The muscle tissue tendrils groped and snatched at the shield, blinding scrabbling for anything they could wrap around and finding little purchase. It allowed Gerard to push his way through them, forging a path directly to Fanilly.

Her heart was pounding, her free hand grasping for the dagger on her hip only to be stopped by further tendrils of crimson flesh. It was trying to find her throat, to find anything that it could crush or constrict to kill her. She knew that. She knew. It was trying to pull her in at the same time, to drag her into its ragged, decayed, corrupted form as kill her that way instead. She could see the tendrils sliding around beneath its decayed skin. See the way its hulking body twisted.

Fanilly's heart was faltered, her body trembling, and-

Sir Gerard's blade struck true.

The muscle tendrils, as strong as they were, could not hold fast against steel, and were cut apart, allowing Fanilly to free her arms and pull away as swiftly as she could manage.

"Thank you, S-Sir Gerard!"

She tried to stifle it, but she couldn't resist the hitch in her voice, the moment of fear that had nearly taken her.

The Knight-Captain of the Iron Roses couldn't allow herself to be taken by fear.

Inwardly she couldn't help but curse herself for coming so close.

In the moments that followed, the hulking undead attempted to follow them only for the flesh of its torso to be rent open by Lein's single shot barrage, cutting through skin and muscle and exposing warped and deformed bone. The massive undead's motions were disrupted, the hood nearly falling back-

And its head was gone moments later.

The compressed air of Cecilia's arrow had struck its skull and erupted outwards, practically disintegrating the vile, decayed flesh and bone.

The muscle tendrils slackened, as the great hulk fell to the floor with a resounding thud. It lay still, oozing unspeakable fluids but unmoving.

Fanilly took a deep breath, steadying herself.

But one opponent remained before they could move deeper.

[@Rune_Alchemist][@PigeonOfAstora][@HereComesTheSnow][@Raineh Daze]

[hr]

"Indeed, your conclusion is correct," Heartwood responded to Fionn's statement, "It's difficult to tell now that its form has been destroyed, but I can surmise that it was likely a curse placed on her person. Perhaps the intent was, in case of her capture, to kill her and produce a second assassin. If she were alone in a prison cell, it would have been difficult to prevent her death and the wicked spirit's movements."

The Court mage paused a moment, as if remembering himself.

"Forgive me for my tardiness, I was reinforcing the castle's defenses in case of [i]precisely[/i] this sort of occurrence, albeit from outside rather then from within," he sighed heavily, "I understand your haste, but if the prisoner had been brought to me first I could have put a stop to this, you know."

He motioned to one of the Crown Knights, but it seemed that he'd already been producing a broom in order to sweep away the faintly-glowing pile of ash that lingered in the wake of the wicked spirit's death.

The nem had remained on the floor, now, sucking in air desperately as she did, her eyes wide. Given she had been directly possessed and attacked, it was likely whatever she had experienced was more intense then Fionn, tears still at the corners of her golden eyes as she quivered on the ground.

"..."

Quietly, Princess Elisandre nodded. She'd been curious, wondering what the commotion outside was, only to find herself in danger once more, and having placed her younger sister in danger as well.

The smaller girl had yet to speak, or even look up, still hugged tightly to her body.

At the very least, the patting seemed to be somewhat reassuring for both of them.

Heartwood, who had sampled some of the dust left behind by the wicked spirit using a small glass vial before it was swept away, looked thoughtful at Tyaethe's proposal.

"I assume you mean to take them to Candaeln? I suppose our enemy wouldn't expect such a move, and illusions sufficient to confuse are hardly out of my repertoire," he responded, "However, I [i]have[/i] just finished strengthening our magical defenses."

Sir Adeforth, too, considered the suggestion. He seemed somewhat frustrated, likely due to the fact that much of his experience and skill had been incapable of changing the situation. No matter how capable the elder Crown Knight was, he possessed no capacity with the supernatural.

"I can see your logic, at least," he admitted with a heavy sigh, "I cannot say it sits well with me, to take the Princesses from the Castle, even to somewhere as secure as Candaeln. But I agree that our opponent certainly wouldn't expect it. Mmm..."

He stroked his moustache as he thought.

[@Krayzikk][@The Otter][@Psyker Landshark][@Raineh Daze]