Furnace had hoped hearing her reaction to the words would help divining their meaning.
But now he had even more words devoid of meaning. Story? Night?
Alula expressed her desire to not hurt anyone. Furnace had heard the same from Carver and a few others. A pattern?
On one hand Furnace could relate to this idea, but on the other hand had he not hurt the two headed giant?
He had chosen to protect the form of his own work over the form of him. And after that he had attempted to cause pain to him
in an attempt to protect his own form.

So his body and work were of higher priority to him than hurting others.
Though otherwise he wouldn't want to hurt anyone either.
Were her desires similar? He wondered.

"I can hurt people too. But can choose not to when I don't have to.
I wonder what weighs more than your wish to not hurt anyone?
What makes you cause pain?"

Okay. If Alula wasn't confused before she was now past the point of no return. When had the party gained such a young member? She would have defiantly remembered picking up such a young child at the tavern. She frowned as the girl walked by, trying to brush her hair over her eyes. She was really missing her hat at this point. A voice reassured her that she indeed wasn't forgetting anything, and that the child had been found by Vis during the destruction of the town.

Oh. How strange. She wondered how long a child would be able to last in their care.

And she only continued to feel more confused as the gnome continued to speak with her. It was as if everything the gnome said was over-complicated and strange. She frowned again, trying to move past him.

“Choice...is a strange...concept...” She muttered, struggling to bend over and get her staff. “I am...not...always...in control...”

She finally gripped the wood, standing up straight. She looked forwards, and the setting sun.

“And stronger then my control...is their control.”

And now she had the support to move from her staff, Alula walked past Furnace, hoping to find a safe spot before the moon came up. But knowing her luck, she would run into more allies.

Furnace cocked his head slightly as he processed her words.
He followed her, slowly waving the tall grass out of his face.
"Of course you can. Choosing to do or not do is how you express who you are.
And what you do, create or destroy, that is you.
So how could you not be you?"

Alula growled again, her anger growing despite her fatigue. She looked up anxiously at the setting sun. It would set any minute now, she needed to be rid of the gnome and the others. She needed to out distance between them. She glanced into the woods, which still seemed so far away. She wished that Carver would break through the tree line, he would be able to convince the gnome to cease his questions. She was getting stressed.

And when the gnome spoke again she stopped walking, angrily planting her staff into the ground. She tried to control her apparent rage.

"We are not all...blessed...with your...level of...expression." She growled, repeating his words. "We do not...get to...choose the life we...live."

She started walking again, hoping to leave the gnome behind her.

"And yet...I am myself..."

Furnace was relentless, not recognizing anger or stress.
"So then it's like channeling energy, just cause I can doesn't mean you can?
I was able to share that with the friend collector though.
Let me help you be you. And make the choices you want."

As night falls lights can be seen in the town coming from enemy torches. Most of these lights leave and wander out of town while others search the perimeter. None are near the heroes, YET. The five that are searching are making sure to look into the woods and while Kelvin's contraption blocks out eyes from the town, it won't avoid the notice of these guys. Will the team decide to run deeper and face whatever lies in the woods or stay and fight the five and hope none brings backup.

Carver was still carrying the witch back to camp when he saw them. Five torches fanning through the woods. Survivors? No. Any townspeople who were still alive would have the good sense not to carry bright lights when trying to evade the army that had just destroyed their town. No, these were almost certainly foes, searching for survivors of the attack. And they were headed right for the camp.

For the umpteenth time that day, Carver broke into an agonizingly slow run, finally breaking into the clearing where the rest of the party was. "Friends, they come! Five foes bear down on us, and I fear there is no time for us to run." He set the witch down gently on a blanket, somewhat guilty of his petty rough treatment of her earlier.

He drew his sword and began gesturing around the camp. "I will try to take the worst of it. My gnomish friend, I know not how much energy remains within you, but use what you can to direct the foes to me. My lady Alula, please take the child and climb back to that tree, that we might protect the two of you more easily. Kelvin, I want you to remain at the base of the tree and shoot anything that gets too close. Separ, stay with me in front - they'll hit me, and then you'll hit them back harder. And, half-elf..." He glanced around. "Has anyone seen the half-elf?"

The paladin shrugged, and placed his helmet back on his head.

Already Khat had wandered into the woods in the direction a set of foot prints went, she guessed they were Vis' as they were large and he had stated earlier that he was heading to a stream, his lateness was indicative of finding one. As she walked, she pulled her white linen head scarf around her neck, as it was a chilly evening. In the distance, she saw a figure move casually in her direction and as it got closer, she saw that it was Vis, casting a green glow from his eye. She regarded him coolly.

"Vis," she said calmly, crossing her arms as she stood in front of him, she took this time to really look at the man who had pulled her out of the crate. He was skinny for an adult and very secretive, as he always had that scarf around his face, not once lowering it. Khat copied him, pulling up her scarf to hide her face, "I'm thirsty."

"Hi Thirthty, I'm Vis." he joked dryly, looking down at her and casting a green glow on her freckled face, he noted that she had taken her scarf off of her head, showing the world her long red hair, "There ith a pond clothe by, come on." Vis lead her to the watering hole but the closer he got, the more cautious he became. I spluttering yellow light shone in the distance, it was a torch light and the figure beneath the light was clearly a raider, in the black tunic and holding a sword.

Vis snapped to a wide eye'd Khat, "Up tha three!" he hissed, as he helped her climb up to a branch. Once safely high above the forest and tucked into the leaves of the tree, Vis deposited his armor and gear at the foo of the tree, instead pulling out his dagger and dropping into a crouch.

From up in her treetop vantage, Khat watched as Vis slunk towards the light. From this height she could see the raider clearly, he was kneeled by the pond and was drinking. As Vis approached, it appeared as if killing the man would be no problem but the man was fast. He had spotted Vis in the reflection of the dark water and had spun around. Vis that quick, he couldn't get the man with the dagger as he could easily block with the torch but the man had yet to reach for his sword. So as he sprinted down to the enemy, he stooped and scooped a fist full of dirt and threw it at the man's face, momentarily blinded Vis took his chances.

He hurled himself at the man and they both toppled into the pond, Vis on top of the raider. Quickly, Vis grabbed the man's head and pushed it under water, struggling to hold down the thrashing brute. From atop the tree, Khat could see that the thrashing was getting weaker and the bubbles to the surface less frequent, until the body was still. She could never imagine doing that and grinned as the body floated to the surface.

The pair returned to campo and in unison hissed, "The raiders are in the forest!"

Alula was close to lashing out on the gnome. She wouldn't hurt him, or at least not intentionally. Just enough to spook him away from her, so she could sneak off into the trees. She growled, gripping her staff tighter. Her voice was showing that same amount of corruption as before, but far weaker. Her voice lacked confidence but made up for that in anger.

“We do not need you to tell us who we are. I know who I am.”

Alula's luck continued to run out as Carver broke through the treeline, carrying the hooded woman with the punching man behind him. She was hoping he would be able to sense her distress, and pick the gnome off her her, but instead he brought more bad news.

More attackers. She didn't have time for this. She couldn't stay. If she did they would have more then just five attackers to deal with. She shook her head when Carver tried to get her up into the tree, his direction would have been disastrous.

“No. No no no no.” She said, panic and corruption taking over her calm disposition. “I cannot stay and I do not need protection, you do.”

She shook her head again, looking anxiously up at the sky. The sun was gone and soon the moon would take its place. Without looking at the gathered party Alula moved past them, trying to speed up her limping walk.

“I must go.” She repeated. She did not fear the enemies in the woods. They should be fearing her. She could see the first rays of moonlight. Her hair was glowing.

Carver whirled at the sound of the pair's voice. "Friends! Come, quickly. We must make a stand here. Look after the child, half elf. I will draw our foe's attention."

Alula stumbled back, staring at the sky. Carver looked at her as she began to stumble away, towards the woods - towards the enemies. As he watched, her hair began to glow again - silver, like the moon. Was she about to enter the same state she'd been in during the battle? That would be catastrophic - there would be no hiding their position from the main body of the foes if she were to begin firing off moonbeams again. She needed to be calmed down before she transformed.

The paladin hurried to the girl and spun her around to face him. "My lady," he said, calmy, in spite of the light spreading over her, "If you go into those woods, you will die. You say that we are the ones in need of protection, and this may be so. But I carry my protection with me, and I do not fear. Stay close behind me, and I will protect you. I swear."

She was turned around to face Carver, her glowing hair drifting around her without weight. Her eyes were glowing slightly and her expression was one of restraint. Her entire body trembled, as if something was trying to escape from within her. It was taking all of Alula's strength and resolve to keep herself composed. She seemed to relax for a moment as Carver spoke to her, her glow dying down slightly, but moments later it came back even stronger. Alula trembled again. Even her voice sounded strained.

“I do not doubt for a moment that you would be able to protect me.” She paused a moment, eyes squeezed shut. “But this is...beyond me...” A shaky exhale, squeezing her eyes shut tighter. “The creatures in the woods cannot kill me, they are too late for that.”

Alula opened her eyes, brightly glowing and yet still displaying desperation.

“You have to trust me. Please.” She begged. “I will...return...eventually...” Her voice lacked confidence. “It is only the night. It's who we are. It's part of me.” Another violent shake, a curse in a foreign language.

“I am dangerous. I don't want to hurt anyone else.”

Separ walked towards Carver and placed a hand on his armored shoulder. "Carver, if she insists on going then we should not stop her. Let us instead focus on fighting by her side. The enemies are dangerous after all, me and the girl back there almost died and this fight may end with the same outcome or worse. Let's just do what we can alright?" Separ turned towards Alula looking at her directly. "I'll back you up any way I can if you have some sort of plan?" Rushing the enemy felt reckless to Separ, but he knew there wasn't much of a choice. Those scouts would find them eventually if they didn't now, defeating them now would be the best option. Though it would probably also be a good idea to relocate camp afterwards, seeing as sooner or later the other raiders will notice the disappearance of this squad.

Separ took a deep breath trying to collect himself as he still felt rather tired from everything that had happened. Taking off his backpack he laid it behind a tree a few meters away from the group. Alright, now I can move a little bit better, but still this is going to be tough. Separ turned towards Carver and walking towards him whispered. "So, are you ready to do this then? I'll be right behind you the whole time."

The five scouts started to move in closer to where the crew was positioned. One noticed movement and the scouts started racing to where the movement was spotted. Time until they reach the camp: Five minutes of game time

Carver nodded to Separ hesitantly. "I... yes. You are right. We will do what we can. Stay close behind me, Separ. When their mightiest blows fall upon my guard, that is when you must strike. My lady... do what you must, but stay safe, and keep the light displays to a minimum. Everyone else behind me. Our priority is protecting the child."

With that, he strode forward and slowly, rhythmically, began to pound the hilt of his sword against his shield. His mind wandered back to another time, when a much younger man by his name had done much the same thing.

Sir Greenvale was striding in front of the line of recruits. The man was like a cliff face - huge, imposing, unyielding. He scanned the line with impassive eyes, and at length asked a question. "Does the Paladin fear pain?"

As once, the recruits beat their shields and answered. Clang."No!"

"Does the Paladin fear disgrace?"
Clang. "No!"

"Does the Paladin fear death?"
Clang. "No!"

"What does the Paladin fear?"
Clang. "Failure!"

The hammering intensified, growing louder with every blow. Carver would not fail. "On me, friends! They draw near!"

Relief washed over Alula, although she did not relax yet. The possibility of her hurting Carver was still too high for her to relax. And yet her expression visibly softened to a smile, she felt much calmer now knowing that Carver wasn't going to follow her. Her words had finally gotten through to someone.

She took a trembling step away from Carver, looking into the woods. "If I am lucky I can sneak around the attackers." She looked up at Carver, and then to the moon, shivering again. "I will try and keep my lights down, if only to protect you, but I am not sure if I will be able to control it."

Alula gave a final glance over her shoulder to Carver, opening her mouth as if to say more but then deciding against it. She could explain to him later. She angled her entrance in the woods as a way to flank the enemies. All of her movements became clear and deliberate, her limp dissolving into gentle glides. She moved gracefully through the trees, as if she was passing right through them.

Alula looked a bit different from her normal, not glowing, self. But she also looked vastly different from earlier during the fight. Earlier she had cracks of light breaking through her skin, as if her inner forces were fighting against their outer shell. But now she looked more at peace and content, a gentle glow encompassing her whole body. She took a deep breath, trying to remain calm as she drifted through the trees.

She could hear the rhythmic pounding of Carvers sword against his shield. The sound reminded her of something, a faded memory from her past. She could feel the dread of the memory in her heart, but her mind was blank. She swallowed nervously, moving as quickly as possible. She wasn't going to hurt him. She was going to hurt any of them.

It was suddenly crowded in the fields.
People were yelling at each other, there were even more people coming with lights.
Alula had gotten away and his chance to see what it was that pressured her was gone.
Weapons were drawn, the approaching people had fire and weapons also.
Had they come to harvest more? We didn't want that. Right?
Carver started to beat his sword on his shield repeatedly. Furnace didn't know why the rhythm reminded him of the rhythm of hammer and forge.
It was comforting, and though he was conflicted over the idea of forging here in the field he was drawn closer.
He stood near to Carver and Separ, close enough that they could see him in the tall grass even when Furnace crouched.
"This is no place to have a forge, there is too much fuel here, I won't be able to contain the fire."
He pulled out his sword. It was slightly bent and dented. The melting had made the blade a little dull and a little shorter. But it could still hurt.
"The glowing girl doesn't want to hurt anyone. I want to help her do that. If that means I have to hurt these people in her stead, I think I want to hurt these people. What do you think?" Furnace stared at Separ and Carver on either side of him. "Do you want to hurt these people?"

Kelvin awoke to the ringing of metal on metal, his eyes snapping open. He was disoriented for just a moment. The forge? It had been years since he last had worked metal. Falen had always been an early riser though. He rolled onto his side and found his face two feet from the hooded girl’s. ”No… what happe-” His face contorted in horror and he rolled the other way, standing upright before realizing where he was. Color slowly returned to his face. This wasn’t the inn. He took a deep breath before looking around, spotting the lights moving through the forest towards their small opening in the trees, and more importantly, Carver and Separ squaring up to meet them. At his feet was that woman. However those two had gotten here, it was fortune. First things first. Kelvin quickly repacked his bag, glancing about to make sure there were no misplaced items before slinging it over his shoulders. It took only a moment to fill up the crossbows chamber, loading two more slugs from his belt pouch to bring it back to full clip.

Alright. The seer was… He glanced about, not seeing a trace of her, unless the glowing in those trees a bit farther off was her. ”Elf, grab the kid, we need to move.” Kelvin looked down and knelt, allowing his crossbow to hang off the sling he had made earlier and picked up the black haired beauty, allowing the blanket to fold over her a bit. ”Lady, you are heavier than you look. Can’t tell if it’s you or the dress though.” Kelvin grunted to himself and hoisted her a bit higher, adjusting his arms under her legs and shoulder. Truthfully, she wasn’t horribly heavy, but he could only go so far like this. ”Fair warn’n though. If I need to shoot, I’ll be droppin’ yeh.” Not that she could hear him, but whatever. Kelvin headed diagonally away from where Carver and Separ were making their stand, intending to walk parallel to the Seer and away from both the town and the fight. As long as he and the other guy stuck together, they should be alright. At least, as long as the elf knew how to use that sword. Hopefully Carver was smart enough to realize that he would need a head start if the force in town realized what was happening.

As the team moved out the raiders closed in, they could hear the banging of steel but one heard rustling in the leaves. "There's one over here, trying to get away while the one distracts us." They charged into the woods and intercepted Alula and drew their weapons. Two with crossbows, one with dual long-swords, one with a flail, and the last one being a pyromancer.

Gentle, gliding, movements. Barely disturbing the forest around her. Alula had gotten pretty deep into the woods, far enough to no longer see the camp and yet she could still hear the rhythmic thumping of Carver. Or perhaps it was just a memory following her, phantom sounds filling her with dread. She shook her head clear.

Alula had nothing to fear from mere humans, and she took a deep breath. No moonbeams. She could handle that.

Alula raised her arms above her head, staff pointed directly at the five approaching attackers. Instead of a beam of light striking the attackers, the entire scenery began to change around her and the attackers. It was as if the entire world became a reflection in a pool of water, shimmering and wavering into life.

To Alula and the raiders they were no longer in the woods surrounded by trees, but instead they were in a clearing, with a path that leads towards the camp, although the path eventually turned back into trees where it was outside Alula's range of power. All around the foes were other, albeit faded humans. They were all laughing and drinking strange liquor. A few of the hazy men came over and clapped one of the real men on the back, congratulating him on a good raid.

"Hey..." One of the vision men said, speaking in a voice that sounded slurred from alcohol. "I hear there is a group of smoking babes just over that way" the dream paused to hiccup, nursing at his drink. "wanting to...heh...reward us brave heroes." The hazy man beckoned towards the fake path, towards where the party was preparing themselves for a fight.

The real men would likely now feel extremely strange and disoriented, like getting drunk and then trying to spin around for a few minutes. Even if they didn't believe in the visions they would still be confused and slow. Luckily for Alula, these men were unable to resist the temptation of a willing woman after taking the day to rummage through the ruined town. They began to stumble, as if blind, through the trees. They were headed right for the blades of her allies.

This haze would not last long, once they arrived in the field reality would set in. There were no women waiting for them, only a handful of tired adventurers. But by then Alula would be long gone.

The men wandered out of the woods and were quite upset to find no women and that they were fooled by the girl, but it was too late for her, the enemy was closing in. The two archers fired arrows at Carver while the swordsman rushed in. If Carver puts up his shield he will block the arrows but will give the swordsman a chance for a sneak attack since Carver will lose sight of him and if he doesn't raise his shield. Well...