“They’re catching up!”

An hour later Erika was finally feeling the danger of the Wold, she’d been told about how bad it was but…

“Erika get down!”

Erika launched herself down onto the wood as Kara swept her shield up to block… something, it looked like a wolf mixed with a squirrel and a monkey and none of the three of them had been happy about it. The roaring snarling thing tumbled off the metal and landed in the snow, Erika saw it vanish backwards as the caravan continued rolling, she even saw a flash of metal as an our-rider chopped it in half. The blood steamed in the cold and the hungry chittering in the woods got louder.

“What the Hel are these things?” Kara asked, Erika sat upright and saw four rows of grooves had been carved into her shield, into iron! How strong were that things nails.

“No idea… nothing that got mentioned…” With a few gestures and a mental effort Erika hurled a pair of [Acid Arrow]’s into the rustling treeline. Something let out a deep braying below as the acid struck home, something much bigger than the squirrel wolf thing.

A thunderarm slugs and an arrow all chased after the sound, carving apart trees and branches as the expedition barrelled forwards, even with the snow and the pursuit the Droogs seemed to be having a great time, lashed in around the harnesses they ran with their foreheads bumping off the bumper of the cart in front, hooves flashing and churning snow and mulch.

And it was proper snow now, thick and deep, it enveloped the ground and painted the trees, pouring endlessly from the sky, it was thin enough to see but Erika had been assured that wouldn’t last long. The out-riders carried bright lanterns already lit for just this reason.

In the branches and the bushes more things rustled and clambered forwards, Erika just steadied herself on the wagons roof, pulled back her sleeves and threw out her hands.

As more acid sluiced through the foliage and sent things scattering and skittering she looked around at the exhausted outriders and the twitchy delvers.

How much longer could they keep this up? How much longer would they need to?