Charlotte's strikes were faster than Milo had been expecting, almost as fast as Gilad, but he'd known she was going to attack since the first step she took towards him. The weird swaying thing she did with her tail and hips he didn't understand. Maybe it was something to distract him the way a cobra confused prey? In any case, her stance gave away both the hidden dagger and the preparation for the claw strike.

Milo had been sparring relentlessly with three very scary opponents. Gilad was a Master with decades of experience. Cremona had once been a leading claw fighter who had added the arcane spells from poison and death to her style. And Larry was a creature designed to slaughter his way through an army with strength and speed far beyond normal. Adding some rumba and tango moves had just made him that much tougher. Charlotte hadn't trained half that hard, and Milo was surprised when she managed to wound him, and he wondered if he was underestimating her.

His armored forearm blocked the incoming dagger. The steel in the dagger was inferior to the hardened bone of the Claws of Alta Viator and couldn't leave a mark. Milo didn't block the claw strike, choosing to take the hit and strike back while her defense was down. He'd learned to take small wounds if it would let him land a more devastating blow, and rely on his regeneration to heal him. All ratkin started with Weak Claw attacks. Charlotte had upgraded hers to Not-so-weak Claws. Her strike left bleeding furrows along Milo's abdomen, but they were minor wounds. Toughness negated some of the damage, and his regeneration began to knit his flesh back together. It hurt, but not like Charlotte was going to hurt when he struck back.

With a skill in Claw Fighting of Rank 6 and a STR of 4, Charlotte had a base damage of 90 points. Milo's claws did 210. As his forearm moved inside her dagger strike and her claws raked his belly, Milo brought up his left hand in a claw strike against Charlotte's side. She gasped at the pain as the claws tore through her light armor and into muscle. The pain made her freeze up and his right hand slashed downward starting at her shoulder, tearing deep furrows down her chest. She tried to roll away from him and use Disengage, but his tail slashed hard against her arm as she blocked her throat.

Milo was at 2033/2210 health. Charlotte had taken much more damage and was at 585 /1280. "Give up, Charlotte. I'm better than you and a lot tougher. Your poison isn't going to stop me and it will only take a few more attacks to put you down."

The injured Shadow Skulker hissed at him. "And that's why I hate you. You still think you're better than me. And maybe you are, at some things! I may not have the advantage of mutations, but I do have powerful friends who've gifted me with some tasty Battle Cheese." She took a chunk of cheese from her pocket and crammed it into her mouth, chewing fast. "I'll be good as new soon."

Milo's tail struck her again as she was chewing, slamming into her ribs and cracking bones. He moved forward to press the attack, but she scampered back quickly using Disengage, and leaping to a pile of crates. She ate another piece of cheese. "A little healing, a little more speed, and I'm good for round two." She sprinted back at him, clawing desperately. Milo was very surprised by the ferocity of the attack as they slipped past his defenses and left him bleeding. And she wasn't blocking his counterattacks at all. He'd definitely underestimated her. When he had a chance, he drew Shadowblight, and the weapon began humming.

"Gee, you take me seriously now? Using a weapon? You should have picked a better one. There's a reason Shadow Skulkers don't train with spikey sticks."

They moved around the room, often right next to each other, clawing and slashing. Milo was only able to hit her with Shadowblight once, but the effect was immediate as her thin armor cracked and fell to shreds. She barely noticed, lunging at him again with outstretched claws, forcing him to dodge and roll or be pinned into a corner. When he had an opportunity, Milo cursed her with Brittle Bones. It added some damage to his slashing attacks and doubled the damage from Mace Tail. He concentrated on feinting with Shadowblight and then slapping her hard with his tail.

After several rounds, they pulled back from each other, both of them fighting for breath and bleeding from many cuts. The difference between them was obvious. Milo was wounded and down some of his health at 1260/2210 while Charlotte was nearly dead. She slammed more cheese into her mouth, screaming at him. "I'm not done with you yet!!"

Milo didn't want to kill her. He still had questions he needed her to answer. His tail snaked up to his belt and grabbed his spanner. She seemed immune to pain and intent on dying, so blunt force might work best, letting him knock her unconscious. As Charlotte charged him head-on, eyes maddened and glowing red with rage, Milo leaped in the air and spun, hurling his spanner in a long arc with a huge amount of momentum. It caught Charlotte in the shoulder, knocking her down and shattering bones in her shoulder, arm, and chest. She moaned and Milo yelled at her. "Stay down now. And tell me who poisoned Bleusnout." He stayed ready to attack her with claws, spikey stick, and a spanner in his tail.

She laughed hysterically, laying on her back, struggling to get a breath into her shattered ribs. "You really don't know? Do you? They were so worried about you after you taunted Greensleeves about the Black Mold and Spider Cheese! They didn't know if you were threatening them, or wanting in on the deal. It never occurred to him and Rifkin that you were clueless. I'm going to laugh so hard when I bring them your head! You have no idea the power they handed to me. And so tasty." She stuffed her mouth with cheese and swallowed, before doing it again, while flipping backward. Milo her bones snap and grind and she completed the maneuver.

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Then, to Milo's astonishment, she stood up, and the bones in her shoulder and chest moved and reset themselves. Her wounds were healing right before his eyes. She flexed her large hands and her sharp claws grew longer. Large, mismatched red eyes lacking sanity stared at him. Milo put more distance between them, but Charlotte charged, and suddenly he was pressed as hard as if he was fighting Larry.

He put slashes into her, but she was healing at a fantastic rate. And far faster than he could when her much larger claws gave him wounds. He hit her repeatedly with Shadowblight, leaving bleeding wounds, but nothing seemed to slow her down He needed distance to use his spells. He feinted towards her eyes, and when she ducked back, he raced towards the pit.

He couldn't clear it in one leap, but there was a handy stalactite that his tail could grab letting him swing across. As soon as he landed, he launched two Harpoon of the Winds at her. Both spells hit her hard in the body, ripping open terrible wounds and lodging inside her. She growled, clawing at the wounds until her hands wrapped around them and she could tear them out. Using the time as best he could, he launched two more Harpoons, starting to drain his mana. She'd managed to tear only one from her chest before the next two hit. One tore into a shoulder, shattering her shoulder blade and the other penetrated her left eye, blood exploded from the wound. Charlotte staggered back, and Milo caught his breath.

She grabbed for the pouch at her waist and dumped all of the contents into her mouth, swallowing the mass of cheese whole. She screamed as she pulled the harpoons from her shoulder and chest, and then put both hands on the one in her eye and yanked it out. Her muscles swelled, her hands morphed into huge claws, while her shoulders and chest were sheathed in layers of muscle. He noted that the wounded eye didn't heal. There were limits even to a Cheese Fiend's regeneration, for that was what Charlotte had become. Not much was left of the slim assassin. She growled and began stalking him.

But Charlotte was clumsy now, her balance was off and her feet were huge. Milo knew from experience what Larry had been like once, with no agility, and a top-heavy body. Charlotte hadn't learned yet to run using her arms as front legs. She was in the horrible state of a newly changed fiend. He was able to move around and around the pit, throwing spells at her and forcing her to stop and tear out a harpoon, or stand up again when an explosion knocked her down. Her regeneration was slowing, but his mana was almost gone and he was winded and panting. She became hungry as her wounds quit healing, and suddenly she remembered the mound of cheese nearby.

Charlotte ran to the pile and grabbed a wheel of cheddar, chewing it down. It wasn't the carefully crafted Battle Cheese that she had devoured too much of, but it would still start healing her wounds and giving her energy. Milo realized he was in the worst place in the world to fight a Cheese Fiend. There were piles of cheese everywhere!

He got daringly close and lashed out with his tail, knocking the cheese out of her hands, hoping she'd chase him. She growled and grabbed another round of cheese. He knocked that aside and slashed at her back. She tried a backhanded claw attack while getting another chunk of cheddar and turning to him. His tail once again knocked the cheese out of her hands, but this time she caught his tail. He vaguely remembered Gilad warning him about this. She jerked hard and suddenly he was in the air as Charlotte whirled him around, cackling and laughing.

Round and round Charlotte whirled him. If not for his time spent in the Puke-n-Twirl he would have passed out. She took two steps and tossed him into the pit. He hit the far side, ten feet down the rockface, clinging desperately to the rock. His tail felt like it was broken, and likewise, one arm wasn't able to grasp the wall. Toes and one hand held him in his precarious position. Charlotte walked up slowly and looked at him, chewing on a ten-pound wheel of cheddar that looked tiny in her hand. Bits of cheese and drool fell from her mouth onto him. Then she threw up her arms in exultation. "Charlotte Wins! Charlotte always wins!" She leaned over, giggling at Milo, careless at the edge of the pit, then jumped up and down again, shouting, "Surprise, Suprise, Surprise!"

Milo saw a shadow behind her, moving forward. Whatever brave soul it was, he was facing a thousand pounds of muscled fiend. But she wasn't paying attention to Milo, lost in her dreams of victory. He tensed his legs and leaped upwarp, swinging Shadowblight as hard as he could, driving the point into the side of her knee where in a normal person a blow would be hugely painful. She howled and clutched at her knee, standing on only one leg, glaring down at him, then leaned over to grab him with her free hand.

Petey charged from the shadows, leaping and kicking her in the butt with both feet. She overbalanced, too top-heavy to pull back from the edge, and tumbled into the darkness of the pit with an echoing scream of rage and despair.

Petey looked down at Milo. "Hi. I'm thinking about becoming the next Death Master. Can I count on your vote?" He reached down to Milo and pulled him up to the top of the pit, both of them collapsing on the ground with relief.

Milo looked at the smiling, chubby ratkin. "Sure. I think you have all the right qualities for the job."

Petey held out a handful of candy. "Jellybean? The red ones are ripe and act like minor healing potions. You look like hell."