Frankie
The howls sent shivers down her spine and struck her to her very core. She had spent many a night in the mountains guarding her flock, and she had often heard the mournful cry of the wolves. She had even defended her flock from them, bunching the herd together near the fire so that the wolves wouldn't come in. But this? This was something different. This call was filled with bloodlust, greed, and hate. Something no animal could ever create. Only a human... But then, she had found that humans were often the most dangerous animal of all. 

As Josephine defied her and swore to protect her, Amaryllis found herself taking a much firmer stance. She glared at Josephine, her jaw setting before she hissed, "If all your knights can't protect you and stop them from getting in here, then there ain't a chance in this world that you're gonna protect me! Do you want them to die in vain? They live and die to protect you! If your knights are felled and they make it to this cabin, GET IN THE CELLAR!" Amaryllis gaze was sharp, her eyes flashing in warning and as piercing as any rapier. She wouldn't let her young friend fall into jaws of wolves. 

With that, she turned her back out the window, careful to stay where she wasn't fully visible and wouldn't draw attention to the cabin. The place was certainly sturdy and well-built, but the windows now proved to be a detriment to the little fortress. At least they allowed her to see out, and she was able to keep tabs on the ensuing battle.
Eddie
While the two young ladies argued inside the wooden cabin, Tagus was just outside, overhearing their argument even though his mind was abstract of what words were being used. The planked wood muffled their voices and his concentration wasn't driven to listen to them. His eyes were set on the perimeter around the house, the immediate range of his eyes that scoured the area before the cabin. Then his ears perked to the clashing of metal. Iron and steel banged together in the battle that took place just to the flank of the house.

Lord Roderick and his men, eight in total, fought with their backs slowly turning to one another. They showed a tenacious will to live and die by the sword in the name of duty. Each of the knights had a skill to reveal that was beyond the typical drill of military as the backbone of a House or a kingdom. They were the elite, Knightblood pushed to the limit in more ways than the physical. Clovis Merovingian wanted the best of the best and Lord Roderick was the one that committed to give him the most loyal and fiercest hounds.

As predicted by the Knight Commander, there were those that didn't try to surround the group, but skirt around it. They eyed the cabin with the promise of goods and perhaps helpless dames to rape and claim. A handful ran around the flank and found a stalwart guardian standing before them. They grinned as they approached the young face of the lad and then laughed at it. They barked and howled so close to the interior that the argument ceased to give attention to the conflict.

"Outta my way, boy!!" A barbarian snarled, whirling his axe as he charged at Tagus. The knight exhaled a sharp breath before taking air into his lungs. His body stretched down to his abdomen and guts as the air ran through his inside with a cycle. Then, as he set his left foot forward, his upper body turned with the swing of his arms and ensuing arc of his large sword. The tip had purpose to slash the flesh of the face of the barbarian and shred it, splitting the nose and making the snarl turn to a loud whimper. The others grunted and two of them lashed out at the knight, their blood boiling with rage. But they did not expect, just like their injured comrade, that the size of the blade and its sharpness were not the thing to worry, but the trained muscle in both arms of the young boy. He unleashed another wide horizontal slash and carved steel through bare chest and ragged lamellar. Tagus was nervous, but he was ready. His fingers shook for a moment, but he tightened the grip over the handle of the sword and waited for the next enemies to step up.

Inside the cabin, Josephine hearkened to the sound of fighting just outside and the whimpers of barbaric warriors. Her senses heightened with the smashing of a window behind her and the trespassing of a shadow. She did not ignore Amaryllis' command, but rejected it, lunging at the enemy with a face swept by a burning will to stand her ground. It was what she trained for, thus the thrust of her rapier had crystal clear precision in the piercing of the throat of the barbarian, followed by whipping her hand to the side. The needle sword carved a fine line out of the neck of the man, who gurgled and choked as he died with the blood inside his throat, flooding his lungs and stomach.

"As long as Tagus and the others fight, I will fight too!" She stated, eyes on the darkness peering from the windows. Had any barbarian tried to invade the cabin, she was going to attack without hesitation. Her wield was shaken for a moment, but just like her friend, Josephine gripped the hilt tighter and raised the blade in front of her shoulder in a duelist stance.
Frankie
Amaryllis grit her teeth as the woman outright rejected and ignored her order, but there was nothing she could do. Josephine had made her point clear, and admittedly, Josephine was more prepared for defense than Amaryllis. She at least actually had a weapon. Still, it angered Amaryllis that Josephine would put herself in danger and risk her life. 

"Damn fool," Amaryllis growled as she grabbed her shepherd's staff from its place by the door. It wasn't much, but a sound wallop with that would knock someone out, at least. If nothing else, it would keep them at bay. 

Josephine had no sooner felled the first rogue before two more made their way inside. One through the broken window, and yet another coming down through the chimney. The man in the chimney couldn't be seen just yet, but Amaryllis could hear the scuffling sound and the ash and soot falling like blackened snow into the fireplace below. The fire was mostly out, meaning that it was just warm, but she knew the hot coals lay beneath the surface of the ash and could easily be rekindled to life. It would take him a bit to get down the chimney anyway, so she quickly grabbed some kindling and poked the coals to life. Rapidly, the fire sparked to life again, the flames licking higher and higher, as if reaching towards their prey. 

She heard the man start to scramble at the walls and try to work his way back up out of the chimney, but he lost his grip and soon came tumbling down into the flames. He let out a scream as the flames latched onto his flesh and clothing, but Amaryllis was ready and drove a firepoker through his chest. The light went out in his eyes, even as the flames continued to engulf his body. Quickly, Amaryllis dragged his body from the fireplace and put out the flames consuming him. She didn't want the whole cabin to smell of burned flesh forever! She then added more firewood to the fireplace, just in case someone else got the same idea as he had.
Eddie
Josephine did not have time to consider her own actions. She did not think about the taking of another's life nor did she think about inflicting pain. She was high on adrenaline and resolve, thus she was ready for when the next barbarian vaulted through the broken window. Like the last that came before him, the noble did not want to give him the chance of brandishing his weapon and attacking in equal footing. She learned from her father that in real battle, no man survived by clinging to honor and the laws of a duel. It was to kill or to get killed without hesitation, so she needed to act before he could. The second one was swifter and perhaps smarter than the last, but all he could manage was a struggling parry with his short sword. He swerved back as his weapon tilted, a short step back to try and regain balance was achieved. But Josephine's hornet strike was repeated, reeling her rapier back to shoot it forward in a quick thrust of arm and matching hips rolling onward. His chest was penetrated and the midriff struck with a sharp pain. He stood, groaning, not for long. Josephine repeated her sting, jabbing the man multiple times with the sharp edge of her rapier, successful in sliding the slim blade between the ribs. She punctured his lungs until he collapsed.

The crying sounds of the burning man horrified her, and a dreadful chill ran up her spine. Josephine wasn't ready to see the gruesome reality of the fire, nor was she ready for the stench that came from burnt human skin. The girl placed a hand in front of her nose and mouth and gagged. She walked back against the corner opposite to where Amaryllis laid the crisped carcass and deviated her gaze to the broken window, in case more men poured inside the cabin.

Outside the wooden house, Tagus saw himself overwhelmed by the growing numbers of the strays Lord Roderick warned him about. However, the battle to the side of the cabin was reaching its climax and the pack of hungry wolves faltered. The Knight Commander pushed his warriors onward as they broke formation and slaughtered those that wanted to stay and fight while others turned on their heels and ran with their tails between their legs, had they one to call their own.

Few leftovers jumped into the cabin, shattering the glass of the still standing windows. Tagus grit his teeth and rushed inside, to find four wolfmen rising to a stand.

"Josie!!"

He charged with his blade held forward like a cavalry lance and stabbed through one of them until he was impaled by the sword and stuck to the wall. His weight made the sharp blade tear through his flesh a few inches and guts spill onto the ground.

"Lets go outside!" He suggested, pulling the sword out and covering the entrance as they started to be surrounded from within and out.
Frankie
Glass was everywhere, scattered throughout the cabin. The cabin reeked of burned flesh, some of the furniture had been overturned, and Amaryllis' home was in shambles. If she stayed, instead of going with Josephine, she would have a lot to rebuild... 

But she had no time for those thoughts as she quickly followed after Tagus, along with Josephine. She made sure that Josephine was in between Tagus and herself so that, if something were to go awry, the attackers would have to go through one or the other of them before they got to Josephine. Her grip was tight around her shepherd's staff, so much so that her knuckles were white, but she was ready to defend her young friend. Josephine was so young and had so much life ahead of her... In any other situation, Amaryllis likely wouldn't have protected a woman like Josie, but she liked her a lot... She saw her as a friend, and so young... So she took the chance to protect her as much as she could. Really, the two of them were very much like friends, both working to protect and care for the other.
Eddie
When Tagus went out of the door, he was beset by two barbarians that tried to catch him off guard. The young was quick in raising the big sword in front of his body to parry the blow of the first barbarian, but as the axe wielding other went for a slash, Tagus moved his mass against him to tackle him. The two men fell entangled into the ground, tugging and punching each other as the other tried to capitalize. However, he was not prepared for the noble blooded girl that stabbed his side more than once, moving her rapier across his rib until the pain was too much to bear and his weapon fumbled on the ground before he did as well.

The barbarian fighting on the ground with Tagus pulled a knife and tried to stab the hinge of the knight's breastplate, but the two hands of the boy captured his and applied force to stall him before Josephine carved his back with rapier slashes and thrusts.

At the same time, the three barbarians inside the cabin tried to attack the trio from behind. The door proved to be a useful chokepoint, forcing them to go one at a time with Amaryllis standing before them. Tagus pushed the dead man from on top of him and stood swiftly, gripping his blade and moving behind the girl. He made use of the gap between the doorframe and the young woman to shoot his long slab of steel through and stab the first man, but another was swerving past him to make an overhead swing towards Amaryllis. Scattered strays outside the cabin did not know whether to run or fight, but their minds were made when Lord Roderick and the other knights appeared from the flank and started to wipe out the remains of their attackers. Somehow, the Knight Commander knew it wasn't the last time they'd cross paths with the bloodthirsty wolfmen.
Frankie
Although Amaryllis had never had any combat training or anything of that nature, she instinctively knew how to use the situation to her advantage. Years of roughing it in the mountains and her poor upbringing had instilled a sort of "Street smarts" In her, and it worked in her favor now as she stayed close enough to the door to keep the quarters tight and prevent more than one barbarian getting through the door at a time. They were mostly trapped, with the three of the barbarians in the cabin grappling with one another to attempt to get through the door and get at Amaryllis.

But Amaryllis was ready for them. Even as Tagus lunged forward and stabbed the first man, the next one came shooting through the hole, but he was met with the rod of her staff. With all her might, she slammed it into his nose, and because of her small stature and the way in which he towered over her, it slammed into the tip of his nose and drove it upwards. She saw the light go out in his eyes a moment later, the bone and cartilage having been driven up through his brain. 

The third one came roaring through the door a moment later, except he was more prepared for the feisty little shepherdess. She managed to rap him alongside the head and daze him for a moment, but in an instant, he had grasped the staff and wrenched her forward, causing her to stumble and fall toward shim.
Eddie
Young Amaryllis was set in protecting Josephine. Tagus watched the action roll like a hard pound of fluid motions with a waft of crushing air that mirrored the strike to the nose. Sound spat a crack and made the Wolfman fall limp. His eyes white. The other was faster, yes, wiser perhaps, but he forgot the boy to her side. As he pulled, Tagus drove the hilt of his sword against the left side of his face. The blunt steel of the tip of his hilt bruised his temple, then another crushed it against the doorframe. The knight gave him another thrashing with a strike to his face, making the dazzled mind enter shock. His sword unstuck from the other's open and blood pouring belly, Tagus stabbed the last barbarian lying on the floor, grimacing at the deed.

"It doesn't feel weird and it makes me feel awkward." He blurted, to which Josephine snuck up from behind him and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"You have to kill to survive. That's a lesson my father wanted me to remember." She said, draping her arms on his shoulders with hands in the breastplate as her chest pressed against his back. "You did extremely well for a first time!" Josephine teased and played with the matter, but she felt the same way. To kill was bad, and she felt awful for there being men to wish her death for the simple hell of it. She hoped to meet other, less violent tribes. But it had to the the wolfmen that night.

. 

"The knights are glad you're alright, my Lady." Roderick interrupted. From the eight that fought the barbarians, one had serious wounds that were still being attended back at camp. It wasn't far for them to see him lying on a bedfloor in pain. His groans were muffled by his sealed lips, withstanding the pain of being prodded to remove arrows from his body. Two of them had somehow pierced his mail, another scarred his right eye. "It is not wise to spend the night here. They might just bring more men. If there's a bigger pack nearby, they might start tailing us." Roderick turned his gaze to Amaryllis. He had a stoic expression, hard to read beyond his eyes. He had a fair stare about his eyes. The pupils were still burning from the battle fought moments ago. "Lady Amaryllis, the knights ask you accompany Lady Josephine." He stared back at Josephine while most of the heads nodded, Hausel hesitated. He nodded a moment later. "Two of the runaway horses showed up and we recovered them. One had an arrow on his ass, but we patched it up. My lady should ride with Amaryllis and Tagus to the next city and wait for us there. Does my lady remember our next stop?" He asked akin to a quiz in a lecture, reminding both himself and Josephine of when they spoke of travel and preparing for the journey ahead. Roderick always tried to infuse good values, but it was Clovis that founded the base and critical ideals of survival.

"We can all go together, Lord Roderick!"

"Just the knights can focus on the killing with their minds at ease for having our brother next to the Lady. Tagus will keep you safe. Don't change the subject and answer my question, please." He smiled, in a way leading her mind out of the corpse ridden hills and the broken cabin.

"Midde. We are going to Midde. It's a small town at the end of the Grey Hills." She replied, her frown showing her discontent at the idea.

"Wait for the knights there. It should only be this evening and most of the day if you don't stop."

Josephine turned to Amaryllis and Tagus , then to her new friend again she gazed.
Frankie
Amaryllis glanced at the camp, where one of the poor knights lay writhing in pain. Her heart went out to him, and she couldn't help but think that he should travel with them. But she said nothing. She had bigger fish to fry.

She glanced at Roderick and the other knights, then at Josephine. Could she really just leave? Her home was in shambles. Her flock was scattered hither and yon, and if she left now, she'd lose her entire livelihood. But it was also possible that her flock had been killed by wolfmen or other predators out there, in which case, she had already lost her livelihood. Surely Josephine would see to it that she received payment of some sort... And she felt that, if she didn't leave now, she'd never have the chance again. 

She bit her lower lip hard and hesitated a moment longer, then finally said, "Then I will join you." She smiled at Josephine then, relaxing a bit with the relief of making a decision. Whether it was the right one or not, only time would tell, but her grand adventure was about to begin!

She paused for a moment, then glanced at Roderick and added, "Lord Roderick, perhaps... Perhaps we could set up a sort of travois and bring the injured knight with us? He might have a better chance if he didn't have to travel with the rest of the group, and there might be some sort of healer in Middle."
Eddie
Josephine was overjoyed for having Amaryllis with her. The fact that she accepted Roderick's request meant the world to her. Tagus was happy too, though his was a more restrained celebration.

"That's a great idea! We will protect him, Lord Roderick, like he protected us!" The noble looked at the man over his shoulder for a long moment then back at the two women. "He will stay at our care. The guardians tend to their own." Roderick was quite clear with his less patient tone. Sure, he also wanted them to leave as soon as possible. "The knights have prepared the horses with supplies. I suggest you begin your journey now."

Tagus nodded. "If you feel it to be the safest way, Knight Commander." He pounded his breastplate with a fist and grabbed the reigns of the two horses. "You two should ride the healthy one. I'll take the injured. We can see if he holds a for a gallop's speed."
Frankie
"Yes, sir," Amaryllis murmured when Roderick turned down her suggestion. She could understand that too, and she wouldn't argue with the man! She respected his leadership, and she had found that he, along with Tagus, were by far the most noble and caring of the knights.

She paused for a moment, then added, "There's some liquor in the cellar. It might help to numb his pain when you go to move him."

With that, she turned to Josephine and smiled at her young friend, feeling a sort of giddy excitement over the journey and adventure she was about to embark on with her new friend. It was something she had never dreamed would happen to her, but was happening all the same. It didn't feel like it could be possibly real! 

"Do you need me to give you a boost, Josie?" She asked, assuming that she was meant to take on the role of guide, as Josephine had suggested, as well as handmaiden.