The lizards were so damn big!

Arron marveled at how unreal it was to be near actual dinosaurs and just how frickin’ huge they were. They each stood around fifteen feet tall at their backs; taller if he included the giant plate-slabs extending into the sky, guarding their spines. Flat feet the size of truck tires churned the earth as they slammed heads, tails, spikes and plates into each other, anything to gain the upper hand.

His feet buzzed from the vibrations of their battle below.

“Ok, we’re going in with the plan this time, right?” Torbin asked, pointedly looking at Arron.

“Yea, yea. I get it, guys… uh, gals… whatever. I get it. My bad,” Arron replied sheepishly. “I’m sorry.”

His stuttering was rewarded with smiles and nods in their acceptance of his apology. The few minutes it had taken to prepare helped ease the lingering tension and gave just enough time for the awkwardness around any internal confrontation to ebb. There was almost a physical shift in the air from his team as he voiced his apology. The drama behind the story was part of why so many played this game after all, and despite his brusque nature, they could tell he was sincere.

Plus, he’d already spoken to Mercutio privately. Though the Bard’s acceptance had been more… confusing.

“While I appreciate your admission of fault, and am thoroughly enjoying the submissive air to your tone, do not fret about your transgression my noble companion.”

“Um, what?” Arron replied.

Mercutio’s eyes sparkled with guile, seeming to make a decision, and dropped his usual over-the-top demeanor.

“I’m sayin’ don worry about it, Arron,” Mercutio said, his voice dropping into a normal octave. The lilting tone sounded almost brash without the flash or pomp. Like… was that New Jersey? “Seriously. I mean, don do it again, but I pushed my Poking Fun Skill to the next tier with that little tuffle. All’s well that ends well.”

Arron was so shocked at Merc’s change in tone, he just nodded awkwardly.

Mercutio—Helen, laughed and immediately jumped back into her character.

“Now come, you overgrown garden of testosterone! We have beasts to slay and adventure to be had!”

And she—he, turned on his heel and sauntered off, leaving Arron confused.

He was still confused and beginning to think he would always be confused.

“It’s funny watching his head explode as he tries to wrap his mind around everything, isn’t it?” Iris asked.

Her laughter returned Arron to the present and his clear difficulty with their pronouns.

“He’ll get it sooner or later,” Sonya replied. “Probably later. Like once we all grow old in the real.”

“Maybe once we die from old age?” Iris said. “Hopefully he gets it by then, so he knows how to write the speech for the eulogy. No offense, Merc, but he’s definitely the one I want speaking at my funeral. Would drive my parents nuts.”

Arron smiled, taking the well-deserved licks from his friends.

As if a cloud had moved from in front of the sun, he realized that was what they were. Somehow, somewhere along the way, this group of misfits switched from random people he was using to get to Bella, to friends. Actual companions he liked and appreciated his time with. He cared about these people.

New friends hadn’t been part of the plan, but as he looked around the group, he was better for it.

“Just pretend you don’t know our real-life genders, boy,” Torbin said. “If we wanted ya to call us something specific, we would tell ya. And we ain’t said anything before now. So let it be.”

That he could do.

“Now, the trick to this encounter,” Torbin said, bringing everyone back to the reason they were there, “is to take advantage of them fighting with each other. Everyone get an Inspection in real quick.”

Arron looked towards the beasts.

Inspection – Success!

– Crimson Stegosaur Alpha – Beast – Level 27 Leader of a herd of Crimson Stegosaur, this beast has been locked in combat with a rival since before anyone remembers. Traits Health Pool: High Speed: Slow Toughness: Near Indestructible Cleverness: None Specials: Tail Swipe, Plate Ram

Inspection – Success!

– Emerald Stegosaur Alpha – Beast – Level 27 Leader of a pack of Emerald Stegosaur, this beast has been locked in combat with a rival since before anyone remembers. Traits Health Pool: High Speed: Slow Constitution: Near Indestructible Cleverness: None Specials: Tail Swipe, Crushing Roll

“As you can see,” the dwarf continued, “with Constitution levels that high, damaging these beasties is hard as hell, especially with the Level nerf we have from dungeon running with Arron. We need to work together here. Now, you might have noticed there aren’t any weak spots on those beasties at the moment.”

Shocked, Arron refocused on the giant lizards. Sure enough, it was as Torbin said. Tip to tail the creatures shone with strength, not a weak spot to be seen.

“That doesn’t mean there won’t be a weak spot though,” Torbin smiled conspiratorially. “Sonya, we need to take out the Emerald first, it’s too much to try them both together, and the Crimson won’t drop the key if it dies first. So, as they say… the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

The grin that stretched across Torbin’s face nearly caused Arron to giggle with how the plan was coming together.

“The Crimson should take a hit or two in the battle, even with the upper hand, and those wounds will be our weak spots. Everyone got it?” Torbin searched the faces of the party.

A group of manic grins was his only response.

“Excellent. Let’s go.”

Torbin kept his position on the overhang, taking advantage of the height to use his rifle to full effect. Sonya stayed on the ledge above as well to help control the beasts.

Iris, Mercutio, and Arron snuck around to the clearing below, positioning themselves near the battle, ready for action. Luckily the Alphas were far more concerned with each other than the branches snapping at Arron’s passing.

Deep breaths helped keep him calm. The gentle caress of the plants hiding him sent jolts through his limbs as his spiked adrenaline increased his sensitivity. Goosebumps rose on his arms, his nerves ringing in eager excitement. A steady tinnitus-like ring was further fueled by the incessant pulsing desire of Mule. Like throwing lighter fluid on a campfire, the intelligence behind that weapon stoked his aggression and prepared him for violence.

Some might have been concerned about that influence. Concerned that the Living Weapon was driving Arron towards barbarism and madness. Arron wasn’t concerned. He welcomed the influence like a brother, finding in the weapon a mirror of his own desires.

Only he wouldn’t rush this time, reminding himself how quickly he’d died the last time he tangled with these monsters.

Patience. Stick to the plan.

The longest few minutes of Arron’s day crawled past waiting for Sonya to make her move.

Without so much as a fizzle, the ground under the Emerald Stegosaur suddenly turned to thick, clinging mud, swallowing the beast up to its belly.

Immediately, the Alpha trumpeted his dismay, frantically trying to free himself and regain equal footing with his foe. The Crimson Stegosaur stepped back several feet, its enormous head swinging left and right, suspicious. The Emerald Stegosaur kicked fiercely with its powerful legs, pounding the mud into solid earth again. Just as it looked like it may escape, more of the ground shifted, trapping the beast all over again.

The Crimson Stegosaur, alerted by his opponent’s cries, threw caution to the wind and charged.

The Emerald went ballistic at the sight of the incoming ball of red fury. Whooshing swings of his colossal tail thundered through the clearing, beating at the gripping mud in an attempt to get free.

Sonya swore, trying to keep the beast contained as it nearly escaped again. More of the surrounding earth turned to mud, bringing a frustrated trumpet from the green creature. The trumpet turned to a pained cry as the Crimson Stegosaur used its momentum to Tail Whip the Emerald across its side. Three feet of bone spike sank into the thick hide, and blood spurted from the wound when the spike was unceremoniously yanked out.

Arron, totally engrossed, missed Iris and Mercutio jumping into the fray. The pair targeted the Emerald’s injuries, furiously laying into the wounded lizard. Arron cursed and pulled himself from the distraction and joined the battle.

Three quick thrusts from Mercutio made a sucking sound that somehow pierced through the cacophony of battle. Each drive slid the rapier’s blade deep into the beast’s wound, all the way up to the quillons. The blade turned from a dashing, mirror like sheen, to a stick covered in crimson. Thin trickles of blood dripped from the tip, deceptively small for the amount of damage Arron knew the Bard had done.

At the same time, Iris jumped into the air, twisting her body and tumbling over the impossibly large plates on the stegosaur’s back. She tossed three glass balls with an eerie green liquid at the wound. A sickening sizzle filled the air, accompanied by the scent of sulfur the moment the balls broke and the wound turned a sickly dark green.

Howls of pain and rage erupted from the Emerald’s throat as whatever Iris just used ate through its body in a spiderweb of darkened infection in the veins.

Spinning faster than Arron thought possible, the dinosaur returned a Tail Whip against the Crimson, opening up a long gash along its neck. The Crimson howled in rage, tucking its chin and throwing itself bodily into the Emerald beast. The huge plates opened new wounds and created immediate bruises. Several jerking pulses from the Crimson ensured the plates increased their damage before the Emerald was able to drive its opponent away with a swipe of its massive head, knocking the creature off its feet.

Weak spots pulsed darkly along the Emerald Stegosaur now, like a trail of carnage on the previously unblemished scales.

“Damn stupid lizard!” Sonya yelled as the Crimson nearly regained its feet, only to find itself now stuck worse than its opponent.

Arron swung Mule, aiming at one of the new targets along the Emerald’s side. At the last moment he felt Sonya refresh her spell, the ground going soft. He jumped backward, trying to keep from getting stuck. He barely made it, the sticky mess clinging to his boot and pulling it right off his foot.

“Hey! Look out for the melee Classes!” he shouted up towards the pair on the ledge.

Sonya didn’t even turn to look at him, her gaze focused on the clearing, sweat beaded on her forehead, and arms moving in hypnotic, rhythmic gestures.

Moving more cautiously, he approached the Emerald, adjusting his gait for his now mismatched footwear. The beast’s head snaked back and forth, attacking the now also trapped Crimson. Rhythmic slaps of its bony head against its opponent’s side created a bruising weak spot right before Arron’s eyes.

With a grunt of effort, Arron brought Mule to bear on that particularly nasty, and festering gouge, putting every ounce of strength he could muster into the swing. A sickening crunch filled the air as something gave under his hammer’s head, a spurt of blood shooting out at Mule’s impact.

The Emerald Stegosaur screamed in pain, twisting its body to try and protect itself. Arron struck again, briefly locking gazes with a smiling Iris as his teammates pummeled the other side of the beast.

The group’s tactic was working! So well in fact, not a single person was injured so far.

Froth dripped from the mouth of the creature, its breaths deep and rasping. It looked with hatred at the Crimson Stegosaur, as though it were the sole cause to its troubles.

And then Torbin started shouting warnings.

Arron couldn’t hear what his friend said over the noise of battle. But when the Emerald Stegosaur pushed itself onto its back, he felt fairly confident that he got the idea. It started to roll.

The massive plates came at him like huge scooping teeth of doom. He barely dodged out of the way as one crashed to the ground right where he’d been standing. And then the sky went dark as the giant lizard literally rolled over Arron, suspended only by the plates stuck in the ground.

Arron grabbed one of the plates, screaming and hoping to all that was holy he could find safety in the forest of armored bone. When the ground came rushing up at him, he recognized this was a horrible idea.

With massive, crushing movements the Emerald Stegosaur rolled toward its Crimson opponent. Back plates acting like shovels, the dinosaur rolled, and rolled, and rolled until it was within range of its foe.

It moved faster, churning like a blender, beating the other Alpha and crushing it repeatedly with a mastication of its trapped frame between the earth and the jagged teeth of the Emerald Stegosaurs back plates.

Arron held on for dear life. His world going from dark to light, to dark again. He hunkered down on the steg’s back, the earth coming within inches of him. Only his Strength kept him attached through the jarring centrifugal force.

“The Emerald is going to kill the Crimson! Up your DPS! We have to kill the Emerald first!” Torbin shouted, his voice somehow enhanced enough for Arron to hear above the clatter.

He noticed a weak spot near the plate he was clinging to. A small gash where one of the Crimson Stegosaur’s attacks scraped the plate, nearly dislodging it. And giving Arron an opening.

“Well, this’ll be a hell of a story for Merc to write.”

Arron grabbed Mule’s handle. Anchoring himself against the force of the Emerald’s manic turning with his other arm around another plate, Arron struck the creature. Every hit reverberated through his whole body. The cracks as he broke bones, the vibrations as he bruised its body. He became lost in the rhythmic slams of his hammer. The familiar, comfortable focus of him, his objective and Mule.

And then Iris was pulling him off the beasts back.

“Whoa there, killer,” she said. “Big boy is down.”

And it was. At some point the creature had stopped rolling and was now laying still under him. A quick glance showed why. The Crimson Stegosaur’s tail spike was sticking through the creature’s head.

The red dino wasn’t moving much, in pretty rough shape itself after the battle. Arron felt a twang of pity for the creature.

Level Up – You are now Level 20!

You have met the necessary requirements to progress along your path.

Dinosaurs. You killed frickin’ dinosaurs.

“Great job, everyone!” Torbin shouted. “Arron, I don’t know how you did it, but you got its second brain! I’ve never seen someone ride the creature through its roll. Thought for sure you’d had it!”

Arron approached the Crimson Stegosaur, and bullet wounds on the animal from where Torbin had been firing on weak spots created by the Emerald came into view.

The beast was close to death, with rasping gasps and a distant look in its eyes. Nearly the entire dinosaur was now considered a weak spot. The noble beast wouldn’t survive much longer. It was better to end its pain.

So Arron did what Arron did best. He hit it with his hammer. Hard.

A sickening thwump went through the clearing, and quiet descended in a solemn hush.

As the beasts faded away to leave their loot gems, Arron sat down, drawing a deep, pensive breath.

That had been a good fight.

“Don’t forget the key,” Torbin called as he climbed down the cliff wall.

Arron reached over and picked up a piece of tail that was left next to the Crimson Stegosaur’s gem.

- Spike of a Crimson Stegosaur’s Tail - The Point of a True Leader

“Wow. That is a really bad pun,” Arron said, slightly annoyed. “Maybe it’s supposed to add to the entertainment?”

Putting the spike into his Inventory, Arron shouted over to Torbin, “Got it. What now?”

“Now, my boy,” Torbin said, rubbing his beefy hands together, his excitement palpable, “we get to gather the other two keys. I think you’re really gonna like the battle with the Brachiosaurus. We’re literally gonna jump on its back and fight while riding the beast!”

Searching through his memory, the long-necked monsters formed in his mind’s eye. Along with just how tall they were.

“We knock it down first, right?” Arron asked hopefully.

“Hell no! That’s the fun of this one! We’ll even let you climb the neck for the killing blow.”

Which meant he was going to be…

Arron groaned.

He really hated heights.