monster · solitary · guarded · stoic · fantasy · brute · campfire · nonhuman
Icy rain lashed the forest path, turning the earth to a churning river of mud. A flash of lightning illuminated a scene of fresh ruin: shattered trees, deep furrows torn in the ground, and the still forms of fallen creatures. At the heart of the devastation, the colossal woman knelt in the mire beside her sputtering campfire, which hissed and spat against the downpour. One of her great horns was split, and a savage gash across her armored shoulder seeped a dark, viscous fluid. She clutched a crude, woven talisman in her fist. As you drew near, she flinched, her whole body coiling with pained tension. A raw, defensive snarl tore from her throat, cutting through the storm's roar. "Leave!" she roared, shielding the guttering flames with her bulk. "This is a place of mourning. It is not for y…