09-10-2015, 12:33 AM
The walk back was relatively quiet, with Raal not seeming to volunteer much in the way of information. Zul’kis did not press the point until they came near the village.
“So you got a whole cartful of dragonscales, huh? Donatin’ em to the village?”
Raal sighed, before speaking. “Most of them. A few I’ll keep for study, and… other values.” Raal said quietly.
Zul’kis’s eyebrow quirked. “you seem t’have been a bit quiet since we left.”
Raal grimaced. “I’ve accomplished most of what I’ve set out to do. The dragon now controls the dwarven mines - denying the dwarves the resources in the process - I’ve created a business relationship with a valuable partner, and I’ve gained extra scales useful for armor for your people, which will likely improve our relationship, and with the knowledge from the dragonscales I’ve found, I can advance my understanding of magic, particularly magic of this dimension.”
Zul’kis cocked his head at that. “Then why ain’t ya being boastful?”
The warlock shook his head at that. “...I’ve never been more frightened in my life. Frostwhisper…” He said softly.
Zul’kis frowned. Privately, he felt there was something other than fear in Raal’s voice when he brought her up… but he chalked it up to imagination. the Death knight didn’t seem even able to have those thoughts. “Well… we be here.” his guide said with a sluggish hand motion forward.
Raal hadn’t even noticed the rustic village appearing in front of thme, so caught up was he in his thoughts. He took the time to take in the geography, the wooden huts, the tents and stalls of canvas, the great rounded hall at it’s center. “seems some orcish architecture rubbed off on them…”
Raal noticed a building only dwarfed by the hall itself, oddly smooth and rounded. Rather off for troll architecture…
Venjo’s voice echoed through the snow. “Ahh, death knight. I see ya came back.” He said with a grin. “he got all the stuff?”
Zul’kis pulled out his baggage - a Dwarves scalped head and the giant’s tooth - while Raal merely unhitched his own horse. “A dwarves head, a Giant’s tooth, and far more than enough Dragonscales. Enough for several suits of armor, I’d imagine.” Raal explained slowly. “This was it for the first step, yes? I’d like to finish this task quickly. I’ve other things to spend my time with - far more important..”
Venjo shrugged. “I’dve invited ya to rest, death knight, but I’d be lying if I claimed any new prime was ever ready to do that so soon.”. Venjo pointed towards the round building with his axe. “we been expectin’ ya. The next step, an’ the last challenge, is to fight one of our champions. Someone be volunteering to fight ya in place of the usual champion.” Venjo explained. “all you be needin’ to do is head in. Our scouts warned us ahead of time that you were comin’ back, so everyone’s ready.”
Raal smirked. “I’m assuming you’ve no issue if I brutally murder my challenger.”
Venjo Grinned savagely. “Issue? That be the goal!”
The Ground here was dusty, and As Raal’s mount touched the entrance, the solidity of the ground was immediately known. “...I was lead to believe this was a frozen wasteland. How in the world is there so much dust here?” Raal asked incredulously.
Zul’kis shrugged, still walking by his side as they entered, past many rows of spectator boxes. “Just the way it was summoned, and the way it was tended, mon. I wouldn’t spend so much time questioning it.”.
Raal harrumphed, but decided to let the point slide. The wooden boxes and the large arena in the middle were empty. “So, what champion am I challenging?” He yelled, making it clear he was calling out his opponent, as he walked his horse to the middle of the arena.
To his surprise, a swift jump from the stands left him looking at a familiar troll, his brown skin and yellowed tusks a dead give-away. “So you managed to get here, Death knight. time for y’ to leave the village, though.”. Zae’jin said with a smirk. His yellowed teeth and scarred, grizzled face set new lows for troll attractiveness, Raal reflected, but the ancient staff and odd blade he held spoke of his reason to be here.
“So, it was you who volunteered to fight. I suppose I should be surprised…”
Venjo grinned. “Of course. You, who smells of weakness and wears the stinkin’ corpse of a human - it be necessary to wipe ya filth out of my village. The trolls don’t be needin’ no help with our enemies. I been plannin on eliminating ya one way or the other since ya got to the village, ya. This way be convenient enough.”.
Raal shook his head, before laughing, honestly unable to stop himself. After a few seconds, he managed to calm himself. “it so happens to be convenient for me, too. I was worried that this might be a formidable challenge, after all. Instead, I’m met with an old fool. This will be no challenge.”
Zae’jin laughed in return. “If only there were some meat on ya. Pride tends to be a great seasonin’ on food.”
Venjo stood between them, then. “Get back to your sides. the fight’ll take place once you both get back and seem ready.”
Raal turned his steed towards the back of the arena. “As you wish.”.
the dust trailed his steed as it ran, and Raal found himself noting the grime with a grim satisfaction. this was a part of the battlefield that could be very potentially useful indeed.
Turning around, he saw the troll was still grinning, though the details of the old troll’s face were hard to make out at this distance. Raal idly guessed there was 60 feet between the two of them. “I heard you couldn’t even do the jobs ya did yourself. You had to rely on petty tricks, yeah? But here, power’s all that matters. You ain’t beatin’ me with clever wordplay.”.
Raal grinned. “Of course. there’s no need to worry, Zae’jin. When I crush you, there will be no deceitful lies or wordplay. It will simply be because I crushed you under my heel.”
Zae’jin glared at that, his beard swaying as he entered a combat stance, his staff held protectively in front with his left hand, while the right hand wheeled back, fingers clenched tightly around the loop at the hilt of his strange blade.
Ven’jo, now in the stands himself, chopped the air with his axe as he yelled “Begin!”
It was Venjo who moved first, the blade Raal saw earlier shifting and changing as he threw the massive blade at Raal. As it shifted, Raal realized it was not one blade, but four, as the windmill shuriken sliced through the air with a screech towards him.
“I did say I’d return the book.” Raal commented dryly, throwing the small thing from his coat at the approaching projectile quickly. The book itself was not remotely heavy enough to stop the shuriken under normal circumstances, of course - which was exactly why Raal pushed, the telekinetic force causing the book to become a blur as it hit the weapon, the book disintegrating to shredded papers as the two collided. Still, the weapon was knocked off its course, and struck the wooden wall with a loud and audible thud, the steel blades embedding themselves in the wood.
Zae’jin began making some gestures, and Raal immediately guessed at their meaning. he reacted first, however,using a subtle push of telepath to press the weapon even further into the wood, the weapon groaning at the strain as two blades were now stuck in the wood at perpendicular angles, only half visible within.
Zae’jin ooked at him with annoyance, but continued to gesture, the weapon seeking to return but far too thickly entombed in it’s wooden prison now. the blade uselessly creaked inside the thick log it was so entrenched in.
“Come now, Zae’jin. You are a magic user, are you not? take some pride in that instead of trying to match me in brute force.
Zae’jin took the bait too easily, Raal mused, sparks jumping from Zae’jins eyes as they narrowed to slits. Ominous chanting accompanied a swift, cutting hand motion, and suddenly Raal found the ground in front of him churning, a large scaly head pulling itself halfway out of the ground with an audible hiss. Raal had to pull his arm back as the sword-length white fangs of the cobra lashed out, the creature creating a small tremor as it’s black scales struggled against it’s earthly confinement. The creature reared back, and Raal could clearly see the hooded creature now, a black-scaled, yellow-bellied creature with eyes of (figurative) venom and Teeth dripping with (literal) poison.
Raal stared back, and once again relied on his telekinesis as he focused on the nearby earth the Snake had disturbed, pulling a pair of small clumps of dirt to orbit around his head.
The Snake wasted no time in striking again, it’s head suddenly stretching forward to envelop Raal’s head with an audible hiss. the blow would have no doubt decapitated the Warlock.
If it struck.
Instead, just as the snake’s maw went to close, Raal again called on his own powers, and the clumps of dirt were thrown forward, into the maw of the snake. Raal had some experience with these creatures before - indeed, some of the finest poisons were made with their venomous glands. He also knew of precisely how to block their esophagus, and with unerring speed the earthen clumps found their way directly into the tube without noise. The snake fell backwards, now, as it’s hiss was suddenly and completely extinguished. A complete blockage, but one Raal guessed the snake could dislodge…
To avoid that eventuality, Raal pointed his own truncheon forward, the blue orb swirling with an eerie greenish glow as he pumped bolt after bolt of dark energy into the snake, a shower of blood and gore spraying over Raal’s robes as each shadowy ball of energy seemed to peel chunks from the snake’s body. Only a few seconds later, the massive serpent fall flat on it’s face, in a pile of it’s own blood and flesh.
Raal’s focus had already shifted back to his opponent however, as the troll’s clasped his hands together. the ground to either side of the troll liquefied and melted, magma erupting from the gouts in the earth. the magma flew, but did not fall, shaped baseball-sized orbs of lava forming and floating in a miniature swarm. Batlike wings soundlessly stretched from the globes, as the swarm of winged flames flew sluggishly into a wedge formation.
Then, they flew, diving towards Raal quick as an arrow.
“I didn’t expect this.”. Raal said with surprise evident in his voice, before pointing his truncheon at the swarm of lava creatures. The wind picked up ‘round Raal, and suddenly the dust and wind obscured his figure entirely.
“That is, I didn’t expect even your spellwork to mirror your ineffectual pompousness.” Raal said, as the wind blasted the lava creatures back, the molten-orange glow of the creatures slowly fading to a cool black as they tried in vain to flap against the wind gripping them with the strength of a hurricane. A loud sizzling could be heard as molten slime slowly peeled itself off the creatures, their wings of magma resembling decaying wax. a cluster of cracks were heard as the creatures fell to the ground and upon eachother, no longer avatars of magma, but simply a pile of rough stones.
Zae’jin squinted as the cloud of dust began to clear, Raal’s outline clear but distorted. As the dust settled, it was apparent why, as the bones of some long-dead human clambered in front of him. The creature pointed it’s hiltless, rusted steel blade at the old troll’s scowling face as it charged forward on unsteady legs.
“Is that the extent of yo’ black arts? pathetic corpses? I’m not the one who’s spellwork is lackin’, Deathwind.”. Zae’jin growled. The old troll’s left hand filled with a snow white energy, a soft, steady glow emanating from his palm, as he continued a strange chant. after only a few seconds, the glow suddenly increased, illuminating the entire area, before he thrust his hand forward, a beam of light arcing from his hand.
Where it touched the skeletal warrior, the creature seemed to simply… crumble into white dust. The glow spread, and the undead creature fell, nothing more than a pile of white sand and a rapidly falling sword.
“A flashy way to kill something so weak.” Raal thought. But, it had done it’s job. The sword was near Zae’jin and the troll was now far too busy smirking at his own cleverness to avoid it.
Raal made a single gesture with his hand, and the Fallen undead’s sword stopped mid-fall, before speeding forward like a bullet, Kicking up dust underneath it as it sped towards the old troll’s heart.. “You wish to see the full extent of my black arts, then?” Raal asked. The Troll grimaced as the blade whistled through the air, ducking just fast enough to avoid a mortal blow to the chest. the sword cut a crimson path of blood all the same though, as it sliced through the top of Zae’jins shoulder and kept going until it bounced off the wall behind him with an audible clatter.
Raal took the opportunity and Summoned the winds of the underworld once more, an audible gust building up behind him as the unearthly wind slammed into the shocked troll, knocking him off his feet and into the wall behind him, the troll’s eyes widening as he collapsed in the dust. Raal allowed himself only a fraction of a second’s satisfaction at the picture of the Troll’s collapsed form, before he concentrated, telekinesis lifting the dust of the arena all around them. Zae’jin was in no shape to move quickly, so Raal no longer had a need to see his opponent.
Charging forward, the clip clop of Raal’s horse spelled the ominous message of Doom for the old troll, as he Readied his arcane energy.
“It shall be a quick demonstration.” Raal said, and he heard the startle in Zae’jin’s voice as he started to creep away from where he last heard Raal. Raal focused again, luckily finding Zae’jin within the dust, and an audible tap struck Zae’jin’s left shoulder.
Raal had done no damage, but hoped he’d managed to create further distraction for the troll and guided his vision. Especially since he was on Zae’jins right. Raal tapped into his pool of magic, the shadowy energy that fuelled demonic magic, and pulled, stringing it through his undead body as it took on and absorbed the properties of his body. The energy left Raal’s body through his arm, snaking around his staff before focusing at it’s tip. The dust settled and Raal saw his wounded opponent staring directly away from him, blood dripping and electricity crackling from his fingertips. “Show yeself, coward!”
“This one’s been both entertaining and satisfying to kill from the start. It’s almost worthy of a thank you.” Raal grinned, before pointing his truncheon forward. the energy Raal had collected burst forward, a fist-sized collection of green energy creating a spiral as it raced forward. It struck square in the Troll’s back, and Raal heard the familiar sound of crackling electricity and steaming flesh as Zae’jin keeled over, slowly falling to his knees, a puddle of his own blood already awaiting him.
Raal got off his horse and walked forward - slowly, deliberately. Zae’jin wasn’t dead, and he found himself almost impressed by that. but he wasn’t getting up, so Raal took his time as he stepped towards the old fool. Zae’jin’s arm shakily reached for the dusty ground n front of him, trying to do something to pull himself away from the death knight. “Congratulations.” Raal said with a grin as he walked ever so gently onto Zae’jins hand. the sharp pops that followed brought a contented smile to his face. “You’ve managed to look like a fool in front of all of your peers. Does it feel good?”
“S-spare me…” The old man rasped out of barely functioning lungs. Raal thought the voice Zae’jin now possessed was far more fitting of the buffoon. Raal placed his other foot on the creature’s beard, pushing his face further into the ground.
“Oh, I could. You do, after all, possess some intellect, knowledge of this place, and at this time your magic truly does exceed mine in many ways, Zae’jin.” Raal said. “With your level of natural talent you were truly blessed by your ancestors. But there’s one little problem. You showed it in our fight. You have nothing but strength to back you up. there’s no planning, no precision, no vision inherent in that thick skull of yours. Zul’kis could have done thrice as much with a quarter of your strength. And even now…” Raal’s boot smashed suddenly into the old troll’s nose, and the scream of agony that followed drowned out the softer cracking sounds as his nose broke. “All your eyes do is scream out how much you want revenge on me. Your hatred. Your disbelief that such a low creature could do this to you. And that’s as far past your nose as you can ever see. Thus… You hold no value alive, Zul’kis.”
Zul’kis’s eyes changed to a glare, then, and he reached forward, his other arm grabbing onto Raal’s leg. If the troll had been in any healthy shape, Raal knew that the creature would be more than capable of ragdolling him to death, but as he was now there was no strength in the grab, and Raal took this as his signal to end this farce of a duel.
holding up a hand, darkness encompassed his palm as he pointed straight at Zul’kis’s face.
“Stop da’ match, please. sto-”
“Terrible choice in last words.” Raal said coldly, before a blast of ebony energy blew off what was left of Zul’kis’s misshapen face.
“So you got a whole cartful of dragonscales, huh? Donatin’ em to the village?”
Raal sighed, before speaking. “Most of them. A few I’ll keep for study, and… other values.” Raal said quietly.
Zul’kis’s eyebrow quirked. “you seem t’have been a bit quiet since we left.”
Raal grimaced. “I’ve accomplished most of what I’ve set out to do. The dragon now controls the dwarven mines - denying the dwarves the resources in the process - I’ve created a business relationship with a valuable partner, and I’ve gained extra scales useful for armor for your people, which will likely improve our relationship, and with the knowledge from the dragonscales I’ve found, I can advance my understanding of magic, particularly magic of this dimension.”
Zul’kis cocked his head at that. “Then why ain’t ya being boastful?”
The warlock shook his head at that. “...I’ve never been more frightened in my life. Frostwhisper…” He said softly.
Zul’kis frowned. Privately, he felt there was something other than fear in Raal’s voice when he brought her up… but he chalked it up to imagination. the Death knight didn’t seem even able to have those thoughts. “Well… we be here.” his guide said with a sluggish hand motion forward.
Raal hadn’t even noticed the rustic village appearing in front of thme, so caught up was he in his thoughts. He took the time to take in the geography, the wooden huts, the tents and stalls of canvas, the great rounded hall at it’s center. “seems some orcish architecture rubbed off on them…”
Raal noticed a building only dwarfed by the hall itself, oddly smooth and rounded. Rather off for troll architecture…
Venjo’s voice echoed through the snow. “Ahh, death knight. I see ya came back.” He said with a grin. “he got all the stuff?”
Zul’kis pulled out his baggage - a Dwarves scalped head and the giant’s tooth - while Raal merely unhitched his own horse. “A dwarves head, a Giant’s tooth, and far more than enough Dragonscales. Enough for several suits of armor, I’d imagine.” Raal explained slowly. “This was it for the first step, yes? I’d like to finish this task quickly. I’ve other things to spend my time with - far more important..”
Venjo shrugged. “I’dve invited ya to rest, death knight, but I’d be lying if I claimed any new prime was ever ready to do that so soon.”. Venjo pointed towards the round building with his axe. “we been expectin’ ya. The next step, an’ the last challenge, is to fight one of our champions. Someone be volunteering to fight ya in place of the usual champion.” Venjo explained. “all you be needin’ to do is head in. Our scouts warned us ahead of time that you were comin’ back, so everyone’s ready.”
Raal smirked. “I’m assuming you’ve no issue if I brutally murder my challenger.”
Venjo Grinned savagely. “Issue? That be the goal!”
The Ground here was dusty, and As Raal’s mount touched the entrance, the solidity of the ground was immediately known. “...I was lead to believe this was a frozen wasteland. How in the world is there so much dust here?” Raal asked incredulously.
Zul’kis shrugged, still walking by his side as they entered, past many rows of spectator boxes. “Just the way it was summoned, and the way it was tended, mon. I wouldn’t spend so much time questioning it.”.
Raal harrumphed, but decided to let the point slide. The wooden boxes and the large arena in the middle were empty. “So, what champion am I challenging?” He yelled, making it clear he was calling out his opponent, as he walked his horse to the middle of the arena.
To his surprise, a swift jump from the stands left him looking at a familiar troll, his brown skin and yellowed tusks a dead give-away. “So you managed to get here, Death knight. time for y’ to leave the village, though.”. Zae’jin said with a smirk. His yellowed teeth and scarred, grizzled face set new lows for troll attractiveness, Raal reflected, but the ancient staff and odd blade he held spoke of his reason to be here.
“So, it was you who volunteered to fight. I suppose I should be surprised…”
Venjo grinned. “Of course. You, who smells of weakness and wears the stinkin’ corpse of a human - it be necessary to wipe ya filth out of my village. The trolls don’t be needin’ no help with our enemies. I been plannin on eliminating ya one way or the other since ya got to the village, ya. This way be convenient enough.”.
Raal shook his head, before laughing, honestly unable to stop himself. After a few seconds, he managed to calm himself. “it so happens to be convenient for me, too. I was worried that this might be a formidable challenge, after all. Instead, I’m met with an old fool. This will be no challenge.”
Zae’jin laughed in return. “If only there were some meat on ya. Pride tends to be a great seasonin’ on food.”
Venjo stood between them, then. “Get back to your sides. the fight’ll take place once you both get back and seem ready.”
Raal turned his steed towards the back of the arena. “As you wish.”.
the dust trailed his steed as it ran, and Raal found himself noting the grime with a grim satisfaction. this was a part of the battlefield that could be very potentially useful indeed.
Turning around, he saw the troll was still grinning, though the details of the old troll’s face were hard to make out at this distance. Raal idly guessed there was 60 feet between the two of them. “I heard you couldn’t even do the jobs ya did yourself. You had to rely on petty tricks, yeah? But here, power’s all that matters. You ain’t beatin’ me with clever wordplay.”.
Raal grinned. “Of course. there’s no need to worry, Zae’jin. When I crush you, there will be no deceitful lies or wordplay. It will simply be because I crushed you under my heel.”
Zae’jin glared at that, his beard swaying as he entered a combat stance, his staff held protectively in front with his left hand, while the right hand wheeled back, fingers clenched tightly around the loop at the hilt of his strange blade.
Ven’jo, now in the stands himself, chopped the air with his axe as he yelled “Begin!”
It was Venjo who moved first, the blade Raal saw earlier shifting and changing as he threw the massive blade at Raal. As it shifted, Raal realized it was not one blade, but four, as the windmill shuriken sliced through the air with a screech towards him.
“I did say I’d return the book.” Raal commented dryly, throwing the small thing from his coat at the approaching projectile quickly. The book itself was not remotely heavy enough to stop the shuriken under normal circumstances, of course - which was exactly why Raal pushed, the telekinetic force causing the book to become a blur as it hit the weapon, the book disintegrating to shredded papers as the two collided. Still, the weapon was knocked off its course, and struck the wooden wall with a loud and audible thud, the steel blades embedding themselves in the wood.
Zae’jin began making some gestures, and Raal immediately guessed at their meaning. he reacted first, however,using a subtle push of telepath to press the weapon even further into the wood, the weapon groaning at the strain as two blades were now stuck in the wood at perpendicular angles, only half visible within.
Zae’jin ooked at him with annoyance, but continued to gesture, the weapon seeking to return but far too thickly entombed in it’s wooden prison now. the blade uselessly creaked inside the thick log it was so entrenched in.
“Come now, Zae’jin. You are a magic user, are you not? take some pride in that instead of trying to match me in brute force.
Zae’jin took the bait too easily, Raal mused, sparks jumping from Zae’jins eyes as they narrowed to slits. Ominous chanting accompanied a swift, cutting hand motion, and suddenly Raal found the ground in front of him churning, a large scaly head pulling itself halfway out of the ground with an audible hiss. Raal had to pull his arm back as the sword-length white fangs of the cobra lashed out, the creature creating a small tremor as it’s black scales struggled against it’s earthly confinement. The creature reared back, and Raal could clearly see the hooded creature now, a black-scaled, yellow-bellied creature with eyes of (figurative) venom and Teeth dripping with (literal) poison.
Raal stared back, and once again relied on his telekinesis as he focused on the nearby earth the Snake had disturbed, pulling a pair of small clumps of dirt to orbit around his head.
The Snake wasted no time in striking again, it’s head suddenly stretching forward to envelop Raal’s head with an audible hiss. the blow would have no doubt decapitated the Warlock.
If it struck.
Instead, just as the snake’s maw went to close, Raal again called on his own powers, and the clumps of dirt were thrown forward, into the maw of the snake. Raal had some experience with these creatures before - indeed, some of the finest poisons were made with their venomous glands. He also knew of precisely how to block their esophagus, and with unerring speed the earthen clumps found their way directly into the tube without noise. The snake fell backwards, now, as it’s hiss was suddenly and completely extinguished. A complete blockage, but one Raal guessed the snake could dislodge…
To avoid that eventuality, Raal pointed his own truncheon forward, the blue orb swirling with an eerie greenish glow as he pumped bolt after bolt of dark energy into the snake, a shower of blood and gore spraying over Raal’s robes as each shadowy ball of energy seemed to peel chunks from the snake’s body. Only a few seconds later, the massive serpent fall flat on it’s face, in a pile of it’s own blood and flesh.
Raal’s focus had already shifted back to his opponent however, as the troll’s clasped his hands together. the ground to either side of the troll liquefied and melted, magma erupting from the gouts in the earth. the magma flew, but did not fall, shaped baseball-sized orbs of lava forming and floating in a miniature swarm. Batlike wings soundlessly stretched from the globes, as the swarm of winged flames flew sluggishly into a wedge formation.
Then, they flew, diving towards Raal quick as an arrow.
“I didn’t expect this.”. Raal said with surprise evident in his voice, before pointing his truncheon at the swarm of lava creatures. The wind picked up ‘round Raal, and suddenly the dust and wind obscured his figure entirely.
“That is, I didn’t expect even your spellwork to mirror your ineffectual pompousness.” Raal said, as the wind blasted the lava creatures back, the molten-orange glow of the creatures slowly fading to a cool black as they tried in vain to flap against the wind gripping them with the strength of a hurricane. A loud sizzling could be heard as molten slime slowly peeled itself off the creatures, their wings of magma resembling decaying wax. a cluster of cracks were heard as the creatures fell to the ground and upon eachother, no longer avatars of magma, but simply a pile of rough stones.
Zae’jin squinted as the cloud of dust began to clear, Raal’s outline clear but distorted. As the dust settled, it was apparent why, as the bones of some long-dead human clambered in front of him. The creature pointed it’s hiltless, rusted steel blade at the old troll’s scowling face as it charged forward on unsteady legs.
“Is that the extent of yo’ black arts? pathetic corpses? I’m not the one who’s spellwork is lackin’, Deathwind.”. Zae’jin growled. The old troll’s left hand filled with a snow white energy, a soft, steady glow emanating from his palm, as he continued a strange chant. after only a few seconds, the glow suddenly increased, illuminating the entire area, before he thrust his hand forward, a beam of light arcing from his hand.
Where it touched the skeletal warrior, the creature seemed to simply… crumble into white dust. The glow spread, and the undead creature fell, nothing more than a pile of white sand and a rapidly falling sword.
“A flashy way to kill something so weak.” Raal thought. But, it had done it’s job. The sword was near Zae’jin and the troll was now far too busy smirking at his own cleverness to avoid it.
Raal made a single gesture with his hand, and the Fallen undead’s sword stopped mid-fall, before speeding forward like a bullet, Kicking up dust underneath it as it sped towards the old troll’s heart.. “You wish to see the full extent of my black arts, then?” Raal asked. The Troll grimaced as the blade whistled through the air, ducking just fast enough to avoid a mortal blow to the chest. the sword cut a crimson path of blood all the same though, as it sliced through the top of Zae’jins shoulder and kept going until it bounced off the wall behind him with an audible clatter.
Raal took the opportunity and Summoned the winds of the underworld once more, an audible gust building up behind him as the unearthly wind slammed into the shocked troll, knocking him off his feet and into the wall behind him, the troll’s eyes widening as he collapsed in the dust. Raal allowed himself only a fraction of a second’s satisfaction at the picture of the Troll’s collapsed form, before he concentrated, telekinesis lifting the dust of the arena all around them. Zae’jin was in no shape to move quickly, so Raal no longer had a need to see his opponent.
Charging forward, the clip clop of Raal’s horse spelled the ominous message of Doom for the old troll, as he Readied his arcane energy.
“It shall be a quick demonstration.” Raal said, and he heard the startle in Zae’jin’s voice as he started to creep away from where he last heard Raal. Raal focused again, luckily finding Zae’jin within the dust, and an audible tap struck Zae’jin’s left shoulder.
Raal had done no damage, but hoped he’d managed to create further distraction for the troll and guided his vision. Especially since he was on Zae’jins right. Raal tapped into his pool of magic, the shadowy energy that fuelled demonic magic, and pulled, stringing it through his undead body as it took on and absorbed the properties of his body. The energy left Raal’s body through his arm, snaking around his staff before focusing at it’s tip. The dust settled and Raal saw his wounded opponent staring directly away from him, blood dripping and electricity crackling from his fingertips. “Show yeself, coward!”
“This one’s been both entertaining and satisfying to kill from the start. It’s almost worthy of a thank you.” Raal grinned, before pointing his truncheon forward. the energy Raal had collected burst forward, a fist-sized collection of green energy creating a spiral as it raced forward. It struck square in the Troll’s back, and Raal heard the familiar sound of crackling electricity and steaming flesh as Zae’jin keeled over, slowly falling to his knees, a puddle of his own blood already awaiting him.
Raal got off his horse and walked forward - slowly, deliberately. Zae’jin wasn’t dead, and he found himself almost impressed by that. but he wasn’t getting up, so Raal took his time as he stepped towards the old fool. Zae’jin’s arm shakily reached for the dusty ground n front of him, trying to do something to pull himself away from the death knight. “Congratulations.” Raal said with a grin as he walked ever so gently onto Zae’jins hand. the sharp pops that followed brought a contented smile to his face. “You’ve managed to look like a fool in front of all of your peers. Does it feel good?”
“S-spare me…” The old man rasped out of barely functioning lungs. Raal thought the voice Zae’jin now possessed was far more fitting of the buffoon. Raal placed his other foot on the creature’s beard, pushing his face further into the ground.
“Oh, I could. You do, after all, possess some intellect, knowledge of this place, and at this time your magic truly does exceed mine in many ways, Zae’jin.” Raal said. “With your level of natural talent you were truly blessed by your ancestors. But there’s one little problem. You showed it in our fight. You have nothing but strength to back you up. there’s no planning, no precision, no vision inherent in that thick skull of yours. Zul’kis could have done thrice as much with a quarter of your strength. And even now…” Raal’s boot smashed suddenly into the old troll’s nose, and the scream of agony that followed drowned out the softer cracking sounds as his nose broke. “All your eyes do is scream out how much you want revenge on me. Your hatred. Your disbelief that such a low creature could do this to you. And that’s as far past your nose as you can ever see. Thus… You hold no value alive, Zul’kis.”
Zul’kis’s eyes changed to a glare, then, and he reached forward, his other arm grabbing onto Raal’s leg. If the troll had been in any healthy shape, Raal knew that the creature would be more than capable of ragdolling him to death, but as he was now there was no strength in the grab, and Raal took this as his signal to end this farce of a duel.
holding up a hand, darkness encompassed his palm as he pointed straight at Zul’kis’s face.
“Stop da’ match, please. sto-”
“Terrible choice in last words.” Raal said coldly, before a blast of ebony energy blew off what was left of Zul’kis’s misshapen face.