The thing about heavily disciplined and formation-based soldiers is that once their trained, tried and true formations and tactics fall apart, they don't have the creativity or ingenuity to improvise. For this reason, once they begin to buckle, they tend to do so at a very rapid pace. Such was the fate befalling the Galanon Imperial soldiers in this particular alley of the ruins. With their commanding officer down and out for the fight, their spearwall broken by a single girl and their archers now being assaulted from above by two heavenly valkyries, the entire unit was crumbling, both physically and mentally.

Add onto that the flinging of spells from a horse-mounted witch, and the interference caused by a masked degenerate, and you had a recipe for a panic-inducing soup of the day. The addition of a raving, yelling and bloodthirsty elf, proclaiming the descent of his Goddess' avatar, didn't exactly make things any less stressful or confusing for the unfortunate troops caught between weatherowrn walls and a group of rag-tag marauders that were somehow winning this fight. Petty officers and brash youths who wanted to prove themselves shouted conflicting orders and iunstructio0ns to their brethren, it was a complete mess.

Eventually, between their own inability to regroup, and the constant pressure put on by the adventurers, the Galanon forces eventually broke. Those in the back turned tail and fled out towards the main road, while those caught in battle dropped the weapons and tried to escape by any means they could, climbing small walls, leaping into ruined windows and so and so forth. It was a sad display, and would have sent great shame through their General's very soul, had he been there to witness the spectacle. Fortunately, for everyone involved, he was not.

Still, with their enemies fleeing and the path ahead now opening up, Serafaye let out a sigh of relief. Not so much that the fight was over, but that she didn't need to hurt anyone anymore. After all, having seen her own strength after punching that one fellow had left a sour taste in her mouth. What if she'd hit his head? She could've sent it tearing off his shoulders... Sure, thexe guys had attacked them, but they hadn't managed to even hurt her... So fighting and killing them waws kinda like kicking a baby, except meaner. She turned to her fellows, the lizard and paladin-elf, then looked at the two roof-diving heroines, and finally back at the three spellcasters safely over in the other end of the alley.

"I... I uh, guess we won? Huzzah?" She said, with uncertain half-enthusiasm. "Guessing they'll be back though, huh? They don't seem like the kinda folks who'd just give up." She said... Not actually confident in that statement at all. After all, she didn't know jack squat about these people or their determination to see things through... It was just a phrase one said though. And, as it turned out, was indeed accurate!

While the soldiers of the beaten squad retreated and reunited with their fellows beyond the alleys, the group now had a clear path ahead of them - so long as they stayed in the alleyways. After all, it wasn't like the Imperial army had stationed squads of troops in every single backstreet - as they'd advanced, they'd also moved their blockades, encircling the center of the ruins. But now that the blockade in the this particular part of the alleys was broken, there was no obstacle ahead of them - at least not yet.

If they hurried and didn't dawdle, the possibility of reaching the east-most gate without any further confrontations was a very real possibility! Of course, that required that they move swiftly, and avoided needless side-trips or distractions. Even then, the east gate still had a few guards posted at it, though it was likely the least defended of the gates, as it was the furthest away from the Imperial main force.

Serafaye, on the other hand, didn't seem to be in any rush or realize the need for speed, as she walked on over to the big lizard-bro and looked him up and down.

"You okay, bro? You got stuff sticking outta your bod... Anyone got any pliers?" She said, and asked, looking around.

---

...So, just what was this girl again? Nullifying physical damage like that and pimp-slapping enemies into submission with such weak moves was rather high-tier from her knowledge, and that usually tended to be a trait of divine beings or super overpowered special named angels that could only be summoned down by some pretty super high tier rituals and only if they wanted to come. She was pretty far from that right now. She was sure no one in the world was close to that right now. More so, she was more and more sure this girl was from another world entirely between her odd speaking and terms and strange abilities so far. Literally. What educated mage in their right mind wouldn't assume that?!

Even so, it seemed her current 'allies' were done mopping up the Empire's soldiers. Albeit there had been a lot to take in, and a lot going at them, and a strange girl had just broken the soldiers's weapons with a simple slap among other things like a crazy shouting paladin. Did she blame them for running? Not at all. Did Yinha feel that this was a great chance to get out of here? Very much yes.

"I can help!"

The High Elf called out as she quickly ran over, examining the Lizardman's wounds after first glancing forward to make sure the enemy's flight wasn't 'temporary'.

"I can at least seal the wounds and get them healing once the projectiles are pulled out, but more importantly perhaps need to keep moving right now while we have the chance," Yinha said, before glancing over at Serafaye as an idea quickly came to mind, "When we get a chance, perhaps you could remove them out more with your strength? If you are comfortable wish such I mean.

But we do need to get moving quickly, in case more soldiers try to cut us off that is, as I do not think any of us are as...sheerly durable as yourself from the look of things."

Not the most optimal thing to ask someone with untrained hands, but her magic could keep up with the injuries and keep helping Kaze briefly as they moved. Unless the big chopping Lizardman with his sword and strength felt he could make it father before they should do that? Frankly her concern over the injuries was more immediately balanced out with the pressing desire for them to keep moving. Albeit, the great amount of concern over 'who' and 'what' and 'how' in regards to this girl and the rest of this group would be sitting on the backburner for the moment.

Words weren't her strong suit right now.

After Kaze's thorough demolition of the three guards for the...captain? He turned his furious gaze to the rest of the soldiers who were pushed back, punched, murder-stroked, and just plain butchered by the stronger adventurer's. It didn't take long for the soldiers to break rank and start fleeing the bloodbath since there was a bit of shouting from Vani, him just ignoring the damage dealt to him, the invincible star-child, and the teamwork the others were performing. Hell they seemed to work better together than the actual military units they were fighting.

With them fleeing he started to force himself to calm down, reining in his rage so it just bubbled beneath the mental surface. Serafaye let out a lackluster huzzah before Kaze shrugged. "That unit is done, but their military on a whole is pretty persistent. They have the numbers to be that way." He rumbled out as he was about to proceed. But the partial dragon girl questioned his well-being before asking about pliers.

"I'm fine for now, we can deal with this later." The behemoth said, nodding an acknowledgement to Yinha. A flick of his blade sent the blood on it flying off before he sheathed it. This is going to hurt... He thought as he grabbed the sword that was sticking in his gut firmly and with a growl shoved it fully through so the guard was against his scales. Of course the arming sword went out his back, which he bent down to keep it secured.

The others could see the muscles in his jaw flex and shift from the clenching of his teeth while he snapped the shafts of the arrows to make the pain spread around. There was enough wood left to use to pull them out later. As long as he didn't rip them out now he'd be fine, no point making open wounds and potentially ripping up important muscles.

Those gray eyes kept ahead as he started to trudge. "Lets...lets keep moving." Kaze said, a little winded from pretty much hurting himself by moving blades through his body and stabbing himself.

---

Well, the decimation of the soldiers was fortunate. They posed no real threat, especially with so many bags of meat running them down. Seeing as the others already told the easygoing sow to stop asking questions and hurry up (albeit more politely), Locke saw there to be no point to tell her to hurry up again. It was time to head east. His fairy had decided to come back down and tell Locke that the eastern gate was mostly clear. Though, the accuracy of such words were questionable. Fairies were often massive pains in his ass, mostly on purpose.

The lizardman thrusting the blade deeper into his gut was just fucking stupid. In what world would someone just take a blade lodged in them and shove it in further? They could heal him, and it would be fairly effortless to do. Instead, he just had to press it in further. It'd be even harder to remove the blade and heal him now. If it had pierced his stomach, they'd have to deal with the acid trying to eat through the rest of his organs. Though, he wouldn't really expect a savage to have read a single book on anatomy. In any case, Locke took the first few steps and lead the group by a couple of meters east. If danger appeared, he could always just run back behind the brutes that could take arrows for him. Again.

He just stood there, menacingly.

After all, he really just wanted to leave the ruins. Get into the safety of the wilds once more, rather than stay inside such a dangerous place. He didn't feel like being summarily executed by a savage nation's military.

That worked out way better than expected!

Having done her due diligence of slicing apart bows and pushing archers off rooftops, Cecilia returned to the group just in time to see the lizardman jam the things stuck in his body...deeper into his body. Was that a cultural thing? It definitely looked painful, and she winced upon seeing it all go down. Not like she knew any of them for more than a day, but after they've fought together rather than fought against each other, the Spellblade was willing to give him a pick-me-up, free of charge. Rummaging through her pack, Cecilia pulled out a small vial containing an ash-blue liquid before walking up to the barbarian.

"Here, drink up," she said, offering it to him. "It'll help with the pain a bit." Probably. Lizard physiology couldn't be that different from human physiology, right? Hopefully it'll numb it enough that he didn't keel over from agony after some more light jogging? Or even a full on sprint. Which was looking like a real good idea.

Reminded her though...

"Serafaye, right? How bout you take the lead here first then? Run as fast as you can and all! If you're so tough, maybe you'll just be like a battering ram and clear everything outta our way?"

At this point, stealth definitely seemed impossible. And if that's the point, they may as well veer off into the other extreme of escape: as loud as possible, as destructive as possible.

The gaudy-garbed fellow in the mask seemed to be in a hurry to get going, making strides towards heading further east. The buxom elf came over and offered her own suggestion, which was to ignore the lizard-bro and his protrusions for now, and instead get going. After that, the spunky girl with the spear voiced the idea that the dracokin should just act as the group's impenetrable tank and charge bull-style into the fray, while the paladin-elf rebuked this idea - though not after praising and inquiring just as to how the little lady had just pulled off what she had done.

Honestly... All this attention was a bit overwhelming. Yes, she had just walked through and broken a wall of spears, and yes, she had just punched a fully grown man in full armor across the entire length of a backstreet... But still... Serafaye wasn't even sure about any of what was going on with her own self at this time either. She couldn't cast magic, she couldn't access her belongings and she couldn't make contact or connect with anyone from Oubliette Online... In addition, she was in her avatar's body, in a strange and unfamiliar world, while retaining her personality and mind from the real, non-virtual world of which she hailed. To top it all off, she had just been slapped across the face, shot in the head and stabbed in the stomach, all of which had done absolutely little more than feel like the playful swatting of a an 8 week old kitten.

To put it mildly, her brain wasn't exactly able to process all of the strange and irregular occurrences surrounding her whereabouts, her abilities and her situation - and now people were flocking around her as if she was some kind of main protagonist in a cheap, mass-produced light novel-setting, where the main protagonist gets new friends and allies and praise and love simply for being the main protagonist. it was all a little hard to stomach.

"Uh... Yeah... Maybe we should go then, we can talk once we... Get... Wherever we're going...?" Said the girl, who wasn't exactly sure where they were going or why. Well, the why was very simple, there were people here trying to kill them, but heck, they didn't seem capable of even scratching her new, awesome body.

Following suit and going with the others suggestions, the group soon made way through alleyways unoccupied by the Imperial troops. it seemed they truly had only been keeping forces in the most forward of positions, not even entertaining the thought of someone beinag able to break throuygh their ranks or formation. Good luck for the party though, as their unhindered momentum swiftly carried them ahead and towards the promise of freedom- the east gate. That is to say, until they actually reached it.

At this point in time, the troops who had fled had regrouped with the main force on the eastern main street. After giving a summary and explatnion of what had happened, the entire force switched gears, turning around and beginning to march backwards, with detachments being sent into the narrow backalleys to both prevent their quarry from hiding, as well as flushing them out in case they were taking their time. Fortunately for now, the group had made enough head-way to avoid being harried by these new scouting parties, but with each minute the vice of the Galanon army was tightening around them, and with reinforcements soon to arrive from both the west, north and southern main roads, the sheer number of opponentsw they would be facing were staggering indeed.

But for nwo, back to the east gate and the situation there.

The group had managed to approach unseen and unheard, somehow. Having taken up position in a semi-collapsed building and narrow street, the group had managed to carefully scout the opposition. The gate itself was in rather poor condition, more so than the other gates of the ruins. Most of the stonework was crumbling and the entire structure looked like any stronger-than-usual gust of wind could knock it over. The walls close by, going north and south, weren't in much better shape, with numerous cracks, holes and collapsing bits all over. Still, the supposedly light defenses weren't so light after all. There were at least three dozen soldiers stationed around the area, patrolling back and forth in disciplined, clockwork-fashion.

While the bulk of the soldiers were guarding the main gate, there were archers positioned on the walls and patrolling guards making sure nobody snuck in or out along the wall-sections. Still, There didn't seem to be any particularly noteworthy characters stationed along with the troops, nor were there even a red or blue-plumed heled officer around... Had these soldiers jut been left as a token force for a 'just in case'-scenario?

Still, with their brawny Lizard looking worse for wear, their shield-toting paladin having to help said reptilio-man keep himself steady, and the rest of the group being well... Less than armored, it didn't seem like a good idea to just go charging forward. Even if Serafaye could survive anything the soldiers threw at her, neither her height nor frame was big enough to really make for decent cover to anyone else in the group. After having peered through a glassless, ruined window at the gate before them, she opted to slide down along the ruined wall of the building beside them, let out a breath and looked over at her companions.

"So, what do we do now, locals? I ain't no tactical genius or nothing, and planning raid-groups wasn't exaclty my forte." She looked over at the stuck-up woman on her horse. "Maybe we could slap the horse's butt and have it run neighing through some of the nearby streets? That might draw some of 'em away?" She suggested, tapping her chin thoughtfully with a her left index-finger, while having a rather spaced-out expression and look to both her face and eye.

"I don't think a masterless horse would draw much attention," Annabelle hummed, "Perhaps it would interest them for but a moment?" 'Distraction' as a tactic really didn't seem like a good choice, here. With the archers up on the walls, and their destination ultimately to get on the other side and keep running, they had little in the way of cover. If they just ran outside the ruins, their backs would be exposed the whole way to the bowmen.

"Well... we cannot carry you like a shield, Serafaye, but maybe we could draw things into a narrow space?" Annabelle suggested. "Maybe we could entice the men with swords to chase us into one of these alleys. Surely Serafaye could be like a plug on the alley!" she exclaimed quietly.

"Then, when they're pushing against her, we can attack from behind, or pincer them inside the alley with an ambush!"

The idea sounded good to her, at least, but it all hinged on actually drawing the forces away from their position, and it still didn't solve the issue of the archers. At the very least if they could get rid of the main force on the ground, dealing with the bowmen would be that much easier, and less impeded. Annabelle was also assuming that Serafaye could indeed indefinitely take hits from spears and swords. There was a hint of a worry in the back of her head that such luck might eventually run out, somehow.

"That is... if... Serafaye is ok with being our shield," she nervously laughed.

Well, as it turned out, whatever they were doing, it was working out. Somehow, the least reliable person in their party somehow held up against the entire imperial force and even caused them to rout in the face of her… impenetrable body. She was still quite confident that whatever the dragon girl had done, it was impossible, but the stuff still happened, so…

Regardless, they were all alive, although Artemisia still had the distinct feeling they were still well and truly boxed in for the moment, even if the coast was clear and they were hiding out in a ramshackle derelict for a shelter. In any case, they still had to make up a plan for escape…

As the group’s impromptu healer, there were some responsibilities here to take care of, but it turned out that most people were uninjured, aside from the lizardman. She didn’t have many fond opinions of lizardmen, though, and he seemed to be off his rocker and actively injuring himself by driving the weapons stuck in him further inside… so she just kept away from him and left him alone.

“Absolutely not.” Artemisia’s answer was quick and decisive in response to Serafaye. “I’ve come all this way with it, and it’s carrying all my valuables. Unless you wish to carry all my belongings and reimburse me a horse afterwards, that plan is out of the question.” As if to show her resolve, she gripped its reins tighter and tugged the horse closer to her, making the beast snort in indignation.

Still, she gave the matter some more thought. Since their force was small, it would be indeed advantageous if they could stick to small, enclosed spaces, where they could make use of chokepoints to hold their position. If Serafaye could maintain her ability to… resist the regulars, then she would be extremely effective as a spearhead, or battering ram to get out of the ruined city.

“She’s right,” Artemisia finally responded. “If we stick to narrow or enclosed passages, it plays to our advantage as a small group. Instead of a diversion, we should rush their weakest point in the alleys and escape. If our strange dragon girl here can act as a spearhead, the plan doesn’t need to be much more complicated. I can protect our flank from attacks overhead with shield and healing magic, and I think we can keep that up until we reach the ruined walls.”

---

"If the bulk of the soldiers are lured away, I can block the vision of the archers. Provided there's no court mage to dispel everything, it should give us cover from everything above the walls." Locke added to the plan. "Not much I can do after, however."

An alternative idea that briefly came to his mind was getting Cecelia and his fairy to launch Serafaye onto the walls using their wind magic. From there, she could simply charge every archer and toss them off. Though, he abstained from sharing this idea as it'd leave him with one less meat shield. He wasn't even sure that she could be lifted by the two of them. Judging by the fact she was unmoved by blows, she must have weighed enough to collapse the wall itself.

He also mused the idea of trying to teach magic to the dragonkin, as his patron had bestowed the ability onto him. From earlier, Locke remembered her slowfall. Nobody cast it on her. At least, none that he knew. She must had either received a blessing from much earlier, or her magic was currently autonomous. If the latter was true, then the method of magic was what was lost on the girl. Such an idea was horribly risky. While he was curious of Serafaye's magical ability, he was more interested in getting out alive.

---

'You idiot!'

...Is what Yinha thought to herself rather than shout it aloud at the Lizardman, even as she watched him shove a sword deeper into himself and basically indulge in further self-harm before her very eyes. It was a choice she understood at least, not like he needed to be bleeding out right now while the weapons and arrows [u]sticking out of his body[/b] were keeping the wounds shut for the moment in some primitive, savage method. No, it wasn't like she felt the primal urge to slap the ever loving world out of Kaze. No. Totally not feeling the rage of a thousand suns at someone indulging in more damage and pain. Not that like prodded every nerve she had left to deal with all of this right now. Nope.

"Kaze is right, we need to keep moving... The rest of the army is out there, and only Miss Serafaye seems to be immune to their attacks somehow for now. Not that she might make the best 'battering ram', but...blast it all," The mage spoke aloud, biting her lower lip between brief pauses as she tried to keep her mouth shut from shouting at Kaze, her tone of voice low enough for the group to hear without shouting at least, "If we can sneak some more, perhaps we can at least try to get past some cracks in their defenses? Either that, or perhaps we could use summons from a couple of us to distract them. But we need to move regardless."

After today, she would need a nice hot cup of tea. If they were even remotely in a position for such by the end of all of this. It was the first thing she could think of while pushing in comforting thoughts to keep her cool.

"Summons are targets that can be removed pretty easily with a Dispel Magic though," Cecilia pointed out, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. Such a large group of soldiers was indeed annoying, and that wasn't even accounting for the possibility of magic users amongst them.

Heck.

"Keeping ourselves in a narrow alleyway just makes it easy for us to get roasted too, by ye olde spells of wide area." She continued. Her hand rested on her chin as she looked at the group with her. Artemisia was the only one she knew who was confident in her defensive magic, while two of the frontliners were occupied with having a bro moment together. Locke's shadows were useful, but that sort of efficacy would be reduced as well if they opted for the alleywall skulking plan. The spellblade's frown deepened and deepened, before she quite suddenly broke into a smile. Too much thinking just ending up with decision paralysis, after all!

"Well, alleyways worked last time, so lets go with that strat and see if it works this time as well! Serafaye, you'll vanguard. Arte, keep us safe in the skies. Locke, if you have any magic like that, maybe silence our movements in some way? We'll weave through the alleyways and look for a conveniently-sized hole in the walls to bust through, and if it looks like we can't find one, we'll just have to make one."

Kaze had seen how the others looked at him because of his actions to himself. Which in turn got a brief chuckle from him. "What, no one adventure without a healer or potions? Keep holes in your body plugged with what made them until you can get someplace safe..." He said but blinked in surprise when one of the women offered him a potion. Apparently it'd help with the pain? He accepted it with a grateful nod before downing the strange colored liquid.

The group made plans on how best to potentially utilize the strange draconid woman. He shook his head, amused by their plans while Vani came over. A blink was garnered from the elven mans action, the height difference alone would have made his actions a little silly. Whatever, he went along with it just to appease the guy. Vani spoke up and got the behemoth of a man to laugh quietly. "Out in the field, anything for survival even if it causes yourself pain." He replied, those razor sharp white teeth flashing in a grin.

Still the group moved and met no further resistance until they got to the gate and made more plans to try and get by the big group of soldiers. Everyone was trying to come up with a plan on how to deal with the three dozen footsoldiers and the archers along the wall. Some of the ideas were less than agreeable, a few were okay. He took to his own feet fully and stretched himself, limbering up his body and limbs despite the blood lightly trickling from his wounds.

"Spooked horse would lead them to us, not away. Trying to put a hole in the wall would most likely just collapse it into a mess that some of you likely wouldn't be able to climb with ease before getting pelted by arrows." He said while eying the crumbling stonework. This particular gate was looking very fragile. He was honestly surprised that the archers atop it hadn't made it fall apart. It had to have enough stability then to support the weight, just probably not enough to take a hit.

Sighing he stopped his stretches. "To get everyone through, including the horse, we'll have to take out enough of them to scare them off like last time. I can get Vani and the spellcasters up on the wall. He can block the arrows with his shield while the others takes on the archers. From there the spellcasters can rain spells down on the soldiers with impunity. Anyone more geared towards melee combat would obviously be on the ground with me." He said. His plan seemed the most effective in his mind. Sure it was direct confrontation, but if they acted quick the situation would actually go fairly fast and incident free. Hopefully.

Serafaye let out an internal sigh within her mind. It seemed everyone had to have an opinion. Most of which seemed to include her, in one way or another, peforming some feat of impossible proportions. Really though. Knock down a wall? Was she supposed to be that one legendary, green-skinned super hero from the 21st century who was all buff and bulky and mad all the time? And what was with that horse-riding lady? She was born rude, or was she just having on the rag or what? So she'd lose her horse, big frikkin' deal. Was she so lacking in money that she couldn't throw a mount away? ... Wait... Right, this wasn't a game... Horses might actually be pretty expensive.

Still, the general consensus seemed to be that they should draw the attention of these Empire-dudes into a narrow alley and then either beat the tar outta them, or do some fancy-smanshy fenagling to get up and behind them. Really though, even if she wasn't a tactical genius, the whole idea of getting onto the walls and taking on the archers seemed kinda half-baked... After all, what was stopping the bowmen from just unloading on anyone who got onto the walls, even if they risked hitting their own guys? Back in the previous alley-fight they hadn't stopped to help their own after they got blinded and misfired into some of their allies' backs.

Still, some addressing of the situation needed to be done.

"Uhm, I'm glad ya'll think I'm crazy-strong or whatever, but I'm pretty sure I can't knock down a solid stone wall... 'Sides, what'd we do if it crashed down ontop of us? While I'm sure I could survive being crushed, I'm not so sure about you guys... And I'm pretty sure I can't survive being suffocated either.." The girl said, forcing a small laugh as she scratched the side of her cheek with one of her index fingers. "Also, I'm not so sure I want to test the limits of my supposed invulnerability... The only reason I did that back before was because I took an arrow to the skull and didn't die, so I was in a bit of daze. I'd really rather not count myself as some kinda impenetrable physical wall. After all, I'm a sorceress, so fighting up and close ain't really my style, y'know?" She elaborated.

Still, the party seemed to be mostly moving forward with this idea of theirs... And the girl with the spear seemed to be barking out commands positions like it was no big thing. Was she the party leader or something? She did seem to know the others by name... Well, of course! Any group of adventurers had to have a party leader, that's just common sense! After all, there was no way a bunch of random folk would just team up on a whim and form a makeshift, loosely knit confedracy of convenient and mutual benefits, right? That was like, looking for a group to do a dungoen and partying up with whoever was in the queue, regardless of their class or level! Surely there was no way these guys were nothing short of a tightly-knit, close and chummy group of seasoned warriors!

"W-well... Whatever, if that's the plan you wanna go with. Alright, here I go then." Serafaye said, shrugging and casually throwing her arms half-heartedly into the air, before turning on her heels and heading down one of the streets.

It didn't take long for the clicking of her heels to stop, as she turned a corner and came out close to one of the east-most ring-roads. The roads that went all around the ruins in a giant circle, connecting all the gates together. It was a design meant for practical use, so that one didn't need to actually travel into the city proper to get from one end to another. As she exited the slightly shadowy alley, taking a single step out into the open, a voice called from above.

"HEY YOU, GIRL! STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Seriously, were thesse guys really not NPCs? She could've sworn the last fellow shouted the exact same thing, in the exact same voice. This time though, it wasn't a feather-plumed helmet-man who yelled, but a regular mook, holding what looked like a very low-tier bow trained down at her. An arrow was nocked and it looked like the guy was really doing his best to restrain an urge to just let go and loose his projectile on him. Serafaye looked up at him, blinking a few times with her lone visible eye, and then cracked a big, bubbly smile.

"Hiya~!" She shouted back, in a high-pitched, energetic voice that caused the guy to give her the most incredulous stare she might have ever had to endure.
"Stay right where you are! You're under arrest! We've got a straggler, hey, get over here and get her!" The soldier loudly half-shouted, getting the attention of his fellow guards.
"What am I being arrested for?" Serafaye called back towards him, both hands held next to her mouth to form a focal cone for her voice.
"Be quiet! All non-Imperials are to be detained by command of the General!" The man boomed back down from his perch.

Serafaye snorted.

"I don't really give a crap about what he wants though! So could you just let me pass?" She called back up.
"LIKE HELL! GET HER ALREADY!" The spited soldier roared.

At this point, there were a great many footsteps coming from both north and south of the dracokin's location. Turning her head to look, she could see at least ten coming from the north and another eight coming from the south... So, she hadn't managed to draw in all of them. Understanble though, nobody would send three dozen fully armed men to apprehend one teenage-looking girl. At this point, several other of the archers atop the wall had also moved towards the location of the little lass, joining their rude initial spotter in aiming their bows at her. Really though, all this just for a single person? Either these guys were really dedicated to their duty, or really jumpy and paranoid.

"Y'kno0w what? I think I'll just head back the way I came~! See ya!" Serafaye called back up, before beginning to slowly walk backwards.
"HALT!"
"Bit me!"
"WHY OU LITTLE-! FIRE!!"

The swishing and sound of air being cut by flying arrows followed momentarily. Luckily, most of the arrows missed, striking either the walls on Serafaye's left side, to the north, or hitting the ruined cobblestone street with no other effect than bouncing harmlessly or breaking. A single arrow did manage to graze the girl's horn, but she neither felt anything more than a tickle, nor did it seem to do any actual harm. Her invulnerability seemed to still be functioning.

Of course, her slow, slow retreat and backing up was soon caught up to by the eighteen or so men that came from both directions. They stood at the mouth of the alley, swords and spears drawn, glaring at her menacingly as they began to advance with brisk, uniform steps. They walked shoulder to shoulder, in a rows of four - as you couldn't really go any wider, due to the narrow and confined space of the backstreet. The arhcers back on the walls had clustered up even more, but had for the time stopped firing, waiting for their melee-oriented brothers in arms to capture the little trollop.

"There's no use in trying to escape girl! Just surrender and come with us quietly!" One of the men in the very front row barked.
"You do realize you guys tried to shoot me just now, right?"
"Silence! If you don't wanna die, kneel down and don't resist!"
"I tried that once, and you lot slapped me for it... So I think I'll pass."
"Enough of this!" The impatient Imperial snarled, somehow offended by the cheek of this girl.

And so the block of soldiers charged, letting out battlecries as if they were charging an enemy army... Except it was one, unarmed, teenage girl... Who was standing perfectly still...

Brave soldiers of the Empire, we salute thee!

---

Rather than follow Cecilia's plan, Serafaye got her wires crossed. She didn't actually realize that skulking around the alleys some more and getting the attention of every single soldier were two entirely different plans, did she? Well, no matter. That just meant that Locke was to blot out the archers. Easy enough for him to do, really. With a wave of his finger and clench of his fist, the fairy that flew above had been crumpled out of existence, leaving nothing but the sky in its place.

"I suppose sneaking is less of an option."

His chant this time was different. Rather was a simple shout of "sek omoz", it was a much more brutal and guttural chant. The words left his mouth with such nuance that it was hard to even spell out what he was attempting to say. It certainly wasn't the common tongue, that was for certain. It continued for some time as he prepared a great magic. Finally, a small ball smoke formed in his hand. No more than a wisp held safe against what little wind swept through alley.

Finally the chant stopped. With great force, he slammed the small smoke into his chest. A thick black smoke escaped from the seams of his clothing, filling the alley with a billowing smoke. Just as quickly as it filled the alleyway, it rose and settled above the head of the largest member. The thick black smoke from no discernible origin rolled forward, blocking off the sight of those above and below.

A winded Locke fell onto the ground, collapsing to a knee. Really, some mages burnt out with great fireballs and blasts of ice. Here Locke was, his body crumbling because of smoke. Through sheer will, he stood himself back up. He had some fuel left, but not much. The sooner he could get out, the better. With a quick shake of his head, he signaled for the rest of them to move.

---

...Were it not for seeing the wisdom in Kaze's plan, the High Elf might've continued to fume at him for even trying to suggest a plan after PAINFULLY WOUNDING HIMSELF MORE TO KEEP MOVING. Or maybe she was still fuming over what Kaze had done. Either way Cecilia also seemed to have a good point about the alleys as well, though Vani's words and the idea of smashing through walls again made her almost ready to bark out at how that "was a terrible no good very bad idea". But as much as the situation felt overwhelming in its own ways, and mixture of big and little things, Yinha did her best to breath subtly and calmly to keep herself in the game. Yes. If they could move silently-

Wait. Where was Miss Serafaye going?

No, no no no no no! That was not the plan! Not that they had all agreed on a plan, for goddess' sake, but why was she going towards the Imperial soldiers?!

Blast it all-...Oh? The masked man at least had the tact to toss up a smokescreen.

Though as Locke collapsed to take a knee, the Angelic Mage felt a certain sense of pity rise up in her. She'd cast a few spells, and while she was feeling it...wasn't like she was depleted entirely either. Perhaps it had been a bit deceptive to get help for Vani from one of the others at the tower, in particular that more regal-looking magic user woman, but while she felt a little guilty she'd also wanted to save mana for later in case they needed it! Whether it had been her and Kaze being attacked by these others, or the Imperial soldiers, keeping at least one potential healer with enough energy and ability to cast was a good tactical advantage to try to maintain!

But now was not the time to, er, debate such things internally or otherwise.

Yinha looked over at Kaze, pointing two of her fingers on one hand in a "V" shape at her own eyes before pointing them around at Kaze. A wordless way to tell him "i am keeping an eye on your self-harming idiot self". She then quickly began to move, seeking to not fall behind as she made use of the new smokescreen. If they could take out the Archers, that would be a good start for things perhaps. Unless this odd woman who seemed to be from another plane of existence or something slapped these soldiers into submission too. As odd as it was...Yinha almost found herself preferring such an option to more of the rest of them getting pin-cushioned at the moment.

Hopefully they'd all get out of here sooner than later, and get a chance to breathe at least.

Although there were still some flaws with the plan that they crafted together, Artemisia thought it was a good one for the amount of time they had to make it. The risk was high, but there was a good chance that they could make it out without incurring too high of a loss. The strange girl’s unexpected strength would be their saviors… and more importantly, Artemisia’s.

What she didn’t expect was for the dumb girl to start charging away at an impressive breakneck speed. The plan had called for a pretty good charge, but it had to involve careful timing and the entire party keeping pace. In a moment, she was gone.

And shortly after, she was back. With an army at her heels. And not her army.

“This was not in the plan!” She screamed, reacting at the approaching soldiers simultaneously. Although by this time, like her fellow allies, she was gradually suffering from exhaustion, she mustered up the strength to shield the party with her spells. Invoking a brief chant, a domed, semi-opaque blue wall appeared in front of them, supplementing the soft cover that Locke had provided with his smokescreen. Smoke would do little to contain attacks from arrows or spears though; she strained to stretch the protection to all angles that the archers could shoot from, but the effort was fatiguing. Thankfully for Artemisia, she was seated relatively comfortably on a saddled horse, so she wouldn’t fall even if she lost her strength. Although, if she somehow passed out, that was another thing entirely.

“Best if we all finished those archers off now. Our spells and projectiles can pass through, but I’m not going to be able to hold a shield this wide at this rate.” She grimaced, but began to spur her horse forward into a better position in the smokescreen. She just hoped they didn’t begin to camp in there, because even if the situation had changed, they still need to get a proper move on.

Kaze sighed when he took note that Serafaye had up and left the alley. It seemed they were going to be doing things this way, brute force. Well that was the deal of being in a group, you had hotheads and dumb dumbs mixed with smart and tactical. Cracking his knuckles he moved into that strange pose Vani and Yinha had seen once with a face full of concentration. While he channeled his inner energies he heard the shouting from out in the main road to the gate.

It sounded like Serafaye was arguing with the footsoldiers out near the gate. Whatever, he needed to work now. A white glow surrounded him while his eyes were closed. A pulse of power rippled along the glow. "Pace of Wind." He stated, the glow taking on a greenish color. Another pulse as the voices drew nearer to the alley entrance. And Vani went out and...started yelling? What? "Flow Acceleration." He spoke out again, the green turned into an orange color now.

When he opened his eyes he saw Locke making a smokescreen and Yinha giving him the universal 'I'm watching you' gesture. Grinning at her cheekily he moved forward, weaving between the group to get to the front. The battlecries of the soliders was his own personal signal. He surged out of the alley entrance surprisingly fast for something his size. Vani and Yinha had the potential to recognize that he had buffed himself during that long rest period of just talking and walking.

He'd have buffed himself further, but that'd have taken a longer time than they had available. The air around his fist seemed to waver as he drew it back before proceeding to slam it into the torso of one of the soldiers. "Smash." He growled out, he didn't need to say it but sometimes pretending to be stupid was fun. The effect on contact was immediate, the soldiers breastplate crumbled like cheap foil while letting out a screech of metal, his ribcage was completely pulverized, and he went flying back into the clustered melee combatants like a bowling ball into bowling pins.

He could have dived into the pile of tangled limbs, yelling, and a corpse. But someone else could play with them. Instead a swatted aside a blind sword-strike before grabbing the mans other arm. Hoisting him up he proceeded to beat the holy hell out of his allies with his armored body, each swing knocked a man away or flattened him to the ground as an armored squishy ally was bashed into them like a strange cudgel. What fun!