[b]"Well, I have heard rumors that University in Altdorf is a good place to find work, maybe we can go out to Marienburg or down towards the border princes," [/b]she remarked, her tone contemplative as she rose from behind the wall and hurled a stone down at a trio of beastmen scrabbling at the base of the tower. The rock, the size of a human head, smashed into a dog faced creature shattering its shoulder with a meaty crunch, its spastic convulsions tangling the others. The creatures hadn't realized the difficulty of attacking the Tower head on yet, which was good, but there was a considerable number of them still swarming from the edge of the trees.

Cydric's pistol coughed again blasting down one of the larger creatures, smaller beastmen leapt upon it tearing the mortally wounded thing to bloody rags before there eyes. She hurled another stone and began thrusting down at the creatures climbing on the bodies of their comrades to try and crest the wall. The rapier was a light weapon but it was razor pointed and Camilla thrust relentlessly into eyes, throats and occasionally under the shoulder of her victims, maiming them as often as killing them in an effort to aid the demoralization and confusion that the creatures must be feeling. Cydric was on his feet now too, scything his sword down in vast bloody arcs that sent hands and heads tumbling into the bloody ruin at the base of the tower.

It took a few minutes but some of the smaller beastmen realised the error of their ways and began trying to climb the taller stonework. Camilla left Cydric to the task of defending the opening and darted around thrusting her blade through openings in the stone work to catch the climbers unaware, severing fingers. She used her acrobatic training to its fullest extreme, it seemed foolish to worry about any chances she might take at this point given how the day was going so she leapt from side to side in a whirling dance, maiming and killing as she went. Sweat poured down her lithe body but she didn't slow, intent on the flankers and trusting Cydric to hold the main entry. 

She thrust her rapier through a ruined window into the belly of great elk headed beast man, spun to find her next target and was shocked to find that no more beastmen were attempting the climb. Looking down she saw Cydric leaning heavily on his sword too. She flipped neatly down to land beside him in a theatrical crouch. Hope flared in her heart as for a moment she allowed herself to believe that the enemy had routed despite all their many advantages. 

A quick glance out at the field filled her with bitter disappointment. The beastmen had pulled back to the edge of the trees, leaving an impressive pile of dead at the base of the tower. It was nearly a ramp by now and Cydric's sword had done terrible work.

[b]"Why are they pulling back?" [/b]she asked, taking a seat on one of the larger rocks and swabbing the sweat from her face with a cloth. It smelled of the perfume she had been wearing at the ball in Middenheim, though she didn't recall what it was. As if in answer the Beastmen, as one, fell on their faces, braying in such profusion of sound that it appeared like the forrest itself was shaking. Four chaos warrior, clad in their black steel armor and baroque weaponry stalked across the field. Camilla crouched down and began to pile kindling onto an ancient bronze shield, monitoring the warriors progress with the occasional glance.

They seemed in no hurry and stopped just beyond effective pistol shot. Camilla thought she could have still hit them and idly wondered if Cydric knew how to fire a rifle and might teach her if they ever got out of this. One of the warriors looked disturbingly like the one whose hand she had blown off last night, but it was difficult to say, it was hard to focus on the warriors and their armor of shifting runes. The leader thrust his rune engraved blade into the rocky earth and walked several paces closer.

[b]"We come to parley,"[/b] he called in a surprisingly cultured voice, he had a strange accent which Camilla couldn't place.

[b]"We are willing to accept your surrender!"[/b] Camilla shouted over the parapet impudently. Leaning down she sparked the kindling to life with the flint of her pistol blowing on the dry wood to get the flames spreading.

[@POOHEAD189]