Sigurd’s blade cut a bloody path down his enemy’s back, but he had seen the assault coming once again and minimized the damage sustained. Time was running out for the Northman, everything he attempted was scuppered either by magic or instinct, and the take-down was coming. He felt himself lifted by his enemy’s sudden jerking movement, the belt at his waist straining under his own significant weight. As he felt the unstoppable flow of his centre of gravity falling forward his left hand jerked the shield away to splatter on the ground off to his left, instinctually removing the impediment where it would serve no further purpose. Unfortunately he could not do the same with the blade, but with the edge turned it should cause him no additional harm, even as he was near effortlessly dropped on the floor. The Northman had guessed his enemy was strong, but the action was still carried out with frightful power.

What Gigue perhaps could not count on was Sigurd had his own strength advantage in the form of the stone arm, as his body dropped onto the earth the left arm was outstretched in such a way that would have broken an ordinary appendage. Not fully extended by any means, but enough so that when Sigurd landed his right arm bore less of the force of his collapse and his body was off-tilt, just for a moment. It still took his breath away in a great gust, but adrenaline and near panic overwhelmed pain and discomfort, replacing it with a desperate strength he shared with his larger foe. With impressive speed and reflex Sigurd pushed off with his left arm upon landing, spinning his body anti-clockwise even as Gigue collapsed upon him. That was not all however, the act of rolling also shot his left arm back and into a vicious elbow strike that Gigue would find more unpleasant than any he had experienced before, the hardness of the stone and the magical strength of the arm more than sufficient to shatter ribs. The move complimented Sigurd turning his upper torso to face his foe, at the very least he would look into the masked face of the man who would kill him.