Two victories now… one in Half Valley and another in the Wandering Roams. Before the great Master Tooth could celebrate his second victory, he was carried off by a herd of rolling creatures that were surrounded by smaller ones. The ride was swift but rather uncomfortable.

Eventually, the desolate sandy landscape gave way to ice and snow. The great shelled creatures that were rolling the Kiriga master seemed to change as well. Now they looked like strange shelled Jupani that had a bit of bug thrown in for color. They carried the Kiriga along merrily on their backs as they trooped across the snows, howling noisily.

The procession of Vykarin fed the Kiriga and even gave him a skin of burning liquor to help warm up his old bones. Sometime later then, the great master awoke from his liquor-induced meditations to find that his entourage had stopped at the mouth of a cave set in a tall mountain.

The Vykarin howl noisily as if to awaken some great beast inside.

His mood considerably lightened by the good treatment, the somewhat fuzzy-headed Kiriga howls along with them… though his howl is rather scratchier, and has the sound of a somewhat drawn-out kiai. The wineskin dangles from a strap around the sash of his robes, mostly empty by now.

From inside the cave, a deep roar resonates out, causing the ground to rumble and dust to fall from the walls on the inside. The other Vykarin silence themselves and start to form a half-circle outside the cave mouth.

The old master stops as well, though in surprise, the dangling ends of his eyebrows vibrating from the bellow from the cave. He glances around at the Vykarin surrounding him. "Eh… jou notta been treating me out off kinduness of haht, haff jou?"

A green-shelled Vykarin lolls his tongue out and wags his tail. Bits of drool cause the snow to steam slightly under his chin. A few of the other shell-dogs bark and howl, pointing to the cave.

"Hmm. Well… okay, I go see whatchoo haf foh me in cave." With a firm tug and creak, Master Tooth checks the strips of cloth wrapped around each palm and forearm, and strides toward the cave, standing as upright as he can manage. "No doubtah dey take me to see shellback in chahge… to drinkah off wisdom of eldah. Mmm… drinks… "

Several of the Vykarin crowd behind the Kiriga as he enters the cave, but none of them move in too deeply. The walls are illuminated with torches and glowing bits of lichen. (You can't have a mysterious cave without glowing lichen after all!) Up ahead, the tunnel opens up to a larger chamber. Flashes of torch-light glinting off black shell can be seen glinting through the opening.

Long Tooth hobbles forward, squinting in the torch-light… and lichen-light? His fin-like ears twitch on either side from the scuffling noises made by the Vykarin behind him, echoing through the cave until he gets farther ahead of them. Spying the black shell in front of him, he makes his way toward it purposefully. "'Ey! Jou dah! You friens, dey wan' me talkah jou."

"Rrrrr?" comes the answer. As the Master enters the larger chamber, he finds it to be a somewhat roundish room with stalactites and stalagmites growing in their respective places. Pacing back and forth in the center of the room is a black-shelled Vykarin. His face is scarred and bits of shelled jewelry hang from his neck and arms. The Vykarin turns to face the Kiriga and lowers his scarred head, "Durr yur challrnge re?" he growls.

"Kah! I ahm Old Mastah Long Tooth," replies the semi-furred reptile, tapping his sunken chest for emphasis. "I notta know who Durr is, and whyah he challenge Ree… I on'y fightah de best."

"I Cold-Stone," the Vykarin barks. (Apparently he's practiced on saying his name in Standard a bit). "I urm thr brrst! If yur durr not challrnge re… I challrnge yur!"

From around the cave (although unseen) the sound of the Kiriga's entourage can be heard bark-pop-clicking their cheers at this announcement.

Tooth's face wrinkles deeply into a scrunchy orange prune of fierceness. "Soh! Itta obvious someone iss challenged heah! Very well. I showah jou Gnarled Knuckle of Nagai… Arthritic Open Paw off Severah Drubbing. Nameah jou ring, we go."

Cold-Stone crushes a rock under his foot. "Herrre!" he barks, and then lowers his head and CHARGES the Kiriga!

"Cheeah!" Caught off guard, the startled Kiriga springs straight up into the air!

The Vykarin's charge probably would have impacted, had the Master not jumped out of the way. The roof of his head barely brushes the underside of the Kiriga's foot, hinting at how narrowly he missed getting trampled. Meanwhile, the momentum of the Vykarin sends him hurtling onwards… and he impacts headfirst with one of the stone walls.

The chamber rumbles and several stones and bits of broken rock tumble from the ceiling. Cold-Stone shakes himself out and whirls around to face the Kiriga again.

Coming back down, the Kiriga lands lightly on his feet, his robes fluttering slightly as he too turns, staring at his opponent incredulously. "What? Issa DAT jou technique? Jou runnah ovah stuff? Whatchoo call dat?"

"Raaaaaawr!" the Vykarin bellows in response and charges the Kiriga again!

Ready this time, the old master narrows his eyes, crouching again for another spring… and spring he does. With a mighty leap, Long Tooth sails into the air, twisting as he does so to fly upside down. His feet brush a stalactite, applying a horizontal turn to spin him. He comes down squarely on Cold-Stone's back, arms folded, then drops to all fours to keep his balance on the galloping Vykarin's shell. "Hah! You cannot runnah me ovah up heah!" With that exclamation, the Kiriga cocks his fist back for a punch at… well… there's nothing but hard shell available, it seems.

The Vykarin keeps charging forward, heading straight for a collision course with another wall of the arena!

"Hryah!" Bobbing around with the galloping, Master Tooth still takes aim. The orange fighter's fist comes down on his Vykarin foe's shell, and with a resounding crack… the old master draws his paw away from the unmarked shell, gripping it with the other, and bites his lip, a tear coming to one eye. "Ohhhhh… datta smahts… "

An instant later the Vykarin slams into the wall, jostling his passenger and sending rocks and debris raining down again. This can't be good for the cave!

A rather impressive looking stalactite trembles from the ceiling. Another jolt would probably send it toppling down.

With both paws occupied holding one another, the sudden jolt produces predictable results. The Vykarin's stop may be abrupt… but Tooth's takes one millisecond longer… as the momentum carries him onward. With a grunt, he slams into the side of the cave! It takes a moment for the force of the impact to allow the slightly compressed Master Tooth to fall off it.

"Datta… not so smaht… "

Cold-Stone shakes his head and eyes the Kiriga, growling. He starts to back away far enough to get momentum for another charge.

Tooth slowly picks his aching self up, and grimly falls back into his fighting stance, glaring at his opponent. His tufted tail switches behind him, however: a sign of agitation. "He issah ahmored too thick," the old master muses to himself, sizing his foe up. "Whereah can I hit him… ?" Part of his attention diverts itself away from Cold-Stone, directing itself at the wobbling stalactite with some concern. "I mustah make dis fast… Cold-Stone can maybe be bury andah be fine… but me… no, five times is enough."

The Vykarin's tail bumps into the back wall. It paws at the ground with its hoofed foot and then charges at the Kiriga again! "Rawwwwr!"

The charge is returned by Long Tooth, who screams fiercely as he sprints toward Cold-Stone, arms flailing out to reach at one of his foe's limbs. A sudden, unexpected bob by the Vykarin, however, makes Tooth's gambit costly. With a deep thumping noise, the Kiriga's cry is cut off as Cold-Stone's head slams into him like a chitin-covered battering ram. It's all Long Tooth can do to hold onto said head, and pivot on his heel, twisting one of the arms he's managed to grab, and spinning his opponent over toward some stalagmites.

Cold-Stone crashes into the stony fingers and causes a mini cave-in to rain down on his shelled head. He tries to howl, but the sound is cut off as the tip of one of the stalagmites breaks off and bonks him in the noggin. The Vykarin staggers on his feet and (much slower this time) turns to face the Kiriga again. A crack is visible in the shell 'visor' covering his eyes.

"Bwahah!" laughs Master Tooth hoarsely, though he isn't looking a whole lot better himself. He wipes at his nose with the back of one bony fist, leaving a trickle of blood on the cloth strips. "Geddup!" he says, untying the sash from his robe. He discards the billowy garment, wearing a pair of baggy pants beneath it, and keeps holding the sash. "Jou come an' geddit!"

Cold-Stone ROARS! More bits of rocks fall from the ceiling and the jostled stalactite wobbles, hanging by a thread now. The black Vykarin lowers his nose to the ground and charges, crunching bits of stone under his feet.

With a deft side-step, Long Tooth skips out of Cold-Stone's Path… then cartwheels back at him, to find himself seated on the thundering Vykarin's back once more. This time, however, the attack is a subtler one. The old master's sash is slipped over the Vykarin's eyes, just under the visor, and a tied in place with a quick knot. With a hoot, the Kiriga jerks at the ends of the sash like reins, trying to steer his shell-backed "steed" away from the wall!

The Vykarin growls and lashes his head back and forth wildly, slamming it into bits of rock and sending more bits of stone raining down. It bucks wildly, but does veer away from the wall… but it seems to be headed for another one!

Straining for control, the Kiriga bounces around just above Cold-Stone's neck, holding on for dear life. "Woo! Hyai! Slow down! Lookah out!" When it seems evident that Tooth and the blinded Vykarin are headed for another wall, the furred reptile bails out! Er, off!

The wildly charging Vykarin crashes into the wall and lumbers around, his nose sniffing the air to try and smell out the Kiriga. Above, the dangling stalactite finally breaks off and plummets down. Several basket-sized chunks of rock crash against the Vykarin's back.

Amazingly, Cold-Stone pulls himself up to his feet. He wobbles like mad, though and seems to be on the verge of tumbling over. "Rrrrr?"

Long Tooth carefully and quietly begins making his way toward the unsteady Vykarin, pugilistic intent on his mind… until one of his joints cracks noisily, causing him to freeze where he is. *Pop!*

*pop* *Pop* *POP* The sound of Tooth's cracking joint echoes through the cavern. Rocks begin to quiver and fall from the roof again. Wow, the harmonics in here must be great!

A rock impacts Cold-Stone's head and he begins snapping wildly at the air as if trying to bite one of the echoes.

"Oh… fohgeddit! Cold-Stone! I finish dis! I hittah jou so hard, you puppies be born wissa dents!" With that, the old master sprints forward, popping joint and all, then launches himself into a flying kick at the snapping, shaggy noggin of his foe. His cry echoes through the cave…

Time seems to dilate for a moment as the Kiriga rockets through the air, stringy muscles taut, mouth agape in a primal fighting scream. The old master's whiskers and eyebrows trail gracefully after him. A foot juts out, heel extended, and as it impacts with the side of Cold-Stone's head, the shockwave seems to travel from toe to tail on both combatants, a spray of perspiration misting off the Vykarin's nose in lazy droplets. Then suddenly, time snaps back into focus, and Long Tooth has passed, landing and going still, and simply standing there with eyes closed.

Cold-Stone tips sideways like a clay jar being toppled over. He falls to his side with a loud 'crunch' noise, dust spraying out from under his shell. From their hidden places in other areas of the cave, the rest of the Vykarin howl, whine, and bark at the Kiriga's victory.

From the spot where the large stalactite broke off, a familiar golden light starts to form and shine down.

The old master finally turns around, clutching his ribs gingerly before looking up at the light.

A disembodied voice booms out, "Victory for Master Long Tooth of the School of the Arthritic Open Paw of Severe Drubbing, against Cold-Stone, Master of the Vykarin Wastes." The light fades out.

Several of the Vykarin nudge into the cave and help Cold-Stone to his feet. One of them holds out another skin full of that burning liquor to the Kiriga.

The battered reptile nods wordlessly in thanks, taking a long swig from the skin while he retrieves his robe. "He (cough, cough)… fightah good."

"Ruh?" the black-shelled Vykarin burbles before someone pours some of that same liquid down his throat as well. He starts to sound much happier about losing. Long Tooth gets hauled off the ground and is paraded out on the backs of his supporters. The cold stormy air whips the group, but the liquor seems to help somewhat. Off the parading entourage goes – Where to, is anybody's guess!