Chapter 6: The Woodworker Woes

Razzda ran.

Swung Bullminth’s Blade through the nearest stall and just smashed her way out from amidst the growing mob. But despite the chorus of shouting, jeering and taunts, only the Yisshin actually went to give chase.

The trio vanished in clouds of black ash, leaving the crowd confused on whether to pursue or not.

Elma noted the Burybiter with the drawing had pulled a metal horn from his waist, and cursed under her breath before taking off after Razzda as well.

Elma rounded the stall, seeing that Razzda had broken through two others in her bid to escape her pursuers. She followed the trail of destruction, eyes passing over enraged merchants and confused buyers as the horn sounded behind her. But under it, she could hear a scream up ahead.

It had come from what looked like a bar. A messy cloth roof hung over a series of tables and chairs with a counter and barrels at the far end. Many mugs and two tables had already been tossed about, with the patrons scattering in angered confusion

Upon the bar’s counter was Razzda, swinging and blocking with Bullminth’s Blade as Sev slashed and swung those flat blades at her over and over. Tick and Lip were keeping up with them, the latter of the two trying to aim his crossbow at Razzda but held his aim every time Sev drew near.

By the time that Elma had caught up, his growl of anger was more than audible.

“Duck, sister!” Lip shouted, raising his crossbow just as Sev dropped low to the grass.

Razzda heard as well, yellow-eyes turning on Lip just as he centered his crossbow at her.

He fired, Razzda swung.

The sheathed broadsword smashed the bolt out of the air, leaving Lip dumbfounded as a cloud of black ash appeared at the end of the bar.

Tick charged out of that cloud, raising both halves of his battle box. Razzda leaped back as he slammed those halves down, smashing into the bar and bringing a distressed cry from what looked like the bar’s owner nearby. Bullminth’s blade swung back and swept Tick’s legs out from under him, sending him back-first through the bar. She leaped off the counter and tore through the rear of the stall, with Sev leaping over Tick whilst shouting for him to get back to the chase.

But Lip wasn’t following them, his crimson eyes were wide and his crossbow battle box aimed to the ground. Elma was about to run past him when she heard him speak.

“You were pursuing her first, correct?” he turned to her as he twisted the handle of his battle box, a small compartment on the bottom opening to drop a wooden tube onto the ground.

“I’m not letting anyone else get her.” Elma gave her only response before turning and continuing to run, but she heard footsteps.

She glanced to the side, finding Lip easily keeping pace with her as he loaded a new tube into his battle box.

“Why not work together, friend?” he offered as they ran “Never seen a Nurl wield such a weapon with such speed, I doubt you’d be able to stop her on your own.”

“What, your toys and shadow-walking aren’t enough?” Elma spat, eyeing up surrounding stalls for signs of recent damage “Go try your tricks elsewhere, cave-dweller.”

Lip hissed at that, his fangs visibly elongating as they heard the sound of something crashing nearby.

They both picked up speed, rounding a corner to find that an entire stall had been flipped onto its side, crushing a smaller tent in the process.

At first convinced that Razzda had done it through some usage of Bullsmith’s Blade, Elma’s ears were drawn to the arguing trio beside a large Beetle laden with crates, sacks and goods. The beetle was casually gnawing on some nearby grass, even as its Nurl owner smacked its carapace whilst pointing towards the two men shouting at her.

“Not beastie fault, runt and pale ones shock her!” the Nurl Shouted whilst jabbing her finger towards the men, one of which threw up his hands before gesturing towards the remains of his tent.

“My notes are soaked in Drought!” he shouted

“Expensive… Melkish Drought, that is.” The other man patted his own chest “Gonna cost someone an arm and a leg to replace and it ain’t gonna be mine!”

The spectacle had grabbed the attention of several fairgoers, some watching the three traders argue while others whispered about the event.

Elma tried to focus on the conversations of the on-lookers, but the three traders shouting blocked out much. Closing her eyes, she eventually caught whispers of a Nurl darting between the grasp of Yisshin pursuers and fleeing in the direction of…

“The Beetledriver stable, hm?”

Elma spun around to find Lip was still right behind her, having apparently picked up the same tidbit of information. He flashed her another smile while twisting the handle on his battle box, the compartment in the bottom snapping shut.

“Let’s see who catches her first then, friend.” He said before he was engulfed in another cloud of black ash.

Elma cursed under her breath and ran to the most northeastern part of the fair, where the only tent larger than those of the Burybiters was. Despite the purple behemoth only being the size of a moderate warehouse that one would find in a big city, the Beetledriver Stable dwarfed the ramshackle tents and stalls that made up the majority of the trade fair.

It was an easy landmark to pick out from most parts of the fair, even spilling out of the northeastern side of the fair into the grassy plains beyond. But the noteworthy size of the tent only made Elma more infuriated by the idea that Razzda would pick it as a place to hide. The closer she got, the more she saw signs of other pursuers.

And it was not just the Woodworkers.

Small groups of Burybiters were assembling, with Elma seeing some trying to organize an increasingly large number of embittered fairgoers into hunting parties.

Elma saw more Beetledrivers the closer she got to their stable. The filthy smell was replaced with the confusingly mixed scents of cooked Muskha and Beetle dung. Beetle Mounts were becoming more common, until Elma eventually found one route completely clogged by about half a dozen of the things being offered up to several fairgoers.

Elma moved to find a different path, finding the odd mixing of sweet and odorous scents quickly giving her a headache.

She saw the great flaps that acted as the entrance, and several injured Beetledrivers led up to it. They were tended to by their clanmates, many of whom wielded large metal staves with curved ends.

She could see Lip, gesturing wildly towards his battle box before a small group of Beetledrivers. Elma couldn’t see either of his companions, but he seemed locked in an argument with one of the Nurl.

They were refusing entry, the Beetledriver shaking his head furiously before pointing to the Stable.

Their quarry was hidden inside.

Elma still had no idea why Razzda would choose the Beetledriver stable as her hiding place. Even if there were a dozen or so in there, it would only be a matter of time before they combed through it to find her.

It was at the edge of the fair, if they managed to chase her out then there wouldn’t even be anywhere left to hide. Mount Drypeak was on the western side of the fair and there was a great swath of grass between the fair and the river to the east.

Even with her unexplainable ability with Bullminth’s Blade, Elma couldn’t imagine her being able to fight off all her pursuers. Just dealing with Caltop and his friends had left her winded.

Considering the unconscious Nurl, Elma figured Razzda had chosen the direct route. But given the pattern shown so far, Elma assumed she’d try cutting her way through the rear of the tent if they found her.

Elma worked her way along the side of the tent, staying amongst the stalls and smaller tents, unwilling to let her get away again.

But as she began approaching the edge of the fair, she heard it.

Something like a frantic pounding noise from the south was drawing closer.

It got louder, eventually breaking Elma’s train of thought and drawing her eyes to the assembly of stalls and tents south of her.

But there was no sign of what was causing that sound, not from the fairgoers nor the Beetledrivers she could see guarding the perimeter of the Stable.

In fact, it sounded like it was coming from up high.

Elma lifted her gaze up, unable to see far past the roofs of stalls. But it kept getting louder, drawing closer and closer.

Until she saw it.

Flying over the fair was a dark figure, the wings and shape were what allowed her to identify it as a beetle.

But it dwarfed any that she had seen so far.

It was almost as large as a wagon with a sharp, chitinous horn protruding from its forehead. Despite its size, its rapidly beating wings carried it over the tents and stalls towards the Beetledriver stable.

It shifted directions, slowly swerving in the air as it passed over Elma.

But it was as she saw underneath the massive insect that she realized why it was there..

Hanging onto the large barbs of its six legs were Burybiters, three to each limb.

Hollers of laughter and shouts of anger were practically drowned out by the beating of the Beetle’s wings. What wasn’t was the horn from its rider. Elma recognized the choppy blonde hair of Luksen, gripping the reins of the flying beetle in one hand as the other held her horn to her mouth.

At the sound of the horn, the Beetle lowered slightly so several Burybiters could leap down from it as it circled around the Stable. Elma lost sight of the Beetle behind the purple tent, eyes going to one of the dropped Burybiters as he crashed into the ground and immediately pushed himself up.

One of the Beetledrivers approached, only for the Burybiter to wave her off before charging towards the tent. Elma could see the same thing happening with the other two Burybiters she’d seen jump. They met up with Beetledrivers and began crawling under the fabric of the tent at different points.

It was only then that Elma realized that they’d come to the same conclusion that she had.

Taking advantage of the gap in the perimeter that their entrance had brought, Elma was quick to follow behind, keeping low to the ground at first so she could check inside the tent.

Only for her to realize quickly that the purple tarp the Beetledrivers used did not allow any light in. The inside of the stable was mostly shrouded in a sea of black, only lit up by the occasional lantern hung on several metal supports built at the edges of the tent.

But the dim lighting wasn’t enough to keep Elma from realizing that she’d sorely underestimated the number of Beetles the Nurl had inside.

In every direction were Beetles, they had to have an entire herd stuffed into the place. Elma no longer felt grass under her, briefly glancing down to realize that the beetles had completely consumed any plant life and left only a rough dirt floor inside the stable.

Up ahead, she could just barely make out a Burybiter keeping close to one of the Beetledrivers, who kept whistling as they moved through the herd. The nearest beetles would move aside to let them pass every time she whistled.

But the ones closest to Elma wandered back together, with several large heads turning to look at her as she crawled amongst them.

Due to the darkness, it was nearly impossible to know how many Nurl were searching the Stable. She could see several due to the lanterns at the edges of the tent, but she could hear the whistles of others moving about.

There was no telling who was lurking amongst the beetles with her.

Namely, she had no way of knowing where Razzda was hiding.

The sheer size of the herd made hiding a more optimal option than originally assumed, but Elma was certain that more Nurl would pour in until they choked her out. It was only a matter of time, and it was quickly running out.

She had to think, but kept moving under the cover of the numerous beetles as she did so.

The creatures were as passive as ever, many just wiping their antennae or slumbering in the dirt. Many others were lightly bumping their heads together or just watching as Elma moved among them, with one eventually nipping at her heels gently with its mandibles.

Elma stifled the curse of annoyance, instead reaching over to rub the beetle’s head until it released her leg and looked up to her. After quickly looking around to make sure she was still unnoticed, she sighed before looking at the beetle.

“What is it, girl?” came a voice behind the beetle, and Elma nearly jumped out of her skin as the Beetle shifted to the side to turn around.

A Burybiter with a cheeky grin on his face was right behind it, but his grin quickly disappeared upon spotting Elma.

“Who-?” he shook his head, snarling before his hand began raising a metal horn in his grasp.

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Elma tackled him, knowing she’d never have been able to draw her sword in time. Her charge succeeded in knocking the horn from his hands as she slammed on top of him, but before she could try and clamp a hand over his mouth he spat into her eyes

She gasped as everything went blurry, the sting of some kind of alcohol was overruled by panic as he slipped out of her grasp and scrambled towards his fallen horn. Elma lunged at him despite her blurred vision, one hand desperately trying to clear the foul spittle from her face as the other grasped for one of his legs.

Despite managing to grab hold of an ankle, she saw his fingers curl around the horn.

Only for a small foot to stomp on his hand.

Both of them glanced up just as a familiar sheathed broadsword slammed into his head and sent him sprawling onto his back. Elma glanced up to see that legendary weapon rising again, this time turning towards her.

“Wait!” she tried not to scream as she waved a hand towards the assailant “I want to help!”

The sword froze, and Elma was finally able to look down towards the glowing yellow eyes of Razzda.

The cuts and bruises from her fight with Caltop had been joined by smudges of dirt, ash and spilled Melkish Drought. Razzda was just barely able to hold back heavy breaths, the exertion of her escape culminating in shaky hands and an off-center stance that matched with her tired eyes.

Her extremely noticeable, yellow eyes.

Elma gasped and scrambled towards her, with Razzda going stiff and raising Bullminth’s Blade again.

“Please,” Elma begged “Please get down!”

Razzda didn’t look like she had the energy to complain, and eventually relented by falling backwards into the dirt. The nearby beetles crowded her, looking her over with curiosity just as they were doing to the fallen Burybiter.

“Almost… give away hide spot.” Razzda shook her head from side to side whilst staring at the cloth ceiling of the stable.

“You gave yourself away, Nurl.” Elma whispered while checking around them one more time “What made you think hiding here would be best?!?”

“Buggy friends.” Razzda lifted a hand and poked at the head of a nearby beetle “Only friend left… not minding Razzda rest.”

“You can’t just stay here for-”

“Razzda need think space!” rising up, Razzda pulled her hood down to cover her eyes “She no good at quickthink.”

“Really?” Elma wasn’t convinced “Your stunt at the dig seemed rather well coordinated.”

“Bad plan! She lose friend, all friends!” she covered her eyes with an arm and shook her head “Stuck to sharp one, lady lass, all hate Razzda now.”

“Which is why you need to let me help you out of here.” Elma explained “If any of these people get that sword, it’s going to make its way to the Archon one way or another.”

“Pfft,” Razzda shook her head and laid back down “Razzda has buyer.”

“Then let me help you get to them at least.” Elma demanded “Listen to me. I might not know too much about Beetle Mounts, but I know they can be spooked with enough fire. It’s why they’re using lanterns so sparingly in here.”

She gestured all around them before leaning towards Razzda.

“If we can find some oil and spread it along the walls,” she brought her hands together before swiping them to and fro “setting it off should cause the entire herd to panic and flee.”

“Then what?” Razzda laughed mirthfully “Not outrun Bullwing”

Elma leaned back at that.

“Bullwing?” she thought for a second “That giant beetle?”

Razzda nodded before waving a finger around “Topper Twin prize for bring clans together.”

Elma couldn’t help but admit that that was indeed a problem she hadn’t factored in yet. With its speed and Luksen with her horn, there’s no way they could outrun it.

“Razzda,” she said after a moment “were you and your buyer meeting inside the fair?”

“Junk man meet Razzda in big caves that way.” Razzda pointed north, prompting Elma to nod more and more.

“And do you think Bullwing could follow us in there?”

Razzda opened her mouth to speak, only to go still for a moment before sitting up suddenly.

“No…” she finally said before her eyes turned to the ground “Get ride on bug, Bullwing chase, maybe make it, Razzda get pay, no more sharp one!”

Elma still didn’t like hearing that, but stifled her annoyance as Razzda looked to her with another sharp-toothed smile.

“Right, so do you know if they’ve got any oil stored on hand for refilling lanterns?” Elma asked “Or do they bring that in to-?”

Razzda shook her head before crawling on a nearby sleeping beetle. Elma rose just slightly to see Razzda pointing towards one of the Lanterns.

“Two can, quick refills.” She said before sliding back down to the ground and proceeding towards the nearest lantern.

Elma moved to follow, only for a brief flood of light from behind to draw her attention.

The front entrance was held open by two Beetledrivers on the other side of the stable. Walking through were three familiar, tall figures.

Looks like Lip and his companions managed to talk their way in.

Elma grinded her teeth as the one at the head of the trio, who she could only assume was Lip from so far away, raised a hand and waved it about. The two at his sides immediately vanished into black ash clouds, with him also shadow walking soon after.

Elma couldn’t spot them in the darkness, but a nudge from behind was enough to tear her attention away from the front entrance to a miffed looking Razzda. She beckoned with one finger before grumbling and moving towards the nearest lantern. That rumbling halted immediately when a pair of red eyes rose up ahead of them.

Elma was quick to scramble up and pull Razzda down, pulling her hood over her eyes more as the Yisshin before them looked over the beetles. She couldn’t tell which one it was in the dark, but they vanished soon after.

She released her hold on Razzda, receiving a scowl from her before she continued forward.

They drew closer to the wall of the tent, only for Razzda to hold a hand back towards Elma. Not a second after they stopped did a whistle erupt nearby. Elma glanced over a Beetle to see a Beetledriver and two Burybiters passing by, but what was worse was what she could see further beyond.

One of the Yisshin was standing on something in the center of the stable, a pair of red eyes scanning one section of the stable and turning in their direction. Elma spun towards Razzda, only to find her reaching out towards one of the lanterns.

“Wait!” Elma was caught between whispering and screaming, but her warning came too late.

“Aha!” a laugh reached her a second before the sound of a lever snapping into place rang out.

Razzda turned away from the lantern just as the beetles began moving away, their cover was suddenly gone.

Elma cursed and ran for another lantern, only for a glint of metal to reflect the flame. She slid to a stop just before one of Sev’s flat blades swung down towards her.

Elma drew her sword, but Sev had vanished by the time she’d had it ready. She glanced to the side, finding her standing alongside a dozen Burybiters and Beetledrivers. Right behind them the herd was busy surrounding what looked like a thick pillar in the middle of the stable.

But upon closer inspection, she saw large stalks of tallgrass sliding out of it into the mandibles of the surrounding beetles. It was some kind of feeding device, and upon it stood Lip..

“They tell me you’re a conspirator, friend!” he declared whilst hefting his battle box “Oh I should’ve known. The signs were all there!”

Another cloud of black ash formed beside Sev, and Tick stumbled out before stretching his neck.

Elma glanced towards Razzda, finding her gripping Bullminth’s Blade in both hands.

“Caught!” she yelled while brandishing Bullminth’s Blade “Run to-!”

“No, we can still do it!” Elma spat before reaching over and grabbing a lantern “Just hold them back!”

“Not do nothing!” one of the Beetledrivers said as he and several other Nurl charged.

Elma’s gaze snapped towards Razzda, who winced before rushing to meet them head on with Bullminth’s Blade.

Eyes snapping back towards the Lantern, Elma was quickly able to identify what Razzda had meant when she said ‘Two Can’. The things had small compartments under them where a second small tin of oil was held.

Absolutely perfect for her purposes.

“No no!” Sev’s voice hissed nearby just as a shadow fell over Elma.

Instead of her sword, Elma swung the lantern towards the voice, halting Sev’s attack and causing her to back up as she tilted her hat down to shield her eyes.

“What, not a fan of the light, cave-dweller?!?” Elma spat before swinging the lantern again, only for the lantern to jerk in her grasp and shatter as the flame died.

When Elma looked, she saw one of Lip’s bolts piercing straight through the lantern’s core.

“Do try to move slower, friend!” Lip called out with a laugh.

Elma cursed and looked for Sev, but had lost track of the blade-wielding Yisshin in the tent’s darkness. She couldn’t even see Tick anymore, just Lip’s outline atop the feeding column and the glint of Bullminth’s Blade as Razzda fought off the crowd of Nurl attempting to surround her.

It wasn’t like the rush of Burybiters back at the central camp. The Nurl now tried baiting out her flurries of attacks so their comrades could attack from the sides. Razzda’s sheer speed with Bullminth’s Blade seemed like the only thing keeping their attacks from landing.

But Elma wouldn’t let them continue.

Planting the tip of her sword into the ground, she pressed the oil tins of the now broken lantern hard against the edge before dragging them down until they split open. The second she saw oil begin to seep, she reared back with the broken lantern.

“Razzda, incoming!” she warned before flinging the lantern.

Razzda wasn’t the only Nurl who heard her warning, with several of the others glancing her direction just in time to see the Lantern sailing over them. It didn’t hit a single one, instead splashing amongst the herd of Beetles and causing several to whine from the pungent smell of the oil.

“Upset bug.” One of the Beetledrivers snarled before pointing at her “Take limbs.”

She was already darting towards another Lantern, her hand lunging for it only to see Tick moving in from the side. She leaped back as he swung both halves of his battle box, slamming them into the pole and snapping it in half. The lantern fell off as that entire side of the tent tilted inward, but Tick kept his crimson eyes on Elma as he clanked the metal plates of his Battle box together several times.

The Lantern had fallen off the pole, lying in the dirt several steps behind Tick. Eyes darting between it and him, Elma steeled herself before rushing the Yisshin.

His own eyes went wide at the frontal charge, but he nevertheless readied himself before swinging. Elma ducked under the wide arc of his swing, snatching the lantern up with one hand and turning around as he leaped at her. She didn’t retreat, instead swinging her sword into his leap fast enough to frighten him into shadow walking to evade it.

The reprieve didn’t last long, as a Beetledriver rushed through the cloud of Black ash he left behind with his metal staff at the ready.

Elma stepped back out of the way of the swing, running back as more Nurl joined him. But she didn’t engage, instead turning to the herd of Beetles and taking off towards them.

“Danger to bugs!” she heard one Beetledriver shouting “Stop her!”

As if on cue, Sev appeared before her whilst swinging those blades. Elma gave a wide arc to avoid her swings, but stepped into the range of one of the Beetledrivers who’d been surrounding Razzda. He tried thrusting his staff out towards her legs, but she leaped over it and stepped out of the way of a Burybiter’s knife before refocusing her attention on the herd.

“Plan still working!?!?” she heard Razzda cry out behind her, but Elma had to focus on where the first Lantern had landed if she wanted to salvage the plan. Her eyes narrowed in the dark, practically raking the lantern’s extra tin against her sword to open it in time.

Unfortunately for her, Tick appeared between her and her goal.

But she couldn’t slow down, instead just swinging the lantern again before she was anywhere close to him.

It ended up flinging the contents of the extra tin, which Tick hastily raised his arms to keep from getting in his eyes.

Threads of a new plan snapped together instantly, and Elma raised her sword just as he was peeking over his arms. He saw the sword coming and raised one half of his battle box to stop it. The moment her blade stopped against his halved battle box, Elma could clearly see Sev’s reflection as she charged towards them from the side.

Tick was already rearing back with his other half, but Elma could swing her lantern far faster.

She smashed it open along his defending arm, the oil on it quickly igniting from the flame as a horrid scream tore from his maw.

Elma drew her blade back, surprised to see Tick still swinging with his other arm. But the pain of the fire threw his aim wide, letting her easily slide under his swing and ram the tip of her blade through his back.

“Wait! Wait!” she could hear Lip yelling, the former humor in his voice gone as he watched her turn Tick towards the heard.

And then she kicked him in.

Whether she’d managed to accurately keep track of where the first lantern landed was no longer a concern once the first beetle ignited.

Because a good number followed soon after.

The tent was rapidly filled with the squeals and whines of Beetles as several had the fire on their shells ignited. The tallgrass didn’t matter nor did the cries of the Beetldrivers, the Herd rapidly fell apart as the beetles sought safety,

“Whore!” Sev yelled as she came in swinging, Elma having to quickly back away as she swung her flat blades furiously at her.

Elma locked blades with her, only for Sev to smash her forehead into her nose and force her back.

Elma caught her footing and raised her sword as Sev charged again, only for a flame-covered beetle to race through and cause the Yisshin to shadow walk out of its way. Elma was able to catch her breath, and became increasingly aware that the flaming beetles succeeded in nothing more than igniting different parts of the tent and even the feeding column.

Lip leaped off as the entire thing toppled over. Beetledrivers and Burybiters alike were scattering, with some trying to control the herd while others fled.

That didn’t stop a handful from still attempting to bring Razzda down. But without greater numbers to support them, the thief was easily able to crush, slam and beat them away by the time Elma reached her.

Elma used her free hand to wipe blood away from her nose as she approached. Razzda was breathing heavily over several battered Nurl, coughing as smoke started filling the tent.

“You can-?” Elma paused to cough “Do you know which one will ferry us?”

What Elma wasn’t expecting was for Razzda to turn on her with tears streaking down her face.

“Buggy friends hurting!” she yelled “Not part of plan, not part of plan at-!”

“You got spotted, damn it, I had to think on my feet.” Elma gestured to the panicking Beetles and scattered Nurl “Now I don’t care which one you pick, just get it to carry us before this was all for nothing!”

Razzda choked up, but turned her gaze towards one of the beetles racing nearby to escape the flames. She scowled before racing towards it and hopping on its back

Elma moved to follow, only for a roar behind her to make her spin just in time to see Sev speeding towards her again.

Even with her crimson eyes narrowed tightly due to the growing flames, she was still swinging those blades with vicious intent.

Elma backed up. Blocking strike after strike whilst trying to find a gap in her assault.

But before that, Lip’s voice called out.

“Damn it Sev, get over here!”

Elma backed up as Sev paused, the both of them looking over as Lip raised his travel coat. He was swinging it over and over at the unmoving, burning form of Tick.

“He’s not dead yet, damn it!” Lip shouted “Get over here and help me!”

Sev scoffed, but did pull back from Elma before shadow stepping to Lip’s side.

“Come on!” Razzda shouted

Elma looked over to see that she’d managed to get the Beetle to stop, albeit with its legs frequently shifting in discomfort as it kept eyeing the flames. Elma didn’t hesitate to race towards them, sheathing her blade as the entire tent began tipping over.

Glancing to the front of it, she could see that a majority of the herd were piling against the front entrance to try and escape, the Beetledrivers and several Burybiters struggling to cordon them whilst chasing down the burning Beetles.

Their force had caused the entire tent to start shifting to the southwest, leaving the side Tick had damaged earlier to raise up and reveal the grass of the plains just beyond.

Elma was quick to point it out for Razzda as she awkwardly slid atop the Beetle, finding she had to cling to it with her legs as the thing didn’t have a saddle on it.

Nevertheless, they sped towards that gap. Racing over fallen Nurl and burning Beetles before hurtling out of the stable…

… and directly into Bullwing’s line of sight.