[h3]Jaelnec, Freagon, Irah, Lhirin, Nabi, Yanin, Jordan and Madara – Forest north of Borstown, Bandit Farm[/h3]
“Then die,” Irah said in Fermian, and Freagon immediately started swearing internally. He figured that the purpose of switching languages was almost certainly because she knew that both Lhirin and himself would understand, whereas there was a high likelihood that this brute of an outlaw probably did not even recognize which language it was, let alone understand it. But that last part was the reason for his instant frustration with the decision to do so: this most likely uneducated individual would know nothing more than it was a language he did not know. He had also just warned them that Lhirin should not try “anything cute” while specifically describing his weapon as a “rune sword”, which meant he had experience with at least some kinds of mages.
Thus Freagon, even as he shifted his weight forward and began rapidly accelerating to close the distance between himself and their enemy, experienced a further worsening of his mood. He figured it was very likely that the bandit, who was in a very stressful situation and probably recognized the overwhelming danger he was in, would intuitively assume that Irah was casting a spell. And if he thought that, the knee-jerk reaction would probably be to wound or even execute his hostage.

But that entire line of logic turned out to be quite irrelevant. Before Freagon had even completed his first rapid step forward, his highly light-sensitive eye registered electrical sparks on the slender falchion and the dagger.
[I]You [/i]must[I] be kidding me,[/I] was the sentiment that swiftly made its way through the old knight's mind while he, as he burst into motion, could do nothing but watch human biomechanics under the influence of an electric current do their thing. The current was channeled into the weapons from which they would naturally surge groundward through the path of least resistance, which meant going through the bandit. From the weapons it traveled into his hands and forearms, causing the flexor muscles to contract and making it impossible for him to let go of either weapon. More importantly, however, it would also cause other flexor muscles to bend the arms inward... which did mean that the falchion was pointed in a less dangerous direction, but also that the dagger held at Bren's throat was abruptly and involuntarily jammed into the healer's throat. Not only that, but the ensuing struggle between spasming flexor and extensor muscles made sure that the convulsing arm would be moving uncontrollably, all while gripping the dagger tightly, thus twisting and jostling the blade inside the wound.
Needless to say, Bren was bleeding profusely, mortally wounded. At least it meant that Freagon did not have to worry about him anymore, and lightning-magic did render the bandit defenseless. All he had to do was end his worthless existence.

Freagon was there in a flash, and his sword was moving even before he had gotten there. He needed to get past Bren – even if he was already severely wounded, it would not do them any good to injure him further – which made it awkward to deal an instantly lethal strike. So rather than going straight for the kill, the first swift slash was delivered to the outside of the bandit's left unarmored upper arm. He aimed for the biceps and made sure to cut deep, though not deep enough to cut off the arm entirely, and severed the flexor muscles there. With those disabled only the extensor muscles were functional, which meant that the electrocuted arm involuntarily swung outward and away from Bren, both pulling the dagger out of his pierced throat and releasing him from the bandit's grip.
A brief jolt of electricity went through Freagon's arms as he made the cut, but he was ready for it and the contact was intentionally very brief. Killing the bandit with such superficial strikes was not feasible, however, at least not without access to his throat. So even while Bren was still in the process of falling forward and away from the bandit – a movement that seemed almost as though in slow-motion next to Freagon's maneuvering – the nightwalker circled clockwise to the bandit's exposed left side, raised Roct up so that its pommel was almost against his own chest and the point of the blade was aimed directly at the side of the bandit's chest.
Then he stepped forward and, regardless of whether his arms were electrocuted or not, used the momentum of his own body to drive the blade all the way through the man's ribcage, piercing his heart in the process.