Vert partially absorbed the warg, and the warg bit her beastly tongue. Ivan stood up and raised his sword and shield. Kaite half-drew her sword, the naked blade glowing red in the firelight. Xen got to his feet. Vert finally managed to bite the warg in twain, but they all knew that wasn't the end of it. "A frontal assault ain't a [i]clever[/i] way to die," Kaite drawled, "but by all means! Is that all y'got?" She splayed out her arms, taunting the enemy to attack while keeping her senses focused. Xen, on the other hand, chose a more subtle approach. He slid a small blade from his robes and waved one hand toward the fire.

"Everyone, backs together. Stay close to the fire."

As the party retreated toward the fire, they could feel another, darker presence coming. A sinking feeling of dread filled their hearts, as if tonight would be their last. Agony nipped at their heels and despair crept up their backs. Sight began to fail them as the light of the fire shrouded their eyes. It began to dawn on them that there were more than just wargs out there in the forest.

Kaite, for one, did not take things lying down. She shield-butted the first warg that lunged at her and cracked its skull. A second one closed its jaws around her arm. Kaite shrieked and gutted it from throat to sternum. Just as she ripped her sword out, a third warg raked its claws through her armor. Her sword slashed across its face, ruining its eyes.

And the battle had only begun.