moonblack
CHYOA Guru
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.
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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
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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.
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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
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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.
