"Oh it's you!" Hobnob said as he looked up from the gnoll corpse he and his crew were beating into paste with hammers and wrenches at the new arrivals "I doubt the corpses have escaped your notice. We were driving some coyotes away from the traps we placed on the bridge when we heard a scuffle over here. As it turned out, this gnoll got the drop on Leo. But we managed to get the drop on the gnoll and brutally avenged our dead darkslayer". The rest of Hobnob's remaining crew looked up from the gnoll. The more enthusiastic of them were covered in gnoll blood. Most of them had scratch marks left by the coyotes, none of which were serious. "We've set up an ambush for the bandits at the bridge" Hobnob said "And now that you're here, there will be no stopping our victory! It's right this way, follow us".

With that said, Hobnob and his crew began walking back to the bridge. Those who chose to follow them would find the path they took littered with coyote corpses that were either beaten to death, riddled with bullets, or a little bit of both.

The moment the soldier dropped to the ground dead, Silias knew something was wrong.

The shadows echoed with the scuttles of promised danger, ever louder. The athmosohere of the room grew thicker, hopelessness and fear braided into a tight noose of dread. Despite the stream of sunlight, then darkness of the hole seemed to overpower any and all senses. Gone was hope of discovery and excitement. What little sunlight that streamed inside was seemingly dimmer than before. The smell of something rotten and acrid beneath the mildew drew disturbingly more apparent. Even the glimmer of gold--a sight Silias often enjoyed--seemed sinister as the unknown creatures of the dark drew ever nearer.

"Sire, we need to leave," Val hissed, the tightness of her grip betraying her fear. "Now."

"The gold," Silias mumbled. The miasma of danger and fear seeped into his mind, the turn of events still vague from shock.

"Forget the gold. It's worthless if you're dead!"

Silias caught sight of the fallen soldier. The poor man's face was stuck in a permanent look of confusion which, if things had been different, would've been comical. But not now. Now the man was on the ground with an arrow jammed in his body. Completely dead. A fate that, if they didn't run now, would be shared amongst the party. The Sahib steeled himself, forcing his eyes to look to his retainer. "I'm sorry. You're right." He glanced back at the remaining guard, motioning him over before Val began forcibly started dragging him away.

"No time for apologies," the half-elf snapped, any practiced respect gone at the first sign of danger. "Move!"

Their steps back, clumsy at first, gained in speed. Soon the small group was dashing through the darkened halls. All the while, the sound of something scuttled behind.

It seemed the ritual wasn't quite as... ritualistic... as had initially been believed. In fact, upon closer inspection, it looked very much like a ritual wasn't taking place in that room at all. Perhaps elsewhere in the castle, then. However events panned out, Nuva's initial strike had been very successful, one of the wheelmen being taken apart by his attack, whilst the other's axe cracked against the chain of his armour: a heavy enough blow to stagger him and draw his attention, but nothing like enough to cause real damage beyond what would perhaps be a bruise later on, near-black against his already quite dark skin. That said, the man was aiming to bring another blow down upon him, and as Nuva looked past him, it seemed one of his crossbow-wielding friends was aiming to shoot at the Dark Skayleigh past the axe-bearer, and would surely take the shot if the axeman simply died to Nuva's spike. So how, he wondered momentarily, does one take out two birds with one stone?

The answer, of course, is to strike one bird so that it crashes into and brings down the other with it. Codified, in this case, by Nuva bringing his arm-spike round like a club, crashing it into the axe-wielder's gut on the (admittedly spike-covered, though more like knobs from that angle) curve rather than the point, then spinning just a bit further and, propelled by a burst of Khala, using the spike to launch the unfortunate man toward the crossbow bearer, akin to a catapult launching a stone into a castle's wall. With any luck, such a maneuver would keep Nuva behind the closer of the foes as much as possible to avoid being shot at within the short period of execution, whilst also providing a suitably-disabling attack that would let others kill them in their daze, or otherwise ensure they could not continue to threaten anyone else, and allow the half-giant himself to handle some of the other threats in the room more cleanly.

Arassel had to admit that she was pretty impressed all-around with her group of comrades - from the fellow Elf to the scaly killer, the eater of hearts - they had fought very well indeed, and her avian friend chewed happily on a pieve of Gnoll flesh even as they made their way over toward the Gnomes position.

"It seems you did a fine job," was all she could say to the Gnome and his band of merry fellows, sounding very 'human' in her speech for one moment, bowing her head as she passed darkslayer and refocusing her thoughts on what was to come.

She pondered briefly on what might have become of the second group but, in her heart of hearts, she knew that all would fall into place. So, unravelling her bow from her shoulder once more, she took a deep breath and followed to what was sure to be an explosive surprise at the bridge.

Please Delete This
@Poohead189

Zin raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he watched Jax finish off and eat his foe. It was not uncommon among tribes to consume part or all of their vanquished enemies. Often times it was during a lavish ceremony performed to grant the eater power. Zin wasn’t sure if he believed in such things, though he did not question the practice. On a few occasions, he had done so as a sign of good faith when celebrating a victory with a neighboring tribe. His tribe, however, did not practice it.

The team quickly moved on, albeit one member short. It wasn’t long before they met up with the last few member of this rescue team. The Gnome Hobnob and his team had apparently had been up to some mischief of his own.

The ground was littered with coyote corpses as they all headed towards the bridge.

Hobnob and his crew continued to walk through the forest towards the bridge. They moved ever onward as they closed the distance to their destination with each passing step. Occasionally they would step over or around a coyote corpse that was in the way. Hobnob and his crew did a pretty good job at clearing out all those coyotes for a group of 7 eccentric gnome inventors. But they always did have a tendency to do stuff that didn't seem possible when the situation called for it.

Arassel's comment on a job well done caused Hobnob to smile and respond with a hearty "I'm glad you think so". Hobnob always enjoyed other people saying that he and his crew had done a good job with something. It reassured him that he wasn't incompetent despite not being able to create an Obstacle Flattener that didn't explode. Hobnob continued to walk towards the bridge. As did the rest of his crew.

Silias made it out of the ruins by the skin of his nose, the Knight protecting his flank taking an arrow but surviving due to his armor, the arrowhead merely giving a small flesh wound in his left shoulder blade. They burst out of the archway, the patrolling Knights forming up to protect their Lord. Whatever was within the ruins skittered to a stop before the filtered light of day that streamline down through the thick canopy above. They must have been as afraid of the sunlight as the gleaming plate of the Knights now arrayed before them, shields and weapons at the ready. Other than a few screeches that promised swift death to any that would draw near, the dark figures simply slipped away and faded into nothingness.

The next few hours the caravan moved swiftly, as far away from the ruins they could get for fear of pursuit by whatever had been within the depths. Luckily it seemed there was nothing to be worried on from their flank, and soon they regained their normal vigil of being far more concerned of the forest before them. The Borderlands were not as wild as the Southland proper, but there were plenty of dangers that lurked within the deep of the woods.

Up ahead, one Knight at the fore called to the others. "Bridge!" they could hear him announce in the distance. Perhaps it was less than a mile for them to make it there. Silias and his retainers were safe within the carriage, with 12 unwounded Knights and 2 Knights that were closer to the carriage, but still relatively fighting fit. The carriage bumped, going over a few unsmoothed stones, causing the riders inside to jump a tad. An arrow sliced into the curtain that shaded Silias and his retainers from the outside sun with stark suddenness, and that was the only indication that the bandits had arrived. A hail of arrows were loosed upon the Knights from the left side of the woods, the terrain slowly elevating as the forest turned into the foothills of the mountain.

One of the Knights was killed by the volley, and 3 were injured. Most however were protected by their well forged armor and shields. Cries of battle and charging bandits were suddenly audible, and nearly thirty men armed with swords, axes, spiked maces and other more cruel weapons charged onto the road and began to engage the Knights that had drawn swords.

As Zin, Arassel, Jex, Regeland, and Hobnobb (with crew) headed toward the bridge, they could hear the clash of steel on steel, and cries of pain and anger in the distance. It was happening before they got to the bridge! They had a small gulley to traverse, which would be a bit more difficult for the Gnomes than the others, and would get the Gnomes wet to their stomachs (just below the knees for the others if they waded into it). Once they crossed it, they would need to decided if they wished to directly aid the Lord, or sneak around and flank the archers and bandits still traversing the woods. At the moment, there were 14 bandits in makeshift leather and chainmail hacking away at 11 Knights, as well as a few injured ones that held back and used their superb training to thrust their swords when able.
@Fubsy@rush99999@Fuzzybootz@Jbcool

---

Kayden and Cassilda quickly dispatched the men before them with some clever sword work. They seemed to do well fighting in unison, guarding one another's flanks as they finished the men off. Morek had made it to one of the crossbowmen, and needless to say the man died from a rather large axe wound to the 'everything'. Nuva's attempt to kill two birds with one stone had worked, for the most part. Unfortunately, while the man that had been flung toward the crossbowman had hit the mark, the crossbow had gone off. Its trajectory was off, but it still hit Nuva on the hip. It wasn't a hit that tore any vital areas, but the flesh wound that had been wrought (the bolt had sheared through bits of skin and muscle and flew out the other side) caused a bit of bleeding and considerable pain for any who wasn't used to it. Nuva had seen worse though, and other than it slowing him down perhaps, and while it was smart to clean the wound, it wasn't serious. The crossbowman was down, and Morek finished him off as well. The room was now secure, with dead men and blood strewn about the stones on the ground thanks to the element of surprise. Kayden breathed heavily, a bit of blood on his face from a cut to his cheek, as well as some ubiquitous splatter from a man he had run through.

He pointed to the door with his sword, on the opposite end of the room where the crossbowmen had died. "Through that door is the gate. We pass by it as quickly as we can. Secret and Laila are taking care of the men upstairs but they might not have finished the job yet-" Or they had been killed themselves, but a leader wouldn't take the pessimistic approach and expect to be seen as someone to lead. "so we must move quickly to the opposite door. That'll lead to the great hall. Nuva, how are you?"
@Austronaut@BCTheEntity

Zin followed silently at the rear of the group as they approached the bridge. Zin had picked up the sounds of battle long before it came into view. Though it did not show, Zin was exhausted. The lack of a break after their last assault and his lack of sleep were paying a heavy toll on him. Regardless, he pushed on.

He stepped up beside Arassel as they all stopped to consider the small gully before them. To most, it would not be too much of a hindrance. The Gnomes, however, all looked nervous. Perhaps, they carried things that did not react well to getting wet.

Zin waited to see what the others did. Most notably, Arassel as she would dictate what he did next.

"Impossible!" Hobnob exclaimed when the sounds of battle reached his ears "How did the bandits avoid our traps?!". He and his crew immediately took off in the direction of the fighting. When they reached the gully, the gnomes would have fallen in were it not for Hobnob throwing his arms out to his sides to stop his crew from moving forward.

"Of all the things it could have been, it had to be a gully" Hobnob said. All the firearms that the gnomes carried became useless when they got wet, and there was a lot of water in front of them. But as the rest of the group arrived at the gully, Hobnob wondered if any of them would mind lending a hand. "Would any of you tall people mind holding the guns we can't carry while we cross the water?" Hobnob asked his taller companions "Matchlocks are rendered useless when they get wet and there's a lot of very wet water in front of us".

Well, Nuva thought to himself, that was about as successful as I imagined it being, albeit in a different fashion to what I expected. He had thought his hip was sufficiently armoured, too, given that his entire body was coated in chainmail, leather, and two layers of cloth (for what it was worth); clearly, that wasn't the case after all. Perhaps time for an upgrade to the armour, then, if he acquired the funds for it, but certainly a repair job on the damaged sections at the very least. He certainly didn't want to be expulsed by the other mercenaries for uncontrollable starting conditions.

For now, though, his leader was asking for his condition, having issued instructions on how to proceed. 'Injured,' Nuva responded, 'but it is only a flesh wound to the hip. I'll be fine. Thank you for inquiring, sir.' In his time under the dark elves, they had not once asked whether or not he was injured, and he'd quickly learned that they certainly wouldn't clean his wounds for him. The damage was on the side of his intact hand. He could deal with cleansing and bandaging it when the party returned from this expedition. For now, there was only the need to progress. He moved toward the next door- with a very slight limp, he noticed, from the injury- and, looking back to see if the others would follow, began edging it open to glance out at whatever lay beyond the threshold.

@POOHEAD189@Austronaut

"Would any of you tall people mind holding the guns we can't carry while we cross the water?"

The Elf from the woodlands hated water just as much as the Gnomes, if not more so, her entire life spent on an island but still a good distance away from the shoreline and the dangers that lurked there. Nevertheless, they had to get across somehow, and as she and Zin were two of the tallest in the party, it would be up to them to help.

"Matchlocks are rendered useless when they get wet and there's a lot of very wet water in front of us".

"Pass some to me," she said loud enough for Hobnob to hear, "you...Jex...man..." she pointed to Zin, Jex and Regeland in turn, "help me."

Whether they helped or not was quite irrelevant to her, the living embodiment of the forest, as she flung her leaf-scattered cloak over one shoulder and moved to pluck a number of firearms - most about the size of a child's toy - from the hands of the Gnomes.

"Swiftly and quietly." She hissed, wading into the gully with all haste, the water barely moving around her limbs as she carried the firearms as you might a bundle of sticks before her and in front of her chest.

Something must have gone wrong at the bridge she considered, the sounds of battle becoming louder as she neared the other side of the watery impasse - shouts, the whinnies of horses, and the clashing of steel on steel; much like her Elvish cousin she was not in the best of states for another fight, but she would not let it show.

@rush99999@Fuzzybootz@POOHEAD189

The Gnomes had received help from their taller comrades. Jex picked up the rifle with barely any examination of the weapon, whereas Regeland gave it an inquisitive look. "I bee-leeve I hauv seen such a thing befoe," Regeland said as he weighed it in his hands, his rapier now firmly sheathed in his scabbard. The others grabbed what they could and waded across. The Gnomes were now fairly soaked, but their firearms were fine and they received them back happily.
If they headed a bit further down the road, they would have clear shots of the battle, and if they aimed carefully they wouldn't hit a Knight. The Knight's armor might halt a matchlock bullet, but then again it could hit a shallow spot of the steel. Still, the closer they got and the more they stood still, the easier it would be for them to perhaps get picked off by an archer. The same for the Elf Arassel and her bow, as well as Jex's great warbow.
The Drabarian hissed and gazed balefully at his companions. "I shall go into the wood and find what quarry lay there, and meet you at the caravan. You do as will." he said, and with two powerful strides disappeared into the brush. Regeland sighed, very tired of how crazy this day had readily become even before this crazy battle. "Oy vey" he sighed, then unsheathed his rapier. "Viva la liberte!"
The Vrettonian cried out and charged, making his way over to the Knights. One bandit slashed at a Knight's exposed flank, only to be blocked by Regelands nimble rapier. "Knights oof ze Lord Silias! Ie auhm yor frand!"
@Jbcool@rush99999@Fuzzybootz

---

Kayden seemed satisfied with Nuva being relatively well, and patted the Skayleigh's shoulder. He and the giant Elf-kin peered out into the courtyard to see it deserted. No...briefly they heard the clash of steel echo, but just as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone. Was there muted yelling? None could tell, not even Nuva and his exceptional hearing.
"No one above us. Let's go." Kayden said quietly, motioning for his comrades to move forward. He and Morek made their way to the door across the closed gate, and the Prince peered inside. "No one there. Morek?" The Dwarf barrel rushed the bolted wooden and iron door, hitting it twice with his heavy bulk before it folded in on itself.
"This way" Kayden hissed, heading inside. It was a room that mirrored the last one they had just left, only without the wheels to open the outer gate, and no guards as well.
Nuva could hear muted whispers coming down the hall and past another door. Cassilda could also sense foul magics at work further in.
@Austronaut@BCTheEntity

Hobnob and his crew happily gave their firearms to their taller companions before crossing the gully. They had encountered problems like the gully before, but didn't have people as tall as their current company to help them. Without a way to keep their guns dry, the gnomes had no alternative but to find another way around before. But with their newfound friends, an alternate route wasn't necessary for the gnomes this time.

Once they had their weapons back, Hobnob and his crew watched as Jex and Regeland headed into battle. As he watched, Hobnob switched on his heat vision to get a good view of the fighting without risking an arrow. After a few moments, Hobnob had picked out the bandit archers. "Alright lads" Hobnob said "Fall in on me and keep your heads down. We're taking down the bandit's fire support". With that said, Hobnob led his crew into the brush.

Using his heat vision, Hobnob kept himself and his crew out of the bandits' way while they approached a good firing position. While the gnomes weren't that good at stalking through the brush, all of the fighting served as a most excellent distraction to make up for it. Hobnob and his crew stopped upon reaching a well covered area that had a clear shot. "Alright" Hobnob said after ensuring that the archers were still focused on the main assault "When I give the word, fire a volley at the archers and then take cover". With that said, Hobnob drew 2 of his pistols and waited a few seconds before giving the word. At Hobnob's word, all 7 gnomes sprung up from cover and fired upon the archers before ducking back down again. "Let's hope we did some damage" Hobnob remarked.

It seemed like the others were doing what they'd been told to, then. If there were any more bandits here, they were either dead, or vanished. Almost a blessing, considering what would likely come next: it surely sounded like there was a ritual going on in the next room, and he wasn't willing to bet that it'd just be a second group of guards. Indeed, if he wanted to avoid worse injuries than he'd just received, he'd probably need to have more of a plan than "bumrush the targets". Though with that said, he'd often found that that had worked quite well in prior engagements... which was probably why he wasn't the leader in this situation. That, and...

But speaking of leaders, who better to think of a plan than Kayden himself? Nuva quietly asked him 'So do you have a plan in mind for this room, captain? As well as it worked last time, I can only imagine I'll get more damaged if I charge in again.'

Zin nodded in acceptance as Arassel began bundling weapons like they were sticks and crossing the small Gully. Zin did likewise. However, he was just a few steps into the water when he heard a small whimper behind him. Zin turned to see that one of the smallest Gnomes stood at the edge of the water looking terrified. Perhaps, a bad experience rendered him incapable of getting into the water willingly.
Zin turned back around, wading back to the shore. Once there he got the Gnomes attention and gestured for the man to hop on to his back. The gnome stared at him for a few moments trying to decide if that was a good idea or not. With reluctance, the Gnome agreed.

Zin coughed as the small creature’s grip was incredibly tight, but he continued on into the water. They reached the other side with no problems. The weapons were redistributed and they continued on their way towards the sounds of battle.

The group slowed as they reached the edge of the small battlefield. Soon after Jex disappeared into the forest to find any ambushers or ranged attackers. Before Zin could really get his bearings, the rest of the group charged into the battle. With an exhausted sigh, Zin followed suit.

With the few moments of surprise Zin was able to fell two of the bandits who had not yet engaged in melee combat with a knight. It was clear that the bandits, though organized, were not very skilled. Perhaps they left the real fighters to protect their hideout.
That’s when a knight charged him, unsure if Zin’s group was there to help or just another group of bandits.

“We are not your Enemy” Zin grunted as she blocked the knight’s downward swing with both of his Kukri. Zin pushed back which caused the knight to stumble slightly and allowed Zin to take a step back.

“I’ve no proof of that” The knight yelled back and prepared to strike again.

Just at that moment, a bandit came charging towards the knight’s back. Zin reacted quickly and flung his kukri right into the chest of the oncoming Bandit.

“Very well,” the Knight said though something in his voice said that he didn’t completely trust Zin. The Knight turned a moment later to take on another bandit.

Kayden looked to Nuva, and nodded to him as if to say 'I hear you.' "Let's get a bit closer and take a look." he whispered, holding his hand up to show he himself would go first. He moved silently for someone who wasn't a sneak thief, his sword in its scabbard again. He peered around the next bend, seeing a small hallway lined with stone. At the end of it was a heavy wooden door like the previous ones. It had a small space to peer into, with bars like a tiny prison over it. He hesitated, and then crept forward to peer through. He stood there for perhaps 20 seconds, before making his way back to the group.

He motioned for them to follow him to the back end of the relatively large room, so they could speak in safety. Upon closer inspection, they all saw his face was aghast, and nearly pale. "I...there were three small children in the room." he told them. He had no idea how to explain the rest, so he said it matter of fact. "They were slaughtered. Their throats slit, and the blood seeped into this...symbol on the floor I...suddenly it began to glow, and the body in the center of the symbol began to transform. I don't know what's happening, but there's 2 guards at the main door, a...dark sorcerer, and 3 more guards posted in the room. We have to move quickly."

He glanced back to the entrance, before turning back to his comrades. "Nuva, I'm thinking it'll be best if you do what you do best, after all. Rip that door apart and kill the first two guards. Morek? You go after him. Take out that Sorcerer. I'll come in next with Cassilda. We'll take out the remaining guys, and helps out where we can. Cassilda? Watch the Sorcerer in case Morek needs help."
He nodded to them. "Let's do it."
@BCTheEntity@Austronaut

---

The forest was thick around the Gnomes, and they managed to fell 2 of the bandits with their volley, injuring a third in the leg. The other Bandits in their sights were either missed or hid behind the thick trees. It was hard to tell how many archers were out there. Before them was a lot of brush covering a small rise in the landscape, followed by trees and forms of bandits leading up a very light incline of the hill. Much of the leaves and branches had the look of bandits arms of weapons. It was hard to tell in the brush. Luckily, the Gnomes had a few stout trees and the bushes that were as tall as they to hide behind and cover themselves with to conceal themselves. A few loose arrows arced toward them. One embedded itself in a tree just next to Hobbnob's left, not a foot from his face. Hobnobb could hear a scream from the left, and a red tail lashing before it disappeared. It seemed Jex was hard at work.
@rush99999
A few harsh looking bandits were quite surprised to find a Vrettonian Duelist and a Clan Elf Warrior having suddenly appeared to harass their flank. Four men broke off from the Knights and swiped at Zin, keeping him pre-occupied for a moment in a flurry of blades before Regeland intercepted one of them with his rapier, and another was cut at his back by a Knight, yelping in pain before turning around and engaging him. The two men left glanced at one another, and decided to close in on Zin. One of them was burly and big, with a huge jaw and a spiked mace in his hand. The other cutthroat was leaner, with a hawk nose, wielding a short sword and round shield.
@Fuzzybootz

"Be careful" Hobnob said as he inspected the arrow that had come very close to hitting his face while the rest of his crew reloaded their muskets "1 of those archers might get in a lucky shot if we don't mind where we stand". With that said, Hobnob turned back to the battlefield to survey it with his heat vision. Hobnob immediately spotted 8 bandits, with about 6 extra moving about and heading toward the battle. The 8 main bandits looked as though they weren't archers and were either heading towards the battle field or the gnomes' last known location. There were half a dozen more moving at the corners of Hobnob's vision, but he couldn't make out what they were doing when he focused on them. Hobnob wasn't sure if any bandits were heading this way, but he decided that he and his crew weren't about to find out the hard way. "On me, you lot" Hobnob commanded.

A short while later, any bandits that arrived at the last known location of Hobnob and his crew would find the gnomes long gone. In their place were several well hidden rune stones left behind by Small Benjamin, 1 of the 2 enchanters in hobnob's crew. The rune stones in question were enchanted to cause a small explosion when stepped on to discourage further pursuit.

Meanwhile, Hobnob and his crew had just set them selves up in another position that had good cover and a clear shot at the archers. "Let me just check out our surroundings" Hobnob said as the rest of his crew prepared to fire another volley "I don't want any surprises from the bandits". With that said, Hobnob surveyed the surrounding forest for approaching bandit heat signatures.

@POOHEAD189@rush99999@Fuzzybootz

Arassel came into the fray like a fury, a sound issuing from her throat like the blending of a screeching bird and the roar of a wild cat, all leaves and swirling brush as she wielded her leaf-bladed sword in one hand and grasped her flint axe in the other - one to be used for the killing blow and the other to be used as a parrying weapon, all this excitement causing her to seemingly forget the bow and quiver that also dangled from her body as she moved toward the leaner of the bandits approaching Zin and the Vretonnian.

Her cry and appearance both had clearly caused the whippet of a man some alarm, his head jerking around just in time for him to bring up the ill-kept shield and avoid having his head caved in. This did little to perturb the woodland Elf though, her steps swift and light as she looked for an opening against her opponent, the man clearly versed in combat and wisely keeping his shield close to his body and his own blade ready to strike out.

It was when she finally stood still for two moments that he made his move, punching forward with the bulk of his shield in an attempt to knock her from her feet, his sword lunging toward her, but by the time he stopped his own momentum she was no longer there! Indeed he hadn't even seen her move, the hawkish rogue twisting about and away as something hissed just past his ear, a tattooed face close enough for him to see the way the green had been placed into swirling grooves chiselled into flesh, and he bought his shield back to the guard once more.

"Stand and fight, you pixie scum!" He managed to yell over the din of battle, his attention now not wavering from her, something that could potentially be his undoing...

'Sounds good to me,' Nuva stated quietly, hefting his maul and taking a step around the rest of the group, toward the bend in the corridor opposite the wooden door. Not to make any statements about himself, but he wasn't fond of child murderers. Even most dark elves weren't that mean... or rather, they were intelligent enough to understand that killing a child would be counterproductive. 'Be ready to move in after me,' he added as he stepped into a prepared stance, indicating for the captain and Cassilda to take positions around the doorway. 'Morek, if you don't mind me proposing as much, I'd suggest you stick behind me and accompany me in on the charge. We can both get our parts done more quickly that way.'

He waited for the people in the group to move wheresoever they chose, then ran full force toward the doorway, throwing both his spike arm and maul forward and up with the full force of his khala behind them at the last moment, in an effort to tear through the door like it was made of paper rather than wood. If or when he got through, he would move his weapons to block the initial attacks that would inevitably be made toward him, only to swing both round to strike, and ideally slay, both the guards at the door itself, evidently avoiding Morek's own attacks if possible, and in the same action doing what he could to not hinder Morek's own charge, if indeed the dwarf had made to follow after him in that fashion. It'd be counterproductive to accidentally kill the person designated to attack the main target of this particular part of the raid, after all.

@POOHEAD189@Austronaut