The Games of Saberhaven
Akira Axehammer vs. Orellwyn
As the doors open, Orellwyn steps forward, arrow nocked, then is borne aloft by his winged boots. From a distance of somewhat less than 150 yards, he takes aim at his opponent.
The dwarven warrior Akira rushes out into the arena, swinging a warhammer.
"COWARD!" he shouts at the floating elf as he charges. The elf manages to loose one arrow before the dwarf closes the gap. But the archer is concentrating so hard on his aim that he falls off-balance in mid-air. After loosing the arrow well wide of the mark, Orellwyn struggles to return to an upright position. Meanwhile, Akira hurls his warhammer at the wayward elf. The weapon catches the archer on his left foot, apparently causing some pain but little serious damage. Before Orellwyn can recover, the dwarven warrior hurls another hammer, this one hitting more solidly on the thigh of the same leg. The hammers fall to the earth one at a time as the elf rights himself, still hovering some yards above the Arena.
Embarrassed by his fumble, the archer goes straight to work, launching arrows again at the dwarf. Akira meanwhile rushes to recover his fallen warhammers, and then hurl them at the elf again. Akira manages to run in, snatch up his weapons, and hurl one before Orellwyn can take draw and loose, whacking the elf in the right shoulder. The blow does not, however, seem to affect his aim, and Akira is pierced by two arrows, one through his cheek and down into his neck, and the other striking his left hip and penetrating into his thigh.
The sturdy dwarf is certainly injured, but still has a lot of fight left in him. Surprised that arrows could be so damaging, Akira yells in rage and throws his other warhammer at the flying elf. The hurled weapon strikes the elf in the chest, evidently bruising him through his mesh armor. Orellwyn, however, is undaunted, and his aim is true: his next arrow lodges in the dwarf's eye, luckily lodging in the brow guard of Akira's helm before penetrating to the brain. Nevertheless, the pain must be excruciating, and the loss of depth perception is sure to throw off Akira's aim.
As Orellwyn draws the bowstring for another shot, something goes wrong in the archer's grasp, and the powerful bow causes his wrist to twist unnaturally. Dropping the bow to the earth, Orellwyn curses and holds his left wrist in his hand. Meanwhile, showing typical dwarven stubbornness, Akira takes advantage of the break to stumble over to his fallen hammers. He picks them up, ready for another toss. Unable to use his left hand, Orellwyn reaches into one of his quivers and draws forth a javelin -- apparently the quiver is bigger within than it appears on the outside.
Akira hurls one of his hammers while Orellwyn is still drawing his weapon. The mallet strikes the elf in the ribs. Uttering a sibilant elven curse, Orellwyn hurls the javelin down at Akira, and the weapon hits, barely penetrating the armor plate surrounding the dwarf's left thigh. The impact is tremendous, however, as the javelin instantaneously becomes a brilliant bolt of lightning. Akira is blasted with an electric shock, then the bolt ricochets off the earth and into the air. The dwarf's pack, scorched by the lightning, bursts into flames, and liquid fire streams down Akira's back and legs. Shrieking, Akira hurls his other hammer at Orellwyn. The weapon hits the bowless archer in the right forearm, but as it hits the earth below, the steel shaft noticeably bends; apparently, the weapon's temper was ruined by the lightning bolt. Glancing down at his other weapons, Akira notices that his bow is scorched and warped, the hilt of his short sword is melted and the blade undoubtedly distempered, and his arrows lie scattered in flames around him, the quiver burnt through by the flaming oil. His load is suddenly lighter as well, as his backpack has completely fallen apart and the contents lie in a fiery heap behind him.
Akira silently curses his bad luck. He stoically retrieves his one good hammer, flames splattering behind him in the sand as the oil continues to drip down his back and legs. Orellwyn chants a quick incantation and completes it just as Akira lifts his weapon, sending four glowing bolts of force at the dwarf. Grunting, Akira turns and hurls the hammer at the elf once more, but his lost eye causes him to misjudge the elf's distance, and the hammer flies wide. "Will you not concede!?" cries the elven archer, concern crossing his face as he reaches into his quiver for another javelin.
As the elf draws forth his weapon, Akira, bloodied and fatigued, slumps his shoulders and makes no move to retrieve his hammer. Orellwyn hesitates from his attack and repeats, "Do you concede, then?" Seeing no movement from the dwarf, but still hearing no surrender, the elf settles slowly to the ground about ten paces from his opponent. The elf holds his javelin ready, wary of the dwarf's silence. "You cannot concede until you speak it."
"I concede," says Akira, and the crowd, deprived of the bloody finish they had been expecting, boos heartily. Orellwyn lowers his javelin and watches as the healing clerics come out to check the dwarf. Guessing the dwarf wants no solace from him, the archer walks off the arena floor.
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