It was big, bigger than Jonathan, with an almost canine snout full of scraggly teeth. Large ears notched with scars and pierced with earrings framed a crest of stiff hair. It was covered in matted fur and dressed in patched armor, half leather, half rusted chain. And it held a sword, a big sword. And there were more just like it coming in behind it.

With a yell Spark lunged at it, and as Jonathan stumbled back against the far wall, he watched in stunned amazement. She moved with smooth, almost graceful speed among the creatures, and every time they swung at her, she simply wasn't there. But her own swings and thrusts hit home each time, and it was only seconds later that four of the creatures lay dead on the floor. She didn't pause though, she pelted out the door at full speed. The noise outside increased, more screams adding to the clamor, and then suddenly it fell silent.

Spark appeared in the doorway. The sword was red with blood, and there was a gash across her collarbone and partway down her chest. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"I..." he just gaped at her.

She walked over and shook his shoulder. "Come on, back to earth. Are you all right?"

"I should be asking you that," he finally said. "You're hurt..."

She glanced down and winced. "It's just a scrape. Though I wish I'd had time to put on the mail."

Then he realized something. "You knew where the sword was. You went straight for it."

She smiled, a bit ruefully. "Yes I did."

"How? And..." he looked at the sprawled forms, each one half again as big as he, and easily twice the size of the slender girl. "How could you... do that?"

She looked at him for a moment, then shrugged. "I fought them because that's what I've been trained to do. Gnolls are vicious, and smarter than goblins, but they're slow. And I knew where the sword was because I'd left it there myself."

"...what?"