Ghent didn't need to be told twice. As soon as he was let go, he moved closer to Elayra, his breaths coming in short, quick pants. He couldn't see the speaker, but the mere sound of its awful, raspy voice embodied the horrors they had witnessed so far.
	[i]Where is it?![/i] Ghent's head was on a swivel. He unintentionally bumped shoulders with Elayra as he spun around, searching the ground with an unhinged amount of desperation. His staff was gone.
	“Elayra! I need a weapon!” Ghent whispered to the blonde, probably too loudly. He was in a state of panic. His staff had quickly become his security blanket, and now it was gone. He needed something tangible to defend himself with.
	Then, he saw it. The staff was only a few feet from them, half submerged in a reddish-brown puddle. It must have been dropped during the scuffle between Drust and Elayra.
	Ghent didn't wait to be told no. Using Drust as his cover, he darted forward in a half-crouch. When close enough, he snatched up his staff, cringing as the slick, unknown substance transferred to his fingers. Wiping off his hand against the side of his pant leg, he scrambled back to the others, prize in hand.
	Following Elayra's lead, Ghent positioned himself so that the wall was to his back. He was just in time to witness the hissing figure emerge from the shadows, a sight that caused him to openly gasp.
	A newer, bigger wave of panic swept over Ghent. He moved back automatically, trying to create distance between himself and what he assumed was a woman. Her movements were jagged and unnatural, like a puppet being controlled by a marionettist.
	To make matters worse, the woman wasn't alone. A smaller, bonier figure joined her, equally as gruesome in appearance, if not more so. [i]A child.[/i]
	Ghent's throat tightened. He stared at the pair beneath the shadow of his hood. There were many horrible things for his brain to process, the child's maw being one of them. The child boasted an unsightly combination of rocks, bones, and rotten teeth in its mouth, perfect for tearing apart human flesh.
	Ghent stole a glance at Elayra. He picked up on the fact that she and Drust were standing similarly, so he tried to mirror them. His knees threatened to buckle as he broadened his stance, his muscles tense and achy.
	Suddenly, silence. But not in a good way. In the calm-before-the-storm kind of way.
	Ghent had to remind himself to breathe. He had a few focus words in his arsenal, but Drust was too close. He couldn't risk taking down the one person who could protect them.
	Dizzy with anticipation, Ghent's eyes snapped to the woman as she began speaking again. The noises in her throat sounded like they should have been words, but weren't. It was impossible to translate -- the Orcs in The Lord of the Rings spoke with more eloquence. 
	As if that wasn't bad enough, the woman's offspring joined in, and then it made the first move. It catapulted itself forward, using the wall as momentum for its attack.
	Ghent screamed a scream of genuine terror. His body moved before his brain could. He swung his staff horizontally, using the magical weapon as nothing more than a baseball bat.