"Aye me boy how about helping a fellow out with these beautiful ladies, and I would very much like a hit off that pipe!" Words voiced by someone out of Barden's sight, drew him back to reality from his daydreaming as he let pipe smoke leave from between pursed lips. The ranger looked around and then down off the porch to see a grinning Dwarf and two women. One was almost definitely human and while the other had a human look to her there was something very slightly off.

"Of course, master Dwarf." Barden spoke in the same polite tone he had addressed everyone else. Emptying the tobacco from the pipe over the porch onto the lush grass below so as as not to make a mess on the oak planks, the ranger vaulted himself off the fenced porch and landed rather softly for a human on the ground below beside the women and the Dwarf. He tucked his pipe back into the leather of his belt. With some squirming, the ranger managed the help support the two ladies along with the Dwarf, their obvious height differences making things a little awkward, Barden thought as they found themselves walking up the steps to the porch. When the reached to the door, the ranger used his foot to push it open and positioned himself that his shoulders would keep the door from closing on them as he allowed the Dwarf to take the two into the inn.

Whipping the pipe he had been gifted by the Lazarus from his belt he pointed with it towards the Dwarf, "I'll be out here." He told him, topping it up with more tobacco, which he had stored in a handy sized satchel while the keg was safe locked away in his room. Lighting it he began to puff away once more, attempting to make rings of the smoke.

After helping the beautiful ladies into the inn and seeing they were taken care of, Caelyn returned outside to accompany his new founded friend. "Notice yer light on ye feet aye lad?" Caelyn made a note to himself to be more clumsy to hide his true nature. "Can't be telling all me secrets." Caelyn thought to himself.
"Nice ring blowin' lad." Caelyn bowed. "I do appreciate the help you gave me back there sir. And if he'd like I might be showin' you some new shapes on that smoke." Caelyn was thunderstruck after that. "Aye and ye can be callin' Caelyn. Sorry for me manners, my Madre would have smacked me hard for that rudeness." Caelyn shook his head to fight back tears, it was still fresh on his mind.

Talon had barely sat down when he had been called back to where he had performer amateur surgery at the bar. Getting back to his feet, his walk back to the bar afforded him another good look around the bar. Many different “adventurers” were bustling in and out and all he really wanted to do was get to know everyone he had found himself here with. He wanted to know everyone’s strength and weaknesses so that when the time came to leave, they could navigate the forest successfully. His biggest problem was the supernatural fear he felt when in the forest and he wouldn’t be able to protect any of them if he constantly expected to be killed. That thought triggered another, which would have him looking for someone to help him counter the forest’s sinister abilities. By the time he had reached the bar Talon was deep in thought and his expressions were leaden with his turmoil.

“You called, sir?”

His voice was flat and it was obvious that his thoughts were very far from the conversation. He truly wasn’t trying to be rude but his ability to ignore the real problem at had was dwindling. Sitting beside the dog-man was immediately followed by a small group clamoring through the door and it looked as if the two males of said group were escorting the females inside. Obviously there were many people at the inn that he hadn’t seen yet and he was going to need to remedy that sooner, rather then later. Still! He was being quite rude and the man he had just helped had asked him over, for an unknown reason.

Perhaps this man knows something helpful of the woods…

Talon’s mind wouldn’t stop wandering back to the woods, despite the fact he had absolutely no desire to go back himself. Being such a fresh soldier meant that he could take allot away from the many people that had found themselves here. No matter what came of his visit to the inn, he would need help to get home and burning bridges wasn’t going to get him that.

“My name is Talon, of Drayben. Just Talon, really. How’s your wound?”

He addressed the man with a tone of respect, one he genuinely felt for every person who could make their way through that damnedable wood.

Being seared closed and still conscious helped too

Goddess curse me... It has been seven days since the last time Arco could count anything as a meal. One day for each of Arco's companions lost in the woods. Penance in its truest form. Yet, the Draconian Paladin couldn't help but feel like salvation was just around the corner. It was a gut feeling but it didn't feel so baseless as a hunch. Still, there was nothing but forest in sight and the dredges were on the hunt. They have been ever since Arco split from the group but only now did they finally catch his trail and began nipping at his heels as he ran. Seven dredges by his count. Cursed indeed.

Dredges were a bit like feral hounds save for the rotting skin and exposed bone. They were also considerably big, measuring up to the largest of dogs. Also unlike dogs, they aren't at all natural but instead are the product of magic. They are the result of a rather lower tier incantation of summoning but incredibly useful if the magic wielder needed to hunt down anything living, as long as they didn't need anything alive of course. What did this anonymous summoner want with a Draconian Paladin? No idea. Probably for sport.

"Alright come on, Arconia... A sign or something that I might make it out of here alive would be nice." Arco muttered to himself as he leapt a fallen trunk, overgrown with other vegetation. The dredges soon followed, snarling and snapping as they chased. Weaving in between trees and leaping obstacles could only buy time but every man has their limit and Arco was getting tired. The Draconian scanned his view for any sign of his salvation and thankfully, the little fluttering glitter caught his eyes. Rye.

Running past the miniature figure, Arco shouted, "Which way?!" The timid and scarred pixie fluttered up and over Arco's head and dropped her altitude to match her protector's eyesight. She point lazily to the right, signaling something was that way but what remained a mystery. That casual point was enough for Arco and despite really only knowing his winged friend for about a week now, he still trusted her to save both of their lives. "Alright lead on!" The pixie nodded as she knifed her flight to the side and soared in the direction she pointed. Arco followed and judging by the growls and cackles of the monsters behind him, they weren't too far off either. Whatever Rye found, it had better be worth it.

Minutes seemed to pass as Arco followed Rye and the beasts followed Arco. Nothing significant came to pass until a sudden flush of light met Arco's green eyes. It was almost blinding but he could make out where they were. A forest clearing and dead ahead... a building? Whatever it was, there were others, living and breathing. Suddenly hope and joy sprung on Arco's being as he made headway for the building shouting. "Hey! Over here!" He waved one of his arms in order to attract attention. Hopefully someone would come because a sudden sting on his left leg turned into searing pain as his body realized what just happened. One of the dredges had grabbed ahold of his leg, sinking its teeth into his leg. "Arrrooo!" He howled as he fell onto the trimmed grass.

He turned quickly and slammed his mace on top of the dredge's extended neck, crushing it with the sheer force of the blow. Some of the dredges came to a stop while the others pressed on towards the inn. Four half rotten corpses made headway for the inn, hoping to score easy prey.

The idea of shapes other than rings being blown with pipe smoke, was not one unfamiliar to Barden. He had seen a number of Elves and Wizards and even some Humans who did such things as hobby or competition. Being shown this "art form" as it was in person again, was a tantalizing offer. The ranger smirked and handed the pipe over to the Dwarf. "Caelyn... It's an interesting name." Barden uttered, he looked the Dwarf over, for a people so small in stature they were rather stocky, the ranger highly doubted he would be able to knock Caelyn over with much ease. "My name is-", Barden was interrupted by a disruption at the treeline.

"Hey! Over here!"

The voice had demanded all of the ranger's attention as he turned to face what lay ahead of him. A dragon? He thought, No, nonsense, there haven't been dragons for almost- Barden's thoughts on the matter ceased as he watched the newcomer being dragged to the ground by a large corpse-like dog. "Dredges...!" The ranger muttered, before turning to the slightly propped open door of the inn, "Dredges!" He repeated, this time in a tone that was almost a bellow, not only warning those in the inn but also calling any patrons of ability to arms.

Reaching for his bow, that lay slung across his back, the ranger remembered that his quiver remained up in his room. Cursing profanities he unsheathed his sword and hopped the fence once more, again in aid of a stranger. Racing towards the corpses, Barden swung his sword low and up, the blade cutting into the jaw of one of the creatures, it fell to the lush ground below with a magnificent thud and began to soak the ground in crimson. Another of the Dredges flanked the ranger, biting down on Barden's arm like a vice. The pain was something oh to tangible, thankfully however, the thick leather of his coat, protected him from any piercing damage. Digging his blade into the ground the ranger used his now free-hand to pummel the corpse creature with a series of strong punches in an attempt to release the Dredge's grip on his arm. In vain he tried to shake his arm wildly but the creature barely budged. Barden cursed the fact that he had brought a sword with a long blade to the forest with him. Otherwise he would have stuck the sword through the creature's cranium like a skewer. However, the length of the blade and proximity of the monster could not allow him. Curling a tight fist once more he continued to punch at the Dredge's head, in turn using his elbow, bringing it down on the creature.

Assallya was in the midst of inspecting her wagon for damage and assessing what remained of her supplies. The six months she'd spent in kobold captivity had not been kind. Apparently the kobolds had slashed away the two chickens she'd had hanging which, come to think of it, was probably a blessing since six month old chicken would be quite horrible to behold. The sack of potatoes was little more than mold inside the canvas as were the rest of her vegetables but most of her spices were unscathed. Apparently kobolds didn't know what to do with them. They also didn't know what to do with most of her clothes, Most importantly, they hadn't found her hidden compartment with the trade bars of gold, nor did they seem to realize the value of the magic summoning rug. Her collection of daggers was missing unfortunately, She'd had them specially made, one of gold, one of silver, a couple of different types of wood, one blessed by a priest and another by a druid. Generally, a weapon to kill just about any supernatural creature one could come across. Not that she would wield them herself but it was amazing how much one could demand in treasure shares when one was the only one with a weapon that would win the day.

She was cheering the survival of various commodities and lamenting the loss of others when the lizard like thing came barrelling into the open field from out of the dark wood. What was astride the noble looking knight, err... Did the man have a lizard's head? What was astride the knight was what she identified from her readings as a "corpse hound" though that name varied by region. The lizard was punching it- ineffectually and Assallya couldn't blame the momentary lapse considering he was being chewed upon. Only silver or perhaps a blessed weapon could harm such a being. Which made Assallya wonder if a priest, cleric or paladin counted as being blessed when engaged in fisticuffs like the being before her. Then he struck out with the mace to disastrous effect causing one of the beasts grievous punishment.

Assallya then had to consider.. Why should she care? Then again, it was always nice to have adventurers in your debt and if she could somehow help the beleaguered soul with little danger to herself, why not?

Thinking quickly, Assallya considered her selection of spells. She wasn't much of a combatant, eschewing spells of grandiose destruction. She was more subtle and engaged in ploys of confidence. Normally she learned what she could of an enemy and played against its weaknesses. A corpse dog had only the simplest of desires, to feed on living flesh. There was little else that concerned them save a larger and more intimidating creature or perhaps easier prey.

...easier prey

"By Myrkul's shriveled black testicles," she said as she realized the most obvious and simplest of ruses and then switched over to the yipping language of the kobold, "Char. Get inside the wagon!"

Her new kobold companion, a black scaled two foot tall lizard immediately complied. Assallya then bent over and grasped some of the rotting, six month dried meat that she'd been throwing away when the incursion into the inn's field happened and hurled some of the putrid substance in the direction of the corpse dogs.

"Hey zombie dogs!" she called out in the common tongue, rubbing some of the rotting jerky around her navel, "Succulent soft elf flesh over here! It's a lot better than the lizard in a can!"

After having their conversation interrupted by a leery shout Caelyn saw the human sprinting toward the woods. "Dragon, no that's a wee bit small for that." He thought.He saw something clinging to the things legs and drew his hatchets. Running as fast as his two legs would carry him, Caelyn decided that he needed to use his new addition to his arsenal. Upon reaching the scene Caelyn enacted the invisibility on the cloak and got around the ugly looking bastard and immediately came down with a crossing action and when he struck the creature, he re-appeared just in time for the beast to receive two powerful downward chops. It was a dance that Caelyn had performed many times. When finesse wasn't enough he looked up and saw his new friend beating up on the creature he could not be outdone. When it came to its senses it was met by two flying axes.....and a dwarf? Caelyn bull-rushed the thing and tackled it do the ground. Both axes scored a direct hit, and so did the things claws, catching Caelyn under his ribs. Caelyn just kept boring down through the pain until punch after punch it seemed to shake off, but Caelyns stubbornness proved more effective. Soon after it laid motionless, Caelyn noticed he was a bit weak and after trying to stand up, fell to a knee. "Bah be tough, you been through worse." His sheer will alone got him back up, and he after retrieving his axes he looked for more fray.

A bell could be heard chiming throughout the whole entire Inn, it was loud, and even outside it could be heard for at least a half of a mile. Everyone who had been there before knew exactly what this meant, making their way into the dining room one by one. When everyone had sat down Cook brought the food out on the table, the heavenly smell wafting through the room which made some of the people smile, and some people even licked their lips. It consisted of a thick meaty stew with vegetables such as celery, carrots, potatoes, broccoli, and some corn. Placed on top were some doughy but delicious bread dumplings and on the side was buttered bread.

Wine and other ale's of all kind were set on the table along with beautiful wooden goblets that had carvings of almost stories on them, which had been carved by Rosalinda herself. The played were the same, wooden and had carvings around the edges that looked like beautiful woven grape vines. A lot of the women and men said thank you while others blessed Cook for her heavenly cooking. No one knew Cook's real name, not even Lazarus, so everyone just called her Cook. People served themselves to the tables pots of stew, every table having a large pot of stew so no one would be hungry at the end.

Cook smiled and served the cursed the new comers personally, telling them if they wanted something specific that she'd be in the back room. When Cook saw Adrian she hurried over to him, dragging him into the kitchen before handing him a silver tray that had everything that every customer had but there was a special concoction of Ale that Rosalinda specifically liked. "Please...... Be gentle with her....... I hope she'll be gentle with you too." She told Adrian before pushing him out of the kitchen, starting to make fruity deserts for everyone.

Rosalinda was up in her room, on her 18th glass of special Ale when she heard someone knock on her door. "C~Come in!" She said, her words slurring together as she soon saw Adrian enter her room. "Y~Your not C~Cook! Why are y~you here?" She asked him, picking up her pillow before throwing it, watching it hit the ground a foot away from him. "God d~dammit." She slurred, placing her head in her hands and mumbling some elven words that were much worse than human cursing. "What do y~you want A~Adrian?" She asked, her eyes slowly looking into his which showed just exactly how drunk she was right now, and she was quite so indeed.

"Charmed, you can call me Leopold." Leo said, reciprocating the warrior's flat tone, but more out of exhaustion than sorrow, "I'll deal with the wound when I've had some food and some sleep. For now, firstly, you have my thanks for saving my life. Both of you. Cheer up." Leo looked not only to Talon, but to the quiet dwarf that had dressed his wound. "But, you've been here for longer than I have," Leo squinted at Talon questioningly, "I thought this place was my mind finally breaking, but it's real. What is this place?-"

Before Talon could respond, a loud shout sounded from the front door. Dredges? It seemed to move some people into action, so Leo thought it only appropriate to see why. He slid off the table and tried to keep his balance, he really shouldn't be moving too much with such blood loss, but he didn't much care at this point. His crossbow was on the table as well, obviously shifted out of the way to treat him. He picked it up and loaded it with his foot and his good hand, before walking somewhat clumsily to the door. He didn't much mind whether Talon was following him, but he shouted back to the warrior all the same, "Remind me to buy you a drink for your troubles, master Drayben."

Out of the door was nothing short of madness. Rotting demonic canines were ravaging various standers-by, while being ravaged in return by others. One of the creatures was latched on to a gruff looking human's arm, apparently causing him no small amount of trouble. Lazily, Leo hefted his crossbow, bearing the pain of resting its length on his raised elbow for the moment to aim, and took an easy shot onto the rotting dog's middle body, causing it to writhe for a moment before becoming limp on the human's arm. There were others about. A dwarf was facing one off with a couple of hatchets, dancing like a performer, and there was an armoured man -no, lizardfolk?- nearer to the edge of the clearing having more trouble.

Before he knew it, the situation seemed to be containing itself. Leo's curiosity had been spent and he had seen enough. "That's it, I'm going to bed..." He spun on his heel and walked at a deliberate pace back into the bar room, before laying his crossbow at a table, sitting down, and resting his chin on his arms on the table. He fell asleep almost immediately.

Leo snorted awake at someone nudging him on the shoulder, however. It was a serving maid, apparently someone had purchased him some food. Moving his head out of the way, he accepted it without question, nodding to the maid before beholding what he had been given. Stew! Some description of meat and vegetables, but stew! Warm, hearty, thick, filling stew! The smell was so rich it almost made Leo faint. It even had bread to mop it up. He looked around, it seemed that not everyone had come for dinner yet. Was the strange show outside still going? No matter, he had noticed how hungry he was and began his meal, savouring it so as not to regurgitate it if he ate too quickly. The first mouthful felt like he had been relieved of the task of carrying the world. The bliss persisted for the entire meal.

Elniss only registered the warning a few moments after it came. "Dredges!" The simple word sent chills down her spine as Barden's echoed in the building. No, no, no, it couldn't be! Elniss turned away from Lazarus and bottled into her room, her foot faltering slightly and giving heed to the injury. She snatched up her bow and slid her quiver onto her back, exiting back out to the hallway.

The woman hurried to the window at the end of the hallway, forcing open. She witnessed as Barden vaulted the clearings's fence and dashed into the woods. She's slowly calmed and let her Elvish blood take control as her vision increased perceptiveness. Her gaze perused the trees until she spotted Barden again, and she watched as a dredge pounced at him. He battled fiercely and quickly, more so than any human she'd seen.

Elniss turned and hurried down the stairwell and through the lower part of the inn. She dashed past a man- no... A man with a dog's head? Bah! The exhaustion was playing with her eyes. As she exited the inn she saw a dwarf man climb the fence and join Barden in battle.

The Elf hurried in a broken run that barely sufficed with her injury. She rehearsed what she new about dredges. The were undead... They only preyed upon the weak... But why had they chosen the take prey on an inn full of warriors? She concluded that if seen, she would be considered weak by the beasts; she was small and not very strong and she was injured. She pushed the thoughts aside and haggardly climbed over the fence. She could hear Barden off in the distance, but her attention returned as she spotted a dredge racing towards her.

Elniss fired an arrow when the dredge was merely yards away and let the demonic hound fall dead. She speedily recovered her arrow and looked upon another group of creatures coming her way. She resorted to turn and climb up a tree. The woman's eyes fell upon a creature dashing towards Barden. She couldn't know if he saw it, but she took true aim and releases at the beast.

Within seconds of each other, two axes and a bolt of a crossbow hit the Dredge that had been viciously trying to tear through the jacket sleeve of Barden's arm to reach flesh. The three sudden thuds resounding from the body of the Dredge had come as a surprise to the ranger and for a few moments he was shocked as the limp, lifeless body of the beast fell to the ground, it's jaw still tightly wrapped around the ranger's arm. Being brought down by one knee, from the weight of the Dredge, he forced it's maw open with his one free hand, allowing the beast to fully sprawl out on the grass before bringing himself back to his feet and taking up his sword.

Another growl caused the ranger to swing around, the tail of his jacket following closely behind, fluttering while cutting wind. His sword brandished and ready to slice through more demon flesh. Alas, there was no need. Another heavy thud and the creature lay lifeless on the ground. Barden sighed with a sort of relief, before taking the Elvish arrow that had been embedded into the back of the creature, between the skull and neck. "She-elf..." He whispered gratefully, only audible to himself as he examined the arrow he held in his left hand, his sword held firmly in his right. He looked in the direction the arrow came from and at first saw nothing. However, looking closer he saw the she-elf he had been conversing with before rushing off. He smiled before turning his gaze back to the fray.

Seeing Caelyn off somewhere closer to the treeline than himself, he saw that the Dwarf must have been injured by one of the Dredges, with another circling the Dwarf who had retrieved both his axes. The ranger had no doubt in his mind that this Dwarf would be able to handle himself, but saw fit to return a favor. Hastily sheathing his sword he took the bow from his back and nocked the Elvish arrow that had saved his life. Drawing the string back he let loose the arrow, his aim and skill was nothing like that of an Elf, but was certainly above average for a Human. The arrow hit the beast, bringing it down, although the Dredge was still twitching.

Looking around the clearing, he saw that most of the creatures were dead, and if not dead, were twitching on the ground about to pass. Barden made his way over to the dragon-man, something that he had never seen before. Kneeling next to him, he pushed the corpse of the Dredge off of the man's leg. "What sort are you then...?" He asked the Draconian, meaning no offence, as he examined the wound on his leg.

---

Lazarus, came rushing out of the inn, "What's all this nonsense about-!?" He stopped himself as he looked around the clearing, spotting the ranger with an unfamiliar face, the Dwarf, an Elf and what appeared to be a caravan parked in the clearing, a sorcerer perhaps? "Oh..." He uttered before walking down the steps of the porch and into the clearing itself. Bringing himself to the closest Dredge he pushed it over with his foot. "Interesting, but how?" The Innkeeper asked himself, a sense of worry hinting on his voice. He looked up and approached the edge of the clearing to examine the Ward Stones, "Perhaps..." He uttered, many things he was saying now did not entirely make sense as it was words being spoken allowed midst thought inside his head.

"Alright then! I'm ready, let's get them!" A harsh voice sounded from around the side of the inn and within moments another Dwarf appeared, Grombrindol, armed head to heel with all sorts of axes strapped to his back and side, and most prominent of all a Dwarf rifle, a lot like a musket held in his hands. "Wait..." The Dwarf took a moment as he examined the surroundings. "Oh no. It's not over already is it!?"

Caelyn surveyed the battlefield to see what could only be described as a circus of humanoids. "Argh! That mangy mutt got me good!" As he flashed Barden a grin. He slowly walked his way over to see the newest addition to this merry band. "Aye lass why are these following you exactly?" He's asked the new scaly companion.
After standing for a few moments, the adrenaline wore off and Caelyn realized that the claws got him a bit more than he had thought. "Aye lad, can ye help me to the bar for a drink? I need something to numb this a bit." After removing his hand from the wound his entire hand was drenched in blood. He got really light headed and went to a knee.

Assallya momentarily entered her wagon and rummaged through the drawers, searching through herbs, balms, potions and unguents. After several moments she found the sealed jar she was searching for. Char was looking at her, the small kobold's black beady eyes able to see so long as he stayed inside the wagon. The field outside the inn was far too bright for those of his kind.

"You stay," she yipped at him, using the strange bird like, draconian derived language the small lizards used, "humans excited. They stabby."

Stepping back out into the bright sunlight, the blonde elf's golden tresses blazed like a beacon with reflected sunlight. She quickly made her way across the open field, ebony translucent silks floating around her limbs as she approached. While moving she studied those participating from behind long mascara darkened eyelashes. The lizard admittedly drew more of her attention. His scales looked thicker and harder than a normal lizard's. There was also the addition of small horns. Very strange. She'd almost call him dragon-kin if they weren't known to be extinct. Certainly they were rarer than even elves who had mostly withdrawn to their own lands. Maybe there was still a small colony of them somewhere? There was the woodsman, who looked fairly typical for his breed and somewhat attractive. Then there was a rather distraught dwarf who was proclaiming his disappointment in missing the fight. She'd never understand those that lived for combat. Finally, there was an elf in the distance atop the balcony, visible only out of the corner of her eye given her current direction. By all the gods, she despised elves.

"Is there anything I may do to help? I have brought poultice," Assallya proffered in small slender hands, holding the jar forward like an offering before a shrine, "should we run out of divine gifts. It should aid in healing and clean the wound of any mundane rot. Should the creatures be empowered with a more formidable affliction, a servant of the gods will be necessary."

Barden, on his knees and crouched over the Draconian looked to the Dwarf, Caelyn, who made his way over to the two. He laughed at the Dwarf's request, but the laughter was short lived as he watched the Dwarf succumb to his wound and fall to one knee. "A drink is the last thing you need now, my friend." As he was about to move to examine Caelyn's wound, he noticed the sorceress who had come with medicine. Barden, being a ranger had a knowledge of herbs and such which could ease pain and help with the healing of wounds. However, he was no healer and certainly no master of magic, his knowledge of which was severely limited to that he had learnt of in his time with the Elves.

"My guess is that you would be much more fitted to this task." He stood and nodded to Caelyn and the newcomer. Turning his gaze back to the sorceress he smiled and nodded, "I'll take my leave, thank-you." He uttered, leaving the Elf to deal with any wounds.

The ranger made his way over to the tree from which Elniss had fired the arrow that had undoubtedly saved Barden from any injury, if not death. He placed an open hand on the trunk of the tree, leaning his weight into it, his bow held in his free hand. "It looks like I am in your debt more so than before now." He joked, looking up at the she-elf who was perched on a branch of the tree. "I gave you my name but did not stay to hear yours..."

"T'aint nothin' a good story and drink won't be fixin' me lad. But ye have me thanks all the same," and nodded a kind smile.
"Ah a pointy-ear, been a while since I've seen yer kind!" Caelyn pushed out through labored breaths. "Might I be getting some of that?" He pointed to the herbs in her hands. Caelyn was taken back by her long blond hair and found himself blushing a bit. "Bah, you fool thinkin' bout that right now." He shook his head. "How are ye fairin' their me .....boy? That canine got a nice chomp down on ye." With each sentence getting harder to muster out, Caelyn decided best to conserve his energy with a final thought. "Anyways you'll be having me thanks if ye could help me." And offered a solemn nod.

Elniss watched the edge of the forest and assumed momentary position as sentinel. She listened to the footsteps off the others as they returned to the clearing she could pick out Lazarus among the approaching voices. She turned on the thick branch to look at the people in the clearing.

Her eyes set on a woman, and her lip peeled in disgust; a high elf. By the divines, few things curled her snarl more than the sight of a high elf. She supposed it came with her woodland blood. Presently she saw Barden approach the tree which she was perched in. She listened as the man spoke.

She nodded when he finished. "I am Elniss, daughter of Grae. Trust me, you owe me nothing."

"Elniss..." Barden repeated her name, he looked to the ground between his boots before looking back up to the elf, the sole of his boot, pushing against one of the roots of the tree. The sun, gleamed through the foliage of the treetop, he placed an open palm on his brow, shielding his eyes from the direct rays of the sunlight. "I owe you enough." He told her, a thin smile crossing his lips. Barden's thoughts continued to cross to the Dwarf, Caelyn and the newcomer, the Draconian. Often he would throw a glance in their direction to see what was happening and how they were being treated by the sorceress.

The ranger, believing himself to be quite good at reading people, did not make an obvious statement about her distaste towards the High-Elf. Their feelings towards and thoughts of each other were well known to Barden from the time he had spent in the Blackwood with a community of Wood Elves. "From which woodland realm do you hail?" He asked.

Slinging his bow across his back, the ranger pulled the pipe from his belt, putting some tobacco in the bowl he lit it and puffed away. He turned letting his back press off the trunk of the tree, using it almost as a support, raising his knee and pressing the sole of his foot off the trunk with his back.

While the four dredges headed off to fight the clearing's other inhabitants, three remained behind hoping to score a rather hardy meal of their scaled enemy. Well... two of the three remained. Arco pulled his mace up and off the dredge who still had his jaw around Arco's leg. The other two circled, ready to pounce at any minute but something drew their attention. A holler.

Lizard in a can..? That remark was a bit uncanny and Arco was even glancing over to see who was making such a ruckus. A blonde, scantily clad woman was hollering for attention, specifically the beasts' attentions. While Arco couldn't be sure where the other four were, he was absolutely sure that the woman had drawn the attention of the two circling him. He wasn't about to let this opportunity slide by him either. Quickly he reached out and grabbed one of the distracted dredges tails and used his good leg to leap up. He held the dredge tightly has he brought down his mace squarely onto its head. The other one, probably infuriated by watching its kin being slain, pounced at the paladin but was easily countered by Arco's flick of the wrist and short uttering of protection. Suddenly a divine shield sprouted from his holy relic and the dredge bashed his head into the orangish glow. The shield was immediately recalled as Arco swung his mace around and allowed it to come crashing down on the stunned dredge. Its ribcage cracked and snapped under the sheer force, disabling it instantly.

--

Once the bout with the undead hounds was all said and done, an entourage of all sorts of races came out to greet Arco. A human who had the appearance of some miles under his belt was the first to greet Arco. "A Draconian." Arco's voice was very low in pitch but had a significant commanding volume in his tone. "A rare sight to most, I'm told." With the creature pulled off his leg, Arco rose to his feet. His height was outstanding as he stood near seven feet off the ground. As the human male glanced around and eyed his wound, so did Arco. There was one puncture wound where the dredge canine tooth pierced the unarmored gap behind his knee. Other than that, his armor held off any further punctures. But the wound still did some damage because a quick test by putting some weight on it caused a sharp sting. Likely some tendons were severed or his knee structure damaged.

Next came a dwarf who appeared very small next to the giant dragon-like figure. Arco had to be careful with his answer to the dwarf's intrigue about why these things were chasing him. He didn't want to alert anyone to exactly what he was doing here. They were probably harmless folk but it paid to be cautious. "I'm not sure what the intention was, dwarf. But whatever their purpose, they won't be achieving whatever they were after, thanks to you all. Although they did leave their mark..." Arco eyeballed the dwarf's wounds, the stumpy man probably had it a lot worse than Arco, but he should make it, especially thanks to the last of the entourage.

The scantily clad elf woman. "That would be servant of the Goddess, Brave Bird." Arco could smell the rotten meat perfume she coated herself with. "You've done well by me and the dwarf here to bring something for the rot and disease these things carry. I commend you for your knowledge." Arco reached and grabbed the jar, gently from her hands and then applied a little to his wound before turning his attention to the dwarf. "Fairing much better than you, I'm afraid. But alas, you'll be fine." Arco roughly fell onto his good knee and applied the jar's contents to the dwarf's various wounds before turning and offering the jar back to the elf. Arco nodded in thanks before turning back to the dwarf. He placed his scaly hands over the dwarf's wounds and uttered a short prayer in a language most unfamiliar to all the species present.

After the prayer was done, a slight glow emitted from the dwarf's open wounds before fading away. Arco smiled at the result. "You're wounds will recover but it'll take a bit of time. Come. Let's get you that drink you crave." Arco wrapped his arm around the dwarf and lifted him up to his feet. He'd carry the dwarf if he could but with a weak knee and fatigue of the past several weeks bearing down on him, he figured it wasn't a good idea. "Come then warrior. Show everyone you can still walk on your own two feet." Arco began heading for the inn in a slow limp. He was hurting but he could make it.

Right as he reached the porch, he recalled just how it was he found this place. "Rye!" His voice boomed and carried throughout the clearing. There was a moment of silence before a quiet battering of wings could be heard overhead. Rye descended from the porch overhang with a timid excitement that had a mix of worry. Arco offered an open palm to which Rye happily accepted. She landed on it and sat with her legs hanging off the side of Arco's hand. Very gently, Arco lead them inside.

It was probably a strange sight to see such a small creature with such a giant but yet here they were and despite really only knowing each other for about a week and a half, the two trusted each other. Now upon further inspection of Rye, you would notice her beaten and battered wings. Her skin was a sickly pale and her hair was bleached in a very light white or blonde. Her clothing was tattered with her top being torn a bit to expose her midriff and what was probably a dress was now a skirt reaching her knees. Both were tattered and gray. Whatever her story was before she met Arco was almost as mysterious as what a Draconian Paladin was doing in the middle of nowhere.

((Sorry if my posts aren't top notch right now, but I'm actually writing these on my phone untini get home tomorrow))

Elniss slid her right leg from the branch lowered enough to seize the limb with her hands. She used her arms to slowly lower herself to the ground next to Barden. She contemplated his question for a moment. "My blood draws from the rivers of Blackwood, but my upbringing was in the east." With that she took a step forward only momentarily forgetting her hindered leg when she released a curse in her own tongue. "Pardon my lips, Master Barden." She addressed and her cheeks burned a dull sheepish red. She didn't know she blushed in front of this man but it came without effort.

Although not literally, in a sense, Barden's ears perked when Elniss mentioned that her roots lay in Blackwood. The matter of her being brought up in the East did not come across as inherently strange to the ranger, although he could not imagine where in the East, Elves would reside. However, Barden's knowledge of the East was nowhere near adequate. Having himself spent much of his childhood and early adulthood in Blackwood, there was an instant feeling of connection of sorts on Barden's behalf towards that of the she-elf.

It was not often that the ranger had heard an elf swear, let alone a she-elf. He smirked and looked down between his boots again. Noticing a blood splatter run up the length of his boot, he tutted. "You must have known then..." He began, looking back up at Elniss who had now walked a few feet from Barden. The brief pause between them led the ranger to believe that maybe she did not understand what he meant. "My bow." He added, "The wood it's carved from, where it originates from." Barden paused again and pushed himself off the trunk of the tree, taking a step towards Elniss, brandishing his bow for her to examine once more.