Vaude

Pang's blow struck true twice, though he did not feel any better about the situation. It looked like the skeleton was just as powerful without all of its limbs, and it exhaled a new colour of smoke that several of the others slipped inside. He did not want to test this new miasma out, especially if toxic, and he formulated a plan. The skeletal spearman approached and tried to shield bash him over the head, but Pang held out his hands and stopped the shield, sliding back as he did so. He hated the fact that this fog made him weaker, but he still had barely enough to spare. With greater than average force, he attempted to let the shield fly to the spearman's right, then launched a right hook aimed for its jaw. Next, he spun in the opposite direction, whether or not the attack was successful. He readied his quarterstaff so that it was held vertical to his frame and prepared a nasty assault of a Piercing spear, all three charges unleashed at the tip to target where the heart of the Skeleton King was in the cloud, more specifically Galla. The smoke served as a visual blindfold for both parties, he deemed, and if he launched an attack while she was blinded maybe he could cripple her, or end the match outright by killing her. Part of him disliked this idea, having been trained in the monk ways and been taught that life, even unlife, is sacred, but as this was the arena, and because his blood lust beat a drum furiously within him, he persisted in his attack. With a kick up into the air, he spun quickly around and around and around until he unfurled himself and, aiming rightly, threw the quarterstaff with all the force he could muster with Piercing Weapon. If this swiftly flying missed its mark, he was sure that he would lose. His stamina was borderline shot, and while he still had a small backup of energy it would not last him for long. ((I"ll make a post for Winnie later. I'm rather tired at the moment, sad to say.))

((I'm not sure if you thought that Pang was still on the ground or not, but as that seems to be the case I'll roll with it.)) An interrupting attack? That was unplanned for by the white tiger, though not unprecedented. He had dealt with faster foes before, but the four skeletal assassins surrounding him were menacing with their numbers, skill, and speed. He would have to deal with them and shred all possibility of backbiting attacks, but first . . . With a supercharge to his feet again, he outran the hand of the massive skeleton in the nick of time, stopped short at the wrist, and spun his quarterstaff around so that he could shatter the wrist with all three charges of Shattering Weapon and leave the King of Skeletons entirely without hands if landing. Next he cleared himself from the area and charged toward one of the four assassins, spinning the quarterstaff in a parrying motion before attempting to deliver a diagonal chopping blow to the collarbone. If all went well, the blow from the quarterstaff would crumble it to dust like the rest, and he can concentrate on all of the others.

Odin frowned as Nergal cut his makeshift eye patch cleanly off, the hidden, pitch-black orbit glaring out at him angrily, yet his remaining eye seemed unfazed. This fey was fast enough to catch his hand throughout all of the mayhem, and he seemed to mock his attempt to grab the Source. He activated search magic and scanned over Nergal as he was lobbed sideward, and yet Odin did not let go. He went along for the ride, and while he did so he came upon a discovery. It was true, there was nothing in Nergal's hand. If so, it must have been there in that pouch, if judging from the weight and size of the whatever was lying within. Catching the lightning beast's mad lunge towards him as he landed squarely on his feet, Odin held his free hand in front of him with a unique handsign, one which absorbed lightning strikes in order to fuel his own power. If Arthur was after his energy, he would likely be disappointed to know that he lost more energy than he took in after Flying General's Lightning Channel took effect. Using the recently gained energy, Odin riposted against Nergal with another interesting use of magic: Flying General's Lightning Arrow. With such a short distance between the two, the arrow would fire out of Odin's index finger past Nergal and towards Nergal's pursestrings, allowing the pouch to drop and the Source of All Life with it. If successful, claiming the power source would be easy. Unfortunately, the cat was out of the bag with the rest of the group. They learned of his actual identity and muttered, talked, and even shouted among themselves about his sudden changes, but he stayed silent and wondered what they would do. Would they try to reason with him? Rush him? Try to kill him? Unfortunately he was beyond all of them, above needing any of them. Connections with others was a meaningless pursuit, he realised this now. He did well to discard this . . . or was it removed of him through the wish? He mused quickly over this before shaking his head free of uncertainty. Odin needed only Odin, and while his previous selves, especially Raiden, strove for connections he did not need it. One last thought crossed his mind before he refocused on the task at hand: Henry survived. Quite sadly the walking corpse still harboured enough strength to recuperate, but now was not the time to attempt to finish the job. Once the Source was claimed, he would be more than happy to deliver the coup de grâce and finish the abominable merger of man and fey blood.

Pang's gaze faltered when he saw an entire arm disintegrate and turn into four shapes before they disappeared into the fog. Did she just turn the massive thing into full-fledged skeletons? There was no way he can think of this as being possible, and yet it happened. He had to be careful. Who knew what kind of skeletons, or corpses, she summoned, though having a one-armed giant skeleton was a lot less threatening than a two-armed one. That meant it had a great weakness unless some kind of trick was involved, though he doubted this was the case. The roar, while menacing and ear-thrumming, but it was ineffective. He was used to the obnoxious teeth chatter now, and another sound would not drown out his concentration. He wasted no time as he ran at his greatest speeds -- without powers, anyway -- towards the weakened side of the skeleton. Whether there was an ambush waiting for him or not, he leapt into the air, paying little attention to the remaining skeleton with the shield and launching himself towards the bigger undead. The plan was to thrust a palm strike with all three charges of Shattering Weapon onto the giant skeleton's sternum, trying to open a large hole at the front of its rib cage. If it was able to be shattered, he would likely be inside the giant and would swing his now-equipped quarterstaff at Galla, There was a backup plan, however. If he did not gain entry into the skeleton, he would attempt to jump off of the skeleton and throw his quarterstaff at Galla, this one charged with Piercing Weapon at the tip aimed for her. This one would likely rip through all defenses, though if deflected or dodged it would miss Galla. -- -- -- Winona looked perplexed, or maybe flustered, when Lukkel took off toward the exit. Who was he to bash her like that and attempt to deflate her dreams and aspirations? He certainly did not seem like a likable individual to her, or anyone worthy of initial respect, and so she would try not to attempt communication with him further. Still, what was the reason that his good humour changed so drastically? Was it her? Was she too talkative? Was she really naive? She thought all this behind a mask of stone, her expression unchanged before she turned to Kolm. "A friendly enough face to warm up my soul. I hope I did not interrupt anything."

Name: Winona Kissinger Age: 21 Race: Gravity Artisan Appearance: Winona stands at five feet and five inches (165 centimeters) with black hair tied into loop braids on either side of her head. She is scrappy, long-boned, and has prominent cheekbones and an oval face, making her look a little younger than she really is. Her dark gaze can be cold and calculating at times, and the way she holds herself is so confident -- so certain -- that people might believe it. Personality: Like most strong and upfront individuals, Winona holds this facade in public and secretly harbours great doubts of her abilities as a person or as a warrior. As much as she wants to be the heroine of the multiverse, she does not know the best steps to accomplishing this, and as she is too proud or worried about critique to ask anybody where to start she aimed for improving her physical strength. So far she kept most people at arm's length, unsure of trusting people with her truest feelings, but things can change. Biography: Born into a world where gravity magic was abundantly used, Winona was reared in the ways of magic from a young age, though she felt the need to be greater, stronger, and otherwise more skilled than any close to her age. This prompted her parents to use a good portion of their life savings to send her to the best schools, and even there she excelled. Academics seemed easy to her, and she again wanted more, and she took up the spear, learning under a grizzled and kind master of the weapon, much to her parents' unhappiness and disapproval. There she learned many tricks, but she learned of her psychological weaknesses as well. Instead of accepting them, she tried to build over them, hide them from existence, and aim to be the best at everything over everyone around her. She took up her family business as an import-export vendor, and she never had an issue with highwaymen as she brought goods to and from the city of her birth. At the age of twenty, she was invited to The Haven, whereupon she took the offer and was brought to her current home. She often wonders what her parents thought about her sudden disappearance, and what others think of her. However, she aims to be the best person she could for them, so that when she is successful she can make everyone proud. Attributes: Gravity Shift (able to change the direction that gravity affects her, making her able to walk on walls or ceilings with ease), Physical Resistance+, Self-Cloning. Abilities: Gravity magic, healing magic, strength up, magic aura, lower defense Weapon: Greek javelin, Lightweight steel shield Signature Move: Gravity Spin. By creating a gravitational vortex that spins quite quickly like an electron around the nucleus of an atom, she can kill a weak NPC, or dizzy a strong NPC or playable character. She is stationary when performing this, making her vulnerable to attack, and the spell saps a fair amount of magic as well as stamina to maintain the orbit of the vortex. Wallet: 1500 coins.

To those who have or have not seen my latest post, I added some additional characters to it, including my newest NPC/PC Winona. I am unsure of how much I am going to use her, given my limitations of time as of late, but I'll try my best in integrating her. I'll yield a character sheet momentarily.

As the skeletal guardian behind Galla took the brunt of the blow, Pang fell without much grace to the ground, and before he could even ascend from the ground he regretted his choice of attacking then and there. Galla summoned a new creature, and a massive one at that which towered its large hands above him. With feline speed, he swirled his body into a dancing pivot and gyrated out of the way of the downward strike, narrowly escaping a brutal squashing. The sheer force behind it, however, bowled him over, and after a good number of harsh tumbles he raised himself to his feet. His body, if this match would last for much longer, would be covered with bruises, but once the match was over the pain and the bruising would go away. "Well, that's a big one," Pang heaved through difficult breaths, preparing himself for another sprint. Yes indeed, exhaustion was kicking in at a faster rate than he thought. This miasma was more troublesome than he originally planned for, though knocking the numbers down to four rather than five enemies was a light success. That, and he was able to see Galla's technique, one he had never seen before. A massive skeleton was going to be a massive problem, though the larger the creature the slower its reactions. Pang would take advantage of that if this protective giant skeleton tried to attack him on its own legs, though it did not seem to have one. Instead, it protected Galla, or maybe because its original concept was to protect its user. He took his time in surveying the situation, prepping his third and last charge of Shattering Weapon and Piercing Weapon with the vibrant glow of green energy. The moment an opportunity arose, he would be able to take down this skeletal behemoth and potentially Galla too with one strike. Given the situation, though, that opportunity might never surface. Galla was acting very defensive in this fight, and covering her bases well. He might have to take the fight to her. -- -- -- Hogarth entered the arena behind the others, still smiling about the elemental spirits he had come to witness. Perhaps they would be useful to his research, and maybe he had been going by the golems-with-a-soul thing all wrong. Perhaps a core essence of nature, as pristine as he could get it, was the best source of energy for making the inanimate animate. Unfortunately, that meant going into World IX, where nature was abundant and plant life was more than dangerous. Even if it meant having to slay a killer ivy plant, he wanted his plan to come to fruition so badly that he would go alone if he had to. He had to check the job boards later for any missions there, maybe one of Gold rank. The arena caught his focus and broke his line of thought, and he looked with interest at the combatants. "Oho, speaking of Galla and Pang, there they are," he wheezed, pointing into the coliseum. "Let's sit with the crowd over there watching them. Henry would be able to get to know a good amount of folks new and old. -- -- -- "You want to meet the higher-ups?" bemoaned a lass with ebon hair to Kolm and Lukkel, her sharp and equally black eyes looking over the two new people as she folded her arms across her chest. "Unfortunately they are not as desirous to see us as much as we do them. They only speak one-way through a public announcement system. Rarely do they speak to individuals, but as long as I've been here no one has met one in person. I aim to be the first, but you can be second! "But where are my manners?" she continued on, reaching out a hand to both of them. "I'm Winona Kissinger, adventurer extraordinaire! I was brought here just shy of two years ago, and my goal is to perfect my skills so I am second to none. That's why I take as many jobs as I can, though when I heard the news of the six broadcast . . . well, I had to pay my respects. Poor Grindra and Kimball. They had just started dating, too, before the grand campaign ended up killing them." Winona's fist tightened so that her leather glove ground together very audibly. "I plan to avenge them all and be the woman on top, so nobody else would have to die."

Adamina listened in to the conversation nearby, pausing and crowding a closed door to avoid being seen as three distinct voices managed to be heard. She could take two head-on just fine, but three would be difficult for the Loft. The best tactic was avoidance until she managed to meet up with Daniel. Together they could accomplish a lot where individually would be difficult. That was part of the beauty of the diverse team they had set up: they could cover each other's weaknesses and bolster their individual strengths. Unfortunately Tibarn was out of the picture, Eclaire did not follow up, and Jake was unseen and unheard. Maybe this was due to no communication besides that of mental conversation, but she worried for the situation. Hitting a switch to open the door she was nearby, she slipped inside and left the door ajar, just in case. It was dark and quiet in this room, dimly lit with a few active screens. In summary, this was the perfect place to relay information. Hey, all. The captain is elsewhere and not in The Principality, she voiced inside her head, hoping the others could still hear her. Daniel, we need to get off the ship if we want to secure that bounty. If not, we can probably secure a bigger profit by stealing this rig and stashing it away in one of the harder-to-find ports, though that might involve more risk. Wanted men don't much like having their property stolen, plus we have Tibarn to worry about with his wound. The longer he stays with that bullet, the worse off he will be.

Welcome back, Rey! I remember the last one as a success, so I would be interested in at least helping out and checking out whatever ideas you have, though unfortunately I cannot take on another roleplay at the time. I hope to see you on here more often! Lately the section has fallen into a bit of a lull. On another note, how goes/went your book?

- Odin, Holder of a New Wish - Odin stepped forth from the shadows, his eyes chiefly focused on the Source as he watched the explosive combat continue on in the foreground. His mind was abuzz with various tactics and strategies that he assumed people were using, eyes glittering in interest as he observed it all, but within his eyes a change was made. Instead of seeing his allies and his enemies, he saw weapons that can be used against each other, rival factions he no longer held commonality with. His prize awaited him, and that was the only thing that mattered. Thanks to Nihil's granted wish, his relations to his comrades meant nothing to him anymore, existing but not in any way prominent to his decision-making, much like what occurred with Sifrei. However, unlike Sifrei, he felt no obligation to help either party, only hinder them and gain the Source of All Life for himself. His first course of action was one almost unthinkable: once Helios was done with his basilisk-empowered strike upon Nergal, Odin rushed forward with Flying General, a straightforward and fast-moving sprint he once used upon the dragon. In order to prevent Henry from reaching Nergal and blasting him back to who-knows-where, he countered Henry's superpowered fist with a bent arm to deflect the powerful blow, and in the meantime his other hand reached out to his sword Lysander, aiming a sword-draw pommel strike at the human's stomach to knock the breath out of him. If successful, he would aim a quick rotational slice in an attempt to behead Henry with a downwards strike from the side. Why did he do this? He did not fully know, and yet it came so naturally. Part of the reason was likely that he wanted the Source and this was a stepping-stone to obtaining it, either through confusion or through gaining the trust of Nergal. Another part was simpler: he did not want to suffer the possibility that Henry could match toe-to-toe with him. To kill him off would be better than to keep him alive, and thus Henry was on the priority list. Next, Odin strove to rush towards Nergal himself, no matter the result to Henry. With quick speed, he sheathed his blade and reached out toward Nergal's free arm, the one containing the Source. With luck Nergal would have been rather stupefied by what he had witnessed and snagging the stone would be quick. Without luck, he would probably have to obtain the Source like everybody else, only with an added apology to Henry later on. ((All right; here's my sleep-deprived post. Hopefully it makes sense to folks, but Odin is making his long-awaited move. P.S.: Sorry, Henry.))

Pang finished his first charge of both abilities and started upon his second, the electricity coursing slower yet in thicker strands of vibrant energy. Once finished, after spying the defensive grid around Galla getting tighter and the flare-up of purple energy, he decided two charges would be enough and ran in a counterclockwise fashion toward and around Galla and her skeletal protectors. Exhaustion kicked in slightly as the fog continued to take its gradual effect, and Pang felt winded after this minimal activity. He would have to put an end to this fast, else his strength would probably be sapped in full over time and leave him highly vulnerable. "Here's a little trick for you," he uttered half-audibly, mostly serving as a distraction than anything else. Mid-run, his supercharge magic activated again, focused within his gloves a second time this battle, and he leapt high in the air with a mighty bound as he still travelled around Galla and her lackeys. A barrage of three fast-moving air currents would be unleashed in quick succession from his great height, two aimed for the closer spearman's head and right leg (to Galla's left), and one for the necromancer girl herself. Once Pang landed safely back on the ground, the supercharge magic faded from his fists and instead went into his speed, quadruple the usual running speed again. With this burst of speed, he rushed toward Galla and jumped anew in a spinning kick, with one leg focused toward her, the other half-stretched to parry any jab of the spear which was anything less than decent. If his speed-aided kick landed, it would almost certainly knock Galla out of her defensive cocoon of undead creatures, or if intercepted by a phalanx Pang would knock it away a good distance. If the kick did not meet anything at all, he would land hard on the earthen floor, though other than a few bruises he would be okay.

My thanks, all, for your support! As for you, Kuni, life, unlike Isopolis, "is like a mistress that you find later to be a mister, and no amount of salt baths will ever rinse you of the shame."

The silence felt eerie after so long of fighting in the noise of a thousand chattering teeth, but it certainly made concentration a lot easier. Once Pang felt comfortable that no more risen skeletons were lurking in the fog, he eyed the two phalanx units and the skulls as they formed a defensive barrier around Galla. Was she trying to recuperate, or summon more reinforcements, or just forestall him as his strength dwindles more and more thanks to the fog? Either way, he did not like his odds. He had to break through the formation, though a head-on offense would prove disastrous for him, he feared. Even with all of his speed, heavy infantry were tough to cut through, but there were other ways. He locked his hands in front of him, hands shaping a triangle as his thumbs faced each other. Twisting green strands of ribboning electricity glittered to life around Pang as he readied Piercing Weapon and Shattering Weapon simultaneously, both abilities being stockpiled to the first level of three. He made no move against Galla right now, but with this act of preparation he could not help but feel confident that this match will be over soon. Two more charges like this and he could obliterate any defense with overwhelming force, as long as Galla did not take him down first. His regeneration was still active as well, and while he still suffered from strength loss he was gaining an advantage over Galla in this providential period of downtime. ((I will post for Hogarth later.))

So, a moment of explanation is in order for what is to come, folks. In my line of real-life work, I have been assigned to longer hours with potential for six days a week of work and a longer commute. I will have little downtime besides the time I want to spend with my little family unit, so I will be a wee bit slower than my speeding-bullet posting that you have witnessed me doing as of late, maybe once every two days or so for about a month. In the meantime, feel free to let the conversations flow forth from your characters like chocolate from a chocolate fountain. I love the character interaction so far with this group and am always eager to see more, and every so often during my breaks I read through old and new posts with a smile on my face. Keep it up, all, and I'll catch you on the flipside every now and again.

Pang did not smile this time as he halted, especially when she planted one of her hands on the ground and summoned forth a second warrior. This one seemed strong as well, carrying itself like a phalanx, and he would have to change things up to take it down in an effective manner unless he finished off Galla first. However, the clacking of the many skulls' teeth left him feeling on edge. Typically skeletons did not do such a persistent and annoying noise, which meant this was done on purpose. He realised this barely in the nick of time, however, when the skeletal assassin slipped behind him and pronged its fingers together. His heightened sense of touch felt the shift of air behind him, but he failed to dodge the deadly blow entirely. The knife-like hands jabbed into the left portion of his back, cutting deep. With a roar of pain and anger, Pang aimed to deliver a chopping motion of his hand to the skeletal hand in his back, aiming to chop it off by the wrist with Shattering Weapon. Should he be successful, the bloodletting of this crippling wound would be less severe, and the enemy would be out one more weapon that could be used against him. That was not all. Regardless of whether it was successful or not, he would turn around to face the skeletal assassin, deliver a open-palm uppercut to its jaw, and fist-jab its throat in an effort to sever the axis of its cervical bones in the neck. This would render the assassin's head removed and, with luck, the rest of the body would fall to ash. In the case that anything did not go according to plan, he leapt backwards, away from Galla and her bony companion-warrior, in an attempt to gauge the situation further. This situation, sadly, was poor for the Zouyu. He suffered a dangerous strike from behind, his strength was persistently sapped, and he was outnumbered 3 to 1, maybe 4 to 1. He still had a few trumps up his sleeve, but who knew how many Galla had. Supercharging his regenerative powers as he placed a hand to his chest, he moved his other hand to his back and removed the skeletal hand. Blood did not regenerate for him, but the wounds, especially the small ones, were healing at an accelerated rate, and even the wound at his back clotted quickly and prevented further blood loss. With that, he watched his surroundings and waited, ready for new attacks, especially from above now that the fog thickened again.

I can hear you just fine, Tibarn. Stay safe out there, blend in like Daniel said, and I'll pull that bullet out myself if I have to when we're all reunited, Adamina replied mentally, eyes closed as she punched the ship's inner hull more in irritation of the scenario than annoyance with his comment. Why did that fool have to get shot? That was the enemy's job: to get shot. She will deal with the situation once it came to wrenching the bullet out of him and making sure he did not bleed to death with a local coagulant at the wound site. For now, she had a job to do, one that will give all of them the funds they desperately needed. Daniel, I'm in the first cargo bay to the left on the main entrance. Make sure you hold your fire until visual contact. I'll slug you in the gut if you attack me without warning, she intoned across the mental conversation, slipping out of the cargo hold and into the connector between it and the hallway. Spying a duo of thugs just entering the hallway she looked into, she went back into the cargo bay, ready for action. All she had to do here was play the waiting game for twenty seconds, and they would come by the cargo hold. With their backs turned, she would have the element of surprise and knock them both over the head with her truncheon. Once this happened pretty much exactly as planned, she drew back the unconscious bodies and hid them within the limited supplies gathered in the cargo hold. As she did so, she looked at the supplies a little more carefully. Sure enough, wet smuggling was happening. Some of the crates contained bodies cryogenically frozen, and some less sensitive organs were in flash coolers. Most of the smaller crates held some very hard drugs, opiates mainly, which only mildly grossed her out less. However, these things can have medicinal value, so she pocketed a few needles worth of the stuff along with their caps. These would be a good way to render Greyhawk useless, even with a small dose. Moving on, she travelled a little further into the ship, eyeballing some of the screens as she went across. They seemed recently installed, and some of them still had the plastic screen protectors on them for transit and pre-installation purposes. It made her wonder: was the ship on the other side being salvaged and gutted to improve The Principality? If so, then this was Greyhawk's ship of choice, though that was not telling enough of his whereabouts.

Tom Clancy would be so jealous about the Splinter Cell action of these two. Let's beat up some grunts!

Pang allowed himself a moment of satisfaction for the quick takedown of the skeletal warrior, but the chattering continued from both above and from the skeletal warrior's fallen skull, having survived the fall while the rest of it dusted. His little moment of happiness halted upon being afflicted with all sorts of small cuts. Some bled moderately to minutely and some did not bleed at all, but they were all surface-level, intent on bloodletting rather than immobilizing. There was a potential issue, however. With Galla's performing this negative energy magic, Pang guessed her location from gauging the feel of the number of his lacerations, and he whether this was the case or not he guessed rightly when he travelled in that direction with a reserved jog, catching a glimpse of Galla's long hair and black dress in the crimson fog. There, he commented inwardly, sheathing his quarterstaff and enhancing his own speed with supercharge magic, quadruple that of a normal individual for a brief moment of time. With his burst of speed, he caught up to Galla and ran alongside her on her right side, matching her speed as the supercharge magic faded away. "Return to sender," he voiced before thrusting a palm strike at her upper arm. If it worked successfully in landing, the humerus bone would snap in her right arm, rendering it useless and potentially causing internal bleeding. Furthermore, the fire enhancement on his padded gloves would likely leave a decent burn on her skin unless her clothes were insulated.

Pang glared into the fog, awaiting activity, but none seem to come. Finally, he heard the death clatter of skeleton teeth. No footfalls of bone on stone, so it must have been stationary or another of the floating skulls, or its efforts of quieting its steps were top-notch. Was it a distraction? Maybe so, but for what he did not know. Keeping on guard, he used his quick speed to circumnavigate the chattering and drew his quarterstaff anew, aiming to break the clattering thing like the skull from previously. Skulls or skeletons, bone is bone, and bone can shatter well under a Shattering Weapon strike. He did not quite expect a skeletal warrior, however, reinforced with bone armour, but he aimed to break through regardless. Spinning his quarterstaff in a Shattering Weapon strike, he aimed that blow at the base of the spine, then another regular blow toward the head. His aim was to remove its mobility, then the head, diffusing the situation of having a warrior haunt him entirely. He was reserved, however, and his eyes danced from side to side in search for outside influences. The necromancer was still at large, and who knew how many other things lay hidden in the gloom. ((Shattering Weapon in this case can be used only once before it has to be recharged. The more it is stacked [once per post up to three times], the better the armour penetration and destruction is. This can be used in synergy with other abilities well, especially in the use of Shield energy, which shatters easily like glass and can create a lot of shards, again similar to glass. Clones can charge separately, though their effectiveness is decreased until they merge back with the original.)) -- -- -- Meanwhile, Hogarth really enjoyed the subjects brought up, especially that of magic and yogurt. However, the arena caught more interest for him. The coliseum brought him many imaginative ideas for research and study as he tried to create golems and robots of a unique nature, ones with white, pristine souls and free will without having to rob of other creatures. Sadly, such work was very, very difficult. He had not come across any results over the last several dozen trials, and it was only complicated further because he had to work inside his room on such a practise. Thankfully he had one of the biggest personal rooms Haven had to offer for the abundance of stuff he collected. "Then it's decided. Let's pay the arena a visit!" he voiced, trying his best to control his wheezing as the apparatus at his neck took in air. "From the sounds of things a good number of folks are already gathered, so you could meet a number of them, Henry and others. And on the subject of yogurt, it is a delicious milky treat, smooth and delicious with fruit. I'll offer some to you when I perfect my machine, Sylph, unless you like trout. We will follow your lead, Ceres."

Pang kept his guard up as he watched the fog roll throughout the arena, fists glittering with a new magic that glowed a deep green hue in stark contrast to the red of the smoke. Such was a natural gift of his, an ability that others had dubbed a supercharging magic for its synergistic nature. In this case, however, he used it for his own purposes. Setting himself into a boxing position, he threw supercharged open fists in the direction of Galla, and air pierced the fog as it travelled to where Galla was previously. Unfortunately for him, however, there was no responsive oof or sound in general, which caused him to believe that she had slipped elsewhere in the fog. How troublesome, he thought to himself, feeling the torpor of the fog drain his muscles of strength. Worse yet, some of the skulls were launched in his direction and seemingly circling him, considering their ill-boding chatter of teeth. He needed to move or take the skulls down or both. Whipping out his quarterstaff and swinging it about in a consistent alternating diagonal, he took quick strides towards the leftmost skull at the time and swung quickly at it with a flurry of three blows. Whether or not any of the blows struck the skeletal remains of the head, he would launch himself forward in aim of escaping the skulls with a brisk run. Fleeing was better than later being stuck in a pincer formation, and he hoped that the skulls would lose track of him. He scoured the smoke-filled arena, seeking out Galla and whatever traps that lay ahead in the fog-strewn openness. His eyes darted back and forth as he halted close to one of the walls and waited. He wanted to check and see if Galla could sense his position or not within this fog. If not, he would have even grounds when fighting her in this environment.

Out of all the times for action, now was Adamina's greatest chance, and she took to flight. Out of the bird's-eye view she received a good amount of intel, and she mentally relayed the information to Tibarn, being still on Daniel's very useful mind link. Three of Greyhawk's goons are drawing close to you, Tibarn. You can sneak to the right of you and behind those oil drums. That way you can avoid all eyes focused in your direction. Get out of there and stay alive. Hop to it! With that bit of advice, she hovered over to The Principality and, discerning it safe and her descent upon its landing deck unseen, slipped onboard and within it. She hoped that the mind link would still work very well even with this distance, and if not she felt confident in her abilities with dealing with common grunts and thugs. Her telescopic weapon popped open on one end, serving as a baton in these close quarters rather than a fully fledged quarterstaff. So far, so good. Nobody was immediately in the vicinity of the main corridor through the ship, though she heard movement coming further from within. She ducked inside one of the cargo areas next to the main entrance, observing a small selection of contraband still on the ship. She cursed her luck. This room must have been either almost fully emptied or barely being filled, though which she could not tell fully. It was too risky to immediately without identifying the sources of the movement, so she laid low in the room, eyes darting for hiding areas just in case somebody decided to enter the room. ((I left an opening for action on The Principality, Heart, if you would like to use NPCs on that ship. If not, I can continue my little self-assigned stealth mission.))

The white tiger flashed a grin that revealed his sharp canines, the thrill of the fight trickling into his bloodstream and making his pulse quicken, his adrenaline spike. It was not becoming of a monk to feel the heated waves of battle, but he was no ordinary monk. Pang mused over the choosings excitedly: ranked and to the death, a battle that meant something more than a simple sparring match. Thankfully this arena was outfitted for these types of things. As the two took their places, he twiddled the pendant at his neck, fingers tracing over the ivory from which it was made, then prepared the announcement. "Those who are with us today, this battle will be a ranked duel, and the fight will be to the death of one or both of us. Mind you, the arena is prepared with a golden light that prevents true death and heals both the fallen and the victor to full health and vigor, which makes learning from the arena quicker, easier, and without much of a downfall. You will still feel pain, however, and the passing of death is not the quick and easy cutting off of pain that you might assume it to be. With all of that knowledge, let's begin. Galla, ladies first." As he was talking through this, he pulled his padded gloves on snugly, the fire enchantment upon them glowing with an incarnadine glimmer. After that, he took one of the uniform stances of the monastery in which he was raised for a good portion of his life. He had to be ready, ready for anything. Necromancers were tricky foes, and he had never fought Galla before, to his memory. She might have an abundance of tricks greater than summoning undead thralls and projected bones.

*bows*, thank you. Also, were you? I must have misread that, as I originally thought she was training in her room. Let's say she was in one of the training rooms, if that is all right.

You got it. =P

For a few kicks and giggles, I threw in a few easter eggs into my post. Enjoy. Hopefully some of you can find both of them.