Through the Portal

The shock of being pulled through the portal wore off almost immediately as Alex drew her sword. In one swift movement, the blade was free, slicing clean through the arm of whatever creature had grabbed her. The stump pulled away faster than she could see, leaving her standing at the edge of a cliff.

The smell of sulfur made her eyes burn as she looked around at the shale cliffs that ringed the edges. Small creatures stood at evenly spaced intervals all the way around, reaching into the vortex surrounding the sheer cliffs and occasionally pulling items and animals through before tossing them into the hole. She heard a pebble click on a piece of the shale behind her and whipped around to see a small imp holding his stub of a hand staring death at her.

“Tutela,” Alex whispered, making the runes flare to life on her skin.

“I’ll kill you, human!” the creature hissed.

It was small and fast as it darted toward her, slamming into her chest hard. The claws of its remaining hand raked her skin nearly penetrating the warding that protected her. Her sword was all but useless as the creature never let up in its assault.

With her free hand, she reached around it quickly, grabbing one of its small wings and pulled down as hard as she could. The creature cried out as it peeled off her and slammed into the stone beneath her feet. Seizing her chance she came down with her sword, severing its head.

The other creatures surrounding the gorge all shrieked as she stood back up. They began flooding toward her until the stone started vibrating and a guttural roar emanating from below the cliffside made even the vortex behind her waiver.