This wasn't Amal's first time in a dangerous situation, but he had to admit the ratmen swarmed like locusts. It took all of his skill to keep their gnashing teeth and bladed weapons from cutting off anything vital, though he was nicked and gashed a dozen times over. Twice he had to relocate and leap over carefully lain stone blocks and bronze outcroppings to stem the tide as more and more skaven ascended to his level and went after him. He slit a pursuing ratman's throat, making that his seventh kill. He felt pretty good about his tally so far, wondering if Emmaline was watching. 

There was a flash that had even the vermin that chased him distracted, and he couldn't help but glance upwards as well to see Emmaline summon a power that would have given Settra pause, scything a beam of energy through multitudes of the spewing horde that still tried to claw its way out of the ground below. It boiled a ratman-like giant alive and burned through scores of the clanrats. 

Well, perhaps he wasn't [i]that[/i] impressive. But he'd saved her life many times before, right? Only fair that she paid it all back now in one great sweep. Good timing too, as the lizardmen began to reform, a few of the skinks and a Saurus warrior having been overwhelmed and hacked to death not moments before. In the square, as Amal was eviscerating a still distracted Skaven, an orb of light and darkness lifted up with an eerie slowness. 

Monk rats covered in mucus and bandages were now among the throng, screeching like banshees and loping into the lines of the lizardmen, hacking with rotted clubs and vomiting on them. To their credit the Lizardmen handled it quite well, as the vomit seemed to eat through the stone beneath them and the Lizardmen seemed only somewhat effected by the strange vileness that erupted from their throats. 

Behind them, a darkly clad ratman with horns curled around a grey skull-cap rushed forward, letting the minions distract and shield his movements as he tried to make his way towards the sphere. Amal turned to look back at Emmaline and saw the fear in her eyes, and came to the conclusion that it would be a bad thing were he to obtain it. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and Amal gave her a fierce grin that spoke volumes. 

"Amal!" She cried, but he had already leaped off the ziggurat's lower level, landing atop the sweeping tide of fur and scuttling. To her amazement, he never touched the ground. Expertly he leaped from skaven to skaven, running over the advancing skaven like they were rocks amid a flowing river. Furious seconds passed until he reached the edge, and with one great, savage leap the Arabyan flew off the vermin army and tackled the Skaven shaman just before he reached the orb, wrestling with the strange creature and trying to pry its eldritch staff out of its hands. 
[@Penny]