Vines snapped and moss flew dozens of feet as the cragtooth stood up. As it got to all fours, a dust cloud formed under it. The ruins were the cragtooth. At least, some of them. Around ten feet tall, the creature was completely made up of stone. Its features reminded Dex of a lion, or maybe a tiger. There was no mane to speak of, but it was definitely a big stone cat.
“Uh-oh,” was all Dex could get out before it leapt directly at him. Why does everything in these forests keep jumping at me? Dex wondered. It roared in the air, sending shivers down his spine. He couldn’t quite explain it, but the roar had a stoney undertone.
The cragtooth slammed down on Dex with one of its stone-paws, smashing him into the ground. Dex would have been squished completely had it not been for his Weapon Swap. In the last second before impact, it changed his sword into a massive tower shield, protecting him from the majority of the blow.
Dex became dazed by the blow, his vision blurring and his sense of direction completely lost. It took all of his concentration to roll to one side, narrowly dodging the next paw as it slammed where he just was. The impact left a small indent in the earth, nothing that could be called a crater, but a noticeable change nonetheless.
The cragtooth swiped its left paw at him as he stood, sending him flying. Dex’s back smashed into a tree trunk and he heard another roar. Dust flew from its mouth as it let out its cry. It didn’t charge him this time, instead it took on a combative stance, stepping to one side and staring him down, much like a lion would.
Dex took the moment to get his bearings and reground himself. His head was still fuzzy from the impacts, but he powered through and regained his focus. He stared back at the creature. Somehow, he felt it wanted a fight, not a murder. Maybe it was playing with him?
Matching its stride, the two began a slow circle, staring at each other, waiting for the other to make the first move. Dex noticed his sword had returned to its original form. It seemed to only change in the moments it needed to, and then returned to its base form when not in immediate use.
He decided that being on the defensive was not the option; the cragtooth was just too big and fast. Then again, being aggressive didn’t alleviate either of those traits. Still, Dex charged forward, letting out a battlecry of his own. The cragtooth charged in turn.
The two foes reached each other and the stone cat took the first swing with its left paw again, but Dex was prepared this time. He quickly shifted his feet and shot to the right, ducking just under the swipe. His reflexes felt faster than ever. He almost didn’t have to think about what his body was doing. Dex planted his feet and swung his sword back at the cragtooth’s elbow. Instinctively grabbing onto the hilt with both hands, his sword shift only a moment before impact.
The cragtooth’s stone paw was shattered by the impact of a massive warhammer. Stone and dust shotgunned from its limb and the front of its paw fell limp to the ground. It let out a roar of pain, stumbling backwards. It fell over, losing its balance having just lost one fourth of its legs. Scrambling to create some distance, the cragtooth managed to back up around thirty feet.
Dex wasn’t done, however. He charged, bloodlust in his eyes. Or maybe, stonelust? He closed the gap in only a couple of seconds. He felt victory as he leapt in the air, bringing his sword down on the cragtooth’s face. The sword shifted, but only slightly. Its blade elongated to match the height of the creature’s head, slicing clean through the stone, thanks to the tier five sharp enchant no doubt. Dex fell to the ground as the chunks of its head fell to either side of him. He was exhausted, having spent much of his energy on those last two swings.
“You did it!” Princess echoed, rushing from her hiding spot. “That didn’t seem too hard. It only took two hits!”
Breathing heavily, Dex replied, “I hate this place.”
The two let out a laugh, settling down at a nearby tree for a quick rest.
“Well, what are your scroll choices?” Princess asked, sounding impatient.
“I, uh...” Dex realized he hadn’t seen the quest complete popup. He quickly checked his quest progress.
[Quest: The Gargantuan Falls]
[Slay The Gargantuan cragtooth: 0/1]
[Reward: Belt of the Thirsty]
[Reward: 2x Regeneration Potions (Tier 1)]
[Reward: ??? Scroll (Tier 1)]
“Oh hell, it’s not dead.” Dex grunted. Using his sword to get up, which conveniently shifted to a cane for a moment, he started walking towards the cragtooth. This Weapon Shift passive is NOT disappointing, Dex thought.
The stone began to shift again, but a lot more of it this time. Within seconds, the creature was standing again, having recovered its lost limb and reconnected its head. This time, however, it didn’t just resemble a large stone cat anymore. It seemed to be a cat-porcupine hybrid as large stone spikes coated the cragtooth’s entire body.
Immediately, the beast roared, dust and pebbles spewing from its mouth over the field between them. The roar felt different from before, more powerful, perhaps even angry. It is probably already mad to have been woken up in the first place, let alone having nearly been killed.
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The cragtooth raised one paw and slammed it into the ground in front of it. A shockwave sent forth, raising dirt and grass straight towards Dex and Princess.
Dex did not hesitate scooping up his familiar and diving out of the way. He coddled her against his chest, protecting her from any flying debris. It’s a good thing he did, too, as Dex felt a sharp pain in his calf and lower back. The pair hadn’t noticed at first, but when it sent the shockwave, it also shot a volley of stone spikes from its body.
“Get out of here!” Dex yelled, letting Princess go. She disappeared into a bush not far from them. Dex tried to stand, finding himself unable to move his left leg. Reaching down to remove the spike from his leg, he saw another volley of spikes coming. Reacting quickly, he planted the blade of his sword into the ground in front of him, hoping that his Weapon Shift would take over and protect him. It did, luckily, turning his sword into a shield, just tall enough to block the few spikes that would have hit him.
He wrenched the spike from his leg, then his back, hearing a gush and seeing streams of blood shoot out each time.
“You’re going to pass out if you don’t get out of there.” Princess echoed. “It’s not coming closer. I think it’s scared to get close to you since you cut its head in half.”
Volleys of spikes pelted off his shield every few seconds. Dex could feel his Warrior’s Regeneration kicking in, the wounds already sealing as blood flowed slower. If he held out another thirty seconds, he’d be able to stand at least.
“Guess I’ll step in since you can’t seem to handle this yourself, little man.” A deep voice spoke from behind a nearby tree. Dex hadn’t noticed the man before. His incredibly large frame was impossible to miss. He seemed must have just gotten here. The man stepped from behind the tree. His body was round as a pumpkin, his gut protruding from his too-small-shirt. He had no armor, no weapon, and this fool just stepped out into the open. Not to mention he was twice the target Dex was.
“Who the... Where did...” Princess echoed, apparently having not noticed the man either.
“I don’t know,” Dex echoed back, realizing this was the first time he intentionally returned a thought to her instead of speaking. “There’s no way this dude snuck up on anyone, let alone you with your rat senses.”
“I’m not a flab detector, Dexter, or I would have found you hours earlier than I did when you first got here.” Princess sneared.
Brushing off Princess’s jab, he figured he should address the man, who had been casually smacking away flying spikes like flies. The man was just waiting for Dexter to say something. “Introductions later, I’ll follow your lead, big man,” Dex said, wanting to waste no time.
“No need,” the large man said, smacking away more spikes, “Don’t want ya to get hurt any more than you have, and you’ve done more than enough to qualify for your reward.
A cloud of dust took the place of the man as he burst forward. Dex couldn’t even make out where he went. Even worse, he couldn’t see the battle from behind his shield, at least at first. It wasn’t long before the spikes stopped and he was able to peek and see the fight. Well, it wasn’t much of a fight, more of a beat-down. The man was directly on top of the cragtooth, standing casually as he looked down. The beast roared and tried to shake him off.
Pressing one palm into the beast’s back, the man seemed to activate a spell the same way the vrakir did last night.
“Suh, Mah” He spoke quickly, each syllable was sharp and staccato. His spell unleashed a blast of force into the cragtooth’s back, shooting rock and debris throughout the clearing and far into the forest beyond. Dex was forced to hide behind his shield again to avoid collateral damage.
When he peaked again, all he saw was a pile of rubble under the man. He was bending over and picking something up. Loot, perhaps? Loot would be cool.
In another blur, the man appeared next to Dex, holding his hand out. A small black stone with glowing crimson cracks rested in his palm.
“This is its core, gotta break this or it’ll regenerate stronger each time.” The man said, then he closed his hand, crushing the core into dust. He extended one hand to Dex and helped him up. A popup appeared in Dex’s vision.
[Slay The Gargantuan cragtooth: 1/1]
[Reward: Potion Belt]
[Reward: 2x Regeneration Potions (Tier 1)]
[Reward: ??? Scroll (Tier 1)]
Ignoring the rewards for now, Dex spoke to the man “Thank you, that was... incredible.” He was still reeling from the whole situation.
“Ah, was nothing. I was watching the whole time, hoping ya had it yourself. Too bad, I say. Maybe you would have had it, maybe not, but it weren’t worth the risk. Name’s Tiffany, short for Tiff. Er, other way round, ya.” Tiff said, his smile revealing several missing teeth in his mouth. “I never seen a real life Weapon Master. That Weapon Shift ability is a neat, neat trick, I’ll tell ya.”
Tiff picked up his shield, examining it closely. Dex felt something in the back of his mind, a prodding and poking, as if something was wrong. Almost as if something was being stolen. Without much consideration, he activated Weapon Recall and his weapon returned to his hand, appearing as its base form sword.
Shock appeared on Tiff’s face. “That’s a neat trick, too.” He said.
“Sorry, I uh, it’s soulbound and felt weird that someone else was holding it.” Dex said. At least he assumed that’s why he had felt that way.
“No worries, friend!” Tiff’s jolly laugh set a shiver down Dex’s spine. This guy acts like he didn’t just kill a giant rock monster, Dex thought
Princess came running out of a bush. Dex held his hand out for her and she climbed up to his shoulder. She sniffed and squeaked a few times, echoing something to Dex.
“She says thank you,” Dex said, “And also said... I’m not saying that, Princess.” A small blush painting his cheeks.
“A familiar, even! You are an interesting little man. What god cursed you with a rat, one’s got to wonder. Most Bearers have intimidating or practical familiars.” Tiff chuckled.
“I’m gonna bite him, Dex. Hold me back, hold me back!” Princess raged into Dex’s mind. Evidently, she was very offended.
Dex put a hand on her, petting her lightly. “Calm down, Tiff can feel however he wants, but I think you’re useful.” He said, hoping that would calm her down. He figured it was best not to let her start a fight with this giant mystery man. At least, not yet.
“I hope I didn’t hurt your little buddy’s feelings too much,” Tiff said. “I’m just sayin’ how it is, is all.” Tiff’s jolly face shifted more seriously. “Now, I got to be going, little man. I got a bigger quest I need to be getting to. I’m sure I’ll see you soon back at the Fort ya? Oh, before I be going, what’s your name?”
“Right, sorry, I’m Dexter. This is Priscilla, we call her Princess, tho.” Dex said.
“Dexter? That’s a girl’s name!” The man laughed even louder than before. Resting a hand on Dex’s shoulder, he glared deep into his soul. “We’re two of a kind, little man, what with me being named Tiffany and all. You are an interesting pair, I’ll tell ya. Welp, be seeing you.”
With that, the man who had just potentially saved their life turned and walked into the forest. Laughter could be heard for minutes as he disappeared into the distance.
Slumping against a tree, Dexter rested his head against the bark and couldn’t help but mumble, “God I fuckin’ hate this place,”