Benjamin Vryce

Benjamin was nearing the cave like mouth of the small tower, when the clicking noise started from inside. He stopped and glanced around; Stomper was right beside him. The others were still standing where he had dismounted.

The clicking grew louder as whatever was making it neared the opening. Benjamin tensed, readying his claws. He saw Stomper doing the same with his axe. He thought he was ready for anything at this point, until the thing came out.

It was a pill bug, the size of a riding lawnmower. The heavily armored plates on its back clicked and clacked as it scuttled out on far too many legs. The bug was slate grey, except on the flared-up edges. Those were closer to silver and looked wickedly sharp, like the edge of a blade.

Before he could react, an arrow flew past him and slammed into the creature. It was glowing faintly in the light of dusk and struck with more force than an arrow should have. It impacted the giant bugs armored head with a resounding clang, before falling away splintered and broken.

Benjamin could tell Grace had fired an essence enhanced arrow through her Erlking gifted bow. The weapon had a creation core mounted just above hand level. The essence in that core could be used to enhance the bow and arrow with essence, at least until the core ran dry and needed a recharge from Benjamin.

The pill bug shook its body, as if attempting to shake off a bad thought. The armored plates on its head were cracked, yet otherwise the beast was unharmed. It let out a shriek, that was on the very edge of Benjamin’s ability to hear. The wolves whimpered a little from behind him at the noise. he guessed they could hear it better then he could.

As it shrieked, the insect rolled into a ball. armor now entirely incasing it. The flared out, bladed edges, were still very much exposed as the creature began to roll in their direction. As it came, there was more of the clicking and clacking noises. More of the bugs were rolling and crawling out of the cave like mouth of the white marbled building. Even more exited from nearby buildings, swarming the area in armor plated bodies.

“Holy shit, are those rolly pollys?” The question, shouted from Jade rose over the clattering of insect shells.

“Looks like it, only a lot bigger and bladed.” He called back. “This would be a good time to call out Tik and Tok.” He added as the first of the bugs reached him and Stomper. It had unrolled before it reached him. Extending a pair of pincers, reminiscent of a crab, out from beneath its body to snap at him.

He dodged the first snapping claw, slashing his own claws out in a counter attack. There was a sound like bone clattering against bone and his fingers bounced off the armored pincers. Beside him he heard a loud clang, as Stomper swung his axe into the insect’s damaged head plates. The blade bounced away, deepening the cracks Grace’s arrow made, otherwise having no effect.

Benjamin took a few steps back, wanting to see how the rest of his party was faring. Grace had fired another essence enhanced arrow, but it had no more effect than the first one did. She still sat on Honor, who was dancing around one of the bugs. Taking turns with Stomper’s mount, biting at its legs. Ice had flipped one of the bugs onto its back and was ripping it apart from its less protected underbelly.

He looked to the last wolf who was being ridden by Jade. She had the silver pistol in her hand, and was firing what looked like bolts of essence at the bugs. Cracks appeared on their shells where the bolts hit, but it wasn’t doing enough damage to breach their defenses. At least not with one shot anyway.

“Grace, save your arrows. Stomper, get ready to go for the belly. Jade, where are the ogres?” Benjamin called out rapid fire orders. He then took a cue from Ice, rushing the pill bug looking monster and heedless of the snapping pincers rammed his shoulder into it and heaved.

It was heavy. It took him off guard just how heavy. The armored plates must be thicker than he had thought. He pressed into the beast, trying to turn it over, fighting the pain as the bladed shell bit into him. Reaching into his core he funneled his essence through his body’s channels. A trick he had discovered by mistake, while learning to rotate his core on the way here.

His body was flooded with power and strength, and he was able to flip the beast. no sooner had he rolled it over, when Stomper brought his axe down on the now exposed face of the monster. Benjamin had to hold his breath as the foul-smelling orange gore seeped around the axe, now imbedded in its ugly face.

The bladed edges of the pill bug creatures’ armor had cut deeply into his exposed upper arms. It was healing though, more rapidly than usual thanks to the added essence circulating through his body. Stomper’s axe came down again and, Benjamin buried his claws into the softer underside of the bug. Together they made short work of their first attacker.

Looking up Benjamin saw dozens more. He didn’t know how they would handle that many, his team wasn’t equipped to fight an enemy this well armored. As he was looking around trying to find an escape route, away from the massing bugs. He heard a loud crunching noise from behind him.

Whipping his head around, Benjamin saw that the ogres had finally arrived. The pair laid into the bugs, smashing them nearly as easily as they had the dire rat swarm. Tik swung the axe about, he had none of the practiced ease that Stomper displayed. Instead, he was swinging his axe into the bugs like a lumberjack would a tree. Inelegant as it might be, every time his axe came down a bug crumpled. The ogre and his axe were quickly awash in orange gore.

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Tok on the other hand wasn’t quite as effective. He had an armament better suited to ranged combat. He still waded into the foe fearlessly, swinging his fists. Exoskeletons crunched under his blows, and he was soon covered with the foul-smelling orange bug guts too.

Benjamin and stomper fell back when the ogres came out. they huddled in close to the wolves and the girls still sitting astride them, letting the ogres smash the insects.

“Jade, have them clear us a path to the house tower,” Benjamin called out to the blonde. He had to yell to be heard over the crunch of armored plates and the wild laughter the leather clad woman was letting out.

She was having entirely too much fun, hiding behind her pink tinged force shield as orange blood splattered across its surface. she was still shooting her essence pistol, wildly into the bug swarm regardless of how little effect it was having.

Benjamin shouted at her again, this time getting through to her. She nodded grudgingly and the ogres began to smash their way towards the groups initial target. Reaching the door, Benjamin darted inside, Stomper hot on his heals. They did a quick round of the main floor; it was empty of bugs. There were what looked like armored eggs piled in a corner, amid a mound of organic mush. Since it wasn’t a threat, he ignored it for the time being.

Going back to the door, he waved the rest of the party inside. The wolves entered, all except the one carrying jade. She held it back, standing at the entrance and shooting wildly into the bugs while the ogres continued to smash them. Benjamin wanted to get them to stop, to move inside, but he didn’t think the bugs would stop coming even if they did.

As he was franticly thinking of a way out of this battle, the bugs began that high pitched shrilling again. the wolves whimpered, and the bugs outside began to scatter. It looked to Benjamin like they were fleeing from something. A handful of the bugs came barreling back towards the tower they now occupied.

These had to be the ones that had been living in here. The ogres smashed them with apparent relish. Letting out low chuckles as they laughed along with Jades mad cackles. Just as the last bug was smashed however, a new form came lumbering into the battlegrounds.

In the fading light it looked to Benjamin like a salamander with shiny black skin, that had orange spots covering its back. The beast must have been as big as the alpha she wolf. The school bus sized monster wandered into the newly evacuated battlefield and snapped up one of the dead pill bug beasts in its jaws.

It didn’t look overly dangerous, no horns, or massive claws. There weren’t even any bony plates of armor dotting its skin. Any inclination he might have had to underestimate it evaporated however when it crunched through the thickly armored and bladed body of the pill bug and swallowed it down whole.

“Get back, come inside the tower. Leave that thing to its meal,” Benjamin said quietly, as the salamander like monster snapped up another carcass and crunched into it. He didn’t think it had noticed them, and if they left it alone it would probably fill up on the bugs and move on. Any hopes he had of that were quickly dashed, when a six-foot-long javelin sailed across the intervening distance and buried itself two thirds of its length into the beast’s belly.

“What the hell” he said, glaring at Jade. The blonde was still cackling to herself as the beast bellowed with pain and rage. Tok readied another Javelin, while Tik set himself up in front of Jade. The ogre braced its massive steel shield against the ground, ready to absorb the counter attack.

There was going to be an attack. There was no doubt in Benjamin’s mind about that. The huge lizard had just gripped the javelin in its jaws and ripped it out. bellowing again in pain as the wound bled dark blood down its side. Turning its head it caught sight of the ogres, just in time to catch another javelin to the shoulder. It didn’t bother removing the weapon this time. Having caught sight of the creature foolish enough to attack it, the reptile charged.

Benjamin had a few short seconds to decide what to do, while the beast bared down on them. it was too late to hide, and there was no outrunning that beast. Not with himself and Stomper off their mounts, or with the monster so close. That narrowed his options down to one.

“Get ready, we will have to finish this quickly.” He said to his summons. He didn’t want to fight that thing. This wasn’t why they were here. The decision had been taken out of his hands though, by that crazy bitch and her pet ogres. The thought of just killing her flashed through his mind, but he couldn’t. he needed her ogre’s strength to finish this job, maybe if he had enough essence to summon the dire boar he would have, but he didn’t.

The idle thoughts cut off as the reptilian behemoth went right through Tik and his massive tower shield. It hardly seemed to notice the brute, as it snapped him up in its jaws. Just like the pill bugs, it then bit down hard. Benjamin heard the crunching sound of the ogre’s armor breaking. The ogre wasn’t dead just yet. He swung his massive axe up and around into the side of the creature’s head.

The impact twisted the salamander’s head to the side, and it dropped Tik to the ground. Benjamin thought it was from shock as much as pain though, as it didn’t seem to be all that hurt from the blow. Tok gave a bellow of rage and leapt onto the reptile, punching down repeatedly with his spiky fists.

Benjamin, not knowing what else to do, followed suit. He leapt onto the lizard’s flank and went to work with his claws. He also sunk his teeth deep into its side, learning from his dire boar fight that he needed a good hold or he would be flung away.

Around him he heard the snarls of the wolves, the twang of Grace’s bow, and the thunks as the ogre’s fists and Stomper’s axe crashed into the lizard. He clawed crazily into its side, hoping to at least distract it while his friends did more damage. Tik was the best suited among them for this fight, but he was already down. At least until he could be healed or resummoned.

Benjamin didn’t have the best vantage point from where he was, as his teeth were imbedded into the beast’s flesh. That limited his range of visibility, but he felt it when Honor died. the line of essence drain went dark and his pattern reappeared in Benjamin’s void space. Another of the wolves followed shortly after.

Benjamin had a flashing fear for Grace’s safety. She had been riding Honor, last time he had seen her. He needn’t have worried though; her connection line was as strong as ever. He even heard the relatively quiet twang of her bow, over the racket of combat. This reptile was powerful, it was taking everything they were throwing at it, and kept coming.

They were having an effect though; the creature was slowing down. At first it had thrashed and flailed about madly in an attempt to get the pair of Benjamin and Tok off its back. Now it was only trying to keep the remaining wolves at bay, as they snapped at its flanks. The team continued their assault until the beast hit its limit, and collapsed.