2024/25 Stage 2 Hufflepuff vs Slytherin: Match 4

Action: As Strategized | Calming Presence Is In Affect For Allied Vipers | Banner Credit to Prat Pass

Date: February 9th 2024

Realistically paralysing the lord of the underworld, prince of the dead was invigorating and far more simply knocking a 6th year student to paralysis had his face twisting in the most smirking agape shock one could imagine. Yet Matthew couldn't help but wonder had that really happened, in truth it had been a complete Hail Mary but somehow it had worked if his eyes were to be believed.

The surprise unfortunately had left him completely blindsided to dodging the knockback charm that barrelled towards him from the very same opponent. Knocking the wind directly out of his stomach Matthew hurt badly but still his grin remained permanently affixed to his face with the excitement of it. Of the three Matthew was probably the least hopeful for their victory having been driven to hopelessness in the recent week but upon his success he found a flicker of the good stuff. A spark that he could repair his wrecked relationship with Slytherin if only he could keep up the hard work.

Of course no one would truly celebrate him for it, but at the very least he would not be as hated. That would be a start. Either way he had to keep fighting, Hades wouldn't remain on his ass for long and Draven had taken a significant hit himself. The odds were not in their favour but they were never going to be, so they might as well go out with guns blazing.

The first to cast the spell was one of Slytherin’s boys, having been targeted but he was quick enough to evade, something that his teammate Julian, as he saw that had done too. He felt a slight relief, because he was out of danger. Hades' next move was to cast a flipendo spell aimed at Matthew, whose spell worked effectively.

But at the same time Matthew returned a spell to him, paralyzing his body. He could notice his arms clenching to his sides, his skin cooling until he collapsed to the ground, a resonant noise echoed the room. He was in serious trouble, because he tried to move but was unable, incapacitated by a spell. He promised himself to return the favour.

This is a reminder that there are just about 8 hours until the deadline. I need posts from Julian Pritchard and Jake Morris as well as actions from both teams.
@Julian Pritchard @Draven Mirador @Jake Morris @Archer Duncan @Hades Schweighöfer @Matthew Campbell

Well, at least the Slytherins had gotten a shot in - Hades, Jake's team-mate fell down beside him, paralyzed by one of their opponents' spells. It was an impressive shot! His own spell had missed, though he HAD tried to hit his opponents. Still, he would have felt guilty if the younger duelists hadn't been able to hit them. Jake reminded himself not to get too confident. It might SEEM like they had the advantage, but upsets had happened before, and they would happen again if him and his team got too over-confident.

Now, with the spells flying across the platform, it was all too easy to forget the age of their opponents. Part of him wanted to hold back, so he didn't hurt anybody by accident, but he didn't think he could do that to them, not giving them the respect of a fair fight. Jake didn't want to LOSE necessarily. He couldn't do that to his own house, OR the Slytherins (He didn't think they'd want to win unless they earned it). He just didn't want to win by a LOT. So he was going to try his best, but while he did, he was going to silently hope they were able to keep up and hit them. He would duel the same as he always did....There were a lot of spells he probably wouldn't have wanted to use on second years, but luckily Jake didn't like using those spells on ANYONE, no matter who the opponents, so he mostly avoided them anyway - there was no reason dueling HAD to hurt.

There was one nice aspect to having been paired with younger students. Namely, that Julian didn't have to consider the ethical ramifications of using some of the more unpleasant spells in his inventory. It had been a long time since Julian had initially talked himself into the necessity of doing such awful things as setting his opponents on fire when necessary to winning, but -- even though his opponents too had entered the unspoken contract of a duellist, whereupon you agreed to have all kinds of nastiness visited upon your person just by virtue of competing -- it was extremely unlikely that his team's ability to win would require flames or fireworks or even a particularly bad case of bogies.

Thus, he settled on one of his favourite spells: the wind jinx (it was disorienting and wreaked havoc with your balance, but it was pretty much harmless outside of that), and cast it at Draven, pleased to see the boy was soon caught in his gust.

His choice of target had been simple. As little as he wanted to set anyone on fire, he wanted to be on fire even less, and he'd rather make it more difficult for Draven to do so. Perhaps, though, he should've set his sights on Matthew, considering the predicament Hades now found himself with. It made Julian wince in sympathy. He had spent much of the last duel immobilised and he knew first hand how frustrating that was. Hopefully, it would wear quickly. At least, the Slytherins had gotten a hit in. Maybe that would make them feel a little better about the uneven match up.

Round 2

Julian casts Flipendo at Draven.

Reducio

Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: d20[11] + 14 = 25 > 9 → Success
Accuracy: d20[14] + 14 = 28
Evasion: d20[6] + 8 - 4 Ventus = 10
28 > 10 → Hit
Damage: 100 + 10 × 15 = 250

Draven is hit by Julian’s Flipendo and takes 250 damage.

Draven casts Flipendo at Julian.

Reducio

Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: d20[13] + 15 = 28 > 9 → Success
Accuracy: d20[10] + 8 = 18
Evasion: d20[17] + 11 = 28
18 < 28 → Miss

Julian evades Draven’s Flipendo.

Jake casts Flipendo at Matthew.

Reducio

Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: d20[9] + 11 = 20 > 9 → Success
Accuracy: d20[9] + 14 = 23
Evasion: d20[17] + 8 = 25
23 < 25 → Miss

Matthew evades Jake’s Flipendo.

Archer casts Flipendo at Julian.

Reducio

Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: d20[13] + 9 = 22 > 9 → Success
Accuracy: d20[19] + 9 = 28
Evasion: d20[12] + 11 = 23
28 > 23 → Hit
Damage: 100 + 9 × 15 = 235

Julian is hit by Archer’s Flipendo and takes 235 damage.

Hades attempts to break out of Petrificus Totalus.

Reducio

Break Out DC: 10 + 1 = 11
Strength: d20[20] + 9 = 29 > 11 → Break Out

Hades succeeds in breaking out of his paralysis just before the spell fades.

Matthew casts Obscuro at Julian.

Reducio

Wisdom DC: 10
Wisdom Check: d20[2] + 9 = 11 > 10 → Success
10% Auto-Dodge Evasive Maneuvers: d20[8] → No Auto-Dodge
Accuracy: d20[6] + 9 = 15
Evasion: d20[19] + 11 = 30
15 < 30 → Miss

Julian evades Matthew’s Obscuro.

Jessamine was a bit peeved that she hadn’t been informed of the impending Flipendo-geddon. At least she had a front row seat to the event. Four of the duellists opted for the hard-hitting jinx, but only two found success. The witch found it a bit monotonous and lacking in explosive action, but seeing as that may have been beneficial to the underdogs, she didn’t open her mouth to complain.

Julian would find that he was singled out by all three Slytherins. Two of them attempted to strike him down with the trustworthy Knockback Jinx. Still being blasted by the wind of Julian’s previous spell, Draven would find it hard to keep track of the Hufflepuff. Julian bobbed and weaved, managing to duck enough that the spell went over his shoulder. However, his bouncy knees couldn’t save him from Archer’s pinpoint accuracy. The Slytherin’s spell smacked right into Julian’s chest, leaving behind a persistent ache as the energy dissipated. Also joining the Flipendo-fest was Julian and Jake. Julian went after the same snake that targeted him, sending a whirlwind of force right at Draven. With the winds inhibiting his ability to move, Draven had no chance of avoiding the spell. Jake, on the other hand, was still struggling with his aim, though Jessamine thought that his missed shot was more due to Archer’s legs suddenly coming alive and guiding him safely out of the pathway of Jake’s spell.

Making things a bit more exciting for the Ravenclaw were Matthew and Hades, despite the former missing his target. Matthew picked the Blindfolding Spell this time and Jessamine knew that success with that would make things much harder for the Hufflepuff team. Unfortunately, Julian’s feet were back in action, denying the Slytherins of that win. Unable to cast, Hades would struggle against the confines of the petrification spell. The Hufflepuff summoned strength typically unseen in duelling, forcing the spell to bend to his whims. Even still, he would feel stiffness in his arms which soon faded away as the effects of the spell wore off completely.

Information

1. You have 96 hours from now to write your posts (50 words min).
2. In the same time period, send me (Jessamine Hemlock) your team's actions per owl. Do not hint at your actions in your post.
3. If you don't post in the allotted time frame, your action is void.
4. If something seems odd about the moderation post or you have any questions, don't hesitate to owl or DM me.
5. Good luck, and have fun!

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The spectator thread for this duel can be found here.
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No spells came Archer’s way this round, whether because he was viewed as too strong (doubt, he was hardly that nor a narcissist) or because he was viewed as too unassuming to target (this, he believed more likely, but had no objections to).

Yet when four flipendos shot across the piste, one of them was his. There was little reason for him to rummage around for a different spell when the knock back jinx had always worked so well in his favour. Today, that had not changed. Disadvantaged from Draven’s first attempt at the spell Archer would take it as an opening to strike the upperclassman himself. While his first flipendo on Julian had been skilfully avoided he would find the spell hitting straight in his opponent’s chest as he was flung backwards.

Perhaps Archer was expected to feel a welling of pride in his chest as his handiwork hit an older boy, but the storm would not come right now if at all. Even mildly pleased was hyperbole, the flashes of shellwork paled in comparison to the unpleasant cards he had been dealt. Emotions didn’t matter as they rarely did. After all, duels reflected the real world; at the end of the day survival was all that really mattered.

Action: As Strategized | Calming Presence Is In Affect For Allied Vipers | Banner Credit to Prat Pass

Date: February 9th 2024

While the round hadn't exactly gone in there favour it still could have been significantly worse, though his viper teammate @Draven Mirador may have felt differently as he got handed his ass by a nasty flipendo. Julian was certainly not holding back so any bad feelings Matt was harbouring for their triple attack faded into oblivion.

The other boy Jake who moved with incredible speed had settled on targeting Matthew and although the boy's casting was masterful and aim true he couldn't beat the nimble manoeuvres of the young snake. Well at least he couldn't this time, Matthew had been awaiting the attack for he was already badly injured from the opening round but it was only a matter of time until his feet gave in. Especially as the lord of the underworld rose once more, no doubt vengeful for having been befallen.

It was clear the young boy would not be long for this world and likely if fate continued against him neither would Draven. Yet while the enemy team were distracted focusing on the pair @Archer Duncan had proven that no grief could stop him delivering his own powerful spell and enacting their venemous revenge.

The Vipers did not have victory in their grasp but they certainly had vigour in their attempt.

Hades was lying on the ground, in a petrified state. It was curious because every time he was paralyzed, he could not move but he could see and hear everything that was happening around him. His muscles tried to release the trapped prison, until he noticed that for some reason it was slowly breaking it. He stirred a little more, determined to set himself free.

He ended up freeing himself, allowing a few seconds to move his legs a little, and then rose, his eyes furrowed at the Slytherin team. Hades was not happy, and things were sure to get ugly. Felt a little bit stuff in his arms, assuming this might be the lasting effect of the curse. But that was not going to stop him from continuing, aiming his wand.