33 Flippy

'Enemies! Lunge! Attack! Kill enemies! Protect the child!' I think as I lunge towards one of the stronger enemies and rip its arm off with my jaws, its bitter blood running down my face as I slurp up the appendage and swallow it with a burp.

As i fight with the several stronger creatures I remember my past and how I got here. I was a raider once, an accomplished one at that. But we attacked a city and didn't realize it had defenders. We fought and lost, many of my brethren taken as captives as we were thrown into a dark pit under the city. Smooth skins did things to us, horrible things. Hooks were put in our bodies, our organs removed while we still lived, metal pieces put into us to replace our pieces. I was lucky....so lucky. A smooth skin woman took interest in me, took me to a room with drawings on the floor. She sang to me, such beauty and peace overtook me, yes me a feared uster raider. As the song ended I could feel myself become lightheaded and sleep, when I next woke I was with the smooth skin child named Sarah. Her face was dirty with tears, her clothes ragged, stomach gurgling in hunger as she looked at me with fear. But I felt a bond, a kinship with this child, my leader, my master! I hunted for her and taught her to craft clothing from pelts and skins, I fought for her as she hid behind my small frame.

Then the new companions appeared. A tall woman with bronze skin and short hair, green and black tattoo's cover her body as a sickly green spear is held behind her. A spider the size of a horse, its body almost translucent like the dead in this strange area, and riding atop this beast a lizard that stood on two feet, frills under its neck as it wears ragged robes. This area isn't safe, I prepare myself for they just easily killed the opponent I was struggling against. I can buy time for my master to escape, death does not stop me for long anymore, but it still hurts. But my fall can buy her time to flee and hide until I can wake once more. But they don't attack, strange but welcome. They bring us to a cave but as we enter I recognize this feeling. This is a sacred place, the uster were born from one of these very places, our race given power from the very place we came from. A dungeon!

The dungeon speaks! Our races dungeon never spoke to us, but it gave us food and clothing, weapons and herbs. This one does the same, I try to speak but I still cannot. I try to force myself to move and I cannot, I've tried since awakening but my body is that of a puppet. I can obey my master but that is it, I thank the gods she is a kind one. We train as the the dungeon goes silent, sleeping is what the bronze woman says. The lizard helps the master learn magic, she grows stronger and so do I. Days pass and the dungeon awakens, and has a mission for us. We go to find it fresh food. New treasures and materials, monsters and men, anything we can find it wants. Prioritizes masters safety and orders a guide, good leader but greedy, naïve, slightly stupid, it acts as a smooth skin instead of a higher being. We set out and find a group of smooth skins outside, many have evil surrounding them. One steps forward with a taunt but the bronze lady dispatches him quickly, I smile in relief that someone has a backbone. We find a woman who is large as oris and twice as strong, we have her as a guide and leave the settlement.

We find the glowing dead, only weaklings but we capture three, they fall easily and we put them in magic cages and move forward. Soon we find a group of ugly hunchbacked creatures, they appear weak but I recognize their kind. Pack hunters, the weakest will be sent to tire us but once they do the real warriors will appear. We fight these weaklings, they call them scritchers, and carve through their ranks. They appear humanoid but act as wild beasts, little more than clawing and biting their way over enemies but this group of prey are biting back. I devour them with my jaws leaving a trail of dead or dying behind me, I smile at the the thrill of a raid again when a much larger and stronger enemy appears. It appears that one is our target to capture, but I see a magic user among them. Decrepit staff, hides behind the stronger creatures, hate filled glare of one who is both feared for their strength but has immense weakness once its used. The dungeon will want it and if the dungeon is happy my master is safe. I carve a path through the weak and approach the true warriors, rending the arm off the first to rush towards me and smiling at the flavor of a stronger opponent.

We begin the dance of warriors, dodge, parry, strike, disembowel, crush, leap, it all is a performance that reminds me of that hauntingly beautiful song. I take an attack on my chest and fly backwards, breathing hurts now but I stumble back up. I feel healing in my body as two corpses approach from behind. They attack the warriors in front of me as words scroll across my vision.

{Summoning restraints unlocked! All past abilities are now available! All past memories are now available! You have been upgraded from a basic summon to a Defender! Your lord and Master to defend is- Sarah Furmach!}

I smile as I open my mouth and chant in a gurgling language as a cutlass made of coral and water appears in my hand. My eyes stare at the magic user as the creature glares back, a twinkle of fear appears in its hate fueled eyes.

"The dungeon will feast upon your soul, so that my Sarah can be safe." I mutter as I rush towards the magic user slashing my liquid blade through enemies along the way, my grating laughter filling the clearing as Sarah smiles behind me as I hear her mention Flippy behind strong as I strive to prove my master right. The true battle is soon to begin.