n

n

n

"Okay, we have about seven minutes, but I think we should get going. Once you are done,. I want you to come back here and wait for me with Lani. Lani, if you don't mind, I would like you to go with Kali and watch her back. I am sure that you are more than strong enough to deal with a Gnoll or two, but don't take any risks,

" I explained to the girls after we got back outside.

n

"Yes, I can go with her, but are you sure that you don't want any help from us? The Mutalisks are vicious creatures, and we almost always lose a person when they attack,

" Lani told me with a worried expression on her face, but I smiled.

nI had gotten robbed with the Behemoths, so now I was excited for a chance to do some real no holds barred fighting. If these were mindless creatures with only one goal, then I would have no trouble cracking down on them.

n

"Don't worry about him. Kazz might not look like much, but he is a vicious fighter. You and I will deal with these, but Kazz will probably be waiting for us when we get back,

" Kali said with a smile, and then she closed her eyes and crossed her legs as she started to float in the air.

nI thought that I was going to have to change so she could mirror me, but Kali seemed to retain the memory of the form in her mind. I nodded to the girls and then turned to the beach, setting off in a dash.

nI still have the Wind Force Pact and Veronica's Totem active, so it took me very little time to get to the beach in the south. Once I got there, the beach was empty, but I could see gouges in the sand now that I was studying the beach.

nThese creatures were significant if the holes in the sand were any indication, but not like the Behemoths. The tracks were deep stabs, but that could be from their shell weight, so I also had that to consider.

nI looked around and looked at all the tracks and got a visual of the previous attack. It looked like there were about fifteen or twenty of the creatures, and that might become a problem.

nIf I was their target, I might be able to lure them away from the beach, but it would be risky. Whoever was sending them could catch wind of what I was going and then send more to attack the village once I got the first group away.

nI activated my Water Force Pact but kept the Totem water as well. Water against water might not be the best idea, but this would allow me to be aware of everything, giving my body more fluid motions.

nI waited, but nothing came.

nI assumed that everything would happen on cue, but the timestamps were probably just generalized times. The idea that all the attacks would always come at the exact time listed was silly anyway, but this was a bit ridiculous.

nBy my estimation, they were already ten minutes late, and I was starting to wear a grooved path in the sand from my pacing.

nI was concerned about the girls, but I couldn't leave this place. They might be waiting in the water right now, waiting for me to do just that.

nI decided to sit down for a moment, and I closed my eyes. Since I was able to track down the Ogre, I had started to be able to feel other creatures around me that were just above my strength and below, so I tried it now.

nI pushed thoughts from my head like I was preparing to meditate, then I pushed my senses out. It was much easier to do than I was on Earth, but that was probably because of the Water Sphinx Totem.

nAt first, I didn't really feel anything other than the Demons in the village, but then I was able to sense Kali and Lani. Since I had been in contact with both of them, I knew what their presence felt like in my mind, and then I felt the Gnolls.

nEven as I probed, the number of Gnolls was rapidly decreasing, and there were now only five left. I guess that the girls were going to be done much sooner than me, but why?

nI pushed my senses out farther and started to feel other monsters, but they were all on land. I was getting nothing from the ocean, and that frustrated me. I could have been helping the girls, but they seemed to be doing all right, so that wasn't really a problem.

nI opened my eyes and then stood back up, whipping the sand off my bottom. I glared at the ocean and started to walk towards it.

nI was going to check if I could even see anything from the water since there was really nothing else I could do. The beach area was only about fifty feet wide, and there were cliffs that started up on either side, running down the coast.

nI didn't think they could sneak around me if I went and took a peek, and I was getting tired of waiting. I was also tempted to get the girls to come to the beach, but I had a feeling that this was going to be another letdown for me, so I really didn't see the point.

nThen I started to feel something coming from the ocean, but it was a lot of something. I started to feel creatures nearly as strong as me, but I stopped counting after I got to fifty, and that wasn't even half of what I felt, but they weren't moving.

nI started to get a terrible feeling about this, but I needed to go look now. Those things could not be allowed to get past me, but I wasn't sure if I could handle this many on my own.

n