Duel:Khitti v Alex, Match 4 of the 2024 Titans of Winter Tournament

Duelists: Khitti vs Alex
Duel: Traditional 3 rounds with final defense, 20 minute posting limit.
Stakes: Standard, autohit delivered by winner with allowance for final reply.
Judges: Daisy, Mahri, and Sidd.

Frozen Pathway

The path through here is slick and difficult to move on for those not used to travelling on the frozen ground of these high mountains. The situation is made worse by the considerable piles of snow which often build up during the almost perpetual snowstorms which roar through the City of War. To the north the path continues on, and visible even from here is a beautifully crafted set of silver-grey gates which rest in the middle of a high, well constructed wall. The tops of some of the taller buildings can be seen sticking up above the defensive structure, like the jagged tips of mountains, and almost all of them are covered in snow. To the south, the path winds down through the dangerous paths which lead back to the Xalious Mountain Range.

Environmental

The ground quakes as a horde of seemingly plagued zombies rush this area of Frostmaw, broken and dirty teeth gnashing and gnawing at anything living in their path. Boils filled with sickening pus and not-quite-coagulated blood litter their forms, with lesions left in their wake upon being broken open. What might happen if someone were bitten? What would happen if their sickness came too close? If their tainted blood mixed with the blood of the living? Would they turn as well? Would they too become plagued? Or would they just get a nasty infection? It's best not to find out. And with that in mind, the audience has been magically shielded from being detected by the zombies.

Khitti had had everything planned out. She’d sorted out her outfit and weapons for the match. She’d even considered asking Quintessa to do up her makeup all awesome-like, like she had when Tessa’d shown Khitti the items her boutique sold. Everything was going great until… Khitti turned into a cat one day. It wasn’t like it was out of the blue or anything. This wasn’t some polymorph elixir or spell. The wounds she’d gotten in her homeland were healed finally, although more scars were added to her already large repertoire. One day, the itching had finally stopped. What she thought were hives from allergies, thanks to being mauled by that cat in Dhavislaav, well they were gone! What our typically smart Khitti didn’t realize, was that this was not in fact allergies. Nor did she realize that her feline affliction was made worse on days where solar flare activity was high. Today was that day. Today she woke up, writhing in pain, only to realize she was changing. And she’d changed into a Dhavislaavian Wildcat. The Dhavislaavian wildcat was small in stature. With its all-over brown fur, and darker brown and black stripes, it could certainly be confused for a very fluffy house cat. This was probably the biggest insult of all to Khitti out of this entire mess. The cat that had attacked her was dire-sized and she was very much not. And now, here she was, this cat, and this cat was just strolling up to the makeshift arena where her duel was to take place. It sat itself in the snow all proper-like, the only thing that might be telltale of it being Khitti was those olive-green eyes of hers. They were so, so very angry. The cat’s tail twitched with agitation as it lifted a paw and licked it impatiently, then gave the paw a flick before setting it back down on the snowy ground. The cat sat there and stared at Alex then, unblinkingly, as cat’s often did. And yet… And yet, as Khitti’s kitty fury grew, the shadows in the area began to dance, just as they did when Khitti was angry. Oh, it was absolutely her, there would be no doubt about it now, and this kitty would not be going easy on Alex whatsoever.

Alex approaches his starting point of the designated battleground with little flair compared to his fake drunken state in the previous match against Valrae. He is dressed in very light fur-trimmed leather gear that shows significant signs of wear and though Queen Hildegarde’s cloak is draped over his shoulders, he reaches up to remove it before taking his place and passes it off to Drum, the large lady ogre companion with the very poorly tattooed drum kit on her stomach, just before she heads into the spectator area. This reveals the bard to have his trusty claw and a small satchel hanging on his hip, and not much else to show. He appears to be foregoing his large enchanted instruments this round in favor of agility. His body is painted in icy blue paint that glitters like sun across freshly fallen snow and a very fresh scar on his left arm displays the aftermath of his last duel where the bone pierced through the skin… which is likely why he carries no shield into battle on this day. As he reaches his starting point, the bard pulls his long black locks back into a ponytail and then unclips his claw from his waist and takes it tightly into his hand. He stands with a determined look and tensed jaw that, surprisingly, makes the man appear as a true child of Frostmaw for the first time in ages. His dedication to the tournament was clear and as he prepared to face his old friend, he swallowed any hesitation he may have and replaced it with honor to his Queen and land.

Round One

Alex is a tremendous actor and though he often finds comfort in exaggeration and dramatics, the look of genuine surprise that falls across his features as this cat struts out onto the field is far more convincing than any amount of show the human could ever hope to muster. He’s quick to correct his composure and his dedication remains, his right hand squeezes the handle of his weapon tightly and he’s admiring the beautiful irony that both parties brought claws to a fight. However, that sound… the god awful sound… his heart skips a beat or two as the blood begins rushing to his heads. Of all the things that could’ve been selected to please the crowd in a bloodbath, it just had to be zombies… Alex couldn’t fight the feeling that all of his luck has been completely depleted by the point. He’d spent years getting over his fear of vampires and the friendly undead – but these monstrosities were another story! Cold sweat immediately floods every pour of the human’s skin as the ground quakes beneath his feet… wait, that gives him an idea… Alex starts with a soft hum that causes the blue mist of mana to form around his eyes, and then it grows louder, deeper, and louder still! The tremors beneath their feet intensify as the horde gets ever closer with every moment until finally pieces of the ground begin to break free and levitate around the bard. He kicks himself into the air with a twirl and brings his foot down against one of the chunks of earth, causing it to hurdle towards a group of zombies, colliding with them with a mighty thud that sends them tumbling down with a disgusting squish. He follows up with a powerful strike with his left hand to a frozen rock that follows a similar trajectory of the first projectile and it connects with one very close undead’s head causing it to explode on impact – which sends various juices and bile splashing onto the bard and right into his open mouth which causes him to gag, the reflex taking on the powers of his voice to launch him backwards from the horde and closer to the cat he was intended to be fighting. Thinking fast, Alex twists again and brings his claw into contact with a thick chunk of ice that lingered a few feet from the ground and spikes it towards Khitti. In her normal form, the chunk would likely wind her if it made contact, but in this form? She’d better pray she had all nine of her lives left.

Khitti || If Khitti was in her human form right now, she’d be grinning. She was certainly in her natural element with the zombies around as she knew how to handle them. But, this wasn’t your average day and Khitti was no longer your average human. Kitty-Khitti wasted no time in darting away from the horde towards the middle of the arena; for the moment her small stature kept her safe as they went for Alex instead. Unsteady thanks to the quaking ground, tiny paws found their way to a well compacted snowpile for her to perch on momentarily, though the moment was cut short as Alex’s ice pelted her off of it like a baseball hitting a stuffed animal on a shelf. Bruised, but not broken yet, the cat pulled herself to her feet and hissed loudly at Alex. As the horde closed in around him, she launched herself off that aforementioned snowpile and climbed atop the zombies, quickly stepping from zombie head to zombie head, doing her best to avoid gnashing teeth. With one final launch, the cat threw herself at Alex’s face, claws on all four paws out and ready to rip the flesh from his face. The zombies started to take notice of her now, and as they reached for Alex, they also reached for her, grabbing at her tail and hind legs, but she would not be deterred for now.

Round Two

Alex didn’t have time to notice if his attack made contact with Khitti or not as his attention was immediately pulled back to the stampeding horde that found him much more appetizing than his opponent. He lunged forward to pierce the skull of an attacker with his claw which was executed perfectly until he his arm back and the entire head came with it causing more filth to splash onto the bard making him even more woozy as he repeatedly flicked his wrist up and down to dislodge the decapitated head from his grip, which finally slipped off with a slosh. He followed up quickly with a left hook that toppled another of the creatures thanks to the slick surface of the frozen pathway which allowed him a small amount of breathing room. He took the opportunity to quickly wipe his lips, and upon pulling away he spotted some nice moldy brain and green blood stuck to the back of his hand. This seemed to be the final straw for his weakened stomach and he immediately unleashed a torrent of vomit directly as the closest creature which thankfully blinded it long enough for him to slice again with the claw, but just as he did, he found his vision blocked by a exceptionally soft belly followed by the painful tearing of skin from his face as Khitti’s attack landed right on the mark. He tries to use his unclawed hand to grab her fur and toss her away but as he reaches for her, he feels the unmistakable burn of flesh as rotting teeth pierce his forearm and bite down with a heavy crunch. Thanks to the cat blocking his view, Alex was unable to defend himself against the creature and now he didn’t need to worry about that fresh scar anymore since the creature had just peeled it from his bone like freshly cooked chicken. The man tries to scream as more vomit erupts from his throat, likely spilling out onto the cat’s stomach if she hadn’t dislodged, but then once his throat is clear, he immediately cries out in agony releasing a hellish wail that emits enough force to send anything in front of the bard hurtling across the battlefield and possibly even over the cliff’s edge. If he hadn’t managed to get her off with his free hand or by vomiting, this certainly would’ve caused her to dismount and this allows the bard to try and see his arm as blood and tears pour down his face… so much for protecting that mug of his. Alex was shaking uncontrollably as fear of infection and anxiety overwhelmed his system. The man planned to proudly represent his home in this tournament, but this… this was beyond his expectations. His teeth grit so tightly he feels like they will break at any moment and then he looks out for his opponent and simply screams, as loud and as hard as he can, the force of his voice strong enough to tear flesh from bone if it connects. Though in his rage, he stays stationary, and the growing pool of crimson blood staining the ice below is a clear indicator that whatever the plan is, the human doesn’t have much time to enact it. .

Khitti definitely didn’t dislodge from Alex’s face at first. It wasn’t until the soft fur of her stomach was covered in that bard’s vomit that she did, the smell almost a literal smack to her tiny, adorable cat face. Of course, the moment she retracted her claws from that formerly pristine visage was the same moment in which the zombies not focused on the other bard would pull her away. They pulled at her tail, ripping fur from it like ravenous fiends, while disgusting, broken teeth bit into her neck and back like she was a tasty little appetizer. Now she too was a victim of their various diseases, the bite wounds pouring blood and already infected thanks to their potent zombie virus strain. She tried to claw herself away from them, but she could not get free! Until she had a thought. Focusing all her energy on her magic, she managed to shadowstep out of their grasp, the cat’s body dropping to the ground from mid-air. She doesn’t quite make it yet, however, as she’s caught in the outskirts of Alex’s scream, which throws her to the side yet again. Looking very much like she just crawled out of a pet cemetery, the deranged-looking cat pulled herself to her feet again. Khitti took another flying leap at Alex, but this time she was in full-on cat headbutt form, with Alex’s stomach as her target. The zombies not torn to pieces by Alex’s scream chase after her again, and ultimately, Alex as well.

Round Three

Alex was struggling to focus as his banshee like scream came to it’s cadence. He was able to see the various shadows and figures strewn out among the battlefield but their features were harder to define and he found himself breathing heavier and deeper with each breath. Looking down he spots the growing pool of blood that formed from the leaking wound on his arm and this causes him to raise his arm closer to his eyes to better examine the damage. The pristine pale flesh surrounding the wound had already taken on a murky green tint and he tries to pick out a maggot that had transferred from the zombies mouth into his arm but struggles thanks to his double vision. The bard was always aware of his lungs thanks to his singing but now he was aware of them for a much different reason… they seemed to rattle when he inhaled, and he felt a crackle on each exhale that made him extremely uncomfortable. Still, as he stood stupidly in the middle of the field he found that all of the rage and fear seemed to fade away. The man felt an overwhelming sense of calm as he began to accept his fate. If he was going to die, at least it would be with honor in the midst of the tournament… even if it was against a cat. Lifting his gaze back to the battlefield he can barely make out the scene of Khitti being mauled by the creatures which causes his expression to change to one of sorrow as he tries to call out her name but fails to find his voice – quite the predicament for a man who relied almost exclusively on it for everything he did. A rogue stumbling zombie approached the bard and he used all of his strength to grab it’s arm with his left hand and swipe upwards with his right, quite literally disarming the creature before kicking it away. But this distraction proved costly as he suddenly felt a tiny cannonball of force slam into his stomach taking away what little air he had as he topples backwards towards the cliff’s edge. His chest rises and falls with rattling breaths as he groans and gasps. It’s only a moment or two before he begins to pick himself up even though it feels like ages more. As the bard takes his stance, he seems much less sturdy than before as he rocks side to side while gripping the loose arm tightly in his grasp. He lifts it up to his face and seems to sniff it once or twice before suddenly biting down on the decayed flesh with heavy force and ripping it apart with his canines. He chews two or three times before looking back out towards the remaining horde, his ocean blue eyes now a faint and gloomy gray as he hisses and groans. The infection had taken him quickly and Alex now undead at the edge of the cliff with malice and hunger in his eyes. The change seems to have turned the remaining undead off from him as they turn their attention towards Khitti and the bard is close behind them – though much faster thanks to his fresh state of decay. He charges towards the cat with the removed arm high in the air and once he’s close to his target, he brings it down with heavy force to try and club the cutie cat to a pulp.

Khitti rolled away into a heap as Alex took the entire force of the hit and fell over himself. It took Khitti some time before she finally got up again. Tiny cat eyes squinted at the massacre of undead and the former friend that stood amongst them now, seemingly changed. And now they were all coming for her. Her tiny body practically radiated with anger again. No, not entirely with anger. With dark magic as well. Tangible shadows curled along the ground like vines, snaking and coiling their way around the zombies’ legs. The tendrils went up and around their rotting bodies, crushing them and breaking them down further with the corrosive, acidic properties of the cat’s Shadow Plane-based magic. And yet, the same does not happen to Alex. The vines do attempt to coil around his legs, but it was solely to hold him in place. Gathering up her strength, the injured feline attempted to find a way to leap to the top of Alex’s head, and if she succeeded, she’d bat him several times on the head, hoping to rattle his brains a little.

Final Defense

Alex suddenly finds himself stuck in place as the tendrils take hold of his legs thought it appears he lacks the intelligence to contemplate this turn of events as he simply keeps trying to rush forward despite the barrier which makes his awkwardly shamble back and forth in place while swinging the removed arm wildly in front of him and groaning on and on. He sees the horde being decimated by the tendrils but he doesn’t truly comprehend the massacre even as he feels an onslaught of slaps against the top of his head causing him to try to look up at the source of the banging only to feel more and more banging… but he just keeps looking up and side to side… unable to decipher that the cat it literally clinging onto his head batting him. Eventually, he finds himself unable to resist the delicious taste of rotten flesh and resumes eating the arm in his grasp as the brutality continues unfolding around him.

Winner: Khitti

Auto-Hit

Khitti let out one of those cat sighs. If you’re a cat owner, you know the one. That tiny huff. Alex might want to devour more flesh but Khitti has a very large problem to deal with. The environmental was, of course, courtesy of the Necromancer’s Guild--one of their headquarters was not too far from here--and so, with that in mind, this was not meant to be permanent. But, Alex’s acceptance of his fate just made it worse. The tendrils released Alex and as Khitti leapt from the top of his head, she bapped him once more on the nose for good measure. Before she hit the ground, she’d give him a kick and knock him backwards into the snow. And then, without further ado, she’d curl up on top of his chest and start purring, in perfect housecat fashion. It has often been said that a cat’s purring was healing, and in this instance it was, as both dark and light divine magicks radiated from the cat, in sync with her purrs. Sorry, Alex. You’re not undying on Khitti’s watch. Thankfully, he was not so far gone that he could not be pulled back, as the dark magic siphoned the undeath out of him and the light magic stabilized him. That was all she could do, of course. The healers would need to do the rest. The Necromancer’s Guild’s leader and resident ailuranthrope was exhausted, removed herself from her perch on Alex, put all four paws on the snow again, and promptly fell over, looking like something the cat dragged in.

Alex is ragdolled by a cat and then healed of his undead infection. As he gasps for air and returns to the life of the living he feels something stuck in his teeth. He reaches up to pull at it and removes a long piece of rotten flesh from his maw causing him to whine and cry loudly before he notices the chunk missing from his arm… which further amplifies his pity. It is in this moment that the bard swears of the Titans tournament for good. He made his attempt and this would be the last. Under no circumstances would he EVER be a zombie again!

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