Out of nowhere things started to quickly move, as quickly as Kris had told Mace to go out and find the keys, was almost as quickly as she came back and with someone else. Before Kris could even ask the man's name or even ask if was a part of their group he had already armed himself and took test swings with his blade, noticing the door locked Kris' mind first went that he wouldn't be able to swing his sword to well in such an enclosed space so they could easily beat him if they were to all rush him together.

But right before she could yell at them to stop Hawke the door both he and Mace came from ended up being slammed into by an unknown being, Kris only thought that Mace and the guy probably ended up getting in trouble and the guards were here to put them back into their cells, but her thoughts on that were put to rest once she heard a thump on the window.

The princess' eyes went wide once she spotted the monsterous creature, but she kept calm and didn't panic, she took the keys from Macey's hands, doing her best to not linger or touch Macey, and quickly used the keys one by one till she got a click and a full turn and opened the door to the Armory." Everyone! get your equipment and don't linger, these beast will be coming in soon and I don't intend on any of us dying." Then she dashed into the armory, quickly grabbing her sword and putting on her breast plate, she grabbed one of the guard's repeating crossbows knowing that it could be of some use to them.

" Everyone! Stake your lives on this fight! Our survival demands that we stake our lives on this fight! And to survive, is to be victorious!" The words came from her almost like someone else was saying them." Amongst the thousands of comrades and the tens of thousands of enemies, there is nobody I'd rather face them with than you lot, and yes, even you Scar." She gave a toothy grin to them all even Hawke.

She wasn't gonna let this stop her, this was merely another speed bump on the road to her kingdom, these monsters or beast were like the rest, bodies to be used as stepping stones to her kingdom, they were all gonna be used to get her back there, but first she needed to keep the people with her on her side and alive till they could scale up to her kingdom together.

On the other hand this new guy she stared at his large frame for a moment before focusing on the door and holding her blade with both hands could be or might be a problem, for the first time she glanced at him with an inquisitive stare before giving Hawke a more relaxed look and warm smile." Sir will you give us aid in this battle?" She asked him." If it's not too much to ask."

Macy nodded in thanks to the hulking man as he handed her the keys. Despite his appearance, he was a kind soul... You could even say she had taken a liking to him. There was no time, though, as they appeared to be under attack. Something had pounded against the door, and she was staring at it with her head cocked to the side when Kris took the keys. After several moments, the pounding had ceased, and it took her several more moments to realize she was no longer holding the keys. Kris, usually the first to take charge of an urgent situation, had unlocked their weapons. It was time to fight... something.

Without urgency, Macy walked into the room and re-equipped her belt around her waist, counting her items. Six smoke bombs, same as she had before they had been locked up. Good. And her rapier was also in peak condition. The dagger, however, had already been worse for wear before the warden had confiscated it. She decided instead to keep his more ornate one, that had drawn such a beautiful red drop of blood from her fingertip, and leave her old one lying on the shelf where the warden had placed it.

Now fully armed once more, Macy walked out of the room beside Kris. The thump on the window surprised her, and she walked straight over to investigate. These were not projectiles or even a human attacker, but rather some sort of insect-type creature. "A bug..." She murmured. There was some sort of flesh hanging off of the beast, and her eyes widened. She had spent enough time looking at dead things to know that the skin and innards hanging from the creature were not from any insect. She needed to know more... And who had just come from where these things were?

Her gaze shifted from the window to now look at Hawke, whom was now being asked for assistance. Macy thought that it was best to stick together, too. Quietly, she approached him and grabbed the edge of his pants, like a child trying to get a parents' attention. But rather than looking fearful, her eyes sparkled with curiosity as she pointed toward the window. "... Were they human...?" This was the first she spoke to the stranger, but she was fascinated by these creatures they were about to fight.

Hawke was caught off guard at first by the woman speaking foriegn words in a guttural tone, proceeding to shout something at the door. When he saw the frost magic escape her mouth, though, he'd panicked.

"NONONONO, WAIT-"

But the magic had already covered the door, breaking the protective runes and setting off the trap. He recoiled a bit from the sound of flames exploding from the door, incinerating whatever was outside it. Good for now, but the protective element was done for. He was sort of hoping for the bugs to set it off by themselves...

He had no time to complain, though, because more of the freaks were trying to get in from the window. Similarly protected, those windows wouldn't break any time soon, but the trap would go off before they came too close. He had to gear up.

The small one had grabbed the keys and taken the liberty of opening the armory. Good form. She proceeded to go on a speech about survival and victory in the face of danger, something akin to that of a superior officer. If she wasn't some sort of noble, he didn't know what was. He wasn't paying attention, though, helping himself to some nice flexible leather armor, making sure to cover his chest and arms with some durable plate.

Having finished her little speech, the small noble spoke to him.

"Sir will you give us aid in this battle? If it's not too much to ask."

Hawke responded as if the answer was obvious.

"Well, I'd like to get out of here as much as you. Seeing as there's no other way down, I suppose I could lend a hand."

As he adjusted his armor, he felt a tug on his leg. It was that other psuedo-noble, grabbing at his pants to gain attention like a small child. How adorable. She pointed at the bug outside the window.

"... Were they human...?"

Hawke sighed as he gave an answer.

"... 'Were' is the keyword. They're not human anymore. I recommend that you avoid getting hurt by these things, unless you feel like joining them."

He grabbed Aether and prepared himself for the beasts to rush them. He started to grin slightly in the face of his first real battle in years.

"... If you're scared, you can get behind me and stay out of my way."

The man handed the keys over without any fuss once he heard Scar clear things up for him. Good, the last thing they needed was to start a fight right now. The man clearly knew how to use his weapon, so being unarmed the fight would've been very difficult. He looked over as Diana made her way over to the door. A few things went through his mind at this very moment, such as what had happened before when she tried to blow the door off its hinges. Hawke's sudden shout made him groan externally. The doors were protected by enchantments. Of course.

Scar held onto the desk as the room suddenly trembled. The glyphs on the door making him sigh and shake his head. Well, if they hadn't made a shitload of noise before with the previous spells, then they certainly had the attention of the guards by now surely.

.....Or whatever the fuck that thing was.

Thanks to Kris' shouting, the bug creature trying to break in was now front and centre of Scar's mind. He didn't need to be told twice to go get his weapons, and the first chance he got he went in. There was a lot for him to grab. Needles, wire, daggers, throwing knives, his favourite shortsword, his hand crossbow and most importantly; his fucking shoes. The Kitsune was arming himself literally to the teeth. He even grabbed some of the guard's weaponry, some of their bolts and a pair of arm guards. Whatever little weapon he could throw he grabbed.

God knows how he carried all this and was still stealthy, but he had his methods.

"I don't think he's got much of a choice here Princess." Adjusting his arm guards, he couldn't help but roll his eyes at Kris' words. There was safety in numbers here, god knows how many of those things were out there. The man would probably die if he didn't stick with them. Not that Scar cared, he wasn't a member of the group plus he was a criminal.

"I would rather fight these things with a well armed, trained and drilled army personally." With a rare smile, or perhaps it was a smirk, he took aim at the creature at the window. "Suppose anyone here have a plan? Mine just involves killing these things and not dying, but it's open to suggestions."

Heavy footfalls thumped up the staircase now, that same terrible buzzing noise reaching the parties ears with every step up their new adversaries took. Crunching bone and a howl of rage and hunger warned the insectoids had found their vanquished comrades. Pounding at the door renewed with newfound zeal as the insects clawed and scraped on the metal doorway and the surrounding walls.
Perhaps 5 minutes or so and the creatures would overpower the doorway entirely.

FROM ABOVE, A VOICE IS HEARD CALLING.

"Attention escapees. Wards in my personal chamber have been activated, along with the defensive spells painstakingly put into defending the office you now infest." The last word was spat out like poison. "If you survive the other infestation no doubt at the door, make your way down the stairwell to floor 25 and join the surviving guardsmen and repel these disgusting creatures."

The Wardens communication spell lingered in the air a moment, dapening the outside world so he could be heard, and spoke up one last time before the spell winked out.

"Good Luck, mercs."

The spell faded out as the door shuddered at its hinges, once, twice, the third hird was enough. Weakened by the sudden heat and cold the metal securing the door had warped and finally gave way as several creatures resembling men and women with long insect features and claws scrambled over each other the enter.
Four more watched from the back as their wings twitched.

(Be careful how many you kill at once.)

Scar's ears perked up quite visibly as a voice was heard in their heads. This was the warden's voice? Scar couldn't quite remember what the bastard looked like, to be honest, let alone what he sounded like. Scar viewed him as quite insignificant and now he wished he had bothered to remember him a bit more. Just so he knew who he needed to stab, many, many, many times over with as many needles as he could afford to. Well, his words confirmed who he was anyway, and if he was capable of communicating back he had quite a few choice words he would respond with. Most were of the 'fuck you' variety.

His last words went unnoticed by Scar. He didn't need luck or anything of the sort. He would simply just survive like he had always done and will continue to do so. The moment the door came crashing down, Scar had already taken a few steps so as to stand behind the likes of Kris and uh...prisoner...big guy with oversized, impractical, possibly magical sword. Whatever his name was. Had he given it? Who knows, the only fact that needed to be stated here was how much Scar couldn't care. It was in the negatives was the only hint one would receive. He quickly bought the crossbow down towards the oncoming horde and pulled the trigger. Even as the bolt slammed into the previously human abomination, Scar had already armed himself again by whipping out 4 needles in his right hand and proceeded to throw them as well. Both his bolt and needles were aimed at the head, though in the case of the needles it was more they a scattershot that would hit other parts as well. More to test how effective they themselves could be, and also their poison. Though he had a sinking suspicion they wouldn't do much and quickly changed back to loading the hand crossbow.

"Usual crap then. Kris and Diana upfront, Macey and I will back you up. Big guy, do whatever it is you do." If Princess wanted to make a more detailed plan he would leave it to her, but for now a simple set up would suffice. He was briefly considering testing how effective his magic could be in this situation, but right now probably wasn't the time. Not without possibly being hit by that damned crazy dragon woman's magic by 'mistake'. He lined up another shot and would proceed to rinse and repeat. Take aim, fire, reload. Take aim, fire, reload. Etc. All the while also keeping a mindful eye on the 'bugs' near the window. If those things got in, they were most likely his problem considering his position. And he was confident of handling them, but only if he knew when they were getting in.

Macy was anything but scared. As Hawke mentioned joining the creatures, the young woman took that to mean that they were poisonous in some way, and that you could be turned into one of them. Hence, they "were" human. The more she learned of these insects, the more fascinated she was. Her eyes lit up more than they had the entire time she had been in these walls, and her hands shook with anticipation. Even her breathing became a bit heavy as she watched the creatures from the window. I want to tear one open...

As if granting her wish, a loud bang came from the doorway as the metal slab came crashing to the ground, useless against the horde of beasts heading their way. What had started this infection? How had their human parts become so transformed? These particular ones seemed more human than the ones outside, and it made Macy smile. They were fresh. Mid-transformation, almost... and they had a thirst for other humans. Swiftly, she drew both her rapier and new dagger from their hilts and took a low stance, observing as Scar took the first attack. His crossbow hit effectively, as several needles followed, and she decided it was her turn. Her ears had not even heard his game plan as she lunged forward, deciding to attack one of the creatures on the edge of the pack.

Her speed was good as she lunged forward, but the moment the creature noticed her she ducked as low as she could and thrust her rapier deep into its' stomach. As its attention was drawn to the contact, she aimed the dagger toward its head, thrusting hard, hoping to hear that satisfying crunch that so often accompanied her attacks. The creature was slow compared to her, but she remembered the large man's warning and yanked her rapier up from its' stomach, hoping to create a deep incision in the front of the beast, before shoving off of the creature to lunge back. All she could think about were those mandibles, and how she wanted a closer look. There was too much going on for her to really observe the creature, and whether or not her attack was successful, anyone watching could see the disappointed expression on her face as she stood in a defensive position, waiting for the next attack.

Hawke growled a little internally at the Warden's voice. Of course he's far from any danger, like the coward he is. Hawke's gut was telling him that there'd be a trap waiting for them (or, at least, him) on floor 25. He wasn't sure, but it was their only option. What he was sure of, however, is that they aren't taking his sword this time. Not while there's still enemies to slay. He could FEEL Aether thirsting for death after such a long time...

Suddenly, just as the bugs broke through the door, the noble girl behind him dashed past him, as the Fox-Boy loosed a crossbow bolt and several needles with great accuracy. The noble girl then proceeded to slice one damn near in half and inspect it like a medical study for a moment. It was in this moment Hawke knew he could not have finer allies.

"Usual crap then. Kris and Diana upfront, Macey and I will back you up. Big guy, do whatever it is you do."

"Say no more."

Hawke charged forward as well, his massive blade nearly scratching the ground as he held it behind him. With one great diagonal slash, Aether cleaved right through two of the bugs like a hot knife through butter. He wasn't sure if he needed to destroy the brain on these things like proper undead, being an infection rather than magic and all, but it'd sure as hell cripple them.

---

At Kris' behest, Diana had rushed in to pull back on her armor, former clothes, and grab her weapon. She was not unfamiliar with the concept of a "quick change", considering she had been working with these mercs for a time. Though as for her weapon, she felt it wasn't enough time to properly reload the things fully. Not that it hadn't been mostly full as they'd come into this place in the first place.Wait....she didn't even need ammo! Sheesh. Slinging on her gear as the armor rattled on her body, Diana had enough time to listen to the Warden and heft up her weapon for firing as the door finally, and ultimately, buckled to the swarm.

Then again, she was at the front. Again. As always. Albeit, with Kris, whom she liked fighting alongside. Then again, it was only a small office, and....er....ok, this was going to require some heavy duty stuff to try to make the doorway a fitting choke point. She fired a few of rapid bolts into the legs of a couple of the enemies as they squirmed at the doorway. Despite what had managed to get in, as the two creatures fell Diana felt they would make a good chokepoint for the moment.

However, she would follow this up with an "oldie but a goodie" that she could properly aim...er, this time without potentially killing an ally. Yes, that was important.

"Yol Toor Shul!" the dragon-descended girl said in the magical language of her forefathers.

Issuing from her mouth, properly aimed to go down the hallway and not bounce back into the room itself, a stream of melting, consuming fire issued forth. Much like a real dragon breathing fire, actually. Neat.

In all, the initial strikes of the party were effective in dealing against the insect menace as the mutated things tried desperately to swarm their targets in a reckless self destructive rush. Bolts and knives struck their flesh and stuck fast but if they were hurt none showed it, not even slowed. One such mosquito-thing took a bolt to the eye and let out a death shriek like glass shattering before collapsing and laying very still.
Hawkes attack was easily the most effective as the heavy blade crashesld through chitin and flesh with impunity as it sheared through the two foes, their upper bodies thrashed violently for a few moments before their multi-faceted eyes faded to blackness.
Macy met with similar results as her rapier stuck through its chest and still it rushed forward, until the dagger struck brainmatter, eliciting another shriek and a series of muscle spasms before falling limp to the floor. Each creature shed a grotesque green and red slurry of lifesblood to pool below their fallen forms.

The dragonfire however effective had been misjudged. Macy and Hawke, closer to the doorway and fighting enemies, the two received minor burns on their arms as the heat inched just a tad too close for comfort. The remaining insects outside the doors promptly fell away atop the other charred corpses, adding to an impressive mound of the shriveled husks already on display.
Minor injuries aside, no party member had received damage or infection. the area ahead, a staircase leading into the darkened heart of the prison, was clear. Few other insects had come with their bretheren.

The warden had instructed them to join with the main host much further down but a blockade of broken doors and corpses had blocked the stairwell just 3 levels down from the main office. The guardsman that had done so leaned against a wall with a sword stuck through one, the other had fired their crossbow through their own heart.. suicide. Both bore the signs of infection but neither had mutated enough to reanimate.
The side door to the secure isolation cells was torn open, with many cell doors opened. Floor 47 being one of the few more secured areas for truly dangerous criminals expecting execution, it was likely the power failure and spells launched in the area had disrupted the locking enchantments. 3 such criminals, armed with stolen weapons from the guardsmen dead at their feet would indicate they were not friendly.
In their late fourties with heavily muscular frames, the 3 men strutted forward without fear of the party holding weapons.

"LISTEN UP!" addressing the group and the other prisoners at once. "WE RUN THIS FLOOR. Either you're leaving your gear and walking through, or we're killin' you and takin it. Whats it gonna be?" From around the circular room, many prisoners steooed from their cells to cheer and shout their encouragment.

The largest man in the back, a scar and a milky white eye accentuating his bald features, leered at the women with open hostility. Among other, likely, emotions.

(options: remove the barricade /or/ clear the floor and proceed to the second secure stairway.

As the others were fighting the bug creatures up close, Kris decided to put the crossbow she found earlier to use and launch bolts at the creatures from a far as the others would distract them with their attacks. While Hawke and Macy actually made progress against the bugs with their attacks Kris' bolts kept meeting the chitin of the large insect creatures bound on killing the group.

When she went to reload the her crossbow Firebrand decided to take their turn to attack the massive horde with their power of the voice, in an instant the dragon woman set the bug creatures alight with a shout and made quick work of the group or what was left of it and at the same time she minorly harmed two of their party members, Kris would have to remember this.

Sighing after everything Kris dropped the crossbow and put her sword on her shoulder running out of ammunition, she wondered how many of these monsters were among the tower's guard and how the warden managed to hide himself away from the monsters and possibly escapees.

The fallen princess wondered if there were secret passage ways around the tower they could use to just simply leave then the group came upon a grizzly sight; two guards, dead by their own hand, with one guard shot through the chest with their own bolt. Before Kris could investigate into this further there were a couple of the prisoners who surprisingly survived the experience with the bug people.

Before any of the party could even speak up, the prisoners claimed the floor as their own, telling the party they had to give up their gear and weapons, Kris wanted to diplomatic, but something in her fired up and just brought her to her boiling point.

Quickly hitting the prisoner in the middle with the pommel of her sword and using all of her weight to knock him down to the floor, she quickly brought the tip of the sword under his chin drawing a small drop of blood; her usually calm face was twisted into a grimace of rage and vexation.

"If you two bit, no three bit prisoners were worth your weight in metal than you were in wits then you would yield to any being that doesn't jump you first that comes from the top of this tower!" She stared into the man's eyes holding the blade of her sword to have the point run down his chin and touch the soft flesh of his neck." I didn't grab my equipment again just for some fool who's been cooped up in this tower to use it as his own! Use your brains and keep yourself from getting killed by someone half your age old man."

Hawke, suffering from only minor burns, had walked at a more relaxed pace than the rest of the group, trying to formulate a strategy for escaping the place alive. With that magic-user so carelessly shouting at everything, he wasn't sure if they saw him as expendable or they were just extremely reckless. Maybe both. The noble girl was extremely adept at quick, methodical fighting. The Fox-Boy was deadly accurate with those needles and bolts. The little noble seemed to be the leader, and to Hawke seemed the most evened-out in terms of fighting ability.

More impotantly, he learned that while the bugs didn't show pain, they could be killed like anyone else. Enough damage to the body would kill them, but destroying the brain would just as well. As long as he had Aether, they wouldn't be too much of a problem.

Lost in his thoughts, he noticed that the group had exited the stairwell when they came upon the roadblock. A couple of guards taking the easy-way-out before the infection could take them. He gave them a small acknowledgement of respect. They were bad to him, but no man should have to go out like this.

Suddenly, he'd heard sounds of a struggle in the next room, followed by the sound of the small noble's voice: "If you two bit, no three bit prisoners were worth your weight in metal than you were in wits then you would yield to any being that doesn't jump you first that comes from the top of this tower!"

Great, trouble ahead, and it doesn't sound like the small one's in much of a mood. Looks like he'd better step in.

"I didn't grab my equipment again just for some fool who's been cooped up in this tower to use it as his own! Use your brains and keep yourself from getting killed by someone half your age old man."

"I couldn't agree more."

Hawke slowly walked out from the stairwell, his massive sword resting on his shoulder. The only language these people understand is intimidation. And nothing is more intimidating than a man with a really big sword... Well, except maybe a dragon. Or a werewolf. Or these bug things that've infested the prison. Anyway, back to being intimidating.

As Hawke approched, he spun his sword around in one hand as if it was nothing. Really show his power.

"If you cretins think you'll make me drop my sword and turn-tail, you're dead wrong. I've waited TOO LONG to use my sword again, and NOBODY'S going to take it from me again."

As soon as he reached the others, he pointed his sword at the large scarred man at the back. He grinned, and he could feel Aether itching for another battle. Looks like it's a win-win. He mocks the original threat:

"So allow me to answer your choice... With another choice: Either we walk past you, or we'll walk over you. What's it gonna be?"

Macy glanced down at her arm, where bright orange flames had begun to burn. After watching the glow for awhile, she moved to pat out the fire, embers falling from where her clothes had begun to burn. It stung a little, but really the burns were more fascinating than anything. The now singed cloth, however, was rather annoying, so she ripped the sleeve off of that side and continued on with the rest of the group. Having now calmed down from the initial excitement, she had returned to her monotonous state, simply observing what she could from around her. She would have to find another time to observe these creatures, when the fighting had settled down. If it settled down.

That seemed unlikely as they entered this new area, greeted immediately by the shouting of some criminal. Macy, wondering just who was making all of the ruckus, peeked out from behind the giant that was Hawke, who had also now begun to swing his sword around. Her eyes made contact with the scarred man in the back, and something about him made her stomach twist up. He gives a bad vibe... Suddenly, Macy noticed the two dead corpses, half-mutated, and her eyes got a glint to them reminiscent of the look she had before. I want a closer look... Now, however, was not the time. Slowly, she moved to stand beside Hawke, rather than behind him, and held her rapier and dagger defensively, ready to attack based on the response of the prisoners Kris had assaulted.

It would seem that they managed to dispatch the group of monsters with ease, and with little to no damage done to the party as well. Well, bar some friendly fire from that damned crazy bitch. Sometimes Scar wondered if she thought about anything before acting. With a sigh, he brought up the rear of the party, being already behind everyone else and all. While he walked past the bodies, he leaned down to remove his bolts and needles. Waste not, want not.

Once he had taken whatever was still reusable he continued, reloading the crossbow as he walked slowly behind them. He wasn't fussed if he got separated, his magic was better solo anyway. Plus, he could find them easily enough. Only so many paths they could take for a start, but he was a pretty good tracker. Exiting the stairwell, he glanced over the broken barricade and the dead guards. He didn't feel an ounce of pity for them, why would he need to? Hearing loud voices, he paused. His ears standing up and twitching, he elicited a loud groan when he heard Kris' voice. That wasn't good news.

Grumbling under his breath, if anyone was looking at him they would've just seen him vanish entirely from sight in the blink of an eye. Seemed like he was gonna have to mop up another mess their party was getting themselves into. Strolling into the room, entirely invisible to those around him, he prepped some needles in one hand and his crossbow in the other. He took a moment to assess the situation. It would seem that some prisoners had escaped, through whatever means he didn't care, and had armed themselves. There were three of them, one already had Kris' full attention. Between her and Hawke, combined with his magic, they wouldn't see this coming. Literally.

He appeared seemingly out of thin air besides Hawke and Macey, a bolt fired in that same instant. He aimed for the man at the back, and unless he reacted quick enough it would strike between his eyes. "How about this?"" Scar asked, flinging a handful of needles towards the other man currently not engaged by Chris. ""I don't have the fucking time to play with you scum, so just die like the filthy cockroaches you are." in the case that his attacks failed, he would vanish again and begin to walk behind them. Slowly reloading his crossbow. Without some sort of magical intervention, he was confident they wouldn't be able to find him. He doubted anyone in the room could.

Diplomacy: Failed.
Intimidation: Failed.

The first thug, self proclaimed leader of this particular floor and speaker, was no stranger to fighting. None on this floor would shirk from newfound freedom without fighting. Every last one had been sentenced to death and many had spent years without leaving their tiny warded cells as they had awaited the wardens justice, never knowing when it would occur.
Some had simply been executed in their cell and left to rot for weeks as a brutal reminder of their 'caretaker' and his particular brand of cruelty.

Kris' blow was strong but the speaker kept his feet and willingly lunged forward as the madness took over. A closer look would see he had been pushed from behind. Impaled through the neck and spitting blood with a wordless gurgle, the dieing convict wrapped thick arms around Kris and pulled them in close, even as life faded from his eyes.
The longsword of the shorter man to his left struck hard and cruel through the speakers back and out his stomach, digging into Kris' stomach. A large portion of the blade would not reach but if she failed to have protection it would be a painful gut wound indeed.

The other prisoners took their que as the pommel struck and rushed forward, eager for flesh and blood. Armed with pipes and sharp chair legs. Crude weapons but all of them held the makeshift items with a familiarity hinting at combat experience.
Two men in tattered brown prisoner clothes fell back as the others went forward and began to whisper while their fellow inmates charged. Nearly 20 armed men would swarm the group in mere moments.

Scars bolt struck true, the surprise of his appearance was enough to render the one eyed brute with the shortsword out of commission as the projectile took him through his bad eye and lodged in brain matter before they could thrust the stolen longsword completely through their sacrificed speaker. A meek groan escaped his lips as they fell lifeless to the floor.

"GET EM, LADS. WE'RE LEAVIN' THIS PLACE THROUGH THEM." Shouted the last of the trio. Standing just under 6 feet, the convict had long shaggy brown hair and an unkempt beard. Unlike the other two, there was leather armor below his loose white shirt. No doubt stolen from the dead guardsmen.

---

"Mid Vur Shan!"

It didn't take a genius to figure out how this situation had devolved, as the dragon-descended girl hadn't doubted it for a second. Bunch of ugly dangerous prison brutes, at least 20 to take on, didn't seem diplomacy had been an option for them. This being said, the shout she had just used was a buff for her allies- a brief but strong enchantment on their weapons. It would allow them to attack more quickly using their weapons, being a limited speed buff for attacking as it were. Diana herself hefted up her crossbow, finally ready for general use by the time they had gotten down here, making use of the buff she had just unleashed as she took three rapid but aimed shots at the head last of the "trio".

Then after this she might apologize for accidentally burning Macy and Hawke a bit. If they got out of this alive, at least. Then again she had managed to help clear the way finally with that attack. Albeit this prison was turning out to be a dangerous place to actually apply her coveted magical prowess in. Ugh. But she was making do so far, and that would hopefully be good enough for the time being. She had a lot more spells to use at least, and at least not all of them were liable to blast the top part of this prison to kingdom come.

Macy recognized quickly that things were beginning to go downhill... and fast. Kris had acted brazenly, before her comrades could catch up. Not that Hawke and Scar had helped to deescalate the situation at all, but all hope of diplomacy was gone the moment they fought back. It was clear that they had no intention of listening, anyhow; she could sense a certain toxic air about the group. Her point was proven when they sacrificed their own companion. A group like this with an every-man-for-himself mindset was dangerous.

Not waiting to see the impact of their attack, Macy took the opportunity of the dragon-girl's entrance to break away from the group. For once, her flashy way of doing things served greatly to distract the prisoners, hopefully enough for her to get the young blonde to safety. While their gazes were drawn, Macy lunged toward her companion and threw a smoke bomb, hiding them in a cloud of smoke. Though harmless, the fog would hopefully hide them long enough. She had much experience navigating blindly, and dashed quickly to Kris' side. With a strong kick, she toppled over the prisoner whom had fixed himself around Kris, now nothing but a corpse.

It was within this haze that she took in the state of her companion. Should she be able to move, Macy would grab her hand to lead her through the smoke toward the back of the group. If she were unable to move, Macy would do her best to carry her out of the path of the prisoners, defending the two of them as best she could with her rapier.

Well, that didn't work out. Plan B it is then.

Hawke, not wasting any time, quickly rushes forward towards the leather-armor clad man just as he finished his war cry. Now, he wasn't sure if Aether was in good enough shape to get through the armor, but it could definitely slice through flesh and bone. With great killing intent, and the magical power of Momentum, Hawke put all his force to a great slash, hoping to cut the man in two straight down the middle.

Hopefully, that smoke bomb would help the others. Hawke couldn't risk fighting in that with Aether. While a normal sword might be intended for you and only you, Aether in Hawke's hands was more addressed "To whom it may concern".

Just as Kris expected, the convict's group was formed upon a fragile alliance, they weren't together working for their new found freedom but all working towards just getting free through any means; when the speaker managed to throw his arms around the golden haired princess she didn't have time to react and try to escape before both of them fell to the floor and Kris heard a sword go through the man running him through, a small bead of sweat ran down Kris' forehead as the blade's point met her armor and barely penetrated through it.

Feeling a bit of luck come over her as the others began attacking the convicts, Kris attempted to throw the dead convict off her and a slight thought appeared in the back of her mind, if they were to escape, would our group end up like this? Or would those bug beast get to us first? The though ran around her head making her wonder if this group would all get killed if she didn't think straight or if they all didn't.

Her thoughts were then put to rest when smoke began to fill her lungs, she then noticed the room was getting filled up with smoke, she wondered if Diana was to blame for this or Scar and suddenly someone pushed the dead guy from over top of her and got her to her feet, the person pulled her through the new found cloud of smoke and behind the others.

Kris cracked her neck as she was behind the others and noticed she was holding hands with Macy, she looked at the other woman nodding and thanking her before looking to the others." I think we need someone put these people on their ass, Diana get in front and use one of your shouts to knock down the rest, we can then push then capture them." Kris' eyes then went to Hawke." Big guy break a hole in the wall to the outside, the hole will rid us of the smoke but it might leave us open for those things outside flying about, do or don't it's all up to you if you want to."

Well, there were a few of them weren't there? Even before their two comrades had dropped dead, the group of inmates rushed their way. With his crossbow reloaded, he calmly raised it and fired a bolt between one of their eyes. Making sure to aim towards the middle of the group, very hard to dodge being surrounded by his 'friends' after all. With that done, Scar was quick to discard the crossbow as the group approached, he wasn't going to get much of a chance to reload here, and drew his short sword and dagger. He had just recast invisibility when the smoke bombs rolled past him and went off. Macey was, of course, the thrower of said bombs, she was the only one who used them.

Now, Scar could easily bypass this group. His invisibility magic made that a piece of cake, hell with this smokescreen alone he could do it. Both of them combined, these plebs had no chance of catching him. However he was also aware that Macey was getting Kris out of harms way at this moment, so someone had to buy them some time now didn't they? Kris he couldn't give much of a damn about, but he owed Macey one for the sandwich earlier. Sure, it was a horrid sandwich. But a debt was a debt, and Scar wasn't going to let any debts drag out.

As the smoke grew thicker around the kitsune, he took a moment to crack his neck and place the dagger handle between his teeth. Well then, it was time to get to work. With the group well and truly upon him, he reached into his pocket and flung a fistful of needles towards the approaching group. Again aiming for the middle, he was bound to hit some of them that way. Then with that out of the way, he really began to kick things up a gear. Leaping up into the air, he did an over the top flip just for show before landing atop one of the prisoners as he ran where Scar was just moments ago. Very soon after Scar's dagger was impaled in the man's throat and withdrawn, lashing out with a kick towards the nearest prisoner and a slash with his short sword towards another. With a couple second's delay, along with another showboaty flip back into the smoke, he was invisible once again. Also kicking the dead prisoner back into his comrades in the process before more needles soon followed.

With them well and truly aware of his presence in the smoke, though finding his exact location would be like finding a needle in a haystack for these unfortunate saps, he began to move around and whittle down their numbers. Dashing in for a few attacks before disappearing and retreating once more. Why stop at just buying time? Unless something could stop him, he would kill every single one of them himself. Of course a few could get through to the others, he couldn't hold off all twenty by himself. But damn was he trying his best to.