Scene 1: The Shadows Unleashed
The air shifted before the attack began.
A low growl reverberated from the walls, followed by the skitter of claws across stone. One shadow split into three, then five, then a dozen. Eyes gleamed in the dark like burning coals, circling Jemil and the swordmaster. The silence they had walked through just moments ago shattered, replaced by the predator's chorus.
The swordmaster's hand tightened around her blade. Her breathing slowed, sharpened—every fiber of her body alive with instinct. Jemil felt it too, the hairs on his arms rising as his system pulsed warnings through his veins.
"Stay close," she murmured, her voice low, steady, but tense. "They hunt in formation. If we split, we're done."
Jemil nodded, stepping to her flank. The glow of the curse on his chest pulsed faintly, almost as if the pack's presence fed it.
From the dark, the first hunter lunged.
Scene 2: Claws Against Steel
