"...soon I know, I'll wake..."

The figures faded into the blackness behind Sakura's stealthy form. One had leapt into the tree while the other had grabbed a tree branch defensively. Above them all, the trees continued their whispering movements as though something stirred through the boughs and branches, setting the leaves to move despite the lack of any wind. The dank air settled in the little dip in which Annabella and Ulrich lay hiding, and the knight began to protest aloud as his stomach again attempted to vacate its contents.

"Give me a weapon, elf lass. No fae folk is going to come upon Ulrich Mathews unarmed."


Annabella Brennan was grimacing with an intensity that could cut a man in two as her longish ears swiveled this way and that, catching brief pieces of noise coming from all over the forest now. She muttered softly, eyes never coming to rest on Ulrich as she handed him her dagger while withdrawing another from her boot.

"Tisn't the fae folk ye should be worried about, Knight."


Still did Sa’kura run, rustling branches and leaves no more than the pursuers within the woods. Damn the stench of still moist air. But wait. She stopped for a moment and dropped down low into underbrush. Waiting as ears preened about. The drow girl had heard Ulrich, and they were close.

Still though she waited, pausing just long enough to look and listen for her pursuers…

"And just what do you think is stalking us now, elf?" He dropped the 'lass' part, as his irritation rose in accordance with the bile in his throat. "They want us back in their clutches just like....what was that?"

He turned and squinted into the darkness behind and above them, trying to peer into the shadows of the forest canopy. The knight raised the dagger and thrust it menacingly -but in vain- at the empty air just above him.

But above Sa'kura, the trees were alive. Another figure dropped from the canopy towards her hunched position; six inch claws extended from an otherwise humanoid hand, and the mouth was wide open, somehow catching light on the twelve distinct needle-like teeth protruding from its jaw. The only sound it made besides that of rushing air was a high-pitched clicking and ticking that seemed to come from its throat.

Not bothering to reply to the sickened knight, Annabella sprang. She whistled, standing there directly in front of Sa'kura and the......thing that had dropped out of the trees, an odd glint in her deep blue eyes.

"O'er here, Ugly!!!"

Eyes of amber widened a bit as the creature dropped from the canopy. Sa’kura slid a long, slender dagger she had taken from the unconcious wood elf, out and held it ready to throw as she muttered that same spell once more.

Of course, she was surprised to see Annabella jumping out in front of her. She didn't have time to think. Her lithe form lurched forward, grappling Annabella about the waist just as the teleport spell activated...taking both of them 30ft in the direction of Ulrich where she had planned on being in the first place.

'Ugly' continued to click and chitter senselessly, but recoiled slightly as Annabella leapt forwards. It lunged forwards, preparing to swipe those vicious claws at the new target when both targets suddenly disapeared. Above them, however, rustling turned to echoing clicks and hisses of answering 'voices'.

In the small dell, where Ulrich crouched with the dagger raised over him and the other hand wiping at his moustaches, the chittering was only slightly less pronounced. But soon the creatures recognized what had occurred and the sounds again faded into the horrid rustling of motionless trees.

Annabella had been knocked backwards, gasping softly while eyes remained on the nasty being that was obviously communicating with others. Her sensitive ears were tuned into the clicking noises that were surrounding them. She wriggled free from Sa'kura, crouched low and looking upward.

"What're those things....they're everywhere..."

“Naut know, abbil...”

Sa'kura's voice was hushed as she unstrapped whatever weapons the wood elves had collected from her and handed them all back.

“But suggest we leave quickly...we must fetch Ulrich.”

"Another type of elf, maybe?" Ulrich muttered to himself, unknowingly echoing Annabella's question. The tree to his right stank of stomach acids and whatever was left of the half-digested breakfast he'd finally freed himself of. Somehow, he'd managed not to get any on his white livery which now gleamed in a beam of unexpected moonlight sifting through the branches overhead. With all the unknown sounds occuring about him, his head whipped from side to side in an effort to see all directions at once.

Behind the two elves, of differing colorations but similar temperment, a much more distinct sound became evident. The slick-smooth sliding of something large maneuvering between the trees. The occasional thunderous crack of a limb being broken made its approach anything but secretive.

Annabella heard the sounds too, and as she was nodding to Sa'kura's idea, she caught sight out of the corner of her eyes Ulrich's livery. Gleaming. She turned, brows lowering as she glowered darkly at him, pointing her dagger at the knight.

"You....take that off!! Yer leadin em right to us!!"

Her angry whisper was hushed, and the tone of her voice left nothing to be questioned. She began backing slowly, towards a slight clearing at the edge of the grove, nostrils flaring gently as the scents rushed at her. Deep blue eyes went to the drow, whispering softly.

"Now...we must move. And get his beacon off him...."

She indicated Ulrich again, seeing as both of the female elves were darkly clad, and Anna's tan and Sa'kura's natural skin tone made them a bit less likely to see, while Ulrich fairly screamed their location.

She barely even finished her hushed sentence as that dagger concealed within Sa’kura’s palm was flicked out, and already tryingcutting at the leather straps that held Ulrich's livery upon him. The whole while, whispering to Annabella.

“Can teleport three more times. Hopefully. Have never taken someone else with me, but seems to not be bother with two...do not know with three...”

Occasionally her eyes would flicker quickly in the direction of the thundering sound, ears swiveling this was and that while Ulrich struggled under her grip.

"I will not be doing any such thing. Only a coward drops their insignia at the first sign of danger. Let them come! Let them know who it is they threaten!"

Again that dagger waved about at the trees above him, daring whatever bogeymen haunted these woods to actually show themselves to the Teutonic Brother. His other hand attempted to push off the dark elf as she dared to draw her dagger on him.

Above them, the trees grew deathly still. In the distance, the cracking and popping of limbs grew more urgent as though it picked up speed and forsook any semblance of stealth.

Only the two elves' keen hearing would pick up the nearly silent clicks and hisses now on ground level in a ring opposite from the crashing sound. Hemming them in.

The woodelf was about to knock Ulrich out and drag him along when she realized they were being surrounded. And quickly. She growled softly, knowing that her shifting ability wouldn't do any good. She knew magic, but her Aunt Moira had always told her she should practice more. Her mind began racing through charm after charm, spell after spell, trying to find something to aid them in their seemingly bleak plight. Her lips were moving as she thought, quickly slapping her free hand over Ulrich's mouth to shut him up. Her strong fingers clamped tightly, she turned, in the middle of her muttering, and spoke softly.

"If'n ye donnae shut yer mouth, I'll do it fer ye....and ye willnae like it. Now TAKE IT OFF."

Her eyes were oddly luminescent in the darkness as she stared at Ulrich, emphasizing each word softly with a raise in her eyebrows. She turned back, glancing at Sa'kura, and holding out the hand that held the dagger.

"Take me hand....I believe I have somethin..."

Sa'kura bit her tongue as Ulrich attempted to push her away, balling up a gloved fist to securely jack his jaw when annabella held out her hand. She nodded, and slipped her hand into the other elf's...watching as Ulrich waved his dagger about like a drugged bafoon.


Meanwhile, somewhere within the woods came the Huntress. Long ears had caught the sounds of the screams and she was quickly making her way towards the area, unseen and unheard by all…



Ulrich struggled gamely between the two women, his pride becoming more battered and bruised than his battle-hardened body with such rough treatment. He lurched backwards, attempting to yank himself free of their treacherous grasp as the monstrosity continued to approach. Even he could hear that, by now.

As the echoes of Annabella's words faded away, the chittering voices rose in pitch. In the darkness, narrow black eyes reflected the white light given off by Ulrich's pale livery.

She held up her finger as she slid her hand from Sa'kura's grasp for a moment, turning to face the knight. Annabella had seen the eyes, the reflections, and firmly placed her hand on the knight's broad chest, eyes on him as she ripped the tunic free in one clean jerk. She muttered softly, and the tunic just.....disappeared.

"There's yer pride now, Knight."

Turning back to Sa'kura, her fingers still clamped firmly around Ulrich's mouth, she whispered.

"An there's me idea. What they cannae see, hopefully they cannae catch."

The drow took Annabella's hand. And blinked. She didn't know what she was talking about...she could see all three of them perfectly.
Her eyes looked about as the thought of flight grew thicker and thicker in her gut as she leaned into Annabella.

“Unless have any other ideas...will attempt to teleport..”

The knight turned a bright red, an effect mostly invisible in the darkness. Shamed and lacking in all the important matters, he slumped against the gripping hands of both females, eyes closed in blatant humiliation. For all he cared, now, the monsters had won. Ulrich Mathews was defeated, in his own eyes. Three figures lunged from the forest around the trio, needle-toothed and long-clawed.

Somewhere, far off in the distance, one last elf screamed out into the night. The cry was cut short with the hint of a gurgle, and again the only sounds were the approaching Thing and the surrounding chitters.

Annabella inhaled quickly, mumbling a long string of what seemed to be gibberish, eyes on Sa'kura as she moved in, sliding her solid arm around Ulrich's middle to support him. She closed her eyes, and finished the spell, the shimmer of the invisibility charm taking effect, rendering them unable to be seen. The three could see each other, but it would appear as if they had just vanished, and simultaneously, Sa'kura begin to mutter her own spell again...the direction she was pointing them in...due west.

The creatures reeled back a moment after the trio vanished from sight. This did not, however, impede the progress of the thunderous approacher. In fact, it made a 90 degree turn east to follow their progression. In its wake, the Spiters scattered and hissed in pain and infuriation. The rustling of the trees increased, and amplified.

"Ugh, let me be, women, let me be." Ulrich shook himself free of the two elves and scowled menacingly. His armor was dented and cloven in places, obviously handed down from bearer to bearer over generations. Visible only to their eyes, it gleamed infrequently in the shafts of moonlight lancing through the canopy.

She was about to say something nasty to Ulrich as they tried to hurry ahead of the beasts making their way quickly after them....when she noticed the way the light was attracted to the armor Ulrich wore. She glanced at Sa'kura, a brow arching as she whispered very slightly.

"What of Light, Sa'kura? Bright, bright light?"

Sa'kura gave a glance in Ulrich's direction...tossed him his stolen weaponry to lighten her load, and then looked back to Anna-

“Do it...they did not show until dark...”

While Ulrich almost frantically rustled through the pack that had been tossed him, the sounds once again began to maneuver into surrounding the new clearing. The situation seemed imminent to repeat itself again in a new position. Only this time the sound of crunching underbrush was unmistakable. Many meters through the forest, flickering in and out of the shafts of moonlight, the immense form could at last be seen. Hulking and lurching, it was three times the height of a man but hunched over almost double, with long, skeletal arms propelling itself almost as much as the equally spindly legs.

There was a quiet song of metal against leather as Father Mathews drew his sword and lifted it to catch the light of the moon on its blade.

She looked from Sa'kura to the blade, then up at the moon before she realized she should have listened to Ulrich before. She lowered her gaze, eyeing Ulrich, whispering softly.

"What've ye got there, Knight?"

The slightest, softest flicker of a smirk crossed her lips as she watched. They would either die, or make it to safety.

The drow walked about and pulled her own sword from it's sheath, clenching her sword easily in her hand as she looked to Annabella.
She was out of ideas. She was not much of a magic user either, but if the decision of the group was to stand...then by god she would stand to the last.

"My sword," he said, turning his eyes to the side to scowl at the presumptuous elf. Suddenly friendly and curious, even as danger thundered down at them, it was no wonder that the knight was incredibly wary. He didn't like the long-ears in the first place, but would deal with them for the time being. But to have them humiliate him and then go into patronizing curiosity; it drove him nearly to finish her off before the monster arrived.

But it was too late, because the beast broke through the surrounding tree trunks, one immense clawed hand resting against the nearby oak while the distended head leered towards the diminutive group. Wide, blank eyes stared fish-like from the wrinkled flesh above the tooth-filled jaws. It only breathed loudly at them, ruining the silence with the anticlimactic arrival.

Annabella'd assumed that Ulrich had some special trick up his sleeve, after all that she and Sa'kura had done to try and save their hides. Humiliation was the furthest thing from Anna's mind at this point; her life was much more important.

She glanced aside from the giant creature, looking at Sa'kura and whispering softly to the both of them.

"Close yer eyes...."

And then, she looked up into the wide, staring eyes, and spoke one word.

"Lumos."

Quite suddenly, it was as if the sun had fallen from the sky, centered directly in their small clearing. The purest light rocketed through every hollow in the clearing, every shadow was devoured as the all-seeking brilliance burst forth.

It had been her only shot.

The drow's arm came across her face as the clearing was blanketed in the bright white light...still did those long ears twitch this way and that, hoping to hear some form of reaction from the beasts.


Of course, still quite a ways away...the hunter that was approaching the party...stopped dead in her tracks at the bright light...waiting, watching, biding her time…


"What? Oh, Mother of SAINTS!" He cried, nearly dropping his sword, and then nearly impaling his head on the blade as Ulrich tried to shield his eyes from the blast. A moment too late, it would be some time before the knight saw anything but a dull blue glow in the middle of his field of vision.

The beast itself had almost exactly the same reaction, reeling from the blast and lashing out with those misshapen, unearthly claws. One 'hand' caught both Annabella and Ulrich in a backhanded strike, slinging the smaller figures across the clearing and through the boughs of a nearby tree. Sakura narrowly missed the return swipe as the Qismat flailed blindly and angrily.

The wind, and more than likely a few good memories were knocked out of Annabella as she was flung backwards, gasping as she smashed into the underbrush. She immediately rose up, on hands and knees, and spit the blood out that had welled into her mouth. Shaking her head to clear the stars, the lingering afterglow gave her enough light to crawl towards Ulrich, to check if he were alright. She slowly realized that she wasn't just bleeding from her mouth, but a long slash that had cut across her middle, through the tight leather bodice she wore. That would have to be tended to later. She rose slowly, staggering a bit, calling now for the both of them as she pointed herself in the direction they had been headed.

"Ulrich!!!! Sa'kura!!!! If yer alive.....MOVE!!!!"

Sa'kura's arm moved as soon as the blinding glare lessened. She turned and once more ducked a flailing arm, running to Ulrich and grabbing him by the arm with a good sharp pull.

“Follow me, will lead you away…”

"Ngh. I live, I live," He growled under his breath, struggling to his feet. He found and propped himself up against the tree he had just bounced off of. The carefully kept armor now had a few new dents in it and a good long rend across the shoulder that left a segment nearly detached. The knight blinked hazily at the starry blackness that was his vision, then scowled into the night. "Damn elves..." His sentiment was only multiplied as Sakura suddenly materialized out of nowhere and again began dragging him along. "Woman, what do you think you are doing?" Blood seeped over her fingers as she continued to tug.

The Qismat, oddly enough, was not following, but instead seemed to be continuing to suffer the ill effects of the light blast. Those misshapen limbs slashed this way and that through the air, whistling with the speed and ferocity of the beast's rage. It paid the scurrying bipeds no heed whatsoever. And there simply was no sign of the chittering Spiters...

The wood elf had forgotten about her own wounds, as she watched the blood sliding over Sa'kura's hand while dragging the knight towards the east. Her eyes had cleared more quickly than most might, and she took his other arm, glancing back at the flailing beast. No clicking sounds could be heard any longer, and she looked at Sa'kura as they hurried.

"Are ye alright? I wasn't sure....if the light....since yer drow...."

Her breathing was a bit ragged, as they ran, letting Sa'kura lead.

The drow simply grinned, and glanced over in Annabella's direction-

“Have been on surface long time abbil...Eyes not as sensitive as once were...”

Of course...all of this was to fall short as a thick crossbow bolt came
barreling out of nowhere, only to land thick and square in Sa'kura's shoulder, knocking her back a good few feet and off of Ulrich's arm.

The huntress had stepped out of nowhere, the air spell that granted silence, and above all, no scent finally dropping as she appeared.

Ulrich slumped down slightly as the tugging finally ceased rather dramatically on one side. He glanced back, even as he struggled to his feet, and saw the dark elf lying with a shaft protruding from her shoulder. Turning back to the front, he could barely make out the outline of a figure stepping forwards from the underbrush. Thankfully, it wasn't nearly as large as that thing had been before. His sword rose in challenge and he lowered his chin, subtly.

"Father Ulrich Mathews, warrior of the Saints and of the Brotherhood. Finally a fighter that shows thems-"

He trailed off as more specifics of the figure became evident.

"More damn elves..." There was no question in his mind; this was no skulking monster from the shadows. She had attacked, and then made herself known. No honor, perhaps, but at least a clear target. He stepped forwards, blocking any such shots for Annabella. At least his armor would defend him more than her leather jerkin would her.

She blinked as Ulrich stepped in to shield her, a bit taken aback at this. She shifted around him, however, and slid her throwing knives out of their sheathes, glancing aside at him before turning her gaze towards the elf before them.

"Thank ye...but I should help if I'm able..."

She hardly paid any mind to the blood running over the slice in her leather bodice.

Those piercing silvery blue eyes in the Hunter’s shapely face only glinted in the light as a grin slipped across her lips.

“More elves? What were you hoping for?”

Her attention snapped to Annabella for a moment, before taking in a deep breath and shrugging.

“Suit yourselves...”

She flicked the longsword in her hand, took a step to the right, and was gone. The sword offering up invisibility as long as it was in her grasp, and the spell that came so freely from her lips, cancelled any vibrations in the air about her, which served to ceas all noise and scents from her immediate vicinity. It was as though she’d vanished from all perception...