Jake launches himself at Murdoch with a flurry of strokes and swipes, all of which Murdoch either deflects or evades, dancing back lightly; if he gets embroiled in a battle of strength, the result may well become something that Murdoch doesn't want. At least if they play his game, he can be sure he's winning.
Murdoch deflects a thrust easily, sweeping his blade in a crescent moon to send the blade wide, using the momentum to spin the opposite way, around Jake. He takes a few light steps backwards, just out of range of him, tempting him to attack again. Sure enough, Jake turns around and barely pauses before he moves his shield out of the way, bringing his blade around into a backhanded slash, one that Murdoch easily deflects with his blade. They both take a step backwards, and Murdoch looks closely at his opponent. That last attack was definitely slower than the others, and sloppy besides, and Aries campers usually take pride in their precise, surgical strikes. On closer inspection, the once-fair face of the combatant is now red and puffed up, and Murdoch can hear the heavy breathing and see the rapid rising and falling of Jakes chest. That's exactly what he was aiming for, and exactly why he never wears heavy armour; armour is good for keeping you protected, but in a drawn-out fight with an agile opponent, it can be a hinderence. If you wear armour, you will get hot, tired and worn out a lot faster than a lighter armoured combatant, and you'll be slower besides; that's why Murdoch has been able to dance out of the way of so many of Jakes attacks so far, and why Jake is almost completely exhausted when Murdoch is barely out of breath.
"We can take a five minute break, if you want," Murdoch says flatly. Neither the words nor the tone are particularly antagonistic, but Jakes nostrils flare, precisely what Murdoch wanted. Aries campers are blinded by their arrogance and pride, and will become incensed at the idea that they have to rest in a duel or a battle; their father is the God of War, after all, so 'they shouldn't need to rest! they can fight just as long as anyone else!' Foolish, of course, but Murdoch can use it. Sure enough, Jake bellows a wordless roar and charges forwards again, and Murdoch allows himself a grim smile. It's time to end this farce.
Jake charges, temper aflame- Aries campers always seem to have a temper; it must be genetic or something- and draws his arm back so that the blade is parallel to his waist. He snarls and thrusts forwards when he gets in range, but as soon as Murdoch had seen the arm begin to tense, he was already moving, spinning to the side as Jake charged past. Coming out of his spin quickly, he doesn't dance backwards, but instead brings his blade up and around and, grasping it with both hands, carves it down Jakes lower leg, causing Jake to cry out in shock and temporary pain. The blade leaves no mark, but the simulated pain forces him to one knee. He attempts to rise, but Murdoch pivots from his attack on Jakes calf and smashes him in the side of the head with the flat of the blade. Even wearing a helmet, that's going to hurt- especially with the speed that blade was going- and without a sound, Jake crumples to the floor, falling over sideways in a cloud of dust.
And just like that, it's over.
As he turns away, he hears something. The baying and cheering of the gang has stopped, and instead the leader- Beth- is calling out to him. "Hey! Hey, You!" Murdoch turns a little wearily, but keeps his face and body composed. The three remaining Aries children are jumping the barrier and advancing towards him, hands fiddling with the hilts of their weapons restlessly. This isn't a good sign. Aries children only play with their weapon when they're nervous, irritable, restless or angry, and all four scenarios end up with someone getting stabbed. At least their weapons are bound similarly to Murdochs.
They come to a stop a few feet away from him, the two males- the twins Dominic and Jamie- a foot or so closer than Beth. Beth, the only one of the three not wearing a helmet, shakes out her flame-red hair and turns her sharp brown eyes on Murdoch, a look of withering contempt on her face, turning her otherwise-comely-looking face ugly with the sneer.
"You cheated," She states. It isn't a question.
Murdoch raises an eyebrow and makes a 'huh' sound. "Did I? Explain, please, so I don't repeat it in future." He has to struggle to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.
She tosses her head again, a habit that Murdoch notices she has when she's angry. "This is meant to be a duel, a fight between two warriors, an honourable clashing of swords and steel!" She says, her voice raising. She's getting even more angry just saying it out loud...although, Murdoch hadn't realised she was so naive. Real combat doesn't work like that, and she should know it...fighting isn't romantic, it isn't clean and clinical, it isn't one-on-one sparring. Real fighting, real war, real death is blood and dirt and dust, mixing in the air, in your nostrils, infecting your lungs, the smell of death and decay invading your nostrils, all around you, the sounds of dying animals and men assaulting your ears, last cries and barks and groans thundering into your skull, blood on your hands, your face, your chest, your sword, everything, the stench of violence and pointless, pointless loss of life everywhere...it isn't romantic. It's horrific and violent and messy. Real combat isn't a training duel.
"Our steel clashed, didn't it?" Murdoch asks innocently, shifting his grip on his blade.
Beth snorts contemptuously. "Technicalities. The point is, you disrespect the very nature of honourable combat. You insult the very sand you stand on with your cowardice...you don't fight with honour!"
Murdoch considers it for a moment, then concedes the point. "No," He says, "I don't." He pauses for a few moments, before turning a little and pointing towards the form of Jake, lying in the dirt. It's a surprise that nobodies moved to help him, but from what Murdoch has seen of Jake, nobody likely cares. "He did." Murdoch says it simply and matter-of-factly, and the implication isn't lost on the Aries children. They hiss a little, and Beth tosses her head again.
"Dominic, Jamie, teach him a lesson in honour," she says, stepping backwards a little. Murdoch wonders at that for a moment; she's letting someone else do the fighting? What kind of Daughter of Aries is she? But then he has no more time to think, as the twins are on him. He jumps backwards, out of the way of a stroke from Dominic, and brings his blade up in time to turn aside a thrust from Jamie, before having to reverse the direction of the blade to intercept a swift cut from Dominic. He spins on the spot, stepping out of the way of both of them, watching them warily. He'll have to play this right; defeat all of them, and people will pay him undue attention- how does a Son of Hermes with little known training experience come to defeat three Children of Aries at once? No, his past is best not explored, so he needs to avoid that. The other alternative is...difficult, but not unattainable. He needs to put up enough of a fight so that they know he's capable, but ultimately take a dive so they save face and don't come after him with renewed vigour, and so that they redirect their attention to him or- preferably- someone else, an easier target- ok, it's selfish, but this is a dog-eat-dog world- and forget about him and his little protectee, Alaya.
The twins attack again, Dominic thrusting towards him. As Murdoch twists out of the way, he catches sight of Jamies blade whistling towards his unprotected head, and only just manage to duck out of the way. Pivoting, he strikes Jamie hard in the leg, forcing a grunt and stagger from him, but before he can capitalize on the advantage, Dominics blade flashes down and, although Murdoch deflects it, he is forced backwards. They're well drilled to fight as a team, that much is obvious. Whenever Dominic attacks, Jamie follows up to compliment his style and vice versa, and when Murdoch attacks, they defend each others blind spots. It might be easier to throw this fight than he originally thought...but not yet. Dominic launches himself towards Murdoch, but an upward stroke from Murdoch deflects the blade, and a quick pivot in his hand brings the sword down to strike harshly on the backplate, forcing Dominic to stagger. Murdoch twists and barely manages to avoid a thrust from Jamie, and has to hit the deck and roll to the side in order to escape the following down-cut. He springs to his feet, watching the pair warily.
"Enough." A voice says simply, and Murdoch turns his head slightly. Beth is the one that spoke, and now has a trident and net in her hand. Difficult weapons to beat one-on-one, but three-on-one? That's nearly impossible. Murdoch might be light on his feet, but one misstep and he's fishbait, no pun intended...perfect. The best way to throw a fight; fight a superior weapon. He could summon his staff, but that would not only draw suspicion as to how he could do that, it would also make it harder to throw the fight like he wants. He equipped the sword for a good training session- a staff would have beaten Jake far too easily- and now it seems the best choice of the two. "Must I do everything myself?" She grumbles.
Beth shifts her grip on the spear, and Murdoch doesn't waste time. Darting in, he aims a two handed strike at her, one which she deflects with the lower half of her trident, before bringing the pointed end around in an attack on his head. Murdoch manages to bring his blade around to catch the blow, moving his hand the the blunt bit of the blade, the staff being caught on the parrying hooks, reversing his entire grip on the blade. Sweeping down and around, he steps over the shaft of the staff as he reverts back to the original grip and swings his blade around at her head. She deflects it, and Murdoch dances backwards as she pivots on the spot. He catches movement from the corner of his eye and turns just in time to catch Jamies swing at his chest on his blade, flicking his sword up towards the air as he turns and brings his blade down firmly on Dominics head, who had stepped in to attempt a thrust at Murdochs exposed back. Dominic goes down, but as Murdoch turns around, he catches sight of Beth swinging the staff around her head. With one hand at either end of her staff, each hand holding an end of the net, she swings it around to flap the net out, then spins, trailing the net alongside her in her twist before releasing it, sending it flying through the air towards him. Murdoch could have tried to get out of the way, could have teleported to another area, could have rolled out of the way- although a good throw, the net is a little high and can be ducked under- this offers Murdoch the chance to throw the fight convincingly. He allows the net to crash into him, tangling itself around him as he crashes to the ground roughly in a spray of dirt and a cloud of dust. He doesn't bother struggling; it'll just make it worse.
He looks up at the two remaining Children of Aries, putting on his best look of resignation. Beth and Jamie stand above him, weapons drawn. "I guess I've learned my lesson," Murdoch says, feigning contriteness. Beth just sneers.
"No you haven't. Not yet." For the first time, Murdoch can feel real fear grip him. Here he is, tangled in a net, defenceless...and these two Children of Aries are standing over him, tempers aflame at his fighting style and his dispatching of their friends. Sure, they may leave him alone after this...but it isn't after. Not yet. This may represent a...small miscalculation. He just hopes that A) Alaya has the sense not to watch, and B) that she doesn't become a target for some last, retributional abuse. From the looks in their eyes, he can guess that at least B) isn't going to happen.
He wants to close his eyes, but he doesn't. Face pain and death and fear head on, or it will consume and control you. That's his creed. His belief. He won't betray it.
But it's hard to keep to it when the first blow lands. It smashes across his ribs, sending a shot of searing agony through his torso, and he struggles to keep his eyes locked with Beth. She strikes his legs with her trident, and his eyes water. The blows increase in frequency, and soon he has his eyes shut tight, resisting the urge to curl up into a ball. He will at least stay out of the fetal position. He will not give them the satisfaction...and for that reason, he refuses to cry out. He will endure the pain. He has felt worse than this. He bites his tongue hard, so hard it bleeds, but still he doesn't cry out, even when the pain from the blows fuses into one searing agony. No permanent damage is likely to result from this, and the pain from the blows themselves will mostly pass after the beating ceases, but it doesn't help him now. Now, he wants to cry out for mercy...but no. That will make them beat him harder, and make them see him as weak, undoing the fight he just threw. He will grit his teeth and bear it, and they will stop soon.
Except that they don't. The moments stretch on and on, and he feels himself getting closer and closer to crying out. Beth says something, and laughs, but he is too far gone at this point in time to understand her words. He just hopes Alaya isn't watching this. He doesn't want her feeling responsible, or have her watching abuse like this. She's a nice girl, and innocent in all of this. The only consolation is that maybe he'll have her sympathy again when they've finished. He would smile if he wasn't in such pain.
by 
