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[hr][@Rune_Alchemist][@Crimson Paladin][@Cu Chulainn] 

Though Reinhardt felt a need to remind Ethelred to be more tight-lipped about their primary mission focus of locating Elnith nagging at the back of his mind-- the matter of preventing ambush or any parties attempting to stalk the operation took precedence.

And if the colder than usual air hanging around the frozen knight was anything to go off of... It was likely best to leave any corrective reprimand until a bit later for the sake of morale.

It was when they finally arrived at what remained of the village that Reinhardt's blood ran cold. Among the ashes of decimated homes and the charred corpses of its inhabitants were equally scorched Fomorians. Enough that they should've been easily noticed in the fray... Not only was it highly unusual for weak Fomorians to co-operate with the more powerful members of their ilk, but this also greatly differed from the reports that the queen's scouts had gathered from assault's survivors...

The Knight's brow furrowed.

[Color=darkorange]"So they have humans among their ranks as well..."[/color] Reinhardt muttered, his teeth gritting tightly beneath his helm. 

The strange pattern of assaults. The inaccurate reports. Elnith's disappearance. The sudden bandit attack. The irregular coordination of greater and lesser Fomorians. Od's kidnapping. The Cyclopean Fomorian's artificial nature...

This entire series of events was a trap designed to split the cohort and pick them off, one by one.

A shrill cry cut through the air before Reinhardt could voice his concerns to the others; interrupting his thoughts. A young pair of children were beset by a pack of Fomorians in a ruin  otherwise devoid of any and all life...

Was this another piece of the trap lain by an unseen opponent? Or were these children simply victims of circumstance; having survived the initial attack only to be set upon by the stragglers of the invading force?

Whichever the case-- it was a Knight's duty to protect those in need, even when doing such was likely playing into the enemy's hand.

As Ethelred charged headlong into the center of the Fomorian grouping-- Reinhardt pulled his newest weapon from his belt; wrapping the attached rope firmly around his wrist, hurling his harpoon at the Fomorian closest to the children!