Training Thread - Scethan

[gantz]

The sun was just beginning to touch down against the horizon as Scethan made his way back to the small hut he rented on the outskirts of town. A few streets over he could hear the buzz of the market at closing time, but he'd opted for an emptier back street, hating the dirty press of people all around him. Down the road in front of him he saw a man walking, his eyes set on the ground. Restless from a day of unexciting manual labor, Scathen made hurriedly for the long shadows of the buildings along the street; he'd been meaning to practice his urban camouflage for a while, and this looked like the perfect opportunity. Finding a particularly deep pool of shadows under the awning of a shady merchant's storefront, Scethan drew his drab cloak around him and stood still, watching the man expectantly.

To Scethan's surprise, as the man passed by he looked up abruptly and turned to stare straight at him. “You good-for-nothing cutpurse,” the man began with a strong undercurrent of ire in his voice. Scethan stood up clumsily, still startled at being noticed. It seemed he still had quite a bit to learn about sneaking about in the city. “I know this sounds ludicrous, but I really mean you no harm,” Scethan said with what he hoped was a winning smile. In lieu of reply, the man took a quick step closer and planted his fist in Scethan's gut. Scethan flexed instinctively and saved himself from being winded, but the punch still hurt. “Ok,” he said testily, hopping deftly out of the man's reach, “now I mean you harm.” They squared off cautiously. Scethan was still surprised by the man's speed and perception, but after Scethan had slipped so effortlessly by him the man had a new appreciation for his opponent. After a long moment of sizing each other up, Scethan seized the initiative and stepped in, throwing a big left haymaker. The man didn't buy into the obvious feint, but it still distracted him enough for Scethan's right hand to dart in and strike his windpipe. The man fell to the ground wheezing and clutching his throat. Standing over him, Scethan felt the knife in his boot pressing against his leg. His hand started to move toward it but he stopped himself short, and settled for a solid kick in the ribs.

At home, he thought about the incident and laughed to himself, then toasted the oddly perceptive man's health.

Stats: +2 Ag
250+ Bonus: +1 T

[FlyingPinkPony]

Approved!

[gantz]

The sun had scarcely been up for three hours and already the day's heat was beginning to mount. Scethan fought mightily against the urge to reach up and wipe the sweat from where it was beginning to form along his brow. He was unwilling to take either hand from his bow, which he had nocked and pulled. The shaft of his arrow pointed across a small clump of ferns. For a few long, hot moments he watched, trying not to be distracted by the sounds of the jungle crowding around him. Finally his vigilance was rewarded as the ferns twitched and shook before disgorging a four-legged lizard about the size of a hunting dog back home. It plodded ponderously into the clearing, looking about lazily. Its glassy eye passed right over Scethan, who had stayed perfectly still the while. It lifted its snout and sniffed experimentally, but the salty breeze of the nearby ocean worked to conceal Scethan's alien scent. Finally, content in its own safety, the creature sprawled itself on a large rock that dominated the center of the clearing.
As it settled itself Scethan sighted down the arrow's shaft and let fly. The arrow whooshed through the thick, humid air to find its place in the lizard's flank, where Scethan hoped the vital organs were located. His hope seemed confirmed when the creature looked momentarily shocked and then went completely still. For the first time in what felt like hours Scethan moved his entire body, stalking cautiously out of his cover in the trees to claim his kill. A rustling at the edge of the clearing informed him, however, that he was not the only one with eyes for the lizard. A large jungle cat stalked out of the trees and started moving purposefully toward the lizard. Scethan sized the cat up, measured its slowly-shrinking distance from the lizard, and made his peace with the world before darting forward and snatching the lizard from where it lay bleeding on the rock. The cat yowled in wild indignation as Scethan spun and bolted into the jungle, but it did not seem inclined to give chase, for which he gave great thanks as he drew heavy breaths a few hundred meters away, once again close to town.

Stats: +2 BS
250 Bonus: +1 Ag

[FlyingPinkPony]

Thumbs up. Approved and updated. I'll be starting the next adventure soon keep an eye open . Also since I gave the dudes who did the alpha pretty good rewards, mainly for being early to the site and helping test stuff, I'm awarding you an extra skill point since you got the site early but just missed the alpha. You can PM what you would like or make an edit to the bottom of your training post.

[gantz]

The gangster regarded Scethan with an amused smile that caused the scar running up the side of his face to jump and twist grotesquely. “Looks like we caught ourselves an elf, boyos,” he said rhetorically to the gang. Scethan stared at him appraisingly, not bothering to struggle against the two men holding him. Calm spread through him, and those holding him relaxed their hold palpably. Scethan barely stopped himself from smiling. This was good; they were careless. As the lead gangster stepped in close, Scethan got a repulsive whiff of the numerous vile concoctions the man had been dousing himself with for most of the evening, and couldn't help but recoil slightly. “What's wrong? You don't like me?” the man slurred. “I like you, but you don't like me.” He stared off blankly for a long moment, contemplating. Then Scethan's leaf pin caught his eye. He reached out to finger it, but Scethan's leg came up in a quick semicircle and knocked his arm away. One of the men holding him tensed up at once; the other was slower and had been lightly holding his hand near his solar plexus, where Scethan now planted his fist, doubling him over. Stepping into the one still hanging on Scethan used the hold for leverage and threw the gangster over his hip, landing him hard on the irregular stones of the street. The leader had recovered from the shock of action by this point, however, and hit Scethan with a crude double-handed blow over the back. It was poorly placed but still had a lot of weight behind it, and Scethan rolled away to disperse the momentum. From a crouch he feinted a sweep, but stood at the last moment and planted his elbow into the gangster's temple. He fell, out cold, and the rest of the gang dispersed nervously as Scethan resumed his walk home without comment.

(Edit: Forgot stat-ups....)
+2 S
250+ words: +1 W

[FlyingPinkPony]

Approved and updated.

[gantz]

The healer had warned Scethan to go easy on his wounds, but since he donated his earnings to her he still had the problem of rent, so he found himself in the shallow reaches of the jungle, hunting. He had been tracking a large boar for a few hundred meters over the course of the morning. He came to a confused path, where the tracks intermingled with another set. From the looks of things the boar had encountered another of its kind and participated in some social exchange or another. As Scethan tried to untangle his quarry's footprints from its friend's his wound seized up and his breathing became labored. He leaned against a tree trunk for a moment, struggling to bring himself under control. After the pain subsided, he looked again at the tracks, and his path became immediately obvious. Not far beyond that point he found the boar grazing in a small clearing. He drew back his bow, which he had nocked in advance, and took careful aim. Boars were tough, but could be brought down with a single well-placed arrow. He took a long, calming breath, but just as he prepared to loose his arrow his chest gave a twinge of pain, and the arrow flew wide and buried itself in the boar's flank. It squealed in rage as blood oozed from the wound. Scethan held very still as the beast lifted its snout and scented the air. It seemed unable to find him, however. Just as he relaxed, though, it whipped its head in his direction and came charging through the underbrush. Scethan, unprepared for this development, tried to scramble out of its path but it caught one of his legs in its charge, sending him sprawling to the jungle floor. As the boar wheeled for another charge Scethan's hand darted to his hunting knife, and just as the beast was on top of him he redirected its charge by impaling it with his knife. With a final startled grunt it fell lifeless beside him. He had probably brought the cost of the hide down, but at least he was alive, and could always sell the meat. Still breathing hard, he bound the animal and trekked back to town with his prize in tow.

Stats: +2 Ws
250: +1 Wp

[FlyingPinkPony]

Approved. Added.

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