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Post by Elijah on May 2, 2018 20:33:58 GMT -6
Gar at least considered diplomacy as an option, which Elijah appreciated. Not just for his own sake, but their client seemed to want no real harm done to the Minotaur. The best way to avoid that would be to avoid combat...but Gar raised a good point, too. Could the beast even speak their language? How would they communicate? Body language between species is read differently. Even if they tried to signal they meant no harm, would the beast understand? Especially given it may have been driven to madness for some reason…
Elijah’s arms were crossed as he heard out Gar reiterate his strengths. The elder merc knew he had asked this question earlier, and he was glad Gar had obliged. Going over things a second time could reveal something that had been missed the first go around. “Given your confidence and your weapon, I have no problems leaving the initial engagement to you. I’ll support you as best I can, and try to strike it’s blind spots.”
That gave Elijah the potential to leave the beast wounded but not killed, either. If it had a body similar to a man’s, it wasn’t illogical to assume it would have similar weaknesses. The tendons behind the knees or beneath the wrists, for example, were heavy wounds to deliver that could be healed later on. Gar seemed to have the exact same idea as well. The blonde gave a small smile, satisfied with what they’d come up with this time. “Given what we know, that should suffice. Thank you.”
As they had continued through the forest, which remained rather quiet and still, Gar noticed a destroyed...bone walkers, they were called. A grim reminder that Elijah was close to his personal destination, but also an indicator that they were likely close to the minotaur’s lair. His eyes moved past the pile of bones to the brush behind it. Disheveled, like something blunt had pushed clean through it.
“I’d say so.” Elijah walked past the bonewalker and kept his footsteps light. He inspected the bushes and flora beyond the skeleton, and saw large imprints in the grass. “Yeah...we’re close. Best keep quiet and stay alert.”
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Post by Gar on May 3, 2018 21:49:23 GMT -6
Gar silently nodded toward Elijah. This was his way of quietly agreeing with Elijah to stay quiet and alert. Gar focused his eyes and ears to pick up any motion or sound that could be attributed to a Minotaur. Gar moved across the forest floor with silent steps. He followed the direction that it seemed the imprints were moving.
Gar circled around a thick tree trunk and there it was, unexpectedly. Gar’s heart pounded in his chest. A beast’s head on the body of a man. A pretty big man at that. The Minotaur was seated, resting it’s arm on one raised knee. For the moment, the beast’s head was lowered toward the forest floor. It’s double sided axe was laid at its side. Gar looked around the area. No sign of other creatures in the area. But this wasn’t exactly a clearing, it was pretty dense in terms of trees and brush. A rough place to have a fight. Especially difficult for swinging big axes.
The captain turned to Elijah and gave him the universal signal for ‘look there’. Gar raised two fingers to his eyes and then directed them to the Minotaur. He waited for a moment to meet eyes with his companion. If Elijah needed to do any last-minute preparations or positioning, Gar gave some time. Then he decided to move in. He took two steps from behind the tree trunk.
He spoke in his loud, clear captain’s voice. “Oi oi! I’m here to getcha to stop breaking stuff.” Diplomacy? While it wasn’t the berserker’s strong suit, it did manage to get the beast to raise its head. A familiar sight, more than comparable to the brand on Gar’s abdomen. Images of Bullring flashed through Gar’s mind. The berserker’s fist clenched in some type of residual anger. The Minotaur’s large, glassy eyes saw Gar’s fist. Without a word it reached for its axe. Gar unlatched his own from his back.
The Minotaur rose to a height taller than Gar was himself. It exhaled through the nostrils that made the ring shake. Gar began to draw from Xigshaw’s strength boost. No more words. Body language had dictated what route this encounter was headed down. Time for action.
Gar stepped first, leading to a short charge and an over head cut that the Minotaur blocked almost effortlessly. The barefooted beast shifted and brought its axe around to swipe and Gar’s hip. The berserker had to hop backwards and shove his axe downward to stop the blow from connecting. Still, the force from the Minotaur’s attack pushed Gar a couple steps further back. “You're stronger than you look.”
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Post by Elijah on May 5, 2018 19:59:21 GMT -6
The two stalked their way into the territory of their mark. It was a strange feeling for the ex-mercenary. It reminded Elijah a bit of missions that would have him infiltrate the territory of, say, a bandit tribe (back when those were a fair bit more common) in one sense. On the other hand it reminded him of jobs that required him to track down a missing person. The beast was no brigand nor was it unaccounted for, yet there they were to track it and enter its territory all the same.
After moments had passed, Gar signaled to Eli and the blonde’s eyes were quick to follow. There it was. As large as one could possibly expect, if not larger, and practically naked. Indeed it had the body of man, but said man would have to be among the strongest built men around. It’s head was equally large, and bore the snout and horns of the mightiest bull in a great herd. In the mere seconds that Elijah beheld the creature he could immediately see why such a beast would have myths written after it - how else did one comprehend its existence?
Yet it was a real, not a myth, and as Gar boldly stomped towards it the two realized that it was indeed quite mad...or at least ruthlessly territorial. Gar’s attempt at diplomacy was...an attempt, and Elijah quickly realized that even if Gar ought to be the one to engage in combat first - Eli should have been the one to try and speak to it. It wasn’t his crass language, Elijah thought, but his demeanor and his tone. The beast may not understand the common tongue and body language was different across species - but some things were universal. For some reason Gar’s hand had tightened into a fist. The beast understood what a fist meant.
Still, it was too late for Elijah to say anything on the matter. The minotaur snorted and reacted as though it had been challenged and, whether Gar had intended to or not, he very well had. He drew his blade as the two axe wielder’s met, and he spent not a second to dwell on the sheer impact that could be felt when their axes met. Gar had certainly begun to draw on the magic within his axe but even so the minotaur had forced him back. So long as Gar could not be so easily pushed aside then Eli ought to have the opportunity to strike its weak points.
His jacket still damp and heavy, Eli stripped himself of it as he darted into the clearing with speed he had yet to showcase since the mission began. The creature was hyper alert and, frankly, Elijah didn’t have the stealth skills required to get behind it without detection. What he did have was the ability to focus and capitalize swiftly.
“If you want to win, aim not for the ideal but instead capitalize on your strengths. Change the game to suit you, not yourself to the game.”
Elijah drew his blade back, his arms crossed his torso as he made his way behind the creature. With a shout he brought his sword across the back of the creature’s knee. Steel bit flesh but...Elijah’s steel was not impressive enough. There was a cut, but it was light, and only served to force an enraged bellow out of the great beast. Elijah saw massive muscles in its back flex, and ducked just in time to dodge a full hammer-fisted swing that came from the creature - its large axe now held in one hand.
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Post by Gar on May 25, 2018 17:01:39 GMT -6
Gar and the Minotaur had just engaged. He intended to make a clear opening for his partner, but Elijah was already in the fray, swiftly taking advantage of every opportunity presented. Gar smiled, recognizing Elijah’s combat experience. As the creature swung at Elijah, Gar saw its muscles flex. The build of the beast was possibly even larger than the mountain who wore red. Gar hated to think it. Hell, trying to overpower it was probably a lost cause. That was something strange for the berserker, at least since he has had this incarnation of his magical weapon. There weren’t many beings that he had come across that could match him in strength. Fortunately, that wasn’t all that Gar was good for. He could surely contribute in other fashions.
Gar tracked the beasty’s weapon as it shifted from two hands to one. Elijah had given Gar an opportunity here, it was up to him to capitalize. Gar hefted his axe above his head once again. He dropped it with a strength boost aiming for the axe held in one of the minotaur’s hands. The weight of the weapon, in conjunction with Gar’s strike provided an immense amount of torque. Any other enemy would’ve been disarmed, but this minotaur was something else. Still, the Minotaur’s axe hit the forest floor hard. The beast had to take a few steps to the side to recover its fighting posture. Gar had to move quick to keep the advantage. He took this chance to jab at the minotaur’s chest with the top of his axe. It wasn’t a damaging move, but it did keep the beast from recovering easily. The jab kept the beast on its heels, uncertain of its footfalls. In this type of uneven terrain, the placement of every step was important. One trip could decide the battle.
For the moment, the duo had the advantage. Gar sure was thankful that he didn’t have to go this one alone.
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