Battle on the bridge

Pulling your short sword out of its scabbard, you square off against the lizardman Nautilex, your back to the burning blaze separating you from Tri'lanna and Ceinwyn. You pull out your axe and, instead of wielding it, drop it to the ground. The lizardman's brow arches in curiosity.

The reason is quite simple. In your last encounter with Nautilex, he had you completely outmatched, power-wise, and he had struck you with a flurry of blows that you couldn't parry. Part of the reason was because of the weight of your woodcutting axe. The short sword may not give as much weight to your strikes, but it is light enough that you might be able to keep with his speed. You hope.

"You’re going to attack me with that puny thing? I certainly hope that-" He attacks in mid-sentence, lashing his tail out point-first, aiming straight for your eyes.

You parry the scaled tail easily with a swipe, moving your sword back to the center of your body before he can attack again. Your battles with Nautilex in the nightmare of your dreams played over and over again, so much so that his dreadful strength and speed were burned into your mind. You're ready for him.

And then it came. Nautilex surges forward and swings his jagged blade out in a wide arc. On its own, it wouldn't be particularly frightening, but with his monstrous strength, the blade flies toward you at shocking speeds and with enough destructive power that you would crumble under the slash. Rather than meet it head-on, you move diagonally back, using your sword to redirect the lizardman's blade. The sword arm sails past you harmlessly, leaving his chest open for counterattack.

Stepping in close, you bully your way in past his defenses, ignoring his lashing tail again and gritting your teeth when his free hand gouges deep into your skin. Gripping the hilt of your blade tightly, you thrust out at him, aiming straight for his heart.

The lizardman makes a pained hiss, ramming into you, forcing you back to where you started, and reassuming his ready stance. When he takes a step back, you survey the damage you've done, disappointed. When you had thrust out, Nautilex had nimbly side-stepped, turning your mortal strike into a grazing blow across his ribs.

“So you’ve gotten a little better, human.” He looks warily at you. “You think yourself a hero? Come to save the day, from the evil schemes of the villain?”

Your swords clash again. Once more, you don’t try to meet him with a strength-versus-strength match, instead redirecting his blows and using more footwork to stay out of harm’s way.

“Did I ever tell you about my previous conquests as commander?” The lizardman says suddenly, “Oh the destruction of the Druids was one of my greatest accomplishments, but there were many smaller victories before that. My armies razed temples, desecrated holy grounds, and burnt down tiny villages and hamlets to the ground.”

You ignore his taunts. He’s just trying to distract you. He knows that you are more skilled now and is trying to win a psychological battle against you. Stay focused on the fight.

“...like a little place called Gutandor, for example.” Nautilex smiles malevolently.

No. Was it him? You think in terror. The memories resurface again, the smell of burning flesh, the heat, the sound of screaming and the gnashing of teeth. Not again. No more. You try to fight down the fears and the nightmares, and you are unprepared when Nautilex strikes at you again. You weakly try to raise your sword in defense, but the collision of metal on metal jars your wrists and sends your weapon clattering to the ground, sent far away from you. Screeching triumphantly, the reptilian man shoves you back, collapsing right into the guardrails of the bridge. Disarmed and weakened, Nautilex takes the time to stand over you, gloating.

“A hero? You? Don’t make me laugh! What have you done up until now? Where have you succeeded? Look around you, fool! The city of Elohin is in open civil war. What was your role in that? Nothing, you were just another leaf caught in the storm. The Druid’s valley lies in smoking ashes now, slaughtered to a man. What did you do there? Nothing, again! You were too late to do anything, and even if you had arrived in time, what could you have done to turn the tables? You couldn’t even defeat me, how would you be able to stop ten thousand others? And then there was your precious village. When it burned down in cinders all around you, where were you then?”

Hiding under an iron tub. You say to yourself. Like a coward.

“I have defeated you every step of the way. There will be no miraculous rescue, no fighting back from the brink, no divine intervention. Only ruthless reality.” The lizardman proudly declares, “When we are done here, my master Vanarim will take his armies, bolstered by the remaining Elven forces here and he will march on Morgent, your human capital on the Isle.”

Nautilex looms over you, sword raised up high, in almost the exact same pose you were in when you defeated him before.

“It’s over. You have lost, human.”