Korehren sat on the chimney and watched the warrior from above. Chev had proved to be an excellent distraction. While the Harpers were busy worrying about the warrior, his agents had been moving into positions of authority and pulling strings behind the scenes. "Corruption is an art form," he explained to the pigeon sitting beside him.

The pigeon blinked at the god and stepped closer.

"You see, to corrupt someone, you must find their weaknesses and exploit them. Over time this weakness becomes very important to them, to the point of addiction," he said soothingly.

The pigeon took another step closer and cocked its head at him.

"Then, when the time is right, its simply a matter of offering them the thing they most desire in exchange for what you want." He motioned the bird closer and pulled a piece of sweetbread from his pocket.

The bird cocked its head the other way, confused yet intrigued.

"They are always unsure at first, but eventually come around."

The pigeon stepped closer and pecked at the bread.

Korehren's fingers became claws and he snapped his fingers shut and killed the bird. Looking closely at the mess of feathers and blood, he smiled. "Yes, my dead feathered friend, corruption is most definitely an art form." He stood and watched Chev disappear into the crowded streets. "It's a shame Chev doesn't realize that."

"Got a coin to spare Chev?"

The warrior paused in his stride and looked about. His face was hidden under the cowl of his cloak and yet someone had still recognised him.

A beggar motioned the warrior over.

Intrigued, the warrior stepped closer and knelt beside the beggar. "What do you want old man?"

The man was covered in dirty rags and his face was smeared with mud. What looked like some kind of fungus was eating his shoulder until there was almost no flesh left on it and Chev could see the bone sticking through. "Some coin would be a nice change," the man said, peaking out from under a drooping eyelid.

"How did you know who I am?" Chev said, gripping the man by the neck and squeezing.

"I am, or was, a historian," the man choked out. He scratched at the arm holding him with scrawny arms.

"You know me well enough to spot me on the street with a hood over my face?" Chev demanded, loosening his hold on the diseased beggar.

"I've seen your statue. I wasn't sure at first because of the swords but then I saw your boots-"

Chev released the man. Staring at his glove he saw that the fungus was alive and trying to eat through the magical leather. He quickly scraped the stuff off on the cold cobblestones. "Are my boots that distinctive?"

"Oh yes! That style of embroidery hasn't been used in almost a hundred and forty years. Very stylish! The insignia on the back of the heel is that of the d'Or personal bodyguards."

"I see this stuff hasn't effected your memory," Chev said, pointing to the fungus with a platinum coin.

"No, it hasn't," the beggar said, reaching eagerly for the coin. His eyes were unnaturally white.

Chev dropped the coin into the man's hand rather than touch him. Standing, he made sure his money pouch was safely tucked into his belt and drew his cloak around him to ward off the chill.

"Where's your sword? Gravebringer?"

Chev shrugged. "It broke when I was released from the statue."

"But Marque Draque fixed it, so where is-"

Chev lifted the beggar up by the neck and held him in place three feet off the ground. "Draque fixed it?"

"Yes," the beggar gurgled. "Didn't you know?"

"Apparently I'm the last one to know!" the warrior snarled and threw the old man aside. He walked away, casually pulled a man off his horse and vaulted into the saddle as if there was nothing to it.

Korehren watched him go and helped the beggar to his feet. "This should be fun to watch."

The beggar nodded and his form changed into a shapely woman clothed in black and white robes. "I am honoured by your presence Korehren. You could have chosen a more worthy cleric for this job."

"I could have, but I have chosen you for several other tasks. I needed to test and gauge your skills. You want power Aza Brooke, and you shall have it provided you do several things for me."

"What do you want?" she asked without hesitation.

Evening settled over Waterdeep like a blanket but the City of Splendours was far from falling asleep. Chev approached the Academy slowly. Taking the lasso from his belt, he wondered how many times he would have to break into the Academy in the future. The gods knew he had already been here enough times to know the place off by heart.

The front gate would have brought too much attention to the fact that he was here and so the lasso would finally come in handy. There was no place for the lasso to grip the marble walls, but the magical rope needed no such thing. Chev simply threw it up over the wall and tugged on it to make sure it had taken a firm grip. He then walked up the wall, hand over hand pulling himself upwards.

Rising over the top, the warrior sat down and tugged the rope again three times and felt it go slack on the third. Gathering the rope together, he tied it into a reef knot and dropped it to the ground below. He followed soon after and landed with a crunch on the frosted grass.

Checking to make sure he hadn't been heard, Chev kicked the rope under a juniper in case he decided to leave this way later. With any luck he'd leave through the main gate with Gravebringer in hand. If not, Pierce will have killed him.

Nicole lead Pierce down the marble hallway and opened the door to his bedchamber. A cold draft of air rushed past her and she shivered involuntarily.

The Doctor frowned and stopped her, one hand going to Tarrasqueslayer. "Go down to Valeska's room, will you? I'll explain later."

The noble lady looked up confused, but saw the worried look on his face. "Should I go get Marque Draque?"

"No, would be useless. He's at Blackstaff's tower. Just go."

She nodded and clutched her cloak as she hurried down the hallway towards the bard's guestroom.

Pierce opened the door and stepped within, his saber going up to block the downward stroke of Chev's cutlass. He grunted and pushed the warrior away, drawing Sidekick from its sheath. "What's the occasion?"

Chev's face had a hollow, sunken look in the shadows. "I'm here to get my sword Gravebringer back. Its as simply as that."

"That's a pretty powerful sword if I recall," Pierce replied. "Why should I allow such a powerful weapon into your hands?"

Chev held both blades up in front of him. "It was mine to begin with. You have stolen it." He jabbed forward with both blades.

Pierce parried the first easily and let the other slide off his armour. It was a close one though and the Doctor knew Chev could have pressed the attack and stabbed clear through the bronze, but that would have meant exposing his flanks to Pierce's other saber. "Then you should be talking to Marque Draque. It is his now."

Chev shook his head and smiled like an imp. "You and I both know that you'll never leave with it. Before I can get it, I must die or you must die." Dancing backwards, the warrior assumed a fencing stance with the longsword pointed at Pierce and the cutlass raised and ready.

The veteran was tempted to draw his mother's longsword and use its better reach. He decided against it because he knew the longsword's couldn't hold up against Sharkslayer, whereas the adamantite sabers could. "Perhaps. Still something keeps puzzling me. Why did you kill all those Harper agents? Did someone pay you?"

The warrior snarled and lashed out viciously with his swords. "Do you know so little about history? The Harpers caused all of this! My Kipriana would have never been captured were it not for you meddlers!"

Pierce stayed calm and parried both blades away and stepped back into the hallway. He had found a weakness in Chev's armour and he couldn't help but press his new found advantage. "Kipriana d'Or? Is that her name? Very pretty."

Chev advanced steadily on the lone veteran. Pushing through the doorway with blades bared like fangs, he fought his way into the open. "It is. I don't hold you responsible Pierce. You only aid them when you're asked to. The others meddle all the time without being asked." He smiled and stabbed out viciously.

Pierce moved to intercept with one saber and found Chev's longsword in the way. His parry had been parried of all things! That was one move Pierce didn't know! The cutlass bit into his side and stayed there for a moment as both warriors stopped to look at the wound. Shocked into action, Pierce brought his foot up and kicked Chev backwards. While he was still in part fall, the Doctor brought both sabers down in a cross slash at the cutlass.

One grazed Chev's forearm and the other knocked Sharkslayer from his hand. Ignoring the wound in his side, Pierce continued forward and was greeted by an intricate parry that pushed both his sabers to the floor while Chev kicked out, not at Pierce himself, but at his right arm.

Releasing Tarrasqueslayer from his grip, Pierce backed off.

For a moment the two stayed still, eyes fixed on each other and not at the fallen swords.

"I didn't know the Harpers had anything to do with that incident so long ago," Pierce said slowly, edging towards Tarrasqueslayer but not doubting that Chev would only let Pierce get it if he saw a chance to get the cutlass back.

Chev only smiled and held his ground, longsword raised and ready to stab or parry. "History is easily forgotten Pierce. The Harpers have been writing it for so long they've lost sight of their real purpose?"

"Which is?"

"Freedom and justice. I'm seeking justice for a wrong to done me and right now I'm seeking to free Gravebringer."

Pierce shuddered inwardly, remembering his last encounter with the sword. "Did you know that sword can possess people?"

Chev shrugged and switched hands."I know, but it can only possess the weak minded ones. You know I am far from that." The warrior slowly uncoiled the whip from his belt.

Pierce didn't flinch. He simply drew his mother's longsword from the sheath on his back. "And what if you agree with it at some point? From what Marque Draque tells me that sword can possess you through an idea and then twist that idea until you are totally under its control. That sword would cleave through a small army in your hands before you finally fell dead."

"It's done it before," Chev replied nonchalant. "I took on the Bravepike Manor and when I left there I was the only one left standing with a sword in my hand. The only other was a cripple which I left alive deliberately."

Inside Chev's head, Pierce could see the warrior forming strategies. It was only a matter of time. The Doctor wasn't going to let him have it though. "I'm tired of this Chev. Can't we just kill each other and get it over with?"

"No Pierce. Neither of us will be quick to die. I agree though. I'm eager to get started." The warrior stepped across the fallen saber and snapped his whip forward in an attempt to entangle.

The Doctor backed off and held his weapons out to the side but at ready. "I'm not going to fall for that one. You probably haven't heard that I was once a gladiator."

Chev nodded and snapped the whip at Pierce's quick feet. "I've heard. How were you captured?"

"Magic," Pierce grunted as he jumped over the whip and landed before Chev, both swords lashing out.

Chev dropped to a crouch and parried both blades away with an overhead slash of his sword and came back with a stab to the gut.

Pierce parried with the handguard of his saber and brought his longsword down for a keep jab in Chev's forearm. He was rewarded with a spray of blood from the deep wound.

The crouching warrior dropped to his back and kicked out with both feet, connecting with Pierce's breastplate. The Doctor fell backwards and scrambled to grab his fallen saber as he rolled to his feet.

He was dismayed to find that Chev too had his fallen cutlass.

"So much for your attempt to disarm me," Chev said with a shrug and looped the whip onto the hook on his belt.

"A chance I had to take," Pierce said grimly and sheathed the longsword behind his back. For a moment he considered that action a lowering of his defenses but then he remembered Chev's respect and honour. Chev was a true duelist, and as such refused to attack even though the opportunity for a quick lethal hit had been there.

For a moment Pierce saw how Chev fought. He was utterly lethal when dealing with amateurs, but he had a level of respect for well deserving opponents that he wouldn't stoop to that level. He would sooner kill himself than let a true warrior die without honour after a well fought battle.

"I don't understand-" started Nicole.

"That's right! You don't!" Valeska said harshly. She stood before the door of her suite, blocking Nicole's path. "Perhaps I should explain it to you. Pierce and Chev are destined to fight this battle. I have it at very high authority."

"Why?"

"It involves a number of gods. Do you really want to hear the details?"

"Yes," Nicole said firmly.

Valeska shrugged. Taking her hand off her holstered crossbow, she held it out the noble. Nicole hesitated and then took it. The moment their hands connected the two women vanished from the room.

Pierce realized that he was in trouble when he noticed that Chev had cornered him in the direction of the balcony. The last time he and Chev had fought near a balcony it had resulted in a long fall. The ground below was paved with bricks and not water. That was more than one good reason to avoid the balcony.

Skipping past Chev's quick blades, the Doctor dodged around the balcony and down the grand marble staircase. Chev followed quickly, charging down the steps in quick jumps. Pierce was ready for him and the two clashed together in the torch light.

For a moment Pierce realized how beautiful it was. The reds and oranges of the torchlight mixed with the clear blue of Chev's longsword and the pure white glow of Pierce's blue sabers. The light reflected off his bronze armour and his torso was bathed in an aura of almost godly light. Right now was not the time to be inspired to paint however and it was a saber in his hand and not a paint brush.

Swords met and were brushed aside with deft blades. The two warriors circled on the steps one more. They turned in a deadly spiral, heading down to first floor.

The noise of their battle resounded throughout the empty south wing. It was a symphony of clashes, reverberations and solid clangs as Pierce let Chev's blades through his defenses to hit harmlessly against his breastplate.

Every offensive swing was both cunning and deadly and every defensive parry was both swift and intricate. It was an one way battle however for it was Chev's swings and Pierce's parries that forced both men down the staircase as Pierce retreated to favourable ground where he could fight back without Chev having the upper hand.

"Flawless," Chev commented. He stepped off the last step and onto the marble tiled floor. "I would like to have seen you in your prime."

Pierce was tempted to ignore the verbal jousting but decided not to on a whim. "I was a foolish young man who got in more trouble than I could usually handle."

"You handled it well enough it would seem."

"Draque cheated. The grey hairs on my head are from spells that enhanced my talents temporarily but resulted in aging me. It was better than being Tarrasque food."

"So I've heard. Quite a historic rumour with no body to show as evidence. I would like to know where the body went. Were you to die, then the secret would die with you, and if I fail, then I die without knowing."

"You really want to know?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll make you a deal. We take a break to catch our breath and I shall tell you. Do you accept?"

"A reasonable offer," Chev shrugged. "I give you my word that I shall not attack until the end." He immediately backed off and lowered his swords. "After all, you'd know if I was going to attack anyway right?"

Pierce nodded and lowered his sabers and backed off. He took a deep breath and adjusted his armour so it was more comfortable. "I cut its head off with Tarrasqueslayer. That only disabled it however, for it was quick to regenerate. The Fifth Cavalry-"

"The same elven cavalry that shot at me recently?"

"One and the same. They kept the Tarrasque from regenerating by beating it into a pulp while Draque and I tried to find a way to stop it. In the end, we used a minor wish spell to stick all of the Tarrasque into a magically bag of Draque's. Then we destroyed the bag using Witter's sword Planereacher."

"Would that really destroy it? From what I know of magic, it should have ended up going through a rift into another plane."

"It probably did. Whatever the case, it is now banished from Toril. I can only hope it ended up in the elemental plane of fire. The end." Pierce's sabers flashed upwards at ready.

Chev waited a moment. He was tempted to simply quit. Lie down and die. No, he said mentally. Not yet.

Pierce used this momentary lapse in Chev's defenses to charge forward, push aside Chev's blades with his own and kick upwards with his adamantite toed boot. There was an audible "Oompf!" as Chev reeled backwards from pain. Pierce followed quickly behind, sabers leading the way.

The bodyguard blocked them despite his agony, keeping his wits about him. He straightened deliberately, fighting to maintain in control.

Pierce couldn't help but admire Chev's will power as he closed in. This would not be the end, he knew that much, but it was definitely a step towards Chev's defeat. Both sabers dove in, twisting towards the warrior's vital parts, but were knocked swiftly away despite Pierce's efforts.

"That was mean," Chev responded. "Although no less than I probably deserve right?"

"I'm not the judge of that," Pierce muttered grimly as he backed off at last and studied Chev's wounds. "I can't help but wonder how much stress you can put on that body. Certainly you're getting tired?"

Chev grinned and stood up straight. "Tired? Whats that mean? I don't think the word is in my vocabulary." As if to prove his point, Chev launched into an elaborate, high speed attack.

Pierce clicked his tongue and brought his sabers down to block, hoping to tire Chev out. What he didn't expect was the sudden waving swords in his face, blocking his view. When the blades came back down, the Doctor was expecting them and brought both sabers up in a parallel parry, knocking the blades away.

With his defenses up high, Chev used his new found opportunity to kick Pierce in the chest, knocking the Doctor backwards onto the floor.

Stunned, Pierce took a moment to stand up, pausing to study his waiting opponent who had not attacked while he was vulnerable.

"One must fight fairly," Chev shrugged, reading Pierce's expression, as much as Pierce read Chev's mind.

"If you're going to kill me, you might as well hurry it up and strike. One of us shall die tonight and if you're going to continue to let me live, it will likely be you," Pierce muttered as he crouched and held his sabers off to the side.

Chev gave his typical nonchalant shrug. "I can't say that I care. If I die, then I die and I'll finally be at peace. If I live, then I'm simply continuing my quest for vengeance. I've had enough vengeance, but a little more will make the historians, your history-loving Harpers, wary the next time you interfere with the lives of others. Its great that you try to spread justice and freedom for everyone, but that doesn't include robbing others of their right to transport goods."

"The smuggling laws are made by Waterdeep. I am merely a protector of my home. Can you blame me for it?"

"And Marque Draque's cigars? Martinez's Drow vodka? Where do you draw the line? Why is it okay for Harpers to break their own laws, but not for the people of Waterdeep to break laws they didn't make?"

"Those laws are sanctions to prevent Undermountain from having ample opportunity to raid the surface. Already they have the forces to do so but are caught up in their own petty squablings to do anything about Waterdeep. The sanctions make Waterdeep more of a threat than a hapless city to be plundered."

"That still doesn't give the Harpers the right to interfere and place innocent lives at stake!"

"If there is a rogue Harper that decided to take desperate measures a hundred and fifty years ago, then he's long dead and buried. As long as we keep talking however, you're not going to be seeing that dead man for a long time unless you really want me to send you to see him!"

Chev paused and gave a snort. "You're the one with the foresight, how long are we going to argue about this?"

Pierce smiled. "We're going to stop right now," he responded and charged in, sabers flashing. With Tarrasqueslayer leading the way, the Doctor feinted an attack at Chev's bleeding forearm.

Chev ignored the feint and deliberately pushed both sword and cutlass into Pierce's sabers, holding them off to the side as he sidechecked the older warrior into the wall.

The Doctor only grunted and used his bronze armour to grind it into Chev's side, making sure he took more bruises for his effort.

Backing off for a second, Chev came back with an overhead swing which Pierce blocked easily. Then he brought the pummel of the cutlass down and struck the Doctor in the forehead.

Disoriented, but far from out of it, Pierce leaned against the wall and brought his boot up to connect with Chev's groin once more. Shaking his head to remove the sudden dizziness, the Doctor looked down at Chev's prone form.

A moment later Chev rolled away from him and leapt to his feet beside a statue. He muffled a groan and glanced at the statue in the torchlight. "Its one good thing I'm no longer part of the decor."

Pierce shrugged and followed Chev as the younger warrior backed down the hallway towards the better lighting coming from the dome. They passed between the bronze doors and entered a realm of streaming moon light.

"Where we first met," Chev muttered. "A good place to fight don't you think?"

"A glorified gladiator arena," Pierce spat. "I only added it to the architectural plan because we needed a place to hold tests. We needed the place to look official, so the students knew that what we were doing here was important. The dwarven architect who helped with the designs decided to make it the central feature of the Academy. I never imagined it would end up being so big."

"Or expensive," Chev replied, pointing to the single adamantite column in the centre of the huge chamber. "That dwarf certainly knew what he was doing. This building will be a legacy long after you and I are dead and buried."

For a moment Nicole's eyes adjusted to the sudden change of light. She was standing on a sunny beach. The sky was a bright blue and there was a warm breeze coming from inland where giant maples swayed gently. Turning about, she looked across the azure waters and heard a distant sound of water splashing.

"Twenty-three," Valeska said abruptly. "Very impressive."

Nicole turned about to face a long haired half-elf dressed in only a kilt. His face and skin was a shade of bronze from countless days under the sun. He looked like he hadn't shaved in several days and his brown hair waved in the breeze like the maples not so far away. His eyes were a sharp, bright blue, the same as his kilt.

"Not bad," the half-elf admitted with a deep harmonic voice and picked up another skipping stone from the multitude of stones that stretched down the beach. "I've gotten up to thirty-seven before, but only because I magically tweaked the waves so they were just the right height and distance between them." His blue eyes passed over Nicole and the noble maiden shivered suddenly. "You've come to watch?"

"Watch what?" Nicole asked, daring at last to speak.

The half-elf flashed a charming smile and knelt down beside the water. Sliding his hand into the water, the waves abruptly diminished and the surface became as smooth as glass, if not smoother. Taking his hand back out, the man brushed it over the surface.

As she watched, the surface began to glow and images appeared under the surface of the water. Taking a deep breath, Nicole stepped closer and recognized the figure dressed in tell-tale bronze armour.

"Now I shall introduce myself," said the half elf. "I am Konarrathamoras. Konarr for short. For simplicities sake, I am a wizard of a sort."

He knelt down beside the image in the water and pointed to the two men. "You are looking at the two greatest mortal warriors ever. On one side is the symbol of strength and perfection of skill. On the other side is the symbol of knowledge and experience. I am not the only one who sits quietly tonight and watches these two. There are many evil and bad omens in the cosmos that point to this night. At the same time there are many good omens. These two will make history tonight, but the outcome will be both good and evil. Anybody who is anybody knows that this night is unique, but doesn't know why. They also know that interfering in it is a bad thing for there's supposed to be enough power released tonight to destroy several gods. As a result even the gods are tentative in interfering with tonight's destiny."

Nicole put two and two together. "So you're stopping me from interfering?"

Konarr nodded. "For your own good too."

"Isn't that interfering though? By removing me, the fact that I'm not there to interfere with destiny, doesn't that interfere with destiny?"

Konarr glanced at Valeska. "Why do I always get the smart-aleck ones?"

"A legacy?" Pierce quizzed. "You think that's why I built this place?" he demanded, gesturing with Tarrasqueslayer.

Chev eyed the deadly blade. "Other than trying to make money with it? Yes, I think that's exactly why you built it. You're an old warrior with nothing more than experience to pass on to younger generations. This building is your greatest triumph, a symbol of the man who killed the mighty tarrasque! Your pride is the foundation of this building, not the stones it rests on!"

Pierce's eyes narrowed and for a moment Chev thought he would charge him. The Doctor relaxed visibly however. "I will have you know," he said through clenched teeth. "That I built this place upon the memory of all the comrades that have fallen beside me. I am blessed, I know that much, but if it wasn't for all those comrades who went before me, I would never have made it this far."

Chev paused, lowering his blades and yet keeping them at the ready. In the moonlight, only feet away, the warrior could see tears streaming down Pierce's face beside the blood dripping from the cut in his forehead. In all of his years, the bodyguard had never seen a grown man cry. He knew then that Pierce spoke the truth.

"Not so long ago, a warrior named Witter died defending Waterdeep," Pierce said slowly, his voice cracking. "He was my mentor, but not the only one. Beside him lie Diego the Wistful, Shamuni Dioune, and Vicet Tor'Gamon. The first was a bard who taught me to read and write. The second was a paladin from the east who taught how to kill, but only when necessary. The last was an elven gladiator, a slave who taught me how to use my skills to their greatest advantage. Witter though-" Pierce stopped to wet his lips. "Witter was just a man. A man that stood for something and believed in it."

"You can stop Pierce," Chev said abruptly. "I respect you enough that I do not want you to feel pain. You might even say that I care for you, but I wouldn't go that far. I've had my share of comrades die and I never cared for that feeling of emptiness afterwards." He gestured about the dome. "Obviously your emptiness was greater than mine."

Pierce snorted despite himself and wiped away his tears, confident that Chev would not attack while his guard was down. Looking at his gloved hands, the Doctor saw the blood in the light from Sidekick. His blades flashed up, and looked at Chev squarely. "It is time we finished this."

Chev shrugged and help both swords out to meet Pierce's sabers. He came in slowly, weaving a path with the cutlass. Pierce met both blades and pushed them away easily, when he tried to move however, he looked down to see Chev's foot firmly clamped over his own.

The bodyguard brought his longsword down and stabbed into Pierce's held left foot. Pulling the blade back out, he dodged backwards before Pierce could respond. He watched from afar as the Doctor bit his own tongue from the agony and maintained his stance. "How much pain can you endure Pierce?"

The old warrior shook his head. "I don't know and I don't particular care to find out." With that said, he took one step forward with his injured foot and grimaced as he put his weight on it. Looking up at Chev, Pierce narrowed his eyes. "Hurry up and kill me. You claim that my pain is something you do not desire and yet you draw this fight out?"

"I know better than to charge you when you're like that," Chev whispered into the quiet. "You might try something desperate and we'd both end up dead faster than you can say tarrasque."

Pierce gritted his teeth and deliberately stomped on it several times. When the pain subsided, he felt easier as he took several quick steps towards Chev and held his sabers out.

"Impressive," Chev smiled and charged at Pierce.

It was Pierce's turn to retreat and he did so by backing towards the eastwing. The lack of good lighting in the eastwing would be to his advantage due to his foresight and to Chev's disadvantage. With his foot slowing him down, it was a very long painful retreat too.

Backed up against the closed bronze doors, Pierce leaned up against the right door as he blocked Chev's attacks and kicked the left one open with his good foot. The warrior knew what he was doing in terms of light but didn't know what Pierce was also planning. It was just a question of whether Pierce could keep blocking Chev's intricate attacks.

When the jumble of wood came into view Chev got a vague idea of what Pierce was planning and charged in immediately.

Pierce was ready for him and dropped to the ground at the last possibly moment and rolled forward, tripping the charging man in the shadows. Sheathing both sabers, Pierce didn't wait for Chev to recover as he dodged past a stack of logs and disappeared into the shadows.

The bodyguard came to his feet and swept the glowing swords around him, searching for Pierce.

Twenty feet away, Pierce was scrambling to dig a cobblestone from the floor. Looking back at Chev, he was thankful that the light from the swords also made Chev an excellent target.

Out of the darkness a brick came soaring towards Chev and struck him in the knee, driving the warrior to the floor with a broken knee cap.

"That's gotta hurt!" Pierce shouted and lobbed another brick at Chev.

Despite his agony, the bodyguard rolled off to the side and narrowly dodged the brick that would have crushed his skull. He came face to face with a leather harness that had been left behind from some forgetful carpenter. He snatched up a hammer and looked about just in time to duck another brick.

"Oh! That was a close one!" Pierce shouted and scrambled away with the knowledge that Chev now had a suitable throwing weapon.

On a hunch, the warrior threw the glowing longsword first, using its bluelight to shine up the area like a torch. He caught a brief glimpse of Pierce's tell-tale armour moving farther back into the darkness.

The hammer soared past Pierce's shoulder and crashed into the darkness beyond. Hoping to fool Chev however, the veteran shouted an oath of agony and quickly scrambled back farther and took shelter behind a skid loaded up with marble tiles. From here he could still gauge the distance accurately enough for the bricks to be deadly and at the same time the marble tiles would provide a reasonable shield.

Glancing around the marble tiles, the Doctor saw Chev limp into a doorway and peak out for some sign of his opponent.

For a moment the only sound Pierce could hear was the heaving of his chest. This would be not such a bad time for his heart to give out on him. He could certainly do without the pain in his foot, to say nothing of the throbbing ache in his forehead.

When Chev finally leapt from his hiding place, Pierce was ready for him and threw a brick straight at his head. The bodyguard ducked under it and scooped up his fallen longsword. He passed right by Pierce and stumbled on the Doctor's good leg.

In an instant Pierce was upon him, using his weight and heavy armour to pin Chev to the ground. The bodyguard dropped his swords and tried to roll to the side but Pierce's position was perfected and the weight too much for even Chev's arms. If he hadn't been injured he would have been able to push the bronze clad warrior off him but not now.

On top of Chev, Pierce shoved his arm under the warriors neck and pressed down in an attempt to choke him. Chev's hands flashing out of the darkness and pounding on the Doctor's jaw, stunning him.

That split second was all the young warrior needed and he pivoted his good knee underneath Pierce and rolled off to the side. With the heavy armour off him, Chev rolled past his cutlass and scooped it up.

Pierce rose to his knees and drew both sabers just in time to deflect Sharkslayer away from his neck. They stood locked for a moment, Chev leaning forward with Sharkslayer bare inches from Pierce's neck and the Doctor kneeling with both sabers raised in defense.

If they continued this pose for much longer Pierce knew his injured arm would give out on him. He wasn't about to tell Chev that though. "You know you can't keep this up," Pierce said, licking dry lips. "Your arm is injured too much." He raised his good foot and planted it underneath him firmly and started to rise.

Chev backed off and pulled his whip from his belt. He flashed it forward and snagged Pierce's bad leg and pulled.

The Doctor fell to floor with a howl of agony but quickly rolled out of harm's way as Chev charged in to stab at his exposed back.

Rising up, Pierce kicked out with the heel of his foot at Chev's uninjured leg. The warrior crashed to the ground, both legs failing to hold his weight under his momentum. Ignoring the thrashing warrior, Pierce rose and stood over Chev.

Chev lay on the ground with his back exposed, barely conscious. Pierce hesitated and in that moment of hesitation Chev rolled to the side, cutlass rising to deflect the slowly descending sabers.

Pierce backed off and considered his opponent. With both legs injured, Chev was at an incredible disadvantage at last. The words of Vicet Tor'Gamon rang in his ears: "Use your surroundings. If the guy is short, stay on higher ground and take advantage of your height. If the guy is tall, try and get him where he has to duck. If he hits his head on the ceiling and knocks himself out, then it's a good thing!"

Without looking up at the heavy wooden beams overhead, Pierce hoped his leg wouldn't fail him. Foresight leading his way, the Doctor backed away from Chev and tossed both sabers on top of the skid of marble tiles. Since Chev couldn't walk that fast, Pierce had a fair amount of time to haul himself up on to the tiles and use it as a stepping stone to the beam running along the top of the wall.

Moving slowly along the top of the wall, Pierce avoided the warrior's swings from below and started to climb higher. He deliberately muttered to himself about finding something to throw, making sure Chev understood that even if the warrior didn't follow him up onto the beams, he would certainly kill him with ceiling tiles or something worse.

The bodyguard had a vague idea of why Pierce wanted him up there but was confident enough in his balance that he could keep up with the older warrior. His broken knee cap was only slowing him down and the other leg only had a bruise.

Throwing his longsword and cutlass up on top of the tiles, Chev scrambled up and scooped up his weapons. Deciding that the longsword and whip actually to be more favourable, he sheathed the cutlass and followed Pierce's glowing sabers into the darkness.

Pierce realized his mistake immediately when at last he stopped retreating on a thick beam three stories up. Chev's whip would be an incredible advantage on such narrow footing. Looking about, he wondered if there was anything else he could use to his advantage.

Straight below was the ceiling of the boiling room and alchemy shop which Draque used to make his lifesyrup out of specially prepared maple syrup. Should Chev fall from this height and somehow survive, the lifesyrup wasn't powerful enough to heal much anyway. The same could be said for Pierce however. At the very least, the Doctor knew that Draque had several alarm spells on the boiling room that would alert him if someone broke into it.

It was very quiet as Chev at last stepped onto the beam, whip poised to strike.

Pierce held Sidekick out before him, holding Tarrasqueslayer behind him in reserve. When the whip came forward at last, Pierce blocked it with Sidekick and then slashed through the held whip with the reserve saber.

Chev charged it at last, legs moving sluggish-like as he slashed with his longsword across the older warrior's forearm.

Dropping Sidekick, Pierce backed off and changed his position so his good right foot was out front with Tarrasqueslayer.

"How much longer Pierce?" Chev asked, trying to smile despite his pain.

"Not long," Pierce muttered grimly and took one firm step closer so their blades met. A split second later their blades became a blur of blue glowing white steel and blue adamantite. Pierce scored a minor hit and Chev scored one of his own. For a moment they backed off and eyed each other in the light coming off the swords.

The moment didn't last and once more the two masters of combat danced back and forth across the beam, their blades shining with red blood and their bodies coated with sweat and wounds. The minutes passed and through a haze of pain, both warriors still had their wits about them and were striving against each other for every small advantage. Pierce's foresight was at last taking a backseat as he couldn't afford a distraction that would be his end.

Below them, the beam creaked under their weight and sudden jerky movements. The Doctor saw his chance. This was no foresight that told him what to do next, but an insight based upon his experience. Retreating backwards several steps, the warrior sliced Tarrasqueslayer downward through the beam.

Chev felt the beam shrudder beneath his injured legs and knew he only had a split-second to act. He charged forward across the slowly descending beam and knocked aside Pierce's saber.

With one hand gripping a north-south beam above him, the Doctor took his feet off the beam below him and kicked out at Chev wildly.

The warrior took both feet in the chest and fell backwards on top of the beam. That sudden impact ended the beam's slow descent and crashed downwards through the ceiling of Marque Draque's alchemy shop. Chev dropped his sword and scratched desperately at the air as he disappeared into the darkness below.

Pierce breathed heavily and dropped his saber, taking the beam above him in both hands and holding on. With slow, deliberate movements, the veteran climbed across the beam to the safety of the supporting studs. He was thankful it was his arms that had carried him to safety and not his legs for he was certain they would have given out on him.

A moment later an explosion shook the studs and Pierce grabbed hold of the wooden supports for fear of falling to his death. Looking at the hole in the floor two stories down, he saw white glowing mist rising upwards out of the hole like smoke. "Marque Draque, where are you when I need you," he grumbled.