*CLANG*

Rasmus winced, bracing for the chains to smash through his skull, but instead was pushed to the side.

"Fall back! Into the corridor!" barked Sylgja as she blocked for Rasmus against Krystaz's chains.

Rasmus readily agreed, though he wasn't sure how the man in the chain wrapped robes was able to swing both chains at once with little to no effort. He thought the man would needed lots of leeway to swing the heavy things to gain such momentum, but it seemed they literally flew out of his hands in a straight line. Even though Krystaz's attacks with his chains required little room, the Hellknights pressing forward had the same idea that Rasmus had, they gave him and his weapons a wide berth which in turn blunted their attack.

By Rasmus' count they were three against fourteen, twelve knights, Redeye and the robed guy in chains, not including anymore knights the enemy had in reserve, but between the narrow corridor and Krystaz's chains, the battle seemed to be at a stalemate.

Redeye did not like the slow progress of the battle. "Charge those fools now!" commanded the Knight Commander. "I shall flay any cowards!"

One of the larger knights wielding a heavy mace broke ranks and charged first. He was a good foot taller than anyone else on the battle field, and he was clearly the most threatening looking given his demonic armour's appearance. Despite his reach with his weapon, Reinhardt managed a jab with his spear first, piercing the man's shoulder. It drew blood despite the heavy armour, but the man pushed forward.

*CLANG*

Right into Sylgja's shield. Ducking under his swing, she bashed the man's stomach with her heater, staggering him. Before he recoverd, she lashed at him twice with her glowing blade, sending sparks everywhere as Hector's blade struck his armour.

Rasmus was dismayed when the weapon seemed only to mark and score the armour. The big knight saw this as well and pressed forward once again, his next strike almost knocking Sylgja to the ground even though she blocked it with her shield.

Bolstered by their comrade's success the other knights stormed in behind him. While the big man blocked most of the corridor, the other knights were at his heels, most likely to prove their courage to Redeye.

Rasmus felt powerless at the onslaught. He couldn't use his magic and he definitely couldn't fight, even at the best of times. His only magic item had the power of basically pushing small weights in a non-combat situation. The best he could do was stay out of the Paladin's and the Pale man's way.

"Give me that crossbow, I can help," said Rasmus, pointing to Marvin's weapon on Reinhardt's back. Though he wasn't a warrior or a sniper like the dwarf, his statement wasn't a complete lie. His memories were shot, but he did recall his skills. He instinctively knew how to use the weapon and wondered if he had spent time hunting in his youth.

Reinhardt ignored his request and calmly jabbed at the knights as he and Sylgja calmly retreated, blocking and delaying a full frontal assault. In between jabs the Pale man fired jets of ice from his hands. One frozen shard struck the big knight but it didn't dull his advance, while another slipped past him and impaled some fool through the neck.

The chains somehow continued to attack through the knights, weaving past their bodies like great serpents, but Sylgja managed to block most of their blows. One did slip through her defense, clipping her on the head, but her helmet held and it didn't even seem to faze her. Was the robed man using magic to control them, or was he some type of shape shifted fiend like Reinhardt, and the chains were a literal extension of his body?

"We're almost at the infirmary, we'll make our stand there," shouted Sylgja as she took another shot to the shield from the big knight. While his strikes were slow and basically telegraphed, they were heavy strikes and it took a toll on her as he systematically sundered her shield.

Just then, Rasmus had an idea.

"Reinhardt, do the sleet and snow thing you did against Vandia," shouted Rasmus

Reinhardt raised an eyebrow but nodded knowingly. Ice, snow, and winds flooded the corridor. Though it probably would have shredded Rasmus, it had little effect on the knights, who easily weathered the attack with their heavy armour and shields. All it did was reduce their visibility, which was all Rasmus wanted.

As the big knight pushed ahead, he suddenly found himself facing his foes in a large room, empty save a dozen beds in the middle. The big man smiled, seeing how him and his fellows can finally overwhelm them with their numbers and charged.

Instead of an armoured wave following him and supporting his flanks, he quickly discovered he was alone in the room. Sylgja had room enough to maneuver now, and easily sidestepped his blow while delivering another slash to his arm. Reinhardt on the other hand, pressed in on the side, finally spotting an opening and jabbed his spear at the big man's knee.

The big knight uncharacteristically yelped as he faltered and fell, landing flat on his face, allowing Sylgja to step up and stab him through the back of the neck with her glowing blade.

"What happened? I thought the rest were right behind him, "she panted as she squared herself against the passage. Another knight wandered through, slightly frozen but more importantly confused. She and Reinhardt quickly dispatched the man before he got his bearings. Sylgja replaced her half broken shield with his, almost as quickly as he hit the ground.

"Remember how I moved the corridors around, well I just shifted the maze of shelves from the infirmary to that passageway. It wouldn't have stopped them but Reinhardt's icestorm broke up their ranks enough for us to take advantage of us."

Two more knights stumbled in confused. Reinhardt froze one, while Sylgja knocked the other man down with her new shield before cutting him down.

"Very clever," complimented Reinhardt. "and a powerful skill."

Rasmus shrugged. "It's not as strong as you think, I initially tried to make a pit and when that didn't work I tried moving the shelves on the roof so they would fall on them, but it seems there are limitations to what I can do with this 'demi plane'. "

"That or you haven't fully mastered it yet," said Reinhardt.

"Let's drop the icestorm, and press forward while we have them reeling," suggested Sylgja bolstered by their success.

"Agreed," said Reinhardt who charged in behind her, after he dispelled his magic.

Rasmus wasn't as keen on this plan, but he wasn't going to challenge a battle hardened Paladin of the Great Reclamation, and the Great Tactian of Stygia. As they advanced, he slowly shifted back the shelves back into the infirmary, revealing pockets of Hellknights which were trapped and turned around by the maze and the snow. They easily dispatched another three warriors this way. One did give them a fight, slicing Reinhardt's tricorn as he chopped at his head, but even with a gash on his head it hardly fazed the Pale man. When they pushed back into the main room, Rasmus saw one of the knights hacked down by Redeye, but two more slipped his vengeful blade and fled through the main entrance.

"This isn't going to end well for you Oskar," said Sylgja as she advanced with her sword and shield. Rasmus was momentarily confused but then realized Oskar was Redeye, which would probably explain how he recognized her earlier.

Krystaz stepped forward but Oskar waved him back. "I'll handle this bitch," he said as he circled her warily.

The robed man frowned but bowed to the Hellknight commander before he walked to the sidelines with Reinhardt who was now leaning on his spear.

"I do love a good mortal duel," commented Reinhardt.

"Aye, there's something to be said about watching a Pitlord fight a Spirit of Fire and Darkness, but nothing beats two mortals banging on each other's heads with their sticks and stones," replied Krystaz. "A dozen larvae on my man over your wench. I'll even give you two to one odds."

"I'll take those odds my friend," smiled Reinhardt.

"Do you mind! I'm in this room. I can hear you two," said Sylgja as she circled Oskar in return. Both warriors mirrored each other's movements. They obviously knew each other, and were a part of the same order, but there was some other connection here. Were they trained by the same master, did one of them betray the other? Rasmus had considered manipulating the room in the Paladin's favour, but thought better of it. This was her battle and she was eager to win it.