Why do the stupid delicious small things get to go play in the floating water anyway? It’s not fair, I want to play too.

“Damnable fog”, Gion swore as she drew Lust from its sheath. “Alia, take your group lead them away. Leave Eros here so you can find your way back.”

“A defensive battle fought in unfavorable terrain against an invisible enemy that holds no such disadvantage, would be akin to a suicide mission even for a veteran commander. She has no choice but to send someone as a sacrifice to slow the enemy long enough for us to find any kind of shelter.

Alia’s group may be the only ones able to negate these disadvantage with their enhanced abilities and possibly have any chance of winning.” Padvor’s words broke down Gion’s thought process to Kaden.

Alia issued commands to the rest of her group as they moved away from the villagers. “This should be far enough, any further and we won’t be able to feel Eros’s location.” Their group made sure to step down as heavily as they could in order to lure the subterranean creatures towards them.

“They are heading straight for us, any ideas?” Lara questioned the group.

“Do what we were supposed to do, act like bait of course”, those words were spoken by Braviel another member of the group who had received Kaden’s serum.

“And just what is bait supposed to act like?” She questioned.

“Don’t know, as I recall this is your area of expertise.” Lara scowled at Braviel, not that he could see it.

“That was Shole and Sana, not me.” She corrected him.

“Enough you to, get ready”, Alia commanded.

Three Devourers burst from the ground beneath their feet scattering bits of dirt and rock everywhere. The creatures were as wide as a human was tall with several sets of rotating teeth fading into the infinite blackness of their wormlike bodies.

The group scattered in the nick-of-time avoiding the razor sharp lips emerging from beneath them. The creatures dove back under protecting themselves having failed their initial strike. They had evolved over countless millennia and were able to move through earth as fish would through open water.

“Braviel to your left”, Lara called as a Devourer emerged from the hard soil beneath him.

“AAaaaaaaaah” A painful scream emanating from his mouth. The creature had sliced through the end of his leg before submerging itself back under ground.

Braviel no longer able to balance fell forward or at least would have if not for a powerful kick from Lara that sent him flying in the opposite direction. Two porous Spine-back bone arrows screamed past her head piercing Braviel just under his shoulders, pinning him high off the ground the second he was slammed into one of the colossal sized trees.

“Laraaaaa nooooooo”, Braviel regained his composure just in time to see the ground beneath her erupt as a powerful set of jaws encased the condemned woman. The creature submerged itself back beneath the hard soil before any of them had a chance to strike back.

Time felt as if it were coming to a slow halt as a silent rage started boiling within him. He watched in stillness, a worn red ribbon vanishing into a pure white fog as all that remained of her life forever faded.

Eros fell to his knees almost silently sobbing.

“What’s wrong boy? What happened?” Gion stopped and turned to face the young man.

“I can’t feel Lara. I… I don’t think…” he responded wiping away the tears streaming down his cheeks.

Rakhail knelt beside him patting the young man on his back, “I am sorry Eros it is never easy to lose family. This is something I know very well. This is also why I am going to say something that may seem heartless right now. We need to keep moving forward or no one will make it out of here alive, now is not the time for grief. Knowing this will not help but try and take comfort in the fact that she is in the Jungle Mother’s embrace.”

The young man nodded as he slowly stood back up as the group continued to move forward.

Eight arrows screamed as they emerged from the fog just missing the elusive creatures bursting in and out of the ground, “They’re too fast!”

Alia dove away narrowly avoiding a fatal attack as the creature responsible disappeared back under.

“They are circling us like sharks”, a voice from one of the group called. “I can’t individually distinguish any of them.”

“None of us can; dammed fog isn’t helping either”, responded another.

The group moved with the coordination of a pack of wolves, seeming able to figure out what each was thinking and yet they had still lost three more.

“Etab”, Alia called. “Think you can play that drum of yours while on the move?”

“Easily”, he yelled as if there really should have been any doubt.

“Good, hopefully it should make you their biggest target.” She glanced around looking for any sign of the next attack, the fog started thinning out ever so slightly thanks to the midday sun. “That should be enough to confuse their senses while masking the rest of us. Shoot the second they come out, don’t be afraid to hit Etab if you have to but try not to hinder his mobility”

Etab pulled on the tiny twin drums strapped to his back. There were one of the few things he cared about most in the world and would die before being parted from them.

DUM DUM DUM, the low rhythm sounds started clearly piercing the fog.

The creatures dove deeper into the earth before starting to head back to the surface again.

Bang, the drum sounded as the first of the three burst forward. Etab barley dogged as several arrows screamed past him into and out of the first creature. Purple blood sprayed everywhere as two more lunged forth trying to cut off his retreat.

Etab rolled out of the way after a short leap still keeping the beat going

BANG, DUM DI DI DUM

The creatures charged back towards him as more arrows screamed hitting them just as they dove back under.

Cold sweat poured down Etab’s back, DUM DUM DUM. Both playing and evading simultaneously required every ounce of focus he could muster.

“Gi Veme St Ren Gth, Gi Vem Es Wif Tn Ess”, the words that had been forbidden to them were finally whispered.

Boom, the earth shattered as more arrows screamed out of the dense fog adding additional wounds to the subterranean creature.

Bang! A new sound was heard followed by a Thud.

The fog now forcefully dissipated reviled the bloody remains of a broken creature pressed against the bark of a colossal tree.

Braviel turned around on his newly regrown foot releasing his grip on the corpse as tiny scales rapidly sprouted all over his body.

Bang!

Braviel moved forward at a speed that forced him to shattering a wall of made of air that dared to block his path.

Thud!

He stood frozen as his blade now pinned a second dead creature to another tree. The scales sprouting from his body now completely encasing him.

“Braviel” Alia called his name as another went closer to check on him.

Placing his hand on Braviel’s shoulder as he tried to get his still companions attention before turning back to the group. “It’s like he’s made of stone, I don’t know if he is alive.”

“Waite”, someone else called. “Where is the last one?”

Stupid worm, small things are mine!

A set of talons pushed their way deep into the ground with relative ease grasping the retreating Devourer.

An unusual silence filled the air as the dissipated fog started to slowly take form once again.

Eros’s instincts called to him, something isn’t right. Why was he afraid? Why was everyone panicking? “No”, he yelled, no longer was he just going to stay with these people and do nothing, The pack was in trouble, his pack. “Gi Veme St Ren Gth, Gi Vem Es Wif Tn Ess” He chanted dashing towards them with everything he could muster.

Bang! A loud noise was heard as part of the fog near them dissipated when Eros departed.

Eros, “No” Gion yelled but it was too late. They had agreed that none of Alia’s group would use magic unless absolutely necessary, the resulting consequences were unpredictable and possibly very dangerous.

Several of the villagers had been knocked away by the sheer force of the wind that resulted from the young man’s departure.

“It must be bad.” Rakhail spoke while helping some of the fallen villagers up. “Eros has made a choice and everyone will have to live with the result. Regardless we cannot stay here, and they will not be able to find their way back to us now.”

“Kaden”, Sofia whispered. “I sense a strange pressure, I think it’s magic. It is coming from up ahead.”

You sure? Responding to her with his thoughts.

“Definitely, I am also feel like something is telling me to run as fast and as far as I can from here. Whatever Alia’s group ran into is not something we want to meet.”

Let me see what I can do, he replied as he moved towards Gion. Now he just had to convince the woman in charge to follow his lead.