Lord Fred vs. Jenny Elf - The Bout Begins

Lord Fred lumbered toward the middle of the ring, staring at the rope and looking at his opponent through his peripheral vision, assuming that, being weaker, she would not attack him. He conceded the first touch of the rope to Jenny's superior speed. His plan was to let Jenny duck and grab the rope, pin her to the ground, and then entangle one of her arms. As long as one arm was held fast, she could not tie the rope around her neck. Inevitably, as he was stronger he would wrest the rope from her, and the battle would be his. The trick was to concentrate on how Jenny was approaching the rope, and to make sure that Jenny did not get away.

Jenny had indeed darted for the rope, but instead of heading directly for it, she veered to its left, catching it between the second and third finger of her right hand. Seeing that she was approaching from her left, Fred adjusted by lurching to his right, trying to land across Jenny's back or her right arm. Jenny had tried to crawl quickly forward and to her left on all fours, hoping to stay out of Fred's reach. If she could only get an arm's length away from Fred, she would have enough time to tie the rope around her neck and win the combat.

Neither of them had planned on what happened. Fred had landed on the ground, missing the arm and body but pinning Jenny's bare right calf. He grasped the slender calf in the crook of his left arm, and, still prone on the ground, flailed with his right arm, hoping to grasp one of Jenny's arms and prevent her from trying the rope. While reaching up, his eyes lifted enought to see Tarin Gazin and Artizza staring at them from outside the ring, standing crouched, with their palms on their knees and their arms slightly bent, trying to get a better view of what was going on. Their view was certainly better than his. Both of Jenny's arms were free, and even now she might be finishing her task.

Except that she could not. The rope had flown away when Fred landed across the back of her leg. Fred started to rise to his knees, and felt Jenny's leg wriggling out of the crook of his arm. Fred quickly grabbed for her leg with his right hand, and a second later he had grasped her ankle fast. Fred now noticed that she had apparently shed her boots before the rope dropped, perhaps in an effort to make herself harder to catch and to hold. He thought to himself, "That is not going to work. You are not going anywhere unless I allow you to." But there was still the matter of whether she had the rope.

The combat had not gone according to Jenny's plan, but victory was still possible. She had come within a literal foot of leaving Fred on the ground and gaining a quick victory. She had taken a risk in snatching the rope lightly between two of her fingers, and the rope had fallen from her grasp. The knight's response to her illusion of being unclothed was disappointing - because he had concentrated on the rope and kept her in the periphery of his vision, her illusion had not frozen him and allowed her to make her escape. But she still had one trick. She did not have the rope, and it was out of reach, but she knew where it was. She started to sing softly. It was a song that she remembered from her childhood on the World of the Two Moons, which evoked a scare from those days. She had been singing this song while harvesting some pods from her fathers garden. She was crouched over a pole when she saw a Garbinger snake swing its head back, as if it were looking at her, trying to decide where to strike. The Garbinger Snake's bite was not lethal, but its victims often wished that they were dead for about two weeks afterward because of the intense pain and burning feeling that happened. Jenny had managed to charm the snake, and lead it out of the garden. Now she enchanted herself into a trance with this song - in her mind, she was in that garden again, and the rope was now the Garbinger Snake, dangerous, and ready to strike. She quivered with fear. She counted on her vision having the same effect on Lord Fred. After he was immobilized, she could 'charm' the 'snake' at her leisure, and then pick up the rope.

Lord Fred noticed that Jenny had stopped struggling. She was singing. The song was in a minor key, and somewhat menacing, but it did not seem to be directed at him. Slowly Fred felt a bit disoriented. He knew that he was in a large cavern, but somehow the floor did not seem so cold. It was almost as if he were sitting in dirt, on a cloudy day, with vines crawling up trellises. He let Jenny go. It may have been foolish, as this would allow her to dash for the rope, but in her state, there seemed to be no danger of her doing that. Indeed, Jenny did not run from him. She continued singing. He had noticed now that she was now wearing her boots - apparently her bare feet were just an illusion. The garden was too, probably. He looked out, and could not see Tarin Gazin, nor could he see Artizza, nor any of the group. This all had to be false, but what else could he do? All his senses told him that this was real. Jenny stopped singing, and quivered. Fred followed her eyes, and saw a snake!

1. Lord Fred tries to grab Jenny by the arm and flee from the snake.
2. Lord Fred sees it as a harmless Allarian Bird Snake, and tries to crush it.
3. Lord Fred sees through the illusion, and recognizes a piece of rope on the ground.

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