It was hard to tell how close the things were, but now there were more of them, one in front, one behind, and one somewhere else. Dread crawling up his spin, Lloyd swung his flashlight around, trying to get a glimpse of something, anything.

"I have some mana techniques I can use, too, but they drain me. I haven't figured out the limits, but I probably shouldn't use them if I can help it." He just hoped he'd have a choice. He edged closer to the others, freeing the knife from his belt just in case, then darted a glance toward where he knew the doors to the Sun Room were. The doors always seemed to be open, but if they could close them... "Let's... let's keep going. The Sun Room has tables. We can block the door."