Solo Dematerialization

[Nander Greenfield]

15th Day of Winter, 512 AV As the snows of winter came down on Riverfall, Nander let out a small sneeze as a sign that his cold was coming on. If being stuck in Riverfall through the winter wasn't bad enough, Nander also had an additional problem: he still hadn't learned a thing about the Akalak. Not too many were willing to answer his questions out in the cold or even open their doors up to it. Some humans and a few other races were willing to talk to Nander, but he wanted the information from an actual Akalak. As he sat on his cold bench, sipping at his warm drink, he still kept an eye out for someone he could ask. Being that the hope festival was underway, he thought the Akalaks would be in a better mood to chat. However, after a while, Nander got tired of the outside and stood up, letting out another sneeze. The drink wasn't helping much, but Nander would still keep getting it. Sipping at it again, he made the journey back to Atri's Place for warmth. However, even as he sat in his room, he was still freezing. He tried getting under the covers, jumping around, and even laying under a stack of laundry, but nothing worked. After a while he just gave up and decided to forget it all with a drink...and a shower. He never knew he'd stunk until then. Reaching for the door, Nander became aware of what sounded like someone writing behind him. He turned, but no one was there. However, he did see something of interest. It looked like someone had drawn on his wall, though to him it might as well have been in Tukant. Still, it was strange considering the wall had been empty before. He would have noticed black writing as soon as he entered the room. Walking closer to examine it, Nander stopped when he heard another strange noise. It sounded like someone was whispering in his ear, though he couldn’t understand a word of it. That’s when Nander noticed the mist in his room. Nander wasn’t stupid. He could clearly see when he had a ghost in his room. However, contradictory to this thought, Nander reached for his sword. Turning, Nander would swing and hit nothing but air. However, there was something behind him. It was a boy, no older than 6, with pale skin and a dark complexion. Yet this wasn’t the strangest thing about him. It wasn’t the fact that he was translucent or floating that scared Nander. Instead, his face was horribly disfigured, as if he’d just been hit in the face with multiple hammers. Stumbling backwards, Nander caught himself with his left foot before raising his sword again. He had been startled a bit, but he could still wield his sword. Seeing this the ghost suddenly appeared in front of Nander, reaching out a hand to grab his wrist. He came so fast Nander didn’t have time to react, but when he felt the ghost’s icy cold touch he immediately pulled away. Swinging his sword again, he felt it hit nothing but air. At that moment, the ghost suddenly began to speak, though it was in the same foreign language. Before Nander could say anything, it descended and sunk through the ground, leaving Nander staring down after it.

[Nander Greenfield]

"Why didn't you stop it?" Nander shouted at the confused Akalak. He could obviously hear the distress in Nander's tone, so he simply shrugged. "What am I supposed to do about a ghost?" he asked defensively. "They come and go as they please. Not like you can stop them with a punch like normal guys." His answer only made Nander more upset. After shouting and cursing for a while, Nander finally left the Akalak to himself. The ghost situation had gotten him on edge, especially since the spirit seemed hostile. If it had wanted, it could have took him out right then and there with the ghostly powers Nander assumed it had. It left as soon as it came, leaving many questions in Nander's mind. Where did it come from and why was it targeting him? Who was the ghost anyway, and how long did Nander have until the ghost returned? These were all questions Nander was anxious to answer. He had already been asking around Riverfall, but nobody seemed to know a thing about the mysterious ghost child. "Must be an outsider," Nander reasoned. "Just my luck." Deciding to take a break from the search for information, Nander headed to the Blue Bull for a quick drink. Sipping at a glass of wine, Nander couldn't help but to think of the ghost. It's face was stuck in his mind. "And I heard ghosts were peaceful," Nander thought as he drunk. "The kid probably didn't get to a hundred yet." Writing it off as youthful rebellion, Nander kept drinking and getting his spirits up. That was of course until Nander ended up in a bar fight. It was the usual case: Nander made eye contact with some dumb human's girlfriend and now he was itching for a fight. Truthfully, Nander made the first move. A large man shouting at him while he was trying to forget about his problems really set him off. So he grabbed his bottle, drunk up the rest of the wine, and smashed it in the stranger's face. He expected a quick K.O., but the man survived the attack and came at Nander with anger. Swinging his fist, he almost broke Nander's jaw with a devastating punch. Stumbling backwards, he fell on the bar table, spilling wine everywhere. Shaking his head in an attempt to get his wits back, he felt another punch hit him square in the nose. The man was holding the youth down with one hand while delivering multiple punches that were quick to cause blood. By now the bar patrons were watching the scene with interest, trying to decide whether they should stop the fight or let them kill each other. Grabbing a nearby bottle, Nander broke it over the stranger's head to get him off. As he stumbled backwards, Nander spit up blood before reaching for a bar stool. Picking it up, he raised it over his head before bringing it down on the stranger's head. He stumbled again, but still wouldn't go down. His body simply kept going despite his brain telling him to fall and rest. The fight went on for a while, both warriors stumbling around drunkenly despite the fact that only one had the buzz. Eventually the Akalak bartender stepped in, saving Nander from loosing any more blood. He wasn't thrown out of the bar, but Nander left because he couldn't drink after his little episode. By then he'd completely forgotten about the ghost, which meant the bar fight was a good thing. However, this thought never crossed his mind when he made his way back to Atri's Place. His little buzz was still keeping him from rational thought. This was of course until he found his mess of a room. There he immediately sobered up. It wasn't the mess of the room or the writing on the wall that terrified him. In fact, he could only decipher one word, and it was what was underneath that really scarred him. "Uncle," he said as he approached the sword protruding out the wall.

[Nander Greenfield]

The tavern master must have had a heart attack when he saw Nander's mess of a room. Those gaps in the wall made into letters weren't coming out any time soon...at least not without plenty of paint. Maybe that was why Nander was booted out early in the morning. He wasn't really banned, but his room was quarantined for cleaning. However, Nander didn't really care about that. His mind was still on the ghost...and his uncle. It was obvious the ghost had a grudge against Cindar, but he had died long ago. He might have come after Nander because he was Cindar's nephew, but that didn't make since to him. Cindar had both a wife and a son who were still alive, so why target Nander? "Doesn't really matter," Nander thought as he walked the streets of Riverfall. "Just need to find out how to get rid of this ghost. If he keeps this up I might be kicked out of Atri's Place for good." Shuddering at the thought of sleeping out in the cold, Nander made his way for the Blue Bull. It was the best place, in Nander's opinion, for someone to go when they need information. Even though it was early, Nander expected someone to be there with information. Stepping through the doors, Nander found the place was still serving a few people, mostly females and a few Akalak. Sitting down at the counter, Nander ordered a cheap glass and nothing more. As his drink was being poured, Nander decided to make his move. "While you're at it," Nander began, "I'd like some info to go." He seemed to get the bartender's attention, though he kept pouring drinks. "You wouldn't happen to know if there are any spiritists around would you?" This time the bartender stopped, looking Nander straight in the eye. It made Nander quite nervous, but the feeling passed when the bartender grinned at him. "Ann knows all the gossip here," he said, gesturing to the female barkeep. "I do know of one person though." Nander leaned in closer now only to hear the bartender give the name, "Oreon Whiteleaf." He didn't know anything else but his name. However, that was enough for Nander. After asking around the bar a bit, Nander found a location to find him. He supposedly visited Lapis Park often. Migrating through the snow, Nander scanned the frozen world that was Lapis Park. Considering the harsh weather, it was surprising to find a single person there, let alone a whole group scattered about. Still, it was convenient for Nander. After even more asking around, Nander eventually found the man named Oreon. He was a short elderly man, most likely in his late sixties or early seventies, with no hair, save a full gray beard. Covering him was a brown fur coat, a white long sleeved shirt, and black pants of cotton. He also wore a pair of black leather gloves and boots. At the time, he was meditating, seemingly oblivious to the snow around him. "Oreon Whiteleaf?' Nander asked as he cautiously approached. He'd heard spiritists could be dangerous so he wanted to be careful. "I'm busy at the moment," he responded, still in his meditation. However, Nander only got closer. "It's a ghost problem," he explained. "A hostile spirit is targeting me." All the spiritist did was open one eye, though Nander couldn't see this since Oreon's back was to him. "Why else would you come to me?" Oreon asked sarcastically. "But like I said, busy at the moment. Wait until I'm done." Nander opened his mouth in an attempt to rush Oreon, but thought naught of it. Rushing him wouldn't help and it would probably get Nander killed. Instead Nander walked up and sat beside Oreon. "I'll join you until then," Nander said. "Beats pacing the floor in waiting." Oreon shrugged at the thought, not caring at all about Nander. "Just don't bother me," he said without looking. Simply nodding, Nander crossed his legs in his best attempt at meditation. However, he nearly fell on Oreon while doing this. Just to be careful, Nander decided to create a bigger gap between them. Scooting over, Nander tried again to get into position, nearly falling again. As he sat, Nander could feel that he was doing something wrong. His legs felt out of place and uncomfortable. "Maybe if I..." Nander thought, switching his leg placement. He tucked his left foot under his right knee so it could hold it up while the right foot did the same with the left. Doing this still felt a bit uncomfortable, but it was better than the previous position. To make sure of this, he looked at Oreon's stance. All Nander was missing was the "perfect posture." Straightening his back, he mimicked Oreon's whole stance before closing his eyes in concentration.

[Nander Greenfield]

It took Nander quite a while to actually get into the meditation. He wasn't exactly the kind of guy to breathe and rest in the comfort of nature. That was more of an anger management technique, which wasn't exactly Nander's strong suit. He was the kind of guy to let out his anger with violence and bloodshed. Meditation was as foreign to Nander as the language the ghost boy had spoken. If that weren't bad enough, Nander was sure he was catching frostbite sitting in the snow. Oreon, on the other hand, was "one with the snow". He must have been buried in a foot of snow, making him appear to be a small snowman. However, he just kept breathing and concentrating so that he reached a zen-like state. "He must be a pro," Nander thought with one eye open. "Looks easy enough, though." Closing his eye, Nander took a deep breath, sucking in a small snowflake. He tried to clear his mind, but couldn't forget about the cold weather. All he had was cotton a robe to keep him warm, which he used much like a blanket. The cold blew right through it. Still, he had as much protection as Oreon and he was doing fine. "Just have to concentrate," Nander thought, taking in another deep breath. In his mind, he tried to imagine a peaceful area since he couldn't think empty thoughts. He figured that doing this was the next best thing. It turned out that he'd conjured up an image of the park, though he imagined what it would look like in the summer. His next step would be placing himself in the scene. However, a slap to his shoulder would suddenly bring him back to reality. "I said what do you want?" Oreon said as he stood over Nander. Looking around in confusion, Nander saw that he was covered in snow. He'd blacked out...which meant he was meditating for a short time. At first Nander simply looked at Oreon. However, as the memory of the ghost came back, he jumped up in surprise. "Oh yea," Nander said as he shook off snow, "I need you to get rid of a ghost for me. He's been at my house twice now and in both times made it obvious that he had a grudge. I don't feel like waiting to get killed by this guy." Oreon looked skeptically at Nander before asking for may details. Nander told Oreon about the ordeal, though his explanation was quite short. Still, it was enough for Oreon to know that Nander didn't need a spiritist. "Maybe you should just move," he said as he touched his beard. "It doesn't sound like the ghost did anything bad as of yet. If you make the first move, it'll definitely be after you. Besides, I doubt you'd be able to afford my services." He was of course right, but Nander didn't listen. That ghost had to go. "That ghost's probably waiting for me to get back so that it can finish me," Nander argued. "If you won't do anything about it at least tell me what to do." Oreon shook his head, again telling Nander to wait out the ghost. That was when Nander started to get annoyed. "Try to understand kid," Oreon said as he walked away. Staring after him, Nander noticed for the first time that Oreon had a weapon with him. It was a long quarterstaff, which was barely hidden by the falling snow. "His ghost slaying weapon," Nander thought curiously.

[Nander Greenfield]

"He meditates in Lapis everyday at 10 chimes after the 13th bell," Nander thought as he observed Oreon from afar. "It takes him until the 11th bell to finish before he walks to the stables. After that he rides a horse back to Skyview, where he has a room. In all that time, never once does he leave his staff." Letting out a sigh, Nander watched as Oreon walked out of the area towards the stables. It was the whole ghost situation that drove Nander to theft. He had a fleeting thought about stealing the staff at first, but he initially put the thought out of his mind. "It's now worth it," Nander had thought as he remembered the punishment rituals of riverfall. The last thing he had wanted was to go up against a wizard with his little sword. Shaking his head, Nander had made his way back home empty handed. By then, his room was clean again so he was free to go inside. Walking in his room, he immediately became aware of the soul mist floating around his room. "He's here," Nander had thought, reaching for his sword. After the ghost had taken it the first time, Nander decided never to leave his weapon at home again. Still, even with the sword, he had stood little chance against a ghost. "Maybe what Oreon said will be true," Nander had thought as he walked deeper into his room. That was hard to believe, considering there seemed to be scratching on the walls. "Show yourself," Nander shouted. "I won't hurt you." The response he had gotten was in the same foreign language as the first two times. Nander wondered if the ghost could even speak the common tongue. "Show yourself," Nander had repeated as he unsheathed his sword. As he heard the ghost's voice again, Nander got ready for battle, holding his sword with his right hand above the left. The actual sword was leaning diagonally, casting a shadow on the left side of Nander's neck, and leaning rather closely to his chest. Being a self-taught swordsman, Nander didn't have any real stance, so he stood as he normally would have. After hearing a noise behind him, Nander turned in a slashing attack, holding the weapon with both hands as he swung down. However, there had been nothing there. With another sound, Nander had turned with the same attack, hitting air yet again. "Show yourself!" Nander had shouted, swinging his weapon wildly about. The game of cat and mouse had started to annoy him. However, the ghost still didn't show. "Nothing but a coward," Nander had thought, lowering his weapon so that only one hand held it. "Is he afraid of-" Nander's thoughts had been interrupted when he felt a cold hand grab his shoulder. The ghost had finally appeared. "Get off," Nander shouted, elbowing the ghost to get it off. The attack of course had went right through the ghost, but at least it got Nander free. Turning around, Nander had seen the ghost suddenly move a few feet backwards in some form of teleportation. However, he was more focused on his cold leather armor. He had no idea what the ghost had tried to do to him, but whatever it was, it probably would have hurt. "Glad I have your attention," Nander had said, lowering his weapon again as he turned his attention back to the ghost. "Maybe now you can explain why you're attack me? Who are you anyway?" For some reason, the ghost didn't respond that time. Instead, it had just raised its hand as if to grab Nander again. However, he had been too far away to do so. Still, at that moment, Nander had noticed the mist that had been lingering in the room was surrounding his sword. Moments later, he had suddenly felt as if something was pulling on his sword. It was a strong pull at that, as if a full grown Akalak was tugging on the blade. Nander had struggled his hardest, but it was quite difficult to get a hold of his sword again. "What's happening?" Nander thought, seeing as though there wasn't a single living body in the room. His attention immediately turned to the ghost. "It's you!" Nander exclaimed. "Let go of my sword or else." Surprisingly, the pull stopped suddenly stopped at that moment, making Nander stumble backwards. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the ghost suddenly appeared in front of Nander, reaching out a hand to grab the youth's throat. It came so fast Nander had no time to react, allowing the ghost to grab a hold of him. For a child it sure did have a strong grab. Nander immediately knew he was in danger, since his neck seemed to freeze from the ghost's touch. With this came an enormous amount a pain, which could have killed Nander after a while. Weakly looking at the ghost, Nander saw that it's body looked...real. It looked like he was flesh and bone rather than a wandering soul. "So that how it's doing this," Nander thought. The boy's hand had seemed too real to be that of a spirit's. "It's worth a shot," Nander thought, remembering his sword. At the moment, it was lowered off to the side so the ghost hadn't seen it. Raising his sword, Nander had suddenly tilted it at an angle that allowed him to shove the blade through the side of the ghost. Surprisingly, Nander felt contact rather than air. If that weren't enough he heard the ghost let out a strange howl as it let go of Nander. Falling on his knees, Nander coughed and gasped for air as he felt his nearly frostbitten neck. Looking back to the ghost, he was surprised to find that it was disappearing through the floor. His little stunt had scarred it away. After that experience, Nander knew that the ghost wasn't above violence and could have killed Nander if it wanted to. He needed protection, but Oreon had already turned the job down. That's when theft crawled back in his mind. All he needed was Oreon's staff to guarantee his safety. As he watched the man's sleeping and morning rituals, Nander found the perfect opportunity to strike. "He sleeps uninterrupted for a full 8 bells with his staff lying on the table." Nander surveyed. "He's out by the 21st bell. That gives me plenty of time to get to his staff." Nodding at the thought, Nander waited patiently for the 21st bell to come around.

[Nander Greenfield]

It was incredibly hard to stay awake as Nander watched Oreon's movements. He was incredibly boring and Nander usually found himself boredly passing the time by throwing snowballs at random objects. It was a miracle he was never spotted, since it was so boldly obvious that he was following Oreon. If it wasn't enough that he left a trail, there was also the problem of Oreon's actually methods of hiding. He would just walk behind Oreon, pretending not to notice him, and then turn to walk behind him again. When he got tired of doing this, he'd sit down and watch Oreon out in the open, turning his head nonchalantly or running into a hiding spot every time he looked back. At one time or another, he must have figured out what Nander was doing, but decided to ignore him. This continued even when Oreon got back to Skyview for his usual sleeping ritual. Watching the scene intently, Nander couldn't help shaking out of anticipation. It was his first theft...and hopefully it would be his last. "Go to sleep already," Nander whispered to himself. After a while, Oreon finally did just that, though Nander had to wait half a bell to be sure that he was out. "Now," Nander thought, standing up. Putting his hands on the window, Nander attempted to push it up and open. However, it wouldn't budge. "Locked," Nander whispered. With no other option, he decided to just break through window. Standing up, he took a few steps backwards as he prepared to run. Dashing forward, he leaped through the window at full force, shattering the glass and sending millions of pieces flying everywhere. Nander knew immediately there was going to be trouble so he darted towards the nearest hiding spot, which was under the table. Oreon of course woke up immediately, looking around in confusion. As soon as he noticed the broken window, he knew something was wrong. Leaping out of bed, he grabbed his staff and raised it in a ready position, pointing it in front of him with both hands as if it was a sword. Walking towards the window, Oreon examined it curiously. His first instinct was to look outside, trying to spot a fleeing or hiding intruder. While he did that, Nander decided to move to a safer area. Scanning the room, his attention stopped on the slightly creaked open closet. "Perfect," he thought, crawling towards it. At that moment, Oreon got away from the window looking around his room for intruders. After checking the table and the bed, Oreon finally turned his attention to the closet. As he approached, Nander knew that he'd immediately be spotted. Raising his sword at the ready, Nander awaited the time of his first murder. However, Oreon suddenly stopped in front of the door. His hand was over the door knob, but he didn't touch it. All of a sudden, he turned around to get back into bed. It came as a great surprise to Nander, who dropped to his knees as he breathed a sigh of relief. He'd almost killed someone just to get rid of a ghost. "There's no turning back now," he thought, sheathing his sword. Creaking the door open, he saw the still Oreon and knew it was time to make his move. Looking around, he noticed the staff lying near Oreon's bedside. It was too easy in Nander's opinion, but he didn't really care. Grabbing it, Nander went back to the window and climbed out, unaware of the fact that Oreon was wide awake.

[Nander Greenfield]

"How do I use this thing anyway?" Nander asked himself as he held the staff in his hand. It was a bit heavier than he would have expected, but still usable. The only problem was Nander's complete lack of staff training. Then again, he never learned how to use the sword either. Maybe he'd have the same luck with the staff. "I just hope it doesn't need magic or something," Nander thought. "The last thing I want is to break the law for nothing." Putting the thought out of his mind, Nander made his way back to Atri's Place. However, he stopped right in front of the door. His attention was drawn by the strange mist seeping under the door. "He's here," Nander said in surprise. Opening the door, Nander jumped as he found himself face to face with multiple ghosts. It was as if they were having a party in Atri's Place. All around, traces of soulmist could be seen soaring about. In some areas it moved slow like a cloud while in others it seemed to dart about in threatening manner. This of course brought questions into Nander's mind, but he wouldn't have time to ask them. As soon as he'd come in, the ghost turned abruptly to him. They began muttering to each other, but it was in the same unusual language as the child ghost, who was nowhere to be seen. Seeing one of them suddenly move towards him, Nander raised his newly found staff at the ready. "At least I get practice," Nander said, swinging the staff downward like he would a sword. The ghost didn't even look twice at the weapon, expecting it to simply go through itself. It was completely unprepared for the pain that came next. As it fell from the attack, Nander noticed that a piece of the ghost seemed to vanish. It was shedding a part of its soulmist. Letting out a strange wail, the ghost suddenly vanished underground, fleeing the scene. Seeing this, the other ghosts immediately rushed Nander. "They probably think I'm a spiritist," Nander said, swinging the staff horizontally. Most of the ghost flew out of the way of the attack, but Nander managed to get at two. Just like the first, they both shed their soulmist and fled to safety. Looking up, Nander saw a few ghost suddenly appear in front of him, making him nearly fall backwards. However, the ghosts grabbed him before that happened, opting to use their cold skin to attack. One held him from behind, one grabbed his throat, and one tried to pull the staff away. "Not this again," Nander said, remembering the ghost child. Though his leather prevented most of the attacks from getting through, the armor wouldn't last forever. If he survived the freezing in his throat he'd have to feel with the freezing in the other areas. "Time for a desperation move," Nander thought. Raising his leg, he aimed a kick at the choking ghost's groin. Seeing this, it immediately let go, allowing Nander to execute his next move. To the ghost behind him, he aimed a backwards headbutt so that he was free to move again. At that moment, he was forced to let go of his staff so he could fully get away. Unsheathing his sword, Nander decided to use it in the meantime. The ghost that had retrieved the staff, lifted it in the air only to bring it down in an attempt to knock Nander on his face. Nander's immediate reaction was to block it, raising his sword over his head with both arms on the right side. His hands were both on the handle and the blade was pointed to the left. As the staff came down, Nander took the shockwave of the attack before bouncing the weapon back as he swung the sword upward in a half-circular. However, rather than falling off to the side, the weapon actually flew all the way backwards, hitting the wall and falling to the ground. "Guess I don't know my own strength," Nander thought before he realized the staff wielding ghost had dematerialized. It's time limit had expired and now it needed rest. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Nander ran in waving his sword around to attack any ghost that got in his way. As he got closer, Nander noticed that the ghosts were following him. Several projectiles were also thrown his way which he either dodged, deflected, or cut right through. Still, the ghosts wouldn't give up so easily. A plan quickly came into Nander's mind. Sheathing his sword, he made a dive for the staff, falling right on top of it. Ignoring the pain, Nander picked up the weapon and swung it in an attempt to hit them all. While he managed to get most of them, Nander missed a few ghost that had flew up at the last minute. Those that he had hit fled so they could recover. Scanning the room, Nander noted the small amount of ghosts left. From what he could see, they were only gathered in the main lobby. There weren't any signs of ghost near the stairs or the hallway. "I just have to deal with these guys and I'm home free." Nander thought as he took out another ghost. Now that they were few in number, the ghosts attacked in groups. They came from all sides and angles to try to get to Nander. Some even tried coming out of the ground for a sneak attack. However, Nander managed to come out on top nonetheless. Soon he was alone in a clear room, since the ghosts took their soulmist with them. "Now to deal with him," Nander thought as he made his way towards his room. Bursting through the door, he expected to find the ghost hiding in the room filled with soulmist. However, it was empty. There wasn't any soulmist or any trace of the ghost at all. "Must have ran when it saw this," Nander said as he turned to leave. However, just as he was about to step through the doorway, he felt something hard hit his face, knocking him out instantly.

[Nander Greenfield]

Blinking in the sunlight, Nander found himself sitting on a bench in a foreign area. Looking around, he saw racks of whetstones along with several other items scattered about. He also noticed a few humans and Akalaks sitting in wait. One of these humans was a hooded man who was familiar to Nander, though he couldn't quite place a face. After scanning the area a bit more, Nander was about to ask someone about the situation when he heard his name being called. Turning, he saw a tall muscular Akalak with an oversized trident in hand. Before Nander could ask, the Akalak pulled Nander off the bench and led him out of the area. Stopping in a strange chamber, the Akalak left Nander in front of an elderly Akalak, who looked at Nander with a hard to read expression. Opening his mouth, the elder began to read from a list of laws that Nander apparently broke. Apparently he was accused of being disrespectful, discourteous, dueling within the city, theft, and trespassing. That meant he broke four different laws in his short time in Riverfall without even knowing it. "I can understand the theft and trespassing parts," Nander thought, "but what about those other charges?" At that moment, his memories in the Blue Bull came flooding back. All the fights and drunken arguments...who knew they'd get him into actual trouble. "Do you have any questions?" the elder asked. Nander thought for a moment, his most obvious question already having been answered. From what he could tell, he was in Gideon's Combat Arena for breaking several of Riverfall's laws. However, who exactly was the accuser? Nander was about to ask, but thought not of it. Seeing this, the elder called for the muscular Akalak, who was Nander's escort, to come back. He would lead Nander into an anti-chamber and leave him there to himself for a while, telling him to reflect on his situation. Nander did just that, thinking back to try to remember how he got to the Combat Arena in the first place. The last thing he remembered was being knocked out by someone. Just what had happened anyway? "What were the ghost doing in Atri's place anyway?" Nander thought. "It's one thing to have a ghost haunting a single room, but the whole lobby is a bit much. And why was I the only one there at the time. Where were the warriors and employees?" At that moment, an idea came into Nander's mind. It was possible that they did try...and were soundly defeated. However, there weren't too many ghosts and they were exactly difficult to defeat. How could the powerful Akalak not be able to at least chase off the ghosts? Before he had time to ponder any more, the attendant came back in to show Nander to the actual arena. Walking into the snowy pit, Nander noticed immediately the rows of seats for bystanders, though there were only a few people seated at the moment. He also saw a chamber door on the opposite side of the arena, where someone else was coming in. Nander quickly realized that he was the hooded man from before. "The accuser," Nander thought. Looking to the center of the arena, Nander saw an Akalak who was motioning for both him and the hooded man to approach. He was the referee to their upcoming points-based battle. "I shall decide when a point is won," he explained. "After which, I will announce for the battle to continue. The victor shall be the one who receives a minimum of three points. Take your positions and I shall call for the start of battle." Nander nodded, taking a few steps backwards and reaching for his sword. The elder had told him that weapons were optional so he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity. The hooded man did the same, reaching for a white handle. Neither of them were going to be pulling any punches despite the fact that it wasn't a death battle. As soon as the referee called for the fight to start both contenders made a dash for each other, unsheathing their swords. While Nander took out his fat broadsword, the hooded man revealed a long, thin, single edged sword. It was a katana. When they were within striking distance of each other, Nander swung his sword with both hands in a downward diagonal attack while the hooded man used an upward slash, cutting the sword through the ground and up to meet Nander's. As he did this, he flung a bit of snow up into Nander's face, distracting him momentarily. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the hooded man was able to swing his sword to push Nander off. When this happened, Nander was left wide open for a few moments, which the hooded man capitalized on. Swinging his sword downward, he aimed a diagonal slash in what would have been a fatal blow. However, at that moment, the referee announced a point won. The blade stopped just after cutting into Nander's leather, making the youth freeze in his tracks. If it had been a battle to the death, he would have been in two pieces. Looking at the cut the sword had made, Nander saw that it had nearly gotten to his skin. "This guy's no push-over," Nander thought with a gulp. "I better be more careful before he kills me by accident."

[Nander Greenfield]

As the referee called for the end of another battle, Nander stood panting in exhaustion. He'd managed to score only a single point while his enemy had made two. If he lost again he'd fall victim to the punishment rituals. He couldn't let that happen...not if he wanted to save up for an upgrade. Even though he only had to pay money, he was still fearful of the idea of being in-debt. What would they do to him if he couldn't pay the penalty? Hearing the referee call for the fight to continue, Nander jumped backwards to distance himself from the hooded man. Seeing this, he ran straight at Nander with sword ready to catch him. As he attempted to cut Nander right through the middle, the youth changed the position of his sword so that it was pointing downward. Landing on the ground, Nander felt the katana hit his blade as he stabbed it into the ground. It was a desperation maneuver, but he knew it was necessary. As the broadsword went into the ground, the crossguard pushed down on the katana so it was lowered. This would have been the perfect moment to attack if Nander had an ally, since the move was only meant to disarm an opponent. However, since Nander was alone, all he could do was push the sword and katana down. Seeing as how his sword was stuck under the crossguard, the hooded man let go of his katana and leaped backwards. At that moment, Nander could have taken both the katana and the sword for his own. However, he decided naught of it since it would take too long. "At least it's fair now," Nander said as he stood up. "You'll get this back when you beat me." The hooded man didn't respond, getting ready to charge Nander. "You don't talk much do you?" Nander asked, stepping onto the katana. "Who are you anyway?" The hooded man was still silent as he lunged at Nander with a hooked punch. Nander could immediately tell that unarmed combat was foreign to the hooded man. The attack had no flair or real power in it. Nander also took note of the hooded man's jerking body as he threw the punch. Obviously he'd spent more time with a sword than actually learning how to fight, which was good. In that one move Nander had found the hooded man's weakness. Ducking, Nander came up with an uppercut to the hooded man's chin. Stumbling backwards, he couldn't help but fall backwards, making his hood come off. Seeing this, Nander grabbed the katana off the ground and swung it at the hooded man's throat. However, he stopped just as he heard the referee call a point one...and recognized the face of his opponent. Oreon Whiteleaf was his accuser. "So you're the one trying to bill me," Nander said as he dropped the sword. "Not really that surprising considering I did steal your staff. What really surprises me it that you can hold your own so well despite your age. You are a wizard aren't you?" Oreon didn't answer, his expression completely blank. Reaching out, he grabbed the katana off the ground as he got ready for the next battle. "The silent treatment," Nander said. "I'll find out anyway when I win." Hearing the referee call for the fight to continue, Nander rushed towards Oreon, who simply stood in waiting. He already knew there was going to be a trap, but Nander didn't care. As he went, he dragged his sword against the snow. When he got close, he swung the sword upwards as Oreon had done earlier. However, the tactic didn't work as well, since Oreon swerved out of the way. Using this as an opportunity to strike, Oreon did a 360 degree turn as he swung his sword aimed at Nander's head. Ducking, Nander turned his sword over so that he could aim it in an attempted stab towards Oreon's stomach. However, the elder blocked the attack before it connected, opting to push Nander backwards. Jumping backwards, Nander came in for another attack only to be blocked yet again. Still, Nander went in again, this time deciding to try to wear down Oreon's defense. Swinging the sword again and again, Nander surprisingly didn't feel the elder's defense weakening. He just kept his blade still and unmoving. It didn't take long for Nander to get frustrated. "Just go down all ready!" he shouted as he swung his sword wildly about. Jumping backwards, Nander couldn't help panting in exhaustion. "He won't budge," Nander thought. "So that's his plan. He wants to wear me down and then finish me off." Nander knew he had to get through Oreon's defense, but he wouldn't budge. However, an idea did come into Nander's mind. It was a long shot, but worth the risk. "Block this!" Nander shouted, raising his sword and actually throwing it at Oreon's head. As this happened, he ran behind the sword, using the weapon as a distraction. Just as he had expected, rather than dodging, Oreon ducked from the attack. When his head went down, Nander caught him in the chin with an uppercut, knocking him off his feet. When the sword dropped beside Oreon, Nander grabbed it and aimed it towards the elder's chest. That's when the referee called for the end of the fight.

[Nander Greenfield]

"Victory!" Nander shouted as he did a victory pose. He couldn't help but be happy. He'd avoided a penalty and the biggest thing off all...a loss. Now that was what would have hit him the hardest. Nander wasn't actually the kind of person to take a loss lightly. "Oh yeah," Nander said as he rememberd Oreon. "Now you can tell me..." He cut off as he was narrowly hit with the katana. Dodging another attack, Nander jumped backwards with great surprise. What was a calm and emotionless man before was now an angry and ferocious beast. "I don't care what the law says!" he shouted as he came at Nander again. "I won't let you live you mudering bastard!" Unsheathing his sword, Nander was barely able to deflect another attack. "What's wrong you?" Nander shouted in surprise. "The fight's over...I won. Get over it, it's just a staff!" Oreon didn't listen and in fact seemed to get angrier. Holding his emotions in for so long must have made his push to the edge that much more destructive. Looking towards the referee for some type of action, he saw that he'd already left. All that were remaining were the few crowd patrons that were all rooting for Oreon. "Just calm down already!" Nander shouted, pushing Oreon back. "You're just gonna cause more trouble." Oreon still didn't respond, swinging his katana around like a wild man. It was a wonder that he didn't keel over from exhaustion. "Don't make me have to kill you," Nander said, trying his best to block the attacks. "That would just get me into more trouble." Oreon just got angrier then, growling even. "You still don't get it!" he shouted. Turning his sword over, he stabbed it into the ground and did something rather surprising. He brought his thumb near the blade and cut it, making blood spill out. "As long as you die I don't care what happens!" he shouted. Putting his thumb to the ground, he made a circle out of blood in the snow. Inside it, he made a sixteen-pointed star. Nander watched the whole scene with a mixture of fear and curiosity. The circle was obviously for some kind of rituals, but Nander wouldn't interrupt it. His love of the weird wouldn't allow him to do so. Nander didn't even make a move when Oreon pulled out a vial of soulmist. "Cindar will have his revenge!" he shouted as he put the vial down. At that moment, the soulmist suddenly vanished. Moments later, the child ghost was standing before Nander. "Cindar?" Nander thought in surprise. "That means..." At that moment, it began to make since. "You sent that thing after me!" Nander shouted. "And for what...an assumption that I killed him?" Cindar looked at Nander with a blank, hard to read expression. Oreon on the other hand was practically foaming at the mouth. "That writing on my wall was for this guy," Nander reasoned, "not my uncle. And you must have also sent those ghosts into Atris Pla-" He cut off as the ghost blinked in front of him, reaching out a hand to grab him. Having seen this attack multiple times, Nander was able to dodge it so that he could hit the ghost with an attack. "Did you plan all this?" Nander asked as aimed to cut off the ghost's materialized hand. However, it dematerialized before contact was made. "You didn't help me because you knew I'd take matters into my own hands," Nander continued as he distanced himself. "You wanted me to take the staff so that you had something to get me in this place for. No idea how you got the other charges, but it doesn't matter." Raising his sword, Nander made a dash straight through the ghost and towards the still angry Oreon, he immediately swung at him. Having expected this, Nander made a slide through the snow so that he could trip up the elder. It wouldn't have worked had the elder kept his calm and thought rationally. Feeling the elder fall behind him, Nander stood up and turned so that he could aim his sword at the recovering elder's throat. "But it would have been a lot easier to kill me as soon as you saw me," Nander said. "And by the way, I never killed anyone. Especially not a kid. You probably mistook me for someone else." Oreon didn't listen, still furious. Turning around, the ghost blinked in front of Nander again and this time managed to get a hold of him. Feeling his neck freeze, Nander was about to grab his sword when Oreon suddenly got up and stabbed the youth in the shoulder. Nander couldn't help but scream at the pain, since it was literally the first time he'd ever been stabbed before. He'd had many of close calls before, but never actually been hit. "You'll feel the pain you've caused us," Oreon said as he stabbed Nander in the hand. The youth screamed yet again while the crowd of patrons watched intently. They were no strangers to a death battle or two so they wouldn't interefere. As Nander was soon to die from both frostbite and being stabbed, he heard the gates come open. Within moments, guards flew in ready to take on a Spiritist, though Nander didn't see what happened since he blacked out. When he awoke, he was in a medical center lying on a foreign bed. Apparently he'd been out for a couple days but, thanks to the help of a healer, made a full recovery. Nander was of course happy about this, but then he thought back to Oreon. When he finally asked, he learned that the spiritist had fled the city. The last thing he wanted to do was to serve the man who he assumed killed his son...and admit that he was wrong. "Oh well," Nander thought with a shrug. "I just wonder who gave him the crazy idea that I killed his kid." Shrugging, Nander decided to go to the Blue Bull to forget his troubles yet again.