Art by Jason Pedersen

“Don’t cast any magic,” Isaiah warns her.

Nyx ignores the chattering monkey as her eyes glow bright yellow. Isaiah retreats toward Timoran while Nyx looks down at the krypters again. The monsters shift in and out of her vision as if they are not really there while a void marks where the Lich is standing. Focusing her sight on the krypters, she notices hundreds of black aura threads in the air. Following the strings, Nyx realizes that they are running from her body to the krypters. With a choked cry of fright, she watches several of the krypters stare in her direction and screech at her. None of them are moving toward her, which makes her incredibly nervous. She is about to slowly wiggle away and retreat when one of the bigger krypters reaches into the air. Nyx watches in terror as the krypter wraps many of the aura threads around its hands. The other krypters begin to do the same thing as the first krypter starts pulling on the threads.

“Timoran!” Nyx screams before she is yanked off the ground. She closes her eyes, expecting to slam into the waiting jaws of a horde of krypters. Instead, she feels someone wrap a massive arm around her waist and yank her back to the ground.

Nyx opens her eyes to see Timoran standing over her with his great axe in his hands. The krypters are soaring through the air toward them, which Nyx initially assumes is a new power they gained from tasting more of her magic. Getting a longer look at the monsters, she can see them flailing and awkwardly twisting as if they have been pulled against their will. She grins when the krypters get close enough for Timoran to cleave three of them in half with a single swing. The remaining krypters crash to the ground around them and scramble to their feet, but they refuse to get too close to the barbarian.

“They really don’t like you,” Nyx mentions as Timoran reaches down to pick her up and put her over his shoulder.

“We have had words with each other in the past,” the barbarian says with a chuckle. “I do not wish to put you in danger, so we are going to run. I can retreat without your magic. Please hold on tight.”

Timoran roars at the krypters, causing them to shrink away from the terrifying warrior. A clear path to the forest opens up and he rushes through the hole, chopping a krypter’s head off as he runs by. He is deep within the trees by the time he hears the Lich scream at the krypters, which is followed by an explosion. The forest suddenly erupts with the sound of screeches and growls from the panicked krypters that have begun their pursuit. Timoran charges through the forest as fast as his powerful legs can carry him. He glances at Nyx every few seconds to make sure he still has a solid grip on her tense, bouncing body.

“I’m going to throw up,” she mutters after being jostled for five minutes.

“If you think it will help then feel free,” Timoran says. He barrels through a patch of thorn bushes, ignoring the sudden pain on his bare stomach and trampling the bushes beneath his feet.

A krypter suddenly bursts through a tight clump of trees to Timoran’s right. The monster leaps at the barbarian, but it is taken down by a skull crushing blow from the side of his great axe. Another krypter takes advantage of Timoran slowing down and tries to drop on him from the thick branches above. A bolt of green magic strikes the creature in the throat and it falls apart at the joints.

“Keep running! I’ll take care of the krypters!” Nyx shouts, firing her crossbow at another monster on her left. She grins as the krypter melts into a puddle of muck.

Timoran continues his steady pace while Nyx destroys one krypter after another. He can feel her body steadily lose its warmth and the small hand on his shoulder eventually becomes clammy and moist with sweat. He skids to a stop and gently places Nyx on the leaf-covered ground as the remaining krypters catch up to them. With a savage scream, the barbarian rushes toward the approaching monsters. His great axe cleanly slices through the first krypter and he spins around to viciously knock a second into the air. It lands at his feet and he crushes its head under his boot while chopping a third monster into pieces. The last four krypters jump out of his reach and scamper into the trees, swiftly retreating through the branches.