Taris stepped forward at Envy’s urging, angry but calm. Nobody noticed the muscles bunching through his body, and he launched into a portal of darkness. He came out behind Drugan less than a heartbeat later, kicking him into a corner. The three thieves wasted no time rushing over to Taris. The assassin was shaking in rage, his eyes glowing in the darkness, “Get her out of here Envy, I’ll make sure nobody can follow.” He tossed a pendant to the rogue Kartaian and cut open a portal for them, “Take this and I’ll find you. Just get as far out of the caves as you can and find a carriage or horses. Head straight back home and do not stop until I find you.”

Drugan pulled himself upright in the corner and Taris turned to face him. “Go,” he told them over his shoulder. “You,” he said to Drugan, “arm and armor yourself. I’ll not get any pleasure killing an undefended elf.”
The giant laughed, “They’re not getting her out that easy. And if you wish it that way, so be it.”

He held his arms out and the shadows swirled around him, fading away into jagged bone armor. A long, wicked looking blade appeared in his hand. Taris’ eyes widened slightly at this show of control of the shadows. Drugan noticed and laughed harder, “Come assassin, if you entertain me I may let you live to watch me violate her delicious body every night. And I know Vier’na has been looking for a new toy as well.”

The shadow elf burst at him, daggers flashing into his hands. He pushed the giant back with the speed and ferocity of his strikes. He scored a small cut on his opponent’s leg and Drugan roared, kicking him in the stomach. The tall elf reached down and brought his finger up, covered in blood and charred skin, “What is that?”

Taris struggled to his feet, his armor taking half the blow. “Sun’s Dew, my Uncle was an alchemist. Taught me a few things before I crossed the Great Barrier. I thought it might come in handy today,” he explained between gasps. The taller elf grimaced and set lower in his stance, a sword appearing in his main hand. “I’m officially impressed,” he said, the grimace turning to a smile, “I will enjoy breaking you like your dear lover there.”

They dashed at each other, their blades turned to blurs. The assassin had the speed, but the Kartaian had both strength and reach, and Taris soon found himself overmatched. He barely deflected most of the strikes sent at him, and suffered several cuts to only a few of his own. There was a flurry of blows from the giant and the shadow elf flew past the thieves across the floor, bleeding from a dozen wounds. Russel moved to help him and Taris just shoved him back with a growl, “Help her.”

Drugan smiled a predator’s smile, a sadist’s smile. “She held out for so long you know. She surprised all of us, kept crying that ‘Taris will save me’ and drivel like that. It was so very sweet to finally see the fire die from her eyes. It made me so hard, I think I nearly ripped her.”

Envy shouted a warning to Taris, but it was too late. The shadow elf let out a scream of rage that became a wolf’s howl. His skin shimmered, and the black burst from him and his blades into a cloud of shadow, leaving his skin momentarily it’s true dark red-ash color. The shadows swirled around him, and reattached to him, forming incorporeal wings behind him for a moment. A shadow of a wolf’s head settled over his, and there was another howl that echoed through the entire cave system, jarring the nerves of everyone in them. His eyes flashed, and became pools of obsidian.

When he spoke, it was the voice of a true demon, “You and your kin will die in this place, Drugan.”