Ziem was washed off to the side of the group by the wave, out of reach of the chain. As he stood, he saw a man walk slowly through the water towards the main group, hands outstretched at his sides, obviously the Oceanborn behind the attack.
There were a number of things that should have gone through Ziem’s mind at that moment, but did not. One was the fact that the Oceanborn was alone, and was obviously powerful enough to sustain such a huge force by himself. Another was the fact that his hair was partially white, and he looked like a mature wolf, in his full prime and probably well into his third century, making him one of the most powerful of their kind. Still another absent thought was the fact that there was blood by the man’s mouth, which meant he had just gotten a taste of wolf flesh and was still smiling about it.
The only thing that did go through Ziem’s mind, though, was the fact that the man looked familiar. “Hey, I know you!” Ziem shouted over the sound of rushing water and the clash of combat.
Coren looked over at Ziem out of the corner of his eye, not even turning his face to spare a real glance at the young and fairly stupid-looking Ironborn that was calling attention.
“Yeah, that’s right, I’m talking to you, you smug bastard.” Ziem said as he walked through the water, the iron boxing gloves on his hands and forearms slowly growing spikes in various places. “You’re the one supposed to be in charge of this whole operation, right? The top dog?” He hurled the insult at Coren with a grin as he looked him up and down. “Nice of you to come out here personally and show us all what you’re compensating for.”
Coren lifted a hand and the wave rose up again and lashed out at Ziem directly, but Ziem was already moving to dive through it. Having been knocked off his feet by one wave already, he was ready for the second, and managed to right himself and break out in a run at Coren with a laugh that resounded off every piece of metal in the area.
Lea heard Ziem’s shout over the water, but she couldn’t really understand it until she turned around to look for him, her chains wrapped around at least four of her comrades. When she saw Ziem and who he shouted after, she looked around to see if any more Council members had infiltrated. All she saw were struggling wolves everywhere, and while she wanted to run out and help Ziem again, there was no way that she could get across.
Coren had the Stoneborn between him and the rest of the Ironborn, and with the flood pounding at them from all angles, the one Ironborn that had managed to slip away from his companions would be easily enough washed away. “There are two kinds of wolf that have your manner, you rust spot. The very brave and the very stupid.”
“Well, don’t strain yourself trying to figure out which one I am.” Ziem said with a smile as another wave hit him full in the face. He put up a hand in front of him to divert the spray of water and stepped around the side of a mostly-demolished building to get out of Coren’s sight.
A moment later, two spears made from the building’s remains flew through the air, the first missing the Council Speaker entirely, the second cutting him deeply along one arm. The sudden pain distracted him enough to stop the water cascade for a moment as Ziem came in sight again. “I’m the very stupid. Bravery’s for people trying to make a point. Me? I’ll settle for pissing in your dead skull!”
Coren renewed his attack with a snarl on his face and moved across the surface of the water, almost flying towards Ziem in his fury. He set Ziem spinning in the whirlwind of mud and frothing water that was let loose.
Ziem managed to get enough deep breaths to avoid being strangled by the water itself, and never gave Coren enough peace to do the precision work necessary to choke him. He threw every manner of weapon he could fashion together at the Councilor, but the waves around him slowed and blocked most of his attempts.
Lea could see most of the fight through the mist that had been kicked up from it, and she could see Ziem still yelling foul insults at the top of his lungs as he tried over and over again to get close enough to Coren to strike him, but nothing got through. Coren knew he wasn’t as physically strong as Ziem, but the water around them kept Ziem off his feet more often than not. Coren dragged him down and folded him in wave upon wave of water, trying to drown him. But every time he seemed to be down, Ziem would launch himself up out of the water just long enough to get a breath, and the fight would continue.
Finally, Ziem managed to corner Coren in what once was a large central building the Stoneborn built. It held the water well, and Coren was using it to his full advantage, but Ziem was still fighting desperately between gasps for air. With nowhere to go, Coren drew all the water in the room into one corner, a solid mass of swirling chaos in which he and Ziem were both caught, but Coren had the luxury of not needing to breathe while submerged in his element. His opponent did not.
Ziem struggled to get out of the mass of water, needing just one more breath before the air
