Bab 216: A cruel mercy

Ankarogs weren't like the other careless cryptids inhabiting the Nightscape. They were extremely protective of their younglings and never left them unguarded. 

Sensing a foreign presence so close to their eggs, the Ankarog Warriors emerged from their shadowy hollows. They crawled out dinghy holes and narrow crevices and perched atop the rocky ledges jutting overhead.

As soon as the Ankarogs spotted the intruder they leaped from the shadows and landed on the ground. A dozen Ankarog Warriors surrounded Xander, their bladed arms glistening in the feeble light of the flickering torch.

Xander's instincts had been honed by fighting cryptids in dinghy hollows and he could tell which ones were going to lead the attack from their body language. The Ankarog Warriors rubbed their wings together before leaping into action, and the telltale rustling noise was a dead giveaway.