A large, bat-like creature swooped down through the gap in the trees. The large herbivore didn’t realize the danger it was in until it was too late.

Though similar in general shape to a bat, the winged monster was built like a predator. Rather than the short legs of a regular bat, this thing had long, powerful looking legs ending in wicked claws. The monster’s open maw extended forwards, providing plenty of room for bladed teeth. The creature’s long tail lashed about as it glided down towards its colossal prey.

Dark wings wrapped around the giant beast’s head as it started to panic. Even as the large beast started to thrash about, two more winged monsters swooped down from the sky.

Fortunately, this pair of airborne monsters didn’t seem interested in us with such large prey readily available. Unfortunately, the beast they were latching onto was crashing wildly through the trees in an attempt to dislodge its attackers.

As the thing started to move towards us, we scattered. Liam disabled his protective ring of runes and ran with the ax wielding warriors. I darted between the thickest trees I could see as the other warriors dashed in another direction.

As the rain dropped heavily from the sky, so did another three of the bat monsters. Two of them latched on to the back of the beast, but one flew towards Liam as he fled. The already slight man looked tiny when compared to the monster swooping down towards him. Before the monster could grab the slender man, an ax cleaved through one of its outstretched legs.

The beast turned on Matt, screaming with fury. The large man staggered back clutching his ears. Even from a distance, the sound was painful. I really didn't want to know what it must have been like standing directly in front of the monster.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t spare much attention to the fight as the huge beast stomped blindly towards the tree I was hiding behind. With a resounding boom, the beast slammed into the tree. The trunk of the ancient tree barely held together. The bat monster that had latched onto the front of the beast’s chest wasn’t so lucky.

Jarring though the impact was, It didn’t break my concentration as I wove a force spell. With more and more of the bat monsters descending from the sky, I was going to need it.

Most, but not all, of the monsters focused on the large beast stomping through the trees. My traveling companions had their hands full keeping the flying monsters at bay. Despite being twice the size of a man, the creatures were able to dart between the gaps in the trees with remarkable ease.

I was about to use my spell on one of the bats attacking Martin’s group when a monstrous bat landed on one of the trees I was hiding between. Without a moment’s hesitation, I switched targets to the monster rapidly climbing down towards me. With a resounding snap, the beast’s head turned at an unnatural angle.

I didn’t think I had put that much power into the attack. Seeing how easily the others were knocking the beasts from the air, it was evident that these large predators were relatively fragile.

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Vulnerable or not, there were still a lot of them. Their piercing cries were growing more numerous by the moment. The cacophony was bad enough that I was starting to feel a little dizzy.

Trying to weave together my next spell was quite difficult. Strangely, none of the others were having such difficulties with their magic. Martin’s long knife surged with power before each strike as Salvador lept about with his impossible acrobatics. Guarded by the ax wielding warriors, Liam had managed to erect a new barrier around himself.

The giant herbivore was still stomping about blindly, but its movements were growing sluggish. Dozens of wounds wept blood down the beast’s body as the bat’s claws and teeth opened more. More of the monsters latched on with each passing moment.

Just as I was finishing my spell, another bat swooped down towards me. Its ear piercing scream was painful enough that I lost control of the mana I had been weaving. What was meant to be a focused thrust of invisible force, instead scattered into a harmless burst flowing out in every direction.

I barely managed to get my spear in place as the monster lashed out at me. It was too large to fit all the way between the trees while airborne, but it still managed to slash my arm with its painfully sharp claws. Agonizing though it was, I got the better end of the exchange as I drove my spear into the monster’s chest. The wound wasn’t immediately fatal, but it was enough to drive the beast away.

A mournful bellow from the huge herbivore caught my attention. With a sickening thud, the massive beast fell to its side. Dozens of the bat monsters crawled along its body, biting and slashing as they went. The beast still lived, but that wasn't likely to remain the case for much longer.

With the threat of being trampled removed, Martin led Salvador and the giant towards where Matt and the cook were making their stand.

I would have joined them as well, but two of the bats were circling around my hiding place. It was difficult to clear my head enough to weave together more mana forms, but I didn’t have any other choice than to push through the building pain.

The two monsters landed on the trees to either side of me. Their screams almost made me lose control of my magic again, but I barely managed to maintain my half-formed spell. Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, it was clear I wasn’t going to be fast enough to take out both of the bats with magic. They were climbing down towards me far too quickly.

The two monsters were nearly on top of me by the time my spell fatally impacted one of them. The wounded bat fell to the ground in a twitching heap, but that didn't stop the other from lunging down towards me. As the maw full of deadly blades descended rapidly towards me, I stuck with my spear.

A flare of pain surged through my wounded arm as my spear struck the back of the monster's throat. Even worse, the bat’s momentum carried it down my spear onto my hands. Even as the dying monster impaled itself on my weapon, it drove its horrific teeth into my hand.

As I pulled my bleeding hand from the fatally wounded beast’s jaws, I heard another terrible screech from the side. I had neither spell nor spear to defend myself from the new monster that loomed over me. I fumbled painfully for the knife at my side, but I wasn't fast enough. The horrific beast lunged forwards for the kill.

A sudden whistling sound heralded my salvation. A small spear from the giant’s strange weapon embedded itself between the monster’s eyes, killing it outright. At that moment, I was very glad that I had encountered the huge man.

I really did need to find out what his name was.