There was some hesitation among the mercenaries. Their boss had already seemed reluctant to start a fight, and now it seemed like some of the knights were trying to defuse the situation even after the battle had already begun.

"You should really have kept a better handle on those guys," commented Alette, simply, as she delivered another sweeping blow. Fanilly once again found herself barely able to deflect it, stepping back as she did. This was unreal. For what in all respects appeared to be a regular human, Alette's speed was incredible, the spear routinely turning into a crimson blur that was nearly impossible to see. Still, Fanilly was desperately managing to keep the spear away, each clash of metal on metal crying out repeatedly... until a horse suddenly came charging into view. Given few options without turning away from her opponent, Alette sprang back to avoid being collided with rather then attempting to turn and face the horse herself.

Fanilly looked to her right and left. Two of the knights, the one who had offered her a potato before and another she had seen only briefly prior to this mission, had rushed to her aid.

"Thank you," Fanilly said, as calmly as she could manage given how difficult it had been simply keeping the blue-haired girl from hitting her, "Stay to my right and left and try to keep her from attacking at the flanks."

Alette sighed, her grip adjusting on her spear. The crimson tip flashed in the light.

"I really didn't want to do this," she complained, raising her weapon as she did, "But I'm running out of options, y'know?"

As the arrow whistled towards her, the elf's staff snapped up in an instant.

"[i]Ahtz[/i]!" she shouted, a red-tinted shield almost immediately spreading from the tip, in the form of a spiraling magic circle. The arrow bounced harmlessly off, and instead of reacting to the insults leveled at her in elvish, she swiftly cast a secondary spell moments before the flurry of blows rained down upon her barrier. The instant it shattered, a second barrier appeared and pushed back against the blows, giving the small elven girl some breathing room.

"<Sow, huh?!>" she snapped, raising her staff once more, "Then taste the fire magic of Alrial C-"

Before she could finish, an enormous fist swung down towards Umbra, slamming into empty ground as the wood elf dodged.

"... Borifos!" shouted Alrial, rounding on the steel-clad figure for a moment, placing her hands on her hips, "I had it handled! She wasn't going to touch me!"

"I apologize, Miss Cathelel," replied the deep, rumbling voice, "But her speed had me concerned for your safety."

"Hmph!" huffed the elf, before turning to face her opponent once more.

The deathly pale young woman that Jarde had approached gave him a sweet smile, calmly drawing one of her multitude of knives as she did. She ran her tongue gently along the blade, tilting her head to one side.

"I'm simply watching to see if anyone harms my beloved Alette," she said, simply, "Because if they do, I'll fill them so full of my delicious poison that you won't even recognize them as they die~"

She let out a soft giggle. It was likely the knife she had just licked was poisoned, which raised some questions about how she had licked it with no concern for her own safety. "But if you want to fight, I'll gladly show you what Abigail the Stingray can do~ Boys aren't usually to my taste, but sometimes I make an exception~"

Tyaethe's attack on the door, however, revealed a disturbing sight.

The corpses that lined the walls were not as fresh as those outside, though being shut inside had prevented real decay from setting in. They had been uniformly bound, stripped of all their equipment, and had their throats slit. It was a methodical process, one that perhaps explained why the fresher corpses outside were wearing Thaln's colors.

If one had to guess, the mercenaries had likely attacked before the corpses could be disposed of.