<div class="floatright">(https://www.animecharactersdatabase.com/uploads/chars/4758-1261081560.png)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Aramis Silverscale<br/>Human Wizard of the Arcane Order<br/><strong>HP:</strong>51/51 ;<strong>Status:</strong>Normal<br/><strong>Actions:</strong>Demonstrating the versatile perks of a Mage of the Arcane Order.<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Damalla, Thunderdome<br/><hr/><br/>Aramis chose not to preemptively cast spells since well to be fair he had not through of that and wasn't sure if it was permitted. Seeing everyone do this however seemed a bit assuming. As far as he knew, there was no way to determine what kind of challenge were awaiting them. They essentially were going blind into the Thunderdome so who knows what to expect. Maybe the magic would last long enough into the second challenge but Aramis didn't really have such luxuries of knowing this and felt it would be wiser to conserve his spells. Some people might have the ability to prolong their spells for a significant time but he did not and he didn't have the luxury of wasting magic. So instead he was observing the spells that were being cast around with one in particular being the Extended Duelward spell. That caught his interest and he was going to try and identify it. Hopefully he would be able to cast it later on as for a mage like him, it could be vital.<br/><br/>It was then that the spirit within his spell book noticed something the mage did not.<strong><em>"Oh! Master you forgot to prepare other spells that allow you to access the spell pool! You might need some flexibility in your casting... So please try and figure out what kind of spell you think will help most. You'll be able to pay off the spell debt you incur easily enough."</em></strong>She was right he did neglect that handy perk of being a member of the Arcane Order. The Spellpool had not been destroyed and neither did the kingdom of Atlenta. He should make sure he had every chance needed in order to succeed in this endeavor and as such he summoned from the well of magical energy he and a good number of mages were attuned to and accessed them. He left them empty but rich with power so that he could use the quicker methods of casting because he was in a competition and had no time to wait minutes for his magic to be summoned to help him. Not in this regard at least.<br/><br/>Soon enough the lot of them were led onto the magic circle which warped them into the arena. He could see and feel the magical wards which anchored them into this place. No one was able to get in or out of this arena once in it. A lot of reasons existed for why this was but it was rather self explanatory in their case. Twelve mages can do a lot of damage if this wasn't properly restricted to this combat zone. Listening to the goddess Ramses the Second of Asgard, the nature of the contest came to be known. It was to a be a two phase competition. The latter phase would be a structured magical tournament. But as for this phase they took place, it became self explanatory with the sudden shift in the Thunderdome's arena layout. An obstacle course of insidiously clever craftsmanship unfolds before the blue eyes of the Silverfish. Pools of water began to form that separated the dry ground of the obstacles and the floor itself.<br/><br/>Aramis became quiet as he listened to what was being spoken of. He was already trying to think of a way to turn the situation around since he was ill prepared in a sense. He had planned for many spells of battle thinking it would be a grand melee of sorts. But that was not the case and as such he had to consider his options and spells. This would be horribly difficult for anyone that neglected physical hardships or had not practiced to keep in shape. Many a mage's greatest gifts were of the mind. The audience wanted a show and the Asgardians wanted to see just how resourceful the contenders were in all aspects as they take pride in all aspects. Ramses the Second, made that point abundantly clear.<br/><br/>Now the time came to figure out whom amongst them was going in what specific order. He assumed they would draw numbers or such since the goddess didn't make any sort of decree on the matter. He was hoping that he would not have to set the bar but knowing his luck, he might just be the first that has to run it. If it was anything but last or first he figured he might have a better chance since he wanted to see the obstacles and how they worked. That way he could figure out a plan of attack on this open dungeon for spectators to watch.<br/><br/>So he knew the circumstances and the situation but the problem was how Aramis was going to circumvent these obstacles and how he could overcome them within the rules parameters. Magic was going to have to carry him onwards to a good position because he doubted he would be able to circumvent all the obstacles with just wit. He would still have to run the course and it looked to be more about balance and endurance more than raw power. The limits to what they could do was that they couldn't alter the course and could not use flight or teleport to circumvent the obstacles. He was starting to not like his chances with this endeavor and yet he had to find some way to succeed here. He doubted he could rely on pure combat prowess to carry him when there were so many opponents that could easily best him in many scenarios.<br/><br/>He was thinking about the obstacles that would cause him the most trouble on this course which was probably the first three. The tile trap was one that required swift feet and fluid motions. Levitation was technically not flight since you can only go straight up and down, At best you could only use it for horizontal movement by gaining raw momentum and essentially gliding and it could be so easy to misgauge your trajectory and either overshoot or undershoot it. He was trying to judge just how much distance there was between the alleyway, the spinning log bridge and the rolling sacks. Honestly he was grateful that a few others were going before him because it gave the mage time to study the course and how exactly it would be handled.<br/><br/>He was coming up with a plan when it was his turn at least. He didn't expect to come in first, he was hoping that he got a good position and showcased his best talents. He knew the Asgardians care for the showmanship and appearance of their champions. Warrior or mage, it matters little to them as they were supposed to be heroes. They needed to not just act the part but look like one. However his hopes were dashed as it seem like there was one exact course made for the each of them and he was jarred from his thoughts by an attendant whom reminded him he was to go with the others at the same time. Well, it shot his plan of watching the course play out sadly and now he would have to think on the seat of his pants. Either way, his robes would be more a hinderance if he tried to swim with them. He wasn't exactly a strong and well trained swimmer, even if he was a bit stronger than most mages.<br/><br/>Thus he unclasped his cloak and robes letting them fall off him and be kept to the side.  They weren't magical though he did keep his scarf for both sentimental and practical reasons and his spell component pouches attached to belt and shoulder to torso straps of his backpack. For he would need the items in question in order to fuel his magic and circumvent the obstacles. At his hip was his spell book encased in that waterproofed pouch. Although it had long outlived the use of keeping his spell book dry. He had his book magically enchanted to stand up to a good number of hazards since a field researcher and adventurer like him has to care for their books. He relinquished his staff since he didn't want to lose it in the run of the course and as such he set it aside.<br/><br/>Adorned in his tunic, long pants and boots his muscle definition was subtle but it was there whenever he flexed or stretched his limbs out to limber up before the time to start came. Despite all the years he had a healthy hue to his white skin. Country born, his hair was always an untamed mess of rebelliously golden locks that framed his face. For those that could see past the modest article of clothing within their dreams, they'd find the man takes exceptional care in his body in terms of cleanliness as his skin was well washed and fairly smelling of honey and apples. His loins were immaculately shaven which only helped to bring greater attention to his manhood. Handsome down below and blessed with virility and vitality it was probably a pleasant surprise to see a potent sign of youth. Not that it was going to be the center of attention in a competition like this.<br/><br/>There wasn't really any planning he could make due with what he had in mind. He simply has to go for it and hope for the best. Didn't mean he wasn't going to be stupid about it. He waited until the word to go was given for the audience. Some were trying to either do this conventionally or brute force it. Obviously the more athletic, such as the Arcane Warrior and Beastkin were excelling in this race. Not one to be outdone, he clasped his hands together to burn one of his spell slots to call upon the spell pool. In this case the "Silent Mage Hand" spell he had at the ready was erased and he began speaking the syllables and empowering words of true speech to fuel strength into a potent power. Since he had no chance to simply run those tiles or power through the trap, he figured to take the risk out of this. He couldn't fly but he didn't need to. All he needed was enough running distance. Not to mention that if he ran alongside his fellow competitors at the first obstacle, he'd be blasted off into the water so taking the time to cast a spell insured that he would not suffer from the error of another.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">How Aramis gets past the First Obstacle</div><div class="spoiler_body">With the last few syllables on his lips, he felt a surge of incredibly potent strength rush into his legs. He finished the spell and darted into a hard dash and then just as he was about to step into the alleyway of traps. But then, he took a full flying leap and then he skyrocketed into the air. Not just a small hop but a massive leap and launched himself well over all the tiles and landed on the other side. Aramis had used the spell "Jump" in order to try and circumvent the Alleyway. He had measured the distance before the gong rang and with the huge crowd of people in the alleyway he surely wouldn't be fast enough to try and get to the head of the pack. Being in the middle of all that was not his idea of success so he needed to get over them. He couldn't fly but nothing was said about being able to jump high. In all honesty he was dreading the second and third obstacle the most because he had a hard time figuring out how to avoid the direct approach. <br/><br/>Aramis was trying to go at a swift pace through these first three obstacles with magic yes but he still had to perform all the activities and moving this quickly would test the conditioning of a man. He still had to leap over tiles, climb across a spinning log and run his ass off to get to the third obstacle because momentum was key to his ability to jump. Of which he had limited time to make use of. Thankfully the country mage had a good reserve of that. The happenings underneath Grand Madame Odyessya's reign in Atlena were a good indication of that at least. Hopefully the versatility in the Arcane Order would pay off handsomely with the second and third obstacle because these were going to give him the most grief in his mind.<br/><br/>Delay: -1</div></div><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">How Aramis tries to overcome the Second Obstacle</div><div class="spoiler_body">That second obstacle looked to be a bit of a handful and though he really hated the use of this spell, he didn't have much of a choice and also lacked the balance needed to run along the spinning log. Also he had another spell in mind for the third obstacle and couldn't really afford to use it on the second obstacle. He burned a second level slot, in this case "False Life" and out came from his spell pouch a live house spider in a small pill. He swallowed it with a grimace and began climbing along the spinning log in order to deftly avoid the obstacle. Pulling himself up, he looked a lot more pale than usual since well... he swallowed a spider. And now he came to the third obstacle and this one was just going to be as fun as swallowing the spider.<br/><br/>Delay: -1</div></div><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">How Aramis overcomes the Third Obstacle</div><div class="spoiler_body">Normally he wouldn't put much faith in his ability to leap and bound but by purging the Silent Mage Hand spell he had memorized for the potential duels, he opened up another avenue of solving a problem. Even if he ran out of jumping energy before he got to the third obstacle and could take the leap he could always use the spell again. The sandbags rolled along the walkway and it was around the same distance that he vaulted over the alleyway tiles. But he noticed a problem. The sandbags would be rolling downwards at him and he didn't have enough momentum to jump high enough to avoid the sandbags. He was never good at tumbling and burning a high level spell slot just for a few extra seconds, to overcome the weight of rolling bags of sand didn't sit well with him. But better to circumvent the obstacle than to get hung up on it. Hopefully the obstacle course was as sturdy as it looked. The empty spell slot of one of his more powerful spells was used to fuel the magic of one of his more favorite spells. <br/><br/>Aramis got down onto his hands and knees as his body began to change shape. He snorted and gave a sharp squeal as his body and clothes morphed and became muscled. His hands turned into hooves along with his feet as his clothing and items become absorbed into him.His skin darkened and his eyes shift from soft blue to a ferocious garnet brown-red. His lower canine teeth elongate into tusks that splinter and warp into four pronounced ones. Barbs protrude and began to emerge along the spine and his tailbone lengthened into an actual tail that whipped against the ground ferociously. The silverfish mage had transformed himself with the "Polymorph" spell into a Dire Boar that looked just as menacing and ferocious as they come. With a braying squeal he began charging fearlessly at the obstacle. The boar had no chance to tumble about the sandbags but a boar this big does not care what you put in front of it. It launches the sandbags out of its path with tusks and momentum with brute strength and tenacity alone. Four legs make an impressive difference in the results as it kept him stable as he rushed into the hazards and dashed them as he reached the other side.<br/><br/>Delay: -1</div></div><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">How does Aramis collect rings and navigate the waters</div><div class="spoiler_body">Once on the other side, this also gave him a good view of how long this canal was and how many golden rings he could spot as he had to shift himself back into a human again to cast magic. He gave a sharp yell as his body shifted and elongated and his clothes and items reemerged from his person. Hooves morph into hands that clench into fists as his body turned human again. His eyes were shut before they adjusted back to normal and the curtain of blond hair hid his face from view before he rose back to his feet. It was a shame to use a spell that powerful for such a short obstacle and he would have liked to make it last longer but, there was little point in that now. <br/><br/>He knew he wasn't a strong swimmer so he had to change that fact. Fortunately he had the very spell for this situation. He cast another spell before he touches the water. Fortunately this spell was already on him so he didn't have to tax himself by pulling further from the spell pool as he would probably regret this a bunch later. He knew the form he wanted before he splashed into the water. His eyes shifted from blue to green, his skin changed to an azure color and his ears grew longer and pointed and his hands and feet became webbed as he became an aquatic elf. A rare species of elf that live in the oceans of Garthalla constantly at war with the tyrannical Sauhaghin aka sharkmen. The reason he chose this form was because he needed to be able to swim expertly and he chose that form as a result. He was confident in his ability to hold his breath, since the form wasn't perfect since he couldn't perfectly replicate gills. But the webbed hands and feet he could definitely create. His second choices for this stunt was a merman or similar aquatic creature he could replicate to swim deep in the water. <br/><br/>Thus armed with his new form, he was able to get the needed rings he required one after another without fears of drowning. It might take him a few trips back and forth to collect enough rings to get the required weight needed. But he was confident that his initial magic gave him the head start needed to avoid others trying to steal the rings he placed upon the surface. True, they weren't allowed to interfere with one another but he imagined that anything beneficial to all competitions would hurt his own chances. He uses his scarf as a means to hold onto the rings without relinquishing the use of his hands. He could swim to the other side and place the golden rings there so he could make ready to deal with the last obstacle which would provide an interesting difficulty to the situation he was presented with. To think he had been considering to fish the rings out with his grappling hook and silk rope as the solution seemed a bit silly now that he could essentially tow them and swim around.<br/><br/>Delay: -1</div></div><br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">How Aramis attempts the final obstacle</div><div class="spoiler_body">Pulling himself out of the water with enough rings, and he took the time to count them, he looked up. Last obstacle... now what to do about this. Initially he thought he could climb up easily with the rope net that was provided but he was finding that his hands wouldn't stick like they would with the spider climb spell still active. In his mind, it made sense to not make this easy on them, and he was no expert climber on his own so once more he had to think up a solution. He took hold of his grappling hook and silken rope and then tried to hook the wooden pillar that was part of the pressure plate platform. True he couldn't use their ropes to climb up but there was no rule saying he could not use his own ropes. In this instance he still had a back up plan if he needed rope. (Mostly because they might have confiscated his tools to make it fair. Use your magic to find a solution.) <br/><br/>Should he need rope, his scarf was damp and still worn around his neck but it was a fine reminder of humble beginnings and of home. He removed it from his neck and eventually he would restore it to it's former glory, but for now his scarf needed to be longer and more durable. He began casting one spell which was on his person, though he had to admit it was meant to be used in another scenario. But he had to adapt and make due with what he had. The wizard was quite the cunning craftsman using the spell "Fabricate" and his scarf of silk began to lengthen and shift into a long length of silken rope. It would be enough to make it to the pole but without a grappling hook it wouldn't matter much. Fortunately he had an idea for that as well. He wasn't done spellcasting sacrificing another spell in order fuel his magic. In this case "Feather Fall" was replaced by the "Animate Rope" spell and was used on the newly made silk rope. <br/><br/>He threw it up onto the weighted platform and had it coil and knot tightly around the wooden pillar so as to make sure he had a firm grip. Honestly it was like fishing. Had to cast the rope just right in order to get it close enough to ensnare the pole. Once he got the rope tethered to the pole his latent magic did the rest, since his own rope didn't have such a ward against his Spider Climb spell. He went up and down the rope to carry the first half of his rings placing them on the pillar to start weighing down the plate. The rope would pull itself up when Aramis was up there to prevent anyone from trying to use his precious rope.<br/><br/>Delay: -1</div></div><br/><br/>That was how Aramis intend to put together a strong showing in this obstacle course.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OOC</div><div class="spoiler_body">PM me if you have to make a veto on something I used. I'll rewrite.<br/><br/>But to Summarize; Aramis uses the Jump Spell with a running leap, giving him 40 ft of horizontal clearance on Obstacle 1. Aramis uses Spider Climb to circumvent the spinning log bridge on Obstacle 2. Aramis uses a combination of Polymorph to more into a Dire Boar and then charges through Obstacle 3. This formula shows the bull rush check he overcomes. (32 = +4 Large, +4 Four Legged, +2 Charging, +12 Strength Mod, + Taking 10 [Can you even take ten on a Bullrush??? Maybe for this obstacle you can?] Within the Canal, Aramis uses Alter Self to become an Aquatic Elf gaining a Swim Speed, thus canceling the Swim check. (You are free to veto this, if you believe Alter Self wouldn't work. I'll rewrite) He would still have to hold his breath if he went underwater though. For the final obstacle, Aramis would make use of Fabricate to change his scarf into a rope, then uses Animate Rope to have it coil and knot on the pillar atop the weighted plate. That way he can still make use of Spider Climb to climb his own rope up to the top and put the rings on it. Didn't wanna assume he could keep his adventuring gear such as a rope or grappling hook on this obstacle course so he made sure to improvise.<br/><br/>Delay Score: -5</div></div><br/><hr/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spells Memorized (Base Spell DC: 14) (CL 10th)</div><div class="spoiler_body">   5th  (2/day) - <del>Fabricate</del>, Teleport (PHB/SRD)<br/>   4th  (4/day) - Silent Dispel Magic, Silent Dispel Magic, Silent Lightning Bolt, Stoneskin (PHB/SRD) <del>[Empty Spell Slot]</del><br/>   3rd  (4/day) - Dispel Magic, Fireball, Protection from Energy, Silent Magic Mouth (PHB/SRD)<br/>   2nd (5/day) - <del>Alter Self</del>, Arcane Lock, Silent Blue Missile, <del>False Life</del>, Soul Boon (PHB/SRD)<br/>   1st  (5/day) - Blue Missile, Blue Missile, <del>Feather Fall</del>, <del>Silent Mage Hand</del>, Soul Armor (PHB/SRD) [Empty Spell Slot]<br/>   0 lv (4/day) - Acid Splash, Detect Magic, <del>Mage Hand</del>, Read Magic (PHB/SRD)</div></div>