The Bernese Arena(PM to join)

[Sabin]

Sabin walked on through the busy streets of the small town he had been in for a while. He was thinking how the other were doing. Xavier must've probably taken his advice seriously. He chuckled at the thought of that. The kid sure had something different about him. Sabin couldn't put a finger on it though. Was it something good, or bad? The kid was leading himself to grave danger, he was sure about it. But Sabin knew that just because something dangerous lay ahead, didn't mean one should stop what he is doing. He hoped Xavier understood what he said.

He then thought about Grayson. The archer didn't seem too keen on going with anyone else but Aaron, and that was sad. He was sad beause he thought Grayson would've made a good travelling partner. Well, there was no point thinking about it now.

Finally, Aaron. he was probably the most talkative of their little group, more than even Sabin, and that meant something. It meant Sabin had lost a potentially good friend. What would happen to Aaron now? Would he succeed in whatever he planned to do?

All this aside, there was one thing worrying Sabin- What would he do now? No partners, nothing. Sightseeing was fun, but it is more fun when you have people travelling with you. Sabin sighed as he got confused about how he actually ended up like this. He cursed himself- he shouldn't have left his crew. Boy oh boy, what would he do now?

All thoughts were blocked when he saw a nice restaurant to eat at. He had always wanted to try the Bernese cuisine, and hopefully it would be served here. Illian was fine too, but there was always this conception of 'Why not eat Ilian food in Ilia and Bernese food in Bern?'. Thinking that eating a nice meal would clear his thoughts, he entered the restaurant.

[Sabin]

Sabin sat at one of the free tables, noticing a waiter coming to him.

"Your order, sir." the waiter asked.

"I want a typical Bernese cuisine for lunch, if you have that." Sabin demanded.

"I'm afraid we don't have that, Sire. We do, however, have a mmixed cuisine of Bernese and Ilian food." the waiter replied.

"I see. Well, what are the dishes then?" Sabin asked eagerly.'


"Well, there's spicy chicken fried in garlic sauce, lobster with minced beans and fried cubes of cheese, Tomato soup with seaweeds-" but he was interrupted by an excited Sabin.

"I'll take that, please." Sabin ordered entusiastically. The waiter tooked the order and went back to the chef's room, frowning. What kind of guy was this brute?

Sabin waited as the wiater wen to deliver his order. He was eager to try some new food. His mouth started to get watery as he thought of the kinds of food he could get, he even imagined a wonderful smell. Ah, the fresh aroma of seafood...

His thoughts drifted back to the good ol' days when he and his brother were little kids, trying out foreign food that their mother gave thim. He missed those times when he could go and play pirate withe Casey. In fact, he missed Casey.

-----

Two shady characters across the room were staring at a tough, burly man at the other side. He was carrying quite the axe. Eyeing the axe, one of them said to the other, " I think we found another one, mate."

[Sabin]

"Here's your food, sir."

It was the waiter from before. Sabin had waited for about fifteen minutes, pretty hungry. This restaurant was really slow! Sabin, eager to start eating, hit his stomach lightly, getting ready for a good meal.

"Thanks a lot! This looks real good!" Sabin thanked the waiter whole-heatedly.

"I'm glad to be of service, sir- may I have your name?" the waiter replied. He felt Sabin was a peculiar customer.

" The name's Sabin. Also, what is the recipy of this soup, waiter?" Sabin asked, quitely rudely.

-------------

"So, do you think we should go over to that man and request him for th job, Max?" asked the other guy.

"We'll wait for that waiter to move, and then we'll get down to business, Evin. This guy looks like he'd be the perfect token for us." replied Max.

" That is, if this guy agrees, Max. He looks quite intimidating, just looking at those burly shoulders." Evin said, raising an eyebrow.

"Heh, look at him and the way he's eating. I bet he's naive as hell, like all other strong fighters. Most of them are tough, all brawn, but when it comes to brains and being crafty, they're nil. I bet this guy's no different." Max replied confidently.

"Well, I guess we should go talk to that guy now, as the waiter is walking away." Evin said, urging Max to go ahead.

"Alright then, let's meet our new fighter." Max said, smiling.

[Sabin]

"Hey, tough guy. You seem to look like a strong warrior." Max interrupted.

Sabin looked up to see a strange black haired guy with a scar on his right eye. He took out a cigarette and lit it, smoking in some tobacco.

"Uh, hey stranger. What's up?" Sabin asked, quite annoyed that someone interrupted his lunch.

Max was shocked by the abrupt, insensitive reply. Was this guy for real? It didn't matter anyways, he was going to try and persuade this man...

" Do you like fighting? Are interested in hacking into people? Do you have a lust for blood?" Max asked rather eagerly. It was so all of a sudden, it could make you wonder how Max really did his job.

Sabin paused for a moment. What exactly was this guy trying to tell him? Everything didn't make sense at all! " I don't really like fighiting, I like eating-" Sabin tried to reply, but he was interrupted.

"Do you like gold? Would you fight for money at least?" Max asked, now resorting to bribing and trickery.

" Yeah, gold sure is helpful. But I don't think I need a lot right now. All a like is sightseeing." Sabin replied, naive as he was.

Max clutched his fist. This guy's innocence was getting underneath his skin now. He definetly needed to punch in some sense into this burly man. He really was as Max had expected- all brawn, no brain.

Then Max got an idea. This guy said he liked sightseeing, didn't he?

" Sightseeing, huh? Imagine how much of that you could do with a lot of money? Money buys a lot of things, and if there's ne benefit, its this." Max replied.

Sabin paused and thought for a moment. This guy seemed like he was offering him a job. If this guy sounded convincing, it probably meant he really had the big cash baskets with him. Probably he should accept this task and recieve the money... then he can taste all the different delicacies he wants, drink how much ever he wanted. This though brought a smile on his face.

"Ok, so, what do you want me to do, exactly?" Sabin asked eagerly.

[Sabin]

"Simple. All we want you to do is to participate in an arena of sorts. We're looking for a good fighter to sign up to compete in it, and we think you're the perfect one for the job. The reward is a costly red gem and probably a title as well. " Max said.

Sabin paused and though for a moment. A red gem seemed rewarding, but not too rewarding either. It was not as costly as a white gem, so he probably would not get a big reward. However, that title part caught his attention. Maybe fame would be an interesting experience for once.

"What's in it for you?" Sabin asked.

"Well, since you've entered the competition through us, you'll get some support already. Also we'll be taking whatever prize money that you get for winning while you get the gem and the title." Max replied.

Sabin thought for a moment. Was it really worth entering this competition now? He was risking his life for two men who were going to use him up for money, and his reward woulf be inadequate. But, perhaps this part of the adventure he was seeking... always wanting to face danger.

"Fine, I accept your offer." Sabin replied innocently.

" Good call my friend, good call." Max said, smiling.

[Sabin]

Sabin, along with Max and Evin, entered an Arena like struture in the capital. He couldn't believe it- he was actually going to battle in the capital of Bern itself! He just couldn't wait to see the vibrant roars of the Bernese crowd... at least he imagined that until he remember what Aaron said- that Bern was under Illian occupation. He was still cool, he had never Illian behaviour and stuff, but this was Bern for freakin' sake! In Bern, one want's to see Bernese culture, not Illian. Sabin did not know how many times he strssed on that vital principle- its important to see a country's culture in that particular country, not others!

Sabin couldn't help but notice how suspicious Max and Evin were acting. They did not tell much to Sabin, other than speaking highly of their expectations of him. It was like they were... owining him. Sabin couldn't help but be worried about that, but he tried to shake these thoughts off of his mind as they would cripple him if they persisted. All he was concerned, now, was his series of battles that awaited him. He saw Max and Evin do the paper work, as he went into the participant's dormitory. He was given a room to sit in, and there he sat, awaiting his turn.

[Sabin]

Sabin had waited for about an hour until his name was called. He was part of 16 warriors who were going at each other. If he survived this round, he'd go to the next round of eight. Healers healed in between rounds. He knew that much because of what the guard of his room had told him. All that time he spent in the room, he was dreaming on what the success in this tournament would bring him. Recognition. Money. Exploration. Then he started thinking about what he liked best, food.

Sabin stood up, stretching his body. He clenched his left fist as he stood up and rotated his right wrist which held his axe. He tensed his muscles up, and then relaxed. He closed his eyes, trying to cear his mind of any doubt, or suspicion. This was battle. This was an arena. All that was needed, was victory.

Sabin walked into the battle stadium.(Is that what they called it in medieval times?) There was a huge roar as he took his battle stance. This was going to be a big event for him, definetly.

[Sabin]

Sabin eyed his opponent closely- the man wore light clothes and looked light footed. If anything, Sabin had to be cautious. Sabin and his opponent moved closer to each other and started circling, waiting for the first strike.

They seemed to be circling forever. Sabin didn't keep track of how long they were circling. The crowd was still, alert, looking at who would strike first. This silence and waiting was annoying Sabin. He had forgotten about his analysis of his opponent earlier when he decided to charge at his opponent. He ran up to him and tried to hack his axe into the ma's flesh, but he missed and suffered a slash by the fast swordsman. A medium sized cut was shown on his back, as a nice, big red scar was shown on his back. His shirt had torn badly. He winced in pain and cursed himself- he should have worn his overcoat.

Sabin stumbled forward as the man slashed at him again, giving him another bad scar appeared across his left shoulder on to his back. Sabin cried in pain as he plummeted on to the ground. He rolled so that his body faced the sky and he saw the swordsman charging at him.

He thought to himself, "Fool if he was clever, he wouldve finished me off in the second attack by stabbing me." He smiled as he knew what to do now.

The swords man jumped high into the air, holding his sword downwards, going for the kill. Sabin rolled, enduring the pain as small gravel pricked his wound. As the swordsman landed, Sabin kicked the man's leg, tripping the man, who fell forwards, sword out of hands, slamming his face on to the sword's handle.

Sabin took the oppurtunity to attack, He scrambled, although clumsily,on to his feet and jumped, stamping his opponent on the back, then squated and hacked into his opponent's flesh.

Next thing he knew, he was led back by his guard to his room, the crowd roaoring in excitement. Clerics awaited him.

[Sabin]

Aftera pretty bad start, Sabin had learnt that he cannot let instinct do the talking for him in the battles to be fough here. He had to use his mind. He couldn't win with just brawl, even in a plain battlefield. Terrain battling was his plus point, and although there was no real terrain to take advantage of, it didn't mean he had no advantage. A fighter in plain terrain is overconfident and relies on his battling prowess. It was this weakness that Sabin had to exploit in his opponents.

The following battles for Sabin proved to be easy after this realization. The first opponent, he considered, was lucky that Sabin didn't use his brain.

But now, it was the final. His opponent had to have a brain, at least that's what Sabin assumed. This fight would probably not be easy, but he had to win this. Even if he had the disadvantage of having a scarred back.


Sabin looked at his final opponent. He was a ruffian, much like sabin, but was well equipped. Gauntlets and steel bracelets, oh, and a headgear. It was time to to fight.

[Sabin]

Sabin ran forwards as his opponent did the same- Sabin was glad he wore his overcoat and shoulder guard this time, because he really needed some protection. Sabin, thanks to wearing light clothes, was faster than his buff opponent. As they both came to clash, Sabin ran past his opponent to the right, and then redirected himself to hack into his opponent.

The ruffian responded just in time, too. Both their axes clashed at once- the ruffian's axe looked heavier, and the force was so strong that it made Sabin move back. Sabin's eyes widened- this guy was no ameteur.

The ruffian this time ran towards Sabin, and Sabin tensed up his muscles. He was unsure of what he had to do, his opponent was too strong and had fine armour to do anything to him. So maybe his torso was hi weakest both, but it didn't help that the man held that huge axe in front of him.

As he was preoccupied with these thoughts, the ruffian was just in fron of him as he swung his axe. Sabin snapped out of his thoughtful state as he backstepped just in time. He had just escaped from Death's grasp once more.

Then he realized his opponents weakness- this man was just like all the other warriors in this arena- he cared only about strength. Only thing helping him was that he was well equipped, and his stature suited his battle style. The swings, the running- everything was too slow for Sabin. If he had to beat this guy, it was a must that he dodged a few blows. He had to somehow get behind him to get just enough time to hack into his back, but with the ruffian swaying like a giant, it wasn't going to be easy.

The ruffian charged at Sabin again. Alert and ready to execute his plan, Sabin slowly walked forward, sur[rising his opponent. The man slowed down a bit, getting a little suspicious of what Sabin was doing, and at this point, Sabin sprung and tried to whack him with his axe.

Axes connected, and Sabin looked up, now intimidated more than ever. The man towered over Sabin. He probably had not taken note of this when he was getting attacked, probably because he was preoccupied with his strategies. Now close-up with his opponent, he noticed a scar on his right arm. "Wonderful, just wonderful." he thought.

Sabin sidestepped but was unlucky when the ruffian tried to hit Sabin with the blunt edge of his axe. Thankfully it hit Sabin's shoulder guard, Sabin sighed in relief, grateful for wearing that piece of armour.

This was the oppurtunity he was waiting for. He tried to open up the scar on the ruffian's arm, and was successful in doing so. The ruffian caught his arm and cried hin pain, gripping his axe tightly.

Sabin wasted no time, though he was shorter than the other axe-user, he was certainly strong, and every kick and punch had a lot of power in it. Sabin punched the ruffian in the face and then, using the blunt edge of his axe, thwacked hard on the Ruffian's neck. The man stumbled forwards and sturggled to keep himself standing, but it was no use. He crashed on to the ground, as the world around him became dark.

The whole crowd cheered at Sabin's victory. The whistle was sounded and the chief of the event came on to the battlefield, wanting to give Sabin his red gem.

But the cheering was interrupted by none other than Max and Evin, who quickly came running, stabbing the chied and taking the red gem.

[Sabin]

OOC: Ok, Now I really feel like finishing this thread. I think I'm not going to type a detailed pot for this, because, its like something's forcin me to come up with something.

The day had ended well, though on a slightly sour note. Sabin had won the tournament, and got his red gem as prize for winning it. The two crooks, Max and Evin, had killed the chief, something Sabin had not expected. Sabin was about to take the two of them on when guards came in to the arena after being alerted by the total change of things. Both of the crooks were taken care of with the collective effort of Sabin and the guards, and Sabin was free to move on now.

Sabin thought back on the recent events. He had travelled with some mage he didn't know too well. Ended up being ditched by the lot in the end. Then ended up working for two crooks, battling his way through the arena. But now he was free to do what he wanted. He was feeling restles at the thought of a particular question.

The question was, what was he gonna do now?