My breath was caught... for that moment, I felt my muscles lock up, a primal voice I had become familiar with screamed in my head... urging me to flee, to hide, that this thing before us was death incarnate.
Beside me, Cass let out a choked gasp, almost getting caught in the skill as well...
"Now, Finn!" But our captain Borin roared just in time, his own voice strained as he fought the debilitating fear.
"Yes...!"
-Craaack! Ptsssssss...!
Finn, trembling but moving with practiced speed, slammed a crystalline vial onto the ground.
It shattered, releasing a cloud of mint-scented, silver vapor that washed over all of us, clearing our minds with a new refreshment.
"Ptkssss...!"
The terror at the back of our mind didn't vanish, but it receded from a tsunami to a choppy, manageable sea, the stimulant allowing us to override our instincts.
"Engaging!" Borin bellowed the very next moment, charging forward, his shield flaring with a brilliant golden light.
"Ptkssss...!"
