[h3][color=thistle]Io[/color][/h3]

Io had barely managed to catch up before the initial fight had ended. And even after that, she had barely managed to pivot towards healing the task force members before her incantation was interrupted by the sudden attack from siege weapons. Though she had always wondered it, she couldn't help but return to her thoughts on the living world being far too fast to deal with. She would need quite a sabbatical after this island's business was wrapped up.

Io could only regret leaving behind a field of fresh corpses as she relied upon a momentary burst of dexterity from her personal scrolls to evade the siege weapons and chase the Varjan down. Though it was likely any raised zombies would end up being literal cannon fodder, Io would have liked to even the odds at least a little. Especially since they were clearly being led into a trap.

Io was sizing up the opposition when the lightning cracked, and in turn had the task force once again descend into the chaos of battle. Io hadn't much time to prepare, but the first move was obvious - the archers would get the first attack in the moment the battle started, and their attack needed to be stopped. Io could trust Skar to handle the archers after the initial wave of arrows were loosed - there wouldn't be a second wave. 

Io quickly swept her arms in an arc, using the gesture to cast a magical barrier. It would be strong enough to deflect the arrows from above, and let the task force focus on the enemies in front of them. Io would only need to sustain it for long enough to disrupt the volley of arrows - and then she would turn her attention to Gringor's charge (who gave a roar that, by Io's approximation, could in fact wake the dead). As she expected, Skar's summation of Gringor's tactics was correct: He would take the most direct way to the leader.

Io would help clear a path. Whispering an incantation at a rapid rate, she levelled her arms at the legionnares and students that might try to intercept Gringor's charge. The only sign that her incantation was finished was the sudden flickering of a magical circle behind Io, and the sudden razor-thin beams of deadly magical energy that she directed to dispatch anyone attempting to get between Gringor and his target.