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Post by Katerina on Jul 23, 2021 6:52:35 GMT
Kat gets up and dusts herself down, before nodding to continue. She tries learnng his moves and anticipating when he is going to do them and when it is just a feint. Learning a fighters tells is key to staying alive and planning a counter strategy. Of course the best fighters have no tells and Kat wonders whether Xu Liang is just toyig with her.
Kat backs off a little and moves to charge at Xu Liang, bluffing a full throttle attack. Instead she uses her agility to leap over her opponent and then tries to recover faster than him and strike back behind her with her staff where Xu Liang was.
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Post by Admin on Jul 23, 2021 8:43:10 GMT
Kat leaps only to have the end of Xu's staff strike her solidly in the center of her chest. She falls to the ground in a heap but with the help of her mirror cloak she is uninjured.
Xu tsk-tsks. "You tried that jumping move last time. You didn't think that it would work twice? Leaving your feet is always a dangerous move; you lose control of your movement and lose all your leverage and strength."
He reaches out his hand to help her up.
Eivor's carving is interrupted by a courier who delivers her a message from Lord Rein. It reads: "It would be unwise for you to see the Lady Rein again. The scandals we face now are enough and your coming and going into my house would just be more meat for the muckrakers." It was obviously written while drunk with some words drifting off line and others crossed out then replaced.
Moments after a castle page coming bearing an invitation for Eivor to bee Flora in the small rose room off the great hall.
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Post by Katerina on Jul 23, 2021 10:29:27 GMT
Kat accepts his hand and gets up winded, knowing that Lord Xu Liang has her at a bit of an advantage.
"I lack too much strength, so I try to make up for it with agility, but you are correct that I should not repeat moves too often. The art of surprise is lost when repeating yourself. I will endeavour to not repeat such a mistake."
Kat takes a more focussed looking stance and then moves in to attack, only to pull away in a feint, spin on her heel and try and hit him on the other side.
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Post by Admin on Jul 24, 2021 15:30:24 GMT
Xu smoothly and cooly blocks and evades Kat's attacks, not falling for her feints. She senses that he is holding back and fighting over defensively to block and forestall further leaping attacks. They fight evenly, with neither able to pierce the other's defences. If it stays like this, the victor will be the one with greater endurance.
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Post by Katerina on Jul 24, 2021 15:38:37 GMT
Kat has bundles of energy and she thinks that could could probably outlast Xu. She's learnt her lesson about doing anything rash and she'll be content to sit back and match her opponent and wear him down until he makes a mistake. She's tried rash action, and now she's more than willing to try patience instead.
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Post by Admin on Jul 25, 2021 0:56:22 GMT
They continue to fight, for how long it is difficult to tell as the focus needed to keep from being struck takes all of Kat's attention. But from the corner of her eye, she sees that the shadows are a bit longer when Xu begins to press his attack and she has to take a few steps back to avoid his blows.
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Post by Katerina on Jul 25, 2021 8:58:33 GMT
Clear that she's been fighting for some time and the day is continuing to pass she suggests to Lord Xu Liang (though she could keep on fighting if needed).
"Perhaps that is enough practice for the day. Should I ever need to wield such a weapon I will now understand something more of its balance and use. Do you have any advice for me to look at to improve my technique?" She asks.
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Post by Admin on Jul 25, 2021 9:40:05 GMT
Xu steps back and gives Kat a small bow.
"I was enjoying the challenge so much I lost track of time. There are duties I must attend to.
"We will have further opportunity to practice during the days we will travel to your homeland."
He cleans and examines his staff for damage before replacing it in the rack and then heads to the castle.
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Post by Eivor on Jul 25, 2021 10:21:43 GMT
Eivor reads the message and sighs. "The queen has asked for me," she says. "I'll catch up with you later." With that she heads off to the small rose room.
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Post by Admin on Jul 25, 2021 10:31:23 GMT
The path to the rose room leads through throngs of courtiers, representatives, and guild leaders all looking for the opportunity to speak with Flora. Seeing another royal wandering about they pester Eivor with compliments, small gifts, and requests for patronage. The guards assist in clearing a path for Eivor and she eventually reaches the meeting room.
Flora sits inside. Wearing reading glasses she perused the day's edition of the Dockside Dangler, feet up on the table and a sly smile on her face.
"Eivor, I am surprised you were in the gardens and not sleeping off the adventures of a busy night at the Golden Sands."
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Post by Katerina on Jul 25, 2021 14:37:48 GMT
Fighting for so long, Kat has built up quite a sweat and she decides that perhaps she needs to head back to the room that she was given for another bath and a change of clothes. She cleans her mirror cloak whilst waiting for the bath to fill and then repeats the whole bathing process that she did before her sleep. This time, she allows the scents and the oils to soak into her muscles to relax them after the hours of fighting that she did with Xu Liang.
As she dresses once again she looks at herself in the mirror and then gets to wondering who had the room her before her. She inspects the memories in the mirror for a while and then this sparks another idea in her head. The man calling himself Coy De L'ambre must have been assigned rooms here and he must have had a mirror in his room. Perhaps there was a clue there. Kat headed out back into the corridors and looked for someone, a servant maybe who could point her to the room that Coy had been assigned when he was here.
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Post by Admin on Jul 25, 2021 15:30:13 GMT
Kat:
Her room is in one of the new sections of the castle; the area that rebuilt its self after the Random and Vialle killing explosion. The mirror shows only the manufacturers and then servants installing it, Princess Flora instructing the castle staff in the furnishing, decorating and cleaning of the room.
Coys room shows the same sort of images of the man as she saw in Golden Sands. Same uncomfortable personal views of his cleanings and trimmings. This time has the added intertainment of his practicing with his sword in front of the mirror trying to perfect dramatic moves and swashbuckling gestures and smiles. He does have a white wig which he tries on a few times as if preparing for some future disguise work. A few of the other Deigans are seen with him at times but she is unable to determine if they were all in league against Amber or Coy was working alone.
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Post by Katerina on Jul 25, 2021 16:09:05 GMT
Kat studies his moves and memorises them in case she ever gets into a fight with him and then watches in fascination at Coy preparing his white wig and tries to picture what his final look may look like when the disguise is complete. No doubt this was what he was looking to disguise himself as after he escaped from the Castle here and she tries to see if she can remember such a person in Deiga.
Shaking her head she starts to wander the corridors of the Castle to try and get her bearings of the place. If she is going to spend any time here, she really needs to understand the layout of the place of the Gods and Goddesses.
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Post by Eivor on Jul 25, 2021 21:35:24 GMT
Eivor has little time for courtiers and hangers on, and is somewhat relieved to get through the rose room.
"If your spies are worthy of the name you'll already know that wasn't me," Eivor replies deadpan, bowing to the regent. "Kat had the idea of taking my place as she was keen on getting information from the guests there. It was a sound enough plan, but the results were disappointing. She will learn from the experience though, of that I'm sure."
"I trust this was not the only matter you wished to discuss?"
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Post by Admin on Jul 26, 2021 15:48:00 GMT
#s://i~ibb~co/j5FLskF/Florimel~jpg Eivor:"Yes there are a few things to discuss," Flora says. "But really, you bring 'Simone' to a romantic spot and shack up together before going out to destroy the Sun Queen celebration. People are going to talk. Poor Lord Rein," she doesn't sound like she has any concern or pity for Rein, "He won't enjoy these insinuations about his wife and will probably challenge you to a duel over her. Most likely in the middle of my party once he's good and sloshed.
"Some people seem to think that this little soiree of mine will be a coronation. You'd do well to quash any rumours of that nature; we will just be celebrating my temporary rule, nothing more. If people were to think that I am bout to take the crown, then Bleys and Fiona would attack with all their powers. A few of the others might try something too."
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