Handle it solo.

"Daerin, take your people and leave. Go north. Stay on the road until you hit the next town. I'll remain here and see if I can't resolve this situation."

"We can't-" Venus cut Daerin off with a glare. "I know what I'm doing, Daerin. Staying here only makes you and your people a target. If you leave, they might just leave the town standing. You won't have to rebuild from scratch. Besides, it's much less likely for them to notice me, alone, then a bunch of us wandering around."

Daerin looked at the ground, his face working. He clearly didn't like what she was saying. After a moment, though, he acquiesced. "All right, Venus. I'll take them north."

Daerin turned to the gathered townsfolk, and said, "Pack your belongings. Bring the necessities only. We'll be leaving in a few hours. Venus will remain behind in an effort to stop the Treant threat."

At that, everyone paused for a moment, then approached her with genuine well-wishes. After the crowd had finally dispersed, Daerin looked at her. "Come with me to my house. I have a few things you could use. Can't have you off saving the town half-naked and all!"

Venus suddenly blushed, as she was abruptly reminded of how little her shirt was doing to cover her. Daerin set off across town, and Venus hurried to keep up, one arm crossed protectively over her chest.

Ten minutes later, they walked through the door of Daerin's house. Venus looked around. It was small, but comfortable. A lot of the furniture looked like Daerin had made it himself. A wicked-looking bow hung over the fireplace, a quiver packed full of arrows near it.

"Wait there a moment. I'll grab those things for you." With that, he disappeared down a small hallway leading to the back of the house.

While he was gone, Venus ran through the list of what she knew again. The Treants were definitely provoked to action. While they may be protective of their forests, they also understood necessity. All the asked was that those who cut wood from their lands did so carefully, not by simply clear-cutting the forest away. Whatever had them riled up was definitely a powerful threat. She would have to be on her guard.

Her reverie was broken by Daerin's return. "Here. I think these will fit well enough. My daughter was about your age when a rare disease took her from me. She was quite the adventurous sort. Hopefully these will serve you as well as they did her."

Looking up, Venus found herself presented with a set of well-worn, but still serviceable, leathers. Smiling at him, she quietly thanked him.

"Better you get some use out of them than I keep them. Go in back and change. I'll be out here waiting."

Venus padded into the hallway, entering the small bedroom she spotted. Quickly stripping off her pants and the remnants of her shirt, she set about the task of getting the leathers on. As she pulled the pants on, she found that the leather was a bit softer, and definitely more supple, than the leathers she had worn before. That would mean they were slightly less protective, but easier, and quieter, to move in. Pulling the pants up, she found them to be a very snug fit. Grabbing the top, she pulled it on, too. This was actually tight around her chest, her breasts squeezed together into an inviting valley above the neckline of the top. A pair of leather pauldrons with attached gauntlets were next. The pauldrons were compact, not hindering her movements in any way. Greaves followed, again sticking to the compact rule. Those covered the fronts of her thighs and calves. Last were the boots, also made of the same, supple leather, and strangely enough, soleless. A thin layer of leather was all that was between her feet and the floor. Thankfully, they fit her quite well. Venus sighed in relief.

Venus stood, looking herself over. The armor was definitely less restrictive than her old armor, by nature of it's softer leather, and made barely a sound as she moved. She was quietly surprised at how the boots felt. It was almost as if she wasn't wearing boots, yet she could tell they would hold up to most anything short of an arrow or blade to the bottom of her foot.

Stuffing her pants into her pack, Venus stepped out of the room again, and headed back down the hall. As she reentered the main room, she saw Daerin holding the bow and quiver.

"These were my father's, and his father's before him. They used to hunt with them. Always brought something home, too. They swore it never missed, not once. I've never used it. Never been much for hunting."

He held the bow out to her. Venus promptly refused it. "I can't take a family hierloom. It wouldn't be right. That's part of your past. Keep it."

Daerin looked at her, then said, "So it is. But you need it far more than I do right now. And, knowing my father and grandfather, they'd rather you have it, too."

Deeply touched, Venus accepted the bow and quiver. "I'll take good care of it, Daerin. You'll have it back when I'm done here."

He smiled softly. Turning, he grabbed a large pack from next to the door. "There's food and drink in the pantry. Take what you need. Good luck, Venus, and thank you. May we meet again sometime soon." Surprised, Venus looked up as Daerin left the house, before she could say anything. That definitely wasn't what she had expected.

Venus shrugged. As much as she would have liked to talk to him some more, she had a mission to accomplish. She headed into the kitchen, gathering food and water for a week, and putting it in her pack, even as her mind turned the problem over again and again.

How was she supposed to tackle something like this? Just head into the forest, and hope to stumble into something? Maybe they'd attack the town again? And what if they ignored the town and attacked the refugee column, instead?

All these questions, no good answers...