Benjamin Vryce

After Benjamin’s rebirth he might have grabbed an axe off the table and set to work on a nearby tree. if anyone were to ask him about it afterword’s however, he was just trying out a new weapon and not at all angry about dying again.

Once he tired himself out, Benjamin went back to the platform to think. There were a lot of weapons and armor available here. What had the Erlking said? ‘These trials will give you experience with all manner of weaponry against all manner of enemies.’ Well that was certainly turning out to be true.

“What do you think little guy?” he asked the spider, still seated on his shoulder. “I think its clear we will need to lug along that giant crossbow, or learn how to shoot the long bow. To give us an edge against the snake. I don’t think one shot will be enough to put that monster down though.” The spider’s only response was to wave its forelimbs around a bit.

Benjamin chose to take that as agreement. Looking over his options again, he thought he could use a bit more protection. He settled on a leather tasset to go along with his leather cuirass. It was fairly simple in design, a few curved pieces of leather attached to a belt that buckled around his waist. It protected his thighs pretty well, but made him feel like he was wearing a leather skirt.

This left only his arms, head and lower legs unprotected. The work boots he got with his mechanic’s overalls were better then any of the boots here and he really didn’t want to drag any more weight through that mud then he had too. With a shrug he decided he was set for armor.

Next, he looked at weaponry. He already knew he would have to bring the crossbows for their ranged support, but his melee skills were lacking. He hadn’t realized that there was so much skill required to use a blade. In both the rat and snake fights, he had failed to line his cuts up properly and the results had been less than satisfactory.

He looked to the axe he had been… practicing…with. It did tremendous damage on a hit, but like the bow he didn’t think he would be able to hit a moving target. If he missed or didn’t line up the edge right recovering would take too long. He looked at his other options and immediately disregarded the spear. Too many bad memories.

In the end he selected a Morningstar, a foot and a half long wooden pole with a spiked metal ball on the end. It wasn’t too heavy and would deal damage no matter how it connected with the enemy. Happy with his choices he picked up his gear and headed back into the swamp.

The dire rat fight went flawlessly. When the last rat charged him, he connected with the Morningstar. Unlike with the knife, the rats body gave first. A few more strikes finished off the rats. He was paying attention as he killed them, feeling for that odd tremor. He thought he felt it, but it was much weaker than it had been the first time.

Closing his eyes, he felt inside himself for that feeling of static charge. It was there alright like a knot he couldn’t unravel and ever so slightly…larger…brighter…he wasn’t sure. He tried to pull on it and again nothing happened.

Without any other ideas he let it go. Taking a few moments, he slung the smaller crossbow across his back and loaded the larger one. He moved forward, eyes on the trees. Each time he had repeated the journey the layout hadn’t changed, so he was sure the snake would be his only enemy. At least until he dealt with, and moved passed it.

Knowing what to look for, he soon spotted the snake poised above the trail. It was massive, body as thick around as his thigh, and at least fifteen feet long. It blended in well with the weeping moss and ropey vines that crisscrossed the trees overhead. Leaning his back against a mostly dead tree, he took the time to observe it. He wanted to be able to notice it should he come across another one again.

It was harder than he thought it would be, constantly scanning for threats. Back home he could go almost anywhere and always be safe. Here he had to actively tell himself to keep an eye out, lest he fall victim to another attack.

Once he was confident, he would be able to see another snake should he come across one Benjamin raised the crossbow. Using the dead tree he leaned against as a brace, he steadied the large bow and lined up his shot carefully.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled the release bar on the exhale and watched the large bolt rocket into the canopy. It reached the snake and kept going, disappearing into the branches. He cursed thinking he had missed, when the snake began to coil and writhe.

There was a spattering of drops in the shallow water beneath the beast as blood dripped from the wound. The bolt had connected, it just had so much power it passed right through. Benjamin set the now spent crossbow against the tree trunk, careful not to drop it in the mud. Pulling out his Morningstar as the snake dropped to the ground with a splash.

It was wounded but not dead. It came at him faster than the dire rats had been able to move. It was somewhat eerie though, while the rats had squeaked and squealed the snake was completely silent. It opened its mouth as it came, wider than Benjamin thought possible. Exposing two long and wicked looking fangs.

He swung the Morningstar as it lunged, spiked head biting into the beast as those fangs found their own mark. It bit him in the abdomen, fangs punching right through the leather cuirass and into his flesh. He felt a burning pain in his side and wondered if the snake was venomous.

He lifted the Morningstar and brought it down, again, and again, and again. The snake never released its hold on him, instead attempting to coil itself around him. He felt a stinging sensation on his neck, turning his head with a start he saw the silver spider had injected him with one of the syringes it had clipped to its body.

That explains why it hadn’t joined the fighting, Benjamin thought. Wondering what was in the vial briefly before the ongoing melee drew his attention away once more. They had fallen over at some point and the pair were still struggling for dominance.

Benjamin had lost his weapon and was frantically bashing the snake’s body with a jagged rock he had found in the scuffle. It was about that time the spider joined the fray and with its sharp leg blades began slashing the snake with long thin cuts.

The snake eventually died still coiled around Benjamin, fangs imbedded in his side. He managed to pull the snake’s fangs from himself and wriggle out of its still twitching frame before the convulsions started. The snake had indeed been venomous.

For the next hour or so Benjamin twitched in agony. The silver spider occasionally injecting him with another vial, while it scuttled around him as if keeping watch. The pain got so intense at times Benjamin thought about just killing himself so he would go back to the platform, fully healed.

He couldn’t bring himself to do that though. He wasn’t scared of dying, at least not much. It just felt wrong somehow, like he would be cheating himself. Instead, he just bit down on the shaft of a bolt and rode out the pain.

Eventually he climbed to his feet seemingly fully healed. Whatever was in those vials must be really good stuff. It was also possible that he was healing faster now, he thought back to when he had been practicing the long bow. He hadn’t stopped until his fingers were bleeding, yet he was nearly positive they were fine by the time he died again. He couldn’t be sure exactly, because death wiped all injures away. It was something for him to keep an eye on however.

Readying his gear, he loaded the large crossbow. It was heavy but carried a lot of stopping power, and he wanted that power close to hand to help level the playing field. Starting forward again on the path he moved slowly, eyes looking for all manner of threats, new and familiar.

The next challenge was a pair of mounds, one on either side of the path. A dire rat sat atop each, licking their paws without a care in the world. Well shit, if the pattern holds there are a total of six of them here. Benjamin thought it likely that a warning signal from one or the other would alert the ones below ground as well.

Gritting his teeth, he looked at the assets he had on hand. Conversed a little with the silver spider, and got ready to win or die trying…again.

* * *

Erlking

He watched his charges battling for their lives, through a number of screens. Progress was slow for most of them. He flicked his eyes to another screen. This one showed one of his worlds on the far edge of his claimed territory. It was being consumed by corruption.

His creatures were fighting with everything they had, the population of an entire world. Going to war with a single mind. It wouldn’t do any good, they were merely creations. They could hold the tide in check for a time but eventually they, and the planet, would fall.

He sighed in frustration. He needed the human souls, needed them, to fight this incursion. It would be too late for this world though; he could only hope that they would be ready before another world began to succumb.

He looked back at the trials, dismissing the screen that held corruption. He needed to push them harder, unfortunately there was a balance he had to maintain. They had to discover secrets about the greater multiverse for themselves or it could irrevocably stunt their growth.

His eyes turned to Benjamin’s screen; he was fighting two rat mounds simultaneously. He was getting better, but slowly. He opened this battle by sniping one watcher rat at the same time his spider had injected the other with a deadly poison.

Both sentries given the alarm but their ambush had dropped the rats numbers by a third. The spider took down a second and he managed two more with that glorified club, before he was taken down by the last one.

The Erlking shook his head. He was getting better at solo combat, sniping, tanking and damage dealing all by himself. He was making excellent use of the spider drone as well, but he hadn’t quite learned the lesson the Erlking had hoped he would.

He didn’t think it would take much longer; he had killed enough foes at this point. Between them and the forced growth the spider provided he had the resources available. He just didn’t know how to access those resources yet.

“Hurry up Mr. Vryce.” He said, looking at the man who was now madly chopping down trees. “I have high hopes for you, you just need to reach a little deeper. Find what it is you are lacking and bring it forth. Then we can move beyond these silly games.”

His hands itched to once again pull up his dying world, but he refrained. He had to teach these human souls to crawl soon, because he needed them running.