I woke to screaming... pain and darkness. The screaming my own, the pain also mine the darkness... Everybodys?

I tried to stand.. crack.. fall. “nope that’s broken. Screaming in pain I fall into a puddle.. Not water, to thick, to warm...

where am I...

drip... drip.. what is that smell... a candle sized light appears in my right hand... bodies, a squat hole in the ground... where am I..

thud... a headless body of a squire is tossed just next to me.. Oh gods there are so many... who where they? They where in my column, but not my squad. I didn’t know there names, any of them why didn’t I even try to learn there names. So many good young men and women slaughtered...by that thing that what was that.. that monstrosity. That I’ve never seen anything like, I have never read anything like it.

That should be the last of them.. laughter “ya leave um hear the chitters will strip the fleshy bit, the master just want the bones.”

“Whats that..” shape moved in the darkness over the lip of the pit.

Shit, I put out my light ...at that point I hear it... chitter, from every corner of the squat pit. At that point the moon must have broke the tree line as the pit was illuminated in a gossamer blue haze of horror. I saw them, hundreds of them. Bugs everywhere crawling, eating. Crawling over broken bodies feasting on gaping gashs, crawling over and round and even through the open wounds. Chew, chrunching, bitting tearring… these where people damn it they deserved more than to me chunked in a pit and forgotten... no, no time to break down here Eric think what is the solution...

chitter chitter

A centipede like creature wraps around my leg. Its black exoskeleton glimmers in the moonlight as it rears back coiling like a cobra ready to strike. It lifts two syph like claws rocketing back to meet my torso.

Shit.. I got distracted in my horror I shout. Flame Tung, two feet of flame erupted from my right hand. Sending it at the chittering maw burning the blasted bug. 3 .. 2 .. 1 the flames faded. Only 3 seconds still, only 3 seconds. I glanced around noticing, that there are not hundreds but thousands.

Shit, shit, shit not good all I have is low level spells.

I try to claw my way to the wall on my hands. aah pain, my left arm must be dislocated I cant move it... I reach again.

Squish my hand slips in the desiccated remains of a banner man, a broken pike though his left eye and mouth open slack. His neck bulges as I see the feelers start to.. chitter

I spin on my back. Stopped by a strap on my bag. thank the gods they suck at looting... Flame Tung my hand burst with grouts of flame 3.engulfing the banner man 2. I pivot making an arc wide enough to pull my bag free. 1.. splat laying on my back.. ok...gasp ok I have two left in me I think. Time for a bad idea.. shifting through papers snip a scarab sized snapper latched on to my finger aah fuck it.. I tear into the little bugger with my teeth. Eye bulging as the nasty innerds..blak it drops from my hand gushing with blood.

Bleeding I scramble through my loose papers there you are my scraps book “Biv kaac” (bad thoughts in Abyssal) scratched in the cover. Page after page of runes and symbols fly by.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Ok I have one more flame tung and what else do I have roots no, bugs no that’s the problem what is the solution.. darkness. pain. the corpses... I only have the juice to raise one...maybe at most... and it would be a savage corpse it would attack everything, not fun at parties. Less so in death traps. I held out my bloody hand it almost looked like ink in the moonlight...a contract... in blood. A blood contract require no magic at all that is why they are so favored by warlocks and there ilk.

Abjur.. no Conjer... no Chrono.. no Contracts and binding

A low rumbling can be heard from the pit.. as I scribe my blood in not for my soul but the flesh of all around me. Sorry guys, it not like your getting a proper funerals anyway...Oh gods what am I doing... and with the last circle scrawled the parchment burst into a black flame that gave of no light cinders drift in to the earth and I can nearly see what looks like a toddler forming from the earthen clay and wrapped in shadows with serrated teeth black eyes claws. Great I got a digimon from hell. Go.. kill.. I was feeling weaker by the second I’m.. falling agin... face plant ass, up leg touching collarbone that doesn't seem right...blackout

Raaar it roared as it leap forth moving in a weird creature clompish gate tearing into the hoard of bugs. Like an old Harry Howsom creature feature they tangle and claw and bit. Raar it will not share it prize it will have its pound of flesh and more much more. Meanwhile up top...

All of this has been but a moment in time. First flash of light brought the pack of brogans back to the hole. Then as the moon rose above the tree line saw a survivor.

Ha look at him run..

Trying to light his tender in the dark. laughter all around

lets beat how many it takes to gut the light smoothe skin” a goblin cackled

the last “ha looks like he’s already done for”

Flame tung the pit bursts into light revealing the carnage below, of nashing teeth and twisting bowls the chitteres where surrounding him on all sides. pouring through the holes in the wall. them the second flash and the third.

The last spoke “he is magi... catch him” the last shouted pushing two of her number into the pit if the master found out about this...Well

even the magi corpse would be worth those two maybe a few more if they wernt quick about it. “Get a rope” grumbled the last

splat.... splat... two went in all was quite.

Raa...

Screams “get it away” dim light shows a goblin running around with toddler latched to its head. As it ran headlong into a wall flop back on his back. Looking up at the moon “how did Skuma fall so low” HaHA her gnowl cohort Ril snickerd “last kicked you” “Shut it Ril where smooth skin.”

Ril cackled and pointed prone young man pitched at and odd angle his leg most of all.. at this a rope drop into the pit. They both look at it for a second. Confused for a second on how they where going to haul up their broken prize.

“Tie him idiots,” grumbled the last harpooning a larger than normal chitter with a javelin. Then the two scrambled in a panic wrapping the mangled man.. twice as the moment I woke seizing the goblin in a death grip. A strange vibration ebbed from my lip that sounded like a thousand whispers dragged across chalkboard..

He speak goblin??? Goblin? that was Hoktashi shadow words of the gnowl. From the over head what did he say.

Skuma “MY Trash” Ril “Bring hides” “just look Idiots” the last reals in her prize hold him up with one arm she watches as he hangs limp in her grasp and smiled.

“Ouch! smack! hey last we have smooth skins trash please, please let skooma up. Ya Ril not said its no laughing. Ril where monster..”

”everywhere”

“not bugs monster” pointing at her face.

um...it ran off? pointed to a dark corner then two red eyes blink from the darkness.. the two scream and grab each other as a lasso snatches them up pulling them out of reach of the snarling darkling

Raaar.. jump snap raar stalks back to the darkness grrr crunch.

waa... the last held the two sad sack on a rope as they slowly spun at the end of the rope

waa. Skooma sorry no feed sskoma too monstar

drop “Come along idiots we have a prize to collect and it seems to be leaking."