NEW NOTE: EDITED 12/08/23, Changed the dialogue a lot to give Esme***** more personality. Changed some of the narration too. Made the situation more urgent.
---
"Holy Hel," I whistled, "there's a lot of them out there… way too many."
"Like a herd of walking dead rolling into town," Esmerelda agreed.
"Exactly," I nodded. "And here I am without my crossbow."
"I've got a spare sheriff's hat in my room if you're looking to cosplay," Esmerelda replied genially.
I couldn't help smiling at her. It was nice to meet someone who did pop-culture references as easily as I did in harrowing situations. We might have gone on some more—neither of us caring about the draugr twitching close by—but I noticed Liara giving me the stink-eye and I thought it might be best to nip the banter in the bud.
"It feels like we've fallen into a real-life tower defense game," Esmerelda added.