Jeze tensed her leg muscles and readied her weapons as the sword fighter swung his blades at her. The large form of Rolfe interposed himself in between Jeze and her assailant. The twin blades cracked loudly against the Protector’s shield as he bashed forward with it. The shield’s edge landed a glancing blow as the Sanguine artist gracefully danced away. Rolfe followed up with spear thrusts and forced the swordfighter back.


    Only for a moment, Rolfe lunged with a spear thrust, and the sword fighter parried aside the weapon, twirled gracefully to close the distance, and sliced with his other sword. The blade was met by Rolfe’s shield as the Protector took a step back. Helga rushed in with a fearsome roar and struck the swordfighter on the helmet with her Dane axe. The blow shattered the mask and knocked the headpiece off to reveal the attacker’s face. His skin was as dark as onyx as the people that came from the Great Desert. His hair fell to his sides in dreadlocks, and blood flowed freely from his mouth and nose.


    “Very good,” he said with a grin.


    Helga responded with more mighty attacks with her axe. Jeze got back to her feet, and Rolfe and Dunar circled the fighter as Helga engaged. With astonishing accuracy, the sword fighter scored a deep gash on the least protected part of Helga’s glove. The injury caused the warrior maiden to yelp in pain, and she dropped her axe. Rolfe slammed his shield into the sword fighter’s armored chest and followed up with a spear thrust that missed. The swordsman fell to his back and rolled quickly to his feet while thrusting with both blades.


    The sudden attack caused Rolfe to retreat, and before the sword fighter could recover, Dunar charged in with an axe and sword. The two fought in a furious exchange of parries, dodges, and counters that resulted in Dunar stumbling back. The muscular team Leader was holding his neck where blood flowed from a slash that sliced through the mail armor. The sword fighter was peppered with a hail of stone fists that clanged loudly off his armor, and he was forced back. Rolfe and Jeze followed up with furious howls. The Protector slammed with his shield and stabbed with his spear as Jeze slid to the side and hooked their opponent in the back of his armored ankle with her axe and yanked the man to the ground. With incredible speed and agility, the swordfighter rolled to his feet just as Rolfe slammed the ground with his shield edge.


    “Very good! You all are clearly not afflicted with Madness,” the man said in a deep voice.


    Jeze noticed that a glow faded from his eyes, and his face relaxed. The transformation was subtle and surreal. In one moment, the man’s eyes spoke of murder, and the next, they were almost jovial. But Jeze was not fooled. Deep down, it reminded her of how Swordslayer behaved. The darkness that Irvin spoke about the Sanguine Blades style rang true. Painfully true. Mikal finished healing Dunar and Helga, and the entire team was ready to fight.


    “You must answer for your crimes,” Dunar stated.


    “Oh? And what crimes did I commit?” The dark-skinned man asked.


    “Murder!” Jeze cried.


    “Them? They were afflicted with madness.”


    “They were free from it,” Mikal stated. The dark-haired Healer held his spear at the ready.


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    “Are you sure? Those afflicted with madness can be deceitful. One can not be too careful. That was why I fought you,” the swordfighter replied.


    Dunar shook his head, and his jaw was set. “Proven, form up!” He barked.


    Rolfe banged his shield and the Frostworn moved into position with a “Hurrah!”


    The onyx-skinned sword fighter tilted his head and asked, “Are you sure you want to continue this dance? I held back earlier.”


    “People like you who hunt other adventures should not be allowed to roam free,” Dunar growled.


    “They were weak! They allowed the minor Demons to corrupt their minds. I did the Guild a favor. You, on the other hand, are strong. I can tell,” the swordfighter said.


    “What is your name?” Jeze asked.


    “Why should I tell you that?”


    “So we can give you a proper burial so that your soul may find rest,” Mikal answered.


    The sword fighter laughed so loudly it echoed off the walls. He glanced at them, and the strange color appeared in his eyes again.


    “Be careful,” Mikal warned.


    “Remember my name. I am called Ozun,” the sword fighter said in a voice that was barely above a whisper.


    Ozun attacked the Proven with fearsome speed and ferocity. The battle spanned the entire chamber with a flurry of attacks, counters, parries, and evasions. Mikal and Jeze launched Rune magics as Helga charged in with devastating attacks. Rolfe protected and forced Ozun back at times with his spear. Dunar attacked from the flanks and had fearsome exchanges that displayed incredible martial prowess. But, one by one, each Proven was wounded and blooded while Ozun received glancing injuries. Only Jeze remained standing before Ozun. Her left arm hung limply by her side as she held her battle axe in front of her with her chest heaving.


    “How do you know Swordslayer?” Ozun asked.


    Jeze blinked, “What?”


    “Earlier, you called me Swordslayer. How do you know him?” Ozun asked again.


    Jeze was thrown off guard by his question. Of course he would know Swordslayer, only a few were capable to learn the Sanguine Blades and survive. Were they friends? Or enemies? If she answered, would she be betraying her friend?


    Ozun flicked the blood off his blades and sheathed them. “If you see Swordslayer, tell him how strong I am. In the meantime, you have the potential to face me as an equal. But not now. We will meet again,” Ozun said and departed the chamber.


    Jeze fumbled through her pack for her Life aspect Channeling tool and with what little energy she had, she healed Mikal. The Healer gasped in pain and gathered his Channeling tools. After several moments, the two were able to stabilize the others. They were exhausted.


    “That was fun to watch!” Ziplocke announced as he emerged from the shadows.


    Jeze scowled at the Goblin and threw a jar of paste at him. A full jar. The Goblin snatched it and narrowed his eyes.


    “What’s this for?” He asked.


    “Keep watch and wake us if we are in danger,” Jeze replied as she slumped to the ground.


    “Danger?!? We are in the Spire!” Ziplocke shrieked.


    But his words fell on deaf ears as the Proven were all fast asleep. The Life aspect recovers the body but also takes a toll that demands rest. Mikal was snoring lightly, and Ziplocke debated whether to drop a bug down the Healer’s mouth. The Goblin scowled and sat with his small back against the wall. He opened the jar and started to slurp up the paste. The team traveled the corridors for a full day and engaged in some tough fights. They deserved a peaceful rest.


    “Even me, a spiteful Goblin, can not deny that they earned some peace,” Ziplocke said out loud to himself.