Fantasy The Deadlands

"Yes, I know what a cat is. If you refer to the big orange ones with stripes. Though we call them tigers in Napari." Dynis responded in all seriousness, though she had a hard time keeping a straight face. "But, I don't suppose everyone in Deadlands rides a tiger." She sighed in disappointment. "How do I get onto this strange thing?"

Wendel looked openly confused at the mention of a large cat, specifically the name of "tiger", but he did not question it further. While unapologetically crass, he appeared to be quite expressive. "You just climb on," he said simply, though that did not clarify much. A silence grew between them. Eventually, he scowled and slid off the saddle. "Never heard of an ypotryll, doesn't know how to climb a saddle..." he murmured under his breath, coming to stand behind her.

In one quick motion he lifted her up by the hips, as if she weighed no more than a child, and deposited her unceremoniously on the saddle. Gave her a sour look afterwards. "Riding requires balance," he said before climbing up, this time seemingly quite cautious. "So don't fall. If you fall, we'll both fall." He sat behind her, the small space not giving much room between them. Wendel did not seem phased by their close proximity, however, just exasperated.

With an arm on each side of her, boxing her in, Wendel gripped the reigns. "When we turn left, lean left. Same for the right." He let out a sharp whistle and the ypotryll began moving. The ride was bumpy, even at a slow pace; balancing on this creature's back would be undoubtedly difficult.

- Try to stay on the ypotryll

Dynis gasped in surprise as the man picked her up. She did not get to protest when she was already on top of the beast. She leaned over the side carefully, not really liking her odds up there.

"This is so flimsy." She whined, and when the man got into the saddle behind her she felt too confined, like she could not move nor breathe. "It's too hot." She breathed out heavily. "And you are too close." She protested, but kept in her place, too frightened to test her luck by moving around too much.

"Do you always complain this much?" Regardless of what Dynis replied with, he fell silent and stayed so for a few moments. After a particularly bumpy maneuver from the ypotryll, he turned over his palms to reveal the reigns. "Here," he said, "since you're in the Deadlands, now, you may as well learn to ride on your own."

Learning to ride might come in handy later, but the beast was clumsy enough without a novice at the reigns. Far faster than walking, but clumsy.

- Learn to ride
- Do not learn
- Do something else

"I don't complain. I'm simply stating the facts." Dynis huffed, offended. After his suggestion she wanted to turn around and ask if he was serious, but as he offered the reins, she feared he was. "We are gonna fall down and your creature is gonna get its legs broken, but alright." She said, a little bit curious to see what would happen, though still very carefully taking the reins.

"We won't fall if you pay attention," he said, hands hovering a few inches from her own, as though acting a fail safe. The creature continued a steady gait - not too fast, nor too slow - but the bumpy riding seemed more noticeable with the reigns in Dynis' hands. "To go left, pull your left hand and lean with your body in that direction once the ypotryll starts moving," he explained, "vice versa with the right."

- Practice turning
- Pick up speed
- Slow down
- Do something else

Dynis nodded slightly, afraid that even the smallest move would make the animal trip and send her flying over its head. She pulled very gently to the left, leaning on that side as well, then if that went well, she would try out the right turn. They were moving precariously, but still moving.

"Careful, careful." As they turned, the saddle beneath them shifted right, opposite of where they intended to go. Dynis leaning left helped even that out, however, and the pair did not fall. Things went smoother on the next turn because Dynis knew what to expect. She felt Wendel relax behind her and, eventually as they continued to practice, his hands lowered to rest on his thighs. "Not bad. You-"

A howl in the distance.

"Ah, hell. Training's over," Wendel said without much explanation. He reached to take the reigns from her. Dynis had come to find out that, so long as she focused on balancing, riding the ypotryll was not so difficult. If she wanted, she could insist on keeping the reigns for now or let Wendel take over for the time being.

- Keep riding
- Give Wendel the reigns
- Do something else

It felt good learning something new, despite everything. After all how many of her fellow Napari could say they rode a boar with sticks for legs. The howl in the distance made her flinch slightly, she had been so focused on not making the animal fall, that she had shut out everything else.

"What was that?" Dynis asked, letting the man take the reins from her. "Can this thing go a bit faster? Are we close to the arena?"

"Scaled hounds," he said. "Mean things that travel in packs; packs we do not want to get seen by." Wendel looked around carefully, hands tightening on the reigns. "They're incredibly fast... and mean. Did I say mean? Quite mean." Should Dynis be following his line of sight, she would see several dark flecks in the distance as they rode over a dune. Beyond them, a raised and absolutely massive Colosseum, similar to the one in Verona but several times larger.

Several more howls, and then the dark flecks began to move.

"Shit- Yes, we're close- but shit," he snapped the reigns and the ypotryll began moving much faster than before. "When they get in range, shoot them!"

Dynis had the bow and arrows Wendel gave her, but she had no idea how to use them. She could either try to fake it and hope for the best or come clean about her lack of training now.

- Try to shoot the scaled hounds
- Tell Wendel the truth
- Do something else

"Look, you have a better view of them from your position. I don't want to be shooting around you." Dynis said, watching the shapes of beasts with unease. "Give me the reins and you shoot at the damn dogs."

Wendel seemed reluctant at first, but eventually gave her control of the mount. "Remember," he said, pulling out his bow and several arrows, "watch your balance." And then he shifted, turning enough to get good drawback on his arm. In the time it took Wendel to pass over the reins the hounds had practically flown across the sand and nearly caught up with them. When he said they were fast, he was definitely right. The hounds were gaining ground quick.

"Go right, towards the arena!" Wendel instructed, letting an arrow fly. It happened to be the direction the hounds had come from, but they now circled the ypotryll, so it didn't much matter. An arrow struck one between the eyes and it dropped into the sand with a yelp. Meanwhile, another hound snarled and bit at their mount's ankle. The ypotryll let out a braying whine before smacking its head against the hound, tusks leaving several deep scratches in its scaled armor. The motion unbalanced them; Dynis could feel the saddle sliding.

- Panick
- Focus on steadying the saddle
- Go towards the arena
- Do something else

She kept her eyes focused on her goal and her whole body was tensed with concentration. When the creature moved to defend itself, Dynis grasped the reins tighter, giving it her all to keep the balance and keep it going forward. Just a bit more, the arena was basically in front of her nose, she kept encouraging herself, but she wanted to panic so badly.

The saying 'slow down to speed up' applied here, for the ypotryll lessened its pace until Dynis was able to steady the saddle. Then, in the next second, the mount was hauling past two hounds and towards the arena. It went as fast as before, but with a limp in its leg, the ride was even bumpier.

"I can't get a good shot like this," Wendel said. She could hear the panic in his voice. He shifted in his seat again, nearly toppling them over -but thankfully did not- , and turned completely so they were back to back. The arena was just a little farther away; Dynis could see people meandering outside.

The ypotryll's back half suddenly faltered, collapsing enough for Wendel to fall off and into the sand with a curse. One of the hounds had it's teeth embedded in the mount's flank, dragging it down to its knees. The others surrounded Wendel.

Dynis had healing magic up her sleeve, so she could try to kick the hound off and heal the mount. Or she could try helping Wendel, though she had no know-how on using a bow and no other weapon at her disposal.

- Call for help
- Help the mount
- Help Wendel
- Sacrifice both and run for the arena

"Oh for - " Dynis hissed through gritted teeth as she jumped off the hurt animal. She wanted to help it, but she wanted to help Wendel more. He was a human being, despite being a prick. Without a trick up her sleeve, she ran to stand beside him, holding the bow awkwardly. She had to do something. Anything. But only Helen's words came to her mind as she held the bow, to cast offensive magic, you had to focus on the bad memories. And she tried her best, recalling all the times she felt alone among the Napari and the times she wanted to turn back from her Pilgrimage. Manir's face popped up in her thoughts, his mangled wrists, closed eyes, then an image of herself, getting torn to pieces by the hounds unless she did something. She needed something to drive them off, fire, or anything that could hurt them and she wanted to hurt them so badly.

Dynis' body was an amalgam of sensations; fiery, icy, electric, but most of all, each and every joint in her body seemed to throb with an intense version of what the Mothers, during her younger years, had kindly called 'growing pains.' It hurt enough to cloud her head, to intensify each bad memory into something all-consuming. The bones in her fingers stretched, popped, and snapped into something terribly sharp, elongated. The feeling of small sand-like particles rubbing raw between her joints sent sparks of pain through her arms. It hurt enough to blind her.

"Wha-" Wendel gasped from the sandy floor beside her. "Hell, stop!" Dynis didn't know what was happening. She couldn't see; could only feel the panic and fear and sadness of all her memories pulled into one, horrible, abomination inside her chest. She could hear several yips and whines from the hounds, but louder than anything, a braying roar from the ypotryll.

Something cracked Dynis upside the head and, in moments, the pain was gone. Everything was gone.

***

She woke to a sunset peering down from above and the glow of light green dipping into her vision. Familiar dark brown eyes looked down at her. "Dynis? Dynis, can you hear me? I think she is awake-"

"Dynis!" A deep voice silenced the other one and Manir appeared above her. "Dynis, gods, please be okay."

"Careful, she is not well-"

"Then fix her, Helen!"

Wendel's voice cut through her friends' panicked conversation, sounding bitter. "Or let her die. She killed Janda."

"Screw your ypotryll," Manir hissed.

- Ask what happened
- Ask what time it is
- Ask where you are
- Do something else

"What is going on?" Dynis croaked. "Do I still have both my arms and legs?" She asked, not really wanting to move from the spot, but focusing on Manir's face leaning over her.

"Oh thank gods, she's talking," Manir breathed. Dynis felt lips press against her forehead, and then heard Helen shoo them away. Manir scowled and moved out of her line of sight.

"I am trying to work!" And indeed Helen was; Dynis had a crackling migraine but, as the mage's fingertips brushed along her temples, it eventually withered away. After a few moment, Dynis found it in her to sit up. Around her crouched Helen and Manir, one on each side, and leaning on a pillar a few feet away was Wendel looking particularly sour. It was Helen, however, who spoke. "This man - Wendel, he said - brought you in to the lobby. You were unconscious and-... and..."

"Looking like a right demon from hell," Wendel interjected. "What the hell was that? Yeah, you killed the hounds, but you nearly killed me! You killed my ypotryll!"

Helen scowled in his direction. "She did not mean to," she said. "That was offensive magic, and Dynis has never practiced it before. When I did it, I lost control, too-"

"I don't care," Wendel said bluntly. "You didn't see what I did; her hands, right down to the tips of her fingers, like moving needles! If I hadn't knocked her out, she would have killed me!"

While Helen and Wendel continued to argue, Manir simply stared at Dynis in awe. It seemed like he wanted to say something.

- Diffuse the argument
- Join the argument
- Talk to Manir
- Do something else

"Does this mean you don't want my help anymore and are going to return my staff?" Dynis asked, not really amused with his whining. As far as she was concerned she saved him and they were even. She turned to Manir with an eyebrow raised. "You look like you want to say something too. Please do, you men are always so full of wisdom." She could swear that if her and Helen continued this journey on their own they would have saved her father and wrapped up Dynis's pilgrimage yesterday.

"No," Wendel said sharply. "You're definitely helping me now. Think of it as reparation for killing my mount in cold blood."

Helen sounded more irritable than Dynis had heard her thus far: "I told you she did not intend to! Offensive magic is extremely hard to control-" but Wendel raised a palm to silence her, making the mage's face turn red and her lips to form a dangerous frown. She looked to Dynis, then. "Where did you meet this foul man? Absolutely foul..."

"Don't think you're some ray of sunshine," Wendel remarked in Helen's direction. The two continued back and forth, Helen constantly rising to the bait despite her normal level-headedness.

Manir, however, seemed to ignore them. Simply frowned at Dynis - rather, likely her words. "I thought you left," he said. "And then you show up at the arena looking like... like... well, like you were dead. I-..." He drew his lips into a thin line, looking pained. He said nothing else.

- Diffuse the argument
- Join the argument
- Ask about Helen's quest
- Comfort Manir
- Ignore Manir
- Do something else

"I'm not dead, obviously." Dynis rose slightly with a sigh. "I've just got more baggage."' Shs rolled her eyes in the direction of the new addition to their merry band. Then, her eyes gentler then before, she placed her hand on Manir's. "I can move, I think. Let's go get Helen's father if we are not too late."

Manir looked at their hands before, almost gingerly, intertwining their fingers. He helped her stand. Made a slightly uncomfortable face as she mentioned Helen's father. "About that... I-"

Helen whirled around at that, looking madder than hell. "Yes! About that," she glared at Manir. "Someone thought it a grand idea to enter us in the arena when we could not find you nor my father. Guess who that was?"

"It'll ensure we do find him! I told you that, in arenas, contestants are gathered in a waiting room until they are called," he explained. "Even if you're father here is against his will, we'll be in the same area regardless."

The mage pursed her lips. "And how will we get out? There are no teams in this arena, Manir."

"Well..." Manir turned sheepish.

Wendel let out a groan before pushing off of the pillar and coming to stand by them. "Just because there are no official teams does not mean we don't work together."

"And if it dwindles down to the five of us? What then? There is only one victor here," Helen glared at him. Wendel simply shrugged. "Exactly. And it is not like we have much time to plan in private; the contestants are already being summoned."

- Propose a plan
- Let fate take the wheel
- Do something else

"When it's down to five of us we unleash everything in our power at the guards. I'm sure we can find a door to break through." Dynis said, though she was not that confident all of a sudden. That day was going horribly wrong.

While Helen still did not seem pleased at the situation, both men nodded. "That could work," Manir said. Looked in Wendel's direction curiously. "Archery?" In response, Wendel nodded. "Good; we've a relatively balanced team, then."

"I think you forget, Manir: I cannot fight," Helen said. The man shot her a dubious look and she faltered. "What is wrong with you? Both of you! If I lose control in the arena, they will shoot me down."

Manir shook his head. "I wasn't talking about offensive magic; believe me, I doubt anyone here wants a repeat of that-

"From either of you," Wendel emphasized, looking straight at Dynis.

"But," Manir continued, "you're plenty capable. Speaking of which, Dynis..." He removed one of the sheaths from his belt and handed it to Dynis, complete with scimitar. "Use this in the ring. We really need to invest in you a sword... and more waterskins in general."

Dynis could hear the announcer in the ring begin to speak, and saw behind her teammates several people lining up to enter a room within the walls of the collosseum, similar to how Manir had as a contestant back in Verona. It was time to go.

- Take the sword and enter
- Refuse the sword and enter

She really did not want to have to do all that. But she nodded and took the sword. There really was no other choice at that point, or at least she could not think of one.

"Let's see if you managed to teach me anything." She winked at Manir, swinging with the blade carefully to test it. She had some basic skills, at least she could defend herself. "Helen, you could stand back and heal us if we get injured. I will help with that as well." She gave the elf a worrying look. "Please don't exert yourself. I felt what it is like to use offensive magic on my own skin and I do not recommend it to anyone. Only if we get into a really shitty situation." She looked at the newcomer then. "I will trust that you won't shoot us in the back if the things go awry."