The Priest snorts in derision at the curious sound.
"Stay your ground! It is but an illusion! The sound of ghosts to frighten night watchmen. Fear not our foes departure!" Bolgrith calls to his companions. As he himself continues to scan the confines of the cave.
"Stand you craven lizard! Is this the great master!? Hiding behind the skirts of tricksy magic!? You are not fit to take my boot up your scaly backside!"
The snake hides in hollow deception, but to what end? To strike or to flee... His eyes ever watchful, the young lieutenant smiles, "When I was a boy, I remember finding the burrow of an asp while at play. My father, a very pragmatic man, set the entrance ablaze and smoked the wretch out. It was dead before its body was fully out of the burrow. Setting my childhood aside, I don't suppose anyone here has a means of making a fast, potentially supernatural fire?" he said, his eyebrow cocking at his final question.
“Hold your tongue, green-ear! I could unravel your mind if I wished, but I have no use for stupid servants.”
A moment after he says this, a muttering is heard before Balion’s body simply vanishes from sight.
"Stop this game, snake. You cannot hide forever, and you will not escape this cave unscathed. Why not face your end with some dignity?"
Simon whispers to Logan. “I have not seen Master Dwarf cast such a spell. One of our number, a sorcerer, vanished just as the fight with this fiend began. I believe he found a magical necklace that could produce fire -and lots of it- but he is gone. I haven’t had time to worry about him until now.”
Then he raises his voice to the unseen Naja. “Leave Balion’s body alone! Let’s finish this!”
Bolgrith keeps his eyes split as he slowly moves along the cave wall. His fingers move along the pike haft tapping out a beat drilled into him during his years in service at the monastery.
The challenges of the group fall without answer -the cave is silent once more.
Frowning, the dwarven Priest moves back to his position in the corner of the room, continuing to concentrate on the spell.
The warrior frowns "Ah, that is vastly unfortunate... Well, we will still destroy this fiend... Then we can hopefully locate this missing companion." Looking about the cave, Logan continues to hold his blade at the ready, showing neither fatigue or inattentiveness.
“Do it! It’s the only way!” Squall cries, wrestling with the otherworldly creature.
Expectant silence screams in the ears of the party, like an unplayed fiddle under the bow. Jamie fidgets. “Maybe he already left,” she drawls. Her stance begins to relax.
Simon shakes his head and his eyes scour the stone walls again. This time, his voice is stern and calm. “Naja, there is no escape. Your wickedness must be brought to justice.”
He shakes the polearm challengingly. “The murder of our friend must be repaid.”
"No, he is still here. I sense his presence." Bolgrith says as his eyes move across the cave once again.
"On guard, Jamie. No slacking until I say so."
Rolg is still ready a vigilant: not willing to let anything by him.
An ever growing scowl dominates Logan's face at Naja's lack of pluck "Your cowardice is astounding, I have met chamber maids with more moxy than you. Hiding in the shadows achieves nothing more than delaying your inevitable death. You will face justice, fiend. Truly it is better to face it with dignity!"
“Enough!” a high voice bellows, followed by indistinct muttering.
Naja suddenly blinks into view behind a boulder, and a white-hot beam of light bolts immediately at the dwarf!
Balion’s cloak is draped over his narrow frame, and some of the snake-man’s wounds are closed.
“Learn to worship true power, priest!” he sneers.
This feint had better work, and give me a clean escape!
"Simon! Jamie! Attack! Force the creature to us. YOU WILL NOT TRICK ME SO EASILY! YOU WILL MEET YOUR END HERE AND NOW! I SMELL YOUR FEAR!"
Glancing at the hobgoblin to his right Logan firmly stands, his face now expressionless, ready for whenever the foe is within the reach of his blade.
"Power?" Bolgrith spits blood as he straightens from the impact, his plate still smoldering where it took the blast. "You are incapable of understanding power! Your feeble mind prevents you from comprehending power in it's true, unadulterated, PERFECTED form! The Priests hands begin to glow with the blue flame, oft seen by his companions. The fire spreads from his hand, crawling up his arm, consuming his chest and head. Wreathed in a cobalt inferno his voice rises to a roar!
"FROM THE HIGHEST PEAKS OF FIREBLOOD AND KRAGBAND, TO THE LOWEST DEPTHS OF STONEGARD AND GOZREHS MOUTH, MANY SEEK PERFECTION! BUT NEITHER ELF, NOR ORC, NOR GOBLIN, NOR DRAGON HAVE ATTAINED IT! ONLY ONE HAS, THE PERFECT MAN, IRORI! MASTER OF MASTERS!" The flames begin to die down and the dwarfs voice falls to a whisper.
"It is HIS power you should fear. His power that runs through me." Bolgrith fixes a glare at Naga as the last of the flames burn from his pupils. "No, this 'feint' will not work, and you will not 'escape'. Be it 'clean' or otherwise."
"Jamie, take my place here. I will assist Simon." He calls out into the cave.
Simon strides out from the bend, making a large sweep with the spear to display the range of the weapon. He takes a threatening stance, and adds bitterly, “Time to meet your end, fiend.”
"The dwarf is right," Logan called into the cave "true power does not hide in cowardice. Your cowardice and your villainy will cost you your life!"
Jamie runs behind Simon, her path arcing a wide berth around Naja. She stumbles a step and curses as her foot catches something unseen, and she stops behind the boulder not far from the large crack down the cave wall. She nods reassuringly to Bolgrith, and holds out his unbuckled shield.
The fork-tongued mage is taken aback by the words and display of Bolgrith, and his eyes widen at the dwarf’s insight into his own mind. Unsure, he glances about, as though looking for an exit. At the words of Simon and Logan, Naja breaks for the tunnel with astounding speed. Rounding the corner, he bounds forward with a lowered shoulder. The elusive snake-man hurtles toward Rolg!
The dwarf knows a panicked state when he sees one. For once, Naja seems to be honest about his intentions: escape.
Bolgrith nods to the young fighter, "Keep it a moment longer lass. Until we are finished here. Come, stand where I am, do not allow anything to pass."
Seeing his quarry coming, Rolg abandons his defensive stance and swings his flail hard at the creature's feet.
Seeing Naja step over his attempt, Rolg whirls the flail over his head and swings again with greater momentum.
Rolg misjudged the creature's speed, and misses terribly. Seeing the impact coming, Rolg readies himself: calling on every ounce of experience and traing he's ever had.
Hefting his blade over his head, Logan swings his falchion at the foe in a powerful downward arc with all of his might.
The snake-armed sorcerer collides into Rolg’s ready shield with a resounding crash. He stumbles back a step, accidentally dodging the lieutenant's mighty blade by a hair’s breadth. In a moment, he flourishes the many snakes around him, and swats away Logan's second attack. His golden, black-spindled eyes are ablaze with fury... or is it fright?
Simon follows the escaping snake-man, and drives the spear forward seconds after Naja’s failed attempt to bowl over the stalwart hobgoblin.
But some of the snakes turn away the attack.
Jamie moves to cover the crack in the cave wall as she rebuckles the shield to her arm.
The Priest nods his thanks and sprints as fast as his short legs will carry him up behind Simon.
Many fangs frantically lash out at Rolg.
"Out of my way!"
Bolgrith stalks forward before lunging with the pike.
"Your doom is nigh!" He bellows as the blade seeks it's target.
The scaly mage suffers a gouge from the dwarf’s polearm.
Simon’s spear stabs at Naja again, unsuccessfully.
"I know who my enemies are snake! I'm looking at you."
Snarling with frustration, Logan brings his falchion up for another strike! "Your death comes swiftly!" He bellows as his blade falls.
In one swift stroke, Rolg’s flail effortlessly catches both knees and flips Naja flat onto his back. Before the fiend can regain his breath, Logan’s heavy curved blade sinks deep into his chest, nearly cleaving him in half. His body slumps and the snakes protruding from his shoulders are still as a dark pool of blood spreads over the stone floor. Despite the massive, gory wound, Bolgrith knows it is possible for Naja to recover if someone intervened, or if his body miraculously rallies and begins to knit. That is to say, he is only mostly dead.
"Death for a death, and an evil for an evil. Such was your life, and now your end. We condemn your soul to the abyss, may you never walk in the sun." Bolgrith recites, a grim look in his eye, before plunging his pike deep into the open wound.
The Priest slumps a little in his armor after the deed is done. Wearily he says "I believe that was the end of it, but we must be certain."
Using his pike haft for support he kneels down to check the vitals of the enemy.
Pivoting on his knee he whispers a short prayer and closes his eyes.
Better not leave any doubt...
Rolg saunters over and plants an iron shod boot hard through Naja's skull as he casually crouches down to loot the corpse of anything valuable.
Logan, finding satisfaction in the fact that the fiend had met its demise, crosses over to Simon and inclines his head with a respectful touch to his brow as a small salute and says "Now that the threat has been removed, I find I must give a more proper introduction. I am Logan Stonebit, Borderguard lieutenant, only son to the late captain of the Borderguard, Patrick Stonebit, and only nephew to Lord Dredan Stonebit. I have been tracking you these last 5 days because I felt it my responsibility to make sure that those led into this territory by Brenan Stonebit, he whom I call cousin, had the strength of house Stonebit with them for whenever they should choose to see their way out of these lands. I know that you are son of the steward, so you do not have to answer this question, but I must ask to appease my curiosity, what has brought you into this savage territory?" the last portion he finishes with the sound of his falchion sliding into its scabbard.