Completed Quarterstaff 201

[Jynx]

The 14th of Fall 509 Northern Reaches OOC : Training Weapon: Quarterstaff Hannah added some spices to the pot and stirred it into the stew. Jynx added the wood he had collected to the pile beside the fire pit. “Get the bowls and spoons, will you please?” she asked. He dug around in his backpack in the tent and returned with the requested items. She dished up the stew for them and they sat together by the fire eating and talking about the day. The decayed remains of once was once a building lay partially visible a short distance away. Hannah and Jynx had been here for three days now, carefully excavating the ruins. So far they had found little of interest, but that was the nature of archeological digs: lots and lots of digging for the occasional discovery. The sun was low in the horizon. The temperature was starting to drop. Jynx heard the cracking of a dead tree branch behind them. He stood and turned. Three men emerged from the forest into the clearing. “Told ya I smelled smoke,” one of the men said. He was a tall, rangy man with wild red hair, and looked to be in his mid-forties. His clothes were dirty and had a few tears. He was unshaven and haggard looking. “And somethin' cookin',” said the second man, a short overweight fellow with a bald head. “And a good lookin' woman to go with it.” The third man, a mixed breed of some sort, laughed but said nothing. “What can I do for you?” Hannah asked. She was tense and wary. Jynx was not happy either. He could sense the predatory nature of the three strangers. They were on the hunt. His vision sharpened, along with his hearing. His hands tingled. His breathing was short. He was in fight-or-flight mode, with a great deal of adrenaline flowing through is body. He calculated the distance to the quarterstaff leaning against a tree next to the tent. “Well, little lady,” said the first man, walking toward them. “We seen neither food nor women for a good long time now, so I think you'll do us just fine.” Jynx put himself between Hanna and the men and assumed a fighting stance. The fat man grinned and slowly unsheathed a two-foot long dagger. The half-breed moved to one side and crouched in an odd posture. He had claws where his fingers should have been. Part Symenestra, Jynx thought. The first man produced a hunting knife and continued to close the distance between them.

[Jynx]

Master Quince had more than once said, Never underestimate the advantage of initiative. When it is clear that a fight is inevitable, you move first. That lets you define the terms of the initial engagement. Jynx took two quick steps toward the tall man, which brought him within arms reach. The startled man took a swipe at him with his knife but Jynx had already shifted his weight back on to his left foot, leaving the man with nothing but air to slice through. He delivered a snap kick to the man's groin, eliciting an “ooph” as the man doubled over and backed up, his hands now covering his groin. Without hesitating Jynx moved to his left with a diving roll that brought him up within reach of the quarterstaff. Hand to hand combat is fine as long as you're not up against swords. When swords come into play you need a longer reach. That's when you use the quarterstaff. “Get him,” the tall man screeched as his companions in what was most likely not his normal voice pitch. But he needn't have bothered because they were both already moving with Jynx, as he knew they would. He was now the center of attention and the only visible threat. Hannah was out of harm's way for the moment. He faced the two men who had not yet figured out that they should spread out and come at him from different sides. He held the eight-foot pole at a forty-five degree angle across the front of his body, his right hand a third of the way up from the lower end and his left hand a third of the way down from the upper end. When facing multiple enemies, take out the weakest one first. That may seem counter-intuitive, but even a weak opponent can do you great harm if he has a weapon, whereas he will be the easiest of all your opponents to take out of the fight. He executed a quick two-step shuffle toward the half-breed, which entailed moving his left foot forward, shifting his weight to it and sliding his right foot up from behind before shifting the weight back to the right foot. This brought him within striking range of the half-breed who was looking less sure of himself now. He took a swipe at Jynx with clawed hands and missed. Jynx pushed his left arm forward and simultaneously brought his right hand up to chest height. The upper end of the staff snapped out and hit the right side of the man's head with a loud cracking sound. The man went down. Jynx didn't wait to see how badly he had hurt him. He spun toward the fat man, who was backing away. Two quick steps closed the distance and he struck the man's left leg with the lower end of the staff. He heard the knee crack. The fat man collapsed with a shriek, grasping his knee with both hands as he rolled around on the ground. Jynx turned back to the half-breed, who was trying to get back on his feet. He brought the high end of the staff down hard on the top of the man's head. He went down again and didn't look like he was going to get up anytime soon. Hannah yelled, “Jynx!” He turned. The tall man was holding her in front of him with a knife to her throat. He looked very angry.

[Jynx]

A man who knows he has lost can be a dangerous adversary. Having nothing to lose, he may resort to desperate measures to save himself. Don't give him any breathing space. Press him until he makes a mistake. Jynx walked toward them with a determined pace, his eyes locked on the man's eyes. Hannah was not a tall woman. In fact, she was only five foot four inches tall. That made the tall man an easy head taller than her. The man backed up, taking Hannah with him, trying to keep some distance between himself and the man with the heavy staff. But Jynx kept coming. “Stay back,” he yelled. Then he made a mistake. He waved the knife in Jynx's direction. Jynx didn't hesitate. He brought the lower end of the quarterstaff up hard and fast into the left side of the man's face, which exploded in blood as he was spun around by the force of the blow. Hannah, who had a good head in a crisis, went limp and slipped out of his grip to the ground. Jynx advanced on the man and struck him again, this time on his left hip. The man cried out and fell to the ground trying to roll away. Jynx followed relentlessly. “Jynx!” Hannah shouted. “Don't kill him!” There was a bloodlust in him now. He heard but didn't hear her order. He struck the man again, this time breaking his right arm. “Jynx! That's enough! Stop!” He hesitated. Everything in him told him to kill the man be done with it. But she was telling him something different. He stopped, breathing hard, sweating. Then he backed away and looked around to make sure the other two were still out of action. Later, when he thought back on the incident, it occurred to him that this was why she had had him trained in non-lethal combat. She knew that if he wielded a lethal weapon, he would not hesitate to kill. Indeed, had he been in possession of a sword that he knew how to use, all three men would be dead. As it was, they were only disabled. Jynx tied the men up. They broke camp and left. They never saw any of them again.

[Valkyrie]

Jynx :

Experience
1 Acrobatics
3 Quarterstaff
2 Observation

Lore
Taking the Initiative in the Fight
Taking Out the Weakest Opponent First
Remembering Your Training
An Opponent with Nothing to Lose

Other
N/A

Notes: You did a good job of putting your formal training to use in a fight. I really liked the part at the end where Jynx had to fight between his gut feelings and what Hannah wanted.

You Will Be Collected if Worthy

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