Rick fought like a man who was possessed. He got back up every time they knocked him down.
He always found one more burst of defiant energy when they thought they had finished until his sword snapped, but surprisingly, he used the parts. His armor fell apart, and he didn't pay attention to it.
There were so many wounds that blood flowed freely. But he kept going, kept fighting, and wouldn't give up.
Rick's body finally gave up on him completely three hours after noon. His legs gave out in the middle of a dodge, and he fell to the ground. Rick felt something inside him break in a way that even dragon magic might not be able to fix when Theron's next hit struck him square in the chest.
He tried to get up. His body wouldn't move while he tried to get to his broken sword. He couldn't move his arm until desperation made him try to talk to them and tell them this wasn't over, but then... there was no sound.
