While the four dredges headed off to fight the clearing's other inhabitants, three remained behind hoping to score a rather hardy meal of their scaled enemy. Well... two of the three remained. Arco pulled his mace up and off the dredge who still had his jaw around Arco's leg. The other two circled, ready to pounce at any minute but something drew their attention. A holler. 

[I] Lizard in a can..?[/I] That remark was a bit uncanny and Arco was even glancing over to see who was making such a ruckus. A blonde, scantily clad woman was hollering for attention, specifically the beasts' attentions. While Arco couldn't be sure where the other four were, he was absolutely sure that the woman had drawn the attention of the two circling him. He wasn't about to let this opportunity slide by him either. Quickly he reached out and grabbed one of the distracted dredges tails and used his good leg to leap up. He held the dredge tightly has he brought down his mace squarely onto its head. The other one, probably infuriated by watching its kin being slain, pounced at the paladin but was easily countered by Arco's flick of the wrist and short uttering of protection. Suddenly a divine shield sprouted from his holy relic and the dredge bashed his head into the orangish glow. The shield was immediately recalled as Arco swung his mace around and allowed it to come crashing down on the stunned dredge. Its ribcage cracked and snapped under the sheer force, disabling it instantly. 

--

Once the bout with the undead hounds was all said and done, an entourage of all sorts of races came out to greet Arco. A human who had the appearance of some miles under his belt was the first to greet Arco. "A Draconian." Arco's voice was very low in pitch but had a significant commanding volume in his tone. "A rare sight to most, I'm told." With the creature pulled off his leg, Arco rose to his feet. His height was outstanding as he stood near seven feet off the ground. As the human male glanced around and eyed his wound, so did Arco. There was one puncture wound where the dredge canine tooth pierced the unarmored gap behind his knee. Other than that, his armor held off any further punctures. But the wound still did some damage because a quick test by putting some weight on it caused a sharp sting. Likely some tendons were severed or his knee structure damaged. 

Next came a dwarf who appeared very small next to the giant dragon-like figure. Arco had to be careful with his answer to the dwarf's intrigue about why these things were chasing him. He didn't want to alert anyone to exactly what he was doing here. They were probably harmless folk but it paid to be cautious. "I'm not sure what the intention was, dwarf. But whatever their purpose, they won't be achieving whatever they were after, thanks to you all. Although they did leave their mark..." Arco eyeballed the dwarf's wounds, the stumpy man probably had it a lot worse than Arco, but he should make it, especially thanks to the last of the entourage.

The scantily clad elf woman. "That would be servant of the Goddess, Brave Bird." Arco could smell the rotten meat perfume she coated herself with. "You've done well by me and the dwarf here to bring something for the rot and disease these things carry. I commend you for your knowledge." Arco reached and grabbed the jar, gently from her hands and then applied a little to his wound before turning his attention to the dwarf. "Fairing much better than you, I'm afraid. But alas, you'll be fine." Arco roughly fell onto his good knee and applied the jar's contents to the dwarf's various wounds before turning and offering the jar back to the elf. Arco nodded in thanks before turning back to the dwarf. He placed his scaly hands over the dwarf's wounds and uttered a short prayer in a language most unfamiliar to all the species present. 

After the prayer was done, a slight glow emitted from the dwarf's open wounds before fading away. Arco smiled at the result. "You're wounds will recover but it'll take a bit of time. Come. Let's get you that drink you crave." Arco wrapped his arm around the dwarf and lifted him up to his feet. He'd carry the dwarf if he could but with a weak knee and fatigue of the past several weeks bearing down on him, he figured it wasn't a good idea. "Come then warrior. Show everyone you can still walk on your own two feet." Arco began heading for the inn in a slow limp. He was hurting but he could make it. 

Right as he reached the porch, he recalled just how it was he found this place. "Rye!" His voice boomed and carried throughout the clearing. There was a moment of silence before a quiet battering of wings could be heard overhead. Rye descended from the porch overhang with a timid excitement that had a mix of worry. Arco offered an open palm to which Rye happily accepted. She landed on it and sat with her legs hanging off the side of Arco's hand. Very gently, Arco lead them inside.

It was probably a strange sight to see such a small creature with such a giant but yet here they were and despite really only knowing each other for about a week and a half, the two trusted each other. Now upon further inspection of Rye, you would notice her beaten and battered wings. Her skin was a sickly pale and her hair was bleached in a very light white or blonde. Her clothing was tattered with her top being torn a bit to expose her midriff and what was probably a dress was now a skirt reaching her knees. Both were tattered and gray. Whatever her story was before she met Arco was almost as mysterious as what a Draconian Paladin was doing in the middle of nowhere.