"Why are there so many…"
Elric's knights, the ones he personally trusted enough to bring on this trip, were already clashing with a swarm of creatures. "Creatures" felt too soft a word, honestly. They looked like nightmares gouged out from the dirt. Some were long and sinuous, like massive centipedes with slick, black exoskeletons that reflected bits of sunlight like oil on water. Others had thick, squat bodies like scorpions, except their tails were longer, sharper, and barbed with strange green markings that pulsed faintly as though magic itself crawled under their shell.
The forest path wasn't supposed to be like this. Verona knew that. She'd taken this route before in her past life. Back then, she'd seen… what? One creature? Maybe two in the distance? This was… ridiculous. No, alarming. Like the land itself was warning them.
