First Blow --- Erasmus swore as the situation facing them went from bad to worse, the gargoyle was proving an increasingly difficult foe to face and their numbers were beginning to drop like flies. He had the inescapable sense of something massive and powerful arriving; the cold grip of fear wrapped around his heart. Whilst he wasn’t a cowardly man, facing two powerful opponents at once would prove an insurmountable challenge. He nervously flicked his fingers on the pommel of his sword as he tried to read the situation and decipher the situation but no clear plan besides attack came to his mind. They faced a flying enemy that had very few weaknesses and their best mage had been knocked out of the fight. He couldn’t make it to Alexander in time in order to protect him from the gargoyle but he saw that a small crack had appeared in the outer shell of the creature; now was the time to get close to it. Wren began shouting order for those with swords to take it on once it fell on someone, so he took it upon himself to shoulder that burden and readied himself to attack it should it land. He saw a blur from the corner of his eye as what he later distinguished to be Thalien throwing herself at the creature, obviously aiming for the cracked shell with her sword. In a split decision, Erasmus did what his instincts told himself to do; maybe if the two of them attacked at the same time they could come out alive on the other side. His uttered his prayers, hefted his sword and shield and threw himself at the creature alongside Thalien.