The limp slowed Edric down dramatically, and his larger body meant that he would tire more quickly -- especially if he kept running at them like that. Enoki, on the other hand, was having fun. This was excellent practice, for one thing, but on the other hand, they loved the chance to teach someone new tricks! Even if Edric was kind of just screaming now. He was slow.

Enoki let Edric get a little closer than they probably should have and side-stepped right as he clipped their arm, sliding neatly back into their waiting position. "Maybe you'd do better if you tried to strategize a little more? Like, I'm fast and stuff, right? So what's the best way to beat up on a fast opponent who you can't get a hit on?"


Round: 3/?
Attempt: Sliiiide to the right
Defense: Dodging!
Injuries: None


@edric

ANOTHER SIDESTEP. This was too much. The fire of rage in Edric's chest burned higher, and he swung his head at Enoki with another furious "BLARRRRRRGH!!!" STRATEGIZING, this one said. EDRIC WOULD SHOW IT STRATEGIZING.

His strategy? To throw his head after Enoki as they sidestepped, this time, instead of gearing up for another charge. "I'LL MAKE YOU SLOWER!" Edric roared, narrowing his beady eyes. By goring them, that was. Unless they managed to sidestep again, which would be extremely infuriating.

Round 4/?
Attempt: hit Enoki with the tusks
Defense: narrowed eyes
Injuries: his poor, wounded pride

@Enoki

Enoki barely had a heartbeat to react as Edric came at them -- he was learning, at least! They were proud of him. However, they rather wanted to avoid those tusks, and so attempted to catch themselves on the front of his nose as he swung his head around and leap up onto his back -- like climbing, but with a little less of a weight requirement. Unfortunately, Edric just moved too fast, and his tusks caught Enoki in the abdomen. The blow knocked the wind out of them and sent them stumbling back -- torn flesh began to bleed just a bit, and they fought for their breath.

Still, they managed to wheeze out a "Good! You're learning!"




Round: 4/?
Attempt: Hop on top!
Defense: Dodging!
Injuries: Winded, gored abdomen
@edric

Edric felt a savage satisfaction as his strike finally landed, but it bled away as quickly as it had came when Enoki just kept talking. And they sounded happy! That wasn't FAIR! Edric was terrifying! They were supposed to FEAR him! To TREMBLE before his UNSTOPPABLE FORCE! Not to- to encourage him!

"Shut UP," he ground out, lunging for the koalyena once more. If he could pin the thing down so they couldn't run away again, then he could teach it to speak to him the PROPER way. Edric didn't even wait until he reached Enoki before he started ranting. "Be AFRAID. I am MIGHTY. I bring CHAOS and OIL wherever I go. All shall look upon me and DESPAIR!" His speech was punctuated by short, gasping breaths. All this running around with a marble leg was starting to take its toll.

Round 5/5 (?)
Attempt: step on Enoki as he rants (with the flesh leg)
Defense: it's illegal to interrupt someone in the middle of his monologue
Injuries: none

@Enoki

Enoki huffed out another breath and barely glanced over at Edric before they were attempting to whirl away once again -- despite it all, they were still light on their feet and bright-eyed. After all, they didn't have such a laborious weight weighing them down, and Polaris was just fun with the thrilling sense of energy it instilled. Edric caught air as Enoki slid out of his reach, eyes bright as they looked him over. "If you're done playing directly into my strengths, let's actually talk to each other -- why's chaos a good thing, again?" Enoki asked, genuinely confused more than anything else.



Round: 5/5
Attempt: Dodge again
Defense: Dodging
Injuries: Winded, gored abdomen
@edric
i'm gm tagging for fight grading (although i'm sure you won)

Edric huffed as Enoki managed to avoid their charge again, despite his crudely-crafted plan to slow them down. The koalyena was, perhaps, a more worthy opponent than they had appeared at first glance. Either way, Edric was finally beginning to accept that further charges would get him nowhere.

Giving Enoki a resentful glare, he slumped sullenly onto the ground. "I'm done," he conceded. But he brightened, at least a little, at the mention of chaos. Was he being given another chance at his business pitch--?

"It pleases the Whispers!" he told Enoki enthusiastically. "There is a being, trapped inside a dark altar. It cries out for chaos! For oil! And sacrifice! It is very powerful, when you give it food." Perhaps not powerful enough to leave the tunnel, but the display it had shown when Edric had given it sacrifice had been incredible. And terrifying, he thought with a shudder--which was all the more reason not to disappoint it.

"And what's more, it's what everything is meant to be! They are pleased when I return things to oil, but I just speed up the process! It all happens eventually, you see." Edric made a self-satisfied noise, lifting a hoof to gesture vaguely at the entire Polaris area. "You, me, all the animals here! We're all made of oil. See my leg?" The marble was veined with glistening black stone, instead of the grey it had once been. "Proof. And if you've ever seen something decay, that's proof, too! I am returning these caves to what they should be. And serving the Whispers in the process! It will reward me handsomely in the end. I think."

@Enoki

Once he had settled, Enoki sat down and started to lick vigorously at their wound while they listened to him. Their ear flicked. Someone being trapped? That was no good. They paused in their movement. It wanted... Oil? Enoki hesitated. They supposed that Oil was food, technically. In a very roundabout sort of way. Not suitable for them to eat, but scavengers weren't foreign to them.

"Everything decays eventually," Enoki admitted. "Things die and new things are born from that decay." They nodded to the mushrooms they'd been staring at before Edric arrived. "The fungus grows from death -- sometimes it causes it, too." They paused, and weighed the pros and cons in their mind for a moment. "I guess that speeding up the process isn't bad as long as you leave the decay for new life to grow from."

Finally, they shrugged and looked to Edric. "Maybe I can help your Whispers get something to eat?" they offered, more curious than anything else but not... entirely closed off to the situation. It was intriguing, at any rate, and Enoki was always willing to help someone who was in need.

@edric

If Edric had hands, he might have clapped them with delight. Now here was one who understood! "Excellent! I'm sure they'll be very happy with your help!" Hopefully they'd be happier with him, though. Seeing as he was the one who had sacrificed to them first, and he was the one who'd recruited the little grey creature. "They are in the tunnel that leads from the ruined city to the cave of bones. I will show you the Hole!"

Edric made no move to get up yet, though, as long as Enoki wasn't getting ready to leave. He still needed a minute to catch his breath from the embarrassment of a fight. "You like mushrooms, then?" he grunted in the meantime. Edric himself had no interest in the little things, but if he was going to make the koalyena his ally, it would be useful to talk to them and get to know them more. At the very least, some friendly conversation could help him be seen in a better light.

@Enoki

Character: Edric Age: +10 (10 Cycles) Magic Level: +1 (Fledgling) ROUND 1 Attempt: +7 Penalties: -0 ROUND 2 Attempt: +11 Penalties: -0 ROUND 3 Attempt: +15 Penalties: -0 ROUND 4 Attempt: +16 Penalties: -0 ROUND 5 Attempt: +16 Penalties: -0 Total: 76

Character: Enoki Age: +4 (4 Cycles) Magic Level: +1 (Fledgling) * ROUND 1 Attempt: +1 Penalties: -0 ROUND 2 Attempt: +9 Penalties: -0 ROUND 3 Attempt: +10 Penalties: -0 ROUND 4 Attempt: +7 Penalties: -0 ROUND 5 Attempt: +12 Penalties: -0 Total: 44

WINNER: Edric

* Remember to note in either your fight posts or your GM Tag what level your character was at the start of a fight! Sometimes we forget to check for advancements :']

Overall, a good fight with some nice rolls! Just watch your full dodges. It's in good taste to use only one or so in a 5 round fight, so the other character can actually get a hit in. (Don't worry, I do see the one where Enoki got gored a bit. RIP.)

@Edric @Enoki

Enoki kept licking at their abdomen. Luckily, the wound wasn't that bad, and they'd probably be fine as long as they kept it clean. Edric sounded excited, at least, but Enoki couldn't help but wince. "That tunnel has always squicked me out a little bit. Nothing growing or walking through it... it just feels unnatural." They cleared their throat. "But if that's where your friend lives, I'll brave it."

The creature stretched, and stood up. Despite having barely gotten hit (mostly to make a point), Enoki was definitely gonna be sore. "Yeah, I guess I do," they said. "Fungus is my element, the magic type I have -- at least, it's supposed to be. I'm not very good at magic, and I can't cast any. Most of my family use fungus, though." They shook themselves out and looked over at him. "Alright. Ready when you are."


@edric
/exit to the hole (if edric exits)