Ssarak Dyreackthanose

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As Ssarak feared, the situation did deteriorate quickly. Fortunately, their intimidation did at least bear some fruit, as two of the guards fled before the fighting could begin. This left their numbers evenly matched, but a fight was now certain. As Ssarak already had his weapon drawn he was ready to react immediately, even if he would rather not fight at all.

The robed man tried to claim that he was actually a demonomancer, but there was no way he could convince Ssarak of that. He had felt the pressure against his ward, not to mention how he was influencing Alaira. It was the same kind of misdirection Ssarak might attempt himself, even if it was less subtle and, to Ssarak, less convincing. 

_"Do not believe him; he is a psychomancer."_ Ssarak warned telepathically to the others just as the guard captain began to rush him. However, he did not know about the illusory demons, so if any of his allies did not trust his word completely, he would not know to convince them that they were not real. Still, given how he was harming Alaira, Ssarak knew that it would be best to attempt to deal with him sooner rather than later.

The guard captain's swift charge gave Ssarak little opportunity to deliver a blow himself, as his maul required more time to deliver a full swing than a sword. Despite his rage, the captain at least seemed to be fighting intelligently by closing the gap and preventing Ssarak from using the advantage of reach. Even so, Ssarak was undeterred, as fighting in extreme close quarters was not something he was unfamiliar with. The head of his maul required force to move around its greater mass, but the haft of the weapon could be manipulated fairly quickly, especially while pivoting about its point of balance in the head. Holding his weapon horizontally in front of him, Ssarak quickly moved it down once he saw that the captain was thrusting towards his hand, then snapped it up to clash against the blade with the haft of his weapon, which absorbed the majority of the force from the attack. 

With his gauntlets protecting his hands, Ssarak was comfortable moving into a counter. Continuing the motion of his initial block, he pushed the haft of the weapon  up and to the right, with the head remaining relatively stationary.  This pushed the captain's sword out of the way for a moment, giving Ssarak a chance to retaliate. Using the momentum he already had, Ssarak turned his upper body and charged forward, leading with his left shoulder. This meant that most of his body was at an angle to the captain, so his attacks were more likely to deflect off of his armor, rather than imparting the force head-on. He hoped to use his superior strength and sheer body mass to knock the captain over, and give him the advantage.