[center][color=rosybrown][h2][i]Nika Surt-Kallin[/i][/h2][/color][/center]
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[color=silver]Right, getting lucky enough to avoid a fight was just asking too much.

In a group of knights and mercenaries, it was unsurprisingly that as soon as the first spark caught the whole group exploded into a flurry of violent motion. As the white wolf bit down and the daughter of the black wolf dove into the snow, Nika slapped Nakki on the haunch to get him to move. He was a reliable animal, strong and smart, but being tied up to the cart as he was made him an easier target if the imposters tried crippling their little caravan. As the horse stamped ahead to get out of the danger zone, Nika's hand flew to the axe at his back. He did not make for Brig nor even turn to look for her. Unlike in Stonecrown she was conscious, vicious; and part of being her partner meant putting as much trust in her as she put in him.

Almost as soon as he drew it, the weapon rebelled against him. The leader of the mages conjured his aura into a magnetic cyclone; it tugged at the iron studs on the shield at Nika's back and the metal clasps on his belt and gambeson. He bared his teeth and clamped down hard on the axe handle before it slipped from his grasp. 

His eyes were wide, taking in the whole of their little battlefield. He saw the younger mage among the enemy group summoned golden flame with Siegfried tearing right towards him, saw Eirún and Aslan go for the leader with their mix of ranged attacks. And he couldn't miss the massive figure suddenly barreling into the fray and running the baldy down (really unexpected, but Nika wasn't about to look that gift horse in the mouth). It left Nika with the figure closest to him, the one in full chain mail that had yet to speak a word. 

Fighting the pull of the magnet spell he flung the arm holding the axe high over his head where the sharpened edge caught the pale sunlight, just before driving it back down in a quick, harsh chop. It was aimed at the silent knight's right shoulder, with enough power behind it that it would crack through the mail and bite so deep into the man's shoulder that it would render the limb useless. Nika was sure of it - the imposter was focused on the rest of the combatants, head and body turned their way and ready to step in and defend his own comrades. He would hardly see the blow coming. 

Then, there was a flash. Quick and soft, completely unlike the flashy aura wielded by goldilocks or goldchain. It felt like a gaze had just turned Nika's way, and a moment later the grating clash of metal on metal rang out rather than the crash and squelch he'd expected. The silent knight's sword trembled where it fended off Nika's axe, and yet the imposing figure's arm was the only thing that had moved. 

So surprised was Nika that he blurted out a [color=rosybrown]"what..?!"[/color] as he pulled back. The enemy knight shifted, twisting the rest of him to face Nika along with his weapon now. He'd moved so swiftly to block that it seemed almost automatic, completely at odds with the bulky look of him... but no matter! Nika wasn't about to be surprised by that speed again. At that point the mage hunter had made good on his name and slain one of the mages, and Eirún had broken the remaining one's spell, so without worry of it being ripped away from him Nika brought the round shield to bear. [/color]