Jimmy knew he was in danger. The young demon hunter had faced everything from lowly dretches, with their bloated short bodies and splindly arms, to skeletal babau with their acidic covered hides. He even managed to help his masters battle an aquatic demon named a herozu, a monstrous creature that seemed to be part walrus and part toad. Even though he had no magical powers to sense their presence, he had trained his ability to observe, smell, and hear them. His master Martinez also praised him for developing a keen instinct about demons. Those instincts were screaming danger to him. He wasn't sure what a Rakshasa was, but he sensed its dire power.

Jimmy was weaponless and knew there was no way he could fight this creature head on. He hoped to just stay in the darkness, but saw the creature he assumed was the head Rakshasa motion towards Sammy and Lally. Without thinking he darted through the door, triggering the wards that the two had somehow evaded. For a second he thought magical binds would lash onto him and drag him down, or perhaps a spell would be triggered to freeze him in place, but it appeared to be more of an alarm than a trap.

The young demon hunter confirmed he was on a boat when he reached the deck, but knew jumping into the water would defeat the purpose of a distraction. He knew he had already bought his friends some time but it didn't feel like enough. His captors would easily discern he was not Sammy or Lally and would go after them instead. He wasn't exactly sure why they were their target, but his gut instinct told them they were. He spotted a ladder to the deck, and decided to descend into the ship instead. If he was quick they wouldn't be sure if more made it down there and at least split their forces.

Without thinking twice, Jimmy rappelled urchin like down the ladder.

Stille soared after the barge , all four of her wings beated in unison as she took flight.

Even though her leathery wings had been fully grown for over a century, she had only recently mastered them. For too long , mere shame and fear at who she was prevented her from learning their secrets. Even supported by her parents and her dearly departed husband , Stille could not overcome her self imposed limitations . Flying under her own physical power, without the use of magic, was like admitting defeat , an acceptance of her own of foul demonic heritage, thought the priestess. Only a recent near death experience, a hallucinatory meeting with her uncle Frank, and a surprisingly empathic duelist enabled her to begin to trust herself and her wings. Even then , learning to fly was not easy. She always attempted her flights in seclusion, and even then they often resulted in painful crashes. She was about to give up on her wings in frustration until she realized that she had to release her other hidden shame to fly correctly, her tail. After discovering that her tail allowed her to steer, she was able to refine her power , speed and maneuverability in flight. Often, she would use the school girl excuse of praying at a shrine, just to spread her wings and fly. She was ashamed to admit, but she wished she had learned to use her wings ages ago.

While her inhibition of flying was long gone, Stille was still careful in revealing her wings. Not being ashamed of your heritage was one thing, foolishly revealing her heritage was another. Grom had passed many laws for the betterment of tieflings in the last century, but half fiends were another matter. While tieflings were simply mortals with a tiny trace of fiendish blood in them, half fiends rivaled the power of most outsiders. Stille knew if her traits were out on full display, enemies would use this against both her and her family.

Despite all her reservation about revealing her wings and her nature , she could not let harm come to Jimmy. The trouble seeking boy was almost like family to her, and she would not let harm befall him. She did not know why or how the boy was mixed up with the Rakshasa, she only knew that she had to save him. Questions about his involvement would wait for later, for now she had to save him . If that meant displaying all her powers for any to see, then so be it.

Several archers aboard the barge spotted her in flight and fired several volleys of arrows at her. Stille easily spotted and dodged the projectiles by simply shifting her direction slightly. Although the baroness was taught to be humble , she marveled at how power and easy her flight had become. She not only dodged the arrows but flew high above , spreading her wings at the zenith of her trajectory before diving at the barge at maximum speed. Without even attacking, the mere presence of an attacking four winged demoness drove panic, even in the enchanted minds of the archers. They all scattered at her descent, some even falling into the river by accident.

Stille was short on magic, but she felt a surge of some fiendish power at her disposal. She always felt it on the edge of her psyche but never utilized it . The rush of power , from her flight, and the fear of her opponents allowed her to tap into that forbidden source. She felt unrestrained at the power, and sensed she could cause the archers to wilt to the ground in pain, but instead she chose only to cover them in darkness. The demonic shadow covered the men, causing them to flounder and scatter even more. Stille knew that she passed the first test, but knew many more lied before her.

The priestess felt a sense of power and empowerment as she landed on the roof of the barge and crouched like a hunting cat. A creature that appeared to be some form of stork headed creature with backwards hands emerged from the bowels of the ship. While her claws and teeth were sharp, Stille knew they could not penetrate the creature's hide. She instead released more of her fiendish power onto the creature. The priestess normally only prepared defensive or beneficial spells , with a few minor offensive ones at her disposal, but with young Jimmy's life on the line she destructive energies that she had never wielded before. The stork creature was caught unaware by both her position and the force of the spell. Its body shook and wracked with pain as all of the moisture in its frame was drawn forth . It fell to its knees as its body was wilted horribly from the spell.

Stille watched in horror at what she had done. She had seen such destructive spells before but she had never dared wield them. A part of her knew it was no different than killing with blade or healing warriors to do the dirty work for you, but a larger part was shocked at how easily she could unleashed such deadly power. For a second she thought that all the judgements people had placed on her, and all herself doubts about her mastery of her heritage were thrown in her face and proven correct. She had failed her own test. Before she fully realized her deed, a powerful orange blur crashed into her.

The half fiend, instinctively clawed and bit the creature, but her attacker was too strong . It's speed, and ferocity overwhelmed her . Even though she had a fair amount of training in hand to hand combat the new opponent's strength and speed she faced was overpowering. A claw struck her shoulder and raked bloody rivets over her shoulder and chest. Another raked her face and dug deep and painfully into her face. Something akin to a vice bit her in the neck. If felt like the time she was bit by a succubus and she could feel her lifeblood draining from her.

The priestess reeled from the attack and attempted feebly to fall back. She flailed wildly as she staggered back, and before she knew it she tripped over the edge of the barge. Helplessly she fell over board and crashed into the river.

Stille was a good swimmer, but her wounds were too great. She thrashed feebly in the dark waves. Helpless to aid Jimmy and herself.

Akash grumbled at the Grommers. Despite leading them through the illusionary wall, they had politely refused his aid in storming the Rakshasa lair. He heard a couple of slurs directed at him under their breaths but he decided it was better than being stoned or beaten like in his native Vinnraj if he was a regular tiefling.

Although Akash was often berated and treated harshly by his mistress, the tiefling knew it could be a lot worse. The fact that he was her servant gave him a form of immunity to the harsher prejudices the people of Nashput often reserved for his people. She was not to be trifled with , and some of that immunity was transferred to him. Sure, he was often called names behind his back and charged higher for services, but it beat being locked in a cage or hanged . In a morbid kind of way Akash enjoyed the names that the humans called him, and he took it as a matter of pride to categorize the various derogatory terms attributed to tieflings from around his travels. A particular term seemed quite popular with the Grommers, and he made a note to find out what it exactly meant later. He heard of the tiefling hero Zax, but wondered what exactly an "Uncle Zax " was.

As Akash pondered this, the entire block began to shake violently. The tiefling thought it similar to the terrible thrashings of the earth dragons in his homeland, and immediately sought safety away from the building. Just as quickly as it began, the tremor stopped. The tiefling grinned in glee as he saw the Grommers that had spurned his aid earlier , scramble out of the lair in panic and fear, covered in a thin lair of debris and dust.

" Aki! Health potion! ", grunted the familiar high voice of his mistress from behind him.

Akash turned and saw the Ivory Lady being supported by the two demon hunters she had entered with earlier. He saw his mistress seemed terribly drained and wounded . Curiously her bladed staff was strapped to her back, while she carried a large oversized black axe, with what appeared to be faces screaming in anguish carved on the axe head.

Akash ignored this curious sight, and swiftly produced a healing potion for his mistress. He bowed subserviently as he presented the elixir. She swiftly grabbed and quaffed it, and strangely offered it to the half giant supporting most of her weight.

The half giant accepted it with a nod. "That was close. I thought you were just being suicidal when you told me to bring the roof down, I didn't think you could get us out. ", he said stoically. " I didn't think travel magic would work down there, especially since the lair was designed to prevent it, and Martinez sprinkled Almarth dust around the perimeter to prevent magical means of escaping ."

The Ivory Lady smiled slyly. " There are some magics that cannot be denied, but I admit it requires a physically and spiritually draining sacrifice. ", she explained hoarsely while patting the demonic axe. Akash was worried for his mistress, he had never seen her so weakened, but his attention was captivated by her odd weapon. He cringed as he stared at the axe closer, and saw that one of the faces etched in the axe seemed to be slowly moving , engaged in a silent scream of terror. He had seen the Ivory Lady wield terrible artifacts in the past, but had never seen this device.

The man called Martinez did not seem amused. "What a waste of time that was. We invaded the lair, killed a bunch of them, and even dropped the roof on their heads when they made that last counter attack. Yet still we didn't see the boss creature. How am I supposed to impress the Lady Stille, if I don't bag the head honcho . ", he said while pretending to parry and thrust with an invisible rapier.

"Lord Mogombo was not present? ", asked a disappointed Akash. If Mogombo escaped, than he could expect his mistress continue the hunt. The tiefling expected to return to Nashput soon, but it seemed that their quest would continue.

The Ivory Lady shook her head, and begun to speak. Before she could reply, the human called Martinez interrupted him.

"Lucky for him he wasn't here. I , the great demon hunter Martinez, would have skewered the beast and skinned him. I would present his hide, as a rug or maybe a fancy cloak of some sort to the Lady Stille to win her attention. Noble women love fancy garments made from monsters ! Bitches love that kinda shit ! ", declared the duelist proudly.

Raoul and the Ivory Lady both rolled their eyes simultaneously at the bragging human. They both spotted each other's response, and stopped. They gazed at each other playfully before both giving a low laugh. Akash raised an eyebrow at the pair. It was the closes thing to flirting that he had ever seen from the Ivory Lady. Despite knowing his Mistress for almost a century, he had never known her to act in such a manner before. Even on the rare occasion she interacted with other giants, the Ivory Lady never showed any humor or affection and her demeanor was always business like.

"I have faced Mogombo before. He is a dangerous opponent. He is a master of magic, and his martial skills rival that of the infamous Prince Stormfeather. We were lucky we did not face him, considering we underestimated their numbers so badly. ", the Ivory Lady stated while still locking eyes with the half giant. She then turned to address Martinez directly, but strangely he was gone.

Rajah Mogombo shook his head. Someone would pay for this fiasco. It was as if the gods themselves wished to deny his place in their hierarchy. Not that he blamed the jealous deities. If he ascended to demigod status, his magnificence would shame them all. If he was a god, he too would throw whatever obstacle in his path to prevent his ascension.

The Rakshasa lord knew all was not lost . He now knew that there were two heirs with noble hearts awaiting him. They seemed fairly young, and doubt they had lost their purity like Prince Rajeev. Most of his minions were slain, even his chain devil , but that mattered little. He only had a handful of minions left, but they would do. The one's he sent to his lair were an acceptable sacrifice. He guessed that the Grommish Royal Adventurers would be busy dealing with them as he made his escape. Pawns could be gathered, hired, charmed, or summoned.

The Grommers , despite their reputation on the battlefield, had proven unable to stop him . Their so called guards he had scattered like chaff. Even that demonic half fiend woman they sent against him , was no match for his power and ferocity. The creature was strong, but not as strong as the Rakshasa lord. He noticed a holy warrior on the dock , they were always troublesome but he had outsmarted him and sent his barge away out of his reach. He saw several harbor patrol ships scrambling to detain him, but his swift barge was already too far gone for them to stop. A fast longship pulled close to his barge, but the Rakshasa simply destroyed it with a ball of fire, with a simple wave of his hand. He knew he stood unopposed once again. All he had to do was regroup and attempt another strike at procuring a heart. He was close this time, and he knew his destiny will not be denied.

There was still the possibility of an escaped slave on his vessel, but that could be dealt with at his leisure. He suspected it was the boy with the sage like knowledge, but his presence was trivial in the grand scheme of things. Mogombo knew that the only thing left to do was summon the black scroll. The item that had guided him in his quest to obtain immortality. He had left it in his lair, but it mattered not, he could summon it wherever and whenever he wished. The scroll could best be described as a minor artifact, and its true master could bring it forth whenever he wished. It was a draining process and he was loathed to do it normally, but considering all his enemies were defeated or left behind, he considered it a good time to do so.

Mogombo concentrated and drew forth the scroll , it felt heavier than normal, and he wondered if it was due to the fact it was placed in the abandoned wizard sanctum they had taken over. The area was useful due to the wards that were placed on it, but even those wards were no match for the scroll's power.

A black miasma of energy appeared and the Rakshasa was taken aback by what he saw. A human, dressed like a gaudy nobleman, with too much oil in his hair and cream on his face appeared before him. Mogombo wasn't sure why he was here, but he suddenly sensed that this creature had the black scroll. His key to god hood was in this creature's possession.

The Rakshasa lord instinctively lashed at the human, but the man matched his speed by quickly drawing two daggers. He parried Mogombo's claw with his left dagger then slashed in response with his right dagger, slicing a few of the Rakshasa's whiskers off causing him to stumble back.

"How dare you despoil the body of Mogombo! ", roared the Rakshasa.

The man gave him a puzzled look , then smiled. "Wait? Mogombo? The big boss critter?"

The Rakshasa lord snarled at his crude questions.

The man took that as a yes and beamed happily.

"Ahh, I knew it would come to this. The main head honcho versus me…. the dashing hero. ", nodded Martinez .

"…and you are? ", growled the toothless striped house cat creature that called itself Mogombo.

" … Look ! I can even the see the baroness thrashing in the water! I would have preferred to have her have a more front row seat, but this is adequate. Looks likes she's wounded, but that's Ok. She's a cleric, and ….look there, my countryman Jose is on a row boat to render her aid. I didn't expect him here, let alone be sober at this hour, but then again he does seem to be handling the oars haphazardly, maybe he is drunk. ", commented the duelist as he peered overboard.

The cat creature seemed to be annoyed, it concentrated on Martinez and then shook its head. " Your mind is a jumble….I cannot read it. I've only encountered this before against insane opponents like the mad miniature dero or the suicidal dire corbies, or sometimes against delusional narcissistic individuals who are completely wrapped up in their own vanity. "

"Hah! You've never met a trained demon hunter like myself . I've trained my mind to be unreadable by telepaths. I will have you know that I have a personal psychic who has told me my ego is formidable enough to deflect psionic attacks. ", boasted the duelist.

"That's what I just said you prattling fool ! ", spat the orange striped cat creature. Martinez thought it looked cute, especially since it was missing its oversized front teeth. " I don't know how you got on my vessel or why you are so arrogant, but it ends now ! " The Rakshasa creature hands grew red and a wave of fire blanketed where the duelist was for a few seconds. After the conflagration the creature seemed quite satisfied with the destruction it had wrought.

"Excellent ! ", clapped Martinez as he emerged from the flame unharmed. His ability to evade elemental attacks was quite uncanny . Spinning , weaving , and dodging the brunt of a fiery wave was second nature to him. " That display will surely gain the baroness's attention, as well as those guardsmen that seem to be milling on the dock. A perfect start to this battle I think !"

The creature snarled and and began weaving arcane symbols in the air. Martinez felt another attack coming, he could evade it if it was an area effect elemental spell, dodge it if it was a more direct attack, or the stone of Almarth could negate it if it was a mental strike . As he awaited the attack, he wondered briefly how he arrived here. Normally he was resistant to magic , unless he choose to mentally lower his defenses . Only an artifact similar to the Ivory Lady's strange axe would be able to pluck him from the harbor district to the barge he was on. Martinez wondered if the creature had an item or perhaps he had looted something inadvertently in the Rakshasa lair. He briefly opened his pack, and only one item caught his attention, a dark leathery scroll with illegible writing on it.

The striped house cat creature named Mogombo stopped mid spell and floundered his attack when he briefly glance the scroll. "The black scroll….how dare you possess my black scroll…..", it stammered.

"Oh..this thing? It's valuable I take it? Is it buy my buddies and I a round of drinks expensive, or are we talking brand new vorpal blade for Martinez , type of bucks?", inquired the duelist happily.

Faced with the scroll directly, the creature seemed hesitant at using his magic against the duelist possessing his scroll, instead it grew its claws several inches in length and growled a rumbling battle cry. Martinez was almost deafened by its anger, but was delighted in the sound. He was sure everyone on the docks could have heard it. They would all watch him triumph over this creature and heap praises on him afterwards.

The duelist pondered using his daggers or crossbow. The arbalest was more effective, but the daggers much more showy. He opted to go for his blades. He flicked his wrists and produced his two blessed daggers. He gave them both a fancy flourish before he beamed a smile at the weakly thrashing baroness in the water. She didn't look so good, but she was most likely blinded by his dashing skill he thought.

"Let us begin! Fame , fortune, destiny and the swooning baroness awaits! ", bragged the duelist.

Jimmy peered from the hold and saw the Rakshasa lord move inhumanly fast against his master. He didn't know how Martinez got there, but was glad that he did. The creature's first strike was like a blur and the duelist barely managed to block it with his dagger. The second claw was a wide sweep, which his master barely ducked.

Jimmy knew his master was one of the finest knife fighters around, but surprisingly he seemed over matched by this monster. The creature's first swing had recovered, while Martinez was still ducking, and it gave a clawed uppercut to the duelist's head. Martinez somehow scampered back before his head was ripped off, but the sharp claws still managed to rake and shred the armor on his chest, sending him flying back and crashing to the deck of the barge.

"It seems your fighting skill is no match for your incessant babbling. ", noted the Rakshasa lord as he gazed down on his foe.

Martinez true to form, rolled into a ball before springing acrobatically to his feet. " You're a fast one aren't you. However no one is faster than…", he began but the creature was atop of him once again. Instead of clawing the duelist to pieces, it simply gave him what Jimmy knew was a flying knee to his head.

Jimmy had seen Sir Jose use such a maneuver on the rare occasion he used his Daros Lucha and knew it was a finishing move. His master would be hard pressed to recover from such an attack.

Martinez tumbled to the deck once again. Jimmy saw the knee had impacted on his nose and had broken it. That should have been it, but the duelist rose once again. His face was a mess, but he smiled through the blood and raised a bloody dagger in response to the Rakshasa's lord last attack.

The creature stumbled a bit as it noticed the blood dripping from his leg. Jimmy's heart jumped as he knew it would be unable to use its speed as effectively as it had before. The young demon hunter's heart then dropped as the Rakshasa lord intoned a spell, and began flying instead.

It gave another deafening roar before swooping upward. Martinez took the opportunity and miraculously produced his hidden arbalest. Jimmy was still unsure how his master did it. He at first assumed it was hidden in his sleeves, but the weapon was too big to hide in his master's tight clothing. He wondered if it was in several parts that he quickly assembled, or did he have some magical enchanted clothing that hid his weapon. Whatever the reason, the duelist produced his deadly weapon and fired twin bolts at the creature. The Rakshasa twisted in the air, dodging one , but the other struck it in the side. It growled, before diving at the duelist.

Jimmy thought his master should have dodged, but instead he flipped a switch on his arbalest and a bayonet sprang from it. He waited for the creature and at the last moment stabbed upwards with it. The monster blinked from existence and appeared behind the duelist, before Jimmy could shout a warning it slashed at Martinez's back. The man swiveled like a top while dropping his crossbow to the ground. He once again produced his daggers and barely managed to parry the successive blows of his foe. Jimmy saw that each strike drove his master back and a few slashes had evaded his defenses and ripped his armor and flesh to ribbons. Despite his wounds Martinez fought back bravely. Finally the beast unexpectedly lunged its jaw forwards and bit the duelist in the arm. Martinez gasped in pain and dropped one of his blades before he was shaken violently and thrown to the edge of the barge. Jimmy half expected his master to once again roll with the throw and spring to his feet, but the man slammed heavily into the railing and weakly scrambled to his feet.

"Where is your arrogant chatter now , human? Where is your unfounded confidence? Please continue to boast about how you will defeat me before your gathered onlookers! ", declared the Rakshasa lord loudly. "I will tear your skull and spine from your body as a trophy. I will perhaps fashion them into a flail of some sorts, one which I will be sure to beat Sardar Milan to death with it, after I have attained godhood. You have been amusing but this ends now ! "

Jimmy saw the creature was preoccupied with its gloating and saw his chance. He scrambled from the hold and onto the deck. Instead of jumping for the water he dived for the crossbow his master had dropped. While most crossbows had to be loaded before firing, Jimmy knew his master's had a small magazine with bolts. He wasn't sure how to operate it but he had watched him use it on many occasions and he hoped he was able to mimic him correctly. The weapon was heavy in his hand as only one new bolt slid in place of the double shot weapon. Jimmy had little time, took aim and fired.

The bolt flew true, but the creature was fast. It somehow sensed the attack, and weaved to the side. Jimmy's attack only grazed the creature , barely drawing any blood. The monster turned his head towards him and Jimmy was paralyzed with fear. Though he was taught to ignore this most primal instinct, all his training vanished under the creature's baleful withering gaze. "Ahh…the rat reveals itself. You are the sage creature that aided the noble Nashput hearts to escape are you not. Your torture will last till I recover and slay your comrades. In the end, you will beg me to slay them so your torment will end. I will take great… urkkk…"

The Rakshasa lord stopped in mid-sentence. A foot of blessed steel appeared out of his throat, before withdrawing and appearing out of his chest stomach, and finally back through its eye. The sequence of events took a fraction of a second and Jimmy and the Rakshasa lord were both stunned by how brutal and final the attack had been. The Rakshasa lord began to protest, but its lungs were already filling with its black blood . It feebly began to incant a spell, but instead it fell lifeless on the barge. Jimmy knew his master was good in a fight, but absolutely deadly when his opponent was even momentarily distracted.

Jimmy was speechless for a second, but than his youthful enthusiasm returned. "That was AWESOME! ", he declared.

Martinez looked a bit surprised to find his young apprentice on the barge but he nodded and pointed at his face. "How's my nose? Is it broken badly? I don't want the baroness seeing me with a broken face. ", he asked in a concerned voice.