It burned. It burned! It burned! Mariah gritted her teeth, as surges of pain flared on her skin, but she didn't falter in the slightlest, as her rage still overpowered her to a point that pain was a minor consequence. Her fingers kept digging in the supposedly Holy Man's neck, as she changed her strategy, beginning to lift the man by the neck and about to smash his head against the ground repeated times.
Fortunately for the man, a sudden force pushed her out, sending her sprawling around. The effect of the blow was almost instantaneous, as she hit the stones with her head first, rattling his brain quite a bit. For good or bad, Mariah twitched and turned, knocked out inconscious and gravely injuried, blood oozing from several blows and cuts.
Meanwhile the twins stared in disbelief as how their opponent had become able to reattach his own limb, despite receiving the full force of the barbarian of the Iron Roses' attack. A monster it was, beyond human comprehension. Terror began to set in at first, but their sights crossed. They swallowed, and clenched their teeth, as both poised themselves for another flanking attack. They couldn't help Mariah or the others before they got rid of this guy... "Can't be helped. Wolfpack." One of them solemny announced within earshot of Garret and his other brother.
And then the surname Cal was mentioned. The effect was almost instantaneous. "Oh, no doubt we will. After all, it was because a Cal we were thrown out of aristocracy." Bõbd muttered underneath his teeth, as he gave a temptative spin to his sword, his steps careful as he began to advance towards Damon Cal, his guard high and in a defensive position, but his blade firmly aimed at the vampire.
More steps could be heard, this time on the vampire's opposite side, as his brother Bobd advanced in a similar stance, slowly but steadily inching and circling closer. It seemed when the sight of the vampire rested in one of the brothers, the other would crawl towards. A brisk shuffle, a simple step closer. There was no way to know who would initiate the attack.
There was no need to know. Such was their synchronization they could afford withholding the strategy until the last moment. And then it came. Bõbd made a sharper than usual step, his blade being thrown forward in a thrust, only to retreat quickly after. As such, a similar attack from Bobd would come...
Except it was no blade what Bobd was thrusting. It was the discarded crossbow that Damon Cal had dropped earlier. He had gotten it while Damon was giving his speech, and Bõbd had given its reply. Planting it against the ribcage, Bobd fired, in hopes it would reach his heart.
"How is that for trying, leech?" He snarled, as his other brother then charged against the vampire, regardless of the result.
Sult eyed the situation warily, as the remainder of the skeletons had been smashed. Marianne had recovered significantly, and there were no casualties nor injuried among their group, barring some cases of freaking out and dagger-happy assasins. She clenched her teeth as a prayer, yes, a prayer escaped her lips in thanks of having been able to brave through it. Yet, more things concerned her. There was the question about the trigger-happy assasin guide they had brought doing more harm than good in her quest for revenge, and all of the other missing corpses.
"Hum, about that. Marianne, I advise caution. I might be wrong but, the numbers don't add up." Sult voiced her concern out loud.
"Heh, your flapping of gums is wasted." Nero answered, glaring at the group. He was still pretty shaken by his earlier behaviour and how his baby sister had the galls to have been ordered around. "She wants to stick to tradition. Like be pretty at the frontlines, and show everything the world has to know with grace and elegance." He said in a sarcastical tone, as he waved his hand. "Bah! Delacroix style only works for pretty nobles and ladies who play wargames. The real world is quite a lot grittier than just knight tales of noblesse obligue."
He eyed both of them. "You should've accepted the advice of Dame Dante, Sparky. After all she seems to know a whole lot more of how things work beyond the court walls." Nero added, hoisting his sword and making his pace swifter. "But hey, if you insist in taking point, I'm happy. You get to be the fodder, Tet de la Croix..." The knight captain of the Ravens spewed. "...this is a cakewalk compared to the Barrow Men, anyway. But still, we shouldn't call it easy yet..." He added, eyes glaring at the assasin.