A Game of Skill

[Gelquie]

No. No... Not a mob. Anything but a mob. What had they done? Things were going so well!

"We're under attack!" Gelquie yelled before she quickly mopped herself down the corridors. She wasn't sure what she could do just yet except for one thing, and she had to get there quickly.

She let out a sigh as she went. "We get them to start tilling their crops and start providing food and furs to the land as well as engaging in trade, and this is how they repay us?!" she grumbled. "And they're going against a Beast who has been trying to help them? Are all these up-tight villagers this stupid?! Because I'm really starting to think that..."

Her rant was cut off by her finding Belle somewhere in the castle. "Belle, there's a mob knocking on our door, and they're out for blood. We'll do what we can, but any ideas on how to stop their rampage would be great. If not, you may want to hide somewhere quickly."

((If I've made a wrong assumption (like Belle still being in the castle or something), let me know.))

[Celestial]

A mob? Seriously? Celestitrunk really should have known not to expect anything else from a bunch of very paranoid villagers in a fairy tale living opposite a monster but honestly, she was expecting a bit more after they were practically giving them their crops. These people were never satisfied, were they? Give them a chance to make money and they not only turn their noses up but they also grab the ol' torches and pitchforks.

She brought one metal leg to what she considered her face. It made a clunk sound, much less satisfying than the usual slap.

"Right, guys, we really should not panic. Act only in self-defence, do not give them an excuse to get even madder at us," she called out and turned to the heavier objects. "Go get things to barricade the doors with. They probably won't harm the fields if they want them so badly so it is just the castle which is in danger. There should be plenty of statues and random junk."

She turned to the other objects "Get whatever weapons you can use and get ready to fight!" Celestrirunk shouted and rushed up to the room where Beast was.

"There is a mob at our doors. You are the lord of this castle, you and Belle should try to do something. Talking them down is probably useless but it is worth trying. If not, we should be ready to fight but if the worst comes to the worst, take Belle and get out of here. The woods should provide ample cover for you while we fight them off as best as we can," she said to him solemnly, hoping that the illusionist knew what he was doing and that the angry mob would not actually kill them if things went south.

[Pixie]

"Argh, I had a bad feeling something of this nature would happen!"
Ellen spat, to no one in particular. She, preferring to stay on the Beast's defensive, rushes the way of Celestial's voice.
Let's see, the tip of me is sharp and I'm heavy and blunt in the base, what else could I use. Let's see... I think I'm set. I better hurry or else someone could get hurt while I'm off somewhere, dawdling

She darts along the corridors, tracking her and the Beast down by voice. Even when her iron body tells her to slow, she ignores it to the best of her ability, adrenaline rushing to her relief. After a brief state of disorientation due to crashing into a wall, she makes it to where the Beast in Celestial are.

"Mr... Beast..." She stammers, short on stamina. " If these people are trying to get in at all costs, you need one or more of us nearby and ready to defend in case someone tries to sneak up on you or Belle. I will be your or belle's body guard since I am both sharp and blunt and heavy and can defend you in this form. Both of you need protection."

[♥ Azzie]

"A mob! Oh no!" Azzie fretted. "Any chance we can reason with these ones?"
She heard another yell. "...Probably not." She stood there for a few minutes, thinking, reminding herself over and over that this was an illusion. She'd really started to lose herself in it.
"Aw, man, and I'd wanted to sing again before this was over" She pattered her way down the stairs, wanting to reach the entrance hall before the door came in, but tripped and wound up rolling in a ball down most of the stairs.

"Mmph!" she yelled, trying to untangle herself once she stopped moving. She managed to get a corner free and swatted at herself until she could stand properly again- man, that had been weird. She could see the door thumping and feel the vibrations in the air, and she stood on two corners in the center of the hall while she waited.

I hope this works.

[Tiger]

Tiger threaded between the rushing animate objects - as much as a coat rack could really be said to thread, anyway. She wished her sword had survived the transformation, although no doubt it would've been impossible for her to use it, being a piece of furniture and all.

At least her arms had some use. While other objects prepared to fight, Tiger started moving wardrobes, dressers, and a few moss-encrusted gargoyle in front of the castle doors. The makeshift barricade wouldn't hold long, but it might buy the Guild members, Belle, and the Beast some time. That work done, Tiger ducked into the shadows of a nearby corner, lowering her fedora down to cover her eyes. The first person who stalked past her would be in for a nasty surprise.

[Fraze]

Boom.

The beast's eyes grow wide. "They're--but I haven't done anything! I only tried to make myself useful, and..."

Boom.

He sighs, and turns to Ellen. "Go help Belle," he says. "I can look out for myself." He raises a massive paw, and the long, black claws glint in the candlelight.
"Can you, now?" Belle stands in the doorway. The Beast spins around. "You need to run," Belle tells him.

Boom.

The Beast shakes his head. "I can't."
Belle steps forward. "They won't stop until they've found you and killed you. Run away and you can keep on living."
"And then what?!" the Beast roars. He catches his breath, and quiets down again. "I'm sick of running away. Of hiding and giving up. If I run away, maybe I would live, but at what cost? I'll have to live in the woods for the rest of my life, staying away from hunters and civilization. Then I really will be a beast."

Boom.

"At least you'll be alive!" Belle pleads.
The Beast looks down. "It won't be worth anything."
"Why not?"
"Because..." the Beast begins.
"What? What could possibly be more important than life? As long as you're living, there's a chance to--"
"You won't be there with me!"

Boom.

Belle jerks back. Her face is an image of shock.
"I--when you came here, I was pathetic. It's taken months and months, but I've learned what I can do with my life, thanks to you and...and all of my friends in the castle." He looks at Celestitrunk, GLQ, and Ellen, then looks back. "Ten years ago, I abandoned everything I was, everything I could be, and everyone I knew. I'm not going to do that again."

Boom.

"This place." He gestures at the walls, the floors, the ceiling. "This is finally a place worth fighting for, and I'm going to fight." He turns to Ellen once more. "Get her into the woods. Don't come back until things have quieted down." He adds to Gelquie and Celestitrunk, "Come with me."

Boom.

The Beast runs down to the entrance hall, and bellows in a voice that fills the entire castle. "DEFEND THE CASTLE. LET'S LET THEM KNOW WE'RE HERE TO STAY!"

Then, as an afterthought. "AND TRY NOT TO HURT ANYONE!"

BOOM.

The door breaks off its hinges, and topples onto the makeshift barricade. The mob vaults over the barricade, using the door as a ramp. They spread out and fill up the room.



((All right, this battle is going to be a bit different than previous ones: you get to play both sides. Each of you will be given someone to fight, and you get to roleplay both sides of the battle. This means that there's no chance of godmoding, so go wild! Also, for the sake of pacing, note that breaking your fight into multiple posts really isn't necessary, since you don't need to respond to anyone.))




Gelquie: A farmer approaches you with a hoe. He looks ready to till you, or something of the sort.

Celestitrunk: You're caught by surprise by a sudden sticky, heavy feeling. Spinning around and looking behind you (quite an impressive maneuver for a trunk), you see a villager holding the remnants of a pail of tar, which you realize he just emptied all over you. He tosses the bucket aside, and brandishes a torch. You realize you're quite a bit more flammable now than you were, due to being covered in tar.

Amneiger: A villager with a large rock in her hand glares you. She aims a kick in your direction.

Tiger: You ambush the first enemy you see, and realize too late that it's a burly woodsman wielding a heavy axe.

Jernath: You're confronted by a baker with malice in her eyes, armed with a rolling pin. You almost consider laughing, but then you realize that the rolling pin looks like it was carved straight out of a tree trunk.

Azzie: A farmer with a scythe rushes toward you, swinging the tool in great arcs.

Kristy: A farmer carrying a shovel stalks up to you. She takes a few tentative stabs with the digging end, aiming for your bristles.

Ellen: You dash with Belle out the castle's back entrance, but are immediately faced with a large, burly blacksmith. He brandishes a hammer, and appears more than ready to use it. Remember to watch out for Belle!

Draco: You are approached by a man wielding a torch. It's fire vs. fire, and his is a lot bigger. You dodge the flame, but the heat takes its toll, and you feel your wax melting precariously. At last, you make a wrong move, stumbling, and the man corners you. He thrusts the torch closer...closer...

SKREEEEEEEEE
A swarm of gray fur, razor-sharp fangs and claws, and glowing red eyes emerges into the room.
SKREEEEEEEEE
The man lets out a shriek of terror as he is attacked by half a dozen koalas. His fate cannot be spoken of here.
SUP BRO
The koalas fistbump you one by one, and leave as adorably and terrifyingly as they came.
LATER
After they're gone, another villager approaches, apparently willing to test her luck. She carries a large meat cleaver.

[Pixie]

"Sir, don't do this!" Ellen implores quickly. before readying herself to fly at him, to pacify him. "Don't wanna fight you."

I really do not want to hurt him. I can't let him hurt belle either. I'm expendable, the game isn't over if I die. Better prepare to take a beating if need be.

The blacksmith merely grunts, agrivated at the fact a puny, talking iron was trying to guilt trip him against taking out one of the land's oppressors. He promptly swings the giant hammer at the head of Ellen.

She jumps, the hammer striking down her handle, hard. As her metal deforms, she gives a low-pitch howl of pain, and then throws herself pointy end first at his legs, pushing through the pain.

I did not know that we still felt the pain of all this. I feel awful for enjoying the show before...

The blacksmith falls to his knees as a sharp piece of metal strikes him right below his right knee cap. He screams.

Great, now our location is given away. I held back the ear-splitting screech for nothing. Ow, ow, my handle

The Blacksmith, collapsed on the ground, draws up his hammer with the last of his strength and takes a hearty swing a Belle's gut.

Ellen dives forward, sticking him in the hand, so that the hammer tumbles to the ground.

He just lies there, too weak to move. So does she, for a moment.

Ellen gets up, her handle aching."That was a close one. Ow. We better run again, quickly because our screams will have likely attracted more angry villagers." She sighs to Belle.

[Draco]

((Love those Koala bros! Nearly fell off my bed laughing last night when reading it!))

Draco just stands there awkwardly and blinks as the last koala fistbumps him and leaves.

"Later guys!"

He's still standing there a bit amazed as the next villager walks up to him.

"Seriously, I wasn't expecting those guys."

Looking up he sees the meat cleaver.

"Really? A cleaver? Look at me! You could kick me down and step on me if you tried! Where's the fight? Where's the thrill? Where. Is. The. FUN!"

He turns his back and begins to walk away from the villager.

"Frankly my dear, you disappoint me!"

The villager stares at him for a moment, and wonders why she was even listening to this cheap candle holder and attacks.

Hearing the approaching footsteps Draco dives downward.

"Nice to see you have a spark, but this is still pretty sad!"

He rolls away and his hand, wick, whatever, grasps at something metal. First he makes sure it's not alive, when he was sure, he lifts it up to reveal a....

"A cheese spreader?!"

And a blunt one at that. It apparently rolled under some furniture and forgotten during cleaning. With a sigh he lifts it up for protection. Just in time, as the meat cleaver comes crashing down on him. Surprisingly, it worked to deflect the attack! The lady continues to swing downward at the defending candle ninja.

"See, now this is a fire of your soul! The flaming passion!! The warm embrace of battle!!!"

He manages to hop backwards defending, hop onto a chair, then the dining room table, fighting at sort of eye level, but not quite.

---

Meanwhile, while all of this has been going on, the lady has been thinking to herself.

"What were those creatures? Were those... Koalas?! And this candle holder... It's talking to me? What? Disappointed? Huh?!"

She goes in for the attack. She keeps attacking as the candle now defends itself, still talking.

"Why won't this thing stop talking?! What does it know about passion? What does it know about anything?! And how is it now climbing onto a table? I should be home, preparing meat for sale tomorrow, not here fighting a candle!"

---
Back to Draco's side.

"You don't talk much do you? Judging by your weapon of choice and the soft sent of raw meat, I would say you are either the town butcher or his wife? So do tell, why are you attacking us?"

The woman makes another swing, deflected, and it lands into the table. She tries to wedge it out, but has trouble, "Because of that monster! If we aren't careful it will kill our supply of animals!"

Draco shakes his handle head, "Unless they are on his land, I do not think he would. We seem to have no shortage of wild game."

She manages to pull the knife out and swing at Draco again, "Oh, and when they're gone, he'll come for our animals!"

Jumping back, "If that time comes, we'll simply buy a whole animal from you. He may look beastly, but he was human once. We all were!"

She continues to swing the knife, recklessly. Draco moves around the best he can to dodge. She begins to tire out and stops, panting. Draco holds out his left candle arm towards her.

"We could even strike up a deal. How often do you get deer or other game animals? We could supply the left over meats to you if you wish for a small percentage of the profit. You know how well it sells compared to a simple cow or pig."

Before he knew it, he lost what would have been his left hand. He stares at it, and realizes he felt no pain, but it was still odd. Perhaps it was because it was all wax, but... He couldn't explain it.

"If I ever become human again, I sure hope I have a hand there again."

The woman stares, unsure at what she had just done. She cut off a piece of candle, that's what she did. Nothing more. Yet... She felt bad now. She drops the knife, "Can you promise he won't harm our livestock or people?"

"Only if you don't harm him or his people. By the way, my name is Draco."

She sits down, "My name is Karima."

"What happened to the man here before, with the koalas?"

"I honestly don't wish to know. Did you know him?

"Yes. His name was Dave. He lived in a shack on the outskirts of town opposite of the castle. He was a jerk. No one will miss him."

They get to work planning out a business deal.

[Amneiger]

Oh, this was not going well at all.

Amneiger was actually not as fast as he had been as a human. Humans had two legs, a finely developed sense of balance, and lots of practice walking on two legs. He had hopping.

The kick hit him squarely in the side, sending him bouncing along the floor and into the wall. It didn't actually hurt - probably because he was made of metal now - but it took him a moment to right himself. He threw himself to the side to dodge another kick, and he rolled against another wall before turning himself upright again.

There was no chance of his hurting anyone, ever. (Well, maybe if he got a hold of some burning oil or tar, but it's not like they had had a chance to prepare for this.) Instead, he hopped up and down until the woman got closer and then jumped backwards, towards the door. The woman followed him, trying to kick him again. It didn't seem like she was going to throw the rock.

Amneiger rolled out the door, and the woman charged right out after him into the cold night air. He rolled along into the woods around the castle; maybe he could lose her somewhere in there and then sneak back into the castle.

[PFA]

Well, this would be a great time to be a steak knife, Jernath grumbled inwardly, as the baker approached him with her unholy rolling pin. If he were a steak knife, he would have been sharp, and would have been able to fight back no problem. But no, he had to be a butter knife. The only thing he could cut was a stick of butter.

His thoughts were interrupted by a rolling pin swinging toward him. He quickly fell to the ground, lying flat, dodging the attack. Well, it was time to get creative.

He clumsily rolled off toward the kitchen, doing his best to dodge the woman's blows. He couldn't imagine it would hurt that much—he was made of metal, wood couldn't damage metal—but he didn't want to find out the hard way that he was wrong.

When he got to the kitchen, he looked around for something he could fight back with. The first thing he noticed was a bag of flour. That should help. He hopped his way up to the counter, carefully opening the bag. When the angry baker got close, he whirled around and violently smacked the bag, hoping he would send it flying at her face, blinding her with flour. But the bag was far too heavy, and instead flopped to the ground, spilling flour everywhere. The woman shrieked in pain. Apparently the bag landed on her foot. Well... that worked.

While she was distracted, Jernath pondered other things he could use to fight back. Maybe other heavy things he could drop on her? Or some hot butter he could throw at her or something.

...Hot. Now there was a thought.

He looked over at the stove, realizing quickly that it would be too difficult to turn it on as a butter knife. But there were other sources of heat. Maybe he could get Draco to help him, or maybe he could find a torch. The villagers all brought torches, couldn't have been too hard.

He didn't have too much time to think about it, as the baker woman had recovered and started swinging the rolling pin at him again. He was a little disappointed the flour hadn't broken her foot or something. Or maybe it did, and she was just that determined. Either way, he had to get out of there, and fast. He hopped back off the counter, plopping to the ground and clumsily rolling away again. It looked ridiculous, but it was faster than hopping.

Before long, sure enough, he was able to find a hallway with torches lining the walls. But they were so high up, and there was no way he could jump that high. How was he supposed to get up there?

The baker woman came up behind him, trying to smack him with her rolling pin. He hopped out of the way, before getting an idea. The next time she swung the rolling pin at the ground, he hopped on top of it, balancing himself precariously on it. The baker shrieked, trying to fling him away. He went flying through the air, and he tried to maneuver himself toward one of the torches. To his luck, his dull blade was able to latch onto the rim of the torch, and he thrusted himself into the fire. How he hated fire, but metal conducted heat. If he was hot enough, he could use himself as a decent weapon.

...Ow. Okay, this actually hurt. He didn't expect this to actually hurt, but it actually felt like burning. Like his whole body was being burned all at once, as the metal quickly turned red hot. This was probably a bad idea. But he wasn't about to turn back now. Maybe he could withstand the heat for just a bit longer...

"Okay, now where'd you go?" the baker woman mumbled, looking around the room. She started to walk in his direction. Perfect. He waited for her to get just a little bit closer, and then...

"Eat this!" he shouted, leaping out of the torch and at the woman. The woman, seeing the red-hot butter knife, shrieked in horror, scrambling out of the way. He swiped himself at her, aiming for her ankles. He managed to get one strike out of it before the woman ran away, clearly not wanting to waste her time with a hot butter knife.

Well, that wasn't so bad, he thought to himself. He then proceeded to hobble off in search of anyone else who needed his help, as his body began to cool. ...Ow. Note to self: not smart.

[♥ Azzie]

"Hey, hey!" Azzie said, ducking low. "Stop!"

The farmer looked a bit shocked at being addressed by a talking blanket. Azzie tried to take the opportunity to jump backwards, but unfortunately, the farmer swung out in fear, and ripped a rather large tear into the side of the blanket.

"Wait! Please! Can't we talk!" Azzie asked, bending over in pain.

"Cloth should not talk," he said fiercely and, realizing the blanket-girl couldn't hurt him in her current form, brought the scythe to his side.

"But I'm not really cloth!" Azzie said.

"Of course you're not!" the farmer spat. "But whatever you are, there's no accountin' for taste. My wife makes the finest blankets in our village, and you sure aren't up to snuff the way I see it." He switched which hand the scythe was in. "Now you best get talkin' and explain what's going on, or I can finish that rip."

"We've been cursed! We used to be like you!" Azzie cried.

The farmer's eyes grew wide. "So it's true? That creature cursed you all? I thought old Garrett was out of his mind!"

"No!" shouted Azzie, for the noise in the castle was growing louder by the moment. "It wasn't him! It was a fae that did it! She cursed him too! Why do you think he's like this? He used to be human!"

The farmer thought this over. "Why should it matter?" he asked, shaking his head. "I'm here because that creature is a threat to my farm and my family, and he is, whatever he used to be." He started to walk away.

"No he's not!" Azzie yelled. "He only hunts on his own property. And he's so kind! He'd never hurt anyone. And the government sent somebody to help him help the village, not hurt it!"

The farmer shook his head. "Why would everyone be attacking if that were true?"

"Because they don't know any better!"

The farmer looked first at the chaos around him, and then at the ripped, talking blanket that was reared up on two corners. He thought it was hard to say which was stranger.

"I'm going to see this for myself," he said, and ran off.

Azzie bent over and crawled to the stairs. With any luck someone in this castle can sew, she thought.

[Fraze]

((So, you guys probably deserve a status report.

Due to both poor time management on my part and everything coming at me at once, I won't be able to do another post until Friday. That means you've all got plenty of time to write up some awesome, intricate battle posts. This stage will be wrapping up soon, and we'll kick off stage 4 shortly after Christmas.))

[Celestial]

The tar dripped down Celestitrunk's wooden exterior, although thankfully it did not get into the seam between the lid and the main body of the trunk. Nevertheless, she was not going to open it. Nothing like tar on your insides. That was why smoking was bad for you.

Okay, she really had no time to be making snarky quips concerning other people's life choices. Looking up at the villager, probably a farmer judging from his clothes and the smell of manure-y earth which she could somehow smell, it's clear that he meant business. It was as though he had heard her earlier remark to Draco about being more flammable than usual. With the tar, it would be even worse.

"You sure you don't want to talk about this?" Celestitrunk asked. "We could go get a nice cup of tea, well, you could anyway, and try to come to a reasonable conclusion which does not involve you setting me on fire."

The farmer stopped and stared at her.

"Ach crivens, it talks!" he yelled out in a thick accent. Celestitrunk sighed.

"Yes, it talks. Are you going to talk? Because, well, you probably don't know any better. Mobs are the kind of things that just form when the fear gets too thick. I'm not keen to hurt ignorant villagers," she said.

"Ya insulting me, ya cursed beastie?" the farmer yelled and advanced, waving his torch around. Celestitrunk sighed. That was probably the wrong thing to say.

"Okay. Well, I asked," she said and charged at the farmer, running as fast as her little legs could carry her, which considering she was asked to imitate a horse once was pretty fast. The enormous trunk slammed into the farmer, causing him to double up over her. She brought up her lid to smack him heavily in the face and torso. However, in her moment of charging like an enraged bull, she had completely forgotten about the tar. Bringing the lid back down, Celestritrunk found that the farmer was stuck to her.

The farmer was winded and bruised. He struggled painfully to free himself from the tar but it was no use. He had always prided himself on having the best tar supplies in the village (everyone had to have a hobby) and now it had come to bite him in the behind. Nevertheless, he was nothing if not determined and kept struggling, all the while screaming and cursing himself blue.

Being unable to do anything, and figuring she could use the flailing villager as a useful weapon/example ifanybody else attacked her, Celestitrunk wandered off in search of Beast, Belle and the others.

[Kristykimmy]

((I'm so, so, so sorry, I totally forgot about this. I'm a terrible person. I love the Koalas. XD ))

Kristy the Boo shrieked as the villager attacked her with the shovel. She jumped over it and took off running for the stairs. At the top she stopped and dropped to the ground, tripping the girl.

"Sorry, I hope you'll be okay!" Kristy shouted as she tumbled down the stairs.

"Darn it, this was going so well for a while there!" she shouted in frustration. "I need to find the Beast. We should make a stand together."

She got up, wishing she had hands to rub the sore spot where
she had tripped the farmer. She set off in search of the beast.

The farmer girl took the tumble down the stairs relatively well. At the bottom she got up and and found her shovel.

"I'll get you for that!" she shouts, running back up the stairs after the broom.


Kristy looked behind herself, something that meant spinning around since she no longer had a neck to use. She saw the farmer girl reach the top of the stairs. Of course the girl was faster than her, she had legs instead of bristles.

"Come on," Kristy screamed at her. "What did we ever do to you? We even tried to be nice!"

The farmer girl kept coming.

"I miss the corpses," Kristy muttered as she ran. "At least I had arms and legs then, and I didn't have to feel bad about coshing them over the head."

The Farmer girl reached the top of the stairs. She could see the Broom fleeing down the corridor they were in. The Broom jumped into the air, spinning in a complete circle, and continuing to run when it landed.

"That was almost impressive," she thought.

She took off after the broom, shovel raised.

"Come on," the broom screamed in a female voice. "What did we ever do to you? We even tried to be nice!"

The Farmer girl ignored the Broom. They'd eventually come and eat them in the night or something like that. She ran after the Broom, quickly closing the gap. She swung her shovel, knocking the Broom down hard.


Kristy felt the shovel move through her bristles, knocking her to the ground. She expected to have the wind knocked out of her, but she was a broom, and brooms didn't need to breathe apparently. The farmer girl raised the the shovel again, stepping forward.

Kristy seized her chance while the girl's foot was still in the air. She rolled towards her. The girl brought her foot down on top of Kristy, losing her balance and falling on her face.

Kristy realized she could move much faster by rolling along the floor. She took off, hoping to find reinforcements somewhere.

"I'm sorry!" she shouted back at the farmer girl again.

"Oh, man, I really hope Beast has a plan," she muttered as she rolled along.

[Draco]

Draco and Karima are still talking, chaos, destruction, and screaming in the background. Draco lets out a sigh.

"I'm afraid we will have to cut this meeting short. You see, friends and all, trying not to die, you understand."

Karima nods and rolls up a small piece of paper with notes on it. She tucks it away. "I'll try to stop a few people myself if I can." With that she runs off trying to talk with people, a few stopping to listen, others running past.

Draco hops off the table and goes to see if he can find someone to help. It's then that he realizes he never did pick up that 'hand' that was cut off, leaving it on the table.

"Really do hope that comes back later..."

As he hops along, there are a few occasions where he accidently lights some pants on fire. Whoops. He also avoids a trail of tar, "Don't want to light that..."