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The Lalafell caster had made his last reckless mistake. He would not be saved by his magic this time as the burning Treant used a long branch-like arm to grab the Lalafell who could not outrun the large seedkin. As the life was crashed out of him, he would try to cast one last spell, but then he realized, to his dismay, that he was out of aether. He could not manage to recharge while being crashed; there was just no way.
The fire would kill the Treant, but not quickly enough. A tree was one of the first things the Lalafell had attacked while in the forest, and ironically, he would end up dying with one. As the crushing grip of the Treant's hand was making him black out, fire started moving up the arm of the Treant, and would engulf the Lalafell caster as well.
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Kiht and the Seeker rouge faced off. The forest became silent as the the last two standing were Kiht and the one hired to kill her. Hart Guisarme at the ready against dual blades. Kiht's expression was serious and focused as her ears pinned back. The Seeker's smirk faded as well. She was not fool enough to underestimate this opponent. Suddenly, it was as if time stood still.
“One last chance, sun-sister, we do no-â€
Kiht was cut off as the Seeker rouge exploded at her like lightning. A tempest of blades suddenly storming at Kiht. The Seeker spun aside, and used her blades to knock aside the spear tips of Kiht's weapon. She then tried to close in to lay down a flurry of slashes on Kiht's neck.
Kiht was suddenly faced with a foe who was too close to strike with her guisarme tips, but if lancers were so easily defeated by a simple tactic then it would not be an art that has withstood the test of time. Kiht brought the haft in close, and spun her pole-arm around like a speeding windmill blade. The motion knocked aside and parried several of the dagger attacks, but not all of them. Other attacks cut across Kiht's bracers and gloves; mostly slicing metal and leather.
The Seeker rogue knew she could not let Kiht gain distance, and had to keep the fight in her face. She shifted her dance of death into a slightly slower, but still quite fast, series of spinning slashes and strikes that would have more power behind them. The attacks became more coordinated, and aimed to get past Kiht's twirling lance.
Kiht's right hand was knocked free of it's grip on the haft by a slash to her forearm. She was fortunate that it was protected but her infantry gloves, but the rouge would follow-up her attacks, and Kiht knew it. She had to back the Seeker off. Remembering her training with Lyn, she used her left leg to propel herself back and her right leg to send a kick at the Seeker. Her lance was still gripped in her left hand.
The Seeker rogue was skilled in martial arts as well, so she saw the attack coming and jumped back. She was still surprised by it, but did not let that delay her long. The moment Kiht landed back into a position, the Seeker was on top of her again. She blazed towards Kiht with her dirks ready to continue their relentless assault.
Kiht was not going to let that continue. She had gained some space, and regained her two-handed grasp on her guisarme. She swung the pole-arm like an axe in a huge arc in front of her. The Seeker would have to dodge back or fully block. That was what Kiht was counting on.
The rogue decided not to loose more distance, and is forced to use both daggers to block the blow. With a loud thwack, her dirks met the haft of the guisarme. She prepared to follow through with a spin back into a series of attacks on Kiht, but Kiht expected the block, and the Seeker was then playing her game.
Kiht used the counter-weight on the other end of her pole arm and swung it toward the rogue's head. The Seeker was too quick, and she ducked under it. However, right as she planned to deliver a double-thrust, Kiht kicked her head; the spiked leather leg-guards making a heavy impact on the rogue's face. She was knocked back, but skillfully made a somersault back and onto her feet. She had no time to recover as Kiht went on the offensive with a series of thrusts and slashes that grew more complicated an elaborate the more the Seeker parried and dodged.
The rogue had made an error. Somewhere along the battle she had miscalculated, and her mind raced to think about how as her body hopelessly tried to keep pace with a direct frontal assault from a lancer. She suffered cut and puncture wounds as several attacks from Kiht landed. She was a melee specialist, but so was Kiht. All she could think was that she did something few should ever do; take on a lancer in a direct confrontation. Little had she known that Kiht spent just as much time training in her melee art as the rogue had. However, the battle was not quite over.
In a desperate move from the rogue, she leaped up over a powerful thrust attack by Kiht that was meant to end the battle, and threw out her leg in a wild kick at Kiht's head. The attack landed a glancing blow on Kiht's skull causing her to stagger. However, she did not fall or loose grip of her lance. The rogue fell and slammed into the ground after her reckless attack. She gritted her teeth, and wildly clamored to her feet. The Seeker was a mess. Bleeding wounds on several parts of her body, and her left arm had taken a hard slash that made it useless. She only held one dirk in her right hand. She was breathing heavily with a furious expression as she looked to Kiht. She had killed many in battle using only one hand and one dagger, so she believed she still had a chance since she managed to gain a short respite, and rethink her tactics.
Kiht was exhausted. The running then the fighting had taken its toll. She should have reacted quicker, but was suddenly feeling a bit sluggish. The Seeker noticed, and saw that as her only chance. She threw herself into the offensive. A quick flurry of attacks and kicks. Some were blocked by a lance haft, but others landed. The Seeker let out a shout as she threw down a kick that knocked the guisarme right out of Kiht's hands. Suddenly, the tables had turned and Kiht was forced to use her very basic knowledge of hand-to-hand combat which was woefully ineffective against the trained rogue's attacks. Kiht was doing everything she could to prevent a blow to her vital areas. Some cuts were stopped by armor, but others went right through to Kiht's skin. The Seeker landed a slash across Kiht's face, and it was then that Kiht's adrenaline and fury took over.
Kiht used her left arm to catch the dagger blade in her gloved hand! The sharp edge cut through the leather and into her skin, but she held the weapon still. She glared furiously at the Seeker with a feral expression, and used her right hand to pull her hunting knife from her belt. The rogue's eyes grew wide as she looked at Kiht's hand wrapped around the dirk blade. It would have been a terrible move by Kiht if the rogue had both arms functional. However, her left forearm was fractured and cut open. She could not even feel anything below her elbow. The Seeker could simply pull her dirk back and free it from Kiht's grasp but that would take a moment that she did not have. Once again, time felt as if it had stood still. The rogue had to make yet another calculation. She had to look into Kiht's eyes, and try to determine if Kiht would show mercy.
Unfortunately, she did not know Kiht at all. The rogue yanked her blade free of Kiht's left hand, but before she could follow up with a thrust that would end her, Kiht thrust her hunting knife right into the rogue's chest...
Instinct had taken over Kiht, so her glare had been the only warning she could give, and the Seeker woman just had not trusted her. The rogue never showed mercy to her targets, so ironically, she could never conceive that one of her targets would give her any. She staggered back with a knife stabbed into her chest. Kiht had let go of the handle so it stuck there freely like a nail partially hammered into a wooden plank. The Seeker's eyes were wide as she looked around; wondering why she was not dead. Then, blackness.
Kiht watched as the rogue collapsed onto the ground; dead before fully landing. She breathed heavily for a long while as she stared at the body with wide eyes. She was relieved at first; even thrilled, but as the full effect of what had happened took hold, she began to feel guilty. She had only fought to defend herself, but she somehow felt guilty now. It was an odd shift of sensations.
Kiht quickly got over her shock. It was not like that had been the first time she was forced to kill a sentient foe. It still seemed to have its hard effect on her though. She suddenly remembered the mission; saving Lucinne Mercer. She turned away from the body, and picked up her hart guisarme. She began to walk back to where she last saw Byron, but her legs gave out and she fell to her knees. She lowered her head and took a few heavy breaths.
“BYROOOOOOON!†She let out in a frustrated, shouting call into the forest.
She had lost blood, and was exhausted, but they only had a malm to go to get to Hyrstmill. Kiht could only pray that they did not have to fight assassins as well. She did not have anything left in her at that point.
The sky began to darken as the sunset began its final stages. Dusk had fallen upon the Twelveswood.