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."

man and a woman who looked barely old 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 doors of

has arrived people" he told them and watched the hope blossom in their

the horrific din from outside the warehouse, the battle was still raging out there. The bellowing of monsters, the crash and thud of heavy blows

Hope that whoever had

a rat in a

already? Thousands of monsters out there need killin'! You wanna live

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

seen a monster and never held a weapon in their life. Here they were one week later with steady hands and steel in

chance to stick a few before

sent a runner to the roof so the archers knew they were coming out and to give them cover and he had two young boys on the door, ready to yank them open

time. He'd already busted four spears in the last week, he was hoping this

right in the

momentarily blinded by the sudden change in light. It didn't slow them at all as they hurtled forward, the

fur covered body rippling with muscle. Isaac thanked any gods who might be listening as well the path just to cover his bases, since the creature was faced

he roared his challenge and stabbed forward with all his

townsfolk who followed him echoed his ferocity, each of them stabbed out in rough unison, taking advantage of