King of the Hill Wargames fin

Being hit with Maggie's spell took Liana by surprise. So much so that her own spell, cast with such care, ended up veering off course at the last moment, missing the lucky lion cub yet again. The redhead herself suffered another hit from Della, making her a victim of two forced dances. Which felt and looked bizarre. Her chest and side hurt badly where the spell beams had hit, and her unresponsive legs were already aching. Was this her fate in these games? To dance until she collapsed? She found herself wishing for Schnider's fate now - a volley of Flipendos to end her suffering quickly. At least Hildegard went out with her dignity intact.

Truth be told, it was disappointing and hurtful to be targeted so early on by one she thought to be a possible friend. Especially when so many other targets were still available, two of them being fully intact still. There had been an idea in Liana's head to try and invite Maggie to spend some time together, as a means of getting to know each other better. That idea seemed far less appealing now.

''Really, Maggie?'' she called out, a slight tone of hurt in her voice. That might have just come from the pain in her legs, though. Why would she be emotionally hurt by a potential ally attacking her when she was vulnerable? Hawkins could have come to her with a plot, much like Avery and, by extension, Matt did. That would have been the proper Slytherin way. Instead, she turned on Liana alongside a Gryffindor, showing a lack of foresight as well as poor judgement. Not to mention an untrustworthy nature. Well, not all people were worth making friends with.

At least neither Avery nor Matthew backstabbed her. Yet? That remained to be seen. Either way, Matt's jinx, cast at Della, proved so potent that it knocked the pale girl to the floor. That provided some satisfaction to Liana. Her only regret was that it wasn't her spell that found its mark.

''Nice one, Matt,'' she complimented, feeling her respect for the boy soaring. It was starting to look like either he or Avery would win this game, anyway. Which was still good. As long as neither of them betrayed her, she would be glad to see them victorious. While Liana would have preferred Matthew to come out on top, it was Avery who seemed more likely to prevail, having still not been targeted by a single spell while dealing a significant damage and actually knocking out one of the participants. That was alright as well, she supposed.

Action: As strategized.

mentioning: @Matthew Grey | @Hildegard Schneider | @Avery Chen | @Liana Kerr | @Della Barfield

Did Liana really think this was a reflection of their friendship? Did she think that Maggie's targeting her was truly vindictive and with ill will? It wasn't, honest! Really, it was that aforementioned lack of foresight and a bad sense of strategy. Nothing personal against Liana, certainly not. No, Maggie liked Liana! Liked her quite a bit, so she should hope that she wouldn't purposefully and intentionally target her in a game that meant so much.

That hurt tone in her voice sent a dagger straight through her chest, sinking into her heart. She'd messed up, hadn't she? Messed up with her new friend.

"I'm sorry, Liana, honest!" Maggie called back, watching Liana dance, feet moving a mile a minute, engaged in a waltz with nobody but herself. "I didn't know who else to go for!" Maggie hoped, for the sake of both Liana and whoever went to the Fall Ball with her, that they didn't try to waltz on the dancefloor with one another.

Based upon Liana's own upbringing and perspective, though, Maggie, a half-blood, choosing to target her probably did seem like an attack on her character and personhood. It wasn't, but someone like Liana being targeted by someone by Maggie didn't look great, she'd admit.

Maybe this entire thing was a bad idea. With a nervous little smile and a hint of a quivering hand, Maggie raised her wand to be at the ready.

Ready, aim, fire.

action: doing as strategized

When Vale decided to check out what was the fuss about that she have been hearing throughout the school, she was a little more than surprised to see familiar peers behind the small talk of a duelling session occurring. Something involving someone breaking something? Who knows. Vale was too busy chopping off the heads of dolls around the time...still is, of course.

The small girl blinked and took in the scene in front of her in the stone based, large room meant for only duels. Well, it was amusing, to say the least.

Vale moved to sit down far to the side, holding herself a one-eyed doll that was ripped in multiple spaces. As she held the doll gently against her body, she took notice to Liana dancing in such a bizarre fashion. Vale giggled, as far as she knew of Liana, she was a serious, and highly academic girl. Seeing her doing something that didn't seem so in her character was bound to leave an impression on the young girl. And then there was Hildegard, laying out unconcious on the ground, and another girl that was also on the ground, but not unconcious. Vale looked down to her doll and gently speak to it about the scenario in front of her. "Oh Ashes, looks like we miss most of the best parts. Too bad they don't kill here." Vale made a expression of disappointment, looking back up to the duel happening.

"I agree Ashes. Seeing them all fall down would be the most exciting." She turned her disappointed expression into that of a rather, sadistic smile. Despite these people being technically friendly to the young Ashwood, she mentally took joy in her sadistic ideals anyway.

Mentions: @Liana Kerr | @Della Barfield | @Avery Chen

Seeing the girl he'd cast on flip back made Matthew blink in surprise, and he lowered his wand for a second as he wondered how to maybe not be as effective next time. Setting a precedent like that wasn't good for his reputation, but at least he'd missed the first shot so people might think this one was a fluke.

Shaking his head, he cast a glance around the room and internally winced at Liana's compliment. So she'd seen and had yet more ammo on him, though in her own predicament maybe her dancing would be more memorable than his spell. He certainly found it funny, and he grinned as he raised a brow at the odd sort of dance she was doing. "Nice one, yourself." He almost pitied her since it looked painful but... the humour in it outweighed his pity by a good margin.

Avery's compliment came next and Matt groaned inwardly, especially as more people were beginning to gather on the sidelines. So not what he wanted people to see, and he was half considering completely flubbing the next shot on purpose to make down for it. "Beginner's luck!" Yeah, he could purposefully mess it up, but then again... if he hit it would present quite the challenge to keeping up his low status quo in the future. He'd need bigger and better forms of laziness, which was appealing and had the added bonus of making that particular trait a weapon to be used against anyone who claimed he was anything but a stupid slob. A quiet, amused laugh muffled itself into the sleeve he brushed across his face, and then he raised his wand again.

ACTION: Doing as strategized

@Liana Kerr | @Avery Chen | @Maggie Hawkins | @Matthew Gray

Action: as strategized

OPEN TO INTERACTION

───Interactions─── [font=century gothic]@Hui Ming[/font]

OUTFIT Reducio Zimmerman Fall 2021 Collection

────Mentions──── [font=century gothic]@everyone @Vale Ashwood[/font]

As the game resumed, Evelynn retreated to return to her post near the outskirts of the room. It wasn't long before incantations sounded and spells started slinging. With the crippled girl eliminated from the game, that left five remaining contestants—four Slytherins and a lone Gryffindor. The next objective became pretty clear as three of the four snakes seemed to converge in unison, directing there attention towards the young lioness. Despite her intention to remain impartial, suck of air subtly betrayed the prefect's disappointment at the turn of events, and lips crimped as Barfield shot back from where she had stood moments before to sprawl supine upon the floor, vulnerable.

"Perhaps," was all that Evelynn would allow in response to Ming's suggestion to her loyalties.

Although perhaps it really wasn't so secret even if she did keep it to herself. Known to promote House loyalty through appearance in a show of silent support, Evelynn was not about to campaign openly—or otherwise—against her own house mate. Plus, in the pit of snakes, she couldn't help but feel a certain amount of empathy towards the odd girl out whose presence seemed to stir the ire of the serpents. It seemed a poor show of sportsmanship, really, in a game intended to be something of an individual battle royale.

Not that it wasn't a reasonable tactic if the desire was to keep the win within the House, but if what Mister Hui said was true, the others were merely accessories to the whim of Slytherin's little prodigy. It was interesting, really. Hui seemed to have thought Kerr would be targeted early given her status as a higher threat. Instead, Evelynn was left to wonder if she had a certain level of influence, the boys wrapped around her fingers with how readily they seemed to direct their spells towards the only ones who might have had an aim to bring her down. But this truce wouldn't last forever.

A brow perked with veiled amusement even as Kerr called the other slytherin girl out. Perhaps all was not well among the quartet. Perhaps there yet remained a chance to even out the odds if only Barfield could survive and conjured the sense to propose a truce? Three versus two certainly faired better than all against one. But then again... even as she attempted valiantly to rise from her vulnerable position on the floor, the assault remained relentless, standing only to find herself deprived of her sight. A standing duck. Only a smouldering kiss from Lady Luck would see her standing for much longer.

And then, one by one, Evelynn suspected each of the others would be picked off. First the girl. Really, Maggie? But two simple words, yet laced with the unmistakable venom of dismissal. Evidently Kerr expected loyalty. There would be punishment for that slip. Then Gray. Then the last. Unless the others banded together to uncrown her majesty, of course...

"Kerr," she stated after a moment's thought. "Care to place a wager?" A side-eye cast its way in the direction of the younger boy, curious to see his reaction to the offer.

Quiet chatter nearby drew Evelynn's attention briefly. Piercing grey eyes lifted to make note of an arrival. Dark-skinned and carrying a doll, the girl was unfamiliar to Evelynn. Perhaps one of the new first-years, she surmised. It was quiet evident that the girl's lips were moving, but from here, the words couldn't be discerned. What was certain, however, was that there was nobody nearby with whom she could be speaking. Unless...Evelynn's eyes narrowed, gaze flickering to the areas around the figure, as though attempting to make out something that wasn't there. Evidently, she'd lose interest after a handful of seconds, however, pulled her attention back to Hui and the game at hand.

━━━━ PARTICIPANTS ━━━━
────────────

[ @Liana Kerr ]
54% HP (270/500)
Affected by Smokescreen [-3 acc]
────────────
Obscuro @ Della

Reducio

STA: 5 | EVA: 5 | STR: 1
WIS: 9 | ARC: 6 | ACC: 9-3
Prodigal DADA

Wisdom DC: 10
Wisdom Check: [d20: 17] + 9 = 26, success
Accuracy Check: [d20: 11] + 9 - 1 = 19
Evasion Check: [d20:2] + 7 = 9
19 > 9 → Hit
Effects: Evasion and Accuracy stats are equal to 0 as long as the target is blindfolded
Requires an action to manually pull it off. No check required

[ @Avery Chen ]
100% HP (600/600)
Immune to Smokescreen
────────────
Dancing Feet @ Della

Reducio

STA: 6 | EVA: 6 | STR: 6
WIS: 7 | ARC: 4 | ACC: 6
Blindvision

Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20: 5] + 7 = 12, success
Accuracy Check: [d20: 8] + 6 = 14
Evasion Check: [d20: 11] + 7 = 18
14 < 18 → Miss

[ Geoffrey Donovan ]
100% HP (700/700)
Withdrawn from Event
────────────

[ @Maggie Hawkins ]
100% HP (500/500)
Affected by Smokescreen [-3 acc]
────────────
Dancing Feet @ Avery

Reducio

STA: 5 | EVA: 10 | STR: 4
WIS: 3 | ARC: 6 | ACC: 7-3
Calming Presence

Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20: 2] + 3 = 5, failure

[ Hildegard Schneider ]
0% HP (0/400)
-
────────────

Reducio

STA: 4 | EVA: 0 | STR: 4
WIS: 10 | ARC: 10 | ACC: 7
Prodigal Charms

[ @Matthew Gray ]
85% HP (425/500)
Affected by Smokescreen [-3 acc]
────────────
Flipendo @ Della

Reducio

STA: 5 | EVA: 7 | STR: 1
WIS: 10 | ARC: 4 | ACC: 8-3
Impartial

Wisdom DC: 9
Wisdom Check: [d20: 8] + 10 = 18
Accuracy Check: [d20: 13] + 8 = 21
Evasion Check: [d20: 14] + 7 = 21
21 = 21 → Partial Hit, half damage
Effect: -70 HP

[ @Della Barfield ]
48% HP (240/500)
Blindfolded, must spend action to attempt to pull off [eva/acc → 0]
Affected by Smokescreen [-3 acc]
────────────
Gets Up

Reducio

STA: 5 | EVA: 7→0 | STR: 3
WIS: 6 | ARC: 5 | ACC: 4→0

━━━━ SUMMARY ━━━━

No rest for the wicked. No mercy for the weak. But were the wicked truly ill-intentioned? And who was weak? Holding strong against the odds in the face of adversity took courage; while those who flocked together to oppress the unfortunate minority with combined strength could be perceived as incapable of standing on their own. Or perhaps it was simply cold logic and convenience of the moment. The survival instinct kicking in to point a user to the most fortuitous path.

Evidently impressionable, and perhaps feeling a little guilty by the very pointedly implied scolding by one whom she still thought was a friend, Hawkins directed her attention away from Kerr towards Chen instead. Nothing would happen. Maybe she had forgotten the incantation, or had stumbled over the words, or her wand had simply chosen not to act. After all, those cored with phoenix did tend to be the pickiest of the bunch, preferring masters with unquestionable independence. And this master had just deferred to the whim of another. Then again, perhaps it was something else entirely that had caused that spell to fail. Would that trend continue?

Meanwhile, with Schneider no longer a factor in the outcome of the match, most of the remaining players seemed to converge on Barfield. No fewer than three spells would fling in her direction at the hands of Gray, Chen and Kerr. To her credit, she did well, managing to dodge the one sent by Chen, and even managed to nearly avoid Gray's. It would clip her, however, throwing her slightly off balance as though sustaining a glancing blow from a passing stranger in the hall. Certainly less power than the last and she would easily keep her feet once she had found them. Kerr's would land firmly, however, a blindfold seemingly conjured from thin air to curl and secure itself tightly around the lion's eyes, robbing her of sight and dignity alike as Barfield resituated herself.

While Barfield couldn't quite be discounted, the odds did not appear to be in her favour. Then again, Gryffindor as a whole had been known to defy the odds in sports and games in the past. Perhaps she could turn her fortune around with a bit of luck and clever thinking. Still, there was definitely an obvious play of House preference. The apparent goal: a Slytherin victory, one way or another. But which one? It would be interesting, then, to see how alliances might change in the moment when opportunity presented itself. Disdain would transition to amused curiosity as Evelynn gave a fleeting glance to the young Master Hui before fixing her attention forward again. The boy had made a request, one to impose environmental conditions as the game progressed and at his prompting, it was apparently time for the first of those to occur.

"Fumos," she incanted quietly, careful to move her lips the least amount possible. Deftly, fingers moved her wand through the necessary pattern. The desire to remain as unnoticeable as possible was harder than she might have thought, but success was noted as fog began to billow from its tip like a small waterfall, seeping across the floor in a hazy grey bed that rose steadily until it overflowed onto the duelling platform and eventually obscured the playing field.

Smokescreen Spell [wdc 8]
[d20:6]+14(wis) = 20 successfully cast
[Duration:4] lasts TWO rounds
Affected: Matthew, Liana, Maggie, Della

────────────

Players have until November 3rd, 23:59 PST to post and send in actions

A surge of gratitude flooded the redhead's chest when Maggie called out an apology. Perhaps it was too rash to think she attacked Liana, currently the most vulnerable of her housemates, out of malice. Indeed, in a strange way it might have been meant as a compliment, even. Not that such compliments were desirable. Her spasming legs were a testament to that. Normally, after a dance lesson she felt slight ache in her muscles that was a pleasant sensation; the effects of three separate Tarantallegras, however, caused her lower limbs to cramp in a horrible way. Even when the spell's effects ceased, she felt unstable, as if she was standing on a swaying boat. The Dancing Feet Spell was now easily her least favourite piece of magic. She hoped she could avoid suffering its effects for the remainder of this duel, and then for the rest of her life.

''Well, okay. But my legs could really use a break,'' she complained in response to the apology. This whole magic-induced performance made her seem like a poor dancer. Which she wasn't. Her father had made sure of that, hiring a tutor to instruct her in this art so she wouldn't shame him during the various events he either attended or organized.

Matt's answer to her praise made the girl flinch. Not only because he was mocking her, but because it only now came to her that he was probably averse to attracting any positive attention. After all, he had shown a somewhat panicked reaction in the library when he accidentally told her just how good his grades actually were; it seemed that his response would be trying to make her feel uncomfortable whenever she noted his achievements. And it was likely the best for their budding friendship if she ignored his successes and tried to keep the horrible secret of his brilliance, if that was really what he wanted. However odd of a desire that may be. Why did he have to be such a complicated person? Why couldn't he just crave glory like every other Slytherin, and like most other boys his age? It suddenly dawned on her that he may not actually want to win this competition, either. Somehow, in some twisted way, it was probably selfish of her to root for him. After all, if she couldn't prevail, she would have liked her date to the ball to be someone distinguished. Sadly, it seemed like she would just have to try and keep the knowledge of his achievements to herself, if she wanted to stay on his good side. Oddly, she may also have to attack him and remove him from the competition, as an act of good will. Even thinking of this made her poor head feel like it might explode from the contradictions that made up Matthew Gray's personality.

And so it was that Liana ignored his success at hitting the ever-elusive Della with a yet another spell. She also held back from reacting to her own achievement of not only hitting the agile lioness, but also doing it with a spell that had failed on two previous occasions. Albeit a part of her wanted to glance at Professor Rion to try and gauge his reaction. Obscuro was a spell he would be teaching to second-years, and she had just utilized it effectively in combat. Even while her wayward legs made it hellishly difficult to aim properly. This made her feel so proud, despite the fact that it meant the others would note her achievement and may try to eliminate her for it. Even her allies might turn on her - the less people remained, the higher the tension soared, the more likely it was that one of them would break from the tentative alliance. Matt could try to get back at her for praising him publicly, for instance. Once again, the thought made her feel like this was some game of Opposite Day.

Avery also seemed to have cast at Della, although his spell flew harmlessly past her. Glancing at him, the redhead saw that her partner in crime was in imminent danger. Observing Maggie direct her next attack at the boy made Liana feel a flash of anxiety; she didn't want her ally - or anybody, for that matter - to suffer the same unpleasant effects as she had. Although if anybody could afford to be hit at the moment, it was probably Avery. Luckily, the spell didn't succeed. Admittedly, it was good to know that her potential friend moved on to another target. The sense of gratitude expanded even more, even though her legs still hurt from the dancing that Maggie had put her through along with Della. Liana resolved to try not to cause Maggie any pain, as long as she held back from sending another humiliating spell her way.

Liana readied herself for another attack, the target already picked. But before she could cast, something utterly unforeseen occurred. The arena began filling up with... smoke? It took the girl a few moments to realize what was happening, her mind supplying the answer so rapidly only thanks to her interest in duelling tactics. Someone was using the Smokescreen Spell! Her attention snapped away from the target, seeking out the source of the fumes. They were clearly emanating from the spectator area. She thought, although she couldn't be sure, that the hazy figure casting the spell was the third-year Gryffindor girl. How... interesting. What a lucky timing for her housemate, who had just lost her vision entirely, that most of the field had theirs limited too. The organizers might want to claim afterwards that this was all planned in advance. Perhaps it was, too. But nothing would ever convince Liana that they didn't time it the way they did only to aid Barfield. If it was indeed Decipio who was the culprit, it surely was an attempt to give her housemate time to take off the blindfold while all the others would hesitate to use any spells, with the visibility reduced so much.

What a wretched show of favouritism.

Action: As strategized.