[center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/prk3HXKL/Amaris-Mallory.png [/img][/CENTER] [hr] [color=gray] Truth be told, Melnik's outright refusal to answer came in as a bit of a surprise for Amaris. Judging by how he negotiated with them until now, he was anything but an idiot. He would know well how suspicious refusing to answer their inquiries, especially with such a curt reply and reason like that, would look and yet, despite Carmen's pleas, Melnik wouldn't budge. Amaris could understand Carmen's reaction. Having an old friend murdered, knowing he was dead and not even being able to know who did it, why and how was a lot to deal. Still, considering how uncooperative Melnik was being, Amaris herself had a feeling that no amount of negotiating would change his mind. Unsurprisingly, the moment eight soldiers approached the group with weapons drawn, it became obvious that they had no intention to help them from the beginning. Instead, they wanted just to get rid of them. Be it by fooling them and doing anything to send them back to Westernant or by outright detaining them under threat of violence. [color=silver]"I thought of you as being a bit more reasonable than that..."[/color] she said with heavy sigh as she looked to Melnik and the soldiers surrounding them. [color=silver]"I hate to say it, Carnatia... But it seems that the time for negotiations is long gone... No matter how reasonable we are, it seems it was never their intention to help us, they just want to get rid of us, for us to leave and go back to Westernant since the beginning."[/color] she said, hearing Carnatia still trying to salvage the situation. [color=silver]"Now that they finally decided to attack us... There isn't any reason to show any of them mercy, is there?"[/color] Amaris said with a sinister grin as she looked at the soldiers and Melnik The tense standoff only lasted for a moment as the garrison commander finally shattered the silence with his fists, breaking the table and taking a swing at Carmen as he ordered the soldiers to slay them as they surrounded the group. A quick glance around was enough for Amaris to evaluate their position. Truth be told, while there weren't exactly many soldiers in the garrison, they were sill quite a few. Melnik himself seemed to be quite dangerous, but the watchtowers and the musketeers taking aim at them were putting them in an incredibly disadvantageous position. Mirielle's flash of light was quite helpful in delaying the musketeers, but sooner or later they would begin shooting. Before that happened, Amaris would have to buy them some breathing room for them to move. With the soldiers already closing in on her, Amaris gave them no time, waving her hand as she spun around making a chain of thorns materialize and spin around herself, forcing whichever enemies might be around to give a step back or be struck by the chain, rapidly spinning around her. While she could make the chain spin in a wider arc, being amidst enemy soldiers might be the only thing avoiding the enemy musketeers to begin shooting at them in the very moment Mirielle's light faded down and they recovered themselves. As such, Amaris intended to use the other soldiers as cover for musket fire while dealing with them. The smaller, more contained attack perfect for that situation. Enough to hit those too close to her or forcing them to focus on dodging her quick attack instead of attacking her, still keep them close enough from her so that the musketeers might have some trouble hitting her and also not forcing her own allies to have to dodge her own attacks. [color=silver]"It's been some time since I was allowed to go all out like this! How fun~!"[/color] she said with an amused smirk and a blood-chilling chuckle as she spun around together with her chain. [/color]