"Well, he might have more votes," Skandra pointed out with raised eyebrows.
Gershul started out at a trot. Dew kicked up in his wake, growing more and more furious as the old Immortal began to pick up speed. Skandra matched him step for step despite the exhaustion pouring out of his flesh. There was no one to save him from Gershul. Not until that army rolled downhill. And even if they did, there were no guarantees that they would arrive before Skandra and Aeotha were already dead. Somewhere behind him, the third priestess was vomiting. Skandra didn't expect Aeotha to try and get close to Gershul. The man was hell on earth with that spear. Skandra would have relished the opportunity simply to shoot him.
That was not going to happen.
When they met it was a crash of steel. Skandra used the longer blade of the side sword to catch against the tip of Gershul's spear. They both went for the obvious move, but Skandra's hands were just that much quicker. The vicious punch he dropped on Gershul's face, over their locked weapons, staggered the elder Immortal. Skandra followed up with a lunging kick, his toes driving upward to catch Gershul in the stomach. Now the old man coughed, but his hands moved quickly, as well. The haft of the spear trapped Skandra's foot against Gershul's stomach, with his father's hands on either side.
A sharp twist of the spear flung Skandra to the ground, roughly, the side sword flying out of his hands.
Gershul tried to end it there, lunging forward and stabbing down. Skandra rolled onto one shoulder, pulled his legs close to his chest, and narrowly avoided the stab. His heels planted against the extended spear and he shoved off, using it to complete his roll and recover his balance. Gershul was hounding him all the same. A flash of the spear as Skandra lurched backward. Nearly lost his footing again. Gershul's hands slipped to the end of the weapon, and he turned on a heel, completing a full circle before he slashed at Skandra once more. Skandra managed to throw himself into a cartwheel. The spear was passing under him just as his hands touched the ground, and his boots left it. By the time he was finding his feet again, Gershul had nearly completed a second spin.
This time, Skandra simply threw himself up - a side flip was hard for a man his size to complete, but he managed it barely. The spear passed under him a second time. Skandra landed in a deep crouch, nearly on top of his sword, and he he seized it just in time. Sword blade came up. Spear connected with the weapon. Skandra managed to hold fast, and Gershul was left to draw one hand further down the haft.
That re-set was the only thing that saved Skandra's life.