If Rolan had his crossbow at this point he would have been sorely tempted to consider Lady Gertrude an active barrier to accomplishing their goal. The massive, whirling firestorm was probably some sort of attempt to blind or impede the Hundi's efforts to stop the knights from ascending the hill. Glancing back, he got a good look at the daemoness leveling a truly impressive looking crossbow before realizing that the other knights had reached the top of the hill. Fortunate for him, at least, as he began heading down to retrieve his crossbow, moving at a brisk jog. The Hundi cleaned up the firestorm, giving him time to fetch his crossbow and regroup with the rest of the knights, checking over his weapon to make sure the tumble hadn't damaged it in a way that would impact its capability as a weapon. Fortunately not, though the damp, heavy fog was thoroughly uncomfortable and left him feeling horribly humid, though he kept his mouth in check for now given how near death he had come during this contest. As much as he disagreed with the act, the Captain and Ser Renar had quite frankly saved him from a certain death. He could complain about that later, since they had gotten lucky with the other knights reaching the top before one of them was laid low.

The Hundi complimented their efforts, noting that most powerful mages, even those with retinues protecting them, would be hard pressed to avoid friendly fire, should they care about it at all. Their ability to avoid such things was at least noteworthy, though Rolan did make a quiet, offhand remark as he set about cleaning his crossbow of the more superficial dirt and grime. [color=lightblue]"If we have to cross another powerful mage, one would hope the defending retinue doesn't include teleporting daemons, that complicated things a bit."[/color]

The Hundi metaphorically dressing down Lady Gertrude would have been more of a sight to behold, if it wasn't for the fact Rolan had a sneaking suspicion that, as far as he had seen her in action, it would only cause her to dig her heels in harder on being a stuck up brat. Still, apparently any further discussion would be held in a few weeks time, referring to the actual world they were fighting to prove they were ready to return to, before sending a signal into the air. A flash of shadow, crimson scales, towards the gates where their last challenge awaited. Thrinax, and all they had to do was injure the dragon. Yes, because [i]just[/i] injuring the dragon would be anywhere remotely close to just that easy. Loading his crossbow, his mind raced back to the time he spent planning while everyone else celebrated their progress. First problem, getting Thrinax to stay on the ground. Second, avoid getting wiped out in a focused attack. Third, landing a hit that could wound the dragon through its hide, which he wasn't going to waste crossbow bolts on. He had to aim for the eyes, as difficult as that was going to be. 

[color=lightblue]"Lady Gertrude, you are our best bet to keeping Thrinax grounded, or at least low enough for the rest of the knights to reach. I would recommend that she take to the skies and strike from there, ideally to keep the air contested long enough for the rest of us to reach striking distance. Scatter and approach from as many directions as possible, limit the ability for an attack to take out several of us at once. I would rather not have to assault the hill again. On your command Captain."[/color]

Wounding Thrinax, while nominally easier than outright killing the dragon, was not what Rolan had planned for. He expected to have to fight the dragon to the death, and his planning and preparation had revolved around that. Landing one wounding blow should be easier, but it was never going to be that easy. Once the Captain gave out the orders, Rolan would pursue to the best of his ability, though he would be hanging back, watching for openings to land a good shot. He only had to get one good shot in to constitute as wounding the dragon, and he kept his spare alchemical supplies firmly stashed away for now. Wounding was a different objective, and most of the remaining supplies would either not assist in landing the first wound, or would possibly endanger his allies who were approaching in melee. He didn't have any more vials of the caustic smoke on hand, having decided that using it on the Hundi and her daemon was a better use than saving it for Thrinax. All that being said, Rolan was hoping he would not be rushed down into a melee quite so quickly during this final trial.