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"Mm... I don't want this one to be a problem later, but I'd rather not just coup-de-grace him, you know? Maybe if we hang his shackles from a branch..." Revenge would muse to Valac, when he saw the wagon come into view.

He would inwardly wince, since it would be bringing Abby and the others closer to danger, but it now gave them a solution as to what to do with the unconscious mage. Plus, Kuori was staying with them apparently and readying herself for the battle to come, so she'd be there if danger came looking for them. And if Kuori has proven herself at anything, it's killing people who oppose her.

"Valac, let's move. When we get there, you can take on the couple dozen on the left. I'll distract the couple dozen on the right until you finish with your half," he tried to joke with the warrior as he turned and ran in the direction Twyla and Ruin had gone, not waiting for the wagon to catch up to his former position.

Petra seems quite surprised by Kuori's words "What?! Illya? Fumiyo? Here? How is that possible?"

"Explanation can come later, they need our help now!" Abby snaps the reins and the wagon takes off down the trail, faster than ever.

Ruin, Illya, and Twyla run down the trail towards the sound of battle and they reach a small hill. Once they reach the crest, the trees thin out and give way to a large clearing. What the three of them see gives them pause long enough for Revenge, Valac and Kuori to arrive with the wagon. Before the party's eyes stretches an enormous battle. The field is scattered with over fifty Arian soldiers, several of them dead or wounded. They are fighting eight or so monstrous looking humanoids, some of which the soldiers have already disabled.

Everyone but Twyla and Valac recognizes Ying and Corsica near a large crater surrounded by Arian soldiers. Corsica is in her true, large form and is carrying Ying, who's still in her human form, on her back. Ying looks badly hurt and is unconscious. Corsica looks relatively unharmed, but Arian mages are casting spells, making immobilizing spikes of earth wrap around Corsica's legs. They are beginning to overwhelm her ability to break out of them.

To the right, the party sees a strange girl whose hair seems to consist of large broad leaves with a flower in the middle. Her skin looks almost to be made of wood and her legs end in gnarled roots. She is lying on the ground unconscious and is surrounded by equally unconscious looking soldiers, many of which have blood coming out from their ears. She has a large pack next to her, spilling open to reveal a plethora of potions. A group of Arian soldiers are beginning to cautiously approach her still body.

To the north, there is a girl who looks to be half dragon, complete with a set of scaly wings—though one of them looks to be broken. Fighting beside her is a young man who looks to be a cross of several different creatures. They both look heavily wounded and are just barely keeping the soldiers surrounding them at bay.

Across the river is a girl who looks to have the lower half of a snake. She is slinging spells at a group of Aarian mages, but they have her pinned against a cliff wall.

Overall, it isn't looking good for the monsters. Without any intervention, it looks as if the entire group will be overrun and captured within the next few minutes. Suddenly a girl, engulfed in flames, flies up from the forest and makes a beeline for a group of soldiers across the river who are surrounded by a sphere of magical energy. However, she is quickly repelled by spells being cast at her. As she is dodging spells in the sky, she spots the party on the hill and flies over.

“Illya! Ruin! Thank the gods you're all right! And is that Abby? How did you find her? And you have reinforcements as well? This might just save us. It's terrible! They have Fumiyo, they some how manged to get the jump on her and knocked her unconscious. They’re dragging her back to the portal as we speak! I've been trying to rescue her but they are creating some sort of magical barrier around her that's blocking all of my attacks. If we don't save her, then...”

Illya cuts in. “I know. We must save her at all costs; it's the only way we can get back home and we owe it to her for what she has done for us.”

Petra jumps out of the wagon, a look of panic and dismay on her face. “But what of the rest of our sisters? They need our help!”

Abby gives Petra a sad look. “We can try to help them if we can, but we need to prioritize Fumiyo. She's the only one who can turn the tide of this battle; we need her power.”

“Why can't we turn the tide?” Arthur would add as he emerged from the wagon armed with two short swords. “I'm ready to fight. I will protect my love and those she cares about.”

Suddenly a spell strikes the fire elemental girl in the back, knocking her to the ground. The soldiers have noticed the party. “Ramona!” Illya yells as she runs to her side, but Ramona staggers back to her feet.

“I'm fine, I'm fine. But help me hold them off. We'll keep 'em at bay while your friends formulate a plan, but they need to be fast. I don't know how long we've got.”

Ramona begins to blast the soldiers with balls of fire, while Illya takes pot shots with her hand crossbows. They have stopped the solders from advancing on the party's position for the moment. But it's not clear how long that will last.

((You guys get a few posts to formulate your plan before you have to roll initiative. Once you enter the fight I will be zooming in the map to your actual location and you guys will be provided with grid numbers as usual. Good Luck!))

"Sehanine..." Revenge would mutter.

Shaking his head, he would respond to Ruin's plan. "I don't think we have the time to play it as defensively as you suggest. If we focus too heavily on rescuing some, I fear others will be lost before we can regroup and attack again. We need to take the heat off of all of them, and we need to do it now."

Quickly scanning the battlefield, he would try to gauge the best way to utilize people's strengths and mobility.

"My recommendation is this: Kuori, come with me that way, towards the river," the paladin would start, where the unconscious girl lay. "I'll get you to the river's edge, and use your advantage of distance to help her over there," he'd indicate, towards the snake girl. "Twyla, Valac, you two head toward the bridge. Twyla, your job is to get him there, keep him hale and hearty. Hopefully by the time he's across, I'll rejoin up with you and we'll head that way," he'd gesture towards the two fighting far north. "Valac, I'm trusting you to punch through on your own, and show them what Barbarians think of barriers." He'd pause. "Be careful of bolas." To the newer faces, he'd gesture towards Corsica's position. "Ah... Ruin... Illya... Ram...ona? Head that way and free up Corsica. She looks to be in good health. As soon as you can, bring her with you and swing around to where they are, and Twyla and I will meet you there," he'd explain, indicating once more where the draconic one with her companion.

He'd turn his gaze over towards the wagon. "Abby... I know expecting you to stay back is a foolish request, so I say advance forward with Arthur and Petra in the wagon - but do it slowly. If able, try to follow the road and shore up whatever front seems like it needs the most help. I'm going to lay hands on the girl by the river then send her to you. Ruin, whomever is the most hurt from your group, grab Ying and bring her to the wagon too. If any of the potions the girl down there has are of the healing variety, that will make a good position for us to use to keep everyone on their feet, so I'll be counting on all of you to keep the wagon, and each other, safe. When we get to a point where this side of the river is all but secured, whoever is closest to that bridge, get across there and back up Valac - if he needs it."

He would inhale sharply. "I know splitting the party is kind of bad karma, but I don't think we have the luxury of keeping together, not without throwing anyone under the Bulette. If anyone has any better ideas, I'm all ears."

Abby would answer Twyla's question. "Fumiyo has the ability to teleport short distances and can travel long distances instantly by moving through shadows. I don't really know how she does it, but that is how she was able get us all out of the place they had us locked up in."

Illya would add, in between taking shots with her hand crossbow, "We have a safe haven, far away from these lands. We need Fumiyo to get back there, otherwise we are trapped. And I... I think she has the power to do something devastating. There is a terrible darkness inside her, we all know it, but she never talks about it, probably so we don't worry. She's like a mother to us, after all. Corsica seems to be the only one who knows anything about it, but she won't say anything either. Whatever it is... I... I think it must be something quite powerful or terrible, given that they both seem to be afraid of it."

Ramona casts a grim look over at Illya as if to confirm her words, but otherwise says nothing as she continues to try and pin down the approaching soldiers.

Ruin thought for a moment, and knowing the longer they took planning the shorter time his people had. "I'll second Kouri's plan," Mostly because it was the least complicated "...but, we pick up Sylvia... the flower,..." he added bitterly, " ...second. And Ramona flies to help Seraphina and Dresden, for the time being."

"Right. Sounds like I'm outvoted. I won't argue the matter, don't worry," Revenge would respond.

Amusingly, while everyone seemed to lean towards sticking together in one slower-moving group, they seemed to differ greatly about the direction they should head. With new faces he wasn't sure if, once 'agreed' upon a plan, everyone would even stick to it.

"Twyla, I know you said you didn't have a strong opinion either way, but I'd like you to speak up. I think a good number of warriors here have a rather straightforward approach to combat. How would your own abilities - as a bard - be put to their best use?" he'd ask the Gnome.

"Just stop! We are expendable to the military forces, but they want the family alive. So, worrying about their survival doesn't help them. Though, freeing them to join us doesn't sound so bad, if we can do it quick, neither does an assault on the bridge and freeing Fumiyo first."

Ruin would turn to Petra, "Venom-eye or Stone-eye Basilisk? how does your ability work? And how hard is it to use?(referring to At-will, Encounter, or Daily aspect)"

--------------After listening to Petra's answer----------------

He would turn to Abby, "And yours?"

---------------And after listening to Abby's answer------------

It was Arthur's turn, "Yours?"