It really was too much to ask for the Kamal to take a day off. The defenders waited nervously for the ugly alloy ships to resume their onslaught of Windhelm, sobered with the knowledge of what was to come and the fear of what they didn’t know. The red morning skies earlier in the day hinted at storms later, while the more superstitious murmured about the blood to come. One didn’t have to look past the sufficiently reduced numbers of defenders on the docks compared to yesterday. Do’Karth stood, his posture widened and staff held off to the side, resting on the planks of the dock. He was clad simply in his budi, waist sash flapping lazily in the cool winds. He had decided to eschew the cloak today, despite the cold. He would be moving plenty in the minutes to come. 

At least the company was pleasant. Niernen, his dunmer friend from the day prior, stood astride with him, looking about as grim as the others at the dock, her coppery eyes wider than they usually were. The two of them had found common ground in being the vanguard in staving off death the day prior in their efforts to save lives, and now they had agreed that the best way to avoid a repeat of yesterday was to simply keep as many people out of harm’s way as possible. The defenders had to fighter smarter, not harder. And so, playing off each of their strengths and the fact both of them needed space to work, they stood apart from the others with a pair of guards on the flanks in case a more brutal touch was required. Niernen’s ample ability with Destruction magic would be brought into full force against the invaders, relying on Do’Karth’s agility and not insubstantial luck to keep the Kamal distracted and off balance. Even stopping one of those monsters would be an accomplishment, and the khajiit believed in keeping his goals modest, especially when it came to one-sided battles. Garm sat expectantly nearby, no doubt reassuring the dunmer woman that she’d have some protection of Do’Karth failed to keep the Kamal from her. 

The khajiit’s free hand clutched his amulet of Mara, staring at the approaching Kamal ships, knowing only minutes remained. “Is Niernen having second thoughts? Do’Karth is glad he is in good companionship, but he professes a certain displeasure at our chances. Do you think your flames will work?”

Niernen frowned and pursed her lips at Do'Karth's question. She knew that the khajiit didn't mean anything by it and wasn't insulting her ability deliberately, but she found her pride was stung regardless. [i]Of course they'll work, you stupid cat,[/i] she thought to herself. Her arms were spread, like a meditating monk, and small flames were dancing over her upturned palms. Out loud, she said: "They were... ineffective last time, but I was far away. With you as a distraction I hope I can get a little closer and really make them feel the heat. We'll see." 

Watching the ships approach, Garm started growling. Niernen shushed him quietly, reaching down to pet his head with her left hand; the dancing flames extinguished abruptly. "As for yourself, are you confident you can stay out of harm's way? If one of their attacks connects properly, I'm afraid we'll have to send you back elsewhere," she said, smiling at her own joke. She was glad she could still find the willpower to make jokes, but her confidence wasn't boundless. Her right leg was shaking, muscles suffering at the memory of old war-wounds and fearful of what could be coming. 

"Fret not, friend. Do'Karth has faith in your abilities. He would not have asked for your assistance if he felt you could not keep him safe." He tapped his quarterstaff against the dock twice. "This one would not use such a weapon if he did not have confidence in his ability to avoid being roasted or crushed, Niernen will see, Do'Karth is very quick. The Snow Demons will have very little consideration for you with this one in their midst." He returned her smile. He noticed her shaking leg and thought of his own, still somewhat tender from the exertions of the day before. Everyone had scars, it would seem. "Fear not, we will keep each other safe, yes? Besides, what better chance will we have to show the Nords how terribly uncreative they are at dealing with their problems." He nodded ahead. "Ah, our friends have arrived. Let's not disappoint."

"Right," Niernen said, clenching her jaw. The Kamal warships were on their final approach to the ends of the docks. The defenders had learned yesterday that the hulls were practically invulnerable without heavy-duty weaponry, so the skies remained clear of a barrage of arrows. Niernen herself reached inside of the essence of her being and drew on her magicka reserves, bringing the flickering flames in the palms of her hands back to life. Her mind was as taut as a bowstring, ready to unleash a horrific firestorm. She suddenly thought of her brother, Narzul, ebony warblade in hand, directing her incendiary wrath. Images of charred Argonian corpses flashed before her eyes. Niernen took a deep, shuddering breath, intensely aware of the devastation she could bring to bear, but she steeled herself with that knowledge. The Kamal were foreign invaders that had come to [i]their[/i] shores. This time, she wasn't the aggressor. This was self-defense. During the Dunmeri-Argonian war she'd always been bothered by their position as conquerors and slavers. No such doubt clouded her mind now. Her flames grew larger and the air around Niernen shimmered with heat. She was a Dunmer. This was Tamriel. "Mephala, weave my fate," she whispered. "Boethiah, fuel my wrath. Azura, judge me righteous." 

The warships hit the docks and the Kamal had no time to waste; gangplanks were laid and the icebrood warriors and mages stormed out of the hulls, leaping onto the docks with vigor, bellowing things in a foreign language. Drawing breath, Niernen responded in kind, yelling "N'wah! S'wit!" as loud as she dared without overexerting herself. Garm added a ragged howl, shaking his pincered head to and fro. "Let them approach, Do'Karth," Niernen said, her voice low and dangerous. "I want to cook them alive." 

The khajiit's hand tucked his amulet back into his budi without hurry, and he watched the enemy disembark, finding his center and letting the world around him go dull as he began a battle meditation, willing himself to become a single instrument that felt neither fear nor apprehension for what was about to come. Limbering his muscles, he began to twirl his staff in a rhythm, moving it in close sweeping motions as if rehearsing the many strikes at his disposal. All the while, his eyes did not leave the Kamal that marched towards him with bestial determination. He did not join Niernen's verbal sparring, instead preferring solstice in the building energy as the demon closed the gap. Sensing it was time, Do'Karth stepped forward to greet his adversary, knowing that he had the range and mobility advantage. 

Feinting a step and a strike to the right, the khajiit quickly flipped to the left when the Kamal shifted to meet him, his legs suspended in air as he already was beginning to bring his staff into a downward swing, aimed for the briefly exposed neck. The Kamal wasn't quite quick enough to shift entirely back with the shield, but its weapon managed to deflect the staff, causing it to harmlessly graze upwards. Do'Karth kept the edge of the water in his peripheral vision, knowing the Kamal would be wary to approach or make any wide movements around the edge of the dock. Doubtless they knew exactly how precarious of a position they were in in the vulnerable few minutes they were on the docks. The khajiit was counting on it. Pressing his attack, Do'Karth slipped low on a knee, swinging under the shield to strike the ankle, which connected, and bringing it back around behind his neck to quickly strike for the head, this time catching the shield-wielding beast off guard as it had flinched from the hardwood smashing into the unarmoured joint. The hit was staggering, and the Kamal stumbled briefly before regaining its composure. By then, Do'Karth had already rolled backwards onto his feet with an easy grace and had two feet perched on two of the support beams that held up the dock. The Kamal couldn't charge without risking itself, and the sudden flurry of feints, jabs, and quick swipes aimed at the upper torso and head forced the Kamal to take a cautious approach, holding its shield high.

Its attention was not on the dunmer mage, and its exposed flank was a sign the plan was working. Do'Karth grinned at his foe. "It must be hot inside all of that armour, no? Look at this nice refreshing water, so crisp. Here, let me help you get that helmet off!" He exclaimed, thrusting hard towards the exposed eye socket. 

[i]Gods, he's agile,[/i] Niernen thought to herself while she watched Do'Karth pivot, leap and strike. The kahjiit embodied everything Niernen had lost to the Argonian poison and she was struck by a pang of envy at his physical supremacy, but she suppressed that feeling quickly. Now was not the time for jealousy. Taking advantage of the opening on the Kamal's flank created by Do'Karth, she maneuvered around their foe's side, Garm and the bodyguards following close behind. The shimmering in the air intensified and fiercely hot flames surged around her hands, accompanied by a horrible, roaring noise. The very oxygen in the air was being consumed by the intensity of the Destruction spell Niernen was preparing. The Dunmer would have loved to just blanket the area in a wall of fire but that wasn't an option, what with Do'Karth jumping around, so it was time for precision strikes. Aiming at the Kamal's flank, Niernen fired off two shots of superheated plasma-fire with the force of a cannonball; the Incinerate spell at its most potent. She whooped in delight when the spells struck exactly where she'd intended and burned right through the outer layer of the Kamal's armor and melted the creature's skin in the cracks between the plates. It howled in agony, but Niernen gave it no respite and she fired off a third shot with the last of her magicka. Incinerate was a very powerful spell but it cost a lot of magicka to cast. The third spell barreled into an already weakened part of the armor on the Kamal's flank and shattered it completely, exposing the creature's ribcage to the air. Residual flames took hold and started eating away at its skin -- the howling turned into screaming. 

She hadn't felt this alive in years. Her blood was singing in her veins and and her muscles seemed to rejoice instead of whimper. Even the shaking in her legs had stopped. "I have to restore my magicka, Do'Karth! Keep it up!" Niernen yelled and reached for a vial of potion at her waist, quickly unstopping it with steady fingers, throwing her head back as she swallowed it in one go. [i]Two more vials left.[/i] 

The world had become an intense wall of flame, and Do'Karth recoiled, leaping back onto the dock and putting some distance between the Kamal and Niernen's fierce assault. The heat was oppressive, and he found himself covering his face with an arm to shield his eyes from the intense light and heat. After the last barrage in the mage's salvo, the khajiit recovered himself and took stock of the situation and was both impressed and somewhat envious of the apparent harm the dunmer had caused; whatever straps had fastened much of the armour of the Kamal had incinerated from the heat, and eventually the alloy had conducted enough of it to cause quite visible surface damage to the Snow Demon. Further confirming the Kamal's rather otherworldly presence, the repugnant stench of its scorched flesh was unlike anything Do'Karth had the misfortune of smelling, his sensitive feline snout recoiling in disgust. He almost felt bad for his quarter staff for what he had to do. 

Offering Niernen a wave to acknowledge he heard her, Do'Karth pressed his assault, the staff a flurry of savage blows against the creature's now exposed flank, which it was far too slow to properly react to. When it moved its weapon to cover the boiled-over ribs, Do'Karth struck low at the ankle, and when it bent lower yet to guard against that, he struck for its head, smashing the face plate so hard the Kamal's head recoiled back, filling the air with a sickening crack. The creature was howling in agony, stumbling blindly, and it was clear the fight was beginning to leave it. Once Do'Karth had the Kamal close enough to the edge of the dock, he planted his staff into the dock after a quick run and leaped forward, driving his feet into the chest of the larger fighter while the staff prevented the khajiit from falling. The Kamal stumbled backwards, foot catching the edge of the dock, and slipped into the frigid waters. Do'Karth righted himself, taking a moment to observe the wake with a frown. He had vowed to himself to never kill, but could these things been considered people? The atrocities they committed were unforgivable, and Do'Karth and Niernen had bested the Kamal to save more lives, but it ate at the khajiit that there didn't seem to be another way to stop his foe without resorting to means he knew were likely fatal for the Kamal. Did he really break his oath willingly, even if there were no other choice? 

It wasn't the time to ponder that, as more Kamal approached. He hoped Niernen was prepared, because the battle had scarcely begun. As Do'Karth squared off against the next Snow Demon that bared down upon him, a sudden explosion rocked the docks with a deafening blast that made the khajiit have to brace himself against the concussive force. The world seemed to stand still for a moment, save for the icy water that lapped over the tops of the dock as large waves rocked the harbour, and even the Kamal seemed to hesitate in the moment as all eyes were on the damaged ship, a large gaping hole in the side. "By the twin moons..." Do'Karth gasped in stunned disbelief, shaking his head to clear the sudden disorientation. He noticed two figures he immediately recognized as Sagex and Rose fall into the icy water and he felt his chest tighten. What had those fools done? If there was one thing that was decided, it was that the khajiit was tired of seeing his companions die, even if they were little better than strangers. Hissing in anger, his misgivings of his agency in potentially killing one of the Snow Demons was set aside as he rushed into battle to meet his spear-wielding enemy, intent on making the Kamal pay for its role in what had happened. 

The bodyguards that flanked Niernen cheered Do'Karth on as he slammed the Kamal into a watery grave with a beautiful pole-vault assisted leaping kick. Niernen was about to say something congratulatory when the concussive force of the explosion snatched her breath away. Her long, dark hair whipped around her face and the world went dark for a split second, after which she felt her knees hitting the dock with a painful [i]thud[/i]. Muttering an oath, she was glad for the protection of her padded leather greaves or she would have surely torn open the skin of her kneecaps on the rough wooden pier. Garm growled aggressively, body low to the ground, his pincers snapping shut repeatedly. One of the Nord bodyguards helped Niernen back to her feet, swearing colorfully himself, and the Dunmer woman tucked her hair back behind her ears. She stared at the destruction with wide eyes. Some of the Kamal had been blown out of the ship into the water by the explosion, which was good news, but she also spotted a distinctly Tamrielian body floating in the water. Hell, she recognized that man -- it was the Imperial from the day before. She'd seen him down on the docks when she was providing fire support from up on the walls. Niernen's brow furrowed and she shook her head, preparing another flaming onslaught as she did. The Nord bodyguards wisely backed away a few feet and kept their distance. 

She held her arms loosely by her side, palms upturned and flames dancing over them, while she stalked closer to their newest foe, a spear-wielding Kamal. Do'Karth had already approached and she could hear the cat-warrior hiss in anger, a sentiment she shared. [i]Senseless,[/i] she thought to herself. [i]This is all senseless.[/i] She raised her arms and put her hands together, like an artisan molding a clay pot, and poured magicka from both of her hands into a single spell. An unstable ball of fire started forming, sizzling and hissing like a furious animal and it seemed so hot and bright that the very air itself might catch fire around it. "Give me an opening," she said, her voice low and steady. It took great concentration to maintain the spell. "I'm going to blast this thing straight back to Akavir."

The spear posed a great threat to Do'Karth, who suddenly found his advantage in reach overcast by the much larger weapon, scaled up to match the Kamal's massive frame. Even its blade was almost as wide as the khajiit's arm, and the blade was long enough to piece through his chest and out the back. Unencombered by a heavy shield, the Kamal was much swifter, and it wasted no time putting Do'Karth on the defense with a series of swift and calculated thrusts, which Do'Karth either managed to avoid or deflect with his staff by striking against the shaft with his own weapon, causing a staccato of wooden thunks that wouldn't have sounded out of place in a training field with practice weapons. He realized his only hope of doing anything against this foe was to get within the Kamal's reach, where the blade's thread was neutralized. Deftly side stepping a thrust, which passed by his head close enough for the khajiit to hear the faint whistle of the blade cutting through the air, Do'Karth stepped in with both hands clutched firmly on the staff as he drove it up towards the Kamal's throat. The beast was quick, however, and Do'Karth suddenly felt the side of the spear smash into his side, throwing him off balance and skidding across the dock for several meters. 

Not having much time to react, Do'Karth scrambled to bring his staff above his head to block the sudden spear thrust that was aimed for his heart, catching the quillion behind the blade with the length of his staff and struggling with both hands to keep the blade from burying itself in his chest. The khajiit gritted his teeth, his arms straining under the intense effort and finding that he was losing ground, with the blade being driven steadily closer to his chest. The strain was enough that he didn't, and couldn't, call for Niernen for help. It was all he could do to hope she would not hesitate to do what was necessary. As if to emphasize Do'Karth's peril, the shaft of a flaming arrow hit the dock just shy of his head. [I]Wonderful, Do'Karth will either die by this Demon or his friends on the walls.[/I] he thought as his elbows began to bend under the strain.

There was something infinitely poetic about the dance of death between Do'Karth and the Kamal, like the ancient tale of Pelinal Whitestrake facing off against Umaril the Unfeathered. [i]If the skalds were here to see this, they would sing about Do'Karth for generations to come,[/i] Niernen thought to herself. Her breath caught in her throat when the Kamal seemed to get the upper hand and forced Do'Karth into an extremely defensive position, resisting the Snow Demon with nothing more than the strength of his arms. He didn't call for help but Niernen could see that Do'Karth was about to lose this contest of might and be disemboweled. Pouring every last drop of magicka into the spell she'd been forming between her hands, fueled by wrath, fear and righteous retribution, she cast it and the world went white. 

Accompanied by a horrifying, screaming noise, the spell snaked its way through the air towards the Kamal at blistering speed. It was fire, but almost unrecognizable; too bright to have a color. The air around them became so torrid that arcs of static lightning sparked off of every surface. It missed Do'Karth by inches, roaring past his right shoulder (possibly singing the outer layer of his fur coat), and hammered into the Kamal with the force of a laguna blade. The spell detonated violently on impact, showering the area behind the Kamal with gouts of liquid fire that caught hold onto the wooden docks and sparked tongues of flame that reached almost a dozen feet into the sky before fizzling out. In fact, the intensity of the spell's release was such that Niernen herself was forced backwards and almost fell down. 

During its brief, hypernovaic existence, the spell consumed so much oxygen that a significant vacuum had to be filled. Niernen could feel her teeth ache when it seemed like the world itself slammed slut with a sickening [i]crack[/i]. For a few seconds she couldn't see anything, the afterimages of the spell burned into her retinas, but the sound of enormous flames and boiling flesh was unmistakable. Fear struck her. The spell had been unstable, unwise and possibly out of her reach. What if she had killed the Kahjiit? "Do'Karth! Are you alright? Please be alive!" she yelled, her voice hoarse. Enormous fatigue struck Niernen and for the second time that day she fell to her knees, head swimming. "Please..." she whispered as her sight returned to her. 

The Kamal was immolated from head to toe. Its spear had disappeared, flung uselessly into the icy waters. As the flames covering it died out, Niernen could see the damage she had done; the Snow Demon's breastplate had fused with its flesh and enormously foul-smelling, dark steam was wafting out of it. Its footing had been excellent when the spell struck, considering how much forward momentum and force the Kamal had been applying to Do'Karth, and that meant it hadn't been bowled over. It stood, teetering from side to side, before something gave away beneath it and the Kamal abruptly fell halfway through the wooden planks of the docks. Its wide torso caught on the edges of the ragged hole and there it remained, like a half-buried statue from an ancient civilization. 

It was still alive. 

Niernen saw Do'Karth and almost cried when she realized the catfolk wasn't dead. "Oh, thank the gods," she said and closed her eyes, her head sinking forwards. Faintly, she could feel Garm poking her side with his pincers, whining quietly. The Nord bodyguards cursed somewhere behind her. [i]You have to kill it, Do'Karth,[/i] Niernen thought, too weak to say the words out loud. 

And the world exploded. One moment, Do'Karth's eyes were locked with the hateful orbs hidden behind the crude and hideous helm, and the next everything was fire and unbearable heat. Do'Karth couldn't even yell as the oxygen around him was consumed by the hellstorm, the sudden sensation of not being able to breathe being almost as panic inducing as the flames that surged over him, engulfing the Kamal and mercifully avoiding him entirely. His eyes clamped shut as they felt like they were drying out, and the damp water that had permeated his clothing and fur from the wet dock was evaporating in painful vapor. 

What felt like one hundred years passed, although it couldn't have been more than several seconds, and suddenly the heat passed with what was a sudden chill as the Skyrim air filled the void the spell had caused. Do'Karth wheezed as his lungs greedily took in the much needed air, forcing the khajiit to cough violently for several seconds as he regained his senses. Fumbling for his belt, Do'Karth found his potion pouch and his heart surged as he discovered his vials were intact. Pulling one of his health potions free, the khajiit pulled the cork free and he drank the fowl-tasting elixir in hurried gulps and collapsed back to the dock, his strength ebbing. [I]You cannot stay here. Get up. Move.[/I] a voice in the back of his mind urged. With effort, Do'Karth rolled to his side and pushed himself up, finding himself staring at the charred body of the Kamal, incapacitated but somehow still alive, the creature making a sickening wheeze as it clung to what little life it had left. It would be a mercy to put the thing out of its misery, but it was defeated. The gods would decide its fate, not Do'Karth. It had not been all that long ago he had found himself in similar peril, clinging to the barest thread of life with wounds that should have been fatal, but the gods had seen fit to give him a second chance. Perhaps that was the fate of the Snow Demon, or it would perish in agony. 

Do'Karth found his staff, miraculously unscathed in the hellstorm, and he used it to prop himself to his feet, where his old injury screamed at him in his leg. The staff became a crutch as he limped towards safety, and away from the no-doubt dazed and disoriented invaders, and he reached Niernen and the Nord guards that had watched over her. He offered a weak smile, hoping his fur didn't smell like the Kamal did. "This one is quite pleased at your mastery of the flames, Niernen. A lesser mage might have made this one's day much less fortunate." he coughed, his throat painfully dry. One of the Nords offered him a water skin, which he took gratefully and took a drink. It felt liked a parched parcel of farmland being irrigated by water after a drought, the sensation wonderful beyond words. "Perhaps a bard saw our deeds and will compose us a song." He mused, looking at the dunmer with renewed admiration. "Do'Karth thinks we make a good team." 

After taking a few deep breaths, Niernen's head stopped spinning. She found her feet with the aid of one of the Nords and watched Do'Karth approach, struck by a pang of guilt when she saw he was limping and leaning on his staff. Then again, he would have been killed by the Kamal if she hadn't intervened. [i]Lesser of two evils,[/i] she thought to herself. "Perhaps they will," she responded to his quip about the bard, and returned his smile with her own. "I agree. We [i]do[/i] make a good team. I don't think I've ever seen such a gracious, acrobatic distraction before. You were amazing." Taking another deep breath, Niernen ran her hands through her hair and laughed as some of the morning's tension left her body; a pleasant, pealing sound that elicited chuckles from the Nords and a content growl from Garm. 

She turned her head to look at the trapped Snow Demon and stared at it for a few seconds. When it became evident that neither Do'Karth nor Niernen felt like delivering the coup de grâce, one of the Nord guards drew his sword, carefully approached and ended the Snow Demon's wheezing agony with a thrust to the chest. Niernen averted her gaze, her jaw working and her fists clenched. [i]So much senseless death.[/i] "Let's be away from this place, Do'Karth. We both need to rest," she said, hoping the Khajiit wouldn't be so fearless as to want to continue fighting. 

The khajiit offered a tired, but grateful smile. "This one is humbled. One needs to be nimble when eschewing armour, as is the preference of Do'Karth's people. The desert is no place for heavy plates and mail." He said, feeling relief at the sound of the sword ending the Kamal's life. Arrows continued to rain upon the attackers, and there were screams about vampires and werewolves, convincing Do'Karth everyone had lost their minds. Nodding and limping in step beside Niernen, the two fell back towards the reserve lines to be relieved. "Let someone else have a turn at combustion. Once was enough for Do'Karth." the khajiit agreed with a tired chuckle.