The still untouched bandit grins at the sight of the giant wolf and cheers, reinvigorated despite his two failed shots. He loads another bolt and fires, which nearly hits Hope before she pushes it aside at the last second, deflating the poor man's ego once again.

Tyrion sticks his head out of the front of the wagon's covering. "What's happening out th-" Spotting the massive wolf, he moves back. "Gods above, you have got to be kidding me!"

Anna tilts her head. "What is it?" "Giant wolf, lass, three times my height at least!" The halfling sticks his head back out and aims, trying to thin the numbers before things get too hectic. The bolt hits the bandit who fired his own crossbow, and a force of wind blasts him backward. "Angry mutt incoming!" He calls out, right as the 'angry mutt' rushes the wagon, barging into it and knocking the whole thing right onto its side.

"Tyrion! Anna!" Amadeo calls out, just as Cal stands back to his feet. Having only his daggers left, he grabs one in each hand and slices at Hope with wild abandon. The first swing misses wide as his footing slips, the second cutting across the back of Hope's hand before she intercepts the third strike and pushes him back. "Focus on the wolf! He's the biggest threat now!" Hope calls out, and Cal growls. "Don't discount me yet!"

Anna coughs and wheezes, pulling herself up and stumbling out of the cart. "I'm ok!" She groans, looking around for the beast that hit them. When her eyes gaze over the wolf, she stops momentarily. "Oh...Ok then." Anna waves her hand and clears her throat. "Excuse me! Mister big wolf? Maybe you can stop being mean and attacking us now, please?"

The giant wolf turns to the elf, yellowed eyes shimmering as his fanged mouth opens. "My body is not my own. Through methods I do not understand, my master holds a leash to my mind. You must either free me...or kill me."

Anna's face grows pale for a moment before she balls her fists. Turning to the others, she shouts out "Beat the tar outta that guy! Can't explain, but he's the key to this!" She slips back into the carriage and forms a mass of magic in one hand, letting it loose at Cal in the form of emerald chains that whip out of the ground, grabbing hold of his form. He pulls against the ethereal chains and they snap. "Nice try, darkling, but you'll have to do better!"

Amadeo scoffs, moving around the cart to sling a flaming sphere at Cal that hits him square in the chest. He pats himself down and glares at the mage. "You're next, spellslinger!"

Hope cracks her neck. "Eyes on me! I'm your opponent now!" She cuts deep into his chest, her blade drawing a heavy amount of blood. "You messed with the wrong bride, little boy."

Seeing the carnage this group has wrought upon them, Cal's one still awake companion runs away, fleeing as quickly as his legs will take him. Hope watches him go, then focuses on Cal.

Tyrion sits up, panting and gasping for air. "Bloody mountain just hit us..." He peers out of the cart at Cal and Hope, taking measure of the man's stance. Unfortunately, with blood in his eyes, the shot goes wide, sailing off toward the hill behind him. "Gods, just go down already!"

Harken snarls and scratches at the covering of the wagon to get inside, tearing through the cloth almost like it were paper. Tyrion shouts incomprehensibly at the sudden teeth and claws readying to shred him. "Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast!"

Cal grips his daggers tight and strikes. With so much blood loss, each swing barely has the energy to do any real damage. His first swipe cuts Hope's cheek, and the now enraged devilkin's demonic blood boils over, a burst of flame exploding in Cal's face before he backs off, scarred and burned severely. Hope turns to Anna "Get Amadeo and Tyrion healed up! I'll handle this one!"

Anna nods, grabbing Tyrion's arm and sending a healing pulse into him. "You'll be alright. Just trust me, ok?" The halfling nods, his fingers twitching at the sight of the snarling beast above.

Amadeo grabs that same fine sand from before. "We'll see you in a minute." He blows it across his palm, and Cal drops to the ground. The faint snoring is easy to hear once Harken stops scratching at the carriage. His massive snout slips into the torn cart and noses Anna softly. She smiles up at him as he gingerly nudges the cart back over. "Thank you for the tip!" The beast shakes his head and gives her a lick. "Nonsense. It is I who should be thanking you. I will round up the horses who escaped in the carnage, then I shall escort you back to the city. In the meantime, I suggest you blind these men somehow. I am safe from their control as long as they cannot see me."

He returns with the terrified horses, who nudge each other to calm their nerves. Hope and Tyrion tie the bandits up, and when the last living wolf awakens, Harken barks commands at it. The wolf cowers before its superior and slinks off over the hill, while Harken waits for the horses to be hitched up. "We should hurry to the city. IT will soon send more of them to look for signs of what happened, and it's best we not be here when they arrive."

"It? What is 'it'?" Anna tilts her head as they proceed onward, walking beside Harken. Cal laughs from the back of the wagon. "It is the coming of a new age. An enlightened age where people like us will be held up and hailed-" "Ah, shut up." Tyrion kicks Cal from his seat, and the bandit just chuckles.

"People like you? Bah. You're just parasites, feeding off everyone else because it's easier to just take what you want rather than working for it." Hope clenches her fists, knuckles going a shade whiter. "Nothing special about you except for your greed and blaming your actions on some outside force."

"Now that's just rude, my dear." Another voice, smooth as silk but with an edge of venom to it. Tyrion looks around the wagon, then back to Cal, whose eyes shine with a deep green glow that seems to pierce the halfling's very soul even through the blindfold as he continues speaking in a voice that is not his own. "Cal is simply stating what he believes to be right. It's a terrible shame that you have to clash with him so strongly. Sure, he's a brute, but he's an honest brute."

"Who the hell are you?" Hope looks behind her, giving Cal a confused stare. He looks in her direction and smiles softly. "I'm me, my dear. I am just someone seeking the means to change the world." "Yeah, I'm sure you're a great guy. Now what's your name?"

Cal chuckles. "You'll find out when I'm ready. As for these three...Tennyson, Hjalfnir, Cal, my dear friends. You have done well in our time together. Rest now, and know your names will not be forgotten." The glow leaves his eyes, and Cal smiles before speaking in his own voice. "Thank you, my friend."

There's a piercing shriek like a high pitched whistle that stops the horses in their tracks along with everyone else. They hold their ears to block out the noise, and Tyrion watches in horror as the three bandits' lips foam with a black and green ooze. The sizzle of flesh becomes apparent moments later, their skin turning transluscent. Heart, lungs, their insides are visible for a split second before the thin covering of flesh turns a putrid green. The shrieking ends, and the sacks of skin slump to the floor, the ooze pouring out around them and seeping through the floorboards of the cart. All that remains are bones with steel tubes connecting in and around them. Hope dismounts from the front and opens the back of the covering, Tyrion scrambling to get out. "What in blazes?!"

Harken looks inside and growls. "It made sure you could not interrogate them for further information." Anna holds a hand over her mouth. "That's...That's horrible." Hope covers her nose, gagging. "What kind of monster does that to their own people?"

Harken turns to look behind them, to the distant hills of Arboria. "Something not of this world."