Cursing his stupidity, Vambran looked for some way to get over or behind the monster that had a hold of his friend. The stacks of crates were high there, but not too far down, he could see where they were staggered. He might be able to work his way to the top, but if he ran off with the light, Horial wouldn't stand a chance of getting in close and pulling Adyan free.
Deciding quickly, Vambran tossed the glowing coin into the press so that Horial could fight on, and he sprinted in the direction of the lower crates, pointing a finger up near the top of the stacks and speaking the phrase that would summon the flaring light. Instantly, the warehouse was a little bit brighter, and Vambran had no trouble finding his way. Reaching the nearest low crate, he launched himself on top of it and sprang to the next stack, jumping hard and grabbing at the edges to pull himself higher.
Adyan was still screaming, though his voice was both weaker and more muffled than it had been initially. The lieutenant was running out of time. He worked his way up and up, then finally reached the top of the crates and leaped from stack to stack, causing some of them to wobble dangerously. As quickly as he could, Vambran advanced toward a gap in the stacks he could see against the wall. The sounds of the struggle emanated from that point.
When he finally reached the edge of the closest stack and peered down, Vambran realized that he was a good fifteen feet above the floor. The thing was there, humanoid in shape, but the lieutenant could not spot any sort of skin. Instead, the beast was covered in a writhing mass of black, slimy worms. It was thick and bloated, with a rotund stomach bulging out in front.
No, not worms. Leeches, Vambran realized, and saw to his horror that dozens of them were attached to Adyan as he slumped in the monster's arms. That was what had attacked the thugs, sucking their blood and leaving them as drained husks. Horial was there, bobbing and weaving, looking for a good opening with which to lunge in and stab at the creature with his sword.
"Let go of him, you stinking thing!" the sergeant shouted and darted in, thrusting once, quickly, and backing away again.
The creature retreated a step, and Horial, emboldened thinking that he had hurt the thing, tried his attack again. The next time, though, the beast was expecting it and swung one of its huge, writhing arms out and bludgeoned the mercenary in the face. Horial staggered backward from the blow, and the monster advanced another step, dragging a now-limp Adyan with only one arm.
Vambran saw his chance. He crouched low, his sword out and held point downward with both hands, and dropped over the edge of his stack of crates. He plummeted toward the monster, aiming the tip of his blade at the base of the thing's thick neck. He had aimed perfectly, and it looked like a solid strike, but somehow, the creature sensed that he was there and sidestepped out of the way, swinging Adyan's form around to protect itself.
Vambran was forced to jerk his blade out of the way at the last second, ruining both his aim and his fall. He hit the floor hard, bouncing sharply to one side and tumbling onto his back. He grunted from the impact, losing his breath. Gasping, the lieutenant scrambled backward, dragging his sword with him to get clear of the threat.
The leech-covered monstrosity flung Adyan's body aside and turned to face Vambran, advancing toward him. The thing had no face. There was definitely a head-shaped bulge at the top of its shoulders, but that was the extent of its humanoid appearance. There were only the writhing, wriggling leeches where eyes, a nose, and a mouth ought to be. And the fetid stink of the thing was gagging.
Vambran lurched to his feet as the monster advanced, drawing his sword up and gripping it with both hands. He kept the point level with the thing's chest, but it didn't seem to care. It simply ambled forward, and Vambran stepped into a smooth, strong swing that slashed the beast across the chest and one forearm. Blood and ichor sprayed from the gash, but the creature didn't slow down one whit. Eyes wide, Vambran rebalanced and tried for another hard hit, but he wasn't fast enough.
The creature lunged at Vambran, trying to get its huge, slimy arms around his neck. He ducked, causing the beast to miss with its bear hug, but it still managed to kick at him as he rolled out of the way. He grunted in pain from a sudden burning sensation across his forearm and managed to come up to his feet again in another corner. Vambran glanced down at his arm and saw that his shirt sleeve had been shredded, and there were numerous tiny scratches across the surface of his skin, all of which were bleeding steadily. Shaking the burning sensation off, Vambran readied for another lunge from the thing.
Out of the corner of his eye, the lieutenant saw movement and glanced that way. Horial was struggling to his feet, his face bloody from where the creature had decked him earlier, and the sanguine flow seemed to be dripping into his eyes. Vambran recognized an opportunity for his companion to get behind and maybe surprise the beast, so he stepped a little closer and began to stab and slash at the thing, feinting rapidly, hoping to keep its attention fixed on him.
The beast, apparently heedless of the danger it was in, sidled forward again, taking a gash from Vambran's blade in the process, and tried to wrap its huge arms around the lieutenant once more. Horial took advantage of that moment to come in quickly and silently from behind, his blade drawn back for a severe strike.
Again, though, the creature seemed to sense a foe near it, even coming from the rear. It spun at the last moment and lashed out. Horial, caught off guard by his enemy's sudden defensive move, was unable to dodge the blow and took another solid hit, that time in the shoulder. Worse yet, the creature simply let its own momentum carry it around, bringing its other appendage to bear on the sergeant. In a single, smooth motion, it had Horial wrapped in a death-grip. As the scores of leeches all over the beast's body began to sink their tiny fangs into the mercenary, he threw his head back and howled in agony, thrashing to get free all the while.
Vambran dived straight at the thing, yanking quick cuts across its back, shoulders, and rump with his blade. He seemed to be scoring some serious injuries, but the creature didn't seem the least bit fazed. It merely retreated from the attacks, spinning around so that Horial was between it and Vambran.
"Damn you!" Vambran cried out, feinting and lunging, trying to get clean hits on the beast without harming his companion. Horial was already unconscious, slumped limply in the creature's grip. Vambran faked to the right, then spun his way back to the left, cutting across the beast's flank with his sword. He scored another hit, but he also nicked his sergeant. It didn't seem to matter, though. Horial didn't flinch, and the creature ignored the blow.
Breathing hard, Vambran was beginning to despair. Even though it was clear that his strikes were injuring the creature in some way, it seemed impervious to the wounds' effects. And both Horial and Adyan were quite possibly dead, or very near to it. He was running out of ideas. As the creature lumbered toward him, keeping Horial up as a makeshift shield, Vambran had a sudden inspiration.
Desperately, he reached for his holy coin hanging from the chain and held it forth while he began to recite the words of another special prayer. Calling on the favor of Waukeen, he jerked and darted his hands in front of himself, moving the coin in a complex motion. He finished the prayer in a shout, thrusting the coin forward once more.
A thunderclap resonated outward from the coin, aimed directly at the monster right in front of the lieutenant. The noise was horrid, more so because of the confines of the space where they had been battling. The cacophony seemed to shake it, though, for it jerked stiffly at the sound and dropped Horial, then spasmed and retreated from the perceived threat, cowering in the corner, up against the crates.