Vaeri did have to commend these men on one thing, her foes were professionals. They did not speak crudely like all their companions seemed to, and it was easy to tell from the way they were looking at her and each other that they respected her abilities as a fighter and each other to cover one another. They slowly circled clockwise around Vaeri, who rotated in place at the same pace to keep one from being able to properly attack her back. They were certainly cautious after seeing how quickly she took down the dogs. They were looking for a weak point in her guard, physically or mentally. And that chainmail would be difficult to get past with her weapon. Fortunately, Vaeri already had a plan around that.

One of the men stepped in, thrusting his blade forward, Vaeri responded by shoving the haft into his midsection, making him step back out of striking distance. At that time, the other man began moving forward. Vaeri aimed the pointed tip of her ax at him, trying to pierce him through one of the gaps in his chainmail, but it was a feint. The man sidestepped and slashed her thigh which was unprotected by armor. Vaeri  stepped  around and backed up to face both men. Her movement would be limited thanks to this injury, but now she was no longer flanked. She readjusts her grip so as to hold the bottom of the haft while keeping the same space between her hands, increasing her range and power further, but diminishing her ability to quickly maneuver the weapon. Each strike would have to be more deliberate. Any time one of the men would move in to try reestablishing the flank, a quick swipe of the ax would stop them in place.

Soon the men came to the nonverbal agreement that they would not be able to use the same tactics as they had begun with and shifted their stances to more aggressive ones as they charged in, weaving around and feinting as they went to throw off Vaeri's ability to defend. Instead of backing off as they thought she would, Vaeri advanced, taking a large step forward. One of the swordsman tried to stab her, but she let go of the ax with her left hand and grabbed his forearm before he could finish the thrust. In a moment of visible panic, he wildly slashed at her, cutting her face straight down the cheek, her right arm horizontally below the shoulder and the arm that had an iron grip on his. Each blow was like a hott needle being dragged across her body, but Vaeri maintained her composure. It did not matter if her limbs were injured, for her strength did not come from her muscles but her faith. And in the heat of battle, even the most grievous could be ignored.

With a mighty roar, Vaeri threw the man's arm to the side and grabbed him by the neck. That roar only grew mightier as she lifted him into the air and in a move that mimicked the previous fight with the dogs, threw him at his advancing partner. The human was not as agile as the hound, they slammed into each other into a groaning heap on the ground. Vaeri then extended her left hand, facing her palm down at the men on the ground.

"Perish! Flame Strike!" A beam of light pinpoints the men on the ground before a pillar of fire descended from the sky, scorching everything withing a 10 foot radius of the designated center of impact. Metal armor would not protect them from the holy flames, but would only serve as a conduit to better kill them. When Vaeri looked around, there were no more enemies to face. All the other men and the few remaining dogs were preoccupied with the other members for the hunting party. No longer in immediate danger, Vaeri silently prayed in thankfulness that she had been granted a spell that allowed her to dispatch the swordsman quickly, for they were skilled. Without Flame Strike, she might have even lost. Might have.