Subject: [PORC] Last Laugh Date: Tue, 21 Jul 1998 22:27:31 +0900 From: Balefire To: dagrfall@ods.com "You begin to weary me, Zul," snarled the big warmage, as he parried yet another series of slashes and lunges from his laughing foe. His staff whirled and darted, faster and faster, changing direction and shortening and lengthening the space between them as his hands blurred through eye-baffling changes of grip. "I thought to keep you occupied while your troops were defeated, but your arrogance offends me. Watch, laughing fool, and learn. And die." His staff described a new pattern of slashing, whistling movement, its speed doubled. Zul's frenzied attacks and parries were forced out of line with ringing clangs like a blacksmith's nightmares. Balefire smiled a cruel smile as his foe backed away to recover his form, and the warmage withdrew one hand from his staff. The other kept the staff twirling now left and now right, its aura blazing as it keened evilly. A gesture from his free hand, and a blast of green energy flared , striking and enveloping the Daedra lord, dissipating but replaced by another blast, and another, and yet another. "Think you that your protection will save you from my Wrathbolts, defiler of camel corpses? From a few, mayhap, but I can keep this up all day." The whirling staff flared as it caught and dispelled a blast from Zul, and another roiling mass of multicolored energy splashed harmlessly about the scarred mercenary. "What, no more laughter, raper of vermin? Your spells are detestable, pitiful worm eater." Two more verdant explosions crashed around the harried Zul, and then a different gesture and a sibilant word brought a blue-white actinic bolt of eye-searing lightning crashing down on the reeling daedra. "Red and Black!" The warmage shouted his warcry in triumph, as he grasped his staff two-handed and swept it down on his foe with all the strength in his mighty arms and back. His cry was answered by the staff itself, its keening rising to an ear-punishing scream for an instant that seemed an eternity, its unnatural hunger sated for the moment on the powerful lifeforce of the daedra lord, who dropped bonelessly to the blackened, smoking sward. Shuddering with the ecstasy of the vampiric staff's shared stolen life energy, Balefire laughed hollowly. He turned his baleful gaze on his companions, and what they saw in those eyes was not good to look upon. Slinging his staff, he unsheathed his claymore once again. The staff whined in protest, but quickly silenced at a wordless snarl from the big dark elf. "I shall take my next foe with the sword. Not a cleaner death, but a quicker one it shall be. Let us proceed to the castle."