Lyamis (Naga), Catacomb

Lyamis’ head turned in time to see a small, bluish elf aim her crossbow into the Naga’s mist as she mentioned something about orders to kill them from a Tyrael. From Ssarak’s and Grey’s reaction, he could only assume he was some of great importance. He didn’t know this ‘Tyrael’ was actually the demon Karnage since he hadn’t changed his name until he arrived at the college else the betrayal would’ve brought Mar’s abilities into question. Twelve arrows flittered through the tunnel’s air as the snow elf vanished back among the ridge hounds, her eyes seemed to burn with determination to kill them. Each targeted Naga, himself included, had three arrows aimed at the heart, throat and other vulnerable spot meant to put them into Malice.

When the arrows were release, Lyamis was too late to hiss a warning when his body swayed to intercept and protect the Matriarch. His arms shifted about to create a barrier with his very body and arms dropped his weapon into his tail, his arms spread out to cover as much of her fragile as he could. Another glint and one of his hand blades were in his hand ready to end his life before Malice took him. It wasn’t needed as Grey’s and Ssarak’s shields promptly came up. The large surfaces collided with the steel points and shattered the arrows on impact, their pieces shifting back to ridge hound bones when they clattered to the ground. Grey’s shield caught five while Ssarak’s managed to gain four, sparing Lyamis, the Matriarch and one other Naga from being greatly damaged. However, the youngest female, the very one Lyamis had been trying to control wasn’t so lucky.

Her eyes turned and unfocused on her fellow Naga, she failed to see Lyamis’ physical warning before she struck into the skull back from her side. It didn’t touch the brain, but did immediately killed her on impact. Her body gone limp while two more arrows made fleshy thump, one after another, into her still standing body. She crumbled into the ground. Besides Ssarak, Darius was the only other one that knew of the Naga’s Malice ability from how to prevent-a blow into the brain- and how long it would take until the ‘deceased’ rose from death to act her fellow companions or enemies.

In an ill twist of fate, it wasn’t the Matriarch who was closest to the Malice Naga but Grey when he quickly pulled back to cover their rear from the attacking shapeshifter who was screaming emotionally. With Grey occupied, the Matriarch exposed, and Ridge Hound swarming for another push through the rattled Naga, someone was going to have to protect the guardsman before things got nasty quickly.

Lyamis, spotting the fact one of the students were already intent on following orders from the imposture, was already putting together a plan that might work within his mind. Through at the rate the student was hacking and burying himself in Ridge Hound bodies, their weight would likely keep him pinned for a few hours. ’If he comes too close, is it possible for the Esyire to keep distracted him long enough for me to wrap about him and bite him? My venom would paralyze him for a few hours and we don’t have much time, one Naga’s been hit and killed improperly. She will turn Malice and I can’t be sure to get a head shot without risking the larger man or leaving the Matriarch unprotected.’

Already he was shifting his spear to his tail and preparing to stab the young female who hissed softly, her eyes glazed over in a milky white seen in death. Her head already damaged, but not enough, while she swayed in place in warning. Lyamis placed himself firmly between her and their leader, his weapon at the ready. The others were still unaware as the protective circle became crumbled, one half of the circle scattered when the arrows found a way into their midst. Unknown to Lyamis, another Naga within their ranks was slowly bleeding to death, her mind fading from sanity into pure emotion she struggled to contain. If no one noticed the signs, it was likely they would have another threat on their hands.

Cosh Pack

Several striped streaks of fur and muscle powered through the grey landscape. Their paw like hands propelled them forward and through the various underbrush and trees, their breath misting over the lolled out tongues in heavy pants. Howls, high pitched and eerily terrible, rain across the morning’s air to echo through the woods. Their noses twitched out at the scent of cherry blossom lingering faintly in the air while they sought their quarry. When Keri sent E’nasha into the woods, alone, to see out Althalus, the Noxomancer was long gone and his way to teleporting Mar to the medical wing. This left her easy prey for the creatures who didn’t follow Keri into the thick of battle.

Growls from invisible Cosh snarled from somewhere close, scenting Keri’s cherry blossom smell upon the human fairly easily. They drew closer and closer, their white teeth hidden behind their camouflage ability. It was enough to frighten the girl into darting back to where she had heard the screaming earlier. The Cosh pulling into her wake, quietly stalking her back to the others.

Lyn’s… Bear

Red little eyes glowed when it spotted Mackendrick move fast and close to Samson, a small wicked growl escape the usually calm toy’s demeanor. It shuddered rapidly, the outline vibrating at an increasing rate as it abruptly sprouted in height. Legs increased in length followed by arms, its height nearly to Uicle’s, as the bear wiggled its claws experimentally. Its muzzle curled into a malicious smile before it pushed off with one leg into a flat out bolt across the meadow. The speed was almost as fast as Samson, the toy picking up more speed the longer it moved across the grass, leaving plots of little dirt behind in its wake.

While it couldn’t see Samson, Annabeth or Lyn, it could barely see Mackendrick. And so going with the only visible target, the bear opened its mouth then collected a chilling breath before firing a rapid succession of about three small, narrow icicles just where Mackendrick seemed to be heading. It might not stop him but it would slow him down enough for the bear to catch up.

"LIAR LIAR LIAR! SHUT UP! YOU'RE A RUSE! ALL OF YOU VOICES ARE ALWAYS WRONG!" Baulder yelled (and thought) when he heard something tell him that Tyrael was not real. When Baulder heard the incredibly loud "Waaaaarghhh" it confirmed his suspicions. The Naga had psychomancers, that angered Baulder immensely, you filth will stay out we are our own. Baulder thought as he began cutting into more hounds. At this point he was wading through knee high corpses and swatting away various sizes of hounds. Some would just jump at him in attempts to bite him but they would bump into other hounds doing the same thing or meat his fist in their throat. His arms were ragged and bloody now but it was hardly slowing him down, his anger was the primary fuel for his suicidal charge towards the naga. However the weight of the bodies hitting him from all directions and the piles of corpses around him had ground his advance to a halt.

Then something strange even to Baulder happened. John suddenly appeared next to him looking confused. Baulder had not summoned him had he? Never the less Baulder quickly got to work with his demon. "John we fight more yes! KILL. EAT. PUNISH." John quickly started punching the hounds around him and using the slender bodied animals as weapons against their brethren. Baulder began to feel a warm liquid dripping out of his nose and running down his chin. No time. No time. No time. He had to keep killing, there were so many hounds. Baulder couldn't think about anything else anymore other than the killing. He was covered head to toe in blood now but not all of it was his. Baulder couldn't help but wonder if he was going to fail Tyrael, was he going to die?

NO! Baulder could feel his head beginning to hurt and suddenly all the rest of the pain in his body ceased and it felt as if he was weightless. His eyes felt like they were bulging out of his head and he could feel his head beat with his heart. He was swinging now with a renewed vigor while all of his pain (except his head) left his body. Kill. Kill. Kill. Baulder was still stopped and the bodies piling continuously higher around him but he knew that he had to keep going or the wave would engulf him instead of breaking against him. Baulder began laughing but quickly stopped as the taste of his own blood filled his mouth and he decided to keep it shut as he started choking on his own blood.

Lyn, Lyn's Hunt

Lyn knew she should’ve been worried and frightened by now, her grip tight on purpose as she bounced next to Annabeth with each of Samson’s movements. Her body pressed close to the older girl and worry, quelled by the spell, hovered faintly nearby causing her to realize something was dreadfully wrong. She scanned the area expecting to see her mother emerge with spear in hand and engage the uninvited guests, but with each new arrival her worry was increasing when it wasn't the one she needed the most. Immediately she concluded who was the one that had been screaming deep in the woods.

The acknowledgement smacked her like a cold, damp rag which was shoved aside unwillingly by the spell Annabeth had casted. Her arms squeezed the older woman’s figure and needing the comforting touch, trying to understand why she wasn’t feeling as terrible as she knew she should. Her mother was possibly dying somewhere in the forest, her allies being attacked, and all she could feel was an eerie sense of calm. Something about what Satori mentioned about psychomancy clicked in her thoughts causing her to frown, her eyes narrowed on her caretaker with accusation and a hint of hurt.

Annabeth had casted a calming spell on her stop her from being frighten, but it also kept her from other emotions.

The troublesome thoughts didn’t stop there however. Guilt swelled in her chest, faded and unclear, where it sat even though she knew who she was feeling wasn’t her fault. If she could cry, she would’ve in that moment. Her family and friends were already rushing to deal with the invaders yet all she could do was stay out of the way. This thought caused her to press her cheek against the woman, her eyes closed to block out the scene. Naturally, on instinct, her heat pits took up the duty her eyes tried to shut off. It spread and started to collect information, including several heat signals, and one heading fast toward the pair as if tracking them. Like he knew where to find them.

Abruptly Lyn’s body jerked upright at sensing MacKendrick.

Even when he was moving in a blur to all others, her sense of heat caught him perfectly. While she didn’t have enough details to predict his movements, she knew the others couldn’t hit him at this rate and her mind tried to recall if she had any of her herbamancy seeds on her. To her disappointment it seemed in her excitement this morning, she had forgotten them.

Still at least clear minded, she released her hands from Annabeth’s waist and began to search her own given medical kit rapidly but thoroughly. Her fingers lifted up various straps and covers to reveal the contents inside as she found something suitable. Hop seeds.

Lyn focused her magic into the seeds then abruptly tossed them just before MacKendrick got up close and personal, his dagger edged to hamstring Samson. The moment the seeds flew into his direction, they extended and burst into its fully grown state just when he reached them. They would constrict to press Mackendrick’s arms about his body and tie him up with vine like strings, hopefully sparing Samson from being horribly crippled.

Hops was often used as an energy boost which Samuel thought would likely beneficial so it was little surprised he packed a few seeds for relieving exhaustion during her hunt. A woody, vine like plant that when properly tended to grew like a weed. Being a herbamancer, it naturally suited her needs perfectly but the aftermath was tiresome. Already her head felt a little light from the magic usage giving her a warning she had used a great deal of her arcanite, leaving her just enough mage blood to cast one or two more spells, if she was lucky, without blood sickness setting in.

Successful or not in hitting MacKendrick, she felt her grip loosen from Annabeth and leaned in close to where she had tossed the seeds. Annabeth would have to react quickly as all she would catch was Lyn quiet mumble and tired thoughts. ”I t-t-think I over d-d-did it-t.”

With no adrenaline surging through her system, keeping energetic and alert was impossible in her state.

Leith watched with a wince as he watched the girl get tossed away by the Naga. The way she fell showed that she had more than a few broken bones. That didn't help with the vampire hunter making his way towards her. He needed to stop the man, and Annabeth's idea sounded very promising. Taking a deep breath, Leith reached out with his arms and started pulling moisture from the air and dragged into the ground beneath the man's feet. He then started to churn the soil using the water he had gathered. Very quickly, mud would start forming under the man's feet and if he did nothing he would sink in the mud up to the middle of his shins.

That had taken a lot of effort from Leith, but he wasn't done yet. He pulled up his left sleeve and raked one of the talons from his gauntlet across his forearm to draw blood. He didn't know much about vampires, but from what he heard, blood can help them recover from injuries quickly, and they needed everyone they could get to help. He started pulling blood from his arm until he had a handful. After he had done that, he swayed momentarily as he felt a wave of dizziness flow over him, but he pushed through that and pulled down his sleeve and pulled up the hood of his cloak. He then sent the blood through the thickening smoke towards the downed vampire and pushed the small ball against her mouth and waited for her to start drinking.

At the same time as he sent the blood towards the girl, Leith walked towards the armoured man. "Killing vampires that can't fight back isn't something that you can talk about and sound like you were in the right. Why don't you fight a vampire that you can have a good story about?" he asked the armoured man to distract him from the blood that he was feeding to the girl, and he hoped that what could be seen of him made him look like a vampire to the hunter. The smoke from the arrow that Annabeth shot did a good job of hiding the girl from sight, but the man could just continue walking towards the girl.

---

Darius was angry at several things. He was angry at the amount of ridge hounds that were swarming them. He was angry at the fact that the Naga being here meant that most likely, the mission to gather resources will have to be stopped for them. He was angry at the insane man for leaving them to their own to attack the Naga, and he was angry at the fact that he let himself be unaware of the situation and having three ridge hounds jumping him from three different angles.

The anger went towards his Areomancy in a burst that went out around him. Knocking the ridge hounds of course. One went flying into a wall and went limp, and the other two landed safely an jumped at him again. Darius took a few deep breaths and then he was on the attack. He split the head of the ridge hound closest to him in half and stepped out of the way of the second hound, decapitating it with a savage swing as it went by.

"We need to regroup!" he shouted to the others as he started hacking his way towards the Naga and Ssarak. He heard Tyrael yelling at someone in the group of Naga, and then he heard a roar that came from deeper in the catacombs that sounded like Tyrael as well. It sounded like there was an imposter. The nice part was that the roar seemed to disrupt the ridge hounds enough that he could kill a few while they were stunned. He made his way closer to the Naga and found himself beside the insane man. He was cutting down ridge hounds and creating a pile that threatened to cover the man. His demon was back as well. He was covered in blood from what Darius could see blood was pouring out of the man's nose. There were wounds all over the man. If he were to continue, he could die. Darius pulled some of the ridge hounds away to get to the man. Once that was done, Darius entered the fray with the man.

"You need to stop now. You are overexerting yourself. Fall back to the others." He would continue fighting the ridge hounds with the man until he either agreed or didn't. If he didn't, he would attempt to drag the man back to the group where they would continue making their way towards the Ssarak and the Naga.

Annabeth Gulch

"Lyn, things are very dangerous right now. There are bad people here who... Who want to hurt you. We're going to make sure they don't do that. So hold on tight and do what I tell you, okay? I'll make sure everyone is okay."

Things were chaotic, but Annabeth kept a close eye on it all. The man from the demon attack moved towards Samson's path; Annabeth figured he would be able to figure out her movements. Summer had a strange man made of a swarm of bees behind her, though Athalus managed to shoot him long enough to give Summer some time to escape. Annabeth wasn't certain of the situation with Leith and the armored knight, but she hoped he would be able to take him on. The naga seemed to be fighting off something near her tail, which if Annabeth guessed was right, it was Summer's doing. "Good. I have a target then."

Everything had to be executed quickly. First, Annabeth turned her body around and aimed towards the naga's back. Another broadhead arrow was sent flying towards the creature, aimed approximately between the lower back and shoulders. It was no headshot, but it could pierce a heart or at least grievously wound the naga. Next Annabeth needed to get ready for the man from the demon invasion. A bow wouldn't be good; he was moving in too fast. She needed to take advantage of his speed. "You may be able to move fast, but let's see how fast you can stop!" Annabeth shouted in her own mind.

Annabeth put her bow away in her saddle bag; it wasn't the proper place to put it but it was the closest. Next she took out her boar spear. She was going to try to stab the man, but then Lyn did... Something. Something that caused her grip to weaken. "No, no no!" Annabeth used her other hand to hold onto Lyn closely, making sure she doesn't end up falling off. She lost her chance to attack the man, nad instead had to keep Lyn steady and pull Samson away. Lyn had no strength to even stay on the horse on her own. Annabeth needed to make her escape. "C'mon Samson, let's go!"

Lucilia Riovas

As Sam briefed her, Lucilia took out the medicines she needed. Ethers to replenish blood and archanite in the body, blood thickeners to make Mar's wounds clot and stop bleeding, and pain killers so that Mar won't struggle too much as they operate. They still don't know the cause of what's happening aside that it was obviously magical in nature. A vitamancer or something was forcing Mar's own body to tear itself apart. It must have been something made by a master vitamancer, because Lidda couldn't overpower it with her own magic. Someone wants Mar dead. "But who? The ocean nagas? Do they even have someone capable of doing this?" Lucilia said mostly to herself.

Sam asked Lucilia about her previous curse, which got a groan from the vampire. "There are a lot of things for me to worry about, Sam. Right now I have to focus on this." Fortunately at that time Uicle came in. Lucilia was honestly surprised that he was here. Was Aarem cursing them today? Was he displeased at last month's offering? Was watching Mar writhe in pain just another cruel way for the evil god to make Uicle, and everyone else, suffer for his amusement? Lucilia didn't know. But if this was the case, he wasn't going to have his way. Not if Lucilia had anything to do with it. "Mar is losing blood fast, use your Hydromancy to keep her blood flowing back into her body. If need be, use that necromancy to make sure her soul doesn't escape before we can save her." Shortly after Satori came in, who looked rather shocked at what was happening before her. Lucilia informed her of everything through her mind, as well as what she needs Satori to do.

"We don't have time to do an examination. Satori, search Mar's thoughts for how this could have happened. Find everything that happened in her memories from now to an hour ago. Someone or something did this to her, and with any luck Mar saw who or what it was. Lidda, if you can't stop the transformations, handle damage control. Make sure she doesn't inadvertently maim herself or anyone else while we try to stop this." Taking a sharp breath Lucilia looked down at Mar's lower half. It looked like it had been split apart, but upon closer observation she could see... Legs. "It looks like Mar's tail is turning into legs... Gods, it's just like the little mermaid... Keep her body from going into shock. I need to get this medicine into her body. Try to keep her bones from stabbing me."

Lucilia had her medicines hooked up to tubes and needles, now she just needed to get them into one of Mar's veins. However getting close ends up with Lucilia getting stabbed. Being a vampire she ignored the wounds, but was more worried about Mar's body damaging the medical equipment. Not only was it expensive to replace, but if she cuts the tubes the medicine won't be flowing into her body. She needed to get the medicine into Mar's body to keep her alive.

Meanwhile Satori took a seat on a nearby bed and started looking through Mar's thoughts. It was chaotic and filled with memories, but Satori was only looking for what happened recently. Obviously Mar's current mind was a jumbled mess, but that only made things easier for Satori to her thing. With Mar losing the grip on her own mind, Satori can easily take control. But something wasn't right... It wasn't just as if Mar lost control of herself. It was almost as if... Someone was controlling her right now. A vitamancer and a Psychomancer? Satori cracked her knuckles. "Challenge accepted..."

Ssarak Dyreackthanose - Catacombs

---

After the flurry of arrows, and the attack from behind from the shapeshifter, Ssarak had much to contend with. Until they could push through the hounds and join with the rest of the students, his priority was to protect the Naga behind him. They were still holding against the ridge hounds in front of them, though after the scream from elsewhere in the catacombs, which Ssarak could only guess came from the real Tyrael, more of the beasts were turning to focus on them. At the very least, the hounds were currently trapped between Ssarak and the Naga, and the students ahead of them.

Now that he no longer had to guard against arrows, Ssarak could return to thinning out the ridge hounds in front of them. Baulder was being stopped in his tracks by the beasts, so he was not the most present threat. At the same time, he did what he could to filter out the frenzy of thoughts around him for those that seemed important. Verbally and mentally, he heard the shapeshifter shouting about some female that Grey had evidently killed, but he would need to give more focus to its mind to gain any more detail. At the moment, he also had the worried minds of the Naga to contend with. He heard Lyamis’ thoughts on Baulder, and more worryingly a maliced Naga among them. As a unit, their line could deny the hounds the ability to flank, but that line could fall apart if its own members were turning on it.

Glancing back quickly, Ssarak was the young woman who had been felled by the arrow. Soon, she would be a danger to everyone around her. Although, as unfortunate as her death was, Ssarak had already taken advantage of a maliced Naga’s barbaric instincts before. He knew how he could handle her. The doppelganger he had left to help Tyrael had dissipated long ago, so he created another that quickly ran to the fallen Naga. When she rose again, the first thing she would see would be his illusion, which would do anything it could to capture her attention. Given that a malice Naga lacked the ability to reason, Ssarak did not need to make the details of his doppelganger exceptionally convincing, just enough to make it seem like a legitimate target to the enraged reptilian. From there, his doppelganger would lead the maliced Naga back to the shapeshifter, where her body could hopefully do some good before they had to destroy it.

As a warning, Ssarak sent a telepathic message to Grey and the Naga around him, including Lyamis. ”I can contend with the maliced woman. Grey, I am going to guide her back to you. A Naga in malice is essentially an enraged corpse who will try to kill every living thing around it. My illusion will try to guide it to the shapeshifter; let them fight, and take advantage however you can.”

Ssarak continued to multitask between fighting the hounds in front of him, and scanning the minds around them. The arrows had caused disarray in their ranks, and they needed to form together more tightly to bolster their defense. Among the worry and discord, Ssarak felt the presence of intense pain, and intense anger. Another glance back and he was able to see the one from whom these thoughts were originating. With his eyes on the ridge hounds ahead of him, he used his shield to defend while he reached into a pouch at his side with his sword hand and pulled out a rune from within. The college had given them an allowance of supplies for their mission, among them being a healing rune.

Ssarak reached his hand back towards Lyamis to offer him the rune while sending him another telepathic message. ”Another of your warriors is wounded; get this healing rune to her.” He said, followed by a brief instruction on how to use it. ”We need everyone to form around the matriarch, and the wounded, quickly.” He added.

Keri Wolf Lyns Hunt

Keri shifted her position slightly trying to get up. She did know what was happening and that made her feel scared. As she tried to lift up signals of quick pain rippled through her body. She stopped doing anything now knowing full well the damage of her body. Keri placed a shaky hand trying to see what needed to be done. The bones seemed to have healed making her softly mumble a curse.

Keri started hesitating with her leg not wanting to fix it right away. This mostly of her not wanting to feel the pain as the bone slide from its place towards the original placement. The taunting voices of her to brothers flooded her mind making it hard not to prove them wrong. Keri pushed as the sound of cackling tree in the wind filled her ears. The pain traveled up making her bit her tongue to muffle her screams. The second leg proved too much to keep the screams back.

Keri didn't bother with her arm due wanting to duck out of the way. A small ball had gotten her attention making her curious. The smell of blood it a welcomed treat. As it came close to her lips her throat became dry. She opened her lips and felt the blood travel down her throat. Her bones were feeling much better as the last drop was consumed.

E'docsil

The shape shifter screamed in hatred, her eyes glued to Grey. The head and neck of the false Tyrael began to shift and crack, melting and molding like clay. When all was said and done, there was the head of a dragon staring down at Grey. It's long sinuous neck snarled at Grey, watching the axe crash down and through her arm. She screamed, the useless limb falling to the ground. However, muscle and tissue immediately shot out of her stump and grasped the edge of the shield, quickly growing more form and strength. Fire blasted out of her dragon head, intent upon roasting Grey alive.

She completely ignored the illusion, the Maliced Naga, and Chessmaster's voice in her head trying to command her to fall back. She had to destroy Grey. Blood demands blood.

Grey's Axe

AHAHAHA! I'VE GOT THE BITCH NOW! HIT HER WITH ME AGAIN!

Fire erupted from the head of the axe, burning unnaturally.

Mackendrick

The assassin grunted in surprise and irritation as he found his hands suddenly bound and unable to move by stupid plants. Still running, he lowered his hands down to his stomach, pressing against it briefly. Then, with a small flex of his arms, he snapped the plants binding him. "Clever, but not enough!" He called, pressing a hand against his temple. "There you are..." He said quietly, before taking off in the direction of Samson and the target.

Althalus

He didn't have time to see if he had saved Summer from the axe man. The masked attacker was on the move again, this time barreling towards him, presumably after Samson as Annabeth finally decided it was time to run. Took her long enough. He seethed, drawing a knife. He had to slow down or stop Mackendrick so Annabeth could get away. While he certainly couldn't hit the fast bastard, he could step in front of him. Hopefully, he doesn't have the same plan for me and have his own knife out! Althalus thought, chuckling slightly insanely to himself.

When he saw two of the three ice bolts (When in the name of the Inferno had Uicle had time to operate on the bear anyway? When did it become so lethal and terrifying?) graze the running man and cause him to stumble, Althalus leapt at his chance. He jumped in front of Mackendrick, holding his knife at the ready.

It was like being rammed into by a horse. Althalus hit the ground hard, rolling to a stop. He was sure at least one thing was broken, but more importantly, he had stopped the assassin, if only briefly.

Mackendrick again.

The assassin gasped as he felt one ice spike graze his knee, and the other clip his head. They weren't enough to do any serious damage, but they did cause him to stumble and slow, taking his eyes off of where he was going for a brief time. That was all they needed, was for him to let his guard down for a few seconds. Suddenly there was a blade in his side, and he had to stop. He let out a scream through gritted teeth, quickly grasping the knife and yanking it out. He had let his guard down and paid the price for it. He wouldn't underestimate these mages again. "I'll deal with you later." He snarled at Althalus, throwing the man's knife at him. It missed by a hairsbreadth, Althalus rolling out of the way.

That's when the bear hit Mackendrick straight in the back in a snarling mass of anger and steel.

Alaira's opponent.

The man frowned. "That's unusual. Unforseen. Never before done. Very well. We can't give you all at once, unfortunately, but we can give you all of them should you manage to beat one. Bare fists first? Yeah, he hasn't been challenged in a long while." The scarred man's body began to shift and grind, taking on new shapes and muscle masses. What was standing before Alaira was the scarred man if he had been born a Forest Elf, cracking his knuckles.

"The first new challenger they give me in ages, and it's a disgusting half-breed? No pure elf would look so...orcish. Tell me, half-breed, was your mother raped, drugged, or simply stupid?"

Knight

The knight whipped his shield around towards the sound of the arrow as he heard the familiar yet unfamiliar twang of a bow off to his side. The arrow smashed against his shield, casting smoke everywhere and blocking his vision. "You can use all the tricks you want, abomination! It won't save you!" He called, heading towards where he had last seen Keri. At the very least, it would get him out of the smoke and into the fight. That was his plan, at least, until he began to sink in the mud. "Gods damn it! Face me like an honorable opponent and be killed like one! Do not make me hunt you down in this smoke and kill you like a frightened rat!" He raged, yanking his boots out of the mud with violent force.

His armor head turned towards Leith, just able to make out his form in the smoke, as the Hydromancer began to talk to him. "Don't worry, 'vampire'. If you're so eager to die I will get to you next." The Vampire Hunter quickly raised and fired the bolt at Leith's chest. If he really was a Vampire, he'd have no problems dodging.

Bending his knees, he suddenly leapt from the sucking mud, sending it flying everywhere around him as he was air borne, crashing down just where Keri had been, his shield leaving a furrow in the ground. Yanking it out of the ground, he turned to face Keri. "There you are abomination! I was worried I'd have to hunt you down!" With that, he cocked back his arm and threw it at the vampire like a viciously lethal frisbee, flying through the air towards Keri's stomach.

Lira had no idea what to do with the weapon she was given. She quickly felt it and made a frown "Um what is this and how exactly do you intend for me to use it?" She said "Look I'm going to find us a way out there's to many of them" She said helping the female up with out another word she began to search for an exit or least a way to higher ground. She could feel fatigue setting in her adrenaline was running out. "Hey the entrance you guys came through how close is it we can use that to escape"Lira waited for a reply all the while hearing the fighting not to far away. She was kind of glad and not so glad at the same time. It kept the hounds distracted mostly, how ever the shouting sounded like something else was wrong something other then the pack of dogs. Some times she wish she could see, but in this case she was glad she didn't. She wasn't squeamish, but the amount of corpse both old and new had pile up, any water around or shallow holes in the ground where slicked with blood of the fallen. Which made her cringed when she stepped in some. remind me to bath after all this she thought

Meirin Kurenai

Suddenly from the forest, a heavy gust blew. When the armored warrior shot at Leith, the arrow flew off course. And the source of that wind was Meirin, propelled through the air and heading straight towards the knight when he was stuck in the mud. She shorten the distance in her runs using quick weaving motions that allowed her to fire off gusts of wind, letting her gain ten to fifteenth feet each blast. When she saw the attacker make a great leap from the mud to one of her fellow students, Meirin also leaped after him, right after he tossed his shield at Keri. Meirin had to angle her fall and time it right, but when she did she would have stopped the shield by smashing it into the ground, landing on it. The red-haired monk looked no worse for wear, her face showing a serious and stony demeanor.

"What sort of 'honorable' knight would attack students of the college, unprovoked? Who would allow his allies to threaten a child and their guardians? You're no knight, not by any stretch of the word. You don't even have the honor of a warrior. You're just a murderer in a suit of armor."

Brandishing her long hammer, Meirin attacked while she spoke to the warrior. She aimed her hammer to sunder through his crossbow, and whether that succeeded or not, she also swung low to smash the warrior's knee. Meirin did not stay put after her strike, quickly putting distance between herself and the knight, but staying close to Keri. From what little she heard, Meirin assumed that the warrior had something against vampires, so she knew Keri was a high priority target to the mad man. She pointed her weapon at the warrior once Meirin had disengaged from him, ready for any tricks, be it magical or mundane.

Myrn Vaan'Atisha

Things got quickly chaotic when, right after the scream that stunned the ridge hounds, Baulder went on a suicidal charge to kill the naga. Myrn knew very little of Tyrael beyond the fact that he was a demonomancy teacher, but even she questioned his "orders" when Aramir told everyone about it. In fact Myrn questioned if Aramir even did rely those orders, since she could quite clearly see that Aramir had been more-or-less the same location when they first confronted the Ridge Hounds, yet the voice came from somewhere within the pack itself. Myrn was confused, but she could guess there was some trickery involved. What sort and why, she didn't know, but what mattered right now was dealing with these Ridge Hounds.

Despite Baulder's foolish actions, at least his efforts were stemming the horde. The creatures were too busy eating their own dead to attack the students, giving everyone chances to cut down a few more. But Baulder was most likely going to die if he kept going no matter how many ridge hounds he killed along the way. Darius moved in to save him and Myrn was going to follow. But then she heard Lira saying that she was going to try to find an exit, and when she did Myrn saw more Ridge Hounds lunge at her. Why Lira didn't notice them herself the wood elf didn't know, but Myrn didn't waste time as she dashed forward and cut down the beasts before they hurt Lira.

"Lira, there's no time to find an escape! Just, stay here!" Myrn grasped Lira by her hand and took her towards Aramir, who was doing a good job keeping most of the ridge hounds at bay. Myrn cut down a few more as she approached the snow elf, her mood changing from deathly serious to more flirty. "Love the way you use your fingers, sweet lolita. Mind watching this girl for me? I need to help everyone else, but then I'll be back to pick you up. Toodles!" After dropping off Lira, if she didn't already try to run away, Myrn went to go help Darius save Baulder by cutting down any more Ridge Hounds that were trying to get to them. However there were so many, dead or alive, that it made it hard for Myrn to actually get to them without jumping off of corpses and skeletons. Baulder wasn't looking too good either, and while Myrn had some herbs to help patch up his injuries she can't help him until he's out of danger.

"Darius, I don't suppose you know any spells that would clear a way back for us? If you need time, I'll fend them off for as long as I can!"

Lira who actually hadn't notice the hounds behind her was startled when the female had cut them down. Her since where so clogged by all the noise it almost paralyzed her. Though she could hear the female clearly saying that they could or didn't have time to escape. She didn't try to fight when she was dragged over to another girl though was tempted to pick her up and flee the nonsense. "I am not a child to be passed along members to be watched" She tried to argue but the female had ran off already. Annoyed at being passed off like a kid she held the arrow searching for the point so she could at least help the person she was stuck with for now. She didn't try to make conversation trying to drown out as much of the useless noise and focus on what is close by. She manage to cut down one or two of the smaller hounds if any had gotten by. How ever their hits where more of lucky shots then her ability to hurt them.

Keri Wolf

Since the knight seemed to be content with staying on the other side of the smoke. Keri used this opportunity to push off the tree towards her weapon. It was a huge risk granted but she had to do something. Thankfully Keri was able to grab the sword’s hilt before skidding to a halt near the Naga. The glimpse Keri had seen made the Naga look wounded in the heart. The woman seemed to be bond, struggling with her binds, trying to get free. A thump made her head turn towards the knight to find an odd sight.

A red haired woman standing on a shield made an appearence between them. Keri’s grip tighten waiting for a familiar sight to play out. The way her words sounded to Keri made her think that this was a student which made her relieved. So far none of the student she had encountered was intent on attacking her yet. This made Keri doubt her treatment towards them. The sound of stretching plant made her head turn. Keri sprung into action tearing enough of the plant to expose the Naga’s neck drinking only a pint due to the taste.

Once the woman had stopped her attack Keri run to go find Althalus. Those two seemed to be more experienced than her so she was sure they could handle the knight. Closer she got the more of a familiar blood scent filled her nose. When two people came into her view she recognized Althalus and he seemed to be in trouble. At full speed Keri leaned back sliding into the unknown figure. Towards the end she had rolled and was now crouching beside Althalus. If the man in the white mask didn't move he was find out that his present from Keri would be a broken ankle.

” I assume this guy is after Lyn. What's the plan here Althalus? You tell me what you want to do and I'll make it happen. I may not be at full strength but I'll be damned if he gets to Lyn before getting through me.” Keri spoke to him in a respectful tone but a hint of fury laid in as well. Her eyes turned pure black as she tightened her grip on the sword hilt. As if to plead the enemy to make a move Keri stood up in a ready position just in case he had some type of advantage like the Naga did.

When the knight raised his crossbow and pointed it at Leith, Leith took a small step back in surprise. He wasn't expecting the knight to just shoot at him. With a grimace, he threw his hands up and started pulling water from the air to form a screen between him and the knight, but before he could work on the density of the water, the crossbow bolt punched through the screen. He watched, stupefied, as the bolt came flying towards him. No move he could make would help. He was going to die. When the bolt was halfway to him, something blew it out of the way. He looked over to see Meirin coming flying out of the woods towards the knight.

The wind that Meirin used to blow the crossbow bolt out of the way also started clearing the smoke. From the looks of it, Meirin could handle the knight. Summer, however, now that he could see, had to deal both with the Naga and a man aiming to cut the girl down. For a second, Leith thought he could see through the man's chest, but he blinked, and the hole was gone. Without another thought took off at a sprint towards the man. He covered ground quickly, but he was starting to tire. By the time he arrived, the man was halfway through his swing. Leith shot his hand out, and caught the man's axe by the blade. The sound of grating steel filled the area as the axe made contact with Leith's gauntlet.

”You're not...going to kill...anyone today," Leith managed to say between gasps for air. Then, he attempted to pull the axe out of the man's grasp, ready to fall back if anything unnatural happened.

Lyamis (Naga), Catacomb

Lyamis watched in sheer awe as, from nowhere, Ssarak seemed to rush forward. His shield up and sword ready, the illusion looked on first glance appeared identical until the male Naga’s eyes narrowed and focused on details. However, the malice Naga didn’t know and immediately her head jerked to the side. Her torso swayed as she turned about face, ignoring him, and hissed at the materialized creature nearest her. Instinct overruled common intelligence when her tail lashed outward, her tail whipped at the target in hopes to knock the creature off balance before she attacked. Naturally the doppelganger darted slightly to the side then teased the Naga a bit causing her to slither off toward the new threat and Grey.

In the background, Baulder was howling and bellowing through the catacombs. His arms hacking and slicing when another student came to his aid, trying to pull him back with caution. The other students seem to be struggle despite the roar stunning a few of the ridge hounds, a fact the Naga took complete advantage of and quickly cut as many as they could down. Their tails quickly slamming the corpses away to prevent them from piling up nearby, even taking a few careless hounds out in the process. Those near Grey abruptly stopped when Ssarak entered their heads. their eyes shifted and sought the source, unfamiliar with psychomancy, while feeling the tension in their forms creep in from the newness.

Lyamis’ thoughts reflexed their fear through gentle words toward whom he believed was the source, his body language and stance a visible clue that they need not be frightened.When mention of his wounded Naga came into his thoughts, his hand jerked out and caught the tossed run easily in one movement. A visual display followed shortly causing him to nod in understanding. Interesting, through unusual. We usually bind wounds and let our own heal, but not now.

The male’s eyes shifted to the wounded Naga. His figured started to glide forward and jerk to the leaning female’s side, her skin pale and sweating, to gesture for her to retreat. The Naga hissed in resistance at his dominance causing Lyamis to press his advantage. His tail twitched and his body raised, gaining in height over the much older huntress showing obvious tension between the two. Matriarch's aged eyes sense then slapped her tail upon the ground’s hard surface. The sound echoed causing both to pause, still in their posture while she spoke. “Enough. Niryall, fall back, swallow your pride.”

The huntress hung her head as she allowed Lyamis’ arms, in grudging fashion, to pull her back to the inner circle. His hand pressed the Rune to her side while a tingling sensation began to stitch her flesh, veins, and more together. Amaryllis’ mind projected a message for Ssarak to catch if he was willing, one of warning and authority. Tell youth Lyam, as you should address him-for a Naga’s full name is only best for those who have earned them- that he and I will need to talk after this fight is over. Slowly, the other Naga started to tighten their circle, eliminating the gaps despite their growing exhaustion.

Ellys, Lyn’s hunt

The Naga thrashed and jerked, the vines cutting into her flesh with each movement. She was snared in frustration, pure venomous hatred pouring and distracting her while she managed to only free her hand. Her fingers tearing at the vines fruitlessly until something solid whistled through the air. A sharp, terrible pain erupted from her chest causing her to feel warmth seeping from her body. Her blood started to soak into the soil as numbness settled in. It spreaded from her fingertips to her hand, her arm and finally the rest of her body leaving an icy chill to run along her spine.

When Keri reached her, her eyes were already hazing into Malice. No longer having the self preservation instinct, Eyllis’ figure started to rip herself free just as the vines started to lose their strength. Her neck was exposed enough for Keri’s fangs to slip in then penetrate, filling her mouth with the oxygen enriched blood. Naturally, in instinctive reaction rather than intelligence, Ellyis’ head whipped to the side in order to plunge her fangs into the Vampire’s exposed artery. Thankfully, the girl had moved fast enough. The vampire a blur while she darted away and disappeared into Althalus’ direction, leaving Summer, Meirin, and Leith to deal with a very frightening creature: a Malice Naga.

The vines snapped free just moments after Leith went for the axe wielder.

What once had been Ellys swayed drunkenly, her head hung down and arrow sticking out of her chest. Blood staining her chest as she wobbled eerily in place, her tail slithering towards the nearest student: Summer. Through none of the students knew exactly what a Malice Naga was or how dangerous, they would be able to note something was dead wrong since the long end of the shaft would be sticking out of her back just where her heart should be. If Summer didn’t move, Eyllis’ tail would lash out at her legs then coil immediately, crushing any bones within her grip. Mangled would be a pleasant way to describe the pain and torture when it came to being squeezed by a Naga.

Annabeth Gulch

Annabeth needed to leave, now. With Meirin here, Athalus on the offensive, and Keri in more-or-less fighting condition, Annabeth was going to need to take Lyn and run. She didn't want to leave everyone behind, but Lyn wasn't safe as long as she was here. While the man in the white mask was still bound in vines, Annabeth had Samson run in full gallop towards the college. As she rode, she kept one hand on Samson's reign, and another gripping her lance. The man in the mask might be able to hear Samson's hoofs and hear her arrows, but she was certain that he won't be able to see her spear if he gave chase.

"Lyn, hold on tight! Whatever you do, don't let go. We're going to go somewhere safe now."

That being said, despite their best efforts, Annabeth knew that she couldn't leave them alone. The man in the white mask went after her specifically; he was either after Lyn or Annabeth, and considering that he was able to foil her invisibility the psychomancer figured that perhaps he was sent to deal with her specifically. She needed more than just her spear if she wanted to stop him. As her telepathy continued to scan the meadows around her, Annabeth picked up the feral thoughts of Cosh. She knew very little of the creatures beyond the fact that they were more vicious than your average wild wolves. Perhaps she could put that to use.

Focusing solely on the group of Cosh she could detect nearest the forest edge, she targeted the largest of them with an illusion. An illusion that would make the man in the white mask a more worthy target. He smelled more delectable, seemed to be more meaty, and not nearly as fast as he actually was. Certainly a better target than the college students who seemed to be giving the cosh a hard time. Hopefully these creatures had the sense to go after "Easier" prey, since Annabeth otherwise couldn't compel them to attack the man with the white mask otherwise. If Annabeth wasn't maintaining her invisibility, her telepathy, as well as her current calming spell on Lyn she could have targeted the entire pack or hone her spell more, but she had to settle with whom she assumed to be the alpha and hoped for the best.

Regardless of the success of the spell Annabeth continued to have Samson run at full speed towards the college. She had her spear angled behind her, ready to stab and impale her pursuer if he dared get close, tried to pass her, or to intercept any knife or other ranged missile weapon in her direction. It was all she could really do until they were safe behind the college walls.

Tyrael Marchosias

"This has gone LONG ENOUGH."

Tyrael shouted as he hefted his Dragon's Tooth aloft. Despite suffering multiple fatal injuries, the maliced Naga's were able to survive Tyrael's crushing blows during their initial skirmish. Tyrael himself was no worse for wear than before, but he was growing impatient. He was not going to stand around and face these creatures in honorable combat. Instead when they lunged at him, as they often did, Tyrael did not bother to swing his weapon to intercept, but tore a portal that covered the entire hall, from wall-to-wall from the ceiling to the floor, allowing the naga's to charge right into the Inferno. No matter how much rage sustained them, no matter what sort of injuries they could survive, as outsiders of the demonic realm their bodies began to burn as they feel through the portal and into the hellish landscape. They turned to dust before they hit the ground.

But Tyrael left his portal open, as this portal was not a mere random portal into the Inferno. He had ordered demons to rally at this point of the Inferno, so that they could enter through his portal to assist him. Time was of the essence so he did not wait for all the demons he called, but he had a good few. Three amorphous demons to deal with the nagas and ridge hounds. Without elemental magics or a readily accessible source of fire, ice, or electricity, the amorphous demons would be able to phase through the blades and claws of the nagas, and even their poisonous bite would do nothing to the toxic oozes. Tyrael was certain that these three would be more than enough to kill the nagas and any traitors down here, but that didn't mean he didn't allow one more demon to arrive. This one ensured they could not simply run. Though it was a tight squeeze, Tyrael summoned a Threshold Guardian, or more simply known as a demon wall. A massive creature made of stone and metal, slow yet indomitable. There would be no going past the creature; anyone that got close to it would have to fight it or flee. And Tyrael intended to flank with his demon to ensure that they would either face his demon, or the teacher himself.

The three amorphous demons followed the sound of combat while the Threshold Guardian made it's way over. Tyrael, in astonishing silence, chose to sneak around to allow his demons to corral the naga's and his students into a single area, while he himself will arrive to the only exit to ensure that none escape. At least that was the plan, and while his blob demons were fast enough to get into place, the Threshold Guardian was painfully slow. By the time Tyrael actually got into position, the massive creature was only 2/3 of the way there. The amorphous demons laid in wait for the wall so that they could commence their attack.

Catacombs

The Ridge Hound's numbers were dwindling, and soon there were more corpses than there were live hounds. Most were the older ones, larger, faster, and marginally more intelligent than the pups. But even they could not resit the instinct to eat, but their speed and ferocity allowed them to quickly finish their meals in seconds, where it would have taken a small pack minutes. What remained were about 30 ridge hounds, 20 which were attacking Baulder, Darius, and Myrn, and another 10 near the nagas. Perhaps in a show of intelligence or simply survival instinct, they chose not to attack the naga, Ssarak, or Grey. Instead they retreated back to attack Lira and Aramir. Despite Aramir's rapid shooting they figured the smaller snow elf and the blind orc girl would have made for easier prey, not helped by the fact that Aramir was running low on her own arrows.

As there were less ridge hounds to get in the way, the remaining few facing off against Baulder, Darius, and Myrn had more room to maneuver and were able to dodge their attacks with greater ease. A good 4 attacked Baulder when Darius wasn't standing between them, hoping to take down the heavily wounded demonomancer and drag him off to be eaten. Two went for his arms so he could not swing at them, an another two went for his legs so he could not stand. The another 8 kept Darius's attention, lunging at him only to quickly dodge out of his reach, and never staying in place long enough for him to get a solid hit with his steel or spells. While this meant that the ridge hounds themselves failed to actually hurt Darius, it seemed like they planned to tire him out before going in for the kill.

The battle of attrition was applied to Myrn, as 6 hounds ran around her, careful to avoid her sword swings and swipe at her when the opportunity presented itself. While not serious blows on their own, the cuts and scratches were sure to pile up and force Myrn to bleed out from the sheer amount of attacks the ridge hounds were putting out. She wasn't the only one who could do hit-and-run tactics, and the ridge hounds were far more mobile despite how many corpses littered the tunnels. They were able to leap effortlessly across the terrain, even running across the walls. While their attacks weren't coordinated in the slightest, it certainly seemed like the ridge hounds were using the same tactics nonetheless.

Baulder was feeling light headed now like he had been hit in the head with a stone. Every pulse of his heart he could feel in his teeth like it was moving around tiny needles in his blood. His vision was becoming wavy and slanted now, tears were welling in his eyes because he refused to blink. He couldn't feel his feet or his hands anymore, they were simply moving into the pile of corpses he had created together in synchronized motion. Baulder stopped for only a moment, turning his head fiercely to the one called Darius. Through gritted teeth and blood coming out of his mouth mixed with spit he choked out a half yell "NO! We move forward, we kill the Naga! The snakes have been condemned BY OUR LORD! I WILL SEND THEM BLIND, DEAF, AND DUMB TO THE PIT WHEN I RIP THEIR SKIN FROM THEIR BONES!" Baulder turned back to the pile he was climbing over and continued pushing into the seemingly never ending hoard.

Baulder's sight was slowly getting smaller and filled with less color as his mind could only comprehend one thought. Kill. Kill. Kill. No more folly, no more care, no more, no more. Baulder could feel his lungs burning like cattle iron was being put to his chest, telling him that he needed to stop. His legs were beginning to feel like lead he could barely move. But he had to push forward. Just then he felt what he could only hope was the sweet release of death. As his blade collided with another ridge hound he turned over his shoulder where the orgasmic feeling was coming from. His rucksack flap was ajar and John was holding the healing rune closely over his right side where he had been hit multiple times by ridge hounds. His knees went weak from the feeling and his jaw cam unhinged. He furrowed his brow in amazement at what his servant was doing for him. He tried to make words but John seemed more afraid then like he was happy about it.

Then two large hounds jumped on his both his arms and two more attacked his legs. Baulder roared at the pain and suddenly felt himself being moved. But not towards John but away from him, John's "face" became one of suprise as Baulder began to be carried away by the larger hounds. He couldn't fight, his arms and legs refused commands that he gave them with fierce determination. He was being carried along the ground over the pile away from the group. John dropped the rune and quickly jumped on one of the hounds attached to his master's leg. John pulled the dagger he had been given and stabbed it into the side of the now rather large hounds. Pulling the knife in and out of the hounds abdomen furiously trying to save his master.

Lira was wearing down the attacks from the larger hounds easily knocked her aside. After scrambling from under the dead weight of a dead hound she stood and clambered up the tombs to the highest one she could get to searching for another weapon she had strangled one of the hounds with the bow. Which was now useless and broken in haft. She had given the girl the rest of her arrows since she was running low but kept on for herself. She found a few sharp pieces of bones and wrapped it in rags before kicking a ridge hound down from her before leaping down and plunging the bone into the hound. She killed it only to get pounced on by another. She twisted and tried to kick it off.

Alaira Taenn, Hunt

Alaira waited, idly tapping her blade against her shoulder as she awaited the madman to reveal just what the fuck he was talking about... Perhaps some shapeshifter? One with a sort of split personality, maybe.? Regardless, she wasn't that good at psyche evaluations, much better at pummeling madman than analyzing them. She chuckled lightly to herself when the man resolved into an elven shape... An elven brawler? Almost as unusual as her...

And then, he spoke. Her smile completely disappeared. Her expression was... worryingly cold. No obvious fury, no smarmy smile, no snarl. She lifted her blade from her shoulder, pointing it to him one-handed. "You... Are going to regret that." She said, bringing her blade closer and inspecting it. She looked it over, before giving it one twirl and planting the weapon into the ground. She took her bow and then her quiver, holding them out to either side of her and letting them fall to the ground. She stepped forward, pounding a fist into her palm, grinding the knuckles against it as power arced across her arms. "Come on." She said, dropping low into a fighting stance.


Grey gasped slightly in shock as his weapon burst into flame, seeming to express excitement at being used... Perhaps only because she was a worthy opponent? When he had hit the ridge hounds it had been quiet... The creature seemed to metamorphose some more, growing a dragon's head and using some sort of breath weapon... He kept his head behind the shield, flames bouncing from it and narrowly missing his head. He didn't have a lot of time here. Then, he received telepathic messages. He... didn't know what to say. Add another mindless monster for him to fight? no thank you. -While I appreciate the thought, it'd probably just consume it at best and at worst I'd have more to fight...- He sent back, an irritable tone clear in his 'voice' from his... Well, impending doom.

Still, since thanks to his plan Ssarak would not be able to deal with the unfortunate Naga, Grey would at least try to neutralize it if he wouldn't utilize it. What to do... He needed just a little breathing room. Speaking of breathing, he could hear it behind him, and he knew it was the maliced one: It breathed differently, in a more 'bestial' manner. -I think I have this... Whatever happens, slice through this arm.- He thought, to the Axe and not Ssarak. He grit his teeth, shifting his stance as he chopped at the arm again... Slicing through was easy, but he knew it would grow a new one anyhow. His runes burned once more as he prepared his second blow. He smashed his shield into her at full power, knocking her back a fair distance. He turned some, keeping his shield towards the more pressing threat as he whipped back, neatly cleaving the maliced Naga's head from its shoulders. Hopefully, he could bring his shield back to bear before the abomination had gotten too close.

During the long ride to the college Sinys refused to sit for very long, most of the time he stood for a while and then sat back down. Large portions of the time he had been reading letting the breeze from the carriage window do the work for him. Of course it had been slightly difficult to read when the breeze passed through multiple pages at one time. Though he kept his focus on a single page at a time. With the carriage coming to an abrupt halt he felt anxiety for not knowing what was going on.

Standing once more he got out of the wooden vehicle and met the sun with peace. Then he grew aware of the sounds of battle "Sir it might be best for you to wait here. Or even better let us head back to the town we had left earlier." The driver warned with a waver in his voice.

However Sinys shook his head and walked to the front of the carriage "Tell me what you see." He demanded hating to rely on someone else's eyes. After a moment of description he asked about the Naga, what it looked like and how big it had been. He then took off running to that area foolishly, as he had never heard of malice before. Nor the problems of Naga venom. He only hoped that he had ran in the correct direction, dodging the occasional limb, root, and stone. One might ask how he knew that it was there, but he wouldn't give a straight answer.

His foot steps were sure enough to guide his a good distance from the people fighting. The deciding factor being the noise and scents he followed upon shortening the distance. Being blind meant one thing on the battle field. Announcing your attendance "Blind areomancer reporting." He announced not too far away. Drawing his bow for a single shot he positioned himself at a decent angle so as to not hit an ally. Or what he had assumed to be allies. For now anything that entered his range would be considered hostile and dealt with in a counter grapple.

The sounds and smells that entered his field of recognition he did not manipulate. That would take too much energy from him. Instead he let such things flow more naturally. After all he needed to conserve anything that he had until he had been doubly ensured that no other enemies existed. Many things raced through his mind as he honed his senses to paint a picture the best he could. Including the sharp sound of bolts being fired.

Ssarak Dyreackthanose - Catacombs

---

From the thoughts Ssarak could hear behind him, Grey was not quite clear on the plan. The doppelganger was meant to bring the Naga behind the shapeshifter, which would guarantee that it would be the Naga’s first target. However, Grey seemed to think he would be fighting it. ”Wait, the the Naga will flank the shapeshifter. My illusion will bring it…” He began telepathically, but it was already too late. A quick glance back revealed Grey beheading the malice Naga, eliminating the possibility of using it as a distraction.

Fortunately, Ssarak was not without options. There was significantly reduced pressure from the ridge hounds. Their numbers had been thinned considerably, and the ones remaining were not focusing on the Naga. As of the moment, the shapeshifter behind them was a more present threat. The Naga were trained warriors in a position to flank the remainder of the ridge hounds, so Ssarak was free to finally provide more direct aid to Grey.

Ssarak sent a telepathic message to the Matriarch, in response to some thoughts he had picked up from her mind. ”Of course, Matriarch. But first, this fight needs to end.”

At the same time as Ssarak brought his doppelganger to the front to distract any ridge hounds that might attack the Naga, Ssarak sprinted back towards their flank. Raising his shield, he slammed into the side of the shapeshifter, adding his own considerable strength, and perhaps more importantly, the momentum behind him to the struggle. With both he and Grey together, they would likely be able to overtake even a copy of Tyrael for the force they could produce. Although, Ssarak did not intend to stay at the shapeshifter’s front. Instead, he moved around behind and began to aggressively cut and thrust towards their opponent’s head, neck, and spine. He wanted to end it as quickly as possible, and if the shapeshifter turned to focus on him, he would go on the defensive and allow Grey to take advantage instead.