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Post by Vikram on Nov 9, 2022 11:41:14 GMT -5
His hearing returned, catching the latter half of the words from the young girl. His arm shot up from the supine position he found himself in to give his opponent a thumbs up. Considering the man currently demanding Vikram repay the cabbage vendors lost stock it would be quite wise to move this from the public market. His parole officer would certainly have a few choice words for his behavior today. Perhaps an anony- His thought was abruptly interrupted. Blinking and the hammergirl was on him in a flash. Pure instinct was the only thing that saved him from a bonk to the head, throwing a hand up to catch the handle of the hammer. She was stronger than she looked, by alot. He could feel the stone below the shoulder that caught the blow crack slightly under the force.
Their eyes met, and an instant of worry crossed his mind as he processed the situation. Reaching up with his other hand to grab the girls hammer hand he pulled up and away. She tumbled lightly into a thin alley behind the cabbage cart, nearly abandoned if you didn't count a few stray rats munching on a comically large, forgotten wheel of cheese.
"Don't... count me out just yet." Vikram pulled himself up, taking a second on his knee to catch his breath. "Kids these days think they're so fancy with their electric hammers." With one big exhale and his stamina slightly restored, he charged his opponent in the alley. Scimitar sparking against the ground as he ran, he brought it upwards in a powerful swing as he reached Astrid. Behind him in the market square could be heard a commotion. A small contingent of market guards had arrived, heralded by the meat vendor who had sold the lovely lamb kebabs. Luckily it seemed, the cabbage vendor was pretty poor at summarizing complaints and locations.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Nov 9, 2022 19:49:06 GMT -5
Surely Astrid thought she'd get to knock out the turbaned man and try to clear up the situation. Maybe be thrown into the alley is a better result, though her hand has a sort of magnetic attraction to her hammer's haft, so when Vikram grabs her, the hammer comes right along and almost knocks him in the head purely out of accident. Astrid with her two hammers and half suit of armor make the small girl deceptively heavy. She rolls through the alley nonetheless and gets to her feet. Less than a year ago, the half-eaten wheel of cheese would look like a feast. In that time, she's developed some sensibilities and standards.
Her armor still sparking with lightning along with the head of her warhammer, Astrid adjusts her pose and gets ready again. "It's not a fancy electric hammer," she quips. "I'm just channelin' Avasha's power inta it! Me last name's not Stormstone fer nothin'!" Feeling her Lightning Armor spell reaching its end, she decides to use the last of it for a worthwhile trade. Instead of blocking Vikram's strike, she spins around and just lets him hit her in the back. The blade slashes through her padded armor and luckily doesn't hurt her, but the lightning sparks off her body and strikes out into Vikram's arm, sending numbing pain through his arm again for another few seconds.
She grins back at him, feeling clever about her ploy, then she turns around and touches the head of her hammer against her cracked armor. "Sorry about that, Mister Vikram, I'll fix it fer ya," she says. Bits of lightning arc in her eyes as she casts Charged Object on Vikram's breastplate.
Arcane Soul Lightning Armor [post 3/3] Padding (1 hit reduction) Charged Object
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Post by Vikram on Nov 10, 2022 23:28:14 GMT -5
Vikrams arm went limp halfway through the swing and released the handle, the sword itself sent flying into a window halfway up the alley. How unlucky, Vikram began to think this fight was not to go his way. So be it. In what seemed like an act of mercy, the young half-dwarf turned with an offer to repair his damaged armor. "Oh, how thoughtful of y-" He reached down with his well arm to inspect the repair job, grasping the still cracked shield plate strung to his chest by steel chains. It was the culmination of several minutes of electrical shenanigans. The accumulated lightning arced through the heavily ionized air around Vikram to the surrounding walls. One lept from a bracelet on his wrist to the wheel of cheese, creating an intensely pleasant aroma. Several seconds of convulsions followed the spells activation, the sharp-eyed rat even witnessed a glimpse of Vikram's skeleton shining through the high voltage onslaught.
And not a moment too soon, it was over. Wisps of smoke billowed from every end of hair on his body, a smell of char and burnt flesh wafted from his robes. With that, Vikram collapsed, starfished supine on the cobblestone alley off of a busy market in Sol City. The sound of guards approached quickly, the clank of metal chain and heavy boots clattering down the narrow alley.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Nov 12, 2022 19:15:29 GMT -5
It is entirely possible that Astrid overdid it with that last jolt of lightning energy. This magic is new to her, after all. Vikram collapses, a charred starfish of a man laid out on the ground. "Oh... Oh, no..." The panic in Astrid's voice slowly sets in. She drops her hammers and then to her knees to check the man for any signs of life. She shakes him vigorously, hoping to restore him to some sense of consciousness. "Mister Vikram? Vikram? Are ya okay? I didn't mean ta overdo it! I-I just thought-"
"AAAAARRRRRGHHHH!"
There's an angry screaming from the broken window above where the sword found its new home. The guards approach quickly, and in all of this, Astrid realizes she may have just killed a man on accident. They should have found an open field or an arena or literally anywhere else to fight. Now they've done who knows how many solars worth of property damage, what kind of litigation (a word she learned from Miss Veliky) would be taken against them, and what kind of trouble with the guards they'd be in. If Mister Vikram is truly dead, does that make her the vicious devil-child that others have always claimed to be? She barely notices the guards shouting at her hunched over this supposedly dead man's body. The ground is covered in scorch marks. There is so much dread on the child's face that suddenly she seems as if she's aged and lived the life of someone half a century older than her on the cusp of death and despair.
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Post by Vikram on Nov 12, 2022 20:24:30 GMT -5
It was an incredible amount of magical energy accumulated into the charge, almost too much. The last bit of residual magic had finally finished seeping into Vikrams flesh and bones, its weave knitting back the scrapes and soothing the burns of the fight. Had he not been this prepared from a decade or two of magic paranoia he might not have survived. Reinvigorated, his eyes shot open. 1 He saw Astrid shaking at him to wake up, despair almost to the point of tears on the girl's face. The guards stood nearby at the ready, manacles out and prepared to cuff their supposed culprit. Catching Astrids gaze he gave a mischievous wink. He sat up with a quickness, fatigue gone, and a significant amount of pep in his step. He looked at the nearest guard and gave them a thankful expression.
"Solaria be praised! Saviours at last! My uh...friend and I have just been accosted! Quickly, I think they went down the alley to escape!"He pointed a smokey finger down the alley, eagerly directing the guards until the manacles clasped around his own wrists. "Alright sir, we've got your description from several of the vendors. You're under arrest for disturbing the peace and gross property damage.""Wha-? oh, that... Shapeshifters! Shapeshifters I swear, assuming mine and the girls own image! Allow me freedom at once!"He struggled against the guard, two of them holding the hefty man from breaking free. 1. Spell Drinker
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Nov 13, 2022 1:09:13 GMT -5
By Avasha, he's alive! Astrid falls back on her arse from her knees with a breath of palpable relief. This must be how Leni-Aura and Ulrich felt upon seeing her lifeless body after Avasha smote her. (If that's what happened or if it were a coincidence, she's not sure. She survived, and that's what matters.) By this point, the guards reach them and accost them both. She's a bit too overwhelmed with relief to even notice much, but when the manacles snap over her wrists, and she's foisted to her feet by her arms, she looks at them.
"Ah, it... we didn't mean ta make a mess like that," she says. "Honestly, I didn't expect such a fight suddenly in the middle of the market..."
One of the guards speaks gruffly, pulling her along. "Witnesses say this deranged man attacked you after buying you a meat stick."
Another asks, "What kind of crazy person has such a disagreement with a child they draw a sword on them??" He bends down to lift Astrid's war hammer and struggles at its weight but eventually gets it over his shoulder. He then tries to pick up her battle hammer but finds it attached to her gauntlet by a cord. It takes some finagling to get it unattached.
Charles meets the group at the end of the alley, a bizarre clumsy panic about his emotionless face. "Mistress Astrid, report: The guards will likely apprehend you if this behavior continues."
Astrid looks at the BlixtbotTM with a largely unimpressed expression and shakes her manacled hands. "Already happened, Charles."
"Amendment: the guards have apprehended you. How shall I proceed?"
"Is this your... babysitter?" the guard on Astrid's left asks.
"He ain't a babysitter," she says. "He carries me stuff. Can ya give him me hammers?"
"Afraid not, we're taking you and your hammers in. Sir, step aside," he says to the BlixtbotTM.
"Guardsman, report: this is my ward. I will follow her wherever she goes."
"Oh, so you're responsible for her?"
"In certain aspects, yes. Mistress Veliky assigned this Type-I Pawn Model to watch over Mistress Astrid."
"Then you're coming with us too," the guard says, pushing the clumsy bot along.
Astrid struggles against her manacles. "Oi, be careful with him! If he's damaged, Miss Veliky will kick my arse!"
"Quiet down, don't struggle," another one says, pushing her along.
Stumbling forward, Astrid obliges but with some resistance. She looks over at Vikram for some sense of guidance. He's been taken in by guards before. What's she supposed to do??
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Post by Vikram on Nov 13, 2022 19:38:00 GMT -5
He had been wondering what the small metal contraption that had been milling around. Mistress Veliky had been a part of the silly game they had played at the ball. Had he missed a gift giving? The dissapointment was replaced with a snap back to reality as his boot bumped from a cobble in the street. "Let the girl go I say! I will take full responsibility of this incident.""We'll leave that decision to the magistrate sir, now quiet down" "But I know the magistrate! Him and I are fast friends! I even stayed at his castle once."The guard didn't merit him a reply, they continued through the winding streets and up a small hill before arriving at a large well defended stone building near the market. Its banner billowing with the wind as the large reinforced oaken doors were opened by the two guards standing nearby. "Yeah, this castle! He probably just wants to talk again."The pair were led down the echoey stone corridors, lit solemnly by steel torches lining the walls. They arrived at steel cage in a medium sized room, a sort of temporary holding cell, with a booking officer nearby apparently paging through a captivating novel. "Alright, in you go""Worry not Astrid, the reception area is probably the worst part. The bench is quite unforgiving on the behind...but they gave me some bread and soup the last time while I was waiting!"Vikram happily sauntered into the cell as the escort held the gate open, plopping himself onto the bench within.
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Nov 17, 2022 23:45:42 GMT -5
At this point, Astrid knows better than to give the guards a hard time. A certain group in Moonveil Village have an odd relationship with her because while she's done great things for them, the citizens are often annoyed by her presence. In this case, she has no relationship with these guards except a particularly bad one already. And the folks in the market are none too happy with her. This is a bummer. They just had a grand time at the ball and already she's into trouble.
Great way ta start off bein' a kid with a parent, Astrid, she thinks to herself in frustration. Already causin' problems fer Cantio. It's a great way to thank him for taking her in, really. And the strangest part is that she hasn't heard from him since the ball. A pit sinks in her stomach as some unprocessed trauma wells its way up into her throat, but she swallows it as they're escorted into the blocky building with banners hanging out front.
She's sat roughly on a bench and finds Mister Vikram wasn't kidding about it being uncomfortable. In fact, he's been quite cheerful about the whole ordeal, hasn't he? Charles stays outside the cell and begins speaking to the guards. His robotic and factual descriptions of events seem to perplex the guards, but they take the statement anyway. Meanwhile, Astrid looks at the man beside her.
"Yer way too chipper 'bout bein' in a cell," she comments. "This ain't new ta ya, is it? Ya told us a story 'bout breakin' in and breakin' something durin' the game at the ball." Adjusting her shoulders a little, she leans forward, elbows on her knees and head drooped considerably. "Cantio's gonna be mad at me," she murmurs despondently.
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Post by Vikram on Nov 18, 2022 11:31:58 GMT -5
Idly listening to the automaton chattering away in his peculiar fashion, twiddling his thumbs, Vikram was having a grand old time. The girl spoke of being in a cell, and someone named Cantio. Was that the knight who had given her the letter to fight? It's not like they hadn't fulfilled the requirements of the challenge. And what on Ginma's Will was a cell."Worry naught Astrid, I know not who this Cantio person is, but I do know several things. Firstly, that you are a fighter of much strength, and I know few who would be mad with that. Secondly, All the Magistrate will do is scold us briefly and send us on our way. I've come to believe that the people appointed him to be their stern father or something." He leaned back, arms resting on his belly as the iron bars pushed his turban slightly forward. His calm stoicism evident in the face of punishments he didn't quite understand. "There are generally very few matters that should make oneself so glum. A little tussle in the marketplace is but a footnote in what I'm sure will be the grand volumes of Astrid Stormstone! Your story is only beginning young one, don't worry about the little things." Vikram reached over and patted her on the shoulder as reassuringly as he could. Kids were a tough spot, he found their emotions to be deceptively convoluted. One factor among many being the reason he had never had his own. He returned to his idly posturing, surely the guards would summon them to the office here shortly. It was hard to conceive of what the automaton was still talking about. "I'm sure this Cantio person will just be happy that you're safe and sound in the Magistrate's Iron Keep."
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Post by Lady Astrid Stormstone on Nov 18, 2022 18:29:47 GMT -5
Ridiculous. This man is ridiculous. Astrid can't help laughing at what he's said. "Yer real bad with rememberin' names, ain't ya Mister Vikram?" she asks, smiling at him. "Cantio's the red tieflin' in the dress at the party. We played Truth or Dare together!" Her head shakes with another chuckle. "He would be glad I didn't get hurt, yer right about that."
She sits back and lets herself relax. "I s'pose yer right though. No one else got hurt, and it was a lot of fun. I hope yer right that we'll be on our way soon. I'm gonna offer ta help clean up and pay fer some of the damages. That was all an accident, yer just way lighter than ya look!" Looking at him, she sees the big crack in his armor. "I wasn't jokin' 'bout fixin' yer armor though. I will fix it fer ya. It's me fault it broke, after all."
"But... I wouldn't call a buncha property damage a little thin'," she continues with a ponderous tone. "Maybe more like a buncha little thin's. Ya know, cause everythin's in pieces!" A full laugh escapes her this time. Things will be okay, and he's right. No need to be glum. That doesn't really suit her. No one's disappointed in her, and Vikram's good spirits are contagious. The thought of a marketplace scuffle just being a footnote... Well, any "bad" thing can be a footnote if you make it only that important. This is still just the beginning of some of her wild adventures. Besides being swallowed by a sea monster, of course.
"Mister Vikram, yer a good fighter too. If ya'd like, I'm gonna suggest ya come along ta whatever this guild is. I think they'd be honored ta have someone like ya. Maybe we can go on a real adventure together!"
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