Daniel
Marsila would probably hear him talking if he came back, so Eotum kept muttering himself as he returned to where she was resting.

"Got a new bag... Some more bolts... A lovely lump of money... More rations..." He muttered to himself.

But then he began to mutter to himself about the Maladrius. Not that she would believe him anyway. 

"Cursed bird... I will hunt you down..." He grumbled to himself. "I will slice off your wings and clamp down your beak... And bring you in to the kingdom..."

He also began to theorize things.

"Why in that one spot... Is something keeping it there... Has it chosen to live there...?"
David
"You'd fight your own?" Rekkan asked.

"They're not my family. I'm sorry... We... We didn't want any of this. And you're not as bad as the bounties paint you. You saved my friend even after we tried to kill you. That's something." Twiss nodded to his own words. "So, please."

"Twiss... Is right..." Swass said with a grunt. "You could just kill me, but... You saved me... I'll help... I'll help too..."

The wanderer chuckled. What a turn of events. He didn't expect to find thugs with a change of heart, but the added numbers couldn't hurt. He nodded and began to talk with them, sharing a plan to rid the village of the other mercenaries.

Meanwhile, at the village, Atovar'a lieutenant rounded up the villagers. The sun was setting by the time and the skies turned orange in the horizon, with their clear heavens becoming a sea of black inhabited by shining stars. The black haired and lanky figure stepped in front of the villagers and gazed at them with dark thoughts in his mind.

"Very well!" He said loudly. "Since the man we are looking for isn't here yet, we decided to start the evening with some good old fashioned entertainment!" His words resonated through the small town and the outskirts, the woods. "We are going to show you all what not helping us finish our business means. Thus, let the burning man begin!"

Led by the eery words of the mercenary leader, Rekkan peered from the crest of the hill at the scene. Bran, or rather Bran's body, was being dragged from the house of the old lady to the pile of wood the cutthroats were forming earlier. He was tied to it, obviously dead, for Rekkan knew of this already.

"Tsk. Provoking a reaction." The wanderer sneered. "Do you know what to do?" Twiss and Swass nodded.
Leon
When the Scholar returned, he would have seen Marsila had remained unmoved. She knew the more she kept herself laying against the trunk of the tree resting, the faster she would heal and move her limbs properly. The small rations he had given her contributed greatly towards her regeneration, giving her some peace of mind due to her great dislike of being placed in a fragile state. 

As she heard Eotum talk about some bird, she remembered back to the group of bounty hunters when they had begun to question him. At the time, she could have cared less when they had mentioned the creature. She may have paid attention but due to her fragile stomach, she hadn't focused on their conversations but instead, focused on the torture Rekkan placed them under. 

Now, she had the chance to properly ask him about that topic, especially if it contributed with calming his mind as it would seem that she believed in the creature. If anyone had been watching them, they would have assumed the scholar was a mere lunatic with his rambling of a fictitious animal. 

"That is twice now you have spoken about the bird." She began before rolling her shoulders back slightly to relieve the tension built up in her injured shoulder. Finding that she should be fine to now move as her injuries only ached, Marsila brought her knees towards her body before laying them towards her right. Following her legs, the shifter twisted her body so she was now on her hands and knees before pushing herself up in the least agile way possible. "Why are you so desperate to find something that may not even exist?"

With a pained groan, Marsila finally found herself standing. She lowered her eyes towards his findings from the bounty hunters, glad he now had more food to ration for himself after he had given what he had left to the shifter. 

"I know it isn't safe but I need to go back to the village centre, or atleast where we had left Bran and Priscilla." She began, oblivious to the activities happening, such as the fire. "Hopefully Rekkan will be there, but I need to make sure I keep myself from being seen. I don't know about you, but they seem to be looking for me as well now."
Daniel
Eotum didn't expect anyone to believe him and his little tale. He also had his share of people trying to 'decode' and 'solve' him, and as to why he was looking for something that may not have existed when in fact he did see it before his very eyes. As such, he wouldn't try to defend himself and instead simply entertain her question with truth.

"I am desperate because it exists. And as long as it remains alive, it will remain a threat to humankind." He replied, adding the newly collected supplies to his gear. "And for as long as it lives... My friends who died that day will have died under the convenient guise of a lie."

"But as a scholar, I seek the truth, and it is my duty to amend what is untrue and seek new truths." Eotum slung the bag over his shoulder as he loaded a bolt into his crossbow. "I don't know about you, but I will continue to seek a way to eliminate the Maladrius."

He then locked the bolt into place. "Now. Someone will have to escort you back so that you will a slightly lesser chance of dying. Lead the way, madam."
David
His injuries kept him grounded, but Swass had an important role to play. He leaned his back against a rock close to the edge of the cliff and had the assistance of the swordsman and his friend in covering his body with vines and leaves. His sharpshooter's eye was going to be put to the test, armed with a crossbow and silver bolts. The bag full of ammon was placed to his side, easy to reach when he fired the first time. The injured man waited for the signal, which he knew would take time due to Rekkan and his wish to prepare the stage.

Bran's body melted in the pyre. His skin was charred and organs boiled, but there was no life in him to trouble the mind of the wanderer. The villagers, however, were shocked - - they were forced to watch a gruesome burning without the chance of fighting back. They were unarmed and, even if they did outnumber the mercenaries, they were just pigs to the slaughter should they try to retaliate. The children had a different spirit to them, and perhaps they turned out to be the catalysts to infuse the people with hope, even if that hope was squeezed by Atovar's impatience.

"The big man will come to rescue us!" Said the boy who had met Rekkan on his way out of the village. "You'll see!" His bravery incited the wrath of the sadistic captain. Atovar ordered the boy specifically to be taken from his father's side.

"He is my son! Just a boy! You can't do that!" The middle aged man was bashed with the hilt of a sword, forced to his knees in front of everyone. His son was dragged up the road from the square, towards Atovar's little headquarters outside the old lady's house. "Is that so? The big man is some kind of hero, is he? Let's see if your hero comes to rescue you from the flames!" The black haired man nodded to one of the men next to him. The boy was taken once more and dragged. He tried to resist, but a child could not match the strength of an adult.

Forgotten, but not lost, the black furred entity slalomed down the hill, using the shadows of the creeping rocks and withering branches for cover. It dashed to the northern edge of town and over to the roofs of the wooden houses, using height to remain unseen. When the boy could feel the sweat dripping from his forehead and his armpits first, he gulped hard. That wasn't the way he wanted to die.

Suddenly, a long chain hanged from the old lady's house and coiled around the boy's lithe frame like a serpent. It tugged the boy at the same time a howl echoed from above, prompting everyone to watch as the infant was swallowed by an expanded maw of the monster, than then retreated.

"What the fuck was that?!"
Leon
The way he spoke of the 'Maladrius' almost brought the shifter to believe it was real, unfortunately now was not the time to ask him more about the creature, they would have to leave that for when they were no longer in danger. She was glad the Scholar had the crossbow but couldn't help the fear grow within when she caught sight of the silver bolts. After the pain she had gone through, having another bolt puncture into her body was the last thing she needed. 

Now making their way back to the village centre, the scent of burning flesh invaded her senses. It wouldn't have been long until the Scholar would have been able to smell it as they grew closer. It was similar to what she had inhaled when Rekkan and herself destroyed the warehouse a few days ago.

"Something is wrong." The feeling of her stomach turning gave her that idea along with the smell she received. She wanted to shift into her animal form but didn't want to risk it with the amount of silver weapons she had seen in the past hour. "They're burning someone."

The shifter fastened her pace towards the village, making sure to keep alert of her surroundings as she did so, not wanting to fall into a potential trap. 

Eventually she caught scent of the wanderer's living scent, bringing a rush of relief through her body as she had feared for the worst. Sure he was skilled in defending himself along with finding what he wanted, especially after everything she had witnessed, but everyone had a weakness. 

Pausing once they reached close enough to witness what was occuring, Marsila began focusing on Rekkan's scent, attempting to find his exact location.
Daniel
"Quick. Hide here first." Eotum urged, gesturing to Marsila to hide behind a tree. Once they reached it, they leaned against the wood and peered out from either side to see just what was going on.

It was chaotic, to say the least. Houses were burning down to the ground, and they saw several men exit another house with torches in their hands, the wooden structure starting to smoke.

The stench of burning flesh was ever present in the air. It was thick, invading their nostrils with every breath as the massive bonfire kept on steadily burning. They then saw a big figure of black suddenly dash away after every pointed at it, contributing even more to the rising sense of panic in them all.

They then saw him. The man who was responsible for all this. Atovar. He was quite distinguishable since he was the one constantly barking orders at the other men. Eotum concluded that they must have been a mercenary group.

"Alright. So we have a bunch of men with good weapons." Eotum said to Marsila. "We also may have another monster on our hands. And we don't know where your companion is. What do we do?"
David
The village was thrown into a panic. For some reason, Atovar's men started a fire throughout the village, burning houses and sheds to prove a point. Nothing was to survive. Maybe they started to do it after the horrifying image of a kid being swallowed by that dark monster, creating beacons of light. They found solace in the light, as if it was meant to stave off the black beast, but the latter has a purpose and that was well served. It spat the boy on the edges of town, away from prying eyes. The boy looked up, unsure if he should do so in horror or awe. Down glared slalomed eyes of red without irises or pupils, only bright reds that looked more like scars. It did not wait for a sign of appreciation. The monster simply turned tail and dashed back to the fray, for things would only turn more dangerous from then on.

There was a slight change of plan. There was no time to lose in saving the villagers, lest they were surrounded by the fire and burned. Twiss was tasked with doing so after Rekkan's entrance. The wanderer wanted to draw the attention of the mercenaries away from the square, so he did what any bold or stupid man would do. He stormed the headquarters head on. A silver bolt flew through the air and hit the chest of a soldier standing next to Atovar. The lanky and sadistic figure sneered as he saw his soldier stumble on his knees and finally on his whole body.

The mercenary captain showed his skill in a quick draw of his weapon, quickly parrying the incoming overhead slash and trying to thrust his rapier through Rekkan's chest. The warrior slid his foot and pushed his body along, taking the grazing wound to his shoulder instead. He grit his teeth, but it was a minor setback, if that. A tackle ensued to create a gap between the two.

"Shoot him!" Atovar barked, but a sharpshooter made his presence known and took one of the men wielding crossbows down. Swass made the group of mercenaries hesitate in the process, quickly pulling on the sturdy string to slot another bolt in. A salve was indeed shot after that fragment, but Rekkan was already on it and moving, making it hard for the men to have a sure aim. Atovar barked more orders, making his lieutenants try to surround Rekkan, form some sort of ring with the other units as the crossbowmen reloaded.

They forgot Twiss. The young man was eager to prove his worth. He snuck through the narrower alleys and beckoned the villagers to follow. He slung his weapon in front of himself, butt against his right shoulder, and shot a mercenary in the head. The villagers were confused, as Twiss had the same armor as those that corralled them, but in their confusion they somehow accepted his signal.
Leon
When the scholar had returned, Marsila pursed her lips together as she thought of what they could possibly do. From the sounds of it, they were vastly outnumbered. She also had no clue as to what this 'monster' could be, seeing how Eotum had been very descriptive. Even though he mentioned that Rekkan was nowhere to be seen, Marsila could still smell his scent which meant he was near. Hopefully he had a plan and not an idiotic one that would get him killed. 

Marsila's chest raised as she breathed in deeply, forcing herself to come up with a plan which didn't result in their death. 

When she heard a male's voice shout an order for his men to release their arrows, the shifter knew immediately who they were planning to Kill. Her head snapped towards the direction of the shouts with her eyes widen in worry. Her heart raced fast out of fear that he could be killed, forcing her to turn back towards Eotum so she could give him some instructions.

"Rekkan's there, I know it. He was most likely in hiding when you tried to look. I need you to attack the mercenaries where they least expect an attack. These men wouldn't know you are helping us so use that as an advantage and let me worry about everything else. Just focus on surviving or hide and stay safe." 

Marsila never took notice of the scholar's reaction as she immediately began focusing on her shift. 

She clenched her teeth with a pained groan as her body began to follow her demands. Her bones were the first to begin snapping as they broke off into smaller pieces and rearranged themselves to form a new skeletal structure. Fur as dark as coal sprouted her her skin, eventually covering her body whilst the clothes she had been wearing tore from her body. She had been too panicked in rushing to help Rekkan that she had completely forgotten about her clothes. 

Within a couple minutes, Marsila laid along the floor in her panther form so she was able to catch her breath from the shift. She never enjoyed changing forms as it was a painful yet tolerable process to go through and it drained her of her energy. 

Without wasting another second, Marsila left Eotum to himself and raced off towards the action.