Sterling is down! Can Claudia hold off the brutal greenskin while Donna heals her? Can she make the priest see reason?

Claudia, once again, uses her combat art skill for fancy blade twirls to convince him she is a deadlier swordswoman than she is. 6,2,2, = 10, margin of 3. Fortunate he must roll against his own sword skill based on his IQ, which, being an orc, is not that great (9)! 3,6,5 = 14, a failure. He evaluates again, readying for a feint (which is even more important to have a high skill TN for than a normal attack).

Claudia attempts a 'contest of wills', which the orc champion accepts; her willpower against his intimidate skill (Will+1). He is a better fighter, but because her show was convincing he only gets a +1 instead of a +2 (because his highest fighting skill is less than 3 larger than her combat art skill). His 'Indomitable 1' attribute gives him another +1. Claudia's status, higher than his, gives her a +2. Her TN is 15, his is 14. 1,1,5 = 7. His: 1,4,5 = 10. Claudia wins by a margin of 4. He makes a reaction roll. He has intolerance (humans) giving her a -3 and her status doesn't apply (being from different socieities), but that is countered out by her beauty + fashion (a total of 5) and sexy gear (another +2) for a total of +8! 3,2,5+8 = 18, "very good". He will refuse to fight her and tries a different tactic. While all this is going on, Donna has reached Sterling and healsluts it up, casting major healing on her. 2,6,3: Donna finally manages to cast a spell without bungling it and heals Sterling for 8 HP, bringing her back to 4. Sterling rolls 1,6,5 and 6,4,1 on her HT rolls to remain conscious, and shakes off the stunning with a 3,1,2 roll.

While the orc backs away, the dwarf priest takes offense to all this, having wanted to see Sterling defeated, and steps forward, challenging Claudia's right to be there. He rolls an opposed 'law' check against her law skill. 1,2,6 = 9, a margin of 2 for Claudia, and 4,1,2 = 7, a margin of 6 for him. Claudia loses the contest so he will try to move in and disarm her. Donna takes advantage of the delay to cast "minor healing" more. First time is 4,6,2=12, a success (restores 3 hp). Second time is a -3 penalty: 4,2,1, still a success. Castign again on the same target would make a crit failure very likely so Donna stops there, leaving Sterling almost totally healed (10/11 hp) Her speed is higher so she readies a "stop thrust" as he approaches to hit his arm. The dwarf tries to move and attack. She has longer reach and attacks first with a 'telegraphic attack' (+4 to hit, +2 to defend). 3,6,1=10, a hit. He tries to parry. 5,2,2=9, a success. His swing has a -4 move-and-attack penalty. 2,6,5=13, a miss.

Tholk the orc moves adjacent to Donna. Donna tries to kick him in the groin. 5,1,1 = 7, exactly what she needed to hit! However he can try to parry with his 'judo' skill. 2,2,3 = 7. Sterling begins to stand up.

Graldir, the dwarf priest attempts a 'beat', a variant of feint using brute strength, on Claudia, a contest of weapon skill. 1,4,2 = 7, margin of success 9 because it's based on his strength+mace skill, which is more than his DX. She rolls 6,1,2=9, margin of 1. Her next defense will have a brutal -8 penalty.

The orc throws Donna. His 1,1,5=7, a margin of 7, versus her dodge of 3,6,1, a fail. Donna falls and hits Sterling! Sterling must make a DX+3 roll to avoid falling back down, penalized because she is kneeling. 3,3,6= 12, a success even with the penalty. Donna rolls HT. 5,5,4; failure, she is stunned. Sterling picks up her sword.

Because he is a member of her own faction Claudia's "**** to kill" flaw comes into play and she must attack his limbs or use the flat of her blade, or else suffer a severe penalty. She tries to cut his foot, making it an all-out attack (since her defense is wrecked for next turn anyways) to gain a target number of 10. 2,1,3= 6, a hit. He tries to parry. 6,2,2=10, a failure!! 1d-1 cutting damage. 3-1 = 2. His boot provides 1 point of DR so only 1 damage is dealt.

The orc tries to grapple Sterling's sword arm, rolling an all-out (+4) deceptive (-4) attack. Because it is a grapple the location penalty is only -1. 5,1,6=12, a hit. She tries to parry, having a penalty because she's kneeling and being unable to retreat. 1,4,6 = 11, a failure. She can no longer use her sword, and Sterling's chances have just plummeted if Claudia cannot help. Speaking of Claudia, Graldir 'pummels' (hits with the handle of his mace) her in the face. -5 to hit from location. 1,2,1 =4, CRITICAL HIT! Crit roll: 5,3,6= 14 Crits to the head or face have their own separate crit table! a 14 means she drops her weapon in addition to normal damage of 1d6=4+1 = 5 damage. This is a major wound giving Claudia a -5 penalty on her roll to avoid stunning (because of the face hit location). 6,4,3=13, failure. Because this is a failure by 5, she is not merely stunned but knocked ****. Since she is still at positive (2/9) HP she will wake up in 15 minutes.

Struggling to remember her training on the use of the blade, all that was really coming to Claudia's mind was how the motions looked... Nice, big, sweeping motions, the champion duelist with her had taught her. After all, the Griffinwald Theocracy was a highly structured society, and although swordplay was an acceptable skill for women to learn and practice, only a very particular kind, with the primary purpose of being a method of physical fitness and coordination training like dance, with actual use to defend oneself being an afterthought by comparison.

So she twirled and spun and did al those fancy circular moves with the tip of the blade, and praise Jaris, Tholk actually backed up a step. A cleverer, more observant warrior might have noticed that it was just showmanship but to an orc who only knew fighting by experience and instinct, it was impressive. "I'm... the chosen of Jaris! See?" Keeping her guard up, Claudia stuck out her hip and pulled her silken leggings down a few inches, exposing the top of her distinctive birthmark and drawing gasps from the audience (perhaps just because she was showing them about 25% of her bare bottom). She made eye contact with the orc, making sure not to let him see her fear and refusing to break eye contact. "You've made your point, shown your strength to your savage god, but know that I'm under true divine protection and have fighting skills beyond any mortal woman! Take your victory and go back to captivity, and I promise I'll see to it that this priest of Bruudalf gives you an honorable warrior's **** as he promised..."

Although some of the crowd had fled, those who remained began softly clapping as the orc silently, grimly backed away from Claudia and the dazed, coughing Sterling (as Donna ran up to tend to the latter's wound). Tholk backed up to where his chains had fallen.

"In a mule's arse!" Graldir growled, jumping down into the ring from his throne, to the surprised gasps of his comely dwarf handmaidens. "Your damnable games won't work here, whore! Aye, you hear me? She IS a whore! I heard the whole sorry story from..." Graldir gritted his teeth as if he'd said something he hadn't. "Ye're trying to get it called a honorable draw, so long as that stupid spitfire playin' the man doesn't say she yields. Well, fine. No surprise that a greenskin has piss in his veins and is afraid to fight a girl a third his size and finish this."

"If you give me weapons, maybe..." the orc rumbled, crossing his arms peevishly. Graldir continued, walking towards Claudia and holding up his scepter menacingly.

Claudia raced to try and find a legal justification for this. "Erm... according to what Grand Inquisitor Yondru said in the Diet of Tramellines... I have the right to weigh in on the outcome. Now it may be that you have a different opinion and we'll be deadlocked..."

"No! Mark this!" the dwarf said. "The challenge is nae over! And if ye won't yield, well, Deceiver's balls, I'll MAKE you yield, and the witch WILL burn!"

"Oh damn it," Claudia whined in a schoolgirl voice, backing up and willing her exhausted hands to raise the rapier as the elderly dwarf came swaggering forward. She tried to fend him off, but he had incredible power in his short, thick arms and battered her blade away with a ringing clash. She squinted and hesitated when moving to strike back... Unlike an orc, this was a member of the alliance, and she didn't want to see her blade take the life of a priest who was allied to her own faith! She swung low as he came at her. The blade bit into Graldir's boot and came away with the edge bloodied. But the stubborn dwarf just laughed. "Is that all you got?"

Alas, Claudia was distracted hearing a commotion from her side. It seemed Tholk had been advancing on Sterling to disarm her just as the girl knight was waking up and getting to her feet. Donna gamely tried to defend the noblewoman, cocking back her foot and swinging it up between the orc's legs! Indeed, it came close - but he caught her shapely bare leg with his burly hands.

"Oooooh noooo, the dirty greenskin is no doubt going to ravish mAAIEIEEE!" Donna let out a high pitched, comical squeal as she was picked up and hurled bodily right into Sterling! Sterling rather unchivalrously deflected the acolyte and Donna wound up with her face on the ground and her bottom up in the air, her short skirt flipped up and showing her holy-symbol-embroidered panties as she moaned in confusion. The powerful green hands grabbed Sterling's arm before she could strike with her sword and **** her to the ground, the sword dropping to the ground...

"Get away!" The half-turn of Claudia's face was a terrible mistake. When she glanced back she saw the rounded nub of the grip of Graldir's mace-like scepter coming right at her face from a high overhead swing. Stars exploded in her vision and the pain of her cheekbone cracking flooded through her senses. She found herself laying on a huge set of scales in an otherwise featureless and gray surrounding.

"Oh no... oh no! Am I dead?" Claudia said in dismay. "Please, grant me another chance!"

Instead, several massive stone obelisks dropped onto the ground nearby, startling her. She read them:

'State: Unconsciousness. Obedience to Jaris: 87% (Good).' She turned to view the second. 'Courge: 98% (Excellent)" ...and the third: 'Wisdom: 94.5% (Very Good)'... and the fourth made her blush: "Sensuality: 85% (Good)'. The last one made her sigh. 'Physical Competence: 65% (Mediocre)'

While Sterling lay there quiet, moaning softly in her sleep, Graldir swaggered back to his seat. All of the human spectators booed and shouted insults in him, outraged to see a woman, especially a supposed paladin, treated in such a way - he responded by spitting into the crowd with impressive speed and accuracy. "The challenge continues! 'Til that blonde lass either yields, dies, or is... hehehh... 'pinned' for thirty seconds. Oi, you tunnel rats, get the one-minute clock ready!"

The scowling orc was drawing his head back to smash his forehead into Sterling's face - orcs having no compunction about quieting a resisting or disagreeable female with a sharp blow. Sterling, seeing she couldn't hope to win with **** and that Donna would be no help (aside from healing her injuries - Sterling felt fine now, aside from having a giant orc in her face) cleared her throat. "W-wait! You don't want to give that dwarf the satisfaction of doing what he wants, do you?" She thought that if she could just wear this green-skinned brute out a little bit, she could turn the tables... especially since he didn't know of her hidden back-up knife.

"What do you say we resolve this in... um... a different way? I challenge you... to see if you can make me submit with a different weapon." she flicked her blue eyes down at Tholk's loin cloth suggestively. "Help me out of this smashed-in armor, I think you'll like what you see..."

Sterling has a rather scandalous idea and uses her 'sex appeal' skill on the opponent. Unlike the averge orc this one is a very serious warrior and doesn't have the 'lecherous' trait so she actually needs to beat his will in an opposed roll. She's quite inexperienced so her skill is only 10, and her figure is above averge but not exceptional (health 11 with no descriptive quirks)... however she has a very pretty face ('beautiful') giving her a +4, +1 for her 'daredevil' attribute, for an effective skill of 15. 2,6,3=11, a margin of 3. Tholk gets 3,6,3=12, a margin of 0. This is where 'GURPS Sex' rules come into play!

Sterling has an inhibition of 25 (base for female) - 11 (health) for a total of 14. Tholk hs 20 (base for male) - 13 (health) for a total of 7. A successful use of 'sex appeal' is all that is needed to move to the 'aroused' phase, and she's done it. It would also be be helpful if she could do the same. The orc rolls "undressing" which is a DX-2 skill with another -2 for complicated garments (armor). 2,3,4=9, a failure by one. Sterling tries to use the skill herself. She gets 2,2,1= 5, a success! She removes the damaged cuirass, gambeson, pauldrons and the armor on her hips leaving her armored only from the knees and elbows down. She attemtpts to fantasize/motivate herself to arousal with a 'Sex Games'+3 roll, modified by Tholk's appaerance modifier of -2 (unattractive- this being racially affected, as greenskins, beastmen, hyskrit and so forth are two appearance categories worse to members of other races. This is NOT true in reverse, they like targeting human and elven maids just fine!). She gets 5,3,5 = 13. Normally this would be a failure... but because there's only that loincloth the orc's "well endowed" trait applies giving a +2 bonus which makes it a success.

In sexual encounters one or the other has 'position', meaning they choose their maneuver first. Since he is the dominant one and still has Sterling grappled, the orc does for now. The real point of this will be causing fatigue - she wants to get him down to 'tired' levels of fatigue so she can defeat him, which mean she'll need to take position to make sure that happens! She tries to take position with another sex appeal roll opposed by his will again. 6,5,1=12 vs 5,2,1=8, she fails to do so for now. He chooses to 'lay back' (which makes him less likely to take fatigue) and uses 'touching' to grope her breasts. This makes his effective skill quite low, and he fails by a lot, 8. Most maneuvers, including this one, still produce pleasure even when they fail; 2 points. Sterling is in for a penny and in for a pound (a pound sterling, one might say) and uses 'licking', based on her HT -1. She fails by one so he only takes 1 point of stimulation.

Inhibition after the first minute: Sterling 12/14 (aroused), Tholk 6/7 (aroused). Since it is still foreplay Sterling can use that skill to avoid fatigue. 6,1,6=13, fail; she loses 1 fatigue. Tholk gets a +4 for 'laying back' and can only fail on a crit fail. He doesn't. Don't fret... there is a 'strategy' she can use to ensure his fatigue loss is maximized, though it might get messy. The description for this and the rest of the resolution of her 'plan' will follow.

Meanwhile, Graldir approaches Donna as she wakes up. She tries to be cute for him with sex appeal: 1,2,3 =6 vs his will roll of 1,4,3. Because of his high will and Donna's "poorly endowed" flaw, she does not arouse him ("pitiable" doesn't work on him). However he will seek to punish her a bit and the resulting spanking may cause her to get aroused anyway.