Igni had also stalked the beast.
She'd been at the same inn as N'aschi when the battered merchant had come in with a story of near-death. She'd seen N'aschi's bravado, and followed him at a distance - despite her girth Igni was good at hiding herself when she wanted. Originally her hope had been to watch the young lad fight, but now she simply wished to free him without being mauled herself.
Now he was being dragged by an arm through the forest. Poor for N'aschi, but good for Igni. The creature was distracted and Igni could follow without being spotted. She was hoping for an opportunity to ambush it. She wasn't much of a fighter, but was strong with magic - but when she saw the open den in the ground she knew she would have to act fast, or lose the boy forever.
"Hello, beautiful," she said, and the beast stopped. It let go of N'aschi's arm and hissed, rearing its neck and stalking towards the out-of-place lady. Finally, perhaps seeing only a moderate threat in the mage girl, the beast broke into a run. Igni waited until the last moment and raised her hands. Runes appeared between them and liquid fire burst out, pushing the beast away and alight, as well as splattering the surrounds with drops of burning substance. The creature was flung a good hundred feet away where it lay rolling in the dirt, doing its best to douse the flames. Igni took the moment to help the elf.
"Hello there," she said, looking over the sorry state of him. "Come on, up you get. You've a
monster to vanquish, remember?" She offered him one small, plump hand.