Noble had sensed the slumbering giant just before latching onto the cloaked figure.
It was the reason she had decided to use her power instead of letting the cohort surround the mysterious Awakened.
Unfortunately, things had not gone as planned.
The earth rumbled as the large swath of verdant grass pulled away from the ground beneath. Like a tidal wave, it lifted into the air and rolled upon itself with frightening speed.
The trees shifted to get out of the monster's way. Those that could not were caught up in the air and splintered as the green tract of land folded in on itself.
"Get back!" Roan's cry was unnecessary. The group was already fleeing.
Noble tugged on the men, lifting them into the air before they could be swallowed by the ravenous fiend. They lifted above the mayhem to view the chaotic scene.
Aether's eyes widened slightly.
"A Fallen Terror…"
"Just our luck," Flint blew out his cheeks. "We'd better get out of here before it can regroup. Those skittish trees must be its minions. Imagine what they will do when that thing fully wakes up!"
Noble furrowed her brow.
"We cannot leave that woman! She is trapped!"
It had all happened in barely an instant.
Because of the charm attached to the cloaked figure, Noble had been unable to lift her when rescuing the others. The woman had been swallowed by the grassy knoll along with many of the unlucky trees.
"Bel is right," Aether placed his hand on his chest. "We cannot just let a human be devoured by the Terror."
"That intruder was coming after us, and you want to save her? It doesn't matter. She's probably already gone!" Flint argued.
"She's alive," Noble's eyes darkened slightly. "I can feel her."
"Well, that's just great. Quite a convenient power you have there." Flint rolled his eyes. "Roan, tell Bel to get us out of here. If we leave it alone now, maybe it will go back to sleep."
Noble looked toward their leader. If he told them to go and abandon the stranger while she was still alive, the floating Master would be faced with the unfortunate choice of going against her team.
Trying to kill that abomination would be nearly impossible alone, but there was no doubt in her mind that she needed to help the terrified human.
"No...Bel is right. We need to get answers. And that Terror is a menace. For the sake of Bastion, we should dispose of it."
Roan did not wait for the others to agree or disagree. He called forth his griffin, and Noble happily released him to land on the creature's back.
Hearing Flint grunt, Noble smiled at him. "Look at it this way. If we are willing to go after someone we don't know. We won't hesitate to help you when you are in trouble."
The dark-eyed man clicked his tongue. "You heroes are all the same. Let's get this over with. Drop me, Blondie!"
Ignoring the new nickname, Noble let Flint and Aether down in a controlled fall. The two Masters were seasoned warriors, and they prepared for impact with their weapons ready.
When they landed outside the boundary of moving grass, both lunged to attack their much larger foe.
Noble dove too. Instead of aiming for the last place that she had seen the unfortunate captive, the Dreamscape champion followed the tug that she could not describe.
Even though the woman might have meant harm, Noble cared about her survival. So even though her second sight was not working properly through the layers of the earthy Terror, Noble's Kingdom Keeper attribute helped her track the woman instead.
The cloaked figure was wrapped tightly in the roll of grass. With the help of the small tendrils, she was being moved slowly upward toward the...head?
There were no eyes or mouth on the abomination, but the creature wanted to devour the human's soul. Wherever it was taking the captive was not somewhere that a person should go.
Shutting her eyes for half a second, Noble relinquished control to the pull of her Ability. The person she wanted to keep safe was still alive and waiting to be rescued.
In a blink, she raced forward toward the mound of dirt. Infusing the Zenith with its poison, the floating Master plunged into the mound of dirt.
She did not think that the acrid liquid dripping from the blade would hurt the colossal giant, but that wasn't Noble's goal. The acid simply needed to coat the grass and dirt to keep it from repairing.
Digging a hole was hard enough. Digging one sideways into an angry monster was another level of difficulty. Dirt and grass rained down on the floating Master's head, causing her to hiss. Her helmet protected her from the worst of the pain, but particles of earth still sifted into her visor and rubbed up against her skin.
'I'll recover. She won't if I don't get to her soon.'
Noble felt the pull between them lessen, but she tried not to panic. Other than being crushed by the overwhelming weight, suffocation was the next likely cause of death. Awakened could hold their breaths for a long time, but not forever.
'Hold on a little longer.'
As another clod of turf was shoved out of the way, the woman's emotions became easier to sense. They were erratic.
'She's going to lose consciousness.'
Pressing her lips together, Noble sent a jolt of hope toward the Terror, doing her best to get past the muddy exterior and penetrate to her goal.
The other woman's emotions spiked but then settled. She realized that the feelings were not her own and somehow managed to focus on them instead of her own.
All at once, the pull inside Noble became so strong that she felt that she might be able to tug on it like a lifeline.
So, in a moment of desperation, she did.
The monster shifted, knocking back Noble and dumping a ton of dirt on her body from above. It took all her focus to keep her hard-earned hole from collapsing on itself.
'No!'
Noble held the connection between herself and the other woman. She couldn't wait any longer.
Gritting her teeth, she set aside her sword and plunged her hand into the mountain of soil. The pain was agonizing, and just when Noble thought she could stand it no longer, her fingers brushed against something soft.
A hand took hold of hers.
Screaming, Noble dug deep into her soul and backed away from the Terror with all her might.
Her soul was being ripped to shreds by the hard-packed dirt, but she could not let go!
With a spray of soil, an arm came free along with the slender shoulder of the captured human. Then, the most wonderful sound Noble could have heard entered her ears.
A gasp.
'She's still breathing!'
"Dismiss that charm so I can get you out!" Noble screamed.
The woman blinked at her, dazed, but seemed to understand. The green stone in her armor dissipated, and Noble was able to pluck them both from the rubble.
"I felt you," the woman continued to stare. "You guided me out!"
Clicking her tongue shook her head. "There will be time for that later. Are you fit to fight?"
Before the other woman could answer, a thunderous roar filled the air.
Ready or not no longer mattered.
The Terror had finished its stretch. It was now fully awake.
And it had spotted them.