The Duel of Seven

The Conflict

Prelude

Keesha Knight heads toward The Temple of Elemental Evil, following the direction of the recent "Storm of Black Lightning". Her instincts tell her that The Temple must be involved with the missing Children of Karja Tal. Being one of the best intel gatherers within The Order of Ix, its leadership sends her on mission to scout out The Temple and report her findings. Upon arrival, Keesha sees a gathering of very tall Human men standing casually in the courtyard of The Temple. Although Keesha takes great precautions to conceal her location, a particularly large man calls out to her, seeming to know exactly where she is:

"Come on out now, Dearie. No use in playing games. Come, let us meet. I offer you Parlay. No one shall harm you here .. unless you want us to!"

The man smiles wickedly, but Keesha can tell his smile is not deceptive, but rather "sporting and curious". Keesha walks out from her hiding spot, a greatly deformed tree whose trunk is blackened and whose branches offer a strange, purple hanging fruit she's never seen before. The man smiles as Keesha walks into the courtyard. "Ah that's better. You're a short one aren't you?" He laughs, which causes the rest of the men to laugh as well. Keesha takes a good look at everyone, taking advantage of this period of disarmament. The man standing before her is easily 7 feet tall, muscular, lean -- certainly a fighter or barbarian, she thinks. Not only is he tall and muscular, he's proportionately so. He's not gangly or mishapen, as the rare humans that are this tall often are. His body is covered in blue and red tattoos -- glyphs, runes, and geometric designs cover his bare chest, back, and legs. His eyes are ice blue and his hair a shockingly fierce red. He certainly appears to be of Viking stock, she thinks, however this one is just .... huge. Certainly a different type of Human, or perhaps an entirely different race altogether. Next to him, stands a Knight, or perhaps a Paladin, donning blacked plate mail armor that somehow seems metallic and organic simultaneously. He stands quietly, resting his hands on the pommel of the Greatsword he has stuck into the ground before him. She can not see his face, as he is wearing a Greathelm made from the same material. The two others, similar in height and lineage, stand to the right of this Knight. One of them seems to be an older man with thinning white hair. He wears the robes of a Mage most certainly, however Keesha is not familiar with the Order or Guild its colors and designs would normally communicate. The other, a very muscular man with the wild hair, beard, and look of a Berzerker. He stands with his mouth slightly open; having seen the look a thousand times before, she can tell he is thinking lustful thoughts about her, as his eyes openly and unabashedly trace every part of her body. She smirks at this and says to him "Keep dreaming big boy. You couldn't handle this." Her comment sends the men into a great bellowing fit of laughter. The red-haired man with tattoos wipes the tears of laughter from his eyes after a minute or so and replies,"Oh... I think he can handle you alright. You wouldn't be able to walk for a year after he handled you!" He then sticks out his left arm, clenching his hand into a fist, and holds his left elbo with his right hand, insinuating the size of the Berzerker's manhood. The Berzerker smiles and laughs, flashing a full of set of teeth, all of which have been filed down to sharp canine points. Previously smiling along with the men, Keesha's face turns suddenly serious. "The kids. I know you have them. Give them to me now." The men look at each other with confusion, then burst into laughter once again. The red-head says "and what makes you think we're going to do anything like that, young missy.. hmm?", his own face turning into a hardened visage. "What makes you think that I won't just add you to my .. collection?" Keesha shrugs and says "I'm sure between the 4 of you, you could.. but that wouldn't be very chivalrous now would it? Four of you big, strong men against teeny, tiny, little ol' me?". The red-head responds, "Chivalry? You'd like chivalry? Ok then... how about him? He's the very embodiment of chivalry!", pointing to the Knight standing next to him. "What do you say Ljörd, feeling chivalrous today?" Ljörd nods once, keeping his gaze on Keesha closely. Keesha nods back to him then says to the red-head, "I'd love to dance with him. But we parlay ... are we doing this to the death ... or just at first blood? And by the way, I didn't catch your names...." The red-head returns a glowing smile to his face. "I admire your spirit, Keesha Knight. You are as they say you are". Keesha blinks upon hearing her name escape his lips. Who is this motherfucker?, she thinks to herself. "Yes!", the red-head continues, "we are under parlay... so how about this? You two ... dance... for 7 rounds. If you both live, we shall end this parlay to meet again in the future. We'll call today a .. "social call" .. as you humans put it. If one of you should die, the other gets to use the other's body however they see fit!" The berzerker smiles at this last statement, looking at Keesha's body with new ideas in mind. "How does this sound, Sai Knight? Acceptable?" Keesha considers his offer for a moment and says "Yes. Yes it does, Sai .......?" The red-haid says "ah yes! Where are my manners? I am Uxin. Your dance partner is Ljörd.. and this older gentlemen goes by the name of "Uncle". And your boyfriend there, let's call him "Barney" for now". Uxin winks at "Barney"; Barney growls at Uxin. "You know I hate that name". "I know. That's why I love it!", Uxin replies to Barney. Barney shakes his head in disappointment and stares back down at Keesha. "So! Let's see what you got, Sai. Knight! Or do you prefer Lia Mercellion, daughter of Krellis Mercellion the drunk and Mercia Atellis the dead?". Uxin's smile grows broadly, awaiting for Keesha's response. "Keesha is fine. Keesha is actually great, as you'll soon find out", she says as she walks into the middle of the courtyard, looking back at Ljörd, beckoning him to the challenge with her eyes.

Battlefield

The courtyard directly in front of The Temple of Elemental Evil.

Duel of Seven by Temple Steps by Chad Watson via Midjourney

The Engagement

Ljörd, a Human male dressed in entirely black plate mail armor, stands 6'7" and weighs 275 lbs. He is armed with a Greatsword and dagger. Keesha Knight, a high-elven female, wears blackened elven chain mail armor, and uses two daggers. She stands 5'10" and weights 147 lbs. Keesha prepares herself for battle -- tightening her straps and laces, and braids her hair on both sides in "pig-tail" fashion. Ljörd stands quietly, resting the heel of his hands upon the pommel of his Greatsword, quietly awaiting Keesha to be ready.

The Weapons

Ljörd: Aegis Blade (Shadow Form). This two-handed greatsword is entirely black and edged with gold. He wears Legendary Black Dragon Scale Armor. Starting hit points: 204 Keesha Knight: Dagger of Venom, a Dagger +1, Archfey's Gift, aka "Archfey" , (named hand crossbow), Give (named hand crossbow) and a Vorpal Longsword. She wears blackened Elven Chain Mail Armor +1. Starting hit points: 225

The Duel

Keesha Knight wins initiative and with her Thieve's Reflexes, gains an additional turn in combat during the first round, which follows Ljörd's turn.

Round 1

: Keesha strikes Ljörd using her Dagger of Venom with a natural 20. The venom from the dagger flows freely, however Ljörd makes his Constitution Save and avoids any additional damage from the venom. However, due to her critical hit, the Dagger of Venom pierces his left lung slightly, causing him additional damage. She also strikes with her Dagger +1 successfully. (13 points from DoV, 6 pts from D+1 ) Total Damage: 19 points Ljörd strikes with a natural 20 with his Aegis Blade. The blade causes her to be Frightened on her next round of attack (rolling at a disadvantage), as she saw the face of the entity that lives within the blade as it struck her. A green aura emanates from the sword's blade, causing additional Necrotic Damage. (13 pts from sword strike, 28 points from additional necrotic damage due to Rampant Decay -- an effect of the sword when a natural 20 is rolled). Additionally, her max hit points are reduced to 197 due Rampant Decay. His secondary attacks with Inflict Wounds, causing Keesha an immense amount of damage (43 points). However, she uses her Uncanny Dodge reaction to halve the amount of damage (from 43 points to 21 points) Thirdly, he uses his Dread Lord Shadow Attack, which forms an Aura of Gloom that surrounds him in a 30 foot radius, which last for 10 rounds. Because Keesha is frightened, this gloom causes her additional psychic damage at the start of the next round if she remains in the aura. Total damage : 61 points. On Keesha's bonus turn granted from her Thieve's Reflexes, it is forfeited due to the Frightened condtion that Ljörd set upon her when he critically hit her with the Aegis Blade. She instead dashes away from him, going past him and behind him making it 60 feet away from him (he stands to the West, she stands to the East). As she dashes away, she triggers her Dragon's Ring of Blinking, which sends her to the Ethereal Plane. She can see Ljörd dimly in the grays and black smears that make up the Ethereal Plane, but she manages to shake her fear (makes her saving throw) End of Round 1: Ljörd: 185 HP :: Keesha: 174 HP (60 feet apart)

Round 2

Keesha: Keesha emerges from the Ethereal Plane, behind Ljörd by 60 feet. She snaps her wrists outward, effectively loading her handcrossbows named Give and Archfey's Gift. She has advantage on her rolls as she has gained the Sneak Attack condition. She aims Archfey and it delivers a crossbolt to Ljörd's back; when the crossbolt hits, it emits a Sonic Boom, which in total causes 8 points piercing damage, 5 points Sonic boom damage (and also pushes Ljörd forward by 5 ft), and 45 points Sneak Attack damage, for a total of 58 points. Keesha then whispers to Give, expending 4 of its 10 charges to Cure Wounds, curing herself by 15 HP. Keesha considers closing in on Ljörd, but rolling a 28 on her Arcana check, she considers the Aura that surrounds him and decides to stay out of the Aura for the time being, knowing enough about it that she feels it could cause her harm should she fall under a Frightened condition while within that aura's radius. Keesha's Dragon's Ring of Blinking once again blinks her into the Ethereal Plane, the back into the Prime material plane 10 feet closer to Ljörd. Ljörd: Ljörd, hit by the Sonic Boom, rolls a Dex Save vs. DC 15 at a disadvantage (since he was surprised). He rolls an 8, which is a fail, and thus the Sonic Boom knocks him prone. He can do no other action this round. End of Round 2: Ljörd: 127 HP :: Keesha: 179 HP

Round 3

Keesha: Keesha once again fires at Ljörd with Archfey, hitting him with 13 pts piercing damage, sending a Holy Shot bolt for an additional 3 points damage. She then fires Give, delivering an additional 13 points damage, for a total of 29 points. She does not Blink this round. Ljörd: Ljörd casts Hellish Rebuke ( a reaction spell that triggers the next time he gets hit) on himself, then dashes towards Keesha closing in on her. While he can not engage in melee combat, he commands the Aura of Gloom that surrounds him to attack her , causing 18 hps necrotic damage to her. She uses her Uncanny Dodge to halve this damage to 9. Catching up on his Aegis Blade's Major benefit, he regains 16 HP due to the healing property it gives per turn (caught up on 3 turns) End of Turn: Ljörd 114 HP :: Keesha: 170 HP

Round 4

Keesha snaps her handcrossbows back into her sleeves then draws her Vorpal Longsword and Dagger of Venom. She strikes Ljörd soundly with her Dagger with a roll of 19, causing him 9 points of damage. Additional, she hits him with her Vorpal Longsword, causing him an additional 13 points damage. Her ring then blinks her into the Ethereal Plane, popping her 10 feet south back into the Prime Material. Ljörd spins on his heel then attacks Keesha with his Aegis Blade, hitting her and delivering 26 points damage. He hits her once more for 20 more points damage, for a total of 46 points. Keesha uses Uncanny Dodge and only takes half of the 26 points, so final total is 13 + 20 = 33. As a bonus action Ljörd infuses his Aegis Blade with Gift of the Black Dragon, which will deal an extra 1d4 acid damage for the next 10 rounds. He then heals for 6 hp from his Aegis Blade End of Turn: Ljörd: 120 HP :: Keesha: 137 HP

Round 5

Keesha tries to hit with her Dagger of Venom and Vorpal Longsword, but misses on both attempts. Her ring then blinks her into the Ethereal Plane. There, she takes a Greater Healing Potion and chooses to remain in the Ethereal until the start of the next round. She is healed for 18 hp. Ljörd, seeing that Keesha did not instantly blink back, uses his round to Lay on Hands on himself, healing himself for 84 HP, restoring his HP to full capacity (204 HP). End of Turn: Ljörd: 204 HP :: Keesha: 155 HP

Round 6

Keesha blinks back into the Prime, this time directly behind Ljörd,giving her advantage on her attacks. She hits with her Dagger of Venom, delivering 9 points of stabbing damage and 39 points on Sneak Attack. She then hits with her Vorpal Longsword for 15 points, for a total of 54 points. She then blinks back into the Ethereal Plane, taking another Greater Healing Potion , healing herself for 14 points . Ash she does so, Ljörd's Hellish Rebuke spell triggers and damages her for 50 HP. She uses Uncanny Dodge to take half damage, for a total of 25. She also makes her saving throw on Dex vs. Hellish Rebuke, halving it again to only 12 HP damage. Ljörd can do nothing as she enters back into the Ethereal Plane, but he casts Hellish Rebuke on himself again, this time at the 4th level. End of Round: Ljörd: 150 HP :: Keesha: 157 HP

Round 7

Keesha pops back into the prime material plane, once again behind Ljörd gaining advantage and Stealth Attack. She strikes with 8 points of Damage, she misses him entirely with her Vorpal Longsword. She delivers 30 HP with her Sneak Attack. As she hits him, his Hellish Rebuke delivers 18 HP , halved by Uncanny Dodge, for a total of 9 HP. Her Ring pops her back into the Ethereal.. Ljörd smiles and waits for Keesha to pop back into the Prime Material

End of Duel: Ljörd 112 HP :: Keesha 148 HP

As agreed, Ljörd and Keesha Knight bow to one another as they were indeed able to survive the duel. They agreed to a 1 week truce, promising not to engage against one another, meaning noone from Kult Drachen can attack Keesha, and noone from The Order of Ix can attack Ljörd. Nothing, however, was agreed on what the rest of the members from their respective clans could or could not do against everyone else besides Ljörd or Keesha. Ljörd and Keesha walked away smiling, feeling like they know their opponent better. Next time, Keesha thinks to herself, I'm going to give him a REAL party. At this, Keesha walks out of The Temple and heads southwards towards Blüm.

Outcome

While Ljörd will never admit it, he actually gained respect for Keesha for her prowess in combat. That said, he still vows to kill her.

Aftermath

She gains the attention of Mentaur, the hired assassin that was contracted by King Edwyyn Werrish II to protect his interests in rebuilding The Temple of Elemental Evil.