Continued from S3-3-3: Durg, hunt leader of Org. Seeing her scan the ground for her weapons, and recognizing the look of desperation in her eyes, like that of a cornered animal, Durg knew that this one would not be taken with out a fight… but he liked prey with spirit. “No move!” he warned her, as he pressed the tip of his spear into her throat, forcing her back down onto the mucky ground as he tossed aside his crude shield and bent to snatch the knife from her thigh. But he never took his eyes from hers. Instead he groped along her thigh with his huge, rough hand, as a beastly smile grew on his face, until he found the knife’s hilt. “Over!” he commanded, as he stepped back far enough to be out of range if she tried to kick or trip him while she moved, but still with in easy reach to trust his spear clean through her. Snarling in rage, she complied; rolling onto her stomach while wracking her brain for some way to escape. She was a knight of Tumbru, whom westerners called the warrior-priests of Chaos, trained since childhood to serve the Enclave and the Dukes of Hell, which she had only recently learned were not the same thing, how could this degenerate beast of a man defeat her? She felt the point of his spear push through her hair and press against the back of her neck as he moved closer, and tensed to strike when he dropped it to bind her hands. But he surprised her by smashing his knee down on her back, driving the breath from her body, before he tossed the spear aside and seized her wrists; quickly bond them behind her back. Hauling her up from the mucky ground by her bond wrists, after he had retrieved both their weapons and his shield, he turned her to face him, his foul breath nearly choking her as he leered at her from only inches away. But, bond and defenseless, her emerald eyes still burned with fiery spirit as she snarled at him in disgust. She knew that her chances of overpower him physically were slim, at best, but she was not just a warrior and a priestess of Xiombarg, the Queen of Swords and one of the mightiest of the Lords of Chaos, she was also a sorcerer, and all she needed was a few moments to focus her mind on the right mystical sphere and invoke the right rune of power and she could shatter his bones, envelop him in fire or turn this twisted forest against him. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the sphere of flesh, feeling the blood course through her veins as her heart beated in her chest and the air flow in and out of her lungs as she calmed herself. Reaching out beyond herself, and found his flesh… feeling his blood racing and his heart pounding. Then she invoked the rune of transmutation. Together, the sphere or flesh and the rune of transmutation allowed her to heal wounds and mend the body. But what they could make whole, they could also tear apart! But before she could complete her spell, something went terribly wrong, and her head exploded with pain as blackness crashed in on her mind like a wave. Confused when she closed her eyes and her face grew calm, his animal instinct told him something was wrong so he reacted as the beast he was… and struck her with all his might! To be continued on S3-3-5: Brytag, Warrior-Priest of Chaos. The fourth installment in the third "book" of my Stormbringer characters' adventures. Thanks for looking... Hope you enjoy! Comments and suggestions always welcome and appreciated!