Visage rose, crossing the room to pour Ruddy a cup before returning and handing the steaming brew to the dwarf. He took his seat again, crossing one leg over the other and sipping his own re-filled cup. Esther's query made him laugh heartily.

"I'm not afraid to say Death's made good business off of my own actions more often than not, but then again someone has to play that part. On a deeper level, as a Druid I've always viewed life and death as different sides of the same coin. We come into existence, we fade out of existence -- things that reject death -- aside from holy immorality -- are what don't set well with me."

"That's the pack leader..." Aurea murmured, watching the boar creature snarl at its brethren, somewhat commanding them to attack. Although she had much 'unhealthy' desire to charge in along the others, watching the lycans' movement has made her listen to her better judgment.

Instead of rushing forward, the knight dashed towards Lera, now left quite unprotected on the flank where city forces used to stand few seconds ago. Racing the werewolves, the undead has made it just in time to get to the girl and push her aside, strong enough to force her to move and replace her spot, but not forcefully enough to knock her off her feet. She stood there bracing for impact with bent knees and sword's point up. If the creature were to leap at her, she would take the hit and use the momentum and lack of air maneuverability of the wolf against him, impaling him on the spot, doing as much damage as possible before knocking it off the blade with her foot, once the creature was to regain enough senses to properly attack her back. If it were to stop prematurely or dodge around her, it would still pay solemnly for ignoring the presence of her steel. As soon as something came in her range it was endangered with losing it's life, or at least limbs, the speed and momentum making the slashing job that much easier.

If her threat was in fact neutralized, she'd look for the other, that should be nearby. However, the knight still had the safety of the girl and nearby allies prioritized, over chasing around enemies.

Two beasts leapt toward Lera, recognizing her vulnerability. Then she noticed Aurea charging in too, pushing her aside to take incoming attacks. Even though displaced from her position with force, she was still firmly on her two feet. It was her chance.

She would leap toward the werewolf that were not within the knight's range, and stab it from its side with her blade. With her enhanced physical strength activated by her elder wood blade, she'd have enough force to pierce the monster's spine, paralyzing it. And for good measure, a punch to the skull to knock it out and hopefully, killing it. She would still keep her reflexes sharp to jump away upon retaliation, kicking the beast for boost and retrieving her blade should it be stuck.

She studied enough anatomy to perform the feat, and despite being wooden, stabbing is not slicing. And so, upon Aurea's arrival replacement, Lera gripped her sword and activated her essence. It would course and flow through her body and allow her to execute the plan. As long as she held her blade, controlling her essence is a skill she could handle.

Rhea continued her assault on the bats above, though it didn't take much concentration for her to land her shots. Between kills she had managed to climb up toward the canopy where she joined the other archers, mostly for more arrows. Several of the archers were panicking but she refused to let herself notice too much. Most of Rhea's kills came from using the other archers as bait by waiting until the bats flew toward them and intercepting them with arrows instead.

In the midst of all of the chaos in the trees, Rhea altered her aim downward for a moment. She pulled back a wooden arrow whose arrowhead was up in flames in her bowstring and aimed it at the boar creature for significantly longer than she had aimed on any of her previous targets. After a deep breath, rhea loosed the arrow aiming for the boar's torso, hoping to catch it off guard from all of the chaos. Rhea had used the paths above to get herself closer to the gate, closer to her target as if she were afraid that she would miss something so large.

Instead of continuing the assualt, Rabbit took a deep defensiv' position. Arms crossed in front of him, ready to absorb any hit, his back leg reached back.
If any werewolves or boars hit him, he could absorb the force and turn it around with a mighty kick. Then, he would follow up promptly with a simple 2 jab- uppercut combo.

Esther sniffed. "The name's Esther, not lassie," she said back at the dwarf. She then corrected Visage, as if on instinct already. "Death should not be stopped, by divinity or anything else."

She took a sip of her coffee and set it aside just beside her.

The sound of footsteps could be heard above them and the gears of the church slowed to a crawl. Before the people underground could react, the sound of possible life above was silenced once more.


Aurea managed to push Lera out of the way, just in time for her to take the blow from one of the werewolves. The first one had leapt towards the undead paladin, meeting her shoulders with its claws. The force itself was enough to push Aurea back slightly but not enough to tip her. It was a battle for sheer power for a couple of moments before Aurea's blade had sunk deep into the lycan's flesh, not another thought had drifted into its lupine brain. The lycan limply fell onto her body but she knocked the carcass off her sword as quickly as she knew it had died. The problem was, the attack was supposedly a tandem strike and despite her effort, Lera had been the other lycan's target either way.

Lera looked prepared despite the offset in positioning the knight had given her, she unsheathed her blade and was ready to counter the lupine lycan until a deafening screech blasted at Lera's ears. Aurea had just finished up only for her to fall to one knee from the echoing sound. The chiropteran lycan slammed its feet onto Lera's stunned form and pinned her to the floor; continually screeching. Its wings had pinned the woman's wrists down leaving her vulnerable and at the mercy to the sound wave of the werebat¹. The werewolf, visibly bothered by the bat's screeches, left the scene and returned to the actual combat area.

In the midst of the chaos below, Rhea had climbed upwards; wisely avoiding the danger while scaling up her own. Once she found her spot in the trees, she pulled back an arrow whilst its head burst into flames. She could feel the essense of the land around her as she pooled it into her shot. When she thought it was ready, she unleashed it. The arrow soared through the air, leaving a vivid trail of orange and yellow streaking down from her perch and into the edge of the chaos, where the wereboar had been.

Rhea noticed the swine move its head towards the arrow, obviously noticing the danger but made no move to dodge. What happened next was a bright adn powerful explosion. Rhea couldn't immediately see what had happened, the resulting smoke covered her sight and despite the want to see the outcome, several more bats had come for her, each sending a deafening screech towards her.

On the ground, Rabbit had seen the aftermath of Rhea's attempt. Although he wasn't entirely sure where it came from, he could say it did send the wereboar crashing through one of the buildings of the town and collapsing it over the lycan. Pleased but he was too busy at the moment to act it. Rabbit found himself capable against the lycans. He block and parried, assisted with the militia when able. It was like the lycanthrope weren't even trying.

FOOTNOTES
¹For Lera: You are deafened by the werebat's screech given your proximity to it. It will last for a bit but will gradually lift over time.

EDIT NOTES
*1: Misunderstood Skelly's post and fixed mine.

"Vermin..." She pushed the body off her sword, with some kind of disgust but also...satisfaction? Her faint smile thankfully not visible, concealed by the helmet. Nor was it long present. Having her threat neutralized, Aurea was more than aware of the number of wolves that were approaching the girl, and looked around to find her. The knight began her hastened march the moment she noticed Lera, but was stopped dead in her tracks one step in. A screech rung inside her helmet, and the undead stumbled, caught off guard. She was uncertain whether the metal around her head magnified or mitigated the effect, but she kept it on, and got up with assist of her sword, her gaze once more seeking for Lera.

This time the girl was endangered by yet another creature, pinned down to the ground by the source of ungodly noise. "Tch..." The sound not having such an impact on her anymore, Aurea charged forward pulling the sword behind her ready to slash in a manner that wouldn't get the girl on the ground harmed - Upwards or sideways. The creature could retreat seeing her coming, or even dodge the deadly attack if it was fast and aware enough, which became less likely the closer the woman got, but it didn't matter. She just had to get this thing off. Whether she was successful or not - first making sure there wasn't anything else that could drop on her back - Aurea would kneel down next to Lera, checking is she's still conscious, and if she were, help her get up.

The bat immediately took note of the approaching knight and turned its head to face her. It tilted its head to one side, gauging its chances against Aurea before stepping back and allowing Lera some space. The undead paladin finally got a better look at the chiropteran lycan, it looked only vaguely human, a pair of pants barely held up by a belt. Its entire upper torso was bare and it was hunched down with its long arms reaching the ground. The wings folded neatly into what she could make out like a fist. The face however, looked human; its ears the more prominent part of its face which nearly extended over his head. The eyes were nearly nonexistent or rather she couldnt see them.

The werebat screeched one last time, as if to attempt to stun Aurea and then fled to the skies, terrorizing the archers. Aurea approached her ally and found her ears to have begun bleeding.

Once the arrow hit Rhea turned to see bats flying her way. Not wanting to end up like Lera, she slung her bow over her back and pressed her palms harshly against her ears before she took off running down the bridges making her way back toward the town hall. She quickly ducked behind a try and slid from the bridges up top back onto the roof of the town hall and then again to the ground. On the ground she waited, listened, and felt the bats coming closer to her. She fired several arrows off while making her way into more cover, making sure to be aware of incoming threats.

She scared the hideous thing away, and while it was better than nothing, killing it would definitely be beneficial. No matter for now, it will meet it's end eventually, by her hand, somebody else's, or an arrow perhaps.

Aurea looked around for any other potential danger, before she knelt down by Lera, leaning on her sword, and taking off her helmet. It was hard to tell whether her delicate frown was a sign of worry, or annoyance. The girl was still awake, but there were red streaks coming out her ears. Woman's lips moved briefly, perhaps throwing out some swears Lera had no chance of hearing. She then straightened up a little, looking around and weighing her options, eventually giving Lera her hand to slowly help her back up or get her to at least sitting position. "If not the situation I'd tell you to get the hell outta here and hide..." Aurea 'murmured' still very much to herself, observing the surroundings.

While the ground forces were still somewhat held at the gates, the flying creatures seemed to have spread all across the city. "Tch...Fine...Okay, you live here, so..." She faced Lera, speaking slowly and loudly. "...If you know a safe spot nearby, and can get to there, do so and don't stick your head out. You've done enough. If not, just...stay close...Until I think of something." She was no medic, so she had no idea how badly the screech had affected the girl, but basing only on her own experience of it, it was probably bad. The knight tried to help herself get the message through, with gesticulation, but she wasn't very good at that, first pointing at the buildings deep in the city, and then after a brief pause at the ground by her side.

Truth be told, as much she wanted to keep the girl safe, the amount of time she'd have to put into escorting her to a safe place in an unknown city, would be by far outweighed by the amount people getting wounded and killed in her absence. Ending the attack was of priority. That's why her both ideas boiled down to to pretty much 'try your luck either way'. Without really waiting long for an answer, Aurea put her helmet back on and briefly put her cold armored hand on the girl's shoulder with a nod, before getting off her knee and returning to standing position if both of them haven't done so already. She turned back towards the battlefield with intent to return to the fray, ready to fight anything that dared to get close enough, and help however were nearby. However, now, she was also on the lookout for somewhere for Lera to hide, or someone who could perhaps lead her to safety, better than she would.

Head pounding, ears ringing, liquid pouring out of her canal cavities, Lera was not in the best of shapes. She was stunned. Her eyes were dazed and her mind clouded. Adrenaline fueled she was that had it not been for an obvious sillhoute of the knight, Aurea, she'd lash out wildly at everything within range.

Desperately grasping onto anything, she grabbed hold onto Aurea's gauntlet, the cold steel reminding her of what senses she still had, and got back to her unsteady footing. Lera's companion seemed to wave around, trying to gesturing something. Its meaning fell on deaf ears, however. She was deafened, after all. The shock may have faded, but its impact rendered her unable to comprehend Aurea's pointing. The only thing she could hear was her own instincts.

Get to cover. Rely on your remaining senses. Stay alive. And so she did. She stumbled around, but with a charge, she flew into a nearby building, concealing herself with protective walls. As she rested upon a wall, she tried to calm herself with deep breaths.

She should regain her full mental faculty within a minute or two, she hoped. During that time, she'd tear off parts of her cloak to cover her ears to prevent further damage and chug down her Cat's Eyes potion. If she could no longer hear, focusing entirely on her vision should take the edge off the ringing. Yes, distracting one sense with another sense. She would be especially wary of extremely bright sources, lest she be incapacitated entirely. The entire time, Lera's grip on her blade never loosened. It seemed to grow tighter by the second.

Rabbit took a quick look back while recovering from a hard blow to the chest. Seeing the young elf stagger off, he quickly threw a brutal, yet elegant axe kick at the skull of one of the lycans.
If it connected, it could free enough space that he could retreat and help out Lera, after a hard knee to the chest of the lycan to put him down of course. Rabbit's mind was always hopping and skipping from place to place.

The town was in chaos, the creatures that were once only known to appear during full moons have invaded. Rhea rushed down onto the townhall, cover fire provided by the town's own archers as they too followed suit. It didn't take long for them to realize their senior in terms of archery. Once Rhea had touched ground, she was met with six archers of Thornfell, four of which were keeping the bats at bay while the two took breathers.

Rhea could hear some commotion coming from inside the townhall itself. Lera shuffled the best she could then rallied all her energies into a charge for the nearest building for shelter. Once she knew she was safe, her back basically just collapsed to the wall and breathed. Despite the cover on her ears, she could feel her blood drip from them. It was bad.

As Aurea was assured Lera was going to a safe place, she turned to the chaos in the middle of town. Sir Dreimon and his guards were actually doing well in repelling the attack and Rabbit was surprisingly well versed in hand to hand, deftly taking out two or so lycans without a hitch. She noticed though, the man backflip and leave the field for Lera. Seeing this as the opportunity to keep the line strong, the knight charged forward.

She couldn't see where the wereboar was but maybe that was for the better?

She looked back once, to make absolutely sure Lera has reached her destination. Aurea was under assumption that she listened to her first 'order', and that even due to the shock, the girl still knew what she was doing, or at least knew enough to not get herself killed until all this is over. The knight grit her teeth a little at the thought and slowed down, almost about to turn back again. Her rational side kept telling her she can't save everyone, but the other wanted to protect all of these people at all cost, refusing logical reasoning to go through. She was a soldier, yes. But she wasn't their soldier, so why would she care that much?

It was impressive, least to say, that he could put up with all this bare handed. She wondered what technique was at work here, but it was no time for questions. The sight of Rabbit falling back for the girl almost calmed her down, and by the time he passed by her, Aurea has already made up her mind. She had already tested the waters, learning what the lycanthropes, and she herself are capable of doing, and even though it was a brief introduction, it allowed her to perform more bold movements. And now that she had less to worry about...

The knight charged in, filling the spot for the brawler, immediately clashing with the nearest beasts, and getting into a deadly rhythm of swings, blocks, lunges and dodges, fully letting her instincts take over. Her moves were rather thrifty, especially taking her weapon into consideration, but nonetheless precise and deadly. It was not a mindless wide-swinging one would expect from a greatsword wielder. They had a certain... grace to them, although hard to appreciate for an unexperienced eye. A dance of silver and red, and Aurea was a harsh choreographer, that wouldn't let any stumble stain her art.

Taken by the moment, ignoring minor wounds, and pressing the advantage where she could, the knight slowly began to break out of the line, methodically butchering her way through. If the disappearance of their presumed pack leader - whatever has happened to him - hadn't stopped their advance and made them retreat yet, then just enough had to be slaughtered until they do so...or there's none left. Ending the attack is of priority.