[i][h3]The Vale[/h3][b]The Town,[/b]
[b]Currently[/b][/I]

Clopping along like a rickety mess, a bolt of shimmering magic courtesy of Wick flying by it and off into the town, the first agent of the dark rounded the corner and near skidded across the cobblestone pavers as it tried to find its way into the fray. For some reason or another, at least one that couldn't be discerned at this very moment, it seemed to have realized to break off from its futile efforts with Katia and paired up with the other combatant challenging Thea. While the actual challenger jabbed wildly with its sword, really flailing its blade at her with reckless abandon and not an ounce of fatigue, it was the one [i]behind[/i] her who succeeded by chance. As she went to dodge the strikes and turn others aside, she took a fair blow from behind as the lightless sword grazed her side.

Meanwhile, but a few feet away, the blade dueled with one of the shadowy infantrymen, they danced as they did for a moment until the man's sword glimmered to life and completely voided the foe's defense from an angle above. For a moment, Cesar's smugness was well earned, until of course the reactionless shadow blinked its purple eyes and proceeded to smack him with the flat of its blade to his cheek. Did... did it have a sense of insult from that? Or was it just the most "reasonable" thing it thought to do? That was assuming it thought at all, but it did manage to break the surprise. Or maybe that was the rogue crossbow bolt that flew between them all with deadly precision, albeit slightly misplaced.

What hurt more for the bard, his pride or being smacked with a sword? In either case, his offender exploded into a puff of plum colored smoke and evaporated into nothingness, a familiar fizzling of magic buzzing in the ears and bits of twinkling sparks hitting the ground.

"Pow! Ha ha! We showed him!" The gnome gleefully cheered, the rest of his barrage of magic striking the enemy between the graceful feline monk perched atop the building and the armored paladin. 

Haemar? As for Haemar he found his two foes more confused as to what to do. In some ways they seemed wary of his newfound ward, almost as though they realized the danger, but the other aspect of them seemed to want them to attack regardless. After some shimmying left and right, back and forth, the three traded blows between one another in a series of dodges, parries, blocks and deflections. At the end, nothing seemed to have been accomplished. Not for the shadowy figures at least - the elven sword-bearing wizard found himself not so harassed as he had earlier now.

[hider=Effects]
The first [i]Shadow Soldier[/i] that attacks rushes loudly to right behind Thea in the chaos, it succeeds on hitting her for 5 piercing damage with its sword. The second one that is flanking Thea misses both its attacks and sidesteps. The shadow which Cesar attacked returns an attack on him, inflicting 6 piercing damage with its black sword. The pair of [i]Shadow Soldiers[/i] fighting Haemar miss him terribly, their attacks not close.

The absurdly dressed gnome lets fly a flurry of fizzling silver magic like he did before with his spell. Two hit the [i]Shadow Soldier[/i] between Thea of Katia, the last strikes the shadow that hit Cesar; it vanishes into a puff of midnight smoke.

[b]Score[/b]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1P4Z7HimuU]Countdown[/url]

[b]Map[/b]
[url=https://www.myth-weavers.com/map.html#id=4370]Town[/url]

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[@Big Dread], [@Cu Chulainn], [@Gordian Nought], [@Hekazu], [@JBRam2002], [@Zverda]