The earthly monsters which Nydryn had been told were named Yukman, came at the small group of three. The wounded woman fired another arrow, and it landed in one of the monster’s feet. It stumbled and glanced down at its wound. Some sort of blood was coming out of the wound, but it didn’t smell like blood at all… it had a very earthy smell. The group didn’t have much time to prepare before the rest of the Yukman advanced. The leader approached the wounded woman, had grasped the woman’s neck and was in the process of strangling her when Nydryn heard more footsteps approach. Thinking that it was more Yukman, she cursed softly. It was actually Syndre… her long lost childhood friend that she had been spending some time with while in Ravok. He was approaching rapidly and with a surprise attack on the Yukman with the arrow in its foot, he stabbed a dagger in the back of its head. The more ladylike monster was advancing toward the other man that had been taking care of the wounded woman, leaving the only male monster and the shortest Yukman with a stick to advance on her. Outnumbered, Nydryn prepared to fight to the death. There was no way that she could kill two beasts single handed. Syndre’s rapid approach proved helpful as he wounded the male with his whip, but the female with the stick was still advancing. Gripping her dagger so hard that her knuckles turned even whiter then her pale skin, Nydryn took slow steps back, her boots sinking into the mud with each step. The monster’s amber eyes were glowing as it glared at her, rainwater pouring down her face. The stick in her hand was raised about to strike Nydryn when the woman’s dagger missed its target of the monster’s chest, but instead imbedded itself in the Yukman’s arm. Dropping the stick, it howled in pain but still advanced toward Nydryn, the monster’s eyes still glowing drops of amber amidst the roughness of the rest of its face. Nydryn’s feet were slick with mud, and her feet slipped when the Yukman caused her to retreat even faster. Falling to the ground, she was now vulnerable to the beast’s savage attacks. And attack it did do. The rough, but relatively short claws of the Yukman raked over Nydryn’s back as she tried to roll and avoid the attack of the creature. She tried to get up again, but was unsuccessful as the Yukman came at her again, this time trying to grab the her arms, wounding Nydryn more. It seemed as though the Yukman wanted to make Nydryn easier to kill as its rough hands grasped Nydryn’s thin, pale limbs. At that time, Nydryn remembered the other dagger in her hand, and while the monster was trying to lift her up, that dagger became embedded in the monster’s chest. The placing of the dagger was not intentional; Nydryn had simply wanted to ward off the attacking creature, but never less, if the beast had a heart, the dagger pierced it. Dropping its hold on Nydryn, the monster clutched its chest and let out a shriek. Unlike some of the other Yukman’s deaths, this one seemed to be clutching at the pitiful remains of its life, hoping there was some way that it could survive. The shrieks did not stop, and Nydryn was forced to cover her ears to ward out the terrible noise. Her two daggers were still implanted in the monster, the earthy smelling liquid expelling from where the crudely crafted blades had entered the beast’s body. Water mixed with the Yukman blood pooled at the creature’s feet. Looking down at her own body, the small woman realized that she was covered with blood… her own blood. There were puncture wounds from the monster’s initial clutch at her arms, scratches ran down the length of her limbs, and even though she couldn’t see her back, she could feel the pain from deep gouges there as well. The woman had only a few seconds to gather this information because the leader, realizing that Nydryn had seriously injured one of the other Yukman, had come out of nowhere and bowled into her, throwing her across the ground, mud plastering to most of her body. The monster itself was standing and looking quite pleased. The leader was clearly the most advanced out of the group, from what Nydryn had seen. Having difficulty, the battered woman rose to her feet slowly, and pulled her last dagger out of her boot. It was strangely heavy in her hand, as her slim pale fingers grasped around the handle. The creature could sense that Nydryn was wounded, and wounded prey was always easier to kill. Sprinting toward the woman, the leader’s claws went for Nydryn’s stomach. Knowing it would produce a lot of blood if the monster was able to claw her stomach, she summed up her energy and threw the dagger. It became fixed in the creature’s lower leg and did not cause the monster to stop moving. Its hate filled eyes fixed on hers as the beast swung both arms at Nydryn. Its right hand raked down over Nydryn’s face, and its left reached her stomach, drawing more blood than the other wounds. Blood in her eyes, Ny fell to the ground, unable to defend herself due to the excessive amount of wounds she had received. The leader must have had confidence in its own abilities for it didn’t attack her again right away. The creature stood over Nydryn, like an angel of death, pleased with the job it had done. |