Xalmann glanced towards the direction of Zarius's voice, but the Tiefling was nowhere to be seen. Invisible. For a moment, Xalmann was reminded of someone else he'd met that could turn invisible that he had a much less favorable opinion of than Zarius, but Zarius was proving himself a more than capable fighter in the Lizardman's eyes. Respectable, unlike Perrath.

"The head." Xalmann said simply with a nod in response to Zarius's question. A simple plan, but the simplest plans were often the most effective. He'd drive his axe into the beast's head. The owlbear was just too durable. Its hide was thick and it was surprisingly resilient. It just wouldn't give up even with two of its legs ruined and burns across its body. They needed to land a fatal blow or this fight might never end.

Xalmann raised his axe and dagger and charged forward, the owlbear letting out an angry, hooting growl as he approached. With its good front paw on the ground, it swung the nearly severed paw again at the Lizardman. It was surprisingly smart, not giving him the chance to take out another limb so easily. But this also worked against it. Xalmann jumped back as the wounded paw slammed into the sand and the owlbear flinched from the pain. With the momentary opening, Xalmann swung his axe forward straight into its forehead.

With another angry hoot, the paw rose from the ground and tried to toss Xalmann away, but he managed to dodge away to the side. Damnit. The axe hadn't sunk deep enough to kill it. The blood ran down either side of the beast's beak, dripping onto the sand. It was a grievous wound, but not enough to finish the fight as he'd hoped.

“The head.”

Xalmann may be a man of few words, but at least those words are good ones. Indeed, the head is where they should focus their attacks. The bulk of the owlbear would not be easy to attack through, so they needed to focus on the most vulnerable, though arguably the most dangerous part of the creature given the sharp beak.

While Xalmann charges forth and slams his axe into the head of the owlbear, leaving the weapon embedded there as he jumps back, the tiefling gets a running start. The blade needed some help getting through that thick skull. He would happily help it along. 

As the owlbear goes after the lizardman, Zarius springs into action and dashes forward.^[1]

"Borrowing your shoulder!" The tiefling calls as he jumps up behind Xalmann.

Zarius plants his hands on his broad shoulders, and handsprings off him. Rotating in the air, he brings his boot heels down on the back of the axe just as his invisibility breaks. The force from the tiefling's weight and momentum drives the blade in deeper, sinking into the owlbear's brain past the skull. He springs off and lands next to Xalmann.^[2]

There's a tense moment as the creature looks like it's going to continue the fight and rip the pair limb from limb, but then its movements slow and it lists to the side. It slumps to the ground as it makes throaty gurgling noises before it finally grows silent. 

The tiefling huffs and dusts himself off before turning to the lizardman. "Good work."

---

[1] Dashing
[2] Cats Grace

While the owlbear stumbled from the axe being driven even deeper into its skull thanks to Zarius's kick, Xalmann summoned the axe back to his hand again, ready to continue the fight. With the blade no longer embedded in the wound, the flow of blood was no longer held back. Feathers and sand were dyed red as it cascaded down the beast's face.

Thankfully, the axe had been forced deep enough to end things. The beast collapsed just like the others. Xalmann relaxed a bit, lowering his axe and dagger. That had been quite the fight. Xalmann glanced to the side to see the ghostly Lizardman he had summoned looked like he was laughing, though there was no voice. He ran over and climbed on top of the dead owlbear and started flexing as if he'd conquered it himself. Xalmann rolled his eyes and put his hands together and the ghost looked at him in surprise before vanishing.

Xalmann sheathed his weapons before he turned to Zarius and replied with a simple nod before offering a clawed handshake. Zarius had definitely proven himself a strong fighter this time. Clearly, their last encounter together had just been unfavorable for the brawler to show his skill, but this time Xalmann had seen enough to respect.

The tiefling looks down at the lizard man's extended hand. He wasn't expecting much conversation from Xalmann, but he understands the importance of the gesture. Grasping the lizard man's clawed hand, Zarius gives him a firm handshake. 

"If you ever find yourself in Darkveil, do not hesitate to drop by the Rookery. I know you are not one for conversation, but if you are looking for work, I may have some need for someone of your skills and strengths. For pay, of course."

Xalmann wasn't likely one to care about getting entangled in the complexities of some of Zarius' more political schemes, but it didn't hurt to have a few mercenaries and hired hands to count on for situations that didn't require a delicate touch. The lizard man was capable. That's all that mattered. 

Zarius looks around at the damage. It was minimal other than the docks and fortunately for the locals no one lost their lives to he beasts. A few civilians start to poke their heads out of their homes as the sounds of the owlbears quiets down. The tiefling waves to the family he had been staying with before the owlbears ransacked the docks. Their faces looked relieved that the danger has passed. 

"Speaking of pay, I know this was a sporadic attack but I would have had a much harder time dealing with those beasts had you not rushed in. Please accept this for your troubles."

The tiefling puts a handful of Solars in the lizard man's hand before he can withdraw it from his handshake. Zarius then puts his own hands in his pockets to make it clear he would not hear any arguments about accepting payment for the task. 

"Best of luck on your travels, and help yourself to anything you can scavenge off those creatures. This town has little to offer as thanks so consider that their sign of gratitude. You might be able to use some of the parts to enhance your own weaponry."

With that, the tiefling walks off to talk to the emerging civilians and keep them from bothering the lizard man as he goes about his own business.