The Games of Saberhaven
Hon Sounder vs. Rarnok
From the south door steps the barbarian, gleaming with sweat under the sun. The brute wears a loincloth, boots, gloves, and a leather cross-harness across his torso which holds two swords over his shoulders. From his belt hang a warhammer and a quiver; his shield is strapped across his back. Even walking through the door, his powerful longbow is drawn back. He draws a bead on the emerging bard across the arena.
At the north door is Hon Sounder, a blonde half-elven minstrel. The bard steps forward gracefully, strumming a chord on his cittern. He is enveloped in a green cloak embroidered with a gold skull, and the glitter of fine chain mail is visible on his arms and legs.
Hon begins to play a low, murmuring tune - and around him, mists arise from the dry dust of the arena. Before the bard can be fully concealed in the fog, Rarnok looses his arrow, but it flies wide. In moments, the half-elf is enveloped in mist. Rarnok advances northwards across the arena, and meanwhile the bard's music - still audible - changes to a light, plucked, almost tuneless song. After a minute, the song stops entirely - but still the musician does not appear. Rarnok, clearly nervous and impatient, again nocks an arrow and draws his bow.
For a few moments there is silence; but then, the music begins again. This time it is a melodious, pleasant tune, bringing feelings of happiness and friendship to the audience. But Rarnok is furious at not being able to find Hon, and resists the soothing effects of the song. The music is clearly coming from somewhere in the center of the arena, very near to Rarnok. The music stops after a minute, and Rarnok again draws his bow fully, awaiting the appearance of the bard.
Neither is he disappointed. Moments later, Hon Sounder appears out of thin air - and in the thin air, about twenty feet above the ground. He is gesturing toward Rarnok, and the barbarian releases the bowstring; but the arrow merely drops to the ground. The bow is severely warped, leaving the string loose and the weapon useless. Rarnok throws the bow to the dirt in frustration, and draws one of his longswords. The barbarian takes a running start and leaps upwards, swinging his sword in an attempt to strike the levitating minstrel. Between the man's towering height, tremendous reach, longsword, and the incredible height of his jump, Rarnok reaches far higher than another might have - but it is not nearly enough to even scratch the half-elf's toes. Sounder calls down to the warrior, "Rarnok, listen! There is no need for us to fight. We are the closest of friends." But Rarnok still is not listening.
With the barbarian's rejection, the fight turns deadly. Rarnok draws his dagger, and Sounder pulls three darts from under his cloak. Rarnok's dagger is thrown first, and the blade lodges in Sounder's left shoulder. In response, the bard throws three darts at the huge Rarnok. Two of the missiles hit, then zip back into the minstrel's hands. The third falls to the dust. Rarnok, realizing that he makes a great target, reaches around and removes his shield from his back, then straps it onto his left arm. In the meantime, Sounder launches three more darts, landing another two - and those two again fly immediately back to his grip.
The barbarian, having run out of his own weapons, picks up the two dropped darts and hurls them back at the bard. One hits, and flies back into Rarnok's hand; the other goes winging away into the air. Hon Sounder responds with another three throws, and hits with two, but he seems to be running low on ammunition. As Rarnok races around picking up darts to throw at Sounder, the bard invokes a spell, which does not seems to have immediate effect. The barbarian manages to hit Sounder with one dart just as the incantation is complete, but he bobbles the two he still holds, and ends up dropping them. Rarnok picks up the darts again, and throws them at Sounder, who is concentrating on playing his cittern - but the mystical music appears to have no effect, unlike the darts, each of which strike Sounder and reappear in Rarnok's hands.
Rarnok suddenly appears to be extremely uncomfortable, and the barbarian begins to curse as he drops the darts, throws off his helmet and begins to unbuckle his shield. The bard plays again on his instrument, sounding forth a light, comforting tune, and the bleeding across his torso and limbs begins to slow. Rarnok, meanwhile, is frantically unbuckling his belts, dropping his swords, hammer, and removing the bracers from his upper arms.
Hon Sounder's song changes now, the melody taking on a rising scales motif. Rarnok, suddenly, begins rising into the air. Now that he has divested himself of all his weapons, the barbarian pulls a vial from a pouch and drinks from it. His own wounds, both the bleeding punctures from the darts and the angry red blisters left from his bracers, immediately begin to heal. Sounder's music continues, though, and before he seems to realize what is going on, Rarnok finds himself dozens of feet in the air. Realizing he is helpless in this position, the barbarian begins to fume and screech in frustration. The song continues for almost a quarter of an hour, the bard descending to the ground and roaming around, eliciting cheers from the audience. Rarnok nearly bumps into the force wall covering the arena one hundred and fifty feet above the ground. Finally, weeping in fear and frustration, Rarnok concedes the match. Sounder brings him gently down again to safety, and the barbarian, weak with fear, can do little other than kneel in place as the healing clerics come out to help both combatants.
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