Re: [Round Three] Every Man Against Himself
The city was swarming with people, some clearly in a rush to get somewhere, others strolling leisurely, but all of them seeing to their own devices. Larena walked down the main boulevard, her boots thudding elegantly on its paved surface, the elf taking in her surroundings with keen interest. There were stores and shops selling every kind of merchandise imaginable at either end of the road, their stalls teeming with eager customers. She smiled to herself, knowing that she could afford anything they had to offer.
The townspeople were almost exclusively human, and apparently of the xenophobic variety seeing as she got frequent apprehensive stares as eyes were cast at her most prominent feature: her large, elven ears. Larena gave a faint “Hmph” as she shrugged mentally, and upturned her nose in contempt as she continued walking, indifferent to their scrutiny.
Her eyes suddenly widened as she saw the imposing building now directly ahead of her, and she stopped in her tracks, looking at it with a sense of awe. A great marble dome rose in the centre of the sprawling structure, glittering in the intense midday sun. The dome was supported by the lower part of the building, which was a massive circular stone base, the top of which was lined with an intricate parapet. There were four small towers at equidistant vertices growing out of the circular base, and at the side of the structure directly across the boulevard Larena was walking on, there rose a massive bell tower, as high as the dome itself.
She would have seriously doubted that humans could construct such an architectural masterpiece, and even though one was now right in front of her, she assumed there must have been elves involved in its design and constructions, and humans had just taken credit for it.
Despite that, she found herself unable to detach her gaze from its marble walls. She had always been fascinated by amazing sights, and this was no exception. An almost childish curiosity had taken ahold of her, and she longed to explore the grandiose structure.
The elf suddenly realised that there were several people staring intently at her, as she stood glued to the ground with her mouth slightly agape, captivated by the magnificent sight. She quickly closed her mouth as her cheeks flushed with colour at all the unwanted attention, and she resumed walking, upturning her nose in indifference once more.
Reaching the thick outer wall surrounding the structure, she was reminded of a fortress or armoury, yet there were no soldiers at all in the vicinity, just a throng of ordinary people entering and exciting the structure. As she walked under the imposing arch of the wall and into the inner courtyard, the gazes on her intensified, almost as if someone like her had no right whatsoever to be in such a place. Paying them no heed, she made her way to the main entrance.
Walking through the large oak and ivory doors she entered the main room, but the sudden change in light and temperature caused her to sneeze loudly, her skirt billowing dangerously as she did so. Almost immediately, every pair of eyes from the vast number of pew seats glared at her, and the elf's cheeks burned red once more. Disrespectful stares followed her as she walked down the aisle, and the priest appeared downright appalled. Eager to escape the scathing stares, she took the first diverging aisle to her right and quickly drifted away from the mass of believers.
She didn’t turn back, but she could feel the eyes boring at her slightly exposed thighs with self-righteous fury. Eager to get away from the embarrassing situation, she went through the side door and found herself walking down a quiet and most importantly unpopulated hallway. She breathed with relief, and then her eye caught the multitude of war memorabilia lining the hallway walls and she sped off, curiosity taking the best of her once more.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she heard noises and scurrying in the distance, and what appeared to be the sound of metal clashing against metal. She froze where she stood for a few moments, listening with apprehension. Yet she couldn’t douse her aroused curiosity, and taking a few timid steps at first, then flat-out running, she made her way towards the source of the disturbance.
Reaching what appeared to be an arched entrance concealed behind a stained curtain, she saw glowing lights and heard loud clashing and grunts. Arching an eyebrow, she pushed past the curtain and entered.
“What the hell is -“
At this she froze, eyes wide and utterly speechless as a blade flew past her face, missing her by inches and embedding itself in the wall behind her. And to add to her shock, the assailant who now stood facing her was a statue which looked exactly like her, ready to strike once more.
She didn't even notice the other two people in the room, nor the horde of life-size statues surrounding them all.