The musket's second discharge caused the pale young man's muscles to tense, his piercing gaze fixing on the door before shifting to search for where the bullet had impacted. Making sure it hadn't hit anyone. However that moment didn't last long, as the rapidly changing situation shifted further. While two of the other men addressed the threat of the enemy's range, the chiming of the bell intensified further, heralding a black splotch that seemed to form from the very shadows of the dark lit room.

The worst part? He wasn't the only one who saw it. [i]It was real.[/i] Arcturus felt a shiver run up his spine, the sight and sound of this new threat inflicting a dread that even the thunderous crack of a rifle could not. Firearms were familiar, after all, to the point that their shocking presence had become somewhat of a guilty pleasure for him. Of all the things assaulting his senses in that moment, the taste of gunsmoke was perhaps the most comforting. That chime however... Not only did it seem to suffuse the room around them, but it now invoked a rumbling in the floor beneath his feet. A sensation his veteran mind couldn't help but equate with the thundering of hooves.

'Getting away' sounded like good advice in the moment. He had no clue what shape the intrusion would take, only that it needed to be dealt with. Somehow. However the confused situation wouldn't allow him to be so methodical. Another of the men, the strong looking one, suddenly rolled backwards from the door and right onto the shadowy mark. There was no time to communicate, and Arcturus wasn't about to let one of his few allies take the brunt of an unknown foe.

Sucking in a breath of acrid tasting, smoke tinted air, he shifted his saber to hold the base of the blade with his left hand. Using his offhand as a sheathe before springing forward. Lowering his center of gravity and driving his weight with his legs, he then attempted to tackle the stout man out of the way, aiming to get both of them clear from the roiling nightmare on the floor. Should he succeed, he would then roll to the side, coming to a stop in a kneel and looking back to see if anything came of the imposing darkness.