Castle Crasher (Closed)

[Miyamoto Kenji]

(( OOC: Can do. Including the chest I'm about to loot, my count is at six. Seven if you include the Middle Path's Daimyo's chest. ))

Kenji avoided mentally reflecting on his luck like the plague, for it seemed to bring bad times. He looted the newest chest and, returning to his original location, headed down the forward path, maintaining his guard as he weaved down the left turn and straight down the following hallway.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

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[Uesugi Kenshin]

Kenji would find himself at the very beginning where he originally started! His only options were left, forward to where the spear wall was, or right! However, from the left path, he could hear the clattering of hooves! The Rider materialized and bore down on him quickly! Perhaps Kenji should just run!

[Miyamoto Kenji]

Uh-uh. Kenji wasn't dealing with that bastard again. Not when he didn't have the opening advantage, at least. He took a split second to make his choice, turning and hightailing it down the right path as fast as he could, nodachi still ready to strike if anything pops out in front of him.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

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[Uesugi Kenshin]

Kenji would run for what seemed like minutes! The path he took was long and had many twists and turns but was always a single path! After what seemed like forever, he would find himself at another turn, either to go right or to keep moving forward. The Rider's cackles seemed to have faded away into obscurity...

[Miyamoto Kenji]

Success! Kenji pumped his fist, having ran boldly away from the Rider. But for how long, indeed? Deciding not to think about it too much, and maintain his guard, the shugyosha took the right turn once again, hoping to stay away from the beginning this time.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

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[Uesugi Kenshin]

The Rider would appear behind Kenji once more, and Kenji would find himself at a dead end! Before him was one of those fancy teleporting vortexes! What would Kenji do?!

[Miyamoto Kenji]

The aggressive Rider bearing down on him from one end, and another vortex leading to god knows where on the other... Kenji was trapped, and his next choice could impact his health. Deciding that discretion was still the better part of valor, as was leaping into the unknown to escape a hell-bent skeletal cavalier, he dove through the vortex, ready to fight if it came down to it.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

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[Uesugi Kenshin]

Kenji would appear in what seemed to be a safe part of the maze. He had the option to go left or forward from where he appeared. However, the Rider would appear in front of him, blocking that path as he cackled! Kenji could continue to run or fight!

[Miyamoto Kenji]

At this rate, the Rider would continue to pursue him throughout the rest of this maze. Kenji decided to stop running and rid himself of this persistent foe, settling into a combat stance with his all-cutting nodachi. He had a plan in mind, now that he wasn't being ran down... He waved the Rider over, egging it on, then waited to see its next action.

If the Rider's response was to spur his chariot onward, Kenji would roll out of the horses' way and execute a rising slash on his way back to his feet, aiming not for the steeds, but for the chariot and its master. Should the Rider instead produce one or two whip-swords, the merc would carve through them as they came to render them useless. Finally, if the Rider did not move or make to attack, Kenji would take the offensive and advance within his nodachi's range of the horses to behead the both of them.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

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[Uesugi Kenshin]

The Rider would indeed charge, but as Kenji rolled, the bladed wheel would catch and stab into his shoulder! Ouch! It'd also drag him down the left path as the chariot rolled on, stopping conveniently in front of the Daimyo's chest! Quite lucky, if not for the fact that his shoulder was practically destroyed! The chariot disappeared, and the Rider stood to his full height before grabbing Kenji by the throat and slamming him against the wall!

[Miyamoto Kenji]

Talk about a ridiculous wound. Kenji instinctively dropped his nodachi as his shoulder was impaled, catching sight of the Daimyo's chest once he came to a stop. He quickly realized two things, processing the information even as he was being taken to the wall by his throat: he had one good arm left, and he was at point blank range with the dreaded Rider. Mouthing a silent prayer to Amaterasu even as his throat was held, Kenji reached down to draw Yawarakai-Te, slashing from the sheath upward, intending to slice through either the Rider's arm or his skull in one vertical swing.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

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[Uesugi Kenshin]

The Rider's arm would be sliced clean off, but his other fist would come in, smashing into Kenji's face hard, sending him to the floor! While he was down, the Rider would come up behind him and kick him in the ass as hard as he could, sending him flying forward! He would then reach down and pick up his severed arm, reattaching it as he cackled, producing both of his whip swords! He started to whip at the downed Kenji viciously!

[Miyamoto Kenji]

As he lay on his side, Kenji couldn't help but bite his tongue to suppress his verbal discomfort as he was whipped. Thank god for the chestplate on his chest, but that only protected one part of his body... By some merciful fragment of luck, he looked over through the hail of whipping and saw the hilt of his nodachi, just within reach. He was currently holding onto his holy blade, though, and if he reached for the other weapon, he might find his wrist snatched, or worse.

Thinking carefully, Kenji released his katana and rolled onto his front, bringing his good arm under his chest and digging around in his belongings for his other stashed onigiri. When he found it, he withdrew it from his person, under the cover of his body, and ducked his head down to consume it safely. Feeling the restorative effects healing his battered body, he then acted quickly, his good arm shooting out from under him and to the hilt of his nodachi. Kenji then rolled as hard as he could onto his back, at the same time swinging his long sword at the Rider's active whips with intent to sunder them in one blow. If successful, he'd rise to his feet and advance on his accursed enemy with intent to take his head off; if he failed, he would nonetheless stand and wait for a new opportunity to sunder the whip-swords, or counter one of the Rider's attacks.

(( OOC: +5 Con again for five posts and all wounds healed, including that nasty wrecked shoulder. Con total is now 35 once again. ))

[Uesugi Kenshin]

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[Uesugi Kenshin]

Kenji would successfully sunder both whips, rendering them useless! However, he wouldn't get much more done than that before the Rider would kick Kenji back onto the floor, jumping on him and placing both of his knees on Kenji's arms to prevent him from swinging those swords! He would then proceed to punch the crap out of Kenji's face repeatedly! Owwie!

[Miyamoto Kenji]

Kenji reflected on his apparent bad habit of getting his face punched in by creatures and humanoids in this dungeon. What grudge did they have against his face, anyway? It was almost worth taking the time to contemplate further, and had he not been getting pummeled at the moment, he would have. For the time, he'd put this thought aside, gritting his teeth and attempting to pull his arms out from under the Rider's knees. If successful, he'd then see to picking up Yawarakai-Te in his free hand and stabbing it up at the Rider's skull, since the two-handed nodachi would not be an option again until he could get his enemy off of his body.

[Uesugi Kenshin]

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[Uesugi Kenshin]

Kenji would successfully stab the Rider's head, ending its life! But before it died, it would slam down on his chest hard, hooks from his fists extending and clawing into Kenji's skin before it fell dead next to him! Ouch! But the Daimyo's chest was there, now all he had to do was retrace his steps!

[Miyamoto Kenji]

After carefully removing the hooks from his body, Kenji stood up and reclaimed his weapons, not especially happy that his flesh got ripped in the Rider's death throes. It did make him wonder if the gauntlets he'd acquired from the Rider previously had that same function, though. Still, the Daimyo's chest was right there, ripe for the picking. Deciding not to wait for any more eager foes to show their monstrous forms, he looted his fallen enemy's greaves, heaved the chest and hauled ass back out of the maze, retracing his steps back through the most recent vortex and to the beginning.