Ash’s club slammed into the Queen’s great bulbus egg sack. Her ice imbued strike chipped away a few shards of flesh and a pale yellow fluid started to leak out.

  The ant Queen roared. It was a strange, high pitched, clacking roar but Ash felt as if the whole cavern stilled for a single moment. She tried not to be shaken by the screech, slamming in another ice strike as the Queen suddenly rotated, the egg sack spinning so fast she almost lost her grip on her club.

  To the side, she saw a mass of needle like black legs rushing towards her, the Queen’s more antlike front half standing even taller than the hive guards. Ash realised she needed to end this, and soon. Her club came down again, but this time no ice formed. Her Will was out.

  Ash had a moment of realisation that maybe she had overstepped on this one. She had dealt 63 damage to the Queen and yet she didn’t even seem phased. What’s worse, the tough hide of the Queen had a 20% physical damage resistance. She could be level 5 or more, with potentially hundreds of health and, now out of Will, Ash would have to chip the rest of that away with puny 11 damage swings of her club.

  The moment shattered as a great black mass barrelled into her from the side. Ash was sent flying, landing hard on the side of the mound and beginning to tumble and slide back down. She splayed her arms out and quickly managed to recover, stopping her slide about a third of the way down. Ash could see the mass of ants, already turned and surging up the rise after her. She had the choice, face them or face the queen. She chose the queen.

  Scrambling to her feet, she sprinted back up the rise, her stamina dropping. The queen tracked her, scurrying in for another strike. Just then, a thick bolt slammed into the giant ant, just next to her chitinous face. She let out another roar of pain, slowing just enough for Ash to reach her side.

  Ash brought the large club down with all her might, smashing it into the egg sack once more.

  The club snapped, splintering around a third along the length. Ash stared in horror at the end of her weapon, dangling limply in her hands, the glow slowly fading from the shattered wood and leaving the world far darker around her. Then a black shape moved in her periphery and her head rocked to the side. Her thoughts spun, lost as her body tumbled once more.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  You have been dazed! Your thoughts and actions will be muddled and slowed temporarily.

  Ash lay on the floor, staring as shadows flickered across the ceiling. A great dark shape moved above her, blurry and distorted with her dazed vision. It shifted suddenly and a sharp pain tore through her gut, her vision clearing as her insides tore.

  The ant Queen’s razor-sharp foreleg was embedded in her midriff. Ash gasped, blinking in horror as the second leg came down, impaling her chest. The pain was immense. She coughed, blood dripping from her lips.

  Ash absently checked her health and almost laughed. She was back down to 2 Hitpoints again. Before, she had always managed to escape with just 2 left, but it looked like this time wasn’t going to play out quite the same. She had run in too far. Isolated from her friends at the top of the mound. The Queen leered down at her, jaws clacking together. A bolt plinked ineffectually off of one of the Queen’s hardened forelegs. At least Vidar was trying to help her, though it wasn’t going to be enough. The jaws lowered, inching closer to her head.

  Am I seriously about to get my face eaten? An almost comical image if it wasn’t so horrifyingly real, the grotesque mandibles in the insects’ mouth twitching before her, inches away.

  Ash closed her eyes. This was it. She wouldn’t defeat the Queen herself, but surely her companions would manage now. The last few hits had clearly injured her. Hopefully Vidar could finish her off while she was distracted…

  Distracted… by me…

  The ground rumbled and suddenly a piercing shriek blasted through Ash’s eardrums. The needles retracted from her body and she coughed again, more blood seeping from her lips. Ash blinked, looking up to see the ant wheeling away from her, but she was unable to move far as a great spike of earth had shot up, impaling her egg-sack. An arrow whizzed overhead, hitting her side. Then another.

  Vidar? She thought But no, those are arrows, not bolts.

  Then she saw them. Lizardmen, marching up the rise, burning torches held high, illuminating their around 15 strong force. A few with spears rushed up, impaling the Queen again.

  She let out a final screech, then slumped. Finally dead.

  You have contributed to slaying level 5 dire ant queen. Contribution totalled as 52%. You have received 1430 exp.

  Damn. That’s a lot of experience. Ash thought absently I’m almost level 4… Shame I’m about to be killed by these guys now. Or some random forager than decides it wants a nibble. Or any stiff breeze really.

  Ash lay still, pain coursing through her from her punctured torso.

  If I lay still enough, maybe I’ll be ignored? She pondered, staring blankly at the ceiling.

  Ash heard a hiss from nearby and one of the lizardmen appeared over her, spear pointed directly at her face.

  Damn.