[i]Spurred by duty or pride to pursue the beastmen marauders making a beeline for Woodstop, the 'fairer' half of the party plunges into the woods, unaware of what they might find[/i]

[center][b][h3]Foothills Forest near Woodstop[/h3][/b]
[@TheFake][/center]

The sight of Kallahar replacing her helmet upon her head, even before she spoke a word, told Lenore that she meant business.  Having come to her conclusion, the Death Knight gave her reply, and without so much as a word of acknowledgment from her ally wheeled her horse around to speed off into the trees.  With no choice but to grip her staff tightly and follow, Lenore hurried after her.  The excitement of a potential battle served as ample distraction from her lingering distress, so she rushed as fast as her fleshy dress would allow.

Just as the men of the group found out not so long ago, the woods grew inordinately thick at a startling rate.  The sheer density of the forest forced Kallahar to reign in her steed, for the absence of any clear path meant that one could only navigate the way with care.  Turning back and forth to get between the trees her horse was obliged to plod, slowly so as to not snag a hoof on some hidden root or twist an ankle in a leaf-covered pothole.  Though the occasional flash of movement could be glimpsed through the trees, neither Kallahar nor Lenore were able to make out any foxmen with full confidence.  Nevertheless they continued their pursuit, until a sudden light appeared amid the trunks just a short ways ahead.

Lenore's eyes widened beneath her cowl.  She knew that light, vibrating like an overclocked engine with violent yellows and oranges, and if Kallahar harbored much experience with conventional magic, she would as well.  The chaotic mote, placed too close to be avoided in this claustrophobic overgrowth of a forest, detonated the next instant.

It didn't explode with the proliferation of a molotov cocktail, but rather like a growing sphere of flame, blinding in its brightness.  With tangible force it blew apart the tree trunks in its way, and true fires sparked to life in its wake.  Like an oncoming wall it sped toward Kallahar and Lenore, inescapable, and marvelous in its destructive splendor.

[color=E2725B]"Aah!"[/color]

The blast mote's heat washed over them like a light breeze.

[color=E2725B]"...Oh."[/color]  After the initial surprise wore off, and she pat herself down to make sure she wasn't burning, the shoggoth could see as the flash began to die down a figure moving toward them through the flames.  Fearless and with her kukri in hand, the female fox made for a menacing silhouette as she strolled just inches away from the roaring flames.  Behind her, though not sharing her absolute confidence, was a squadron of foxmen with various weapons.  

“Thou wert a fool to follow us after we sparedeth thy lives,” the vixen growled, raising her curved blade.  “Yet still I am not unkind, for I shall grant thee a swift--!”

Shock spread across her vulpine face as her vision restored enough to see that not only were the victims of her ambush still standing, but they seemed hardly worse for wear.  “W-what dissemblery is this!?”

Lenore blinked, still a little confused.  [i]Wait.  It makes sense if they're a lower 'level' than us.  Plus we're both pretty tanky builds.[/i]  A smidgen of cockiness began to tickle her, and for a moment she wondered if she might be able to have a little fun with the situation, before she realized that Kallahar's version of fun probably meant turning the foxes into desiccated corpses.  Even if the beastmen had been the ones to attack, the last thing she wanted was to massacre them in brutal fashion, particularly if they couldn't actually hurt her.  By now, however, it was too late to stop her ally from taking vengeance.