Lord and Ladies

[ThreeWords]

"If you seek to help Sam, by all means you must take the blade. But he said it would keep me safe, and when I told him he needed it more, he seemed to fear for me if I had it not. So please, take me with you! You can bring not only the sword to my Samuel but also myself."

 

[KronosTalon]

"Of course, If that is what you wish. You may come along and I will bring you and the sword to Samuel. Please, guickly gather what you wish to bring with you, as I would like to start off as quickly as possible." Zyphe said as he reached down and grabbed the case the sword was locked in and quickly put it back in, locked it, and carefully tucked the key under his breast plate. He tucked the entire case in his traveling bag, a quite large bag that hangs off his waist. "Oh, and one more thing, please follow my orders when we are on out journey. If it comes down to a situation, I would not see you getting hurt." He added before helping the girl collect her things.

 

[Fishtie]

Willis nodded to Lyrus's accusation. "Indeed. Though weather the query's fate is already sealed I wouldn't say. Clearly some force we don't know of has interfered. If it will do so again, we also can not say."

However, as Willis spoke he was a touch surprised. Not many recognized his age from the beginning. Then again, his dress and posture did sometimes give off the image of an elder. People had been confused before, but somehow Willis suspected that wasn't the case here.

Willis considered for a moment of offering a hand to help Lyrus up, but decided against it. The damaging of his implement would be something he would have to get up from alone; both figuratively and literally.

 

[ThreeWords]

[spoiler =@KronosTalon and Xero]
I'm gonna assume that you don't have any other plans, and time-skip you both to the village proper.[/spoiler]

Even as Lyrus queried Zyphe's location, the knight was entering the village square, en route to the the tavern. Across from him, from the direction of the forests, come a strange pair; one is a lean nobleman, the other is hidden beneath a concealing robe.

---

As Granna enters the village, he spots before him what can only be a fellow champion; a truly huge man made only bigger by the layers of plate he wears, and the flaring plume of his helmet. Beside him moves a young woman, who looks decidedly less like a person of power or importance...

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

Iston was once again displeased to see the girl emerge from her home, once again accompanied by Zyphe. Even worse, she appeared to be prepared to do some traveling of some sort. Ooooh, is she accompanying the knight? What will you do now Iston? Reynard asked him mockingly with a laugh. Iston pondered it for a good while as he followed them. They were headed in the direction of the tavern. If they were going to meet up with the other champions there, it would be impossible for Iston to get the girl away from all of them. "Well then... I guess I'll have to stop them here." Iston finally replied.

Quickly, he dashed ahead of the two and placed himself directly in their path. "That's quite enough of that you two! Following you has been one of the most boring experiences in this village and I'm quite sick of it. I want to know what that girl knows." Iston said with a twisted grin, pointing at the girl in question. "And I WILL get what I want. Now be a good little knight and hand her over."

 

[KronosTalon]

The girl looked up at Zyphe, Unsure of what to do. "Do not worry miss, This will not take too long." Zyphe said with his usual loud and toneless voice. He took the defensive step in front of the girl, totally blocking her from view with his large body. He drew his sword into his right hand gave it a quick spin before tapping it against his large shield. An odd sound rang out for just two peices of metal banging against eachother. Then he held both his shield and his sword at the ready in front of him, giving him a very intimidating look.

"You WILL never get past me, You can try all you want. I suggest giving up this attempt before it starts, You will not make me budge, no matter how strong your determination. For my will is unbending, and there is no question about my determination." Zyphe said as he began examining the man.The fist looks menacing, I will take extra precautions to block that... He leaned forward just slightyly, and positioned himself to brace against any attack the man would come at him with.

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

Iston was howling with laughter as Zyphe stepped up and challenged him to a fight. Once his laughter had subsided, he pounded his gauntlets together and prepared to battle. "I'll show you why they call me Iston of Life's End. You should have just put down your sword and crawled back to your Oathkeeper." He said before charging towards Zyphe, fists raised.

"Just kidding!" Iston called out tauntingly as he strafed around to the left just before he hit Zyphes shield and threw a powerful punch aimed at Zyphe's shoulder, in an attempt to cause the knight to stumble and perhaps even fall down. No matter how strong he was, even Zyphe wouldn't be able to get up quickly in that heavy armor and Iston would be able to strike then, or perhaps just grab the girl and run.

 

[KronosTalon]

Zyphe stood stalwart until he watched him run all the way toward him, and slid himself to the left. That would be the wrong way... he thought to himself as he slid down onto his right knee and moved his the large shield on his left to block the blow from the fist. The blow rang out in an interesting sound, a soft thud and an interesting ring afterward. A dent in the form of Iston's fist showed just barely in the shield. "Was that all? You will have to work much harder if you want to try to get through this shield." Zyphe said as he lunged out with his sword toward Iston's gut.

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

Zyphe's speed to turn and block almost caught Iston off guard. Almost. It was too late to use his right hand that he had just struck with to block Zyphe's attack, but he managed to use his left hand to turn the blow aside enough that it barely missed him. In the same fluid motion, Iston spun into a sweeping kick aimed at Zyphe's left leg in another attempt to get the knight off of his feet.

 

[KronosTalon]

Zyphe dropped the shield low and put it on its side, and the kick connected with it, and yet another small dent formed in it. There was a small popping noise as the first dent from the punch started to reform back to its original shape. After Zyphe blocked the attack, he dropped his sword and put both hands behind his shield, and with a grunt and a sigh launched himself toward Iston, the large man and shield charging toward him.

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

The block plus the sudden charge forward caused Iston to stumble slightly, but he quickly recovered by putting his hands on the ground and turning the fall into a back flip. After landing on his feet again, Iston took a quick moment to analyze the situation. I won't be putting a dent in that shield anytime soon... But his armor is another story. It clearly isn't as strong as his shield if he doesn't want me to hit it. He wasn't left with much time though, as the knight was still heading his way. Iston rushed to meet him and slammed both fists into Zyphe's shield, pushing back with all his might. "Let's see who's stronger then eh?"

 

[KronosTalon]

Zyphe dug his heels into the ground under him, and was pushed back slightly when the gauntlets hit his shield. He slowly, one foot at a time, began to inch his way forward toward his opponent, gradually gaining speed as he went. "I wear at least double this weight every time I train, triple if my Lord finds it necessary, I think you will find I am no push over." He said as he began to work his way and gain some ground on the man, having both of his large arms pushing against his shield.

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

"Well well, aren't you just a good little doggie, always doing what your master tells you!" Iston said, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he strained to keep Zyphe at bay. Despite his using his full strength, he could only slow the knight's advance. But as he pushed he slowly worked his hands towards the top of the shield, eventually gripping it by the top edge. "But can you do... THIS?!" Iston yelled, as he pushed himself up and vaulted over Zyphe's head, landing between the knight and his discarded sword.

 

[KronosTalon]

Zyphe was a bit taken back from the sudden leap over him, but he spun around quickly to face his opponent. "I follow his command, but I am no dog." He said, a certain amount of anger in his voice as he began to advance on his foe, shield at the ready to see what he would do next. He is a fast one, It would take many years for my body to develop such speed in this great suit of armor... He thought to himself as he advanced on.

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

Iston chuckled heartily at Zyphe's anger regarding his comment. Now that he had struck a nerve, it was time to continue his assault. Both verbally and physically. "Oh, you're not a dog? Such a shame, you play fetch for your master so wonderfully!" Iston taunted once more as he charged to meet his foes advance. He lashed out at Zyphe's shield with a few kicks to ensure that his focus was drawn towards defending his front and then spun around to his right side and threw a strong right hook to the head.

 

[Xero Scythe]

Grana raised an eyebrow as he felt the power flow in front of him. "Hmm... Two champions, eh? Oh, and one is Life's End... And the other is the Oathkeeper's? Oh, this should be fun!" Grana finally decided to reply to Aliss. "Overtly. The best place to hide a lie is in a sea of truth- no one even expects it to exist. But keep thy Lady hidden. Say that thou art of Ellie, Crone of Old Age." Perhaps it was mean-spirited, but she certainly fit the part. "Oh, and stay here. I wouldn't want thy holy personage to become burned or otherwise injured." Grana mockingly bowed as he walked forward, slightly drawing Twin Fire from its sheath. He stepped forward once more to get within range, and flicked Twin Fire forward to meet Iston's fist. True to its indestructible nature, Grana's blade parried Iston's hook well. "Gentlemen, Gentlemen? Why art thou fighting? Canst this not be settled with civil tongues in place of uncouth violence?" Grana smiled disarmingly as he sheathed his blade once more, not allowing either champion to get a good look at it.

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

Iston never even saw the blade coming. He was so surprised by it's sudden appearance that the fact that it's blade did not shatter from Iston's punch as common steel would almost went unnoticed. Silently cursing himself for focusing too much on Zyphe while other champions were about, he leapt back out of the newcomers sword range. Once at a safe distance, Iston gave the appearance of letting down his guard, but stayed ready to strike in case either champion were foolish enough to take advantage of the supposed opportunity. "I gave him a chance to settle things peacefully. He's the one who drew his sword first." Iston said with a nonchalant shrug.

 

[Xero Scythe]

Grana shook his head as he pulled out a few leaves of tobacco and rolled himself a cigar. He pulled a matchstick from his pocket and struck it, lighting his cigar easily. Grana didn't want to reveal he was Igneus' chosen just yet. "Oh? He was, I saw that. However, I also remember the good knight placing his shield forward and that thou wert the one to strike first. So, why didst thou strike this gentlemen like a cur would savage a bone?" Grana exhaled, the smoke rising thickly from his throat. He waited patiently for Iston's answer, even as he took another drag on the cigar, causing the lit end to flare brightly.

 

[Fragrance of Mtn Dew]

Iston paused momentarily after hearing the man's question. He didn't know their fight had been visible right from the start. Another stuffy nobleman type? Why must my fellow Lords and Ladies employ such boring champions? Reynard's voice lamented in Iston's mind. Iston silently agreed before replying. "And just who art thou and fromst whence did thou come that I am so obligated to answer to thee?" He asked, imitating the champions speech in a very mocking way.

 

[KronosTalon]

Zyphe decided to stay quit and walk carefully over to the girl he had been protecting, making sure she was okay. He stayed ready, just in case Iston decided to try any more funny stuff. After a while, he finally called out "I am glad someone with some sense finally showed up. What is your name, Sir?"