NOTE: There is swearing in this section... as the characters were understandably going through a very traumatic situation. You've been warned.
Oh... and thank you to drag n fly... the sequence was typed up masterfully by her.
A Duel
“You bastard,” Shaun snarled, and Shivalas gave a short little laugh.
“Come forth, brave swordsman,” the boy mocked, “come forth and face the woman you say cheated you!” Shivalas started for the cage.
Siabrey could only watch in horror as her one true love was torn away from her. Her echoing cry of pain had no effect on the two evil rogues who now stood, eyeing Shaun like he was a fresh piece of meat.
I have to get out of here. I have to! I have to get free, find Lucius! In desperation, she glanced around at her friends. Tess was still standing motionless and helpless by the opposite wall, the huge bastard sword still gripped in her hands, her mouth frozen open in a silent yell. The poor bard had, in essence, been muzzled.
Elenya and Grumki were still securely tied, although both were clearly struggling to free themselves. Siabrey tested her own bonds. They were tight; too tight.
In desperation she yelled out for her sword, whom she couldn’t see anywhere.
Kelir! Where are you, I need you!
I am here… the sword’s weak voice answered from somewhere ahead and off to her left. She glanced through the bars of the cage, and gasped. There lay her beautiful sword, its shining blade broken cleanly in two.
Oh Kelir… she sobbed.
I am well, merely broken. It sounded like a contradiction in terms, but the katana knew his own abilities. He was ok, merely halved.
Meanwhile, Shivalas had produced a rod of some kind that positively glowed with magic. With it, he unlocked the forcecage that surrounded the party, intending on letting Shaun out. Siabrey lunged for the entrance.
“Hey Shivalas! Let me out instead. I’ll duel with you! I’ll give you such a drubbing that even your mother won’t be able to look at you without wincing!” Siabrey yelled at the rogue, desperately seeking to goad him into letting her take Shaun’s place.
Shivalas merely sneered at her and patted the katana at his side. “And why would I want to fight with you, fire-eyes? You don’t even know how to wield a blade like this…”
“I can wield a katana one-handed better than you can wield that twig you have in your pants!” Siabrey sneered back, rage and despair contorting her face.
Shivalas’ eyes narrowed at that comment and he turned to the fighter, lifting his sword. Shaun took advantage of the momentary distraction and leapt at him, his hands seeking the blade
Shivalas easily dodged and knocked the rogue on the head with the flat of his sword, knocking Shaun to the ground and momentarily stunning him as Shivalas quickly relocked the forcecage.
Ilia, who had watched the whole cortege with a bemused expression, merely laughed, and walked over to the pike of weapons in the far corner. Fishing out Shaun’s pink rapier, she blew Tess a mocking kiss as she passed. Had the bard been able to speak, Ilia’s head would have exploded. As it was, the bound bard could do nothing but watch helpless as Ilia gave Tess a sickening smile.
“Ah... pretty Tesseron... I believe,” Ilia walked around the bard, tracing a hand along her frozen face, “that they say you were the one that killed Rogar...” Her voice remained pleasant, though ice hung in the air.
“I killed him! I killed him you bitch!” Siabrey shouted, desperate to get either one of their attentions. Shivalas gave her another scowl, while Ilia ignored her, and continued to lightly, even gently, trace around Tesseron’s face.
“Yes... I believe you were,” Ilia reached into her pocket, and pulled out a long, white scarf, trailing it over Tess’ shoulders. “They said he was rent in four... as he died... so shall you,” she said with the icy smile still on her face. She wrapped the white scarf around Tess’ mouth, preventing the bard from speaking. She then pulled a piece of rope out of her belt, and started tying up Tess’ hands behind her back.
“Yes... that is how you shall die. But first, you’ll get to see the torment of me killing your friends first... starting with... him,” she smiled to Shaun as she finished her series of knots around Tess’ wrists. Giving the bard a wink, she then slid the rose colored weapon towards Shaun.
“Pick it up.”
“I will do no such thing. You’ve kidnapped my friend, assaulted us all, I will not take orders from you, she-bitch!”
“Pick up the sword.” Ilia commanded, a harsher note in her voice. “Or you will watch your friends slowly die. Starting with your wife.” Ilia pointed at Elenya. The pretty former barmaid for her part, merely glared back, although inside she was preparing another magic assault.
Shaun hesitated.
No, I must fight her. Whatever happens, I cannot let Ilia hurt Elenya, or the babies… Reluctantly, he bent, and scooped up his sword.
Ilia nodded in satisfaction, and drew her own rapier, which Siabery saw was non-magical. That gave her an idea.
“Shivalas! Yeah, you heard me. Come on, you say you’re a better fighter than me, prove it! I could whip you tied up like this!” she jeered the young rogue, who pointedly ignored, but she saw the color beginning to rise on the back of his neck. As she had thought, he was young, and arrogant. All she had to do was find his weak spot…
Ilia and Shaun squared off in the middle of the room. They gauged each other, glancing up and down the other’s bodies and mentally preparing for the first assault.
It came without warning.
Ilia suddenly lunged forward, her rapier lifted for a quick strike to the face that would leave Shaun at least blinded in one eye. He saw though, and ducked to the side. Ilia had anticipated this feint however, and twisted her wrist downward at the last second so that the tip of her rapier scored deep into his right shoulder.
“First blood is mine.” Ilia licked her lips as the blood in question dripped from the tip of her sword.
The wound was deep and incredibly painful, but not debilitating. Shifting his hands to get a better grip on his rapier, Shaun knew he could not beat Ilia by sheer force. So, he had to trick her…
If I lunge right, then left, then right again, up and down, she won’t know where I’m planning to strike next, and I can catch her by surprise!
He began a series of feints, looking as though he was seeking to strike a serious blow, all the while biding his time, preparing for a sneak attack….
Siabrey continued to send a series of jabs and ridicules towards Shivalas. The young man was continuing to ignore her, but she could sense his temper reaching its boiling point. Meanwhile, Grumki had proved his strength to Kord yet again, and had broken his bonds. He was now working on Siabrey’s as steathily as he could. Finally, she felt the metal bands come loose, and resisted the urge to stretch and wiggle her fingers as Grumki turned and began to work on Elenya. Shivalas was completely ignoring what was going on in the cage, instead focusing on the battle playing itself out in front of him. That wasn’t good, Siabrey needed him to let her out, and her taunts just weren’t being effective enough.
Then suddenly, she was hit by a flash of inspiration, from Kelir.
“Come on Shivy! Your father would have been able to beat me, even trussed up, neutered, and bleeding to death in the desert, he was still man enough to face me!”
That did it. Shivalas stopped paying attention to his mothers fight, and stalked over to Siabrey’s side of the forcecage.
“Don’t you DARE talk about my father like that!” he screamed at her, his face livid.
Siabrey merely smiled, a cold hard smile. At last, she had gotten to him.
“Your father was a worthless, selfless, pig of a man, who couldn’t even die honorably. We tore him apart, and left his meager bones for the desert hounds to share.”
Shivalas drew back his katana, clearly intending to skewer her where she sat. Siabrey merely laughed.
“Even your father had more honor than to kill and unarmed foe.”
Shivalas hesitated, his common sense warring with his desire to show this little fighter who was boss. Siabrey merely sat, daring him with her eyes.
“I could beat you even without a weapon.” He finally sneered, and pulled out his magic rod and opened the forcecage.
At that same moment, Elenya, who, like her husband, had been waiting for the right moment, unleashed a series of magic missles into Ilia. The rogue screamed in pain, stumbling backwards.
Shivalas, hearing his mother cry out, looked up and drew his second weapon, the short looking katana called a washazaki. That was all the opportunity that Siabrey needed.
Kelir, to me! she called out. The sword hilt, lying some 30 feet away, jumped upright and flew across the room…right into Shivalas’ shoulder.
The rogue gave a cry of pain as the jagged metal sliced deep into him, all the way down through the bone.
Siabrey leapt forward as Kelir finished slicing through Shivalas, and reached up and over his shoulder, drawing Kelir into her hand.
In the same motion, in a sideways downswing, she sent the edge of her sword crashing into Shivala’s katana. The sword went flying across the room, leaving the confused looking boy with only his secondary weapon, which ironically was the exact same length as the broken Kelir…
“And now, we’re even.” Siabrey bared her teeth at the boy as she dropped into a fighting stance, her blood singing.
Shaun continued to dance around Ilia, who could do nothing but slash at him in desperation. A few hits landed, but nothing too serious. The magic missiles had disoriented her; perhaps she hadn’t been aware Elenya’s full abilities.
She tried to duck in under Shaun’s guard to land a heavy blow on his thigh, but he merely skipped to the side, almost joyfully, and swung his rapier around in an ‘S’ arc.
The blow cut heavily through her armor, slicing her belly open. Elenya focused again, and three more beads of light streaked across the room. Ilia stumbled.
Shaun glanced over at his wife, and saw, to his surprise, that she was grinning.
Yes honey! A few more, and we can win this!”
A few feet away, Shivalas was staring at Siabrey shakily. Having been hurt deeply, and deprived of one of his weapons, the rogue was beginning the feel the deep twinges of fear.
Siabrey continued to stare at him in an almost bored way.
“Well, come on then. Are you a man, or a leftover pile of dragon dung?” her voice cut into his already frayed ego, and severed any self-control he might have had left. With a scream, Shivalas leapt at her, his washazaki outstretch to spear her through. She ducked, and the tip of his blade scored her gently across the top of one shoulder.
Siabrey almost shrugged, and slipped her body nimbly to the side, lifting her broken blade horizontally to the perfect height so that Shivalas’ own forward momentum carried him forward so that that keen edge pressed against his neck…
Which was quickly severed, as Shivalas’ head bounced across the floor.
With a roar, Grumki broke Elenya’s bond, and the pair quickly scrambled out of the forcecage…which Shivalas had left open. Grumki began to run across the room, heading for his warhammer, while Elenya stepped to the side, her fingers lifted to unleashed another round of missiles.
Ilia was looking rather hurt, and feeling frightened. She had not seen what had happened to her son, or the liberation of the last of the captives. Her vision was filled with Shaun’s weaving, dodging, infuriating pink blade, which managed to slice into her again.
Perhaps discretion is the better part of valor…Shivalas can take care of himself… Ilia thought, and after dodging one more of Shaun’s wicked stabs, she turned, and fled from the room.
