Breakpoint (Zenke)

There was a chill in the air as the slim figure of a young woman made her way down a dark and quiet street. Given the mild climate that the city of Karem usually enjoyed, Fayla Shor could be certain that the chill was not from the weather. She walked slowly, ears pricked up for maximum detection, but so far things were quiet. Raising an eyebrow, the Eldari knew that it would not be quiet for long. Fayla and Vala, her Heanta best friend, had been aware for some time that they were marked people, and in typical fashion had decided to be proactive about it. So they had devised a plan. Rather than waiting to be ambushed, they would instead be the ones to do the ambushing. After their adventures in Mondolin and the Vultani Jungle, they had stopped in their usual haunt of Zendar to rest and realign. There, they were visited by Merlin, the eccentric Eldari Magi. Merlin asked a favor of them, to look after a Human named Yurei, a skilled warrior who had lost his memory. Vala tested the young man's skills, before they agreed to help him on the condition that he remained in Zendar while they traveled to Karem for the very confrontation that approached. They had then made a plan of action, and once Fayla had fully healed from her injuries that she sustained in the jungle, they put it into motion.

Not wanting to risk the safety of the Zendar residents, who were normally suspicious of visitors but had grown to trust the two misfits who had taken up residence in their village, Fayla and Vala decided to enact their plan in Karem, a corrupt and vile city whose only constant was treachery. Karem was sturdier than little Zendar too, so they were less concerned with collateral damage here. When it came to Korroth and Knightfall, collateral damage was a given. Their plan was for Fayla to go for a little stroll during the night, luring the two menaces out for Vala to strike. So Fayla strolled down a dark street, her cloak concealing her sword. She left her bow and quiver in Zendar, as her archery skills would be ineffective here. Knightfall would be impossible to hit, while Korroth's armor would reduce her arrows to splinters. Rounding a corner into an alleyway between two buildings, Fayla stopped and looked around. Her heart beat with anticipation as she listened for signs of her quarry. Drunken laughs from a tavern down the street and the occasional squeak of a rat searching for food were all she could hear, though that was still no guarantee that she was alone. Frowning, she continued on her stroll.


Knightfall studied the girl as she stopped in the street and looked around. He knew he would not be seen in the shadows, but he stopped moving and crouched low nonetheless. They had been foiled once before, by that Eldari oaf in the forest, but it would not happen again. The Hornless one was clever to leave Zendar, as Korroth would have leveled the village had they tried to hide there. It would have been tricky to finish the job here, but as he had suspected, the Shor girl had made a mistake which opened everything up. Leaving the Hornless runt in the tavern, Shor had gone for a walk, never a good idea in Karem at the best of times. However the Eldari's arrogance and naivete had presented an opportunity, and Knightfall stalked the rooftops aafter his prey. She headed slowly for where Korroth was stationed as a distraction, the man's size and presence being enough to draw eyes wherever he went. Knightfall prepared for his masterpiece, spotting the familiar suit of armor that Shor was about to encounter.

Fresh for battle, Vala moved from rooftop to rooftop following Fayla like a second shadow. She had a third one, too, also stalking the high ground. She knew Knightfall had been watching them, but she doubted he'd stuck around long enough to see her slip out a back window of the inn they were staying in onto the the roofs. He was clever and resourceful enough to have learned all about Fayla and Vala before taking this on, and reckless stupidity was one trait they both shared. So when Fayla took a walk, he took the bait. Wreckless they may be, but they were far from stupid, and he was going to learn quickly that he and Korroth were the ones being hunted. She followed Fayla's path through the streets, watching knightfall duck as Fayla looked around.

Fayla continued, and her stalker and shadow with her. Korroth would be somewhere down on the streets, waiting for her. If Vala had to guess, he would move to intercept her. Pin her between himself and Knightfall and then strike.


A street away, he watched the eldari pass. Not even trying to hide, she strolled along like the young arrogant fool she was. Korroth picked up the pace, heading along the street parallel to her path. The next turn would leave him blocking her path. She might here him as he neared the intersection, but there was no escaping past him. His long stride carried him there, and his massive size kept people from his path. These people knew better than to interfere with Death Incarnate. Korroth stepped into the intersection, heafting his bardiche, and locked the Eldari in his gaze. He spotted knightfall above, and grinned. Wrath billowed from him like a physical aura as he raised his weapon. Even if he missed, Knightfall would take her by surprise. They would finish her quickly, it disappointed him that he could not take his time, but Knightfall had assured him he could finish the hornless whelp slowly. He grinned at the though, and swung his bardiche.


The moment Vala was waiting for was upon them. Korroth appeared at the intersection ahead of Fayla, cutting her off. As he raised his weapon, Vala stood up on the roof across from knightfall. She smiled at the Assassin, flipped him off and lept from the roof as Korroth swung his Bardiche. She plummeted towards him, grabbing his horn as she fell. The force pulled him to the side, his swing going wide of the mark, while she used the momentum to launch herself up and onto his shoulders. Wrapping her legs around his neck Vala peppered his head with blows as the monster tried to gain his balance. A hand caught her arm and pulled her loose, but she simple coiled around the arm like a snake, locking into an arm bar and attempting to break it. Korroth roared, and she ignored the overwhelming fear that ate at her courage. She felt his arm creaking, but he was to strong. Regaining himself he swung her towards a wall. Vala slammed her heel up under the chin of his helmet twice, then slipped from her hold and his grip. His arm struck the wall, cracking the stonework.

Landing on her feet, she smiled at the big bastard. "Fancy meeting you two here. Such a pleasent night for a stroll." She grinned, backing towards Fayla. Korroth looked murderous, but not the least injured by her little barrage. Would have been too easy of course. Korroth gave no answer, instead swung his bardiche at her. Vala dived under the blow, rolling past him. Dashing left, she scaled the building using her claws for extra grip. As she reached the top, she picked of a shingle, tossing it at knightfall's head. "Heanta's greatest assassin? You couldn't stab your way of a paper bag." She waited to see if he would take the bait. Korroth stared up after her, searching for a way to chase. But Fayla was ready to engage her part of the plan.

While Vala dealt with knightfall, Fayla would lead Korroth into the tight streets of the slums, where his bardiche and size would restrict him. If Fayla could deal with him there, so be it, but if not, they would take care of him together once knightfall fell. Simple enough.

Fayla moved further along the street, ears pricked, until she heard the clank of metal boots that signaled the next phase of the plan. She rounded the corner and was confronted by the large armored form of Korroth Vex, standing in the dead center of the street before her. Fayla pulled the hood of her cloak down and revealed her features to her opponent. She smiled confidently, eyes fixed on the enormous figure that stared motionless right back at her. "What's the matter, you lost?" She waited for the response, but she didn't have to wait long. As she got into range, the big man moved to swing his bardiche at her. She handsprung backwards out of range again, but she knew that her backup was already entering the fight. Vala landed on Korroth and proceeded to pepper the big man's head with blows before locking in an armbar, forcing Korroth to smash his arm into the wall beside him to dislodge her.

Meanwhile, Fayla waited for the shadow to emerge, and emerge he did. She heard a swoop and spotted a movement in the corner of her eye, and she kicked her own plan into action. She jumped to the side, leaving her Second Chance clone behind. The shadowy form of Knightfall landed a split second later, knives sinking into the clone. Fayla smiled, before lunging forward and attempting to take the assassin's head off with her blade. Just as she reached him and slashed, her blade passed through the man like he wasn't there. The man smirked at her before vanishing, and Fayla spun just in time to block a very-much-solid sword strike from the real Knightfall, who had dropped down behind her. The assassin smiled coldly at his Eldari foe. "You naïve fool. Surrender now. There is no escape." Fayla returned Knightfall's smile and shook her head. "Try again, punk." Knightfall nodded, not breaking his smile for a second. "I was hoping you'd say that." With that, Knightfall Shadow-Stepped to various perches before reaching a rooftop and disappearing.


Knightfall reached the rooftops and began to prepare for his next move when he was struck by a piece of roof tile. He looked to see the Hornless child looking at him from an adjoining rooftop. Knightfall was normally a cold and unfeeling individual, professional in everything he did. However, he decided this time to allow himself a bit of personal endeavor. He had failed complete his mission to kill the Hornless one before, and failure was a personal slight that he had to rectify. He had originally promised the big brute that he would have time to make the girl suffer, but such a promise really meant nothing to him. His hands began to shroud in a smoky aura, before he fired a weak strength ball of shadow energy at the Hornless. He rapidly followed the ball over with a flip over the Hornless, landing behind her and attempting to driving his knives down into neck of the Heanta runt. He would jump back out of range and watch the Hornless carefully for her retort.


Fayla stormed forward at Korroth, as strange a course of action as it was, and slid low between the man's legs, aiming a slash at his knees as she slid through. Once on the other side, she stood and yelled at the colossal warrior. "Hey dummy! How'd you end up as Knightfall's bitch?" Hoping that her brazen insults would be enough to draw Korroth to her, Fayla began to back off slowly in the direction of the slums. Hopefully he would follow.

Vala back handed the ball of energy, the plates of her drakna dispersing it harmlessly. The assassin flipped over her and tried to stab her in the Neck but Vala dropped into a sweeping kick, before rising to drive an uppercut into his chin if he wasn't on his ass. She backflipped away from Knightfall and landed with a smug grin. "Come on, I though you were the best. Old age must be catching up with you if you think you can get the drop on me."


Korroth watched the hornless go up, along with knightfall and leaving him and the Shor girl on the ground. Fine, no need to accidentally catching knightfall in with a swing by mistake. Or on purpose. Korroth turned his full attention towards the girl, as an aura of Fear exploded from him to assault her mind. Then he charged, only to have her dive out of the way and run off down the street. Korroth let out a roar and charged after her, the stomp of his feet and clank of his aromr creating a cacophonous assault of sounds.


Vala looked down into the street as Fayla led Korroth away, before grinning at knightfall. "Gods this city is tightly packed. Not that we'd notice, up on the rooves." Vala dashed forward closing with knightfall and performed a trio of rapid jabs to the face, before attempting to kick hard into the side of Knightfall's left knee, before falling back just out of reach of his knives.

Knightfall was a man who always had multiple plans, should his primary one fail. However, as he had learned from his interactions with his two current targets, it seemed no amount of plans was ever enough to deal with some people. Fortunately Knightfall was naturally very good at improvising, despite having a clear preference for a carefully laid and executed plan. He leapt over the low sweep when his stab attempt failed, but was nearly caught by the following uppercut. The Heanta assassin got his knives up in time to protect his face, but the force of the blow forced him into a backflip, landing on his feet and staring a hole through his quarry. The Hornless had also backflipped away, grinning smugly and offering a jibe at his age designed to infuriate him. Unfortunately for the Hornless one, Knightfall was cold, calculating and patient. He simply raised an eyebrow, unaffected by the childish insult, and instead stared at his foe, calculating as many variables as he could.


I've really done it this time, Fayla thought, no turning back now. As she backed away towards the streets, she felt herself getting colder, and the massive man seemed to loom even larger than he already did. A chill permeated her very being. Vala had told her of Korroth's fear ability, and Fayla sighed. As if she needed any more reason to be scared. Then, Korroth suddenly charged, forcing the Eldari to dive to the side and into the cramped side street. She heard a roar behind her, followed by the horrifying sound of well over a hundred pounds of armor stomping its way after her. She ran, making sure to not go too fast that Korroth lost her but staying far enough ahead that she didn't get pasted either. She spotted a nice corner ahead to try something stupid, and accelerated around it before tucking in against the wall, waiting for Korroth to charge past. If he did, she would charge out towards his back, sliding low and aiming for the back of his knees with a slash of her blade. Once out the other side, she then rose up and leapt up high, aiming a stab for one of the eyeholes in the man's thick helmet. She would then kick herself off Korroth large frame and backflip out of range, hoping the narrow alley would preventing him using his bardiche too much.


Knightfall continued to watch the Hornless one for a moment. She was a match for him in sheer speed, so he wouldn't be able to outrun her to reach the Eldari, so he would have to deal with her first. She was also physically stronger, though this did not concern the assassin too much. He was about to make a decision when the Hornless made it for him, charging at him and leading with several jabs to the face. Knightfall switched his knives to a reverse grip before expertly parrying the jabs with swift movements of his own. The Hornless then sank low to aim a kick to his knee. Knightfall leapt over it before suddenly firing an Average-strength ball of shadow energy after his quarry as she retreated away. Then in one fluid motion he followed his attack in, aiming a slash for his target's neck with one knife before spinning through and aiming a stab with the other knife to the torso. He then brought his knives up in a reverse-grip uppercut before spinning them into a normal grip and aiming a twin scissor-slash at her neck again. He then retreated back out of range to assess the situation.

Korroth was going to fast to notice the girl's sharp turn and tried to bring his heavy form to a halt as she dashed out behind him and slashed the back of his knees. A clever trick, but did little more than glance off. The girl leap up in front of him, stabbing towards his eye which would have been more effective against the back of his knee, and Korroth caught the blade in his hand, shaking his head. She backflipped away, using him as solid leverage, and he released the sword as she retreated further into the tight alley where his bardiche would be more of a liability than an asset. Passing it into his left hand, he drew his long knife and advanced, using the smaller weapon to preform a series of powerful left to right slashes. When he thought she might be getting used to his attacks, Korroth swung his bardiche in an overhead attack in an attempt to split her down the middle.


Knightfall didn't rise to Vala's barb, but he was quick in responding to her attacks. He fired a ball of shadow after her. Vala went low, sliding a foot back then lept over the attack with a backflip, landing as Knightfall closed and tried to slash her throat. A quick slap of the palm of her hand to his wrist sent the blow wide. He spun after the slash, trying to stab her in the chest. She countered with a spin of her own that saw the blade passing her torso by an inch, before Knightfall tried to slash upwards. Vala brought her palms down between his hands and knocked the blades aside before they could find flesh, and ducked low as he followed up with a scissor slice to the neck.

Vala followed her duck with an uppercut, then followed knightfall, keeping pace with him as he retreated. She aimed a closed fist Jab towards his left elbow, then quickly dashed left around him, Attempting a low swipe to the back of his knee with the claws of her other hand. She spun out of the slash, backed up a step then attempted a kick to the jaw. Vala kept her proximity to him, forcing him to retreat if he wanted to use more magic against her.

Fayla's plan was working, for better or worse, as Korroth shuddered to a halt before ploughing a furrow down the small side street towards her. Her first attack predictably did little against the big man, with her knee attack simply glancing of armor, while Korroth caught the next attack which was aimed towards his eye-hole. Fayla backflipped off the colossal being, leaving her blade in his hand where he had caught it. The man dropped her sword before producing a blade of his own. Fayla called her sword back to her hand before jumping back to avoid the heavy-handed swings of her adversary as he advanced inexorably towards her. Fayla kept clear of the longknife swings, observing their timing. When she thought she had it figured, she took a step forward before having to dive sideways through a window to avoid a sudden downswing from the bardiche.


Knightfall remained stony-faced while each of his attacks failed, Vala using her skill and athleticism to deal comfortably with each one. The Hornless one than continued, aiming an uppercut after she ducked his scissor-strike. Knightfall leaned back to avoid the blow, stepping out of range as he did so. However, Hornless pursued him as he retreated, aiming a jab for his elbow, which he deflected away with his knife. His foe then dashed around him to try and strike for the back of his knee. Knightfall backflipped over it before raising a folded arm to check the follow up head kick. It was clear that the Hornless was not going to give him any room to maneuver, so he decided to try and force an opening. He aimed a pair of knife swings at Vala's head, trying to force her to duck. If she did, he would rapidly bring his knee up and try to connect with a crunching knee to face. If she didn't duck, Knightfall would follow her and aim a couple of knife thrusts to the body, followed by a sweep of the legs with his own leg. Either way, he would try to use any chance he made to jump backwards, onto an adjoining roof.


Fayla knew she had less than a second before Korroth smashed his way into the building she currently resided in, so she moved immediately. She called out to Korroth, just to make sure he did actually follow her. "Nice try, fuckwit!" She then ran for the back door, hauling herself through it as she heard a cacophony of destruction behind her. Once outside, Fayla jumped up and grabbed a ledge above her, pulling herself up onto the upper floor of the building Korroth was currently smashing through. She then summoned her Spectral Clones down at ground level. The two spectral nutjobs appeared, and they looked at each with surprise. "Haven't seen you for a while." The other Clone punched her twin in the arm. "You idiot, we haven't seen anything for a while!" They looked around for a moment trying to take in their surroundings. "So... what's the-" The clone was interrupted by a very large, very angry man bursting out of the building in front of them. "Manus' beard!" The other Clone drew her weapon. "I'm gonna need a bigger boot for that rear end." The Clones charged at Korroth with reckless abandon, and they were dispatched quickly. However, Fayla chose her moment, and dropped onto the big man's back from her perch. She wrapped her blade around the man's thick neck and tried her hardest to pulled the blade through towards her as she hung from it like a spider-monkey.

Korroth was smashing everything in his path to pieces trying to hit the eldari. She seen her opening and went to attack, and he was sure he was about to have her head when she realised what was coming for her and dived through a window as his bardiche came plummeting down, smashing into the cobblestones and rending a hole in them. Korroth ripped it free and kicked the wall, smashing through the old wood with ease. He smashed across the floor of the building, building speed as he crossed it and exploded through the wall, showering the street with chunks of wood. The girl was waiting, but now there was two. Korroth didn't wait, he roared and a blast of energy ripped from him and slammed into them. They flew back into the walls and disintegrated on impact.

Korroth puzzled if for all of a second before he realised they were a decoy. Enough time for the eldari to land on his back, and wrap her sword around his neck. Korroth dropped his chin, stopping the blade reaching his throat before he could grab it, and grab it he did, dropping his weapons to do so. As soon as he got his hands around it he realized there was little danger. A stronger opponent might be able to overpower and crush his throat, but she was not strong, and no amount of leverage would allow her to over power him. Korroth held the blade steady and spoke. "Foolish little girl. You should have stuck to your strengths." Korroth slammed his head back, trying to headbutt and stun her, then reversed his mass into a wall in an attempt to crush her between him and it. He smashed through the wall, staggered and lost his footing. He fell on his back with a cacophonous bang.


While Fayla was possibly being crushed to death, Vala and Knightfall's fight was far more precise and skillful. Knightfall dealt with her blows with grace and acrobatics. As much as she hated to admit it, she hadn't faught an opponant with such skill in ages. Most of her recent fights had been with big dumb arm breaking brutes who used muscles in place of brains. She was actually enjoying herself. She'd enjoy breaking his face more, but until that moment this was good enough. Knightfall's comeback was a little predicable, slashing at her face. Vala ducked only to come face to face with a knee that collided with her nose. She let out a grunt of surprise and changed direction with the blow, going into a backflip, snapping a foot up towards Knightfall's chin for good measure. She landed on her feet as as the assassin lept across onto a seperate roof.

Blood spilled down her face from Vala's broken nose. Without flinching, she reached up and twisted back into position. Then grinned, showing fangs. She felt her bloodlust surge. "If that's as hard as you can hit, then we're going to be here all night." Vala said, moving to join him on the other roof. She knew as soon as she jumped, he was likely to try to catch her off guard and in mid air. If he did attack, she was ready for him, and preformed a rapid combo of strikes that shot out ten small blasts of very weak energy. At best, it would force him away, if not catch him out completely and blitz him. If he didn't try anything, she would simply land, close in and preform it anyway. Following that, she activated power rise, causing her eyes to glow purple.

Fayla clung to her sword as Korroth snapped his head back in an attempt to headbutt Fayla, but she swung her head to the side and avoided it. She did not avoid the follow-up however, as Korroth lurched backwards with frightening suddenness, squashing Fayla between himself and the wall of the building she had brought him through. Fortunately the wall gave way easily, and they ploughed through it. Fayla lost her grip and was sent sprawling across the floor of the building. She coughed as dust and broken masonry settled on the floor. Her body was wracked with pain, and she detected at least three broken ribs. A massive crash nearby snapped her out of the cobwebs and she looked to see Korroth lying on his back where he had lost his balance and toppled over. Fayla got up and scanned the room, knowing her opportunity had come. The whole building was trembling from its compromised structural integrity. Fayla made her decision in an instant. She looked at the nearest support beam to her adversary, and swung her blade at it with as much force as she could muster. Her sword lodged halfway through the wood, and she struggled to withdraw the blade, before swinging again. If the smiths in Gilderan could see this, they'd be disgusted. After the second strike, the beam came apart, and the ceiling began to crumble. Fayla stumbled outside and fell over as the building collapsed inwards, burying Korroth under a mountain of rubble. Fayla breathed heavily, and hefted her sword as she started back towards Vala and Knightfall.


Knightfall connected with the knee, breaking the Hornless one's nose. The blow forced her into a backflip. However, he was unprepared for the kick that came with the backflip, and he was forced into a backflip of his own, landing on the other rooftop. He wiped blood from his mouth and watched the Hornless one reset her nose and taunt him some more. Knightfall shook his head but said nothing. He had no words to waste on this worthless child. Before long, his adversary moved to join him on the next rooftop. Knightfall braced, expecting anything, and sure enough he found himself fending off small energy balls from Vala's fists as she sailed overhead, and landed behind him. Knightfall turned and eyed her warily as her eyes began to glow purple. A loud crash could be heard in the distance, and Knightfall looked over to see a building collapsing in the direction Shor and Vex had gone. He stared coldly at Vala. "I hope your friend wasn't under that building." Beyond that, he said nothing and readied himself.

Korroth felt the Eldari fly loose just before he fell, her blade flying from his hands. It took him a moment to free himself from a ruined table he'd fallen on, but he was only half way to his feet when he seen the little bitch hacking into the building's top floor supports. Korroth moved faster, but he was to slow to stop her. He reached out a hand to grab her but she slipped away just as the roof collapsed and crushed him to the floor.


Knightfall managed to avoid her barrage but it kept him at bay as she needed. She did note with satisfaction the split lip from the kick he never seen coming. There was an explosion of dust and noise, as a building collapsed in the slums. There was only one possible cause for that. She was slightly worried, but there was little chance Fayla had a house dropped on her. She knew better than to fight Korroth in doors. Any worry she felt she suppressed as she looked at nightfall. "Hey look, you're finally learning to smack talk." She responded. Her next sentence was drowned out by an ungodly roar, as the rubble that had just settled exploded.


Like nats, humans swarmed out from their houses to inspect the collapsed building. Some screamed, unsure what was happening, while others began to dig through the rubble for survivors. Korroth was probably hurt. But he could feel nothing but a consuming rage as the insects swarmed closer. Korroth let out a roar of unfiltered rage and hate, his muscles surging with magic as he pushed himself from the ground and the load pressing him down rose up. He got a foot under him, and burst from the rubble with another roar, throwing chunks of wood, thatch and dust in all direction. An insect came towards him and he smashed it's face with a guantlet, grabbing another by the head and squeezing.

He spotted the girl running, and tossed the twitching corpse at her before smashing his way free of the ruined house. Someone pointed a spear at him and Korroth grabbed the haft, snapping it with east and burying the spear tip in the insect's chest. Ripping his bardiche free from the rubble, he started to swing at anything that got close, or wasn't fast enough to get out of the way, and charged after the eldari roaring, smashing anything in his path.


Fayla dropped a house on Korroth. Vala would have found it funny, but by the screaming coming from a few streets away, the monster was unleashing his rage on the city. He'd kill countless people before someone could put him down. Stupid, She was so stupid for luring them here. Vala's eyes snapped to Knightfall, as energy surged through her body. With a burst of speed she closed on knightfall and grabbed him by the leg. With sudden unnatural strength she pulled his feet from under him and spun, before throwing him across the street and through a wall. There was no way that was enough to kill him, but she needed him out of the way long enough to lead Korroth out of the city.

Vala ran, jumping roof to roof until she arrived at the scene of distruction. She spotted Fayla down below and slid down a drainpipe to join the Eldari. "What did you do!" She asked, backpeddling as the furious Korroth swung, missed and jammed his Bardich into a chunk of solid wood. He started to punch and smash the wood until the wall splintered and he ripped the weapon free. "We need to get him out of the city. He's going to tear it apart."

Fayla gradually began to regulate her breathing as she sheathed her sword on her back and headed towards Knightfall and Vala. She chanced a look over her shoulder, wondering just how long it would take Korroth to extract himself from the temporary tomb she had interred him in. As it turned out, it was not all that long. People had begun to gather around the demolished building, and already Fayla could see dust and rock becoming airborne as the tomb's only inhabitant began powering his way out. Fayla waved frantically to the gathering crowds. "Hey! Get away from there!" Fayla saw the colossal form of her enemy emerging from the rubble, and she knew what was going to happen next. They had made a poor decision to lure Korroth and Knightfall to Karem. They had not given thought to the damage Korroth would cause - was about to cause. "NO! RUN, NOW!" But even as the words left her mouth, she knew it was too late. Both terrified and ashamed of her stupidity, Fayla turned and ran.


Knightfall allowed a small smile to creep onto his otherwise taciturn features. His plan was working so far. The Hornless one was clearly distracted by the destruction Vex was causing, and Knightfall had planned his follow-up a while before. However, as he kept discovering, when it came to Fayla Shor and Valatrix, no plan was certain of success. Just as he tensed to make his move, his opponent suddenly appeared in front of him with a dazzling burst of speed, grabbing his leg and hurling him ferociously through the air. Knightfall braced as he collided with a house wall and went through, smashing through clean into the next room as well. Grunting in annoyance, he stood up and brushed dust from his coat. His knives lay nearby, and he retrieved them. A noise alerted him to the presence of another person. They lay nearby, coated in rubble and dust. Knightfall approached the person, surveying them for a moment, before ending their life with a flick of his knife. The person gurgled for a moment, but their throat had been slit cleanly, and they collapsed in their own blood. Knightfall nodded in satisfaction before heading for the hole he had flown in through.


Fayla looked at her friend when the Heanta dropped down beside her, asking what she had done. "I know, I'm sorry. The house was empty and I thought it would hold him longer than that." She fought to keep her voice calm but her eyes gave away the fear she was feeling. A roar behind them brought them back to Asmir firma as Korroth emerged, taking wild swings with his bardiche. Fayla jumped backwards with Vala as the monster lodged his weapon in a timber post, before smashing the post to smithereens to free it. Vala called to her a new plan, and Fayla nodded. "You're right. Okay, the main gate is close by." Fayla ran alongside Vala, occasionally looking back to make sure Korroth was still following.

"Breath Fayla. Its alright, this is my fault. I knew what he was capable of and suggested we fight them here." Vala said, seeing how scared Fayla looked. "I've put knightfall out for a while. Once we get Korroth out of here, we might have a chance to deal with him together." Vala added. Then she focused on keeping Korroth on their tail, letting Fayla gain a bit of a lead and giving her a chance to regain her composure. Korroth chased them doggedly through the city, his sole focus now on them as people seemed smart enough to steer clear of him. Even Karem's guards turned a blind eye to the trio of warriors storming trough the city, completely abandoning the gates as they passed through.

Vala and Fayla ran until they left the road, and open ground turned to bare forest. Korroth fell behind, but every time she looked back, he was there, still coming. He was not giving up now. The ground suddenly gaveway to a deep gorge cutting through the forest ahead of them. Vala slid to a stop. "This seems like a good spot." Vala said. The gorge was aleast 20ft across. They were not jumping it, so there was little choice. This was their battleground. Korroth was still far enough that he wouldn't be able to see or hear them properly, but would keep coming. "Fayla, hide. Wait until I have his attention, then hit him in the back." Vala said, holding out a fist for Fayla to bump. "Let's end this."

The stomp of the mountain of metal and flesh grew closer, and Vala swore she could see the beasts red eyes glowing behind his helm. The forest was dark, and he started to slow until he seen Vala standing there. "Took you're time getting here. I was starting to get bored." Vala said. Korroth Growled and charged, swinging his Bardiche directly down. Vala rolled to the side and get in past the weapon, Striking his elbow. The armor held, and Korroth tried to swing at her again, ripping his weapon from the ground with ease straight up towards her ribs. Vala dropped backwards into a roll, then as she got her feet under her charged forward and aimed a punch towards the knee, again not effecting the armor. Korroth grunted, swinging for her again and missing as she dodged.

She moved to strike another joint and he caught her by surprise with a backhand, his guantlet smashing into her chest and sending her sprawling across the ground. She rolled and righted herself, not really feeling the hit. Korroth chuckled, dropping the bardiche. "Let's see who last's longer in a punching match, little hornless." Korroth growled, charging towards her. Vala dodged, and the warrior smashed trough a tree like it was nothing. He spun as splinters of wood exploded and the tree crashed to the ground. He closed again, his full attention on Vala, leaving his back completely open to Fayla.

Fayla brought her breathing under control at Vala's urging. Vala took responsibility for the damage Korroth had caused, given that luring the two assassins to Karem was her idea originally, but Fayla shook her head. "I shouldn't have collapsed the building on him. I should've just kept running." The city guards made absolutely no effort to stop either them or Korroth, and for good reason. The left the city through the main gate, and took off down the road. When the road came to a bend, they made sure Korroth was still following them, before continuing straight on and off the road. They weaved their way through trees and bushes, and they could hear the racket that their pursuer was making as he bulldozed his way after them. Soon they reached a wide gorge that blocked their way forward. The gorge was vast enough that Fayla doubted even she could make it across, so Vala formed the new plan immediately. Fayla would take cover while Vala distracted Korroth to provide an opening to strike. Fayla swiftly took to the trees, taking cover in the thick leafy canopy of an oak tree. The harbinger of destruction was nearly upon them.


In all of Knightfall's years of work as an assassin, no job had ever been personal. He prided himself on his professionalism, treating every kill as simply the next step towards perfection. But now, as the Heanta brushed dust and rubble from his body and stood up, he found his objectivity being testes. While Knightfall was still just as determined to do his job to the best of his ability, there was now a small part of him that admittedly was now eagerly anticipatingthe completion of his work, if only to make the Hornless one pay for her insolence. When two people approached him to offer assistance as he retrieved his knives from the rubble, he lashed out in anger for the first time in over two centuries, slicing the throats of each person simultaneously with precision knife strikes. He stepped out of the building that he had been thrown into, and saw the trail that Korroth had left. Knightfall knew that their two targets had skipped town, and Korroth was still after them. He leapt onto the wall, and began his pursuit by blending into the night.


Fayla watched with bated breath as the massive warrior approached Vala below her. Vala opened with her usual trash talk, before moving into combat. Vala ducked and weaved as she tried to damage the joints in Korroth's armor, probing for weak points. Eventually Korroth tired of trying to hit Vala with his bardiche and caught her with a ferocious backhand that sent her sprawling. Korroth then produced a little bit of his own trash talk, before charging. Vala dodged, but Korroth simply smashed through a tree like it wasn't even there before closing with Vala again. Fayla took a deep breath, the time had come. leaping down on top of the massive Heanta, Fayla put all of her strength into bringing the pommel of her weapon down onto Korroth's helmet, directly between the horns. Whether she hit or she missed, she would kick herself off the huge man and land beside Vala. She glanced at her friend with resignation. "That was everything I had."

Korroth heard the whoosh and moved as Fayla came down, and instead of hitting full on the pommel strike smashed into his head next to his horn and deflected off his helm. It still set his ear's ringing and pissed him off even more as the eldari jumped away and landed next to his friend. He heard the Eldari welp tell the traitorous hornless bitch that was all she had and Korroth started to laugh darkly. "Pathetic. All that sneaking, and that's the best you can muster? Weaklin-" He took his eyes off Vala for a split second and the Hornless suddenly rushed him, her limbs pulsing with purple energy. Korroth tried to smash her away but she slipped under his strike and slammed her fist into the right side of his armor at the ribs. Steel screeched and crushed, and Korroth felt ribs shatter as the blow landed and energy exploded into him.


Vala watched the massive bastard stagger to the side as he finally shifted his weight to move with her blow. It was too late though, there was a sizable dent in his chest piece and she'd felt bones broke beneath the blow. She seen the rage as he managed to steady himself, and knew they needed to be fast. She'd chipped the armor, now it was up to Fayla to finish the job. Vala charged Korroth and dived under his counter attack, aiming a barrage of blow's towards the weakened armor. The Beastly heanta smashed his arm into her and she flipped backwards with the blow before dashing back in, going into a hand spring and driving a both of her heels upwards into his helmet while he was stooped low, causing him to stumble backwards. Korroth tried to grab her leg but she was to fast, pulling her form into a roll and passing through his legs.

Vala turned, scaling the monster's back and peppered his head with blows. Protecting his weakened side with his right arm he reached up and grabbed at her. She avoided the grab an started to smash her hand down into his right shoulder, denting and bending the armor. Korroth shook himself, Vala was thrown from his back, landing on the ground. Korroth tried to stomp on her but she rolled aside, her hands landing on the handle of his bardiche. Vala grabbed the heavy weapon and swung as she rose, the blade scything towards his head. Korroth caught the weapon with his right arm reflexively, but in doing so he left his damaged armor wide open to Fayla.

Fayla allowed herself a small smile as her plan worked to perfection. Her claim that she had nothing left to give had caused Korroth to become to confident, and he lowered his guard for just enough time that he couldn't stop Vala's attack. However, she turned serious again when she saw that the massive man was still on his feet, though the armor at his side was badly damaged from Vala's punch. Vala then launched back into battle, assailing the monster from odd angles with well-placed strikes to the weakened section of armor. With that, Fayla was on the move too. She circled around swiftly as Vala turned her attack to the colossus' head. Her Heanta friend eventually managed to get a grip on Korroth's bardiche and swung it towards the beast's head. Korroth managed to stop the weapon in time, but he left his side open. Fayla embarked on her final run.


The trail was easy to follow, thanks to the lumbering beast that was Korroth Vex. Once he got to the bend in the road, the massive Heanta had left destruction in his wake as he chased the two pests that they had been tasked to kill. Knightfall became one with the night, traveling under cover of darkness through the treeline. He dashed from shadow to shadow, following the sounds of combat that got louder as he went. He soon spotted Korroth locked in combat with their prey. As Knightfall stalked closer, it became apparent that Korroth had sustained significant damage, as his armor sported a pronounced dent in the side of his cuirass. Knightfall wasn't altogether surprised, as the hulking brute was all power and no finesse. Soon the moment came. Hornless had manufactured an opening for Shor to exploit the weakness in Vex's armor. Knightfall surged out of the shadows behind Hornless and aimed a pair of precision strikes to the back. He didn't care that Vex was in imminent danger himself. In anycase, if Knightfall was right, Korroth would be fine. Victory felt good.


Fayla moved like a rushing tide towards Korroth, a singleminded focus on that chipped armor urging her on. She lifted her blade and chambered what she hoped would be a gamechanging strike, but the game then changed in a different way. She heard a cry from Vala, and she immediately realized what she had missed. What they had both missed. Fayla looked to see Knightfall behind Vala, knives sank into her best friend. Fayla's eyes widened in shock and her brain seemed to freeze up. "NO! VALA!" Luckily, her body acted on her behalf. "GET AWAY FROM HER YOU BASTARD!" The Eldari lifted her sword and hurled it like a javelin towards the assassin. Knightfall nearly saw it too late, moving his head to the side. The blade sliced across his cheek and through his ear, taking it almost completely off. The blade stuck into a tree behind him as he released his hold on Vala and staggered backwards, and Fayla immediately called it back to her hand as she charged the reeling assassin. "I've had enough!" Fayla launched herself at Knightfall, soaring over Vala and aiming a thrust at Knightfall's face. The assassin regained his bearing just in time, ducking the blow. Fayla rolled through before charging Knightfall again, swinging wildly at him with sideways slashes, forcing him to back up.

Vala felt the air shift, and she moved as a dagger sank into her side, a second cutting across her ribs as it missed its mark. Pain flooded her system, more than even she could handle, and Vala staggered away with a pained moan just as Fayla screamed her name. The Eldari nearly took knightfall's face off as she hurled it like a Javelin, driving the assassin back from Vala. He'd stabbed nearly clean through her right under the ribs. her knee buckled and she did her best to keep herself upright as she tried to assess the damage. There was to much blood to see properly.

And then Vala remembered what they were doing, just as Korroth smashed her with a kick. Vala threw her arms up and got launched back by the big brute's boot. She curled up, protecting herself as she impacted the ground and rollowed across it. "Its been along time since I've felt this kind of pain." Korroth said as he bent to pick up his bardiche, and stomped towards her. His breath was labored, but he was still going strong in comparison to her. "You should try taking off that Armor some time. You'll feel more." Korroth shook his head as she slowly uncurled, one hand pressed to her side. She started to push to her feet. "Do you fear Death, Valatrix?" The big man asked as he loomed over her. "I laugh in it's face you overgrown mutt." She said, pushing herself to her feet.

She wobbled, then fell again. "What about her?" Korroth asked, pointing towards where Fayla was fighting Knightfall. Vala tried to keep her face blank, but Korroth knew his answer. "I'll let you watch her die. Do not pity her, it will be quick. You're death will not be." He chuckled darkly, turning his back on Vala to go after Fayla. "I'm not done with you, Korroth!" She said pushing herself up. She threw a barrage of punches, launching a barrage of energy strikes that pinged off his back, then nearly collapsed. "You can barely stand." He said and kept walking.

Vala staggered after him but pain overwhelmed her and she toppled. She struggled to understand why it hurt so much. The only explanation was that Knightfall's blades were poisoned, or she'd hit her limits. She couldn't, not now. She wouldn't let Fayla die like this.


Korroth ignored the Hornless. She'd done her damage and now she was out of the game. The eldari was frantically slashing at the assassin who seemed to be barely a step ahead. He lunged towards the pair, his bardiche swinging down in a one handed overhead strike, his other arm tight to his right side. A small part of him hoped he'd simply split them both in half as he joined the fray. Korroth slid his hand up the handle for a more balanced grip and better control, then swung horizantally at the Eldari. Caught between the two heanta, she wouldn't last long.

Fayla continued her wild attack on Knightfall, and the assassin continued to retreat. His face was a mixture of shock and fury. He had failed to kill the Hornless one, to start with. The wound, though extremely painful, was not fatal to one who had Heanta regeneration, and his second strike had missed. Then, he had been slow to react to the Eldari's retort, and he had lost an ear for it. He knew it could have been much worse, as the blade would have ended him in an instant had he not moved partially out of the way. He was in containment mode, simply reacting until he got his senses unscrambled. The Eldari was going to tire soon if she kept this barbaric assault up, and Knightfall kept just ahead of the storm.


Fayla's mind was a twisting vortex of hatred towards her current opponent. She swung and swung and swung, but the bastard was always just one step ahead. Always one step ahead. The thought infuriated her even more. They had been out-maneuvered, and out-thought. She could feel her strength waning, her muscles starting to burn as she expended vast amounts of energy to continue her barrage. She couldn't understand why Knightfall hadn't just escaped already, but the look on his face told the story of an assassin who was not used to being hurt himself. A shout from behind her caught her attention for a split-second, halting her attack. She turned to see Vala attempting to damage Korroth with a volley of projectiles, before collapsing to the ground. Fayla remembered what had just happened and snapped back to Knightfall just in time to deflect his counterattack. She swiped away his rapid slashes and thrusts with increasing strain.


Knightfall was renewed, his wits gathered. He pressed the attack on his distracted enemy, peppering her with strikes to try and force her to spend as much energy as she had left. He noticed her look over Knightfall's shoulder and her eyes widening. The assassin knew what was about to happen, and he dived to one side just as Shor dived the other way. Korroth's bardiche slammed into the floor where they once were, and it was clear the behemoth didn't care who he hit. Knightfall rolled to his feet and glared at the lumbering oaf, before looking for Shor. The girl suddenly soared through the air at him, aiming a finishing stab on to Knightfall from above. She was intercepted in midair, however, by Korroth's horizontal bardiche sweep. He looked at the big man with disdain, before looking for where Shor had landed.


Fayla should have known better, really. But as she launched herself off a tree stump into the air towards Knightfall, she half-expected what came next. Just as she reached prick, Korroth's bardiche rose to meet her like a rushing wave. She got her blade back just in time to ensure she didn't get cleaved in half, but that was all she managed. The weapons collided and the force sent Fayla flying to the side and through the air to collide with a tree a few yards away. The tree held firm, and Fayla slammed hard into it, weapon flying from her hand. She then fell to the ground, landing hard on her front at the base of the tree with a thump. She felt pain all over her body, but she forced herself up, and saw the two Heanta stalking towards her with purpose. She called her weapon to her hand and eyed the two bastards with rage. "What are you waiting for?!" She gripped her blade in two hands and spat at her foes in defiance. "COME ON!" Knightfall simply sneered. "Such a pathetic creature. You both are."

Fayla get swatted like a fly by Korroth and for a moment Vala was sure it was over. But somehow the eldari had avoided being bisected, landing in a heap at the base of a tree. The duo walked towards Fayla as she righted herself and raised her sword. Vala forced herself up as Korroth raised his weapon. Vala ran, as much as it hurt she forced herself to move and collided with the handle of Korroth's weapon as it came down, throwing the attack wide. She spun around the handle and climbed up Korroth's arm, Dark purple energy appearing at her fingertips. Korroth laughed. "You're claws can't break my Armor." He said, swiping at her, and Vala used him as a springboard, launching herself backwards in a summersault that carried her towards knightfall. She slashed at him as she past, and if her claws landed she would hit him with a dose of Darkmoon poison, lowering his strength and agility by one.

Vala landed not so elegantly, rolling across the ground before regaining her feet. "And yet no matter how hard you try, you can't kill us." Vala said, panting. The pain had lessened greatly but she'd still taken a nasty wound. Maybe not as serious as she'd first though. More than likely she really had been hit with poison from the bastard's knives. "You lack something we have. And its not friendship. Its teamwork." Vala charged knightfall. She knew Fayla would catch on quickly and join her. Together they could take him out, and while Korroth was likely to just swing at them all, they had two opponants. Knightfall would have to focus on all three of them. Vala went at knightfall with a barrage of slashes, aiming for his gut, eyes, throat and any joint that got in her way. She circled, slashing at his sides and giving Fayla openings. Korroth swung his massive weapon down but Vala dodged it easily, until the head of the thing sent out a blast of energy. She was thrown to the side but back on her feet in seconds, a second wind taking over as resumed her assault on Knightfall.

Fayla waited for the two monsters to bring the fight, but she then noticed Vala was vertical again and was charging towards Korroth. The massive man raised his weapon to strike Fayla but Vala got there and threw her weight into knocking the weapon to the side. The Heanta prodigy then swung herself up the bardiche and charged her Darkmoon Claws. Korroth sneered about Vala's claws being unable to puncture his armor, but Fayla immediately knew what she was planning, and acted quickly. The Eldari glided forward with grace and no shortage of velocity suprising Knightfall with a trio of slashed that the assassin only barely got his knives up to deflect. Her gambit worked, as Vala flew through the air towards Knightfall with her claws aloft. The assassin never saw it coming as Vala gashed him across the shoulder with her attack. Knightfall growled with pain and Fayla tried to finish him while he was staggered with a quick slash to the neck. The wily assassin wasn't going to die here though, and Fayla's blade went straight through Knightfall's Shadow Clone, and the actual Knightfall was already ten feet or so away, using his Shadow Step to create seperation. He stopped near Korroth and hissed at the massive man. "You had one fucking job!" The pain had already been suppressed, but the debilitating effects of Vala's attack were what concerned him more.

Fayla looked to Vala as the Heanta joined her, and the Eldari thanked her lucky stars for Heanta regeneration. Vala then taunted the two Heanta killers about their collective failure to complete their jobs and kill the two young women they were sent to kill. She finished by saying it was not friendship but teamwork that would allow them to triumph. Fayla gave her friend a sideways glance. "Well, I mean... it's friendship too.. but mostly the teamwork thing, like you said." Vala then charged Knightfall, and Fayla knew that they had to push the advantage now in order to survive. Knightfall was a cunning warrior but Korroth was a brute who didn't care if his swings took out his compatriot or not. She launched in after Vala, and the assassin found himself in the fight of his life. Vala was a whirlwind of strikes, but she and Fayla had fought together long enough to know how to opreate without endangering each other. Fayla spotted the openings Vala left and struck like a hornet, precise and deadly strikes testing the assassin's defenses. Knightfall, for his part, was in desperation mode. The venom of Vala's claws caused his limbs to be heavier than normal, and his defenses were breached a few times, minor wounds opening up on his torso and arms. Fayla spotted Korroth coming and called to Vala, but she had already seen it too and dived aside. The weapon sent out a blast of energy that sent all three combatants flying, but Fayla regained her feet quickly and lunged at Knightfall again. She sensed the end was near.

Korroth actually took a swing at knightfall when he stopped and hissed at him. "Shut your face you incessant pest. You're coward ways failed, had you fought like a real warrior this would be over!" The Eldari and heanta attacked knightfall, working as a team, and Korroth lunged into the middle of it, blasting them all off their feet. "Fuck orders, and fuck all of you! I'll just fucking kill you all and be done with it!" Korroth roared. He ripped his long knife from its scabbard and threw it at Fayla, attempting to impale her and Knightfall at the same time. Then he swung his massive bardiche at the hornless, no long protecting his side. Rage had consumed and driven him over the edge, and everyone in this clearing bar him would die.


Vala dived out of the way of Korroth's swing. The heanta had finally lost it, and it seemed he would settle for nothing short of killing them all, now. "Oh dear, I think you hurt his feelings knightfall. There there-" Vala dived aside as the bardiche hit the ground where she'd been standing. She positioned herself with knightfall and Fayla behind her. "I've got a bag of candy if baby want's some!" Korroth let out a below of rage and charged, weapon scything violently left to right. Vala barely made it out of the way and called to Fayla as Korroth reached them.

He started to thrash like a mad doge, weapon swinging in every direction. He was attacking anything that moved, swinging his bardiche left and right, slamming it down, hammer end flying around to crack skulls. He was going to hit one of them eventually, but his swings were aimed at knightfall now just as much as they were for Vala and Fayla. Vala let him throw his tantrum, using the distraction to close in on knightfall and lunge at his back while he was focused on Korroth or Fayla. She came at him, an uppercut chambered when Korroth let out a roar and a blast of energy aimed for her and knightfall hit her from the side, sending her flying across the forest. Her head hit something hard, and her world was sent spinning.

Knightfall sighed with exasperation when he backstepped out of the way of Korroth's attempted swing at him. Of course he picked now to throw a tantrum. "My plan failed because you are an incompetent fool." The massive man then leapt into the scrap between Knightfall and his two targets, sending the three of them flying. Korroth then roared that he was just going to kill them all, and Knightfall found himself dodging with Shor as the behemoth launched his longknife at them like a javelin, before Korroth then continued his assault on Hornless in response to her taunts. The assassin rolled to his feet and used the opportunity to attack Shor with increased urgency. He barraged her with knife-strikes from odd angles, trying to forge an opening to finish her before the big oaf turned back towards them.

Fayla was having none of it however, and she managed to catch Knightfall with a pommel strike to the gut, but a searing pain shot into her arm as the assassin caught her back and cut a gash across her arm. The cut wasn't deep, but it felt like there was a fenroc running around in it. They both recoiled, before Fayla heard Vala call out to her and saw Korroth charging at them with bad intentions in mind. The big bloke's madness caused them both to begin dodging and weaving again. The brute had lost it and was swinging at everything that moved, and some things that hadn't. Fayla saw an opportunity to strike, and weaved her way around the wild swings. Korroth suddenly fired a blast of energy that was aimed at Knightfall and Vala, blasting the two of them away violently. Fayla kept her composure, Vala had lived through worse, and slid low, aiming a two-handed stab at the broken armor in Korroth's side. It was everything or nothing.

Something landed nearby. Vala's vision swayed, and she turned to spot knightfall pushing himself to his feet. He looked pissed, or maybe she was imagining it, but the Heanta grabbed his knife and lunged at her so she didn't really have time to think about as he pinned her to the ground and tried to drive his dagger into her throat. Vala caught his arms, holding him off as best she could be things were swaying and she didn't know how long she could manage.


Korroth had lost his mind, swinging his bardiche around like a Wyvern thrashing its tail. Tree's were sliced in half. The Hornless and Knightfall got blasted away, and Shor was dodging around him like an insect, the buzzing driving him insane. He swung and punched and tried to swat her but she was too fast, and she came at him, sword finding the damaged armor and passing through it. Korroth staggered, and he could see the Triumph in her eyes. But she had miscalculated. Korroth's hand shot out, wrapping around her throat. He lifted her up with ease. "I'm going to enjoy this." He said, dropping his Bardiche. Knightfall had the hornless pinned. "Listen for the snap, Hornless. That is you're friends life ending. I don't think you are to far behind."


Vala heard the struggle, and the sound a blade punching through armor. She looked over to see Fayla had impaled Korroth through the side. Before she could move, Korroth struck, catching her. He gloated, squeezing and told Vala that she was about to hear her friend die. What Korroth didn't see was the shadow that burst from the trees, or the greatsword that cut through his arm at the wrist. Fayla fell to the ground, as Rowan appeared. His axe flew, aimed for Knightfall's side, before he turned his attention back to Korroth.


Korroth felt the pain after he seen the Eldari fall from his grasp. Or though she fell from his grasp, but it was his hand that had fallen. The massive man's eyes found the perpetrator, a familiar Eldari. He'd attacked them before, but Korroth had driven him away. Know he'd come back and Korroth off Korroth's choaking hand. That was his favorite hand. He lobbed an axe, and Korroth didn't have time to hope that Knightfall would die because the Eldari swung at him with his greatsword. Korroth ripped Shor's sword from his side and blocked, his arm giving against the two handed blow. With a shout of rage, he managed to push back, and slammed his stump into the Eldari's face.

The man was not deterred, and started to swing at him more furiously. Korroth blocked what he could, but even glancing blows dented his armor. He was forced back, only able to defend as the Eldari raged against him. His last blow struck Korroth's shoulder, denting the Armor and cutting flesh and staggered him back one more step. Then the world shifted, as Korroth fell backwards over the lip of the gorge.


Rowan watched the beast fall, before turning and rushing to help his niece. As soon as he knew she was ok, he rushed towards her friend and the other heanta. If the Assassin wasn't already gone, Rowan would make sure he left or died here and now.

Fayla's eyes widened in suprise as she hit her mark, Grace sinking deep into the colossal warrior's side. In her shock, she failed to react to Korroth's response, and it was a costly mistake. Korroth's hand swung around and grabbed Fayla by the throat, lifting her violently from the ground. She flailed and squirmed but Korroth's grip was like a vice around her neck. Her vision began to blur as her body ran out of oxygen and her blood stopped reaching her brain. She punched and kicked, but as her life ebbed away her struggles became weaker, eventually she stopped thrashing altogether, and the grip tightened. Her vision faded to black, and her last thoughts were of cold... and darkness... and death.

Knightfall pinned the Hornless to the ground, and when he saw Korroth holding Shor's flailing form up by the throat, he allowed himself a small smile. "Hear that? You've failed, and your idiot friend is going to die. Resistance is futile." His knife was now millimeters from Hornless' neck, and he knew victory was almost upon him. He saw Shor go limp in his peripheral vision, and grinned. "Farewell, Hornless." He adjusted his weight and prepared to drive the knife down, but Knightfall soon found that it wasn't victory that was almost upon him, but an axe flying towards him. He turned but he was still slowed from Hornless' venom, and the axe slammed into his shoulder, sticking in hard and knocking Knightfall from atop Vala.

In the next instant, Knightfall turned and recognised the Eldari who had interfered earlier, who he had tricked into attacking Hornless earlier. The Eldari blindsided Korroth and severed the brutes hand at the wrist, sending the appendage and Shor to the floor. Korroth howled like a demon as he pulled Shor's weapon from his side and used it to block the man's attack, but the Eldari was not to be denied. He rained heavy blows down upon Korroth until the brute backpedalled too far and fell back into the gorge. The Eldari looked at Knightfall, but the assassin turned to his time-tested skill of knowing when to run. He pulled the axe out with a growl and dropped on the ground before pointing at the Eldari. "Be warned, you have been noted, Eldari." The assassin then left as the Eldari ran to help his unconscious niece, disappearing into the night.

Vala looked up as Knightfall got taken out by Rowan's axe. The weapon hit the assassin in the shoulder, knocking him down. She watched Rowan barrage Korroth with blows until the giant was finally knocked from the cliff. Knightfall, who had stuck around, seemed to decide that any hope of completing the plan was bust, as Rowan charged towards him. He threatened the Eldari who snorted in derision in reply, before vanishing into the foliage.

Rowan immediately turned to check on Fayla, leaving Vala to come to her sense. "Fayla, you're alright kid come on." She heard him say as he examined. Vala pushed herself to her feet and walked over to Fayla. Rowan looked at her quietly. "Lot of blood, you hurt bad?" Rowan asked her as she sat next to Fayla. "Do you care?" She snapped. She was still a little sore over their last meeting. But she sighed. "I'm fine. It missed my Kidney, I think." Rowan nodded and continued to do what he was doing, which it turned out was healing Fayla.

"Some scrap. If Fayla hadn't panicked, she would have beaten Korroth." Rowan said. "Can you blame her? Wait, you were watching." He nodded. "Yavanna would kill me for intervening sooner." He said. Vala snorted. "How do you know you weren't too soon. I had knightfall right where I wanted him." She said. Rowan laughed. "Oh really? Well I'm sorry I scared him away.." He said. He looked at her and quickly looked away. "You remind me of Kaila. But shorter." He said quietly. She puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. But she seen what he was doing, and appreciated that he cared enough about Fayla to try be civil to her.

Vala moved closer. "Here let me help." Vala said, then slapped Fayla across the face, lightly. "Wake up Faylandrea! You're hair's on fire!" She shouted. Rowan looked at her agast. "How is that supposed to help?!" Rowan shouted at her.

Fayla's first impression of death was that it wasn't as cold as she thought. It also smelled like the forest she had just been fighting in. That's when she decided, she wasn't dead after all. Everything was still black, but she could hear voices, though they sounded distant and echoey. She heard her uncle Rowan calling her name, urging her to wake up. She then heard Vala's voice, and she exchanged words with Rowan briefly, before Fayla felt a light slap on her face. Her vision began restart, and her hearing became clearer. But when she heard Vala yell that her hair was on fire, Fayla suddenly snapped awake, taking deep breaths of fresh air and gasping. She sat bolt upright, reaching for her now-tousled bun of hair, eyes wide with fright. Then she realized that she sat up too fast and experienced a dizzy spell. She shook the cobwebs off and narrowed her eyes at Vala. "You liar."

Fayla then looked at the large form of Rowan Aratris, who was kneeling beside her and healing her with his magic. "Uncle Rowan? What are you doing here?" She looked around, and noticed that Korroth and Knightfall were gone. "Where did they go? Did we win?" If she was told how the gruesome twosome were driven off, she would frown at her uncle and whine petulantly. "Uncle Rowan! But I had him exactly where I wanted him!" She suddenly remembered something, and called Grace to her. The blade appeared in her hand, the blade coated in blood. Fayla wiped her blade on the grass, before giving it a proper clean with the end of her cloak. She sheathed the weapon and looked at Vala. "Wait, you got stabbed. Are you okay?" She allowed herself a small smile. "I was worried. He was really kicking your butt. Until I saved you."