The mist was thinned out around the pair of combatants. This was relevant as Alanna had tried to cast a simple wild growth spell to trip up the spectral king but this opponent was far superior to any she had faced in actual combat. The man just ripped through the plant without even seeming to notice it latching onto him. The druidess circled around the man trying to figure out her next move. She could not harm the creature with her spear or her claws and she highly doubted punching the guy would yield results. So she had to complete the puzzle but to do that she had to get around this rather angry fellow.
She was fairly certain this king was a bit more angry than it should be for a trial. It was almost vengeful in its reaction to her. It seemed to her as though her completion of the first puzzle that he stared at for so long broke something in him. Alanna backed away and tried to circle the man so she could sprint toward the puzzle and finish it. However, the king was rather intent on keeping her away from the puzzle he stepped forward and in the same direction she tried to circle which cut the distance down. In frustration at her in ability to do much Alanna decided on a desperate ploy. She loosened the straps on her shoulders and swung her pack into the kings face while simultaneously casting an empowered wild growth trying to wrap him up for long enough to get by the man.
The king screamed in rage and pain when the pack hit him in the face. Alanna was sprinting by and in her periphrial vision she saw the side of the pack hit him and not go through his body. She turned as she sprinted and saw the pommel attached sword that the blacksmith had given her giving off a light and actually hurting the king. "What?" She started then groaned in irritation with her self. "Oh, why did I forget about the sword. That seems pretty obvious in hindsight. Magic trial blacksmith happens to make the sword to defeat the king. Yeah I should have seen that coming. It is time frame relevant after all." Alanna thought to herself as she rushed past the reeling and thanks to her plants the now partially immobilized, king. She made it to the puzzle and managed to quickly finish it before the king freed himself. He lay there glaring in rage which turned to another scream of pain as the last slab slid into place and the puzzle disappeared into the mists along with the raving king.
Alanna's sigh held a mix of frustration and relief. Frustration with herself in that she forgot about the obvious plot item that the trial created for her simply because she was more comfortable with a staff or spear and her animal form. This also very likely caused the waste of quite a bit of mana trying to hold the king down. It was a lesson learned and she would not dwell on it now. Instead she marched herself back to her pack and pulled the short sword from the pack. It glowed in a soft golden hue that seemed to repel the mists around it. Alanna sighed in irritation at herself when she witnessed this. Then she shouldered her pack, picked up her spear in her left hand and placed the sword in her right then walked toward the next open gate even as she dismissed her plant.
Alanna knew she was likely to meet the king for the 6th challenge as well and given how the last one went she was going to try to rush him and put an end to him with the sword before he could get off his throne. So, she rearranged the weapons to her right hand then slid the pack off her back. Then started running as she closed in on the portcullis. Once she cleared the gate and it started to dissipate she tossed her pack forward and rushed along behind it trying to see what this puzzle would be. However, their was no puzzle only an irate king standing in an arena with an angry glare upon his face.
The druidess looked around as her pack hit the ground to her side and was able to tell this was some sort of training arena given it was roped off and the ground was filled with loose dirt and grass shoots. There was no puzzle to be found for this trial and given the glare and drawn sword from the king it would appear this was a pure combat test. She was uncertain how she would stack up in combat against this king with the sword she now held. With a sigh she crossed the ropes and into the arena area.
The king wasted no time in rushing forward and swinging down at her with an over head chop. However, in either his eagerness or his inexperience he waited until he was closer to raise the weapon above head which created a fraction of a second where his vision was blocked. In that second Alanna thrust her spear shaft up horizontally as though she were attempting to block the heavy swing and started to spin clockwise and to her left beneath it. With her form partially out of the king's view she swung out in a reversed grip as her body came back around to the side of the king. Her sword bit deep into the king's side but the lack of power in the movement was evident when the man roared and pulled back even as his weapon struck the spear which gave easily as it was just there to distract and deflect.
Alanna completed her spin and jumped toward the man with a thrust of the spear in her left hand. Perhaps because he had experienced actual pain from the sword, the king did not just allow the weapon to hit as he had so many times before. Instead he defended by moving back and bringing his own weapon to guard and deflect. This gave Alanna the opportunity to dart in with the sword and strike a blow into his shoulder. Alanna ducked back away from the incoming back swing and set herself back into a modified spear guard stance.
The king had had enough with being cut by the blade of light and moved more cautiously. When Alanna struck forward with her spear he simply moved back out of the way and probed at her guard as she reset. They went back and forth for several more minutes and Alanna found that she was becoming comfortable with the rhythm in the movements. She understood immediately that she needed to change the momentum or be swept up by it.
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The druid feinted another thrust forward then quickly retracted and jumped forward with her spear leading before she reset her guard. This halted the incoming repost that the king had been lulled by the momentum to attempt. Once again her weapon bit into the king except this time it was the spear. The king, in his alarm, pushed his larger sword up under the spearhead and tried to fling it out when Alanna's second blade darted in and struck deeply into the spectral warrior king's chest.
With a roar of pain and rage the king pulled back and the movement caused her to be pulled slightly forward as the blade was clenched between the muscles before it was released. This allowed the king to shoot his massive foot toward her which forced Alanna to lift her leg and spin to deflect and bleed off the majority of the blow. However, given his massive size and strength it was enough to knock her back over a meter.
The king tried to move back into his guard but the damage done to his left lung was severe as was the fractured ribs that were digging into his flesh. Knowing that he was probably going to die the king tried to rush the woman in a desperate bid to kill his killer. However, Alanna was unsure how much damage she had done so she carefully and methodically deflected, dodged, dip, dived, and ducked away from the larger man. All the while she punished him by taking slices from him with her sword of light. Step in, thrust, pivot, pull back, slash with one hand, deflect with the other then repeat. She found herself setting the pace and sitting comfortably within it.
After another few minutes the king sagged and fell to the ground leaving Alanna victorious. She wanted to be elated but she was frowning at the whole battle. It had been far to easy. She was not at all pushed compared to some of the fights. She could admit a few of the fights caught her off guard and that she was not fighting him well previously due to not having a way to hurt him but the sword seemed a bit like cheating. "Perhaps I am looking at this incorrectly." Alanna thought as she watched the mists dissipate and the new gate opening. She was always meant to use the sword and it was not her best form of combat. "Perhaps if it was he would have been a better sword master?" The druidess asked herself. She would not get an answer because these trials gave none. They were supposed to be just a series of pre set challenges. Yet, Scáthach's tale of what she would face indicated that this king was to be faced thrice but in combat. Perhaps he would have improved in watching her which would have developed her own swordsmanship but then why the change?
She would not know and that really frustrated her. This did not feel like the great challenge was overcome. It was still thrilling and exciting. She was happy with her victory but there was still a bit of her that was dissatisfied. With nothing better to do she moved back to her pack and repositioned the sword to be more easily drawn from it then shouldered the burden and walked toward the last gate.
When the mists dispersed behind her a general darkness crept in and a billowing fog flowed in all directions from the center of the grotto she found herself in. She could make out a ring of willows and a hunched form in the center. She could not quite make out the creature but she knew from the stories that this was the witch of the fog and she was the true master of this place. Even as she watched a large cloud billowed forth from the hag.
It took only moments for the fog to reach her position and she felt something was wrong immediately. A sense of lethargy hit her and it nearly made her stumble as she took a step forward. She planted her spear into the ground and leaned heavily on it for a moment while she tried to breath slowly and clear her mind. It was not working. She felt exhaustion creeping in and her mind wanted desperately to shut down for a while. Her eyes blinked rapidly then slowed more and more until it became nodding off rather than blinking.
Another wave of fog rolled over her and she sank down to her knees and rested her head against the shaft of her spear. She started to close her eyes and sink into the darkness of sleep when something within her screamed out in rejection of this. She gripped the short sword on her pack and pulled it free then without thinking to much about it she ran the tip an inch into her thigh. The druidess bit back a scream of pain but sound managed to escape in a hiss. Yet it worked well enough as adrenaline was pushed through her bloodstream. She roared out in an effort to push the lethargy away with her rage and denial and it seemingly started to work.
Alanna pushed a bit of mana into the sword which allowed it to burn a bit more brightly and eat at the fog around her. She could not keep this up for long given that half of her reserves had been used in this land of mists but it would have to due. With her mind semi clear she rushed forward toward the crone in the center of the grotto. The crown laughed in a mad cackle at the approaching druid and let loose another wave of fog even as she hopped from one leg to another in an odd bird like dance.
Unlike the other blasts this one did not hold the curse of lethargy but one of pain. Alanna blocked what she could with the glowing sword but the mists still struck her lower body and the edges of her arms. Alanna's vison went momentarily white when a searing agony hit her. Her skin where the mist had touched burned as though she were on fire. She screamed out in pain and cried even as she lost the ability to stand and sunk to her knees again. It hurt. She hurt so bad. Everything was pain and Alanna wept. She tried to get up, to move forward but the agony felt like it was coming from the essence of what she was and for a moment she could not deny it. Her rage was impotent in the face of the pain. After a minute she felt the pain receding and she looked up in time for another burst of both mad cackling laughter and fog to roll off the old hag.
The druidess' eyes widened at the what was approaching. She was already in exceptional pain and even though it was receding she knew that when that wave hit her she was going to be done. She looked into the the hag who had gotten closer or perhaps Alanna stumbled closer as the trees seemed somehow closer as well. The old witch knew that Alanna was nearly done and threw her head back in victorious laughter. Alanna grit her teeth then jumped to her feet and launched her spear like a javelin at the gloating creature before the wave hit her once more and all she knew was pain.
