It was now a race against time, they needed to stop Darick long enough to open the doll but before that could happen they had to decipher how to move the pieces into place, so they could release the souls.
"I'll take care of the puzzle guys, you stop Darick" said Elune as she took the puzzle from Igor's hand and with the help of the Witch Doctor started Working on it. Each piece was unique in their own way and they were pretty independent of the other pieces. The pieces could rotated in their axis for 360 degrees in the xyz planes. The material of the doll was a very expensive type of wood and the pieces floated between the top of the doll and the bottom.
Elune saw the magnitude of the task and didn't know where to begin, but who was her mentor? None other than an expert on soul related theory from the same era as the doll.
"It is not as difficult as it looks, you need to put energy into it when you want to move a piece or rotated it and I recommend you get the ones with the drawings on them and put them together first, when that is done it will be easier to complete. This Grimhold Doll takes about 15 minutes to solve, I just hope they can last"
Lord Darick lifted his right arm and made a gesture towards the polearm stuck on the floor which flew his way. Riddick, Midori and Rahz got ready while Igor started throwing his Chaos Fireballs once more.
Rahz took the front and while Riddick started to Rain Fire, Midori move around looking for a chance. Without the transformation from the belt the Resistance vs Fire provided by the tough skin of the dragonkin had vanished and now Darick need it to maintain Iron Will all the time in order to exchange his energy for a damage shield.
Rahz also activated his Immolation Aura and move in to attack. Axe and Polearm met multiple time and little by little Rahz's weapon started to chip it self with every encounter. It was the vast difference in the materials used to make them.
It was like seeing a baby fight and adult, Rahz movements where wide and required a lot of energy while Lord Darick's were minimal.
Rahz swung his Axe horizontally trying to divide his opponent in 2 but a very quick jump backwards by Darick avoided it and then his response came with a forward thrust by the Polearm towards Rahz's Leg.
ARGGHHH!
Rahz screamed as he jump backwards to get some distance and get his bearings back. It was also the chance Midori was waiting for and a tail whip came trying to take Darick's legs out.
Lord Darick did a flip backwards and avoided the Whip and as he landed on the floor he moved forward once more towards the doll. Rahz move back again and appeared in front of him while activating a couple of Rune Marks that exploded by Daricks feet but he just sidestep them using the smallest of margins. Rahz was for his opponent dodge and he activated Cyclone on the place his opponent sidestep into.
Rahz fed the energy for 4 spins and release the Combat Art that he had stopped using for a while. The feeling in his body as he spawn brought back memories, the first spin managed to cut in but with Iron Will active, it only took some more energy from his opponent. Lord Darick had no other choice but to place his polearm in from of him and brace himself for the hit.
Clink .. Clink …Clink
As the last of the hits came in, Lord Darick flew backwards and was successfully repel. There was no way for Rahz to follow up as his leg was bleeding pretty bad, the strain put on it by Cyclone was massive and it had been stab not too long before.
Lord Darick immediately stood up and use the skill Charging Lunge at Riddick, he had determined him to be a caster and weak versus melee attacks. The Charged was so fast that you could see the wind being split apart and a draft over Darick's body. There was no other choice for Riddick but to get out of the way.
Whoosh!!
Darick appeared where Riddick was before and had achieved his goal to get closer to the person with the doll. However, the moment he stopped, was the moment he got tackle by Rahz and move out of the way.
Crash!!
Lord Darick Flew to the side and elune ran the opposite way really quick using the speed boost from Spirit of the Wolf. Lord Darick stood up again and saw the 3 People that stood in front of him while protecting the Grimdoll and he knew they were back to Square One.
Time was running out for Darick and he was getting annoyed at the fact that kids were giving him a run for his money. At this point was all or nothing, he removed Iron Will and Activated Warrior's Fury and Adrenaline Rush followed by Onslaught. No defense this time, just overwhelming offense, He was going to bulldozer over everyone that stood between him and the doll.
"Hurry Up!" Said the witch Doctor looking at the situation.
Rahz got in front of the others as usual but this time the onslaught was brutal and he was just trying to defend his vital spots. The Polearm blade kept stabbing him in the arms, legs, abdomen nonstop but it was not only him, it looked like they were 50 Polearms as they stab all around hitting Riddick and Midori as well.
Rahz wounds were mounting up but at the same time his Rage was reaching a Critical Point. With every stab Rahz's eyes were getting cover with a Dark Red Glow until…
ROAR!!!
The explosion of energy moved Darick back as Rahz activated Bloodlust. His speed and Power also increased but most of all his animal instincts. Rahz pulled out his knife and held it in one hand while he wielded the Axe in the other.
Rahz took the initiative to attack but Darick was no slouch either Rahz received cuts but so did did his opponent, Rahz had avoided his vitals but his damage was mounting and the bleeding was getting to be a problem.
Crash !!!
Rahz was sent flying and couldn't get up anymore. Riddick use his Chaos Rush but once you know is coming it was easily avoidable by a side step. Midori used her Skin Clone to avoid getting cut down by Lord Darick and she knew it was little she could do.
"RUN!!" Screamed the Witch Doctor into Elune's consciousness snapping her out of it. As long as she could maintain her movement speed buff, she could try and finish the puzzle. There were 4 pieces left and while she ran Igor and the others try to slow down the Enemy with Chaos Chains, Fireballs and Tail Whips.. 3 pieces... 2 pieces… Last Piece..
Whoosh!!
It was a Javelin Thrust that impale Elune on her leg making her trip and released the Grimdoll in her hands.
The Doll Flew through the Air as Darick dove to grabbed it but the 11 ft Basilisk encased in Gray Aura sprung from the ground hitting Lord Darick upward.
BOOM!!!
Lord Darick only saw the doll getting farther and farther away and then a old looking Imp grab it and move the last piece inside.
Blast!! Crackle!!
The Grimhold doll lifted into the the air by itself as it was encase in shining blue light. The picture in the front was that of an Aristocratic Dark Elf holding a Black and Red polearm. He had a very refined appearance and his long hair was tied up at the back.
It was a picture of Lord Darick before the invasion. The picture didn't last long as it was switch to a person in a ninja shozoku standing straight, then to a beautiful woman holding a Lotus Flower in her hand, it kept switching faster and faster until there was nothing on his surface.
Clank..Clank..Clank
The pieces of the Grimhold doll moved once more and took the shape of a coliseum where all the pieces where in different planes. In the middle there was a blue column of light where souls started to fly up and dissipate. After a few minutes the last of the souls got out but it didn't leave right away. It stayed looking at the young people that had managed to release them from their Eternal duty, it was the refined Dark Elf in the picture, it was Lord Darick.