-Moments Before-
When Winnie had decided to charge head first into the Arena and go toe to toe with an unknown Chosen and a bloody Alpha Ghoul, Zach had already been tempted to leg it and bail.
With Ornn and Meekknuckle charging in afterward without a single thought in their tiny little brains between them, leaving Squeakers standing there gobsmacked, Zach decided that he had zero problems stepping into the shadows that surrounded them and veiling himself in a Shroud of Shadow Magic.
Zach had always been pleased that he’d been born one of the lucky few, born with a rare Shadow-aspected Core, his natural Mana seeping into who he was and how he looked at the city of Dray’Mel.
Not only had it been a boon to his thievery career, but the stuff came in bloody handy when you had to make a quick getaway. Doubly so for a quick, unnoticed getaway.
The Thief grinned as he felt tendrils of shadows start to wrap around his body and clothes, concealing him perfectly. The shadows beneath his well-worn leather boots leapt to his command. A simple step backward and the Halfling’s blurred form was indistinguishable to all but the most discerning eyes, melting into the darkness that filled the estate’s ruined remains.
It’s a bloody good thing that I did too, Zach thought to himself as he continued to watch as Ghoul after Ghoul charged past him and flooded into the Arena. Like gutter dogs chasing a rotten bone.
At least the Undead were simple enough for him to avoid as he dashed out of the Arena via the servant’s entrance. It was time to hot-foot it out of the cursed place. No amount of coin would be worth tangling with that crap.
Plus, I’ve got my whole new venture to keep me in coin! Zach smirked as he rubbed his gloved hands together. Taking over Sykes’ goons had pretty much been a cinch. Sure, there’d been a couple of them that had some things to say about the new change in management but Zach had easily sorted that issue by cutting the tongues from their doubting mouths.
After all, low lives can’t complain when they can’t even speak. The Halfling stifled a chuckle as he moved from shadow to shadow, easily making his way down the estates ruined hallways with a skip in his step.
Zach had spent a good portion of his young adult life amongst the Undead District working with various Slum-Running gangs. The pay had been total shite but it had given him plenty of first-hand experience with how dangerous Ghoul swarms could be.
It had also shown him exactly how easy it was to fool the rotting senses of the mindless creatures, especially since they all seemed Hells-bent on rushing towards the Arena his old companions had just entered. Fools that the are. Or were, anyways.
Wrapped as Zach was in his protective Shroud, the Undead couldn’t see him at all. Escape, therefore, was a simple case of stepping out of their way as they passed him by. He had to resist the urge to trip one or two of the fuckers though. As hilarious as that would be, it would be drawing unnecessary attention to his presence.
The Ghouls were decisively single-minded as they continued to swarm down the corridors in the direction of the ruined Arena, smashing what little remained of Rodyr’s grandeur to pieces in their haste. He supposed there could’ve been a small chance of a few of them smelling him if they weren’t making such a desperate dash for the easy meat but then, well, that wasn’t really his problem now was it?
I reckon it would’ve been nice to have Squeaker’s perspective on Alchemy, Zach mused internally as he continued down the hall, dodging every so often to avoid hip-checking a rampaging Ghoul. “But maybe I’ll make another trip back here in a bit, do a quick recce of the Arena, can’t imagine the Ghouls will be eating the Artifacts.
Zach was pretty sure that Winnie’s knuckle dusters in particular would be worth a decent amount of coin at the weapons trader’s place, or he could give it to one of his new goons to make them a little less useless in a fight.
There was a small part of the Halfling that was tempted to go back and wait out the deaths of his companions in person… but who knew what that Chosen Shade could manage? For all he knew, the damn thing could accidentally splatter him into a meat-paste, even while it was actively trying to kill Winnie and that would certainly put his future plans in danger.
It was definitely a shame about old Winnie though. Zach pictured the burly fighter as he swiped a nearby vase of one of the few tables that hadn’t been upended, his thoughts lingering on her fit form.
He could’ve definitely done with shagging her before she met her Maker, but there was no accounting for taste. On her account of course, it was obvious that Zacharias was as handsome as a Halfling could be, even with his facial scars. To be honest, the Thief barely remembered they were there recently.
Sykes’ had given him a lot more than some cuts on his face, and Zach had to admit he thought of the dead elven prick in rather positive terms nowadays. After all, Sykes had put so much effort into setting up his ill-gotten businesses, just for Zach to swipe them after the prissy dagger-ears got himself squished.
By Winifred, no less. But what a way to go, Zach mused, I’ve known plenty of pricks who dream of dying by the hands of a beauty… or their thighs.
Still, if it wasn’t meant to be, it wasn’t meant to be.
There was no way in the Nine Hells he was going to be some collateral damage between two Pact-Crazed bastards. Zach had seen the look on Winnie’s face as they’d been on the journey to the mansion, and she’d looked like every other one of his precious addicts, jonesing for their next hit.
Once an addict, always an addict. She’d just happened to change up what she was craving. More's the pity really. She’d always been one of his most reliable customers when it came to coughing up coin for the next vial of Dragon’s Blood.
As he moved down the hallway, he noticed that the passing Ghoul-swarm seemed to have thinned out, only the odd straggler limping along on a missing foot in their wake.
Which was weird in itself. In the short time since he’d made his escape, only thirty or so Ghouls had swarmed past him.
Yet, he could certainly hear the others up ahead, moaning and groaning away, but the sound no longer appeared to be moving towards him.
Maybe the damned things had gotten themselves stuck? It wouldn’t be the first time he’d seen some mindless Undead try and squeeze themselves through some tiny gap, trapping themselves for all eternity. Or at least until something came by to snack on the unexpected free meal.
Still, with his Shroud stalwartly surrounding Zach in its shadowy embrace, it wasn’t really anything to be concerned about. He idly glanced at the remnants of the paintings on the walls as he continued in his merry way. None of them were really in any state to sell anymore, definitely not worth his time trying to liberate from their hangings.
Which was why Zacharias’ attention was grabbed just as he rounded a corner at the end of the hallway, as the Halfling spotted an interesting vase perched precariously on a pedestal that had somehow survived up until now.
It was a smaller piece in the form of some aquatic beast, shining a brilliant cobalt blue, and obviously hand-blown out of the finest colored glass. It definitely looked as though it was worth a decent amount and while Zach had plenty of rescued plenty of things from Rodyr’s estate, this could prove to make the trip worth it on its own.
The vase, however, momentarily distracted the creeping Thief from what lay beyond its beguiling shape…
It was a good thing that he’d cut off the dead weight of his companions, as Zach was pretty sure that Squeakers especially wouldn’t let him forget that he hadn’t seen the waiting Abomination lurking around the corner until it was almost too late.
A truly massive face was peering in the Halfling’s direction as the source of all the Ghoulish morning revealed itself, black blood dripping from its enormous empty eye sockets. The gargantuan Undead seemed to be struggling to fit itself through a doorway only big enough to fit its skull. The creature’s shoulders were far too wide for the doorway and, true to mindless Undead fashion, the thing had got itself wedged in pretty deeply.
The sight of the monstrosity, heaving itself from side to side in an attempt to get itself some leverage to free itself, would’ve actually been pretty amusing if it wasn’t so goddamn fucking terrifying.
Thankfully, the only thing that kept Zach from cursing audibly was the fact it wasn’t his first rodeo with this particular brand of Undeath but it didn’t make the horrible creature any less intimidating.
How exactly in the Hells had a Ghast fumbled its way, not only into this bloody estate, but into the actual mansion itself?
Most of the poor bastards who were just signing up for their first Slum Run naively thought that the biggest danger was a pack of wild Ghouls, or perhaps a hulking Zombie that managed to catch you out in the open.
The old-timers though, they knew better. They liked to gather round tables in the pub, sharing tales and legends of much more terrifying types of Undead that lurked deep in the Undead District, barely held back by the Tomb-Makers as they patrolled the Inner Walls that kept “us mortals alive,” as they’d no doubt put it.
In their minds, when an experienced group of Runners went missing, there was no way it could be your run of the mill Ghoul. No, they liked to tell tales of bigger creatures lurking in the Undead Districts, and a fan favourite of Zacharias’ had been the Ghast.
Supposedly, the Abominations came into being through a massive pool of Ghouls attacking and consuming each other. They would meld into a fleshy soup until they came out as one, humongous single creature, craving death and flesh.
Occasionally you could spot a still twitching Ghoulish limb poking out from the beasts enlarged form, or so the tales went, Zacharias was never one to dig into the validity of a story.
It had been easy for Zach to dismiss it as an urban legend. An interesting tale to listen to over a pint at the pub, or a amusing entertainment to watch and mock the crazed ravings of a Runner who’d been doing the job too long and lost his mind.
That was, of course, until he’d seen one first hand.
He’d been Slum-Running for three years at that point and was barely into his teens. Most folks used his size to their advantage and recruited him as a scout, capable of fitting through the smallest gaps amongst the rubble.
For years he’d bounced from group to group, always careful to leave once each group began to get too big for their britches, taking ridiculous risks for very little payoff. Still, one of his more commonly run with gangs had been able to convince him to do a deep dive of the Undead District.
The theory was that if they ventured into hitherto uncharted territory, that one single Run would make them all rich. Afterwards they’d have delved deeper that most would ever go, and have countless tales to impress the others with at the pub.
Zach, as usual, had taken up the scout position. His experience had running circles around any Ghoul or Zombie that spotted him, herding the daft Undead away from the main group.
And it was while he was leading a pack of Ghouls away from his companions that he’d spotted it, the sight immediately sending a tingle of danger throughout his body.
The massive Abomination had clearly collapsed against a building with no care for its own comfort, dragging its torso against the coarse stone walls.
The building, surprisingly intact for the Undead District, was still struggling to remain standing under the Undead’s colossal weight as the frame slowly cracked under the pressure.
More interestingly to Zach’s wide eyes were the signs of battle crossing the Undead’s body, black blood dripping from dozens of open wounds on the beast’s frame.
A life of taking risks meant that the Halfling had rolled with the sudden surprise, ducking out of sight as the chasing pack of Ghouls ran past his hideaway, and charged thier new target.
For a beat, Zach assumed that the Undead Abomination would struggle to throw them off. For all its size, the way it was using the building for support looked as though it was struggling to remain standing.
But then, as soon as the Ghoul pack threw itself at larger Undead’s flesh, the Ghast’s once struggling form swiftly became a whirlwind of utter destruction. Massive claws tore the Ghouls apart in mere seconds, little bits of rotten flesh soon sprinkled the landscape like a gory burst of paint.
It didn’t even bother itself with consuming their remains. It’s killing spree was relentless, throwing the rag-doll like bodies of the Ghouls from side to side with such force that they went through the brick walls of the surrounding buildings.
Once it was done, the Ghast began to sniff at the air, standing amidst the carnage. From where he’d hidden himself away, Zach watched as the Undead turned its attentions in the direction that Zach’s companions were currently making their merry way down the street, ignorant of what awaited them.
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It didn’t take long before the Ghast began to lumber towards them, making deep growl-like sounds that caused the earth beneath their boots to shake.
As a scout for the party, Zacharias was theoretically the one who’d normally tell the musclebound fools he’d entered the District with to make themselves scarce but… The Halfling only began to move once he was sure the Ghast wouldn’t notice him.
And I was a fool for even thinking of trying to distract it! Zach remembered as froze in his tracks, watching the trapped Ghast in the hallway.
Back then, he’d tailed the beast as it charged his companions position and could distinctly remember in his mind’s eye as his fellow Runners were ripped limb from limb by the relentless creature.
Thankfully, the Ghast in the mansion didn’t seem any more alert than the other had been, unaware of the younger Thief shadowing it.
Now, the damned Undead was still trying to break itself free from the doorframe that currently held it down. Pouring more Mana into his Shroud, the shadows wrapped around the Halfling’s body further stilled, as he watched the creature struggle for a moment, before continuing on his path past the beast.
All that power and it was wasted on a simpleton. Zach shook his head. But then, maybe it was a more common occurrence than he’d originally thought. After all, Winnie had managed to get herself Chosen.
Step after step led him closer and closer to the Ghast, though that Halfling wasn’t worried. Eyeless as the thing was, his Shroud muffled even his steps. So any heightened senses would be useless as no sound came from his careful advance.
Nine times out of ten, the trapped Ghast would never have noticed the Halfling as he crept passed, and Zach would’ve gotten cleanly away.
Luck however, wasn’t on his side as the entire estate suddenly rumbled. Falling debris began to shift around the two of them, as both Zach and the Ghast froze in place as they took in their shifting circumstances, though the Halfling was careful not too move his eyes away from the Abomination’s form.
Thankfully, none of the crumbling ceiling directly disturbed Zach’s Shroud, leaving him mercifully undetected. And yet, despite his cover, Zach remained frozen on the spot as he continued to stare at the Ghast, his instincts screaming at him to remain as still as possible.
For what seemed like a long while but was only a handful of seconds, the Ghast didn’t seem to notice Zach. The Abomination appeared to have given up trying to free itself from its self-inflicted prison. Instead, it seemed to be on the verge of vomiting, the walking Corpse apparently struggling with something in its throat.
Finally, the Ghast opened its cavernous mouth wide, it’s glistening teeth dripping with rotting viscera and gore, and Zach continued to watch with detached curiosity as a long tendril of squirming flesh burst forth from the depths of its throat, appearing almost like a tongue, though it was rough and scaly looking.
The tongue tendril appeared to move around independently from the Ghast as it lashed from side to side. Weirdly, the Undead’s empty eye sockets seemed to be tracking the movement as it moved its head in the direction of the tongue.
The worm-like appendage smashed into a wall near Zach, just a little too close for his comfort. The Halfling slowly began to move away, keeping his Shroud wrapped tightly around himself.
Step by step, Zach managed to gain some distance from the probing tongue, his breath held tight in his chest. Once he’d made it a dozen paces away, Zach dared look over his shoulder and he was just in time to watch as the tongue tendril split open at the tip.
Four jagged claws sprouted from the deformed tongue, resembling the gaping maw of some twisted worm. Even from afar, Zach could tell the sharp bony points were the remains of some unlucky Ghouls leg bones, sharpened to a point.
The tongue tendril opened and closed with a disgusting wet squelch sound before jutting itself straight outwards from the Ghast’s mouth. There was an odd rigidity to the motion, a tenseness in the tongues form that set the Thief’s teeth on edge.
As Zach watched carefully, he barely had time to consider his options when the tongue suddenly started to ‘inhale’, large amounts of air rushing toward the tip’s new opening.
Even with his experience of Ghasts, Zach didn’t have the faintest clue what in the Hells was happening. The only thing that was currently on his mind was keeping a tight clamp on his Mana as it was pulled towards the tongue’s wide-open waiting maw.
The sensation was bloody unpleasant, the feeling of his own Mana being unwillingly ripped from his Core pervaded his mind, yet the Abomination only managed to maintain the strange suction for a few moments before the tongue, its pronged mouth snapping shut, retreated back into the Ghast’s mouth. The Undead snapped its mouth shut with enough force to dislodge one of its sharpened teeth.
Yeah… fuck this. Zach’s instincts exploded as he burst into movement, a sense of sudden doom guiding his actions.
Throwing himself backwards toward his waiting shadow immediately, Zach only had a mere second to see the Ghast as it lunged towards him, the wall that had it “restrained” exploding outward in a burst of plaster, concrete and shrapnel as the creature closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye.
Falling into his own Shadow was always an interesting experience, to put it mildly. Even when an Undead Abomination wasn’t moments from pulverizing the Thief’s body into paste, Zach found the process disorienting to say the least.
He’d once described the process of Shadow Stepping to Winifred as a simple affair. Once you entered your own Shadow you simply used the magic to pop out elsewhere. All that it felt like, he recalled telling her, was like that moment before gravity took hold of you after a tumble.
Accurate as that description was, as Zach’s body dipped fully into his shadow, the only thing running through his mind was the biting cold, a deep chill that permeated his entire body as he fully submerged himself in the fickle Mana.
Most Halflings that Zach had known were loud obnoxious people, each of them vying for the world’s attention as if that would make up for their lack of height. His father was similar, a rash man who was quick to swat his misbehaving son over any slight, perceived or real.
Hells, Zach himself was the same. He couldn’t deny that he was prone to making the odd spectacle or two, happy to mouth off to anyone who would listen. But when he slipped into his Shadow and the entire world went quiet, Zach felt a peace wash over him as his veins turned to ice…
Then he was out. His glimpse into another realm was nothing but a flicker. And he was back amongst the living, the mask pulled tight over his face once more.
Erupting a few yards further down the corridor amidst a flurry of Shadow Mana, Zach took the utmost care to keep his Shroud pulled tight around him. Momentarily disoriented, the Halfling quickly snapped his gaze toward the hulking Abomination as it smashed the estate’s wall into rubble, blindly groping for its prey as the ceiling collapsed around it.
The sheer amount of raw physical power on display had Zach weighing his options for escape, but it was the fact that the damned mindless beast had managed to track him that had the Thief utterly stumped.
Either way, Zach was never one to waste an opportunity when it present itself. So, as the Undead rampaged in the corridor, the Halfling began to move backwards in the direction of the Arena. It was hardly an ideal situation but there was no way he was going to break his line of sight with the Ghast, so Zach simply walked backward as he slowly crept away.
He only managed to make it a few dozen paces before reaching a bend in the corridor but the Thief was more than happy to put some solid walls between himself and the Ghast.
His spirit was buoyed by breaking line of sight with the Abomination, and Zach broke into a light jog as he stealthily moved down the servants hallway, focus of putting as much distance as he could between him and the Undead.
The Thief carefully inspected the now ruined estate hallways as he moved, no longer distracting himself by looking at the ruined riches that surrounded him, making sure that no straggling Ghouls were lying in wait. The last thing he needed was a bloody minion getting in his way, even if the damn things were of no threat to him.
Hells, Zach huffed to himself, even the Ghast isn’t really that big of a deal!
And yet, as he scrambled over a large piece of ceiling rubble that had come crashing down in his path, a small lapse in his concentration had his Shroud waver for a single, very inopportune moment.
As his foot came into contact with the filthy carpet, a tiny pinprick of sound could be heard before his shadow fully wrapped around his body again. The Halfling froze, focusing on the noise in the distance as the Ghast rampaged down the hallway, destroying everything in its path.
Sure enough, even with the distance that he’d managed to gain on the creature, and in spite of the stone walls between them, Zach noticed a sudden distinct lull in the sounds of destruction.
Fuck.
Moving immediately to throw the Undead off his trail, the Halfling burst forward. Yet, even with his quick reactions on his side, Zach had severely underestimated the sheer speed of the giant Abomination when it sensed its prey was nearby.
The mindless beast didn’t bother trekking down the hallway, taking any turns as it moved towards Zach. No, instead it barreled straight through the walls like a cannonball through wood, sending concrete and dust flying into the air around it.
Caught off guard, Zach moved to Shadow Step to safety. But, even as he dove toward the floor, the tip of the Ghast’s claws sliced through his shoulder, blood spraying out and splattering on the stone. To Zach, the sound was like heavy rain upon the concrete.
Submerged in the swirling shadows, the Thief felt ice run through his veins, draining all the warmth from his body. Still, as Zach pulled himself to his feet a dozen paces away, he was more than happy to avoid the sheer destruction that the Ghast had brought with it.
Entire sections of the formerly impressive estate were beginning to collapse around them, the structural integrity of their wing of the building was simply too unstable to keep up with the Ghast’s wild attacks.
Breathing heavily, Zach grabbed his injured shoulder, feeling his glove slip on the blood that was now pouring down his back and his front. The wound wasn’t a fatal one, but his Shroud was struggling to keep the blood from continuing to splatter on the floor as he moved.
Desperate times called for desperate measures, he told himself. Reaching into his Core, he dredged up more of his Mana than he’d spent in months as he began to weave multiple spell arrays in his Shadow.
To the layman untrained in Shadow Magic, the spell work would be near undetectable, but Zach could trace the building Mana easily as he deftly wove it into his essence. His Shroud burst from the fluctuating Mana, but as the Ghast began to react to his presence, Zach fell into his shadow once more, a frigid chill waiting to embrace him into its grasp.
Normally, his little jaunts into this strange icy realm would last a few moments at most. But with the sheer amount of Mana that he’d invested into his Shadow Step, Zach could feel his breath freezing in his chest.
Not only his breath but his blood too. The trickling wound on his shoulder began to freeze over, his fingertips underneath his leather gloves were beginning to crackle and he knew without looking at them, that they were turning an unnatural shade of blue. It should’ve been terrifying, or at the very least, a sign of his impending death. And yet, Zach couldn’t feel anything than at peace.
In this empty void landscape, the Halfling didn’t feel like he had to pretend to be anything other than what he was. He didn’t have to pretend to care about his companions insipid little lives. He didn’t have to joke and laugh and witter on endlessly with stupid fucking banter. No. He could just seethe along with the ice burning in his veins.
He could just… let go. Zach mused. His thoughts slowed to a crawl as lethargy set into his bones. But, all good things must come to an end. And as the Halfling felt his Mana begin to dry up, so did his peaceful new setting. Instead, he found himself deposited back into the remains of Rodyr’s estate, his body heaving as he lay prone on the stone floors.
Coughing up black clouds of inky smoke, the Halfling looked around wildly as his every sense felt as thought it was assaulting his own body. To go from blessed silence to such sudden warmth had Zach reeling, feeling as though he was going to melt on the spot. Though he quickly regained enough control to stagger to his feet.
It was either a twist of fate or simple cosmic irony, that the Shadow he’d emerged from was right where he’d watched his companions march to their likely deaths, cast from the now closed doors to the Arena.
Leaning against the doorframe, Zach let a small smile cross his scarred lips as he steadied himself. Alls well that ends well, as his Ma was fond of saying. Tempted as he was to peek into the Arena, the Halfling stilled as he heard the sounds of continued destruction ringing out from behind him, each burst of noise getting louder and louder as it rushed towards him.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” He muttered to himself. Zach sluggishly used what little Mana he had in his reserves to replenish his protective Shroud, the shadows struggling to cover him fully as his dwindling reserves of Mana failed him.
He hadn’t a bloody clue how the Ghast was still tracking him. But, as the Halfling began to think of his next move, another desperate distraction no doubt, he noticed that his fingers still felt…odd. He tore off the leather glove on his left hand, allowing it to drop to the floor. Sure enough, his fingers were still blue, darkening to almost black at the tips…
The Shroud of Shadows that Zach kept on his body to avoid detection was powerful in its own way, but what if he did more than just cover his body? What if he actually left the Shadows in?
As the rampaging Ghast burst its way toward him, the Thief drew himself inwards. He lessened his physical presence first, before attempting to use his Mana to fully submerge himself in the waiting shadows.
The creeping Shadows that covered him began to suck away the warmth of his body, but Zach leaned into his sensation. First, the tremors that ran through his limbs settled, then his breath stilled in his throat. The icy touch spread throughout his body and the Halfling could feel himself begin to still, the very trace of his existence thinning out as he merged with the unnatural stillness.
Zach watched as the Ghast reached the corridor he was standing in, the massive Undead forced to smash the ceiling just fit in the hallway as it loomed above the Thief.
The Undead let out a keening wail, but it fell on deaf ears as Zacharias detachedly watched the Abomination pause in place, its leathery tongue erupting from its throat to once more taste the air.
It began to absorb the ambient Mana, just as it had done before. The tongue tendril inhaled deeply as it sought to consume the Halfling’s Mana. It was almost as if the beast could feel the stronger, more plentiful Mana in the air yet as it groped blindly with the tongue, it appeared to elude it.
Finally, Zach felt the waiting Shadows reaching his beating heart, and he felt its steady rhythm begin to slow within his chest. Even as the Ghast swung its claws in blind and overflowing fury, directly through the spot where Zach stood, its fingers simply passed through his body with barely a ripple in his Shroud.
There was no pride, no satisfaction in the Halfling’s now frozen heart as he achieved the perfect state of being for a Thief. Consumed by the icy realm where his Mana could freely make the impossible happen, Zach became one with his Shadow. Undetectable. Invisible. Intangible.
From another plane of existence, a being of immeasurable power desperately sought to escape the prison of its continued existence, a small piece of its essence travelling through time and space to merge with its lesser reflection.
That little wisp of power began to coalesce inside Zach, a burgeoning Pact creating itself in the Halfling’s chest as the connection between the two solidified further.
As the touch of the Divine manifested itself in Zacharias, his Crux became Silen-
Unfortunately, in a truly frustrating twist of fate, just behind the confused Ghast and the unlucky soon-to-be-Chosen, Skrakch finished completing his latest Rune in the Arena just through the doors behind Zacharias’ still form.
The “Black Hole” the Ratling had summoned and was hovering above the Arena, finished dragging dozens of Ghouls to their deaths and let loose a final burst of Arcane Magic that went spiralling outwards.
As the Rune burst, the ancient Runic Magic clashed with Zach’s Shroud, the slightest flicker of his Magic ebbing, and the Halfling let out a single, audible, stunned breath.
With all the fury that a mindless Abomination could muster, the Ghast slammed its meat-y tongue into Zach’s body and watched as the Halfling was sent careening out of the shadows that hide him.
One of his arms dangled lifelessly from his torso as Zach collided with the large wooden doors and flew into the splintered remains of the Arena. He could briefly see the confused looks on Squeakers' and the Goblin’s faces as they watched his bloody form skid and bounce against the floor, chunks of wooden splinters pressed into his body.
Confused and battered, the only thing Zach could muster as his body flopped pitifully against the stone floor was a single, confused whimper.
“Why?”