Fiore, looked around the hut, the only source of light being a flickering torchlight, the insides of the hut wasn't of much interest, what did interest Fiore, however, was the size of the hut. Was it big enough to allow Fiore to gracefully move around? Even Fiore didn't know it himself, and Fiore was also a bit worried about the plan as well. Fiore looked over to Leifr, who acted... differently to him.

Instead of the somewhat cheerful attitude, he acted harsh and cold towards Fiore, even giving out a sharp exhale of air when Fiore asked him for his opinion, and he knew the girl didn't want to talk to him, and so, Fiore looked over to someone he didn't want to talk too.

What do you think? Fiore thought. Give me some insight, fore if this plan screws up, we'll both be dead...

... Fiore's consciousness stayed quiet, as he did for the past days, an unwavering silence filled Fiore's mind as he patiently waited for an answer from him. It's a plan. Fiore heaved out a small, light sigh, hoping that no one would be able to notice it.

... Yes... it's a plan... good observing... Fiore thought in a mock tone.

It'll work, Fiore's consciousness said. There was no arguing, there was no insults thrown around, Fiore's consciousness was in a state of thinking, think of how they were going to survive. Although, I am unsure with you in the condition which you are in, I don't believe you can really move around gracefully, especially in a bit of a small and confined area, but Allereun does make a good point, he is pretty smart.

... He? Fiore's consciousness stayed quiet after that, not bothering to explain.

Vialesa found herself skirting alongside the wooden fence of the encampment, eyes peering out into the shade in watch for the unknown entities. So to did she intend not to startle the occupants of the camp, keeping her feet light upon the ground even as they trudged upon endless vegetation. For a moment, she debated whether or not simply knocking on the front door was a feasible approach; it was unlikely the entities were smart or courteous enough to do the same, so the occupants probably would lower their guard upon hearing a gentle knock.

At the same time, she was still a stranger to them, and the idea of opening their doors to some girl bearing a weapon wasn't a one-hundred percent guarantee. The only other option then, to find solace inside their walls, was to hop the fence and hunker down somewhere within. If they were making a campsite just outside the place, then it would be strange if this place belonged to them in any way. The encampment was not theirs, and she could potentially portray herself as someone who had taken refuge inside prior to their arrival.

If the occupants didn't open up, she still wanted a safe place in the night away from the rotted entities that patrolled unseen. Vialesa opted to hop the fence, and attempted to climb it as best she could. If it failed, then knocking was her only option.

As Leifr opened the door with the brass key he stepped aside and took a moment to attempt to perceive whether it was safe to enter or not. Allereun and Fiore, however, prove Leifr's caution was unneeded and entered on their own accord. Leifr was pleasantly surprised to see that Allereun brought a torch from their earlier campsite to light up the inner room. However, Leifr stayed outside of the inner room and remained near the hut's entrance, constantly glancing outside in search of any indication that the monsters had reached them.

Allereun's voice escaped from the inner room and explained a reasonable plan. It was actually quite knowledgeable, and perhaps this was because this is the only definite plan they had or maybe it was due to Allereun's skill, but Leifr had some confidence in its success. Though Leifr wore a wounded grin when Allereun called out on his and Fiore's dispute. Maybe we were too obvious, Leifr thought in hindsight, and I did act impatiently.

However, Leifr noticed that the plan required them to use the door as a way to limit the number of enemies they had to fight, which meant that the horses would be left outside for the mercy of the monsters beforehand. Though Leifr had thought about releasing the hauling horse as a decoy before, to lose all of their horses was something Leifr had a hard time swallowing.

“What about the horses, milady? If we were to lose them all, it would be a long trip back to the nearest town,” Leifr stated calmly, though in his mind he also wanted to add that war-trained horses were not cheap. In addition, Leifr noticed how close Fiore and his horse seemed to be. Leifr did not wish misfortune and pain upon Fiore, even if he was angry over Fiore's unexplained possession of Exalia.

Leifr's original plan was to use himself as bait, and if Allereun's suspicions about their heightened sense of smell was true, it would work much better as Leifr and his warhorse were wounded and probably smelled of blood. It was nearing daylight as well; If Leifr just managed to keep out of reach of the monsters, he could lure them away by banging his sword against his shield and staying close enough that they could smell him more than the others. At least, that was his original plan.

However, Allereun also suspected that they had a pack somewhere else in the darkness. Just wandering around making noise could lead Leifr into a lethal ambush if Allereun's suspicions proved correct. Allereun's plan also required Leifr's skills. Leifr ran both hands through his hair in thought before simply rubbing his hair around furiously. He didn't want to lose the horses, but he also didn't want to lose his life. Leifr walked out of the hut and looked up at the sky. He took a deep breath of the night air before turning around and walking through the hut and into the inner room.

“Miladies, Fiore, could we not just keep running from them? We are faster than them and daylight is less than an hour away. There must be a reason why we didn't encounter them during yesterday's search when there was still light out. There's also the moment when the beasts recoiled from the blaze Allereun set up.”

Leifr tried to give a reassuring smile, but he couldn't tell if it was expressing what he was going for or if it was easy to see through.

“I understand what Lady Allereun's plan entails, but I cannot find it in myself to allow our steeds to fall prey to these creatures. If one could draw away these creatures from the rest of our company, it could allow the others safety and respite...”

Leifr's smile faltered slightly, but he forced his familiar kind smile back upon his lips.

“I only offer a suggestion. Lady Allereun's plan is most likely to allow us all to keep our lives, surely. But if it would guarantee everyone's safety and a method of travel, I would gladly lay down my life in order to lure such creatures away from Lady Allereun and Lady Kort-” He caught himself this time, “...and Lady Lyrisa.”

Lyrisa actually agreed with Allereun's plan. Reducing the amount of enemies they had to fight at once was a good idea. Even if they would destroy them out in the open, there was a chance inside the building. Then Liefr started to mention his own plan.

As Liefr spoke, Lyrisa thought of her own addition to th on-coming fight. . . If they actually did so. Liefr's idea was more in line with running. The chances of surviving would be better with a touch of help. With a look around the cabin she noticed a few different weapons like a few swords and spears. Magically launched weapons would probably do the trick. This would be a last chance thing really. . . As she started towards the weapons, she had to stop and turn back around to Liefr. She made sure she didn't aim anywhere injured. "You didn't change the right part, idiot!" Her fist sped out and hit him on an uninjured part of his side then returning to what she was doing in the first place.

The Scribe walked over to the weapons grabbed the spears. No one else took them yet, so she obviously had the chance to use them. She quickly took them outside finding makeshift ways to make them point in the desired direction pointed diagonally up along the side of the building at where the monsters should be at a later point in time. She didn't want to set up any of the magic components yet, as that would obviously make her a suspicious person amongst the group. She walked back in to the building to see what their final plan would be.

As they talked and planned about what to do about the approaching threat of the monsters it came clear that they probably weren't all that too far behind anymore. The horses outside began to grow a little restless, their sense of smell probably greater than that of a Galmin's, small whinnies and grunts being heard from their beasts of burden outside of the hut, who could probably tell that the beasts would be there soon, or perhaps already were somewhere outside the camp, looking for a way in.

In the meantime, Vialesa began to try and climb the Palisade fence that surrounded the camp, having taken a bit of a more direct and shorter path to get to it rather than having just bolted in the general direction of the camp as those on horseback had, allowing her around the time the party had gotten into the hut and were a bit into their own conversations about what to do about the creatures approaching the camp. Unfortunately it would be a bit of a hard climb since the large wooden spikes didn't really have any footholds or places to grab onto nor was she that physically strong in the first place. Still, it was indeed worth a shot.

Soon enough she would begin to climb up one of the large wooden pole, that had a top that was sharpened to a point, finding a little difficulty in doing so, but soon enough she was indeed halfway up the about ten to fifteen foot tall pole in the Palisade fence. By the time the horses became a bit restless... she barely managed to climb up the rest of the way, but now came the problem of descending without hurting herself since it was around a ten to fifteen foot drop, having gotten up there about a few seconds after the horses, not that she could see or know this from her position, began to grow restless around the hut the main group was in.

Still, upon looking in from her position atop the spiked wooden mast in the Palisade she could see that the camp was very deserted, except for a single flickering light inside that northern hut that was coming from the open door that Leifr was standing in, not that she could see him. That meant that there was indeed somebody there... probably. Fortunately no one could see Vialesa up there as of yet.

Vialesa scanned the ground below herself, seeking any sort of cushioned landing spot she might find her way onto. Unfortunately the campsite was just as barren as the exterior earth, and dropping down would simply require a bit of finesse and a hardy set of legs. Inching closer to the edge, she prepared herself mentally to fall upon the ground and do a roll so as to minimize the impact. She'd climbed plenty of trees and jumped from only slightly fewer while in the Traslag, and this was no different... save the possibility of hitting several branches on the way down. Here it was clear, and she could tell easily how far the drop was.

Having steeled her mind for the possibility of fracturing a bone, she lifted off of the wooden spire wall and let her feet take the first hit, bending her knees and curling up before tumbling along the ground. She lived, though she could feel the impact well, and it was difficult to walk properly for a moment. Vialesa brushed herself off of upturned grass and dirt and approached the glowing northern hut. There was no way she would simply walk inside; she needed to give them some distance as she made herself known.

Clearly they were trying to hide themselves, and shouting out a greeting would only make them angry. Vialesa got a tad bit closer, a mere dozen feet away, and called out with a quieted, low voice.

"Excuse me. Who is there? Is anyone there?" she said, trying her best to seem as meek and confused as possible, as if she were there before them and only just noticed a break in.

He was concerned about the horses? While it was logical that, perhaps, it would be undesirable for them to lose all the horses, consigning them to travelling in these dangerous woods for multiple nights, it still seemed...odd that a noble would care more for the life of his steed than his own. After all, what sort of self-important, blue-blooded, spoon-fed noble knight WAS Leifr, to prioritize the lives of others over his own? Clearly a daft one who had yet to understand the value of one's own life and wealth.

Maybe that was why he was mucking around in the wilderness, instead of cuddling with whatever childishly young wife he had back in his lavish estates.

Nevertheless, those points, especially that of the option of simply continuing to ride back to town, was a realistic answer. If Leifr really didn't want to fight, there was no point in forcing him to, even if the trio were apparently sent to get rid of the human-kidnappers that had plagued Calgeth earlier. Allereun scratched his head at those rather reasonable options, before, unconsciously stomping the ground a number of times.

His hand sliding up, supporting his chin as he began to re-weigh his priorities, the young apothecary was just about to explain why they should stay and fight, until the whole party was interrupted by the arrival of...a stranger.

A stranger who was trying really hard to sound meek and nonthreatening, even though she (or he, Allereun couldn't tell whether those chest mounds were breasts or simply overdeveloped moobs) wore a sword at her hip and possessed eyes the color of blood. Perhaps, if it was a different night, he may have even felt a bit threatened.

But in this case, it simply cemented their ability to fight against the four approaching beasts. It simply insured an easier victory, and an easier capture of one of those specimens. It simply meant that, with such a dramatic shift in numbers, with their total fighting capabilities increased by one-half, Leifr should find no objection with what he had to say next.

“Good morning there, lady knight,” he began, with a friendly nod, “Have you also been sent here by the guards of Calgeth to investigate whatever has been attacking the homes of their people at night? Regardless, it's good to have you here.”

The whinnying of the horses, their fear slowly growing, though, made Allereun cut off what other formalities he was planning to exchange, and he focused on what needed to be said immediately.

“I apologize for my brevity, but we've been beset by a group of monsters, with more possibly to come. There will be four that shall be approaching soon, and perhaps a fifth lagging behind them. Myself and Lyrisa, our resident Scribe, are unfit for battle, whilst both of our fighters are injured. Though it may be safest for us to retreat on horseback, that won't solve the town's problems, and we may not get an encounter like this any time soon.”

“These beasts are linear creatures. I believe that, if we were to present an obvious, viable target to them, they would come for us, not our steeds. Of course, these are all just assumptions, but now that the numbers have been leveled slightly, should we not press this advantage?”

“We can utilize the doorway as a choke point and we have plenty of weapons to use. Furthermore, if Sir Leifr's thoughts about those monsters retreating after the light of day shines upon these woods are correct, then doesn't that mean we should push further for a fight? If nothing else, it would be good if we brought back one of the corpses of these monsters, as well as gather experience and knowledge regarding how strong they are, to share amongst the guards.”

And then, Allereun smiled, a chilly one that betrayed only the expectation of things to come, “After that, the guards can properly hunt down those monsters and put an end to their troubles, yes?

Of course, they could probably still die if they had somehow underestimated their foe, but that was all part of the risk of 'discovery', wasn't it?

"Ah... so Lyrisa is your name..." Fiore silently said under his own breath as the corner of his mouth gave way to a grin. Fiore then looked over at Leifr, his grin faded away.

What should I do? Fiore asked his consciousness in his head as he stared at Leifr, who wanted to be a noble hero wanting to sacrifice himself, and then looking at the door, wondering who the newcomer could be.

Everyone except for Leifr and you are sane, Fiore's consciousness began, heaving out a heavy sigh before moving on. So do something stupid, I don't know...

Fiore walked up to Leifr, putting his hand on his shoulder, almost as if he was trying to reassure Leifr. "Leifr," Fiore began, hesitating, trying to think up of words to phrase what he was going to say next. "Leifr... sacrificing yourself is a heroic thing to do,"

"And it is also a very stupid thing to do." Fiore patted Leifr on the back before leaning onto Leifr and pointing at Allereun. "Do you see her?" Fiore asked as he continued to point towards Allereun. "She's our friend, and undoubtedly, one of the smartest in our small little party here, but she's trying to think of a plan, not only to save herself, but to save her friends. And just, may I ask, who are her friends?"

Fiore then sharply pointed at Lyrisa. "She's her friend. She's also our friend, if you can't remember." Fiore then stopped leaning on Leifr, backed up a few steps, and pointed at Leifr. "... And you're her friend. Now stop trying to be a hero and giving us your pointless plan, start relying on your friends a bit more, eh?

Fiore turned around and walked over to the door before recklessly opening it. "And you, newcomer! Get in here!"

Leifr smiled lightly when Lyrisa struck him. He knew that it wasn't what she wanted to hear but it was currently the best he could do. Was it just a noble custom that calling maidens by their names alone was a sign of closeness? Regardless, Leifr didn't see himself calling Lyrisa only by her name for some time to come. His only problem was to get Lyrisa to understand, but that was a problem for another time.

Leifr knew his plan wasn't perfect, but he didn't expect Allereun's to run so deep. The townsfolk... Leifr didn't think about how these night-creatures affected them. How unfitting for a noble. He softly chuckled when he toyed with the idea of Allereun being the noble instead and Leifr just a random traveller, but quickly shook it off and began mental preparation for the battle to come. Allereun's full plan... Leifr's face flushed slightly out of embarrassment for just a moment when he compared his own plan against Allereun's.

Still, and perhaps this was just noble hot air, but Leifr didn't really like the feeling of being wrong- no, he could probably even be a hindrance. Regardless, he knew better than to try and salvage his pride and combat against a clearly superior plan of action. There was also the fact that they had another sword, but Leifr didn't like the idea of immediately pulling a stranger to their troubles... Though, their current troubles were likely more than just their own. He tried to smile and seem friendly towards the newcomer, but their current predicament wasn't the most welcoming situation.

It was then that Fiore suddenly grabbed Leifr's shoulder and spoke of--

Wait, what?

The light blush from Leifr before was nothing compared to the tomato-red flush that extended from ear to ear now. Was he furious? Humiliated? A bit of both, perhaps? Leifr was scowling fiercely at Fiore's words. Using the fastest horse and its rider to draw away an enemy was a logical choice to ensure the survival of a group; Leifr had no intention of gallantly riding off to his death! It's not like Leifr planned on just charging blindly into the enemies to hold them back. However, Leifr thought back on his choice of words and exhaled harshly. I would gladly down my life, Leifr repeated in his head in exasperation. His anger dissipated and he rubbed the back of his head in annoyance. Leifr was indeed taught to give his life to protect others, but he was not keen on actively searching for his own demise. Perhaps they all saw him as a foolish noble who wanted to seek glory and recognition even at the cost of his own life. While definitely a far cry from the other complacent Forbannet nobles, Leifr couldn't imagine himself with the courage to cast aside his well-being simply for the sake of people looking up to him.

That was only half of the reason why his face turned red, however. The other half was how Fiore could so shamelessly call everyone a friend. While Leifr had no qualms with making more friends, there was no way Leifr imagined himself so embarrassingly calling people he just met three days ago friends. He had only just met Allereun for the first time the day before! Leifr was angry before at Fiore's assumptions, but the more he thought about this topic the more his anger was replaced with a nervous embarrassment. Fiore obtained Leifr's respect for being so forward, so much so that Leifr couldn't find any words to respond to Fiore or anyone for that matter. Leifr tried looking towards Allereun and Lyrisa to see their reactions, but couldn't garner enough courage and instead sought to escape the now confining hut.

Leifr quickly left the hut and trotted over to his warhorse to recover his chainmail. He didn't have a chance to put it on when he just awoke so he decided to use whatever little respite they had now to do so. It was a simple manner to put on mail, not unlike slipping into a simple shirt, but he ignored the rest of his noble regalia and made due with his current outfit: the base tunic and now his armor. He also hoped that by doing this he could show the rest of the group that he was onboard with Allereun's plan without having to speak. The cool air of the night felt great as it calmed Leifr. Grabbing his shield and unbuckling the cursed sword Honor, he led his warhorse to the side of the hut away from the door but did not tie the reigns in case his steed needed to make a getaway.

Leifr exhaled a bashful sigh as the thought of Fiore talking to Odysseus crossed his mind. Glancing over his shoulder for a brief moment, he leaned towards his warhorse and whispered softly:

“Erle-”

A dismissive snort.

“Gunnvor-”

A harsh exhale.

“May I just-”

The horse bumped it's head against Leifr's.

Leifr stumbled back and delicately rubbed his head in search of a bump, then headed back towards the hut now fully armed and ready for battle, albeit a little embarrassed and disappointed.

Lyrisa mostly thought a bit as everyone had their own little issues, that is until a voice was heard. No, not one of the voices of the group. A separate one altogether. It was a woman's quiet voice.

The voice didn't SOUND aggressive. Lyrisa was a bit wary at first, but decided as Allereun did that any sword was a welcome sword. They would need every little bit of help that they could in order to fight off these lumbering monstrosities that were following them.

After leaving explaining the plan to the new girl, Lyrisa went off into thought again. What else could she do to help. Her idea of using magic was doubly out now that there was fresh meat more likely to murder in cold blood than anyone she had spent the last three days with. She decided that it would be best just to drop the idea for now and go with another plan.

She noticed that the noble had left the building after talking to the Creep. She didn't pay much attention as she figured he was just visiting his horse that he had yet named. Maybe, since he didn't have his armor on, he went to put it on. It was his lifeline after all. She thought back to who was the last one to leave that blazing inferno known as their last camp. It was Allereun. He was the one who started the fire too.

"Hey," Lyrisa said as she tapped Allereun on the shoulder, "If those creatures reacted to fire, perhaps we could use that to our advantage. Though, perhaps they react to little more than a blazing inferno." Her mind started into the possibilities, "Ugh, I hate not being able to test things before hand. Do we have enough materials to even get that much?" She looked around the hut they were in a bit. Nothing really, other than the few weapons. They had fire . . . But the things to burn . . . Not to mention the buildings could catch on fire and that could be hazardous. "Would that be a good idea, even?" She asked more to herself than the others.

It might have been because of the fear of the creatures, but Vialesa felt strangely underwhelmed by the strangers' level of precaution. One in particular literally beckoned her into their midst, as if she were a refugee running from the enemy's frontlines. On second thought, maybe her voice acting really was just that convincing. Still, with the prospect of complete rejection behind her, Vialesa returned to her commonplace behavior, standing up straighter as her face fell back into a neutral, expressionless place. Trudging forward, she found her way into the flame-lit building, her hand still trained on her sword. At first glance in the dim light, they didn't seem much like bandits, especially considering their... getups.

Vialesa listened intently, though seemed a bit absent-minded as she looked into the faces of her new comrades. Temporary, she guessed. Putting one and one together, she figured these creatures they spoke of were the source of the foul smell the pervaded her approach to the campsite. Shaking her head, she answered Allereun,

"I'm merely a traveler," she paused, recalling her earlier farce, "who took up refuge in this campsite prior to your arrival. What are these monsters that have chased you?"

As they all talked they were pretty much wasting precious preparation time for preparing for the oncoming foe that could still be on its way, or perhaps was even already there. The horses were still quite restless, probably smelling the creatures not too far as when they were a bit closer to them all back at the fire the smell was quite horrible, especially for Allereun who was able to pick up a bit more from the smell that the beasts gave off. Suddenly all but Leifr and Vialesa would hear something at the entrance of the camp. The sounds of multiple footfalls. It was either those beasts or someone else, but in the darkness it was hard to see that far, and the footfalls seemed to begin to move a bit more into the camp now, it hard to tell how many there were out there, or what they were, from the sounds.

The feud for the hand of Lyrisa in marriage must have been a harsh one indeed, for it appeared that Fiore almost instantly went onto Leifr after Allereun had responded to that noble's own ideas. Shaking his head slightly, the red-head really hoped that the embarrassed knight wouldn't do something as irrational as “cleanse his slighted honor with the blood of his mockers” or something like that. Allereun didn't really care whether Fiore died or not, but it would be a pain to bury his body. And Lyrisa would probably be hysterical about the hypothetical backstabbing.

So clearly, Leifr, in all his emotional, self-righteous rage, would kill her as well, before coming back to his senses, feeling a horseload of guilt, and then commit suicide, closing the curtains on this tragic love triangle.

And after they all die, preferably after killing the first wave of monsters, Allereun can just find his way to Calgeth with their loot in tow, before enlisting the help of the guards to wipe out all those monsters. Then, only then, could he be insured of his safety during the Three Moon Festival.

The words of the newcomer, however, scattered his melodramatic fantasies, and Allereun once again began to focus. It was pretty obvious to him that the raven-haired swordswoman was lying about something, but for the time being, he'd let her off. Unless she was an accomplice of those monsters, some sort of intelligent scout-type demon that aided her less intelligent brethren. But if that's the case...well, he'll figure that out when they got there.

The smell of the monsters grew stronger, and now, Allereun could hear their pounding footsteps as well. How many of them were there? He couldn't tell, and the dim lighting outside of the hut wasn't helping either. It didn't sound like a stampede, thankfully, so that must have meant that the four that first began chasing hadn't waited to regroup.

Yeah, this should be fine.

Stepping out of the hut, Allereun spoke out clearly, using a neutral tone to hide the fact that he was probably going die if those monsters were planning to throw projectiles first, “Leifr, stand beside the doorway, away from the door. Get ready to swing at the first monster that passes by. Fiore, Lyrisa, please stay behind the door. The two of you push it closed as soon as possible. Newcomer, get one of the short spears and stick it into the second monster that tries to get in. Push it away from the hut, because we'll be using the door as a method of unbalancing the numbers.”

Now, the smell was getting worse, and he was just a few feet away from the door, far enough that those moving blurs could lock into him, note all the sound that he's making.

Heck, he'll even encourage them.

Clapping his hands together in an unenthusiastic manner, he sang out in a flat tone, reciting an odd song that he heard once, in a strange, ancient language, “Chewchuuuuu du chuu dudu..”

Heck, he'll even blow them a kiss, because why not.

And like that, Allereun walked backwards towards the doorway once more, making sure that they wouldn't try some sort of insane sprint to catch him off guard.

If anyone else had seen Allereun's strange actions, they would have been more confused than anything. That language probably wasn't even a real language and was just some sort of random stuff the man pulled from his ass as well, but even that was hard to tell. The approaching group weren't even close enough to see it, their hard to make out visages seeming to approach now as they heard not only Allereun's singing, if it could be called that, but the horses as well with their snorting and restless moving about as they could clearly tell that things were not right. Luckily, since they were now only about one hundred or so yards away, maybe a little less, but they were still coming from the entrance of the camp that was about that wide, the group would still have a few more key moments to prepare before the monsters were on them, judging from the smell, which was a bit more obvious now that they were in the same vicinity as the approaching creatures, were indeed the same monsters from before, the monsters seeming to be making a headway towards the hut where everyone else was situated.

Fiore looked at Allereun, giving a slight nod before getting into position, looking over at Lyrisa, giving a friendly grin. "Are you ready?" Fiore asked before looking forward to where he was supposed to be looking in, unaware of the fact that his bandages had fallen further off.

What do you think of the plan? Fiore asked hesitantly in his head.

It's either going to get us killed... Fiore's other consciousness said, giving a long pause between continuing. Or this is going to save our lives, and the boy here - Allereun - will be a great tactician. Could even be the leader for this ragtag band.

I agree... although, "he" is a she, you do know that, correct? Fiore said proudly in his head, not knowing the real truth. I mean, he doesn't look remotely like a boy... Fiore turned around once more to look at Allereun, his grin faltering to a slight frown. ... Or remotely... like a girl... Fiore looked forwards again.

So you see now? Fiore's other consciousness asked. Do you really see now? Fiore's consciousness, however, was sincere. It was unlike something Fiore has ever heard before! His other self, the other side of his consciousness... he was being sincere!

... Hey... you fine?

Just dandy, why? This was slowly starting to creep Fiore out, he had never heard the word "dandy" being use in such a long time - or ever for that matter - and he had never seen his other self acting like this, even after losing a battle. Fiore shook it off, not daring to talk or ask questions inside of his head anymore - at least direction to his other consciousness.

The woman was obviously lying, but Leifr smiled and nodded in greeting. Leifr imagined that there must be a reason she was lying and so he decided to to trust in her fib, at least for now.

“Pray, find it in yourself to forgive us for trespassing into your refuge. We are currently being chased by hostile creatures and I am afraid you will be caught up in it as well if you linger here any longer.”

Leifr's warnings came too late however, as Allereun's instructions (and strange dance) were followed by the tell-tale smell signaling the monsters' arrival and Leifr had no more time wasting in preparation or idle talk. As per Allereun's instruction, Leifr quickly returned into the hut and stood by the doorway away from the door. With a long inhale, he raised his shield in front of himself and raised the cursed Honor behind him in preparation for an immediate strike. He also focused to ensure that the thing he would strike would be a monster and not their new ally, should the woman choose to follow Allereun's commands and fight with them.

Though he has yet to swing, already the blade's illusionary teeth were gently gnawing on his arm in anticipation for the moment Leifr attacks. Adrenaline was slowly increasing as well. This time, Leifr thought, we are ready for you monsters.

Lyrisa. . . Didn't care too much about the woman so she didn't pay too much attention. Her story didn't matter too much as long. She was preparing herself mentally for what was to come. . . As well as the smell. She was just grateful for another sword arm among the group.

"Are you ready?" Asked the Creep with a grin. She noticed his bandages falling off. While she didn't care too much, it would be bad if something happened in the middle of combat.

"Hey, idiot. Make sure you keep my handiwork in tip-top shape dammit." She said as she fixed up the bandages then slapping him on an uninjured part of his body. "There, good as new." Who says patchwork doesn't work? "Now then, don't get hurt this time."

"Now then, tell me what you want me to do." A little physical labor never hurt anyone. She'd let Allereun call the shots for now. . . Other than a little. . . Incident that he seemed to just have, he seemed to know what he was doing. She moved where she was told, ready to do what she needed.

Vialesa stayed quiet, keeping a still expression the entire time as she drew her own strange looking blade and got ready to strike as did Fiore and Leifr. There were now three blades near the door, all ready to strike the first thing that came through. The footfalls got closer and closer to the hut, the horses outside growing more and more restless as they were whinnying and snorting. Leifr's horse was not as restless as the others, but even it was still restless, not that they knew which horse was restless and which was not, but the horses were indeed restless.

Soon enough a monster burst into the door, letting off guttural groans and hisses as it did so, the tendrils that were lopping down from its 'mouth' were almost 'drooling' somewhat. Luckily though the group was ready for the first beast, all of them attacking at the same time on the first creature that entered the hut, the other three right behind it also attempting to get into the hut as well, all of them letting off their own inhuman, guttural, and feral sounds, the stench of these creatures being a bit unbearable and just the sight of them being enough to inspire fear.

Leifr, Lyrisa, and Fiore were fine. Vialesa, despite this being her first time seeing these creature's horrible countenance, was more than fine. If anything she was perfectly mentally prepared for these horrors as her blade was able to swing down even harder upon the beast that had entered, Leifr's and Fiore's blades also swinging down, or in Fiore's case thrusting forward. Fiore's blade was so swift that it moved before the other two blades did, moving very quickly and plunging itself deep into the creature's neck, it letting out a guttural groan and a howl. Fiore's blade was so swift though that he was able to pull the blade out quickly from the beast and thrust yet a second time in the next moment.

The second thrust wasn't as nearly as precise and accurate as the first, perhaps due to its more spontaneous nature, but it still did the trick, the blade slashing the creature, promoting more blackish-brownish liquid that dripped like blood from this beast, it letting out one more guttural cry before falling to the ground, no longer moving. The other three were not intelligent, more blood-thirsty than anything as another clambered over its fallen 'associate', Leifr and Vialesa still being ready in the next moments to swing their blades down upon the next beast.

Leifr's blade sunk in, that same sensation in his arm as the blade seemed to drain his own life. However, despite how deeply the blade cut into the foe, he would feel as though the blade did not drink the blood of this creature. Perhaps because it looked like some kind of rotting, dark sludge rather than actual blood, but it still flowed like blood. Vialesa also slashed down into the beast as well with her strange looking blade, her blade swinging down a bit harder thanks to her boost of resolve from before. The blade swung down, biting deep into the creature as well. Not as deep as Leifr's did, but it still bit deep anyway.

The beast collapsed after both blades cut very deep into the creature, creating a second body in the doorway. The third creature seemed to clamber atop the now two falling bodies, being quite agile as it let out a feral hiss, the tendrils lopping from its mouth moving for a few moments as it suddenly slashed its claws at Vialesa. Fortunately her blade was swift and she managed to parry what looked like very sharp claws that were on this creature's hand, barely parrying the fast hand of the creature aside.

Allereun, during all of this, was looking positively terrified. Upon seeing the horrifying visages of these creatures once again and the strange fear they caused he had tried to run away terrified. Unfortunately he was unable to, since htere was nowhere to run in the hut, so he was stuck to huddling in the corner in fear and terror for now.

Good job, my boy! Fiore's other consciousness said after Fiore struck down one of the creatures with such speed and grace, although this compliment had set Fiore into a bit of a panic state.

Yeah... thanks... Fiore thought in a mock tone. When the hell did you start calling me "boy?" Fiore looked at Exalia, the corner of his mouth giving hint to a frown. Exalia was covered in some black-brown liquid, the blood of those... beasts.

"Looks like I'll need to clean you after this... multiple times..." Fiore uttered under his breath as he looked back up, patiently awaiting for the fourth beast to arrive, and how many beasts that would arrive after that.

What's the plan? Fiore asked.

Try to strike simultaneously when Leifr and the new comer strikes, hopefully it'll be enough to finish the beast off, and if not, do a riposte just to make sure the beast is down and dead, Fiore's consciousness sounded firm, he sounded like he knew what he was doing. Fiore only shook his head ever so subtly. If you're wondering... I'm fine, I promise, now get back to concentrating on the fight.

As the things came into sight. . . Close sight. . . The smell was abysmal really. Lyrisa can already tell that she's not a fan of the horrid things, other than the bloodthirst that emanated from them. As they filed through the door, the creatures went down one by one from her teammates. It was wonderful! She was worried at first. The whole group was unsure of what the creatures were. . . But there was a chance now! Even in the face of the unknown. . . Their team was already done with most of the fight if the numbers they saw were right.

She would like to get a hit in on the creatures but as there were allies in the way, that would be a little more difficult to handle. "You're doing great guys." She said, practically an overseer. It was then at this point that she finally paid a bit of mind to Allereun. Cowering was unlike what she had seen from him so far, "Hey, you're a man right? Stand like it." She said it to him in a way that only he would hear it.