Sometime in the night it began to rain. Joe woke up enough to acknowledge it and fell swiftly back to sleep. He woke in the morning to Bixby nudging him and licking his face. “Ack! Ok! I’m awake! Dude, your breath smells like a pit.” Joe sat up and pushed Bixby away who immediately went over to the cast iron pan obviously wanting breakfast. Joe rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stoked the fire back up. The sun was barely up as he could see a faint amount of light coming from upstairs. Absently he checked his watch, but since it had stopped functioning, he grunted and rooted through his backpack. “Well, buddy, I have two more potatoes and some jerky. I think we need to go hunting today. Maybe set some snares for some rabbits or something.” He tossed the last of the jerky to Bixby who wolfed it down and stared at him expecting more. “That’s it, man. Unless you want to eat this potato raw, we need to hunt.”
Bixby let out a dissatisfied snort and a small whine and then went over to the front door and sat expectantly. “Jeez, buddy. Give me a minute.” Joe stood up, stretched and grumbled under his breath, “Don’t be pushy. Let me at least get my shit together for a minute.” Joe grabbed his paracord and his knife and machete. After a moment of thought, he also grabbed his axe and pulled his ring from inventory and placed it on the ring finger of his right hand. A brief sensation of warmth then cold washed over his hand. The axe had a holster of sorts, so he added that to his belt. Once he was satisfied that he had what he needed, he headed to the door. As he grabbed the bench to move it out of the way, Bixby began growling.
Joe stopped and looked at Bixby. He whispered, “What is it?” Joe strained his ears to try and hear anything, but the door was solid, and he could not discern anything. “Back door?” he asked pointing to the other door? Bixby trotted over to the other door and sniffed and sat at the door as Joe approached it. “We good here?” Bixby snorted which Joe took as a yes.
As silently as he could, Joe opened the door. The ground outside was soaked and had turned to mud. He pulled out his machete and peeked out the door but could see nothing amiss in the dim predawn light and there were no sounds other than the normal forest noises and the constant gurgle of the creek. He was sure that if the goblin things were here, he would have heard their gibberish and cackling. Cautiously he stepped out followed quickly by Bixby who headed to the corner of the tower and peered around it. Joe joined him a moment later but again, there was nothing out of place. At Joe’s urging, they quietly made their way towards the front of the tower, Joe’s boots squelching in the mud causing him to flinch.
As they got to the corner, Joe could see the gate was still closed and the smithy and other buildings looked untouched other than dripping water here and there. The open area in front of the tower was clear. Joe looked down at Bixby, “Are you sure there’s something here?” But Bixby’s head was lowered, and his hackles were up. Something was definitely wrong, but for the life of him, Joe could not see any danger. Tentatively, Joe stepped out from the corner of the tower and walked a few feet towards the gate. He looked around and turned back to Bixby, “What’s got you so spooked? There’s nothing here.”
Suddenly the ground erupted under Joe and dozens of snakes came boiling out of the mud. Bixby let out a deep throaty bark that Joe had never heard before as he screamed out, “Holy shit!” Joe danced around madly trying to avoid the snakes, lifting his legs high and scrambling to get back over to Bixby. He stamped and trod on numerous twisting bodies but finally managed to move away from the mass and find relative safety next to Bixby. His grip on his machete caused his hand to ache and he realized that his first reaction was a bit lacking in manliness. He squealed and ran instead of hacking away with his weapon. He frantically looked around but there were no more eruptions of wriggling bodies. He took a second to study the snakes and realized almost immediately that they were actually gigantic worms. And they were glowing.
The worms thrashed around but made no attempt to attack. Each one was almost four feet long and about as thick as Joe’s arm, and besides the soft glow, they looked exactly like a regular earthworm. Slowing his breathing, Joe studied them a moment longer and said, “I wonder what kind of fish we could catch with one of these? On the other hand, maybe I don’t want to know.”
Bixby looked like he could not decide if these things posed a real threat or not, but Joe noticed that the dog had subtly interposed himself between the worms and Joe himself. He smiled at the gesture of protection. “Bix, I think you can stand down. They’re worms. Giant ass worms, but still just worms.” Joe knelt down to get a better look at the closest one when Bixby barked once and jumped sideways into Joe pushing him back and onto his butt into the mud. Something enormous landed in the area with the worms.
It was a huge bird of some kind, at least at first glance. It had a wingspan of at least twenty feet, probably more. Its head looked like an eagle and its front legs looked like a predatory birds’ with five-inch-long massive talons. But then, the back half looked like a lion with a lion’s tail that thrashed about. The whole body must have been eight or ten feet long. It dipped its head and snatched up a worm and began eating it, while watching Joe and Bixby with one eye trained on them.
Joe slowly started to stand which caused the beast to turn its attention fully on him. Joe managed to get solidly on his feet but could not decide which way to run. The thing was too close to the barricaded front door of the tower which Joe discarded as an option immediately. He could probably run back towards the rear of the tower but that was forty feet away over fairly open ground. Glancing around, he decided that his best option was to make a mad dash to the stables and run around them to see if he could get to the gate. If he and Bixby could manage to get to the other side of the keep’s wall, he was fairly sure the thing could not navigate the dense forest floor.
Not knowing just how much Bixby understood, he risked saying, “Bixby, we need to book it to the stables and try to get into the woods.” Bixby stood his ground, head lowered, growling at the monster in front of him. Joe took a few steps towards the stables, “Bix, c’mon! We need to go!” Three more steps and the eagle-lion stopped eating and shifted its stance to face Joe fully. “Oh shit!”
The thing let out a ferocious noise that sounded like a combination of a roar and a screech which put Joe’s feet in motion, and he ran for all he was worth towards the stables twenty feet away. A notification appeared and he quickly shut it down. With his back to the animal, he could feel the shift in the air as it launched itself at him as Bixby went absolutely mad barking.
Joe crashed into the small fence at the front of the open air stable and his momentum caused him to tumble into one of the stalls. The eagle-lion, Leagle? Eagon? Landed on the roof with enough force to cave in the structure next to Joe. He scrambled to his feet while the thing tried to extricate itself from the wooden debris. It squawked and flapped its wings causing shards of wood and mud to fly everywhere which pelted Joe’s arm and back as he pushed his speed for all he could and dashed to the gate. The entire time he could hear Bixby barking and growling.
Joe slammed into the gate and pushed. It moved just a bit, but there was mud and forest debris keeping him from opening it all the way. He glanced back and the thing was getting its bearings and looking at Bixby, who was bouncing side to side and barking wildly. Frightened for Bixby, Joe yelled, “Bixby, get your ass over here!” but Bixby ignored him and continued to taunt the beast. Opting for the enemy before it, the bird thing lashed out lightning quick with a talon. It caught Bixby on the side of his body as he tried to maneuver out of the way and sent the dog hurling back towards the tower. Bixby landed with a whimper ten feet from the monstrosity.
“Bixby!” Joe yelled, his fear instantly replaced by anger and dread. He realized that he had lost his machete somewhere, probably the stables, and was unarmed. The eagle-lion stalked over to Bixby and Joe began yelling to get its attention, but it was not interested in Joe at all. In a panic, Joe remembered the ring and lifted his fist towards the creature. Not knowing how to activate it, Joe tried desperately to imagine a lightning bolt racing from his fist. At first there was no response, but then a cool feeling washed through his chest, down his arm and into his hand. A fraction of a second was all it took, and corkscrew shaped bolt of black energy leapt from Joe’s fist, flew through the air and impacted the animal’s flank. It roared in pain and its head snapped to the side to glare at Joe with malice in its gaze. Joe could see the fur at the impact site was gone and the skin was blackened.
No longer engaged with Bixby, the thing tore after Joe. Joe turned and pushed with all his might on the gate until he had it opened just enough the squeeze through. He was halfway through when the eagle-lion collided with his back. Searing pain erupted along Joe’s spine and the force of the impact propelled him through the gate and he tumbled and slid along the muddy road for about fifteen feet. Several notifications flashed open.
Congratulations! Your ability, True Grit, has increased to 15%.
Congratulations! Your ability, Tough as Nails, has increased to 19%.
Closing the notices, Joe pulled himself out of the muck and got to his feet. The eagle-lion was thrashing about and screech-roaring like crazy. The thing was going out of its mind and Joe realized that it was stuck in the gate. The gate doors were wedged behind its head and one shoulder. It could not fit completely through the gate because of its wings, and it could not move back because the gates were stuck. And it was pissed. But then, so was Joe.
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Joe limped a few feet towards the thing and raised his arm. He easily found the cool movement of Mana running through him and focused it on the ring. Another corkscrew shaped bolt flew from his fist and slammed into the monster. The feathers on its chest were instantly vaporized in a six-inch circle. Upon impact it looked like the spiraling energy had grabbed the feathers and spun them into nothingness. Like light caught in a black hole. The thing roared and fought against its restraints even more fervently. Joe roared unintelligibly back at it, “Aaaggghhhh!!” He stepped closer, aiming at the head this time, “You hurt my dog!” The second bolt impacted the bird monster’s head, and the feathers and its left eye spun into nothingness. Maddened by this, the thing snapped and roared at Joe but was held fast. But Joe could see the mortar holding the gates in place was starting to tremble and flake. It wouldn’t be long before it ripped the gates from its moorings.
Scared and beyond angry, Joe stepped just outside the range of its snapping beak. “Die!” He screamed as he fired another bolt almost point blank into the thing. He could now see bone and hear the crack as the stone holding the gate began to give way. He fired again. The bone practically evaporated under the onslaught of the void bolt. Half of the beast’s head was almost gone and yet it still thrashed and roared, almost on impulse at this point. Joe screamed his fury and fired again, and the back portion of the eagle-lion’s head disappeared. He tried firing again, but instead of a bolt of dark energy, a spike of pain ripped through his head. A headache of monumental proportions jolted up the back of his head and caused him to see spots.
Just then, the monster surged forward, its beak striking Joe directly in the chest, the rest of its body tearing the gates from the wall and the entire monstrosity landed on Joe, pinning him down. Joe landed hard on his back and the breath was knocked out of him. Part of the gate was poking him in the ribs, and he felt like something in his chest may have broken. A violent wave of fatigue washed over him along with the weird tingling in the back of his mind. Joe fought against passing out. He feebly tried to push the thing off him, but he was pinned down solidly, and it hurt to move. Fortunately, he knew the eagle-lion was dead as it lay limp on him and not breathing. The ruined cavity of its head slowly leaked blood and other unsavory liquids on his chest and face. More notification scrolls unfurled in his vision.
Congratulations! Your ability, True Grit, has increased to 18%.
Congratulations! Your ability, Tough as Nails, has increased to 22%.
Warning! You are suffering from Mana burn! Your mana will recover 20% slower than normal until full.
Congratulations! You have defeated a foe twenty levels higher than your own. Exp earned, 65,000 (Banked).
Achievement Unlocked! Vengeance is Mine! Solo kill a monster after it has done at least seventy five percent of a party member’s health in one shot. Rewards Unlocked! You and your companion gain +5 Constitution. Exp earned, 10,000 (Banked). Gold earned 5,000.
Title Unlocked! Monster Hunter! Single handedly defeat a boss monster ten levels or more above your own. Rewards Unlocked! You and your companion gain +3 Strength, +3 Constitution, +3 Agility and +10% Damage vs Boss Monsters. Exp earned, 15,000 (Banked). Gold earned 10,000.
Joe dismissed the scrolls and laid his head back into the mud as pain swept over his body. But as quickly as it had come, it was gone leaving Joe tired, but not absolutely fatigued. Huh, he thought absently, must be my statistics changing. That gave me a lot more Constitution. He opened his Status screen to see that his Constitution was now at twenty-nine. He tried to recall what it was when he first saw his status screen. Was it ten? Eleven? He finally decided that it didn’t matter. What mattered most was getting to Bixby. The achievement screen told him that this thing did at least seventy-five percent of Bixby’s health in one go. He pushed and wiggled, and it was difficult to maneuver out from under the beast. After ten or more minutes of struggle, he had his torso free, but he was panting and had to take a break. He lay taking deep breaths and had one hand on the things neck and another on the ground, pressed deep into the mud and blood. I wonder if I can loot this thing later? Its fur and feathers might sell for a lot. At that thought, his inventory screen opened, and he saw new squares filled in.
Curious, he began opening the newly filled slots. One Gryphon egg and one fledgling Gryphon pearl. The next slot had what looked like a book in it and his gemstone slot held five flawless garnets in addition to the rubies. Gaining his breath back, Joe closed his inventory screen and continued to try to free himself. After a few more minutes, he realized he was too injured and had no leverage to get this thing off him. Dammit! I have to get to Bixby! He redoubled his efforts, ignoring the pain but the beast was just too heavy for him. Laying back panting, Joe’s mind began working furiously on a way out of his predicament. Eventually something else is going to come along and try and eat me. C’mon Joe! Think!
As he lay there, Joe methodically beat his hand against the gryphon’s shoulder and then a light bulb went off in his head. I wonder… he thought, as he opened his inventory and placed his hand on the gryphon’s leg. He focused on placing the entire beast in his inventory and half a second later he was rewarded with the entire thing disappearing from him and a newly filled slot with an image of the gryphon was in his inventory. “Hot damn!” he yelled as he carefully got to his feet. “I’m coming buddy!” he called out as he stumbled through the mud, over the broken gate and back into the keep.
As soon as he cleared the gate, he could see Bixby’s still form laying where he had fallen. Joe skirted around the giant worm farm and slid to a stop next to Bixby. He dropped to his knees, his eyes looking for signs of life. Bixby’s chest was rising and falling. He was breathing. Thank God! “I’m here Bix! I’ve got you.” Tears welled up in Joe’s eyes and he blinked them away as he looked at the large gash in Bixby’s side. “Oh, Jesus, Bix! This looks bad.” Joe could see the muscles from Bixby’s shoulder to his lower ribs were separated and several ribs were broken and poking out. The gryphon had nearly disemboweled Bixby. Joe was covered in mud and his hands slipped as he pulled a canteen from his inventory. He poured the entire contents across Bixby’s side. He watched as the wound began to slowly heal, but it was a huge wound and Joe didn’t think one canteen was enough. “Hold on buddy. I’ll be right back.” Joe got up and dashed back around and into the tower. He returned a minute later and set Bixby’s water bowl in front of him and filled it from the water bottle he pulled from his inventory. He took Bixby’s head and could see his eyes fluttering. “Hey. Hey boy. I need you to drink, ok? Man, I hope you can understand. Buddy, I need you to drink this.”
Bixby’s eyes opened all the way and his tongue feebly lapped at the water, but the angle was all wrong and he spilled more than he swallowed. Tears dropped from Joes eyes and mingled with the water. “Good boy. That’s good. Keep trying.” Joe propped Bixby’s head on his thighs as he knelt in the muck and tried to get his friend a better angle for drinking. He then poured half the contents of the other canteen on Bixby’s wound. The damage was slowly healing, and Joe watched partly in horror as the ribs reset and knit back together. Joe continued to pet Bixby’s ruff and talk encouragingly to him, ignoring the pain from his own injuries.
Congratulations! Your ability, True Grit, has increased to 20%.
Joe closed the annoying screen and then Bixby’s tail began to wag. That sight broke the dam in Joe’s chest, and he leaned over Bixby’s head and bawled. It was an ugly cry. It was the unfettered sound of an anguished heart given reprieve. Eventually, Joe sniffled and raised his head from Bixby’s. The dog’s tail continued to beat against the mud, and he rose enough to lick Joe’s face. Joe laughed and kissed Bixby back, not caring about the gunk caked all over of either of them. With a last lingering hug, Joe checked on Bixby’s wound. The bones and muscles all looked healed, but it seemed that the water had finally run its course and no new healing could be seen. The gash still looked painful, but no longer life threatening.
Congratulations! Your skill, Medic, has increased to Tier 2.
Bixby got to his feet unsteadily and took a few more laps at the water bowl. He looked exhausted. In fact, he looked how Joe felt. Drained. “C’mon, buddy. Let’s get you inside.” The two wobbled their way back into the tower and Joe stoked the fire again. Once he sat down, the pain in his back reminded him that he was still injured. “You stay here. I need to get cleaned up a bit. I’ll be back in a minute.” Joe left Bixby laying in front of the fire while he went back outside to the creek. Tenderly, he peeled off his shirt and without any other way, knelt in the frigid water and began washing himself off. It took far more time than he thought, and he looked up from cleaning his face to see Bixby sitting watching him from the bank. “Sorry, slow going.” Joe gestured to Bixby and the dog trotted into the creek. Joe spent a considerable time washing Bixby and getting the caked mud and gore off of him. By the time he was done, Bixby looked much better, and Joe could even tell that the pain in his own back had somewhat lessened. Then both of their stomachs growled. Joe stared at Bixby for a second and then burst out laughing. He splashed a little water at Bixby who barked and wagged his tail playfully.
Joe stood slowly, his legs feeling a bit numb from the icy water. He was dripping wet but feeling much better even through the ache in his back and chest. “We need food.” He wrung out his T-shirt and stepped out of the creek and his eyes fell on the worms. He looked back at Bixby, “When in Rome.”
Thirty minutes later, Joe had used the last of the canteen water on himself, drinking some and pouring the rest down his back. He and Bixby were settled in front of the fireplace with disks of worm meat in Joe’s little skillet. Any good survivalist knew that worms were a good source of protein, and these seemed like they could provide quite a bit once you got past the idea of eating giant earthworm. A bit of salt and pepper went a long way towards making the meat more palatable, but at least it was edible. After their meal, Joe secured the back door and the two lay down for a nap.