Battle was about to erupt.
Renato hurled four lead-tipped darts in quick succession. Their points pierced the cultists' bone leather armor and hooked into their flesh.
But the cultists seemed unable to feel pain. Even with darts buried deep in their bodies, they surged forward without slowing.
Facing the onrushing enemies, the barbarian Gorlag roared, hoisted a shattered wooden wall beside him, and hurled it with all his strength, striking the two cultists at the front.
But that could not stop the frenzied tide.
The cultists soon charged into the shack, engaging the two men at close quarters.
The cramped space filled with crazed believers brandishing weapons.
With Cat's Grace enhancing him, Renato ducked nimbly beneath a three-headed flail aimed at his skull.
The Silent Lady swept low in response, bypassing his opponent's armor and precisely severing his lower leg.
The cultist toppled sideways with one leg missing, dragging the companion beside him down as well.
Seizing the opening, Gorlag raised his battle axe overhead and shattered the fallen cultist's skull.
Blood and brains splattered everywhere, and the barbarian's battle cry rang deafeningly through the cramped space.
But there were simply too many enemies. The crudely built shack swayed under the ferocious fighting and soon collapsed amid the shoving and impacts.
To avoid being trapped beneath the collapsing building or completely surrounded, Renato had no choice but to fight while retreating toward the shacks farther back.
He drove his sword through a charging cultist and continued retreating, trying to reduce the number of enemies he had to face at once.
Yet the man clamped both hands around the blade. Even with his chest pierced and his fingers sliced off by the Silent Lady's magical force field, he still delayed Renato's attempt to pull his sword free.
Another cultist, not yet