Duelist League: Goldenblade vs Xander

    This arena is located in the home of the Salamander's. In the home of the Westeland, a nation that Xander Scaleharth calls 'home', at least, as far as the game is concerned.

It would be here, that the Salamander would challenge Goldenblade. The last time they fought months ago, the twin blade fighter met her match against the unmoving tank that was the dark scaled Salamander. Perhaps this time it would be different.

Perhaps this time, her blades would shatter that defense and she would carve her way to victory!

    That is what the crowd may gather to watch or perhaps just for a good show, along with some entertainment during a time of turmoil and uncertainty. After all, Gladiator battles were created to distract the people; What is so different here?

    Xander is standing out in the middle of the arena as he waits. However, the Salamander is wearing different kind of armor. Armor that is a mix of leather, fur, and metal. The helmet covering part of his face, with 'horns' protruding from the side, made from the Mammoth's tusks.

Though the shield and his sword could use some upgrading, but the armor is an impressive sight at least. He twirls his sword around idly as he waits for Goldenblade to make themselves known...

Goldenblade is a hometeam player here also, ironically, as those who know her flaming attacks will readily attest. As to whether she will emerge victorious, she is ambivalent. She's here to train and learn, and sometimes you learn by taking it in the face a few times. It doesn't hurt that much.

They say character is what you get when you don't get what you want. If that's the case, Goldenblade has been building considerable character in the duelling arena, but she hasn't given up, and smiles bravely to Xander. "New armor?" she asks. "Looks nice." She's got new armor also, or, rather, her old armor has been patched and cleaned up a bit, and she's using the same starter weapons she was using in the tourney. "I'll have new gear by next week, I think," she explains. "But still working on it now." She does seem a bit distracted, as if she's half thinking about those tasks that have taken up so much of her time.

She'll square off, regardless, blades out and ready. "Bring it on, regardless," she says, "and we'll see what can be done."

    Merek arrives to take a look at the people that are dueling, which is Goldenblade along with that man, Xander. He nods along to the two while he takes a moment to adjust his attire along with the scarf, wearing his bracelet. The man settles about to listen and watch.

    Xander smirks faintly, "Thank you. Giganpor is one heck of a craftsman." He gives the blade another twirl in his hand. "Though I won't go easy on you, but I don't expect you to do the same either."

The Salamander shifts his stance and moves into a more combat ready position. The duel request is sent out, once it is accepted the count down begins.

    3
        2
            1
                GO

The Salamander quickly moves in, his sword glimmers with a rune display, which charges with an electrical surge, not only as he swings the blade once, but twice. Trying to use the electricity to set Goldenblade a bit off balance; if not make striking back difficult.

Goldenblade arches a brow at the mention of Giganpor, and she says, "I've been working with him as well. He's a talented smith. I hope one of his current projects pans out well, we're working together on it." It's one of the many distractions she has. But she's not one to sit idle when there are interesting things going on.

Goldenblade is ready for Xander to come at her, and his attack is ... less than she expected, it seems. She's momentarily taken aback, Vertina had pressed her much harder in their duel. She negligently blocks his attack with a parry, steel clanging on steel, and she ripostes, then comes in with her second sword after the first, attempting to use both to drain Xander's blood. Or his HP, anyhow.

    As soon as Goldenblade moves in, Her first strike impacts a wall of light that suddenly raises up. Soon her blade shatters through it, and as her second attack comes in, it slams into his shield lit on fire, as flames lick around her blade toward her.

The Salamander then has to do a little bit of fancy footwork, but her next attack does eventually throw off his defense, only for him to slide around, with a slide of his foot and move, as vines race up from where he was to try and catch Goldenblade with their poisonous barbs. "You've gotten better!" He remarks with a grin. "Good!"

Goldenblade finds herself in a poor position after the previous exchange of blows, her choices limited by the position she's left herself in. But Xander does something Uta mentioned once, and she smiles cruelly as he praises her. "I've had a few hard lessons. Your defense is solid. Better than mine. But you're giving me /too/ much opportunity." She may yet have time to regret those words, but she feels she ought to say them. It might be he's giving her enough rope to hang herself, but she's got to go for it. She's never had this much choice in the matter before.

She takes a bit of damage from his attack, but it's not serious. Or it isn't in her mind. She's now focused like a laser on her counterattack, beating aside his guard and thrusting with both swords for his heart. The swords burst into intense flame as she attacks, and even as her HP drops, she looks pleased with herself. She'll see if he can defend against -that-.

    Xander stares at Goldenblade as she makes her comment and he says calmly, "Don't get cocky. It is what gets people killed." As soon as the female warrior comes in, he suddenly raises up that shield, but his armor also glows.

That shield seems to shimmer with a magical aura that almost makes it into a bending tower shield as it takes the full force of Goldenblade's attack. Xander holds his ground, teeth gritting, before he slams the shield to the side to knock the woman back.

From there, Goldenblade may see an odd shimmer moving around his body, slowly healing the gentle nicks the battle has given him so far. Those draconic eyes looking dead on at her own.

Goldenblade's expression is stoic as Xander can, it seems, defend against her best attacks. But she says, "I have to be cocky. I've got nothing to lose here except honor, and honor doesn't hurt." The slow damage over time hurts, though, if not badly. Just enough to nag. But if he took her best attack, that's not a good sign at all. Nevermind that she pressed him hard enough that he had to forgo his own attack. That's a tactical choice, she's learning, and while it wouldn't work for her, it seems to be working fine against her.

Goldenblade launches another hard attack, though, pressing him as best she's able, though she's less confident now that Xander's defense seems as hard as nails. She might not be able to beat it, but at least she can go down swinging. That's been her strategy so far, and since he's not pressing her with attacks she can counter, she can concentrate on her offense, giving her best attack, a hard stab with her main hand, while she tosses a small bulb of ... what is that? There's a puff of gas, and a curious concoction of herbal scents wafts over him.

    The herbal mix is enough to set the Salamander off balance, as he coughs a few times. It causes his teeth to bite down hard and him to stagger back a bit. It was enough for the quick bladed fighter to get a proper hit in at last.

Xander steps back, before he raises up a massive firewall between the two of them, the intense heat trying to burn away some of the gas. "I was cocky once." He says calmly. "... So many of us were. You know where they ended up?"

The Salamander then walks through the flame, his blade catching on fire as he does, then his next words are said just as calmly. "The ended up in hell and now never let me /sleep/!" With those last words, he swings his blade and a massive flame streak rises up and attempts to catch Goldenblade into it.

"No one has to be cocky." He growls out. "No /one/ should ever wish for death upon themselves just cause they /can/. /No one/ should /ever/ want to be on that end."

Goldenblade is, it seems, quite a bit out of her league. She suspected as much, and if he's improved since the tournment, she certainly has not. It's frustrating, but all she can do is her best. All cockiness has gone by the wayside as she concentrates ferociously, putting up her best defense, inadequate as it may be, and she feels his flame attack scortch her, turning the initiative back in his favor. She'd been trying to press his defenses, but her attacks just were not up to the task, and with her last strong effort turned aside, it's all she can do to avoid that massive flame streak. It catches and burns her, and if not badly, it took a considerable effort of dodging and weaving to make that so.

Having backpedalled to a few yards distance, she palms a small disk from her belt pouch and hurls it at Xander, desperate for any measure that might score damage. She's got to at least try him, if she doesn't, he'll be able to press her fully, and then it'll be all over.

    Xander watches as Goldenblade moves away from him, but he doesn't stop walking toward her. Each step moving her in direction.

The coin does smack him across the face, cutting a red streak across his features, but there is an electrical charge around his feet, as runes light up along his sword.

The poison continues to slowly eat away at his HP, but his eyes are locked on her. Then with a sudden push off, the Salamander rushes right at her. He lets out a battle roar, as lightning streaks from the very sky with a thundering crack.

He leaps up, and then slams the sword on the ground, with a loud thunderous explosion, lightning streaking out heading right for Goldenblade as it cracks the ground around it.

    Merek does smile a bit when that coin is thrown at him, the man nodding. He seems to be enjoying watching that fight while he takes a drink from the flask with him.

Goldenblade stands her ground as Xander stalks after her. She's a bit surprised as Xander takes the brunt of her surprise attack. It may be that it was really a surprise, or it may simply have not been worth his effort to avoid. It looked like a good hit, but it also looks like it hasn't changed the tenor of the match.

She throws both swords up to try to block or deflect Xander's lightning, but it's not a strong enough defense, it seems, and she winces as her heath drops a bit more.

"Oh, I don't wish death on anyone," she says when she has a moment to breathe. "Most certainly not in a silly children's game." Her own children are in their fifties, so that's a pretty broad statement. "But if you're not going to speak up for yourself, who -will- speak up for you? It doesn't change the result of the fight," she admits, shadows spilling from her blades as she essays an attempt at a riposte under cover of darkness. "It's a matter of having fighting spirit. You're considerably better than I am, but I'm not going to throw in the towel before it's played out, and I'm not going to cry and wonder why I'm not as good, and bemoan my fate or blame others. I'm learning what I need to do, where the holes are in my techniques, and what works, and what doesn't."

    Goldenblade's words only cause Xander to chuckle a little. "You know how many kids don't actually play this game? How many people stuck here use this game to maybe feel again or perhaps even try to recover from something taken from them? Not everyone is a child-- and not everyone see's this as a child's game... More importantly..."

As Goldenblade comes in for the attack, Xander raises up his sword to block one of her strikes. The poison though ticking away at his health. "This is no longer a /game/. This is now /life/. Until we can find a means out," He then moves his shield around to block the next strike, the dark energy pours over his shield, before he shifts his foot work around. "This is what we are stuck with."

He then jumps back, his blade lightning up with golden runes, before he drives the sword into the ground. The earth quakes, before parts of it try to shove upward to knock Goldenblade into the air. "Start thinking like a soldier and not as a civilian."

Goldenblade laughs as Xander mentions people that aren't children who play the game. "I'm seventy five," she replies casually. "At home, anyhow. You're pretty much /all/ children as far as I'm concerned." She doesn't say it with any rancor, it's just a thing that is.

As far as it not being a game, she says, "It's still the same game as it's always been. We're stuck here, though, you're right about that, and all the fallout from that. But we're trying to find a way out, that much I know, and I'd like a way out, myself. That's why I'm doing all that I do. But I've never been a soldier, and I don't know how."

She puts up another strond defense, concentrrating on the point of Xander's lightning strike. She takes some of the shock despite her best defense, but it's a strong defense. "I'd like to make a positive difference here, but browbeating people that don't know how all the details work doesn't really accomplish much other than alienating people that could help."

    "Then maybe instead of thinking you have all the answers or thinking your age matters, you should open that old jar that is your noggin' and learn some new tricks." Xander quickly responds back.

"If you are not willing to learn," Xander then raises his shield to take the brunt of the attack once more. This time looking directly at Goldenblade. "Then get the hell off the battlefield before this game /does/ take your life... because one day, we may not respawn-- and I don't," His sword lights up with electricity, "Want to see you be one of those victims!"

He then swiped the blade directly at Goldenblade, before bringing it back around. "One player, even if a pvper already been claimed by the war in the north. Who's next? You? Me?" Then he swings the blade again. The thunder rolls with each strike. "Shiruba? Merek? Amalthea? Rylen? /Any/ of us could be next. So great and all you are trying to learn," Then he strikes one more time, "But you /need/ to not see anyone less than yourself, and that means not seeing us as 'kids'. We are all fucking in this together."

Goldenblade chuckles wryly and says, as she fends off Xander's attack, pausing in concentration, and replies afterward, "I never said I had any answers. I'd love to learn new tricks, she adds. I'm working on them now. Fight me again when I've got them learned them and I might not do as poorly."

"I'm more than willing to learn," she adds. "But if you want to teach me something, then teach me things. I've set up an academy for that, but no one's come there yet. But I'd love to learn, and to teach others."

She sighs at becoming a victim, and says, "I certainly have no intention of dying here. I don't know why people think I must be rolling over to die if I don't follow their dogma."

As far as seeing people as kids, she says, "I'll assume you're an adult when you stop accusing me of whatever you don't like people doing. I'm just trying to help people and get along, and I find it frustrating to be dismissed and badgered and told how horrible I am. That's not helpful, either. Namecalling is what children do."

    "And I have not even name called ya, so where the hell did you get that from?" Xander says back, but there was calmness in his words, even if an edge of annoyance. "Your first mistake is you don't actually /listen/. You /assume/ what your hearing... and that is why you have trouble keeping up!"

"And I never said you'd be rolling over, but that goes back to actually hearing." Xander adds, as he focuses out a magical field to take each strike. Focusing that field where Goldenblade's attacks would be.

At least till she breaks the field, at which case, he has his blade come around and meet her's, again, and again, trying to counter and find a place to strike at.

Goldenblade sighs, and replies, "You're the one not hearing your own words. You said, that I think I have all the answers and that I'm not willing to open my mind to new things. You said I'm thinking wrong." She shrugs, fends off Xander's attack with a hard parry that jars her arm. "As far as thinking wrong, that might even be true. But it's how I think, and I'm stuck with it. I don't know how to think like you kids. Never had to."

She thrusts with her free sword, trying to spear Xander through the middle as she says, "You're the one assuming I can't or won't help and ought to get out of your way. I don't much appreciate that. I don't try to be in your way, but my brain is still seventy five, and doesn't pick up on all this fancy new business like most of you other players. Doesn't mean I don't want to participate, it just means it takes a bit more patience and effort to bring me up to speed."

    "For one," Xander says firmly, "I don't even get half the time what the shit most of these people are thinking, but I also don't think civilian. I can't anymore... even after ten years of being out of service."

The Salamander watches what Goldenblade does, even as they talk, he shifts his weight and allows her blade to slide along his sword, till it catches on the handguard. Where he locks their blades for a moment. "I also never assumed that you can't or won't. What I maybe /do/ assume, is that thing out there could get its hands on you and others, including myself, and end our lives in /one/ move."

    The Salamander then grins a little. It's a tad sadistic, maybe even sad; It's a hard expression to read. "But who the fuck knows, brain got scrambled and amazing I somehow don't lisp the shit out of my words... probably the same reason I can't get the game to no longer let me go back and forth between my two native languages." Then he chuckles. ".. Or maybe I've just managed to at last get past that shit. Enguard or whatever it is!" He says with an almost playful tone.

With a sudden step around, he unlocks the blades, allowing Goldenblade to be free, but swing up an electrical charge as he does to catch her in.

Goldenblade winces as Xander locks he in place, and she can't pull back as his shield stings her. She can't take a lot more of that, it's actually hurting her more than the attacks, which she's fending off, if only just barely. She's hanging as tough as she can, though, given the clear difference in actual skill levels.

Xander's electrical zap is a distraction, but she shakes her head, trying to clear it. Though he hasn't directly attacked her, she dodges hard to one side, leaving a trail of flames in her wake, right in Xander's face, her signature move so far, and one of her more effective ones. She sighs as he admits to assuming that some /thing/ is out there, and could kill us all. "It may be. But if you react without knowing for sure what you're reacting to, how do you know if you're making something better or worse?" Goldenblade tries to follow his digression on languages and that his brain is scrambled. What's that got to do with anything? She's confused.

She slips behind a cloak of darkness, though, using the gloom to conceal her blade, but this time, the aim is not truly where it seems. Expecting a parry, she twists her attack at the last moment to slash Xander's arm. Let's see if that's any more effective than her direct attacks have been?

    Merek looks along to the fighting while he takes a moment to consider. He doesn't add anything, he seems to be watching the ways they fight.

    Xander calls up a wall of flame once more, but this time, it doesn't do too much to stop Goldenblade's assault. The Stealth is also slightly effective, as a red mark shows up along the leather plating of the armor; A nick to the HP bar, along with the status effects.

The Salamander however, moves his hand, creating a golden rune; After all what he can't see...

    The Earth will find. Soon Goldenblade may find the ground not being overly friendly for her footing or health. "We already know what it can do. It is not a case of being sure, but rather a 'when'. I guess you don't keep up with bulletin posts, huh?"

"Let me put it this way. Simple and quick," He says as he tries to spot her as the ground rumbles and rolls. "The undead forces up north have a creature that turned a player into an undead. That player never respawned. They are gone. Dead. That creature that did this? Still around and active. Now do you get it?"

Goldenblade finds herself more disoriented from Xander's little electrical jolt than she realized. She can't seem to form a coherent attack, though given his relentless attacks, it's small wonder she hasn't turtled before now. She acks at the eruption of earth, dodging wildly and trying to swat away the larger chunks as the world comes at her. With an uncanny edge of speed to her evasion, though, she manages to survive with only minor injury. She really does pull out all the stops on defense, her attacks halting entirely to her chagrin. That loss of initiative will cost her, she knows. She just knows.

As Xander mentions the undead thing, she stops dead. "Wait, wait," she protests. "I /did/ hear that news, or most of it. But /no one said/ that the player /didn't respawn/. That part got left out of what I heard, and I was wonderng about that. I figured the player had respawned and the undead monster was just going around with the player's name attached. Anyhow, did they kill the undead that the player turned into? If -that- doesn't free them, then yeah, that means the game's killing players. Otherwise, it's just an extra-long wait to respawn. Not good, but not dying." She winces, that's not good news no matter how it is. She does protest, "I've fought against those undead, too, I've done as much as I could." She grumbles, "So, now that I know it's serious business, what do you suggest I do?"

    Xander watches as Goldenblade stands there asking about it. "No one has seen him and no one has seen the undead since it ran off. It's either hiding out wherever that Castle is... Or it's somewhere with the forces in some area."

The Salamander then narrows his eyes, "... And what can you do? Simple." He then charges directly at Goldenblade, making a impaling motion, "Don't be the next!"

Goldenblade snorts at Xander, parrying his flèche with an economical motion. She's not clear on how she's held out this long. She knows Xander outclasses her. But he hasn't got the attacks like Vertina had. Well, she had been told that everyone's different. She nods that noone has seen the converted undead, and she suggests, "Maybe we ought to try something along those lines? /Searching/ for the player, if we can. I feel bad now, that we haven't sent out a search party. That's just an old man's opinion, though," she adds sourly. "You kids know better, I expect."

    "You really just like call everyone kid, huh?" Xander just laughs, "You said you wanted to be useful yeah? You wanted to help, then why not do it yourself, old timer?" He says with a grin.

"You got something between those two ears, so use it!" The Salamander says, as he stands his ground, the woman at last finding a weak spot in that armor, creating a nasty red digital gash across his form, but the holy knight doesn't stop.

Instead he presses on, sending on an electrical attack that causes the sky to roar with a thunderous crash.

Goldenblade shrugs about calling everyone kid. "When you're seventy five, everyone -is- a kid. It is what it is. Just means we've got a different perspective. Not better or worse, you're the one putting values there. I'm just saying it's a differentt perspective. I've been a bricklayer for fifty years, too. Bet you can't beat /that/," she says with a smirk. But as to mounting a rescue mission, she says, "Didn't you just warn me not to risk myself foolishly? I don't know how this world works, or even where to find these undead."

She acks at the powerful electrical attack, throwing up both swords to try and block the energy of the attack. It's even mostly effective, though her hair is a bit frizzier. "But after this, let's sit down and talk about a plan. If there's a way to do a rescue mission, we damned well /ought/ to do it. You're the soldier, do you leave comrades behind? I thought that was anathema?"

    "He was a PvPer, a player killer, and no one in command stepped up, so I didn't bother. I gave up trying to voice my views, opinions, or even intel when I got ignored a few times over. A voice that no one cared to hear, so I went, fine-- fuck it." Xander uses his superior defense once more to block Goldenblade's attack and any further strikes she comes in with.

"I'll just sit back like a good soldier boy, and let them all figure it out. They seem to know what is best and I'm not in the mood to scream out... Hey! I'm an American soldier, an army vet, I have combat training!" His eyes narrow sharply, "The world doesn't care, so what is the point. They slap you on the shoulder, say thank you for your service, then send you off to be forgotten."

Xander then breaks Goldenblade's attack, moving around with a counter to her attack, before then sliding in with his sword igniting onto flame in order to see if he can cut into her a bit more. "But if you want to spear head it. Get the people together, instead of throwing yourself in alone. Then go for it. If you want my knowledge, I'll give it."

Goldenblade flateyes Xander's attack, almost sapping the last of her health, and cuts left with the speed of a delorean, including the flames as she hits eighty-eight miles an hour, flames rushing back at Xander as she delivers another one of those darkness-shrouded thrusts, again with the misleading aim, and the intent to slash his arm and draw blood.

She ohs about the player that was captured, and says, "If he was a PVPer, then no one wanted to rescue him? I guess that's what you get, making people hate you. No one will help you when you need it." She smirks at Xander being an American vet, and says, "I'll swear there's as many Americans on this game as Japanese. I knew a few vets, in the late 60's and early 70's. But you're probably Gulf War, I'm guessing?" Xander's counterattack, though, finally takes the last of her health, and the marker goes up proclaiming him the winner.

Goldenblade sighs heavily and bows. "Not much doubt how it would wind up," she says, amused, "but I think I made you work for it, at least?" As far as a rescue mission, she says, "I'd be interested in at least scouting out the situation. At seeing what might be seen. I don't understand anything about the magic in this world, though, so we'll need someone who does."

    Xander watches as Goldenblade comes in, he goes to meet her swords with his shield, the flames washing, but the Salamander holds his own, flames itself can seen escape past his teeth, as he struggles back.

Eventually he does shove Goldenblade back, with enough force and a swipe, that it sends the message at long last...

        [ !Duel Over! Winner - Xander Scaleharth ]

Xander huffs softly, at last allowing himself to relax as the damage starts to fade away. His jaw clenches a little. "You did good, better then when we first fought in this very arena." He then walks up to Goldenblade and extends his hand out to her.

"Also you maybe make me a bit older than I am, so I take that as a compliment. I was born back in 1977, given my birthday has already passed... I am now Thirty-six." He goes to then sheath his sword. "I was born on the military base in Japan, spent a good deal of my youth in Japan, my highschool years in the States, joined the army after the whole net mess to help keep that from happen... and well..."

    Xander chuckles. "... Let's just say then we /all/ got hit with that Flash of Death. Given I was part of the cyber warfare division... well... I am sure you can put two-n-two together... and figure out when I was honorable discharged." There was a sadness in his voice as he goes to step away.

"... Anyways, let's go get something to drink. It will be on my tab, then maybe after some rest, we can discuss what you are thinking of doing and /maybe/ I can slide it to the right people to see if they got folks they can help with that."

Goldenblade takes Xander's hand, shakes it firmly, and chuckles at his story. "You're less than half my age, and you wonder why I call you a kid," she chortles with amusement. "I don't know much about computers, and viruses and all that. That was something the management weenies at work had to deal with." Bricklayers are not computer-oriented, it seems.

She nods, though, at getting something to drink. "I'm with you on that," she agrees. "And I know a couple people who might be able to do an infultration with me. Apparently I'm a stealth character. Who knew?"