The leader braced for Lorag's charge, but had underestimated his momentum and was sent to the ground. The second thug was hit by Lorag's hammer haft, but only stumbled before ducking underneath and regaining balance. A third thug took a swing at Fendros before he could rush after Lorag, and he was barely able to dodge it. Now they were in a much more advantageous position for the moment. Lorag and Fendros both cut off the street they were standing in against the five thugs. The leader scrambled up from the ground, ferociously baring his teeth and shouting in jel. [i]"Get them!"[/i]

Two of the thugs stepped up and took swings at Lorag and Fendros, the one going for Lorag was the apparent leader. Fendros didn't have his shield, so he had to rely on his agility. He leaped back, lowered his sword and leaned back far enough for the mace to swing in front of him, then feinted a thrust forward to gain more ground. Fendros attempted to cut the thug on the shoulder, but was blocked by the thug's weapon. Untrained as the thug seemingly was, he simply tried to push forward to get Fendros away, but this was an opportunity that Fendros exploited. When the mace haft blocking Fendros' sword was close enough, Fendros reached out one hand and grabbed it. With all his strength, he twisted the mace to the point where his sword could slice the thug's arm. The thug shouted in pain and kicked at Fendros, if only to disengage, and left his mace in Fendros' hand. Fendros simply dropped it and held his sword forward for the next assailant as soon as he regained balance from the kick. The injured thug cut his losses and ran away clutching his arm, allowing another thug to take his place. This new one was more reluctant after seeing his friend hurt. The leader fighting Lorag was not fazed at all, and fought without regard to his safety.

This time, Sabine didn't have to think for long. Even in the dress she obtained in Thorn, the humid heat of the Marsh was never comfortable. "Might we find the swimming hole?"

"I'm sure we could find out easily. We would just need small rewards so we can train him. Small pieces of meat should do. Actually, I think I still have some salted pieces." Janius began to sit up and leaned over the edge of the bed to look through his rucksack. "Ah ha, here." He carefully lifted Leaps off his body and left Kaleeth's arms to get out of the bed and stand up. Janius then took a slice of dried meat he had kept and stood over Leaps, who was still lying on the bed near Kaleeth. "Hmm, normally with a dog you would start with 'sit', but Leaps doesn't really sit with the legs he has." Janius stroked his chin momentarily, "Maybe..." Janius tore off a piece of the meat and held it above Leaps' head to make him look up, then lowered it to the surface of the bed in front of Leaps. "Lie down."