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Well, if that's the way Mokk wanted it, Pint would gladly swing in first. The dwarf whirled his staff a few more times before he got into position, staff held with both hands with one end pointed at his opponent.

As the Rhinoman taunted him, the dwarf slid forward and swung the butt of his weapon at the side of Mokk's stomach.

Brenna chuckled when Caitlin asked who to put money on. "If it were mine, I'd put it on Pint," but she held up a hand. "But it's your money, so you put it on who you want."

With the highfalutin crowd already tossing out wagers of more money than she had to her name, she'd have to stay out of the betting arena.

Really, she had no idea who would win. She'd only just met Pint that morning and hadn't witnessed him fight yet.

Both attacks are clearly going to miss, as Pint and Mokk lunge at each other clumsily, sizing each other up before the fight really gets going. (( But I need to work out armour classes and THACO (to hit armour class zero) ))

"Go dwarf go" shouts Caitlin, "Daddy has put money on you".
"Rhinoman, Rhinoman, Rhinoman" says Lady Helena, "get him with your horn." Then she groans as Mokk misses his attack, "Come on, he is half your size."
"Why did your friend the ambassador back the Rhinoman, when Brenna advised the dwarf?" asks Caitlin.
"He's not my friend" says Lady Helena, "He's just accompanying me".

The large figure was caught off guard by the dwarf's sudden charge. He tried to attack where Pint had been, instead of anticipating how he'd move. A twisting punch flew harmlessly grazed a strong dwarven side. Mokk had been agile enough to also throw off his attacker. The staff failed to make full contact because of this.

Movement had thrown him off balance, arm extended behind Pint. With a sweeping motion, the rhinoman shifted his weight back into a low kick. Mokk had taken a low stance at the fight's start. It helped him balance his heft. He tried kicking low enough to sweep the legs out from underneath the stout dwarf.

The move would also help him turn back towards Pint. Cheers and jeers echoed off the tavern's acoustics.

((Oof! We're doing THACO?? I didn't know we were playing 2nd edition. Now I see why people complain whenever I pull Pint's Pathfinder stats.))


Yep, pretty much like fighting an ogre, thought Pint, except smarter. The dwarf used his much smaller height to his advantage and made himself a difficult target to attack. He went in and out of Mokk's striking range, using his weapon to do the work for him and check how far he could hit The butt strike missed, but it served to gauge just how agile his opponent was. It looked like Pint couldn't rely on just the basics against this guy, he would need to pull out more complicated techniques.

Such as striking just when his opponent was attacking, hammering the gap as the Bloodhorns called it. Pint waited patiently just outside of Mokk's range and let the Rhinoman take the next shot this time. As Mokk leaned in to attack, the dwarf jumped over the attack at his legs and swung a downwards overhead strike, trying to rack Mokk across the face with his staff.

Both attacks miss again, as the fighters circle each other, trying to land the first blow. Mokk goes low, but Pint is too fast for him. However Pint's blow fails to connect as the Rhinoman moves his horn. The combatants effectively change sides.

"You need to get him under the neck" shouts Captain Baring at Pint.
"Go on, Pint" screams Caitlin, "Bash him with your staff".
"I think the Rhinoman has the measure of him" says the Petulan ambassador coolly. "I'll raise my wager."

The two go in for new attacks.

The two fighters seemed evenly matched. Mokk stood at about 6'1. He height was not towering by any means. The difference in size between him and Pint seemed to take getting used to on the parts of both fighters. The Rhinoman was also taking care not to simply charge Pint with his horn. That was not a tactic for sparring, but for goring orcs.

After a wide circle, both fighters seemed to reset. Mokk stretched his lower back before resuming his low stance. Cautious eyes watched the staff cautiously. Mokk stepped forward and feinted a low-cross punch with his right. A low kick suddenly sprung upwards from Mokk's left.

His goal was to sneak the kick into the dwarf's side. This kick came up higher than his previous sweeping attempt.

Pint went for the reset as well, dashing backwards and away from Mokk's large striking range to reposition himself. He gave his quarterstaff a few twirls and circled around his opponent, gaze upon him. The dwarf was indeed wondering why Mokk hadn't tried to charge him with his horn yet, in fact he was kind of baiting it at his point, approaching Mokk as a bullfighter would. Mokk seemed more interested on throwing punches and kicks though which was somewhat comforting to Pint actually seeing as he actually knew what to do against such attacks.

As such, Pint went again into a fighting stance meant to fight ogres, circling around then abruptly changing trajectory to make it hard for his opponent to focus on him. Pint raised his staff defensively when he saw that cross coming, though realizing it was instead a kick he threw his shoulder into the blow to cushion the attack.

Dwarves were made of sturdy stuff but he'd rather not just take a kick for free like that without giving something back. Seeing as he was already inside Mokk's circle of defense, the dwarf went for another butt strike with his staff, swinging his weapon at the inside of Mokk's leg to hit his peroneal artery and numb up the Rhinoman's leg.

Wham! Mokk lands a critical hit on PInt.

"Go on" says Lady Helena, "kick him, kick him, kick him. Knock the stuffing out of that dwarf."
Pint grunts in pain, so severe that he can't get his counter-attack in.
"I told you the Rhinoman would win" says the Petulan ambassador.
'We shouldn't have allowed this" says Captain Baring, "it's meant to be a test of swordplay, not unarmed combat with a monster. Dwarf, do you want me to stop the fight?" He stands close to the combatants, but not actually between them.
"Oh let them go on" begs Caitlin, "Pint still has a chance of winning. Go on Pint, hit him on the neck with that staff."

The whole inn is now standing in a circle around the fighters.
"For the honour of the dwarves, if Pint steps down I'll have to step in" says Dalin to Mistress Weather, quietly. Pint suspects that he wasn't meant to overhear it, but with his alertness heightened by the fight, he does.

Ow... Brenna cringed a bit at how hard the rhinoman's kick seemed. "It's supposed to be a friendly spar," Brenna reminded Lady Helena, with as much civility in her tone as she could manage. Put her in there against either of them and knock the stuffing out of her...

Maybe, she hoped, she'd able to avoid the lady during their travels tomorrow.

Mokk knew better than to simply charge head first at a dwarf. Pint had a lower center of gravity and a staff which gave him a long reach. If Mokk charged head first, that same head would get cracked with the staff. A charge is better against a bigger target like an orc or even bigger humans. Tactics are everything. Mokk has also never been much of a swordsman. A wooden one would be little more than a club in his hand.

Mokk favored blunt heavy weapons, such as a warhammer or mace. Several similar weapons were locked up in his carriage's safe. The Rhino's sensitive ears would be alerted by his horses' cries if anyone dared rummage through his vehicle.

The tactics he was using now mostly relied on his reflexes and ability to stand his ground. Mokk had his horn wrapped for safety from incidental contact. There didn't seem to be a good way to lightly tap a dwarf with the organic weapon. The Rhinoman had little trust that bandages would prevent Pint from being impaled.

As the kick landed, Mokk realized it hit harder than he planned. Talk started coming about closing the fight. Someone even rudely called him a monster. An onlooker approached and asked about ending things. Mokk knew the dwarf wouldn't overreact like these humans, nor would he end the fight. A dwarf would have been more offended if an opponent took it easy on them.

He had to shift out of the kick and twist. There was space, but Pint didn't slack on recovering. A sudden burst carried the heavy form into a sprint. Mokk's head was higher than a horn first charge, pointed away from the dwarf. Large arms reached out to grapple with Pint. His intent was to hopefully take him to the ground. There was still a chance Pint could crack him away with the staff or even outpower him in the grapple. He would likely have to take a blow before even having the chance to successfully grapple.

Dwarves may be short, but they could easily match a Rhinoman's strength. Mokk knew this as he undertook his bold move. It could easily turn out wrong for the charging figure.

"Hah! Come on, lads! That was just a love tap!" Pint laughed as he heard people trying to call off the fight just because he took a kick to the shoulder, had they never seen sparring before? Nevertheless, the dwarf laughed off a wound that looked like would have taken out of commission some of the soldiers in the fort. Backing up, he rolled his injured shoulder to force circulation back into his arm. A fierce grin in his mouth, showing through his bright red beard. "Yer a fighter I'll give ye that! Certainly better than most orcs I've fought!" No, it didn't look like Pint had any intentions of calling the fight, he ain't no pansy!

Likewise, Pint knew better than to thrust his staff out like if it was a spear. With that much momentum coming into the charge, even if the tip of the quarterstaff was blunt he could very well accidentally run Mokk through. He might be vicious but he was also a trained fighter and knew about safety in spars.

That is why when he saw Mokk charging at him, rather than brace himself and extended the staff out as some might do out of reflex, Pint counter charged holding his staff horizontally. He shoved the staff forward aiming to check Mokk with it across the chest, slamming him hard to push him off from his attempted grapple and straight send him to the ground if the impact of his hockey body check was hard enough.

Mokk grapples Pint and attempts to force him to the ground. Pint counter-attacks by imposing his staff, held horizontally, but it's a bad move, Mokk is too close to him.

Mokk tries to force Pint to the floor, but the dwarf is too stocky and strong for him. The two fighters are held in a grappling embrace, with Pint still holding his staff, but unable to get any purchase because Mokk is so close.

"You're not his lover boy" shouts Lady Helena, "go on, kick him again."
"Go on Pint" shouts Caitlin in excitement.
"This is better than a sword fight" says Lady Helena, to Brenna, "they are really hurting each other. I'm in the mood for watching a good fight, to take my mind off things."

Brenna showed great restraint in not rolling her eyes at Lady Helena's not so subtle martyr-ish statement. Why she might think anyone here cared about her issues after she'd been such an arrogant sourpuss all evening was beyond Brenna.

Unless of course she was willing to pay to have someone fix those issues. She only entertained that thought for a moment before discarding it. She wasn't sure she could stand to listen to the woman long enough to even bring it up.

"Get 'im Pint!" she added to the chorus of cheers.

Mokk’s breathing had become more rapid by now. His expression was still somewhat warm, clearly separating his aggression from his feelings. Through the tension of grappling, he said, “Strong charge.” Mokk had gotten to step one. This clench is what he hoped to accomplish with his charge.

Now Mokk had to try to secure Pint and take him down. He knew the dwarf could also get the larger Rhinoman into a choke or joint hold. The Rhinott tried securing the dwarf, kicking a leg to try trapping his. Next he had to wrap both arms.

There was still the chance for Pint to turn the tables. With a grunt, Mokk tried to lift and roll the dwarf. His back was bent low to grapple the shorter person.

"Hrrgg!! Oh yeh, having fun yet, laddie? Hahah!" Pint had no trouble separating his aggression considering there was none, spars where just a game for him. The dwarf drew breaths in and out rhythmically as he controlled his breathing, keeping himself from getting tired whilst struggling against Mokk's hold. Grappling a taller opponent was risky but that's part of the reason why Pint preferred a quarterstaff over sword and board, it's far too difficult to pull any defensive maneuvers with a bulky shield on the way-- a staff was far more versatile.

Case in point, as Mokk tried to bring his arms around Pint for the take down, the dwarf flicked the Rhinoman's arms away by twisting his staff this way and that. This kept the Rhinoman away enough from him that when he tried to go for the leg sweep, Pint simply raised his foot and let it go under him to avoid it.

As they continued struggling, Pint decided it was time to use that lower center of gravity to his advantage. He stuck the quarterstaff under the Rhinoman's armpits and twist his body around, aiming to pull and flip Mokk over him and fling him to the ground with a hip throw.

Mokk tries to lift and roll Pint, but Pint is far too fast for him. Swiftly, the dwarf counter-attacks, placing his quarterstaff under the rhinoman's armpits. It's a clumsy move, but it just works (Mokk has AC 11, same as a rhinoceros).

Mokk fails to save himself, and comes crashing down to the floor.

"I told you to kick him" says Lady Helena.
"Pint is the winner" says Caitlin.

At that moment, there is a ring of the bell at the door of the inn. Neemus Xercles enters.