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SPOILER!!: from earlier in the class eek Oh! Well... that was certainly one use for the club. As soon as the side door opened, Abra span around to watch the progress of the little trolls as they shambled their way into the room, and held his club ready, all the better to hit things with. After all of his experience getting hit by bludgers in Quidditch games, Abra was not the slightest bit willing to allow himself to be hit by the clubs of one of those trolls. Or by the clubs of any of his fellow students, which was why he quickly took a large side step away from anyone else, which put him immediately in the trolls' way. Well, no time like the present. He swung his club - two-handed grip - as hard as he could at the nearest troll, like he was taking out a particularly aggressive bludger (he liked to take out his stress on bludgers, okay? And Abra had a lot of stress). No holds barred, you know? |
Chloe made frowny faces at the Headmaster. She was itchy, yes, but she was fine. He needed to just worry about himself. Not about her. Worry about the class and the... oh, trolls? Trollsssssss? Chloe nibbled on her club as she watched the trolls attack her classmates. She ought to be doing something right now, but her stomach was growling. Oh, right! Fighting the trolls! Chloe bounced to her feet and rushed the nearest troll that had managed to sneak back her classmates. She swung the club like a beater's bat, right at the troll's head. |
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She leaned over, while scooting backwards, to reach for her own club. In a true fight or flight moment, the first year began wildly swinging the club as soon as she reached it. |
This should be pretty easy of the seventh year, after playing beater for three years now. But she wasn’t going to overestimate the professors abilities. She grabbed up a club and held it just like she would a beaters bat. Which was basically what it was. She moved toward the trolls, and took a swing at the closest one to her. This was already turning out the be the best defense lesson ever. At least she was getting some extra Quidditch practice in today. She could use it too. |
Slight catch-up Of course Archer knew the club wasn't food (unless one was talking about a club sandwich). But some part of her had just wanted to know what the thing tasted like (like a young kid with a crayon). A whole lot of wood as it turned out. Or maybe the more accurate description would be a pencil. Either and/or both. Either way, she did make her way over to Professor Trent as asked, even though she was pretty sure that it was just a couple of splinters. In her gums and tongue. She showed her 'injuries' to the professor, feeling glad that she'd remembered to brush and floss her teeth that morning. Could she play whack-a-troll yet? |
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His eyes tracked the other three as they began moving closer to him He wasn't sure which one he should swing at first. Looking at the one in the middle approaching him faster he planted his feet and went for its shoulder. After making contact he rubbed his itchy shoulder. He took a deep breath assessing how he should handle the last two. |
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The second to be hit by the club DDI disappear, however. This one disappeared. Did it seem like the number of trolls was lessening? Perhaps, but there were now two more heading her way. Best keep swinging. Quote:
Clumsily, they stumbled toward her but the timing was clearly off because the third that had approached ran right into that waiting club. Poor thing never had a chance. It never saw it coming. It's friend grunted it's displeasure and raised its club again in manifested anger. It swung wildly, no real method behind it. Quote:
Did she call that a swing?? THIS was a swing!! The club smashed its club toward her knee with all its little troll might. It swung, then swung again in maddening fashion, occasionally waving said club to invite more. This was clearly a free for all. Quote:
Another poofed under her club but the third would not give in. It signalled another over for a double team attack and they both swung toward her shins at the same time. TEAMWORK! Quote:
Overall, the number in the room was descreasing. It wouldn't be much longer. Quote:
In this new position, they tried to get in as many swings as possible. With how wildly he'd been swinging, it wasn't difficult for them to miss the brunt of the assault and now it was their golden opportunity. If they could keep him here on the ground, he would stand no chance. One took a swing at his stomach and another by his shoulder. Over and over they smashed their clubs. Quote:
Her swings were firm and did set a few off their feet. Two disappeared with a poof, never to be seen again. The others staggered back to their feet, momentarily vulnerable while they found their footing. Quote:
The troll looked up at the boy, dumbfounded with a look that read "what'd you do that for?" but the look was short lived before it disappeared into a puff of smoke. It had been a solid swing and the troll would never have recovered. Quickly two trolls fell in place to pick up where the fallen troll had left off. They were uncoordinated in their motions, only occasionally swinging at the same time by chance and luck alone but they were aiming for him and doing their best. Quote:
In all this chaos, another moved up behind her--two in fact. They both took a swing at the back of either knee, hoping to land a solid blow while another stomped toward her from the front. Unintentional distraction? They certainly didn't have the intelligence to coordinate very far beyond "let's all attack at once!" on purpose. It was a strategy with mixed results. Quote:
Her swings were wild, her swings landed on some of the trolls but they would not give up the fight. Finally, one of her wild swings yielded proper results. There was a light puff of smoke, indication she'd managed to hit one of them in solid enough fashion to make it disappear. Oh, another puff. Maybe her swings were accomplishing more than they first appeared to. Quote:
Coming up on the rear, one dragged its club along the floor in her direction. This was as sneaky as it could be. Was she paying attention? Quote:
The Headmaster firmly took hold of her chin, firm but not abrasive. He tilted her head both forward and back to get a full view of what all was going on in there. He could see them, yeah, a few minor splinters. Whatever bleeding had happened was already clearing up. This wouldn't be too difficult. Once he felt he had a good enough idea of what needed fixing, the man waved his wand and cast a simple healing charm. It cleared away the minor cuts and splinters sufficiently enough. "There." Malachi dropped his hand and reholstered his wand. "Good as new, Calrissian. Hop back to the activity, you don't wanna miss out." The number of trolls was already decreasing. Quote:
Alas, all it did was momentarily disable this one while the other two advanced forward with their own wild swings. It was almost a free for all while the middle one scrambled to get its club. Maybe he could try getting in a few more swings in the right place. |
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As the one in front caught her attention, Chloe felt both her knees buckle from the attack from an unseen assailant. Unseen but not unsmelled. Trolls. Trolls, and Chloe was on the ground with three trolls approaching. "A little assistance, please!" Where was her club? |
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She looked around and swallowed before properly attempting to swing at the trolls again. |
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Each approached rapidly and began swinging away as if their magically created and not entirely existent lives depending on it. Now it was her turn to be the metaphoric mole that got whacked and they were having a field day with it to be sure. Help? Sure, they'd help her to a few bruises, free of cost. Quote:
It looked like she was starting to get the hang of it. It was in watching his students now that the Headmaster truly understood that many of his students...had a lot of pent up ...well....EVERYTHING. Good grief, was Spinnet oka--no no, were the trolls Spinnet was massacring okay?? Was BOTROS okay? He'd never seen the boy so visibly give in to the physical. Malachi watched the students, some faring better than others. First Katharos and now Kettleburn were on the floor. Bad idea. "On your feet, you two. Won't whack anything on your backs." But they'd be getting plenty themselves. Phillips may have been in for a similar fate is she hadn't managed to regain her club. Overall, however, they were doing a good job of removing the trolls. The number had significantly decreased by the time he addressed them all. "Get rid of the last of the trolls and gather round!" He instructed, hands back in his pockets while he waited for them to do just that. Once the students were gathered, it was time to move on. "Now that we've gotten a bit of practice down in ways trolls go about their destruction, let's all pause for a bit of reflection. I have two very simple questions. You can answer one, or both. From the readings I expect you've done, what do you know about trolls? Second, what makes muggle means like these clubs impractical and downright il-advised when dealing with their larger counterparts?" OOB: Second question is up! Have your student answer either or both, whichever works for you ^^ What do they know about trolls or why clubs wouldn't be advised as the primary defense against them. I'll move the lesson on again in 24 hrs from the time of this post |
They were finishing up already? Vita felt a little disappointed, honestly. This had been really fun. She was also kind of wondering why she'd never thought to be more interested in the beater position on the Quidditch team. Seems she had a pretty great swing. The last little troll swinging at her leg caused her to side step before she sent her own club crashing down on it. She almost felt sorry for the little guy. Almost. Moving over to the headmaster, Vita considered his question. "There are mountain, forest, and river trolls, sir. As for using clubs to deal with the bigger ones, well, it'd sort of be like the activity we just did, but reversing our places. We'd be the smaller ones and while we might get a few blows in to hurt them, they'd have the strength and size advantage." So unless you could get them in their most vulnerable areas, you probably shouldn't come at them with a club at all. |
None of his hits had landed?! Getting fed up with the activity, Dorian struggled to get up from the ground but failed as one of the trolls started hitting his shoulder and he gasped out loud when another one hit his stomach. Although it did not hurt that bad, the teenager had not eaten breakfast in the morning and his energy level was already low. Clutching the club in his hands till his knuckles turned white, Dorian swung it around with no aim or accuracy at all. He just wanted to get away. While he wasn't the only one who had fallen on the ground, thank Merlin, it was still embarrassing to see that a lot of students were actually good at this and he did not get how they could be enjoying this...violence. As the last few trolls vanished, the Ravenclaw stayed on the floor looking up at the ceiling and dropped his club out of his hand. He hadn't been able to hit even one... With an annoyed huff, he sat upright and stood up. "What was even the point in all this?" he whispered to himself more than to anyone else as he dusted off his uniform and corrected it until he looked presentable again. He had not missed the questions, and the Ravenclaw cheered up a bit. Theory. That was his element. "Trolls have little intelligence and they are very unpredictable which makes them so dangerous. Their height can be up to twelve feet long and they eat human flesh although i read they also like to eat fish" he passed for a moment before continueing. "As for the second question, i think that their head is a weak point for them but because they are at least twelve feet tall it is very hard to reach that place even for a person with magical abilities. So an object like this" he held up the club for a second "Its useless against real trolls because they just feel like its tickling their tough skin." |
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Zoryn matched their battle cry with one of her own, letting out a LOUD GRUNT as she swung her own club down at one troll's head, in time to save her right shin from taking a hit. Her left shin, however, was on the receiving end of a powerful WHACK!courtesy of Troll #2. The Gryffindor winced for a moment, before looking at said Troll with fury in her eyes. She didn't waste a moment's time before swinging at the remaining troll because her shin could wait. That, and biting down on her lip really helped lesson the pain somehow. It was a trick she used when playing Quidditch too. She had endured worse. Quote:
She wanted to fight trolls again! Could they do that? It was actually fun. This, however, was not fun. This was the opposite of fun. "Gonna take a wild stab here and say that they don't just poof away once you hit them," a very great answer by Zoryn A. Spinnet. Aka they'd probably just get angry and things would get ten times worse. Great. Glad we answered that one. Was it time to fight trolls again? |
Merlin, this was exhilarating. But then, Abra already knew it would be, he already knew how much he liked taking out his pent up rAH feels on magically animated but totally insentient objects. Trent had assured them that the trolls wouldn't be hurt or anything, and Abra had taken that to mean physically or emotionally, and so he'd gone all out. And it felt gREAT. When the troll gave him that LOOK, Abra couldn't help but give it an apologetic shrug that basically said 'rules are rules', but it had disappeared in a puff of smoke almost in that same instant, only to be replaced by two more trolls who wandered over. Abra backed up quickly and swung his bat with that same two-handed swing at the first one, aiming to sort of smack it into the second, but just as he did, the second troll managed to club him directly on the ankle. "Ow!" Abra yelped, hopping backwards again on his good foot, at about the same time as he heard Trent calling for them all the get rid of the last few trolls and gather round. Feeling just a little bit vengeful, Abra BOPPED the second troll on the head in the style of whack-a-mole (a game he knew nothing of) and wandered back to the gathering of his classmates, shaking out his foot on every other step. His ankle was alright, he'd endured worse from Quidditch. As for the question, Abra honed in on the second one and raised his hand, after mopping a little sweat from his brow. "Well, trolls are pretty big and thick-skinned, so I imagine that something a lot smaller than them whacking them with a relatively small club will only draw their attention rather than do any damage. Or maybe it would just annoy them. And then you have an annoyed troll coming after you." |
That was fun and seeing the troll fly through the air was the highlight of the day. Nothing could top this class at all, nothing! She stopped with the headmaster got their attention and listened to him talk, taking a swing at a final one that was near her. Once they were gone and she was really focusing Chloe started to think about the questions he asked. "Well the muggle items wouldn't even really hurt a real Troll, just kind of make him madder and then it would hurt or kill you." She couldn't see the club doing any damage and honestly with a bigger one they might not even feel it. |
Right, just don't fall down, Kettleburn. What a very helpful Headmaster they had for themselves. Chloe tossed her club clear and rolled - it was unlikely she'd be able to get up with the trolls looming over her, but as soon as she was clear of their reach and stench, she popped to her feet and brandished her club again. Beater swings, even if it was her least favorite part of practice. Chloe wound up and hit each of them in succession, putting all her strength into seeing them disappear into a puff of smoke. If only all problems were this satisfying to conquer. The professor gathered them together again, and Chloe thought back to her reading. "Some of the spells we use for dueling are not calibrated correctly for handling a troll. So a Stupefy is unlikely to have the same intended impact, especially with them being so much bigger and their brains working differently than a witch or wizard. That being said, sir, spells are still more suitable than physical defense. You have to get pretty close to a troll to hit it with a club, and their reach is much longer than ours. That means that I'm within his range well before he's within mine." |
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"And Mallari is absolutely right. Try to use a club when handling these things and you'll be the ones getting a solid knock to the head--or anywhere else they get you." Which wouldn't have been pleasant at all. Quote:
"Along with that low intelligence you mentioned, they've also got a nasty temper. Not sure they'd find the clubs particularly ticklish but you're definitely correct, they wouldn't feel a thing--not to the extent you'd need them to in order to get them away from you." The head was indeed a weak spot, the problem was getting to it without dying in the process, which they saw through the mini trolls trying to get at them. It was like Mallari had said. The activity was the scenario in reverse. Quote:
"As wild a guess as that one was, Spinnet, you're correct. They don't disappear in puffs of smoke if you managed to get a solid hit on their heads." He would just...move on. Evidently, nothing more was coming from this. Quote:
The little trolls just now were an exercise in that. Granted....they likely hurt more than a human with a club could hurt a real troll but the idea was there. "Never wanna have an annoyed troll after you. It's a sticky situation." And painful but that went without saying, surely. Quote:
"All you'd do is irritate them and get yourself in quite the fix. It's never advised to use muggle instruments when dealing with trolls--and many other magical creatures for that matter. " Quote:
So long as she never tried that with real trolls. That was how you got stomped. Her answers were more impressive and made him willing to forget that little stunt. [b]"Excellent, Kettleburn. I hope everyone was paying attention to that response. You're absolutely correct."{/b] He especially liked that she'd acknowledged the futility of physical attacks when the troll's reach would always be wider than your own. ---------- Malachi glanced down at his watch. Time was ticking by and they still had one more thing to do before he dismissed them. "Those were very good responses....most of you." He wouldn't Spinnet be calling Spinnet any Spinnet names Spinnet. They all knew who gave valuable answers. He would leave it at that. "Kettleburn mentioned a few things I want you all to keep in mind. Some spells won't have the same effect on trolls as they would on witches and wizards because of how they're made up. Mind effects won't work so spells that affect thinking are likely to be useless. Similarly, a few of you mentioned the futility of hitting them with these little clubs when it won't do more than make them angrier than they likely already are." After today, he didn't expect any of them to attempt physical attacks on trolls. "They've got nasty tempers, low intelligence and a taste for human flesh--though as Katharos mentioned, they also eat fish. That said, if they had to choose between you and fish, hands down, you'll be the one on the menu." So no one got the idea that if they had trolls they could distract them with fish. With such simple thinking, all the reasoning the troll would have would be "human tastier, fish can wait" and they could fill in the rest. "I won't take much more time with explanations, as I'm sure most of you," Looking at you Spinnet, "did the reading so I'll end with the reminder that the best way to deal with trolls is the bludgeoning hex. It's much like what we did just now with the mini trolls, a good, solid hit to the head but without the danger of having to get close enough for them to get you first." Which was always a good plan. "Today, we'll be making use of the bludgeoning hex--as I'd like to assume you all came to the arena to practice at some point after our last lesson." It was apart of the homework afterall. "In a second, you'll be meeting your final test. Don't panic. Remember all you've been taught in the last class and what you may or may not have practiced for your homework." With a flick of his wand, the side door opened once again. STOMP. STOMP. STOMP. The ground shook with each step the troll made. Towering at a good 12 ft, the mountain troll made its way into the room. Its club remained against its shoulder and it gave a loud grunt. It wasn't any more real than the other trolls had been and would disappear if hit just right and just enough times. "I have a few of these in the back room waiting. Defeat a certain amount and I'll cancel the homework I planned for you. Keep away from its club. It doesn't matter that it isn't real. Treat this as a real life situation. In real life, you wouldn't stand around and wait to be clobbered." If they didn't, the club would hurt just a bit more than the mini trolls' had but not by much more. The bulk of the effects there would be a sudden chill that ran deep to their bones. It would knock them around but it wouldn't cause serious harm. The idea was to have them learning, not dead. Dead would be unfortunate. "Go!" OOC: Main activity tiiiimmmeeee! There's currently a troll in the arena. Everyone will have to work together to take it down. A certain amount of blows to the head will cause it to vanish so team work is key. Once it leaves, another will appear. I'll try to post the troll's reactions as regularly as I can. You have until Feb. 20 to get posts in. If you've got any questions, don't hesitate to ask. ^_^ |
Even though she knew deep down the 12 ft mountain troll wasn't real, the sight of him still sent a shiver down her spine. He was huge, frightening, and could easily take out half the class with a swing of his club, which was enough to cause this sixth year to take several steps back. She was small, but quick, and that could be an advantage in this situation, so she was going to keep moving around. Aiming her wand at the troll's head, Vita concentrated on the bludgeoning hex and said the incantation clearly and forcefully. "Labefactum!" |
And just like that, there were trolls! But like… almost cute. Jackson watched as the miniatures filled the room and got his club in a baseball stance. He’d really have to bend his knees to get a good hit on these little guys. He saw them starting to close in on his location aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand SWING BATTA! He had managed to land some kind of hit, but the angle had been all wrong. Okay no problem, no problem, just have to try again! Aaaaaaaaaaaaand WHAM! Okay, that was more satisfying. Things were getting easier as he progressed, and he had been able to hit a few more trolls before they were called to attention again. “They aren’t known for their smarts, but they can be very strong especially normally sized… Clubs and stuff are definitely impractical… You might as well try to blow over a brick house with a deep breath.” And you couldn’t just huff and puff and blow the trolls away. |
Having practiced the bludgeoning hex and feeling fairly confident about it now, Dorian took his acacia wand out of his holster and held it in his hand when the Headmaster opened the side door and a twelve feet troll entered the arena. He knew that its wasn't a real one but it still activated his fight or flight instincts and he took a few steps backwards to the wall. He wanted to leave the class and the only reason he stayed was because he wanted a good grade. And what if this came up during his exams at the end of the year? He didn't want to fail. Wait, few?! He had a FEW more trolls in the back?! Were they even able to defeat one? Like the Headmaster had said, they had to work together but the problem was, he wasn't a team player. Moving to the side, Dorian walked swiftly along side the wall until he was behind the troll and aimed his wand at its head. His blue eyes narrowed as he thought of the spell before he twirled it clockwise in a circular motion and flicked his wand at the head "Labefactum!" |
Catch up The question was as to why a club wouldn’t be ideal right? He was so out of it after finally slugging the troll in the head. It disappeared. He caught his breath and thought over the question. He realized that he he wouldn’t want to anger the trolls. He had done that and they just kept coming back to him with more anger. He thought that over as he listened to people mention their low intelligence that he knew of. He was thinking it over ready to answer when he heard that they were going to be fighting a troll. As a collective. He took in a deep breath not ready to have to do this. UNTIL No homework. He got himself ready because he wanted to not have to do homework. Watching as the troll came into view he took another deep breath. Watching Vita and Dorian start using the bludgeoning hex he calculated when he should use it himself. Seeing no time like the present he raised his wand, “Labefactum!” he really wanted this thing to go down so they didn’t have homework. |
Hers was one of the good answers. If you know, you know. Nasty tempers? Low intelligence? Man, these trolls were sounding awfully familiar. Perhaps Anna Meriwether had a family relation she didn’t know about. Zoryn would be sure to point it out to the girl later. The seventh year was nothing if not a great friend. Just trying to make sure Anna found her long lost family! What an incredibly great samaritan. As for that look, Zoryn had no earthly idea as to why it was warranted. She just flashed Headmaster Trent an innocent smile. Of course she did the reading (not)! But he didn’t have to know that. She could improvise, it was one of her talents. Mhm. Zor wasn’t worried about it. Until the thing came stomping into the arena. Whoa. It was huge, a characteristic which Zoryn typically didn’t mind, just not in this instance. But all Trent had to say were those magic words ‘cancel the homework’ and Zoryn Amari Spinnet was absolutely on board. The Gryffindor found herself standing opposite Patrick who had just sent a bludgeoning hex towards the Troll, and wasted no time drawing her own wand forward. “Labefactum!” TAKE THAT TROLL FACE! |
Real troll or not, Nettie couldn't help but wrinkle her nose. Trolls irked her for a number of reasons - they were gross, smelly, and DANGEROUS. Even if the troll wasn't real, they'd been warned that they needed to stay away from the club. You didn't need to tell Nettie twice. The bludgeoning spell - yes, she recalled practicing that. As she thought about the incantation and the wand movement, she noticed that she had been scratching her arm a TON. So much so that she had actually broken the skin in some places. She frowned and pulled her sleeves down over her arms. She must be letting all this DRAMA surrounding her life get to her more than she realized. Must be an anxious tick or something. The promise of no homework had certainly lit a fire under some people, and she grabbed her wand and moved it in a circular motion, flicking it at the troll's head. "Labefactum!" she exclaimed. She made sure to keep her distance - she could easily jump and hide behind the Slytherin captain if she needed to. Or she'd throw Zoryn at the fake troll. She was taking NO chances. |
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Hanna listened in to the answering of the questions on trolls and bats, but felt she had little to contribute. Still, she took in what had been said and paid attention to Professor Trent's summary. The loud stomps distracted her into another wave of anxiety, at the thought of the size of the troll making that sound. And trying to remember the incantation to the Bludgeoning hex was, at this current time, rather difficult to focus on. Deep breaths, Newton. As the troll came into the arena, she listened to what her classmates were saying. As soon as Vita got started it all came back to her. Of course, Labefactum. It was time to get even with the trolls. Even if it meant no homework, which wasn't a promise that particularly excited Hanna. Watching others first, as they had a go at hitting the troll with their bludgeoning hexes, and it was time. She raised her wand, trying to focus on the spell and keep her voice steady. "Labefactum," she cast, moving her wand in a clockwise circular motion, aiming it around the troll's head, and adding a flick in. |
Hooray! She thanked the Headmaster before heading off to whack some mini-trolls around a bit. Before Archer could get too into the activity however (probably a good thing too, just saying), the Headmaster called a time-out. For question asking. Which she didn't answer because, well, what was the point in repeating what had already been said? And yes, she'd done the reading and the bludgeoing hex practice. A fact that was proved when the actual-sized troll came stomping out as if it was Mario jumping on those little mushroom guys. Archer aimed her wand at its head and cast "Labefactum!" Yeah, she hadn't even heard the part about 'no homework'. |
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