>>5219965>>5219893>>5219877>>5219836>>5219833>Let Ava take the lead>Supply back-up with the rest of the harem“Then.. if you would.” You glance back at the dhampir.
“Oh, my. Is the big noble scared?” She stifles laughter. Your face grows hot. “No, no. I understand, of course..”
“It just makes the most sense. You’re the most familiar with this route, are you not?” You snap back. “Or should I have found another guide?”
“No. I can’t argue against that.” Lady Ava unsheaths her second rapier with a flourish. It flows gently along past her cloak. She bows her head. “Then.. please, allow me to put you to rest again, No. 9.”
The sword sheath chorister remains silent as she raises both blades. “Is there nothing we can do to help, Lady Ava..?” The doll murmurs from out behind you.
“If any more try to fight her on a route like this, we’ll both just get in the way.” Ava returns. “She’ll only skewer me as a bat or a wolf. Just stay behind me.”
And with that, the chorister leaps forward with mind boggling speed, the swords run through her clashing against one another in a jangle of steel. In a flash of sparks she twirls like a whirlwind in the dhampir’s direction. Your guide, for her part, meets her opponent well–near each and every blow is parried with a clang of steel, and if not, dodged. But the chorister’s movement is strange–stilted and crooked, her swordsmanship unlike any you've seen before. She twists her torso and limbs so that even the blades that still find home in her body pose a threat, a sickly kind of dance that threatens to decapitate your guide with each stray dip and spin.
The dhampir takes a few shaky steps back beneath the maelstrom. Both her rapiers course through the air like ribbons to match the onslaught. In spite of her clear skill, you doubt that she’s much one for such face-to-face confrontations, and there’s no running and hiding here–only matching her.
>Attempt to take a shot on the sword chorister from here.>Allow Ava to engage with it alone.>Ask Ava if she turn into a bat and fly around the length of the chasm, to the other side of the sword chorister. You’ll sandwich her.>Join Ava in the fight despite her warnings.>Write-In. 