Private ✪ Stokbon Bang! Zoom! Whoosh!

[Madison Mortiere]

What was it that drew many from around Falderen to try their luck? Was it the chance to scoop a hefty handful out of the winners' purse? Maybe the fame and notoriety for having the quickest eyes and hands in the area? Perhaps catching the attentions of the various guild representatives that were no doubt taking notes about those who made it past the opening rounds?

For Madison Freebird, it was more boredom than anything else.

Actually, that's wrong. Get her a little of all three, please and thank you.

The unmistakable whine of an arrow cut through the air as the lithe elf released the drawstring. It sailed quickly, and struck precisely. A bullseye. The crowd of hundreds erupted in cheer as he spun on his heels and bowed ever so dramatically, the smug prick. Him and his perfect flowing golden hair, his unblemished porcelain skin, his sparkling emerald eyes that could melt the hearts of anyone who stared into them for longer than three seconds. Madison scowled, her lip curling to the point of nearly tearing itself free from her face (for 10 HP of damage), her fingers loading a fresh six rounds into one of her revolvers with a little more oomph than necessary.

The master of ceremonies stood at his podium, raising his hands and hushing the crowd. "A valiant effort by Novalan; but unfortunately not enough to dethrone our reigning champion!" Said Novalan, a young man with fox ears and a tail that both drooped under the weight of defeat, collected his crossbow and sulked away. "That being said; Vesstan the Eagle-Eyed has advanced to the finals once again to defend his championship against not one, but two challengers who just might be able to match his elite skills!"

Vesstan laughed as he left the field, only one outcome certain in his mind. The portly man at the podium continued, "We will take a five minute recess before we proceed with the final round. Don't go anywhere, folks!"

The noise of the crowd died down as attendants set up another batch of targets, even moving little machines into place that for now had no clear purpose. Madison slammed the last bullet into the cylinder, and shifted it back up into place. "You're pretty handy with those spears," she said, not looking at the woman by her side. "But that asshole is good. Fancy your odds?"

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

Joining the tournament had, for Cleo, been about honing her skills in a safe environment and putting them to the test. Whilst her fighting style typically revolved around throwing so many spears that it was nearly impossible to dodge all of them, it was of course important to hone accuracy. Fifty accurately thrown spears were far more lethal than two-hundred that had been thrown without any attempt at aiming put behind them. It had, in all honesty, turned her into something of a spectacle and an underdog in the marskman tournament. The whispers had erupted the moment that she had walked onto the field, clutching not a bow or a gun, but a spear.

'Just who is this woman playing with spears?'

Coincidentally, the whispers had stopped after her first throw, the force behind it unleashing a loud 'CRACK' similar to those guns of another contestant, her spear sinking deep into the target and out of the other side. And then a second spear had been sent sailing straight through the hole the first one had made. She'd left an impression in her first round and it had carried forward into the following rounds, as each one climbed in difficulty as the range was increased and the margin for error became less and less.

Still, she had made it through to the finals, alongside the elven archer and the gunslinger with the very unique character design, watching as a final competitor failed to make it through and join them. It seemed that it would be a three person finals, the agent noted, watching the last competitor slumped, collected his crossbow and vacated the premises, before she heard the voice of her fellow human finalist address her. She turned her gaze to take in the bizarrely designed, yet somehow still very much fetching woman, before humming.

If I were using your weapons, I'd say I have this in the bag. I have too much real world experience with guns to miss any target with them.

That was if real world experience and muscle memory translated into the game, though. With her mastery, she could technically use a gun and it would be perfectly viable. Still, she'd come here to hone a skill she was building, not one that she already possessed. She gave her spear a small twirl, using it to keep her hands from being too idle.

I don't plan on making victory easy, for you or that smug prick down there. I reckon I have as much chance of winning as you or him...pardner...

 

[Madison Mortiere]

Madison threw her temporary rival a curious glance. Military? Hunter? Bear Arms enthusiast? Whatever they were irl, it was probably a lot more interesting than what she herself had going on. Books have horrible air travel physics, and are better suited as melee-range bludgeoning tools.

Getting called pardner did get a chuckle out of her, though. "I'd let you borrow one of mine if it weren't against the rules." And a moment later, "And if it didn't mean you'd just stomp me into second place."

Five minutes quickly pass, despite the bounty hunter standing perfectly still with her arms crossed over her chest and a stone-faced stare burning a hole in the pile of targets out in the field. The master of ceremonies waddles back up to the stage, and Vesstan has returned with a fresh quiver of arrows and his stupid golden bow gripped tightly in his stupid manicured hands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the final round of the annual Stokbon Summer Festival Marksmanship Tournament!" Cue a suitable roar from the assembled hundreds. "Will Vesstan the Eagle-Eyed claim victory for sixth year in a row? Or will one of these two young upstarts do the impossible and steal victory from his grasp?!"

The crowd didn't like the prospect of their chosen warrior losing. Madison didn't particularly enjoy having her skills shat on like that. Motherfucker, I could take your hat off and leave your hair perfectly parted from seventy feet...

She had more nasty thoughts to narrate, but Vesstan danced to the line and the crowd roared with excitement. One of the attendants pressed a button on one of the machines at the sideline, which spat out a little piece of magitech that they slapped onto the back of one of the targets. A few button presses later, the tech whirred to life, and the target took flight into the air, drifting around in gentle circles.

"Easy as pie, friends," Vesstan grinned. Madison swore she saw his teeth glisten, too. The elf took a deep breath, nocked an arrow, raised his bow--

--and the little bot juked to the side, causing the arrow to miss its mark by a foot.

A wry grin crept its way across Madison's face. The crowd murmured, and Vesstan clicked his tongue while turning on his heels to leave.

Madison was up next. Sauntering up her a hand resting on the grip of her right six-gun, she didn't bother to catch the glare from the elf. An attendant set up another target, and launched it softly into the air.

Focus. Just watch for patterns.

Focus.

Fooooocuuuuusssssssss.

Thunder erupted across the field as, in one swift motion, the raven drew her gun, cocked the hammer back, pointed at the target, and pulled the trigger. The little bot attached to the back of the target tried to steer out of the bullet's path, but moved too slowly. Madison didn't hit the dead center; but she was awfully close.

Close enough to earn a polite amount of applause from the crowd.

Vesstan round 1: 48. Total of 48.
Madison round 1: 77. Total of 77.

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

Cleo had to give it to her rival competitor, this woman had a pretty good poker face, looking stone cold at the field whilst preparations were underway for the final round. Cleo herself chuckled when the woman mentioned allowing her to borrow a gun if it were allowed and wouldn't have made things too unfair, shaking her head. Not that Madison could actually see it, given that the woman hadn't actually looked at her yet. Well, there'd been a curious glance when she'd mentioned that she was familiar with guns in the real world, but that was about it. She placed a hand on her hip when looked at, nodding.

Well, no need to worry about that. I'm pretty sure I can keep up with my spears just fine. Plus it makes the finals more exciting for the audience. They get to see three very different kinds of weapons being used, so in the end, everybody wins.

Well, everybody except the people that lost the competition, though there could only be one winner anyway. And speaking of winner, it looked like the returning champion had returned, with arrows and all, called upon to be the first competitor to make his shot. The agent watched with interest as the attendants attached some of the little bots to different targets, clearly intending on making them take aim at moving targets, just to ramp up the difficulty of this final round. She did suddenly feel a lot less sure of herself and her choice of weapon. Why hadn't she just picked up the cheapest revolver she could get her hands on or something like that?

Though she did smirk, seeing Vesstan wiff his first shot, the bot carrying his target jerking and causing his shot to fly wide. Madison, in comparison, did rather well. A calculated quick draw, it seemed, striking the target pretty close to the center, before it was Cleo's turn to take her shot.

Approaching the line, she slid her grip on her spear down from close to the bladed tip to the middle of the shaft, hefting it over her shoulder. She took a few steps backwards from the line, before crouching low and watching as her own target was sent into the air.

And then she exploded into motion, spear sailing from her hand as two steps took her back to the line, entire body arching as she tossed her weapon, carving a chunk of the target out, relatively close to the center. She had actually matched Madison's shot quite well.

She turned to look at Madison, giving the gunslinger a wink as her thrown spear evaporated into Arcane energy and a replacement manifested in her hand.

@Madison Freebird

---

Cleo round 1: 70. Total of 70.

 

[Madison Mortiere]

"Very nice," Madison said to the spearwoman with a nod of respect--both towards the skill and accuracy she had with her chosen weapon, but also at her trick of returning it to her hand.

Vesstan scoffed, arrogant prick that he was. "How perfectly adequate of you two."

The gunslinger chirped back, "We're not the ones missing marks over here."

He dismissed the comment with a hair flip, took his place on the line once more, and waited for his target to take flight. This one had a little more zip in its step--darting in many different directions, flitting about with less rhyme and reason than the previous one.

And it showed in the sudden lack of confidence in Vesstan's eyes.

Thwang! --Shunk!!

The arrow hit the edge of the target hard, sending the magitech bot holding it spinning uncontrollably into the ground. Several members of the crowd dared to laugh--earning withering looks from the archer before he stormed off the field.

Madison said nothing. But holy shit, did she want to.

Resting her hand on her revolver's grip once more, a few subtle glances in very precise directions. Her UI sprung to life, and her vision was filled with various numbers and indicators. Distance, speed, accuracy probabilities. She could track souls and shadows; magitech, not so much. But Deadeye is Deadeye; and when she drew the results were the same nonetheless.

Vesstan round 2: 4. Total of 52.
Madison round 1: 47. Total of 124.

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

Madison had hit the nail on the head there, Cleo figured as she looked at the arrogant elf. Seemingly he had decided that somehow their performance deserved to be criticized when he himself had done far worse than the two ladies had. It was almost bizarre, the way a person's ego could cause them to make such herculean leaps in logic and common sense like that. It had the redheaded lancer scoffing, snorting when the gunslinger fired a retort at the arrogant man and watching him stalk back to the line and wait for his target.

They sure did pick up a lively robot for him now. I wonder if he's ever hit something moving faster than the speed of dirt?

She got her answer just a few scant moments later, when he clipped the edge of the target and sending the bot spinning into the ground, the arrow clattering to the floor, having failed to even sink into a target, skipping across the floor a few times for good measure. Cleo had to suppress a snort, unwilling to be outdone by Madiso, who had somehow managed to keep any comments to herself after watching Vesstan screw things up that badly.

She figured the gunslinger was just keeping herself collected and focused, which proved probably true, as she managed to nail her own target. Not quite a bullseye, but it at least hit the target in a way that could be proven. Sure, the bullet wouldn't stick into it in the same way that an arrow or a spear would, but still, it was certainly an impressive shot.

Unlike her own throw, she felt immediately after the spear left her hand, her aim almost immediately thrown off as she realized that perhaps she'd been keeping her eyes affixed to the other female competito a little too much. The spear soared through the air, striking the edge of the target but sticking true, if only barely. Cleo hissed to herself, taking a few steps away from the line. She needed to focus.

@Madison Freebird

---

Cleo round 2: 14. Total of 84

 

[Madison Mortiere]

For this round, the target bots finally learned that the third dimension was a very real thing. Not only were they zooming left and right, up and down--but also back and forth as well!

"A trivial matter," an increasingly mad Vesstan growled as he drew back his bowstring and released the arrow into the air.

This one nicked the edge of the target; and not even with enough force to send it spiraling this time.

The elf was furious. "This is a travesty," he roared, stomping his little feet in the grass in a less than perfect manner. "The tournament organizers seek to humiliate me! Me, Vesstan the Eagle-Eyed! Trickery, meant to sully my name and reputation in front of you, my adoring public!"

"Oh shut the hell up," Madison snapped, right after putting a third shot right where she hit her second one.

Vesstan round 3: 7. Total of 59.
Madison round 3: 46. Total of 170.

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

Doesn't seem all that trivial to me, buddy.

Just as Cleo spoke, the elf managed to once again fail to hit the target in any meaningful way, merely nicking the edge and failing to even send it to the floor. Was his temper getting the better of him and causing him to perform so poorly, when he'd been hyped up as the kind of person that would never miss a target or something? This sure felt like it was quite the anticlimax, Cleo figured. They were both going to pull very far ahead at this rate, she felt like there wasn't even much point in trying, if her opponents were somebody far better than her and a whining baby.

And sure enough, Madison hit her target again, basically in the exact same position as the last time. Seemed like she was the queen of consistency. It was pretty impressive to see, considering that the woman was fixed on quickdrawing for all of her shots.

Cleo grinned, stepping forwards to chuck another spear and frowning as it just barely stuck into the target's edge, wobbling and remaining just long enough to be counted, before it slipped from the shallow hole it had punctured and clattered to the ground, breaking apart into arcane energy. She turned to Madison, shrugging.

Looks like you've got this one in the bag.

@Madison Freebird

---

Cleo round 3: 11. Total of 95.

 

[Madison Mortiere]

"Don't be so sure. He's getting pissed." Madison nodded towards the elf. "And not just showy pissed; actual pissed. That might help him focus his aim a bit."

The fourth round was here.

While the targets were prepared, Madison reloaded her gun. Didn't want to risk the hammer falling on an empty chamber--even with three rounds left.

At this point, Vesstan was all business. Any last bits of showmanship had long since disappeared; all that was left was the cold calculation of a soldier. Or a ranger. Possibly a highwayman. Madison couldn't quite pinpoint what this new beast was, but--

The elf released the arrow. The target materialized in the space he aimed at, just before the arrow struck inches out from the red zone in the middle. The crowd's energy returned, and Vesstan walked off the field to their cheers but enjoying none of it.

Oh. They teleport now.

Madison clicked her tongue. Tricky, tricky, tricky. Her Deadeye was great at tracking targets that disappeared into mist or darkness; but not predicting where they'd show up next.

She took her mark on the field, dropping into her quickdraw stance while she looked for patterns. There are always patterns. There's always rhyme and reason to everything.

A flash of aether to her right, and the target materialized. She fired.

Vesstan round 4: 52. Total of 111.
Madison round 4: 32. Total of 202.

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

She'd never quite been the type of person to believe in the idea that getting angry could make a person anything other than sloppy, but looking at Vesstan and noting his changed demeanor, any showmanship gone from his form and his actions, told her perhaps that her thoughts had been a bit too hasty. He definitely seemed almost like an entirely new man, but it remained to be seen if his performance would be improved or suffer because of this mental change he was going through. It was, at the very least, something of a jarring experience.

As was seeing his shot and noticing that the targets were no longer simply flying, but teleporting, blinking up and down, left and right, forwards and backwards. Now this would be an extremely hard shot for them, especially herself. It took a lot more windup to throw a spear than it did to fire at a target with a bow or with a gun. There wouldn't be much time to focus on reaction, instead she'd have to analyze and predict what was going to happen next. Madison seemed to be struggling with it, though the gunslinger did manage to solidly hit the target.

Cleo closed her eyes, blocking out any distraction and focusing on the sounds of the blinking target, slinging her spear around her body over and over again, spinning in place and building up momentum.

And then she released it with a warcry, grinning with satisfaction as her spear slammed into the target, sticking out of it solidly with accuracy similar to Vesstan's.

@Madison Freebird

---

Cleo round 4: 53. Total of 148.

 

[Madison Mortiere]

"Nice! Good throw!" Madison gave Cleo the most casual of pumped fists. The gunslinger was in the lead; but the two women were united against a common enemy here.

The final round had come. This time, three targets were airborne; each of them moving in different directions, each of them phasing in and out of existence at random.

More imperceptible glances at her UI adjusted Madison's aim. She was good in a one on one situation; but as more enemies showed up, she always found herself relying on the shadows to hide her until she could pick them apart piece by piece. She was talented; but she wasn't a chronomancer who could slow down the show and paint her opponents one by one and still have a moment for a quick snack and a sip from her canteen before lighting them up.

Maybe she should have done that instead of speccing into training a spirit mount. As fucking cool as it for her to ride into town on a translucent horse that leaves little bits of spectral stuff flickering in her wake and all--

No. No more respecs. Stick with what you have, "necromancer".

She toed the firing line, waited for her cue, and breathed in deep. Vesstan had gotten his shit together--his first shot almost went wide, but the second hit its mark and the third did even better. He was winning; but Madison only needed one good shot to claim victory for herself. And on the third pull of the trigger, she got it--almost as close to dead center as one could get without it actually being so.

Vesstan round 5: 17, 66, 89. Total of 283.
Madison round 5: 35, 26, 90. Total of 353.

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

Cleo nodded at the praise, though her heart dropped, seeing that their next challenge would be to shoot targets practically at once. That just didn't seem possible for her. How did somebody throw three spears at once when they only had two hands, without a liberal use of offensive magic, which she was pretty certain were against the rules. She'd had to do all kinds of things to prove that her Arcanamancy just let her produce spear copies and didn't offer her any kind of unfair advantage when compared to any of the other competitors. Still, watching Vesstan and Madison fire, she wanted to at least outdo the male elf and maybe impress Madison some.

Well okay, guess I'll give it the old college try on this one. Let's see how well I can pull this one off. If I can even manage this kind of maneuver, I'll be pretty impressed.

She stepped up to the line, before walking away from it, crouching low with a spear in each hand, before she tossed one straight up into the air, Arcanamancy printing a third spear in the hand that had tossed the first one straight up.

And then she jumped. Her fledgling chronomancy allowed her to hang in the air for a second or two at the peak of her jump, spinning into a front flip and tossing both spears like javelins, one managing to hit the edge of a target and the other slapped a bit closer to the center of the second target.

That was when her front flip brought her foot to the rear end of the first spear that she'd tossed straight upwards, the impact launching it at the third and final target. When she landed, she knew almost immediately that she hadn't won.

But damn had she looked good losing...

@Madison Freebird

---

Cleo round 5: 37, 64, 50. Total of 296.

 

[Madison Mortiere]

Madison was witnessing some real anime shit. What with Cleo jumping in the air, spinning around in a pocket of zero gravity, and tossing two of her arcane spears and kicking the third all the way through its target and all. What was truly

"No. No! No! NO, NO, NO!" Vesstan had thrown his bow on the ground, his legacy betrayed by his favored weapon. "THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE! I DID NOT LOSE--THESE ATTENDANTS, THESE PARTICIPANTS... THEY HAVE CONSPIRED AGAINST ME!"

Madison was already accepting her prize from the master of ceremonies in the form of a sizable pouch stuffed with coin. "What are you on about?"

The elf was frothing mad, the blood vessels in his eyes threatening to burst. "I BET YOU'RE A TRAVELER, AREN'T YOU? YOU AND YOUR CHEATING WAYS--THINKING YOU'RE BETTER THAN US!"

Madison was already halfway through counting her reward. "You lost fair and square, friend."

"FAIR AND SQUARE?" A vein bulged in the elf's neck. Very unsightly, for an elf. "FAIR AND SQUARE?! YOU, WITH YOUR FIREARMS? AND HER, WITH HER MAGIC?!"

Madison was already tightening the drawstring of her prize. "Beat you, with your twig and string. Yes. And everyone here saw it. Is there a problem?"

There was, the moment Vesstan slapped the pouch out of her hands. Five coins spilled out the opening, their jingling the only sound on the field as the crowd took a collective breath.

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

And just like that, Vesstan seemed to have lost whatever composure that he had left, frothing mad and throwing his bow on the ground, practically screaming his grievances out. Everybody could hear him and Cleo was pretty sure he wouldn't exactly have many fans left by the time that the day was over and done with, though perhaps he was so incensed that he didn't really care about that anymore? It was, honestly, quite the confusing turn of events. Had he grown so used to winning that the thought of losing reduced him to this pitiful state?

Things only seemed to get worse, as Vesstan slapped the pouch of winnings out of Madison's hands, coins spilling from it as it landed on the field. The agent found a frown slipping onto her face at the sight, watching this uppity NPC looking like he was about to get physical with the victor. It was, in all honesty, not a sight that she was about to stand back and abide by.

With a twirl and a flourish, the tip of her spear came to rest lightly against Vesstan's side, cold crimson eyes staring at the NPC, nothing more than an AI, not even a real person. Nothing more than a simple, pathetic Lander.

I'd recommend that you don't get physical or violent with somebody so clearly your superior. You've already more than pushed your luck with testing her patience.

That seemed to only incense Vesstan more, the Lander turning his head to look at Cleo. "TYPICAL TRAVELER, IMMEDIATELY RESORTING TO THREATS! EVERYBODY HERE KNOWS THAT YOUR KIND HAVE IT EASY! YOU DON'T WORK FOR YOUR SKILLS, YOU DON'T EVEN STAY DEAD WHEN YOU DIE, AT FIRST ANYWAY!"

Cleo's frown deepened, her eyes flickering from Vesstan to Madison and then back again, narrowing. Her spear pressed to the man's side, for just a moment applying pressure, before she pulled it back and withdrew it with a sigh.

You know what? I won't kill you. I won't even fight you. You're not worth my time, or anybody else's here. A man so beholden to his own ego is worth nothing. It's a shame, really. You waste a talent you've actually put time into honing and shame the sport by sullying it with your own ego. In competition, your main opponent is not myself, or this woman, or any other competitor. Your opponent is yourself, from yesterday.

@Madison Freebird

 

[Madison Mortiere]

"You're also not going to kill him because that's illegal. And there are about three hundred, maybe three hundred fifty witnesses."

Asshole though the elf may be; murder is murder. And--yes--this is just a video game at the end of the day. A pile of ones and zeroes spaghetti'd into strings of code and fed through a headset into their brains. But one of the things Lucia taught her--one of the lessons that stuck with her through her first run through the game, and became a core part of her philosophy in the second--was that these people should always be treated as if they were real.

That meant taking no shit off fools; but also doing right by them and being one of the good guys. Their gods know there's enough of the bad in their world.

"One final round," the elf growled. "Winner take all."

In this case, doing right by Vesstan meant ignoring him entirely. The gunslinger knelt down to pick up the pouch of gold. Vesstan's boot stomped down on it, missing her fingers by inches.

"Eat shit and choke on the corn, I ain't wasting my time on you any more."

The archer's face contorted in anger. "So then you forfeit? You forfeit! Coward! Not confident in your skills anymore, Traveler? Run away, like you all did four years ago!" He points an accusatory finger at Cleo. "What about you?"

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

I wouldn't kill him anyway. I can use this think to give somebody a bonk or two even without being a Crush master. I'm not quite so limited that I have to use it the way that the world tells me that it has to be used.

After all, this wasn't the average game. Just because she was wielding the spear, did not mean that she was mechanically forced to stab people with the pointy end and do literally nothing but that. There was some ability to employ creativity that simply couldn't be used in another game, so she could afford to wield her spear against somebody and not kill them with it.

Still, she didn't feel like creating any bad blood between herself and the gunslinger, shrugging before she returned her spear to her back and huffed, fixing the petty man with a short glare and an unamused look as his boot stomped on the pouch of gold, shaking her head. It was still tempting to kill him, or hit him, he wasn't real after all. But people seemed to get real attached to this world and the NPC's that inhabited it. When Vesstan turned to look at her, however, she scoffed.

What about me? Your quarrel isn't with me anyway. We both lost. I'm not the one being a whiney little baby about it, though, so really, which one of us is the real loser when it comes to this day?

Oh he did not like that. His face bled red and he looked like he would explode. "Exactly the same! Cowards and spineless wretches! You all waste the multiple lives you are lucky enough to be blessed with!" And Cleo, looking at the man, decided she'd had enough. Her spear reappeared, hooking it under the leg, the foot of which he'd planted on the coin pouch, before scooping upwards until he fell backwards, allowing Madison to retrieve her winnings.

I was not a Traveler four years ago. But I see now that the return of the Travelers was a mistake. If the man in front of me is any representative of the people, then this mudhole is the home of entitled weaklings. If you're not skilled enough to win, be smart enough to reflect on your loss and improve. I, for one, will not defend you or lay down my life for you, if you were to need it. As I'm told many people did, four years ago.

@Madison Freebird

 

[Madison Mortiere]

There were a lot of things Madison wanted to say.

That four years ago, she was here. She was a Traveler. That she fought Titanius with others like her; nearly being dissolved in acid and having her life force taken from her as the monstrous entity ravaged the world. That, after destroying the core, an ungrateful Ynglar Brotherhood saw Travelers as beneath them; demanding that they simply just die so their shitty portals could save only the few Landers that did nothing during the battle but cower in the corner.

That a lot of people shew knew saw their third death during that cataclysmic event; and their UIs were locked and were essentially now part of the game.

That a lot of Landers saw her and her fellow Travelers as nothing more than tools; implements of destruction that can be pointed at whatever problems they have and then tossed away when the job is done--all the while, going on with their idyllic lives without a care in the world.

But as she scooped up her winnings and plopped them back into the purse, she decided it wasn't worth her time. Vesstan wouldn't listen. The crowd wouldn't care. They were already dispersing, wanting nothing to do with the events unfolding before them.

Madison turned towards Cleo, grabbing her gently by the elbow. "We should leave."

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

A hand wrapping around her elbow gently snapped Cleo out of her irritation, looking from Vesstan to Madison, who seemed intent on leaving. It was almost a shame that the gunslinger didn't want to stay around and say her piece, but it didn't really matter at the end of the day, what the opinion of a bunch of AI, especially one uppity, egotistical AI, was of them. She shrugged, relenting, her spear being tucked back away in her inventory now that she no longer needed it. It wasn't like she could ever really be caught off guard, anyhow.

Sure. Competition's over anyway and I can think of better uses for free time than debating with the world's whiniest machine.

With that, she began to walk away, pretty certain that Madison would be right alongside her. That, it seemed, was another action that the ungrateful elven man simply couldn't allow to rest, as he stumbled to his feet and began to stalk forwards.

"You two damn worthless Travelers! You don't even make yourselves useful and instead stick around here stealing money from actual hard working people!" He ranted, stalking towards them. And with that, Cleo had had enough. Her arm flicked out and dozens of red spears manifested, forming a ring around the Lander, who stopped in his tracks.

Follow us if you like, but be warned that it's at your own risk. You should be thankful that the lady here is both patient and merciful, because I am only the former and you have tested my patience enough.

With that, she turned back around and began to walk away, exiting the competition grounds until they were out amongst the streets of Stokbon, a place that Cleo really hadn't had all that much time to explore or get to know, being quite new. Once they were free of pompous elven Landers, she turned to face Madison, wearing a warmer smile now.

I'm sorry about all of that. Congratulations on your win. You're really consistent with your shots. Seems like I have my work cut out for me, if I want to make my own spear throwing capable of matching up to your quickdraw.

She chuckled, holding out a hand for Madison to shake, eyes glancing up and down the woman. She wondered how the gunslinger was doing, mentally. She wondered if Madison was another newcomer to the game, such as herself. A talented, rising star? Or another veteran?

For the sake of actual introductions, my name is Cleo. I've not been playing for too long, but most of my time has been spent practicing or in combat. It's nice to meet you.

@Madison Freebird

 

[Madison Mortiere]

The whole time Vesstan nipped at their heels, Madison had her Deadeye active and her left hand on the grip of her revolver, hidden from the elf's view. Not that she ever needed to do more--what with Cleo whipping out an entire armory herself.

When Vesstan finally left, the raven relaxed. And took a deep breath. She hadn't realized that she had been holding it the entire time.

Switching off Deadeye, she shook Cleo's hand. "Thank you. Name's Madison. Madison Freebird. Pleasure's mine." A beat. "Honestly? I'm not sure why more people aren't using guns in this game. Not that bows and slings and darts aren't cool and fun and effective and all--but most people I've met either swear by those or just go for big fuck-off spells."

Where's the curiosity for the guns that weren't around four years ago? Did you even play New Vegas once and have it change your entire life?!

"I was that way four years ago when I first hopped into the game. Tried to become a necromancer; turned out a dark druid instead. Decay and regrowth; you know, that sort of stuff. After the game came back and I thought I'd see if any of my.... friends had seen that commercial too, I saw that they had refunded all my stat points and shit. So I thought, why not? Why not try and be a little yeehaw in a magic-fantasy world?"

@Cleo Looker

 

[Cleo Looker]

Well I can only speak personally, but you tend to get a little tired of guns if you spend a lot of time around them in the real world. So for me, the magic and the swords and spears and stuff are all where the interest is. Not much of a big fuck-off spellcaster, though. I've got a bit of magic, obviously, but it's not all that offensive or all that refined. I suck at doing anything more than creating copies of my spear to huck at bad guys.

This at least confirmed that Madison was something of a veteran, by her own admission, having been here in the early days of the game and experimenting around with some kind of necromancer build, or something like that. It did explain the design philosophy behind Madison's avatar, at the very least. It was still a very good design, though. Plenty to appreciate there. Effort had probably been put into it, unlike her own avatar, which was a 1 to 1 recreation of her real body and appearance, having not even touched a single option during character creation.

Huh, I wasn't aware that veteran players were given the ability to change their specializations, though I had heard from another old player that a bunch of the masteries had been changed or altered drastically. Some have even been removed, supposedly. I guess it makes sense to allow a re-spec after such an extensive change.

She placed a hand on her hip, leaning to one side as she hummed in thought. She had no more plans for the day and Madison HAD just won some coin.

How do you feel about going to grab a drink together? Get to know each other? I'd love to pick the brain of another person that played before they blocked the servers.

@Madison Freebird