Kyrness the Drow Soldier

The drider led Teysa into the trophy cave again. Since her last visit, some changes had been made. The walls were bare now and fine grey sand covered the floor where the rug had lain. The chairs had gone as well, and the benches had been dragged into a semicircle. The drider matron sat at the largest. The others were occupied by smaller driders-- a few dressed in the armor of the guards, others bare or with black veils. Teysa's guide pointed at the circle of sand on the ground, then took her place among the others, her abdomen swaying as she walked.

Entering from the opposite side of the arena came another veiled drider, leading another humanoid figure. Teysa squinted. Could it be...? The other figure was female, wrapped in another one of the silken robes. Her skin was inky black, her head topped with a crest of white hair. "Kyrness!" called Teysa. She wasn't exactly a friendly face, but a familiar one, certainly. The paladin was oddly glad that the other woman had survived. "How do you fare?"

Kyrness smiled back. Her thin lips turned up, anyways, but the expression was distinctly predatory. "Better than some."

The drider matron quieted them both with a gesture. Kyrness knelt before her and Teysa, uncertain of protocol, followed suit.
"My children! Hyou have done well to come thissss far. Hyou have proven your ssssssstrength. But the warren needsssss more than that. Hyou must be ruthlessssss to survive in the Darknesssss Below. She Who Spinsssss watches hyou. One can ssssurvive. For one of hyou to prosssssper, the other must fall." One of the drider guards advanced on each woman, bearing spears. Teysa felt a growing dread. Am I understanding this right? "Matron, are you saying we must fight?"
The drider nodded. "To the ****, child."

Teysa took the proferred spear without enthusiasm. It was about six feet long, with a leaf-shaped blade of some black metal. The shaft felt like ash or yew. Kyrness spun her spear enthusiastically between her palms. "I will gut you, bitch," she spat. "Glory to the Spider Queen!"

Teysa shifted back and forth and choked up on her grip. She would defend herself, at least. "Must we go to the ****?" she called out without taking her eyes off her opponent.

There was no response. Kyrness spat. "Cowardly. Have you water in your veins?"

Teysa's grimace hardened. So that was how it was going to be. The drow began circling slowly, watching for an opening. Abruptly her muscles tensed. "Ki-a!" She vaulted across the sand, spear out.

Teysa had seen her flex a moment before and was ready. She pivoted away on the ball of her foot, spinning and lashing out with the butt of her spear to trip her opponent. Kyrness turned the vault into a leap and easily cleared the spear. She moves like a snake. She rolled and came up on one knee, her spear thrust out in front of her. Taking to her feet she continued pacing. "Will you not strike? Thin-blooded weakling. Surface dwellers are all the same."

Teysa ignored the jibe. She was used to the weight of shield and plate, defending blows and wearing out her opponent. These silk robes offered no such protection, but they didn't impede her movement either. And from how she held it, the drow was no more familiar with a spear than she was. They favored longswords, Teysa remembered. Daggers, sometimes. Kyrness would try to get in close, what she was used to. The problem with that was the spear's length made it unwieldy at such quarters.

The elf feinted high and swept her spear around, aiming for Teysa's belly. The paladin knocked it aside with her own and stabbed at the drow's face, more to keep her off balance than anything else. The dark elf easily avoided the blow and laughed. She came at Teysa again with a flurry of jabs. The paladin was **** to duck and swing at her opponent, but Kyrness spun out of the way and lashed out. A red stripe of pain lashed across Teysa's back as she reeled away. Blood spattered the sand. The driders in the audience hissed in anticipation.

Kyrness brought her spearpoint up to her mouth and licked the blood smeared across it with a single, exaggerated motion. "Not long now, thin-blood. I will eat your heart." Teysa cursed her inwardly and slouched away. The cut was long but didn't seem very deep. Raising her right arm caused the edges of the wound to grind together painfully. She gritted her teeth against the burn. She's faster than I am. The realization left her cold. With no armor, whoever landed the first good cut would be the winner. And Teysa was already injured...

Kyrness was coming for her again, her speartip weaving a figure-eight in the air. Droplets of Teysa's blood flew off it as it spun. She's going to come close again. She wants to end this face-to-face. Teysa braced herself.

With a bloodcurdling yell Kyrness dove for her. Her spear flashed faster than Teysa could follow. Instead of dodging, the paladin stepped into the blow, twisting her body out of the way. A slash that would have opened her from collarbone to navel instead glanced off her shoulder, leaving a shallow slice. Before her foe could recover Teysa grabbed her spear arm near the shoulder. Wrong-footed, Kyrness stumbled, and Teysa brought her head forward. With a heavy crunch she head-butted the drow in the face.

She felt her opponent's nose break under the impact and warm blood gushed into her hair. Teysa shoved her away and swung with the butt of her spear, scything Kyrness's legs out from under her. The drow toppled heavily on her back and Teysa followed up by driving the blunt shaft of the spear into her gut, knocking the wind out of her. The spear slipped from Kyrness's fingers and the human woman kicked it away. As the dark elf got to her knees Teysa swung the spear one more time, the butt crunching into her opponent's jaw. Her head swung around and Kyrness collapsed like a bag of grain.

Breathing heavily, Teysa stood over her fallen foe. She leveled the spear at her face, tip first, but some instinct stayed her hand. The drow looked up at her with undisguised hatred in her eyes, her nose flattened across her face, blood drooling from one corner of her mouth. Fear danced across her eyes. "What are you waiting for? Finish me, you cunt. Send me to the Goddess."