Right before he had called out to the Sarah and the others Ethan had picked up a shield resting against a motionless body laying next to a broken wagon wheel. Not having time to check to see if they were still alive he quickly moved on and was thankfully able to find a second shield lying in the grass surrounded by debris. Feeling confident there weren't any monsters behind him he faced the carnage from his location near the edge of the camp. A second after he called out he haphazardly sent a film of Nel' Ina down over the shields before slamming them together like a pair of cymbals above his head. He angled the two shields so the edges closest to his head impacted first, creating a projection like effect that sent the resulting explosion of Nel' Ina into the air. While mostly controlled, the force of the explosion still sent a small shock wave out from where he stood, ruffling his hair and clothes and causing the long strands of grass still standing to bend significantly as the pressure passed over them. The reaction from the monsters was nearly instant and as one as most stopped what they were doing and turned to face the source of what they thought to be their next meal.

"Well, that worked."

He said to himself before turning and running away into the shadows of the trees now in front of him. Upon hearing the piercing of dirt and wood alike, marking the fact the monsters had begun their pursuit, their jaws and mandibles clashing over and over in anticipation of a yummy meal, he wondered if it had worked too well. While he of course attempted to avoid running into anything, boulder or tree alike, the monsters behind him were much less concerned about the environment. He could hear the violent shattering and uprooting of countless trees behind him and even though he wasn't positive he was pretty sure he heard a boulder... or five, shatter beneath their spear like appendages.

Back at camp, which was eerily quiet, save for the snapping of flames, licking at wood and monsters, and the soft whimpers and crying of children, Sarah moved as quickly as she could in trying to assess the situation. It seemed that the kidnappers had either died fighting the monsters or fled during the fight because all that she could see, at least living, were children. Some of the older children she had met after being kidnapped were also emerging from various places with younger ones in tow, their eyes red and clothes dirty. Silent acknowledgements were shared between the various groups as they noticed each other and they began to gather together near where Sarah's group had been hiding.

"What happened?"

"We need to get help."

"Who was that boy?"

"Here, put pressure on it like this."

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"It's ok, it's not broken."

"How could you put yourself in danger like that sister?!"

"My head hurts..."

"I think I'm bleeding."

"What were those things?"

"Where are we?"

As soon as the groups had come together and they realized they were no longer in immediate danger the questions, statements, and concerns of a group of children began to sound off around them. Sarah and some of the older ones couldn't blame them and let them release some of the pent up tension, though when some began to get a little frantic and overwhelmed they finally spoke up, or at least Sarah did.

"It's ok, we are safe for now. A... friend from my town, an adventurer, has led the monsters away. We are going to start walking in that way," she pointed in the direction opposite of where Ethan had run off.

"Once it gets lighter out and we can find a road we'll get to the closest town for help," she stated after lowering her arm.

After a quick glance she knew they had quite a few kids who wouldn't be able to walk, and a couple that shouldn't even be carried. Thankfully Sarah had been given some training in healing and care at the sanctum so she was able to oversee the construction of the needed number of litters. They weren't anything fancy, simply two poles with a canvas tied across them that could be pulled by a person similar to a sled. Fortunately the number of those injured that needed a litter didn't exceed the number of those children strong enough to pull them. They also had enough to carry those that couldn't, or shouldn't, walk, though they would have to go slow and switch out the carriers often to avoid anyone getting too tired. She finally took a deep breath and turned to look around at the group before finally asking the question she had been dreading to ask the most.

"Did anyone..... did anyone not make it?"

The children turned to look at one another and then back to her, everyone remaining silent, and after a moment of the silence it was assumed that no one had noticed any children having not made it.

"Thank the Keepers..." Sarah whispered to herself after expelling the breath she had been unknowingly keeping in her chest.

"However, some are in danger if they don't get help soon so let's do our best in getting them, and us, to safety."

She spoke in a slightly raised voice and clapped her hands together lightly to emphasis their mission. She didn't know how long they had been asleep but hoped they were still close enough to a town that the walk wouldn't be that long. Truthfully, though, their luck in not losing a single child had already been beyond realistic, so as to not seem ungrateful she once again thanked the Keepers in her heart and simply kept her hopes to herself.

Meanwhile, with the growing light of day, and the thinning of the trees, some ways away Ethan would emerge from the woods and gasped as he came upon rolling hills of tall grass and then fields of various crops. In the distance he could see a walled town, though he was sure it wasn't Cloudcrest, he could tell it was under attack by monsters... many, many, many monsters. While he didn't have a formal education on the topic he knew, without a doubt in his mind, what he was seeing was a monster swarm and even though he was so far away the devastation was so horrifying that his running legs almost gave out from below him.