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Through the wild grassland and towering trees, up the cliffside and through the first layer of the fort, Samantha stood with her minions, butchering the Veridale Forest's inhabitants. Undead claws swung and struck at the lightly armored flesh of gnolls and goblins alike while the vile woman stayed distant from the conflict, doing nothing more than barking commands at the lifeless abominations, enslaved to her will. Watching the chaos ensue, however, was a third party.
As another corpse was added to the growing pile of mutilated goblins, the current of the wind suddenly changed direction. Flowing and twisting, the gusts began to increase in speed and velocity in a cyclic pattern, becoming so concentrated and powerful that fragments of earth, rock, and tree got caught in the growing sphere of air, until it almost appeared solid. As unsual a sight as this may have been, it became even more so, as the hovering sphere of concentrated wind began to reconstruct itself into a vague, humanoid shape, fixing its hollowed eyes on Samantha. In an echoing, unnaturally empty voice, the elemental spoke in whispers that carried all the way to the ears of the shocked witch.
"Samantha..."
In what must have been a mix of panic and confusion, the vile woman rapidly retrieved a scroll, reciting the commanding arcane words to activate its dark power, targetting the source of the voice. Whatever effect the magic should have had was lost againt the defences of the elemental, as rather than harming it, the only result of Samantha's efforts was provocation. The elemental released a terrible shreeking noise as a blast eminated from its core, causing Samantha to retreat further through the Gnoll's hilltop fortress.
"For what reason should you not suffer for your crimes, wicked one?"
The elemental moved forwards slowly, knowing that there was no alternate route for Samantha to escape. As it moved, its poorly defined humanoid form began to break and reform inconsistantly, getting ever closer to the evil Necromancer. Before either her nor it could speak or act another word, though, another soul made its way up the cliffside, approaching the confrontation with two weapons drawn. As shocked as she may have been at the presence of an elemental, it seemed that Yashia was far more concerned to see Samantha standing before her, as she took the final steps to reach the top of the hill.
"Yashia, you use an elemental to do your bidding, now?"
Doing as best she could to hide the faint presence of fear in her voice, Samantha spoke with malice. Her undead minions were to the left of those that faced her, and any gnolls that may have been left in the surrounding area posessed enough intelligence to mantain their distance from the scene.
"The elemental is not here with me, but if it is an enemy of yours, then at least we have one common interest."
Everyone present gripped their weapons a little tighter, though nobody had yet made the first move. The elemental though, progressed with its own intentions, speaking again in a hallow, powerful whisper that eminated seemingly from all directions.
"What would you have done with her, warrior? Would you kill the wicked one?"
From that point forward, all words spoken were of no consequence. The conclusion had already been decided, and the fates above had already allowed it all to be set into motion. Yashia attacked, disregarding Samantha's attempts to bluff and pursuade her way out of the situation. As the fight between the dark witch and the noble warrior ensued with blade, axe, and spell, a fourth party revealed himself; Sehron.
Whether to protect his friend, to slay his foe, or to take revenge on Samantha for what she had done to his fellow elves, Sehron jumped from his hiding place without warning, and flung himself to Yashia's side to assault their common enemy without pause. As metal collided with metal, and curses echoed throughout the stale air, the elemental simply watched the events unfold, with the seconds feeling like minutes, and the minutes, like hours.
When finally, through the flurry of steel and spell, in a battle that took place across both the Prime and Shadow Planes, a crippling blow was struck, and Samantha turned to the skies. Commanding her vampiric thrall to sacrifice itself to the blades of her enemies to buy herself the precious moment she needed, Samantha uttered the single word that would save her life. In a brilliant flash of arcane energy her body was interchanged with that of a goblin, which stood before Yashia, Sehron, and the elemental. The poor creature stood before the three with a look of terror and complete shock, before having its head seperated from its body by Yashia's axe.
Though the grass was stained with the blood of Samantha, and she had suffered terrible wounds in retribution for what she had done, her escape left a bitter taste in the mouths of her enemies. Yashia, Sehron, and the mysterious elemental stood in place, wishing only to have had the chance to land the final blow.
As another corpse was added to the growing pile of mutilated goblins, the current of the wind suddenly changed direction. Flowing and twisting, the gusts began to increase in speed and velocity in a cyclic pattern, becoming so concentrated and powerful that fragments of earth, rock, and tree got caught in the growing sphere of air, until it almost appeared solid. As unsual a sight as this may have been, it became even more so, as the hovering sphere of concentrated wind began to reconstruct itself into a vague, humanoid shape, fixing its hollowed eyes on Samantha. In an echoing, unnaturally empty voice, the elemental spoke in whispers that carried all the way to the ears of the shocked witch.
"Samantha..."
In what must have been a mix of panic and confusion, the vile woman rapidly retrieved a scroll, reciting the commanding arcane words to activate its dark power, targetting the source of the voice. Whatever effect the magic should have had was lost againt the defences of the elemental, as rather than harming it, the only result of Samantha's efforts was provocation. The elemental released a terrible shreeking noise as a blast eminated from its core, causing Samantha to retreat further through the Gnoll's hilltop fortress.
"For what reason should you not suffer for your crimes, wicked one?"
The elemental moved forwards slowly, knowing that there was no alternate route for Samantha to escape. As it moved, its poorly defined humanoid form began to break and reform inconsistantly, getting ever closer to the evil Necromancer. Before either her nor it could speak or act another word, though, another soul made its way up the cliffside, approaching the confrontation with two weapons drawn. As shocked as she may have been at the presence of an elemental, it seemed that Yashia was far more concerned to see Samantha standing before her, as she took the final steps to reach the top of the hill.
"Yashia, you use an elemental to do your bidding, now?"
Doing as best she could to hide the faint presence of fear in her voice, Samantha spoke with malice. Her undead minions were to the left of those that faced her, and any gnolls that may have been left in the surrounding area posessed enough intelligence to mantain their distance from the scene.
"The elemental is not here with me, but if it is an enemy of yours, then at least we have one common interest."
Everyone present gripped their weapons a little tighter, though nobody had yet made the first move. The elemental though, progressed with its own intentions, speaking again in a hallow, powerful whisper that eminated seemingly from all directions.
"What would you have done with her, warrior? Would you kill the wicked one?"
From that point forward, all words spoken were of no consequence. The conclusion had already been decided, and the fates above had already allowed it all to be set into motion. Yashia attacked, disregarding Samantha's attempts to bluff and pursuade her way out of the situation. As the fight between the dark witch and the noble warrior ensued with blade, axe, and spell, a fourth party revealed himself; Sehron.
Whether to protect his friend, to slay his foe, or to take revenge on Samantha for what she had done to his fellow elves, Sehron jumped from his hiding place without warning, and flung himself to Yashia's side to assault their common enemy without pause. As metal collided with metal, and curses echoed throughout the stale air, the elemental simply watched the events unfold, with the seconds feeling like minutes, and the minutes, like hours.
When finally, through the flurry of steel and spell, in a battle that took place across both the Prime and Shadow Planes, a crippling blow was struck, and Samantha turned to the skies. Commanding her vampiric thrall to sacrifice itself to the blades of her enemies to buy herself the precious moment she needed, Samantha uttered the single word that would save her life. In a brilliant flash of arcane energy her body was interchanged with that of a goblin, which stood before Yashia, Sehron, and the elemental. The poor creature stood before the three with a look of terror and complete shock, before having its head seperated from its body by Yashia's axe.
Though the grass was stained with the blood of Samantha, and she had suffered terrible wounds in retribution for what she had done, her escape left a bitter taste in the mouths of her enemies. Yashia, Sehron, and the mysterious elemental stood in place, wishing only to have had the chance to land the final blow.