Their journey led them to a sprawling canyon with steep cliffs and jagged rocks. At its center stood a herd of llamas, their eyes glowing red and their teeth bared in what could only be described as unsettlingly aggressive grins.
"So... those are the Terrible Llamas of Doom?" Garret asked.
Zorflax nodded. "Indeed. Their spit is acidic, their hooves are like hammers, and their leader is a master strategist."
Garret frowned. "They're just... llamas. How bad could they—"
Before he could finish, one of the llamas let out a blood-curdling scream and spat a glob of green goo in their direction. It hit a nearby rock, which promptly melted into a puddle.
"Ah," Garret said, backing away. "That bad."
Zorflax raised his staff. "Fear not! I shall cast a spell of distraction!"
With a flourish, he began chanting incomprehensibly, waving his hands in complex patterns. A burst of light erupted from his staff—and then a large rubber duck appeared, quacking loudly.
The llamas stopped, tilting their heads in confusion. Then, as one, they turned to charge.
"Great spell," Garret said, shoving Zorflax out of the way. "Really nailed it."
As the llamas bore down on them, Garret did what he did best: panicked. Grabbing a nearby stick, he waved it at the herd.
"Back! Back, you fiends!" he shouted, though his voice cracked halfway through.
The lead llama—an enormous beast with a scar across its nose—paused and sniffed the air. It locked eyes with Garret, then spat a glob of goo directly at him.
Garret ducked, the spit narrowly missing him and hitting Zorflax instead.
"My robes!" Zorflax wailed as they began to dissolve. "Do you know how much these cost?!"
Garret laughed despite himself. "Five copper and a favor from a blind dragon?"
The lead llama snorted, apparently unamused by Garret's quips, and prepared to charge. Thinking quickly, Garret grabbed Zorflax's sandwich from his bag and waved it like a flag of surrender.
"Here, take this!" he yelled, tossing the sandwich at the llama.
To his surprise, the lead llama caught it mid-air, sniffed it, and promptly lay down, munching contentedly. The other llamas followed suit, crowding around their leader and ignoring Garret and Zorflax entirely.
"Well," Garret said, dusting himself off. "Looks like the way to a llama's heart is through its stomach."
Zorflax glared at him. "That was my lunch."
"Consider it a noble sacrifice," Garret replied.
As they carefully navigated around the now-docile llamas, Zorflax grumbled, "Next time, I'm packing two sandwiches."
"And next time," Garret said, grinning, "let's avoid magical rubber ducks, yeah?"