Cruxis knelt in the rest area to and prayed to Arete to help him in his fight to come. The battle between the man known as Aakif Harlix and the half-elf woman with a double blade was drawing to a close. Cruxis knew that his time for prayer was over when he heard the crowd shouting.
Shortly after he saw Aakif walking back into the pit and followed shortly was the half-elf with some guards, unconscious from and woozy from a heavy shield bash to her head. Cruxis looked the woman over then turned to Aakif and said, "Thank you, with so much bloodshed in these fights it's nice to know that some of our opponents have honor for the living."
"Do not speak to me of honor, one of you companions is as cold a killer as those you claim to abhor."
"tis true, but know that I don't agree with his actions. Believe me or not, that is your burden to judge."
"True enough, survive your round, and maybe you'll have the chance to prove yourself above his failings." With that the man turns to ascend the stairs back to the viewing platform. Cruxis stands firm, his honeyed words in contrast to his resolute stance.
As Cruxis lifts his shield and sword to move into the arena Alaroc and Leo finally had arrived back from their detour for information. Cruxis turns to notice them and grimaces.
"Do I want to know why you came from the restricted area, and why Alaroc looks like a guard?"
Alaroc strikes a pose and responds, "Newest fashion, couldn't resist."
Leo shakes his head with a slight giggle before his face turned stoic, "Cruxis, we need to tell you something rather important."
Cruxis marched toward the entryway to the arena to get a feel for the area before his opponent could, and talked back to the magus, "I'll have nothing to do with your skulduggery Leo. leave me out of it."
Leo reached out to the Paladin, but he wasn't stopping. Cruxis marched into the circular arena, the blood from the previous fights beginning to soak through and dry into the dirt. After a few moment his opponent emerged, the largest and strongest looking among the combatants.
The massive half-orc Barbarian strode in with eyes fierce and wild. His slapdash chainmail was a stark contrast to Cruxis' well kept plate, and his giant greatsword dwarfed Cruxis' new blade. The Barbarian stood at least a foot taller than Cruxis and a solid 100 lbs heavier. As Cruxis finished taking in his opponent the match began.
The huge man whipped out his weapon like it was a blade of half it's own size and stepped toward Cruxis. The Paladin drew his shield and sword, momentarily considering saying the command phrase to coat his blade in an aura of ice, but knew that it would break the rules to do so, and readied for the giant's assault.
The half-orc twirled his blade around his head and swung downward at Cruxis' side. The Paladin crouched down and angled his shield to deflect the blade up and away, but the strike proved shattering even with the change of direction. Cruxis stumbled and fell to a knee as the half-orc spun to keep his momentum.
The spin ended with a heavy downward chop at Cruxis. The armored hero lept forward around the Barbarian's left flank trying to cut for his thigh as he went. Cruxis was still off balance and the distance of the leap gave the half-breed time enough to side step quick enough to avoid it, but he also stumbled to keep his footing. Strong or no, his blade was still unwieldy.
Cruxis slowly rose as the Barbarian placed his blade back into it's forward position. Cruxis' shield arm shook still from the first attack, he smiled and said, "Quite the swing you have friend."
The half-orc grinned and let out a short laugh, saying, "And you're kinda quick for have'in all dat gear."
"Been wearing plate since I was 13, I should hope I would get use to it."
The Barbarian places his thumb to his throat and cuts across saying, "Sad for you, I been kill'in since I was half that age." The man's body begins to lurch as his skin looked to rattle and tighten. His nose flairs and his eyes bulged. Cruxis had seen this a few times before, but never this focused. This man had harnessed his Rage like none other the Paladin had faced before.
The man craned his head to the sky and let out a roar that shook the arena and silenced the crowd. In an instant the hulking man was upon him, and the crowd's silence filled the arena. The only sound heard was the sound of the wind as the Barbarian's blade swung through the air around Cruxis.
Cruxis ducked and dived avoiding the incoming earth shattering swings. Any normal fighter would have their own fear be their undoing, but Cruxis' training gave him the divine focus to see through fear with his Aura of Courage, the only magic he had no influence over.
Cruxis was crippled, he couldn't use his spells or smites to bridge the gap, so all he could do is play defense. He dodged everything he could, and deflected some attacks with his shield and sword, but each deflection made his arm go numb for a few seconds. Those seconds were damning as the half-orc's assault was unyielding.
For the first few swings Cruxis was holding up, but then an incoming attack was coming straight on, and the Paladin didn't have time to deflect, only to block. He stopped the damage, but the impact knocked him off his feet and sprawling onto the ground. His arm wasn't moving, but his eyes were, and what he saw was horrifying.
Rather than basking in his successful strike, the Barbarian was storming the downed Paladin. Cruxis rolled to the side to avoid the coming chop, and continued his roll to avoid a few more. His hopeful action was cut short as the Barbarian planted his boot firmly into Cruxis' gut and sent him spinning into the wall of the fighting area.
The Paladin's back hit the wall and knocked the wind out of him, but luckily his arm had feeling again, but as he raised his shield he realized he had lost it. The sword strike had made him lose his grip, but he'd been so busy he hadn't noticed.
The half-orc's assault didn't end as he slashed in at the Paladin. Cruxis bolted away from the wall and looked back to see that the Barbarian managed to cut into the solid stone wall with his blade. It was terrifying, but fortunate, as it gave Cruxis enough time to run over to his shield and reequip.
By the time he turned back, the Barbarian was already there. Cruxis looked to see the blade still in the wall, and the half-orc was back at him, unarmed. Without the heavy blade the Barbarian's speed was given a incredible bolster, and his bone cracking haymaker connected to Cruxis' head.
Cruxis was immediately smashed again and again as the massive fighter pummeled him, with the plate mail doing nothing against the Half-Orc's inhuman strength. Cruxis was blasted back into another wall, as he had been walked backward from one side of the arena to the other with the Barbarian's strikes.
Cruxis leaned on the wall, barely able to grip his weapons before falling forward toward the ground, only to meet with one last heavy uppercut, knocking him up into the wall a good meter off the ground. Cruxis fell to the ground. The Barbarian's body returned to his original form and the crowd, uncharacteristically remained silent.
Cruxis lay there, beaten and brutalized, fading away, but he heard something in that moment spoke to him, and then he rose like he'd taken his first breath in hours. The Barbarian had in the moments before Cruxis rose retrieved his blade from the wall, but now he turned back to the crippled Paladin and walked forward as Cruxis began to shout.
"You think you can kill me!? Please! I've take a beatings from Liches, Demons, Colossal beasts, and Men that hit way harder than you, but because of Freya's will, I have stood back up after all of them."
Cruxis hits his blade to his shield, and the symbol of Freya on the shield began to glow as the Paladin continued, "But now! Forget the rules and Freya has fallen silent! Arete has ordered me to obtain victory, and if my mistress demands it I shall risk everything to give it to her! Martyr's Bargain!"
Cruxis' body is showered in a white light as he stumbles forward toward his opponent. The Barbarian was Fatigued from his rage, but the Paladin was on his last leg, one more strike should defeat him, and so he swung his blade intending to cut clean through and bisect the warrior. His swing cleaved through clean, but to his shock as he brought his sword up and away, he was stabbed by Cruxis.
Cruxis hadn't had the strength to raise his shield, so the attack went through both his arm and waist, but his limb and body has stayed together, knitted as one because of the blue light holding him together by force. The Barbarian was bewildered as he felt the Paladin's blade plated itself in the half-orc's shoulder.
Cruxis gripped his longsword and lifted his body up and with the last of his power he shouted for a Smite Evil from his mistress to bless his last blow, and in a flash of divine light Cruxis crashed his shield into the Barbarian's skull, sending him twisting away and falling to the ground, unconscious.
The crowd couldn't believe their eyes, they were stunned silent for a few seconds. The Paladin breathed heavy as he walked over to pull his sword out of the half-orc's shoulder. He lifted his blade up in victory, and the crowd went ballistic, eclipsing their outbursts from the rounds before.
Cruxis cared not, as he got to work using Lay on Hands on his face and body to fix what he could before the worst washed over him. His injuries from the half-orc's rage repaired, he waited before the cleave to his arm and gut manifested and fell him to the ground. He had just enough left in his body to repair the fatal wound before falling to the ground with a smile whispering.
"I've done it my lady, Your will be done."
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