[color=8B8970][center][h3]Adamiir Thiich - Kvatch Courtyard - Competing in a Staring Contest[/h3][/center][/color]
The scamp seemed to be staring up at Adamiir, it’s lifeless eyes angry black voids that seemed no different in life than in death. Thinking back to the possibility of a goblin afterlife, he then had to consider where it was that beasties such as this went after death. Before Adamiir could delve deeper into that line of thought, a sudden gust of movement to his left tore him away from his focus. With a wide jump backward and a twirl of his fingers, Adamiir cast a weak invisibility spell to avoid the slashing claws of a second beast, perhaps coming to avenge its fallen comrade. He snorted at the thought as he worked his way behind the scamp, which was twitching its head around in confusion, ineffectually searching for the vanished Breton. Adamiir suddenly lunged into the scamp from just behind its right flank, hands searching for and finding purchase on the demon’s neck and shoulder as they tumbled to the ground. With the element of surprise on his side, and electricity coursing from Adamiir’s fingers and into the scamp’s body, the skirmish ended quickly and with a clear victor. He clambered back to his feet, releasing a few shaky breaths and checking himself over. Aside from a few cuts and scrapes here and there, the mage appeared to be in relatively good shape.

[color=8B8970][b]“Now there’s just more of me to be chopped into pieces later!”[/b][/color] He said cheerily to no one, a tangled laugh escaping his throat. Not too far away, Adamiir spotted the rest of the group converging towards the portal, through the now opened gates. He began to follow, and thought, not for the first time, that they were all very out of their depths. How exciting though, to be one of the first people to enter the Deadlands in who knows how long? Hell, maybe they were the first, period. 

At the very least, it was shaping up to be a smashingly intriguing experience.

[color=CD0000][center][h3]Veeza - Kvatch Courtyard - Dancing with a Demon[/h3][/center][/color]

Veeza and his opponent circled each other, eyeing one another warily. For Veeza, such caution was necessary given his particular talents, anything that either possessed a weapon or happened to be bigger than him was something to be reckoned with; this dremora was both. For the dremora, anything attempting to fight it that was also smaller than it and lacking any noticeable weapon was either a spellcaster or insane. Regardless of which this lizard was, he was potentially dangerous either way. 

Veeza was the first to act, a lunge towards the demon that was cut short by a brandish of its blade, forcing him back. A guttural sounding chortle erupted from the dremora’s throat. So it was insane, then. It began to produce a quick series of jabs and thrusts as it advanced towards Veeza, forcing him off balance and away. Upon rearing the blade back for another stroke, the lizard suddenly rushed forward, catching the dremora’s wrist within his hand before the edge of the blade could reach flesh. The two locked eyes for a split second before Veeza wrenched his arm sharply, twisting the dremora’s wrist until a sickening crack emanated from it, causing the blade to clatter to the ground. Its cry of pain quickly vanished into another laugh as it cuffed Veeza across the face with a gauntleted fist, separating the two once again. 

Once again the two warriors circled each other, both bearing the badges of their previous exchange. A few beads of blood leaked through the scales on Veeza’s face, just below his right eye. Across from him, he could see the dremora’s right hand dangling uselessly from its socket. He paused momentarily as his foot brushed against something - a stone. Veeza paused and carefully knelt down, hands curling around the object as the dremora looked at him in moderate confusion. Understanding would only dawn on its face a moment too late as the stone was flying out of Veeza’s hand and into the dremora’s skull, knocking it to the ground. The last thing the dremora would ever see was the mad lizard’s armored heel hurtling towards its face, intent on finishing what the stone started. 

The Grand Champion of Kvatch studied the corpse before him for only a moment, before turning away without ceremony. Veeza sent a silent prayer to Talos as he approached the Oblivion Gate, ignoring those that had not yet entered, stepping through without missing a beat.