Mathew

Crossing the border, he received the same notification that continued his presence was a declaration of war. Leaning into the sharp tangle of Territory reinforcement the Bramble Weaver Alpha left for him, Mathew let loose his intent to take the land by force.

The message cut off, and a new one appeared.

[Declaration of war established between Carrion Knighthood and Bramble Weavers

Enemy reinforcement:

100%

Enemy Alphas 2

Enemy Lieutenants 1]

Win conditions laid out clearly drove back Mathew's concerns, leaving him clear to focus on conquest. Taking over the Territory would require the destruction of reinforcement and no opposition of Alpha energy empowered life.

Leaving behind the interlocking plates of reinforcement from his own Territory, Mathew began to wear away at the thorns and vines within this metaphysical space. Malicious fury and the weight of established Alphas landed on his mind.

Adrenaline began to sing through his veins. The instinctual fear of facing a predator was nowhere to be felt. Despite his misgivings about putting others in danger, Mathew thought he might enjoy this.

Mathew chuckled darkly, "They know we're here."

Ben nodded and slid forward under a cloak of stealth magic.

This breach was in the middle of the Territory's face joining the Spire. Apparently, there was some strategy to this. Picking a corner could get a third party involved. Taking the initiative, let the aggressor pick what they wanted. What they wanted was no interruption.

Stomping forward, Mathew broke vines and touched Ripper to the plants. Channeling his digestion magic against the tangle saw it wither away. Underneath the ground cover, large stones were split apart by channels of dirt.

Picking the largest slab he'd uncovered, Mathew activated sure foot. If they came to fight, he aimed to take all the advantage he could.

Sure enough, the sound of crashing resounded from the two story tangle of thorns and vines before them. Clipped half bark half screeches grew into a cacophony. But the moving forms stopped within their fragile protection. Fangs and predatory aggression waiting.

Waiting on reinforcements, Mathew could feel a change in the weight of fury from the Territory leaders he invaded. It didn't grow heavier; instead it grew more intense. At least one Alpha was going to show up right away.

Finally, a form broke the stalemate stepping into the light of day. Green and brown fur that blended into the terrain covered the six-legged beast. A complex shoulder supported an extra pair of legs wider and behind the front pair. It was small for an Alpha, only the size of a compact car.

Details drew Mathew's eyes off the general form. Its mouth had different sets of fangs folded down to stay out of the way. Some were sharp and thin as he would expect from a viper. Others gave him pause. With a wider base and prolonged transition to a point, they were clearly the heavy-duty set for breaking into armored foes.

Oh well, he couldn't expect his durability build to be unaccounted for. But it would be nice to be the natural counter in one of these conflicts.

Mathew scanned through the gaps of his exoskull.

[Bramble Weaver Alpha

Hexapod omnivores with a symbiotic relationship to the plants they cultivate. Toxins readily transfer into the bloodstream of this beast, where they are collected and refined by various organs to use as a weapon. A favorite in the Eastern Kingdom to train new hunter squads on swarms and exhaustion tactics]

Exhaustion tactics? Maybe he was a natural counter.

Using all his mental skills in concert, Mathew connected his group together. All the messages would bottleneck with Mathew, but with the improved cognition and willpower, this would still be faster than yelling. Not to mention more discreet.

The impending attack didn't happen. With its mane bristling out, the Alpha paced back and forth, screech-barking within a few dozen yards of the brambles.

What are they waiting for? Amber thought.

I don't like it. Ben echoed.

Don't let them wait. Grant urged.

His mental working held up under the pressure.

I won't let them wait. Mathew moved forward to the end of the stone. Reaching out with another strand of mental attack, he latched onto one of the alien minds in the brambles. There was no subtlety, just brute force.

Forcing the Bramble Weaver to step out from its protection, there wasn't even time for a breath when the arrow shaft sprouted from its eye. The sudden shock and fragmenting a broken brain inflicted on the beasts' mind awakened a set off the Carrion Beast instincts.

More, Amber's thoughts matched Mathew's.

Pushing his new stats to the limit, he projected psychic control to a half dozen minds. Like a choreographed piece, they exposed their bodies in sequence. Again fletching was all that showed after the thrum of Amber's bow. Working together at the speed of thought allowed Mathew to have a victim move into the path of Amber's single missed shot.

The maned Alpha shifted to a chuffing sound. Alpha energy spread from it, rescuing Mathew's next batch of sacrifices. Forced into submission, the weak Weavers couldn't obey their minds as their bodies betrayed Mathew's control.

Anger at having his reward taken hit Mathew like a truck. It was so extreme that he noticed it couldn't be his natural self. Converting the rage into a cold motivation, Mathew reclaimed his sense of purpose. They are maneaters, and I'm here to rescue their would-be victims.

Putting the combination of his greed and the Carrion Beasts' instincts in place distracted him. Ben's urgent thought brought him back into the moment. Mathew's eyes were closed, but he could see through Ben's.

The Bramble Weaver Alpha was stretched out as it lept straight towards him. Six legs gave the monster far more agility than Mathew expected.

Rapidly spinning up conditional ambush, Mathew felt the timing aligned with the plan. Exploding into motion from a blanket of stealth, a grasping hand of fiber bound the beast's back legs to the ground. Ben's stealth was broken, but he held onto his tether to keep his willpower infused into the sneak attack.

As the multiplier of conditional ambush ticked up due to the monster's change of trajectory, Mathew bound his sword arm to the stored energy. Driving Ripper forward, Mathew marveled at how well the attack reinforced his body's effort.

Mathew felt Ripper strain against the interlocked fur before sinking into the heavy meat of its neck and shoulder.

Danger Ben! Grant screamed into Mathew's mind.

He closed the distance pulling on his hooked sword. The Alpha monster dug four pairs of claws into the Earth and spun back at Ben's location. With Ripper torn from his grip, Mathew speared forward to tackle the Bramble Weaver. Anything to draw attention.

Fight me! Mathew tried to force the idea into the Alpha's mind. Mathew's mental network fell apart as he tried to push the mind of an Alpha being reinforced by its Territory.

Ben only took one swat from the deceptively powerful front legs. Something cracked as he ragdolled away.

Biting and clawing, Mathew grappled to reach Ripper. Placing the extended claw of his middle finger against the black vein of his sword, Mathew channeled his hunger through Ripper's body.

Two things happened. First, his sword came free as the flesh dissolved around it. Second, the Bramble Weaver Alpha retaliated, spewing a cloud of toxic gas.

Lungs on fire, Mathew released his prey. Human instincts override his animal side. Rolling in the thorns and breathing hunger into the air. He pitted his magic against that of another for the first time. Learning that the poison gas was magic in origin didn't give him any insight in dealing with it. A magical stomach he'd never felt as anything but hunger, fought to keep the meal down even as Mathew tried to absorb as much of the cloud as he could.

Leaning on the focus of his cold anger, he galvanized his purpose. Protect his people, protect Ben.

Slamming his willpower into mental attack, the channels to do so felt sore. Amber readily fed him information even as she let a specialty arrow fly.

Mathew had tumbled sideways from the fight taking him away for the moment. While the Alpha rounded back on Ben's doubled-over form.

There wasn't time. He couldn't make it in time to save Ben. Wheezing and dizzy, Ben couldn't save himself. Grant was missing again; Mathew's mind reached out and found no trace of him.

Pushing aside his internal struggles, he forced himself forward. Watching in slow motion as needle-sharp fangs flicked down as the slavering beast pounced.

Why did I choose this? Mathew thought.

Why did I choose this? Grant thought. I should have argued harder against this conquest.

Swinging Marabell with all his improved strength, Grant broke himself again. Just like he did against the Night Stalker, he gave up his survival. Every fiber of his being bent backward to his application of self-discipline. Grant empowered his club attack with a negative application of survival. He still wasn't sure what it did, but the last monster he stuck like this was turned into steaks. Marabell crashed against the monster's occipital lobe. Grant sorely wished he could have charged the attack.

A moment of doubt froze Grant's hand. Without guidance, he had to make blind choices. Grabbing Ben's collar and fending with his club, Grant backpedaled. Long months of honing careful footwork paid off.

Even injured, the Alpha showed vindictive resilience. Releasing another blast of poison as it chose to retreat. Grant held his breath but feared closing his eyes without his danger sense. Through his weeping vision, Grant saw Amber raining freeze arrows right on top of him and Ben. Confusion gave way to understanding as the toxic cloud fizzled while some of the chill powder spread out unused.

Clever, Grant appraised. Using the catalyst to neutralize the poison.

Sweeping his vision across the treeline, Grant willed his status intelectus to show him his health.

[Health 1654/2035

Reserved against unknown poison -381/625]

Ben spent about twice as long in a poison cloud and had less health than Grant. Some cowboy math placed Ben down to a few hundred health. At least after the poison runs its course. He'd be fine eventually.

Flicking his eyes back up, Grant watched ghost chains bind Mathew and the Alpha together. Dammit! We talked about this!

A jerk on his arm halted the retreat. Ben bellowed, but it wasn't a cry of anguish.

CRACK

Following the tether from Ben's fist to the Alpha showed the ambush net slipping down to reveal a wound. Its rear right leg folded unnaturally at the knee.

"I'm fine," Ben defied physics and rose to his feet, shaking off Grant's hand. The pained squint of his eyes told Grant that Ben still needed to work on his deception.

Bounding to the trees, this Bramble Weaver screeched in pain, punctuated by another arrow growing from its hide.

"Fuck," Mathew cursed as he took a few steps away from the retreating Alpha to pick up his sword. Copper links of chain expanded from his side of the ethereal bond.

"Status?" Mathew barked.

Lie or tell the truth? Grant pondered.

"Four quivers of arrows and full magic," Amber started. "No injuries."

"My ace is used up, about half health," Grant puffed out a breath. About was relative right?

"I'm banged up but functional," Ben reported with a feral grin. "Did you see it? I broke his leg."

"Good job," The jaw of Mathew's exoskull opened slightly in a way Grant had learned to interpret as a smile. "You need to dodge more, but you won't hear much from me. I lost focus. It won't happen again."

"So, you used the one skill we talked about not using?" Grant asked.

"Yeah, like I just said," Mathew bit back his frustration. Clearly, his self-control was holding together. Satisfied with his test Grant gave a slight nod of acknowledgment.

"What does it mean?" Amber asked. "Like in this particular case?"

"It means what it always does, but I can't turn it off. Leternum is powering it now," Mathew pointed to the brambles. "None of you have to stick by me on this one. It was my stupid decision."

"Idiot," Grant sneered. "You carry all our lives on your back. Not sticking by you is nothing more than another way to stand aside and gamble our lives. You don't get the luxury of carrying the cost of your failures yourself. I told you so! Next time head my advice!"

Mathew's fist caught him in the jaw and lifted Grant from the ground.

"Woah, woah, woah," Ben pressed against Mathew's heaving chest.

Not having a danger sense showed Grant how spoiled he usually was. He meant every word but wouldn't have pushed so hard if he knew Mathew couldn't take it.

"I'm sorry," Mathew let his air out like bellows. "I've got to stop lashing out at you." Grant's hearing picked up the rest that Mathew said while looking at his knuckles. "I'm supposed to be better than that."

"Let's talk about a price another time," Grant leveraged this moment for later by habit. "We have bigger fish to fry."

Mathew scanned few dozen feet they'd invaded and looked to be doing the same numbers Grant was. They'd spent a good deal of health and magic to get this far. But with his skill usage, they had to keep going.

"I need to finish eating its magic and spend my perk. Except for the poison, it hardly hurt us." Mathew pointed to Ben. "New rule: stay behind me. We tried it, and you broke its leg. No more unnecessary risks."

Ben shrugged. "Yeah, whatever." His satisfied smile told Grant that he would follow the rule.

"So what now?" Amber asked as she started pulling out lengths of silk from her bag.

"It's like a siege. Without the power to beat us back outside their walls, they want to castle up and slow us down. Hope we have better things to do and just leave. We don't have the time to go slow. I'll be the icebreaker," Mathew said. "The only real change is now we need that Alpha's head."