Felsteg sat in perfect stillness, content to sit and wait for his prey to spring his trap.

This time, he was ready.

They had tracked the party from a safe distance, his ‘Tracking’ ability able to spot them on his map. He knew they’d gone into another dungeon when they disappeared from his view, his ability unable to see them when they entered the strange areas, just as it hadn’t been able to the day before.

He had let them live when they came out of that weird hidden dungeon yesterday, content to watch from afar and bide his time while Brick and Kauri found more members to bolster the party.

He’d learned his lesson from last time; he wouldn’t underestimate them again.

So what if they had more time to slay more dungeons and collect more gear? That just meant more equipment to steal from their corpses.

The two members they’d found were perfect despite their pathetic levels and progress so far. He could forgive them that though, because they had the ruthlessness and tenacity that he’d been looking for in others. Well, one of them did, but the other seemed content to do what he was told. Better yet, they were both intimately familiar with the Warrior—who Felsteg learned was called Shadow—that had sidled up alongside his targets.

The first and more vicious new member was Akano. He was an Arcane Mage. His current spell was no match for the firepower of that wench, Arika, but he’d been happy to join them when offered the gear they’d stolen from her dead body. Felsteg knew that, given time, the Mage would become a powerful asset. He’d been the former leader of Shadow's last party and had readily provided information about the man.

The second new party member was a Rogue named Treyu. He was pure utility right now, his only ability a mass-stealth that affected the entire party as long as they stayed still. To Felsteg, it was the perfect ambush ability, and it was the main reason Orion and Arika had no hope of surviving this time. The man was a meek follower—the kind of man Felsteg usually despised—yet he didn’t shy away from whatever he was told to do, so Felsteg would happily use him.

Brick had warned them of the small blond boy that was part of the enemy party, and was apparently a Rogue, too. He’d appeared out of nowhere and stunned Brick while he stood and tried to defend Felsteg and Kauri’s smoking corpses after the last ambush. Even if the enemy Rogue scouted ahead, he wouldn’t see them, stealthed as they were.

Felsteg shivered at the thought of his last death. That cheating bitch Arika had somehow used her Explosion instantly. He had no idea how she pulled that off. Some new ability, most likely.

There was another reason Orion and Arika’s party had no hope of surviving the day. Felsteg had learned the width of Arika’s explosion, both from afar and now within… multiple times. He spaced himself and his four party members throughout the clearing, crouching and waiting for the moment of attack.

They were spread in a semi-circle around the entrance, ensuring any path away from the dungeon led them close to at least one of his teammates. If the enemy party followed the direct path back to town, they would walk directly through him—a thought that made him salivate in anticipation.

Arika could use her Explosion on him if she liked, but his party would survive and kill the rest of them. In fact, he was counting on Arika using her Explosion on him. That was why he had spent his party’s, no, his remaining funds on a restricted item.

He inspected it once more.

Amulet of Fire Protection

Neck

Restricted

Charges: 5/5

Reduces damage taken from fire by 75%. Forged via unethical means, they outlawed the production of this item in the slag-pits long before the fall of the Drakken Empire.

The black-market sellers he found bore amazingly powerful equipment, which was why he and his party could prepare for an ambush so quickly. The price, however, was exorbitant. After all the gear and the amulet they had to purchase, there was just under ten gold left, a pittance compared to what he’d once possessed.

The powerful amulet would break after absorbing fire damage from five different sources, but a single use was all he needed to defend against that one-trick bitch.

Felsteg smiled to himself. He’d gone above and beyond, covering every potential avenue of escape. Soon enough, he would show them why he was going to be the leader of this world. The excitement of his revenge—and the loot soon-to-be coming his way—began to make him tremble, but he tamped down the emotion, knowing that he had to remain still and composed.

All in good time, his vengeance would come.

An hour passed by, he and his party all remaining still, knowing exactly what their roles and instructions were. Hour-by-hour, the day continued to drift by, the tall forest surrounding them thankfully providing shade from the sun overhead. Day turned to afternoon, and afternoon turned to night. Aches began to bother Felsteg, and he knew his party would all be feeling the strain.

He wasn’t phased, knowing that his prey would eventually emerge. He knew his party members were probably beginning to have doubts and complaints, weak-willed as they were, but they also knew that he promised punishment for anyone leaving the formation before the ambush was sprung.

As midnight approached, a feeling of elation washed over Felsteg as three figures walked out of the dungeon entrance. The moonlight was shining off of the armored giant, and behind the man, Felsteg saw what must have been Orion and Arika, faces cast down and hidden by their robes.

A wicked smile parted Felsteg’s face as he took in the exhausted body language exhibited by the three adventurers. The Rogue was nowhere to be seen, but no matter. He wouldn’t be able to avenge his teammates by himself, and Shadow was likely holding all of their loot.

Felsteg flinched and shot a glance behind him at the sound of something slapping the ground with a wet thwap.

Is… is that a sausage?

His eyes darted around, trying to see if anyone was behind him. He squinted in confusion as his eyes roamed about the clearing and noticed a sausage placed behind each of his party members—marking their positions.

His blood ran cold.

Fuck.

He turned back, intending to launch the paralyzing-dagger held in his hand at Shadow. He tried to shout the alarm, but the words froze in his throat—as did his hand clutching the dagger—as two glowing orbs drew his attention. Orion had dropped his hood and was looking directly at his position. His eyes glowed an eerie blue, like the moon reflected in two piercing mirrors, penetrating right into Felsteg’s soul. No, it wasn’t Orion’s stare arresting his movement—he was literally stunned by something.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

The Rogue, he realized too late.

An odd sensation of advancement radiated from directly behind him. Stunning him had somehow caused the Rogue to level something..

His skin prickled with heat, and a chill ran through him. The three in the entrance no longer looked exhausted; they stood tall, staring directly at the positions of the members of his party. On each of their foreheads, a white skull had appeared.

Why isn’t my party attacking?

He seethed, unable to move.

These fucking morons, why aren’t they moving?

Orion and Shadow disappeared from the entrance in the blink of an eye. Felsteg looked around frantically, trying to see where they’d gone.

“Justice punch!”

Felsteg’s eyes shot to his left, where the yell had come from. Shadow, the blond-haired Rogue, and Orion stood where Kauri had been a moment earlier. The skull on their foreheads turned red. Kauri’s lifeless body flew toward the dungeon, a giant wound where a two-handed sword had hacked into the spot between the dead healer’s neck and shoulder. There was also a slash across his abdomen that looked exactly like the jagged wounds his old scimitar created.

“Right in the karate artery!” the Rogue said. “Nice, Shadow!”

The attack was enough for his idiotic followers to spring into action. Brick yelled a battle cry and charged at Arika. The Fire Mage was still standing in the dungeon's entrance, casting her deadly Explosion. Brick arrived in a moment, raising his hammer to end her life. Just as his hammer fell, however, it was no longer Arika standing there—it was one of their recent additions, Treyu. Brick’s hammer fell and collided with Treyu’s skull with a sickening sound. The blow sent Treyu’s body sprawling, his consciousness already fled and heading for respawn at the temple.

A blur of movement caught Felsteg’s attention. It was Shadow, moving with such speed toward him he thought his eyes had to be playing tricks. The man in gleaming armor ran right past him. Felsteg followed the path with his eyes, seeing him charge Akano, who was attempting to cast his Arcane Missiles ability. Shadow was on the Arcane Mage in an instant.

Shadow cracked Akano across the head with the hilt of his giant sword, interrupting his spell and knocking the squishy cloth-wearer to the ground.

Next, Shadow threw Akano over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and turned and ran at Felsteg. He instinctively recoiled in fear, his involuntary flinch making him realize he was once again able to move. Maybe there was a way he could escape and salvage his gear from this disaster. Smiling to himself, Felsteg used his ‘Paralyze’ ability on one of his throwing daggers, throwing it directly at the charging Shadow.

The dagger flew, aided by his passive ‘Expose Weakness’ ability, and flying directly for Shadow’s exposed neck. Just before Felsteg turned to run, the blond-haired Rogue appeared in the path of his thrown dagger, easily knocking it aside and causing it to clatter uselessly to the ground.

The Rogue stood, regaled in all of Felsteg’s armor—the armor he had spent so much money and effort gaining. Felsteg inspected his name, seeing the name of the small man was Honeypot… the Silly Sausage?

His name was, quite literally, ‘Honeypot, the Silly Sausage’.

What the fuck…? Is that a title?

Movement drew him from his introspection.

Honeypot was… waving?

Felsteg didn’t have time to process the disrespect because Shadow darted around Honeypot and grabbed him by the collar. The momentum of Shadow’s weight and speed pulled Felsteg from his feet with ease, and his senses became a blur of confusion.

The next thing he knew, Felsteg was flying, reminiscent of the way his dagger had flown but a few moments ago. He collided with something heavy and solid, knocking the wind from his chest. He realized he’d hit Brick when he spotted the large metal hammer pressed against his body in their tumble to the ground.

Shadow must have thrown me at the useless moron.

Akano soon joined the rest of his living party members, as Shadow launched the man at Felsteg. They were a tangle of limbs, and Felsteg shoved Akano off of him, getting to his feet.

He was up and ready to run again.

If his party had acted earlier when their cover was blown, they could have avoided all of this. Thinking on his feet, he recognized he could still use them as a distraction to get away—at least then they’d be useful for once.

Looking up, he noticed the enemy party just standing and watching. Arika wasn’t casting her ability again, but it was no matter if she was. Even if she used the instant version again, he could survive with his amulet and use the Explosion as cover to escape into the night.

“Yoohoooo!”

Felsteg turned to see Honeypot waving something around in the air above his head, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Did you lose something, friend?”

Felsteg blanched as he saw what Honeypot was waving about. His hand shot to his neck, finding his Amulet of Fire Protection gone.

Fuuuuu—

BOOOOM!

Felsteg had only a moment to experience the agony of Arika’s Explosion before his consciousness fled.

Alongside the rest of his party, he headed for respawn.

***

The Creator shook his head as he watched a replay of the fight unfold. His assistant stood behind him, data streaming at incredible speed on the backlit display of her tablet.

“I understand a couple of them acting anti-social,” The Creator said, “but how are they finding people to group up with? They’re being anti-social in social groups. It defies all logic.”

“I am still analyzing the data, but it appears as though this is a well-documented phenomenon on Earth. I have found multiple interviews and reports, which are only anecdotal, of course, but I’m finding enough data points to form a believable foundation.”

“What do they say?” He turned to look at her.

“In the words of a law enforcement agent from Earth, even the most depraved, sadistic individuals crave emotional connection with like-minded people. It is, frankly speaking, horrifying. Imagine if the asocial ascended of our home-world gathered together under the banner of a single sect…”

“Based on our brain imaging, only three of Hand of God are at risk of sociopathic behavior, correct?” the Creator asked.

“That’s right.”

“So why do the other two capitulate—even take the lead?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “The data doesn’t explain it, and this does not seem to be an isolated incident. If anything, this behavior is one of the few constant variables.”

“Their gated memories were intended to let them easily form connections and forge new, healthier neurological pathways, but this…”

The Creator stood up and shook his head, walking towards the levitating platform at the back of the room and pressing a button to go to the roof.

“I need to make some changes if this is going to continue occurring. If the problem becomes as widespread as I fear it may, it threatens the integrity of the entire project. I’ll be gone for a while. Please continue to compile the data.”

“Yes, Master.”

“What did I say about calling me master when we’re alone!” he shouted, just as the levitating platform left her floor.

She rolled her eyes.

“Only call me master when the situation and company require it,” she said in a mocking tone.

“I heard that!” The Creator said, his augmented voice booming through metal sheets and constructs that a human voice had no right penetrating.

“I know, you superhuman idiot,” she said, her voice quiet, but still loud enough for his godlike hearing to pick up. “That’s the whole point.”