the exit already melted away / and now there's nothing left to say

[thequestgiver]

Characters: The Hero of the Mountain vs The Heroes of Schwanheim
Open? Yep
Where: Just outside the city
When: RD 10
What: The Heroes of Schwanheim confront the Hero of the Mountain. Also, explosions and time fuckery.

[OoC: Please note that very soon into the encounter, time will split the battle into small groups of 2 or 3 to allow for better/easier tagging and for all characters to have a chance at attacking! Please use this post (or any other form of communication) to set up your groups, and/or state in your subject line if you have a prechosen group, or if you are open to a random partner.

GROUP 1: Direct Challenge Alanna and...?
GROUP 2: Well Educated Ass Kicking Giles and Helios
GROUP 3: Asgardian Rage Thor and Sif
GROUP 4: Spies Ginia and...?
]



The air was still, as it had been for days, not even a dramatic wind to suggest that something was about to happen as the Hero of the Mountain stood, looking off in the distance. She had been standing there for some time, looking lost in thought, fingers resting on the a small pouch that always was at her belt.

But stillness cannot last forever before something will break it...

Comments

THE CHALLENGE.

[shorterinperson]

Alanna, outfitted in full armor and shield, approached steadily.

"Hero of the Mountains," she called out from a short distance. She didn't want to startle the woman.

"A word, if I may."

[thequestgiver]

There was a flicker of a scowl before the woman turned, that smile of fake pleasantry on her lips. "Yes? What is it?"

[shorterinperson]

She stood as tall as she could (short as she was) and faced the hero with a determined frown.

"You have been accused of using Time Magic, and tearing at the fabric of the world itself. How do you address this accusation?"

[thequestgiver]

The woman's smile grew ugly with condescension. "Do you know the story of the great Heroes of the time the Wall Fell? Oh, I'm sorry, you're not from around here, how could you possibly know?" she laughed with a mocking lightness. "Now begone. Your jealousy stains the air and I will not have it."

[shorterinperson]

She was unphased. The woman was avoiding the question, and Alanna found that she had very little interest in the answer. She was a nasty person, and she wouldn't mind killing the hero in one-on-one combat in the least.

"I challenge you to a duel," she announced, voice booming. "To the death, no magic of any kind."

[thequestgiver]

"I said begone." The woman waved a hand, turning her back on Alanna. "I will not waste my time with your yapping."

[shorterinperson]

"Fight me with honor," Alanna demanded, "or I will kill you where you stand."

Did Alanna get a stone from Loki, BTW?

[thequestgiver]

Again, the light, condescending laugh. "You have no honor to even make such a threat, even if you were able to carry it out. Again, I say begone, or I shall send you away myself."

THE BACKUP: Noble bros and ladies

[brosif]

Ser Alanna demanded to face the Hero as a true knight would. While Sif respected this impulse, she waited nearby for the moment when the Hero's hand would inevitably turn towards something suspicious.

The moment came, and Sif charged.

[ooc: leaving this intentionally vague, as to what happens between Alanna and the Hero. Also, please note in OOC comments if your character has a stone. Sif does.

Everyone has a stone, it's a stone party!]

Giles and Helios

[consultmybooks]

It was a familiar feeling. Standing here, facing down an unknown but undoubtedly powerful monster, with nothing on his side but a broadsword and his own determination to protect the people around him.

It made his blood sing. Today was a good day to be alive.

...he just hoped it wouldn't turn out to also be a good day to die. At the least, he wouldn't do that to the man standing just behind him.

"Cover me."

He didn't have to fight stupidly. Quite the contrary. So Giles waited until Alanna was well back, until the Hero wasn't actually looking his way. Then he ran in, sword at the ready. The first slash would be a feint, and the real threat would be a simple kick to the back of the legs.

[thequestgiver]

Before Giles could reach, Alanna seemed to vanish from sight, the Hero looking distracted a moment before turning, gesturing outward in Giles's direction.

To the outside observer, Giles too vanished, Helios with him. But to them, there was just a flicker in the Hero's form before she frowned, looking down at the pouch at her belt before her head snapped up again, just moments before Giles reached her. With an undignified exclamation she ducked back, turning to run.

[folklorist]

Helios wasn't expecting the Hero to give such an exclamation or run in the opposite direction. Actually he's not sure what he expected. The entire idea of fighting wasn't something he readily agreed upon and he looks...almost tentative as he puts up a protective barrier around Giles and himself. His green eyes tick to the other man.

"Sh-she isn't fighting back..." he sounds rather confused and a bit dismayed. If they were going to hurt anyone today it wouldn't be this young woman. He's pretty sure that she doesn't want to fight, either, otherwise she could have by now. Or perhaps it was all a ruse?

what the fuck self I forgot to track this thread...

[consultmybooks]

...well, then.

Giles was not the sort of man to kill a fleeing woman. A vessel for a hell goddess collapsed on the ground, exhausted from getting beaten by a troll hammer, yes, but...

He hesitated, his sword slowing down just a bit in a slash otherwise meant to open her from shoulder to hip, even if she'd turned her back. If he hadn't just seen Alanna vanish before his eyes, Giles might have stopped entirely, just at how utterly ridiculous the sight of the Hero turning and running was.

[thequestgiver]

The hero gave a very girlish shriek at the hit, turning, even as the injury began to vanish as it it ever were. "You-- you dare to attack me?!"

With an indignant exclamation, she gestured at Giles, only to give a repressed scream of impotent rage. "Why do you not vanish back to the start of time!" she snapped.

Motherfuckin' THOR

[thoreal]

Thor was at the front. Of course he was. If he hadn't been, he would have come to the front before long; waiting was never his strongest point.

Unlike Sif, he had not been so certain that the Hero's honor would fail... but very much like Sif, when that moment did come, he welcomed the battle as wholeheartedly as any Asgardian would. Mjolnir was already in hand, and he let out a roar as he charged forward, the sky answering with an ominous rumble of thunder.

bros bros bros

[brosif]

Whatever conflict lay between them in the wake of the previous evening's revelations, Sif and Thor have set that argument aside in favor a facing an enemy in the way that suits them best: together.

So she charges in beside the first born son of Asgard -- far enough away that he is free of her swing, but close enough that their alliance is clear. To strike at one Aesir is to invoke the wrath of the other.

[thequestgiver]

After seeming to banish the first two groups, the Hero of the Mountain is starting to look a bit worn, as if the magic is causing her high stress. Again, she flings it out to banish the raging Asgardian's from her sight, and again, the targeted pair seem to vanish to those who are left behind. The hero's form flickers before she blinks and with a yelp turns to run for her life.

[thoreal]

Despite his frustrations with Loki, Thor has followed this plan of his up to and including keeping the stone on him; it rests in an inner pocket beneath his armor, close enough to his skin that when the magic rebounds off of it, he feels it. He pulls up short, blinking in puzzlement. What just happened?

But then, the Hero is still there, and nothing seems to have changed from his viewpoint, so he gives a roar and flings Mjolnir at her head.

THE SPIES: Blood on our hands and blood on the ground

[shadedsunlight]

While everyone else engages the Hero of the Mountain directly, a few hang back or hide. Not out of fear or any sense of cowardice, but because they're looking for the best time to strike.

Stealthing on the outskirts, knives in hands, Ginia silently sneaks along, waiting for an opportunity.

((ooc; Sneak-strikers assemble?))

[thequestgiver]

In rapid succession, the Hero of the Mountain seemed to dispatch the other heroes, tossing out temporal magic to send them off into other times. With all the visible, direct attackers dealt with, she seemed to deflate, looking suddenly tired.

"What are you doing? That shouldn't have taken that much," he half muttered, false front of condescending charm gone as she opened the pouch at her side, carefully pulling out an antique hourglass to peer at the sand within.

[retrieverchef]

Eliot sneaks along the outskirts of the fight, opposite of Ginia. He holds his hands loosely at his sides. The less threatening he seems, the more likely the Hero is to underestimate him. And to believe him should he pretend to surrender. He watches Ginia closely. Catching her eye, he nods to her.

Then he steps out of hiding, hands raised in a gesture of surrender.

[shadedsunlight]

Ginia nods back, watching him for a few seconds as he approaches before moving herself. She keeps low to the ground as she creeps toward the Hero of the Mountain, watching each step and being mindful of anything her feet might tread on to give her position away. She may have been nearly transparent in her stealthy state, but she could still make noise and anyone observant enough could see her. Certainly anyone with the magical aptitude to do so could find her too. It was unnerving seeing her friends and other fights disappear into thin air, but Ginia kept herself focused. She had to.

She works her position until the Hero is between her and Eliot.

[toxic_tsarina]

Natasha had been slipping through the trees as silently as an owl's wings, focus divided between the skeptical Hero of the Mountains and her fellow teammates. There wasn't time to fret over Stark or Thor, and the redhead was assured they could hold their own, regardless. She had witnessed them in action before, had fought alongside the other men.

She had her dirk hidden on her person but in such a location that it was at the ready, should a need for it arise. But it was when the Hero used her tricks that Natasha was lost, caught up in a time warp and ultimately sent back home.

So much for heroics.

[thequestgiver]

The Hero of the Mountain looks up sharply, eyes narrowing as she holds the hourglass close. "What is it you want?"

She seemed utterly unaware of Ginia's presence....

[retrieverchef]

"I get it," he says simply. "You can send us who knows where with a thought. You win. I just want to know what you really want."

He sighs, letting his shoulders drop, and brings his hands up behind his head.