Janius looked to Meesei and Lorag both, and caught his breath. "Thanks," he said with a grateful look, then looked to the group that had formed against them, "but I think they'll be too much to fight in this form..." Janius dropped his axe and pulled off his shield, then spread his arms and grinned. He managed to keep his smile as his body contorted and reshaped itself, growing bigger and bursting the weak ties of his armour. His skin was replaced with a dark fur and soon he had to fall to his front paws to keep balance. Just in case the mercenaries had any morale left, Janius opened his tooth-filled mouth and roared into them. He hardly gave them a chance to form up before leaping for the nearest one who wasn't armed with a spear.

---

Sabine continued for a short while on the upper floor, but didn't get any closer to finding them. She quickly realised that they were probably being held in lower levels. Prisoners were held in dungeons, right? That's how it was in the coven, and the dungeons there were underground. Sabine made her way to the staircase down and heard a scream down the hallway followed by a crash. She turned her head and saw a female Argonian servant with her hands covering her mouth and her eyes wide with fear. At her feet was a shattered bowl of some description, its contents not easy to identify, but now rapidly soaking into the floor. She was petrified by Sabine, apparently. Sabine's beast spirit let out a growl, which caused the servant to back away, then Sabine proceeded down the stairs. It wouldn't be long for the alarm to be raised now, she had to move more quickly.

Making her way down stairs proved to be rather precarious with her feet in this form. She had to descend carefully to make sure she didn't tumble down. At least she was big enough to hold herself against the walls to stop if she did lose her balance.

The next floor had her spotted by a number of civilians and guards alike, quickly eliciting an uproar of panic from the corner of the room in which she showed herself. Sabine's ears flattened from the noise and she could smell the fear, but she needed to focus. Even her beast spirit understood that the safety of her packmates was a greater priority than her appetite. She went further down the stairs, faster this time, with a couple of guards chasing her. On the next floor, the way further down was blocked by a door that she would have to break down, after dealing with those who would chase her.

---

Fendros flinched as the blade touched him, but he could not avoid it. The noble's plan seemed desperate, foolish even, but Fendros was too focussed on his intention to kill Ahnasha. His look was beyond threatening, it was single-minded, completely devoted. His voice was still gravely, but carried menace enough to make a god shudder. "I promise this; if you kill her, either you or I will die in this place as well."