#second death

Quill-Finder looked over the tiger. It was big, it was nasty. It looked over the argonian and let out an angry growl.

Quill-Finder smiled. looking down at the pit, she could still hear the bandit calling out for a new challenger. "Well..." she turned to Lydia, "Let's give him what he wants." she began opening the cage to the pit. first her side, then the bandit's side. he hadn't seemed to notice.

she then maneuvered to the Sabertooth's cage. she unlatched the lock, and climbed on top. gripping hold of the top of the gate and lifting, she could feel it coming loose.

Resigning herself to this stupidity, Lydia positioned herself next to Quill-finder, grabbing hold of the gate as well, giving a tug.

The Sabertooth grew excited. it could smell the blood in the air, and grew more restless as the gate lifted. just as the gate opened enough to squeeze through, the sabertooth slammed the cage with its body, jostling the entire structure.

Quill-Finder and Lydia tried to keep themselves steady. but while Lydia was able to regain balance, the argonian slipped.

Wham

Quill-Finder collided with the ground, letting out a yelp of pain. she winced as she regained her bearings and looked up.

Into the eyes of a very hungry, and very angry sabertooth.

with a panic, she planted her foot on the giant cat's nose with a kick, and scrambled to her feet, throwing out a quick oakflesh spell for protection.

her scales glowed a sickly green, and then a dull brown. what were once lizard scales caught the light in a different way. her flesh and scales appeared to take on a treebark texture. a protection spell. and while it wouldn't mitigate all the damage, it would help.

The sabertooth let out a roar, and pounced. Quill-Finder tried to move out of the way, but the cat lunged a paw out, clawing at the bark layer.

The sound of torn fabric rang out in Quill-Finder's ears. she winced, not from physical pain, but from the emotional anguish of her newly favorite attire being ripped to shreds.

where once there was a shirt, her belly was now exposed. the rest of the fabric on the sabertooth's claws.

"Quill-Finder!" Lydia called. she leaped from the top of the cage, sword drawn. she brought the blade down towards the beast.

the Sabertooth darted out of the way, the sword only skimming its shoulder. the sword dug into the ground. "Shit!" Lydia cursed. the Sabertooth let out a defiant roar before returning its attention to Quill-Finder.

it leaped towards her, this time managing to pin her to the ground before letting loose a flurry of claws, tearing through bark and barely scratching the the skin, thanks to the spell. in an act of desperation, Quill-Finder grabbed hold of that new-found strength she felt after killing the dragon and let out a shout.

"FUS!" the force pushed the Sabertooth back. It roared angrily at Quill-Finder as she brought herself back to her feet. Defiantly, she stood in front of the beast, what was left of her clothes in tatters, flames in hand.

Lydia, hearing the shout, and finally managing to dislodge her sword, watched in awe as Quill-Finder charged a fire spell in both hands. the room seemed to get colder as Quill-Finder focused, pulling as much energy in, and before letting loose the biggest firebolt Lydia had seen into the sabertooth.

It yowled in pain as it reeled from the blast, the bolt detonating in a firey explosion in the face of the beast. the smell of burning fur filled the room as the flames dissipated, leaving a charred and angry cat. in a final move of desperation, it lunged at a drained and out of breath Quill-Finder. she weakly put her arms to brace, her eyes closed shut. but the searing pain of claws never came.

two armored hands wrapped around the sabertooth, gripping tight. Lydia, holding the Sabertooth wrangled the creature to the ground, trying hard to stay out of reach of its massive paws. "Are you killing this thing, or what??" Lydia shouted at Quill-finder as she held down the flailing beast.

Quill-Finder blinked, and nodded her head. standing in front of the Sabertooth, she gripped her axe tight before plunging it into the cat's skull.

Slumping back, Quill-Finder held her hands out defiantly. covered in in a mix of her own blood and others. "See? not useless." she smiled.

Lydia let go of the beast, and let out a chuckle. "Alright, I admit, that was-- Thane!"

Before Quill-Finder could ask, an arm gripped her from behind. a sharp pain pierced through her back, until there was nothing more than a searing hot agony in her chest.

"Looks like I win again..." the bandit leader slurred. he retracted his blade, letting Quill-Finder fall to her knees and collapse to the ground.

whatever strength she had left felt so distant. she tried to scream, call to Lydia, anything. the most she could muster was a faint wheeze. her vision clouded as her eyes fluttered, trying and failing to stay open.

she could see the boots of Lydia rush towards the bandit. she could hear the sound of a shout of anger and the clashing of steel.

and all she could do is sit there dying. she would be angry, if she wasn't so scared.

her vision darkened. she could feel herself lifted into the air, slung over an armored shoulder. the body carrying her moved with a desperation and urgency that she hoped was her housecarl. Quill-Finder tried to hold on. say "I'm sorry." she gave one last wheeze, and then the world went dark.

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The Second Death

But to the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their place will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur. This is the second death. — Revelation 21:8 | Berean Standard Bible (BSB) The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God’s Word has been dedicated to the public domain. Cross References: 1 Corinthians 6:9; Galatians 5:19-20; 1 Timothy 1:10; Titus 1:16; 1 John 3:15; Revelation 2:11

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"Help me," says the dying man.

"No," replies the god that had long since abandoned him.