Fearless

“You only prolonged the inevitable.” the man said.

“Reinhold…” Parvil said standing with his back to the man. Trying to dig through his bag quickly, pocketing the necklace, spyglass and dagger as well as his portable hole. As much as he’d hate losing all his other gear it was replaceable.

“As disgusting and pathetic as I find you, I find it more disgusting to kill someone who isn’t facing me.” Reinhold said, hate in his voice. “So turn around so I can kill you properly.”

“Fine.” Parvil said, whirling around and whipping the Returning Dagger at Reinhold. Whizzing past his head and lodging slightly in a small pine tree..

“You missed…” he said looking back at the dagger stuck in the tree’s bark, before facing Parvil again. “How pathetic.”

Parvil’s hand was still up from the motion of the throw and he snapped his wrist in a jerking motion like someone setting the hook while fishing. “Did I?” he asked. The dagger flew back towards Parvil with a small woosh. Managing to clip Reihold’s shoulder on the way back as he tried to get out of its path.

“You cur!” Reinhold spat holding his shoulder with one hand and raising the other. Spouting off words in a language Parvil didn’t speak, but he knew the gist of what was happening. But before he could react an unseen force slammed him in the shins, knocking his legs backwards and himself forwards only managing to catch himself with his arms out of luck, to keep his face from hitting the ground. Before he could right himself and push back off the ground Reinhold was on him, a heavy boot connecting with Parvil’s side. Sending him rolling through the mud.

The pain causing his vision to swim and just guts turn making him choke back the feeling of vomiting. “Damn it…” Parvil groaned, quickly rolling to his feet, and readying himself for a fool's gambit. The moment Reihold began to cast another spell Parvil burst into a sprint. Just fast enough to close the distance as the chant reached its crescendo Parvil ducked low and swung high. Letting a solid uppercut connect directly on the underside of Reihold’s chin. Despite being an elf the man was built like a wall, and Parvil felt the connection with bone rocket pain through his hand. But it shut Reinhold up quick, causing the man to take a step back to try to get an arm’s length between himself and Parvil, but Parvil stayed on top of him, exploiting the predictable move and when Reinhold’s elbow was within reach he snagged it. Digging in his heels and putting all his strength into leverage and forcing himself to twist and throw Reinhold over his body. Making the large man crash onto his back in the mud, soiling his perfectly white armor, but not without consequences. Parvil felt a sharp pain like a lance through his ribs, causing his vision to flash bright white, and deep black for a moment, and causing him to stagger and stumble in place.

Reinhold let out a spattering of words that sounded less like a language and more like the snarl of a beast, and Parvil felt his body fail him as he was unable to move, watching Reinhold pick himself up off the ground. “I was just going to kill you and leave your body for the scavengers, but now…:” he stared at Parvil with a look of insanity in his eyes. “No, I’m going to deliver your corpse to her front door so I can see the look of despair on her face before I kill her too.” Reinhold lifted his hand, and lowered it in a quick jerking motion. Before he could make even a sound Parvil was lying flat on his back, Reinhold walking up to him drawing his sword. He held it in both hands, blade facing down. “I will make it quick, considering your bravery in facing a superior foe, I can grant you at least one kindness.”

Raising the blade high, Reinhold began to drive it towards Parvil’s heart. But everything slowed to a crawl, time elongating. In the time it should have taken to drive the blade through his chest, it had barely moved a few centimetres. Parvil blinked unsure if this is what dying was like. The few moments being stretched out so you could see your whole life flash before your eyes. But then he felt his mind pulled inward, somewhere else as he heard a voice he could not understand, speaking a language that made his skin crawl and his ears ache. As it continued to speak patterns in the words appeared, then a semblance understanding.

In a blink, Parvil found himself in a cave of untold size. Bathed in a dim glow from unseen sources of light, the cave stretched beyond sight. But the more he stared at the dark the more he could see it was moving. Like something gelatinous, a thing at a scale he feared to comprehend.

He watched as something that looked like a puddle of ink slither across the stone floor until it stopped a few feet in front of him, and began to take shape. Climbing over itself as it snaked upward. Forming a vagued shape that looked like himself though a few features were off, if he were only made of black ink. Like a shadow manifested into a living person. Though it had no mouth it spoke to Parvil in the strange language of age most ancient.

“lw'nafh'nahor ehye, Y' ymg' goka s'uhn, Y' ymg' goka ya r'luh ph'nglui nogephaii, ymg' nogephaii ya l' ya mgleth ye'bthnk.” the warbling voice spoke. Weak one, I offer you a contract, I grant you my power in return, you return me to my true form.

“Why would I make a deal with you?” Parvil asked.

“ahagl ah nafl l' mgr'luhah ah ehyeahog way. ahnythor ymg' nafl mggoka ya ymg' goka ahor ah'mglw'nafh” There does not appear to be another way. Should you not take my offer you shall die.

Even without seeing it Parvil could feel the blade getting close, and knew he was running out of time. “What would I need to do? How do I take you back to your true form?”

“Nogephaii hnahr'luhnah l' ya bthnk, h' ymg' ephaihafh.” Return the amulet to my body, it will guide you. the voice said, raising a hand-like shape on the inky body. “C' ahor llll athg bthnknahor throd” We shall agree with a hand shake.

Parvil ground his teeth a moment. “Fine.” he said, shaking what was meant to be the thing's hand. It was as cold as a river in winter and as slimy as algae covered rocks.

“Y' ah lloigehye c' ahor l' nog s'uhn.” I am happy we could come to an agreement. The thing said before suddenly over taking Parvil surrounding him like a thin film of scum.

Parvil let out a sharp breath suddenly back to the real world. He felt his lips moving and making words without his thoughts. “Nnn'drn.” the moment the strange word slipped past his lips all time went back to normal. The sword bouncing off some unseen force, hard enough Reinhold had to correct his grip on the hilt.

“So…” he spat. “She left you with a few tricks up your sleeve. It won’t save you forever. I've trained with Zataran wizards and Dalish battle mages. Your tricks only delay the inevitable" Reinhold rushed Parvil, blade ready to swing.

“Nnn'drn.” Parvil said again, this time slightly more aware of speaking it. The blade colliding with so much force, two things happen simultaneously. Firstly the blade went sailing as it slammed into the unseen wall of energy, secondly the wall of force shattered, not so much physically like glass but it cracked and dissipated.

In the moment it took Parvil to realize what happened Reinhold mounted another attack. Spouting off spells rapid fire. First a rock flew towards Parvil with such speed even the small word that brought up the shield was almost too much, it slammed into it breaking the spell. Next was a ball of flame about the size of a fist. Pounding into his chest such force it nearly felt like his all his ribs were broken. The third spell was a gout of high pressure water, it put of the flames from the fireball but nearly peeled the skin on Parvil’s arms. Lastly thunder rolled, Parvil looked up just in time to be struck by a bolt of lightning, the watery attack before making it much more impactful. Parvil still stood, arms hanging limply at his side. Breathing ragged.

“Why won’t you die!” Reinhold opened his mouth to again hit Parvil with a volley of spells.

“Ch'nglui'ahog.” Parvil managed to say, smoke rolling from his mouth as he did.

Before the first syllable of the volley slipped past Reinhold’s lips, something barely visible slammed his chest, sending him flying backwards and slamming into a massive tree, causing it to break and tip slightly. “This isn’t over. I don't know what you've done or what power you are tapping into, but it won't help you a second time in our next encounter” Reinhold said, moving his hands in a gesture of magic and vanishing.

Parvil stood there using all of his will power to not collapse. “Whatever you are, if I’m going to die can you at least take me to Aspen…” he said, wiping the blood from his nose.

“Iiahe ymg' gotha, ahehyee ai aimgr'luhh” the voice said. As you wish, just speak the words.

Parvil took a deep breath. “shuggog ahazathnah.” he felt himself pulled away from where he was, much like when Aspen did it. But it felt off like being on a boat in rough waters. He felt the portal open up again, but no ground under his feet. Suddenly falling for four maybe five feet to the ground.

–

Hearing the portal snap open the guard surrounded it. Spears and staves at the ready. But Aspen broke the line running to Parvil. Seeing how badly injured he was she started shouting for someone to get one of the clerics on duty. “What happened to you?” she asked, brushing bloody soot covered hair from his face.

“I beat him.” Parvil said in a raspy whisper. “I didn’t kill him…but he ran with his tail between his legs.” he tried to laugh but just coughed and nearly passed out. “Sorry I did that to you.”

“We’ll talk about that later. Just stay awake till someone gets here.” Aspen instructed him.

“I think I messed up.” Parvil said.

“Later, we’ll talk about it later.” she said, as a healer arrived and some of the guards help to move Parvil to a bed where he could rest.