Apologies for the wait. I had a few busy days and just did not have the inspiration to write until now. Here’s the new update – hopefully it turned out well. ----- For a few moments Freya considered going to explore around and check out any places of interest such as shops, but then she remembered the way Constance had decided to accompany her the previous time she had wanted to look around and decided it was not worth the trouble. So she decided to continue watching the tournament. Maybe she could learn something more. Besides, she could always check out the shop and any other interesting places later. Again Constance bet 1000 coins, this time on team 'Elenia'. Many of the other spectators did the same, some betting as much as 10000 on Elenia. Looks like people are really confident in their skills… Finally it was time for the battle to start. Again the arena began to blur and change. When it was over the teams saw the new battlefield. "This is where the battle shall take place." Announced the same loud male voice. "A small part of the ruins of a once-great city razed by barbarian hordes! Again there are 10 special gold coins hidden at various locations. The rest of the rules are the same as before, so, without further ado, let the battle commence!" There were a few notable differences between the current battleground and the one from the previous round. The place was not overgrown – apparently not enough time had passed since the city’s destruction. The remains of the walls were barely high enough to reach Freya’s shoulders, providing limited cover. And last but not least there was a lot of debris on the ground, making it difficult to move through the narrow streets. The teams took about a minute each to discuss their plans about the battle and then began to move. 'The Sorceresses' apparently had no desire to deal with the debris because they all cast spells granting them flight, though they made sure to fly only as high as necessary to avoid the obstacles so as not be make themselves easy to target. At the same time the members of team 'Elenia' used a different spell to create bows and arrows out of ice, showing that they are not unarmed after all. Once their weapons were ready all five of them started moving, each in a different direction, and as they moved they kept shooting, seemingly at random. None of their arrows hit anything alive, harmlessly freezing the ground where they hit. The five dwarves took advantage of their height (or rather lack of) to better utilize the cover provided by the destroyed walls. They also seemed to have almost no trouble with the debris. Three teams – Avalon, Viper and Dangerous Beauties – decided to take cover and watch the rest fight. The remaining teams began moving from place to place, shooting at any competitor they saw. Most of those shots either missed or did minimal damage, with just a couple of exceptions: First one of the male members of team 'Black Arrows' tripped on a stone and lost his balance, making him an easy target, and then one of the women from team 'True Shot' had the misfortune of getting hit by one of the ice arrows 'Elenia' were shooting at random. "Talk about unlucky! Getting hit by an arrow that wasn’t even aimed at her!" Freya commented. "Luck is the excuse of the careless and the incompetent. The rest know how to either neutralize it or use it to their benefit." Was Constance’s answer. The teams continued to move and shoot for several more minutes without any more casualties. Just as Freya began to wonder how long this would go on the first result of Elenia’s ice arrows became clear. A member of team 'The Wanderers' slipped on some frozen ground and fell down on his back, followed shortly by two of his teammate who tried to help him. The incident happened not far from team Avalon who took advantage and attacked, taking out the three fallen people, only to get attacked from behind by team Starfall. I see. So there is a point to shooting at random after all. Freya realized as she saw what happened. After that the teams started avoiding the frozen areas as they kept shooting at each other. After another minute the five members of Elenia gathered at a small square. They looked at each other, nodded, and the one wearing the see-through dress shot a single arrow at the ground. Everything in a small circle around the arrow froze quickly, and then the ice started glowing with blue light. But it wasn’t just that one spot – all of the frozen ground began to glow the same way. Runes! Freya realized as she saw the glow. They weren’t shooting at random, they were drawing runes! As the other teams saw the blue light they briefly stopped to see what was happening. As they watched the ice spread in every direction. Within seconds the entire battlefield was covered in ice. Even parts of the arena walls were frozen. Suddenly moving around was a lot more difficult, as there was no way to avoid the slippery ice. 'The Sorceresses', thanks to their flight spells, did not care in the slightest. 'Elenia' also had no trouble with the ice, 'Dangerous Beauties' chose to take cover and not move, and the dwarves from team 'Victory' seemed just as sure-footed as before. The rest of the teams, however, found themselves at quite the disadvantage. 'Starfall' were the first to fall as a result of the ice, ambushed from behind by 'The Greats'. 'The Wanderers' were next when they tried to find cover but instead ended up leaving their backs turned towards 'Dangerous Beauties' – a fatal mistake, as it turned out. A few chaotic minutes followed as 'Elenia' and 'The Sorceresses' made an unspoken alliance against the other teams. In quick succession 'True Shot', 'Arrow' and 'The Greats' fell. At the same time 'Black Arrow' tried to surprise 'Victory' from behind but a careless step and the sound of cracking ice gave them away, allowing the dwarves to strike first and take them out at the cost of three of their members. With half the teams eliminated things slowed down a bit as the rest regrouped. 'Avalon' and 'Viper' also made an alliance and attacked 'The Sorceresses', joined soon by the last two dwarves. For a few moments things were going well for them, as one flying sorceress fell down after getting hit by crossbow bolt, another one took three arrows to the chest, one in her right arm and one in her left leg, and a third sorceress took an arrow to the neck. Then 'Dangerous Beauties' intervened, attacking the new alliance from behind and taking out half of their members. 'Elenia' took advantage of the distraction and counterattacked, and the remaining members of team 'Viper' fell quickly, followed soon by the rest of Avalon and one of the two reaming dwarves. The last dwarf was badly wounded and barely able to stand. "It’s not over yet? Is someone playing dead again?" Freya wondered aloud and she saw that the battle was not ending. Her question was answered when one of the defeated members of 'Starfall' began to move slowly. The man was bleeding and pale, clearly badly wounded but not yet out. With visible effort he managed to take aim at the last dwarf and released an arrow just as his target was turning around. The dwarf was hit in the side of his stomach and fell down with a surprised expression on his face. Immediately a bell was heard and the illusionary ruins started fading away like fog blown away by the wind, just like the previous time. "The battle is over! The four teams that will advance to the final round are: The Sorceresses, Starfall, Dangerous Beauties and Elenia!" A woman’s voice announced as the crowd started cheering. Freya noticed that this time there were very few people that were unhappy with the result. "They really should start making sure the defeated opponents are actually out of the competition. This is the second time someone pretends to be dead." Freya noted as she looked at Constance. "Indeed." The noblewoman agreed. "Even if the teams are not allowed to watch the fights of their competitors there have been enough cases in the past where someone pretended to be dead so they have no excuse if they fall for it." "By the way, were any of the special gold coins hit this time? I didn’t see any…" "I’m pretty sure the coins were completely ignored this time. If any coin was hit it was an accident and no one cared about it." Constance answered. "Ah, looks like the next teams are about to come out…" Freya turned back towards the arena and saw the bald man that had done the introduction for all of the previous teams. He slowly made his way to the center of the arena. "Ladies and gentlemen!" Once more his loud voice reached everyone. "I hope you enjoyed the second round! Now it is time for the final twelve teams to show you what they can do. You already know the rules, so let’s not waste any time! Here they come!" With his hand the man pointed towards the same dark entrance. A group of five came out a moment later. All five were male and were wearing silver armor. "Team 'The Royals'! If this was a competition about acting like a noble they would no doubt win! But can they win an archery tournament?" Next were five women wearing dresses of various colors and lots of jewelry: rings, bracelets, earrings, necklaces… each item had at least one gemstone, some had multiple. Some of the things they wear likely cost more than our house! Freya thought as she examined them. "Team 'The Jewels'! Don’t let their expensive jewelry distract you from the danger they pose!" The third was also an all-female team. Each one had an expensive-looking silver crown on her head and was wearing metal armor with runes on it, but as with the previous times Freya could not take a good look. "Team 'The Queens'! They say they are here to teach Bronwen a lesson in humility. 'Good luck with that', we say!" Next were five more women. All of them were wearing metal armor with roses engraved on their breastplates. "Team 'The Roses'! One of them lost to Bronwen previously and now all five seek to return the favor." The fifth team consisted of three men and two women, all of them wearing leather armor. "Team 'The Slayers'! They are known for their skills in melee combat. Now they seek to prove their skill in archery too!" After that followed a team of five men, each one wearing metal armor in a different color: blue, red, green, yellow and orange. "Team 'The Rainbow Knights'! They are convinced that they are the only team worthy of facing a champion like Bronwen! Well, here’s their chance to prove it!" The seventh team consisted of four men and one woman. All five were wearing black leather armor. "Team 'Starless Night'! Apparently earlier they made a little bet with Bronwen so if they are not one of the two teams that will win the tournament they are fucked – literally!" Next were four women and one man, all of them wearing metal armor with a blue sun engraved on each piece of armor. "Team 'Blue Sun'! They have shown numerous times their skills with a sword, but bows are a different story…" A team of two men and three women followed, all of them wearing bone armor with a crimson moon engraved on their breastplates. "Team 'Crimson Moon'! They are here today to prove that their loss in the last tournament they took part in was just bad luck." The tenth team consisted of five men. Each one was wearing black metal armor. "Team 'Black Diamond! They have shown they are quite good at hitting stationary targets. Now if only their opponents would sit still…" The next team consisted of five men wearing green armor and matching green cloaks. "Team 'Green Blizzard'! They are here to try their new bows and to show off their skills!" The final team consisted of five women wearing metal armor. For some reason Freya could not even imagine the color of their armor was pink. "And finally team 'Eteria'! Don’t let the pink fool you. They wouldn’t have gotten this far if they did not have the skills!" This time all twelve teams had chosen bows as their weapons. "No matter which team you bet on if your chosen team makes it to the final you get 500 coins for every 100 coins you bet! Also, following this round there will be a pause of one hour before the final round begins!" Freya looked at Constance and noticed she was frowning. "Is something wrong?" "No, nothing is wrong. I’m just a little disappointed. I thought the best would be last but it seems they left the worst for last instead. Don’t get me wrong – all of them are good… at things other than archery." "So you know all of them, I take it?" "Yes, I’ve watched all of them fight before. And based on what I know I’m not going to bet on anyone. In fact, I’m starting to wonder if I should even bother watching, especially with the break coming up right after this round. What about you?” The noblewoman looked at Freya questioningly. "Well… I don’t know. Let me think a little." As Freya looked over the new teams, wondering what to do, she realized that she was still as aroused as before, maybe even the tiniest bit more aroused… Vote: A. Bet 100 coins on a team A1. Bet on 'The Royals' A2. Bet on 'The Jewels' A3. Bet on 'The Queens' A4. Bet on 'The Roses' A5. Bet on 'The Slayers' A6. Bet on 'The Rainbow Knights' A7. Bet on 'Starless Night' A8. Bet on 'Blue Sun' A9. Bet on 'Crimson Moon' A10. Bet on 'Black Diamond' A11. Bet on 'Green Blizzard' A12. Bet on 'Eteria' B. Decide not to bet on any team and just watch the fight C. Decide not to watch the fight and go somewhere else D. Do something else (specify) X. Minor Action Experience: Combat Tactics: Experience +25 => 75/250 ----- Freya failed her Combat Tactics and Arcana skill checks so she did not realize what team Elenia were doing until she saw the results. Also less experience because most of the things she saw this time are things she saw previously.
Keeps going on great, moonblack, great battle! Voting again for option B. Decide not to bet on any team and just watch the fight. Minor action: Convince Constance to continue watching the fight, the arousal is starting to get to Freya, causing her to unconsciously start taking a tiny interest on the noblewoman. Also focus in learning team tactics and improving tactic skill.
This should have been posted yesterday but I was feeling too tired and decided to leave finishing it for today. --- "We already watched two rounds, might as well watch the third one too." Freya said after a few moments of hesitation. "When you put it like that… sure, let’s watch. Who knows – maybe they’ve improved…" While waiting for the battle to start Freya noticed that of the people around them fewer were betting than the previous rounds, and the bets were also a bit smaller. Finally it was time for the third battle to begin. Again the arena started to blur and change for a bit before revealing the new battlefield. "This is where the battle shall take place." Announced the now-familiar loud male voice. "The construction site of a great fortress! Unfortunately the construction is in its early stages, so not a lot of decent cover. This time there are 20 special gold coins hidden at various locations. The rest of the rules are the same as before, so, without further ado, let the battle commence!" 'Not a lot of decent cover' is an understatement. Was Freya’s first thought after seeing the place. There were quite a few piles of materials, mostly stones, woods and metals, but the cover they provided was rather limited. There were also a number of holes of various shapes and sized dug up in the ground, likely in preparation for future buildings. Last were a few partially-built walls, the highest of which barely reached Freya’s waist. The competitors would need to crouch or even crawl to be able to use most of the cover. The teams took a minute to talk about what to do and then began moving. Freya noticed that four of the teams – The Queens, The Roses, Blue Sun and Black Diamond – had each left a single member behind. The rest of the teams had decided to keep all of their members together. It soon became clear that the twelve teams were more interested in finding and hitting the special coins than in actually winning. Any shots fired at the competition were just a distraction and Freya started getting bored. With nothing better to do she decided to take a quick look around. The redhead was clearly not the only one that had lost interest. Quite a few people were talking to each other instead of watching, and a few had chosen a more fun activity, such as the woman sucking the cock of the man next to her and the guy that was fondling the naked breasts of the two women on his sides. Freya took a look at her companion… and blinked in surprise. The current look of the noblewoman was very much like that of Freya’s mother, but with DD-cup breasts and hair similar to Essa’s hair from earlier. She looks so hot… The redhead though as she stared and one hand unconsciously moved to between her legs… then Freya shook her head and looked away. What am I doing! No matter how hot she looks she’s still a woman I met just this morning! I barely know her! The redhead took a few deep breaths and turned her gaze back to the arena. To the redhead’s disappointment the twelve teams were still busy shooting the coins. With a sigh she focused on what they were doing, hoping to see something useful. It didn’t take much longer for the remaining coins to get found and hit. Then without any delay the teams turned on each other. Eteria attacked Green Blizzard, annoyed that the latter teams had hit three different coins Eteria had been aiming for. Crimson Moon found themselves the target of both The Slayers and The Jewels, for similar reasons. The Royals targeted Starless Night due to the latter team taking out one of their teammates. The remaining teams pulled back and simply started shooting at everyone. As far as Freya could see there was no strategy used by anyone – the teams relied on their own skills to hit their opponents, and relied on moving around, the limited cover and the other competitors’ incompetence to not get hit. The end result was a chaotic shootout that lasted several minutes, as anyone that got hit but not taken out would quickly heal, prolonging the fight. When it was all over there was fifty-six bodies on the floor and just four competitors left – the same four that had stayed behind while their teammates had been fighting. I guess no one was playing dead this time. Freya thought as she heard a familiar bell and the illusionary construction site rapidly vanished "The battle is over! The last four teams that will advance to the final round are: The Queens, The Roses, Blue Sun and Black Diamond!" A woman’s voice announced as the crowd started cheering, though Freya noticed the cheers were not particularly enthusiastic. "Well, that was about as 'exciting' as I expected." Constance sighed. Freya was relieved to see that her appearance had changed again and she was now looking like a blonde armored knight. "Hopefully the final will be more like the first two rounds and less like this one." The bald man that had done the introduction for all of the teams made his way to the center of the arena once more. "I hope you enjoyed the show so far, ladies and gentlemen. As announced previously there will be a pause of one hour before the final. I’m sure you’re all eager to find out who will be the winners but have just a little patience and allow the finalists to catch their breath and prepare so that they can give you a great spectacle!" After that the man left the arena. "Well, no point staying here for a whole hour." Constance looked at Freya. "If I remember correctly there’s a nice little shop selling sex toys nearby. They allow customers to try out the merchandise on the shop employees. I think I’ll go buy a new strap-on and try it out on a pretty girl." She leaned closer to Freya and whispered in her ear. "If you want I can try it out on you too…" "You’d love that, wouldn’t you." Freya said without actually agreeing or refusing as she got up from her seat. Best not to mention I’m still a virgin. Who knows what ideas she might get… "I would." The noblewoman admitted as she too got up. "So, what are you going to do?" "Well…" Vote: A. Accompany Constance B. Explore on her own – you can specify whether to look for anything in particular (such as a particular type of shop) or to just look around at random C. Other – specify X. Minor Action Experience: Combat Tactics: Experience +5 => 80/250 ----- Yes, just 5 EXP. There was barely anything Freya had not seen in the previous rounds.
Good, some more EXP later, I think I'll vote for "A. Accompany Constance". Freya's guard lowered down a bit and her growing arousal might allow her to have some fun at the sex shop.
B. Look for armor\clothing shop. We will have enough opportunities for sex. No need to bring Freya into trouble with this noble. Lets buy something useful for adventuring
(Hope this game starts up again. Sorry for the delay. Lots of personal stuff kept me from feeling up to posting.) I'm voting A as well. We can still have her follow her and possibly keep the noble out of her pants. Right now I think it is better to stick close to the one ally we have. Freya was seen with her, so the people hunting Constance might try going after Freya as well. Better to have the help than be alone.
I intend to continue this, but it will likely be a few days (at least) before I can do so. Due to problems with my old PC I had to get a new one. Now I need to install a ton of things, and then I have to figure out a way to move all of my stuff from my old one. Because of all the problems I simply have not had the inspiration to write anything recently.
Surprise update out of nowhere! I've been thinking about continuing this game for a while, especially during the last few days. It's been a while since I have written anything, so this did not turn out as well as I would have liked, but I hope you guys will enjoy it anyway. Since it has been a long time here are a few useful links: The post where illumination orbs were first mentioned The post where Constance explains about the shop signs Post where the masks worn by most people at the Arena were first seen/used --- Freya hesitated for a few moments as she considered her options. It would be nice to have a look around on my own... but there are too many things I still don't know about this place, and I doubt not knowing the rules is an acceptable excuse if I make a mistake somewhere. I think it would be best to stay with Constance – for now, at least. Besides, who knows what opportunities I might find in that shop? "I think I'll come with you. It's not a good idea to split up at this time. Too many things could go wrong if we do." Freya decided after considering the possibilities. "Wonderful! Follow me!" Constance started walking, with Freya following closely behind her. Reaching the shop took only a few minutes. Its name was "The Naked Nymph" and it would seem no different from the other shops the redhead had seen so far, if not for two things: The first was the marble statue of a naked big-breasted nymph placed next to the shop's entrance, the second was the sign on the shop's wall. "Dildos?" Freya asked aloud as she looked at the sign. "What?... Ah, the shop sign! Most shops use swords for their sign – it's a tradition of sorts resulting from the fact that the first shops here were weapon shops. But there's no rule saying that it must be a pair of swords. Anything is fine – such as a pair of dildos..." Constance explained after seeing what Freya was looking at. "One is white, the other is red. If I remember correctly what you told me earlier it means some of the things the shop sells are reserved only for arena fighters." "Correct! Now let's go inside and have a look at what they have for sale at the moment. Once inside the pair was greeted by a big-breasted woman wearing a white mask and a very revealing blue dress that left little doubt about the size of her bust. "Welcome to 'The Naked Nymph', ladies! Are you looking for anything in particular, or are you here only to have a look at our wares?" The woman greeted them. "I'm here to buy a new strap-on, maybe more than one." Constance answered matter-of-factly. "My companion is here for the first time. Perhaps you could show her around the place?" "Certainly." The woman bowed lightly to the noblewoman before turning her attention to Freya. "Let me show you around. I'm sure you'll find something you like." "Well... alright, I guess..." Freya agreed hesitantly. Almost immediately it became clear that when she had said ' a nice little shop' Constance had not been talking about the size of the place. The shop was bigger than the one owned by Freya's family, with multiple illumination orbs floating near the ceiling and keeping it will-lit, and it was offering a lot more than just sex toys. Sure, there were plenty of dildos, strap-ons, anal beads, butt plugs, and more, of various shapes and sizes. But that wasn't even half of what was there: - various clothes for women, mostly dresses. One thing they all had in common was that all of them were very revealing - lots of lingerie, half of it meant to be as revealing as possible and not get in the way of a quickie, the other half meant for women that wanted to look seductive - chains, ropes, whips, ball gags, blindfolds, and other similar things. Freya had seen some of them used on Essa but there were items that were new for her and she could only guess about their exact use - various aphrodisiacs, scented oils, scented candles, and other such things to discreetly boost the arousal of people In addition to all the stuff for sale Freya noticed a number of marble statues that were being used to demonstrate some of the shop's inventory. Most were used to show off clothes, but there were also statues used to demonstrate sex toys. All had been made as detailed as possible. A few guards, all of them looking bored, could be seen in the corners of the shop. I guess they don't get to do much of anything... At this time of day the shop was rather empty, though there were a few visitors that Freya took note of. A lone man wearing a brown cloak was examining some of the dresses, possibly looking to buy one for someone else. A man and woman were examining the different whips. Did I imagine it, or was she giving him a handjob? Three women had focused their attention on the statue of a naked man. One of them was busy impaling her pussy on the statue's cock while the other two were watching and fucking themselves with large dildos. A woman accompanied by two men – it was impossible to say if they were her companions or her guards – was talking to another one of the shop's employees. And last but not least were two women examining the lingerie on sale. Though it was obvious that only one of them was interested in it while the other one was more interested in groping her friend's ass. "Well, that's all our little shop has to offer right now. I hope you saw something of interest for you." The woman that was showing Freya around said after the little shop tour was over. The redhead noticed that the woman's appearance had not changed at all the entire. I guess their masks are not the same as the masks Constance and I – and the other customers – are wearing. "Let me know if you have any questions or there's anything I can help you with." Though she couldn't be sure because of the white mask Freya got the feeling the woman was smiling. "Yes, thank you very much. I saw a number of... interesting things." And not one of them costs less than 200 coins. That's when Freya realized that she had lost sight of Constance. "Um... do you know where my companion went?" "I saw her go to the back together with one of the other employees to try out a few strap-ons." "Right, that's exactly what she was planning to do..." Vote: A. Go to the back and attempt to find Constance B. Talk to the shop employees B1. Inquire about getting a discount B2. Ask if there's anything Freya can do for them or help them with B3. Ask the employees some questions – specify what C. Speak with some of the other customers C1. Speak to the lone man C2. Speak to the man and woman C3. Speak to the three women C4. Speak to the woman accompanied by two men C5. Speak to the two women Optional: Specify what to ask/talk about D. Other – specify X. Minor Action Note: If you pick B and/or C you may pick more than one option, but of you do so please choose them in order of priority. ----- Well, here's my attempt to continue the story. I hope it turned out well enough... P.S.: Please let me know about any typos. I fixed the ones I spotted, but there might be more.
Glad to see the story back! I'm voting "C1. Speak to the lone man", try to engage him in a conversation about the store's products, such as the dresses he's examining.
