[IC] Into the Shadow

[POOHEAD189]

It took all of his training to keep up with the Dark Elf swordsman, and somehow he still felt he was being somewhat toyed with after he struck. Elves were not unknown to his Chapter, and he was always told that his strength would be his greatest asset against an elf, as the Elf would be far quicker and have decades, if not centuries of experience in swordplay.

At the moment, he found it hard to even be able to lay a hand on his opponent to use his strength, and he blocked and parried and attacked as savagely as he could while Iseldis and the other two dark elves maneuvered and fought not a scant 3 meters away. He knew she had drawn both of the others away to save his life, but who would save hers? Gareth struggled and cried out as the two fought for their lives, futilely attempting to break free of his bonds despite days upon days of trying.

Roland heard Iseldis' body crash into a cabinet, and his heart sunk as he imagined a blade entering her heart. It was then he did something that he didn't expect he would ever do, and if even he didn't expect it, how could his opponent? With a cry, he slashed at the Dark Elf, who nimbly leapt back, only to see its eyes widen in shock as Roland threw his sword at the dark elf. Of course, throwing one's sword was never an effective tactic, but the dark elf held its arms up to guard its face and was knocked slightly aback by the weight of the weapon.

Roland had spun, taking his knightly dagger out of its sheathed and he launched himself at the Dark Elf that stalked Iseldis. The last thing it expected was the 'male primitive' to attack him, and grabbing the Dark Elf, he plunged his dagger between its breastplate and facehelm, ending its life. On instinct, Roland felt as much as heard a blade rushing toward his position and he flung himself over the same table to land heavily beside Iseldis, grimacing at the fall.

"How are we lookin'?" He asked hoarsly, more than anything trying to lighten the mood of a very grim situation. He didn't have his blade anymore, and there were still two enemies left to face. He pulled himself up as best as he could, holding his dagger at the ready as Iseldis took her own stance.
@Luminosity

[Luminosity]

"Not out of this yet," she answered, with half a smile. Iseldis wasn't sure she'd ever get used to life or death situations, but with Roland they were starting to become a little more manageable. And she was done holding back in this one.

The two dark elves before her were infuriated at the death of the third. No doubt with how small their numbers were, the death of any of their own hit them hard. They spaced themselves poorly, too close to one another, and Iseldis saw her chance. Twirling her staff, she channeled a strong spell through it, one end of her weapon glowing bright white. With a spin, she hurled the magic at the elves, a silver crescent of deadly magic flying at them. The closer of the two took more than half of it, his armor rent asunder, and he collapsed, a smoking husk of steel. The other was able to dive out of the way, but still caught enough in his left shoulder to damage him.

Iseldis felt a heavy drain on her body immediately after the spell ran its course, enough that she staggered forward a half step, but she caught herself and tried to blink away the fatigue. Just a little more to go, she told herself.

"Go," she urged Roland. "I'll take him from the side." Two on one, they'd be able to manage this last dark elf.

Staff in hand, Iseldis flanked around to the right, taking a circuitous route through the organizational mess that was this room. She allowed Roland to engage first before she started working her way in, eyes locked on the foe, searching for the best moment to strike. She didn't notice until it was too late that she'd set herself up for the very same thing.

A spell hit her from above and behind, foul and rank magic that washed over her in a wave. Instinctively she thought to put up a magical barrier in defense, but found her own magic cut off from her. She couldn't seem to draw a breath, or cry out to draw Roland's attention back. A sinewy substance that she recognized as webbing coiled around her throat, suddenly tugging her back several steps and just about pulling her feet off the ground.

The witch hung from the shadows above, latched onto the ceiling with her spidery legs, holding the thread that choked Iseldis. She peered down with pure hatred. "Ungrateful princess," she hissed. "Stop struggling, or I'll gladly gut you, the Master's orders be damned."

Iseldis only barely heard the words, focused instead on cutting herself free. Her staff had enough magic in it to do the trick, and with a swipe above her head she could finally gasp in a breath. She swung it again, catching the witch by surprise, and cracking her jaw. She fell roughly to the ground, and Iseldis tried to press her advantage while she had it with multiple downward strikes of her staff. She landed several hard blows, but took one swing too many.

The witch caught her staff, stopping it cold, and one of the spidery legs struck her across the face. Iseldis stumbled sideways, and suddenly the witch was on her feet again. Attacks flew at her, more than a few battering through her tired defenses, each one driving her away from where she'd lost sight of Roland. A powerful uppercut tossed her guard high and left her arms aching, and then a strong blast of offensive magic collided with her torso.

Iseldis was thrown back against the wall behind her, the sight of the room and the witch swimming before her. She felt herself sinking, losing strength, losing control. The witch had every opportunity to finish her off, but true to her word, it seemed she had other orders. Iseldis's staff slipped from her hand and clattered to the ground.

I can't... give up now... come on...

But it was a matter of endurance, not desire, and no amount of her desire to help Roland could keep Iseldis from crumpling to the ground on her side. The witch had already turned to fight Roland, not risking taunting words this time. It was all Iseldis could do to simply breathe, and try to get the strength to stand back while she could still make a difference.
@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

Roland fell over the lone Dark Elf as he focused on Iseldis, cutting the warrior across the back in a vain attempt at finishing the fight early. The Dark Elf's armor held strong, though, and he turned to hack at Roland in a flurry of blows that had the squire backpedaling. The Elf had a way of moving that was sinuous and unnerving, even though Roland could tell it was enraged and sloppy after the death of its comrades.

It was at that point Iseldis was attacked by the Witch, and Roland felt like reality had slapped him across the face. They were so close to fleeing! This witch appears out of the darkness like a demon that continues to haunt them! A scimitar nicked his face suddenly, wet blotting his cheek as he kicked out on instinct. His heavy boot hit the Dark Elf in the chest and sent it back a few steps, and he needed to press the sudden room he had or he'd lose it again.

He stabbed forward quickly, causing the Dark Elf to backpedal once more, and his next thrust was turned aside by both blades of his foe in a perfect block. He continued to run forward though, using his muscled bulk to bowl his opponent over. He received a welt on his forehead for his trouble from a hit with a scimitar hilt, and the Dark Elf leaped over the next table to keep himself from being pinned down.

Roland thought quickly, and realized something he could do to use the Dark Elf's agility against him. He kicked out again, shoving the table the Dark Elf vaulted over toward him like a ramming bull. The Elf leapt nimbly above the sliding table, right into the path of Roland's swung sword. The Dark Elf almost impossibly had the reaction time to leap up once more, but then he found himself at the mercy of the air and gravity.

Roland's sword pierced the Dark Elf's belly as he descended, black blood spilling onto Roland's face. "Eruvar take you, filth." He breathed, and slid the corpse off his sword as he turned. His mind screamed that he should have focused on helping Iseldis, and seeing her crumpled form brought a rage in him much like his dead opponent had. Fortunately for Roland, the Witch didn't know he was coming. His sword took out three of her spidery legs for her own lack of focus.

The Dark Elf Witch cried out hoarsely, and she knocked him back with a spasm of another spider leg. "Oh, you seek to save your precious princess yes? The wandering, lonely little human who thinks himself a Knight?" She spat, enveloping him in a spell of shadow lightning that lifted him off the ground. "I will show you just how misplaced your affections and loyalty are, boy!" He luckily couldn't hear her. He was screaming too loud.
@Luminosity

[Luminosity]

Iseldis slipped in and out of consciousness, the world spinning violently every time she managed to open her eyes. The witch's magic was intense in the pain that it caused, heavy in the toll that it took on her stamina, but in a fortunate twist of fate, it didn't defeat her utterly, and when she felt some semblance of stability returning to her senses, she felt some hope along with it. The worst of it was over, and the rest was something she could fight through, if only barely.

From the ground she reached blindly for her staff, unable to find it, and she soon gave up the effort. She was going to need more than the staff to win. Slowly but surely she rose, as though she'd joined the ranks of the shambling draugr they'd fought through the whole way. But by blocking everything else out, Iseldis was able to find a sort of center; she slowed her breathing, relaxed her body and her stance, felt the comforting touch of magic at her fingertips. She still had power to call upon.

The witch faced Roland, a few long strides away from Iseldis. The priestess had never been perfect in any part of her training, but she knew she'd need to be perfect now. One mistake would lead to her end, and probably Roland's alongside her. She wasn't about to let that happen.

Iseldis moved forward smoothly, calling into her hand a long, thin sword of light, elegant and deadly. The magic wasn't silent, and even over Roland's battle roar the witch heard it. Iseldis anticipated her opponent's response, sidestepping to cleanly avoid the stabbing attack from one of the few spider legs the witch had left. She saw a brief moment of uncertainty in the witch's eyes when they were face to face, right before Iseldis plunged the light blade into her gut.

It pierced cleanly through, burning as it went, with a magical fire that caught all through the witch's body, the cleansing force consuming with an almost alarming hunger. The witch shrieked in agony, twisting and contorting and swinging blindly with her clawed fingers at Iseldis. She ducked the swipe nearest to her throat, pulling her blade free. With one motion she spun about and sliced for the witch's neck, lopping her head off. The charred body fell to the floor, and suddenly the room was silent once more, all save for the sounds of their exhausted breathing.

No sooner had she finished it than the sword vanished from her hands into thin air, and a tidal wave of exhaustion washed over Iseldis. She wobbled, wavered, and then collapsed to her knees in front of her kill, needing to plant her hands on the dusty floor to keep herself from falling further.

"It's... it's over."
@POOHEAD189

[POOHEAD189]

Roland hit the ground in a dull heap once the magic had dissipated, barely keeping himself from cracking his head wide open on the stonework. All was sensation and survival for him at the moment. The dust kissing his skin and the rough floor grating on his forearm. The weight of his armor and tired body pulling him toward the floor. But he willed himself to look up as Iseldis attacked the witch, and he witnessed what he thought was a miracle.

Eruvar had answered their prayers! Iseldis's stab through the witch, and with the liquid movement of a trained professional, she lopped off the Dark Elf's head. The burning body fell in tatters, like a charred tree that had buckled under its own weight from the gnawing flames. Roland just then realized he had been holding his breath, and he gasped and coughed. In the background, Gareth began to call out.

"Are you both alive!?" He cried. "Hello?"

"Aye!" Roland said weakly, but he spoke no more to the man as he crawled toward Iseldis, who had fallen to her hands and knees. Grimacing, he pulled himself up beside her and smiled tiredly. "You did it," he told her, unable to keep the humor and excitement out of his voice. Around them, the room cackled with bits of electric jolts from the ruined contraptions, and the glow of the crystals that lit the stone was still very unwelcoming. But none of that matter to Roland at the moment.

They had made it through the underways and had survived, against all odds. And what's more, they had succeeded in their mission.
@Luminosity