William turned on his heels to see the ogre Karlach was fighting just now grab the shaft of the Sparky Points and pull the prongs from his chest with a sickening squelch and three distinct ribbons of blood.
With a strength that seemed almost casually effortless, the ogre seized Karlach by the weapon she was wielding, using it as a fulcrum. Then, with a powerful twist of his body, the ogre sent her flying backwards, the impact causing a large crater to appear in the wall behind her.
CRACK!
She fell to the ground landing awkwardly on her hands and knees, the Sparky Points in her hand crackling with internal lightning as if angered by being used in such a way.
Karlach stood on her feet with shaking legs in time to see William approaching the ogre from behind blade in one hand and a fire bolt cantrip in the other.
The ogre spun around, his gaze fixed on the source of the approaching killing intent. As he saw the Half-Drow sorcadin closing in from his rear, he let out a low, guttural chuckle, a sound filled with malevolent glee. He then picked up the still smoking stump of his club, ready to meet his attacker head-on.
With the Widower held aloft towards the approaching Ogre, William closed his eyes and brought his flaming left hand down upon the blade. Instantly, the enchanted steel erupted into a wave of flames, not the ordinary kind, but a fiery manifestation of pure wrath, specifically designed to strike down his enemies.
William didn't hesitate.
He charged straight towards the ogre, his eyes fixed on the creature. However, before he could even get close enough to reach the ogre's attack range, he suddenly whirled around on his heel, his body changing direction as if by magic.
That unexpected, sudden maneuver from William completely threw the ogre off balance, causing him to completely miss the swing of his club entirely.
It landed right through the air, where William had been just a moment ago.
William, capitalizing on the sudden shift in direction he'd just made, swung the flaming Widower down towards the ground, bringing its blade up directly towards the ogre's weapon arm.
The blade sliced through the densely packed muscle of the ogre's arm with a deep, blood-red trench, carving a path of carnage through the thick flesh.
Despite the intense, searing agony emanating from the fresh wound, the ogre launched his arm at William.
William managed to deflect the attack with a quick, angled block, which sent him sliding backward rather than being sent sprawling.
The force of the blow was so powerful that his feet plunged into the ground, creating deep, jagged trenches in their wake before he could bring himself to a halt.
Karlach, seemingly out of nowhere, materialized right behind the unsuspecting ogre, charging forward with the Sparky Points trident angled towards the very back of the ogre's right knee.
CRACK!
The prongs stuck inside the creatures flesh and stuck firm in its bones and causing it to rear its head up towards the sky and scream as the pain assaulted his nerves.
"Aaagghhh...gurgle..." The screaming cut off suddenly as William shot forth, and slashed his sword along the ogres exposed neck, severing its wind pipe and searing, it's arteries sealing closed with the blaze of fire, and necrotic energy.
The ogre's body lurched backward with a mighty thud, forcing Karlach to roll out of the path to avoid getting trampled.
The impact itself landed with a surprisingly dull and wet rumble, vibrating through the surroundings in a way that felt surprisingly like a small, localized earthquake.
Karlach stood up abruptly, her eyes glowing with a feral intensity, and let out a low, guttural growl.
A wisp of steam erupted from her mouth as she turned her gaze towards William.
Her expression was clearly filled with hostility, and William found himself unable to help but gasp loudly.
"Shit..." William muttered, his voice barely audible over the sound of Karlach's fiery charge.
The tiefling barbarian shot towards him with the ferocity of a charging bull, the air around her warping violently as she passed, and her Sparky Points trident pointed squarely at the center of his chest.
William managed to roll out of the way, but before he could fully get clear, she reached out with one hand and grabbed him by his shin, employing it as leverage to swing him around and bring him down in a throw.
His body crashed into a set of empty crates and a barrel filled with water that exploded and fell around him like rain.
William reached stood up quickly, ignoring the pain from his still-bleeding wounds as he prepared for the next blow.
He looks up just in time to catch sight of Karlach leaping directly towards him, her body poised in the air as she swings the trident she's holding down with all her might, her aim clearly intended to split him in two with a single, deadly blow.
With the sword held at an unusual angle, William expertly moved the trident away from his grasp, causing it to slide across the ground with a sharp screech as electrified steel hit necrotic steel.
The impact was so powerful that the ground beneath it cratered instantly, leaving a deep, visible impression where the trident had landed.
"Karlach... Snap the fuck out of it!" He slammed his head into Karlach's face sending her crashing to the ground with a snarl.
Her heart pounded in her chest, echoing the rhythmic beat of an infernal war drum as she stood at full height and stared down at William, her eyes seeming to pierce him like he was nothing but prey.
Nothing but meat to kill.
William reached into one of his satchels and pulled out a deep orange potion that was warm to the touch.
He popped the cork instantly before drinking the whole thing down in a matter of seconds, faster than he had ever drunk anything in his entire life.
He tossed the bottle straight towards Karlach, who reacted swiftly by sweeping her arm out of the way with surprising ease.
Just as her arm was still raised, William was already charging towards her, his attack catching her completely off guard.
Before she even had a moment to react, he brought her down to the ground with a powerful tackle.
He was unable to directly overpower her, so the most effective course of action was to remove the leverage that gave her the ability to fully utilize her formidable barbarian strength.
He turned his head to the side and narrowly avoided a vicious, wild punch before grabbing onto her, preventing her from fully extending the arm, and sent an uppercut into her jaw with a resounding crack that caused her head to slam back into the ground with a dazed expression momentarily appearing shortly before the rage took over once more.
She placed her feet on his abdomen and kicked him off of her sending him sliding backwards and knocking the air out of his lungs.
She grabbed the shaft of the trident and once more began to charge when Williams eyes suddenly turned a faint purple and when he spoke his voice seemed to vibrate through her very bones.
"COMMAND.... KNEEL!"
Suddenly she felt her body react to his words and she crashed mid-charge on all fours before him, the ground beneath her slowly turning into glass as she furiously fought against the command.
The ground cracked around her as she fought her own body and was slowly but surely rising up, her eyes struggling to rise to meet his in sheer defiance and anger.
William charged towards her and she glared with burning rage expecting him to finish her but rather than attacking her he wrapped his arms around her neck in a hug, the soft sizzle of his skin against her burning body causing her to struggle as the acrid scent of slowly burning flesh reaches her nose.
"It's okay... Come back to us, Karlach, come back to me..." His skin was already beginning to redden, and he spoke with a newfound urgency as the potions' effects started to wear off.
His voice seemed to possess an uncanny power, capable of piercing through the deepest layers of her consciousness, where her thoughts and feelings felt like they were tightly curled up in a fetal position.
Simultaneously, on the outside, her eyes started to shimmer with a raw, unshed tear, a moisture forming that quickly evaporated, leaving behind a faint ripple of steam.
Suddenly she snapped back to reality, the flames around her seemed to disappear into nothingness, and the tears could finally somewhat flow, but she felt something odd.
Something holding her tight with shaking arms.
She looks up and sees William, his flesh charred and blackened along his chest, arms and neck, the remnants of her infernal rage still sizzling like embers beneath the surface.
"W... Wha... William, what? Oh my God, what?" Her body convulsed violently, and William, unable to keep his gentle hold any longer, crumpled to his knees and collapsed right beside her.
William! She cried out, her voice filled with a desperate anguish that was far more powerful than any anger she had ever felt.
A bloodcurdling scream ripped free from Karlach's chest, sounding like something being ripped violently out from the very roots of her being.
It was raw, unrestrained, and ugly.
Not rage.
Not fury.
Grief.
Her hands shook violently at her sides as if her very fingers were trying to curl around him, to pull him close, and to anchor him against her chest the way she always did when things went wrong, when things felt uncertain and out of control.
But she didn't.
She couldn't.
He was already burned.
Already broken for her.
She stood hovering there, her knees brought to his collapsed form, and her palms were trembling inches away from the scorched skin on his face.
Heat continued to radiate from him in faint, almost imperceptible waves, his flesh blackened and cracked in several areas. The air was thick with the acrid smell of burning flesh and the sharp, metallic scent of ozone.
Each shallow breath he took was accompanied by a wet hitch in his chest, as if his lungs were actively filing a complaint with every single inhalation.
"I'm sorry," Karlach choked, the words scraping her throat raw as they left her. "Gods, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to. I didn't know. I thought I was going to kill you."
Her voice fractured on the last word.
She clenched her fists hard enough that the leather of her gloves creaked, driving the urge to touch him down into something sharp and painful she could survive.
Tears were now flowing down her face freely, each one hitting the still-warm stone beneath her knees with a small, hissing sound.
That scream carried.
Across shattered crates.
Over cooling corpses.
Through the last echoes of battle.
Halsin heard it.
The final goblin, barely having a chance to process the shadow that was falling over it, found itself the target of a swift, brutal attack. The massive bear descended upon it in a flurry of fur and fury, its claws coming down with terrifying speed.
Bone snapped.
The creature was crushed into the dirt with a single decisive strike.
The druid did not linger.
The bear, his body trembling, felt his flesh fold inward as the towering figure shifted and reshaped itself, finally solidifying into a tall, broad-shouldered elf with long, flowing hair cascading down around a face that was grim and focused.
His chest rose once, steadying.
Then he ran.
With a powerful stride, he moved across the battlefield, his eyes already fixed on the source of Karlach's great distress.
His hands began to glow before he even touched the object, a soft green-gold light pulsing rhythmically in time with his heartbeat. The air surrounding his palms was thick with a palpable sense of restorative magic, a feeling of deep healing energy emanating from him.
"Karlach," Halsin said, his voice firm and resolute, dropping to one knee right beside where she was standing. He took in her tear-stained face and the damage to William's skin, and a dark and furious look flickered across his eyes. "Step back. Do it now."
She scrambled away instantly, almost falling over herself in her haste as she retreated. She gave William the space he needed, yet she never took her eyes off him, her gaze unwavering.
Her arms were tightly wrapped around her own torso, as if she was holding herself together by sheer force of will.
Halsin gently placed his hands over William's chest and shoulder.
He didn't actually touch the skin initially, but instead, it felt like he was carefully probing the damage through the Weave itself, trying to get a sense of its severity.
His brow furrowed deeper and deeper, his expression growing more serious with each passing second.
"By the Oak Father," he muttered. "You let her burn you."
William managed a very faint, crooked breath that, if it had possessed even the slightest bit of strength, might have been considered a laugh.
"Worth it," he rasped.
Halsin didn't actually scold him; instead, he simply closed his eyes and placed his hands firmly down upon his chest.
Light blossomed.
It flowed like water poured over cracked earth, seeping into scorched flesh, knitting ruptured skin, coaxing angry burns into something less lethal.
Pale, wispy curls of steam rose from the interaction between the magic and the lingering, infernal heat, the scent shifting from the burnt and charred flesh to the rain-soaked, earth-like odor found in nature.
William gasped sharply, the sensation returning to him instantly. He felt his fingers twitching against the ground clutching at the dirt.
Driven by an almost primal instinct, Karlach moved forward, but just as she reached him, she stopped herself short again.
Her breath caught in her throat as she watched, mesmerized, as color slowly began to return to his skin.
Easy, Halsin said gently as he opened his eyes, "He will live, but he certainly pushed himself far beyond what's considered reasonable."
Her knees hit the stone beside them.
"I didn't ask him to," she whispered. "I didn't want him to."
He met her gaze directly, his expression instantly softening.
The stern lines that had been etched across his face seemed to relax and soften slightly.
"No," he replied quietly. "But he made the choice."
William's eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first, then slowly focusing on her.
He made a tentative move to lift his hand towards her, but he failed, and it promptly fell back down as he found himself slipping into a state of forced trance, his waking mind completely absorbed within the depths of his subconscious.