[Q2] fruit from the poisoned tree

Coco's transformation was impressive and effective, and soon Bethany could hear the tell-tale knocks hitting the caravan.  Cian, Elyon, and Ronan took advantage of the moment to begin their hunt while Bethany and Jareth wove a silent link between them all.  With two of them holding it in place it should be possible for it to hold even if one of them was distracted or had to put some effort elsewhere.  For how long only time would tell, but hopefully they would not need it for long.

Soon enough Ronan had caught someone and was looking for clues amongst the corpse.  However, this was a trap however cautiously they were trying to spring it, and so it wouldn't be long before more appeared - of that much she was sure.

She realized just a moment too late that with the others creating distractions and flitting about the shadows, it left two rather obvious targets in herself and Jareth.  She couldn't quite tell where Cian and Elyon had set up their maneuver, but when the danger sense she'd honed over the years started to prickle at the back of her neck she trusted it.  Turning swiftly, staff in hand, she loosed a small ball of lightning into the space behind her, its sparks leaping out to strike their ambushers, slowing or stopping them in their tracks for the moment.

"Four back here," she said to the others through their link.  "How many more from your positions?"

TLDR:

• The ambush has begun!
  
• Bethany cast a static cage, exposing and slowing four attackers
  
• She let the others know through the link about the four and asked how many more they see