• Graded • Mutcha vs Kaige

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

13 Ymiden 717

The city within was supposed to be safe or at least, safer than the other side of the wall where F'mos lived. With all the mutants and mages loose in and out of Etzos, the Aukari thought there would be no place we would rather be even if it meant relying on the Black Guard for protection. It was going to be night when he would have to leave but he decided to savour the peace and serenity. Some people would prefer to enjoy themselves at night with some beer but the Aukari? Even without the risk of erupting if he took too much alcohol, he would rather have a nice cup of coffee to keep up his energy and him alert.

His companion for the trial however hated coffee as she considered too bitter. "One day you'll learn to like it." Probably. Until then, the little girl was going to have to make do with that overly sweet dessert she ordered. F'mos who wanted to return home before it became dark told Lizzie to "hurry up. My coffee isn't getting warmer" although it was not a concern to the girl who seemed to deliberately eat her dessert much more slower than before. The Aukari was not going to have that challenge and while he did not want to (actually he very much did), he would have to tell- show her the reason why they had to go home.

Though he hated it when he was discriminated in Etzos for his red hair which rightfully showed his race, the Aukari hesitation to point to a man held up at the checkpoint by the guards. He had the girl's attention when he asked if she "see him? You think just anyone be that angry with guards?" Now that he thought about it, it seemed that it was more than the usual disagreement but how likely would it be that "he's one of those mages. If he doesn't get what he want, Boom! Everyone dies. And there are a lot of them around so we should get home before..."

Well, nothing was meant to happen but the girl did not need to know that. The worry of those crazy mages started to take root in her and she immediately questioned F'mos on why nothing was done to the mage yet and the answer which convinced her was, "do you want to be the one to tell the guards and force them to take action? Give the mage a reason to go crazy? Or do you want to close your eyes and forget about it so we can go home?" He had her take a look at the trouble at the checkpoint again where the man seemed to be taken by the guards somewhere else so "you see? Just let it go and no trouble" he told her with a smug look on his face.

What the Aukari did not know was how close to the truth he was and, how far he was from the facts of the event in question because soon, the man exploded in anger and he thought the reason he splashed himself with water was for some cooling off gag. It was not funny once Lizzie screamed when the man punched a guard until he slammed into a wall, profanities yelled out loud that F'mos did not know if he should cover Lizzie's eyes or ears when the man punched another guard into the crowd. Obviously not normal, probably a mage as Lizzie shouted wildly and got the attention of everyone else.

Including the 'mage' which looked right at them. Things were so not going well, especially when he lifted a nearby cart and ignored the attacks of the other guards which bounced right off him to toss it right at the pair. F'mos thought they were done for until the cart exploded and a spike of earth stood in its place. He was as dumbfounded as Lizzie on what happened until he heard another yell. It came from a man who held one of the earlier guards and it sounded a lot like a challenge which at least got the attention of the aggressor away from the pair somewhat.

The fight was about to begin.

[Noth]

It was a seldom event when the Prince of Eternal Mercies deigned it important to travel into Etzos, and this was certainly no exception. He had determined that it would be far safer for him to remain in his cavernous home than to venture too heartily into the city, lest he expose himself to Vuda; who likely knew his face, and become condemned for his treasonous actions. Thankfully, the secretive tunnels which winded and twisted underneath the city to his cave allowed him easy access whenever it was needed to enter the city, and he had resolved in his heart that he might attempt to look about the place during the night.

Information was a valuable resource, and if the twilight hybrid was going to gather any of it, he needed to actually be in Etzos. Sure, his drunken agents had occasionally managed to whisper intriguing facets of life, or facts about the traveling patterns of potential targets, but it was far better to see something than to hear of it second-hand. The risk of the trip was negated somewhat by the cloak that Noth donned, which concealed his singular wing, and the hood which kept his facial features somewhat hidden in the shadows.

In retrospect, it actually made him look somewhat more peculiar than he might have been. He appeared less as an Avriel, and more as some manner of supernatural specter, a wraith who combed the streets with its mortal allies, searching for its next victim so that he might pluck away their soul, the only evidence to the contrary being the slight clinking of metallic armor hidden underneath. In fact, the hybrid was far more interested in the material items attached to said victims, but tonight was less about mugging the helpless, and more about determining where the wealthy, and the important players of the cities political game resided.

Little effort had been expended in summoning his recently hired squad of goons from their tavern, and they crept along at his sides, whispering to him and one another, the relative quiet of their scouting party broken only by the heaving chuckles of Oxy or the giggling of Slip. Thane seemed fairly confident in the darkness, as though he had spent much of his life wandering around dark alleys in the middle of the night, and that confidence granted Ears some courage. He had been forced to keep his abilities a secret due to the recent mutant hunts, and it seemed unlikely that any outside of the small circle of associates knew of his peculiar powers.

The entourage and the wraith stepped forth from an alleyway inset between a flower shop and a small storage building, and Noth’s crimson eyes immediately took notice of a checkpoint up ahead, wherein a man was arguing rather fiercely with a pair of guards. The guards themselves seemed uncowed by the shouts and wild gesticulations of the offender, and were adamant in their denial of him. Eventually, one took hold of his arm, apparently intending to lead him away from the scene, but a moment later, the man had managed to break the hold, and had begun pummeling the guardsman.

The twilight hybrid cast a questioning glance towards Thane who stood stock still directly at his side.
“Not a clue. There’ve been mutant hunts lately, and they cracked down on mages, but he could just be some common crook or a druggie off his high.”
The mention of the mutant hunts made Ears shiver visibly behind him, and Oxy quickly placed a comforting hand on his companion’s shoulder, a non-verbal assurance that he would be safe so long as they were around.
For several moments, the group observed as the man; who was clearly an expert in hand-to-hand combat, managed to defeat the guards, and he seemed unfinished with his rampage. He heaved up a cart and prepared to hurl at it a pair of innocent bystanders. In an instant, the cart exploded into shards of wood and fragmentation from the explosion lashed harshly against the nearby structures, peppering downwards against Noth’s cloak for an instant. He simply wiped away the slivers of wooden debris, ensuring that none of his people had been harmed.

It seemed a new challenger had entered the fray, and he distracted the maniac’s attention for several precious trills.

The twilight hybrid held little sympathy for the guards, because they had signed up for an occupation where the threat of being beaten by someone stronger always existed, and because they worked for a corrupt and tyrannical puppetmaster. Despite that, Noth was not entirely amoral, nor nearly as heartless as he portrayed himself, and he cast a quick glance towards the pair of bystanders, taking note of how one was only a child.

He outstretched a single finger towards the pair, his cloak once more giving him the appearance of a specter having spotted its victim.
“Oxy, Slip. Get them away from here.”

The two cast one another a quick glance of agreement, and quickly sprinted into the street, aiming to drag or push or shove the pair of bystanders away from the whole mess. All the while, the twilight hybrid and his lieutenant observed from the alleyway.

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

In the middle of that mess before the duo could even recover from the unwarranted attack, they were again set upon by some newcomers. Their intentions may have been good but unfortunately, Lizzie was taken by fear of the 'mages' fight and F'mos was on high alert to any other possible dangers. The pair's wordless rush at them, well, the one with the large build and bright hair brought a scream to Lizzie's lips once more. As the girl rushed behind F'mos the Aukari only had enough time to consider the two rogues were a threat to him.

The former guard was more than familiar with the methods of criminals- now especially as he found himself employed by the other side. To him, it was more likely the pair aimed to take advantage of the confusion to kidnap the girl. Undoubtedly, the Aukari did not have enough confidence in the Etzori to believe any of them would assist another out of goodwill; only the fool heroes but those were few and rare in the city. The same F'mos reckoned applied to the rest of Idalos, at least for those who survived such pursuits.

Not one of those fools himself, F'mos only had to look out for himself and his own. F'mos pushed Lizzie away and told her to make a run for it. He would have followed suit the moment she was far enough but the fight between the mage and mutant only got more intense. Another crash close to him and his ears were ringing, unable to hear what it was his assailants wanted to say and more importantly, unable to keep his balance. He could only interpret their gestures which did not look too inviting- especially the signs of the large Aukari, or as F'mos assumed. He had yet to encounter an Aukari that size back in Sirothelle.

Nevertheless, F'mos just about had enough of the situation with enemies all around him.

There was already enough spite built up in him from recent events, especially the fight close by him. The Fire needed to be let out! The Aukari pulled something out and ran it along his palm. A bright red streak of blood followed for only moments before it burned out, a sign he was one of the Aukari. The act was not to establish some kinship with the bigger of the newcomers as it was accompanied with the words "ëv xet yuxïth an vrethis!" The intense fire which he held in his hands would have been enough to give anyone second thoughts to approaching him, Aukari or not, which was enough for F'mos to flee.

Which was followed by a bright flash of light which dazzled anyone who looked right at it. This included the mage who barely held the mutant back and unfortunately, he was slammed back with yet another projectile thrown by the mutant. Regardless the outcome smoke started to fill the spot F'mos had been, the true effect of the Aukari's device which only added to the confusion of the scene.

A growing patch of smoke to one side, a group of guards too wary to approach stuck at the other and, rock formations and debris littered all over in between. With the thinning crowds and the only person to have opposed the violent mutant down, the guards finally pulled themselves together to act. Still unable to shoot at the mutant in case they accidentally hit any of the bystanders, the guards rallied themselves and charged the mutant menace only for their weapons to bounce off the man and they themselves following into the air.

F'mos himself was not concerned with the guards as his only priority was to secure Lizzie and get out. He cried out for her in hopes for a response after he could not locate her from his hiding spot, a table which landed well enough to be adequate cover. With a full view of the scene, the Aukari could see the mage had recovered and joined the fight again although with a much lesser role. The guards- those who wielded swords and spears seemed to have more of an effect on the mutant than any opposition thus far. This victory was short-lived as the mutant soon adapted and started to get rid of the obvious threats first.

As he assumed the guards and the mage would get a handle of the mutant, eventually, F'mos occupied himself with his primary concern but unable to find her anywhere he was only left with one question in his mind.

"Where the fuck was Lizzie?"

[Noth]

Fights between only a pair of individuals had the tendency to be fairly straightforward, and rather disciplined in their orchestration. Both persons would strike until one would fall, one would stand, and then the fight was over. The scenario beginning to play out before the twilight hybrid carried with it a chaos that was commonly reserved only for larger scale combats. The mutant beast of a man who had begun the conflict was now locked in earnest in combat with his counterpart. Thankfully, they had closed rather closely together, and so their chaos was being retained in its own bubble of violence, but the battle itself still occasionally wrought destruction upon the scenery.

Noth observed as the mutant hurled his foe directly through a nearby wooden pole, snapping it off with a loud crack, and sending him hurtling to the ground like a fallen star. The man coughed and wheezed at the force of the blow, and the mutant rushed in for the kill, but was quickly deflected by another pillar of earthen stone which sent him flying in the opposite direction.

The minions of the hybrid reached their targets quickly, but immediately found themselves confused and disoriented by the sudden disappearance of the Aukari man and his young charge, as well as the blisteringly bright explosion. The smoke blossomed from where he had once been, and it wrapped its way around the scene like a thick blanket, inducing a new series of coughing and hacking fits among both the bystanders and the participants. The smoke itself arose upwards, likely alerting any other enforcers of the Tower’s laws to the presence of a fire, and the hybrid questioned exactly how long it would be until intrepid and charitable folk came through carrying buckets of water to douse the absent blaze.

Rather sadly, the challenger was wholeheartedly distracted by the sudden appearance of smoke, and the distraction quickly cost him the match as he was promptly stricken by a wheelbarrow across the chest, flattening him to the ground in a trill. The mutant seemed triumphant in his victory, and began to stride confidently towards his defeated opponent, likely ready to deliver a killing blow upon the man.

As the battle came to an apparent close, the murderous Avriel became acutely aware of the increasing presence of guards, who simply stood about as though they were frightened by the spectacle, and who must certainly have found it uncouth of them to enter into the dangerous fray lest they be afflicted with some mortal wound. Eventually, their courage was gathered, and they charged forth, drawing forth clubs and swords and slashing and smashing them against the mutant fellow who for the most part seemed unaffected by the petty weapons. They were not entirely ineffective, however, and a well-placed blow of the club upon the bridge of the nose staggered the giant, and a thrusting stab at his leg forced a yelp from his mouth.

Sadly, it was not enough, and soon there were guards being thrown through the air and trampled underfoot as if though they were fighting a monster and not a man. Noth half expected the fellow to kneel down and take a chunk out of a downed foe with his bare teeth, and the anger which glistened in his eyes did well to ward off other guards from drawing too close to their beaten and battered compatriots.

The twilight hybrid began to remove the longbow strung over his shoulder from its resting position, carefully and quickly notching an arrow to the taut string which hung there. He barked an order towards Oxy and Slip, his two agents who remained standing almost in the midst of the chaos, hacking and coughing due to the dust and debris and smoke being shot into the air.

“Return!”
It was a simple command, but it was emphasized rather heavily by Thane who quickly repeated the order to the pair.

“It serves us little if Etzos is destroyed by madmen… besides, we might foster some goodwill from this.”
He spoke to the group as he began to aim his bow at the mutant who now stood proudly over his fallen prey. It seemed as though the challenger was done for, but with a suddenly forceful gesticulation of his arms, another earthen pillar appeared into existence and hammered directly into the chest of the mutant, sending him backwards and prone.

The hybrid, his crimson eyes peering through the faint echoes of smoke, and the violence he was so familiar with, simply adjusted downwards for the target. The bow sounded with a twang, the arrow speeding through the air far too quickly for the eye to process properly, carried by kinetic force until it came to a sudden wet and crunching stop within the side of the mutant’s knee. The fellow screamed an awful scream of pain and agony, and instinctively clutched at the protrusion, snapping it away, and attempting rather pitifully to arise. The damage had been done, and while the arrow had not gone completely through his knee, a chunk of shattered bone now jutted loosely out of the side opposite of entry, bleeding profusely down his leg as he stumbled about like a drunkard, each movement eliciting a moan of suffering.

The challenger was still beaten and battered, but at least the fight had been made fairer.

Meanwhile, a young girl had become entrapped in the remnants of a nearby fallen chunk of building, a devastation caused by the fight between the two empowered warriors, and though she remained unharmed by the catastrophic damage, she quickly found herself unable to relocate. Ears, his auditory abilities far surpassing those of anyone in the area immediately caught onto the mewling cries from underneath the nearby rubble, and he pointed rather urgently towards the pile of fallen wood and stone. “There! There’s a little girl under there!”


And just like that, Oxy and Slip had rushed back towards the pile, working through the rubble quickly in a desperate race to remove the child from the scenario before a poorly aimed strike from one of the two combatants managed to sever her permanently from life.

[Nauta F'mos Geey]

At some point, things have begun to settle down especially with the mutant occupied. It was all because of the efforts of that mage who eventually downed the mutant with that earthed pillar, obviously, and F'mos was indebted to him whether or not he may be one of the hated rogue mages in Etzos. Even if the Aukari had seen the arrow which downed the mutant instead and knew it as being shot by the Avriel would not have changed this. It was a lot better than owing something to that murderous crow after all.

Instead of watching the guards who try to hold down the mutant like some sort of untrained mob, pretty much what the Black Guard in Etzos were given their previously pitiful performance, F'mos focused his own efforts on Lizzie. With the reduced crowd of spectators who did not want to fall victim to the fight, there were not many children around for the Aukari to look through. It did not take long for him to realize she was not there and started to feel sick until he heard someone cry out there was a girl under, somewhere. While he still could not see where she was, F'mos easily located the source of the cry...

Of course it would have to be the party of the group which previously tried to get at him and Lizzie. Wonderful.

With enough of the Black Guard to try and calm the crowd down while the damage was being controlled after the mutant was apprehended, F'mos doubted that the group would try anything. Not with the added vigilance of the guards in the rescue efforts. He tried his best to keep things civil with the group as he tried to help get Lizzie out of the rubble she was buried in, though he was a little more of a hindrance as he could not bring himself to work with those who were previously his aggressors. Eventually they got the girl out, not the least bit hurt although quite shakened.

Even so she was more concerned with her saviour, the mage, than herself. She asked F'mos to take a look at him and then to tell her how the man was. Despite their contribution to her rescue, the Aukari still did not trust the group but after the persistent requests of the girl, he relented and told her she only had to scream if anything else happened. Obviously directed to the trio with a reminder that the guards were near as he looked around for them.

He was no medic but he knew just enough from the Guard to know after a quick look over, it was something beyond him and as he was trained it would be better to wait for another to treat the mage. Fortunately for the mage, the battle with the mutant did not leave him with any life threatening injuries. There were some cuts, but they will heal although the darkening skin was worrisome. He told the guards they would have to get him immediate attention as there might be some injury in him, and probably significant damage to the bone but although F'mos knew that from all the bar brawls, he did not know how to treat it. "You'll have to hope the medics come here soon..."

There was a boon to the examination F'mos was forced to conduct by Lizzie for the benefit of the mage, and that was that the Aukari was able to get some of the man's blood for himself. Thankful to him or not, it was still something he could use and F'mos was not below making use of any opportunity which presented itself to him. Maybe it could be used, maybe it could not but it was his and... "fine! I'll see what I can do. Maybe keep the leg still until someone else comes to examine it. Wash out the blood if you can. Get some ice..." if it was possible at all.

That was the extent of the assistance he could give the mage and F'mos headed back to Lizzie, although the trio was still there along with the addition of one more deplorable individual the Aukari had not expected nor wanted to see. A murder it was! Still, he put on a pleasant face as he knew the crow would not be able to identify him from the time he had threatened to put an arrow into him and with the rest of his crew gave his "thanks. At least Lizzie is safe, those damned mutants." While he would do his best to remain courteous, introductions if necessary and even an offer of a meal at the Kettle should the gang hint at some sort of a reward or compensation, there were limits of the information of himself the Aukari would volunteer, if any at all.

[Noth]

The fight drew to a close rather quickly after his interference, the mutant reduced to a crippled and sobbing wreck as blood continued to pour down his leg. It took only a few more attacks by the guards, and a final pillar of stone directed at the mutant’s head to finally subdue him. That wasn’t to say that the guards didn’t continue beating and battering him after he had fallen to the ground, but he was very much unconscious by the time their boots made contact with his ribcage, and their cudgels fell upon his limbs, like rats tearing into the corpse of an animal already slain by a predator.

Eventually, even that savagery desisted, however, and the remarkably still breathing mutant was hauled away by a squad of Black Guard, each of them keeping a ready hand upon their weapons of choice should he suddenly awaken once more and attempt to rampage through the streets of Etzos. The hybrid felt a slight tickle at the back of his neck, and promptly glanced around the group, taking note of a younger guardswoman whose eyes met his own. She gave a nod towards him, and he in return granted her one, an acknowledgement for his part in stopping the criminal.

More successful than that particular endeavor was the rescue of the young girl from underneath the rubble. The hybrid felt a slight swell of pride at his retinue for their efforts in removing her from the precarious scenario, and he allowed a gentle grin to grace his features for what may have been one of the first times that trial. The Avriel did not, for all of his selfishness, seek a reward from the father of the young girl, though one might have been warranted given how unhelpful he had been in returning his child to him.

Crimson eyes observed as the man consulted his daughter, and promptly stepped over to the downed mage, attempting to assist him in some medical manners according to the bits of conversation he had overheard. More importantly than that particular interaction was the presence of several guardsmen still hanging around the plaza, their eyes trained on the damaged and wounded mage with undeniable emotion; fear, anger, duty. The Avriel nodded a single time, gesturing to the world that he understood what it had in plan for the mage; shackles and chains, dungeons beneath the Tower where he would never be heard from again.

His thoughts removed themselves from such morbid ideas, and once more settled upon the approaching Aukari who came near to retrieve his daughter. Introductions were brief, and he didn’t bother stating his true name, settling instead on the moniker of ‘Mongrel’ for the sake of the conversation. He was here on business, after all, and he didn’t need to mix his personal life with the exploits of his work.

“Please… come. I may have a proposition regarding your… talents.” He offered, considering the implications behind the fellow's usage of smoke earlier in the combat, and once more, a grin appeared upon his features.

[Pash Raj'oriq]

Thread Rewards

Nauta

Skill Knowledge:
➳ Cooking: Coffee, an acquired taste
➳ Defiance: Earth constructs are solid enough to take a hit
➳ Defiance: Stone pillars can form fast enough to launch people
➳ Discipline: No one is going to rush into a suicide attack
➳ Psychology: Only strong people dare to fight guards
➳ Ranged: Too many arrows can hit people who aren't targets
➳ Surgery: Leave the internal damage to the professionals
➳ Surgery: Loud noises can throw a person off balance

Other Knowledge:
N/A

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Fame: +1 for Good Deed (Helping the Mage)

Points: 15 | These points cannot be used for magic.

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Noth

Skill Knowledge:
➳ Ranged: Legshots Reduce Mobility
➳ Ranged: Legshots Bleed Profusely
➳ Discipline: Reacting under Pressure
➳ Discipline: Situation Triage
➳ Leadership: Giving Orders Rapidly
➳ Detection: Guards Only Mill to Arrest Someone Secretly or By Surprise

Other Knowledge:
N/A

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A
Fame: N/A

Points: 15 | These points cannot be used for magic.

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Comments:
I knew this was going to be a fun read when the first post contained commentary about coffee! My mom used to tell me the same thing: “One day you’ll learn to like it!” Lots of fun action and a bit of unexpected heart in here.

If you see anything I’ve missed or have a question, please feel free to drop me a PM!

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