Once Lorag's opponent had been dispatched, everyone was able to pour out after Ra'maranja and his pack. Even Tzirret was pulled out by Uthri and found himself with a weapon in hand. They appeared to be trying to escape rather than fight. Leading the charge was Gallus, rushing at a furious pace that rivalled the Khajiits' natural speed, even with the boost of lycans. He intended to beat away any that stood in his way in pursuit of Ra'maranja. Gallus silently promised that, as soon as he had a clear shot at Ra'maranja with a knife, the traitor would not get away.

[hr]
Uninterrupted so far, Janius laid a thin blanket over both Newt and Rhazii where they laid in the crate. "Now, children, you have to wait here until one of us comes to get you. You mustn't move, you mustn't make a sound. Okay?" Janius did not do a good job of hiding his panic and Rhazii's crying worsened. The cub was still upset from the large burst of fire. Janius widened his eyes and put a finger to his lips. "Nonoo-shh-shh. Shh. Quiet now. You must be absolutely silent, you two. Son, hold onto Rhazii. I'll be back soon." Janius lifted the crate's lid over the two, leaving them with a forced smile. Janius didn't seal the crate - they still had to breathe - but they would be safe for now.

Pulling out the axe from his belt, Janius strode to the door of the storage hut and assessed the situation. His allies were pursuing Ra'maranja, and they would match his pack and catch them without any predictable trouble, but they weren't aware of the ambush party below. Speaking of which...Janius tried to find them amongst the trees, but they were nowhere to be found. That was until he spotted patches of white frost and spot-fires to the south. [i]Sabine! Peiter![/i] Their absence from the living room struck Janius like a mental hammer. If they had drawn off all of the enemies, they would need help, and fast.

Janius dropped his weapon and transformed on the platform he was on, letting his armour clatter to the deck below him as he outgrew it. He let out a low growl and sniffed the air. They were in that direction, to be sure. He could smell the blood they had lost on the air, even over the nearby fire. Janius vaulted the railing of the platform and swung around underneath it. He let go and grabbed onto the tree trunk with his claws, sliding down a short distance and marking the tree, but stopping and beginning to climb down as fast as he could. He leapt from as high as he dared and landed with a roll on the ground, sprinting south on all fours.

[hr]
Sabine was distraught to see the enemies catching up with them so quickly. Had they heard Peiter's howls of pain? No, they had to know they were headed in this direction. Either they predicted their movement outright, or saw Peiter's blood. That was another problem. Sabine looked to Peiter with panicked eyes, "The blood. They see it!" Sabine said.

They could hope to truly lose their enemies with such a clear sign from Peiter. Sabine slid to a halt and desperately tried to think of a solution. Fighting them off while they still had strength crossed her mind, but another idea surfaced as well. "The stream!" Sabine blurted out. The entire enemy force was between them and the stream, but it was a spot where they could shake them off. It was the only way out Sabine could see. Sabine slid to a halt and darted south-west. They would skirt very close to the archers, but it was the best chance they had unless Peiter had a better plan. Once they had enough distance, they could list west and eventually reach the stream. If they were lucky, the enemy might even think they were trying to double-back to the outpost the other way and waste time trying to cut them off again.