[hr][hr][center][h1][b][i][color=39b54a]William Fraser[/color][/i][/b][/h1][img]https://bookesther.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/john-thornton-smile-gif.gif?w=500[/img][/center][hr][hr][center][color=39b54a][b]Location:[/b][/color] [b]Gretna Green - Church[/b]
[color=39b54a][b]Skills:[/b][/color] [b]Perception[/b] [/center][hr]

	William had braced himself for the coming storm, prepared to put his body between those who needed protection, and the foul creature before him. The problem was, the storm faltered before it reached him, and there didn't seem to be anyone who really needed his protection. The pale 'Virginia' had already passed him, hurling one of her axes and tearing through the creature's shoulder. The flamboyant Russian almost seemed more invigorated after being thrown across the church, leaping to his feet with no small dose of theatricality, his thrown dagger cutting into the shifting smoke that formed the creature. The other Russian stood over the Duchess, but whatever effect performing the ritual had had on the Duchess, she was clearly recovering, and as William watched, a flock of crows burst through one of the stained glass windows and fell upon the creature, wrapping it in what looked to be a flaming tapestry. William recognized the flock from the road earlier, and as he glanced across to the Duchess, he saw her hand moving, almost as if she was conducting a black feathered orchestra. 

	He caught sight of movement out of the corner of his eyes, and saw that even Millicent was no longer behind him, her newly-acquired sword drawn now, the horror of seeing her fiance's ungodly transformation seemingly shaken. As the creature roared and screamed, the flames from the tapestry all around it, William risked a glance over his shoulder. The barb from the Irishwoman didn't go un-noticed, but he wasn't surprised. He had crossed the woman when they had first met, and there had hardly been time for him to try and seek forgiveness. Regardless, he could take barbed remarks, as long as they remained on the same side, or as close to it as they could manage. And she was clearly a valuable asset, the Celtic runes that had emerged from the ground at their feet were still glowing, and judging by the cries from the creature, they were hurting it. Even the blonde woman had armed herself, although the weapon she held appeared to be an improvised one.

	Something in the creature's hellish cries changed, and William's attention snapped back to it. It was still wrapped in the flaming tapestry, but as William watched, the flames began to burn black, and he could have sworn the creature seemed to grow. When it roared again, the force of it almost knocked William a step back. The axe and daggers had seemed to cut the creature, or at least part the black smoke, even if only for a moment, but it was still standing. William cursed the fact that he didn't have any throwing weapons, and that he'd left his rifle with Azrael back at Port Annan. It might have done nothing to the creature, but as it stood, William couldn't do anything unless he got close to it, and until he knew it could even be hurt, he could just be charging to his death. 

	For now, William's greatest use, at least in his opinion, was to protect those that did have ranged weapons, to give them the freedom to use them, and to protect against any retaliation from the creature. He tried to get a read on the creature, to try and predict it's next move, but even without the haze that still clung to the world around William, the creature was a writhing mass of shadow and flame. He had no clue what it was, let alone what it was going to do, so all he could do was deal with what he did know. Millicent was moving off to his right, the blonde woman and the Irishwoman were still behind him, and the others were scattered around the church in front of him. In terms of someone for William to move to defend, there was a clear choice. Part of him was drawing him to follow Millicent, another part of him wanted to move towards the Duchess, but for now, logic was winning out. 

	The stranger, although William hardly knew any of the figures in the church, was surprisingly agile for a man of his apparently advanced years, and he clearly had some power, as his dagger flashed back to his hand for a second time. But as far as William could see, he wasn't heavily armed, and he was one of the closest to the creature. His dagger seemed to be doing some damage at least, and William doubted the creature would tolerate it for a third time if it didn't have to. With that in mind, William moved forwards, moving closer to the bearded stranger. As he moved, he heard the Russian that was still standing over the Duchess begin to talk, claiming to have had a vision, although his words were like a riddle to William. William didn't doubt that the man had the power to have visions, after all, he was trained in Hadd himself, and was all too familiar with the fleeting glimpses of truth. But for now, William didn't have time to try and decipher the riddle. He did what he could to commit it to memory, and then he placed himself between the creature and the stranger. 

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[b]Character current location:[/b] Gretna Green - Church
[b]Characters attempted actions:[/b] Ready himself for conflict, and defending Ny from the creature in case it attacks
[b]Any and all skills being used:[/b] Cnut, Kadlin 
[b]Why each skill is being called:[/b] Cnut, for preparing himself for fighting with his shortswords. Kadlin, for preparing himself for fighting without them.
[b]Desired location of the character:[/b] Same as current location
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