Blow after anguished dagger blow rang on the creature's shell and severed limb after limb. Despite her frantic efforts the beast came closer and closer. Philippa couldn’t see anyway to kill it. It was almost impenetrable, and had too many legs for it to miss the half a dozen she had taken. It was almost upon her now as it raised itself up on six of its back legs. And in those final moments she saw the sliver of her salvation. The young girl let out a war-cry-like shriek, full of defiant rage, and with the shining dagger still in hand plunged the blade through the multitude of long legs at the centre of its shell. In the middle of the square Divina's face fell into a grimace of horror as she assumed the worst, but the weapon found its mark. Philippa could feel as the weapon sank into the soft flesh of the beast's maw. Needle pointed fangs dug into the girl's forearm as the mouth closed around her hand. She let out a cry of pain as more legs flailed, cutting and scratching her and then at last the beast finally went limp.

Dark trickles of blood poured from the multitude of tiny wounds as Philippa pulled her arm free. She looked down at the punctures, winced and then noticed that she was, somehow, still holding the dagger. She pushed against the abomination’s lifeless body, it toppled to one side, its hideous legs now a sagging mass of chitinous covered joints.

Looking around for the Paladin, Philippa began to drag herself toward Divina, her blood mixing with the earth in small pools as she crawled in fits and starts, fading in and out of consciousness.

“It's their weakness.” She called out weakly.

“What is?” Questioned the Paladin.

“There—” Her vision blurred. “It’s their mouth.”

“Their mouth?” The Paladin caught on quickly and called out a sure command. “Where is it?”

“On their—” Speech slurring she tried to drag herself forward to help. “— their — underbelly.” The girl had no more vigour left in her, as her arms gave way and her body went limp. She slumped to the ground unable to move.

Divina turned in a quick circle, studying the patterns in the movement of each of the monstrosities as they closed in. She carefully tucked her injured arm into the folds of the cloth surcoat that covered her armour, so that it created a makeshift sling, keeping the arm in place. Reaching her left hand to her left hip, she drew her sword awkwardly from its scabbard, and raised it slowly above her head. The beasts closed their perimeter tighter and tighter. But The Paladin took a deep breath, relying entirely on her years of training, she patiently waited. Making careful calculations. Gauging the distance of her opponents. Waiting for the perfect time to strike, the moment when they were almost upon her. The creatures moved all at once rising onto their back legs revealing their hideous mouths, and Divina thrust the tip of her blade at the earth beneath her feet.

A thunderously deafening wave washed out from the sword as it pierced the ground throwing the thick layer of dust and grime that had coated the town square high into the air. As the ripple of unbridled storm energy hit the three rampant beasts, they were deftly flipped over and onto their backs, pincered legs flailing and snapping in frustration.

Knowing she only had moments to act, she tore her blade out of the earth and moved to action. She advanced on the first of creatures maw exposed, those vicious teeth opening and closing as if expecting a meal at any moment. Seconds later, its gnashing teeth were shattered into pieces, as the cold steel of the Paladin’s simple apprentice-sword plunged into the soft flesh within its hard carapace. The creature shuddered as it died, its legs wildly convulsing towards the exposed flesh of Divina’s forearm, just at the edge of its reach.

A sickening squelching noise came from one of the other beasts. Divina sharply turned to face it, to find it squirting a translucent silky liquid. She quickly recognized that it was spraying the same sticky webbing that had held those unfortunate birds and animals among the trees. It spurted from several of its non-pincered legs that were liberally scattered among its regular legs, trying to snare anything that could pull itself upright. The fluid hardened from a liquid into thin threads as it struck the ground around the abomination. The gossamer strands flew wildly in desperation, but to the Paladin’s relief, never found a mark. With a sigh Divina brought the sword down with waning efficiency. Before retrieving the blade, she found she had to lean on the pommel for several moments to catch her ever escaping breath to keep herself upright.

The flames roared, creeping closer than ever. They skulked over and around every wooden building in sight. Divina could feel the heat uncomfortably against the back of her neck as she let out a cry of pain mixed with triumph. With effort she drew her sword from the now-still-form of the second dead creature.

She took several painful steps towards the last beast. Nausea deep in her gut swelled as the agony in her twisted arm grew. Divina emptied what little food she had in her stomach onto the dirt and stumbled toward her final target. The world span dramatically with every motion she made. Spitting the bitter taste of bile into the dirt, she readied her finishing blow, bringing the blade once more high overhead.

She began to bring the blade down in a deadly piercing arc. There was nothing but her intent to slay the last beast and be done with this terrible waking-nightmare. The steel of her sword reflected the blazing fire as it descended to its incapacitated quarry. As she had been trained for situations like this, she blocked out all external distracting sensations. Kill or be killed. Nothing but the need to survive filled her mind. Ironclad conviction filled her being.

With a scream of metal against chitin, the blade bit into the monster's jaws. She waited a heart-pounding moment until she was sure that it was dead before allowing the surrounding world to register again. Heat from flames around now licked at the edges of her armour. The cracking sound of wooden beams mixed with the clicking of sharp chitinous claws. She coughed as smoke curled its way in and out of her nose and mouth. Somewhere in the distance a terrified scream cut through all the other sensations.

“Look out.” Philippa screamed from the dirt floor.

Terror filled her voice like nothing Divina had heard before.