The placement of Janius' axe was perfect to kill, or at least permanently disable, the chaurus. The chitinous shell was tough to pierce through, but Janius' strike was forceful and direct enough to crack the shell and cleave into the soft flesh within. Meanwhile, Lorag too rushed forward and took a horizontal swing with his hammer. It struck just behind the creature's head and cracked its shell open, but again, it was surprisingly durable. The chaurus rolled over back onto its feet, then lunged at Lorag, locking its mandibles around his torso and attempting to crush him. His armor protected him, and he had time to shift his grip on his hammer and bring it down to crush the head of the creature, but the sound of bending metal gave a strong case for why he should avoid getting caught in a chaurus' grasp again. 

Meesei was just as aware as Sabine that they would need to move, and the fountain was their best option. Unfortunately, the number of Famler above them was only growing. Whatever sounds the Falmer had been making was evidently drawing in reinforcements from outside the chamber. Two more archers and another mage had already taken positions above. Meesei could not protect against all angles with wards as they ran across the open, so she decided to provide cover in a different way. She bolted forward into the middle of the chamber, between her pack and the fountain, then began throwing bolts of lightning at all targets above them, as fast as she possibly could. Her concern was not to be particularly accurate, or to make her spells particularly strong. She simply wanted to frighten them with enough spellfire to keep them from accurately targeting her pack as they ran. "Make for the fountain, hurry!" 

The Falmer ahead of them had to scramble to avoid Sabine's ice storm, and even then, one was caught in the middle of it. It did not die immediately, but it did start to limp away bleeding and in pain. The pack would have to fight the remaining three at the fountain, but they would at least be protected from above. Unfortunately, there were more Falmer and chaurus making their way around the path, down the ramp ahead of them. They were going to be outnumbered soon. 

---

"Might as well just stay here." Peiter said with a shrug. In truth, he felt like having a drink, but he had not yet acclimated himself to how the Riften clan went about distributing extra food and drinks. Although, the Nords were known for their affinity for mead, so he doubted he would have too much trouble. For the moment, however, he was content just talking and practicing. 

"Maybe we would be, if we hadn't been separated. Who knows how long it's going to take to clear that ruin? Before that, everything was going fine, I guess. I don't really know how it's 'supposed' to be going at this point. Neither of us do, really. We are just doing whatever we feel is right, I guess." Peiter answered.