[center][i]"You tell me what she is to you Damien, because I can tell you don't just pray to her. Ulrich says that-"
"Ulrich has nothing to do with this, leave my little brother out of this."
"Can you just show some emotion for once and be transparent with me? Ulrich's the only one who talks to me anymore."
"I didn't realize."
"Damien, I love you, and I want us to keep going but there's one thing you need to do."
"What's that?"[/center]

"I NEED YOU TO GET UP RIGHT NOW MAN, BARTHAS ISN'T MOVING."[/I] Domerix barked, his focus switching between dragging the limp but visibly breathing Barthas to a safer spot in the grotto and keeping his eyes on the figures in the treeline, shrieking and hissing, the clicking of their claws echoing through the clearing. Alistar helped Thialgo to his feet, and the two found their swords, still trying to focus themselves after the explosion. The projection released some sort of powder designed to confuse and disorient anyone who was caught in it's cloud and Damien caught the worst of it, catching a large batch as he stared Ulrich's projection in the face. "Thialgo, come over here and watch Barthas, I've gotta get Damien up!" he ordered, Thialgo immediately complying. Damien managed to get himself back on his feet, staggering as he wiped the powder from his face, reaching out, Domerix quickly handed Damien his sword. In an effort to intimidate the approaching attackers, the orc let out several loud warcries, his pointed ears pinned back in instinctual focus. "Damien, we got a fight coming, c'mon buddy, grab your sword. ALISTAR, GET OVER HERE!" Alistar's footsteps could be heard as he joined his comrades. Damien coughed and reached out for his sword, feeling Domerix place the hilt in his palm less than a second later.

"What the fuck are those?" Domerix asked.
"We gotta spread em out, there's way too many." warned Alistar.

Damien blinked repetitively, slowly regaining his focus only to spot the threat now standing in the treeline. Seven dryad summons stood in a line, working themselves into a frenzy. Dryad summons came in many shapes and sizes, these sharing a feminine, lanky figure, brandishing large claws and spiked horns that curved upwards. Whoever summoned them used nearby trees, native to Central forest. Damien stood and faced the group of summons, letting out a loud roar similar to Domerix's, prompting the dryads to shriek back in a display of viciousness. "If they reach Barthas, they'll shred him to pieces. Do whatever it takes." Damien commanded, sticking his sword in the dirt and kicking it up, a cloud of dust blowing in the summons direction, "COME AND GET IT YOU SHIT EATING TWIGS!" he shouted, charging towards the group, his captains at his flank. When the dryads began heading towards them, the three split up in separate directions, thinning them out and keeping them from Thialgo and Barthas. Domerix bellowed out another warcry, attracting the attention of two of the summons. While Damien or Alistar would've had a difficult time taking on two opponents, Domerix welcomed the challenge, easily being the best warrior among the three. 

Pushing one summon away to make some space, stabbing one summon in the throat, pulling him between himself and the other summon. The second summon hesitated, shrieking as it watched the glow fade from it's doomed sister's eyes. The now husk of a summon collapsed, hitting the ground and breaking into a pile of wooden shards. Domerix disposed of the remaining summon with aggressive ease. Meanwhile, Alistar had rushed his assigned summon, showcasing his elven agility, deflecting the creature's slashes with his sword whilst keeping a safe distance from it. Creating about ten yards between him and the dryad summon. The summon leaped in the air, claws brandished forward in an attempt to pounce on the elf, only to watch Alistar smoothly baseball slide under him, thrusting his sword through it's wooden midsection, twisting the blade and finishing it off. Damien danced with the summon that pursued him, glancing claws away from his body using his sword. The summon shrieked in frustration as Damien confidently egged it on, closing in and slashing it's arm off before spinning and driving his sword through it's side. Finishing it off, the three Sea Tiger captains regroup and stride towards the three remaining tree demons. The summons gathered in a huddle, their bodies morphing and bonding together, forming a wooden behemoth that can only be described as 'huge fucking tree monster thing'. It roared, announcing the completion of it's final form.

All three captains rushed the tree hulk unanimously, their lack of strategy backfiring as each were sent flying away as the tree hulk swung it's arms about tossing them like pieces of trash. Domerix went crashing into a tree, while Alistar's body went tumbling clear across the grotto. Thialgo stood fast, watching as Damien's form was thrown against one of the dull statues in the grotto, his back arching in pain as he fell to the floor. Opening his eyes, he could feel the ground quake as the tree hulk approached, roaring in confidence. Looking to the treeline as he tried to get up, Liara stood, a smooth smile across her face, her eyes eager to watch Damien die and join her forever in the afterlife. Damien realized what she was doing there, slamming a fist in the ground. "No..." he mumbled, "...not here, not now..." rising to his feet, the mirage of Liara faded into the trees as Damien's muscles began to convulse and grow, bulking in size as fur grew from his skin. 

After moments of lurching in pain, the weretiger stood and roared to the sky. In one fluid motion, Damein's tiger form pounced on top of the tree hulk, taking a wooden spike in the side before hacking and slashing the behemoth to pieces, finishing it off by biting a chunk of wood right out of it's neck, immediately collapsing in a cloud of dust and dirt. The rest of the tigers collected themselves, while Damien morphed back into human form, walking from the dust cloud applying pressure to the open wound just under his ribcage. Domerix got back on his feet and let out a deep breath, embracing his good friend in a rare sign of vulnerable emotion. Eventually Barthas regained consciousness, discovering what happened to his captains and leader as they prepared to leave, not before Thialgo collected pieces of what remained of the summons and tree hulk, figuring Windsor would be able to pinpoint whose handy work that was.

The walk back felt like an eternity, but after a while the camp was in sight, Alistar's patrols making contact and breaking off to alert the camp.