The space inside Duke Zapar's tent had fallen silent and still. Even the cacophony of noises from the carnival beyond the tent's canvas walls could not be heard. The ghostly figure with dark robes pointed a boney finger at Tidal and everyone present could hear the grim specter's firm monotone voice in their heads. You are challenged to one on one combat. None may interfere.
A brief moment later, the specter began to move. It's speed was incredible. Even though it closed the distance with it's target swiftly, the robes never moved or flapped once. They remained unmoved as if the specter wasn't even in motion. The only movement they revealed was as the Specter brought it's weapon up for a strike.
Tidal barely had enough time to raise his shield in defence before the spectral figure swung it's scythe down towards him. To Tidal's amazement, the shield offered no protection. The curve bladed weapon passed through as if it was a ghost. It proceeded along it's trajectory and cut through Tidal's chest. Tidal felt the pain through his entire body, as if every nerve had been set a blaze. Before Tidal could bring his weapon to bear however, his vision blurred. In a blink, Tidal found himself in a memory. It was the memory he had seen in the hall of mirrors earlier that day.
Tidal was standing at attention. Pacing back and forth in front of him was his herd leader. The Alpha. His leader was an imposing beast of an individual. As tall as Tidal and equally, if not more, muscular. Two twisted horns protruded from his head, the inspiration behind the herd's crest. The Alpha was a warrior king. Normally clade in golden armor plates, he was currently only wearing his maroon training robes which seemed to blur against his brownish fur. The robes were flapping haphazardly as he paced since the Alpha had not tied them closed.
Tidal could feel the tension growing in the small room. The Alpha had brought him to this chamber to be away from prying eyes. A smart move as their exchange was going to be heated. Tidal was loyal to a fault, but that did not stop him form expressing his view to his leader.
"Your reckless actions allowed the troupe to escape!" The Alpha started. "And with MY SON!"
The Alpha snorted towards Tidal.
"You can not expect me to be clairvoyant like a mage!" Tidal retorted. "The scouts did not report back about a magic user in their midst!"
"And yet, this little band of mercenaries was able to slip past our defenses and abduct my son!" The Alpha's voice grew louder, as the clang of his hooves against the stone floor began echoing stronger.
"Their leader's head now rests on a pike at your gates, and the rest would join him if you'd let me pursue instead of wasting my time with your mewling like a calf!" countered Tidal, his tone agitated.
The Alpha stopped his pacing and strode over to Tidal, stopping inches from his snout. They both snorted at each other.
"And how am I to trust you won't loose sight of your goal because someone gives you 'a worthy fight' eh?" Spat the Alpha at Tidal, throwing his words from an earlier exchange back at him.
Tidal grew more irritated, as it had been the mercenary leader that had requested a one on one combat to keep him and the guards occupied while the rest had slipped in and out of the fort.
"Do you doubt my conviction?" Tidal inquired.
"No." replied the Alpha. "It's your focus I doubt."
"The longer you waste our time with this exchange, the farther they get!" Tidal roared before being cut off, which only made his frustrations grow.
"No! I shall let Galloway track this group." The Alpha interjected. "You will remain here to prepare for the coming of Xonoldos's forces. Word of this abduction will likely embolden him."
"Galloway!" Tidal sneered. "That calf couldn't track his way to the top of a manure heap if he was gently placed on it."
"You have your assignment!" The Alpha snapped back.
"No! You need you're best on this! I'm going!" Tidal shouted. He could feel his frustrations growing to a fever pitch.
"You are out of line!" The Alpha shouted as he slammed his fists on a near by workbench. "Get to the barracks or I'll drag you there myself!"
Tidal snapped. He bellowed as he charged his leader. They both locked horns and grappled each other. Tidal had some momentum behind him as they collided and was able to carry forwards and slam the Alpha into the wall. The effort made Tidal's vision blink for a moment...
As Tidal's vision came back, he wasn't with his leader anymore. The familiar, and oppressively, hot air around him reminded him instantly where he was. He was in Baator. More specifically, he was in Duke Zapar's tent facing off against a Grim Reaper.
As Tidal regained his faculties, he looked down in front of him to see Dido laying on the floor. Her lithe form was sprawled out and she looked back at him with an icy stair from her deep blue eyes.
"Care to fight your actual opponent?" she shot at him in a cold tone.
Tidal just blinked and shook his head. Taking a few steps back he quickly surveilled the room. He noticed that Caravaggio was also laying on the ground, except he wasn't close enough for Tidal to have shoved him. Pushing the thoughts about the matter from his mind, Tidal turned around to face his foe.
The Reaper floated above the ground silently. Unlike Syllucraff, Tidal could see the head under the hood. A bare skull grinned back at him. There was no light in it's eyes, only the darkness of the abyss.
Tidal gripped his great ax and then charged forwards. Putting all the focus and energy he could, he swung the weapon at the Reaper. His first blow harmlessly passed through his target. The second one found purchase against the bones that formed it's right hand. This gave Tidal an idea, which he capitalized on immediately.
Swinging his ax up, Tidal connected it's blade with the Reaper's lower jaw, knocking it clean off. The jaw bone skidded across the ground before coming to a rest near the feet of the onlooking party. The bone then evaporated out of existence leaving a trail of dark smoke. Tidal then spun around and struck the Reaper's other hand. The specter recoiled calmly from the attacks. Putting some distance between itself and it's foe, it began to sink into the ground. Tidal went to take another swing, but it had slipped below the ground before he could connect with his ax. The weapon just clanged of the ground.
Tidal took this moment to center himself as he knew it would come at him from another angle. He pushed past the weary state he found himself in. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Dido and Car having gotten back to their feet. He continued to scan the room spotting Zapar clapping like a seal in delight. The devil was clearly enjoying the combat display before him.
Suddenly, Tidal felt a sharp pang of coldness in his back before every nerve in his body screamed. Spinning on his heel, he faced the Reaper which had risen from the ground behind him and attacked. Before Tidal could swing his ax to bear, the specter was gone once again below the ground.
Furious and in a lot of pain, Tidal began to switch his focus. He needed some healing. But he didn't have any potions on him and he didn't know any healing spells. Spotting all the bottles surrounding him in the room, he was struck with an idea. Surely something in one of these bottle must be able to heal him.
"Hey guys! I'm not doing so hot!" Tidal shouted as he staggered over towards the nearest table with bottles on it. "I need some healing!"
As he approached the nearest table, Tidal grabbed the first bottle in reach. As he did so, the other devils spectating with Zapar all started to cheer and yell things in a tongue that Tidal couldn't understand. The bottle he had grabbed was a pear shaped container with an emerald color and had a small cork at it's top. Popping the cork off with his thumb, Tidal lifted it up and began to down it's contents.
If nothing else, thought Tidal, at least it will make me less thirsty.
The contents of the bottle tasted sour and bitter. Suddenly, Tidal felt very light headed. Then, he began to shake uncontrollably. As he began to convulse, Tidal tumbled onto the table that he'd grabbed the drink from. Bottles went careening away and the glass of the table shattered under his bulk.
"Looks like your friend can't hold his poison!" mocked Zapar to the rest of the party as they looked on in horror.
Tidal's vision was blurry as he tried to stop the convulsions. Then there was another cold sharp pain as the specter once again had emerged from the ground to strike. The pain this time was so intense that Tidal swore he was being burned alive in the middle of the sun. It was all he could do to focus on staying tethered to his form.
As his vision began to fade, Tidal felt a familiar feeling. Old memories passed through his thoughts. The familiar feeling of being lighter than he should be. But this time, there was a bright flash.
Suddenly, before him, were floating rings. Three sets inside each other spinning in different directions, with a bright glow coming from it's center. It was the Choir.
You have fallen, came the voice in Tidal's head. It sounded as though many were speaking at once. A mix of sadness and disappointment making up the various tones of voices.
Tidal looked down to find himself floating above the shell that was his body.
"I am not done!" shouted Tidal in his newly found spectral state.
The spinning rings seem to study him for a moment. The glow at it's center pulsed. It started slow and steady, but grew rapidly before returning to it's previous rate.
There is still potential. Do not waste it so brazenly.
The words this time had a more distinct voice. A familiar one. It sounded like the Alpha. Before Tidal could contemplate it more, his astral form was sucked back into his body.
***
The party watched as Tidal lay motionless on the floor. The reaper had popped up and slashed him again before ducking back down into the ground. Rachel's fists were balled up and Caravaggio gripped tightly on the chair in front of him.
Dido stared out at the scene. The fight was not over yet. Tidal just needed some help. Thinking quickly, Dido removed a healing potion from her satchel. Very carefully, she knelt down to the ground and placed the bottle on the ground. She gave it a light kick which sent it rolling towards Tidal's collapsed form.
The bottle kept rolling along the carpeted ground before coming to a rest against Tidal's hand. No sooner had the bottle stopped moving then Tidal gasped for air. Dido, Car, and Rachel all started to cheer Tidal to stand up and fight.
Tidal's senses were all on fire. Everything burned. Sitting up, he looked over to see his companions cheering him on. Tidal saw Dido pointing to the bottle that was now inches from his hand.
"Drink it!" She commanded.
Tidal put all his strength into grabbing the bottle and downing it's contents. He soon felt a cold numbing sensation that stopped the burning he had been experiencing. It felt like a wave of relief. Getting back onto his feet, Tidal nodded to Dido in thanks.
Putting his focus back into the fight, Tidal held his great ax with both hands. He kept moving this time, making sure to turn at irregular intervals to try and catch the reaper. His strategy paid off as he caught the coalescing from of the specter rising from the ground. As it rose up to deliver another blow, Tidal swung down with his ax and connected with the reaper's skull. He struck it with so much force that the skull was cleaved in two. The reaper split in half as it phased up past Tidal's blade. As it split, it's two halves wisped away like smoke in a breeze.
After a moment, the regular sounds of the Carnival drifted in once again. The screams and moans that made up it's ambient noise permeating the confines of the Duke's tented chamber. Suddenly there was a single loud clap. Everyone's attention was drawn to it.
"Well aah must say! That has been the most fun aah've had in ages! You do not disappoint!" came the cheerful drawl of Duke Zapar.
The party moved to gather around the Duke as he waved them closer. There was a glint in his eye and a mischievous grin on his face.
"Now," The Duke started, still grinning, "who would like to draw some more cards?"
Dido and Caravaggio politely put their hands up to decline. Tidal thought about it for a moment despite his freshly ended fight. Rachel also pondered the idea.
"Do any of your friends draw from your deck?" inquired Rachel.
"Well now," The Duke chuckled, " it has been a while since any of them have."
Zapar glanced around the room, eyeing his devil cohorts as they all averted their gazes.
"But aah've seen them draw several times now over the millennia." continued the Duke, brushing the idea away. His gaze then fell on the party of adventurers before him as his grin widened. "Aah'm more in the mood for fresh entertainment."
Silence grew as none of the party members made any movements to draw any cards from the Duke's deck.
"How about another deal?" Zapar said, breaking the silence and sensing the hesitation. "How 'bout you, me, and the big fella each draw a card?" The duke nodded towards Tidal. "Aah'll even give each of you two soul coins a piece!"
Rachel scratched her chin in thought, but ultimately decided to pass. She shook her head and took a step back and moved to join Dido and Car as they made their way to the exit pole.
Tidal took a step forwards and offered a counter proposal.
"How about this," Tidal began. "I'll draw four cards if you fully heal me first."
The Duke's face fell a little with disappointment. He folded the deck back up and put it away.
"Mah good sir, I can not provide you any healing services. You and your party are on their own for that." Zapar said, a mix of disappointment and ennui in his tone. "Aah can only offer you soul coins."
"Then thank you for your hospitality." interjected Dido as she beckoned Tidal to join them near the exit pole. Tidal looked a Zapar one last time, then nodded and moved to rejoin the group. They each took it in turn to leave via the pole, sliding back down to the bustle of the carnival below.
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