Tension rose between the silence of the group and the rocky walls of the dark cave they had wandered into. The possibility of the Orcrest clan being destroyed was unlikely, but it gradually weighed on them more with every step. The smell of lycans presented some relief, up until they remembered Vile's new tactic of emulating the scent for ambushes just like one they might be walking into.

Confronting the wall of shields and spears was a jolting shock at first; Gallus thought for a moment that the Dominion soldiers had tricked them all along. It was the last thing he expected. The seconds that followed were a mix of relief and caution. These people smelled of lycans.

"Ah-ah-hold on, hold on," Gallus stepped back and showed his hands. "Alright, we're putting our weapons down. No trouble." As Gallus carefully reached down to his hammer with one hand, he gave the others a nod. Uthri followed suit with slowly pulling out their weapons and dropping them onto the sandy floor with dull thuds. As for Irenya, she did not always bring weapons with her, but Gallus trusted her to disarm herself. In the action, Gallus even discarded the daggers from his belt and sleeve, but kept the one in his boot.

Fendros unbuckled his scabbard and let his sword and shield fall to the ground. He didn't say a word, but he knew that Meesei as capable of defending them for long enough to retrieve their weapons if these spearmen weren't genuine.

Gallus kept up the dialogue. "Thank Hircine we found you. In such tumultuous times as these, there was no guarantee that the Orcrest clan yet lived." Gallus forced a grin and tilted his head to Meesei, "Perhaps I had best let Meesei here put your fears to rest."