As Grey awaited the bandits to attack and probably kill him, he noticed something... odd.

Shadows didn't normally move like that, did the- HOLY SHIT THEY'RE TEARING HIM APART.

Grey watched in disbelief as the shadows ripped the bandit nearly to shreds (Stubborn bastard had enough meat to survive, apparently. What the fuck have these bandits been eating?) The other bandits were naturally horrified at this, and the victim was now writhing around on the ground to demonstrate. If Grey had to guess these ignorant jackasses thought magic was all fireballs and lightning, and this was some kind of terrible phenomena rather than just particularly nasty combat magic. Grey turned and saw the mage from earlier, who just demonstrated his status as a Shaman. Apparently the bandits hadn't seen him yet, and Grey's bulk coupled with all the smoke and the bandits' less than exemplary eyesight would likely keep him concealed if he didn't move.

Turning back, a downright predatory grin was plastered on his face as he got an idea. "Hey, mage." Grey hissed to Ereshk. "When I snap my fingers, finish him off. Not till then. And don't let them see you." Grey finished. Then he laughed. "Now, do you miserable piles of excrement see!?!" He shouted in grandiose manner. "I am the reaper, come to harvest you worthless souls! That was but a taste of my awesome power! In fact, I could have the shadows rend you to nothing with but a SNAP OF MY FINGERS!!!" At that, Grey Raised his hand out in front of him and snapped his fingers. I hope those bandits run, if they don't they'll destroy us... Where are you Alika?

So we strike again, then?

No. Not until the man named Greyson Onyx gives the signal.

We want their blood. We need their blood!

Wait for the signal.

Sometimes there were benefits to being a tiny shrimp. Ereshk huddled behind Grey Onyx, hiding from the sight of the bandits. He realized as he did so that he was also keeping the sight of the bandit's blood hidden from himself. His concentration remained intact so long as the blood stayed hidden, and so the shaman's soft chanting continued unbroken. It was nothing more than whispers in the wind, white noise that echoed in an eldritch tongue.

Suddenly Grey Onyx snapped his fingers. The signal. That was the signal! Ereshk released the pressure building within his essence. Another surge of power burst forth from the mage's body, manifesting as writhing tendrils that hid in the shadows. Once more they slid underneath Grey Onyx, ignoring the man completely in their mad race to the target. With sadistic glee the raging shadows lunged towards the injured bandit, silencing his screams of agony. More of that delicious pink mist wafted into the air, oozing out of the chunks of gooey flesh and staining the street below.

Ereshk, meanwhile, had shut his eyes the moment he had released his spell. Shrouded in the comforting darkness of the void, he remained blissfully ignorant of the mess his spells had made.

Barst chuckled at Faris's response. He'd thought the same thing, but they were both quick enough to realize that that wasn't the case. On closer inspection, she seemed to be wounded, and he wasn't sure whose blood it was covering her, trickling down her body. It was quite a sight to behold, and Barst paid close attention as Faris gave her report. Three more to take care of before the party was here.

And then the healing came. Barst couldn't help but laugh as he watched Faris's reaction. It was never pleasant. She seemed thoroughly disturbed by the event, looking around the alleyway and taking a very long pause before finishing her sentence. He was wishing he could take back that laughter now. "Sorry. Just...reminded me of Caldegia. Lotta fun with the recruits at the hands of our healers. Not as fun when it happens to you, though. Been there enough times." Shrugging, he offered an empathetic smile and nodded as she continued, once again being interrupted. "Gods really don't want you ta finish a sentence today, huh?"

Moving into a brisk walk as he spoke, Barst headed in the direction of the scream. There was blood to be spilled, it seemed. "Well, finished sentences or not, we've got a fight to win. C'mon, let's ruin someone's day."

Wolf-Pack

Sammael nodded bluntly to Alika, muting himself as he drew the bow and began to fire into the crowd of bandits that had been indicated previously

Helath, on the other hand, grinned and seemed pleased at the turn of events all around, turning away from the conversing father and son as he half-jogged, half-prowled toward the gate.

As for Nialas, his fight was as one-sided as his brother's before him, barely able to keep himself from being cleaved in half by the berserker's powerful blows, let alone defend anyone else.

Elsewhere, Lasair gasped and finally fell over on his face, utterly unconscious from the blood loss

The berserker's blood boiled in his veins as crazed eyes glared at his target, living only to skin the whore alive before violating her family and loved ones in an orgy of death and pain. Teeth gnashed against the open air, biting and snapping as clear fluid splattered forward as the frothing visage of terror howled for gore and agony. The muscles of the hefty man rolled and clenched with the shaking fury that possessed his hulking frame as the guillotine of his axe was raised again for another, earthsplitting strike.

It impacted with as much brutal force as the mountain-bound killer could muster, sliding off the shield a burst of sparks, even as the rest of the man pushed forward and dove for Alice's free hand, using the lack of space to his advantage as he prepared to simply crush the woman under his girth to incapacitate her so that he and his men could kill her at their leisure later.

Unfortunately the beserker managed to knock Alice's axe out of her hand as he slammed into her, driving the wind out of her lungs. As prepared as she was, she hadn't expected him to be quite so heavy. She wasn't going to let that stop her however. Alice threw a punch square into the mans nose as she pushed against him, a loud sickening crunch evident of her gauntlet succeeding its goal.

"You.. Will.. Not move.. Me.." Alice grunted, the weight of the beserker weighing down on her. Without her axe, and without the ability to grab her spear, she couldn't kill him.
so instead she just decided to cause some pain. With as much force as she could muster she heaved the brute away from her. He merely stumbled back a step, confused that she had not simply been crushed flat beneath him, and found himself being punched with a shield. He roared as bloody teeth fell from his mouth as Alice quickly grabbed her spear once more. Alice took aim and took a stab at his throat, with a yell of "YOU DIE HERE!", thrust forward, exposing herself more then she should have.

Greyson Onyx

Huffing and puffing, Grey watched the bandit cease to be. The other ones were speechless as they watched their friend get blasted into non-existence, understandably so... "Well?! WHO WANTS TO BE NEXT!?" Grey roared. At that point, they scattered, no doubt to look for a wizard or more goons. Truth be told (though he'd seen dark magic before), the sight made him a little nauseous. Collapsing against the nearby building, Grey turned his head to the young mage, and smiled. "Heh... look at that... you bought me a few more minutes... Heh... heh heh... They'll be back soon... you should take Arianna and..." He tried to say, but he could almost feel his lung filling up with blood. He did feel strange, almost tingly...

Alika

Alika merely huffed at the wolf-man, who had apparently decided to ignore her. Ugh, Wolves. So rude. In any event, she had decided to go back to scanning the town and... "No, no, NO!" She more or less shouted when she saw someone nearly dead and leaning against a building. Of course, she'd recognize that one-eyed bastard anywhere. She couldn't use that physic staff fast enough.

Grey again

Grey smirked when he saw his wound stitching itself back together and felt the blood drain from his lung. He got up and loosened his shoulder, before picking up his axe again. In the distance, he saw the tell-tale glow of Alika's physic staff. "Hey, wizard. thank you, truly. If it weren't for you I don't think I'd have lived long enough for my guardian angel to find me." He said to Ereshk as he laid a hand on his shoulder. "Now, you stick with me, those bandits will be back soon."

Faris

"Doesn't matter to me, I've finished two of these bastards and not finished two sentences. I guess that shows that I'm not suited for diplomacy or whatever my father calls it."

Faris gave a final shudder, attempting to clear the last of the magic from her system as she responded to Barst, her words sadistic and callous.

"We should hurry, it sounds like they're finishing up and I don't wanna not be able to give back some more pain to those bandit bastards." The mercenary grimaced, savagely showing her teeth. "I gotta cut them for that embarrassment of a fight in the alleyway."

She followed the pegasus archer as her expression faded to one of dour resentment, barely batting an eyelid at the sound of heavy feet approaching from the next alley over, running desperately away from the sound of screaming that had rent the night air. She gave another smirk as she readied her blade, winding up and positioning herself at the mouth of the next alley.

"Look like they don't need our help after all, huh?"

With a grunt of exertion, she delivered a two handed horizontal strike at eye-level, impacting the terrified bandit's skull as he ran directly into the impromptu ambush. The heavy iron blade barely shuddered as it cleaved directly through the bone, tearing the top of the unfortunate man's head off with a spray of gore that coated the already soaked blade.

---

Rapidly Expiring Berserker and his Jolly Gents-Duraid

Despite the obviously powerful blows of the traitorous general, the fire that burned in the captain's eyes never died as he screamed in rage and pain through the clotted blood and saliva. Hulking fingers scraped against Alice's armor, finding a grip as they dove for her unarmored head and poked for her eyes and nose, grabbing and yanking whatever loose item of clothing or hair he could find.

Then came the spear. With a will that burned even through his now certain death, the bandit threw himself forward even further, dragging the blade through his neck with a spray of highly pressurized arterial fluid, forcing the entire shaft of the speak to miss his spinal cord as he reached for Alice's exposed neck with a death-grip that not even his now dying brain could break.

Behind him loomed the terrifyingly silent visage of the mercenary commander, who finally drove the massive steel axe into the berserker's back, recoiling in surprise as the iron-hard flesh refused to give to the mortal blow that would have cleaved a lesser man in twain.

Elsewhere, the remaining few bandits began to beat a hasty retreat, flowing toward the entrance of the village with the mind of escaping rats.

Noticing the look on Faris's face, Barst couldn't help but laugh a bit. It was good to see that kind of zeal in a soldier, regardless of whether they fought for coin or country. He couldn't help but look forward to the coming hostilities. Barst lead Faris on until the screaming got close to them, falling back to get a better shooting position. She could fight up front, but he was useless. He didn't even carry a dagger, not that it would do him any good, really. Returning his focus to the alleyway, Barst nocked an arrow in preparation.

Several bandits turned the corner into their alleyway, Faris meeting one of their skulls with her blade. The others stopped short, preparing themselves for battle. It seemed they hadn't noticed him yet, instead focusing on Faris. Good. Holding in his breath, Barst lined up a shot and released -FTWAAAANG!- his arrow finding its way into the nearest bandit's throat, spewing blood across the ground and wall of the alley. Releasing the last of his breath and grabbing a new arrow, Barst took a few steps to the side, putting Faris between himself and another bandit. It would do neither of them any good if one of the cravens went straight for the archer.

Ereshk tilted his head curiously as Greyson began to rapidly recover from his injuries. Was this magic? Yes, it had to be some sort of healing spell, but from where? Ereshk followed Greyson's gaze, and sure enough there was a brief glow from a rooftop a few streets over. A long-distance healing spell? Was that even possible? Though he would never admit it, Ereshk's knowledge of the more passive forms of magic was decidedly lacking. The Master only ever gave lectures on the destructive aspects of magic. Fireballs, slicing shadows, purging light, those were the spells Ereshk had been taught how to deal with. Knitting flesh was utterly foreign.

"Lead on then," the dark mage piped in with a smile, turning back to face Greyson Onyx. "I'll help out for as long as I can." Ereshk was very deliberately keeping his gaze focused on Greyson. Somewhere deep inside he knew what he had done with his spells, but for the moment his carnage was out of sight and out of mind. The mage intended to keep it that way for as long as possible tonight; he'd just be a burden if he fainted again.

Alice did her best to avoid the beserkers grasp, but she wasn't able to move quick enough. She yanked her lance, tearing through what little flesh was left over his artery. She could feel the quickly chilling fingers closing on her throat, cutting off her breathing and attempting to snuff out her life. Without air her thought process was quickly slowing. She managed to figure out to bring her shield up and into his wrist, crushing it and loosening his fingers just enough to escape. Steping back she thrust one final time with her lance. Its end sprouted from the back of his skull with a sickening crunch, sliding out as he crumpled onto the ground. Alice herself fell to the ground as she tried to keep breathing through her almost crushed windpipe.

Before Hark could reach the duel it had ended abruptly. General Von Schmitt had dispatched the berserker and fallen to her knees in exhaustion, appearing to gasp for air as the berserker released her neck. Hark slowed his pace about twenty feet from the general and sheathed his sword, before anouncing, "General Von Schmitt! What is going on here? First you appeared to be leading this rabble, and now you appear to be fighting them! Explain yourself."
There was something about this whole situation that niggled at him. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there had to be a reason for this situation.

Alika

With Grey's survival more or less assured, she turned her attention to other matters, like that armored woman fighting the largest bandit. She was readying the spell, but the bandit was putting up a hell of a fight. She would have thought her dead when she fell over, if not for the tell-tale heaving of her chest. She cast Physic once more, but on such a powerful combatant she doubted it would fully restore her, just mend the most pressing injuries.

Greyson Onyx

With a nod to his small mage-friend, he set out, carefully this time. While not the stealthiest of individuals, he was certainly doing better than charging down the street. And then, as if by a stroke of luck they managed to find the bandits that nearly killed them, two of which had fallen but one remained. In addition, there were also two mercs, one he dimly remembered to be the girl that whole sparring fiasco was over. Anyway, he noticed the bandit was pre-occupied, and knew he'd NEVER get another chance like this so he walked over, and tapped the bandit on the shoulder. Confused, the bandit whipped around only to have an axe planted in his face. "I told you I was the reaper..." he said to the corpse as he removed his axe, flipping the body so his new friend wouldn't have to see the wound.

"Well, it's a good thing you two took care of those other ones, they would have probably killed the two of us." he said to his new companions.

Faris

She spat to the side, looking down on the newly formed corpses of the bandits. They never ceased to disgust her, even in their brutal deaths. "Killing 'em is easy, axeman. The rest of the bandit scum will probably be either dead or runnin' scared."

The ginger woman gave a lopsided grin, bending over to grasp the dirty shirt of one of the slain bandits. She began to clean her blade, the blood soaking inside of the fabric. "We just need to meet up with the people in the front part of the town."

Duraid and the Routed Rest of the Bandits

The berseker didn't die as quickly as he should have, the gurgling wheeze and baleful light in his eye lasting long after the spear had perforated his skull. Hatred burned on every breath that didn't come, the blood leaking out sluggish and unnaturally dark.

Duraid, however, ignored the madman's life force as he stepped over the corpse to reach Alice, barely noting the strangely armored man who had attacked him earlier. The hulking giant chose to ignore Hark's complaints before he carefully asked Alice a question of his own, the hissing of breath barely noticeable from inside the uncaring helmet.

"Can you stand?"

He proffered a massive hand, carefully keeping his other hand on his axe.

Alice looked up to the offered hand and took it gladly as she felt the telltale tingle of magic restoring her windpipe and allowed her air one more. She lifted herself, allowing her lance to remain on the ground less she provoke an attack.
"I can stand. I thank you."
She looked over to where her name had been called. "Aye, tis I, general von schmitt. And I shall refrain from answering infill I can both recover enough to be comfortable and know of who you are."
Looking back to the one who offered a hand she added, "and I shall get my lance now if you wouldn't mind, need to clean it." After such she reached down to pick it up and pulled out a rag from a small bag on her hip to clean it.

Hark stood his ground, about 10 feet from the general while he waited for her to answer. The remaining bandits had begun to rout, and simply parted away from the two, as if they were boulders in a river.

As Alice cleaned her lance the man that had called out to her had stoped and seemed to be waiting for her to explain herself. With a short sigh she finished and replaced her lance upon her back.
"Unfortunetly I was put in charge of keeping watch over said bandits, as much as I detest them. I as told to follow them here, and if the chance presented itself, to eliminate them. However I was in no way leading them, nearly watching over them. Thankfully all of you were here, with allowed me to eliminate them, with your help. " she looked over at the others, lowering her visor in case this provoked an attack in itself. She wouldn't blame them but she'd rather not have to get in another fight, and alone at that.
"Now if there's any other questions you have that I am able to answer, I shall, but I do need to get back to my superior. I'm due to tell him that the bandits are deal with." Alice rested her hand upon the top of her axe, a clear sign of being ready, yet not so much as to quickly strike in surprise. She knew none of these people nor how they would react to what she had said.

Greyson Onyx

Grey frowned. "Never underestimate a pack of wild dogs mi'la- miss." He said, catching himself. He really needed to stop doing that. Bold arrogance of that sort was always a bad idea; sure, there weaklings but a ton of weaklings can kill anybody. He certainly knew that, what with his near death moments ago. At least, that was the sort of things Brandt always taught him.

She spoke again, and that was the sort of thing he could agree with. "Right, lead the way, miss."