Chrysalis

"This is a right ploppin', that's for sure" Isaac Bird growled as he fell back from the cracks in the door.

The water he'd seen had sliced through monsters as if they weren't even there, not to mention the other monsters he'd seen as they battered against the horde assembled outside the warehouse.

How could he explain it? Had some master mage and tamer heard of their plight whilst travelling past? Such a thing would be a darned miracle. Not only because a mage with the strength and means to raise two powerful pets would be a rare as hens teeth in this part of the world, but such a person would almost assuredly be part of the upper crust and unlikely to lower themselves to assisting some townsfolk and guards stuffed in a warehouse.

Isaac scrambled back onto his feet and tightened his grip around his spear once more. Whatever the reason, it wouldn't matter a bit if his people died before the monsters were killed.

"Step back from the door you bleedin' piles of flamin' trash!" he bellowed over the roar of the fight, "if that water comes through you're gonna end up in pieces and I aint' got any glue!"

The men and women who'd braced the danger to brace the warehouse door stepped back in confusion. The spray of water blasted through the cracks and soaked them but they hadn't seen the water jet itself and didn't appreciate how deadly it was.

They moved too slow for Isaac and leapt forward to pull them back. Many of them flinched as if they expected the door to be forced in the second they were no longer holding it shut but no such thing occurred.

"You and you" Isaac pointed at two of the bedraggled survivors, "get out the back and get on bucket duty, make sure there's nothing burning in here."

enough for marriage but had fought their way through hell in the last week, nodded and rushed to hit the buckets. The others gathered near the wide

told them and

there. The bellowing of monsters, the crash and thud of heavy blows and impacts rang in their ears without

wait it out? Hope that whoever had come to their rescue was

like a rat in

out there need killin'! You wanna live then get your arse up and in line! Spears front and at the

his 'guards', most them fishermen and shopkeepers, as he shouted, pushed and harassed his people until he had a rag tag group of twenty formed up behind the door in the most pathetic excuse for a box formation he'd

their life. Here they were one week

a good chance to

ready. He'd sent a runner to the roof so the archers knew they were coming out and to give

grip on the spear one more time. He'd already busted four spears in the last week, he was hoping

right in the

flew open and they charged out, momentarily blinded by the sudden change in light. It didn't

vision cleared he was faced with a horrifying bear monster, its fur covered body rippling with muscle. Isaac thanked any gods who might be listening as well the path just to cover

roared his challenge and

each of them stabbed out in rough