>>5706931“You should act fast.” Yara says, suddenly appearing next to you. “The spirits are telling me something grave is about to occur.”
Manus had received a noticeable power boost from whatever it was that Maeve had done. You could leave it up to Clay to fight back and find a way to prevail, but something in Yara’s tone had put you on edge. Was your life to be plagued by these stupid vague predictions forever? Fine, if Maeve was going to cheat and get away with it, you’d fight fire with fire. With the cover of the crowd, Manus’ screaming, and a little bit of nuance, you might just be able to help Clay with a ‘Rally’, giving him the edge he’d need to come out on top. Hiding behind the much larger Theo, you begin mouthing the incantations necessary to infuse the Hero with additional power. While it should be a simple task, you haven’t done this in quite some time. Perhaps it was the timing or your nerves, but what should have been a simple, subtle buff to Clay’s already formidable skills takes the form of both you and him being enveloped in a massive, eye-catching blue aura. One did not need any sort of background in magic to notice that something was amiss.
>Clay: +5 to all Stats“They’re cheating! They’re cheating!” Maeve shouts, jumping up and down and pointing a finger at you.
“GRAAAAAAAAH!” Manus charges forward and swings his axe in another savage two-handed downward strike.
>Hit Roll: 74>Crit Roll: 47 (Miss)>Devil Axe: 11 (Backfire)>Manus: 42 STR + 18 (Devil Axe) = 60 – 36 DEF = 24 DMG>Manus: 86/110But the same thing happens again. This time, the savage wound appears on Manus’ left shoulder, causing him to drop his axe on the ground and roar in pain.
“An chéad uair eile!” Clay shouts as he performs another cross-x slash on Manus’ abdomen. The hulking Berserker staggers back with a huge spray of blood. He wobbles over as if trying to maintain his balance, only to fall as Clay sheathes his Runesword. “Ná roghnaigh arm chomh dúr!”
>Manus: 0/110 HP“They cheated!” Maeve whines, screaming at the top of her lungs and addressing the Sreng crowd. “Magia! Magia!” She shouts, pointing towards you and Clay. “DISQUALIFICATION!”
“You cheated first!” Corrine shouts back. She grabs Ronan by the collar. “Translate this for me! Tell her that I’m going to drive my axe right through her head if she doesn’t shut up!”
The Sreng crowd erupts into a chorus of boos, hurling obscenities your way. Unlike when Ava won though, this appears to be far more venomous. All of Leif’s attempts to calm the crowd and speak over them fall on deaf ears. It isn’t until Cormac, the First Blade, unsheathes his sword and plants it in the ground in front of him, that the crowd finally silences. Having reclaimed the stage, Leif clears his throat and begins speaking. He looks grossly uncomfortable, which you can only assume spells doom for you. His aide follows shortly after.
