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FOUR DAYS LATER

The sun was slowly sinking below the horizon. Once again she was in Gomez's quarters sitting on her stool and staring out the window. She no longer wished to look out into the courtyard of the castle. Gomez had ordered the bodies of the Fire Mages to be hung from pikes that had been driven into the ground. Their rotting flesh was slowly being picked at by carrion birds and the stench hung in the air like a thick fog. The Fire Mages had managed to kill a handful of the guards before being overwhelmed. The dead guards' bodies were also similarly displayed as an example that failure would not be tolerated anymore within the camp. Those who spoke out against the murder of the mages were quickly imprisoned, at least the ones that were caught. Gomez's iron grip on the camp was absolute and he was in happy spirits now that he had received word that the New Mine had been successfully taken. In fact, Gomez and his advisors had a drunken feast last night to celebrate their victory. Life was good once again as far as they were concerned.

An hour after sunset the guards in the courtyard started shouting. She peeked out the door and saw that all the guards and shadows were running to the entrance of the keep as they drew their weapons. She slipped out of the room and stood against the wall opposite the door. She looked over the railing just in time to see a Shadow come flying back through the door and smash through the railing. She jumped back and then gathered the courage to look over the railing again.

A few moments later a man dressed in heavily plated armor strode through the entryway. In one hand he held a large, bloody, wicked-looking sword and in the other he held a brightly glowing magic rune. She thought she recognized him, but she couldn't remember from where. "GOMEEZZ!!!" he roared. "COME OUT YOU COWARD!!!"

Scar came running toward him with his sword raised. "Die traitor!" he hissed. The man raised the rune and concentrated. Scar flew back as a huge fireball slammed into him and engulfed him in bright flames. He screamed and rolled on the floor in an attempt to extinguish the flames, but to no avail. The magical flames quickly consumed his flesh and armor, then caused his internal organs to burst and spill their contents on the floor.

Arto and Raven rounded the corner just in time to see Scar die. They immediately charged at the stranger with weapons readied. The stranger quickly side-stepped Raven's attack and parried Arto's sword. With a lightening quick riposte he stabbed Arto in the neck and blood erupted from the wound like a volcano. Arto cried out and staggered back against the wall. He dropped his sword as he tried to staunch the flow of blood with his hands.

The stranger then turned his attention back to Raven who had recovered and renewed his attack. Raven beat the stranger back with a series of quick short attacks that kept him close to his opponent and made it impossible for the stranger to use his magic rune. Discarding the rune, the man responded with a series of brilliant counterattacks as he used his sword's greater length to drive Raven away from him.

While they were distracted from seeing her, she crept over to the dead shadow on the balcony. She recognized him. His name was Max and he had always talked with others about having her or one of the other women wash his back. She certainly wasn't sad to see him die by the stranger's hand. She quickly relieved him of all his valuables, weapons and armor. After dragging the pillaged equipment back behind the wall she proceeded to dress herself in his armor which was a little too big, but was still serviceable. After arming herself she again looked back over the railing to see what was going on.

The stranger and Raven were still exchanging powerful blows. Then Gomez entered the hallway with his sword drawn and took in the scene. He growled angrily when he saw the state Scar and Arto were in. "Why haven't you finished him?! He's only one man all alone!" he yelled at Raven.

"What do think I've been trying to do?!" Raven shot back angrily as he continued to struggle against the stranger's quick attacks.

"Fool! Must I do everything myself?!" Gomez roared as he shoved Raven out of the way to engage the stranger in battle. Raven stumbled out of the way and tripped over Arto's now lifeless body. He quickly regained his feet and shot Gomez a hateful look. He ran out the door to the courtyard gate as Gomez and the stranger now exchanged blows. To his obvious surprise the gate had been lowered, cutting off access to the courtyard and keep. Several guards from the outer ring railed against the closed gate in a futile attempt to enter.

Gomez was in a blind rage now as he chopped insanely at the stranger. If he wasn't careful he'd wind himself quickly. The stranger blocked all his attacks with an almost inhuman calm. This obviously infuriated Gomez and he renewed his attack with increased vigor. Back and forth they fought. The stranger was clearly gaining the advantage as Gomez's attacks became more and more weak. He then got in under Gomez's guard and with a quick upswing, hewed off Gomez's hands. Gomez howled in pain as he sank to his knees cradling the bloody stumps.

The stranger looked down on Gomez in contempt. "This is for the Fire Mages," he whispered darkly and with that he decapitated Gomez in one smooth stroke. Gomez's head rolled across the floor and out the door to land in a puddle of mud. He then sheathed his sword and retrieved his magic rune. Then he picked up Gomez's weapon and ran out the entryway and across the courtyard.*

Now was her best chance to get away and she quickly decided to take it. She ran down to the hall where Gomez, Arto, and Scar laid dead. She quickly searched Gomez and the others for any valuables they had. She found the key she was looking for on Gomez's body. Then she claimed Scar's fine sword, he certainly wouldn't need it anymore.

"What do you think you're doing?!" She looked up to see the other women. It was Seraphia who had spoken.

"Isn't it obvious?! I'm getting the hell out of here!" she responded tersely.

"Take us with you!" Syra pleaded.

She thought of leaving them for a moment, but then decided to be compassionate. "Follow, if you can," she said curtly.

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*I would like to dedicated this entire Me/Scar/Arto/Raven/Gomez duel to "The Battle" from the Gladiator Soundtrack, which I listened to as I wrote this scene.

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