Re: The Grand Battle II! [Round 1: The Labyrinth Field!]
10-04-2009, 01:18 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by bobthepen.
Samuel frowned at Cabaret's approach. He had hoped to proceed with his plan while the other contestants bickered amongst themselves. No matter. I'll simply have to make my move a bit sooner.
Samuel turned to the pilot. "Galus, please keep an eye on this one. I need to begin my search. Be careful, he has a chaotic energy about him." With this, Samuel proceed to walk away from the two, eye's closed, arms outstretched.
Galus nodded, his pistol aimed at Cabaret's quivering mask.
"Wha..wha..why nice to meet you?" Cabaret sputtered nervously. Galus held his aim firm. "I'm Cabaret...the...well this is normally where I put on a bit of a show but...it seems to be a rough crowd. I wouldn't want to startle that gun into firing." Beneath his mask, Cabaret forced a weak smile.
"What's your ability? Why are you here?" Galus snapped at him.
"Ability? Oh, well I'm a magician! I can make anything appear, right out of thin air! Let me show you!"
"Hold it." Galus snapped again, a cautious edge to his voice.
"No worries! I actually can't summon anything dangerous. No weapons, that's my rule. In fact that newspaper is probably the most dangerous thing I've conjured all day."
Galus glanced down at the paper laying at the magicians feet. It read: "THE CABARET GAZZET: Famous magician enters contest! Astonishes contestants with impeccable tricks and handsome charm!" Printed beneath the headline was photo of Cabaret, hair blowing elegantly in the breeze with Maxwell and the others staring on in awe.
The ursian raised an eyebrow at the conjurer, and, apparently placated, lowered his weapon. "I'm Galus. The man over there is Samuel, he's a 'Karmist' or so he says. Still not sure what that means though, apparently he can sense life or something like that. He says...He says this place is alive."
Now it was Cabaret who raised an eyebrow at the pilot. "Alive? Really? This gray and mucky place?"
Galus nodded, and proceeded to detail his encounter with Samuel moments before. Cabaret crossed his legs, set himself on the dry ground and summoned a bowl of waffles - he had hoped for popcorn.
------ Several Minutes Earlier -------
"You seem confused," Samuel spoke as he lowered his arms. "Please, allow me to explain. I am a Karmist. What this means is that I have the ability to see and feel the flow of things, life, in particular. No doubt this ability is the reason I was entered into this contest. However, I am not one for battle. Killing for sport is...barbaric. Whoever placed us here will be sorely disappointed if he expects me to start attacking whomever I see. But I digress. My name, is Samuel Therion. Yours?" Samuel, smiling, held out his hand.
Galus looked down at Samuel's outstretched hand and bit his lip. If we was to make it through this contest, he would have to risk an alliance at some point. This man seemed relatively harmless, but something about the look in his eyes gave Galus an uneasy feeling. Alright, I'll have to work with someone eventually, might as well be this man.
"I'm Galus Lee Mathews," Galus responded as he took the man's hand. "I'm a pilot and," he looked toward his gun "a very quick draw."
"Delightful." Samuel said, shaking the Ursian's hand.
"Now tell me something," Galus asked "What did you do with the wall that was here?"
"Me? Nothing. It moved on its own accord. You may not believe this but this place is very much alive."
Galus looked about at the drab colorless surroundings. Nothing, aside from the bloody stain and the moving wall would even hint at the presence of life. Even the grass at his feet was dried and dull. The earth easily broke apart with a slight kick to it. "Explain." Galus said.
"Of course." Samuel grinned. "I mentioned earlier that my ability allows me to feel the flow of life. When I initially came here I preformed a search of the surrounding area in order to locate the positions of the other contestants. During the course of this search one fact became painfully obvious. This place is flooded with life. For some reason, however, it fails to appear that way to normal senses. I think it may be hidden in order to protect it from intruders. Unfortunately I fear that given the nature of the other contestants, this protection will not be enough."
"What does this have to do with you?" Galus interrupted.
Samuel appeared shocked, "Life is a sacred thing, Galus. It is my duty as a Karmist to protect it. As I was saying I fear that the natural defenses of this place are insufficient given the current threat it faces. If one of the more violent contestants managed to bypass this defense and find themselves in the true garden - for this place is a garden Galus, a beautiful one at that - in that place they could do untold damage to this world. I must protect it from such a fate."
Galus was unconvinced. He still could hardly believe this place possessed life to the degree that Samuel claimed. Yet the man seemed determined to protect it.
"How would you protect it?" he asked.
"I must find a nexus, a doorway, into the real garden before the other contestants do. I certain one or more exists; the flow of Karma tells me that much. Once inside I should be able to barricade the other contestants from entering. Then I only have to wait for this round to end."
So that's it, Galus thought he's simply trying to avoid battle by finding and hiding in this 'garden'. Well, avoiding battle is a good strategy. He may even let me in with him, if such a place even exists.
"Alright, I'll help you look."
"It's not that simple. The nexus could be anything, a door, a bird, a bug, anything that has a key significance to this place. You cannot find it by simply looking. Either you'll enter on accident, or you need some sort of extra perception to locate it. I can use Karma to find it, but I need you to stand guard. It will take a good deal of concentration on my part, and I cannot afford to be bothered."
Galus nodded, "Fair enough. I'll keep an eye out should anyone approach. We..." At that moment, a man in a mask with his hand up his sleeve came into view. Galus quickly aimed is pistol at him.
Samuel frowned at Cabaret's approach. He had hoped to proceed with his plan while the other contestants bickered amongst themselves. No matter. I'll simply have to make my move a bit sooner.
Samuel turned to the pilot. "Galus, please keep an eye on this one. I need to begin my search. Be careful, he has a chaotic energy about him." With this, Samuel proceed to walk away from the two, eye's closed, arms outstretched.
Galus nodded, his pistol aimed at Cabaret's quivering mask.
"Wha..wha..why nice to meet you?" Cabaret sputtered nervously. Galus held his aim firm. "I'm Cabaret...the...well this is normally where I put on a bit of a show but...it seems to be a rough crowd. I wouldn't want to startle that gun into firing." Beneath his mask, Cabaret forced a weak smile.
"What's your ability? Why are you here?" Galus snapped at him.
"Ability? Oh, well I'm a magician! I can make anything appear, right out of thin air! Let me show you!"
"Hold it." Galus snapped again, a cautious edge to his voice.
"No worries! I actually can't summon anything dangerous. No weapons, that's my rule. In fact that newspaper is probably the most dangerous thing I've conjured all day."
Galus glanced down at the paper laying at the magicians feet. It read: "THE CABARET GAZZET: Famous magician enters contest! Astonishes contestants with impeccable tricks and handsome charm!" Printed beneath the headline was photo of Cabaret, hair blowing elegantly in the breeze with Maxwell and the others staring on in awe.
The ursian raised an eyebrow at the conjurer, and, apparently placated, lowered his weapon. "I'm Galus. The man over there is Samuel, he's a 'Karmist' or so he says. Still not sure what that means though, apparently he can sense life or something like that. He says...He says this place is alive."
Now it was Cabaret who raised an eyebrow at the pilot. "Alive? Really? This gray and mucky place?"
Galus nodded, and proceeded to detail his encounter with Samuel moments before. Cabaret crossed his legs, set himself on the dry ground and summoned a bowl of waffles - he had hoped for popcorn.
------ Several Minutes Earlier -------
"You seem confused," Samuel spoke as he lowered his arms. "Please, allow me to explain. I am a Karmist. What this means is that I have the ability to see and feel the flow of things, life, in particular. No doubt this ability is the reason I was entered into this contest. However, I am not one for battle. Killing for sport is...barbaric. Whoever placed us here will be sorely disappointed if he expects me to start attacking whomever I see. But I digress. My name, is Samuel Therion. Yours?" Samuel, smiling, held out his hand.
Galus looked down at Samuel's outstretched hand and bit his lip. If we was to make it through this contest, he would have to risk an alliance at some point. This man seemed relatively harmless, but something about the look in his eyes gave Galus an uneasy feeling. Alright, I'll have to work with someone eventually, might as well be this man.
"I'm Galus Lee Mathews," Galus responded as he took the man's hand. "I'm a pilot and," he looked toward his gun "a very quick draw."
"Delightful." Samuel said, shaking the Ursian's hand.
"Now tell me something," Galus asked "What did you do with the wall that was here?"
"Me? Nothing. It moved on its own accord. You may not believe this but this place is very much alive."
Galus looked about at the drab colorless surroundings. Nothing, aside from the bloody stain and the moving wall would even hint at the presence of life. Even the grass at his feet was dried and dull. The earth easily broke apart with a slight kick to it. "Explain." Galus said.
"Of course." Samuel grinned. "I mentioned earlier that my ability allows me to feel the flow of life. When I initially came here I preformed a search of the surrounding area in order to locate the positions of the other contestants. During the course of this search one fact became painfully obvious. This place is flooded with life. For some reason, however, it fails to appear that way to normal senses. I think it may be hidden in order to protect it from intruders. Unfortunately I fear that given the nature of the other contestants, this protection will not be enough."
"What does this have to do with you?" Galus interrupted.
Samuel appeared shocked, "Life is a sacred thing, Galus. It is my duty as a Karmist to protect it. As I was saying I fear that the natural defenses of this place are insufficient given the current threat it faces. If one of the more violent contestants managed to bypass this defense and find themselves in the true garden - for this place is a garden Galus, a beautiful one at that - in that place they could do untold damage to this world. I must protect it from such a fate."
Galus was unconvinced. He still could hardly believe this place possessed life to the degree that Samuel claimed. Yet the man seemed determined to protect it.
"How would you protect it?" he asked.
"I must find a nexus, a doorway, into the real garden before the other contestants do. I certain one or more exists; the flow of Karma tells me that much. Once inside I should be able to barricade the other contestants from entering. Then I only have to wait for this round to end."
So that's it, Galus thought he's simply trying to avoid battle by finding and hiding in this 'garden'. Well, avoiding battle is a good strategy. He may even let me in with him, if such a place even exists.
"Alright, I'll help you look."
"It's not that simple. The nexus could be anything, a door, a bird, a bug, anything that has a key significance to this place. You cannot find it by simply looking. Either you'll enter on accident, or you need some sort of extra perception to locate it. I can use Karma to find it, but I need you to stand guard. It will take a good deal of concentration on my part, and I cannot afford to be bothered."
Galus nodded, "Fair enough. I'll keep an eye out should anyone approach. We..." At that moment, a man in a mask with his hand up his sleeve came into view. Galus quickly aimed is pistol at him.