[Mekong] Antarian Tourney - Garb vs. Jagan

[Littlec00kie]

The docks of Karles were swarming with activity.

One of the few ports yet to be conquered by the Divine, the area was particularly full today due to certain rumors. One of the largest docks had been unofficially sectioned off from the rest by a tight ring of people, all shouting and pushing to get to the front. Many of the people in the crowd were ruffians, thieves, and pirates; others were merchants or citizens, simply hanging around for the free entertainment. Though the law enforcement of Karles was keeping a watchful eye, they stayed well back from the crowds, standing armed and wary around the mass.

A mutual agreement had been made between the Captain of the Karles Guard and Captain Rei of the Antarian Guild, though it was needless to say it had taken much gold and many a careful word to gain the pact. The guards, fully aware that the crew was certainly not the merchant group they claimed to be, had agreed to be blind to today’s activities as long as they remained confined to the small area. In return, said crew (around which, no one dared utter the word ‘pirate’ for fear of the festivities ending early) would soon leave the city, refraining from causing any trouble – any more trouble, anyway.

The captain surveyed the area carefully from a better vantage point, unknown to the fighters. There were probably over sixty spectators packed around, all vying for the best spot to see from. At the outer edge of the ring stood well-armed Antarian guards, there to make sure no one violated the agreement with the city guard.

Receiving a signal from her side, she continued assessing the field, pointedly checking on the final arrangement she’d managed. Anchored on both sides of the dock were two large merchant ships – galleons – unarmed and the decks clear. The Captain of each ship was well aware of the day’s activities and agreed to allow the fights to move to the decks, as long as nothing was destroyed or stolen in the process.

With a last quick review, Rei dropped silently from her discreet position, walking through the group as the crowds around her parted like the sea. Her ‘official officiator,’ Jagan, was in this next match, and she would therefore have to see to the commencement herself. As though practiced, the crowd moved backwards at her simple gesture, spreading away to the sides of the dock and ships; the dock no longer than 80 feet nor wider than 8. Rei called the two fighters to the center and looked between them, waiting for the crowd yelling around them to die down.

“Jagan, Garb, my only orders be against killin’ each other, for that’d be far too messy. Understood?” Rei waited for a sign of confirmation from each, well aware of the excitement surrounding her, before continuing:

“Then let the fight… Begin!”

Rules: This match is for yoyo and Cap’t Squidi only.

No killing. Period. Doing so’ll probably earn you a keelhauling and lynching of some sort. There are about 40 feet of shoreline beside/beyond the dock that is ringed by pirates. If you leave that ring you will be disqualified, disowned by the pirates, and left to the Karles guard’s punishment. The 2 ships and the sea are open for the battle to move to. Crowd interaction is acceptable and encouraged; the fights are taking place one at a time, so anyone not currently fighting is watching, but anyone that you interact with will be an NPC. Be aware that “The entire crowd attacks my opponent” or similar strategies will lose major points for godmodding. Other than that, let the Antarian tourney begin (finally)!

[yöyo]

The fight finished with the crowds cheering and the healers pushing to the front to tend to the participants. Jagan had watched it with an observant eye, trying to get a feel for the other members of this new pirate clan. He liked what he was seeing so far, and looked forward to adventuring with these people.

The medics assisted the fighters away from the dock so they could work their magic, and Jagan took a look at the list he carried.

"Alright next up is... Garb and... Jagan. Oh." He looked up. "Garb? Who here is named Garb? You'll be fighting me."

While scanning the crowd and awaiting a response he handed the list to Rei and stepped forwards, stretching his arms and limbering up.

[Squidi]

It was a beautiful day, but Garb didn't seem to take notice. No, all he cared about that day was proving that he was the strongest, the best there ever was. He easily stood over the ecstatic crowd, being a behemoth over nine feet tall and built of pure muscle mass, the Minotaur was pumped up for his match to begin, and he knew that when the battle began, it was going to be harder not to kill his opponent then it would be to kill him. He crossed his heavy guns over his thick chest and wondered how much longer he'd have to wait before he got to fight.

Just then, he heard his name being called. He turned around and saw a man among the crowd asking which one of their names was Garb, said that Garb would be fighting him. The hulking Minotaur looked at him amusingly. This small man was going to be his opponent? Now, he was scared. If he even lay a heavy hand on the shrimp, the man could be killed under the weight, so how would he go about fighting him? A question to be answered when the fight began. "I'm Garb," the Minotaur stated matter-of-factly, "an' ye gonna be fightin' me, so let's git dis o'er wit'."

[yöyo]

"I'm Garb," came the deep, grunted reply that caused Jagan to turn his eyes upwards. He gulped when he realized that what he was staring at was an immense, muscular, hairy chest. Reluctantly, he turned his head upwards even further to view what appeared to be the visage of a bull.

"Holy smokes..."

He tried to contain himself, but he was shaking with laughter. Not cheerful laughter- nervous laughter. He didn't know what to think and was so stunned that he didn't even hear what the fearsome beast said next.

He blinked furiously and looked again, disappointed to see that he was not mistaken. "You're Garb," He stated matter-of-factly, not really expecting an answer for he already knew the all-too-ironic truth of the situation. Even as he tried to regather his wits about him he remembered hearing the name attached to the minotaur before. In the first place he simply hadn't expected to be fighting against the creature, so the name happened to have slipped his mind.

Jagan let loose a heavy sigh. Having finally calmed his muscles, he now appeared relaxed and confident. If only the crowd around him knew just how unsure he was, they would vote him in for Actor of the Year.

The unfortunate contender turned towards the dock, gesturing for the minotaur to do the same. "Let's get this over with, little buddy. The sooner you break me the sooner I can heal."

Reaching his position on the dock, Jagan slowly turned to face the minotaur. His hands appeared ready for something. They were in a position to reach for his daggers, but that was not the move Jagan had in mind for them. The crowd around the dock all stared silently, each of them wondering just how this puny human was planning on fending off the mighty beast he faced.

"Alright Garb. I'm ready. Don't go easy on me, I can use the pain to toughen me up." He took a deep breath and settled into a low stance. "Whenever you're ready little buddy, you make the first-"

Without even finishing the sentence, Jagan leapt off the dock without warning, flailing his arms out towards the ship anchored there. With a heavy thump he hit the side, wrapping his arms tightly around the railing. He pulled himself up quickly, using all the strength he could muster to fling his body over the edge onto the ship.

Hitting the ground, he was stunned only for a brief moment before he looked around him. There were boxes and barrels of cargo all around him, and he lay a few feet from the main mast. Every few yards there was a loose but thick rope leading up to the mast. Without taking too much time to think about it he rolled and dove behind a big pile of crates.

Warily, he peered out at the railing, waiting for his fearsome opponent to make his own way onto the ship. He touched his daggers to reassure himself that he was armed, and then let himself up into a crouch, ready to sprint off in any direction.

[Squidi]

Garb looked down at the smaller man, meeting his eyes, and the Minotaur issued forth a low growl to further intimidate the weakling shrimp. The man started to laugh nervously, trembling in fear, and Garb could only smile devilishly. The man's fear was then covered up by wrongly placed confidence, and because it was so bizarre to Garb for someone so small to show such assurance and calmness in his presense, he didn't believe the act for one cent of its worth.

Cracking a smile at the man's comment, the mighty Minotaur followed him down to the docks. Keeping quite, he contemplated how he should go about fighting the man. The crowd was silent, chirping birds flew across the sky, the waves crashed into the two galleons docked. Garb continued walking, his hooves sounding off the old wood, and then the small man came to a hault and Garb did too. The two galleons were anchored on either side of the dock, and Garb was standing imposing like an edifice right at the ramps, which led up to the upper decks, of each one.

The man started to speak, and Garb wasn't sure if he should take heed to his words. He didn't want to kill the man for both Capt'n Rei's reasoning and because he thought the man quite humorous, but he did want to get to the next round. Before he really had the chance to think it through, the man abruptly cut off his own speech. He jumped off the dock, squarly hit the side of the galleon on Garb's right, and scrambled up to disappear. Oh great, thought Garb apathetically, Cat an' mouse.

He turned to the side and stampeded up the ramp, brandishing his silver cutlass in the process. The sails were furled up and the upper deck was scrambled with barrels and boxes of cargo, so obviously there wasn't enough room in the hull. "Show yerself!" Garb bellowed, "I ain't gonna go 'round lookin' fer ya!" He put his sword to his mouth, picked up a barrel, and with a growl, lunged it at a cluster of boxes. The stacked crates fell to the floor, rats scurried across the deck, and Garb's fiery eyes widened in anticipation that the man was hiding behind that fallen stack.

[yöyo]

Crash!

Taking his hands from their protective position above his bowed head, Jagan slowly looked up to see that his cover had been scattered about the ship. Still crouching, he stared up into the eyes of the furious minotaur.

"Ermm... hiya! I was just looking for some... oh, there it is!"

The nervous man extended a finger to point beyond the beast, towards nothing. Anticipating his opponent to turn around, he reached quickly into his coat and drew out a dagger. Hastily, he slung it at the minotaur, trying to keep in mind the lessons he had taught himself in target practice. Concentrate on the target... line up the arm... it's all in the wrist... all in the wrist. It was a shame he was in such a hurry that the thoughts came to him sounding more like mrmmmrrmrmmhmmmrm.

Jagan almost slapped himself as he watched the flight of the dagger. It went tumbling end over end like a penguin attempting to fly. At least it was on target- the huge beast would be hard to miss- but the novice pirate doubted that it would harm the beast.

[Squidi]

He growled in applause, having sent the right stack of crates tumbling to the ground and revealing the small man hiding behind it. He started to say something threatening but was interrupted by the frightened, quip as a whip pirate. Impulsively, Garb actually started to turn. The man’s acting wasn’t all that bad. Enough to almost trick Garb into believing him.

Almost.

The Minotaur figured it out mid-turn and noticed the glimmer of the sun reflecting off the copper as the dagger spun through the air. Dodging was out of the question as Garb was too close and too slow to dodge the missile even if it was poorly thrown. He rushed in to meet it, and to hopefully catch his opponent off guard.

The whirling dagger grazed his left arm, and if it hurt Garb in the slightest bit, he did not show it. All the dagger did was create another tally mark of the hundreds already found all over that arm. Those tally marks that represented all of his wins in arm-wrestling.

He stampeded across the wooden floor, but not at full speed for if his opponent jumped out of the way then Garb would likely be sent overboard. Crossing the deck in no time, he held his silver blade as if he meant to use it, but it was all just folly. Using it would likely mean killing the small man.

So with his right hand holding the cutlass, he started to swipe in down low, as his equally strong left arm aimed for an uppercut, which would hopefully nail the man in the head. His right arm stopped short but his left followed through. It wouldn’t kill the smaller man—Garb didn’t back it up with all his strength—just knock him unconscious. That is if it connected.

[yöyo]

Disappointed at the lack of effectiveness of his dagger (but not all that surprised), Jagan looked around and furiously tried to devise a plan. The cabin was to his right. There were loose ropes hanging everywhere. A few barrels stood before him. His mind worked quickly and he had come up with a few ways to outfight the minotaur without participating in any direct combat. He wondered how smart the beast was, and how resourceful.

Lost in his thoughts, he was almost caught off guard by the huge creature barreling towards him. Barreling... hmm, now that's a thought. The minotaur was almost on him when he finally realized it was time to move. Not a moment too soon, Jagan turned and sprinted away, just barely outranging the minotaur's heavy swinging fist.

Now why did the word "barreling" catch my attention? Oh yea...

Jagan passed by an empty barrel and quickly kicked it over. Then he gave it a good, solid push with his foot, sending it rolling towards the minotaur who he didn't doubt was still in heavy pursuit. That should slow him up a bit while I set something up.

Upon reaching the end of the cabin, he swiftly ducked behind the corner out of the minotaur's view. He smiled when he saw a loose rope hanging in just the right position for his plan. He took the end of it and pulled it back away from the corner, and then quickly shoved a couple crates into position. Still holding the rope, he climbed up onto the crates. Then he grabbed the rope a little higher up and prepared to swing towards the corner as soon as he saw the minotaur show his face.

[Squidi]

Garb's heavy fist swooshed through the salty air as the quick, small man dodged away. The Minotaur growled in frustration as his fist slammed into and cracked the railing. Ignoring the pain, just thinking how he wanted this battle to be quick, not a cat and mouse game, but that's how it was turning out to be, and so he would just have to deal with it and come out victorious.

He turned to face the running man and started to follow, but rolling down the direct trail of pursuit toward him was a kicked barrel. Unfortunately, too heavy to jump over it, the tumbling barrel hit his shins and knocked him from his hooves. He growled again and reclaimed his dropped silver cutlass before getting back up. It was getting annoying, his brown eyes started to spark, and when they were burning his fury would be outrageous.

He placed the weapon back on his hip, now deciding that he would result to using the heavy objects around him, since they wouldn't likely kill his opponent. Growling, he hefted up one of the barrels lined up beside him. With it carried overhead-- but with his head tilted forward so his horns wouldn't stab into the barrel--he stampeded forward, swiftly cut the corner, growling.

Shocked, his burning brown eyes looking up grew wide as he saw the trap that was laid out for him. The tactical man up on top of stacked crates about to swing down from his perch and likely kick at Garb with the momentum gathered. Now allowing it to happen, instinctively, he quickly threw his mighty weight forward, launching the heavy barrel through the air at the small man, who stood taller than Garb at that moment. But not for long--the fierce Minotaur would make sure of it. No one stands taller then he!

[yöyo]

Jagan stood atop the pile of crates eagerly waiting, grinning at the thought of his perfectly executed plan. Who ever said a human couldn't win in one on one combat with a full grown minotaur? Peering over at the audience, many of whom had moved closer and closed onto the dock to get a better look, he wondered briefly what stories they would be telling and what songs they would be singing about the man who had single handedly toppled a minotaur. But he didn't have much time to wonder, for he heard his quarry nearing the corner.

Timing it just perfectly, Jagan leapt from his perch right as his opponent came into view. He sailed towards him feet first, throwing his body as best he could to get all his weight behind the flying kick.

Already using his full momentum, he couldn't do a thing when he saw the barrel flying towards him. The audience collectively winced at the sickening thump he made when he contacted with it. Both him and the barrel stopped completely for a moment in midair, and then fell straight down towards the deck, the barrel landing intact and rolling away, and Jagan landing flat on his back. His eyes were serenely closed before he even hit the deck.

When the whole audience peered at him penetratingly, trying to see if he was still conscious (or alive for that matter), all he could do was dream of his toy pirate ships he had played with so many years ago.

[Squidi]

The heavy barrel sailed through the air, and Garb knew as soon as he released the missile that it was going to make a hard impact with the swinging man. The Minotaur grinned widely as the barrel made contact with a loud noise, then they both fell to the wooden ground. Garb threw his thick, muscular arms into the air, roaring in victory, his hooves creating a trot-trot rhythm as he jumped up and down in glee like a happy child. He was obviously the stronger--the crowd acknowledged it too--and now he'd go to the next round as rightly deserved, so he thought.

[Earendil]

Realism:

yoyo: 6
Capt'n Squidi: 6

Good work.

Environment Interaction:

yoyo: 8
Capt'n Squidi: 5

Kick that mufu**in' barrel at that big ol' mino!!! Dang man, first people I've seen to use environment, and probably the last. Reminds me of old days of Donkey Kong tryin' to kill Mario.

Character Development:

yoyo: 4
Capt'n Squidi: 4

Not a whole lot, so a little less than average.

Reader Comprehension:

yoyo: 6
Capt'n Squidi: 6

Good clean English.

Reader Interest:

yoyo: 5
Capt'n Squidi: 5

Considering the circumstances, good score.

Grand Scale of Situation:

yoyo: 1
Capt'n Squidi: 1

In this case, one and one... well, it equals one.

Total Fame/XP:

yoyo: 32
Capt'n Squidi: 29

Additional Notes:

Very good scores. Average is 26, anything above means I enjoyed your posts. This is a tournament, and if you look at other scores I've given, you'll be pleased with yourselves.

Oh, and no gold or other rewards apart from skills.