SEP. NBR -Tournament Narrative [2/3]-

[KirigakurenoHaku]

(Click here to read part one.)

Here I offer part two of my adventure through the tournament that I had taken part in last night. This was a 30ss game which took place between my Pandora and my friend's Sonnia Criid.

The asterisks are to denote the division between the bridge from the first match to the second and the narrative of the actual match.

Pandora awoke, the world blurred. Her head was dizzied and her limbs tingling from prolonged inactivity. She shifted, tried to roll over, and-

“Ouch!”

From her side she extracted a pin. Her vision cleared to reveal the inside of Zoraida’s cabin.

Pandora sat up and rubbed the last of the haze from her eyes. But wait a minute! Hadn’t she lost an eye? Never before had she had one plucked from her face before. Although, perhaps it was a dream. She had seen Nytmare. Was he toying with her?

Floorboards creaked under scuffed hooves; the hag entered the quarter in which Pandora had been sleeping.

“You heal quickly,” the crone informed. “It has only been two days and you’re rested to good health.” She grinned crookedly.

“What happened?” Pandora inquired, her memory still piecing itself together.

“Fate favored you enough to let you live.”

Pandora groaned, still sore.

“I found this stuffed into your empty socket.” Zoraida passed a bloodied and crumpled parcel to Pandora.

The note within the envelope, when smoothed, prominently bore the Guild’s insignia on its surface. Despite the amount of blood present to obscure it’s exterior, there was no mistaking the grand ram’s head. When unfolded, the text within said simply:

“Sonnia Criid,

Prepare yourself to hunt the Neverborn in a fortnight.”

Zoraida gave a sickly chuckle. “It would seem that fate meant this message for you in the end after all.”

Pandora stood from her bed, vertebrae cracking, stiff. “I shall see to it that she won’t be bothering us.”

“Before you go,” Zoraida interrupted, “take these.”

With Candy at her side, her box in hand, and a set of flints pocketed, Pandora made off for the Witch Hunter.

*****

Pandora found Criid and her Witchling Stalkers making their preparations in some old, uninhabited structures. One of Perdita’s kin, Niño, was informing them of the the mannerisms of the Neverborn and the tactics that were best in hunting them.

From a safe distance, Pandora scouted the areas that Sonnia had claimed as hers. One could observe a fair number of crates placed nearby the scarred and crippled buildings that made up the desolate neighborhood. The crates were, without a doubt, gifts from the ever-adoring Papa Loco.

Pandora let the seal binding her box shut loosen, and from its depths appeared a bare-skinned woman with ambiguous features and her favored bringers of despair. Pandora gave the orders and she, Candy, and the Doppelgänger parted ways, each accompanied by an ethereal woe.

Pandora and the Doppelgänger were the first to reach their crates, each within eyesight of the other divided only by a narrow street. As the Doppelgänger peeled the lid from her crate, she jarred herself against the wall that it was set against. Loose brick tore free from cracking mortar and the wall collapsed on itself. The humans learned of their guests.

Sonnia, Niño, and the witchlings rushed to the source of the sound. Pandora released her beloved Poltergeist to greet them, and it did do so with a wail. The Poltergeist was silenced abruptly by a well-placed bullet from the Ortega boy and one of the witchlings advanced.

It was around this time that the Neverborn child found a box of goodies that had already had its lid discarded. Candy felt a malicious giddiness well up inside of her. “We’re going to make this bad mommy really sorry!” she giggled. Before the mommy could be punished, though, she had to be patient. Candy sat against the open crate, her diminutive posture hidden behind it, so as to wait for Pandora’s signaling call.

Both Pandora and the Doppelgänger remained next to their respective crates, their accompanying sorrows converging on the nearing witchling. While this witchling remained occupied, Pandora struck out against Niño psychologically, the Doppelgänger mimicking this act upon Sonnia. Whispers of self-loathing began to torment the Ortega boy while Sonnia found herself questioning her reason for living. They fought against thoughts of turning blade and bullet upon themselves.

Sonnia shouted above the voice of depression, demanding of her two other witchling companions to slaughter those with dominion over the mind.

Just then, Niño let fly a round into the body of the witchling already in combat, detonating it, and dispersing both of the obtrusive sorrows. “No!” he chuckled. “This Neverborn is seldom without her children. Send one to seek them out.”

With a nod, Sonnia revised her orders, sending one of her arcane servants to seek out any child within the ruinous town, the other to deal with the mimic.

Pandora stood. The blast of the witchling had swept her from her feet, but had done little more. Taking note of her advancing foes and her dwindled forces, Pandora cried out. Both she and the Doppelgänger took up their flints and sent showers of sparks upon the fuses within their respective crates. Fuses lit, the witchling came upon the Doppelgänger. As the Doppelgänger fell to the witchling’s blade, Pandora let her box open one last time and let herself drift away on fading memories.

Candy heard the call and jumped atop the open crate. Below her feet lay and incomprehensible number of cylinders almost as bright in color as the vibrant sweets in her basket. In her moment of distraction, Candy was seized from behind but a darkly cloaked man bearing a tarnished blade. Candy reached into her basket and thrust the most vile of her bitters into her captor’s face.

The cloaked man recoiled, dropping Candy back into the crate. As she landed, sticks of dynamite spilled out, disturbed from their repose. The witchling stalker wheezed violently as if the mere scent of the gummy green candies had made him ill. Candy used this time to strike her flint over the fuses and run from the alleyway.

Pandora swept up Candy as she passed and the pair drifted away on a tide of woe. As plumes of fire and shrapnel rose in the distance, Candy let herself enjoy another giggle and the satisfaction of knowing that she and Pandora had successfully punished a really bad mommy.

So this game was between a friend of mine, Kelvin, and myself. We had 30ss to comprise our teams with. Now I must apologize, I did not take note of what had actually happened in each turn, so I cannot tell you exactly what happened. I can tell you, however, that the chief objective was shared line-in-the-sand, myself taking on the offensive. I also had the schemes of Hold Out and Pandora's special. The terrain effect was rockslide.

I will recount what had occurred as I recall it to the best of my ability, though.

Turn One- I deployed Pandora, Candy, a Doppelgänger, three sorrows, and my Poltergeist. My first three activations were the sorrows, each of whom linked to a signifigant model on my side. The third sorrow linked to Pandora and used Melancholy on her so that she may drift 4" on Fading Memories. Next, I activated the Poltergeist and double walked ahead. Pandora activated and walked six inched forward. The Doppelgänger walked parallel to Pandora. Candy double walked forward and to the left, away from Pandora had gone, focusing on another of the fuses.

Turn 2- Pandora moves again on Fading Memories, then she and the Doppelgänger moved ahead at a leftward trend, stopping in base contact with markers 1 and 2, using their second actions in the turn of their activations to set the fuses. Candy moved herself into base contact with marker 4 and lights her fuse. The sorrows take position in front of Pandora, Candy, and the Doppelgänger to try to obstruct some line of sight from Criid's ranged fighters. The Poltergeist takes a position between Pandora and the Doppelgänger and casts Tantrum. Unfortunately, Niño made quick work of the Poltergeist.

Turn 3- A witchling stalker engages Pandora and the Doppelgänger in combat while Niño fires into their quarrel. The Doppelgänger copies Pandora's Emotional Trauma and Self-Loathing, then she and Pandora attempt to force Sonnia and Niño to hate themselves a little bit. The sorrows, at the same time, barrage the opponents with a few will tests with Melancholy. Not too many of them were successful, but it was enough to take out the Stalker in melee (with Niño's help.) The detonated stalker kills off both of the sorrows.

The turn prior, a stalker had gotten into base contact with Candy's marker. Candy poisons him with Bitters. He, then, defused the marker.

Turn 4-The stalker at marker 4 moves out of base contact with it to get a vantage on Candy. Candy soaks the hits with martyr, killing off her sorrow, and she lights her fuse again. Niño kills the Doppelgänger. It is here that time runs out and we use up the rest of our activations for the turn, but nothing her made any relevant imapact.

This left me the victor with seven Victory Points, simultaneously marking my first win!

(Keep on reading here for part three.)

Edited September 8, 2010 by KirigakurenoHaku
Updated with a link to Part Three

[KirigakurenoHaku]

Part three should be up either tonight or early tomorrow.

[theHman]

Fantastic storytelling!

And congrats on your fist win. That's exciting.

[KirigakurenoHaku]

Fantastic storytelling!

And congrats on your fist win. That's exciting.

Thank you very much; I am glad that you are enjoying!

And yes, that was something quite exciting!

[KirigakurenoHaku]

Part three is up!