Things had slowed down now. Everyone was falling into positions; captive and jailer, deceiver and deceived... stalker and prey.<br/>Marcellus felt the caretakers' despair, and that of Fossil. For a moment, he was a bit surprised at her. How the hell had she been deceived by that nymph? Although, he had to remember, he was the only one in the room who could feel the minds of the others, and the half-elf had already been distraught before Danni's ruse. Despair doesn't exactly make for perceptiveness.<br/>Suddenly Marcellus' attention was drawn to a few soldiers subtly moving their way toward him. He wasn't sure how, but this group must have already been aware of his abilities. He cursed. The soldiers on the dock. This was why outright confrontation was a pain.<br/>Nothing to do about it. Marcellus quickly changed the emotion he was exerting from trust to terror; if he had taken deep enough root within his opponent's minds, it should be easy to at least slow their movements with a touch of fear. Immediately he sprang into action, darting from his place in the shadows like a wildcat on the prowl, bringing his daggers forward in a flurry of action. Slash, stab, stab, slash, parry, riposte, dodge, strike, stab, kick, knee, slash, elbow. With surgeon-like precision he cut through the advancing soldiers, not bothering to see if any of his attacks had done significant damage; the main target was more important. Slipping past the bloodied thugs, Marcellus barreled toward the captain with full intent to cleave her skull in twain. "DANNI!" he shouted; he was more than capable of holding off ten or so assailants, but Danni and Fossil engaging would be optimal.