Jarod took a defensive position, bracing one leg behind him in anticipation of the sudden crash against his tower shield. He was tall enough to look over the top of the shield, so he could see as the brown-furred trifleys charged toward him. One wielded a hammer, another an axe, and the last two just their short claws.

  Behind him, Nikolao called out to Tex’ana, “save the nets. We’ll use them on a larger group.” A muffled thud indicated that he’d set his own net aside, and quickly stepped forward to take his position in the front line shield wall alongside Jarod and Wilfurd.

  The trifleys ahead of them were only about 50 feet away now, closing the distance fast. The larger group attacking the tavern hadn’t yet abandoned their current targets over the commotion being made in the street, but it wouldn’t be long. Jarod watched as one of them, slipping back from the pack to nurse a gash in an arm dripping with blue blood, sighted the party approaching by the bridge, and started pulling on the arm of another. They would need to deal with the four running to intercept them quickly so they could take a more defensible position.

  A pair of arrows flew by overhead, white fletching on one of them carving a trail through the air and sinking into the stomach of one of the trifleys ahead. The creature cried out in pain, doubling over as the second arrow flew just wide. It wasn’t quite enough to finish off the monster, but it began to fall back, trailing the other three.

  Jarod had a second to notice that these trifleys were acting a little bit differently from the ones they’d dealt with earlier. The ones he’d fought before could be accurately described as wild. They’d been slavering creatures, frantics limbs windmilling across the ground even in injury to keep throwing themselves at their target. These brown-furred ones were more composed, still driven by a wanton need for destruction, but focused on their attack rather than operating purely on instinct.

  Regardless of whether the more controlled attack would prove more dangerous, their job here was the same. The shield wall of three walked forward carefully, staying in lockstep to keep themselves braced together.

  30 feet, 20 feet, then 10, as the creatures continued their charge. Jarod stopped his advance alongside the other three, and leaned forward, ready for the impact of the trifleys against his shield.

  Before the impact though, Tex’ana’s glaive flashed out stabbing down from above and behind the wall. The first strike killed its target instantly. The trifley slammed into the ground and skidded to a halt in the dirt. The second stab from Tex’ana caught the trifley through its stomach, stabbing downward into its hipbone. The creature thrashed and spun as its injured leg collapsed, no longer able to support itself, but it was close enough that its momentum still carried it forward, crashing into the shield wall with the remaining uninjured one.

  The impact jolted the shield hard against Jarod’s shoulder, and he heard a loud bang come from Wilfurd’s shield next to him which must have been from the trifley with the hammer.

  Nikolao was the first among them to act, slashing from outside his tower shield at the injured trifley with his longsword, wielded in one hand. The blade swung wide in a slow arc, but the injured creature could do nothing to defend itself and it met its end quickly.

  Roll to hit

  Longsword (one-handed): [7]+1-2

  Hit for [3] damage

  The sword felt clumsy and awkward in his attack, trying to wrap it around their shield wall only one-handed, but the swing seemed to have taken the trifley on the other side unawares, and it bit into the creature’s shoulder.

  Wilfurd tried to slash at the creature with the blade Jarod had forged for him, but the jostle of the shield wall nudged his blade just wide.

  The remaining trifley in front of them swung with its hammer again, another resounding thunk slamming into Jarod’s shield this time. The reverberations travelled up Jarod’s arm, making his shoulder shake in its socket. Despite the noticeable dent in the metal though, Jarod was uninjured and his shield was still sound.

  Taking a path wide, outside and around the shield wall, was the trifley that had been struck with an arrow to start the fight. It seemed to have decided that a direct assault was unwise in its present state, and circled outside of Tex’ana’s reach, in position to make a dash at Filgrin and Shelley.

  Such a wide berth of their front line meant the trifley wouldn’t be able to close in on their archer immediately, but it would be soon. Jarod was hesitant to backpedal away from the trifley in front of them in case it would leave an opening to attack Wilfurd. Hopefully Tex’ana or another volley of arrows would spell its doom before it found its target.

  As the trifley pulled up alongside the edge of the bridge with a clear line straight to the archers, another double twang of bowstrings unleashed the next volley of arrows at it. From the glance back that Jarod risked, it seemed as though their flights were on-target, ready to intercept the monster mid-stride.

  However, here something unusual happened. Where it looked before like the trifley was readying for a skirmish with the archers, it suddenly changed direction, grasping the railing of the bridge with its clawed hand, and scuttling down into the dark chasm beyond. The sudden change in direction made both arrows sail high and wide off into the distance.

  It was unexpected behavior. Jarod had seen one of the trifley scuttle under the bridge to rejoin more of its comrades when Filgrin and he had picked off all but one at the bridge, but there was never any question of its retreat. The creature had looked around frantically, realizing that it was woefully outnumbered, and had retreated to join more of its comrades. In comparison, the one that they’d just seen turn to run down underneath the bridge had made every indication it was going to attack them, before deciding otherwise without so much as a second glance. Perhaps there was some force or compulsion in their mind that made them return underground after they’d been burnt by the sun.

  If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  An arm from the last remaining trifley in front of them poked through the gap between his and Nikolao shields, disrupting his train of thought with a flailing hammer that passed next to his face. Before it could pry apart their position, the looming figure of Tex’ana passed overhead, and a quick glaive thrust finished it off.

  Jarod took a pace back to allow the limp body of the trifley to fall to the ground at their feet. That was another four of the creatures down, if they could just repeat that cycle, the trifleys would prove to be a very manageable problem.

  “Any sign of the one that climbed under the bridge?” Jarod asked.

  “I’m watching him,” said Shelley, “but he’s running off down the chasm. Don’t think he’ll be back soon.”

  Filgrin, beside her, had chosen to ignore the retreating creature. Instead, he focused on something in the distance, took aim, and loosed another arrow. It arced high through the sky, giving Jarod a chance to turn about again as it travelled to its target. It thudded just behind a trifley in the distance, barely missing what would have been a fatal blow to the head.

  Jarod understood why Filgrin was standing there taking potshots now. The group of trifleys by the tavern, previously distracted with trying to hack their way inside, was now turning to face them. There must have been nearly 40 of the monsters gathered in that group, and over half of them now found the arrivals from the bridge more enticing targets than ones shielded by wooden walls.

  “Quickly, to the alley over there,” Nikoalo shouted. “We need to funnel them into a choke point if we’re to stand a chance.”

  Jarod didn’t need any more encouragement. He hefted the shield up, carrying it partially with his sword arm as well to balance the weight. They had to get there before they were intercepted by the trifleys, or their archers would be indefensible and the front line would be caught in a melee from all sides.

  Athletics check (3, 6)

  [5]+1

  Full success

  Jarod bounded ahead with the other shield carriers, falling behind only Tex’ana’s elongated strides. They reached the alleyway Nikolao had indicated, and their front line fanned out, ready to intercept trifleys to provide cover for their incoming archers. Tex’ana stood in front of them with the net in his hand, ready to throw it preemptively if any of the trifleys got too close.

  Luckily, it wasn’t needed. There was only a single trifley at the front that looked like it might cut it close, but it took a shot from a running Filgrin that caught it square in the chest, and it dropped to the ground. No more than a tripping hazard for the rest of its group.

  Nikolao ushered their back line down the alleyway and atop a small rise that would give them position to shoot over the shield wall. At least at the ones not caught up in the melee at the front.

  It was as good a position as they could have hoped for. The two houses abutted a rise in the mountainside to the north, and a little garden alcove had been carved out by the two families to share. It was strangely tranquil back there in the shade garden, the thick earth and houses creating a muffling effect over the clamor currently transpiring in the village. The walls formed an alleyway about 60 feet long. They formed the shield wall nearly at the end of the alley, just a few feet in front of the alcove where it opened up. The covered garden at the back left their archers partially shrouded in darkness, but the sun streamed down into the alleyway itself, the bright orange light burning nearly directly overhead.

  Normally, they’d be worried about trifleys running through the houses, but that had been taken care of thanks to explosives which had blasted the second floor of each house down into the first. The collapsed rubble would be too much for even the small figures of the trifleys to clamber through.

  They had not a moment more to rest though, as the screaming mass of trifleys rounded the corner.

  It was a mad mass that roiled towards them like a landslide of grey and brown fur. They pushed into each other, slamming into walls and screaming out inhumanly in their terrible language. Broken table legs and glass bottles flew through the air to impact on their shields, or sail into the impassive form of Tex’ana.

  The engulfing crowd bore down across the alley. There was no path of escape now. This was where they would have to make their stand. A pair of arrows shot overhead, surely hitting something in the crowd, but having no noticeable effect against the sheer amount of flesh.

  Jarod braced for the impact, hoping they would somehow be able to restrain the force they stood against, when the nets flew overhead. They flew past the first few trifleys, unfurling as they progressed and the weighted ends pulled the thick rope taut.

  The nets landed among the second and third rows of trifleys. Searching and desperate hands poked out through the holes in the net, trying to find another loop to grab to throw it off them, but that flailing was the source of their entanglement. As the first row of trifleys continued their charge forward, the rest of the group behind them stumbled, and splayed onto the ground. As the rows that had been tangled rolled up in the net, they began to form a barrier wall slowing the progress of the trifleys behind them, lest they trample their allies.

  Despite the remarkable success, a group of 6 of the creatures had managed to pass underneath the entangling equipment. Their stout, dense bodies slammed hardily into the defensive wall.

  Strength Contest

  Success on 3

  [7/10] successes

  Jarod wins

  Jarod managed to steady himself against the trifley’s charge. Wilfurd had managed to do the same to his left, but to his right, Nikolao had been knocked off balance, and had lost his position. The two trifley that had charged into his shield were finding their balance again after the impact, and turning to face Jarod right beside them.

  Thankfully, Tex’ana was there to help patch the hole in their shield. The glaive slashed out, first partially severing the head of one, then cutting the second nearly in two. Before the other trifley at the front line could take advantage of the gap, Nikolao raced forward again, bashing with his shield the one who had tried to gain the edge from his lapse.

  They’d withstood the first charge, though four of the monsters still stood in melee with them. Jarod saw a hand come up and latch onto the top of his shield, the creature trying to clamber over, but he shook it off easily.

  Even through his confidence from their first success, he paled when he saw what awaited him ahead. Already, the trifleys were digging into the net to tear it apart with their claws. At the same time, the hurdle that had been created by the mess of tangled bodies was being jumped over by the other trifleys behind them. Soon, they would all be upon the group. It was only a matter of time.