Burning Contest. (open challenge)

[Evil Hobgoblin]

(ooc) Although this thread is an open challenge to anyone, I'd prefer a Sith to reply.

(ic)

Hob silently gazed at a small settlement on the planet of Tatooine. It was called Anchorhead. He had sent a message to the Sith Empire, requesting someone to meet him there and accept an unusual challenge. Although with all the ways to intercept communications that existed, who knew who would answer?

[Cirrsseeto Raurrssatta]

Cirrsseeto caught a rank odor on the wind, his nose crinking slightly as he took in the scent. The large Cizerack leaped upwards, perching on a roof as he moved swiftly towards the alien he detected. Finally, he crouched, eyeing a stunted form a distance away. Cirrsseeto's ears perked, and his ice-blue eyes narrowed. He was Forrda, but a kind which he had not seen before. For now, the Cizerack watched the creature amble about, unsure of what to make of it.

[DarthNuriko]

Lordess Nuriko walks into the boundaries of the settlement, having landed her craft Moonrunner-Liebe in a more inconspicuous place. Her cloak, blood red in color, covers her almost entirely. She wondered about the origin and intentions of this strange message received by those of the Empire...

...she hoped it would be... "amusing".

<table border=2 bordercolor=#ff00d0 cellpadding=2 bgcolor=#000000 width=450><tr><td><img SRC=http://misusisters.homestead.com/files/Images/nurikosha2.jpg alt="Property of Sith Master Rama Sha"></td></tr></table>

[Evil Hobgoblin]

(ooc) Holy cow. Of all the people who could've responded, I wasn't expecting it to be you, Nuri. :)

(ic)

Hob's keen eyes spotted a figure slowly circling the settlement not far off. The moon's light made her garb appear a dark, inky black and her aura, though not significantly strong, was colored similarly.

Which was not to say she couldn't be concealing herself to casual observers.

He leapt forth from the sand dune on which he had been standing, using his ape-like strides to cover distance quickly. He slowed before reaching her, then came to a stop abruptly a short ways off.

~ Ye are here to accept Hob's challenge, then?~ he asked telepathically, gazing curiously at the person that Hob could now see was a woman. ~ Here, then, are the rules. Ye must set aflame fifteen houses beyond the ridge. Hob shall take fifteen beyond those. Each house must be burned in a different fashion that has not been previously used by one of us.~

(ooc) Sound kosher, Nuri?

[DarthNuriko]

Nuriko stopped in her tracks, feeling a nearing pressence. She glanced over to see him approaching her. She listened intently and walked up a short, steep overhang....

"If you would indulge me, what is the purpose of this... challenge?" she asked softly, looking off in the direction of the settlement.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

~ Why, for the reward o'course.~

The dwarf stroked his beard with his left hand and stretched the right one out. He then began to wander towards Anchorhead, stopping at the bottom of the overhang Nuriko was atop.

~ If ye defeat Hob and come up with more was to set things aflame than he, Hob will truthfully answer questions regarding the Black Hand equal to the number of houses ye've torched. And should ye lose t' Hob, ye must give Hob something he wants.~

EDIT: mispelled overhang.

[DarthNuriko]

Nuriko laughed. "Hahahahaha!" She looks at the dwarf grinning. "Answered questions about the Black Hand? Why would kind of reward is that? How stuffy... I care not for it. Something you want should I lose, something I want should I win. That is my condition."

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob waves his hand dismissively, leaning back against the wall of the overhang and shutting his eyes. ~ Unless Hob's memory has started to slip on him in the past hundred or so years, it was he who made the challenge. It amuses Hob that ye presume t' dictate to him the conditions of his own challenge. Hob shall consider your condition.~

Hob had been momentarily curious to see whether she would opt to take knowledge over power. Truly, this one was a Sith.

The dwarf does not say anything for a moment as he considers the matter. ~ Very well then. Something ye want if ye win, something Hob wants if Hob wins. And should neither of us win outright, neither of us shall get what we wish.~

Hob gestures towards Anchorhead. ~ Fifteen tries, no more no less. As Hob is certain in his ability, ye may go first.~

[DarthNuriko]

Nuriko smirked. "Very well then." She outstretched her palm. It begin to crackle with energy. She released a volt of force lightning. The first house became surrounded by sparks and quickly took to flame...

[Evil Hobgoblin]

~ So much energy expended,~ Hob shakes his bearded head.

He crosses the dunes to Anchorhead and climbs one of the houses. Once atop its' roof, he bends over and lights it using a small lighter. The flame was slow to spread, but the night was dry and it did not take long before the entire roof began to burn.

[DarthNuriko]

She watches him and then pulls out her whip. She grabs a piece of the house on fire with the whip and quickly throws it into another house, catching it on fire as well.

(EDIT: TTT)

[Evil Hobgoblin]

(ooc) I'm back and have some free time.

(ic)

Hob strokes his beard in casual thought. How does one set aflame houses without making a disturbance?

One doesn't, obviously.

Hob clambers down the building and opens up a tool shed nearby. Inside, there is a set of gardening sprays and chemicals used for moisture farming. Hob levitates a large canister of highly flammable substance over the roof of the building he's just set on fire. Inside the canister, he sets up a barrier of physical force and uses it to compress the chemicals until they are packed down enough to almost explode.

An extra bit of telekinesis sends the top of the canister flying off, and then Hob releases his hold on the gardening chemical. It flies through the flames of the first roof and splashes down onto the second roof, catching flame immediately.

[DarthNuriko]

OCC: :lol: Sorry.... Tiring past few days... :p

IC: Nuriko watched her second house become engulfed in flames. She reached into her pocket, grabbing a pack of cigarettes she had confiscated from her husband. She jumps near the house and lights the cigarette, then throws into her third house.

She grinned as slowly but surely it began to burn. "Oh, the dangers of smoking...." :evil:

[Evil Hobgoblin]

(ooc) No problem- just wanted to make sure you saw it. :)

(ic)

Hob watches from afar at the flaming third house in Nuriko's section. He nods. Had she not managed at least three houses, the contest would have been nothing more than a waste of time.

Red lights flash in the distance as an Extinguisher truck speeds towards Hob's section. The dwarf grins and begins crafting an illusion.

The effect is profound. The driver in the Extinguisher truck bails out screaming in terror.

Hob reaches out with a telekinetic fist and takes hold of the steering column in the truck. It rams into the house down at the end of Hob's row. The truck's generator goes up in an explosion, setting the house afire. Its' coolant leaks onto the ground, forming a pool of frozen sand.

[DarthNuriko]

As the explosion had occured, some flames spat out randomly, showering the ground. The driver, who had bailed out too close to the point of the truck's final impact, suddenly watched horrified as his shirt caught fire from the burning pieces that had burst forth. The thin cloth began to quickly burn.

Nuriko suddenly invaded his mind. "run... run away."

He looked around, seeing everything around him in flames except for a single clear path that led to a clear pool of water. He ran towards it and jumped in the pool, rolling around-- bathing the flames clean.

Nuriko watched as the windows of her next house began to glow. The panicked torch of a person had ceased rolling on the floor and now ran about, crying out in pain. A soft smile crossed her lips as the house caught fire, the wails of the driver still somehow audible. "simpleton."

[Evil Hobgoblin]

(ooc) Boy I hope Nuriko is still around to finish this.

(ic)

Hob entered into the next house on his row, gripping the door with strong, primal hands and ripping it from its sliding track. Just inside the doorway was a touch panel to activate the inside lighting. Applied telekinetic pressure pulled the panel from its' place on the wall, exposing the wiring.

Hob snapped a wire in two, causing it to spark erratically. He then let the wire drop against the wall. One of the sparks caught on that wall, and the house was soon aflame.

[DarthNuriko]

"WHEEEE!" Nuriko jumped on the roof of her next house and flipped backwards, catching a ledge. She swung down and slammed her heels into a window, breaking through. Nuriko climbed into the house and looked around.

"Quaint." Then something caught her eye.... "Perfect." It was an oil lamp. She smashed it into floors, letting all the nearby tapestries catch fire. Nuriko grinned and decided to take "a tour" of this house before it was gone.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Four of the fifteen houses were alight with flame along Hob's row, and five were burning across the way. It was Hob's turn to attack.

Sitting down outside his fifth house, Hob began to concentrate. He'd attempted to create a Force Shield around himself at one time, but had failed. What he had created was instead a lot of friction between air molecules that hadn't stood up to the acid being thrown at him. But it had caused some of that acid to evaporate from heat.

Bending his will to the task, Hob set about duplicating the technique he'd used previously. Instead of wrapping it around himself, however, he pressed his barrier of superheated air against one of the walls of the house.

Hob watched the curious interplay of energy transfer between his barrier and the wall with great interest. He almost wasn't paying attention when the wall suddenly took flame.

EDIT: TTT...

[DarthNuriko]

Nuriko continued walking calmly through the residence, even as the walls began to slowly crumble in around her. She eyed what appeared to be an antique wooden chair. She ran her finger along the edge of the chair and grinned.

Nuriko grabbed the chair and broke it, grabbing two pieces of it. She emerged through a window, just as the tapestries that had adorned the curtains came down in flames.

She made her way to the next house and approached the front porch. She sat indian style near the doorway and laid one piece of wood down, quicking rubbing the other into it until she started a small fire. She placed it near the doorway and let it slowly eat into the house.

Nuriko rubbed her hands near the small fire. "Warm..." ^_^

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob stepped towards the next house in his row. Flashing lights and sirens indicated the approach of those who would interrupt Hob's challenge.

Hob watched the police speeder approach. He watched the police scurry out with their blasters, and watched them aim the weapons at himself.

They began firing, and unfortunately for them, they never seemed to quite be able to hit the Dark Dwarf.

They did, however, hit some combustible furniture inside the house, and it wasn't long before flames began spewing from the ground floor windows, outlining Hob's speedy form as he dodged blaster bolts and grinned in amusement.

[DarthNuriko]

OOC: Combustable furniture? :p Is that like a couch filled with gunpower? ::looks around:: Hope I don't have any of that in here....

IC:

Nuriko rested a hand against her cheek, bored with these types of people. She looked over at Hob's burning house. She closed her eyes and concentrated her energies onto one of its now flimsy walls. It began to come away, rather shakey looking. She threw it to the speeder and watched the speeder careen near her house. The flamable agents of the speeder split on the door of her next house. It was only a matter of seconds before the pieces of wall that had been thrown began to sparkle the ground and soon began devouring the front end of the house hungrily.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

The police continued to attack Hob with their blasters. One of them pulled a grenade from his belt and threw it at Hob, hoping to catch the dwarf with an area-affecting weapon.

The grenade, however, did not head in the direction its' thrower had intended. As Hob's illusion dissipated, the house next door erupted in flames and debris.

[DarthNuriko]

Nuriko climbed up one of her houses and peered down from the roof. She waited until one of the officers chasing Hob got near, and then wrapped the whip around his neck and pulled him up. She took his blaster and then grabbed him by the shirt, hanging him on the roof.

She jumped down and blasted her way into the house. She walked around this one until she found a small microwave. "Crude, but effective." She laughed rumaged through the house. She made a mixture in a glass beaker and placed it in the microwave on high, then left the house.

In a few minutes time, the make-shift bomb blew out a piece of the house and the erupting flames began to spread about.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob danced and cartwheeled about the humans. They were so delightfully easy to trick and avoid.

And to kill.

A simple pressure wave sent them flying away, smashing into the backs of speeders or walls. Breaking them. Destroying them.

Hob had a challenge to finish.

Seven of the houses on the row were alight with fire. He would now burn an eighth house.

Hob scuttled into the next house in his row, heading for the kitchen. Once there, he began seeking food. The challenge had made him hungry.

Hob produced a leg of roasted bantha meat from the cooler and began munching on it while considering what he could use. He pulled some eggs, some more bantha meat, a can of gravy, and several uncooked potatoes out of the cooler. He then tossed them all into the house's oven and set it at 450 degrees.

A proper chef always checked on his food, and ten minutes later, that is exactly what Hob did. He was delighted to find a greasy, burning mess in the oven. Grease fires were extremely difficult to put out, from what the book on chemistry had said.

Hob stuck his roast bantha leg into the flames for a moment. When it began to burn, he pulled it out and blew on it to put out the fire. Then, the dwarf walked out of the house, munching on his snack and leaving the kitchen to blaze.

[DarthNuriko]

Nuriko began to raid her next house. She had been observing Hob and now she was hungry. She sighed with what she found from rustling through the kitchen. These people must be surviving on sticks and dirt! She looked into a small cabinet and found some wine. One by one, she pulled them from the safety of their chambers and threw them on the floor. They hit a wall, glass and wine violating a completely exposed power socket, old and very faulty, as it began to spark.

Nuriko could smell the smoke as the carpet began to burn and growing flames spread in the house.

"Damn." She walked out of the house nonchalantly, chewing on a pretzel. "The next one better have something better...."

[Evil Hobgoblin]

(ooc) Hey! I already created an electrical fire using a house's wiring! :p

[DarthNuriko]

OOC: You tore off the panel from the wall, exposed wiring, and snapped it in two letting it set fire to the house. I introduced foreign elements to an already faulty socket, including an accelerant and used the spark to ignite it and set fire to the house. My question is, if you see those as the same thing, why don't you address it IC?

[forgot OOC notation]

[EDIT - ttt]

[Evil Hobgoblin]

(ooc) Sure thing. I just realized I hadn't set up any rules or processes for a person to claim victory.

(ic)
Hob frowned in anger. ~ I claim point!~ he shouted mentally to Nuriko.

There was no immediate reply, so Hob continued. ~ You used the house's electrical system against itself when Hob had already done so! I claim point!~

[DarthNuriko]

She continued chewing on her pretzel and walked out of the burning establishment, lifting an eyebrow at him. "Oh...? I introduced foreign elements to a faulty socket as well as the use of an accelerant." She threw an empty bottle of wine at the drawf's feet. "Did Hob use such a method?" she said somewhat derisively, leaning in his direction. "He took matters into his own hands, if I'm not mistaken."

Nuriko walked over to her next house and around, another bottle in hand, still speaking to him mentally. I never even touched the wiring as you did.

She walked passed it and over to one of her already burning houses, managing to tear a piece of curtain away from one of them.

The fire wouldn't even have started were it not for...

She popped open the bottle and stuffed the neater, still untouched end into the opening.

....the home owner's fondness of drink.

She threw the bottle over her shoulder and at the next house. It crashed into the wall and showered it with small flames that slowly began to grow.

Why, there would've been a simple spark and fizzle..... So.... if you want to "claim point".... You'll need to convince me. When you burned your second house, you used the flames from the first house in assistance to that, did you not? As did I, though in a far more simpler manner. Those could hardly be the same method though, don't you agree? This is how it's seen to me.

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob simply stood his ground, undaunted by the bottle, which picked itself up and smashed itself over the head of a wounded police officer. ~ Then Hob will show you.~

The dwarf lifted a hand up, and an image of the house's structure appeared in the air just over it. ~ Hob's logic is simple. He made use of the electrical system in the house to destroy the house. Take away the element that Hob utilized...~

The image above Hob's hand shifted and zoomed in on the faulty socket, and on a miniature version of Nuriko, who was fishing through the . As Nuriko tossed the bottle, the socket suddenly faded away, as did the entire system of wires within the house. The bottle crashed against the wall but started no spark and thus, no fire. The mini-Nuriko got a frowny look on its face and stared in puzzlement, as though wondering why the electrical system had suddenly and abruptly disappeared.

~ And ye have naught. Yer attack was based on the fact that the wine would interact with the electricity in the wires.~

The image disappeared and was replaced with an image of Hob utilizing a lighter to light his house, followed by Nuriko tossing the flaming piece of house onto her next target back several moves ago. As the burning debris flew, however, it suddenly snuffed itself out, while across the way Hob's fire remained lit. ~ And if ye wish t' deny the use of a lit fire as part of an attack, then ye lost when ye made yer second move. Hob's first attack utilized a pocket lighter, which makes use of spark and lighter fluid to achieve a burning flame that was brought to bear against the house. Yer second attack utilized a flame, as well. These are specific category prohibitions on the immediate source of the energy that starts the flame, lass. Had ye used a lit flame t' ignite yer bottle of alcohol as ye just did and then used that drink to set a house aflame, then it would be the drink that became the source of the flame and not the house that lit the drink. Similarly, when Hob sent his chemical spray through the flames of his first house, the lit chemical became the source of the flame, not the already burning house.~

~ If Hob made use of a blaster during his attack, it does not mean ye can use no weapons at all. Such would be ridiculous. But ye could not then use a blaster of any kind, be it rifle or pistol. However, ye could use a different weapon, such as a grenade... or this tazer.~

A tazer picked itself up, turned itself on, flew over to the next house on Hob's row, and touched the wooden doorframe with its' business end. The doorframe blackened, smoked, and burned.

Hob watched his act, making certain it went as he planned it to, then turned back to Nuriko. ~ BUT ye cannot use an electrical system that is part of the entire house as an immediate source of energy to create flame!~

The dwarf then gestured. ~ With that point stated and clear, Hob wishes to forgo the point, as he may not have made clear the nature of the contest. (ooc: which I think I should've been more specific on) Do ye have anything ye wish t' say? Or would ye like to continue torching houses?~

[DarthNuriko]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

She laughed and spun around, the tone of her voice almost lyrical. "My my my, the little drawf can talk and talk but I do as well....."

She shook her finger at him. "If it's not clear, I wish to deny nothing; don't pressume so much. I'm making my point as to why your 'point' has no salt with me....

To start your first fire with spark and fluid, but without the spark, you'd just have a wet spot on your roof for is a spark not an element in starting a fire? Utilizing as its own entity this spark, you lost then early on for my house was burnt not primarily by will or the force but by the sparks of my lightning that was sent from my finger. Furthermore, you used electrical wiring to burn the house.... all but more sparks that linger. The spark was the element of thine as the assistance of a poor power outlet was mine.... But I'm sure you see by now that being so 'technical' about everything limits the fun. Any solidity of your statements is worn at the foundation until it quite becomes none."

Nuriko raided a piece of paper from one of the unburnt houses and constructed a fan, fanning wayward ashes from one of the burnt homes to her next one. She watching the ashes catch into various structures in house and continued to fan them, making them glow, heat, and soon.... 'feed'. "Is fashion based in style and not in element?"

Nuriko turned to Hob, her voice becoming similar to his: " Each house must be burned in a different fashion that has not been previously used by one of us. When was the last time electrical wiring was a dress?" :lol:

[Evil Hobgoblin]

(ooc) That reply, uh, confused me. I'll just go on with the challenge now.

(ic)
Hob waved his hand annoyedly. ~ Bah- yer words make no sense. Ye fail to consider the source of the sparks. But enough debate.~

The dwarf wandered into another house. It was a two-floor unit, and on the bottom floor there were several plants. The dwarf wandered downstairs, noting a high-wattage ceiling fixture over top the garden. He flicked the lights on, then rummaged around until he found what he wanted- a magnifying glass.

He held the magnifying glass over one of the flowering plants, focussing the light until the flower plant began to smolder and burn. ~ And such a pretty little thing it was, too.~

[DarthNuriko]

OOC: Good! I'm doing my job then! :D :lol:

IC: Nuriko grinned. "Oh well...." She looked over to her next house. "I suppose my talk of sparks was just above your head, my dear." She seemed somewhat drunk, sitting on a lawn chair and reclining back.

She relaxed, almost sleeping when she felt it coming. Her eyes widened, looked at the sky, and extended her hand.

Ramming towards her like a raging bull was a was a small meteor, sensed by her approaching their position and guided by the force to an exact point of impact. It raced over Nuriko, nearly singeing her deep red hair and slammed into her house. A huge hole was in the side of the house... and it soon began to spit out flames.

[DarthNuriko]

TTT

[Evil Hobgoblin]

Hob gave her a flat look as he exited the house where he'd set the garden on fire. As he watched, Nuriko's chair abruptly overturned itself as one of the meteor's shockwaves passed through the ground. ~ Oh, dear- that was a pity, don't y'know?~

Down the street, people were starting to run out of their houses, which had been shaken up by the meteor's impact. Apparently, the noise of the contest had finally gotten attention.

The sand nearby suddenly erupted in a cloud of natural gas, which quieted after a moment. Apparently, there was a primitive gas pipe beneath this street.

Hob's mind quested beneath the sand and found the pipe. Beneath Hob's next unburnt house, the ground began to shake. The gas was bottled up beneath the house, and more continued to filter into the channel Hob had built, in which Hob had segmented the gas into three large groups that he had blocked from one another.

Inside the house, the floor erupted upwards as the sand had done. Wires within the house were exposed to gas and a second eruption of gas turned into a roiling flame.

A third gas eruption turned the house into a fireball.

[Nuriko Sha]

"A pity? That was fun." She stood up and dusting herself off, felt something pulsating at her side.

"??" Nuriko grabbed the dragon tooth dagger hidden at her side. She pulled it out and watched it glow. Suddenly a clear gold dragon appeared and leapt out of the dagger, engulfing her next house. A voice spoke to her and only her....

A first of many favors, you may consider it...

It disappeared back into the knife. It shimmered with the reflection of the burning house.