Small weapons(all through the maze)

BardicPup · Post by **BardicPup** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 9:23 pm

Kelmreth manages to dodge her attacks, but the instructor is too fast for his ploy, and she turns with him. She allows him to back up, however, and speak. After listening to him, she speaks as well. "If I did not give you a chance, you would be nursing several wounds by now. I know in many lines of work learning from your mistakes can be good, but here it is downright deadly. Had I used a real poison, Murhek there would already be dead. "

As if on cue, the still form of the student on the ground began to shift, slowly coming to. She had a feeling he was not going to be happy to see her, and she was happy. Perhaps, with a little luck, and good teamwork, they might be able to teach her. Just maybe.

BlackMamba · Post by **BlackMamba** » Fri Apr 11, 2003 9:34 pm

"I don't want to be given any chance but the chance to learn. If I am given chances here, I will rely on them out there, where they won't be and where I'll die. Any good instructor would know that."

Kelmreth bobbed his eyebrows and danced back, the knife in his right hand weaving a hypnotic pattern, his left hand free, fingers curled, waist-height. He circled the instructor, feinting once in a while, watching her responses, gauging her quickness and intuiting slightly more than he saw. Drifting closer, he feinted some, danced out and then drifted in again, forming a pattern. Finally, when it looked like the instructor was going to bite, he jab-stepped in, then dropped and rolled beneath and behind her, coming up for a fast strike that was also a faint, bending his arm and whirling around her attacks and trying an open-palmed strike at her knife arm, dancing out of reach after the attack.

BardicPup · Post by **BardicPup** » Wed Apr 16, 2003 2:20 am

The instructor was watching Kelmreth's body more then the knife, able to read his movements with practiced ease. She pointedly ignored his fakes. On his third step in, she knew his patern well. She faked towards him when he was about to step in, then hopped back and slashed at his knife arm as it came towards her. Her blade did not bite deep, reminding Kelmreth of her offer to be gentle.

BlackMamba · Post by **BlackMamba** » Wed Apr 16, 2003 2:48 am

OOC: I don't think you read that right, the pattern he formed was on purpose and he was baiting her. If she tried to attack his pattern, he'd have her...

BardicPup · Post by **BardicPup** » Mon May 05, 2003 4:26 am

OOC: I did read and understand. She followed your roll, so she was facing you, then slashed at your open-palmed strike at her knife arm. Remember, your skills are lower then hers.

BlackMamba · Post by **BlackMamba** » Mon May 05, 2003 2:16 pm

OOC: I'm aware she's better, but does that mean she'll instantly counter everything he does everytime?

<He circled the instructor, feinting once in a while, watching her responses, gauging her quickness and intuiting slightly more than he saw. Drifting closer, he feinted some, danced out and then drifted in again, forming a pattern. Finally, when it looked like the instructor was going to bite, he jab-stepped in, then dropped and rolled beneath and behind her, coming up for a fast strike that was also a faint, bending his arm and whirling around her attacks and trying an open-palmed strike at her knife arm, dancing out of reach after the attack.>

<<The instructor was watching Kelmreth's body more then the knife, able to read his movements with practiced ease. She pointedly ignored his fakes. On his third step in, she knew his patern well. She faked towards him when he was about to step in, then hopped back and slashed at his knife arm as it came towards her. Her blade did not bite deep, reminding Kelmreth of her offer to be gentle.>>

You said she read his pattern, that means she would fall for his fake. The pattern is a fake, it is a lure to get her to mess up. The only pattern he had was a falsehood designed to catch her off-guard. To slash at his open-palmed strike, she'd have had to not react to the knife feignt, attack him while he was whirling and then get lucky enough to hit his fast-moving arm. All after not expecting the roll since she was following his pattern. A jab-step is not long enough for her knife feint to have meant anything to him, it's basically just the torso rippling from a tiny movement.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon May 05, 2003 2:20 pm

OOC: I'm guessing what the Pup meant was that she read the pattern and recognised it as a fake, thus she was ready for your counter.

BlackMamba · Post by **BlackMamba** » Mon May 05, 2003 2:24 pm

Nonetheless, the reaction didn't address all the aspects of the fake. I mean, sure, she's an instructor and has probably seen many different things before, but sometimes knowing what's going to happen doesn't always make the difference. It feels very uber.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon May 05, 2003 3:55 pm

OOC:
If she was a player charecter then yes, I'd agree with you. But your charecter is not a skilled assassin. Infact at this point he's probably not even an competent assassin. If you could fool an instructor with your first move then you wouldn't be in training any more.

"The instructor was watching Kelmreth's body more then the knife, able to read his movements with practiced ease. She pointedly ignored his fakes."

This obviously does account for all the fakes, and points out Kelmreth's fault - he's focused his feint on his dagger motions, but his body has given him away. Thus, over time, he'll learn not to make the same mistake.

BlackMamba · Post by **BlackMamba** » Mon May 05, 2003 8:44 pm

Actually, there were plenty of body fakes, the jab steps, the pattern he was forming, the dagger was just extra. So no, that's not really true. I do understand that he wouldn't be able to fake her out everytime, but she can't be uber-I-can-counter-everything-always either.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon May 05, 2003 9:10 pm

OOC: She's only countered you once - and I'd estimate she'd manage to four times out of five. She's a master assassin - you are a smarter-than-average thug. Now, can we get on with the actual thread so that Murhek can actually wake up?

BlackMamba · Post by **BlackMamba** » Mon May 05, 2003 9:18 pm

Nah, she's blocked him more than once, two or three times now. Either way, we're waiting for Pup, not me.

BardicPup · Post by **BardicPup** » Thu May 08, 2003 9:44 am

OOC: Sorry, Murhek, thought I woke you up already. I'll wake you up now. Lets see some teamwork.

Btw, Kelmreth, "Her appearence was slight, even for a dark elf, but her muscles were well defined, and spoke of nearly unheard of grace. " And yes, you will be able to hit her. Keep trying, follow her advice, and read her movements before she makes them. Watching hips, shoulders etc can let you know what someone is going to do before the actions are even made. Think about what muscle is used for what and try to second guess her.

IC: Murhek awakes with a groan. Whatever was on the dagger hadn't killed him, but the way he felt, he likely wished it had. His head pounded, and his arms felt light. After several moments, however, it became appearent the effects would not last long.

Sounds of combat reach his ears and set off a new throbbing in his head. While he hadn't sat up yet, Murhek could no doubt guess where the sounds where coming from, and just who was making some of them. As of yet, noone seems to have noticed him. The student, surely one of the fighters is a poor student enduring one of her 'tests', is likely too consumed by the training to notice. The teacher might have noticed him, but if she had, she wasn't letting on. Murhek can't help but wonder, if she does know he's awake, is this another test? And, if so, for who?

The instructor points out to Kelmreth how she had read his movements, and complements him on the fact that he had done well enough to have fooled most. But, you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time. "Perhaps next time. Try to follow your fake a little quicker by reading me as well. If you know I'm going to fall for it, you don't have to wait to see if I do. "

That said, she flicks her wrist playfully at Kelmreth while her left hand disappears into her cloak, as though reaching for something, but she doesn't reveal it to her student.

BlackMamba · Post by **BlackMamba** » Thu May 08, 2003 2:32 pm

OOC: That's what I've been trying to do...

IC:

Kelmreth nursed his wound as he backed off, his fake somehow seen and countered. He snarled inside, but his exterior was a calm, placid mask of concentration and determination. Watching the movements of the instructor, watching her body, he trained his eye to see how she moved, how she prepared to move moments before the actual movement, looking for ways to predict the upcoming action. He feinted a great deal, jab-stepping and putting forth thrusts and stabs that looked real enough until he curled his arm and backed off or spun away, testing her reflexes and the speed of her responses as well as how she responded to different types of attack.

Kelmreth decided to hang back and bring her to him, assuming a defensive posture and watching the instructor intently.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu May 08, 2003 4:28 pm

Murhek continued to play dead until Temhineen had her back to him, then he gripped his dagger and rose up as silently as he could and began to shift his position, staying behined her as long as he could to find an oppertunity to strike. He only hoped the other student didn't give him away.

BardicPup · Post by **BardicPup** » Fri May 09, 2003 4:29 pm

Like any true master of the blade, her movements followed a random pattern designed to throw off anyone reading them. She changed styles often, seemingly as soon as Kelmreth had read them. The whole time her left hand remained hidden, though its possition shifted from time to time, sometimes slipping behind her back.

Kelmreth seemingly had not given away Murhek's possition, yet anyways, and he found himself no more then five paces behind the instructor's open back. As yet, there had been no indication that she had spotted him.

OOC: Each time you try to read her movements you get better at it. One, you become better at reading movements, and two, you learn that particular 'enemy' better. I'm sure we could both write moves that were sure to hit, but we have to take skills and non-written factors into account, or it would be uber easy to beat anyone in melee combat. One of the best fights I ever read was with Kael(lugh) and the instructor at the guard(LC). Both wrote impressive moves and counters, and the fight flowed well, with both of them hitting the ground several times, but neither with any real advantage(other then the instructor's skill advantage, and Kael's... gift for uniqueness).

BlackMamba · Post by **BlackMamba** » Fri May 09, 2003 4:46 pm

OOC: Pup> That I understand better than the explanation you gave before. Thanks.

IC:

Kelmreth continued to keep his distance, watching the instructor, making a few fakes and feints here and there and once actually lunging at the instructor only to turn it into a low, diving roll that took him well past her and out of her reach. Scanning the room with his peripheral vision, he looking for Murhek and tried to determine if he was awake.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri May 09, 2003 4:51 pm

Murhek kept himself a good five paces behined the instructor, he wasn't about to get in close if he didn't have two - he didn't like that hidden left hand. Instead he flung his dagger with a sharp movement, aiming to hit the instructor in the back of her knee. As soon as he had flung the weapon, he was reaching for his stilleto blade - he wasn't about to get overconfident.

BardicPup · Post by **BardicPup** » Tue May 13, 2003 8:24 pm

OOC: Np.

IC: The instructor had been watching Murhek with her ears, and sidestepped Murhek's dagger, leaving Kelmreth in its path. Kelmreth's diving roll the only think saving him from a nasty cut. Kelmreth's move, however, gave him the sweetest sight he had seen thus far, the teacher's back. Surely she would try to change that quickly, so Kelmreth had to act fast, or the chance would pass.

BlackMamba · Post by **BlackMamba** » Fri May 16, 2003 5:35 pm

Sighting the instrsuctor's back, Kelmreth moved as fast as he could, whipping a pair of stilettos at the unguarded target laid out before him, aiming for the base of the neck and the base of the spine. Immediately after the follow-through on the daggers, Kelmreth rolled backwards and to the right, rising in a crouch and drawing two more daggers as he kept himself out of range.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon May 19, 2003 1:56 pm

As Murhek caught Kelmreth's actions out of the corner of his eye, he threw pair of knives at the instructor, resuming his stilleto wielding stance the moment the blades had left his hand. He recognised that Kelmreth's knife-throwing was superior to his own, which was practically non-existant, but the additional two missiles flying at the instructor would make avoiding the knives far harder for the instructor. Murhek crouched low and circled the instructor, like a wolf readying himself for the kill.

BardicPup · Post by **BardicPup** » Tue May 20, 2003 5:36 pm

Kelmreth and Murhek had been a bit to slow, and she tried to dodge. Even in spite of the slowness, one of the weapons struck her solidly in her left arm, rendering it useless, for the time beening, and one of Kelmreth's stillettos grased her side as she dodged sideways.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Thu May 22, 2003 12:06 pm

Murhek took ducked low for a moment, retrieving the dagger he'd lost earlier. Then he began to circle and move inwards slowly, keeping pace with the instructor so he was alwasy facing her left arm. He signaled with a flicker of his eyes to Kelmreth that he should attack her right side, he began to move in slowly and gracefully, waiting for Kelmreth to makes his move and create an opening for the trainee stlking around Temhineen's injured side.

Murhek smiled inside, he'd seen wolves at the arena before - they way they circled and stalked thier prey. Nipping at it's heels and arms, waiting until it was ready for the final strike. He slid a little closer, a wolf with dagger and stilletto. The Mori'Quessir narrowed his eyes, gauging the range as he readied himself to pounce.

BardicPup · Post by **BardicPup** » Mon Jun 16, 2003 9:41 pm

A clapping emerged from the shadows several flickers ahead of the figure of a middle aged man. "Well done, well done. I didn't think the two of you would do so well against my prized student. Enough, Temhineen. Now the test begins. "

The man drew a dagger and dropped into a ready stance, signalling the two students to attack.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Mon Jun 23, 2003 8:08 pm

Murhek looked at the figure facing him, then knelt down, swiftly scooping up one of his fallen blades. He held dagger and stilletto now, circling out in a wide arc, keeping both the newcomer and Temhineen in his clear view. His eyes flickered momenterily from the newcomer to Kelmreth to see what the other Mori'Quessir was doing, then his voice rang out at the figure,

"What's your name then old man - I'd like to know so I can say a few words at your funeral."