Alira and Alchimia reached the upper deck and made for the doorway, but their exit was blocked by three figures who emerged from the exit. A woman with short blond hair, saber drawn, followed by an armored man wearing a helm of the Maulin Coast Duchy and finally a tall man with long tied back hair, wearing a long coat and a curved monk sword in his hand. Alira didn't recognize the first two, but she knew the Second of the Monks of Mao Shin right away.
Alchimia, on the other hand, recognized the woman. "Well Lorelei, I see you do have some guts. Whose your friend hiding behind the mask.?"
With that, the man drew a sword from it's scabbard tied to his waist. He held it with both hands with the point upward. He spoke a quiet phrase and the sword began to glow. Alira and Alchimia both recognized it and cold dread washed over them.
It was Father Frost Brand. It is the reforged sword of the ancient hero Mordax. The tale goes that Mordax, ancient hero of free mortals on this world, banished the fire god Surtur back to the nether regions with this blade. The blade top was broken into seven small shards, however, when the blade made it's killing blow. The good god of the forge, Hetaeus, came down and gathered up the remnants. He then restored the original blade and from the seven shards forged seven swords, all called the Frost Brands, and passed them out to the rulers of that time. That was in the distant past and since then all the swords have been lost, including the parent blade. Until now. Helm Boargut, slew the ignorant white dragon that guarded this blade and he vowed to use it to slay the Fire Witch and free his land from her tyranny.
Alira and Alchimia both felt their powers draining as the sword glowed brightly. Alira dropped the Orb box and drew her blades, immediately going for the man with the godly blade. She was stopped by the new First of Mao Shin. Lorelei, pressed forward as well to engage Alchimia, all the while, Helm held forth the blade and concentrated.
Normally Alira could have handled this rabble by herself without a problem, but the sword changed everything. The new First attacked relentlessly and she had all she could do to defend herself. Likewise, Alchimia relied more on magic than weaponry and she was finding her spells fizzling out before she could finish casting them. She now swung her staff like a weapon. Lorelei laughed as she avoided the blow.

Story, characters and setting are all original by me. The context, dragons, magic and artifacts are all based in an Advanced Dungeons and Dragons universe, going on my knowledge of the game from the 80s to early 90s. It's my own world/multiverse creation, but I don't think I'll ever have the time to use it, so I'll write about it and illustrate it.

Thanks for looking and your interest. Comments and critiques are always welcome.