<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/w68J68x.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Ria Thorn<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Expedition Camp - Tents<br/><strong>Warnings:</strong>Violence<br/><strong>Open/Closed:</strong>Open<br/><strong>Direct Interaction Tags:</strong>None<br/><strong>Mentioned Tags:</strong>None<br/><strong>Actions Taken:</strong>Hiding, Preparing to escape<br/><hr/><br/>Ria paced along the perimeter of the tables that had been set out for the masses to have their meals. Her arms found themselves folded beneath her chest. Fingers drummed in agitation against the dusky skin of her arms. A frown was being fought back, leaving her lips pressed together in a thin line.<br/><br/>The demon had not isolated itself as she had hoped. Just watching it ingratiating itself with the others -- sitting at their table, sharing their food, holding a seemingly friendly conversation -- forced Ria to redouble her efforts in keeping her expression neutral. How could they not see what she saw? With a smug satisfaction, Ria had to remind herself that not everyone had the refined senses of a master illusionist. That the Halde were anywhere near as numerous as they were told Ria all she needed to know about how easily some people were fooled by these demons. But they would not fool her.<br/><br/>Ria's ruminations were interrupted by the sudden onset of a downpour. Her arms untangled themselves so that she could catch a few raindrops in her palm. How strange. Distant gray clouds on the horizon had looked as though they were still hours away. The rumble of thunder hadn't even started to herald the approach of the storm.<br/><br/>It didn't matter. There was little time to dwell upon such peculiarities. Ria was hardly dressed to stand around in torrential rain; her dress was ideal for comfortable lounging in stirring winds and fading sunshine but was far too diaphanous for the rain. She rushed to the cover of the nearest canopy, as did many others that found themselves left out in the elements. How perfectly they had been herded together for what was to come.<br/><br/>***<br/><br/>Blades of grass tickled Ria's cheek as she stirred. What happened? Ria found that her vision was not entirely focused and that her ears hummed with a buzzing that dampened all other sound. Instinct responded to assumed danger by summoning a cloak of essence.<br/><br/>Illusion magic was inherently subtle. What good did it do to wave one's arms around and yell "Summon Illusory Dragon!" when the goal was to deceive? Ria was better at this than almost any other. There were no grand gestures when she shimmered out of sight, nor any incantations to call attention to her. One moment she was there on her hands and knees amidst the chaos, and in the next, she had vanished completely.<br/><br/>***<br/><br/>Alwyn wrestled with one of the invaders, seizing away a weapon and throwing it aside. One hand wrapped around the entirety of the creature's wiry arm, then another found purchase around the creature's wrist. It was all the leverage that the brutish Alwyn needed to lift his opponent from the ground. His weight shifted and his body turned, slinging his opponent into the ground with tremendous force. Before it could recover from its daze, a boot crashed down upon the attacker's head, ending its life with a sickening crunch and a final dying spasm of limbs.<br/><br/>Not many of the creatures had come Alwyn's way. The goal seemed to be attacking the camp's inhabitants who were clustered elsewhere, but a few had apparently thought to raid the tents for riches ahead of the battle's conclusion. None had yet to make it inside Lady Thorn's tent thanks to Alwyn's efforts, but he could not stay here forever while the fate of his charge was unknown.<br/><br/>"Alwyn," Ria's voice whispered to the man from nearby. His head turned this way and that, seeking out the woman to whom the voice belonged. When his eyes spotted nothing but empty air and pouring rain, Alwyn sighed and reminded himself who he was speaking with.<br/><br/>"Good, you're safe. We should regroup. Rally with the others and-"<br/><br/>"Load up the wagon," Ria interrupted. Beneath her cover of invisibility, Ria waved her arm in a wide arc. A globe that distorted the surrounding area formed, following the motion of Ria's hand. To those outside the dome of magic, there was no longer a tent to be found or a bodyguard to stumble upon, just empty ground and a pattern of rain falling from the sky. It was not perfect -- not even Ria could adjust an Illusion to account for the speed and trajectory of every raindrop that fell at its border -- but it would take a truly keen sense of observation to notice that something was amiss.<br/><br/>Inside her illusion, Ria let her invisibility fade. She stood before Alwyn; dripping wet, clothes stuck to her skin, and her normally voluminous hair heavy from the rain. Thankfully, she did not look wounded save for a few scratches and potential bruises that might show up in the future. "Quickly, get everything valuable. I'll focus on making sure we are unseen and unheard."