2023, Stage 2 Hufflepuff vs Ravenclaw: Match 7

After she had created the smoke screen, her partner checked up on her. "I'm okay," she replied with a weak smile. The duel did start to take its toll on the prefect but she was still standing so that was good. With only Lucia left, it wasn't too hard to predict that Samantha would aim at her. To her great annoyance, Samantha's spell missed the other girl. At least Peri managed to heal both of them, leading to the young girl feeling a lot better. "Thanks!" the brunette exclaimed happily.

Pericles drew some reassurance from Sam's reply, nodding to himself as he cast a healing spell in her direction. His partner was adept at continuing to cast in low vision, a skill that would come in handy with this smoke cover... that is, until a gust of Ventus cleared the piste. He arched an eyebrow at the remaining Puff, tutting. Now he could see her, too.

Action: As strategized.

Round 9

Lucia Fox vs Samantha Salwis

Reducio

Lucia Fox casts Incendio Duo at Samantha Salwis
Wisdom DC: 12
Wisdom Check: [d20: 11] + 10 = 21 > 12 → Success
Accuracy Check: [d20: 15] + 9 = 24
Evasion Check: [d20: 14] + 7 = 21
24 > 21 → Hit
Damage: 60 + 8AP × 10 = 140
Duration: [d3: 1] → 1 round (1d3, 1-2: 1 round, 3: 2 rounds)
Effect: aflame, target suffers –60 HP per round

Pericles Dralt vs Lucia Fox

Reducio

Pericles Dralt casts Incendio Duo at Lucia Fox
Wisdom DC: 12
Wisdom Check: [d20: 17] + 11 = 28 > 12 → Success
Who gets the alluring?: [d2: 2] → Samantha (1: Pericles, 2: Samantha)
Accuracy Check: [d20: 1] + 12 → Crit. Miss, retargets to Samantha as only valid target
New Accuracy Check: [d20: 19]
Samantha Evasion Check: [d20: 15] + 7 = 22
19 < 22 → Miss

Samantha Salwis vs Lucia Fox

Reducio

Samantha Salwis casts Vetus at Lucia Fox
Wisdom DC: 11
Wisdom Check: [d20: 13] + 10 = 23 > 11 → Success
Alluring retarget: [d20: 7] < 19 → No retarget
Accuracy Check: [d20: 19] + 9 = 28
Evasion Check: [d20: 9] + 9 = 18
28 > 18 → Hit
Damage: 50 + 8AP × 10 = 130
Duration: [d3: 1] → 1 round (1d3, 1-2: 1 round, 3: 2 rounds)
Effect: target suffers –4 Evasion for the duration

There was no slowing this duel down - it was fiery, and each duelist intended to either stroke the flames, or add to them.

Lucia and Pericles were the ones determined to grow the flames. Their incantations would ring out through the dueling club at the same moment. Dual "Incendio Duo!" would harmonize together as both wands produced green magic aimed at the opposite side of the piste. Galton prepared himself for the light show to come as the balls of flame rocket past each other.

Samantha chose a strategy to complement the flames of her partner (or maybe it had been the other way around?). Ventus - stoke the flames to grow bigger and bigger on the trapped target. Or that would be the case if they were both able to land the shot. Aim was always the tricky part.

There would be no ticks for Samantha today. A focused Ventus entrapped the lone Badger in it's vortex. Similarly, Lucia would have no issues with her aim. Just a good solid line that made it's way for Samantha. So solid that Samantha would not be able to dodge it. Her clothes caught on fire as the worst of the flames departed.

But then there was Pericles. He missed. He missed by a kilometer. Something had happened, and his magic ended pointed at his own partner. And his bad aim was so good, that Galton almost mistook it for deliberate action. Lucky for him, Samantha did not intend to get hit with both balls of flames this round. A quick dip of her shoulder would let the misfire barely slip past. It had not been the light show Galton had imagined, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

Both teams had traded hits, but the Badger still looked much worse for wear than the Ravens. Would there be any other nasty tricks to close off this duel or had Merlin already decided the winner?

Information

• You have 96 hours from now to write your posts. A minimum word count of 50 is needed per post.
• In the same time period, send me (Galton Lansdale) your team's actions per owl. Do not hint at your actions in your post.
• If you don't post in the allotted time frame, your action is void.
• Your Stats, Abilities, and Spells have been locked to what they are now for the duration of this duel.
• Please owl or message me if you have any questions or concerns!
• Here you can find the rules to the Duelling System.
• Best of luck, let's have some fun!

The spectator thread for this duel can be found here.
Come cheer for your House and friends!

Focusing on her spell, Samantha managed to cast the wind jinx. With a satisfied feeling, the brunette watched as her spell hit Lucia. Sadly, she herself was hit with a spell too. One thing she hadn't expected was to be targeted by her partner in the duel but it still happened. "Why would you do that?!" she asked her partner after dodging the spell.

It took Lucia making a face back for Pericles to realize he had, in fact, made that quirked-brow look out loud. Oops. His expression shifted to shock as he raised his wand, and for a moment he could only focus on the Alluring ability cute way she scrunched her nose when she was annoyed. He snapped from it when his spell shot sideways, startled at Sam's shout. "Not intentionally," came his apologetic murmur. He blinked, squinted hard, and realigned his attention on the Hufflepuff's chin instead of meeting her deep blue eyes.

Action: As strategized.

Lucia was getting used to being caught up in a swirling vortex of wind at this point. Still she let out a frustrated grumble of "Not again!" as Samantha's spell hit her squarely in the chest. At least her own jet of flame caught the Ravenclaw girl. The one true suprise was the dramatic extent to which the boy missed - Lucia was prepared to dodge his spell, but at the last second Percules' arm moved and he directed his spell at his partner instead! It was just a shame that it didn't hit her. In a split second, though, a realisation caught up with Lucia. This had happened before, in other duels. An opponent would look at her, and then suddenly redirect their attack towards their only ally. And yet, it had never happened to her - and it only happened when they were going to aim at her, not her partner. Maybe... maybe it was a part-Veela thing. That had to be it. Lucia winced at the sudden clarity - proof that she was a danger to those around her, even without meaning to be. She forced herself to keep her eyes on the Ravenclaws rather than look for Eun-ji to see if she had made this discovery too and hated her even more for it. Things like this were why Eun-ji didn't want to be friends with her. It wouldn't do either of them any good for Lucia to start seeking validation from her again. She didn't need Eun-ji's approval.

Round 10

Lucia Fox

Reducio

Lucia Fox's action is void due to missed deadline

Pericles Dralt vs Lucia Fox

Reducio

Pericles Dralt casts Flipendo at Lucia Fox
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20: 20] + 11 = > 9 → Crit. Success
Who gets the alluring?: [d2: 2] → Samantha (1: Pericles, 2: Samantha)
Accuracy Check: [d20: 3] + 12 = 15
Evasion Check: [d20: 9] + 9 - 4 = 14
15 > 14 → Hit
Damage: 100+ 10AP × 10 + 50 (Crit) = 250
Effects: knocks the target on the ground requiring to spend a full action to stand up and re-join the duel (not that matters on the last round)

Samantha Salwis vs Lucia Fox

Reducio

Samantha Salwis casts Flipendo at Lucia Fox
Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20: 16] + 10 = > 9 → Success
Alluring retarget: [d20: 14] < 19 → No retarget
Accuracy Check: [d20: 11] + 9 = 20
Evasion Check: [d20: 7] + 9 - 4 = 12
20 > 12 → Hit
Damage: 100+ 8AP × 10 = 180

The match was at it's close. The roller coaster of events was nearing its end. Galton was ready to call time and declare the winners. He was not ready for what was about to happen.

The Raven's were, in every sense, done with this duel. Both wands locked in on Lucia, and both duelists muttered incantations for one last 'Flipendo'. There was nothing necessarily surprising about that, all par for the course. It was the speed at which they did it that surprised Galton. And with that, the quality of the magic they had produced. While Samantha had a quality bundle of force conjured up, Pericles seemed to have taken a page from Samantha's earlier example and come with the perfect finisher for this duel.

Try as she might, Lucia would not escape the terrible jinxes. It was a one-two combo. She was out before she could even get a spell off.

Silence would take hold of the stands. No one had expected this duel to end by knockout. "GAME!" Galton yelled as he waved the medics onto the piste. There were clear victors here, but Galton would make sure Lucia was taken care of before announcing their victory. Only then would he make his way over to the two duelists.

He would start by giving them a large smile, and try to take a hand from each to raise in celebration. "RAVENCLAW CLAIMS VICTORY! Congratulations all - this is not a duel I will soon forget." Applause filled from around the piste. After announcing their victory and relinquishing his hold, both Samantha and Pericles would notice (if they'd allowed him to raise their hands) a licorice wand where his hand had been. They would get a few choice complements about their magical tact and how thrilling they were to watch.

Then he would head to the hospital wing to give the same to the Hufflepuffs. No one would go without candy (or compliments) after a duel on Galton's watch.

Ravenclaw Wins!

Information

• Congratulations to all duelists! Both Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff alike. A memorable duel. Be proud!
• Feel free to do an exit post, I will have the thread locked in a week or so, to give you ample time for it if you’d like
• Please owl or message me if you have any questions or concerns!
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The spectator thread for this duel can be found here.
Come cheer for your House and friends!

Eligible for Rewards
To be eligible for rewards, your team should have won the duel and you shouldn't be disqualified.

@Pericles Dralt
@Samantha Salwis
Please link to this post in the trunk updates if you wish to claim your +1 stat point from this duel.