It still confused the naga somewhat how a lunge... an attack which thrust his weapon forward in order to take advantage of its long reach... had somehow placed him within the short reach of the mace to begin with, but the fact that the paladin's Blessing of Resolve was always active had allowed Antenor Ramirez to use it against him with stunning success, pushing himself back out of the close range he had never intended to enter, while inflicting serious injury on the human's shoulder.
Now positioned to defend the rusted staircase, he observed his prey. The effect of the injury was obvious... and it seemed as if the human would pass out from pain and blood loss at any time. So... he was indeed mortal, after all. Despite all his boasting and insolent behavior... the paladin was only human. Clearly, he had lost the fight... the unorthodox gambit of exposing his back to the enemy, which may have worked against a less skilled, less experienced opponent, had cost the man dearly. So why did he continue to struggle?
The paladin was truly loco to discard not only his now-useless shield, but his weapon as well, in order to grab a.... hot coal? Brutus also seemed to be talking to... nothing in particular. At least, nothing Antenor could see. Perhaps he was hearing the voices of his fallen order, calling him home to join them in the afterlife? If nothing else... he seemed to be oblivious to the Aqua Acida that was now filling the room, with no real desire to take ascend the stairs in the near future. Perhaps the water would do the work for him... disappointing though that may be.
As the paladin once again declared that he would die in this room, the naga couldn't help but laugh... a hissing sound, which most humans tended to find disturbing. "How do you intend to kill me... by bleeding on me?" he said with another chortle. It wasn't lost on him how the paladin had grabbed several vials.... lamp oil, perhaps? Combining them with the hot coal could spread a fire... but even if he did light the lamp oil, the human's left arm clearly lacked the strength to throw them.... and pouring oil onto the coal in his weapon arm would only set the paladin himself ablaze.
If the human had been a bit less delirious from hearing the voices of ghosts, perhaps he would have realized that picking up the vials in his weapon arm would have allowed them to be thrown better... but the naga had no intention of letting the human swap them over. As another steel tube on the far side of the room burst, spilling foul water that smelled of Aqua Acida, he noted that several other steel tubes ran horizontally and vertically across the room. Were they all full of the same water, perhaps?
"Face it, human," the naga hissed. "You've lost. It is pointless to continue fighting once you have defeated... know you not that the first lesson in strategy is to learn to live another day? But if you kneel like the peasant you are, and beg for mercy.... I might be inclined to grant it." A wicked grin crossed the naga's face, revealing sharp snake fangs as the Conquistador drew the head of his weapon back to his shoulder, directing the steel bludgeon at the base of his weapon towards the Scotsman.
"So KNEEL!" he shouted, swinging his weapon forcefully at the paladin. It was clearly a beheading blow... the ax-head directed at the man's neck in a move which would remove the head of an unarmored target with ease. Considering the paladin's mail, it might not be such a clean blow... but definitely lethal. Antenor expected his opponent to dodge the blow... by ducking most likely, as there wasn't sufficient room for anything else.
However... should the human dodge his deathblow, his polearm would merely strike the steel tube next to him, which would cleave through it and spray water all over him, easily dousing the coal in his hand. Should the pipe be flowing with Aqua Acida, it would have a much more devastating effect indeed... dissolving the man's armor, along with his flesh. Perhaps it would also dissolve the stairs and block his way up, which would cause him to wade in the growing pool of Aqua Acida in the room. A truly painful, excruciating death... to suit the dog who dared to become a knight.
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