Hélène: The wrong fight?

After a long and arduous journey through the jungle, it had become increasingly clear that night fall would come before we would see the open skies again, and had to make camp somewhere within the verdant maze. After some time, we had found a suitable spot with fresh water, set up camp and a watch schedule, and started to rest, hoping for an uneventful night.

Except for Carlton, who, being his usual self, had hoped for an especially interesting and thrilling night, and apparently that was exactly what he got. I awoke from my sleep to the noises of combat, particularly one very special firearm that went off uncomfortably close to me. Coming to my senses, I saw that strange beings had surrounded our camp; They had approached our camp with supernatural stealth, as Carlton claimed, and seemingly peeled out of the darkness at the last instant.

There were two creatures that looked like the gorgons of legend, three large serpent-like beings, and a larger number of persons vaguely resembling humans, but partially sporting animal features. Carlton was already caught up in a fight with them, having opted to alert the rest of our crew by gunshot.

Soon, the fight was in full force. Carlton and Sira proceeded to wreak havoc on our assailants, dropping one after the other with powerful gunshots. Our Captain and the Archmage, however, were once again locked in a quarrel with each other. Was this the work of a cursed weapon again, or had their mutual dislike grown that strong in the mean time?

Then I locked eyes with one of the serpents, and it felt like we peered deep into each other's minds. I understood that their approach had not been motivated by enmity, and that there would be no further bloodshed once we surrendered. This prospect hit a nerve with me, and I attempted to convey this idea to my friends. Yet I failed, since before my words had any impact, a horrible turn of events came to pass.

The serpent who had communed with me was struck square into the head, by one of Carlton's musket shots, and it collapsed in an instant, lifeless. In the most jarring fashion, our bond was broken, and despite all the cacophony around me, I felt a deafening silence.

Our nightly visitors had paid a terrible price. The gorgons and two of the serpents had already fallen, and the last one proceeded to order a retreat. The people from the city, who they had apparently mistaken us for, had proven too strong. However, before it could slip back into the jungle, another unerring gunshot of Carlton's mercilessly ended its life.