I felt the delicate cartilage break, and I did it again, and again. Using my left hand for leverage, I punched him as hard as I could, seeing and hearing the impact of the back of his head on the stone floor under him.
He lashed out frantically, stabbing me with the only weapon he had, the inch-long splinter, and as sharp as it was, combined with the strength of the Drow, meant it sank into my flesh.
The fucker had managed to get it into my left shoulder, right in the dip between the muscles, and it’d gone deep enough to send that hand spasming.
He grabbed at my left hand with his right and pulled me forward, twisting and sending us both rolling as we fought, though I finally maneuvered myself back on top as the fight continued.
The next few seconds passed in a frenzy of punches, attempted eye gouges, and knees that flew everywhere…until I felt his hand tug at my belt.
Through some combination of our movements he’d found my ‘Dagger of Ripping’ and yanked it free, slicing a line across my unarmored chest that stung like a bitch.
I grabbed his right wrist and he grabbed my left, and for a handful of seconds, we both strained against each other, before his greater strength overcame his crappy position for leverage, and he started to bend my arms back.
“Now you die!” He hissed at me, his bloody ruin of a face glaring up at me, and I forced out a grin.
“Not today…. mother…fucker!” I growled, as the blur I’d seen resolved into Bane, sliding to a stop close to us, a pair of daggers stabbing out and sinking into the Beastmaster’s chest, angled downwards on either side to puncture both lungs, even as they shredded muscles and flesh.
I had a split second of connection, as I saw the Drow’s eyes widen in shock before the pain registered, and I used it, one final nut smashing his skull back against the floor, before I released him, and rolled over.
I gasped in pain as everything seemed to hit me at once, and I kicked the dying Drow’s leg off mine as it flailed about, I laid back on the floor and let out a weak groan as Bane started searching the Beastmaster quickly.
“Didn’t…know…who he was… fucking with…” I groaned out, and looked over at the rest of the party, frantically trying to defend themselves from the horse.
I groaned and reached out weakly, my right palm flat against the floor, and I forced myself to roll over; the fucking thing was still going. I made it to my feet and staggered, grabbing the table’s remains for support, and started to build a lightning spell as Lydia was smashed from her feet as the damn thing reared up and lashed out with both front feet.
“Got it!” Bane shouted from beside me and pushed something at me. “Tell it to stop!” He shouted, pushing something into my hands, and I screamed as my movements were interrupted, his grab having broken both the pattern and my already addled concentration, to send the spell backlash roaring through me.
I collapsed to the floor, my hand clenching spasmodically around whatever he’d pressed into my palm, and a screen filled my mind.
Do you wish to take ownership of the ’Fenris Heavy Automaton’?
This control crystal is tied to model 017 and will become soul-bound on acceptance.
Yes/No
I squinted at it, trying to see through the pain of the spell feedback, but as soon as I could read it, I mentally mashed the ‘Yes’ and cried out as another pulse of power washed through me.
“Stop!!” I screamed, falling to the floor, and I screwed up my eyes trying to focus, was I too late?
I heard a chorus of relieved swearing, groans, and moans of the injured, as well as the muted grumbles and squeaks that came from the kobolds.
The rest of the creatures that had been advancing on our party, single minded in their determination to smash us into interestingly colored paste, had seemed to suddenly wake up. The two longer, thicker bodied lizards immediately lost interest in the fight at the Beastmaster’s death and were hissing at everything around them. The reject from Jurassic Park had been stabbed through the throat by Bane, and whatever had been at the back of the makeshift stables next to the Fenris was staying there, dead, or playing it.
The last beast that had been in the stables was a giant Tiger, but it was close to death already. It had ignored the call from the Beastmaster and even now, it laid there, watching us, rather than attacking.
“Is everyone okay?” I asked when I could manage it, looking up at the Fenris. It stood there, directly over Barrett, one silvery hoof still raised, ready to crush his skull. He rolled out from under it and backed away. All of us slowly grouped up as far from the collection of corpses and blood splatters as we could, and we forced down more healing potions and smiled at each other grimly, knowing how close we’d come to death.
“What the hell do I do with it now?” I muttered, looking at the Fenris, only to have a new notification pop up. I ignored it for a second and spoke to the others. “Does anyone need healing?” I got a chorus of ‘Noes’ from most of them, but a weak voice called out from my right and I dismissed the notification for now, looking over at Lydia. She’d managed to get to her feet, but she wasn’t walking well.
I had her sit down and cast ‘Battlefield Triage’ over her until my mana pool was empty, my head spinning and my last meal trying to escape.
“We’re gonna have to rest here for a bit. I know we’re too close to the main settlement to rest properly, but we’ve no choice.” I said quietly to the others.
“Horkesh, I need you to send you
