Thomas will just make sure the third panther doesn't lunge at any of them while the other two are distracted.

The panther that bit Henry's shoulder whines and pulls away as soon as it feels the tips of the spikes, which prevents it from being Stabbed To Death In The Brain but it does get some bleeding.

Third panther is trying to find an opening to get at Thomas. It does not seem suitably impressed by and/or afraid of the spear.

Silly panther. Maybe silly enough to fall for a faint attack. Thomas pretends to go one way, goes to another. Attacks the open flank.

Gabe grabs the spear that Henry has failed to use and swings it in a long arc against the Panther that just bit Henry.

Both of these panthers are either smarter than your average panther or used to humans. They fall for neither trick, and attempt a counterattack, while the third one tries to join the fray against Thomas specifically.

Mostly to let out his frustration, Thomas growls loudly as he deflects the attack without being separated from the other two.

Henry throws the spikes on one arm, while Gabe defends by letting a panther bite into the makeshift spear.

Growl growl makeshift spear is destroyed, and now that panther goes for Gabe. The three of them are surrounded, and even though one of the panthers is still bleeding from the mouth they are still trying.

Those are some really stupid or really hungry apex predators. Or both. He pulls Gabe out of the way and raises a shield.

Thomas will do his best to get these things out of the gene pool. He aims to stab the lunging one, but instead it hits Henry's shield.

And that is when a man, wearing nothing but a pair of bone earrings and a bracelet with a glowing gem, holding what seem to be a torch and a steel axe, lands by the panther from who knows where, severing its head cleanly from its shoulders. The other two panthers leap away and growl at this newcomer, but he turns right towards them and growls back.

Wow. "Don't get distracted," Henry says to Gabe before even realizing he should follow that advice himself. He picks up the pieces of the broken spear.

"You ask so much from me," Gabe mutters.

Thomas is entirely happy with this turn of events.

The naked man does not wait for the panthers to make the first move, and he jumps towards them with the axe swinging. They dodge, but they're not fast enough to dodge his followup arcing swing and swirl, which catches one of the panthers' foreleg and the other's haunch. They get the hint that maybe this is the time to flee, but he cleaves through them as if they're made of butter, and in only a few more seconds it's over, their carcasses surrounding him and the only sign of any exhaustion on his part being some panting. He hauls the axe up so it's resting on his right shoulder and turns around to look at them. "Are all of you alive?"

After a pause where the three of them stare at the man's dick, Thomas looks up and speaks. "We are, mostly thanks to you."

"Yeah, it's only the three of us. And we are not fatally injured," says the one with several onyx spikes poking out of his skin, a few of them even bleeding. After raising his eyes he is making a point of keeping them raised.

Gabe does not break eye-to-dick contact. "Thanks for saving us, how can I repay you?"

"By staying alive." He does not ask what in the Great Serpent's name they are wearing. Instead, he jerks his head towards the north and says, "Come with me."

"Will do," Thomas says. he is back IN survival mode, but that won't stop him from appreciating the view. "Show the way?"

Gabe picks up the crystal chunk after Henry prompts him to.

So he starts leading them north, towards the ruins they saw.

It's rather dark by now, and hard to see, but there's lightning and thunder which seems to startle some small thing nearby, based on the little squeal they can hear. The man notices and turns to look for the source, and finds... a panther kitten, small and afraid and curled up on itself. His expression immediately softens. "Hey, little guy, it's okay. Was that your family?" The panther does a tiny squealing growl in response. "Shhh, I'm sorry, I wish I hadn't needed to kill them, either."

Awww, adorable murder-kitten. "Sorry that me and my friends are so appetizing to your relatives," Thomas says to the tiny creature.

Henry, by constrast, is giving the thing a rather sour look. He has retrieved a lantern and shines it in the creature's direction.

The man moves his axe from his right hand to under his left arm and scoops up the kitten with his now-free hand. It tries to resist, but it does seem to be rather starving, and can't fight him off. "Shhh, little guy," he repeats. "I'll get some food into you." He straightens up and jerks his head to the north again then keeps going.

From this direction, they can see more firelight, seemingly coming from atop one of the ruins.