A chill ran up Arron’s spine as he looked down the dark, musty hallway. A tiny pinprick of orange light flickered in the distance, lending a malevolent tone to the space.

Torbin smiled. “Everyone rest up. There isn’t a time limit to this tunnel, and even though it looks creepy, it works kinda like a safe zone. Sonya, replenish your Mana, Arron rest, and everybody make sure you’re fully healed. Tina’s no slouch, so let’s be ready.”

“Tina? What the hell kinda dinosaur is a Tina?” Arron asked.

Torbin’s smile turned wicked. “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of ruining the surprise, lad. Just know she is big, scary and terrrrifying. Now, rest up. We’ll go in a few hours.”

Arron harrumphed at his friend’s joke. He was definitely getting tired of the group keeping him in the dark. He was supposed to be part of the team, right? Sooner or later, the “new guy” schtick had to wear off. But he wasn’t going to argue about it. Not today.

He sat down on the cold ground and decided to look over his new stats.

New Skill Gained

– Seismic Slam –

Let loose a thundering wave of force, blowing those nearby back and causing a wave along the earth.

When even your personality isn’t enough to keep people away…

Arron

Level 23

Class: Hammerhead

Strength: 24

Agility: 10

Toughness: 26

Charisma: 7

Knowledge: 7

Cunning: 9

Fate: Hero

Luck: 0

Karma: Nice Guy

Weapon

Mule Near (Damage Variable)

Featherlight: This weapon seems to weigh 1/4th its actual weight to its wielder.

Alpha Aura: Predators, pack leaders and creatures with an “alpha” status will be far more aggressive to you when you wield this weapon.

Living Weapons: Your connection with this weapon has deepened. You now understand its opinions and emotions. Your connection will grow the more you wield it. Like its wielder, stubborn as a mule.

Equipment

Head: Empty

Arms: Skag Bracers

Neck: Empty

Hands: Fighters Calluses

Torso: Studded Tunic

Feet: Well Worn Boots

Shoulders: Empty

Ring 1: Empty

Legs: Worn Leather Pants

Ring 2: Empty

Skills: Blunt (7), Brutal Hit- Passive (8), Timed Strike (4), Seismic Slam (I), Inspection (3)

Traits: Stubborn (III), Haunted (I)

The new Haunted Trait stood out as he Inspected his sheet. Focusing on the Trait, he was met with some additional information.

Haunted (I)

Something is lurking in your subconscious. Past, Present or Future… it makes it difficult to rest.

It’s fine. Just don’t think about it.

Well, that was ominous. Could his little meltdown a few nights before have had more consequences than he realized? Or perhaps he had the meltdown because of this Trait? Either way, the condition irked him. He was not a fan of things he couldn’t face head-on.

The changes to Mule were cool though, it was nice to see progress with the weapon. He could definitely feel the connection growing deeper as they fought together more.

But the new Seismic Slam Skill was what he was most excited about. He finally had something that would let him do a little crowd control. It had certainly taken long enough. He suppressed the shivers as he remembered the Blood Fiends crawling all over him in the training arena.

What he couldn’t quite figure out was how it happened, though. He’d been stumped, just like the rest of his party. Running hopelessly into certain death and just sort of felt like the best thing to do was jump and smash his hammer into the ground. Doing so had resulted in the new Skill. A really great new Skill.

Was there a way to force that situation? Did the game decide when to grant a new Skill? And if so, could he nudge it along? If he slammed his hammer into the ground previously, perhaps with the intention of knocking people back, would he have developed the Skill sooner? It hadn’t triggered on any of the countless times he accidentally missed and hit the ground with his hammer, so was intention a part of it?

He would have to ask the party about that later.

The ability to push along Skills that would complement his fighting style would be a huge boon. So huge, he was sure someone else had already thought of it.

Either way, this dungeon had been amazing for developing his character, even if he ignored the new Skill. He had been shocked and thrilled by how many Levels he’d gained so far. Having died, he lost some progress, but he quickly made up the loss and then some as they proceeded through the key challenges outside the gate. And that didn’t factor in all the new XP from fleeing the locals.

That had been a treasure trove with minuscule amounts of XP granted for each local or dinosaur they evaded. And that didn’t include the Party Insight buff.

All in all, it was clear that dungeons were his best bet for character advancement. Especially when he had his party to run them with. Perhaps they could grind a few more after they finished this one, he mused.

Honestly, with the gains they received, he couldn’t think of a reason why the party would object.

***

“All right, ya lay-abouts!” Torbin chided jovially. “Time to get to it. I have sleep to be gettin’ tonight.”

Heads nodded around Arron.

“So, what’s the trick to this one?” Arron asked as the party stalked down the tunnel. The flickering had continued undiminished while the group rested. No indication that whatever was waiting on the other side had even noticed the delay.

“This one? Well, this one’s simple.” Torbin smiled. “None of the crazy tactics here. You just get its attention and try not to get killed. We’ll hit it from there. Hard. As hard as we can dish out. See how effective that taunt of yours really is.”

“So, just make it angry and don’t die?”

“Yup!”

Arron couldn’t shake the feeling he wasn’t saying everything.

Shrugging it off, he nodded. “That I can do, peach fuzz.”

“Peach fuzz?” Torbin scoffed. “My hands have more hair than yer face, pretty boy.”

“Whatever you say, chin-wig.”

“Chin-wig? What the hell is a chin-wig? You know what… I don’t wanna know. Everyone ready? Stepping over this line starts the encounter.” He indicated a literal line on the floor at the end of the passage. With a final glance, Torbin locked eyes with each of the party members. “Here we go.”

Piercing candlelight from a thousand reflective mirrors all shined into the center of the pyramid. The flickering fire beat down on the team as they entered the white, sand-strewn expanse, a humid, sickly heat rising from the sand as they passed.

Hundreds of people, all dressed in similar khaki pants and brown vests, with large ridiculous name tags, surrounded them, staring at them with wide, bloodshot eyes. The crowd was silent. Only the sound of wind through the halls accompanied the party’s footsteps in the sand.

There was a startling level of blood lust behind those insane eyes, and Arron started to worry that if they survived whatever was coming, they would have to deal with the volunteers next.

“Uh, Torb, these people are looking a little… psychotic?”

“Yea, a bunch of crazed creepy cultists. Ignore them for now. Your target is gonna come from the center over there.”

Arron looked where Torbin pointed and saw a large hole in the ground, with chains flowing over the edge out of sight below.

“Got it!” Arron called, moving up to a jog as he headed toward the hole.

Tina. Tina. Tina.

The crowd began to rhythmically repeat the name. The chant started low, but slowly grew in fervor and volume. The chains into the hole began to retract, the creaking whine of metal straining against metal as something heavy rose from the depths.

Gripping Mule, he started to swing the weapon around, building momentum and stretching his muscles as he got closer and closer to the pit.

Just as his run brought him within striking distance, the head of the creature emerged.

A head the size of a bus looked at him with unblinking reptilian eyes. Its enormous jaws open and dripping saliva, its teeth long as yardsticks. With a primitive hatred, Tina the Tyrannosaurus Rex roared directly into Arron’s face.

“Holy fuck!” Arron screamed, his feet sliding in the sand as he desperately tried to stop his run. Landing on his ass, he looked up into the emerging majesty of the King of Dinosaurs and nearly wet his pants.

Oh shit! Oh god!

The sheer size of the creature was awe-inspiring, standing fifty feet tall at the shoulder. But the hungry glare it turned on him elicited a deep response from an ancient part of himself. A part that remembered what it was to not be top of the food chain. What it was like to be prey.

“Don’t worry, Boyo! You definitely got this!” Torbin called from across the sand, tossing an encouraging thumbs up.

Arron gulped down bile as he tried to calm his pounding heart. A subtle thrill started to emanate from Mule as Arron gauged the towering predator. The hammer’s excitement at fighting such a foe buzzed through its handle and into the head. Its need to conquer, to defeat the King of the lizards.

And that excitement pushed back Arron’s fear. It seeped into his bones, urging the adrenaline in his veins toward fight over flight.

Smiling, Arron took a deep breath, tightening his grip as he looked up into certain death.

Who got to say they fought a T-Rex?

And Arron did what Arron did best. He hit it with his hammer.

With a crack that resounded off the walls of the temple, Arron swung Mule into the knee of the great beast.

Immediately, the complete attention of the giant lizard fell on him, who roared directly in his face, the force of the scream causing Arron to physically stumble back.

Arron, regaining his footing, screamed his challenge back.

Tina paused, turning its head slightly at Arron. The gesture reminded him of a dog that didn’t understand what was happening. A tense moment passed as they looked at each other, finally broken by Tina licking her massive lips in hunger.

Something about the gesture, so basic in its threat, broke through Arron’s disregard for his safety.

“Nope,” Arron said. And with hardly a look back, took off.

He fought to keep his balance on the shaking earth as Tina chased him around the temple. The great strides of the beast made it difficult for Arron to keep ahead of its snapping jaws.

He caught a glance of his party members laughing hysterically.

Glaring, he turned and ran directly towards his teammates.

Eyes going wide, everyone dodged out of the way of the charging lizard, shouting at Arron.

“A little help would be nice!” Arron called as he ran by with the dino on his heels.

An acquiescing nod and a thumbs up from Torbin was all he got before the group started pumping damage into the creature.

Arron almost slowed as he awed at the damage his party members put into Tina. Lines of fire and ice stretched from Sonya’s outstretched hands, alternating between freezing and burning massive gashes in the beast’s sides.

Iris was even less subtle, stepping out of nowhere directly onto the beast’s back, and jamming glowing green daggers into the base of its skull over and over again.

Torbin fired, and Mercutio tumbled back and forth as they both hit the great beast again and again.

It. Didn’t. Blink. It didn’t so much as acknowledge the attacks it was so focused on Arron.

Torbin jumped for joy when Arron ran by yet again, the beast still snapping at his heels.

They were putting their full DPS into the creature and it ignored them like gnats. The implications were staggering for the party leader, but Arron didn’t have time to share in his friend’s joy.

Tina was gaining ground. With a curse, Arron turned, leaping to the side just as her jaws snapped closed on the space he had occupied less than a second before.

Rolling out of the leap, Arron pivoted, dashing between the T-Rex’s redwood-sized legs. He smashed Mule into the same knee of the beast and was rewarded with a scream of pain.

Haha! A smile creased his face at the small victory. Agility was the key to this fight. Out dodge, out run. He could survive this.

The beast’s forgotten tail hit him in the chest with the force of a speeding truck, sending him flying through the air. His chest compressed from the blow, knocking the wind out of him and collapsing a lung. He crashed sixty feet away, unmoving.

His body screamed with pain as it began to slowly, much too slowly, mend the breaks and bruises, making it hard to focus. Through the haze, though, he realized Mule was no longer in his hand.

With an iron will, he lifted his head to look for his weapon.

He could feel Tina closing in on him, the vibrations in the earth getting stronger. But he didn’t see his trusty companion.

Desperately, he pulled a healing potion from his inventory, downing it in a single pull. Coughing, he groaned as his ribs popped into place while his chest re-inflated. He gasped in pain as he rolled onto his back. Just in time to see Tina’s jaws no more than a few feet in front of his face.

He swore that damn dino smirked before it chomped down on his leg, whipping its head upward to throw Arron high into the air like some delicious snack. Tina’s massive maw, that dark, dank tunnel stretched before him as he fell into her yawning mouth. Just before he slid down her throat, he managed to grab a shard of broken tooth embedded in her gums.

He clung to that handhold, his very life dependent on his grip as Tina slapped at her jaws with her tiny arms. Her massive tongue assaulted Arron, whacking him repeatedly as it tried to dislodge the stubborn morsel.

“Why. Do I keep ending up. In thing’s mouths!” Arron yelled in frustration as he held on for dear life, barely managing to survive another wet probing.

Tina, still distracted by Arron, started shaking her head back and forth, clicking her jaws together in an attempt to remove the bothersome player.

Screaming from the repeated whiplash, a glimmer in the sand caught Arron’s eye.

His hammer lay half-buried, nearly covered in sand from Tina’s pacing. Even at this distance, Arron could feel Mule Near all but humming with annoyance at being left out of the action.

If only he could reach his friend.

But it was too far. Nearly sixty feet away. Tina certainly wasn’t going to give him a moment to retrieve the weapon.

But… perhaps he didn’t need her too.

Feeling foolish, Arron tried to focus on Mule’s desire for battle. He concentrated on their connection, the feelings bridging the gap between himself and the soul bond, even across the distance.

That’s what everyone kept saying, right? With time, their bond would grow stronger? Maybe he could use that.

He focused on the weapon. On the emotions he could feel radiating from the hammer.

Tina’s shaking made focusing nearly impossible. He was too distracted by just hanging on and not being swallowed. And with an anxious realization, Arron remembered the last time he’d been in a creature’s mouth as it shook its head back and forth.

“This really may be the dumbest thing I have ever done,” he muttered as he kicked away Tina’s tongue for what felt like the five-hundredth time.

Presented with a momentary respite, Arron grunted as he slammed his left arm onto the tooth neighboring his perch in Tina’s mouth. The bone slid through flesh, burning at the very edge of his Pain Tolerance as he wedged himself onto the tiny anchor. His arm all but screamed, and he had to fight down chills as the tooth rubbed against the bones in his arm.

Gritting his teeth, he ignored the discomfort, instead reaching toward his weapon and focusing his intent. This time, he could feel it as he made progress. He felt their connection, felt Mule’s need for this battle, and he called to the weapon.

He called to his friend. His friend, who laid in the sand, hot and dry. Who could feel the tremors in the earth at Tina’s steps.

His friend, who thirsted for battle.

And his friend came.

With a snapping sound, Mule erupted from the sand and flew straight for Arron’s grip, striking with so much force it knocked him backward, dislodging him from the tooth and causing him to tumble into the back of Tina’s throat.

With a satisfying gulp, the giant lizard swallowed Arron. Sliding him down her stinking gullet without so much as a cry of surprise. Tina roared in victory. Tilting her head toward the sky, the great lizard screamed her supremacy over her foe.

Sonya looked sadly at Torbin, each shaking their head as they realized their friend died.

“I, I owe him that one,” Torbin said, embarrassed. He had been so excited at Arron’s ability to hold Aggro, he’d gotten carried away. Even though the game wasn’t permanent, he still felt guilty having thrown Arron into something and not providing the backup. Torbin knew how much the boy wanted to get to the Black Keep, and his lapse in judgment had just set him back yet again.

“It’s ok. We’ll beat Tina and bring him some good loot to help,” Sonya said, placing an encouraging hand on her friend’s back.

Torbin just nodded as he fired yet another round into the dinosaur.

“All right, Merc, get ready for your taunt. Sonya, prep your mud.”

With a deep huff, Tina turned her attention on the party, lowering her head and roaring as she charged her new prey.

The earth quaked under that sprint.

The air quivered from the deafening roar.

But then Tina slowed, her roar fading away into a confused bark-like sound. The party watched as, looking down, Tina patted at her torso with her short stubby arms, growling and barking out inquisitive sounds while spinning in place.

The party stood transfixed by the odd show. Confusion spreading as the spectacle intensified.

And then the front of Tina’s chest exploded.

Blood and viscera erupted from her huge chest like a piece of dynamite had gone off inside the beast.

With a hollow, surprised gurgle, Tina croaked and fell over dead.

Silence returned to the temple, broken only by a wet sloshing sound as, covered in acid burns and dripping with stink, Arron crawled on hands and knees out of the dino’s chest.

“Heals, please,” he choked out before collapsing face-first into the sand.