Dirssi Xhotharanil

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Dirssi had left the dining hall and was making her way back to the courtyard to wait with her guards for their room to be prepared. She had expected that they would need to stay at the college for a while, but she still hoped the situation could be resolved quickly. She had become wrapped up in her thoughts and, consequently, became lost in the unfamiliar hallways of the college. 

After wandering for a time, she found herself in a short, mostly empty hallway, save for a few demons she passed by. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the unmistakable sounds of fighting echoing through the hallways. She could hear screaming coming from both in front and behind her, so this fighting was not likely spanned sparring. Turning around, she saw that the gazes of the demons she had passed were firmly on her. There were three human-sized imp-like demons, along with one that was larger and more humanoid. Most of its features were obscured by its primal-looking armor, but as it extended its longsword forward and pointed at her, its intentions were clear. 

The three imp charged ahead first, but Dirssi did not make any attempt to flee. Instead, she let out a low sigh, then removed her cloak and let it drop to the ground, revealing the light armor underneath, which was made from the tough scaled hides of a large, land-based predator in the Scorched Lands. She wore two bandoliers crossed over her chest, each bearing six daggers, and had a barbed shortsword sheathed at her waist. She drew the sword and a dagger, then waited for her opponents to reach her. 

Dirssi was taller than the imps, so the first one to reach her jumped at her as it tried for her throat, however; at the perfect moment, she dashed to the side to allow the imp to fall past her, then drove her sword into its spine. Knowing that the other demons were only fractions of a second behind, she spun around and slashed with her dagger, nearly severing the hand over the second imp. In one motion, she pulled her sword from the first imp's back, then embedded it into the second's neck. At the same time, she flipped around the dagger in her off-hand and threw it into the last imp's skull as soon as she had a clear shot. 

All three imps were dead, but the last demon, the armored humanoid, was now upon her. Its longsword was already in full swing, bound for her throat. She did not have time to block with her blade, so she raised up her empty hand as if she were going to catch the sword. Just as it seemed she was going to lose her hand, her decay magic turned half of the blade to dust before her. Dirssi's response was immediate. Since her blade could not pierce its armor, she simply drove her hand into its chest. The armor disintegrated on contact, and its flesh did not fair any better. As she did not know exactly where the demon's heart would be, she spread her magic throughout its chest cavity, rotting away its flesh from the inside out. Its helmet obscured its face, but she could hear it cough up blood before its lifeless body fell to the ground. 

Once she had recovered her dagger, Dirssi moved on, attempting to find someone of authority in the college. Even after moving just one hallway, she confirmed that her attack was no isolated incident. She saw a student get cut down before her, and from the sounds echoing through the halls, such chaos was occurring everywhere in the area, perhaps the entire college. Perhaps she had been to quick to become optimistic about her chances of finding the person she was after. With demons now ravaging the college, it could be that he would die before proper justice could be done. She killed a few more lesser demons while moving through the halls, trying to find her way around, until eventually she came across something larger and more threatening. It was tall, bulky, and seemed to have a dozen faces scattered across its imposing torso, and, by the number of bodies scattered around, it was deadly. With her abilities, it would have been easy enough for her to escape, but this demon was a danger someone would have to deal with eventually, so that someone might as well be her. If she was ever going to locate Ssarak, this threat to the college would need to be ended. 

One of the beast's many faces spotted Dirssi, causing it to turn its attention immediately to her. It advanced forward, destroying anything in its path, but the Esyire warrior showed no signs of fear, no hesitation, or even a hint that she was going to flee. Instead, she only grasped her weapons, stared it down, and waited.