Johnathon stepped into the line of groups heading towards the gates, motioning for the others to follow him. They'd moved up a few spaces and the guards had begun to relax a little when an ungodly roaring seemed to shake the ground beneath them. Preceded by a chattering of nails and a beating of feet something akin to that of a horse, a shadow passed over the group. Reflexively, John looked up to catch what looked to be a furry man soaring over the palisade wall. For a moment, he was jealous that their own exit wasn't so simple, and then realization of what he'd seen had kicked in. Was that monster the cause of the fire? It was certainly responsible for the strange movements of the guard they had observed. The man crying wolf suddenly made a lot more sense. His attention was called away from the sky by the sound of something splashing against the cobblestone, and when John looked down he was almost sick at the sight of Adrian vomiting. He turned away sharply, with an exasperated groan. While he reeled, a panic had overtaken most of the crowd. Some rushed back into the town, others rushed the gates, all trying to get to safety after seeing, of all things, a werewolf in their vicinity. A veritable torrent of guards arrived late behind the wolf, flooding the plaza with some groups demanding passage in order to chase the monster. The quiet, tense air of the plaza was gone now, replaced by the shouting of several factions all desperately vying for the door. The poor handful of guards actually manning it had given up or been forced to, and John called to the group, "If we're leaving we'd best shove our way in now!" He hoped the others would keep up, and joined the chaotic mass of people on their way out the main gate. He jostled past a few armed guards and some rough looking gentlemen who gave him a foul look, and ended up safely on the other side. He pressed his back against the palisade, breathing out, and began to scan around for his comrades in the mess. The guards, meanwhile, were not stupid enough to chase into the forests but began to fan out in small squads along the palisade. Their attention was far away from catching any rogues and brigands in the city at this point, but rather making sure whatever beast had attacked them didn't make a second pass at the walls.