The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage: Wandmaker Vol.2

WM [92] Horns

The snarls of the beasts grew louder, their guttural roars reverberating like a storm at their backs. Isin risked another glance over his shoulder, his stomach tightening as he saw the pack of grotesque, six-legged monstrosities. Their visage was nightmarish and their howls invoked a primal instinct to flee in terror. The fissures were their only chance, but even that wasn’t a guarantee of survival.

“Jump!” Isin yelled as they reached the first crevice. 

He leapt across, his boots skidding on the jagged edge as he landed. The others followed, some barely making the jump as loose rocks crumbled beneath their feet.

Behind them, the leading monsters barreled forward. Their sheer momentum sent several of them plunging into the dark void below, their howls of rage fading as they disappeared. Others skidded to a halt, their massive forms struggling to navigate the unstable terrain.

“Keep moving!” Isin barked. glancing at the soldiers who had followed him. “Watch your step and stay close!”

They looked to him now, fear and desperation etched into their faces. He scanned the chaotic landscape, the fissures carved through the valley like jagged wounds, deep and treacherous. 

They ran along the fractured terrain, the monsters still pursuing. While the creatures were slowed by the narrow passages, they were relentless, their predatory hunger driving them forward. Isin’s mind raced as he searched for ways to thin their numbers.

“Hold here!” he shouted as they reached another gap, this one just wide enough to give them a temporary advantage. “Jump across! I’ll cover you!”

Isin unslung his combat rifle and knelt at the edge, firing controlled bursts at the closest creature. His rounds struck true, shredding through its grotesque, scaly hide. The beast stumbled, a guttural snarl escaping its maw before it collapsed into the fissure.

“Move! Cover those still jumping!” Isin ordered, reloading quickly. The remaining soldiers followed his lead, their gunfire hammering the next creature to approach. The teamwork bought precious seconds, but Isin knew it wouldn’t hold for long. The beasts were too many, and their determination was terrifying.

Another fissure came into view, narrower than the others but with walls steep enough to slow the creatures further. 

Isin pointed toward it. “This way! Use the terrain! Make them work for every inch!”

As they leapt from gap to gap, Isin employed every tactic he could think of to slow the pack: targeting the beasts in front to create pileups, leading them toward unstable edges, even using spent magazines as makeshift distractions. Yet the monsters kept coming, their numbers seemingly endless.

Finally, Isin spotted a fissure unlike the others; it was a vertical slice in the earth, its walls narrowing sharply as it descended. It was just wide enough for his team to climb down but too tight for the larger beasts to follow. Relief and dread warred within him. It was their only chance.

“Down there!” Isin yelled, pointing to the fissure. “Climb down! Go! I’ll cover you!”

One by one, his team scrambled toward the fissure, sliding down its steep walls with grunts of effort. Isin stayed behind, firing at the approaching monsters to buy them time. His rifle barked in his hands, each shot precise and deliberate. He aimed for their legs and jaws, anything to slow their advance.

“Move!” he roared, his voice hoarse.

The last soldier disappeared into the fissure, leaving only Isin at the edge. He turned to follow but was tackled mid-step. A monstrous weight slammed into him, driving him to the ground. Clawed limbs and snapping jaws pinned him, the creature’s rancid breath washing over his face as it tried to tear him apart.