[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/221005/7d7c778891f3387ab231a2bbd26f2d1e.png[/img]

[H3]Home of Tears[/h3]

[b]Word Count:[/b] 4,214
[b]Level 4 Ganondorf:[/b] 6/40
[b]Exp:[/b] 5
[b]NEW EXP Balance---[/b] 11/30[/center]

With a lack of funds, there wasn't all that much the King of Evil really do. As such, he eventually wandered out of the marketplace and found himself exploring the amusement park district. He did vaguely recall someone mentioning something about a circus but that held nothing of interest for Ganondorf. Instead the sight of a few signs that advertised a fighting competition caught his eye. In particular the part about winning prize money for performing well enough. When he followed them, the Gerudo eventually found an open manhole cover. Above that was a [url=http://static.wikia.nocookie.net/fallout/images/6/61/Thorn.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140529144521]wooden structure[/url] holding signs on each side. In large red letters, they read 'The Thorn' and even had arrows pointing straight down.

[color=Red]"A fighting arena... in the sewer?"[/color] Ganondorf asked himself aloud. It was only after that he realized he wasn't alone.

"Indeed, stranger." spoke a sultry voice. It came from a [url=http://static.wikia.nocookie.net/fallout/images/7/75/Red_Lucy.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110128122242]red-haired woman[/url], clad in brown leather clothes and an unfamiliar-looking weapon strapped to her back, "Not everyone in the City of Tears condones fighting for sport in the way that the The Thorn does. Some bars have attractions for sparring, but it always with blunted weapons and padded safety gear. Here in the Thorn, we prefer battles that are fought in the way they were intended to be. With blood spilled. So tell me, stranger, does The Thorn interest you?" she was coming on slightly strong, but only because she could tell how good of a competitor the man would be based on his size and physique.

[color=Red]"And the prize for winning?"[/color]

"Money, of course. Some fight for the fortune, others for the glory. The Thorn offers both. Win your matches and you will build up an ever increasing payout for yourself. Before any round, you're given an opportunity to retire and keep your winnings, or continue and try to increase it. But if you are knocked out at any time, you will walk away with only half of the winnings you accrued, or none of it at all if you lose early enough."

Ganondorf didn't say anything, but he didn't have to. The smile forming in his lips told the woman all she needed to hear.

...

"Good people of the City of Tears, WELCOME, to The Thorn!" The enthusiastic announcer declared. Down in the pit, Ganondorf was waiting on the other side of his gate, "We've got an interesting first match up for tonight's King Of The Pit event: some fresh meat! Two newcomers to The Thorn looking to make a name for themselves. For those who joining us for the first time, the rules are simple. The winner of this wound will have the option to continue fighting more opponents in order to increase his prize. Killing is strictly not allowed, but the clerics on standby with their Rescue Staves to prevent any accidental deaths. Now, who will prevail? Let's find out! Lower the gates!"

[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_M-73AY4Ng[/youtube][/center]

The gates lowered and Ganondorf took a single step out into the pit from his starting position. He'd been sizing up his first opponent and it was easy to tell that they were practically nothing compared to him. They looked like a [url=http://static.wikia.nocookie.net/disgaea/images/e/e4/PCIRBTH_Hero_Prinny.png/revision/latest?cb=20131026184413&path-prefix=en]penguin, or at least someone in a penguin costume[/url]. Thy bounded forward on their peg legs, looking drunk and like they really had no business being here. But no matter what this person's story was, the fact of the matter was they were Ganondorf's opponent, and he had no intention of taking it easy on them.

The Prinny pulled a machete out of his pack, "Who's gun'na be keeng, [hic] THIS DOOD!" he took several drunken swings at Ganondorf, who frankly barely even needed to move in order to avoid them. Eventually the Prinny was caught by wrist, and yelped when Ganondorf squeezed just tight enough to cause some pain and force them to drop the machete, and was then promptly flung aside.

[color=Red]"Hmph! What a poor excuse for an opponent."[/color] and then he briefly turned his attention to the spectators, [color=Red]"Am I a joke to you? Is this the best your city can produce?"[/color] that netted him a mixture of boos and cheers. Mostly boos because he just insulted the city, but there were some who were enjoying the show and cheering regardless. Meanwhile, the Prinny had pulled a bomb out of nowhere and tried to chuck it at Ganondorf. But the King of Evil just kicked it back in the direction of his opponent. It was a good thing those rescue staves were on standby, because if they hadn't teleported the Prinny out of there he probably would have been killed by his own bomb going off in his face.

"Good people, we have a winner!" declared the announcer, "All hail Ganondorf! But will he continue to fight on?"

Ganondorf lifted his hand and offered a thumbs up. He'd been told earlier that a thumbs up meant he would fight another round, and that a thumbs down meant that he was going to retire. An opponent like that wasn't even remotely satisfying enough for him, so he was going to continue on.

[hider=Results][b]For Ganondorf:[/b] 50 Geo[/hider]

...

As Ganondorf waited for the next round to begin, he started sizing up his next opponent. He looked to be a [url=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oHBr0swVwe4/UiznGjXsSkI/AAAAAAAALYA/jQfddbgEtkI/s1600/Dark+Seer+Dota.jpg]purple-skinned sorcerer[/url] of some kind. Likely weak in physical combat but probably able to wield powerful magics that would prove dangerous if he wasn't swiftly dealt with. But perhaps if he became overwhelmed by numbers? A strategy formed in the Gerudo's mind as he returned his attention to the announcer's voice.

"Might vs Magic, who will prevail? Lower... the gates!"

[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_66t2xg-ooE[/youtube][/center]

Neither combatant wasted any time. The Dark Seer stepped forward already channeling a spell. As for Ganondorf, he maintained a distance and cast a spell of his own. Turned out he wasn't just all muscle, as this Dark Seer was about to learn. Before the Dark Seer could fathom what kind of magic Ganondorf possessed, a squad of [url=http://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/MgkLqg4VuHGrZCpCy7GDTd.png]Moblins[/url] appeared out of a brief puff of dark clouds and smoke. They carried spears and ran forward in unison with their weapons pointed forward.

While the mage wasn't expecting to deal with a small infantry charge, he wasn't caught completely off guard. He simply aimed his spell at the charging Moblins, using it to push them aside and send them crashing into the nearby pit wall. One of them disappeared in a puff of smoke, but the rest re-oriented themselves and started closing in on the mage. Ganondorf, meanwhile, chose to watch for now and didn't appear to take any action just yet. But the Dark Seer was not helpless. He was able to use his vacuuming magic to rearrange the positions of the Moblins, resulting in two of them being skewered by the spears of their compatriots and similarly vanishing in a puff of smoke. Then the Dark Seer used magic to fling the remaining two back into the wall and defeating them.

But he wasn't out of the woods yet. He turned and saw his actual opponent lunging toward him with the white sword drawn and poised to outright skewer him. The Dark Seer used his magic to try and push back Ganondorf, and this appeared to even work for a few moments. But the King of Evil kept pushing, the triangle on his right hand giving him more strength as he eventually began pushing through the Dark Seer's magic. When close enough he shot out a leg and kicked the mage to knock him off balance. And then without any hint of hesitation he brought his blade down with a strike that absolutely would have lopped the mage's head off. But it nothing but air, due to the clerics on standby with their rescue staves.

"Good people, we have a winner. All hail GANONDORF!"

Ganondorf flourished the white sword in victory and then offered another thumbs up to signal his desire to continue forward, [color=Red]"Ha ha ha! Come now, City of Tears, give me a REAL challenge!"[/color]

[hider=Results][b]For Ganondorf:[/b] 150 Geo[/hider]

...

Like previously, Ganondorf used the moments behind the gate to try to size up his next opponent. He was a [url=http://static.wikia.nocookie.net/smite_gamepedia/images/8/8b/SkinArt_Chiron_Default.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20151111222807]centaur in green armor[/url] and carried a mighty-looking bow. Ganondorf was somewhat reminded of the centaur-like Lionels that were spoken of in the stories and legends of his own home world. Perhaps this Chiron would finally be the one to give the King of Evil a challenge?

"Who will prevail? Lower... the gates!"

[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPqwfviryGk[/youtube][/center]

The centaur didn't dawdle. He galloped out into the pit and around it's outer edge, seemingly hugging the wall. It seemed his strategy was to force Ganondorf to the center where he could circle around and pelt him with arrow after arrow. Surprisingly enough, Ganondorf indulged the centaur briefly. He made a dodge roll forward and positioned himself close to the pit's center. With one hand he used the white sword deflect an incoming arrow from Chiron. And with his free hand, Ganondorf prepared a spell.

It had already been more than a minute and so Ganondorf was able to conjure himself another squad of Moblins. Unlike the first group these were archers, readying their bows and fire arrows, [color=Red]"Form up and fire on my command!"[/color] immediately the Moblins scrambled into a line and aimed their bows. Naturally, Chiron wasn't about to just wait for them to take their shots and was already aiming an arrow to take out one of the Moblins. But when the centaur fired his shot, the arrow itself was met only by Ganondorf's blade, him having lunged into position to deflect the shot and protect the Moblin Archer. Then he held his sword straight up as a signal for the Moblins to take aim.

After his shot was deflected, the centaur scrambled to ready another. But he also had to interrupt himself when he himself came under fire. He could avoid shots by speeding up his gallop to throw off the timing of the shots, or by hitting breaks and rearing himself back to try and avoid running right into a volley. In one case he even used his bow itself to bat away an enemy fire arrow from striking him. This... kinda left the two combatants at a stalemate of sorts. The moblins loosening their volleys on command, combined with Ganondorf himself deflecting incoming shots from Chiron's bow left the two at a kind of impasse.

Ganondorf had to admit that this centaur was indeed finally giving him a challenge. The sorcerer from the previous round might have had it not been for Moblins giving Ganondorf a numbers advantage. And that penguin thing? Hardly even worth mentioning. This opponent, however, he clearly knew what he was doing. Of course the King of Evil had no intention of saying so aloud.

For Chiron's part, he too had to admit that his opponent was quite competent. The man was clearly a warrior, but could also dabble in spells and was, even now, showing that he was also a capable commander. Chiron surmised that this man, whoever he was, had likely fought on many bloody battlefields in the past, "I must say, Ganondorf: your prowess in the art of war is impressive, indeed!" he called out, not afraid to compliment the skills of his opponent, "I've trained many soldiers and commanders in my time, but I don't believe any of them compare to the likes of you."

[color=Red]"Ha! Your compliment is appreciated, but hardly necessary!"[/color] the Gerudo called back in response, [color=Red]"Flattery will get you nowhere in this battle, centaur! Fire!"[/color] as soon as he commanded, his moblin archers loosed another volley. As soon as they did, Ganondorf went on the move. Unlike all the previous exchanges, the King of Evil used this momentary distraction to make a dash for the galloping centaur's path and used the strength of his legs to leap up on the back of his horse-half.

Chiron immediately knew something was amiss when he noticed Ganondorf no longer among the archers he commanded. Before he knew it he felt something heavy press down his back and instantly knew he'd been mounted by his opponent. He galloped as fast as he could, even charging through the line of moblin archers and trampling right over them. He even tried to purposefully slam his body into the walls of the pit, trying everything to throw the Gerudo man from his back.

But Ganondorf's strength was second to none. He held firm, refusing to be thrown. Soon he wrapped his around the centaur's human neck for an arm-lock, even channeling the Triforce to strengthen his hold. The centaur slammed and bucked and kicked with all his might, but slowly began to weaken from the lack of oxygen. Before long, he was teleported away to save him from passing out entirely.

"Good people, we have a winner! All hail... GANONDORF!"

As before, Ganondorf offered another thumbs up. He would keep going still.

[hider=Results][b]For Ganondorf:[/b] 300 Geo[/hider]

...

When Ganondorf sized up his next opponent, well... he had to admit that this one was definitely strange. It was some kind of... [url=https://www.killerinstinctcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Riptor_Portrait.jpg]lizard[/url]? A lizalfos, maybe? Ganondorf doubted that, since this looked too different to be a Lizalfos, and even if it was... it would never have the courage to attack the man its tribe had sworn loyalty to. So whatever this creature was, it was likely not from Ganondorf's world. Well, whether person or beast, no opponent would frighten the King of Evil.

"Man vs Beast! Who will prevail? Lower... the gate!"

[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i3l_c6Nq9I[/youtube][/center]

Riptor was fast, incredibly fast. She darted out from her starting position with inhuman speed. Ganondorf tried to keep an eye on her, but she darted back forth and proved difficult to keep track of. When she finally attacked, she leaped up and brought her tail crashing down on Ganondorf with a forward somersault. The segmented armor allowed the tail to be used as a powerful blunt weapon.

Ganondorf, being of a bulkier build, could not move out of the way of the incoming tail. It slapped him pretty hard, staggering him back a step. He had to think fast and use the white sword to swing at the creature before she could lunge at him with her mouth full of razor sharp teeth. She also made swift forward kicks with her glowing claws that also proved difficult to deal with. She managed a few nasty slashes on Ganondorf's arms and shoulder. But he did manage to get lucky and caught her by the throat in one of her lunges, and was able to hurl her away from him to give himself a moment of breathing room.

But he had to think fast. She was already on the move again and would be all over him in seconds unless he did something fast. Since it had been a full minute, Ganondorf hurriedly cast his spell to summon the Moblins. These were spearmen who likely wouldn't stand much of a chance against this half-beast/half-machine creature, but they would at least keep her busy for a bit. While the beast tore apart the moblins, Ganondorf watched her movements. He saw her spit a gout of fire on one of his minions, so that was something he'd have to watch out for. He also saw her use her tail like a drill of sorts, watching her run it through a moblin like a spinning skewer. Just what was thing, exactly? It looked and used fire breath like a dinalfos, but it was clearly something different altogether.

Soon enough the moblins were gone. Ganondorf's breather was over and he'd have to get back into the fight himself. But at least he was able to see a few of this creature's tricks and could watch out for them. Riptor made a fast dash for Ganondorf and attempted a powerful pounce. But the King of Evil had a trick or two of his own. Instead of using his weapon, he made a fist and attacked with an uppercut motion, managing to cut off Riptor's attempted attack with his Gerudo Dragon technique. The uppercut slammed into the creature's lower jaw and briefly sent her sprawling. But she was quick to scramble back to her feet and go on the attack.

This time she tried to spear Ganondorf with her tail-drill. But she did not count on the unmatched strength of Ganondorf's arms. He actually managed to catch the drill in his arms with the power of the Triforce. Then he spun himself around and hurled the beast, sending her slamming hard into the wall of the pit's edge. That seemed to briefly knock the wind out of her. And so Ganondorf used the chance to charge forward and slide at her with his Warlock Kick. That also connected and of course hammered the creature back into the wall again. Ganondorf held up his white sword and with a warcry thrust it forward toward the creature. But he instead hit nothing but air. The rescue staves had pulled the beast out of the pit before a deathblow could be dealt.

"Good people, we have a winner! All hail... GANONDORF!"

Ganondorf breathed a bit heavier. That creature, whatever she was, had nearly caught him off guard. It was a pity he didn't have such a creature to serve him, in fact. But after only a moment more of thought, Ganondorf thrust his arm up and offered yet another thumbs up.

[hider=Results][b]For Ganondorf:[/b] 650 Geo[/hider]

...

It wasn't hard to size up Ganondorf's next opponent. The [url=http://nintendoeverything.com/wp-content/uploads/6fa2a37c33bd71c769bdf0a3b9ed60c8.jpg]octopus woman[/url] in question was quite large in stature, mostly due to her massive tentacles, but even without those she would probably still be a match for the Gerudo's own height.

"It seems Ganondorf has has the unfortunate luck of drawing the attention of our very own Barbary! The self-proclaimed Queen of the Thorn has famously gone twenty whole rounds without losing! Does the newcomer stand even a ghost of a chance at dethroning her? Let's find out! Lower... the gate!"

[center][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVqx6yrwERQ[/youtube][/center]

Neither combatant wasted time. Ganondorf went charging out with the white sword drawn. Meanwhile Barbary made her entrance by leaping high up and then crashing back down to the floor. The Gerudo had to dive back out of the way to avoid getting crushed under weight. She lashed at the King of Evil with her massive tentacles, but their size made them sluggish and easy to deflect with the white sword.

But then Barbary started throwing bombs, and Ganondorf had to repeatedly dive out of the way to avoid getting caught by the blasts, "Hehehe, not so fun when yer opponent is bigger'n ye are, is it, matey?" taunted the large octopus lady, her thick pirate accent making her sound even scrappier than she already looked.

[color=Red]"Grr..."[/color] Ganondorf was beginning to get frustrated. She was leaving him very little room to strike back. And her throwing of bombs was beginning to remind of a certain Hero who was known for doing very much the same thing. And that just made his blood boil even more. After their cat-and-mouse game went on for a few moments longer, Ganondorf suddenly drew his other sword and began to dual-wield his weapons. This allowed him to more easily deflect multiple blows, and could perhaps also grant him a much-needed opening to attack so long as he didn't let up.

When it looked like he finally had a chance, Ganondorf went on the offensive. He jumped up and then pushed himself off of a tentacle after avoiding it's attack. With a short series of jumps from her attacking tentacles after deflecting them with his heavy blades, it finally looked as if Ganondorf could get an attack at her main body. But then she went into a rapid spin, causing her tentacles to whirl around like some kind of protective shield that knocked the Gerudo back and tumbling back down to the ground.

But before he landed, she nabbed him out of the air with one of her tentacles. This caused him to drop his weapons. Then, Barbary held him up close to get a good look at his face... and began to squeeze, "Ye best yield, matey. Before yer bones end up breakin'!" she said with a mean grin on her face.

Ganondorf grimaced, so far managing to not show the pain he was currently feeling. But if he didn't do something he'd get pulled out of the pit by those blasted clerics and then lose the prize he'd been fighting so hard to build up, [color=Red]"Grr... argh!"[/color] the Gerudo began to struggle, resulting in Barbary squeezing tighter. No. No, he was not going to lose here. He refused! Ganondorf roared in a mixture of pain and wrath. And his Triforce began to glow with more power. Somehow, despite her larger size, Barbary began to feel her grip on the Gerudo wane. He was actually managing to overpower her tentacle.

And with a mighty cry of anger, the King of Evil finally broke free. He seemingly exploded from her grip, and was now in a perfect position to strike back thanks to her earlier arrogance in holding him up to her face. He dropped down on her with an aerial Warlock Kick that struck her across the face and staggered her. Then after landing, The King of Evil clenched his fist and charged in with a powerful Warlock Punch while she was still recovering from the stagger. That slammed her into the wall of the pit, even doing a bit of structural damage to it. Ganondorf leaped with the intention of hitting her with another Warlock Punch, but she was teleported out of the pit before she could be hit by it.

"Good people! It seems Barbary has finally been dethroned! All! Hail! GANONDORF!"

Ganondorf was quite winded himself. Between this and the claw attacks he took from Riptor, he wasn't certain he could continue on without it becoming a liability. So, he made his decision and offered the crowd a thumbs down. He was done for the night.

[hider=Results][b]For Ganondorf:[/b] 1200 Geo[/hider]

...

A bit later, Ganondorf was exiting the Amusement Park District. Thankfully the clerics in the Thorn healed him up before he left, so he was back to being no worse for wear. Now he was counting up his payout, which he found was a total of 2,350 geo. A nice prize, indeed, and now he could surely buy himself some upgrades.

He made his way back to the marketplace, hurrying along because the evening was beginning to become late. He found a blacksmith shop and entered it. Inside was a [url=http://i0.wp.com/v1cdn.destructoid.com/BlacksmithVamos-noscale.jpg?resize=640%2C360&ssl=1]stout-looking skeleton[/url].

"Just so you know, this ain't some library. If you're not here to do any business, then begone with you. I'm here to smith, not to chitchat."

With a smirk, Ganondorf dropped his bag of geo onto the smith's table, [color=Red]"Business is exactly why I'm here. What kind of work can you do on my weapons for that amount?"[/color] he asked, also placing both of his swords on the counter next to the bag of geo.

"Ah, well now..." said the skeleton, moving to examine the swords, "Not bad, not bad... but definitely room for some improvement." then he inspected the bag of geo, as if mentally counting how much was there, "Hmm, well it's not exactly cheap, but for this much I could maybe give these weapons an infusion, perhaps. A man your size could certainly benefit from a heavy infusion."

[color=Red]"And what does this 'heavy infusion' do?"[/color] asked Ganondorf, his curiosity piqued.

"It adds a certain... weight to the weapon. Make 'em hit harder so long as you got the muscle to do it. And you certainly look like you could benefit from that."

[color=Red]"Hmm... I see."[/color] Ganondorf rubbed his chin, considering the option. Then he made his decision, [color=Red]"Yes, very well. Give my weapons this heavy infusion, then. I trust that payment is enough for you?"[/color]

"Looks that way, yes." said the smith, snatching the geo and then grabbing both swords to take them back to his workshop, "This'll take me some time. I suggest you come back for your swords in the morning, should be ready by then. I'm Vamos, by the way."

[color=Red]"And I am Ganondorf. Very well then, Vamos, I'll leave them to you then."[/color] Ganondorf responded, [color=Red]"I'll return first thing in the morning."[/color]

[hider=Shopping][b]Spent:[/b] 2,350 geo
[b]Purchased:[/b] Heavy Infusions for both swords.[/hider]