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[Arcalian]

Adrian's line held as Roenall's forces fell on it. Roneall's side had the professional soldiers, but Adrian's peasants, sellswords and half-trained militia were backed up by Adrian's own party, not least the Bhaalspawn himself, standing tall and grim, smiling at Roenall's advance.

Roenall's forces were unsettled by the monsters, so their lord directed his mages to unleash their spells on the foe encircling them. That was just fine by Adrian. It allowed his mages to focus on the foe in front of them. Edwin summoned a fallen Planetar, screaming in unholy rage. Imoen hurled a fireball into the midst of Roenall's ranks. Jan sent arcs of chain lightning into an enemy mage, then picked up his crossbow. Imoen aided him with the crossbow.

Down below, Korgan and Viconia strode into the foe, carving through them like knives through butter. Viconia did not yet deign to use spells.

"This is the best House Ru'nall can do?" she sneered, whirling the Flail of Ages the way her forebears had whirled the tentacle rods of old. "Pathetic."

Anomen ignored attack after attack that smacked harmlessly off his blood-red armor. He focused on the one priest in Roenall's ranks. With death in his eyes he closed. The enemy priest panicked, bringing up a quarterstaff.

"A priest of mask? Viconia is right, you are pathetic." He hammered the enemy cleric down easily.

Korgan was wreaking havoc, spinning his axes through everything that moved in battlerager fury. It was no contest for him. "I've had harder fights with kobolds!" He laughed. Aiming carefully, he cut off a pair of ears to add to his collection.

The monsters had come into play now, tearing into Roenall's flanks. Adrian's ordinary soldiers and pikemen were holding their own.

Roenall himself came face to face with Adrian and drew his blade. "You truly are a monster."

"There are only two differences between us, Roenall. You are as evil as I. The first difference is, I admit my nature."

"And the second?" Roenall sneered as he put his sword in guard position.

"I'm better at it than you."

Roenall struck first, and Adrian parried easily. Roenall's weapon was enchanted, and he was as classically trained fencer. Order, proceedure, nobility, arrogance, callousness, right by birth.

Adrians struck back with his greater power, individual initiative, selfishness, greed, focus, determination.

Lawful Evil versus Neutral Evil.

Roenall went high and Adrian went up to meet him; Roenall cut low and Adrian blocked him smarly. Roenall grinned and went for a disembowling slash. Adrian made no attempt to stop him, no attempt to parry. He simply let the blade spark harmlessly off his armor.

Roenall stepped back, aghast. "That shoud have--"

"I'm!" Adrian slashed hard and Roenall barely parried.

"Better!" Adrian struck again and Roenall was forced to give ground.

"Than!" Adrian kicked, and Roenall stumbled back.

"YOU!" Adrian Bhaalscreamed, and Roenall went down. An Ogre charged through, trampling Roenall into the mud.

Adrian stood over his fallen foe. Roenall was still alive, gasping, coughing up blood, staring up, dazed.

Adrian put his blade at Roenall's neck. "No contest."

"I yield," Roenall gasped.

"Yes," Adrian agreed. "You do." He stabbed down hard, pushing his blade through, into the ground.

He turned, to see a werewolf leaping onto an enemy mage and tearing him apart. Orcs fell on Roenall's rear ranks. The day was theirs.

But to their credit, Roenall's forces had more courage than their fallen lord. They would fight to the last. Two grim swordsmen stepped into the breach, not as skilled as their master but physically stronger. They reminded Adrian of the man he himself had been, on the road to Baldur's Gate.

"You need not die for him," Adrian said.

"Money was too good," the one on the left said. The one on the right simply shook his head, eyes like steel.

Adrian nodded and strode to meet them, blade spinning, shield held high. They came in, and Adrian parried one while blocking the other with his shield. They would not yield, chopping grimly. Adrian smacked one in the face with his shield and parried the other. The one on the left slipped past his guard and stabbed his blade into his arm, through the armor. Adrian nodded approvingly, dropped his own blade, grabbed the enemy's own and threw it away. Then he clamped his hand around that one's neck, and squeezed, hard.

As he snapped that one's neck, the other was hammering away at his shield, his armor. Finally he started aming for his head, and knocked Adrians helm off. Adrian threw the lifeless body of the first into the second, and sent him stumbling black. Picking up his own glowing green blade, he moved in, somewhat hampered by his wounded arm. They were fairly evenly matched.

Korgan came in from behind and chopped the man's legs off at the knee, right through the armor. Adrian smiled grimly, retrived his helmet, and strode off to find a new foe....