Part 122: Adventures with Briony - Part 3 - by zonohedron

This isn't the Sailor Briony epilogue - it's "defeating Togami in a magical duel", plus the Briony epilogues from having saved her from , but I think it's pretty neat too

It starts when we fail to defeat the fleet (whether or not we try), and then the next week Togami shows up. After some ...

To gain your power, I am willing to wager my own. Shall we begin?
(I don't like this... But what choice do I have?)
Then... I must.

Togami explains the rules of formal dueling to you, including a carefully inscribed circle of wards which will contain the effects of any powers you wield, protecting bystanders from danger.
And then it is time to begin.


You trade attacks, one spell sensed and countered by another, reserving your strength as much as possible. It might almost be exciting if your life weren't on the line.




You must react quickly. Not by feeding power into the spell to overload it; it would drain you to the point of death. Instead, you concentrate on gathering your strength inside yourself, pulling it away from the spell's grasp.





You need to end this quickly before his experience allows him to come up with a trick you can't defeat.
He's used to dealing with magical attacks, but he might not be expecting a physical one.
Perhaps if you rushed him, you could take him off guard? Up close, he couldn't use his fancy spells. But what would you do then?
You still have to use magic to win, you can't just grab him and bang his head against the floor.
Perhaps you could focus your power into the shape of a sword and attack him with that.
Or maybe if you could distract him somehow, you could cast a spell that he couldn't block?
Motes of shimmering moonlight coalesce into a weapon in your hand.



The final strike of your moonblade parts his head from his shoulders.
You have won.


The advantage of doing it this way is that it's Reflexes plus Swords, not Reflexes and Swords, just like the check to not get hit by an arrow is Reflexes plus Archery. While there are a few x + y checks where the sum is over 100, the sum for both of those is 100, which means you can pass both checks with 100 Reflexes and zero Archery or Swords. Since I knew I had to go to the party (so I could go along with Briony's dumb idea), it was convenient to do just that.

And yes, it is definitely possible to pass that Sense Magic check (I think having enough to sense the monster in the forest is enough to pass it, actually) but I like it better this way.

On the other hand, what about that 'distract him somehow' idea?




But that's only the beginning. Once you are in the cover of this prismatic 'shield', you can create a false image of yourself and step invisibly aside.
The strain of keeping up the illusion of yourself responding to Togami's attacks is high, you can't keep this up for long. You have to end it now.
Stepping up as close behind him as you dare to limit the time and space he has to react, you raise your hand and force out a high-speed disc of solid light.
It drives into his neck, killing him instantly.
You have won.





Then, in Week 39...

Whomever you decide to marry will be elevated to the highest ranks of the nobility, which could mean a major shift in the balance of power. Therefore, everyone is talking about the top candidates, even though you're under no obligation to marry so young.

Talarist, the Duke of Sedna, is one option. Certainly he expressed interest in marrying you earlier. Your union would bring stronger ties to the domain of Talasse and improve the situation along the Elath border.
Then there is Banion, the Duke of Maree, a powerful and eligible noble only about ten years older than you.
You have received an interesting proposal from Banion's sister Brin, the Duchess of Hellas. She suggests that if you marry her brother, she might then wed your father, in which case she'd be able to see you more often.
There is Kevan, the Earl of Io. Although he is only an earl, his family connections could make him politically useful.
There's little Adair, the eventual Duke of Elath, although at twelve he's only a child.
At least he's almost old enough to understand the concept of romance - some people think you ought to marry Gwenelle's half-brother Anciet, who hasn't even turned nine yet!
There are two or three minor earls around the age of twenty who might be passable alternatives, and of course you could decide to ignore noble traditions entirely and marry a commoner... if you were prepared to deal with the uproar.
And then there is the most recent letter you received from Briony, which was all about how clever and strong and wonderful you are.
You rescued her from a terrible monster, after all. It's apparently the most romantic thing that's happened in her entire life.
While you will need to marry eventually, you are still very young. You could put this decision off until later. However, a clear succession contributes to the stability of your domain. Are you leaning towards any option?



There's no time to pursue that thought at the moment, but perhaps in the future...

Rescuing Briony precludes marrying Kevan, as she won't be told the family secret and thus won't tell it to you. You can choose him here, but you won't be able to actually marry him. It also precludes marrying (or attempting to marry) three additional nobles who aren't listed here, none of whom we have seen as marriage choices in the thread so far, as well as marrying Evrard (which can be done successfully) or having Evrard flee and marrying Chaine, the Earl of Mima.



Alas, Elodie needs an heir, and so does Briony, since she'll become Duchess of Mead on her mother's death.