with a tankard of ale in her hand. Her gaze catches Moira for only an instant and you can see a fire there eager for battle. Then she leans forward and just as it looks like she's going to fall flat on her face she placed her free hand down on the edge of the pit - performing a one handed hand stand briefly while the contents of her mug fall perfectly into her open mouth - before she continues leaning back and falling into the pit directly. She lands perfectly on her feet at the floor of the pit, still not spilling a drop of ale. Then immediately chugs the entirety of her tankard back, emptying its contents as she leans back so far she falls flat on her back, the remaining ale spilling all over her mouth and floor.
Before you can check to see if she's alright she immediately kicks up to her feet in a flashy acrobatic maneuver and stands ready in a fighting pose that weaves around in an unpredictable drunken pattern. But still the message is clear, she's not hiding the fact that her drunkenness is just an act, and part of her fighting style.
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
Nemeia's eyes go wide as Moira climbs into the pit. She wanted to be there for her friend and cheer her on, but something had caught her eye. It had been too long since she'd seen crafting of this type and Moira could handle herself anyhow. Right? Sure.
Nemeia moves through the crowd toward the minotaur. "Excuse me. Where did you get those?," she asks brazenly while pointing at the minotaur's bracers and leg guards. Her tact seems to be absent as her thirst for knowledge needs answers.
(( I'm working on writing up Moira's match for everyone :) ))
The minotaur looks up at Moira, giving her a surprisingly cheery smile in response to her question which seemed at odds with the swollen eye and other bruises that he was showing. It seemed Sora really did a number on this guy, but you wouldn't know it from his attitude.
"Oh? So you're interested in these? Aspiring artificer perhaps? Well I made these." He looked rather proud of himself at that fact, "Well I had help from a friend of mine. I must admit, I like to make things as a hobby, but I'm not nearly as good as my friend is. But I'm glad you found my designs impressive enough to ask about them."
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
While this was happening, back in the pit the fight was about to begin.
At first Moira looked like she was about to approach the monk once she fell backwards before her. But as soon as the dwarf stood up and looked back at her with a serious gaze Moira knew the battle was on. For quiet moment in time they simply stared at each other, waiting to see who would make the first move. Then Moira suddenly pulled out her wand and called forth the ancient words.
The monk put her guard up expecting the worst, and in response to her summons dark shadows stretched out from all around the dwarf seemingly reaching out and grabbing hold of her, seeking to slow her movements and reactions. ... and nothing more. Nothing seemed to happen so the dwarf simply blinked and looked around at the shadows attached to her.
"Is this bloody supposed ta hurt me?" the dwarf asked.
"No, he is." Moira said. In response Rusty popped into existence immediately behind the monk, scrambling up to her and biting the dwarf in the ankle. The bite itself doing nothing but allowing Moira to channel a spell through Rusty's attack. Suddenly a massive burst of lightning exploded all across the dwarf's body in an impressive display of eldrich power. The crowd was awed by the display and light show that Moira was providing. It seemed like any normal person would have been knocked out immediately after an attack like that.
This dwarf, however, looked simply annoyed. "Why ya nasty bloody overgrown shit rat!" the monk let loose an impressive string of curses one right after the other as she immediately turned around and started swinging at Rusty with well trained punches and kicks meant to decimate any opponent they struck.
Unfortunately for her, those punches and kicks failed to actually strike anything as, almost miraculously, Rusty kept dodging every attack, moving wildly in every direction as he desperately tried avoiding strike after merciless strike.
Moira just looked on casually as she cast a quick spell, causing three illusionary forms that matched her own to appear all around her. From there she walked forward, nonchalantly towards the monk, getting up close to the melee without a care. "You seem to be having a hard time. Perhaps you hit your head harder then you thought."
"Don' Tell me how hard I cannae hit ma head!" The dwarf yelled back angrily, still swinging after the familiar in a furious flurry of martial arts assaults.
"Fair enough." Moira simply took advantage of Rusty's distraction and reached forward, touching the monk on her shoulder. Again another blast of lightning exploded from the point of contact. This time the effect wasn't quite as strong but it still looked painful.
The crowd, in the meantime, were completely eating this up. Between the impressive light show that Moira was giving them and the hilarious antics of Rusty managing to avoid getting hit, the crowd was looking very entertained. So far betting seemed to be divided evenly between the two combatants, which was always the sign of a good fight.
The dwarf, however, was not so amused. She turned back to Moira, focusing on her true opponent. This time she didn't provide any retort, she simply focused on hitting Moira through her entourage of illusionary clones. Her attacks were precise but chaotic, making them difficult to predict, and two solid hits landed against Moira. While Moira was still wincing form those attacks, the monk had already slipped past her and Rusty, getting a great deal of distance between her and the human opponent. Putting her guard up as she prepared for any attack.
"Running won't help you." Moira told her as she turned around to face the monk. In their hands four copies of Moira gathered eldritch power into a tight ball of energy before shooting out at her dwarf opponent. All four attacks quickly merged into a simple eldritch blast - as only one of those was real to begin with - and streaked across the length of the pit, easily reaching the monk's position.
The monk kept her guard up as the blast of energy slammed into her. Grimacing through the pain as she watched Moira walking towards her.
"Who said I'm bloody running?" With her eyes focused on her target, the dwarf rushed forward suddenly, reaching out with a powerful strike that drove deep into Moira for a devastating amount of damage ...
... had that actually been Moira and not one of her mirror images. The illusionary clone completely disappeared under the force of the attack, but three other Moira's remained behind.
The monk recovered quickly and locked her eyes on the real Moira this time, shooting forward with a deadly kick. As much as Moira tried, she just wasn't able to avoid the strike and grunted as she felt it make contact. The monk reared back for another strike but this time one of Moira's illusions jumped in the way distracting the dwarf enough to cause her to miss the attack.
"Impressive." The real Moira said as she whirled around to face her opponent, "But you forgot one thing."
"Oh aye? An' what's that?" the dwarf shot back at her as she got ready to strike once more.
"That would be Rusty." Moira smirked. From behind her shoulder, her familiar popped up suddenly and jumped off Moira with his furry arms and legs spread wide in a soaring leap.
The monk only had enough time to stare wide eyes at the flying red panda before it slammed against her face, the familiar wrapping itself around the dwarf's face. That was more then enough to allow Moira to draw more power and channel it through her familiar once more. Once again a massive explosion of lightning lit up the entire tavern as a powerful bolt of power surged through the monk's body. This one was the biggest shock yet.
In the aftermath the dwarf just stood there shocked, literally and figuratively, before unceremoniously flopping backwards unconscious. After which Rusty casually jumped off her and walked over by Moira.
Moira, who was about to rush forward to make sure her opponent was ok, found herself stopped by a sudden rush of vitality. It was a quick but intoxicating feeling. For a moment she could almost hear a deep, sinister laughter seeming off in the distance. She quickly shook herself out of it and rushed forward, casting a quick cantrip just to make sure the dwarf would be alright. Slowly, eventually, the dwarf was able to come back to the land of consciousness on her own, in a display of dwarf hardiness, or perhaps stubbornness.
"Don't feel bad." Moira told the dwarf as she helped her to her feet, "You fought well. But Rusty here is a tough competitor." With that Moira shook the hand of her still woozy opponent before heading back to Sora and the rest of the people cheering for her.
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
"WOOHOO! Moira! Moira! MOIRA! Rusty! Rusty! Go Rusty!" Sora cheered her friend on and celebrated her victory, helping her up out of the pit before heading off to collect her own winnings. "Haha! At this rate we'll have free drinks for out entire stay!"
"Oh you made them?," Nemeia says doing her best to not seem surprised that the Minotaur would be so skilled. "Perhaps we could share notes some time over a tea? I'd love to talk to your friend as well. Do you have your own workshop nearby?" She says all this while staring at the pieces. "I must learn how you've done this..." she trails off trying to understand the functioning properties.
"Ha! Sounds like you'd have more in common with my friend." The minotaur explains, "She's the one with the workshop in the ass end of the Merchant sector. I just like messing around a bit as a hobby. The pit's one of the few places I can test my wild creations without worrying they might explode. I mean they still explode sometimes, but at least in the pit you don't really worry if it does. The name's Orajin, by the way, Orajin Gormir. What's yours?"
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
"Pleasure to meet you. My name is Nemeia. I will most certainly visit her shop in the morning. I assume it isn't open this late?" Nemeia laughs about testing out inventions. "It is important to test them in safe spaces. You don't want to go and blow up the entire academy workshop!" She gives a hearty laugh as the alcohol works its way through her system.
Orajin chuckles loudly, "Spoken like a true artificer. Yeah, Krin's definitely closed up shop by now. I'd say it's a 50/50 chance she's either still in her shop working on whatever latest crazy brilliant idea she's come up with, or somewhere in here, getting stupid drunk."
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn