Seeming to tire of the assault, it reared back and stomped on the ground, sending a shockwave of energy through the ground. It hit Tarrin and Allia like a giant's fist, slamming them back and away from it, but both of them twisted in the air and landed on their feet. They didn't have to fend off the Doomwalker, however, for Camara Tal had re-engaged the monster, and the fact that her sword was glowing with a magical light said that she had prepared herself before coming back into the fight. Every blow from the weapon sent brilliant sparks of light flying away from it, and the impact with the Doomwalker's sword seemed to shudder it back, as if Camara Tal were a full-grown woman striking at someone with a child's strength. The Amazon was cursing and chanting at the same time, something that seemed to unnerve the undead warrior, and the silver amulet around her neck was glowing with a brilliant amber radiance. She beat the Doomwalker back, beat it back with several broad, powerful blows from her sword, then knocked its weapon to the side and levelled her sword to stab it through the belly. But as she made the thrust, the Doomwalker simply disappeared, reappearing right behind her, just as it had done to Tarrin. She moved just as fast as he did, sliding to the side, but it wasn't fast enough. It tried to impale her through the back, but her move had caused the blade of the sword to cut a deep gash in her side, a minor wound that would only need stitches to mend. But the act of twisting had caused a foot to slip out from under her, spilling her to the ground right in front of the undead monster. It raised its weapon to chop her in half, but backed up when Phandebrass faced off against it.
The wizard was also chanting, chanting in the discordant language of magic, and his body flared with a bright light. When it dimmed, he was again turned to steel, and he wasted no time going after the Doomwalker. He smacked the Doomwalker's weapon aside almost negligently, then levelled an overhanded punch that would have driven the monster through the ground. But the Doomwalker raised a hand, a hand pulsating with magical energy, then levelled it at Phandebrass. It coalesced around him quickly, then it flashed so brightly that Tarrin lost sight of the mage for a second. When it faded, Phandebrass was flesh and blood once again.
The Doomwalker had somehow cancelled out Phandebrass' spell.
"Oh, bother," Phandebrass snorted as he backed quickly away from the undead warrior. It hadn't been for naught, since he had given Tarrin and Allia time to get back to the Doomwalker, and had given time for Camara Tal to scoot out of the way. Tarrin bulled into it from behind, driving it to the ground under his weight, his claws immediately seeking to rip the Doomwalker to shreds. Where was Dolanna and Dar! They needed some help here! But the Doomwalker simply vanished once again, and Tarrin scrambled forward instinctively after it disappeared from underneath him, fearing it would appear behind him and try to skewer him.
But it hadn't. It was right on top of Allia, and it was trying to kill her before anyone could arrive to help her against it. But the Doomwalker was suddenly perplexed by the lithe Selani. Allia had sparred against Tarrin for so long that she had a keen understanding of how someone with inhuman strength fought. She understood the tactics that Jegojah was trying to use, and she used that knowledge to keep herself absolutely out of his reach. She was like a piece of silk, bending and swaying in the wind, always within reach but never where she could be touched, evading his sword and free hand rather than trying to parry it or fence with it. She knew that to try to match Jegojah strength for strength would be suicide, so she unleashed the full power of her inhuman speed and agility on it, speed and agility that even Tarrin could not match, and the Doomwalker found itself trying to fight smoke. Allia threw her weapons aside quickly and raised her hands into a guard stance, and fire appeared around them. It was a clever move, because she immediately turned and attacked the Doomwalker, using the Sorcery around her hands as weapons. The sudden assault took the Doomwalker off guard, and it suffered several burning blows from her hands before it could mount any kind of a defense against her furiously speedy attack.
Tarrin glanced back quickly. Faalken was standing between the Doomwalker and Dolanna and Dar, blocking any attempt to get at them, and Phandebrass had maneuvered to join the two Sorcerers. Dolanna and Dar had their eyes closed, and it was obvious that they were circling, joining their powers so their magic would be stronger than if they worked seperately. Spectators had gathered at a safe distance, watching the fight with morbid curiosity. After that quick assessment, he smashed his staff into the side of Jegojah's face from his weak side, sending the Doomwalker flying, landing heavily on the street several spans to the side. He made sure to send it away from the magicians, keeping them and their power out of Jegojah's reach.
Jegojah regained its feet quickly. " Aruja ne!" it boomed loudly, then it reached down and punched its fist into the ground. Tarrin gripped his staff nervously, but nothing happened. At first. Around the Doomwalker, the ground began to shift, then it began to move. Skeletal hands erupted from the ground around it, and four skeletal beings, all wearing rusted armor and carrying badly rusted swords, climbed out of the earth.
It had summoned reinforcements!
"In the name of Neme, Goddess of the Amazons, I abjure ye, creations of darkness!" Camara Tal suddenly boomed, holding up her glowing amulet. "Return to the earth whence ye came!"
Tarrin glanced at her in confusion, but what was more confusing was that her loud command worked. The four skeletal beings seemed to shudder slightly, then they just fell apart, piles of bones and rusted metal.
Jegojah glared at the Amazon, holding up its hand at her. A blinding bolt of lightning erupted from its hand, sizzling across the space between them, and it struck her right in the chest. She was catapulted backwards heavily, landing on her back, where she laid still, smoke wafting up from her chest. He could see that she was still breathing, still breathing, and that averted a sudden powerful urge to enter a rage and go after the Doomwalker. His anger rose several notches at seeing Camara Tal hurt, but she wasn't dead. Regardless of that, it was going to pay for injuring his friends!
With a gutteral shout, Tarrin dashed the distance between them and slammed into its side before it could turn that lightning on him. It staggered back, and he punched it dead in the face. He punched it again, again, and yet again, snapping its head back, then he grabbed it by the free hand and turned his back, then whipped it over his shoulder in an Ungardt arm toss, smashing it into the ground. It tried to stab him from the ground, but he slid around it and drove his padded foot into its breastplate, punching a deep dent into it, but it seemed unmoved by the assault. It slashed its sword across his leg, opening a long wound that bled profusely. The pain only intensified Tarrin's anger even more, and with a savage snarl, he brought his foot down right on the Doomwalker's head, crushing its face and making its body convulse sharply.
Tarrin staggered back as the sword moved again, and to his horror, the Doomwalker's face simply repaired itself. It was regenerating, the same way he did! It had never done that before! It was the earth. It was standing on the earth, and it was drawing the energy to heal itself, just as Phandebrass said! It returned to its feet and brandished its sword at him, grinning evilly from a restored face.
What were Dolanna and Dar doing?
He found out. He felt them release a weave, a very strong weave. The ground around them suddenly began to shimmer, and then it ceased. The Doomwalker looked surprised, then it frowned deeply. What had they done? Did they try to leech the earth of organic material, as Sarraya was supposed to do before the Doomwalker knocked her out of the fight? The Doomwalker immediately turned in Dolanna's direction, but Tarrin intercepted it, forcing it to abandon getting at his vulnerable friends and making it fight, fight him. Allia joined with him once again, and they pressed the Doomwalker mercilessly. Tarrin ripped a huge chunk of flesh out of its neck with his claws, and he saw that thought it did start to mend, it did so slowly. They had at least weakened the Doomwalker with their Sorcery! They continued to press it, but the Doomwalker seemed not as confused this time. Its sword moved with certainty and speed, moving precisely to counter their harmonious attack. It was starting to figure them out. Allia changed tactics, her hands still burning with Sorcerer's fire, darting back and letting Tarrin square off against Jegojah, then striking him from the flank. It turned to deal with her, but she back off again, forcing it to deal with Tarrin's powerful staff, working her way around it to strike at it from behind. Tarrin attacked with a series of complicated high-low sweeps with his staff, an intricate series he had used against the Doomwalker before, a series it had defeated every time. He knew it would defeat the attacks, but it was a very complex defense that would absorb all of the Doomwalker's attention and give his sister the time she needed to get into position.