The journey was slow, by Kalar's standards, but he and his company managed a steady march in their cautious formation. They met no traffic coming the other way, which was something his men were eager to mutter about when he wasn't listening. The rain had broken, giving way to scattered clouds and a bright sun. The smell of wet grass and shrubbery was thick in the air, obscuring other odors that Kalar may have picked up otherwise.

"Smoke, milord," Gormagh hissed from beneath his hood, pointing a gloved hand towards the north east.

"Not a Lord," Kalar retorted with a sigh, before shading his eyes and looking towards the distance.

It was hard to see, almost dissipated by now, and obscured by gathering storm clouds - but it was there. A smear of black smoke marred the sky, and was drifting lazily over the horizon. Kalar's eyes widened, and his gut fell an inch or two at the realization of his prophecy; Okly had been attacked, but had it been destroyed?

As if in answer to his thoughts, a peculiar and high pitched bird song sailed across the air. The Rangers stopped dead in their tracks, crouching low as if commanded by a hive-mind.

Kalar looked back at Adria, "no doubt your hound ears have detected something a little odd about that bird call, and you would be correct in thinking it was forged by a human tongue. Liara has just announced her safe arrival at Okly." He turned to his nearest ranger, Gormagh. "Let's pick up the pace, get the men moving. Throw caution to the wind, I wont have Liara alone."

Gormagh nodded, and moved off to issue his master's commands. The Rangers grunted their approval, one by one, and started into a jog down the road. By now Kalar could be fairly confident the road was safe, Liara would have reported any threats laying in wait for them... though there
was no guarantee she hadn't missed something.

"We've still a bit to go, but we're going to need to quicken our pace," Kalar said to Adria, turning to address her fully. "I know little of your race, aside from a few rumors of its conception, but I have heard your stamina is more in line with a wolf's, than it is a man's. If you're able, perhaps you can run up ahead of us? My scout is alone at Okly, and though she has reported her safe arrival, I'd like her reinforced sooner rather than later."

Kalar took a moment to internally debate his decision. Sending ahead a bard to reinforce his best fighter? Did that make sense? No, no it didn't, but his gut told him it was the right thing to do regardless. He shrugged, and awaited Adria's reply.

As she closed in towards the center of the town, odd, ominous chanting could be heard. She figured that it had to be something out of the ordinary that had rained down death and destruction upon the land. But she couldn't imagine it was anything like this.

There had to have been at least 50 men amidst the carnage. A small group surrounded a desecrated monument, a hero of old. The monsters! She crouched low in her position, baring her teeth in anger. They weren't men though. She wasn't close enough to get a great look, but what she saw was deformed, skin even peeling from some. She had seen some wretched things in her past, but this was something beyond compare.

The group expanded on all sides of the monument except from the south. It's a vulnerable spot, but it'll be the best view., a soft sigh escaped as the thought crossed her mind.

She couldn't risk being seen, there were too many, and she had no idea of their skills or weaknesses. To make matters worse, adding to their numbers were bandits. She could smell them a mile away, and knew the ragged, uncooperative, rowdy bunch from anywhere.

But she had made her way too far into town, turning back now could prove not only difficult, but dangerous. She glanced back down the path she had taken to get to her current position. She needed to warn Kalar, or else risk the deaths of all on her hands. Another bird chirp would give away her position, she would need to get farther out before sounding the call. She had no choice.

Still in her crouched position, she moved herself slowly and carefully over the rubble and ruin of Okly. She was covered in soot and ash, same as the town. It covered her scent at the very least, and helped her to blend in. Her feet slid over crackling embers and broken wood. She mouthed a prayer or two, hoping to the gods she wouldnt be discovered as she made her way out.

There was a moment of silence that stilled her steps. The chanting had stopped, but only to address a complaint made by one of the bandits.

Her distance from them made it a bit more difficult to hear them, but what she heard was all that she needed to know.

"...worship the work of the magnificent creatures of your world. Your Dragons are so regal and magnificent. There's just nothing quite like them back home. Besides there's plenty of time left in the day to pillage the next town down the road."

The chitter chatter continued on for a short while, allowing her to sneak out of the town. Unnoticed or not, she couldn't be sure. But if they had seen her, they were gracious enough to let her live... for now.

The warmth of the damage done to the town radiated still just beyond the borders. Her foot met with the warm, sandy dirt of the outskirts of Okly, and she loosed a breath. I made it...now to get this information to Kalar. There was still an uneasy feeling of being caught off guard and alone that haunted her steps. She hoped the Rangers had got her message from earlier. If they were already on their way, they shouldn't be very far.

Aegis's words, terse as they may have been, seemed to convince the Ranger that he was harmless, and she rode away without a word. He had no idea where she was going, and he really didn't care. He continued on his journey to nowhere.

After an hour or so, the rain let up and the clouds parted enough for sunshine to sneak through. Now that it was dry, Aegis pulled out a map he had aquired a long time ago. This road seems to lead to the capital. This shows there are no settlements anywhere nearby. Thats good. He thought. But he was wrong, as he was soon to find out. Aegis decided to run, simply to break the monotonous of the road. He took his cloak off and bundled it up into his pack, shouldered it, and started running at a blistering pace that no normal human could keep for long. Hours later of nonstop jogging, a small town came into sight.

Aegis stopped, uncertain. "There weren't supposed to be settlments here." He said aloud. He pondered about it, for awhile as he got out the last of his water and food. "Gonna need to get more." He mumbled. As he finshed his meal it occurred to him that his map could be out of date. "That must be it." He said. "After all, I don't think I've actually been into a town or city for...five years, now." He gazed wishfully at the town, just visable on the horizon. "Besides the ranger, I haven't actually even talked to anyone for almost as long. He realized. "I'll need to go in for supplies, then." Right. The supplies. He put his cloak back on, dispite the humidity of the day from the rain, and headed in the direction of the town.

@frengo@crimson raven@icepezz@cultural titan

Despite the circumstances, the danger involved, and the cautiousness that the Rangers were showing, Adria was enjoying herself fairly well. It was always good to have companions, even if they did have to be silent for fear of being roasted alive by something. Of course, as they moved along, through the other smells present, she picked up on the smell of smoke. That was never a good sign. And sure enough, just a bit of distance off, there was smoke in the air.

She didn't have long to think about that though, as a bird call would suddenly ring out. It was almost perfect, though the pitch was just slightly off. Meaning it was either one of this persons rangers, or it was something else. "no doubt your hound ears have detected something a little odd about that bird call, and you would be correct in thinking it was forged by a human" Kalar would answer that question rather quickly, before ordering his men to pick up the pace.

Even moving quickly, they managed to stay in their semi circle formation, though no doubt it would be easier to break through them. Adria could tell this was urgent if they were going to do something like that. It was then that, while they were jogging, Kalar turned to Adria and asked her to run up ahead. She wasn't sure she was the beat choice, but she was part of this now. And perhaps he was a little right...

"Uh, sure. I don't see any reason I couldn't. I guess I'll meet you there"

And with that Adria took off past the rangers. She moved rather quickly down the road, and within a matter of minutes would be out of sight of the rangers. Despite what Kalar had said about a ways to go, the fact that the smoke could be seen so clearly meant Okly was, what, maybe a mile away at this point. All in all, it wouldn't take her long to get there

Upon reaching the outskirts of Okly, all she saw were smoldering ruins. Buildings reduced to ash. Hanging from a still standing rafter she noticed what looked like a body. But it was too charred to tell. It was a horrid, gruesome scene. And something was telling Adria she should head back. That it would be dangerous to head in any further. But she ignored that something. From further into the town she could hear what sounded like moaning. People arguing, and more moaning. Perhaps there were survivors?

Making her way towards the middle of the town, it seemed that the arguing had stopped. She wished she had been able to make out exactly what she had heard, but oh well. Poking her head out around a corner, all she saw were some people in cloaks. Even from here, and with them covered, she could tell that their skin was deformed and peeling, but she couldn't make out exactly what they were. As such, she assumed they were survivors. Albeit horribly injured and burned by whatever had attacked here, and as such she would step out... and then notice the bandits that were just out of sight. Considering she was in plain sight, it was unlikely she wouldn't catch their attention. What a time to stand out... if they noticed her, she would immediately begin ranting and backing away slowly

"Uh, hi. Sorry, I'm just a bit lost. Trying to make my way to some city or other, thought this was it. Turns out not. I can see your really busy, so I'll just let myself out."

If they didn't notice her however, she would just quietly back away, before dashing back to the rangers. Who hopefully wouldn't take long, considering they were jogging and were pretty close to Okly.

The giant bandit and the cloaked being were still bickering over the nature of their excursion and when the best time to defile the countryside was when a small woman with wolf ears stepped around a corner. "Uh, hi. Sorry, I'm just a bit lost. Trying to make my way to some city or other, thought this was it. Turns out not. I can see your really busy, so I'll just let myself out" she said backing away from them. The cloaked figures spared her a few glances from beneath their hoods before returning to their chanting, but the huge bandit was interested by this girl and straightened himself up to look her over carefully.

"What's uh cute thing like ya doin' round here?" he said licking his lips and stepping towards Adria gripping a large maul loosely at his side. Some of the bandits took noticed and readied weapons, but many didn't notice or did not care about having been found out by one woman who was probably not going to se the end of the night anyway. In the north of the square the decaying men wordlessly started to move out of the square.

"I think you and I are goin' to have a real fun time" the hulking bandit beamed, revealing his crooked yellow smile.

The Rangers slowed their pace as one unit, customary of their disciplined fashion. Okly lay up ahead, burnt timbers and rising smoke clearly visible through the Geshmere Road's shrubbery. Few trees surrounded the village, and the ground was fairly flat, offering little cover for fighters who preferred their actions to be discrete.

"Attach dry strings," Kalar muttered, eyeing the black mass of people in the streets beyond.

The Rangers, and Kalar too, unstrung the damp strings from their yew longbows, and quickly attached dry replacements. A wet string impeded the mighty weapons' strength, reducing range and accuracy. Only a fool or a very desperate man used his bow in damp conditions.

With not a word uttered, Kalar motioned his men forwards, and they broke apart to form a loose firing line. Their presence was not immediately noticed by those who waited, and this provided the Rangers the time they needed to identify them as friend or foe. Kalar ducked close to the road, and hurried along the paving slabs, his boots squelching lightly in the filth. His men followed, ten paces behind, keeping their formation as they came upon tumbled bricks and slanted timbers.

Kalar spied his adversaries; they were not the people of Okly, in fact, none of them seemed familiar. Many had the look of bandits, and there was no doubt as to who led them. The aging Ranger Chief's eyes narrowed on the one he knew as the Red Eyed Terror, a hulking giant of a man responsible for the deaths of many an innocent. His existence, and continued survival, was a monument to Kalar's failures as a Protector of the Peoples.

A low and contained whistle rang out from behind, and Kalar turned his head slightly to see one of his rangers motioning off to the center of Okly, where the statue of Lord Denarius lay broken upon the pebble square. Ten figures, clad in darkness, stood in a circle around the remains of Okly's heritage.

And then the situation changed rapidly, as it often did, becoming fluid. The Red Eyed Terror had turned away from his men, and was stalking towards someone on the road - a small feminine figure, with a telling posture.

"Damn," Kalar hissed. Sending the bard forwards was a mistake of epic proportions. What had he been thinking? And where was Liara?

The Ranger Chief was faced with a difficult decision. Attack, and risk himself and his men against a numerically superior force, or retreat and leave Adria to her fate... a fate he had given her. Were Kalar a clear headed tactician when it came to the loss of a woman's life, he'd of scattered to the wind, gathered his Rangers in force and brought down the wrath of Galuntrung upon the Red Eyed Terror.

However, Kalar was not this way when it came to women. Painful memories of his wife and daughters, their faces clearer now than they ever were, haunted his strategy. He raised his hand, and a dozen longbows creaked as the Rangers drew back a volley. Just before he ordered them to lease, his eyes strayed to a collection of peculiar warriors north of the ruined statue, earlier obscured by some smoke and a stack of rubble, but now painfully visible for all to see. They were dressed in worn armour, and even from two hundred paces, their pallor seemed off. A quick head count put the enemy at around fifty, and Kalar inwardly despaired.

A frontal assault on an entrenched force? With twelve men?

Then the Red Eyed Terror hefted his maul, his crooked teeth gleaming in the sun, and Adria reached for something.

"Fire!" Kalar roared, drawing an arrow himself.

Thirteen arrows shot into the air, as thirteen longbows harped a devil's tune, and then they were sailing across the marred sky. Before they had even reached The Red Eyed Terror and his companions, another volley stormed forth, and then another. The air became thick with white feathered shafts, and they descended upon the enemy with no particular bias.

The Rangers of Galuntrung were expert huntsmen, great survivalists and made some of the best marksmen in the Kingdom, but they were only human. Some of their arrows would hit, some wouldn't. Kalar's intent however, beyond saving Adria, was to cause disarray in the ranks of his adversaries; he needed them half broken before he even considered a melee.

And so, in their loose line, the Rangers of Galuntrung kept up their barrage, unwavering to whatever may befall them in mere seconds or minutes.

Liara slowly backed out of the town and retreated into the forest that lined the road. She would take the same path she had came by, leading into the smoldering town.

It wasn't before long she noticed a peculiar person speeding down the road into Okly. Curious. Had she been recruited into the pack? Or was she on the side of the enemy? Smaller in stature, with ears and a tail that resembled a ... a wolf?! A curious sight indeed.

Better to be safe than sorry, she quickly retraced her steps back into town. It was bad enough they had otherworldly beasts and demons in enemy ranks, topped with bandits, swelling their numbers even more. Now there is a wolf girl.

Liara had crept along the rubble and ash once more, being mindful not to attract any attention. She circled her way south of the group to try and get the best view possible.

The wolf girl had approached the group, and all went silent.

"Uh, hi. Sorry, I'm just a bit lost. Trying to make my way to some city or other, thought this was it. Turns out not. I can see your really busy, so I'll just let myself out."

The large hulking bandit turned to reply.

So she was just an innocent bistander? Who just happened to wander into the dark pits of hell. Liara didn't quite buy it. But at this point had no other option than to wait and see.

A voice called out from somewhere nearby. "Fire!" Two years of training with them, she'd know that voice anywhere. Arrows sailed through the the smokey sky, bombarding the enemies just beyond the wolf girl.

Her line was wet, she wouldn't make a good shot, but then she noticed something. He wasn't making these shots to count. Of course it would injure and harm, but it was a bold move indeed. One made more to confuse and scatter. And with such, came the time to ready her own bow and steady an arrow.

Any man that advanced towards her brethren, she would cut down, her arrows seeking to send each to their death.

Before they were able to ride away, a boy had stepped from out of the shadows, screaming for help. Immediately, Cedric rushed to the boy's aide, hopping off of his horse and even offering food to him. Khyssoun supposed he shouldn't have been surprised, Cedric was always too kind for his own good. He diverted his attention for a few moments, glancing out towards the center of the village. Odd. He could swear he was hearing chanting coming from somewhere further in the town.

His thoughts are interrupted by a blood-curdling shriek, and Khyssoun turned to find the boy quite literally draining Cedric's blood dry. "Bloody vampires," he hissed, removing his sword from its sheath and hurdling it towards the boy, piercing him through the chest and pinning him to the ground. Of course, this wouldn't be enough to slay a vampire, only the ritual could help with something like that.

Brom stared in horror as his companion fell to the ground out of the boy's grasp, completely bloodless. "C-Captain, that boy, he-"

"Yes, a vampire. Unusual in these parts," Khyssoun replied, jumping off his horse and moving towards the boy, struggling under the sword, "Undoubtedly one of the causes of this destruction. And quite a pain to get rid of as well." He stood over Cedric's body, and even had the decency to close the poor man's eyes. He had been a good enough solider, after all. But then what to do with the boy... Khyssoun stared for a moment, but his mind is quickly made up. If you let one pest run free, there would certainly be others. He mumbled something of an enchantment under his breath and made the sign of the cross across his chest. As he grabbed the hilt of the sword, the boy began to scream before eventually falling silent. "Brom," he snapped, ripping his sword out of the body and replacing it into its sheath, "What town are we in?"

"Okly, sir."

Khyssoun said nothing in return, but instead motioned for Brom to follow him as they made their way on foot towards the center of the village. As they near the center, he stiffened. There were certainly people here, and not the type he'd like to encounter on any given day. "Prepare yourself, Brom, he hissed, his hands itching towards his sword once more, "There's quite a few people waiting for us ahead."

It seemed they were late to the party, there were already a colorful assortment of people there. Rangers of Galuntrung Keep, if he remembered correctly, some sort of wolf-girl, and quite a mismatched handful of cultists and bandits that definitely outnumbered their side. Though he was hoping to stay uninvolved in the battle, it seemed he had no choice in the matter. Khyssoun mounted his horse once more and dug his heels into its side, charging it forth into battle. With the Kingsguard insignia brandished on the chest of his armor, he was sure there was no mistaking his side in battle. Though reluctantly, Brom followed him without question, letting out a strange sort of yell as they rode.

Arrows hailed from the sky, and instead of foolishly riding into the line of fire, Khyssoun diverted to where they had been fired from. "Seems I've caught you at exactly the right moment, Splint," he shouted to the Ranger Chief, hoping he could be heard over the screams coming from the battlefield, "I trust we won't also be the aim of your fire?"

"I think you and I are goin' to have a real fun time"

Adria reached behind her for her lute. Though it probably wouldn't do much to such a beast of a man. It would provide her some sort of weapon. Not that she would get a chance to use it, as she suddenly heard the firing and distinctive sound of arrows flying through the air, and the sudden blotting out of the sky. Without really thinking, Adria would throw herself back and out of the arrows range. And as soon as she landed, would conjure a sound trap in front of her. It was instantaneous, and the bandit wouldnt be able to notice it unless he were extremely perceptive. It was doubtful he would even notice her do anything what with the rain of arrows. However, if he were to go after her he would find himself bombarded by sounds and noises, both inside and outside of his head. It would no doubt disorient him, and make it hard for him to move. His sense of balance would be lost as the sound would mess with his ears.

Should the bandit walk into the sound trap, Adria would take the opportunity to distance herself from the bandit, all the while conjuring more sound traps behind her. Eventually she would round herself back behind the burnt out house she had been standing behind before, and then around to the rangers. There wasn't much she could do, but if she managed to reach the rangers, she would begin sending sonic booms over to the cultists and other bandits, further breaking their lines as the more sensitive of them would be affected more.

After he made up his mind, Aegis headed toword the town. As he got closer, he immediately knew something was wrong. He could smell smoke. And blood. Just like before. The town was in ruins, building burnt to ashes, the unlucky townsfolk, killed, their bodies strewn around, some of them hideously half melted, others apeared to have been eaten. It was oddly quiet. Aegis stopped by a crumpled figure, a girl of no more than two or three, killed by a clean thrust. A small mercy. Insignificant, in fact. In her hand was a doll, handmade and obviously loved. Aegis picked it up. He stared at it for a awile, his face expressionless. After a few moments, he put the doll in her hand and closed her cold fingers around it.

All of a sudden Aegis heard a cacophony of shouts and the sounds of steel striking steel. He quicked his pace and followed the sounds of combat until he found its source. Rangers again. He couldn't tell if they were the same ones as before, but he was pretty sure this was no coincidence. Aegis walked around the buildings, until he found a spot where he could observe without being observed. The enemy seemed human at first, but a closer look seem to suggest not all was as it seemed. His demon nature stirred at the sight of battle, he almost, without thinking, rushed into the fray, but he stopped himself. This isn't my fight. He told himself. I don't actually know of it was them who did all of this. But it looks like they did it.[/i] He argued.
I shouldn't jump to conclusions.
What more proof do we need?
I'm just like them.
Then use that against them.
I...

His inner commotion was interupted by a voice that that stood out from the din.

"I think you and I are goin' to have a real fun time"

He swung his head into the direction of the voice. He saw a very large figure, standing over a very small one. The large man raised his mace to bring it down. The memory of the little girl flashed through his head, along with a differnt girl who met a similar fate.

KILL HIM!!!

It was as if a voice shouted at him, galvanizing him into action. He jumped up and dashed across the short space between them. The bandit would feel a cold clamp grip around his wrist, painfully tight, and slowly getting tighter to the point where his wrist bones could be heard crackling. If he turned his head to the right, he would feel a baleful gaze out of the darkness of the tall, hooded figure's cloak.

@Cultural Titan @Absolis @Frengo

The Rangers' arrows sailed in from their firing line. Kaird dove to the side, pushing his back into a pile of rubble. Why had Akrelmar had to...well, be himself? That detestable excuse for a human being had proven to be nothing more than a hindrance masquerading as the most experienced sellsword this side of the White Woods.

"McGrath!" hollered one of his comrades. "For the love of the divines, start fir-" The man's words were cut off by the meaty thunk of an arrow slamming into his shoulder. He fell to the ground, wriggling and moaning. Harmed, and probably on his way out, but definitely alive. That was strange. Rangers didn't usually leave survivors. Unless, of course, it suited them.

"Stand your ground!" Kaird hollered. "Stand! They mean to scatter us and pick us off one by one!" He withdrew one of his wickedly-pointed arrows and slid it into place on his bow, aiming for the line of rangers. He didn't need to look over to see Akrelmar's furious gaze. He could feel it burning a hole in the side of his face.

However, a quick glance showed his fellow mercs had, in some capacity, followed his order. A select few had followed his example, taking rudimentary cover behind cobblestone slides and readying for a fight. Most of them hadn't, and were focused on dodging arrows and trying to get a bead on the rangers.

Kaird fired at the left-most Ranger, slid down the pile of stones, withdrew another arrow, and waited. Rangers, bandits, Akrelmar...he had no intention of letting anyone get in the way of his true purpose here.

With wind, rain and haste the arrows only managed to down a few bandits. More landed into the backs of the cloaked figures behind them, but the wooden shafts penetrating the flesh did not even cause them to flinch, let alone stop their chanting in the center of the square.

The huge bandit Arklemar lifted his maul to swing at the little wolf girl as she tried to dive out of the way, but his hulking arm was stopped by a peculiar man. He was muscled despite his thinness and as Akrlemar noticed tall enough to almost reach his armpit. As the huge bandits arm collided with the stranger's grip a few things happened. Aegis's arm was wrenched downward from the force of the eight foot tall behemoth's blow and inside of Aegis's mind he heard a sinister voice call out "TRAITOR!" but it did not seem to be direct at Aegis himself.

The grip on the giant bandit's arm was quite impressive. Arklemar could actually register the force down to his bones. He smiled and threw his other arm at his new opponent to try and crush this man into the dirt with sheer downward force. At the same time he threw his head back towards his bandits. "CHARGE 'EM YOU GOOD FOR NOTHIN'S!" he screamed and those of his band that hand not been struck down by arrows or taken up a firing position at the rangers, some twenty disorganized men, picked up their weapons and charged the ranger firing line with fear and blood lust and fury.

Kalar leased another arrow, his powerful arm operating the giant weapon with practiced savagery. The white feathered shaft flew through the air, arcing upwards, before finally falling onto a bandit who'd made the mistake of standing still. The man fell backwards, Kalar's arrow embedded in his neck. The Ranger Chief's eyes surveyed the massing carnage, as a dozen of his enemy lay in the mud, some squirming in agony, others as still as a plank of wood. His attack had scattered, but it had failed to break. Even now he could see the bandits and their comrades regrouping behind the cover of rubble, scorched wagons and gutted structures.

It would not be enough, but at least Adria had managed to back away from the Red Eyed Terror.

And then the all too familiar sound of a bow twanged from further away; Kalar caught a glimpse of Liara, who had skewered a bandit's hide from the flanks. He smiled, oddly joyed that she was unharmed, and confident that with her at his side, victory would become a distinct possibility.

"Horsemen," one of the Rangers cursed, fiddling for an arrow.

Kalar's head swung around, and he looked upon two knights charging his line, having seemingly appeared from nowhere. His heart fluttered for but a moment, until he saw the banner of the Kingsguard upon their silvery. "Not them, they're friendly," he yelled out.

The lead rider, an Elf, approached the Rangers. Kalar knew the warrior instantly, and he was relieved but disgusted in equal measure.

"Seems I've caught you at exactly the right moment, Splint," the Elf shouted over the rising chaos. "I trust we won't also be the aim of your fire?"

Kalar reached for another arrow, and refused to look the Elf in the face. "I'm heartened to see that the Crown sends its most noble warrior to assist the peoples in their darkest hour, White Scourge." He released the projectile, and drew another. "Whatever end awaits you wont be of my doing."

And then someone screamed - someone Kalar knew as intimately as his own hand. Jorg Egerson, one of the Galuntrung Ranger's founding members, and one of Kalar's best men, fell to his knees with a black shaft sticking through his rib cage. His leather-clad hands grasped at the wound, and then he fell forwards into the wet filth before him.

"If you have any ideas, Guardsman, now's the time to spout them," Kalar said, this time looking the White Scourge in the eyes. "We're out numbered and if we don't do something soon, there's a chance we'll be outfought. I hope you're better at killing than you are at glory seeking!"

Up close, Aegis got a nice view of how big the man was, not to mention the fact that he reeked. Great, I went up to the biggest, ugliest, smelliest lion in the den, and kicked it in the balls. He thought. The man's punch was strong, but it was coming from the opposite side of his body, so Aegis had plenty of time to see it coming. He released his grip on the man's wrist jumped back and slightly to the side to throw a flurry of punches (4) aimed at the man's solar plexus, aiming to put him down hard and fast. As he did so, he said, loudly. "Girl, get away."

@Cultural Titan@Absolis

Rida didn't like the idea of having to help with books. She did not like books unless she could write in them herself. "Ugg... you all need to relax, it was meant to be for harmless laughter not to offend you all." Rdia continued to argue. She truly believed that she was correct in her endeavor. She had heard many a time from servants that laughter was the best medicine. "But you're not going to listen to me are you? You're all stuck in your own little world huh? Can't just take a moment to act like a normal healthy family? The people see us as gods! Maybe they should see us as humans too? Someone they can trust more?" Rida ranted. At this point she was going too far in her words, it wouldn't be long untill someone slapped her. "But fine! I'll help Lethanol, but only if you all consider what I have said." Rida said to them all. At this point she was standing up her hands pressed against the table in anger.

The town had been scorched, leaving very little for Liara to hide behind. She had hoped the mud and soot would hide her enough, that with little movement, she wouldn't be recognized as a threat within the madness of battle.

Arrows were flying everywhere, and Kalar's plan, for the most part, was working. The hulking bandit, still pursuing the wolf girl, now had a new enemy between him and his prey. Liara smirked as she spied the large man from earlier. There was still a size difference between him and the hulking bandit, but Aegis seemed to be fairing well against the brute.

The bandit had screamed out an order to his men, instructing them to charge the rangers. And so they did. One had broken off and attempted to strike at the beast who had continued his assault on their leader. Liara had then noticed another go for the girl.

"God's be damned", she muttered. Quickly setting the arrow in place, she stilled her breath as she let it fly from her grip, aiming at the wolf girl's attacker. The arrow would've struck his head, if it hit where it was aimed. But Liara didn't even take time to look, another arrow knocked and loosed without hesitation, in the direction of Aegis's second attacker. This arrow was directed at the knee, in hopes of disabling the bandit's attack.

She left herself too vulnerable while she was so far away from the others. And without the cover of buildings or any other structures in area, she would be forced to switch to melee combat if she couldn't reach the group. Her arrows continued to fly at the easier pickings as she made her way towards her fellow rangers. But it seemed to make little difference, as they were severely outnumbered.

"May Lady Luck be on our side with this one." she grumbled.

"Girl, get away!"

Adria was surprised when some person jumped out of nowhere and grabbed the giant bandit. And would be even more surprised when he yelled to her to get away. This would probably be her only chance, so with the bandit distracted, Adria was able to make her escape succesfully. And a good thing too. Adria managed to get right up next to Kalar, through the barrage of arrows on both sides. Immediately she would begin to send her sound magic out to break the charging bandits. It wouldn't do much damage to them, but it would stop them long enough for the Rangers to get a good shot in at a few of them. As she did that, she yelled to Kalar over the din of the battle and her magic.

"Sorry, I thought they were survivors! They we-"

Adria was cut short as an arrow whizzed by her head. Not wanting to risk dying, she quickly ducked down and continued to send sound magic down the battlefield. Whatever this was, this was crazy. And it seemed she had started it. Well, since she had the best thing she could do is try and help out a bit.

The storm had moved away an hour ago, and the life of the forest was returning. Birds began chirping in earnest, the flutter of insects buzzed through the low lying shrubbery and somewhere off the beaten trail, an elk whined. The vast woodland's interior was still dark though, and would remain so, thanks in most part to the think canopy.

Oglaff stopped to take the weight off his feet, and threw himself against an overturned tree. His bulk caused the rotted wood to creak and sink a little, but he paid it no heed. Instead, he cast cautious glances this way and that, as if expecting to be ambushed at any minute by whatever horrors lurked in such greenery.

But nothing was coming, and it never did.

The ancient barbarian despaired for the millionth time since setting foot on the civilized continent. He hadn't found so much as a starved bear that could give him an honorable death, and the heavy beating of his heart spoke volumes of how long he might've had left in the realm of the living. A month of traveling the wilds, and so far his only kills were a bunch of hares and rodents that he'd hunted for sustenance; though even they tasted limp and devoid of flavor compared with their cousins in Oglaff's homeland.

"So why did I come?" He mumbled to himself in the harsh tongue of his peoples, "to walk myself to death?"

Oglaff reached into a leather pouch fastened to his waist, and pulled forth a silver-handled hairbrush. The beauty tool wasn't his, but a woman's - a blind woman, no less. She was a civilized lass that he'd bumped into about four miles back the way he had come. She had herself a little farmstead just outside of the forest, but it turned out she wasn't alone, and that her father dwelt there too. However, she hadn't seen the old man since the day before, when he went out to hunt. She'd pretty much begged Oglaff to death for his assistance in the matter, and he reluctantly agreed.

The hairbrush was his payment.

"Oglaff the Collector," he groaned. "Oglaff the Hairbrusher. I bet the boys would be killing 'emselves laughing about this. A lifetime of battle and glory reduced to hairbrush funded mercenary work."

Still, he couldn't go back on his word; that would be heinous. He'd have to find that woman's father, for better or worse - and who knew, maybe some forest wolf would get lucky and kill him in the process. Wouldn't be the best way to go, but at this point the old warrior wasn't in much of a position to be picky.

And with that thought in mind, Oglaff heaved himself up, and looked around. His tired eyes fell upon trees, trees and yet more trees. There were no obvious signs of anyone having come that way, and he had no idea as to how he was even going to find the woman's father in a forest as big as the one he stood in.

There was only one thing for it, and with a heavy sigh, he stepped off the beaten trail and began forging a path through the vegetation to look for a button in a mountain of pebbles.

As much distaste as he held for his company, Kaird couldn't help but feel a thrill as he charged forward with the smelly, disorganized mass of bandits. They lacked direction, lacked purpose, but even motivated by coin as they were, they were still a force to be reckoned with. By the reactions of the Rangers, Kaird could tell this was a point they seemed to have neglected to consider.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Akrelmar loose a heavy overhand swing at a man half his size, only to be promptly countered. Classic mistake. You never underestimated the small ones. Kaird was very personally familiar with this concept. He glanced away as a flurry of blows landed on his leader-in-name. Even had the luxury been his, he wouldn't have spared that oaf another second of his time.

The line of Rangers was nearly within swinging distance. Kaird registered genuine fear in their eyes, save for the newcomers to the line - the horsemen showed very little in the way of any emotion. Almost as an afterthought, Kaird loosed an arrow at one of the horses. In the same motion, he drew his Lucerne and one of the small urns marked "Holy Fire." He struck a small cap on the top, igniting it, and dashed the urn towards the men at his right. A feeling of grim satisfaction crossed his mind. Those urns had scorched alive many knights in full platemail; a little leather would likely prove to be even less effective at keeping the concoction out. Gripping his hammer tightly, he let out a roar and swung at the chest of the nearest Ranger. Whether by his fire or his steel, he intended to end as many of them himself as possible.

Whether he had realized it or not Kaird McGrath's speed found him ahead of all Akrelmar's bandits. Not by too much but a precious few moments would be spent alone amongst the enemy ranks. behind the surging bandits those few that had taken up positions with bows fired off their last shots before grabbing their rusty blades and bursting to join the other rabble.

Akrelmar himself was wondering whether or not to be impressed with the man that stood between him and his prey. Of course said prey was now off behind the ranger's but surely his men would clear up that roadblock in due time. The giant man's fist hit air as aegis dodged him. Perhaps this would not be too easy then. Then off to Akrelmar's right he began to punch, Akrelmar thought quite stupidly, at the bandit's midsection. In response Akrelmar swung his arm down through the mans punches as he brought his right foot back and aimed a new punch at Aegis's head. If the gargantuan bandit were land such a block on a normal mans arm it would probably fracture his opponent's arm and if his punch were to hit a normal man's head, well honestly, Akrelmar couldn't know just yet what his void empowered strength could do. He'd have to wait to find out though. This was clearly no ordinary man.