Briony, a little out of place, hurries to intercept.

Lys falls in behind her - 

And Halna turns easily into battle mode. 

Still - this is far less coordinated than their first battle. 

Won't always have the luxury of preparation.

Darkspawn are still not as individually skilled as this party, though.

So long as they get through it. 

They can manage it.

Briony does get nicked, though, in the confusion.

She hurries to Briony's side as soon as the darkspawn are down. 

It's just a scratch. Hardly even bleeding, really.

Still, it's worth healing. 

Thanks.

Happy to help. 

They shouldn't have too much farther to go, so they should keep going.

Yeah. (Lys can thoroughly check Briony for any hidden injuries once they have a little bit of privacy.)

They make it to the tower shortly thereafter. It is in disrepair, cracked walls with vegetation slowly climbing over it.

"Spread out and see what's left. Hopefully the documents will have been stored away, so check for any storage chests or the like."

Shiremi's good at searching, fortunately. 

Halna is not, so she'll focus on overall scanning the environment - and making sure they don't get ambushed. 

Then Halna is probably the first one to spot the woman descending from higher in the tower. She's lightly dressed for the climate, a dark green shawl over a simple halter top, and she carries a rough-hewn staff across her back.

"Well well well. What have we here? Deserters fleeing the army? Scavengers, come to pick at the bones of the dead?"

"Wardens," she says, because she's nothing if not bluntly honest, "Looking for something of ours. Who are you?"

"Wardens, hm. Back after so long. I suppose it only makes sense with the darkspawn about."

"You may call me Aoife."

"Careful," Xandra says quietly. "She looks like a Witch of the Wilds."

A what? 

- Probably an apostate - 

Lys is good at making nice, though. "And you may call me Lys. It's a pleasure to meet you."

She crosses her arms. 

"Not one all of your companions share, it seems."