"Shit!"
Alaric scrambled to his feet, his legs protesting after the massive essence expenditure.
"I can't fight them all."
Rustle! Rustle! Rustle! Rustle!
The sounds were getting louder.
More of them than he could possibly count. A swarm rather than a pack. Dozens, maybe more, all converging on his location drawn by the shrieks of their dying kin.
Run.
He bolted in the direction that seemed to have the fewest approaching sounds. Sprinting through darkness with arms outstretched to avoid slamming face-first into stone walls.
And then he realized—
I can see.
Not clearly though. But he could make out shapes. The outline of rocks. The curve of the passage. The difference between solid wall and empty space.
Rustle! Rustle! RUSTLE!
Alaric's breath caught as instinct screamed warning—
He ducked.
SPLAT!
Acid blast passed through the space where his head had been milliseconds before. So close he felt the heat of it. Felt droplets graze his hair and start to burn—
