The Mage and His Woes

[Balthazar Black]

59 Ymiden 720

Woe's lesson was as uncomfortable when he was being instructed as it was in the small spar they'd had but it was informative. Woe may not have known where Balthazar's old injuries were but the man being twisted did. He did not know about pain centers and how to hit them, but he knew a punch was a punch. He paid attention to Woe's hand placement and did his best to memorize it for his own use in the future. He'd been toying around with incorporating more grabs into his fighting recently and if he could inflict the pain with his hands that Woe did, he would be far more effective at stopping battles before they escalated too far. When Woe's lesson ended, Balthazar gave his and it was Woe's turn to show Balthazar what he could do.

Woe moved in to perform the maneuver Balthazar had shown him and unarmed master moved slowly. He struck Woe's defense while his leg was hooked and when the push came, Balthazar let himself topple off balance. He struck the ground with a grin on his face and slowly got back onto his feet. "Well done." Balthazar said with a small nod of approval to Woe. "An enemy is never as dangerous on their back as they are on their feet but sometime you can't knock them off their feet so you need to strike hard instead. How well can you throw a punch? Show me your form? You should be putting you whole body into it if you're trying to really do damage but you should be quick. Look."

Balthazar demonstrated with a quick punch, his body shifting slightly as he put his weight behind it. There were many types of punches but the point Balthazar was trying to demonstrate was that the best way to strike was to use all your weight, not just your arm. He demonstrated the punch again, and then turned to Woe. He held up his hand and gestured to it, "Punch my hand, I'll give you advice."

[Doran]

Woe:

Knowledge:
Unarmed: x 9
Teaching: x 1

Loot: -
Lost: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

Balthazar:

Knowledge:
Detection x 2
Torture x 2
Unarmed Combat x 3
Teaching x 3
Blades - Fluidly drawing the sword and striking in one motion

Loot: -
Lost: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

- - -

Comments: I have to admit, I was curious about what kind of reagents Balthazar bought in his first post. I look forward to seeing him practice a bit of alchemy either way. That being said, I always enjoy reading a good combat training thread, and this definitely was one of those!

I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen Woe practice unarmed combat before. He handled himself quite well in the fight against Balthazar, everything considered. His experience as a torturer definitely came in handy and throwing dirt into Balthazar’s eyes was a clever move in my opinion.

Balthazar is definitely a good person to train with. His skill in unarmed combat is impressive. I would have liked to see his having 0 Teaching play more of a part, but then again, this was a largely practical lesson. I guess the Teaching skill doesn’t matter as much here.

It’s unfortunate that the thread wasn’t finished, but I enjoyed the posts that you two made. I found the description of your various combat moves easy to understand, and the thread was entertaining to read.

So, enjoy your rewards!