Fanilly wasn't certain how to respond, for a moment. While she had failed to ask the correct questions, another of the knights had. By this point, a certain picture of their operations was becoming clear. It was not the bandits as a whole who were capable of slaughtering the King's Men, but rather their leader. What kind of man was Bandit King Jeremiah?

"... I... failed in my interrogation, but the other knights have taken up that purpose in my stead," she admitted, finally, her eyes drifting away from the artificer slightly, and towards Dame Forina.

"Ah, their supplies... indeed, if they have taken anything that we may perhaps return to the rightful owners. Additionally, we must free their prisoners."

The hostages held the highest priority in Fanilly's mind, though the bandits would likely have to be dealt with before it was safe to free them.

The first action she undertook, after a few moments, was to order several of her knights more suited to covert movements to handle the sentries. At least, after they managed to extract the locations from the prisoners. Indeed, after a short time, it seemed that her knights were universally successful, the sentries silenced.

Now, Fanilly could set her plan in motion.

She took a deep breath before turning to face the knights.

"The bandit camp is not far ahead," she began, "The prisoners have told us so, as have the reports of the king's men."

She placed a hand on the hilt of her blade.

"So we must act quickly. While we do not have the numbers to completely encircle their camp, I feel a simultaneous strike from four directions will ultimately be our path to victory," she continued, "We will be splitting into four groups, to take up positions around their camp and move inward. I shall lead the first, who will take position ahead of their camp."

She turned to regard Tyaethe.

"Paladin Tyaethe, you shall lead the second, to take position to their left."

She turned to regard her knights. Admittedly, she needed to consider her options somewhat more clearly, but there wasn't time to try and analyze her knights' capabilities. "Sir Gerard, you shall lead the third, and take position to the camp's right."

Fanilly glanced between her next choices had hesitated. She had to admit she did not have someone immediately in mind to lead the fourth group. The first choice had come to her easily, but the next... She wanted to place faith in the all of her knights.

"... Dame Aria, you will lead the fourth, which will advance from behind," she said, finally, after some hesitation. But the lady knight had clear combat prowess, and seemed to be as good a choice as any to lead one of the four groups intended to encircle the camp, "We will move in on my signal. Shields in front, to defend the others from arrows. I'll give you time in order to get into position, but as we are in a forest it will be difficult to signal to one another in a way that will not alert the bandits."

@HereComesTheSnow@Raineh Daze@Asuras@jdh97@Dystopya@Psyker Landshark@Click This@OwO@Animal@TheFake@ERode@Crimson Paladin@ghastlyinc@PaulHaynek

"A dragon..." He looked thoughtful. "I've never seen one but krakens have been spotted offshore from my homeland. Perhaps another challenge you can aspire to."

Indrau looked down at the bodies and then thought back to the ambush. "It was too easy. Simple bandits like this should never have caused enough trouble to have been called top our attention. The army should have taken them easily."

He drew his blade as the Captain gave her orders and turned away. "They seem well armed as well, but they likely pillaged their equipment from real soldiers. I'll join your group for the assault."

The look that Tyaethe gave Indrau was several notches below disappointed, verging on frustrated. Here was a veteran knight, with a perfect comparison... so be it; this wouldn't be the first time that the modern order felt comparatively useless. Tyaethe turned away, shaking her head, stepping off to the left of the assembled knights.

"Protect," she said, seemingly to pause completely in position for just a moment, then with no more than a slight breeze... no longer a small child, but instead a knight in shining armour, emblazoned with Mayon's rose.

"Is anyone else volunteering to follow me?" Tyaethe asked, preparing to gesture for enough people not volunteering to come along.

Fleuri Jodeau

Fleuri briefly assessed the different groups. Fanilly would be leading from the front. Tyaethe the First and Youngest would be leading from the left. Sir Gerard, the Reonite former mercenary, was leading the right flank. Dame Aria, a veteran knight of the Larette family, was leading the rear flank. Fleuri had alrady interacted with and assessed Gerald, but he had not thought too much about the other two yet.

Paladin Tyaethe needed no further introduction, as her reputation preceded her. If the stories were true, she could probably handle the entire left flank by herself. He wondered if Tyaethe knew or remembered his ancestor Armand Jodeau, a renowned knight in his own time. Perhaps he could ask her about it later, once this bandit business was concluded. Assuming, of course, Fleuri had the nerve to approach and ask her- even as small of stature as she was out of her armor, she was quite intimidating.

The second flank leader, Dame Aria, was somewhat known to Fleuri. She was a decorated veteran of Cal's rebellion and a member of the Larette family. They were a powerful noble family, distinguished by their red hair and great stature. In the past, they were bitter rivals of the Jodeau, back when Fleuri's family was relevant. The mutual disdain didn't end when Jodeau relinquished its land and ceased to be a threat to Larette, as doing so only demonstrated how deeply contrasting the two familes' ideals were. It was unclear whether Aria adhered to Larette's ruthlessly pragmatic ideals, but what was clear was that she was a valorous warrior whose loyalty to the kingdom was not in question.

"I volunteer to fight on the rear flank," Fleuri announced to the captain. He wanted to see how the rival family- and their martial tradition- had fared over the years. She'll probably hate him, but why would a Jodeau ever care for a Larette's opinion?

---

OOC: History between Jodeau and Larette was discussed over PM.

There was a small pause as Tyaethe asked for volunteers, which was...well. Business as usual honestly. Say what you could about the vampire's honorable position, it didn't really detract from the fact that most folk weren't half as fond of her (comparatively) suicidal tactics. And while this (thankfully, by the look of calm on a few knights face) wasn't her plan, the knee-jerk reaction to avoid the undead knight's retinue was as strong as ever.

Gillian sauntered over to the vampire's side, knowing full well that his presence would do little to actually EASE any nervousness of potential volunteers. Their numbers would be filled regardless. And frankly, he'd more respect for the Vampire than the little girl playing at captain or Aria. The latter of which seemed eager to part his neck from his body for whatever reason, if her body language was anything to go by.

"As charismatic a leader as always Lady Radistirin." he huffed, taking a position at her right. He rolled his shoulders, metal cracking and clinking as artificial joints moved about. There was nothing really relaxing about the act, he couldn't feel if his shoulders were stiff anymore. But the motion was mentally relaxing if nothing else. "Where do you want me?" He asked simply. While he'd be more than happy to spear head the charge, it wouldn't do for the two knights to get in each others way. And setting his senior knight on fire accidentally due to was not exactly something he wanted to have to apologize for.

@Raineh Daze

"And beyond even that, friend; there's no great injustice in choosing your life over he who would end it. You don't need to enjoy the act, but you'll need to be ready for it. Keep that in mind from here on out, and it should keep you upright."

Jarde, still with a smile, heaved a sigh and placed a hand on Gerard's shoulder. "Thanks for ruining the joke, Sir Segremors."

------

Captain Fanilly, as the next course of action, ordered for the sentries around the bandit camp to be dispatched. Needing the more stealthy knights, Jarde was of course part of that party and he and the others made quick work of the bandit watchmen. The bandit camp was now vulnerable to a surprise attack from the Iron Rose Knights.

The next plan was a four-pronged strike on the bandit camp coming from four directions. The element of surprise and the illusion of a surround would definitely catch the bandits' off guard and disorient them enough for the Iron Rose Knights to easily defeat them all. Fanilly had selected herself and three others to lead the multi-directional attack and left the rest of the knights free to choose which direction they would join.

Jarde thought for a moment which leader he would join. Tyaethe and Aria already had followers while he had already hung out with Gerard a bit, so Fanilly it was. Of course, for Jarde the choice was not wholly a calculated one. There were feelings there, even if he did not know it.

"I'll be coming with you, Captain. I may not be a frontline fighter but I'll do my best."

Hm. Was the Knight-Captain allowing them to choose which group they were joining? Well, the battle plan was a good one, at least. In theory, anyways. Depending on how strong this King Jeremiah was, there were any number of ways the strategy could go awry in practice. Still, the point of failure there would be on the knights themselves. If the line broke, Renar had his reservations about Captain Fanilly's capabilities of holding them together.

In the meantime, he'd had his choice of temporary squadron to join. In all honesty, Renar doubted it mattered. They'd no way of knowing which flank Jeremiah would assault himself, and that would likely be the unit most in trouble. Considering that three people each had picked a separate squad so far, he supposed he ought to join the fourth, just to even things out.

Renar hefted his poleaxe over his shoulder, lazily strolling over towards Gerard and falling in line slightly behind the man.

"Well, I may as well even out our current distribution. If you'll have me, Sir Gerard." He nodded towards his fellow knight. "At your ready."

@HereComesTheSnow

Ok, that was fine, but did she...not even know what the others managed to glean from the bandit then? Elodie arched an exasperated brow at Fanilly, but ultimately, let it go. Whatever. Captain was a captain but was also a kid. She had hoped that someone who'd risen to such a position would at least get the training necessary to excel, but it looked like youth had its own problems.

"Fine," was the artificier's curt response. She turned soon afterwards, nudging her horse towards the rear, towards Aria's group. No point in overthinking it, in the end. Knights were knights, after all. Barring a few exceptions, they were all a collection of close quarters specialists. Elodie would fill a niche wherever she went, and that was just fine with her.

For all the voices, the group seemed quiet, a season waiting to end. The forest held its breath, watching. Jerel followed Sir Segremors. He did not speak, but nodded a mute affirmation. He offered one to Sir Hagen also. Jerel’s eyes searched the trees. The canopy wove a roof of green and brown to hide them from the moon, save for the slimmest of silver shafts; a faint reminder.

Ter fluttered between trees, following his master. Jerel slowly rotated his arm and hissed. His face clenched tight, scrunched up like mistake-riddled parchment. The pang of iron was unmistakable on his tongue. Again, he moved his arm. Slowly, his face relaxed, falling back into place, expect for his brows, which were knit together in consternation, though his eyes were flint-sharp and hard as the steel he carried.

Yet the doubt was growing, a treacherous undercurrent that tugged at his courage, or perhaps it was a snake, slowly constricting around him, tighter and tighter.

He huffed out. No more mistakes.

“Onwards indeed.”

@Psyker Landshark @HereComesTheSnow

---

---

It was a simple plan, really. To surround the enemy's encampment and prevent any escape was the mere basics of assaulting a fortified location. Had the encampment been less fortified by the thicket, it would have allowed the enemy to 'escape'. In turn, they would be attacked by a cavalry charge. But tactics didn't matter for this disparity of skill. As proven by their previous encounter, the bandits would have been a joke; mere fodder was to be cut down in order to reach the bandit king. Throwing one's unit at an encampment would, with this difference in power, most likely be akin to a group of men stomping on an ant's nest. No strategy was needed for overwhelming force.

She already had two people interested in joining her group. The mad bomber and some knight. The bomber entered with... less enthusiasm than a soldier would have. The choice in party didn't matter (it didn't for all of them, really) to her. The knight was slightly more interested. He wore a set of bum-armour. As if scavenged from a hedge, it was storied with marks of battle, only to be repaired. The armour was older than him.

Well, she didn't really have anything to say to them. Only two words escaped her mouth:

"Let's go."

Well.

"Of course, Sir Renar, Sir Jerel." he replied graciously, nodding to both in turn. "I would be honored."

It seemed the young Captain was still somewhat unfamiliar with the knights under her command— In appointing Gerard, at the very least, she was giving the responsibility to one of her greenest as opposed to a knight with more tenure and earned respect within the Order. For this to happen so soon was surprising. He had easily enough battle experience to wait for a signal and order a cavalry charge, that much was true enough, but he had in truth been more of a frontline fighter before knighthood— A man in decent armor pointed towards something that needed killing by men who stood in the position she had just thrust him into with much more experience. Much more than either of them.

A thousand miles and a single step, eh?

But Knighthood meant decisive action, and this was part of it. One order, one signal, one charge.

It served none for him to falter. His mission was so simple he could do the tasks it entailed in his sleep, and the companions who volunteered to his detachment deadly, self-sufficient men. If they would follow the Captain's appointment and freely offer to ride with him without issue, then his authority would not need to be hammered down upon them like it would upon the unruly miscreants he was used to. He had not survived in the fray for seven years thanks to any sort of folding under pressure, had he? A knight was a man with poise and dignity, and when the call was made, he would step to answer it with neither hesitation nor complaint.

And that would be it.

"Let's make haste, then. All others who would join me, fall in."

If the bandits they had encountered were any indication, he needed only worry about Jeremiah himself running to their flank— thereby leaving every other side open to the crushing force of the other three companies. A military force propped up by a singular fighter, exceptional or otherwise, could only work through a choke point— and this encompassing assault proved just the opposite. The man certainly could not be everywhere at once.

Without anyone breaking synchronization, the Iron Roses definitely could. Regarding that, he had an inkling of an idea.

"Sir Jerel, that falcon of yours— Would he be of any use in spotting and relaying our Captain's signal in the event we ourselves couldn't?"

@jdh97@Psyker Landshark

As if in answer Ter alighted, coming to a stop on a low branch before the knights. His plumage of underwater sapphire seemed to take on the earthy browns and greens and drank in the shadow that surrounded them. Intelligent eyes stared out.

“It may be possible,” Jerel mused, his head tilted at the bird. Ter imitated him. Alacrity bubbled from the surface state of Ter’s emotions, relayed through the colour so the Jerel could feel it like the heat from boiling water upon a fire. A smile rippled across his face, starting in his eyes before it stretched his face into a close-lipped crescent.

“What say you then, Ter?” Jerel asked, measuring his words. Affirmation. Forbearance. Emotions splashed between minds. Jerel nodded, “Then go, watch for a signal, and let us know. Crack the night with your cry.”

With the beat of powerful wings, Ter was gone.

Jerel turned back to Sir Segremors, “We should not forsake our own faculties, of course. But let us hope your idea is fruitful.”

@HereComesTheSnow@Psyker Landshark

Soon enough, the knights had been divided among the flanks, assembling themselves with a relatively even distribution. A contingent of footmen had been left behind to watch the supplies and prisoners, naturally, but aside from that everyone had been made ready for the assault.

And so, the Iron Rose Knights advanced. As they did, Fanilly took stock of what she knew of the enemy camp. The fact that there were prisoners meant that using archers to soften up the camp was far too risky. There was a chance that a stray shot could kill an innocent person, and that was something she couldn't accept. Even though they had crushed the attempted ambush, and then the sentries quit shortly afterwards, the young girl couldn't help but feel her heartbeat hammering in her chest.

The spikes surrounding the camp were of little issue to an attack on-foot. Dismounting because of the thickness of the forest also meant that the spikes were significantly reduced in their threat. Fanilly had to do her best to calm herself as much as she she possibly could. It wouldn't do for the captain to panic like this.

She'd decided to solve the issue of commanding the charge by assigning magi in the backline to send up a set of flares. That seemed like the wisest way to do so, and would still be quick enough that the unsuspecting bandits would not be able to respond adequately.

In total, the Iron Rose Knights numbered three hundred and fifty, without counting their footmen. The bandits were likely a somewhat greater number, but at the same time they lacked equipment and training, as well as armor.

The greatest threat remained the Bandit King himself.

It was not much longer until they could even glimpse the camp through the trees as they moved into position.

There was a roaring bonfire. Hundreds of men and women clustered all about the camp, entering and exiting makeshift shelters. Their arms and armor resembled the bandits they had encountered before. A few crossbows, some items clearly taken from the King's Men, but aside from that they were hardly very impressive.

"On my mark..." Fanilly began. Her heart felt like it was about to burst out of her chest. She could see some of the bandits cleaning blood from their weapons and armor.

The blood of innocent people.

They had to be brought to justice.

And the Iron Rose Knights would be the ones to do it.

The shield-bearers moved forward, creating a mobile defensive wall at the head of the charge. As they did, Fanilly noticed a makeshift wooden throne towards the center of the bandit camp.

It was empty.

She took a deep breath, hand on the hilt of her sheathed blade.

And then she drew it, edge slicing through the air as she thrust it skyward.

"ENAN UO ILSIR!" she cried, the old words meaning 'For Justice's Sake' leaving her lips. Just as they had done many a captain's. "CHARGE!"

The stunned bandits leaped to their feet, as the magi sent off their signals. In moments, the knights fell upon them.

The attack on the camp had begun.

@HereComesTheSnow@Raineh Daze@Asuras@jdh97@Psyker Landshark@Click This@OwO@Animal@TheFake@ERode@Crimson Paladin@ghastlyinc@PaulHaynek

"Yup, just wait for the signal and fall in behind me," Tyaethe said, lining up in position and waiting. She'd heard a lot of people say that they got nerves in this sort of lull, but for her it was as boring as the post-battle cleanup or making camp, something to be suffered through before getting to the excited part. "Up to those two if these thugs get any mercy, as I'm not giving them any."

Not the most reassuring statement to hear before a fight if you trusted in the reverence of the clergy.

The vampire straightened up, eyes trained on the sky. Any second now... there! "GET THEM!"

She was wasting no time in taking her own advice, running full-pelt at the first line of bandits... and diving through a gap in their "lines", further into the camp, closer to the fire. [i]Then she started to swing, blood and metal gleaming in the firelight. What of being surrounded? In the confusion it would only help her and hurt them; she had armour, they didn't, and they had to worry about hitting their allies. And Tyaethe could see fine even in the limited firelight, that helped.

Which would also leave those immediately behind her confused and unsure which way to fight, perfect to be demolished by the knights coming from the other side or the knight already in their midst. A microcosm of the plan as a whole.

The hard part would be keeping an eye out for this Jeremiah before too many knights tried to do something that wouldn't work. At least he should be easy to see...

@jdh97@Psyker Landshark@VitaVitaAR

"Of course not." he reassured. "I wouldn't dare neglect one chance for another."

Beyond that, preparations were swift. A few more knights split themselves amongst the four fronts, filing in behind the leaders with simple, brief words of assent. Just as well— any internal conflict on the ensuing front would create needless tension within their ranks, and potentially spoil the dominating victory that lied ahead. But Knights were professional even in the face of certain misgivings— none he himself held or knew any to hold against him, but those more plainly observed in his peers had been quelled in the face of imminent action.

They broke through the tree line once more, bandit camp now in sight. High above, Ter's iridescent wings fluttered, a spot of azure against the dimming orange sky that kept watchful eye upon the positions of their fellows and awaited the magical signals from their back lines, just as Sir Jerel had asked of him. While he was no falconer, Gerard found himself impressed by the obvious intelligence Ter seemed to display— it was a more complex command than "hunt for voles". It required more abstraction, by his reckoning, for the frame of mind for a bird of prey.

But he could ask such questions later. For now, everything should be in position. All that was left was the signal.

He took a deep breath, steeling himself for the battle to come.

For a moment of silence, the proverbial calm before the storm, there was a profound stillness in the now-night air. Despite neither having the eyes of Ter high above nor Tyaethe on the opposite flank, the roaring bonfire provided ample illumination for Sagramore to take in the encampment, take in his foes. Bandits, Jeremiah's army, milled about a coven of makeshift huts, tents, and other rudimentary, disposable or portable structures. They were unaware of what was to come, and upon the glorified chair of oak overlooking the bonfire, supposedly their "King"'s throne, there was nothing. Presumably he was amongst them. Perhaps near the rightward flank?

Should we be so lucky.

He saw a familiar sight upon their axes. Their spears. Their swords. Their sickles. Their armor. Their faces. Their hands.

Blood.

That blood he knew to be of either innocents, or those who had sworn to protect them. Those whose lives had been taken, were being brutalized, or worse by these unrepentant thugs. He knew well what bandits did to "prisoners" or "hostages"— lawless men saw no barriers beyond, if you were lucky enough to be perceived as "useful", killing you.

In spite of himself, young Gellért felt a familiar burning tar where his blood once ran calmly.

His grip around the longsword tightened as he returned his search towards the sky— for exactly THAT pinprick of light.

"Előre!"

With the roar of "forward" in his native tongue, punctuated by Ter's cry from high above, the coal-haired night threw himself fully towards the camp, steel ready to bite deep into all opposition and his fellows following swiftly behind, just as he knew Tyaethe's were upon the other end of the camp. Forget hammer and anvil— his full intent was to hammer them from both sides.

And should this Jeremiah show his mug within the reach of his blade, Segremors would waste no time in carving the title he so pompously adorned himself with right into his vulgar hide.

Fleuri Jodeau

As the knights assembled, Fleuri thought about what they were up against. The camp was fortified by stakes or spikes, and judging from what he had glimpsed of the camp, it probably held a good number of bandits. It appeared that they were still unaware of the trap closing in around them, but the knights would have to capitalize on it quickly, before somebody realized something was amiss. Were those sentries at the end of their shifts, or the start? I suppose it doesn't matter- they're already surrounded on four sides, he contemplated as he fiddled with his armor, ensuring everything was properly fastened.

As anticipation of the attack grew, Fleuri contemplated his role. His skills and armaments were of little use in a shield wall- he didn't carry a shield when on foot, and his greatsword required ample space to use effectively. Regardless, he was intent on doing whatever he could to ensure the success of the attack. He glanced at the fortifications ahead, and the answer slowly came to him. With a plan in mind, he approached the leader of the group, intent on coordinating it with her.

"Those stakes aren't much of a danger on foot, but they'll slow our charge," he spoke to Aria. "If you would allow me to take care of them before the flank pushes through, it would allow an easier advance."

When the signal to attack was given, in the form of magical flares that lit up the darkening sky, Fleuri was ready. As planned beforehand, he charged forward to the camp's spike fortifications ahead of the others. He swung his greatsword in a wide, low arc, cutting them down and sending the wooden stakes flying. With two swings, he managed to create a nearly ten foot wide gap in the fortifications, providing an unobstructed path to the camp- but also giving the bandit crossbowmen an unobstructed line of fire at Fleuri.

"The path is clear!" he shouted back at the knights behind him as he stepped back, trusting that they would advance forward and shield him from missile fire. He had done his part, and he knew better than to charge ahead blindly. It was now up to Aria, Elodie, and the others.

Reon, goddess of the sun, please let my trust in them not be misplaced, he silently prayed, uncomfortable at being exposed to enemy crossbow fire even for a moment.

@OwO @ERode

Narcissa had felt a bit irritated that she had not been delegated to lead any sort of force. Even if she had fought on the other side in the past, she had a significant amount of experience under her belt commanding forces, and so felt that it was a bit of a slight to have the role delegated away from her. Most of her picks had been reasonable, but Sir Gerard, although the definition of a combat veteran, was still only a simple mercenary. She quite disagreed with his temporary appointment. In this case, though, the knight-captain’s inexperience gave her an excuse, and she went along with it, despite not being entirely satisfied. She knew full well that on the battlefield command decisions were not to be publicly challenged, lest the confidence in leadership be destroyed. “It would be only right for me to take the van. I’m with you, knight-captain.” She consigned herself to join the main force under Fanilly. It was the only proper place.

Their advance continued in earnest, and as they marched on, Narcissa took the time to readjust her equipment after the earlier skirmish, tidying herself and her weapon, although taking care to remain alert as she did so. Soon enough, they had reached the camp, and she narrowed her eyes, taking stock of the situation in front of them. Remaining hidden behind the treelines, Narcissa, along with the rest, could see the bandits in their camp, protected by makeshift wooden structures and a rather large bonfire. Most importantly, they seemed to be at rest, unaware of their presence; it seemed that none of the ambushing party or its scouts had been able to make it back to the camp, after all. Perfect.

It was simply up to the knight captain to give the order now. She waited with trepidation, spear and shield at the ready, before the young knight’s word arrived. “Forward!” Repeating the word of others, she charged forth. In a moment’s notice, the knights came crashing down towards the camp. Sprinting forward with her lance in hand, she wasted no time ruining the meticulous care she had just given to the weapon moments prior.

Renar gave the other knight that had joined Sir Gerard's command a brief nod, taking a moment to gaze at the man's falcon appreciatively. Having a ranger among their ranks made up for his and Gerard's focus on close combat rather nicely.

As they waited for the assault to begin, Renar surveyed the camp, his lip curling beneath his helm. Bandits and highwaymen? Fools, the lot of them. What did they expect would happen when they ran across the country with impunity, looting and killing their way through the land? They should have been cowering in fear for the retribution that was sure to come, not relaxing in camp. Shortsighted idiots, the lot of them. Certainly, rape and pillage would net them wealth and pleasure in the short term. But that was no way to survive in the long term.

Before he'd been knighted, Renar had fought alongside all sorts of men. Seen how they ended up. He'd heard of quite a few old, wealthy soldiers. Even a few old, wealthy mercenaries. Never an old, wealthy bandit. There was no future in living how one pleased with no regard. No leader would tolerate such an affront to their authority in their realm.

As the first signals began to appear, Renar stood, gripping the haft of his poleaxe with both hands. "Sir Gerard. Sir Jerel. Let's show them our hearts. And then we'll show them theirs." He prepared to charge, joining in the battle cry.

@HereComesTheSnow @jdh97

"ENAN UO ILSIR! CHARGE"

The flares from the magi lit up the sky and the Iron Rose Knights charged forth, catching the entire bandit camp completely by surprise.

Jarde attacked with the rest of the vanguard. He was speedier than most but he had learned his lesson earlier, he was going to be sticking with his allies and not get outnumbered and surrounded. Still, he was the first of the knights to reach the camp. Jarde leapt atop of one of the wooden spikes that served to protect the bandit camp and used it to launch himself into the air and landed on a brigand with such force, it knocked the bandit out.

The rest of the Iron Rose knights poured into the camp and the battle had begun. Jarde knew he did not shine in frontline fighting and so relegated himself to protecting the flanks, sticking close to Fanilly and Narcissa and watching for anyone attempting to strike at them and the rest of the vanguard from the sides.

Maritza Verenna

Interactions: @Raineh Daze @ghastlyInc

Having been in the rear-guard of their column, the Naga had missed the majority of the action during the ambush. Unable to ride a horse, she could however just barely keep up with one in a canter for long distance travel. Now that they were going to assault the camp on foot, her non-human physiology would prove to be a boon rather than a bane.

When the call went for the Knights to divide themselves into four parties, Mari briefly considered her options. Of all the groups, Paladin Tyaethe on the left flank had the least volunteers. Given the disparity in ability between the Knights and the bandits, their primary concern was preventing any of the brigands from escaping; in which case an even distribution of numbers was key.

"Paladin Tyaeth, you shall have my service."

As they moved into position, Mari briefly mused over her current party's composition. "A vampire, a living reliquary and now a myself as a Naga. It appears I've made the most eclectic group here even more so." She states, a touch of humor in her voice. Once signal to charge was given Mari surged ahead, flanking out to the left of Tyaeth. The last thing they needed right now was any 'friendly fire', a very real risk given both of them favoring broad sweeping attacks.