"By twos!" Cyrdic roared, broadsword in the air. What few men there were haggard and crawling in from various parts of the estate; many half dressed and some bleeding from various cuts and blunt trauma. It was clear they wouldn't have been an effective unit even fit, but as they were they simply stumbled about and tried to form a ragged line. A few of them were stout of arm and fully armored, hacking at the tree-things and throwing torches on them. But the bristling wall of imperial soldiers Cyrdic hoped for was not [i]non nelle carte[/i] like Camilla said: "in the cards." 

By a stroke of stupid luck, however, the men took his advice to mean 'attack by groups of two' rather than two lines supporting each other, and it turned out to not be the dumbest of ideas. Half of the men complied, with one man cutting and cleaving a monster to distract it whilst the other guard stuck it with flames. Cyrdic and Camilla actually commited that exact strategy when the bewildered Ostlander saw the others do it. Cyrdic chopped off one of the things' 'branches' and it screeched like a banshee, only for Camilla to set it ablaze and dance out of its reach gracefully. 

"Good idea, herr Becker!" One of the more lucid and less sleep deprived men called.

"I have a good idea from time to time." Cyrdic remarked under his breath, Camilla smirking and pinching his cheek playfully. 

The carnage that epitomized the beginning of the attack was replaced with crisp, cut monsters and the wailing of those wounded men that were still in earshot. Cyrdic wiped his brow, his broad chest expanding as he breathed in deeply. Gunir and Thor strode out of one of the cottages, a dozen branches between them carried on their backs. Thor smiled at their two human companions, though out of pride or gladness to see them alive, it was hard to gauge. 

"What the hell are you doing with those?" Cyrdic asked, sheathing his broadsword. He lamented that he would have to sharpened the blade thoroughly. He might even need professional work done on it. Wood was notorious for blunting blades, animated or no.

"Figured the Graf might reward who ever killed the most beasties." Thor explained. Gunir shrugged and nodded. 

Cyrdic and Camilla suddenly looked at one another, remembering who they hadn't seen since the attack. 

"The Graf!" they said in unison.