Fancy a Bout to the Death? }{Silvarn and Talwyn

[Silvarn]

"You will make me do something I really did not want to do." Kaleidyn warned the man before him.

"Go on, courtier, do your worst!" the man spat back, clutching the scrap of paper to his chest.

"You have no idea how important that poem is to me. I will pay whatever price you want for it." Kaleidyn assured.

"No!" the man was beyond persuasion, "This poem has been with my family for generations! It's been a lullaby, a prayer, and a promise to every member of my family for the past hundred years! And you expect me to hand it over to a stranger in fancy clothes?"

"Yes." Kaleidyn said forcefully. His words echoed in his throat, in the market corridor, and within the man's mind, "I am collecting these rare poems, and they contain rare power only I can channel." As he delivered his speech, Edin emphasized his words with singing slashes, "There is a man, calling himself the Devil's Eager Nocturne, who seeks any pretty thing his eyes rest on. If you do not give me that poem, I may not be able to stop him, and thus unable to protect your daughters when the Devil comes singing his Nocturne in the night."

The man, unconvinced at first, made the mistake of mulling over Kaleidyn's words. With that, the words sank into his mind, rewove his thoughts, and changed his opinion, "Fine." he finally gave in, handing over the scrap of paper, "but only if you promise to meet my eldest daughter. She could use a strong man like you to protect her from this Devil's Nocturne."

"Of course, you have my word." Kaleidyn said, hastily snatching the paper away, "Give me the day, and I shall be there."

"The day after tomorrow."

"Excellent, excellent. Many thanks for the poem, good sir."

"Yeah, sure."

Kaleidyn quickly pulled away, his eyes locked on the words before him, committing the words and cadence to memory. While in his deep concentration, he shouldered past several market-goers, never noticing them, until he collided with a stone pillar.

He toppled over, sitting hard on the ground, looking up at the stone he had bumped into. Except, the stone was skin and the skin was blue, and the blue stone skin had a face normally concealed by a large hood, but visible at this angle. And it was not pleased.

The blue-skinned man stepped past Kaleidyn's prone form, causing the aspiring poet to leap to his feet and bring his Edin to bear. "You sir! Halt!"

The cloaked blue-skinned man continued walking, wise enough to ignore this other man.

"You dare?" Kaleidyn tried to shake off his foolhardy need to prove himself in battle, but the feeling was overwhelming and the words spilled from his mouth without his realizing, "Are you afraid of me?"

Everyone in the near vicinity stopped, including the blue-skinned man. "You heard me! No one crashes into me without feeling the sting of my blade!" which was utter nonsense, because Kaleidyn usually went out of his way to avoid running into people altogether.

The blue-skinned man turned around, flaring his cloak out to reveal his hand-and-half sword. Kaleidyn smiled contemptuously, dropping into the highly evasive Stance Rae'Vin, "Now, that is more like it."

[Talwyn]

Stepping out of the inn, Tal checked to make sure his cowl was covering enough of his face and breathed in the morning air of the city of Tamasha. He could smell the freshly baked bread, the newly caught fish on display in the market and more. Despite the fact he did not like being in Tamasha, he liked the mornings of the busy city because a new day in a city as vast as Tamasha meant new opportunity's.

If that blasted mage hadn't turned his life upside down all those years ago, he probably would have loved the bustling city. But as it was, he was to busy keeping a low profile and trying remain unnoticed to fully enjoy and appreciate all nuances the town had to offer. He wasn't sure what to do at the moment. It was to early to hit the taverns and inns, and his contacts that knew the other side of the law had already come up with nothing. Maybe, he mused, it was time to hit the road again. He had been here long enough.

Still... he had paid for one more night at the inn, and while the inn itself wasn't much to look at, the food and ale were excellent. This would be as good a time as any to relax for a change he figured as he walked over to the market. When he got there, he haggled with a merchant over a couple of meat buns and after paying the man he strolled through the marketplace.

He stopped at a cart to eye several daggers, though he quickly moved on. Swallowing the last part of his breakfast, he suddenly bumped into a blue clothed man. The man toppled over and looked up, looking straight into Tal's eyes. Obviously he wasn't to pleased. Not only could even an idiot tell something wasn't right if he bumped into Tal like that, his cloak provided no protection against prying eyes at the angle the man was looking from. He quickly stepped past the man in an attempt to distance himself before things would go bad.

He kept walking even after the man called after him telling him to stop but suddenly stopped in mid stride as the man in blue asked if he was afraid. "You heard me!" The man shouted. "No one crashes into me without feeling the sting of my blade!" At that, Tal turned around while using his left hand to partly throw his cloak aside, revealing his sword. Grabbing the handle with his right hand and the sheath with his left, he unsheathed the blade and pointed it at Kaleidyn.

"I dare?" He called. "I crash into you? The fault was as much yours as it was mine. And now you dare accuse me of cowardice?" He got into a fighting stance and noticed several things. First, the man was using a rapier, meaning he was either a fool or an expert. Second, considering the stance the man was using, Tal suspected it was the latter. And lastly, everyone was eying them.

He was slightly hesitant to attack, and even more hesitant to strike the first blow. With all the spectators watching, they'd be quick to accuse him of starting this fight. That, and if things did come to blows he risked unmasking himself. But this was no time to think about that, the stranger was preparing to attack and thus Tal did the only thing he could, he launched an attack of his own.

And thus the duel was on. The man in blue versus the blue skinned man. They were almost polar opposites. The elegant rapier versus the crude bastard sword, both equally dangerous and deadly when wielded by a master. And these two where definitely masters. Blocking Kaleidyn's attack, Tal acknowledged his earlier assessment. The man was indeed an expert. "It seems you're not just some idiot out looking for fight. You actually know how to use that flimsy pig-sticker." He taunted.

[Silvarn]

"A fool, I am not," Kaleidyn proudly boasted as his blade was shoved aside, then parried the attack from the blue-man, "Looking for a fight, I am not." he riposted, and his opponent counter-parried Kaleidyn's point into his arm, causing the blade to skitter off the rock-hard flesh, "It appears I have found it."

Now, it was obvious he was going to have to put more force behind his blows if he was to injure his opponent. Firstly, though, the most important part of Style Rae'Vin.

Knowing the blue man's stability, he held their blades, clashed, out to the side. Then, he kicked up, planting a boot on the blue man's chest and pushed off of it, placing a considerable distance between the two when he landed.

He twirled his blade idly, a dangerous smirk forming on his narrow lips. "Come now, sirrah! Surely you can do better than that."

[Talwyn]

Tal found this man difficult to comprehend, his way of speaking was... odd. But now was not the time to ponder about that. The man was really good, if it hadn't been for his stone skin, the man would have drawn first blood already. Watching the man create some distance, Tal got into a ready stance once again.

"Sirrah?" Tal responded. "My my, you know some fancy words don't you? Can't you speak plainly? I am but a simple adventurer, I have no time to squander on pretty words." He inched closer carefully, his eyes never straying from his opponent. He feared this man might actually be the better swordsman. Then again, no rules had been agreed on and fighting for his life was something Tal was good at. Lets see how well you do in a simple brawl with that knitting needle of yours... he mused.

The distance between the two was still quite big, but with a single leap Tal crossed it while leveling a powerful blow aimed at the man's head. It was, however, a feint as he let go of the sword with his left hand and punched the man in the stomach as hard as he could followed by raising his knee to hit the man's face which was no doubt heading in that direction after a punch like that.

[Silvarn]

Kaleidyn caught the full force of the blue-skinned man's punch square in the gut, knocking all the air from his lungs in an instant. As his reflexes caused him to double over, the rising knee rushed past his face, clipping him in the ear. While in his prone position, he attempted to shove his foe away from him with his shoulder in order to gain more time to recover. He only ended up bruising his shoulder in the process.

He felt the man grab him by the scruff of the neck and toss him bodily away, causing him to sprawl on the ground. He breathed as calmly as he could to dismiss the awful pain in his diaphragm. He could hear the man approach -- those stony footfalls were difficult to miss -- then the rustle of cloth as he raised his sword. As the blade came crashing down, Kaleidyn rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the blow. He kicked his legs out and simultaneously swiveled on his shoulders, spinning once around and then bending himself onto his feet.

He stood up to face up opponent, then promptly leaped away to put enough distance between them to remain dangerous. He steadily rocked back and forth from one foot to the other, swirling the point of Edin in a slow cirlce. Then he slashed out an 'X' in the air and held his sword down and away from his body, inviting his opponent to strike -- and meet his demise.

[Talwyn]

Raising his sword again, he eyed Kaleidyn. "I have seen monkey's that are less agile then you." He muttered. Watching the man slash out an X in the air he approached warily. The seemed defenseless, standing there with his sword pointing away from his body. But as he had already discovered, this man was one of the best swordsmen he had ever encountered. There was no way this was not some sort of trick. What are you up to mister monkey... You must realize you're wide open...

He lunged forward with a thrust crossing the short distance, knowing he was most likely springing some sort of trap. As such, the lunge wasn't very deep. He wanted both feet on the ground so he could react quickly to whatever the man would try.

[Silvarn]

Kaleidyn breezed past the attack as if passing someone in the marketplace. Indeed, he casually walked past his foe as the blue-skinned man finished thrusting and regained his center. Once the bastard-toting dwarf golem thing had established his stance again, Kaleidyn slid back into his. He held his head high and haughty, leaning away from his opponent, one hand on his hip, the other holding the tip of his blade extended and pointed directly at the blue-skinned man's heart.

He approached with quick, steady, measured advances, his blade making light circles. When he was within striking range, he suddenly rushed forward and struck with a rising blow, cleaving his foe across the chest. Even the blow connected, or not, Kaleidyn spun in a half-circle, then cartwheeled to safety on one hand.

He dropped back into the arrogant Stance Rae'Vin, grinning smugly.

[Talwyn]

He didn't attack? What the hell? Tal shook his head as he turned to face Kaleidyn once more and quickly assumed a battle ready stance. It was only then that Kaleidyn did that same, further confusing Tal. What are you playing at... Trying to prove you are the superior sword fighter?

Watching his opponent attack, Tal managed to twist his body aside just in time to avoid serious damage. Still, the man's blade was good, and the attack powerful because he managed to draw blood. Not a lot, but still, without his stone-skin this slight wound would have been much more serious. "Really, even a monkey got nothing on you. Stand still already." He muttered as he watched the man cartwheel out of harms way.

Seeing the smug grin on his face did not help either. Taking the initiative, he closed the distance and made a large, two-handed, downward swing that would cleave the man in two if he failed to dodge. However, showing rather excellent control, he stopped the slash when the blade was parallel to the ground and immediately followed with a second attack.

As the two warriors stood almost face to face, a single guard had managed to penetrate the horde of spectators and walked over to them. "Hold it right there you two!" He shouted. What a brave man indeed. Closing in on two fighters with remarkable skill, without backup. "Okay, break it up. Break it up I said." He told them as tried pushing them apart.

With an annoyed sigh, Tal planted his fist in the man's face at the same time as his opponent. "STAY OUT OF THIS!" Both fighters responded in stereo. Turning back to face Kaleidyn, Tal gave him an appreciative nod. "Thanks, he was getting on my nerves." Realizing then he was still in a rather serious fight with this man, he jumped back a bit and dropped in a ready stance once more.

[Silvarn]

Seeing his foe's blade come down, slowly it seemed compared to the speed of his rapier, he coolly leaned out of the blade's path. Then the blade came swinging at his midsection, and he followed his leaning motion to the ground, jarring his shoulder as he kicked his feet out to allow himself to pass under the blade. He rolled backward over his uninjured shoulder, regaining his Stance, taking some effort to make it seem effortless.

Then that annoying, pretentious guard approached them and tried to break up the fight by force. He bell-punched him in the face for that, then turned back to his opponent, returning the nod.

In fact, the brief instance of cooperation, the mutual acknowledgment of gratitude, struck something deep within Kaleidyn. It seemed fitting they should lay down their weapons, but his valor would not allow him to. He tried to fight it down, but it refused and continued to bubble up within him. He considered using one of the Divine Scriptures to magically calm himself, but something told him mixing his emotions as such would have dire consequences.

No. This man was going to be taught a lesson, and taught well. Kaleidyn resumed the Stance Rae'Vin, holding his blade aloft. He casually circled around his foe, keeping just out of his considerable striking range.

[Talwyn]

Circling around his foe, Talwyn could not help but be impressed. He couldn't quite place it, but for some reason he respected this man. Even entertained the thought they could be friends... if only things had gone differently. In any case, for whatever reason, he just could not bring himself to dislike this man. He glanced around to get a better idea of his surroundings and it did not please him.

The spectators had given them room, but he was still afraid they'd get a good look at him like this. He took some more distance from his foe and started uttering an incantation. Crouching down he placed his left hand on the ground without ever losing sight of Kaleidyn. A second later, they where surrounded by a wall of earth that expanded outward, not only driving the spectators backwards, but also shielding the two of them from prying eyes and further interference. For now anyway.

Getting up again he threw back his cowl, remarkably it had stayed in place pretty well so far. "My name is Talwyn Greyoak." He raised his left hand to his forehead. as he went on. "You are better than I expected and I salute you. However, I have no intention of losing this fight, nor shall I pull my punches any longer. I'd like to see this settled before the guards break down that wall."

Having said his piece, he resumed his ready stance while whispering softly. If Kaleidyn was sensitive to the flow of magic, he'd be able to sense the energy building up around Tal. For now however, he merely kept the spell ready while he kept circling his opponent. Suddenly, he trusted out his left hand and a bolt of flame shot out at Kaleidyn. The attack was rather obvious and slow moving, obviously a feint. It was however, a feint that needed dodging and Tal was ready to jump the second Kaleidyn did.

[Silvarn]

Curses, Kaleidyn muttered in his mind, he knows how to wield magic. One day, I need to learn at least countermagic. Of course, Style Rae'Vin preferred expansive closed environments, like ballrooms and great halls -- the more walls, the better. This gave him something to work with.

When prompted, Kaleidyn returned the salute, "Kaleidyn." he responded.

He could feel a gravity collecting around his opponent -- Talwyn, was it? -- and he had a gut feeling was happening. So, when Talwyn released his bolt of fire, Kaleidyn was not exactly surprised. In fact, he ran toward it. When the bolt came too close for comfort, Kaleidyn channeled his momentum forward, gracefully flipping over the firebolt.

Coming out of his feat of acrobatics, he arched backward, drawing the tip of his blade away from his opponent. As his momentum continued to carry him to Talwyn, he drove his point forward, aiming for his collarbone.

[Talwyn]

Tal's eyes widened as Kaleidyn jumped over the flames. And while unexpected, the follow up move, though executed very fast, was predictable. Side-stepping the stab, Tal grabbed Kaleidyn's arm. Giving a quick pull, he planted his knee into his opponent's stomach. "Come now, you really think THAT would have worked? Surely I have earned some more credit by now."

He stepped back, waiting for Kaleidyn to regain his composure. When he did, Tal dashed forward, whispering softly. The magical energy once again gathered around him, though he did not release it this time. Once in reach, he made a swift horizontal slash, followed by a backhanded slash.

[Silvarn]

Kaleidyn reeled from the blow, gasping painfully. This was the second time he had allowed his opponent to knock the breath out of him. Damn, those fists hit hard. Kaleidyn chided himself for the poor form, and resolved to not allow it again. When he had taken his final steadying breath, Talwyn dashed at him again. The same gravity surrounded him as he approached, and Kaleidyn knew he was up to something, again. When Talwyn came within striking range, Kaleidyn backpedaled to dodge his blows, but came right up against the wall Talwyn had created. He had backed himself against a wall.

But, that was the point.

Kaleidyn actually accelerated as he approached the wall. Before his back connected though, he brought his legs up and planted his feet on the wall. Transferring his motion, he pivoted on one hand, planted his feet again, and kicked off, his trajectory now a good yard away from Talwyn. He rolled when he hit the ground, and sprinted away once his feet hit the ground again. Once he judged he was suitable distance from his opponent, he spun around to face him, Edin's point extended.

[Talwyn]

Tal silently cursed himself. He THOUGHT he was driving his opponent into a corner. He should have known better. Kaleidyn had shown multiple times how agile he was and Talwyn had likened him to a monkey more than once already. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He lunged once more at Kaleidyn.

He used his sword to keep Kaleidyn's rapier away and when they where standing face to face, Tal held up his left hand and closed his eyes, releasing the spell he had casted earlier. It was a variation of a simple "light" spell. One he had used in fights before with great success. Normally, this spell would create a globe of light that could last for up to three hours. This time however, Tal made the globe use all of the given energy at once, resulting in a blinding flash.

Leaping back, he opened his eyes and judged the distance between him and Kaleidyn before making another move. He had no desire to kill this man, so a non-lethal attack would have to do. He decided on the man's left shoulder. Even if the attack would leave permanent damage, the man was right-handed, so it should not hamper the mans fighting skill. But, if left alone the wound would be serious enough for the man to give up.

[Silvarn]

Kaleidyn cried out as the flash of piercing light seared his eyes. He had sense enough to keep hold of his blade, but still covered his injured eyes with his free hand. He rubbed at them fiercely, tentatively opening them and seeing nothing but multicolored stars and pain. There was a painful ringing in his ears as his senses confused themselves.

He reached deep within himself, finding his temperance and channeling it into Edin. The blade resonated with the virtue and suppressed his wild thoughts. He could think rationally now, even though his eyes were still blazing with color and white, and his ears were partially deaf. He composed himself and focused his senses as much as he could. He caught the sound of sole scraping against stone, then heavy footfalls of someone running at him. He heard the blade whistle through the air, and then Edin was there to defend him. The blade arrested the momentum of its foe, bringing it to a dead halt.

Kaleidyn attempted to leap away from his opponent, but his temperance weighed his feet down, rooting him to the spot. He worked his eyes beneath their lids, trying in vain to banish the painful explosions assailing them.

Part of him told him to strike out at his opponent, and another told him to stay where he was. And someone was trying to kill him. Things were not going well.