He politely refused the drink. The elf had no idea how strong it might be, and assumed the worst. He would likely stay sober this night.

"Don't expect too much from my skills with the composite longbow," he started, "But I would gladly test them against yours."

In truth, nearly three thousand years of experience and an ancient magical bow ensured most of the ranger's arrows hit their mark. Plus, he was an elf, naturally skilled in the use of bows and longswords.

Sniffy, guarding Legolas' pack, kept a close eye on him as he followed Auriel to a more suiteed location.

"A most interesting way of testing coordination, balance and instinct. I am up to it."

As a young elf, Leoglas had often played a game where someone would blindfold him and take him away into the forest. Then his guide would dissapear and he was left to find his own way back, without a blindfold on but often in the dark. He guessed this would be little different.

He started by taking aim on one of the medals, to learn the best height and angle of K'annuari, and the right tension on the bowstring. Then, he relaxed his grip on the string and turned to teh leader of the plainspeople.

"Sixty feet is not that much of a challenge. Care to increase it to 120?"

<s> OOC: I'm in the buffalo room, so if you want to show off your skills... </s>

[ 01-12-2002: Message edited by: Legolas ]</p>

Auriel smiled confidently "sure thing."

The elf is a born archer. Talent combined with a superhumanly long years of practice, it is no suprise when he pulled the string and aimed with such an ease. The seemingly listless arrow struck the medal with a resounding "dang". The crowd cheered thunderously

A wide smile crossed Auriel's face "Very impressive, Legolas, I am afraid I will lose this one." Blindfolded himself, he rotated then slowly took aim. His grip strong and firm, two fingers pulled the string. He looked like a statue for a moment, then the corner of his lip slightly moved, a cunning smile. The arrow pierced the air as it went, but there was no sound of metal struck metal echoing back...

The crowd looked hard at piece of string dancing wildly in the wind, the medal that used to hang there is now on the floor.

"Looks like you win, elf" Auriel smiled as he took off his blindfold

He aimed the string.

The crowd hushed. Confused, not knowing if they should cheer for their leader or the elf, no one spoke a word. "YEAAAAH!" came a booming voice, it is Vangard. As if shouting in the snow covered the mountain, the cheer dropped a avalanche. Cheers and shouts and joyful laughters exploded everywhere, people began to clap and some patted on the competitors' backs, congratulating both men's amazing skills.

"More!" Someone shouted, then a dozen men echoed back "More! More! More!"

[ 01-12-2002: Message edited by: 250 ]</p>

OOC: is 'avalanche' the word you're looking for?

And I'd shoot some more arrows for the crowd, but I'll give the lady and our magi a chance to find the thread first.

OOC: shoot ahead, this is your show [img]smile.gif[/img]

ooc: Sorry I've not been back for a bit, and please excuse me if my typing's a bit sloppy, but I've been on the cider tonight, so I have a valid excuse.
Also, do you mean an avalanche 250?

ic: The sorcerer was suitably impressed by Legolas' show of mastery with thelongbow, and noted in his mind, as with many details, that his amazing accuracy was a most useful skill to be had within their travelling party.

OOC: Plus, he may just run out of arrows ;)

IC: Encouraged by the cheers of the crowd, the archer nocked another arrow to his bow. He emptied his mind, and focussed on the target.
AS he put tension on the string, Auriel raised his hands to silence the crowd.

Legolas slowly eased the bowstring back into it's regular position before turning around. He walked away, much to the confusion and dissapointment of the onlookers.
After one hundred paces, the elf turned back. Someone in the back of the crowd raised a small cheer, but he was quickly shushed by the others.

Once again, Legolas drew back the string as the crowd held it's breath. Once again, he did not fire the arrow.
Instead, he put it back into his quiver and carefully selected another one, taking it out and testing it, before putting it back.
Finally, he found an arrow, exactly like the others, but seemingly fit to be shot.

He focussed on the target once more, and fired.
In a blur, the ranger shot three more after it before the first one struck home.

The arrow embedded in the medal was split in two.
The new one was cut cleanly in half.
So was the next, and the one after.

The elf walked forward and pulled the final arrow from the medal, returning it to the quiver.
Eight halves and random pieces of wood hit the ground while he rested his arm on K'annuari, enjoying the faces of the awestruck crowd.

Inwardly, he grinned, but his elven face remained cool.

OOC: welcome back mage [img]smile.gif[/img]

The loud and noisy crowd nearly deafened Talthyr. The sorcerer watched alone. He is not a people person, at least as far as he knew. Then Talthyr was looking at a pair of Plainsmen competiting. He sat there, almost bored, then suddenly he sensed something. A strange understanding hit him, but before he could graspe the idea, the feeling was gone...

Then he laughed. This man was something special, extremely skilled for a mere human. He estimated the man to be about thirty to thirtyfive years of age, which was hardly old enough to begin mastering the bow.
But then, humans had always been quick to learn, probably because, unlike elves, they did not have nearly an eternity to do so. But it was certainly most impressive.

As the crowd turned it's eyes on him once more, the Archer took another arrow from his quiver and nocked it to the bow. He shot it high into the air.

Taking his time, he picked a second, then pointed to Talthyr.

He took one of the blindfolds and put it around his head.

Drawing back the bowstring three quarters of the way, he fired at the man's head.
A third arrow flew into his hand, on K'annuari. He shot it after the first.

It caught up with the first, brushed it aside so that it would easily fly over the mage. But now another arrow sped towards him.

Legolas was inspecting his nails as the very first arrow plunged downwards, arrowhead colliding with arrowhead, and drove it into the ground scant inches from the wizard's foot.

The ranger touched the bowstring. It was just beginning to warm up. Good, he thought. So am I.

Turning suddenly as the crowd hushed expectantly, Talthyr recognised the look on Legolas' face, silently thanking luck it was a skilled archer preparing to perform a trick on him.
As the arrows flew, ending with one dug into the ground near his feet, he cried out jokingly 'Maybe I'd be best off moving, I've heard of many uses for a sorcerer, but never as a pin-cushion.'

"You'd be surprised how many things make good pincushions," the ranger shouted back. "But I hear a wizard also makes good entertainment. Come, show these people some sleight of hand!"

It was not the overal merryment of the crowd which caused the comment. The archer wanted to find out just how far he could go with his partymembers, and he knew asking a mage to preform tricks like an ordinary bard was stretching it. But if the man felt insulted, he would have a perfect excuse.

Though these people might appreciate the arts of combat more than those of magic, he thought. He would gladly show these people some more, but good arrows, simple as they were, were costly. And the elf doubted there would be a decent fletcher around anytime soon.
But he had enough arrows for now, and if they ran into any trouble at all, trouble would likely carry a quiver or two of it's own. So far though, their journey had been rather peaceful.

'Well' Talthyr called out while approaching 'if I am to avoid being heavily perforated, how about something practical like this...'
After a few seconds of chanting, the people seem to think nothing has happened, but Talthyr simply speaks to the ranger once more 'Well, I hope you weren't intent on too many more arrow tricks, as I imagine it would be quite hard with a quiver full of snakes.'

Trying to avoid a sour look, the ranger turned to look at his quiver. It was, indeed, filled with snakes.
He shouldered his bow and pulled one out by the tail, grabbing it by the neck with his other hand.
Forcing the mouth open, he pushed the head around K'annuari's string as he let the magical weapon slide back into his hand, and placed the creature's tail where he would the arrowhead.

Tensing the bowstring, testing it, he aimed at the sorceror, pulling the string back further. A drop of some kind of liquid dripped from the snake's mouth and caused the grass it fell on to wither.

"Poison arrows," the Archer proclaimed, showing an unnatural smile.

He did not like being the target of jokes as these, but he appreciated the wizard's sense of humour nonetheless.

He pointed the tail upwards and let fly, sending the snake a few feet to the air before it fell to the ground and made it's way to a pile of rocks.
The other snakes, he left in his quiver. The mage could not hold the spell very long, if these were real live snakes. And even if it was but an illusion, the effects would soon wear off. Legolas was not planning on dropping the snakes to the ground just so he could pick every single arrow up again.

All the while Talthyr is stuffing his face full of treats from the table, he had always enjoyed his food, he occasionally stopped to hush a few children squabbling near him by agreeing to their constant demand for magic tricks.
Only minor things though, the sorcerer was busy eating, he hadn't had a proper meal, let alone a banquet in such a long time.
'I must say' he called jovially to Auriel 'I send my very best compliments to the makers of this fine feast.'

Garnet stands at the treeline, unwilling to join the crowd yet unable to pass the opportunity to watch Legolas show his archery prowess. With the mage's antics, she snorts a very unladylike snort of disapproval. "Boys. Children playing at grown up games." But then Legolas does the unexpected, or perhaps it *should* have been expected of an elf of his years, experience and intelligence, and uses the mage-entranced arrows to his benefit. She smiles at his triumph and slips quietly back into the forest.

I am posting in place of the DM. Here is a copy/paste from the e-mail he sent me. I have pre-aproved the content and assume responsibility in place of 250.

OOC: due to an inconveniant incident, 250 is not able to post for a period of time, **evil grin** To assure the continuous flow of the game, he will email me, I am posting in his stead.


The last beam of sunshine vanished behind the moutains westwards. Clouds hang low at the intersections of green Sunset moutains covered in white snows and its lower and more scattered breathen Troll mountains.

The feast grew into a wild party. Flames leaped and danced with music, shedding brighter light by seconds as darkness settled in around the camp.

"Kirato" Auriel grinned to Legolas.

"What?" replied a confused elf.

"One hour after sunset, the real event begins" Auriel explained, "It is our grandest contest, the test for the true warriors"

"Tell me more, my friend"

"It is a contest." Auriel said "My people take pride in their hunting skills and possession of courage. Look around the forest, it is where the contest will take place. Six winners of the morning's events, the sports, will join the competition. Each one will carry a long bow and ten arrows, tipped off ones with white chalks on the tip, so if it hits a mark, it will leave a white dot. The hunters will start at six different locations, actually, eight, including me... and you, I am sure you wouldnt want to miss the fun? The evens will be monitored by our Shaman. If you are struck by an arrow, then you are out. And the rest is simple: the last one stand wins."

Auriel looked at Legolas sideview "What do you say? Your skills are amazing."

Quietly, sitting in the deep shadows away from the camp, Kendril sits and watches with his long range vision. He takes in as much as he can and remains perfectly still, perfectly silent, and perfectly concealed.

"I would be honoured to participate, Auriel. But I must warn you, I grew up in forests far greater and many hundreds of years older than this. I am more at home in the woods than in any other place, be they plains, cities, hills or any other. I will honour you by not holding back (too much) but I fear it would be an insult to your men to be bested by an outsider."

He considered this a moment, then told the plainsman
"I shall play your game, but only if you let me start with half the regular number of arrows."

[ 01-18-2002: Message edited by: Legolas ]</p>

OOC: This is 250. Hi everyone :-P Since Dutka is not on AIM now, I asked mom (Garnet) to post for me. I gtg now, everyone take care. And thank you VERY MUCH, both Dutka and Garnet, I owe you guys!

"That wouldn't be necessary" a voice replied dryly.

Out of nowhere, a male human appeared out of nowhere. Red, long and curly and white colored skin that is flaky with light brown eyes, the shaman dressed in a black robe. A look of confident is about. The man is so outstanding among the tribe, you wonder why you hadn't seen him before.

"Jon Ravenclaw" Auriel introduced, respectfully if not warmly "He is the spiritual leader of our tribe."

"So I see you made some new friends, my young Hawk." the mid aged shaman said sarcastically. He turned to examine the elf and commented "I've heard your amazing display earlier, it is my honor to meet you."

With an authoritive tone, he added "I'd like to remind you that you are in our contest, thus you obey our rules, use our bow and arrows." A insulted look crossed his face for one short second, he seemed ready to throw an insult, but Auriel stopped him shortly "Jon, I am sure Legolas meant no contempt in the first place", turning to regard the elf, Auriel added "but we would appreciate greatly if you use our bow and arrows, to ensure fairness."

You sensed an air of pride about him. The proud plainsmen don't appreciate charity lightly, so it seems.

"It is an honour to be asked to participate, but it is an honour more so to be allowed the use of your bows."

He looked at the shaman.

"With your permission, I accept."

He could understand the plainsmen would view defeat even more harshly should he put himself at a disadvantage, while all he wanted to do was give the others a greater chance.
Legolas did not intend to best the plainsmen, for who knew what strange traditions they might have he knew nothing about? They might expect things of him he didn't know how to do, as with many other cultures in the realms. He was always careful when dealing with strangers.
Yet, if they caught him holding back, they might view it as an insult. Unwilling to make a choice just yet, he decided he would simply wait, and see how things went.

OOC: This 250, you know whats going on.

Talthyr Malkviel, please email me. I lost your email address. You scene needs to start as soon as possible. In private thread. (I know yours is somewhere back down in the Gaming Forum, just go dig it up when I email you.)

As Jon and Auriel walked away, the group once more joint the feast. Still thinking of the ongoing event, Legolas stood quietly.

"Are you the one called Legolas?" a melodical voice startled the elf unexpectedly. Turning, he saw a young woman girl. Smoothly, the elf nodded "How do you know?"

A sly smile crossed her fair face "Everyone was talking about the elf that matchs Hawk in the morning sports." a somewhat delighted innocence showed plainly, the girl continued "You know, Auriel, he is the best of the best of the best of who knows how many Hunters in many many years. Thats what pa said, and everyone agrees with it."

Feeling your gaze, she became shy suddenly. Lowering her head, she said "So.. I.. I guess, I just wanted to see this elf... and.. and...hmm, maybe...."

Only his elven heritage kept him from furrowing his brow. What did this girl want from him?
Inwardly, he sighed, then pulled himself together. Trying to sound more confident than he was, he asked her to speak plainly, and tell him what this was all about.
A small part of him wondered if he should do something about his looks...

OOC: three things spell trouble: a bored kender, a drunk mage, and a woman-lucky elf.

The girl asked shyly "would you care to ... to dance?"

[ 01-24-2002: Message edited by: 250 ]</p>

"No thanks, I'm in no mood to dance this day. After all, I have to prepare myself for the upcoming contest. But maybe we shall danc later, you and I."

The truth was, the elf had no intention of falling in love with anyone. It had happened sometimes, but being Legolas' traveling companion had proven to be risky from time to time. None of those women still lived.
And if they had, the humans among them would have aged visibly by now, while he had retained his fair elven appearance. Humans did not seem to grasp the longevity of the elves. He would outlive every one of the plainsmen here, unless he got himself killed of course. The ranger was not prepared to give anyone that kind of pain, or watch someone he loved age before his own eyes.

Maybe, he thought, he would settle later, with an elven woman, and spend his days in peace. But then, he might as well travel to where all the elves dissapeared and settle there. A life without adventure in these parts would hardly be a live at all in his eyes. But there was no sense thinking on that. That was a human way of thought.

The Kirato began with a prepared speech, given by Jon Rivenclaw. He, an awesome speaker to say the least, possessed a rather attractive and commanding voice.

The contest was held in the spirit to celebrate a good hunting year as well as honoring their ancestors' way of life, Jon concluded it by introducing Legolas as an honored competitor in the sports, which brought several surprised cheers from the crowd. Some girlish gigglings came from somewhere, apparently the elf attracted more attention than he wanted.. or maybe he wanted to. Who knows, elf.

The drums began to beat. The tribesmen returned in low unision, almost like a war song. Strong and firm voices called out to their ancestors, celebrating the bond they share, honoring the courage they possess.

The competitors were led to the main tent, in front of it was a leathered map marked with each starting location. Standing around the camp fire that burnt below the map, Auriel and other plainsmen watched intently, memorizing every detail. You (Legolas) caught the name Hawk, just a little northwest of your place. Both of you start farthest from the camp.

The war song continued. You were given a wooden crafted long bow and a quiver of ten arrows. Blindfolded, you were led into the wild.

The hunt began.

OOC: Talthyr!! grrr... did you see your private thread?

[ 01-26-2002: Message edited by: 250 ]</p>

He moved from his position a few yards, then climbed a tree. No doubt these men were more at home in this particular wood than he was, and he was not about to run into an ambush. Instead, he would wait here, silently, until they came to him.
The elf had always though humans to be if not strange at least a bit uncommon in their way of though, and did not dare guessing what tactics they might use. Anything from hunting to waiting like he did, ready to snipe at anyone who came into sight or hearing.
For now, he made himself as small and silent as he could, his clothes blending in with the tree and the darkness.
If it was a waiting game, they would find elves have more patience than most other races. Once events got underway, there would be no time to think. The elf would trust his instincts then.

OOC: I take it we actually have the blindfolds off?

OOC: yes, fold off. I will HAVE to redo your character sheet.

your dex is 19, normal long bow, elf, and ring of flexibility. roll the dice!

Thac0 14 for being warrior
+4 in long bow making your thac0 11
being elf: 10
dex 19: 10/7 (for missle), +3 reaction, -4AC
ring of flexibility: 8/5

so in short:

+3 reaction, thac0 5, 40 HP, 1 AC
sitting on a tree (high ground) -1 initiative
dmg: 1d6 + 3
2 attacks per round (ROF)
Cloack of True Seen (once per day)

You waited as the seconds become minutes then even longer. The night grew denser. There was no moon, thus you must depend a lot on your hearing.

The trail beneath you directs facing north. The dirt is soft, and fortunately, dry. Southwards will take you to the camp. You know Auriel start somewhere northwest.

You detect a faint noise down to your right about 10 yards away, something similar to wind brushing cross leaves. You cannot see what it is.

[ 01-26-2002: Message edited by: 250 ]</p>

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by 250:
OOC: yes, fold off. I will HAVE to redo your character sheet.

your dex is 19, normal long bow, elf, and ring of flexibility. roll the dice!

Thac0 14 for being warrior
+4 in long bow making your thac0 11
being elf: 10
dex 19: 10/7 (for missle), +3 reaction, -4AC
ring of flexibility: 8/5

so in short:

+3 reaction, thac0 5, 45 HP (IRC), 1 AC
sitting on a tree (high ground) -1 initiative
dmg: 1d6 + 3
2 attacks per round (ROF)
Cloack of True Seen (once per day)

You waited as the seconds become minutes then even longer. The night grew denser. There was no moon, thus you must depend a lot on your hearing.

The trail beneath you directs facing north. The dirt is soft, and fortunately, dry. Southwards will take you to the camp. You know Auriel start somewhere northwest.

You detect a faint noise down to your right about 10 yards away, something similar to wind brushing cross leaves. You cannot see what it is.

OOC: correct me if the HP is wrong

[ 01-26-2002: Message edited by: 250 ]<hr></blockquote>

OOC: HP is 40, not 45. And not only am I sitting on high ground, I am also using my ranger's stealth ability.
I'd love to type somemore IC, but that'll have to wait until later tonight (here anyway)

Too bad you never told us the experience points we've gained or I would have known how close I was to levelling up to 7 ;)
Take care now

OOC: ok, HP 40, will change that. you are in for some real actions now, bro :D
and ranger's stealth ability, will count that in. (of course)

OOC: Oh, dear! I'm afraid my palms will be all sweaty for the next few hours now that you've told me that ;) [img]tongue.gif[/img]

Had he been an animal, he would have pricked his ears up at the sound. Instead, he took a slow, silent breath. He cleared his mind and focussed on his hearing. As quiet as possible, he slowly moved his bow into a better firing position. The elf sat still as he waited for the target to move into his field of vision, a clear place where no trees would hamper his arrow in it's flight.

After a few long minutes, his waiting paid off. Legolas drew back the bowstring and let fly. The arrow whizzed through the air, right past his intended target. An unfamilliar bow, and an unfamilliar arrowhead proved to be too different from what the elf normally used.

The man let out a cry at the arrow shooting past him, and turned himself. By the time he had made out the elf's shape in one of the trees, Legolas shot his second. This time the hit the man on the chest, but, as promised, the arrow did not go through but instead left a white mark and probably a bruise.

After that, the man was quiet and made his way out of the forest, back toward the camp.
Knowing his position had been betrayed by the shout, Legolas prepared himself to move to another spot. At first, he thought of taking up position nearby, to snipe at any who might come to investigate the sound, but he dismissed that plan. If they came to look, they would be on their guard and like as not spot him before they reached the clearing. Instead, the elf followed the man he'd shot.
Of every noise he'd make, the hunters could think it was the man who made them instead.

Crouched low, Legolas moved on until he found another arrow. He froze. It's point was broken, so it had hit a man. If indeed it had, he had not heard any screams from here. Like as not, the one who shot it was still around here somewhere.
Ever so slowly, he knelt down on the ground, keeping his bow horizontal to avoid being seen. He noted the direction the arrow pointed, but dismissed it as a bad guide. It had probably bounced off someone and could have fallen in any direction. Instead, he slowly swung his gaze around, trying to pick up a sign of one of the plainsmen.

OOC: Elves have infravision, right? Up to how many feet could they see?

OOC hmm, actually, no [img]smile.gif[/img]

You let fly your arrow. The missle tore apart the thick darkness and hit the perfectly marked target. The missle disappeared as fast as it went. As if throwing a rock into vast ocean, nothing came back, not even a trace of sound.

You activated your elven's inborn infrasion, but try as you might, you saw nothing.

You infrasion detects nothing.

<font color='lightyellow'>Round 1:
Legolas set ambush, gains one free action. And a chance to surprise.
Legolas shot an arrow: to hit Roll 22.
The arrow hit the enemy, but the elf heard no respond of any kind.

<font color='red'>Enemy</font> surprise roll: -3

Legolas sucessfully suprised his enemy, he has another one full round of action.</font>

OOC: actions

[ 01-26-2002: Message edited by: 250 ]</p>

The forest looked like a lifeless damp in the infravision. Trees, ground, dusts and grasses blurred into a fuzzy blue blob. You searched about looking for any sign of heated forms in the direction where you shot your first arrow, but you found nothing.

A wormlike movement about 20 yards in the west caught your attenion. It appears to be a heat-emitting form. The form became smaller and smaller then disappeared from your sight. It took a hiding behind some object. After a while, the form strengthen abit, and continued a cautious advance. It seeks for cover every step of the way, and usually it vanishs for a good ten seconds before it reappears again.

Suddenly, the heat form stopped in its track and ducked behind a tree.

[ 01-27-2002: Message edited by: 250 ]</p>

DRUNK?????? Drunk????!!
Talthyr is not drunk, he's just jovial [img]smile.gif[/img]
Right, I'm about to start in the private thread and I'll post my E-mail in there too.