War: A Ghost of Old Past and a Blazing Warrior (Ardere, Invited)

Orange was the scenery in the mountain, there was nothing here but trees, rocks and a small brook, numerous kinds of fauna can be seen from here to there, the birds are chirping, and the grass whistled when the wind blew towards the west. The first autumn leaf finally fell down from the tree as furry critters bury themselves with it. In a small pass not far from the Infinity Hydra Guild, a rider rides his horse upwards. The horse was tired and it needed rest, Dubhlainn decided to stop by a lovely spot by the cliff, where grass and a small brook be, a suitable location to put down his horse and enjoy the view all the same.

He grabbed his backpack, checking his inventory. He brought with him his magnum, his communication device, his marauder attire, binoculars, some medicine for the horse, a water jug, a weapon of choice, mountain climbing gear and a medical kit. He made sure nobody was around when he changed, some of his formal wear were burnt from the last battle but nevertheless he wasn't here to challenge Infinity Hydra to a duel, rather he would seek answers from the Infinity Hydra Guildmaster, Ardere himself. He pet his horse and told it to stay here for awhile to wait for him and if Infinity Hydra decides to take him in as prisoner, the horse were to return to Savage Skull ahead of him.

It was still a long way to the guild, he hasn't passed the mountain village just yet. His horse will be fine for as long as it stayed there, it didn't take him long to reach the mountain village, a nice and peaceful environment it was, there were some Midi people living here too, most of them looked like monks. He asked for directions to the Infinity Hydra guild as there are five ways to exit mountain village, just to avoid getting lost.

Villagers set Dubhlainn on the right foot and all Dubhlainn had to do was go ever further up the mountain, when the guild was visible to him, he cut off from the path way and decided to watch from foliage. He isn't using any magics, nor did he came with the intent to kill so its unlikely he'd be sensed from afar. He took a scenic route and climbed up a column of rock and made his way into one of the rooftops of the castle with the climbing gear he had, he managed to get over the wall this way. Not that he's actually entered the Guildhall just yet but by the looks of it, this was just the residential quarters. He dropped down from the roof and entered a small garden, where he walked around, admiring how beautiful it is. To those who would have seen him, he was just a strange figure in a trench coat, one that they are not familiar with.

There was no turning back for Dubhlainn now, apparently he tripped off the warning sensors that were in the garden, but that was what he wanted. If any of the Infinity Hydra Guild members were to come to him, he’ll welcome them with a fight, something to pass the time in hopes that the Guildmaster was here but apparently he arrived first. The Marauder never hid from plain sight, he enjoyed waiting in the small garden, he didn’t mind if he had to wait for an hour, for a moment he’d almost reminiscence his past.  


He reached out his hand to catch an autumn leaf, and drop it after the sight of the blazing Guildmaster.
The sight of Clarent behind his back irks him, a midi samurai who wields a western sword; it’s a miracle that the Kasai family hadn’t scolded him.  “For one, we can discuss that you pay for 25 percent of the damage you have done for our guild.” The magnum was in its holster, it won’t take a second for Dubhlainn to actually make a quick draw, and the Calico is well hidden along with a few frags.  Out of it all, a stone face, his voice doesn’t show the least bit of his emotions whatsoever which makes his enemies more cautious of Dubhlainn.

Well they should be.

Dubhlainn had an unreadable expression, it was clear to him that he was apathetic despite of Ardere’s power. He had faced way worse calamities than the man he’s facing but perhaps it was because he’s used to the idea of conflict that it doesn't faze him a bit, someone who had long known the philosophy and the rule of combat, as well as how cruel it was. Seeing as he drew his blade, he means to fight Dubhlainn.

“Very well then.”
Dubhlainn simply drew one of his greatest weapons of his arsenal, a notepad.

He flipped over the pages of the notepad towards the cost of the damage he did.

“You’ll have to pay two hundred thousand jewels for it, that’s all there is. In addition I’d like to ask a few questions as well” he said as he flips the pages of the notepad. The crack on the ground and Ardere’s aura sure seemed as if he was showing off, not that it matters as Dubhlainn’s curiosity over some matters must be satisfied first. Its irritating that this man had no grace despite being a samurai, but then it just goes to show he had nothing to hide.

On the other hand Dubhlainn had too much to hide, perhaps the reason why he acted so knightly was because he’s been a mercenary and a professional assassin his whole life that he started to think like one. He almost shot Ardere in the neck, his powerful sniper rifle could have made things worse for him even if he had flame armor on, but it required a very strong grip and accuracy to do it, he didn't wanted him dead, he wasn't ordered to kill him either. Killing him in the ways of an assassin has no honor whatsoever even if it was just by the means of defending the guild.

“I’m actually curious to hearing an answer from you, why have you attacked Savage Skull in the first place and alone? Surely if its according to some recent crimes I’d understand but I refuse to believe that was the case” indeed, Dubhlainn did not believe that this was only because of the crimes Savage Skull did but hearing this, Ardere would see that Dubhlainn was not aware of some activities the guild, Dubhlainn was a man who keeps everything in check but what bothered him was the reason why he engaged without any back up at all. He put away his notepad and reached out his hand to catch the falling leaves.

“Secondly, you seemed to have developed some reflexes that could have made you duel worthy to spar against anyone over the mastery of western sword arts, who did you train with? Only a few swordsmen knew that style, I myself recognized that and its not something I see in most Midi swordsmen.” He was worried about that, those were specifically reflexes developed to even spar against another specific sword technique, which is used to counter a dash and the use of a butterfly stroke.

He memorized the length of the blade, whether it maybe the bastard sword or not, another question generates…

“Why is it a Midi swordsman prefer a western blade than the eastern?” The point, a simulated bladework that can be accomplished with the sword, he can memorize it but everything depends on Ardere’s speed, it was inevitable that a duel must take place here.

He seemed to be in fine condition apart from what he had suffered in Savage Skull, this was his only chance. He had his own blade at the ready.

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For this sword spar we shall be using the Hit, Block and Evasion dice. All attacks deal equivalent to 10% of hp since a formal duel is in order. First one able to land 10 hits wins.

Hit = 10% damage
Block = Blocks damage
Evasion = Evades and count as an attack.

Hit dice can be rolled up to two times
Block dice can be rolled equivalently to the number of incoming attacks
Successful evasion merits an extra attack from the evader, apart from the hit dice results. (Counterattack)