Dah pressed on through the woods searching for the final party of three. The sun was starting to rise and with it the loss of his advantage.
Stalking the final party he found them examining the remains of the teens that he had enjoyed killing last night.
'Well no point in secrecy now'
Dah stepped out of the forest and into the clearing. He had positioned himself so that he was between them and the village.
'The village is about a mile away. It would be unlikely if anyone heard them through these thick woods.'
Dah squared his shoulders not waiting for them to notice him. Holding his sword pointed towards the trio he called out a challenge.
The group of three spun with faces a mixture of fear and surprise to evaluate him and in turn he evaluated them.
The group was comprised of two humans and a beastman. His head was that of a ram with a thick strong neck and curly antlers. He stood roughly 6 foot 6 inches tall and held an imposingly large frame. The beastman held a short sword while the humans held bows.
The beastman clearly being the leader spoke with a tinge of anger, "Did you kill these children devilkind" he spat the last word out like it was a curse and stomped the ground hard to enunciate his sentence. The bowmen nocked their bows.
"I did" Dah replied defiantly.
"Then fear me and DIE!" The beastman roared as he charged across the clearing.
THUD
His feet pounded the ground while he ran.
THUD
He was getting closer and raised his sword to swing in a downwards strike
THUD was the sound of the beastman's head hitting the ground.
"Strength without power is nothing more than a horse without its rider." Dah mused.
As the beastman had raised his sword Dah had not waited to let him take the first swing. Leaping forward with athletic grace he had swung his own sword and decapitated the beastman with the help of his own momentum.
With the head of the beastman hitting the ground Dah paused to observe the bowmen.
They hurriedly loosed their arrows towards him. The first arrow was aimed dead on and with supernatural speed Dah deflected it with the back of his sword. The second arrow was destined to miss as it was headed past his left shoulder. Without missing a beat Dah spun, grabbing the arrow in mid flight and threw it back at the archer who had missed. The arrow pierced his throat and the archer died moments later drowning in his own blood.
The remaining archer, terrified, fell to his knees and started begging
"Please I have a family, a wife and two sons they need me"
Dah approached and grabbed the back of the mans head tilting it back and exposing his neck.
"No. You had a family.."
With a sharp whistle and a sudden wind the blade in Dah's hand moved with lightning speed slicing off the head of the last hunter. It was unlikely that he had even seen the blade coming.
Dah still holding the bowman's head as a trophy began the short trip back to the village.
…
Surveying the scene it seemed that the village had quieted down as they waited for the results of the search parties.
'Psychological warfare'
Actions intended to reduce an opponents morale.
Having collected Nucleus Dah begins riding towards the village. As he approached he activated a rank two spell [Death Shadow]. This spell works in a way that allows the caster to look intimidating beyond belief. Dark shadows, black raven feathers, and haunted skulls adorned the outline of his figure as he approached.
A child was the first to spot him.
"HELP! It's a Demon!" He warned as he ran screaming off toward a group of adults.
This reaction was only to be expected. Dah already presented as an intimidating figure now surrounded by Death Shadow his appearance would make even the most battle hardened veterans quake. Seeing him while riding his nightmare steed was indeed a most fearsome sight to behold.
The villagers hearing the boys screams and seeing the imposing figure riding towards them quickly huddled together in the center of town.
'Almost like they're grouping up to make it easier for me'
Indeed Dah preferred to not have to chase down fleeing enemies.
Getting closer Dah stopped roughly thirty feet away and dismounted Nucleus. Just a breath away for him if he decided to leap towards them.
The villagers not realizing their imminent danger felt relief at the demon staying that far away.
One of the men from the group stepped forward, "I am the village chief. With us we have a priest favored by the gods. With him you can do us no harm. Please leave us at once!" He shouted this last line forcefully as if he intended to scare Dah off.
'I am no dog to run with my tail between his legs.' thought Dah loftily.
By way of answer Dah held the head of the bowman up high for all the villagers to see then forcefully threw it at the village chief. The decapitated head hit the chief squarely in the chest causing him to fall onto his back and lose his breath. The head of the deceased bowman continued its path rolling past the chief and into the group of villagers. "Daddy!" A young voice cried out in despair upon seeing the face.
"Infidel" you hear a man who must have been the priest reprimand as he stepped towards Dah and out of the group of villagers.
'A priest favored by the Gods eh? I had better kill him first before he can focus any spells.'
Despite Dah's confidence in his ability to overcome any obstacle he had no desire to foolishly expose himself to danger more than necessary. Focusing on him Dah wasted no time in leaping forward covered the distance in hardly more than a second.
The priest having expected this attack extended his hand and barked out a spell "BOLT!" [Bolt] a rank one spell that shot a single bolt of lightning in the intended direction. The force with which this spell hit varied upon the strength of the caster but Dah wasn't planning on taking any chances.
Deftly dodging the spell while still moving in the direction of the priest he leapt directly towards him.
As he swung his sword with great force towards the head of the priest a shield made of a glowing yellow light appeared blocking the swords trajectory causing the sword Dah wielded to shatter. The shattered pieces scattered like shrapnel hitting several villagers earning cries of agony.
'Look what you did priest. Now you're going to make me angry.'
…