Round 4 Rainshadow (Lonna Bowstripe) vs. Matthias 720 (Matthias the Warrior)

[BrookSkimmer]

Redwall Abbey's famed kitchens did not have the bustle about them as usual. In fact, the only beasts present were two combatants and three judges. Several pots steamed and bubbled over various burners, their contents pervading the area with savory aromas. There were pots and pans hanging and resting on shelves, ingredients in barrels and bags, and a few tables, chairs and stools used by cooks to take well deserved breaks upon.

The air was slightly stuffy due to the cooking, making fairly harsh conditions for dueling. However, there was a fair amount of space for wielding various weapons. The kitchens , larder, and down into the cellars would be the boundaries for the round.

A voice sounded throughout the area. "Lonna Bowstripe versus Matthias the Warrior, begin!"

[Rainshadow]

  Lonna Bowstripe was sitting on a stool, sipping some hot soup.  He had a napkin placed on his knee and his bow was on his back, already strung.

 "Lonna Bowstripe versus Matthias the Warrior, begin!"

 Lonna picked up the napkin and wiped his mouth off.  He stood up and placed his napkin on the table.  He then took his bow and placed an arrow on the string, searching for Matthias.  He had heard a lot of good things about this mouse, and he was looking forward to dueling with him.

  OOC:  Please judge this post.  Thanks!

[Matthias720]

From behind the larder door, Matthias peeked out at the large badger in the Abbey kitchen. Remembering the fearsome strength badger's possessed, Matthias made a mental note to keep a good distance between himself and his opponent. Trying to sneak as quietly as possible, he slipped out from behind the door, to a group of barrels stacked next to the wall. Through the gaps in the barrels, he could see the badger with bow and arrow in hand, searching for him. He stayed low, crouching as low as he could, ducking under tables as he got closer to the badger. Pausing briefly behind a large pot of shrimp and hotroot soup, he gathered up his courage and emerged from hiding. In an attempt to appear braver than he felt, Matthias swallowed hard said "Let this battle be an honorable fight between fellow warriors. Good fortune to you, my friend." As he spoke, he raised Martin's sword, preparing for the badger's next move.

[Rainshadow]

  Lonna nodded and bowed.  "Good fortune to you as well, my friend."  He wished he didn't have to fight a mouse, especially not one who carried the sword of Martin the warrior.  Unfortunately, Lonna had no choice in the matter.  He either fought or died.
  Lonna swiftly pulled back the bowstring and let the arrow fly.  I am truly sorry, he thought.

[Matthias720]

As the badger released his arrow, Matthias took an involuntary half-step backwards. As he did, he accidentally tripped on the hem of his habit. He tumbled to the floor, barely missing being impaled by the arrow that had just impacted with a large sack of flour. Holding up his paw, he said, "Hold, friend. I have no reason to kill you, and you have no reason to do the same to me. Let us instead battle with safer implements, so that we do not cause harm to each other." Standing up, Matthias placed Martin's sword on a nearby table. "It would be dishonorable to spill your blood with this blade, intentionally or unintentionally." Reaching over to a nearby rack, he picked up an iron poker, used to stoke the oven fires. "I would much prefer to battle you with this instead. Will you do the same and fight not to the death, but to the limit of our endurance?" Placing his free paw upon Martin's sword, he gazed at it momentarily, before he looked back to the badger. "I leave it to you to decide."

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[Rainshadow]

  Lonna looked around and saw a bundle of sticks.  Picking up the sticks, he swiftly cut nicks in the end.  He took his arrows out of his quiver and placed them on the table, replacing them with the sticks.  Then, picking up a frying pan, he stood ready to fight the warrior mouse.
 "I agree," he said.  "We shouldn't fight with weapons, seeing as there is no reason to kill one another.  Let us fight with these," he glanced at his pan and Matthias's poker.  "Odd weapons they may be, but they shall work."
 Lonna quickly set down his frying pan and took out an "arrow."  He set the stick on the bowstring and pulled back, aiming for the mouse's sword paw.  Then, taking a deep breath, Lonna fired.

  OOC:  Please judge this post.  Thanks!

[Matthias720]

As the badger fired, Matthias swung the poker to intercept the "arrow" in mid-flight. Unfortunately, he was still getting the feel for the weight of the poker, so he swung early, allowing the "arrow" to strike him on the shoulder. Pain lanced throughout his upper body, radiating from the point of impact. Pushing his physical discomfort aside, Matthias charged at his opponent, swinging the poker above his head, aiming for the badger's right paw.

[Rainshadow]

  Lonna saw Matthias's poker come closer.  He was waiting to move at the right time, planning to move his paw at the last second and swing the pan with his other hand.  Unfortunately, Lonna misjudged the timing of his attack, getting hit in the right paw by the poker.  He yelped in pain.
  "Yowch!"
  At the same moment as he was supposed to move his paw, Lonna picked up the frying pan and swung it with his left paw, aiming for Matthias's poker.  He wanted to knock it out of the mouse's paw, disarming him.

[Matthias720]

SCHWING! PING! CLATTER-CLATTER-CLATTER! The poker skidded from Matthias' paw. With the badger looming over him, Matthias opted for a tactical retreat. Ducking low, he scurried under the badger's reach, running helter-skelter towards the opposite ends of the kitchens. He quickly grabbed a large oven paddle and held it outwards. Momentarily catching his breathe, he aimed the broad end of the paddle outwards, preparing to meet his opponent once again.

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[Rainshadow]

  OOC:  Haha, nice sound effects.

  Lonna raised an eyebrow at the mouse.  Surely he wasn't running away?  Then Lonna saw that he was taking up a new weapon to fight with.
  Lonna took up his bow and selected an "arrow," putting it on the string and pulling back.  He fired, aiming only to hit Matthias's shoulder.

[Matthias720]

As the badger loosed his next "arrow", Matthias swung back the paddle to intercept the arrow, but alas, he was too late! The projectile impacted with the outside corner of Matthias' left shoulder, sending a fresh wave of pain throughout his body. It took longer to shake off the pain this time, and it was certainly costing him the valuable seconds he needed to counter this latest attack. Resolutely grasping the wooden paddle with both paws, Matthias forced himself into action. Jumping on top of the nearest table, he hopped from tabletop to tabletop, getting ever closer to the badger, while keeping a tight grip on his new "weapon". When he was within reach of his opponent, he swung the paddle in a sideways arc, straight for the bow in the badger's paw. "Let's finish this!" he bellowed.

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[Rainshadow]

  Lonna cried out in pain as the paddle struck his paw, knocking the bow out of his grip.  He quickly glanced around and, seeing a sponge, threw it at Matthias.  He knew it wouldn't do much, but he threw it anyway, hoping to distract the warrior mouse.
 Taking quick steps backward, Lonna shook his paw, trying to get rid of the pain.  His paw stung!  Unfortunately, since the badger was walking backwards, he couldn't see where he was placing his footpaws.  He tripped and fell over as his right footpaw became stuck in a pot of soapy water.  This led to his head getting stuck in a rather large pot.
 Lonna stood up, but couldn't see anything.  He tried to walk forward, making quite a racket as he took a step with his right footpaw.  He tried pulling the pot off of his head, but it was stuck!  Lonna thought that no other beast had ever been as embarrassed as he was at that moment.

  OOC:  Please judge this post.  Thanks!