OoO( 21 )OoO
The sun was shining brightly over the Arena as the doors opened, letting light flood into the room; before closing again behind the heros. The crowd in the stands erupted with cheers as the two walked into the bright light. Suddenly, the loud voice of an announcer shouted out over the crowd; silencing them.
"Today we have a special treat in store! Lyle the Sabre and Whisper will be performing for us! Lyle, known for many great deeds across Albion, such as his daring assault on the snow troll in Hook Coast! Or his attack on the fortress of the evil Twinblade, King of Bandits! And Whisper, the well known sister of our very own Arena Champion, Thunder has also made a name for herself by attacking the cave fortress of assassins near Headsman Hill! And also for saving Barrow Fields from a massive Balverine attack! These two heros will be fighting side by side today to try and defeat our most dangerous challenge ever!" shouted the man.
"Did you agree to battle in the most dangerous challenge ever?" Lyle asked Whisper. She mearly shook her head.
"It doesn't matter. We are two well known heros, so they throw us in here and try and kill us. Thats the Arena's job." she said. Lyle shrugged and they both stopped in the center of the large area. The audience cheered again and Lyle looked around at all of them, trying to spot his two friends in the stands. But didn't have much luck searching in the ocean of faces.
"The first challenge these heros will face is the viscous swarm of wasps from deep in the Greatwood Forest. Will they survive their first challenge or fall short of fame?" asked the announcer.
Lyle glared at the invisible voice. "They're kidding right? They expect us to lose to wasps?"
"You never know farmboy, these could be giant ones." she said.
"I've dealt with them before. Its not really an issue, I can assure you." he said. Suddenly, the air was thick with the sound of an annoying buzzing. Looking around, both heros noticed the gates around the entire Arena open and wasps come flying out. Lyle smiled as he took his sword off his back. "I guess not. Oh well, no sweat off my back." he said.
Ten seconds it took for Lyle and Whisper to demolish the wasp army. The crowd cheered madly as another wave of wasps flew like missiles towards the two. Again, they were nothing to the skill of the two heros combined.
"The next challenge will be a small horde of hobbes! Lets hope our heros have had some experience with these beasts, or else it could mean an early grave for them." shouted the announcer. Lyle smirked as the small creatures charged out the door towards them.
"It amazes me how they are able to clean these bodies up after the matches. I wonder if it pays well." he said.
"I can't tell you. But what I can say is this, I don't need your help to take out these hobbes." she said smiling. Running forward, she hurled a small object into the ranks of the charging army. All the hobbes turned and attempted to grab the object. One of the smaller ones picked it up, then another slew it with a hammer blow and grabbed the handle of the object. Charging at the smiling heros, the hobbe held the item high into the air like a torch. Suddenly, a deadly explosion tore the army apart as the small object combusted from the inside. Hobbes ran in circles as fire covered the army and burned them all alive. Lyle looked away from the gruesome scene covering his mouth.
"Did you really have to do that? Hobbes stink bad enough as they are, but now we have burnt hobbes lying all over. Its going to make me sick." he said.
Whisper smiled slightly. "I knew you had a weak stomach." she said.
"Not really, I just hate the smell." he said.
"Amazing! Not even a scratch on the two! Lets hope their luck holds up with the next creatures. Next we have a pack of balverines fresh from Darkwood Forest!" said the announcer. And on cue the gates opened and let out over a dozen rabid balverines. The beasts looked around, but not for long. An arrow flew from Lyle's bow and pinned ones head to the Arena wall. They all charged at the warrior as he grabbed another arrow and fired; slaying another balverine.
The Arena events flew by quickly for the two heros, barely making them sweat. All was well, until the announcer told everyone of the next challenge. "This is incredible! Our two heros have set a new Arena record with their amazing speed and accuracy against all that stand in their way! But, all the previous challenges were simple compared to the next, for now we have an opponent that can reason!" he shouted.
Lyle cocked his head to the side curiously. "What does he mean by that? It can't be the Survival Battle already can it?" he asked.
"I don't think so. The Arena can't be that easy." she said.
"Now, spared from the executioners block, we have bandits from the Dark Hand bandit horde north of Hook Coast!"
As soon as Lyle heard the word 'bandit', a familiar grin creased his face. He laughed slightly to himself. Whisper looked at Lyle oddly. "Hey farmboy, whats so funny?" she asked.
"Nothing...nothing at all." he said still smiling. Suddenly, the air exploded with loud battle charges as the bandits ran across the corpse infested grounds strait at the heros. Soon, they realized that this was a mistake. Lyle ran at them as well and collided with five of them in battle. Like quicksilver, his sword flew and slew all of them within a few moments. He turned to they rest, who stopped in their tracks. Lyle stepped forward and they all turned to run. Only one was able to escape Lyle's rutheless speed. Lyle ran forward and slew two with one stroke of his sword. Then, grabbing his bow off his back, he slipped it over the head of another and kicked the bandit in the back. The string cut through the bandits throat like it was clay. After pulling his bow loose, he ran after the last one that got away.
Whisper was surrounded by bandits with evil grins. But she quickly took them all out with one swift action. She used her long spear to polevault over the heads of the bandits in front of her. Then, her spearhead started to glow red as if on fire. Running towards them, she held her spear forward and a red form of magic shot from the tip of the spear and trailed it like the trail of an arrow. She ran past them all, the magic doing her work for her, instantly cutting up any flesh that made contact with the will energy. All the bandits fell to the ground, dead. Whisper turned to see Lyle taking care of the last bandit.
Lyle now held the final bandit in the air by the throat. He smiled evilly at the bandit as the man struggled to free himself from Lyle's iron grip. Lyle looked down and his smile widened.
"Please...spare me!" cried the bandit. Lyle ignored him and stepped on a trigger on the ground. Hidden to the average eye, the trigger clicked and a trap sprung up. Three blades raised from the ground on what looked like a giant spindle, then stopped about to Lyle's waist. All the blades lowered horizontally and started spinning so fast they could barely be seen. Lyle shoved the bandit into the trap, severing the mans legs and splattering blood on Lyle's. Slowly, Lyle lowered the dying bandit into the spinning blades, destroying everything that tried to pass them. The bandits eyes rolled back into his head as he was torn to shreds by the gruesome trap.
Whisper's eyes widened as she saw Lyle obliterate the bandit, then covered her mouth. Bending over, she vomited on the Arena grounds. The crowd, also stunned by the act of cruelness, watched as Lyle dropped the half bandit into the blades and turned back to the center of the Arena. Then, the crowd cheered madly for Lyle.
Lyle smiled slightly at the applause he was getting. "Finally, someone who appreciates how I feel." he said darkly. Walking to the center, he looked at Whisper leaning her hands upon her knees. "What happened?" he asked.
She didn't look at him, but just stared at the ground. "How could you do that to a living thing?" she asked.
Lyle's eyes were set in a glare. "Why? Don't tell me you would let him live."
She said nothing. Standing up, she heard the announcer start shouting again. "Even the bandits couldn't stand up to our heros! But, its time to put the kiddy stuff aside and get to the real battles. Next we have two wonderful guests that are extatic to be battling today! Give a warm welcome to our old friends, Grivelar and Gargan!" he shouted. Suddenly, two rock trolls stomped their way out of the gates on either side of the heros and began to make their way towards the center.
Lyle looked at them and said, "Great. How do we beat those two?" he asked grimly.
"I don't know, you are the troll slayer, remember?" she asked. "How did you destroy that snow troll?" she asked.
Lyle smiled. "Good thinking. I don't think that it will work as well the way I did it, but I have an idea. Let me see one of those explosives." he said.
"Why can't I do it?" she asked.
"You can. We'll each take one of them." he said. She nodded and handed him a grenade from her pouch. "Good, now watch what I do and do it to the other one." he said. Running towards the one on the right, he stopped ten yards in front of it. He yelled out loud at the troll, then the troll roared back loudly. Lyle pulled the pin on the explosive and hurled it into the trolls mouth. The troll, not knowing better, swallowed the object. The faint sound of an explosion could be heard from inside the monster and one of its rocks fell lose. The troll looked down at the boulder, picked it up and put it back into place on its body.
"And what was that supposed to do farmboy?" asked Whisper irritatedly.
"Rock is stronger than ice! I guess its too strong for that plan!" he shouted. The trolls began to slowly stomp their way towards the two again. "Well, the only logical thing is to try and take one down, then try and get the other one."
"Right, so I guess you don't have a plan this time." she said. She walked forward to where Lyle was standing and held her spear defensively. "Just look for a weak point on it, then aim everything you have at it." she said. Lyle nodded absent mindedly and began looking at the approaching troll. Then, something flashed through his mind. Looking back at the troll that Whisper was examining, he smiled.
"I think I have an idea!" he said. Whisper looked at him questioningly. "We have to get them close together though, or else it won't work." he said. She nodded and began to taunt the creature in front of her. They both stood back to back and stared as the trolls approached.
"So, what is this plan of yours?" she asked.
"To harness their stupidity and use it to fight them. When I say now, roll under my trolls legs and get clear." he said. She nodded and added one last thing before she finished speaking.
"I hope this plan of yours works farmboy, or else we are finished." she said. Lyle mearly smiled confidently.
When the trolls were five yards from the two, Lyle yelled, "Now!" Whisper ran and rolled under one of the trolls legs. The troll bent over and reached between its legs to try and grab her, but failed; not noticing Lyle jump on its back. Lyle turned to the other troll and shot lightning at it, not doing much damage. Annoyed, the troll attempted to run at Lyle. Swinging both massive arms in a double axehandle attack, it attempted to crush the warrior. But it didn't even come close to hitting him.
Lyle jumped off the trolls back, rolling along the ground and quickly getting to his feet. Meanwhile, Whisper laughed out loud as one troll smashed the other into the ground. The second troll got to its feet after a moment and glared angrily at the other. Swinging its heavy fist, it smashed the other across its head; knocking it to the ground. Instantly, both trolls started to attack each other viscously.
Lyle stood next to Whisper smiling. "Nice plan farmboy, get them to fight and eventually one will destroy the other. Then the victor will be much weaker than when it came out." she said smiling.
He looked at her. "Maybe weak enough to finish it with one of those explosives." he said. The battle raged between the two trolls with the crowd laughing and cheering at the same time.
The announcer went mad as he watched the spectical. "Incredible! Our heros have taken the trolls instinct to kill their enemies and used it against them! This won't end too well for one of the trolls, and if our heros keep up the same wit that has held them through the challenges so far, then niether of the trolls might make it out of the Arena in one piece...no pun intended folks."
The two trolls fought mercilessly, smashing each other with their arms. Eventually, the troll that was victim to Whisper's bomb earlier, gave out sooner and fell into pieces, leaving earth and boulders lying everywhere. Lyle and Whisper prepared their weapons as the troll turned to them.
"Now its one on two as the heros face off against the remaining titan. Lets hope that the giant doesn't crush our heros before they rise to fame!" shouted the announcer.
"Ready?" asked Lyle.
"Flank it." said Whisper. Lyle nodded and both heros ran in opposite directions and flanked the troll. The troll looked back and forth trying to decide which to go after first. The other troll had taken its toll on the giant, crushing several of the smaller boulders on his body, making it much harder to move. Slowly, the monster grabbed a boulder from its former opponents body and hurled it at Whisper. The warrior dodged with ease and began to circle the monster.
Lyle charged when the troll had its back turned. Running forward, he jumped up and shoved his sword blade with incredible force, making the blade slice clean through the rock. He thrust the sword further in until it was up to the hilt. The troll roared loudly and tried to reach for the blade, but wasn't able to stretch its arm that far. The troll stepped backwards as it almost lost balance. It activated the trap that Lyle had used on the bandit earlier, making the blades spin rapidly again. Lyle was jarred as the troll stumbled and lost his grip on the monsters back. Falling, he grabbed the handle of his sword just in time to keep himself from falling into the blade trap. His face was mear inches from the blades as he began to pull himself up.
Whisper used this opportunity to run forward as well and use another of the few Will tricks she had. She hurled her spear forward, making it glow like fire as it sailed through the air towards the giant. When it struck, it hit the troll directly in its right eye. The troll shrieked again as the spearhead sank into its head. Lyle pulled himself up again as the troll stepped into the trap itself, bending and tearing the blades from it and sending them flying.
"You may not be effected on the outside, but you are on the inside!" he shouted as her grabbed the blade of his sword. Lightning ran up and down his arms, seemingly magnified by the metal armor he was wearing. The spell quickly entered Lyle's sword blade, then the trolls body. The giant monster roared again and made another reach for Lyle, again failing. Instead, it reached for Whisper and grabbed her by the arms. Wrapping its hands around her, it began to squeeze, taking its revenge on her instead of Lyle.
Whisper yelled out loud as she was crushed in the beasts giant hands. Lyle heard her cry and let go of the sword to check on her. Climbing the troll, he saw his friend being crushed by its massive hands. Thinking quickly, he grabbed Whisper's metal spear and sent another jolt of electricity through it. The troll seemed to vibrate a moment before loosening its grip. This was all the female warrior needed to finish off the troll.
Prying her arm loose, she grabbed an explosive and armed it. Then, she hurled it into the trolls mouth, scoring as it swallowed the foreign object, unaware of the danger. Whisper wriggled loose then rolled away from the monster, while Lyle jumped off its back and began to run alongside his partner. Then, they both dove as rock and rubble flew everywhere, striking earth, stone, walls, and even some of the people sitting close enough the the battle ground.
The troll had been obliterated by the explosion and sent its mass of rock and soil everywhere. Lyle and Whisper both covered their heads incase a larger rock should decide to drop in. But, after the rain of body parts slowed, Lyle uncovered his head and looked up in time to see his sword buried almost hilt deep a foot from his head. He gulped in fear at his almost beheading, then slowly got to his feet.
Whisper followed suit and they both looked at the massacred troll parts all over the battle ground. Then, they looked at the crowd, who looked back in stoney silence. Then, all at once, the crowd burst into mad cheers that nearly deafened the two heros...