Daniel
Eotum meanwhile simply shook his head and muttered to himself as to what a day this was. "Hopefully the tavern in Iron Gate is still selling that trademark ale..." He watched as Marsila ran off.

"Well. Time to help the community and get nothing back in return. Again." He stepped out from behind the tree and ran over to the nearest thing that would give him cover. He dashed towards an abandoned wagon crouched behind its wheel.

As he did, he saw a mercenary wearing the same armour as the other men who set fire to the house. He lifted his crossbow and was about to pull the trigger and send it flying towards his skull when he then saw him... Guiding people away from the fight?

Yes, his eyes were not deceiving him. Like a shepherd, he watched over the 'flock' of people as he gestured to them to hurry up. Elderly and children alike followed his lead, some of the younger ones helping the elderly to waddle along as fast as they could.

Eotum lowered his crossbow. Hm. Perhaps someone had a change of heart. Or was one of the better ones who didn't want unneeded deaths in a scuffle. Whatever was the case, he trusted him enough to turn his back. Somewhat.

Indeed turning around, he then crept into the wagon and made it a temporary watchman's tower. He would try to take out men one by one from here.
David
Swass was about to squeeze the crossbow's trigger when a new shade caught his attention. From the set of burning buildings to his right was a dashing lithe panther, black in color and carrying dangerous yellow orbs that scoured the field. He only glanced at it, but when his own greens stared back at the ranged mercenaries, he saw them changing their target and aiming at the shapeshifter.

"You will see two creatures of black."

Rekkan's earlier words rang true in his mind. The first being was the monster of chains and layered fangs that swallowed the kid. The second, the odd panther showing up out of the blue. Could it be that the swordsman had two shapeshifter friends instead of one, as the reports said? It didn't matter. Swass followed the man's orders and covered the black panther's advance, shooting at the men that tried to hit her.

In the meantime, Twiss was doing a great time, mainly because the people fell faithfully to his words. He set them to run to the woods nearby, where Priscilla was coming out of her hiding spot to investigate. When she saw the villagers moving as a flock, she joined them, was put up to speed and despaired. If what they said was true, then the man put up on the pyre was her husband. Twiss remembered bits and pieces of who was supposed to travel with the wanderer from before being sent to what could have been his death in the scouting party. He approached Priscilla.

"Miss, I am sorry to ask you this in your time of grief, but I will need you to watch over the people of the village. I have to go back and return the favor to the man journeying with you."

The young woman sulked, her tears already permeating her eyes. She couldn't mourn in peace, not then, but in the time she was alone she felt like she was preparing herself to face the awful fact that she was a widow. She nodded at Twiss, who ran back into town. The former thug raised his weapon and shot at his former companions, no love lost for any of the petty liars and thieves. He didn't want to be scum anymore.

"Can you do anything right?!" Atovar growled. He was frustrated with his force's inability to get the job done. Rekkan had slain two of the men encircling him and more were sure to follow. He saw the spark of a bolt flying to one of his mercenaries and sneered, trying to take matters into his own hands. "I will wipe out your friends, you freak!" He yelled, taking a crossbow from the ground and aiming it at the top of the hill while Swass was reloading. The wanderer showed a nearly unnatural awareness to that fact, and his trusty dagger was shot at Atovar. The lanky captain hurried the weapon in front of himself, but found the blade carving a path through the cross and dismantling the bow. He jerked his head to the side, avoiding his death. He had never seen such force in a throw that it could break a crossbow like that. "Fuck... Fuck... I need more men. I need better men!"

How many men did Atovar have? A little over a dozen, perhaps, including his lieutenants. What a turn. He came with thirty strong to be reduced to that.
Leon
Marsila was surprised by the lack of arrows. She had expected many to come flying in her direction but was left with only a few to dodge. She found it quite simple in her feline form to evade any arrows that had been shot towards her, though her speed also contributed as she was too quick on her paws for them to properly aim. 

In her peripheral vision, the shifter noticed many of the men being shot down by another crossbowmen. She had assumed it was Eotum so she focused on making her way towards Rekkan, throwing her head, body or paws into the remaining mercenaries that advanced towards him whilst purposely avoiding to use her claws and teeth as it would most certainly lead to death. She felt guilty as it was that she had murdered the man who went to examine her wound, she didn't want to be responsible for any more deaths. 

She was smart with the way she smacked into the mercenaries, being sure to find an object for them to be thrown towards which would result in severe injuries, though not fatal if unattended. 

Reaching Rekkan's side, a predatory snarl tore from her throat like a wild animal as her eyes gazed towards the man Rekkan had been focused on. It was evident from his comments that he was in charge, worried by the fact so many of his men were no longer conscious or alive.
Daniel
Eotum focused on eliminating mercenaries that were furthest away from the center, where all the action was taking place. Although this may have encouraged the remaining men to huddle together and form a group, the numbers of the men would drastically decrease as a whole. Not to mention, some were being engaged by his comrades and he didn't want to accidentally shoot them.

As the scholar kneeled down and locked another bolt into place, he decided that it was time to take down the leader. Such a decrease in morale would at least give the men a temporary moment of shock, rendering them vulnerable.

Lifting his head, he raised the crosshairs level to his eye and aimed at Atovar. He steadied his breath and set his target on the captain, the cross within the ring branding him.

He pulled the trigger, sending the bolt sailing through the air. Unfortunately, the man turned his body around so that it hit him on the arm. But judging by the way he screamed and grabbed his arm, Eotum may have broken a bone.

The scholar quickly ducked as Atovar looked around, eyes burning.

The scholar was now unsure as to what he should do. Should he stay put? Or should he run?
David
The swordsman kept a steady balance to himself, his hands wielding the irreplaceable Fang with a sure grip. There were many men surrounding him, cutthroats who brandished their swords and axes and donned masks of bitter hatred. They tried to close the gap, pincer him with their coordinated strikes, but the footwork of the wanderer and his knowledge of combat put the thugs to shame. Rekkan was swift. He took risks, but there was resolution in his actions, whereas the mercenaries lacked a higher level of conviction.

Marsila's arrival had no better time. She still held back as to not kill the men, something Rekkan respected as much as he berated. He understood her feelings and why she hesitated to an extent, but they wouldn't show her the mercy she possessed. The swordsman finished the job she started, thrusting his blade through tripping and unbalanced foes. He danced around those that tried to cut and pierce him, weaving with thrusts of his shoulders and quick slashes on torsos and limbs.

On the edge of the main fight, Atovar cried out in pain. He gripped the bolt that caught his arm and eyed the old man across the street, perched on the wagon. His thoughts culminated in a hard yell, demanding the retreat of his forces, or what remained of them.

"Fuck...! Fuck!! Full retreat, you dumbfucks!! FULL RETREAT!!!"

The actual order made the men panic more than their losses. They rallied to him, going as far as turning their backs on their opponents in their flight. Twiss was about to shoot one when Rekkan raised his hand in a signal to stop. "Enough!! That won't amount to anything!" Said and true. If Atovar lived, killing his men meant nothing. He would return with others after getting back what he lost. The mercenaries used the smoke of the village fire to escape, getting to their horses outside of the village. The swordsman knew that wasn't the last he'd see them.

There were more important issues at hand. The villagers were safe, but homeless. Priscilla was with them, waiting for her heroes to bring her the solace of their company. Twiss' friend also needed to be carried down from cliff.

Vicious appeared late to the fight, too late, but his presence was enough to instigate fear on those present, perhaps. Rekkan didn't allow him to threaten Marsila, hurrying to the beast as it dragged a dead mercenary from its maw. "Playing houses while I'm in the thick of it, huh?" Rekkan teased the monster, which answered with a snarl. "Where is the boy?" From behind the old lady's house, the kid appeared. He was soaked in smelly spit, but he would live. Rekkan asked Twiss to handle the boy while he returned to Marsila, Vicious trotting behind him.

"You're safe." He said, lowering to a knee and taking his hands behind her neck. His fingers sunk in her black fur and pulled her. Although his face remained the same stoic one, he leaned it forth to nuzzle her snout. "Good. Good..." The wanderer was genuinely relieved, but he didn't show such affection for much longer. He stood up and looked around. "Where is Eotum? Is he alright?"
Leon
The relief Marsila felt as she watched the men turn on their heels, was indescribable. She hadn't expected them to do so due to the determination of their leader, but how could she complain? It meant they were given a chance to properly leave Astoria as the Mercenaries were forced to regroup. The only downfall to their situation was that Atovar now properly knew of their strengths and would only return with a larger number of mercenaries who had greater skill. 

Hopefully they were still oblivious towards who the shifter was when in human form since those who had an idea had been killed.

When Rekkan spoke, she was confused as to who he was speaking towards as he raised his hand until she noticed one of the mercenaries that had originally been part of Atovar's group. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to ask Rekkan why he was helping them as she had no knowledge on how to communicate to another being with her mind. 

Her tongue ran smoothly across her fangs out of habit as Marsila watched them run off in the opposite direction before her eyes studied their surroundings carefully for any other possible threat.

When she noticed Viscious, the smooth black hairs straightened as they stood on end. She recognised the beast immediately from her dream, bringing her back to when she had dreamt herself murdering her loved ones. As her lips began to curl inwards to bare her fangs in a threatening matter, she noticed Rekkan rush towards the animal like it was no threat towards him before eventually returning to her with the beast in tow. 

She could care less about her own safety, this whole time she had been worried for Rekkan as his healing abilities were agonizingly slow compared to her own. It was obvious when the shifter allowed him to press his face against her own which also contributed towards calming her down. 

When he questioned about Eotum, her ears suddenly perked up as she had temporarily forgotten about the Scholar and turned towards the direction of his scent. He didn't smell injured as she would have scented the metallic smell of his blood so the shifter turned back to face Rekkan and nodded.
Daniel
Still hiding in the wagon, the scholar was becoming somewhat antsy over the silence that fell over the area. Taking a breath, he loaded an arrow and looked up, only to see the last vestiges of Atovar's men making a run for it through the forest and Rekkan and Marsilia embracing each other with some black beast that was watching them.

What a day indeed. He looked around and saw what was left of the burned village, also taking into account the dead bodies strewn about. To think that he was here this morning, and came back to see this at night. He wondered how the old lady was doing. And the tanner. Hopefully they were among the crowd.

Eotum then came out of the wagon and walked over to the group. But the black beast seemed to snarl at him, prompting the scholar to freeze in his tracks and grip his crossbow tighter. But he did not raise it.

Still... The black beast reminded him of his own beast. One that he was hunting down.

Eotum was now unsure if he should join the group since the beast was looking at him, fangs bared.
David
"Return..."

Rekkan's words, low in mutter, commanded the black beast to fade. It was no longer needed at that time, thus it would go back to where it came from, a mysterious place in the eyes of his companions. Such was his secrecy that the man did not indulge others in explanations. There were more pressing matters.

"The whole village will collapse in the fire. Marsila, please go with Eotum to the villagers. Take the boy with you." He said. "I'll join you in a few minutes."

The swordsman turned his attention to Twiss. "Let's go get your friend." Both men moved to the northern range of the burning village and up the hill. They found Swass with a smile on his face, glad that somehow they managed to push Atovar back. Twiss helped Rekkan in setting Swass on his back, later making the three walk to join the villagers. It would surely take them a bit longer than Eotum and Marsila, who would have been with the people in the meantime.