The Jade Arenas of Heaven: Poison Desires [IC]

[Aoiroo]

"It is not that surprising, I am as you said, evasive."

Changeling tried to move out of the way of the next attack but read it wrong and got the wind fully knocked out of her, though she still had time to conceal herself as it happened. She only left with an echo of her voice that came from all directions.

"You have gotten many more hits onto me than any of my previous opponents."

[trollthumper]

"Well, I guess I can consider that a badge of honor," he said. Another burst of telekinetic force rocketed through the arena, but cut through empty air alone. "Mind you, fighting invisible opponents is always tricky. Never really happy to do it. But at least they manage to get sloppy every once in a while. You're showing some damn good discipline for someone your age." He scanned the arena, as if looking for some sign of Changeling's presence. "Makes it a bit of a pain in the arse for myself, but so it goes. Now... where are you?"

[Aoiroo]

Her voice laughed quietly as it echoed through the arena,

"If I did not have dicipline I have the feeling that this match would of ended far sooner."

Lurching forward a strike came at him from the front, impaling him in the chest carefully avoiding any critical areas. However obvious the damage though, the blade and the person holding it remained concealed, even the blood dripping on the blade disappeared as the person moved back,

"However, I do have a feeling that the end of this match is coming. Do you feel the same?"

[trollthumper]

This close, with invisibility on her side, Bastion had no time to react. The blade bit deep into his chest, piercing through his armor and drinking deep. Of course, Changeling had plenty of experience in swordfighting from her time in Arcadia, and knew how to avoid anything lethal -- but that didn't mean it was easy and painless. Bastion grimaced at the wound, and almost screamed with pain as it was withdrawn.

"God, you know how to bite down," he said. "But it's not over yet."

[Aoiroo]

"You should not say horrible things."

The voice echoed quietly like a whisper around the arena,

"I mean, if we were not nearly finished, such a wound stay with you and cause you pain for the rest of the match."

The was no indication of where the voice was coming from or from where the next attack would,

"And as much as I enjoy fighting, I am not so fond of causing pain, so please,"

It was on that note that the blade struck into the mans shoulder hard before she appeared again with the sword she leaned forward and whispered into his ear,

"Stay down."

[Dariusprime]

"Oh, no, not at all. Please join me," replied Fulcrum with a smile. Despite having lots of room, she slid over so as to not crowd Mad Dog.

Turning to the masked hero, she said, "I don't believe we were introduced earlier. I'm Fulcrum. Nice to meet you." A very over-sized handshake was offered. A cup of water was offered as well.

"Great round out there. Looks like Red Rook put a few good punches to you, but you hit back harder. Must have hurt hitting stone like that." She turned back to other matches.

"Changeling's fight is really a nail biter isn't it?"

She didn't mention Sage's round. Not yet anyway. The giantess remembered how distressed she felt when Sage was knocked out in the first round and so quickly. She also remembered giving the psychic a big hug as a consolation. Sage left awfully quick too. Hopefully everything was alright with her...

[trollthumper]

Bastion grunted, and struggled on his feet. But gravity won out, as the British psychic fell to the floor of the arena. The stands, which had been silent as the grave since the start of the match, erupted like a thunderclap.

"The match is called! The victor is... Changeling!"

The other fights carried on, with a great deal of spectacle and much style. Some were over in mere seconds, whereas one particular match -- between a man of flame from Bangalore and a woman in golden armor from Athens -- wore on for close to an hour. Once the final combatants had cleared, however, Guan Yu took the stage again.

"Ladies and gentlemen, today's matches are at an end," he declared. "Sixteen champions shall continue on to tomorrow morning's rounds... and from there, eight, to tomorrow afternoon's rounds. If you seek further entertainment, I believe the matches have just begun in the Chariot, Bond, and Horn mansions. For our competitors, however, the time has come to retire back to the Ghost -- and tonight, there shall be a feast to celebrate the day's battle."

Hours later, after being given time to practice and prepare for tomorrow's fights, the combatants were called to the dining hall of the Ghost. True to Guan Yu's word, a sumptuous feast had been set out. While the morning's meal had been one of seclusion, the fighters, having come to know each other in battle, traded words with one another. At the head of the room, Guan Yu sat at a long table, flanked once more by the men in colorful robes and harrowing masks.

[Aoiroo]

Changeling was promptly present at the feast where she met with Bastion and shared some drinks (though she decided to avoid any alcohol herself as she was fighting the next day). They had some nice conversation, he as a very interesting person, and past exploits that he didn't deem classified were very entertaining as well. She left the conversation with him as she noticed some of the others from Freedom City at the table, though noticed Eve was not present. She must of left early, which was a little disappointing, still she walked over and greated them happily,

"Good evening, todays matches were very fun yes?"

[Dariusprime]

Changeling won! The battle had been intense, and Fulcrum did stand and clap for the heroine. That was quite a feat!

As Changeling met with Bastion, so did Fulcrum have an evening chat with Totem. She seemed like a very interesting and well-traveled person. Surprisingly they swapped more travel stories than heroic. Particularly when they discovered a connection to Seattle. Good times!

Overall her mood during the feast was, well, festive. She'd been proud of her performance, and while she didn't gloat, she did look forward to the next opponent. Given the arrangement of tiers, her next opponent likely had just as many, if not more, tricks up her or his sleeve. But that could wait for tomorrow!

In the mean time, the giantess enjoyed the feast. Every item did indeed taste sumptuous, and she made a point to thank and commend Guan Yu on the excellent food. He did host this little event, even if she did wonder if he got the better end of the deal. Regardless, even the more, shall we say, foreign items, proved irresistible to the adventurous eater.

"Is this bear?" she asked her nearest table mate. "It is? Good bear." She continued eating.

When Changeling approached, she smiled and stood, offering a handshake, "Good evening! Yes, they were fun weren't they? Congratulations on your advancement. You two put on quite a display. Any ideas on what tomorrow will bring?"

[Lone Star]

Mad Dog was also in a festive mood, and shared many a laugh with his stony opponent. The golem certainly had some interesting stories to tell, and he was a lot older than he could have imagined. He was grinning beneath his tactical mask, and he lifted it up it to eat, showing his strong chin and stubble. As he daintily took a bite of the fois gras, he saw familiar faces from across the table. He adjusted his mask and strode over, giving Changeling a pat on her back.

"I just caught the very end of your match, but congratulations. We all kicked ass today. Hey, Fulcrum!" He showed as best he could that he was glad to see her from behind his mask.

[Aoiroo]

Changeling smiled at the good cheer of both the large woman, and the large, but not as large man. They seemed to have enjoyed their matches at least,

"It was a good match yes, it was a bit difficult, his powers hit me quite hard so I had to spend much of the match actively supressing his abilities. It was a bit of a strain, but I think that period when it was just us and our weapons wore him down enough so that when I struck at him invisibly he went down more easily. I heard of both of your matches, they seemed far more straight forward, than again I am certain the two of you are probably much more durable than myself."

She took a piece of food off her plate and chewed it for a second while she thought of tomorrow,

"Well it is hard to say what tomorrow will bring, the other matches are being talked about, but hearing about a fight is much different than watching it. Also, how one approaches one opponent varies greatly from how one may approach another."

[Dariusprime]

"Hi, Mad Dog!" replied Fulcrum with a smile. Standing, she offered handshake to the martial artist. "How are you feeling? Ready for round two tomorrow?"

Nodding to Changeling, "Very much so. Especially when dealing with superpowered opponents, you can't be too sure of exactly what the person can do. Many fighters here specialize in unique surprises and unusual abilities," replied Fulcrum, "Or," she addressed to Mad Dog, "Being tough as rocks. Literally."

"Nice disappearing trick by the way, Mad Dog."

With that she picked up her cup and offered a quiet toast, "Changeling. Mad Dog. To success in the coming matches."

[Lone Star]

Mad Dog smiled and lifted his bottle of beer, taking a long swig after the glasses clinked. "I hope I'm ready for tomorrow. Red Rook was more than I expected. I don't actually know what I would do against an opponent who would use ranged attacks."

He nodded to Fulcrum. "And thanks, the whole 'disappearing' thing is pretty simple. It's really about distracting your opponent for a moment, then taking that moment to hide. I learned a lot of that from the Marines, but it takes practice to move that fast. Not to toot my own horn, that is." he said with a slight smirk.

[Aoiroo]

She raised her glassed and toasted before taking a deep sip as the others chatted. She looked them up and down again. They both looked formidable, the larger woman would probably break her blade if she tried it on her and the man could probably just hold it and clock her for being at such close range,

"Short range, long range, mid range, on a real battle field they might have meaning but for matches like these in an enclosed arena means that there really is no where to hide. Knowing where the attacker is attacking from makes it adament in knowing where the attack is coming from and if they are not good enough, it makes it rather easy to avoid the attack altogether while you close the distance."

[trollthumper]

Suddenly, the chatter and rapport of the evening was interrupted by a thunderous boom from the general direction of the head table. "WHAT?!?" Guan Yu bellowed, his rage terrible to behold. "You wanted this long to tell me this? Has all that time down with the damned addled your sense of priorities?"

"Do not think you can merit out blame on this one, Guan Yu," said one of the masked figures. "You told us you didn't wish to hear about it until after the first round -- "

"I thought it was a bureaucratic request! Not this... abortion of justice!"

Before the masked figure could speak up, Guan Yu tore away from the main table. He grabbed a bottle of plum wine from the refreshments table and stalked off into the corner of the room - conveniently, within range of the heroes of Freedom. He popped the cork on the bottle and brought it to his lips, taking a drink that would've drowned a mortal man. By the time he was finished, he gasped for breath and crushed the bottle in his hand.

"Qin Shi Huang is dead," he said, "and not by my blade."

[Dariusprime]

Fulcrum looked from her plate of food and listened to the happenings. Obviously their host wasn't happy about the situation. Then again knowing exactly what he was unhappy about did prove a bit troublesome. After combing her memories for the named reference, she nodded her understanding of at least part of his worry.

Always the diplomat, Fulcrum thought about intervening before Guan Yu's mood darkened. Okay, well, maybe not the best diplomat, but certainly one to try and redirect thoughts before moods darkened or villains attacked. She knew well enough what melancholy could bring. Thus her mind was made up to say something to

"Pardon the interruption, our most gracious host Guan Yu. I would assume then that Emperor Qin Shi Huang was still alive until just recently? You seem most displeased at his sudden demise." The question was mostly rhetorical but did hold an element of genuine curiosity. After all a mortal man still alive after so long must have a fascinating tale to tell.

Not to mention "higher ups" tended to like those sorts of open-ended questions. Gave them the opportunity to soap box and pontificate. Few, if any, would reject an open invitation. Plus enlighten the audience as well!

[Aoiroo]

Changeling moved quietly behind Fulcrum as she approached the host. She wanted to find some words of comfort, but knew none that would be adequite for such a situation. Instead she listened as Fulcrum inquired first. It was a gentle and simple question, though a little strange since she was curious why this person wouldn't be alive before. Looking at the person she tried to go over it,

Where could this of happened I wonder? This place is enchanted so that no mortal blow can actually progress to that of a deadly injury, I see it all over and they were very percise with this spell work. Did they find away around this, or did this in a place where this was not the case? It does bring the question that if such a thing is happening that the tournament may not be as safe as it has been advertised.

[Lone Star]

Mad Dog stood up and stood at ease, listening carefully. He knew nothing he could say would help the situation any, if at all. I don't know who that is, but there's obviously been some foul play. If I can, I'll have to talk to the other Freedonians and see if we can all put our heads together.

Though he did not know much about magic, he did know to stay alert. There could be more trouble in the hours ahead.

[trollthumper]

Guan Yu's mood mellowed slightly when Fulcrum approached him, though the fury was by no means abated. "You are correct," he said. "All that madness the historians ascribe to him in the final years - having alchemists executed for failure, ringing his tomb with rivers of mercury - all true. And all successful. The first Emperor managed to find an elixir that would bestow immortality upon him. It didn't activate until he was on his death bed and he had passed his mantle onto his son, but it worked. He stayed around... long enough to see his son be deposed from the throne. He thought the fault lay in the stars, not in his progeny, and declared war on Tian and the entire Celestial Bureaucracy."

He took a swig of wine, and looked to the heroes. "You must understand," he said. "When I was still alive, Qin Shi Huang was idolized as the man who had united China - or at least, there were few who would speak a barbed word against his regime. So you must understand what it was like to ascend to Tian, join the ranks, and find that the man responsible for uniting my country was a despot in both this life and the next, intent of claiming the Mandate of Heaven for his own whims and reducing Heaven to ruins if he cannot. Or if he would please him. The things that man has done in his time on this earth... it disgraces me that I'll never be the one to drive my blade through whatever remains of his heart." He took another drink, this one larger than the last. "Perhaps I can ask the Yama Kings to line me up for target practice once they track that serpent's soul down -- "

Guan Yu's reverie was interrupted, however, by a dry, hideous sound. On the other side of the room, Totem was choking, grasping at her throat.

[Lone Star]

Mad Dog's eyes widened behind his mask, and in a moment he was on the other side of the room. Not sparing a single moment, he moved her mask up so he could examine her neck closely. His eyes flashed, and he turned to the others.

"She's poisoned. It's restricting her ability to breathe. We need to perform an emergency tracheotomy immediately." He moved Totem's chair backwards, and attempted to keep her body upright. "I can perform the procedure myself, but I'll need sterilized equipment."

[Dariusprime]

Fulcrum listened dutifully to Guan Yu's exposition. While correlating this new information with her own memories, she nearly missed Totem's distress! Thankfully, Mad Dog took off, well, like mad for her. Fulcrum zipped right along as soon as she noticed.

A look of utter shock and concern swept over her face at Mad Dog's diagnosis. Even more so that she knew what he needed to do. Cursing her lack of first aid skills, which she desperately need to remedy, she assisted as best she could by holding Totem upright. The process didn't prove difficult, although she carefully adjusted the amount of pressure she applied lest she hurt the heroine.

"I'll help any way I can," she intoned firmly to Mad Dog.

[Lone Star]

Mad Dog's keen eyes picked up something from the corner of his peripheral vision. A guest- making a quick escape! He turned around, and pointed: a simple gesture that said so much. "Whoever that is, someone catch them! We can't have anyone leave the room. Fulcrum, we need to stay here with Totem. Someone, quickly!"

He was torn between finding the culprit and helping Totem, but he decided his rather unextraordinary speed wouldn't lend to catching anyone. He instead pushed cups and plates off of the table, and hefted Totem onto it. His eyes darted to Guan Yu, and he gave him a look that showed the diety proper respect while conveying the urgency of the situation. "Guan Yu, as quickly as you are able, we need sterilized equipment. We're losing her fast, sir."

[Aoiroo]

Changeling didn't need the prompting. She was already gone, both from sight of him and everyone else as she ran past the crowd and trailed after the unknown assailant. She had no doubt in her mind that she could find a lead if she caught them, and the unlikeliness that she would be detected meant that she could hopefully follow him back to any accomplishments in these horrid act. Her thoughts may of lingered on the disappointment of the happenings when she finally found a place where she could have a real challenge in a fight without having to risk seriously injurying someone. Now though she may of had a fight, but hurting them was not a concern of hers as they definitely deserved the pain now.

[trollthumper]

"Quickly!" yelled Guan Yu to his stewards. "Time is of the essence!" Two clerks in saffron robes came forward, bearing platters laden with sterilized gauze, scalpels, and other surgical implements. With one swift motion, they burnished the implements towards Mad Dog. Around him, other attendants dispersed the growing crowd, establishing a safe perimeter - and impromptu surgical theater.

Changeling, meanwhile, pursued the attendant through the halls of the Ghost, towards a darkened and shadowed patch of the main courtyard. As she did, she saw the features and even the clothes of the assassin blur and shift like clay, until it took on the form of a warrior of a uniform, tan color. It took its place on the edge of the darkness.

"Is the seed planted?" asked a voice in the shadows.

"Yes," said the warrior. "Guan Yu will likely face censure for this... and given his sponsorship, the rot may be considered to go to the top."

"It is not enough. A god with millennia of sterling record will not be undone by one sin, and the one above him... Mind you, from what I hear, this event has seen enough chaos. But we must fray the edges further. Return and await. You will know what to do."

The assassin nodded and headed back towards the Ghost, his features returning to how they'd been before the incident.

[Aoiroo]

Watching the procceedings Etain waited, thinking and listening. This was a conspiracy of all kinds, but someone was very nearly killed and she was angry. Capture was the best option here, take the shapeshifter and make them speak whatever the cost.

As she followed behind to the Ghost she made sure that the shapeshifter did not make it all the way though. Appearing behind it and quickly and expertly thrust a cutlass into it's back.

"Good evening, would you be as so kind as to surrender yourself? Or would you prefer more pain?"