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| Block This! [fin]; [p]Miriel | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mon May 13, 2013 12:38 am (300 Views) | |
| Bloodknight | Mon May 13, 2013 12:38 am Post #1 |
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The hallow ruins rang with the sound of wood and steel against stone, sound ringing off the bare columns and walls left uncovered by the creeping vegetation. The sound paused, and its source panted for breath, studying the wall filled with scratches and flaked dents. He reached up and wiped sweat from his brow with his left hand, his huge fist clenching the longsword. The entirety of the man was huge. His shaggy, light grey hair grew on a head feet above the average man. The sunbleached poncho covering him could cover a dining table, the buckler strapped to his right wrist looked laughable small, and the aforementioned longsword didn't look like one when he wielded it. He'd found this forgotten city early this morning and chose to make camp here to spend the day practicing in the verdant solitude. He'd built his strength up with basic exercises, but only using his weapons would allow him to hone those skills. Still, he was encountering problems early. He could go through his sword drills, getting his muscles used to the patterns and movements, but when it came to his shield, such drills only went so far. Shieldwork was about far more than just holding the shield or learning how to move it. It was greatly mental. He'd hoped bashing the stonework would let him build up his shock resistance, but even that was growing old. If he wanted to improve, he needed a sparring partner, someone whose movements he needed to watch and judge and predict and block. He also needed a new shield, he thought as he looked at his wooden buckler. His light purse necessitated the purchase of such a simple shield, but it was already bearing wear and tear. It'd also helped if he could get a larger one. He appreciated the precision and lightness of the buckler, but he was used to something that somewhat matched his bulk He reached down to take a swig from the flask on his hip and began practice again. He wasn't certain where to look for such a partner. He never needed to worry about looking when growing up, and his pilgrimage had such little need for fighting and far more of a need to survive that he lost most of what he'd learned in favor of new abilities. Having arrived in Imythess, his spirit was renewed with his fated meeting with the woman Nkiruka, and he wanted to return to the level of his pass skills then surpass them. For now, he had a wall for an opponent. He'd settle for that. He swiped at the wall with his sword twice, then bashed his buckler against it, feeling the shock flow up his arm, fade, and repeated the drill. |
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| Miriel | Mon May 13, 2013 2:51 am Post #2 |
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Miriel ran through a series of combat exercises, blade silently flashing through the air as she stood a mere 30 feet away from Rurik, separated by naught but a crumbling wall. It was because of this, that as soon as he started bashing his shield against a pillar, she stiffened, turning towards the source of the noise in mid-swing. Sheathing her blade, she climbed nimbly up the wall behind him and watched him continue on for a time, blinking slightly. Spotting a sturdy looking stick a good two and a half feet long on the ground that had dropped from a small tree in the area, she climbed down, and bent down to pick it up. "Hello. I cannot imagine that bashing your shield against the wall is doing you much good." She interjected quietly, slowly making he way towards the man, swinging the stick idly, testing it to ensure that it wouldn't break particularly easily. The perceptive might note a slight glow around the edges of the length of wood, strengthening and reenforcing the ordinary enough stick with magical energy. "Perhaps you would be interested in a sparring partner? I also happened to be practicing alone, not too far from here." She pointed the stick, well, practice wand at the man, looking up at him with a fairly neutral expression, offer made. |
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| Bloodknight | Tue May 14, 2013 2:11 am Post #3 |
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"Hello," someone said in between his echoing strikes. He paused in midblow, sparing the wall yet another scratch. "I cannot imagine that bashing your shield against the wall is doing you much good." Rurik turned to see a very small woman idly swinging a stick through the air. He lowered his weapons as he watched her approach. She gave an uncaring air, as though her offer was given because she had nothing better to do this day, and that might be true. He didn't know why she'd be here on her own. This place didn't seem to be a popular tourist destination. "Perhaps you would be interested in a sparring partner? I also happened to be practicing alone, not too far from here." Ah. Like him, she felt the solitude would be a good place to practice. Even If she was just a wanderer wanting to spar on a whim without knowledge of swordplay beyond which end to hold, he could still make use of her offer. He'd have to focus purely on defense, not counterattacks. For that purpose, a pure novice's wild, enthusiastic strikes would be as helpful as a master. However, she held and swung the stick as though she was familiar with their sort. She had a sword sheathed at her side, and Rurik tended to trust that those who offered aid were capable of delivering it. However, for her safely, he would act mostly in defense until she proved skilled enough for a counter. "Really?" he chanced in saying aloud with his still growing understanding of Imythessian Common. "That is most luckful," he said with a grin. He turned toward her and bent his knees, settling into a ready position, his sword low and his buckler raised to a position lower than what he was used to, considering the size of his opponent. "I am please to take your offer." He focused on her, preparing himself mentally for whatever she might throw at him. "I am Rurik. I am please to meet you." |
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| Miriel | Tue May 14, 2013 3:06 am Post #4 |
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She gazed at her stance analytically, and gave a sharp nod, raising the practice wand and assuming a fairly stable position herself, though still a bit rough around the edges and slightly off of what would be precisely correct. "Excellent. Then we shall begin." She gave a slight bow in response to his greeting, not commenting on the poor grammar, and charged at him without warning. Raising her hands high, she swung down in an easily telegraphed motion, though it still had the basics of a trained swordsmans skill behind it. Nothing too hard to block, but she did follow it up with two more swings, probing his defenses. If he were able to block each strike easily enough, she would step it up; But having relatively little measure of his skill, the woman was inclined to go easy on him for the time being. |
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| Bloodknight | Tue May 14, 2013 3:33 am Post #5 |
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She didn't deem to answer his introduction with her own name. Instead, she shifted her own stance to a learned, if bit unsteady, dueling position. She bowed, then charged, stopping just short of running into him to begin lashing out with the stick. It took a few moments for Rurik to adjust to her rhythm, but once he had, he moved his arm with ease to block it, watching her torso's shifts to predict the few, more difficult strikes she'd send out, sometimes necessitating a shift to block with his drawn sword rather than his buckler. Each strike, and the way she restrained her movements, suggested that, for whatever reason, she was not giving her all when it came to the force of her blows. They were butterfly light. Even someone of her stature should be able to land a good hit if she put her shoulders into it. "Haha! Good!" he said with a grin. "But you worry about harm to me." He blocked her next strike with the flat of his blade to slap his chest with his right hand. "I am made of stern things. You are not fearful in giving me bruises. I am good at taking beats." |
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| Miriel | Tue May 14, 2013 3:50 am Post #6 |
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"Oh yes. You may call me Miriel."She mentioned, correcting several of the flaws in her stance as she continued her assault, slowly adding a bit more power with each attack as the strikes became somewhat more complex, if still more the work of a decently skilled swordsman as opposed to a true master of the blade. "Very well, if you wish me to strike harder." She continued to step up the power behind her attacks until it was enough to bruise if it were to hit, though she still restrained herself somewhat, and stuck to natural strength, still not wanting to hurt the man. "If this is not difficult enough for you to learn, I am still capable of harder. You need only ask." She swung four times in rapid succession, coming from different angles, and even feinting with the last blow. |
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| Bloodknight | Tue May 14, 2013 7:00 pm Post #7 |
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"Oh yes. You may call me Miriel," she said, and her stance shifted again, losing much of its amateur setting as her strikes grew surer and stronger, hitting with a sharp thwack against his wooden shield. It was a wonder the branch didn't break, but it seemed she chose a good, supple one for the task. At the moment, they were evenly matched. With far more effort than he'd been putting into fighting the wall or blocking her earlier strikes, he intercepted her practice sword before it struck his body. To do it, he had to pay far more attention to the shifting of her muscles and use his sword to block the trickier shots just as much as the buckler, and at times he even had to accept a stinging smack to the arm to ensure nothing more vital would be struck. "If this is not difficult enough for you to learn," Miriel added, "I am still capable of harder. You need only ask." She gave four more strikes in rapid succession, with Rurik managing to block all but one that struck his thigh, and jerked into position at a final blow that proved a clever feint. He was beginning to feel very glad this wasn't a true fight. It was one thing to be an expert at swordplay, he knew. It was another entirely to so easily and effortlessly shift one's ability level to appear as a beginning and then a fighter with far more practice. That was the level of a master. "This is good," he said, the slight grin still on his face even as he panted from the exertion. "But...for fun, you fight me for a time with the whole of your skill?" He backed up a step and stared her down over his shield arm. "I wish to know how good I am for truth." |
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| Miriel | Wed May 15, 2013 12:05 am Post #8 |
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Miriel raised an eyebrow, and continued on her offensive, while briefly considering his request. "No. You would not learn anything from such an encounter." She stepped back, letting off her attacks and shaking her head. "You are better than most, especially considering size such as yours is enough to make some neglect skill and speed." "However." "Arrogant as it may seem. You are not strong enough. Fast enough. Skilled enough. To match me. It would be over far too quickly for you to benefit in any way. If you wish to use my full strength as a measure, you would most likely feel quite inadequate indeed." She shifted the practice wand into a single hand, and gestured with her freed right limb. "Shall we continue with practice? I would be willing to correct some of the mistakes you are making. I have some experience in teaching, if you would be willing to take some instruction. Judging from the improvements you have been making so quickly, you are somewhat out of practice as opposed to just learning, yes?" She looked off to the side, and sighed, realizing he would probably be unhappy with the answer. "And if you have not changed your mind once we are done. ...I will indulge your request in regards to me not holding back. Once. After we both have time to rest." Something Rurik may have noticed was that she wasn't breathing all that hard, wasn't even sweating after the short spar they just had; The offer of a rest was probably far more for his benefit than hers. |
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| Bloodknight | Wed May 15, 2013 12:47 pm Post #9 |
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Rurik's smile faded as he listened to Miriel's refusal, and he straightened up from his ready position, his arms dropping. She sought to soften her verbal blow by offering to teach Rurik a bit about what he was doing wrong, the things she saw that led her to say no to his request in the first place. Rurik took some time to answer, but that answer was a thick bellylaugh. "I am sorry," he said, giving a slight bow. "You are right. It is my big head, my arrow-gant?, that make me ask. I think of you as very good. I am right on this. You say no? I agree to your no. "I am in the past very good. That is not now. Many things fall from my head. You are to teach me, to help me grow? I accept with no arrow-gant, Miss Miriel. I know I need to learn much. I need no rest. We go on now?" |
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| Miriel | Wed May 15, 2013 8:47 pm Post #10 |
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Really it is less that you are arrogant to think you could hold against me and you have no idea of what kind of monster that I am." She thought to herself, though outwardly she seemed to take his view of events at face value, and gave a slight bow. "Excellent. First off, you need to hold yourself like this... And when I come at you with a swing like this, you need to angle your own blade with it like so, use the momentum of the blow against it. This allows you to defend with a minimum of energy compared to your opponent, allowing one to simply outlast them......" She began concisely stating and demonstrating several places he could improve before going back to the first to work on each part individually. She hadn't precisely expected to be spending the day instructing someone, but it was a fairly welcome break from the monotony of the day. Besides, teaching sometimes was a good teacher as well. She tried her best to focus on defense and simply outlasting an opponent as opposed to a crushing offense, it seemed to be more suited to him than anything else. "Now than, I do believe it is time to rest for the day." She stated, a smile visible underneath her hood as she stepped back after he successfully blocked several blows identical to ones that he had been forced to take before. Several hours had passed, and the day had mostly gone by while they trained. The stick had given out once, and she ended up finding two more just in case, though thankfully only one was needed. Sitting down on a nearby crumbling wall, she addressed Rurik. "...may I ask if you have a particular destination in mind in your travels? I could be traveling in the same direction." |
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| Bloodknight | Fri May 17, 2013 11:53 pm Post #11 |
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"Now then," Miriel said. "I do believe it is time to rest for the day." "Yes," Rurik replied. He allowed himself to slump as he rested his hands on his knees, breathing heavily. He'd only allowed himself short breaks between the various drills and exercises she put him through, both out of trust in his own stamina and stubbornness in general. However, it'd been a long time since he'd exerted his boy so thoroughly and so long. He felt weak, and his muscles burned in familiar agony. It was oddly nostalgic. "I thank you, Miriel," he said. He was already in a half bow, so he hoped she wouldn't find it rude if he instead wiped some of the stinging sweat from his brow. She sat down on the remains of a nearby wall. He allowed himself to flop onto the ground, his arms resting on his bent knees. . "May I ask if you have a particular destination in mind in your travels? I could be traveling in the same direction." "I have none," he answered honestly. "I am new to Imythess. I travel far to reach here. I explore now, to see what I see. I find this place by luck. It is good luck to lead me here, to meet a good skill teacher." He gave a wide grin. "You know a good place near the old city to go? I accept help in this." |
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| Miriel | Sat May 18, 2013 3:12 am Post #12 |
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"Interesting. I was also not born within Imythess, though some of my ancestors certainly were." She shrugged, a little out of breath herself, though not quite as out of it as Rurik, having stopped several times to observe his technique as opposed to doing it herself. "This city is quite out of the way compared to the rest of the world. The closest civilized areas would require going over or around the mountains, and back through norwood forest." Miriel uttered a few words, waving her hand over the ground beneath her, twisting the light into an illusionary map of Imythess with a bright blue dot marking their location. "There are a few scattered communities in the area..." She pointed to several smaller dots on her mentally projected map. "But none truly worth mentioning, unless you count these ruins as such." Once again, she waved, and a bright red line snaked its way from their location, south around the mountains, and then north through norwood forest. "No matter what way either of us takes, or where we are going, we are probably several weeks from civilization at best, at least by foot." She remained relatively closed off, but cupped her chin with her left hand as she continued. "Perhaps it would be in our best interests to stay together for our journeys? I would be willing to continue passing along a few tricks as we traveled. I have no true preference as to where I head for the time being, though I would prefer to stay relatively near to the more northern parts of the land. I have been to the Istani desert before, and will most likely travel there again. But it is not a place that I am feeling particularly inclined towards heading to currently." |
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| Bloodknight | Sat May 18, 2013 8:13 pm Post #13 |
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Rurik guffawed. "I see enough of Istan Desert. I walk from there. I wish to see more of Imythess. I see enough sand now." He admired her map. She'd conjured it from thin air. Amazing! He'd become use to the idea of magic being a freeflowing resource in Imythess, and not just the purview of old men in towers. He was still astonished when such awe-inspiring displays were given so casually. He could keep himself from being a complete bumpkin and commenting, but he couldn't keep his face from beaming at the sight. "I wish to go to a place. I am not picky. You wish to travel together? I wish for more training. I am good with the shield. I help you with dangers. I cook and I hunt." He grinned. "I have no money to pay for training. I help how I can, Miriel." |
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| Miriel | Sun May 19, 2013 11:43 pm Post #14 |
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"Excellent. Not Istan it is." Miriel dismissed the illusion, map fading into thin air as she stretched, and fall backwards, flipping in the air before landing on the other side of the wall. "One moment, I need to collect my pack. I would suggest we set up camp in the ruins for the night, and we can then leave in the morning." "I would hope for the trip to be relatively uneventful. But I am rarely that lucky." |
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| Bloodknight | Mon May 20, 2013 2:51 pm Post #15 |
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"We are lucky, maybe," Rurik said with a smile. "We meet nothing of danger, perhaps? It is a chance we have." He guessed he was jinxing them both by saying it, but he felt determined to be positive. "We are skillful. Danger comes, danger is the one that is sorry, yes?" He stood and stretched his limbs. They were beginning to stiffen up, and it'd be best for him to cool down if he wanted any chance of not moving like an arthritic old man. "I begin a camp nearby. I sleep here the night before; I train here today. We sleep here, we walk next morning?" He was excited. He awoke with no hope of proper training beyond what his faded memory could provide. He'd bed down tonight with a true master willing to teach and travel with him, regaining to skills and knowledge his long sabbatical and pilgrimage took from him. He felt reborn once he'd finally reached Imythess. Perhaps this was the point he'd begin to live and put his mourning behind him. |
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