Vince swung his sword with all the fury and grace of his predecessors in combatting this ancient beast. His blade glinted in the dim light of his orb as he hacked and slashed at the unyielding beast before him. Each strike dug into the corpses like a warm knife through butter, but after each brutal blow no blood was spilt, and not a single gash remained on the foul horror before him. Each wound seemed to seal behind his blade, causing each strike to be more futile than the last. The red eyed undead seemed to cackle with each strike, as if they were ammused by the amature flailing of the young man before him.


Grunting, Vince took a step back and evaluated his options. It seemed like he would have to run, not a single strike was sounding true, and it seemed like this beast was nigh invulnerable.


That’s when the second hand smashed through the wall behind him, blocking his way back.


“FUCKING LOVELY.” Vincent roared. The two meaty appendages seemed to be closing in on him, tearing up the wall as they did so. Vincent’s sapphire eyes darted from danger to danger, looking for a way out, and that’s when he did something incredibly stupid.


Roaring, he charged into the first hand blocking his path to the orb. His blade danced with incredible speed, and with dexterity he thought he could never obtain, he sliced his way through the hand. He pushed through the dreadful mirk and mire that was the creatures essence, but Vince pushed through. As he took his first step past the hand, he made a mad dash for his orb. Scooping it up in one hand, he turned back to face the beast. The “lead” tendril jutting from the elbow turned and cocked its head to the side, it’s jaw hanging open agast. Grinning, Vincent dropped his blade, watching as it flashed from existence once it clattered to the ground.


“Guess we’ll have to leave this up for round two!” Vince grunted. The “leadr” cackled and the arm swung at him. Without hesitating, Vincent barreled right into the blow, and the moment it seemed like it would hit him, he vanished into a cloud of sparks, only to reappear well out of the reach of the other hand, sprinting towards the exit. He closed his eye and began to mutter under his breath. He imagined the soft crackling of the eternal fire in his hearth back home. He could feel the plush carpet beneath his toes, he could feel the soft leather of his favorite chair. He could taste the sweet burn of his favorite brandy. He cleared the stairs and leapt over Qadira, the loud thump thump thumping of his foe behind him. He wrenched his eyes open and splayed his free hand out, shooting a spark of energy out before him, tearing a rift in reality. He snapped and the orb vanished from his fingers, and his free hand scooped Qadira into the air. The two flew through the air, and into the portal. The beast roaring behind them as they did so. The two found themselves flung into a dimly lit room. The soft crackle of a fire filled the air.


They were safe…


“You know you should really ask before picking someone off the ground!” Qadira huffed. Vince stared at the young woman lying on the floor next to him and rolled his eyes, a deep sigh escaping his lips.


“Well Excuuuuuse me, Princess.”