This had indeed been the notorious Baba Yaga that according to the old tales had been both an ogress as well as a witch. That had not explained what she had been doing so far from her tower if that had been her that they encountered earlier unless of course she was part of a coven of witches but the tales painted her in such a light that she worked alone.

The two women pounced at her though as her spell came to a close. She had not bothered to elude either of them, taking the shots that they leveled at her. Their weapons hit her to the effect of smashing against iron to their surprise.

She scrunched up her nose. hissed at the blows that rattled her with their blades. She was able to complete her incantation though causing a pair of shadowy images to pull themselves out of the floor from the shadows generated by a large stove.

Each shadow had a wavy sword of shadow, the two appeared to be vaguely humanoid in shape but had no features. They split up, one approaching each of them. Baba Yaga stepped back to get out of immediate striking range of their weapons, cackled madly, then began fishing for another component with sticky fingers from the juices of the popped eyeball.

She brought forth a finger that she clenched in her hand as she gazed between the two women as if contemplating which one to focus on. Who was closer and seemed to be handling her shadow assassins better.

She chanted in the Romani tongue, not that there was much good that the language would do them even if they fully understood what she was saying since a lot of the words seemed to be nonsense words that she uttered.

In her off hand she gripped the handle of the bloody knife as a crude defense should anyone press her though at this stage she had not been worried about either one. They would fill her belly well ...

It was an unwelcome surprise that their strikes were blocked, not to mention that their new enemies were distracting them even more. They were obviously backing off when they began to adjust themselves to the shadowy creatures who appeared to be manlike in shape.

The sounds of iron could be heard, how it met another piece of iron with a high pace and the noises the women made as they used their bare strength to attack their opponents. Their blades fenced a fight which could not be won easily, a new tactic was needed if they intended to strike before the ogress eventually finished chanting.

In fact she was offered a chance there as the shadow attacked Ryu again. She parried with ease, however, instead of fighting against it all alone, she raised her sword and leaned, aiming to shove the figure away. It didn't matter if she was successful, another moment later she moved her arm for a critical blow to keep the shadow at a distance. It was then she hurried over the small distance to her company, distracting the second shadow as it was attempting to attack Cora.

Ryu left her back without keeping an eye on it, trying to deal with the two at once even if just for a few brief moments. Meanwhile Cora used the opportunity to make a dash towards the witch, hopefully the shadows wouldn't surprise her or even worse, she would not be able to cause significant damage.

At least they were doing good so far, which was fine as long everything worked as planned. As the knight came into strike range she aimed to hurt the witch whereever she could, sending a blind strike towards the witch as she charged at her with full speed.

The ogress cackled gleefully as the battle played out before her as if some private movie. She went back to chanting, foul breath leaving her mouth at each utterance, at each syllable. Her gaze narrowed slightly as she observed Ryu's techniques and while the red head attempted to put her shoulder into the shadowy being she found that it was insubstantial and that her body moved into it.

Yet when she lashed out with a strike her blade encountered some resistance, wisps of shadow fumed off of it's chest as it stepped back as if the blow had repelled it at least temporarily. But before she could do much else the witch pointed a finger at her as her incantation finished flinging Ryu against the wall.

She then made a gesture towards the two shadowy figures in the squire's general direction directing them to finish the fallen squire before she regained her footing though that action proved to be a mistake as Cora charged at her.

Instinctively she brought up the bloody knife but had been a second to late. She had been struck, and while normally her iron-tough skin would protect her not all of her had been so hard. Not her eyes as Cora found out, her cut being across the witches face, cleaving into the sensory organ, a bloody smear of crimson coated.

She hissed in pain, wobbled as she had been pressed back a few feet and gazed at Cora with her good eye. Her knife had clattered off the floor as it had been loosened from her grasp. She braced herself against the onslaught that she expected to follow with nails as hard as claws to fall back on.

She had not launched off another incantation though seeing that the pain shifted away her concentration on casting at the moment though it had been her hopes to whether the storm and cast when the pain became a dull throb.

The sudden smash against the wall forced the air out of the squire's lungs and additionally made her fall a bit harder to handle. Shadowy figures made their way towards her and could bring her to a quick end if she did not watch her actions properly. However, it was a lot harder to make any attempt to stand up with two attackers, the only thing she could do was to send blind blows towards them as she struggled to recover and to get back up.

Cora gave the witch a sly grin when as she hissed in pain, it was good to know she harmed her enough to break her focus. Or at least that's what she believed. However, the knight did not wait to find out what exactly she had achieved. The attempts to do anything against her attacks were partly successful as she searched for another angle to attack properly.

A quick glance to Ryu let her know that she was partly leaned up against the wall, but simply couldn't get a certain stance to efficiently fight off the shadows. Even with their stamina it wouldn't take long for her to make a mistake. Cora glanced up at the blade of her sword once before she turned back to the witch, everything had happened in an instant. "What a mess. But now, let's get this over with you bitch."

She was angry at her for hurting her company, but still not driven by her anger. However, it appeared her opponent didn't intend to leave her any chance to strike again and even if she would not make any mistake, Cora would eventually send her blade towards her target again if her cover appeared to be low or a wider opening showed itself. It was only a matter of time until they were about to be overwhelmed.

The clank of metal against metal rang out, though the claws of the ogress couldn't be deemed as metal, right? She swatted at Cora's blade giving up easy shots to her limbs that seemed protected as if by steel. She had not seemed worried about this as she protected softer spots like her eyes.

She had not directed the shadows leaving them to their own devices as they attempted to flank Ryu and come at her from opposing sides. Most of her blows that landed went clean through them though every once in awhile she felt a bit of resistance and saw the wisps of shadows torn away from them in the spots that she struck.

Neither shade seemed anxious in plowing straight in their to mix it up as if they had been kept at bay due to the pain they were experiencing every so often. Neither exhibited any signs of pain though, recoiling back from the blows that landed.

While this had been going on the ogress plunged her claws into the face of the chained youth, mainly sinking her fingers into one of his eyes as she pronounced something, her own eye closing up, knitting together as if it were regenerating right before her eyes.

But slaying the boy in this manner, regenerating her eye, left her partially opened for a counter attack. As Cora's blade came at her again she intended on swatting away the weapon again though the blade dipped beneath her launched blow then turned upward rather quickly with the deft flick of the wrist, the end of the blade finding it's mark as it buried itself into the left eye of the ogress and went into her brain.

She screamed as she pulled back, blood flowing out of her wound as she dropped to her knees with a thud. A hand applied some pressure to the wound as if that could staunch the flow of blood but it was purely a reactionary move as the ogress fell forward, still and silent.

The two shades vanished then as if the magic that had summoned them had been dispeled.

Cora let the back of her hand run along her forehead and finished off the move with a sigh, meanwhile she placed her sword back in the scabbard as it seemed the threat was not present anymore. She rubbed her hands triumphantly before her attention returned to a certain someone who roughly poked against her shoulder.

As the knight turned around in surprise it was Ryu who did this to her. "Why did it take you so god damn long to finish her off?", was everything she said as she sighed in relief and also her sword returned to its familiar place. "I was cornered there and you have a picnic with our enemy." A smile spread on her face as Cora blinked in disbelief.

However, soon she looked at her with a rather serious expression. "At least I am not the one who's afraid of shadows." Then they returned to reality and Cora immediately turned around to free the likely dead teenager from his bonds so they could at least return his corpse instead of nothing at all.

Ryu sighed again and turned towards the little boy who was still stuck in the cage they had seen as they entered, and the squire was once again forced to pull out her sword to open the pad lock which sealed the cage. "Don't worry little boy, I'll get you out of there. Just step back for a second." He might have been the Marvin, the boy's friend who lived in the village, it didn't matter at all. It was good to know they rescued at least one of the victims.

The lock bursted with the noise of metal against metal, followed by a dull sound as it fell to the ground. Then her hand moved to open the door for the prisoner, awaiting his reaction. "I don't want to get caught by anything else during the night, so we better try to reach our mounts quickly!"

Thud. The teenager hit the floor, blood still pouring out from the gushy empty socket, He was quit dead, though the boy lived on. He stood by the door to his cell, his hands down at his sides as he watched the two women deal with the matter at hand. He did not speak merely watched as Ryu came toward's his dingy little cell.

It was stronger than the other, or at least looked it. The metal alloys were different to say the least but the occupant inside it backed away taking a step back away from the door. He watched on, refraining from uttering a sound as the lock clattered off of the floor.

He did not hurl himself at the door though, he waited where he was, shock seemingly stealing over him. He blinked then gazed at Ryu, his small voice at last bubbling up to the surface as he watched her. "Thank you ..." it had been the only response he made thus far then glanced in Cora's direction.

"You are safe here. With Baba Yaga here none dare come close and no one knows she has past on yet ..." he explained though he would defer to the two adults governing whatever they desired. He did glance towards the empty cell then flickered his gaze over the body on the floor as he shook his head from side to side.

"Tom," he uttered in a soft, barely audible voice.

"Damn it, I guess we have to bring him down to the mounts all by ourselves.", Cora said as she went through the little equipment they came up the tower with. But since the boy said there weren't any other people or 'things' around who dare to come close to the tower in general, it was just about fine.

Ryu simply nodded in response to the boy, offering him a kind smile as she turned to look at the lifeless body next to Cora's feet. The knight began to improvise a bandage for the place where his eye had been, after she found a few strips of clothing within the witch's private things it was done quickly.

Cora looked at the boy thoroughly as she stood up and finished her work on the corpse. "I assume this.. person.. Uh, Tom.. You knew him? I am sorry for you and I it makes me feel even worse that we came too late to save the two of you." "We did our best, you can't blame yourself for that."

She shook her head and tried to think clear again. "Anyways. I think it doesn't matter why you were here or why she captured you two at all, we better get back to the village first." Cora couldn't be sure he was living there, but it was their only save haven so far.

"Um, miss? Could you please grab his legs so we can move on?", Ryu asked kindly as she placed her arms under the teen's shoulders to carry him. Then Cora would grab his legs if she wasn't disturbed, it would take some time to get him down but at least it was for a good thing. "Hey, catch up whenever you can, boy."

The boy stood back from the cell door gazing out at the two as they tackled the problem of Tom's body. "Could you assist me ..." he spoke softly, gazed at the pair then looked back towards the door. "The witch enchanted the cell so that only those on the outside can open it, thwarts escapes and what not ..."

He waited patiently for assistance then stepped out of the cell casting a glance to the downed witch then shuddering again. He gripped his arms with his hands as if embracing himself as he rubbed against the lengths of his arms, glanced towards his brother's corpse then moved towards it as it was beginning heffed up from the floor.

Then took a few steps alongside the body, fingers trickling against a gold colored necklace that his brother wore. He frowned before his speed tapered off some as he drifted back towards Cora who had been carrying Tom's legs.

"Do ... do you think there is a God?" He asked Cora as his blue eyes fell upon her.

The knight glanced at the boy as he asked her about a rather sensitive topic, even worse in the situation they were in. While Cora herself did not belong to any religion, she did believe there is something like God, however this meant something different to any human being.

"Yes, I think there is a God though there is a lot of trauma in this world we live." This was everything she said as they carried on. But only for a short period of time because she knew she had to help this boy. "And I think that, whatever happens, he is there to help us."

As they finally reached the stairs, talking became harder as they had to watch their steps so they wouldn't fall. "God moves in mysterious ways.", were her last words before they eventually reached the exit, it surely wouldn't be long until they would prepare everything for the ride which also included securing the body on the back of one of their horses.

Once they were finished they got on their mounts and since the boy prefered Cora and Ryu didn't mind at all, she invited him to take a seat behind her as she offered her hand to him.

He shot Cora a wane grin that faded away almost at once as his features took on a bland look. But he had questioned no more on the matter for the time being as he had reflected upon her words. His small hands around her waist as they pressed on, the motion of the horse had been something that he had not been use to seeing how the only horses he would have had contact with were working animals of farms.

But it was roughly half way to the village that his grip became a little firmer as if to gather Cora's attention. His posture straightening as he tried to speak into her ear. He whispered to her then.

"I have to tinkle ..."

When they had stopped he ran into the forest disappearing behind a clump of nearby trees to do his business. By this stage the sun had dipped beneath the horizon causing a plethora of colors to swirl across the sky as if some artist took a paint brush to them and smeared the evens haphazardly.

The boy had not returned. Not in the minute or two that you would expect matters to take. He and the evening became utterly quiet other than the rustling of wind that caused a few tree branches to sway against it's gentle course.

Cora's glance went along the first tree line, expecting a sign that they boy was about to return or even there. It took him an awfully long time to finish with his business, minutes slowly turned into an eternity as he did not return and the knight started to worry about him.

"You better go and search for him.", Cora suddenly said and Ryu glanced at her in disbelief, but did not ask why she didn't go herself. "Will be right back." The squire sighed and got off her horse, then approached the forest's edge with slow steps. She did not feel the need to pull out her weapon, after all it seemed that the witch was the only threat around the village.

"I know why I did not want to go...", Ryu said to herself as it became darker when she reached the first line of trees, still without a sign of the boy. Darkness was one of her weaknesses, just as her acrophobia. But perhaps he did go further into the woods, apparantly he didn't want them to see him the least bit.

However, after she reached the second line of trees and walked around the area, she became more afraid of the idea that something might have happened to him, the only noise next to her own footsteps was the one of the swaying tree branches. Cora on the other hand looked around the wide fields cautiously, but the increasing darkness didn't do her any good as the sun disappeared behind the horizon.

As Ryu pressed on into the woods the encroaching darkness grew as the sky continued to darken. Still, she could make out a few figures ahead of her. As her eyes adjusted she could determine that there was a humanoid, small, next to a quadraped about it's own size. A few seconds later as her eyes continued to adjust she could see the boy standing next to a wolf.

He patted the head of the animal that perked up as it heard Ryu, the boy, who's back had been too her, lifted his own head skyward.

"I have to thank you," he glanced over her shoulder at Ryu, a small grin at the corners of his mouth. "I couldn't touch the cold iron bars, Baba Yaga did her homework when she summoned me."

His eyes glowed a red hue as he spun around and gestured in her direction with a flick of his wrist. Roots ripped up from the earth as they sought to coil around her legs. The vegetation around her came to life as they tried to snare and grab her at the mental commands of the boy.

"Summoned... what..?" Ryu actually froze for a moment because she was confused, it was surprising to see that the boy interacted with an animal. However, at his red glowing eyes she couldn't do anything but stare at him with disbelief until it was too late. Her legs were secured with something that appeared to be roots coming out of nowhere.

Any attempt to move failed and as the other plants around her came to life she struggled to pull out her sword. This proved to be impossible as the vegetation kept her busy, the shield attached to her arm successfully blocked a few of the assaults, but it was just overwhelming. Her arms were secured in no time, the only relief was that she wouldn't lose her balance.

"B-but.. we saved you! Let me go!" Her voice was as much filled with anger as with panic, her body tried to break free as her chest once again displayed that moving with quick motions in any possible direction wasn't a very good idea. As she noticed her plan wasn't working, she let her head fall forward with a sigh, but raised it so she could see the boy. "My knight will get here soon, don't think this is your victory yet..."

Meanwhile Cora got off her mount and started to tap the ground below her, once again she listened to her surroundings as her company was missing for way too much time. "Damn, where are these two?" Her patience began to stretch with the increasing darkness, but this was taking too long for a simple 'business'. She turned around one last time before she slowly moved towards the woods, shouting out for her company as she reached the first line of trees. It would definitely take some time to reach the missing people, she didn't get any answer so she simply moved on.

"Yes, you did let me out so I suppose I should take it easy on you," he approached, his grin showing needle sharp teeth that had been pointed and his fingernails elongated into claws. "Of course if that was in my nature."

He brought a sole finger up her chest as he grinned, his neck tilted back so he could see her face. As his finger rippled down the claw cut scratched against the surface of her armor then both hands curled to her sides as claws cut through the straps of her armor before going to remove it.

"Oh, I'm counting on your friend to arrive but you must not think she's going to save you in the nick of time." A clawed finger moved slowly against her chest then hands closed in around the curves of her breasts as he gave them a squeeze, a grin spread against his face.

"Oh, you can call her if you want. Either way she'll find us which is what I'm counting on. Fang!" He glanced at the lupin as the hell hound sprang into action as it raced away in the direction that it could hear Cora calling out from. It was smart enough to realize that his master wanted the other restrained and not killed surmising so from the way he had reacted to Ryu.

He moved quickly and silently through the darkened night, it's infravision serving it well in the darkness that had swallowed them all.

A claw draped down her chest cutting the fabric of her shirt beneath though leaving her flesh unharmed.

"It has been sometime before I enjoyed the pleasures pf the flesh. Young and nubile the two of you will do well in that regard."