Finally, after weeks of traveling, Perrath finally approaches his destination: Eclipse City. It's a common pilgrimage for followers of the Moon Mother to make. The center of her worship is a perfect place to connect with the roots of his beliefs. Despite its density, the dragon finds himself quite enjoying Eclipse Jungle. In fact, the dense, dark forest is exactly the kind of place he wishes to traverse and exist within. Occasionally, he brushes past plants, letting them Wither in his wake. If one were following him, they might have an easier time tracking a trail of wilted plants. Darkness, no life or vibrance, that is what the Moon Mother wishes for. Wreath the world in darkness. Cast your shadow upon the plains. 

Tomorrow, he should reach his destination, but today, he hears cries in the forest and feline roars. Interesting. There seems to be a fray not too far from his location. He could turn tail and continue about his journey, but what if they are followers of the Moon goddess? Well, he couldn't let them simply perish, so instead he perishes the thought and quickly moves through the brush to the location. Six large black felines with long spiked tentacles are attacking a group of merchants in the forest.

Stepping out of the brush, Perrath shouts in a commanding voice, "You there! Be you children of the moon?"

The merchants, obviously very caught up in their current predicament, respond only in confusion. "What?? Are you an adventurer? Help us! We'll reward you handsomely! Please!"

Perrath doesn't budge, and his voice grows gravely, challenging. "I ask again, are you children of Lunala?"

"If we say yes, will you help us! Yes, yes! We're residents of Eclipse City! We revere the moon goddess! Help!!"

"Then with her blessings, you will be protected!" Finally, Perrath draws his weapon and approaches the beasts. 

“This place sucks…” Ak’ka the Bonegrinder, once proud chieftain of her clan, kicked petulantly at a partially-decayed log in her way. Usually she was pretty good about sucking it up and getting on with her day in a bad situation, but something about the day had left her grumpy. And when she got grumpy, there were few ways to calm her down, and most involved smashing shit.

This was her first time in Moonglade during her hunt for that damned wizard that had buried her in the snow so long ago… she was only so far down south because she’d heard word that there was a witch down here or something, and a bunch of magic folk all around. But what she hadn’t anticipated was the heat. Maybe Moonglade was what some would consider balmy and pleasant, but for someone from the harshest mountains in Frostgale, the weather had proven to be her biggest challenger.

She had long since shrugged off her thick fur-lined cloak, but she still felt close to melting as she stomped her way through the jungle, already lost without a map and with absolutely no clue where she was. Just as she was about to consider taking a break and taking stock of where the hell in these woods she was, she heard a scream, followed by a shout and a couple of animalistic snarls. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together, which was fortunate considering Ak’ka was not much of a thinker.

Not that she needed to be much of a thinker for what she did next- immediately dashing towards the source of the sound. Finally, some action!

Ak’ka broke through the treeline to see a handful of nasty looking cats terrorizing a handful of merchants and a dragonborn raising his weapon to defend them. That was all Ak’ka really needed to see- people needed help, and there were monsters to rag on.

Immediately dashing into the action, Ak’ka came up from behind the merchants, putting herself between the innocent villagers and the beasts before stomping her foot against the ground. Ice spread out from her feet, forming a thin sheet that immediately protruded from the ground, with her standing on top of it.^[1]

Ak’ka immediately targeted the nearest beast which pawed against the protective ice wall. She’d heard a bit about these critters- apparently they could teleport- but before the beast could blink away, Ak’ka jumped into the air, raising her elbow, and slamming it right down into the beast’s back, crushing it underneath her weight in the impact.^[2]

She immediately stood and faced the dragonborn. The beast tried to pick itself up before she stomped on one of its tails, crushing it under her boot, and it let out a weak mewl of pain before collapsing. Ak'ka cracked her knuckles with an audible pop, an almost feral grin on her face, showing off her tusks. “Need any help, big guy?”

---

1. Glacial Wall
2. Bull's Strength

Before he's gotten fully into the fray, another contender comes forward with a wall of ice. A powerful orc woman stands atop it then launches herself to the ground. Ah, a worthy partner! Excellent. Not that these beasts would be a problem for Perrath, but an additional hand for support is nothing to turn one's snout up at. 

"A talented warrior mage!" Perrath exclaims, a confident laugh escaping his maw. "Most excellent! Mother Moon smiles upon us on this day, merchants!" The massive war hammer in his hands thrums, as excited for violence as he. It's heavy though, and his training falls more in the realm of swordsmanship. Still, this hammer called to him. He strains his muscle against its heavy enchantment and brings it down hard on one of the beasts. Unfortunately, the beasts are much faster than his slow hammer. Well, this simply won't do. So instead he leaves the hammer in its small crater and steps back.

Deep purple magic glows from marks on his hands and feet and magical claws of dark magic form around his real claws and talons. This will be much more effective. A displacer beast teleports close to him, and he's able to react in enough time to rend the beast across the throat. Necrotic energy festers at the slashed open wounds, spreading down the beast's neck. It scurries away, bleeding profusely. The beast will perish in no time. Perrath turns to see another coming to rake at him with its claws, and he dodges away. The battle's just begun, he can't take a hit quite yet. That would be embarrassing. 

---

Soul Crusher
Eldritch Claws (slashing/dark)
Cruel Plate (x2 dark damage)

Ak’ka had no idea what this Mother Moon bullshit was about, but it didn’t matter to her as long as her new battle companion was getting pumped up. She let out a triumphant laugh of her own, as if the battle had already been won. Between her and the big dragon guy with the hammer, it already had been- it was only a matter of time. The dragonborn swung his heavy hammer overhead, crashing it into the ground with enough force to shatter the earth.

“Whoa.” She said, raising her eyebrows, the closest she came to showing begrudging respect on her face. She would definitely have to get this guy to a tavern once all was said and done and challenge him to an arm wrestling match, see how much he could really lift. He quickly abandoned the hammer for the best form of combat- hand to hand. He nearly filleted one of the cats before it scurried off, and another tried to strike at him before he deftly dodged out of the way. He was clearly nothing to sneeze at, and he probably would’ve had this all taken care of without Ak’ka’s help at all, but she wanted in on the action.

The cat that tried to get a hit on the dragonborn was still within range, so Ak’ka grabbed it by one of its tails and yanked it closer to her. "Get over here, kitty!" The cat yowled as it tried to slip out of her grip, but Ak’ka had already pulled it into striking range. She cold-clocked it in the side, disorienting it before it could teleport out of her range.^[1] With one arm, Ak’ka hooked her arm around its neck, and the other around its torso, holding it in place for the dragonborn to pull off the finisher.

---

1. Bull's Strength

With each strike he makes, the Displacer Beasts teleport out of his reach repeatedly. The dragon snarls in irritation, several of his swings just missing by the hairs on the beasts' neck. After his first kill, it seems he grew too confident in his abilities. Some would call it luck. He would call it infuriating. With his feigned strength and force of personality, Perrath is nothing if not a pretender. He is a dragon who performs, a beast with his own faults. As much as he believes he is one of the world's greatest warriors, he still has a journey to take to prove this to the world. So he will fool them all as long as he can about his feats and strengths. 

The orc woman calls out and snatches one of the felines, holding it fast in her grip. Her arms are their own kind of locking jaws. As much as the beast struggles, it cannot escape. It is perfect prey: trapped and helpless. A malicious grin spreads across Perrath's maw, and he takes full advantage of the victory the orc woman allots to him. Shadows shroud him, wisping up around his form as he charges across the battlefield. They trail like smoke from his glowing hand as he rakes his magical claws across the beast's belly and tears it asunder. 

"An excellent play," he says with a wild grin, smoke and shadows seeping from his mouth. The look in his eyes seems a bit wild. Three beasts down, three to go. With another kill, the frustration fades only slightly. His bloodlust is yet satiated. "My turn." Perrath turns to find his next victim only to see reality warp and shimmer in front of his very eyes. A Displacer Beast appears in front of Ak'ka and himself, marking itself his next target. "Grovel before your maker!" he growls, twisting his hand in the air. A sickening purple light envelops the beast, and suddenly it becomes weak at the knees, struggling to stay on its feet. It starts panting as if desperate for water or air or any kind of sustenance. His eyes dart back to Ak'ka. An easy target; a small repayment for her assistance.  

---

Cloak of Shadows
Desperation

The heat of battle was starting to set in, especially with the big guy getting the kill on the kitty. He had a wild smile on his face and bloodlust in his eyes, which was reflected in Ak’ka’s own face. This had stopped being about saving the merchants for her, and more about the thrill of the kill, especially now that the big guy had returned the favor, forcing one of the cats to bow at her feet.

“Yes!” Ak’ka cried, clasping her fists together and raising them above her head. She brought them down with the force to crush the cat’s skull against the ground. An easy target, but there were still plenty more to pummel. “Today you all learn why they call me the Bonegrinder!” She announced with another round of laughter, holding her hands triumphantly in the air, as if challenging one of the cats to try and stop her.

The air shimmered above her as one of the remaining cats teleported behind her, landing on her back and digging in with its sharp claws. Ak’ka could not reach around and grab at it to yank it off of her as it struck at her with its tails.

“Alright then, kitty, you wanna go for a joyride?” Ak’ka grunted, pushing away the pain. The cat was still stuck like a leech as she stumbled backwards, immediately throwing her back against the ice wall, crushing the cat between her weight and the glacial foundation. The ice shuttered from the force of the blow, and the cat let out a mewl of pain as the wind was knocked out of it, but it held strong. Ak’ka grimaced, but the smile never left her face. Things were getting entertaining now. "Oh, you're a tough little bugger, ain't ya?"

With four felines felled, only two remained. Perrath lost all sight of the merchants and focused instead on the victory at hand. The orc woman's laugh is infectious, and he bellows his own dragon laughter then makes to attack another beast only for it to teleport away and appear over Ak'ka. Infuriated, he looks around and spots it clinging to her back. She slams it into the wall of ice with enough force to surely crush it, but it holds fast. "Warrior woman, allow me!" he shouts, whipping out a jagged dagger and rushing over. Perrath slams the Dagger of Torment into the Displacer Beast's side. The dagger emanates a sickly aura of magic as the dragonkin rips it out of the beast, spraying blood. Then, horrific visions invade the cat's mind, and the poor thing doesn't have the mental capacity to withstand it. It loses its grip, letting out an awful howl of pain and panic, and Perrath steps back, motioning to the creature in a gentlemanly way. 

"It's all yours," he says with a grin. This battle has been truly invigorating, and this mysterious new partner of his? Oh, he could fight another day with her. Their bloodlust pairs well together like fine wine and cheese. 

At the big man’s cry, Ak’ka knew he was planning on assisting her with the big cat still clinging to her back and assaulting her with a barrage of its tails. She managed to turn her back just in time to give the dragon ample position to plunge the serrated dagger into its back. The blow was vicious, but whatever freaky magic he’d done to it was even worse, as the kitty released its grip on her and dropped to the floor in a pained yowl. Eyes dilated so large that they looked purely black while the dragon stepped back and allowed her to make the finishing blow.

“Don’t mind if I do.” The thrill of the fight and the adrenaline through the pain was pumping through Ak’ka’s veins. How long since it last been since she sang the song of battle? Maybe it had only been a few days, or months, but nothing had proven much of a challenge for her, and it had been far too long since she met someone who shared her love of the fight. There had been other partners, other champions, but none of them were as vicious as this man.

And she loved it.

Ak’ka picked up the groveling feline, raising the cat overhead and bringing its spine down upon her knee with a sickening CRACK, putting an end to whatever visions it had been tormented with.

She dropped it to the ground, turning back to the big guy as she cracked her knuckles. “One to go.”

In the few times Perrath paired with a partner, he rarely found them to be as vicious and visceral as the orcish woman. It's been a splendid experience. A wicked grin spreads across his face, bits of blood shimmering in the streaming sunlight, and he looks towards the area where the merchants' cries for help sound like music to his ears. "What say we split the last prize?" he suggests, his right hand gripping the dagger and his left hand flexing the magical claws. They could literally rip it in two if they wanted probably. At least, he'd like to think that. 

The cat roars, and the merchants squeal, and Perrath rushes over to make a final assault. If one of two merchants got a tiny bit injured, it really wouldn't be too much of a big deal. After all, better injured than dead, hm? A reward would be justified either way. Charging forth, Perrath skids to a stop when he encounters the Displacer Beast and takes a swipe at its tentacle. It misses narrowly, so he swings with the claws, and the beast disappears and reappears behind him. The dragon whips around to face it only to be slapped by the spiked tentacle in the chest, but it grazes across his armor. Ak'ka rushes up, and he gives her a nod so they can strike together. A combination blow to destroy the last kitten!

The idea of splitting the last kill together sounded like a hell of a lot of fun. Ak’ka didn’t usually share that kind of things with others in battle- in her tribe, fighting was always a competition to see who could get the most heads to roll. But she could see the good in working together to get a kill. It would be a combination of their strength, a triumphant end to this glorious battle, and Ak’ka had to admit that the big guy was a hell of a fighter.

Why not?

“Now you’re speakin’ my language!” She cried as the Big Man rushed forth. Ak’ka followed right on his heels, ice forming at the bottoms of her feet and propelling her even faster, hurling three hundred pounds and seven feet of battle-frenzied orc woman right at the kitty, who was distracted by the Big Man. He tore into the thing with his claws, taking blows like a champ until the moment Ak’ka came barreling forward, momentum adding strength to her blow as she swung her fist like a club.

The two warriors moved as one.

That pathetic cat didn’t even stand a chance.

Ak’ka straightened as the kitten collapsed to the floor, a mangled mass of ground bones and festering dark magic. She rubbed a hand along her split, bloody knuckles as the last dredges of adrenaline faded from her system. “Man, that was a fun warm-up.” She said before turning to her new battle companion. “You’re a hell of a fighter, man! Name’s Ak’ka. They call me the Bonegrinder. You got a name or am I just gonna have to keep thinking of you as Big Man?”

Despite the fact that there were no more displacer beasts, the merchants still hadn’t left the safety of their cart, unmoving as their eyes flitted nervously between orc and dragon, unable to decide whether they should have been more afraid of the wild beasts that had attacked them, or the ones that saved them.

It feels excellent to be in sync with another warrior. The two of them ripping through the final beast with ease, Perrath takes a step back, stretching his arms in a pose of triumph, a satisfied, draconic smile spreading across his maw. He quite likes this orc woman, at least, so long as she doesn't turn out to be an enemy. She seems powerful, and he wouldn't want to go toe to toe with her as opponents. Given the circumstances, that doesn't seem like it will be the case. 

"The Bonegrinder! Hah!" he scoffs a laugh through his grin. There's something infectious about her energy, though it may just be the last courses of adrenaline in his veins. "I can see why! You're quite the fighter!" Letting the magic fade from his claws, the dragon offers his hand for a full forearm shake, one he thinks the orc would appreciate especially. "I am Perrath, Paladin of the Moon Mother herself. Should the opportunity present itself, I would quite love to do battle alongside you again, Bonegrinder Ak'ka, fearsome warrior of ice."

"Now..." Perrath continues, turning to the merchants. "What rewards do you offer your saviors, merchants?" His voice commands presence, and with blood and viscera splattered across his intimidating form, few would argue that the two of them are indeed deserving of a reward. Just as one of the men begins to speak up, a branch snaps farther into the dark forest. Wait, a branch? It's confirmed by the loud thud of wood cracking against the ground. 

Perrath's tail swishes across the bloody dirt in anticipation. Looking out into the forest, two giant, glowing, golden eyes peer out at them. The merchants cower in their cart, but this means little to the creature that emerges from the trees. A feline face covered in scars with two long saber-like teeth breaks the treeline. A crown of horns sprouts from its head. It must be at least ten feet tall at the shoulder and twice as long if not more. There's a loud pounding against a tree unseen behind it. 

There's a moment of silence as the creature stares down the two warriors that took down its pride. Then, a voice echoes in their minds. 

If you value your lives, do not pursue. I will excuse this assault on my pride in exchange for this meal. 

A massive paw reaches out and touches the cart, then magic bends reality, and suddenly the cart full of merchants and the giant teleporting beast are gone.

Stunned by what just occurred, Perrath looks at the Bonegrinder. "Well, it seems opportunity has found us."

“Paladin of the Moon Mother? You talkin’ about Lunala?” The paladin thing made sense, she guessed, considerin’ he was going around swinging that vicious looking dagger. There was a presence about him, a kind of larger than life one that commanded the attention of the whelps around him, like he deserved their respect. She wiped some blood off of her fur-lined cloak, a fruitless endeavor, at the same time the last embers of Perrath’s magic faded.

“Same here. Ain’t often I get to smash the ever-living hell outta things with someone with your brand of freaky, fearful moon magic watching my back.” Nor someone with his bloodlust. There was Ein, but she was bloodthirsty in the innocent kinda way someone was when they didn’t understand the force of their own brutality. Perrath was different. He understood the thrill of battle, and took what he wanted with gravitational force - whether it was crushing the hell out of those cats, or demanding rewards from fearful merchants.

Ak’ka didn’t really give a shit about the prospect of a prize, but she’d follow Perrath’s lead if he wanted to try and strong-arm some money out of them. She cracked her knuckles and snorted, a puff of ice-cold air escaping her nose. The ground trembled beneath her with the movement.

Wait, no.

It wasn’t her that made the ground shake.

It was the giant cat that emerged from the woods, far bigger than anything Ak’ka had ever seen before. Was that supposed to be some displacer beast? It looked more like some giantess of an amazonian warrior woman than a cat! Ak’ka was big, but this beast had a few feet of height over the two warriors, disdain dripping from her expression as a voice echoed in Ak’ka’s mind.

“What do you mean by that?” She demanded, raising her fists - but before she could challenge the beast, it teleported away, taking the merchants, and their prize, with her.

Deprived of her righteous kill, Ak’ka spat out a wad of blood on the ground, wiping at her mouth. Ice-cold anger simmered in her veins. What the hell is she talking about, being even? In the law of the wild, you were either strong enough to stand tall as a predator or you got rightfully killed by the next strongest things that came along. The displacer beasts couldn’t hack it, plain and simple. But if the big cat queen was itching for a fight, then she’d sure as hell deliver.

She turned to Perrath, fury contorting her face. “You down for one more fight? I’m gonna hang that cat’s head on my fireplace mantle.”