Amcerlizar strutted out into the plaza in front of the palace with the usual cocky snear back on his face. Behind him, a troop of demons marched out wearing intricate, silvery armor and each carrying a flaming sword. They flicked their yellow eyes between me and Mog, trying to look tough. Behind them, waves of undead soldiers formed up in ranks, awaiting for orders from Amcerlizar. I didn't need an army to back me up, though; I had the Ruby.

"So you really did have the Ruby of Mertialz," he mused, pacing in front of the doorway but not stepping out into the plaza. "Who would have thought that you would be the one to find it? I have two dozen lore masters combing the world for artifacts, and yet some nobody is the one that ends up with it? Ridiculous!" He smirked at me. "If you can do this much damage," he gestured at the plumes of smoke in the distance, "imagine what someone of my abilities will be able to do." Just for that, I sent another bolt of lightning at him. It didn't turn him to ash, but I hoped it at least hurt.

Finally he stepped forward, followed by his demon entourage. Each of them drew their weapons and spread out into a ring. "How about we make this fight between just the two of us?" I told him. For emphasis, I evaporated one of the demons. Instead of simply burning away like Sir Athaelwas, the demon's skin seemed to become flaky and patchy and then finally it exploded outward and disappeared completely in a bright flash of orange light. The other demons hesitated, looking to each other to make sure that they weren't the only ones having second thoughts about backing up Amcerlizar here. 

"Fine," he answered, waving them back with the Dragonheart's staff. The demons stepped back into the shadows, still trying to look tough but obviously grateful to not be involved. "I don't need them."

We eyed each other, not saying a word. The faint sounds of ringing metal and shouting Paladins seemed to come from every direction as the main force of Amcerlizar's army arrived to push the Paladins back. Roaring fires and plumes of black smoke obscured any sight of the battle, but it was the last thing on my mind anyway. 

"So." He swaggered closer. "I'm kind of impressed. All this, just because of that girl? She must have been pretty amazing in bed!" I gritted my teeth, doing my best not to give in to his taunts. He was trying to get me angry so that I'd be stupid enough to make a mistake. "I gotta admit," he continued. "She was a bit too scrawny for my tastes, but she had a pretty face at least."

Mog roared, and I hit Amcerlizar with a blast of fire. But it just seemed to roll off of him without so much as singeing his hair. He laughed, in that same damn condescending tone he's always had. Then I sent a wintery blast of ice at him, cold enough to raise little frozen stalagmites on the flagstones on its path. The demons behind him shook the frost from their horns and burst into flames to warm back up, but Amcerlizar just smirked. "You must be too stupid to remember our lessons," he taunted, waving the Dragonheart at me. "I'm untouchable! No spell can break through my shield. It's -- UGH!" 

Amcerlizar's rant was cut off halfway through as I ripped the head off of the large granite statute of him and sent it flying straight into his stomach, knocking the wind out of him. "No spell indeed," I taunted back. Seeing his own smug face being used against him was quite satisfying. He doubled over, clutching at his waist. The right arm of the statute, raised in a triumphant fist, came off next with an enormous crack. It hovered in the air for just a moment, and then went flying into Amcerlizar, knocking him on his ass and into the snow. The left hand (carrying the carved replica of the Dragonheart) came next, cracking over Amcerlizar's head.

He tried to stand and send a spell my way, but I used one of the statue's legs to sweep him off of his legs. He toppled over face-first into the stone and groaned. "You thought the Dragonheart would protect you?" I shouted, hurling the last of the statue's chunks at him. "You thought I'd let this go after you MURDERED Skip? After you ate Lirk's SOUL?" I tore stones off of the facade of the palace and sent them flying at Amcerlizar from every direction, burying him in rubble. The whole building groaned as more and more stones tore loose and came flying forward. 

"Kill him!" Amcerlizar shouted to the demons as one of the skeleton statues from his balcony went whizzing past his ear. "Help me, you mindless idiots!" From within his robes, he produced more of those glass vials that would grow into Blood Golems... if they got onto the ground, that is. Every time he tried to throw one, I let out a burst of lightning that vaporized his golem brew in mid-air. 

He tried to shield his head as more and more stones came raining down. The grand balcony that he'd been standing on only moments ago crumbled to the ground when I wrenched  one of the columns away and sent it flying into his back. Every time he tried to cast a spell, I interrupted him with whatever piece of rubble I could get my magical hands on. 

The mindless minions followed his order immediately and came marching forward. I got the sense that Amcerlizar wasn't quite as attached to all ten thousand of them as I had been with Lirk, so I didn't really feel guilty about turning the first few hundred of them to dust. Behind me, Mog gave a snort of pleasure at finally getting to help and swung the battle ax wide. One blow sent a wave of skulls rolling into the crowd. All the while, I continued ripping more and more of Amcerlizar's palace apart and tossing all the pieces at him. By now, most of the front walls were gone, and I started picking up the furniture inside to toss at him.

"GO!" he ordered the nearby demons, half buried under rubble. "KILL HIM!" Demons didn't exactly have a reputation for bravery, and they were certainly proving why. Only one of the demons hesitantly stepped forward with his sword held in front of him, as if it could protect him from my magic. I was still pretty busy piling Amcerlizar's furniture on top of him, but I still had plenty of time to strike the demon with lightning, causing him to explode. The rest of the demons instantly disappeared into puffs of smoke, having zero interest in forfeiting their lives for Amcerlizar's sake. I let them run; they were not the ones that I'd come for.

I sent out one last blast of flames in a wide circle that destroyed every one of Amcerlizar's minions in sight. Behind me, Mog let his ax come to rest, breathing heavily. Otherwise, the plaza was eerily still. Most of the intricate carvings and architectural details of the frontage had been used to beat up Amcerlizar, and all of the stones were all heaped in a pile on top of him. Some of the remaning parts of the palace had collapsed in, and the few parts that hadn't were creaking and groaning dangerously.

The pile stirred, and Amcerlizar came struggling out from under a large chunk of the palace's slate roof. Every inch of him was battered and bruised. But just to be sure, I raised one of the largest stones and held it hovering over his head. "Still think Skip's death is funny?" I asked. Every inch of me wanted to send the stone smashing into his head, but I held back. 

"I'm sorry!" He struggled out of the pile and onto his knees. "Just tell me what you want!"

"The Dragonheart." Even under the rubble I could see its glow, now a soft forest green. "Give it to me."

"You?" He sneered at me. "On the Undead Throne? I'd sooner die!" He spit out the last word like it was poison.

"Your choice." I raised the rock higher so that it could build up speed, then moved to release it.

Amcerlizar cringed and tried to shield his face. "All right!" he squealed. I stopped the rock just inches from his nose. "Take it, all right! Just don't kill me!" He dug through the rubble until he found the staff and the glowing jewel. "It's yours." he held it out like a batton, and I took it in my hand. Unlike the ruby, the staff was ice cold, and the skin on my palm clung to the handle. "Just don't kill me."

"I never was going to kill you," I told him. I could already feel the Dragonheart affecting me. It had an almost calming presence, clearing my mind. "But... I really can't make any promises on Mog's behalf."  

The ogre lumbered forward with his new weapon in hand and a threatening grin on his massive face.He leaned down close, just inches from Amcerlizar's face. "SKIP!" he roared, spraying flecks of spit. I turned away as Mog stood again and raised his ax. Then there was a soft swish, and a heavy thunk that was coupled with the crack of bones and the squelch of blood. Through the Ruby's power, I sensed a new body ready for resurrection where Amcerlizar had been. Mog joined me a few minutes later with a stained ax and an ogre glyph written across his chest in smeared blood. 

"So it's done?" I asked.

Mog nodded with a peaceful smile on his face. And why shouldn't he? I'd only sought vengeance against Amcerlizar for a bit over a day; Mog had been after this for years. 

"Very well." The Dragonheart glowed bright canary yellow in my hand. "Let's go bring Skip back."

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