The tavern convulsed with an ear-splitting cacophony as Anderson launched himself from his throne. The wood beneath him didn't just break; it vaporized into a plume of splinters. Mwanza reacted on pure instinct, dropping to his belly and rolling aside, narrowly avoiding the massive elf's trajectory.
The Stings were not as quick. The one who had stood directly behind Mwanza found himself ensnared in Anderson's iron grip. The elf slammed him into the ground with such force that a tremor rippled through the earth, concrete cracking and buckling under the impact.
"Mumba!" a voice screamed amidst the ensuing panic. Anderson hoisted his struggling captive by the head and, with a guttural roar, slammed him down again. This time, the man was driven a full meter into the unforgiving concrete.
"What.... why are you doing this?!" Grad demanded, his voice trembling as he stared at his unconscious teammate, bruised but alive amidst a blanket of rubble. "We had a deal, Anderson! I have always delivered for you, why?!"
"I believe that I laid it out clearly for you." Anderson flexed and stretched his massive muscles that moved like a collection of pythons. "You are loose ends and in our business, this can't be allowed now. Belive me, Grad, I don't want this, but my boss is making moves that you could not believe and unfortunately you are not allowed to live beyond this."
The young thief desperately invoked his Mwari, summoning a torrent of flame. But Anderson, with a contemptuous weave of his own Mwari, conjured a condensed gust of air that swirled around him, effortlessly deflecting throwing back the flame.
Mwanza looked down to the Mwari bound earthen shackles that weighed on his limbs. He scanned the chaotic scene for Hamanymu, but the N'anga's servant was nowhere to be seen.
"Guess that I will have to do it myself. " he muttered as he pulled and tagged against the shackles, hoping that his strength would be enough to overpower the Mwari thread that Lenshina had woven into the shackles.
Speaking of Lenshina, he saw her valiantly fighting their former employer. Mwari-raised earthen blocks, striking with the force of artillery shells, battered Anderson. But the elf, even while effortlessly strangling the life out of Grad, remained unmoved, seemingly unbothered. The only reason he finally turned his attention from Grad was the sorry state of his now-torn and ruined clothes. With a predatory glint in his eyes, he rushed Lenshina, a vicious backhand sending her sailing ten meters through the air to crash into the roof and backdoor with a sickening thud.
A sudden tug at his side startled Mwanza. A breath he hadn't realized he was holding escaped him as he turned to see Hamanymu, an apologetic smile gracing his lips. His hands were unbound, and slung across his shoulders was the still-unconscious form of Erik.
"Kept you waiting." Hamanymu said with a grin.
"I think that we joke later." Mwanza snapped as he looked back to see Anderson pummelling one of the Stings who lay in a defensive fatal position, trying and failing to weather his blows that buried them deeper and deeper into the concrete floor.
"Sorry." Hamanymu responded as he lay his hand on the earthen shackles and from them threads of Mwari slowly snaked into the shackles. Mwanza felt a slight vibration ripple through the shackles as Hamanymu's Mwari intermixed with Lenshina's.
The ripples continued as Hamanymu began weaving complex threads which fought the binding weave that Lenshina had left it. The shackles increasingly became hotter as the rippling sensation continued before they both suddenly came to a halt and the stone that had been bound together to create his shackles slowly fell apart.
Mwanza instantly caressed his bruised wrists that had almost been skinned raw. "We should probably leave."
Mwanza took the first few steps and he quickly realised that he stood alone, Hamanymu remained rooted in place watching as Anderson struck at Gard with a blow that unleashed a shockwave as it struck the raised guard of the young man. Gard might have blocked it and remained standing, that did not mean he was okay, an ugly purple bruise instantly blossomed on his arm. His legs buckled, and before he could recover, Anderson seized him in his massive grip and drove his forehead into the exhausted youth's, sending him sprawling.
"What are you waiting for?" Mwanza hissed, keeping his voice low. "Lets go!"
"He is going to kill them." Hamanymu stated, his eyes still fixed on the brutal scene. Anderson, meanwhile, used his Mwari to condense a protective shield of air, deflecting Lenshina's earthen projectiles.
"I mean, obviously." Mwanza retorted, failing to grasp Hamanymu's point. "He intends to kill us all. Let's get out of here while he's preoccupied with his former stooges."
"And leave them to die?" Hamanymu's expression was one of profound disbelief. "That dosent seem right."
Mwanza couldn't believe what he was hearing. Grad, in particular, had been disturbingly eager to kill them. " And they would have done the same to us. There is little use being honourable to those without it."
Hamanymu looked down and muttered. "Still dosent seem right."
"You aren't going to budge, are you?" Mwanza asked and even though Hamanymu didn't respond, the answer was clear as day.
Mwanza knew he could easily grab Erik from Hamanymu's shoulders and escape this madness. It had never been his business. Why should he care if this group of criminals turned on each other? They richly deserved it. As his parents always said,. "The earth is filled with the graves of good men who underestimated the capacity to evil of their enemies."
But as he thought this another one of his parents sayings bubbled out, one that they had always with a strange air of grimness. "Few are the men who have given up morality and not become hollow things."
Logically Mwanza knew that leaving was the objectively right thing and yet as he watched Anderson effortlessly ragdoll another one of the Stings ten meters away, he could feel a hook being driven into his soul as the fear of being a hollow thing bloomed.
"Fine." he whispered taking Erik from Hamanymu's shoulders and laying him gently nearby. "Lets get this over with."
"Your staying?" Hamanymu seemed just as surprised as he was relieved.
"Can't let you have all the fun. Now let's beat this fool." Mwanza responded as the two stepped forward in equal step and now was when Anderson noticed them midway of strangling a bloodied Gard.
"Will you look at that, I almost forgot about you two." Anderson said, casting Grad aside like a broken toy. "So much for a job well done, Grad. Don't worry boys, I will do you a favour and do all the killing here, so you and Stings can no longer have grudges, the person who you hate will soon die."
"How generous of you." Hamanymu began and Mwanza completed. "We will just take killing you, nothing personal."
Hamanymu struck first by weaving his Mwari and thick roots, heavy as tree trunks, erupted from the floor, spearing towards Anderson's broad chest with murderous intent.
The giant elf saw them coming, a contemptuous snort twisting his lips. With a casual twist of his massive frame, Anderson swung his right hand, a blur of a Mwari infused limb sang a low, guttural hum as it cleaved through the air. The roots, thick as they were, splintered and exploded outwards, showering the immediate area in wooden shards. The distraction, however, was enough for Grad and his remaining crew to painfully scrambled away even.
"Where do you think that you are going!" Anderson roared as he tried to chase down his fleeing targets.
Mwanza felt a surge of adrenaline which sent him rushing forward in an attempted tackle of Anderson but it was like running head first into a mountain that stopped him near instantly in his tracks.
"Get off of me, boy!" Anderson bellowed as he swung his meaty left fist to Mwanza's head.
The world exploded into a flash of light and pain as the blow launched the young prince across the across the room and directly through a two meter concrete support column that shattered upon impact. The air rushed from his lungs in a whoosh, and the taste of copper flooded his mouth as he finally came to a halt, crashing into the ground.
Nausea gripped him as he fought off the urge to puke but fighting through the searing pain, Mwanza forced himself onto shaky legs just in time to see Anderson swing his meaty fists at Hamanymu who met his fist with a punch of his own.
Both fists met in a cacophony of ear rupturing sound as the air crackled with displaced energy and the concrete around their feet buckled and split.Anderson swung again, an overhand punch to crush Hamanymu's head, but his target proved too agile and narrowly sidestepped the deadly descent.
Hamanymu retaliated with a desperate, lunging right hook, his fist connecting with Anderson's gut with a meaty thud. Anderson grunted but didn't even flinch. He took another swing and Hamanymu raised three vast roots from the earth to act as a shield, they exploded into a shower of splinters upon impact.
Hamanymu took the opportunity to throw rights and lefts of his own, a near unending flurry of body blows against the giant's unyielding flesh, each impact echoing like someone hammering on a thick iron door. Each blow drew a grunt of pained acknowledgement from Anderson who could do no more than try to weather the onslaught with his guard and body movements.
The final blow came with such strength that it even displaced the air around Hamanymu's fist as it struck with with the sound of thunder and enough force to flatten a tank. When it landed the impact rocked Anderson's body. The elf shifted his weight to stop himself from being knocked down and still he was sent sliding backwards, his feet carving shallow trenches in the earth.
Then the air changed. A sharp, metallic tang filled the air, the smell of ozone biting at Mwanza's nostrils. He saw Anderson's right hand clench, a faint blue glow emanating from his palm. Mwari, channeled and focused. Arcs of blinding lightning erupted from Anderson and slammed into Hamanymu. Hamanymu screamed, a raw, agonizing sound that was abruptly cut off as the lightning surged through him. His body spasmed violently, smoke rising from his singed clothes and hair.
The elf lowered his arms which now bore the purple bruises from Hamanymus blocked strikes, Mwanza could only imagine the amount of damage done by those blows that had landed. He sneered and spat at the ground before with total contempt the he backhanded Hamanymu, sending him sailing through the air like a discarded doll, slamming into the tavern's main counter. The entire structure disintegrated into a shower of splinters on impact.
Anderson stalked Hamanymu like a lion that took a sick fascination playing with its food. "Come on, boy. we are not finished yet."
He grabbed Hamanymu by his feet and like a child with a stick he hurled him across the room and through two supporting columns, Hamanymu's unconscious body only coming to a halt when it was embedded halfway into the third pillar.The giant burst into a rapturous laughter as he turned to face Mwanza, his scared face further twisted by his mad grin. "Looks like it is our turn to dance, boy."
Terror clawed at Mwanza's throat, but so did something else, a hot, rebellious anger, began to simmer within him. He forced a shaky grin upon his face. "Finally got you all to myself how… thrilling."
Instinct took over once more. He wrenched at the frigid chains of his Mwari, ignoring the screaming protest of his battered body. A chaotic explosion of biting wind and ice shards erupted – uncontrolled, wild, spraying in every direction. Some shards narrowly missed Grad and his remaining crew. Anderson met the blast head-on, a shield of crackling blue lightning flared around the weapon. Ice met lightning in a violent, elemental clash, a hissing cloud of freezing steam instantly filled the tavern, obscuring everything in a swirling, disorienting mist.
Mwanza bit back a scream as agony flared in his hands, it felt as though the very flesh was being flayed from his bones by the backlash of his own power. In this pained confusion he never saw the punch coming through the mist. Like a wrecking ball Anderson's fist emerged from the swirling vapor, aimed squarely at his head. The impact was brutal, a sickening crunch that echoed through the steam.
Shockwaves radiated outwards from the point of impact on Mwanza's skull, launching him backwards, his vision blurring, the mist swirling around him like a malevolent shroud. He crashed through the nearest wall, concrete groaning and shattering into a hundred pieces as he landed hard in the dust-choked interior of the adjacent building.
He lay there for a moment, each breath a ragged, painful wheeze. Dust motes danced in the shafts of light filtering through the ruined walls. Fighting the rising tide of nausea and pain, Mwanza pushed himself to his knees, then to his feet. His head swam, his body screamed in protest, but a cold, hard resolve began to settle within him. He would not break, Not here and Not now.
He looked down at his hands. They trembled, bruised and bloody. But beneath the surface damage, he felt it- the Mwari, vibrating within his very flesh and bone, a potent, raw power threatening to rupture outwards.
"I can't hurt him like this." he thought as he balled his trembling hands into a fist, it felt as if red hot blades were being driven into his flesh and bones. "...I cant control it... what if I let the blizzard rage, but kept it contained... within myself? Like Mother does with her power... It could tear my arms apart... And yet..."
A sad smile touched Mwanza's lips. With heavy steps he broke into a sprint through the jagged hole his body had created. Swirling threads of ethereal blue Mwari violently danced in his hands, begging for freedom and yet kept contained within his bones and muscles.
Back in the tavern, the giant elf was slowly approaching a Lenshina who had somehow attained a Thunderbolt-50 and it's sonic booms echoing with rapid succession as each supersonic projectile flew at Anderson who all so casually kept avoiding them with a casual contempt.
"Lenshina, is it?" he asked as he got close enough to send a lightning bolt through the rifle, sending a splattering of molten sludge across the floor. "For an earther you have more balls on you than old Grad over there. Pity that it had to end this wa..."
That's when Mwanza's fist, engulfed in eratic Mwari threads collided with Anderson's face, more of an explosion than a punch. The blow sent the elf staggering in shock for the first time in their battle.
"You are still standing, boy?" Anderson said with a grin as he wipped the trail of blood leaking from his lower lip.
"I..." Mwanza snarled as the temperature around him plummeting noticeably, frost beginning to bloom on nearby surfaces. "...Will kill you. "
"You got heart!" Anderson declared before he rushed forward. "I look forward to ripping it out of you."
Mwanza threw his fist, Anderson blocked, the entire building shook as if struck by an earthquake. Anderson was sent back reeling with a layer of frost across his flesh. Mwanza threw another wild punch and another and another punch at the giant, eachone sending Anderson retreating. More and more blows born of adrenaline and frustration came landing across Anderson's body which was now spotting patches of frostbitten flesh where Mwanza had landed.
Anderson backtracked and attempted a looping right hook, Mwanza stepped forward whilst ducking beneath the blow as his own right fist came in a twisting uppercut. As his fist flew upwards, the constrated turmoil of Mwari grew sharp spikes of ice grew across his knuckles.
Anderson shrieked in pain as crimson coloured the right side of his face when the blow connected. Mwanza felt a sense of satisfaction as he looked into those eyes which realised that he was losing.
A predatory grin touched Mwanza's lips as he struck hard and fast. Anderson gasped, his lungs depleted of oxygen as Mwanza's fist connected with his abdomen with all the force that the young prince could muster. The building groaned and trembled, its frame threatening to collapse from the force unleashed by the blow. Anderson coughed out a mixture of blood and saliva as he stumbled backwards, hunched over in pain.
Mwanza grinned in triumph as he was about to bring Mwari into his right hand for a strike at the now defenceless Anderson but he couldn't. There was no feeling in his hands anymore and looking down at them, Mwanza saw them caked in blood, his own.
He tried and tried again to draw upon that familiar power much less to simply move his limbs and yet his arms had been disconnected from his body with only a dull nauseating pain beginning to build up.
"Out of juice, lad. A pity!" Anderson roared with a manic laughter tinged in relief.
Quickly he brutally front kicked Mwanza, ribs cracked audibly. Mwanza flew backward, skidding across the ruined concrete, carving a shallow trench before sliding to a halt.Before he could even gasp for breath, Anderson's massive boot descended, stomping down onto his chest. The impact drove the air from Mwanza's lungs in a strangled wheeze. He tasted blood, thick and metallic. His vision swam, the world tilting and darkening at the edges.
Anderson grabbed him by the ankles. Treating him like a sack of feathers, the elf swung him overhead, slamming him into the hard floor, again and again. Each impact sent jolts of agony through Mwanza's already broken body. A final, devastating slam left him half-buried in a meter-deep crater of shattered concrete.
"GET UP, KEEP MAKING THIS FUN FOR ME, BOY!" Anderson roared he picked Mwanza's limp body by his throat and brought his meaty fist repeatedly against Manzas head opening a cut across his forehead.
"COME ON, DONT BREAK SO EASILY I WAS....." Anderson's tirade ended abruptly as the elf stopped and turned to face someone, Mwanza's vision was hazy from the beatings and blood in his eyes, but he could the rough outline of a familiar figure.
"F...father? " he drunkenly mumbled.
"Is this your boy?" Anderson asked with a mocking grin. He raised Mwanza's limp body up like some sort of toy.
"It appears he is." the Mwami almost sounded disinterested as he spoke.
"I don't know who you are friend, but you best take care of your children. Boy walked where he didn't belong, I believe such actions require a price." Anderson playfully stated. Mwanza could not believe his ears, how could Anderson not recognise the Mwami of Valon.
"Then stop wasting my time and come claim your supposed price."
A smile touched Anderson's lips and the elf cast Mwanza's body aside like a toy and began stomping towards the Mwami. "Aren't you going to draw your sword?"
For the first time Mwami Undi smiled and with mocking glee he said. "This sword is only for the worthy, it would be a waste to Spill your blood with it."
"You must be the most obnoxious family I have ever met." blinding surges of lightning now danced across Anderson's body and he lauched himself with a wild haymaker.
The tarven shook, its already compromised structure now collapsed in places, but when the dust settled, Mwanza saw Anderson's fist firmly caught and effortlessly held at bay by his father. The elf grunted and gnashed his teeth as he tried to overpower the Mwami, but nothing came of it.
"This isn't possible..." Anderson snapped in between pained grunts.
"Not possible." the Mwami raised his eyebrow inquisitively. Before with zero effort he pulled Anderson's arm, the sound of flesh tearing, bone breaking and blood staining the floor filled the room. "Are you sure about that?"
Anderson didn't initially scream, the shock was too much. Mwanza watched as the elf studied his new stump with confusion, followed by realisation and horror. His screams were of such a primal nature as he stumbled backwards and screamed. "W... wh... what...what if ....what is this... what are you?!"
The Mwami struck out his hand and grabbed Anderson by the throat. Anderson began trying to escape the grip to the best of his ability with no avail. "I am your damn Mwami."
Then Anderson burned, flames born from nothing swept his body and within seconds only fleeting ash remained in the Mwami's grasp. Mwanza breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the smoldaring ash on the ruined floor. Fighting to focus, he looked back up at his savior.
The sight made him almost wish he'd joined the giant in oblivion. Standing over him was not just his father but his mother and even the Vortiguard.
His mother's face was a mask of cold, profound disappointment. His father... his father wore a faint, almost amused grin.
"Hello, Mwanza," his father said, the tone unnervingly light. "Quite the adventure you seem to have had today."