The commotion from the other room had Malcador questioning on if he should go in and help out or simply wait, weighing his options. On the one hand, he was allergic to blades entering his body. On the other hand, Serphia was in there and he did not wish for her to die. It was lucky that another woman ran out of the room before he decided to burst in, and his small attempts at stopping her to tell her everything was okay turned out to be futile. Meanwhile, Arloke had begun to crawl off of him in anticipation for Serphia's return. That was a good sign at least, until a devil broke through the hall, snapping the rescued woman's head in the process. Malcador gave a small 'eugh' sound when he witnessed the death, but he was suddenly too busy dodging a spiked tail that tried to behead him with a quick flick. He ducked and rolled out of the corridor into the main living area. 

Within, there was a black clad figure rummaging through a cupboard, either for something to eat or some goods they could steal. When Malcador hit the wall, both men paused and then looked to one another. Malcador cursed as the dark figure dropped what he was doing and unsheathed his messer, chuckling darkly. Malcador scrambled to his feet and looking around for something to use as a weapon, but realized he did not have the strength or swiftness to break a chair leg that quickly, and so he did the only thing he had the mind to do. 

He opened the backdoor and ran. 

Malcador was a fast runner, thanks to his long legs and his experience ducking and dodging town watchmen when he was young. He heard a shout from behind him, but he turned a corner into a small alleyway and hopped a wooden fence without pausing. Being unarmored and unarmed helped him in that endeavor at least. Unfortunately, he was now alone beside a shop with a broken window. Harsh roars and cries of anguish and glee could be heard in the street, and he knew he couldn't stay where he was. He cursed, and went around the back. He heard a hiss and something sickly, accompanied by a child's whimper. He stopped cold, hesitating as his heart pounded, before finding a small pocket in his mind that lacked self preservation and he stepped out to see a child and a grown man, likely a father, with him. The child was desperately trying to wake up his mother's corpse. Before them, back turned to Malcador, was a legion devil. He had read of such infernal footmen. Not quite as deadly as the spiked devil that had come between him and Serphia, but it still wielded a longsword in its right arm. As Malcador suspected, its left forearm was bloated, with a shield strapped to it. 

They were without speech, and only communicated via telepathy. Malcador merely hoped he couldn't 'hear' what the mage was thinking, and once he mustered up the courage, he charged, an electric ball of energy exploding out of his hand. The legion devil evidently heard his feet brushing the soil, but he could not turn around quickly enough before Malcador's 'shocking hands' spell burst into his form. It's breastplate was no defense from the spell, its demonic-human face opened its mouth in agony. A long, purple tongue turning black from the electricity. Malcador held him there as long as he could, but the spell ran out after four heartbeats. The legion devil still had the vitality to shove Malcador back and backswipe at him, the mage leaping out of the blade's way in time, however the legion devil quickly toppled after that. The wizard waited for a moment to see if it was a trick, and when he was satisfied, he took the longsword from the devil's clawed paw. 

"You should make for the forest and turn west." Malcador told them tiredly. 

"Come with us! Protect us!" 

"I have no more magic, now go!" He told them, pointing north with his new sword. The father knew he could not argue, and bade his son to follow. He still clutched his dead mother. Malcador moved past them, knowing if he stayed around it would decrease both of their chances to survive. Unfortunately, he was moving away from Serphia. He needed to find a way back to her, but a screech behind the fence told him that theory was not tenable at the moment. He would need to find another way around. Fuck this to the seven hells.