Several days later, the roads passing through the great forest would see the passage of another caravan, this one just as sumptuous as the last. Oxen lowed and huffed in their tresses, their hooves stirring up a cloud of dust around the wagons. Mercenaries on horseback and carrying long lances patrolled up and down the length of the caravan, seemingly at ease despite what had happened here not too long ago. Perhaps, thought Aryel as she perched in one of the towering trees at the edge of the road, they hadn't yet heard the news. Or perhaps they had, but were too cocky for their own good, and believed they could handle a few brigands. A grin curled her lips as she watched them pass below her. Either way, they had made a dire mistake, and now she and the others would capitalize on it.<br/><br/>A distant birdcall made her turn her head, although she knew it was no forest creature producing that sound. A second call echoed from the other side of the road, further down the trail. The others were in position now, ready to ambush the caravan once she gave the signal.<br/><br/>The tiefling's grin widened and she rolled her shoulders, allowing her feathered wings to unfurl themselves, the alula-claws at her "wrists" flexing. There was a tingle of anticipation in the air that the poor saps below didn't yet seem aware of. They had no idea that there were at least thirty rebels flanking them in the trees and underbrush, keeping pace with them for the past hour as they appraised and studied their target. Now, it was time to strike.<br/><br/>She leaned forward off the branch, inhaling deeply, then let herself drop. She stooped on the caravan below like a falcon, only to snap her wings open and go soaring over their heads, her broad-winged shadow falling across the dusty travelers. Cries of alarm followed her as she swooped towards the front of the caravan, calling upon her magic. Blue flames sprung to life at the edges of her wingfeathers, and had anyone been close enough to see it, they would have seen the fiery glow that filled her eyes. Upon passing the head of the caravan, she tilted her wings and soared upwards, whirling about to face the soldiers and wagons. For a moment, she hung suspended in the air, wings outstretched and burning like those of a phoenix. Then, with a mighty downstroke, she shed them of their blaze, sending down a wave of flames to strike the ground before them. Oxen bellowed and horses shied back with squeals of fear as the flames formed a wall across the road, blocking their passage. A roaring battlecry erupted from the woods around them as rebels dropped from the trees or surged from the underbrush, charging the caravan in a torrent of fury.