Date: Wednesday, 14 Jul 1993 18:15:02 EDT
From: Michael Sander <344LWKC@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>
Message-ID: <93195.181502344LWKC@CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>
Newsgroups: alt.pub.dragons-inn
Subject: [BBD] Weapons Exchange

[ADMIN: Ok, time to clear things up. The last thing the BBD had was the
 enemy charging to meet Our Heroes{tm}, and for a bit, we'll go into
 individual battles. This occurs before any [MG] posts w/ Lancos (what is
 it about that thread that makes timelines screwy? {:-)!}), BTW...]

>Gutt Man had spotted Lancos, and charged at him.  The child-killer
>smiled in absolute delight, knowing the warrior could not effectively draw
>his weapons in time to block his knives.

When Lancos saw the leap, his mind whirled into high gear, going over his
options and plans.  First, he faked a surprised look, to give his opponent a
dose of overconfidence.  Then it was time for his counterattack, but he
realized that to try to unsheath his weapons would only result in two wounds.
Instead, he slid under the Gutt Man's dive, grabbing the child-killer's wrists
tightly before he fully knew what was being done.

The Gutt Man stopped his momentum as best he could, putting down his feet in
order to prevent him from crashing into the ground head first.  He didn't want
to be out of this battle as quickly as he had the last, even if BBD could heal
him like he had before.

This was playing right into Lancos' plan, however.  He used the built-up
momentum to roll Gutt Man over, so that the warrior would hole more of a
positional advantage.  But then he saw the Thurlans quickly advance on him,
all too eager to strike him in the back while he was preoccupied.  Reacting
swiftly, the warrior rolled back to the supine position -- spreading Gutt
Man's arms wider, to the point where the knives could not easily be made to
cut into him while doing so --, figuring that the daemons would not attack
through Gutt Man just to get to him.

The Gutt Man gleamed at this, figuring it was his own strength that caused
the last shift.  "Feel honored, Lancos." he spat out the last word, his rancid
breath invading the warrior's face.  "You'll be de first of me prey to die.
I'll taste yous blood and dat of yous buddies today.  Den I'll find dat Little
Rat 'gain, an gets her, no matters _where_ she be.  An I'll kill dat girl
Lissa too, now dat BBD doesn't care about her!"

Lancos tried to tether his anger, lest it affect his judgement, but he could
not help but feel partly enraged at the threats.  He decided to turn the tide
towards his favor _now_, before his friends were hurt and before his hold on
this position weakened.  He slowly and precisely slipped his left hand lower
on Gutt Man's right arm, and then brought his thumb down on the hilt of the
weapon, in an effort to steady it.  Shock filled him when the thumb was filled
with a painful burning sensation at first touch, and he nearly lost his grip.

The Gutt Man smiled further at this.  "What's da matter, don't ya likes it?
I bets you'll loves it den, when it slices up yous belly!"  He took advantage
of the slip, and thrust the knife towards Lancos as best as was possible.
Gutt Man laughed a bit in pure joy when the blade pierced the warrior's armor
and his skin, albeit only slightly.

Lancos regrouped, cursing himself for allowing himself to be suprised.  He
wasn't finished yet, however, and prepared the same type of maneuver on the
other blade while Gutt Man was busy gloating.  He prepared for any type of
defense from this blade, but this time felt no such pain.  Placing his thumb
firmly against the blade, he brought up his right knee and smashed it into
Gutt Man's left arm.  Gutt Man released a cry of "Ahhh!", and involuntarily
lost his grip on the knife, the weapon staying in place only because of
Lancos' thumb.  The warrior seized the opportunity and grabbed the knife with
his now unoccupied right hand.  Then, pressing his advantage, he released the
other arm, at the same time forcing Gutt Man away with his knees.  Lancos
rolled -- catching a scrape or two of daemonic claws for his troubles -- into
a standing position, and swiped at the nearby daemons, trying to keep them
at bay.

Gutt Man, however, would not be discarded so easily.  "Take one of _my_
weapons, will ya?" he yelled, his face contorted in anger.  "I'll just haf ta
do da same!"  He rushed at Lancos, but while the warrior was defending high
against the air-born daemons, attacked the belt the warrior wore.  The knife
sliced it on the left side, and Gutt Man reached for the sword that lay
sheathed there.

Lancos' choices were limited.  If he tried to stop the Gutt Man from grabbing
the weapon, he would again be open to the Thurlans' attacks.  His only option
was to try to grab the scimitar out of the right sheath while it was still
available.  The move cost him a wound in the leg, but when he felt the weapon
in his left hand, he knew that it would be more than worth the effort.

He jumped into the air so the the falling belt would not get entangled in his
legs, slicing into a couple of Thurlans while he was at it.  When he landed,
he turned his attention towards the Gutt Man, who had had time to put the
knife in his left hand and the sword in his right.  Lancos knew he had no such
opportunity, but that did not bother him; he knew he could fight well enough
as it was, albeit rather awkwardly.

They met each other, and for the first time exchanged blows, sword against
scimitar and knife versus knife resounding for uncountable minutes.  Lancos
had the advantage in spped, and used the occasional free attack to damage a
daemon.  But Gutt Man's wildness was an aid on its own, and the two were
equally often pressed back by the other.  The few daemons in the area
attacked with fury whenever the opportunity presented itself, making their
presence felt by the warrior through several vicious slices, with ranges
of effectiveness.

Lancos gritted his teeth and redoubled his efforts.  It looked like he would
lose because of sheer numbers -- like he had in the first battle in Ak'Irneg.
But he had also won when hope had been fleeting, and no insecurity would
prevent him from going down fighting to his fullest, and enjoying every hint
of victory he saw...

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Mike Sander 344lwkc@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu