Snippet #2208613

While he was waiting, he Reinforced Azure, the quarterstaff he was holding, as well. Since he had taken care of any structural flaws earlier, making it as sturdy as it was possible for an object of its shape and material, he only had to insert magical energy into the small gaps within the parts that formed it, strengthening its internal ties. He kept putting in more and more energy into it, making sure there were no empty spots. As a result, it became an object that few things could match in durability. It was a family heirloom, the only thing he had left of his now nonexistant family. Even his brother had died some years ago. So he wanted to keep it in perfect condition. Of course, he could Repair it, if anything ever actually happened to it. He had used it for years and years, knowing its structure, both magical and physical, inside-out. He could even replicate it perfectly, if needed. He would rather not do that, though.
The woman introduced herself as Meer, and added a 'sir' to refer to Gawain. She was the formal type, then. Well, that was good, too. Charming in its own way. Not everyone had to be like Freya, no matter how charming she was. Variety was a good thing, in women as well. If there were only one route, it would get boring soon enough, no matter how delightful the treasure that awaits at the end. It was good that there were many different types, each with their own ways of being charming. For example, there had been another extremely charming girl, once. He hadn't seen her in years, but she had been one of the most delightful girls he had ever met. Covering her shyness with displays of anger.
The Guild Master didn't have more time to think about it, as Meet was beginning to pull out her sword. Gawain readied his quarterstaff- and blinked. Meer had suddenly disappeared -no, she had not. She had merely moved at an extremely high speed. He activated Analysis for a moment, and could sense the traces of the strange magic used. It lead behind him. Gawain turned around, and saw Meer standing there. "My apologies. The sword... Is not quite normal. I will attack you this time, though", the woman said.
Gawain stared at her for a moment, and then, slowly, a grin appeared on his face. She was interesting. She wasn't simply beautiful, but possessed a fair bit of power as well, from the looks of it. He might even be able to fight seriously against her. From the way she moved, he could see that she was a warrior -her movements were fluid, instinctual. She required no thought to perform as she did. It came to her naturally, either through great amounts of practice, or sheer talent. Or both. And that sword of hers was interesting as well. It changed its size, becoming larger. It was easily large enough to require most people a two-handed grip, yet Meer was holding it with ease, not seeming strained by its weight. Of course, there was the possibility that the size merely brought it reach, not actually changing its mass.
"Ready", Meer murmured, and came at Gawain, moving at a high speed -yet nowhere near the speed she had moved at earlier. Her sword flashed upwards towards his chest.

Azure swung sideways, redirecting the blade away from Gawain's body, the white, Reinforced wood striking against the metal of the sword. The Guild Master took three long steps backwards, away from the wielder of the shorter weapon, before Meer could gain complete control over her weapon after his block. Now at a safe distance, able to take full advantage of the quarterstaff's superior length. He took the offensive, making a lightning-fast thrust at Meer's chest. She avoided it, stepping sideways and swinging her sword at him again. She was fast. But a quarterstaff always had the advantage against a sword. The distance between their bodies was simply too long for a blade. Gawain stepped backwards again and swung the staff sideways with an amount of power easily capable of crushing bones behind it. Of course, she managed to block it -she was no amateur. Either her skill or her instincts, or both, were amazing. She moved without hesitation. But he wasn't exactly a rookie either.
They kept exchanging blows. Strikes from the staff flew at the swordswoman's direction repeatedly, not giving her a moment's rest. Each strike aimed at a different place: One tried to break her arm, another to crush her windpipe, another to crack her skull. Of course, there was no real killing intent behind them. He was good enough to stop any strike before it actually reached its goal. His opponent was certainly the same -not that it mattered, considering that his skin was almost impenetrable right now. Even if she did deliver a hit, it wouldn't even scratch his skin unless she put all her power behind it.
She really was good. Despite his endless barrage of attacks, she was slowly adjusting to them, learning how to read their pattern. It would not take soon before she would take the offensive, and force him on the defensive. That would be no problem per se -defense was his forte, after all- but unless he was the one attacking, he couldn't end this. Her sword swung at his neck. He blinked, pulling his head backwards quickly, and proceeded to sweep at her legs with Azure. That one had been close. How had she closed the distance between them so quickly? Gawain quickly decided that he could probably make only three more attacks before the tide of the battle would change to his opponent's favor.

He needed to do something differently. He changed his grip, abandoning the traditional grip -one hand at the end, one at a quarter of the staff's length away from the end- which gave the quarterstaff its name, grabbing it close to the middle instead. He then began to spin it, moving at a much greater speed, in more -seemingly- erratic patterns. His style had suddenly changed completely, from the mostly defensive form of the traditional grip to a lightning-fast, unpredictable one that was almost like fighting against two weapons at once.
He managed to gain the momentum again. His opponent had to learn to read his movement's again due to the sudden and complete change in them. And the attacks, even faster than before, were at an advantage against a large, somewhat unwieldy weapon like the sword's current form, in a different way from the long reach of the traditional grip. But that did not last for long either. She learned at an astounding pace, soon knowing where his attacks would come from before the movement's for them even truly started. Of course, that was no wonder. When a weapon was in a certain position, it could only move in certain ways -at least if the wielder wanted to stay alive.
The momentum shifted to her again. Knowing that his stranger technique would no longer work, he shifted back to the traditional form, taking steps away from her to bring the staff back in front of him. It did not give him the momentum again, since she had learned the staff's movements before, but it was the form he was more comfortable with. He began using the attacks he had used before, thrusting for her windpipe, trying to crack her bones, but she knew them by now, and how to block, redirect or dodge them in a way that would give her an opportunity to attack.

She began to overpower him. With each blow they exchanged, the fight shifted more in her favor. She came closer and closer, and Gawain was unable to make good footwork to get distance between them, as she learned what timing he used for it, closing any distance as soon as he to made it. The Guild Master realized that he was no match for Meer in a simple contest of arms. He would lose if this were a simple duel between two ordinary people.
However, this was not a simple duel between two ordinary people. His opponent was not an ordinary person. She was not even human, if he had understood what he had Analyzed of her earlier correctly. But neither was he an ordinary person. While he was definitely human, he was also the Master of Amaranth. A former member of the Magic Council. And he was much better these days. His strength did not lie in using weapons, even if he was good at it. First and foremost, he was a Mage.
Meer's blade swung at his throat again. This time, there was no way he could dodge it -no way he could move his feet quickly enough to get out of the way. But his feet were not the only way of movement he had available.
Direction Change: Backwards. Burden: Two.
Suddenly, he felt a force twice as strong as normal gravity pull him away from Meer, giving him a speed that no person could match on foot. He easily got away from the blade in time. In one second, there was a distance of ten meters between them. More than enough.
Direction Change: Forwards.
He slowed himself down by giving himself a pull to the opposite direction, with the same strength. In another second, he had traveled another ten meters, and came to a halt.
Direction Change: Down. Burden: One.
He was now standing some twenty meters away from his opponents, within a time of only two seconds.
Before his opponent had the chance to close the distance between them again, he lifted his hand, with the palm pointing at Meer. "Restriction." A silver portal, roughly one meter in diameter, opened in front of him, and a dozen silvery chains shot towards the woman. She reacted quickly, swinging her blade, managing to cut one when it came too close, and then another, and a third one. However, then the chains overwhelmed her, one wrapping around the arm holding the sword, another grabbing her leg. Soon, they had completely sealed her movements. A second passed, then another. The chains stayed in place, not letting her move.
"I believe this match is decided, then?" Gawain said after a moment, relaxing his form, ready to release Meer as soon as she admitted her loss -or ready to move again if she did something unexpected. "That was a good fight. It's been a while since I've fought against an opponent of your caliber."