Despite resisting Pride's spell, the veteran leader still saw how quickly his men were felled, and can see the fighting will be costly, if not unwinnable. Delaying the mourning of his slain soldiers, he drops his shield and grabs the nearest warrior.<strong>“Fall back!”</strong>his command is clear, controlled, as he drags his own man away from the lemur, towards the door and the cover of his archers<br/><br/>But at that moment, the patient huntress, and her companion, judge it to be time and charge out from their hiding place, rushing to block the exit. Swift and silent, the preoccupied half-orc barely noticed the elf until her blade, carrying the weight of the earth's depth within the finely crafted edge, finds a gap in his armour and cuts deep.<strong>“Drop the velk!”</strong>the half-orc curses, reaching for his own axe. Dreaming-Vemon comes scuttling behind the elf, lunging with its stinger at the leader. The spike fails to pierce the smooth metal, and the half-orc instinctively braces for the impact at the last moment, holding his ground against the force of the charge.<br/><br/>Startled by the appearance of the scorpion, the last axe wielding mercenaries is reluctant to approach, but as long as his leader holds it at bay, he can gather the courage to take a swing at the elf, but his blade is turned by her layered defences of armour and magic.<br/><br/>Cricket - 23, uninjured<br/>Kizabum - 21.5 (readied action), moderatly injured<br/>Human mage - 21, slightly injured<br/>Denhala - 20.75, uninjured<br/>Cardinal pride - 20.5, slightly injured<br/>Lemure summon - 20.5, seriously injured<br/>Warrior with spear - 20, uninjured<br/>Mahsati - 19.5, slightly injured<br/>Dreaming-Venom - 19.5, uninjured<br/>Half-orc veteran - 19, slightly injured<br/>Human cleric - 19, uninjured<br/>Albron - 15, slightly injured<br/>Khait - 9, uninjured<br/>Fizza - 4, uninjured<br/><br/>Combat map - https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1fXduPEsLdUetGJqqxwde24FquWnEH1EtAhXuJpwMn-8/edit<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Pride</div><div class="spoiler_body">  The lemur can make an AoO against the half-orc as he retreats.</div></div>