Dismounted, Tyaethe's position was most easily marked by the much longer sword resting against her shoulder, sticking up over the heads of the assembled throng inc ase anyone thought they might make the mistake of walking into her. Aside from that reminder of her presence, the paladin might as well have been a ghost, walking quietly alongside the captain and looking a little livelier at the prospect of combat. Surround and go in? Not [i]perfect,[/i] not if your aim was an easy battle but allowing for escapees would defeat the entire point. Even with military training and Jeremiah, the entire force should be no issue. The vampire tilted her head with curiosity as the cart came into view. Dead horse, broken cart, and the smell of blood--plus a weak heartbeat. How curious, that there would be a single injured man this close to the bandit's camp, at this time of day as the knights were closing in on their prey. [i]Obviously,[/i] it was an ambush. That her senses betrayed their would-be killers lying in wait was an unnecessary level of information. But... what would the captain do? If it was up to Tyaethe, she would spring the ambush on her own and let them try their luck. It wasn't like she was going to die to a handful of bandits after so many years. It would even conveniently allow her to fulfill her other duty and protect the innocent, although her first aid skills weren't anything to write home about, and healing magic... well, it had never seemed a good time to learn. Hm, either the captain had the same thought, or she hadn't spotted what was going on. She had a good heart, though, they'd just have to make sure she kept it. Picking a knight at random, the vampire nudged them with an elbow. "Go on, make sure she doesn't get surrounded," Tyaethe muttered.