Audric didn't recognize the woman at first; the way her hair and shadows fell over her face, and the big hand obscuring the lower half of her face, too, made it difficult to recognize even his own wife -- but, then, Audric also wasn't looking at the woman; Audric was looking at her captor.
The man was a big, brutish type, which left plenty of undefended body should he try to use the girl as a shield. He had a knife -- sharp, by the looks of it -- against the woman's throat, and he was moving her along away from the lights of the city.
Out here, in this secluded park, a scream might bring the guards; more than likely, however, if her coin or a bit of pleasure was all he sought, he would have simply taken it by now and been done with it. He wanted something else...
Well, regardless, his day was about to be ruined.
Attacking the man without warning was not Audric's style, usually, but there was a very real fear that the man would use the girl as a hostage...and Audric could not allow that... On silent feet, he moved into position behind the man...and, suddenly, moved. As quick as a snake strike, he caught the man's thick wrist and pulled, twisting the knife away from the woman and attempting to pin it behind the man's back.
The element of surprise worked in Audric's favor; the man's arm twisted painfully behind him, and the knife fell to the earth between them with a dull thud -- but it seemed the man had more tricks up his sleeve. Rather than submit to Audric's hold, he drove his head backwards, the back of his head colliding with Audric's nose.
Stars exploded in Audric's vision, and he felt his grip on the man's arm slacken...which gave the thug just enough freedom to pull free and twist towards his attacker.
"I must be getting old," Audric muttered, more to himself than to anyone else as he focused his attention on the thug. Really, to fall for such a dirty trick... Ah, but he had a damsel in distress to save! With his voice slightly pinched due to pain and his rapidly swelling nose, he squared his shoulders and drew his sword with a dramatic flourish that sent his cape billowing out behind him. The Shrouded Swordsman stood before them, standing just perfectly in a beam of moonlight to emphasize the sharp blade of his weapon. "I assume we need no introductions, so let's just get to it. You've got two choices. One, let the girl go, run away, and live another day. Or, two. That's the choice where you act stupid, and you end up dead for it."
(OOC: Nera can do something awesome! <3 )