Ahnva leapt away from the burning flames, only to practically jump into the arms of a shadow monster. It roared at her, reaching at her with its claws, but she stepped back and pulled out one of her knives. With one sharp movement, she stabbed it in the gut with as much force she can muster. It stumbled back, hissing, and this gave her enough time to reach down and pick up the box that carried the artifact the merchant was after. If he was alive, he could just pick another damned meeting place. She ran nonstop out of town square, but as she ran, she noticed something odd.<br/><br/>None of the shadow monsters seemed to be actually attacking the townsfolk. They seemed to be… searching the town. Going down dark alleyways, staring down various townsfolk before dismissively heading past, not finding what they were looking for. She frowned. At least she didn’t have to feel guilty about ditching the town.<br/><br/>“Well, at least you’ll see the other part of town,” Onnu joked, but he was already heading towards the town. However, he stopped when Ahnva ran past him. “What-“ He watched as she dropped the box on the back of a battered motorcycle that had been leaning there. She muttered something inarticulately as she pulled a rope out of the bag tied to the motorcycle. As she began tying the box to the motorcycle, Onnu asked, “what are you doing?”<br/><br/>Ahnva kept working. “Running away from the shadow monsters and the fire.”<br/><br/>Onnu frowned. “Don’t you feel bad about abandoning the townsfolk.”<br/><br/>“Not particularly.” She cursed as a knot slipped out of her hand. Continuing, she said, “That fire is obviously magical in nature, and I don’t know about you but I have no way of stopping that. And even if I could fight off a whole horde of shadow monsters, they don’t look like they’re actually attacking the townsfolk. More like they’re looking for something.”<br/><br/>“Like what?”<br/><br/>“I’m not waiting around to find out.” She finished tying the box and stepped back- just as a shadow monster came roaring around the corner.<br/>The same one from earlier, judging from the bubbling gap where its waist would be if it was human. Wounds on shadows always looked strange- they burbled at the edges, like they were just about to foam over with dark matter. She pulled out her knife again, sighing. It looked like it was going to be a long day. Onnu stepped back, then pulled his staff off his back, holding it in his hands as it paused, trying to pick a target. Then it uttered another screech- a summoning call- and rushed Ahnva. She lunged forward and stabbed it again, but this attack was only going to work for so long. She had to find an opportunity to escape.