Zrak, she says, "Watch the towers!"

Because of the roots and debris from the trees, she is only just barely able to get into the fray next to Regongar. Her dueling blade darts toward Kressle's axes, hoping to disarm the clearly dangerous woman. Yet she could not find a good angle to work with, Kressle moving too deftly to allow for a firm disarm. The dragonborne tries again, but again, Kressle twirls her axe aside.

The bandit, recovering from his sonic assault, finally moves. Seeing that Kressle is handling herself against the pair of fighters, he takes out his crossbow, nocks a bolt into it, and fires into the treeline at Zrak. The bolt does hit Zrak in the stomach, but it barely sinks in enough to draw blood, the leaves and bushes weakening its velocity.

"You idiot!" Kressle calls as he prepares to nock another bolt, "You did not have your weapon ready? You better hope I die in this fight, or else you might not survive the beating I'll give you!"

Zrak cannot see what is going on behind him, but he can hear commotion from both watchtowers.

The flurry of events leaves Zrak huddling next to a tree, glancing at the bolt wound that barely sunk through his armor before falling to the ground. The commotion by the watchtowers is the grave concern that he doesn't need, for he never wants the bandits to learn what happened with their pay group.

The thought occurs that the watchtowers are instead preparing their arrows, which will be an equal concern for very different reasons. If there is any time to stay within the trees, it is now.

Without fear, he hustles through the woods, staying close but not at the perimeter where the wood breaks into plains. The current position indicated his lack of need to deal with the bandit, and instead Zrak adjusts himself closer to the foe with dual axes.

Kressle hears a small scratch in the bark before a sharp claw lashes at his leg and teeth to his thigh! "I can arrange THAT," Zrak sneers in a fast and furious attack.

Kressle turns, attempting to smash Zrak's face in with her axes, but the small ratfolk was too fast. His claws and fangs pierce through her armor and into flesh, splashing blood into his mouth. She falls to a knee, visibly struggling to stay upright, but her strength is quickly failing her, and within a few moments she is on the ground. If she is not dead now, she will be in only minutes.

Octavia starts preparing another spell in her hand, but before she throws it she looks around, her eyes narrowed in concentration. They then widen in fear as she tosses her prepared spell out toward the south. The magical rune circles around her arm this time are made from magical darts of purple-white energy. When she throws the spell, the darts spiral down her arm then release in a pair, curving around tree and bush to crash into a form near the southern watchtower.

"The watchtower bandits are coming!" She calls, flinging herself behind a tree, trying to get into cover as much as possible.

Regongar either does not hear her or does not care as he runs straight for the bandit standing in shock at the fallen form of Kressle. As he takes that step, he uses a finger to draw sigils and runes along the flat of his falchion. Air seems to be drawn to the blade, visible strands of it spiraling around the metal. Once he is close enough to the bandit, he slashes in an upward diagonal, the blade aiming to cut from thigh to shoulder.

At first, Zrak and Malkala think that the bandit had just been diced. All they see as Regongar finishes the strike is a cloud of dirt, massive spikes of lightning, and the strands of wind whipping around so fast that they have to have been cutting through flesh and bone alike. Even Regongar gains a massive grin at the expected victory. But when all of the spellstrike's affects dissipate, they see that the bandit is somehow still standing.

He holds his crossbow at his thigh, right where the falchion would have started cutting. There is a massive gash in the wood, and dozens of smaller slashes from the slashing gusts, but the weapon held as it parried Regongar's strike away. There is a moment where even the bandit is shocked that he is still alive.

Malkala reacts before the surprised bandit. She strides forward and around the bandit so she is flanking him with Regongar. She then prepares to slash horizontally at his torso, trying to finish the fight fast. At the last possible moment, though, she seems to have a sudden thought, and twists her wrist to smack the bandit in the head with the flat of her blade. It is clear that the bandit's bell is rung as the dueling sword connects with his temple. Yet, he is still able to duck out of the way of the dragonborne's second attempt to bash his head.

Seeing his predicament, the bandit takes a step to the side to get out of the flank. He then reloads his crossbow and fires at Regongar. The half-orc still a bit surprised by the way the fight has gone the past couple of seconds, barely manages to dodge out of the way of the bolt. Malkala takes the opportunity to attack in the moment the bandit fires his weapon, but as it recoils the bandit pulls the weapon up in the way of her sword.

Now that Octavia pointed out the two watchtower bandits, Zrak can see them approaching from the south and west. The one to the south looks like he is on death's door from Octavia's spell, massive bruises and pools of blood on his body. The western bandit is untouched. However, those observations quickly get replaced with instinct as both bandits fire their crossbows at Octavia.

It is easy to see why they were chosen to be on watch. Despite the trees and bushes, both bolts sink into the woman's fair skin. One goes completely through her left arm and the other pokes out of her right thigh. She cries out in pain, but Zrak can see that her face is contorted into an expression of determination.

Staying within the trees will do little for Zrak as the group becomes surrounded by bandits. This certainly escalated into a very aggravating situation, though perhaps one of the group's own doing. He ideally prefers not attracting the entire bandit group to the four of them.

The rustling of branches and grass send shivers down Zrak's spine as he moves west. "Malkala, get the one behind you!" he warns, suggesting her to spread out and deal with one new bandit while he heads to the other.

The ysoki presses his back against one of the large trees, remaining nearby Octavia with the eastward bandit in sight. "Stay quiet and stay down," he warned the wounded mage, spinning that metal ball of his combat lure. He swings out the whirling ball of metal moments later, aiming to bring down the bandit just as he did to Kressle!

The metallic ball flies forward, its string flexing before stretching at its furthest distance. But the bandit, able to watch the battle and know what to expect, leans to the side drastically. The combat lure passes where the man's head was without touching skin. Even the return trip is harmless as the bandit follows his lean with a couple of steps to completely avoid the weapon.

Octavia growls in pain looking down at the bolt still in her thigh. She then narrows her eyes in concentration. The staff in her left hand begins to let out a soft glow and magical bangles start building down the shaft. When they reach her hand they begin to cover her arm, then torso, her head and legs, eventually covering her whole body in a bright white-blue light. With a word, the runes expand once, then sink into her body. The light fades almost completely, leaving a soft glow in the shape of a set of plate armor covering herself.

She was not done though, as she flicks her newly protected left wrist out to her side as if shaking it out. More white-blue rune circles appear around her hand, but instead of sinking into her as expected, it remains around her hand and wrist, as if forming a shield to complete her new warrior cosplay.

"Let's see them get past this." She growls.

Regongar recovers from his shock from his previous strike, and Zrak can see the signs very familiar: Regongar is starting to get very angry. With a sound that would have fit better coming from a tiger, he runs his hand across the flat of his weapon, his fingers glowing slightly with a reddish tint. As he does, magic seems to enter his blade, returning some life into the blade. He then uses his finger to draw the same runes he did for his last attack, pulling in the air to form into the strands. Once done, he slices his falchion down in a perfectly vertical overhand slam.

The dirt, air, and lightning seem a lot more furious to all who watch the carnage. But with it, this time, is a mist of blood that is too thin to even leave a noticeable stain on the surrounding area. When it all calms down, there is nothing left where the bandit was. No bone, flesh, clothes, nothing.

There is a moment where everyone just stares. What kind of power did the half-orc hold?

Malkala shakes her head to clear it. If she could not knock that one out, there is another, much weaker bandit to work with. She rushes to the bandit toward the south, her dueling sword kept to her right side at a strange angle. The bandit was still surprised as she gets toe-to-toe with him and she takes the opportunity to strike at his head with her blade's flat. Somehow, though, the bandit managed to avoid the strike with a tilt of his head, letting the blade slide across his cheek. Malkala tries again, this time aiming for the man's chest, but now the bandit was back in the battle. He backsteps swiftly, avoiding the blade by an inch.

The bandit then returns the favor by dropping his crossbow, drawing his dagger, and thrusting forward. But her scales hold strong, forcing the blade to glide along them rather than through. The second bandit reloads his crossbow, takes a moment to aim, then fires at Octavia. It looks as if the bolt is going to strike true, despite all of the defenses the mage pulled together, but Octavia quickly twists her body, bringing the magical shield up to intercept the bolt. Sparks fly and magic pulses as the tiny bolt ricochets off of the magical runes harmlessly. However, the bandit does not seem to be paying attention as he reloads his crossbow, ready for the next shot.

Zrak stays among the trees, believing himself a clearer shot for the bandit if he isn't careful. Although, his threat and bravado doesn't compare right now to the two escapees he picked up, both showering magical effects that eclipse the ratfolk's martial skill. He'd ask where they learned all that, though assured that their arcane prowess is also why they're still alive to this day.

Regardless, he continues forward through the forest, undaunted by the bandit's crossbow and ranged capabilities. The dull sunlight leaks through the roof of trees and branches, highlighting only tiny segments of his head as he approaches his foe.

In a blur, the ysoki leaps out of the trees, sending his bone-thin fist to the bandit closest to him, then swipes wide with his outstretched claws!

The poor bandit did not have a chance. Zrak's tiny fist cracks against the bandit's face, adding more cracks as the bones in his neck broke. He was already dead when the ratfolk's second blow rakes across his chest. The body slumps limply but heavily to the ground.

Meanwhile, Octavia turns to the remaining bandit. Her hand stretches out and firey runes expand down her arm. With a wave, she lets another orb of flame fly. However, the bandit easily parries it away with a flick of his daggered wrist. Annoyed, the wizard concentrates for a bit, sustaining the shield spell, its runes blazing for a brief moment.

Regongar sees where the spark of fire goes and notices the last remaining bandit. With a growl, he rushes for the bandit. The crackling electricity on his blade lights up the area as he shoves by Malkala and slices upward with his falchion.

Blood sprays as the bandit is cut in half, both halves then falling to the ground motionless.

Malkala looks to the bandit, then her blade, then sighs, "What is wrong with me?"

A quick glance at Zrak's thin fist reveals the sturdy bone that'd smash bandits apart. Hmm, not bad. He's normally reliant on raking and cleaving apart enemies with his claws. Now, he doesn't need that.

He just needs to refine his aim and land his blows true.

"Are we all still alive then?" he asks the other adventurers, quickly grabbing the bandit's corpse and dragging him into the woods. "Let's hide the bodies in here before more bandits find out." It's a rather puny measure, knowing that the Stag Lord will have more questions once their watchtowers go silent.

He drags the armored bandit as best as he can, hauling the sack of meat over heavy roots and branches until reaching the middle of the forest. When everyone reconvenes, Zrak gives an exhausting sigh. "Alright, let's see if they got anything of value."

As he begins looting, his ratty eyes move between the bodies and Malkala. He'll want to speak to her once they're all in the clear.

The other three adventurers start pulling bodies into the trees. It takes a while, since some of the bandits are far from the trees, but the group is able to do so without getting caught. On the normal bandits, the group finds the same items that Zrak and Malkala did on the bandits that attacked the Outpost. But on Kressle, they found her weapons and armor, some money, as well as a familiar healing potion.

"Alright." Malkala says as the group divides the items, "I think we have some time to look around. Maybe something in the camp or watchtowers will give us a clue."

"Not too long then," Zrak warns, giving an almost paranoid reaction to Malkala's suggestion. He felt like everyone had a knack for getting into trouble, which was a significantly greater problem in back in Numeria. He can't help but wonder how long itll be before the Stag Lord starts sending men after the four.

The looting process is relatively unexciting, with the slight blood-coated studded leather armor catching his interest.