Luix tossed his weapon and dropped his considerable weight down upon the chanting witch, even as she thrust up her hands. As they came together a burst of brilliant blue light exploded between the two. When the flash cleared, Luix lay atop Aryn, and both were still.<br/><br/>Then, with a shove, Aryn pushed the dead weight of the warrior off of her chest. His face was blackened and charred, some of the bone of his skull visible beneath the blasted flesh. His eyes shone clear for a moment and Luix gave out one last breath, then no more.<br/><br/>Aryn slowly rose to her feet. The sounds of battle and struggle were over, and for a moment the entire chamber was still. Even the gargoyle in the center had ceased turning, its grinding spin silent.<br/><br/>The air prickled with power, then suddenly the chamber was gone.<br/><br/>----------------------<br/><br/>Aryn reappeared in her cell. She heard a clamor and in the hall outside Bardus appeared. He sneered at her. "You just lost a lot of people a lot of money," he said. "Practically no one bet on you, and you won. Well, that makes you the champion, taking that away from Red. What a disappointment she turned out to be. The favorite, my ass!"<br/><br/>Bardus looked down at a piece of paper he held. "You get the 25 points for the win. You were short on humiliating your opponents. However, Kiraxis reports that his clients just loved the squid. If only Luix hadn't intervened, they were dying to see where that would have gone. So, they're being charitable and gave you 21 points for style. Congratulations. Kiraxis will have a gift for you for your next fight."<br/><br/>Without any more ceremony, Bardus stalked away.<br/><br/><br/>---------------<br/><br/>Bardus stopped outside Luix's cell. It was clear from the smoking ruins of the warrior's face that there was nothing more to do here, so he moved on.<br/><br/>---------------<br/><br/>Coming to Morgash's cell, Bardus unlocked the door and admitted Markley. The heavyset man knelt before the hobgoblin and put a finger to his neck. His eyebrows went up in surprise. "He's alive. Barely, but alive," the man said. He put a palm against the hobgoblin's chest and chanted a few words. Suddenly, Morgash took a deep breath and opened his eyes, pain lancing through his whole body.<br/><br/>Markley stood up, his work done.<br/><br/>----------------<br/><br/>Bardus stopped by Red's cell, looking in at the woman who sat in the corner, her head hung low. "Very disappointing," Bardus said. "Kiraxis was going to honor your deal with the warrior and let him have you as a toy, as punishment. You got lucky that the demonic bitch blew him to hell. You better watch yourself, Red. Kiraxis has it in for you now."<br/><br/>---------------<br/><br/>OOC: Thus concludes our fight! That was a good one, too. Lots of twists and turns. Feel free to post any character reactions, and you can post any OOC post fight reactions in the OOC area. We will start preparing for the next fight soon. Anyone who is interested in participating, whether a current combatant or a lurker at the moment, let me know in the OOC forum.