Phase Two (All According to Plan):

Emmaline felt a thrill of excitement running through her body, the shuddering aftermath of becoming the conduit of so much power. She looked around and grinned at the wreckage she had managed with a single attack.

Both of the Gnoll guards had been incinerated on the spot, with nothing but two elongated scorch marks along the earthy ground to show that they had even been there to begin with. The formerly grassy earth itself had been reduced to a wasteland, with only a few sparse smoldering blades remaining. Even the two wooden guard towers had been all but annihilated, torn to pieces by the sheer **** of the blast before being set ablaze. Finally, the mouth of the cave was ringed with black ash.

As she looked out at the wreckage she had caused, Emmaline felt elated, but a bit drained. It was possible that she may have gone a bit overboard for simply taking out a pair of unarmored Gnolls, but it was just so much fun! Besides, she thought, the explosion was so loud that there was no way the rest of the tribe could've missed it.

Emmaline barely had enough time to clear her head before Gnolls started streaming out of the cave. There seemed to be nearly a dozen of them, all naked from the waist down like the guards had been, and all wielding primitive wooden and bone weapons.

It didn't take long for them to spot Emmaline, and with a deranged series of howls, they started after her.

Emmaline winked at one, then turned to sprint full speed off into the forest.