Iseldis wasn't about to let him fight alone. The appearance of the armored elves had caught her off guard, and she had to force herself not to panic. She'd been bracing for another bout with the witch alone, and hadn't considered that she might bring such deadly help. But it was too late to reconsider. If they were to die here, at least it would be with weapons in hand. Not as prisoners.

She vaulted over a crate, and in one smooth motion kicked one of the elves that sought to flank Roland in the chest, driving him back. Close quarters against armored foes was a fight that played to Iseldis's weaknesses, but she had to try to disrupt the foe, keep Roland from being overwhelmed. She sent a flurry of staff attacks at the elf she'd singled out, but most had little effect against the ebony armor. The last attack he turned aside and in a smooth counter landed a cut to her shoulder.

She yelped, attempting to hop sideways to avoid anything else, only to bump into a low table that nearly tripped her. The dark elf's free hand closed into a fist, a punch of the armored gauntlet swiftly landing against her midriff. Iseldis had no armor to soften hits against her, so she took the full damage of the strike, which drained her breath and sent a tremor through her legs. She only barely got her staff up to deflect the downward swipe of the scimitar that came next.

But she did turn the attack aside, and quite effectively, giving her an opening to quickly swing horizontally with her staff, landing a heavy, jarring blow to the elf's helmet. It dazed him and sent him stumbling away. Iseldis thought to pursue, but a second elf flanked her unexpectedly, meaning Roland was left to fight one in single combat for a moment.

The flat of the second elf's boot caught her in the chest, tossing her back to tumble over the table and crash ungracefully to the floor. The obstacle luckily gave her a precious moment to recover, which she sorely needed. [i]Breathe, damn it,[/i] she scolded herself, using her staff to get back to her feet. [i]You won't last if you trade blows with them like this[/i].

And still the witch had yet to appear. Where was she? Simply waiting for the right moment to strike?
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