Ling calls the gang an Uber and Julia sees them out with a worried thank you. Forty-five minutes later they are back at Nikolai's shop, on the edge of Sosnovka. If Leo's information is correct, they don't have much time before the hobgoblins try to bring Alexi through to the faerie realm.

Ling pays their driver and jumps out of the car, happy to be back on her own two feet again. I don't know how mundanes spend so much time in cars, really. 

The park is deserted this late in the evening and even in the streets and restaurants, there are only a few people left now. The temperatures have dropped significantly and Ling shivers in her leather jacket. She looks past the gate into the park, at the thicket looming eerily in the distance. If there is a fey portal anywhere in this park, it must be somewhere in the woods at its heart. "We should be alright on your own, if you want to hang back and see what you can find out about those 'Bastards of Edom'?" She asks Nikolai, grinning as if to imply that she is calling him chicken. "If old Nikolai isn't feeling up to it, right guys?" 

"I'd prefer to have magic to throw back at the faeries if they try any tricks, so no." he says, shooting down Ling's jab. Caio glances around the outskirts of the urban patch of greenery. "Any of you guys familiar with this park? I'm not much of an outdoorsy type, probably not the best to lead this hunting trip." 

Ling pouts: "Come on, as if they're a match for the three musketeers!" At his mention of the park, she perks up. "I used to go on 'scouting missions' here when I was little, used to know it inside out! We should head for the copse of trees at its centre, I'm pretty sure the entrance to faerie must be hidden somewhere around there. If we get there first and hide, hopefully we can surprise them." After saying good bye to Nikolai, who returns to his shop, Ling leads to others to the gathering of trees in the park's middle.

The nephilim move quickly along the park's mundane paths, until somewhere near its centre Ling gestures for them to stop. She vanishes between the trees into what from the outside appears to be an impenetrable thicket that can lead nowhere, before peering back out and beckoning Caio and Alaris inside. The young shadowhunter guides her companions between dense bushes and down hidden trails that bend the mind's sense of space, until they emerge into a quiet grove far from the bustle of the city. The glow of street lights is gone from the sky, the air is fresh and bears an alpine scent and the background buzz of traffic has disappeared completely.

It's approaching midnight now, and the moon sits high in the sky, the only light source in this twilit forest. Soon the hobgoblins will arrive seeking entrance to Faerie. The shadowhunters must prepare themselves.

"You can sense it, can't you?" Ling whispers to her friends. "It even smells different than the rest of the park." She takes a moment to survey her surroundings, but cannot notice any traces of someone having been dragged through here against their will. Everything seems calm and quiet, peaceful even. "I think the entrance must be by that giant tree in the middle, but I don't know for sure. We should hide and wait for them to walk into the clearing." She gestures to the boulder in the north-west of the cove and then to a set of thick shrubs in the east. "It might be best if Caio hides up by one of the stone arches, and we wait either by the stones or those bushes. That way, Caio can spot them early and let us know. What do you think?"

Caio shrugs. "Sounds good to me. Watch for my signal and we'll strike as one." Caio snaps out his longbow and stalks towards the southern archway, crouching low in its shadow to wait.

"You two pick off the soldiers; I'll take down the leader," Alaris murmurs as the others get ready. The shadowhunter paladin could feel the eyes of the others, could feel the need to prove mettle and trustworthiness to them in the wake of the events at the London Institute that drove Alaris to St. Petersburg. Eyeing the terrain, Alaris sighs and leaves their rapier in its sheath, readying an arrow shot for the approaching enemies. Still, they pick out a spot to let them get up close and personal very, very soon...

Ling nods at the two shadowhunters before they each disappear into the shadows. Before Alaris slips away, she grins at them and wriggles her eyebrows. Someone is out for glory tonight! She crosses the small river and melts into the shadows of the greenery on the other side, waiting quietly for the arrival of the fey.

Fifteen minutes later, the sound of boots crunching leaves underfoot signals the approach of a group from them south. After a few moments a band of orange-skinned hobgoblins emerge from the same path the shadowhunters took to get here, just as expected. Yellow-brown eyes peer out beneath their beetling brows, and their wide mouths sport sharp and yellowed teeth. The largest of them marches front and centre, and sports a large blue nose. Behind him, a human male walks with his arms bound by shining silver chains.

Roll initiative.

At Caio's signal, Ling silently draws her bow and fires an arrow at the hobgoblin closest to her. It cuts through the air and hits the fairie in the thigh, causing it to shriek in surprise and fall to its knees in the soft grass. She notches a second arrow and shoots the hobgoblin in the chest, taking out the first of their enemies before they even have time to react.

Caio's body tenses as the hobgoblin squad comes into view, Alexi in tow. Two fingers go up, alerting his friends to ready themselves. The moments stretch out before them, the only thing audible is the slight crunch of grass under the faeries' feet. As soon as they come within range, Caio swings his fingers down in an arc. It's time. One of the creatures drops from Ling's arrow as Caio pops up from his hiding place. His first arrow flies and plunges itself clean through the throat of the first hobgoblin he sees, felling it without so much as a gurgle. The next sinks into another one's torso, causing a painful but not fatal wound.

Alaris releases two arrows from their bow, smiling grimly as one buries itself in the bluenose hobgoblin's body, then snarling and slamming their bow away in frustration as the second arrow sails wide.

Stalking forward, rapier drawn, the shadowhunter growls, "You will learn what it means to shackle a friend of Shadowhunters, beast of chaos! I swear it!" before placing themselves between the pack and the portal.

Not wanting to get between Alaris and the object of their rage, Ling focuses on the hobgoblin's closest to her, hoping to open up an escape route for Alexi. Caio has one side covered, I'll take the other. If Alaris draws their attention enough, Alexi can make a run for it! Her first arrow strikes the hobgoblin in the chest, but as it doubles over in pain, her second arrow misses it. She cannot see Alexi's face across the river, but she hopes he has spotted her and will be able to break free as Alaris engages the fey in direct combat.

Caio smiles as their assault gets under way. With Ling and himself shooting barrages from both sides and Alaris charging down the center, this seemed to be a well thought and well executed plan. His hand reaches back for another arrow and instead pulls out his stele. With a swiping motion he activates his four acceleration runes and then another arrow is pulled, notched, and drawn faster than anyone can see. The projectile finds the hobgoblins thigh this time.

Alaris Forien stalks forward, rapier ready to face the vicious blue-nosed beast leading the hobgoblin squad around Alexi. Without a word, eyes locked on target, the paladin parries its pitiful attempt at a threatening manuever. Once, twice the hobgoblin flails at the lithe shadowhunter before Alaris decides to finish it. Shuffling forward with unexpected speed, they drive their rapier into the enemy's torso once and then again! The hobgoblin snorts and coughs, then roars in glee and prepares to unleash its own offensive blows.

Then, the seraph blade bursts into radiance in Alaris' right hand! The shadowhunter brings it up and across in a vicious slice! The hobgoblin's eyes widen and one hand reaches up to touch its throat.

Then its head tilts and falls off its shoulders. The body takes a step forward before collapsing beside it.

"Slice off the head, and the body dies. Are you staying or going?" Alaris growls at the remaining hobgoblins surrounding the chained werewolf.

The rearmost hobgoblin snarls at Alaris, its form shifting as the illusion falls away to reveal its true self. Vile red skin and long horns adorn a toothy maw, clad all in black leather and cloth. It twists on the spot, dissolving into shadow, only to appear moments later behind them. Moving rapidly, the monstrous fey creature attacks from the shadows. Once, twice, four times, it strikes, two of blows striking home.

Behind the shadowhunters, by the tree in the center of the island, the low shockwave of suddenly displaced air warns of another arrival. A blue-robed hobgoblin wielding a staff hurries to the edge of the island and sends a ray of flame flying at each shadowhunter. Both Caio and Ling are struck, but Alaris avoids the spell.

The hobgoblins flanking Alexi draw blades and step up closer to Alaris, across the bodies of their fallen brethren to assist the comrade, but the well trained nephilim easily avoids both blows.

Alexi glances left and right and sniffs the air, his head moving quickly clearly looking for the other assailants. Wary of reprisal, he sidles around one of his captors towards Caio.

Ling's turn.

Ling gives a short WOOP! when Alaris takes down the hobgoblins' leader. Sure of their success, she fires another arrow, but suddenly, she is struck by a ray flame from the side. Her arrow sails over her target and she clutches her shoulder, where magic fire has burned through her gear. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see that another fey has appeared from within the portal and fired at them. She hears Caio, he must have been hit too. Ling turns back to Alairs and sees the fey fighter dash through shadow, clearly more trained than the others. That will give Alaris something to do... Sticking to their plan, Ling continues to focus on her side of the group. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she fires another arrow and takes out the last hobgoblin on her side.

Alright, time to join the party!  Ling backs up and runs at the river, elegantly pushing herself off its edge and landing confidently on the other side. All those hours of training have paid off after all. She runs towards Alaris, ready to help Alexi escape while the other shadowhunter engages the skilled fairy fighter.

Caio winces as the stream of fire sprays across him leaving painful burns on his exposed skin. He pivots like a turret then launches three arrows with blinding speed. All three find their target, two sinking into the hobgoblin's shoulder and one into his gut. Then the shadowhunter snaps back around and darts south across the cliff he's on, dropping to the ground below, out of sight of the mage.

"Wait what?? Don't leave so soo-- Ow... OW!" Alaris howls as the faerie dervish vanishes from before them and slugs the shadowhunter twice in the back. Pivoting to face the most dangerous target, Alaris slips away from a punch and a kick, and uses their blades to parry the attacks from the dervish's minions.

"Are you mad at me, thin-and-ugly, because I thought fat-and-ugly was your boss?" they croon as they lash out towards the strange reddish creature. The rapier finds its target once in the creature's shoulder and it takes a seraph blade slash to the thigh, but it parries the second rapier strike with a strong ridge-hand slap to the flat of the blade.

"Caio-derella, I think I found your ugly step-sister! Alexi, get out of here - your lovely British shadowhunter needs room to work."