Surprise assault (clean success)

Venus realized she could almost reach the lizardmen unnoticed, provided she timed her movements when they were in the middle of a prayer. Her keen eyes watched the elder lizardman, carefully timing her movements when he looked to the ceiling.

Her bare soles made nary a whisper on the hard stone as she slipped from cover to cover. Her hand wielded the spear with perfection, keeping it from striking anything. Her feet seemed to miss small stones of their own accord. Before she realized it, she was as close as she was going to get without exposing herself.

Waiting for another cycle of prayer to begin, she left her cover, her spear held ready. As she drew near to them, one snuffled a bit, then abruptly grunted, causing silence to fall over the room. As the lizardmen turned, spotting her, their voices registered surprise, even as they made to rise. It was too late, however, and her spear drilled through the first one's chest, felling him with a howl of pain as she ripped the spear free of its' chest.

The other three had made it to her feet by then, and came at her, claws and spines slashing towards her. Venus became a blur of movement, ducking and weaving through the wall of razor-sharp claws with breathtaking ease. Her spear whirled, flashing blade glowing blue as it pricked at lizardmen, haft making solid clunks as it caught the few blows she failed to dodge.

Another elbow shot past her face, sharp, ragged spines nearly striking her, and Venus saw an opportunity, driving her spear deep into another chest. That earned another bellow, and another as she wrenched the spear free, spinning away from another assault. The lizardman who had tried to rend her back overextended, and she exploited that, spear driving through his right arm, deep into his chest. As she ripped the spear free of his body, the elder swung at her head, forcing her to duck and roll backwards, luckily bringing her spear with her.

What followed was a short, but brutal duel, Venus and the elder vying for advantage, both of them moving at incredible speed. Venus felt like her heart was going to explode, and time was crawling before her, as she ducked aside from another blow, then barely twisted out of the path of the returning spines. Realizing she was off-balance, she turned her twist into a shoulder roll, feeling the air rush across her bare back as claws almost shredded her backside. Rolling to her feet, the fight was joined anew, both combatants dancing with impossible grace as they probed for openings.

Venus finally found her opening when the elder swung a blow at her head. Dropping just under its' arc, she thrust her spear at his thigh, sinking it deep into the muscle there. A twisting pull brought it clear again, the elder roaring in pain as he sank to a knee. Venus pressed her advantage, spear spinning over the elder's guard even as he attempted to brace for another blow, then dropping down into his chest from above. The elder seemed to freeze, then spasm around her spear, before falling silent as she ripped the spear free of his chest.

She stood there a moment, breasts heaving up and down in time with her heavy breathing, a thin sheen of sweat standing out on her skin, and relished the adrenalin high of the fight. As she thought back on it, she realized how foolish her assault had been, considering her lack of armor. However, as she analyzed the fight, she realized the freedom granted by her lack of armor had allowed her to move in ways she had never considered, keeping her clear of harm by the simple virtue of not being in the path of a blow in the first place. Her feet had never slipped, something she couldn't always say of boots, though her soles were still far too tender to be doing any kind of combat in rough terrain barefoot. The feeling was exhilarating, and, for a moment, she contemplated the values of going into combat wearing as little as possible, so as to keep her surprising mobility.

Putting the thought aside for the moment, she approached the armor, hanging in a faint magical field above its' pedestal in the center of the room. Looking at it, she could see it was made of multiple plates, and apparently for a female warrior as well. What intrigued her, though, was the complete lack of straps anywhere on the armor. From the greaves to the multi-sectional breastplate, the suit had no way of fastening, nor being held together. The only piece she could see that went all the way around a person was a metal belt, inset with a small emerald, which looked to be about three sizes too big for her.

Taking the belt, she pulled her loincloth off, then stepped into the belt. As she put it about her waist, it suddenly shrunk, snugging up against her waist as though it had been made for her. Surprised, Venus looked down at it, before grabbing one half of its' bracers and setting it against her arm. It didn't stay, however, falling to the floor with a clatter. She was at surprised at how light it was as she was that it fell. She looked down, wishing she could just get the armor on. As she focused on that task, picturing the armor on her person, she was abruptly surprised when every piece of armor rattled. Confused, she looked about, then realized that it might simply go on by virtue of its' wearer's though. Thinking of the armor on, she smiled as it suddenly came free, ensconcing her and sealing shut as though it was made for her. Its' purple-black sheen covered her from ankle to neck, and her arms to the wrist.

There were a surprising number of plates, two for each bracer, sleeve, upper and lower greave, knee and elbow plates, another for her crotch and ass, two pauldrons, and the breastplate was actually six pieces, two for her upper and lower torso respectively, and two individual covers for her breasts. She guessed that was simply so it could resize them to her breasts. The suit did not contain any gloves or shoes, something she found slightly odd.

It was surprisingly light, though she could tell it was quite sturdy, too. Its' multiple segments, though finely crafted, did hinder her movements, making her miss the lithe mobility she had without the armor...