Bad Weather

Shiro shook her head at the gaggle which was her currently sopping wet party.

Ewan the distant relation to Lorna had timed his appearance on the road to coincide with the group being far enough out of goblin lands that he could not be sent back.

His arrival had also been the last day of sunshine as the weather turned and now alternated between a constant drizzle and a down pour.

Everything was soaked, blankets cloths tents, food, and since the Holy Kingdom was reducing or stopping trade with the other races this once great trade road was trying hard to disguise itself as a deer trail.

All that had been days ago.

After the fourth day of rain tempers had begun to flare, first between Willow and Lorna. Then Lorna and Ewan, though Shiro thanked her lucky stars those arguments were not in the local common.

Even the normally buoyant Ezma was wilting and the stoic Aspen having crossed over into being withdrawn.

They needed an inn or something to dry everything out and get a decent night's rest, but even if they came upon such a thing would they be able to arrange accommodations without their hodgepodge group being recognized as national enemies?

His thoughts were cut off by screams in the distance.

As one the group lurched in the direction of the sounds.

Off the road into the waist high scraggy brush they bounded like hounds to the hunt. Passing into a small ring of trees just out of sight of the road due to a small rise and a corresponding dip behind it, revealed a gaggle of farmers in a tight circle trying to fend of creatures with their limited farming equipment.

The creatures gave Shiro pause, they bore the look of wolves at first glance sleek black bodies moving in a predatory dance, wrangling the farmers into a tighter and tighter knot. Yet they attacked with the racking claws of cats and malicious glee flickered in their glowing purple eyes.

Willow stopped next to Shiro, exerting her will upon the creatures to bend them away from their attack, she gasps in pain and clutches her side one of the monsters watching from the back turning its gaze upon her.

In response four of the beings peel of their attack to charge Shiro and Willow. Shiro interposes herself between the charge and Willow, summoning the mighty feelings she bore for her companions into reality as a mighty shield.

Hassium rolls down the hill side building their own momentum with delicate changes to shape and density before ramping off some small embankment and shifting into a lance to spear through one of the approaching creatures.

Aspen with her sword and Ezma with her fans closed in on the three monsters still harrying the farmers before Shiro lost track of them as the three that got pasted Hassium collided with her barrier.

Quickly Shiro sent the tip of her spear into the nose of a beast as she also opened up a hole just big enough for the attack.

Repulsed by the barrier one launches probing attacks at the front while the other two begin circling around the back.

Willow rises to her feet a look of fury on her face. "I don't know what these creatures are,' she spits 'but they smell like that shitty crystal."

She finishes her sentence just one of the monsters reaches the back of the barrier, Shiro had not had much time to practice with the new unlocks in her power set that starting to come to terms with her body had revealed. Which meant in this situation that the rear surface of the barrier was more for show than much else.

The creature shattered a pane like section of the barrier in the back only to be met by the viciously green glowing of Willow's whip.

Shiro did not have time to see how much damage the attack did, but trusting his fellow an attempt was made to do two things at once:

First, to turn off the rest of the back of the shield so Willow could work unimpeded.

Second, to open another sally port to attack the beast in front who had let it's guard down when its fellow had breached the rear.

What actually happened was a third thing, the barrier collapsed. Tempting to stop and figure out what caused it to collapse Shiro now had enough battle sense to instead launch the planned attack anyway, because hesitation would get people killed and there would be no time for reflection if that happened.

The spear connected with creature as it followed a similar line of thinking. The impact of flesh and momentum recoiling to butt of the spear into Willow's hip, causing the beast that was jumping in from her left to sail over her head, yet sending her whip strike on the one in front of her wide.

The beast in front of her took advantage of the confusion to leap into the fray, claws poised to take Willow's head and a good chunk of Shiro's back, when from above a stout figure bellows a war cry before driving an elbow through the monster.

The monster who gave the appearance of being in charge let loose an ear piercing howl and those of the pack that could disengaged and scattered.

Only the one that had sailed over Willow's head escaped from them, while down below two of the three that were harassing the farmers hobbled away dripping a purple ichor from wounds that should quickly claim them.

Hassium stood up from the carnage of the beast they had split in half with brute force to take stock of those around them.

Willow was nursing a bruise and shooting dirty looks at Shiro.

Shiro was looking shaky but not externally wounded.

Ezma waved an all clear to the party on the hill, a gash in her sleeve barely obvious at this distance as the drizzle upgraded to a down pour.

All in all, everyone was alive,

but what the hell were those monsters?