Deep in the night, Joe was woken by Bixby nudging him and growling low. He instantly came awake, snatched up his axe and activated Darksight. Bixby was looking around but there did not seem to be a specific direction that the threat was coming from. Not wanting to second guess Bixby, Joe slid silently out of the lean-to and stoked up the fire, hoping that whatever was out there would avoid either the light or the heat, or both. Joe was setting a new log on the fire when the ground below him erupted, knocking him off his feet and dashing lit logs and embers in all directions.
He landed on his back and scrambled to his feet to face the monster rising out of the ground. The huge monstrosity that pulled itself from a hole in the ground was like nothing Joe had ever seen. It did not look like any kind of animal that ever lived on Earth. At least not to Joe’s knowledge. It had a thick, triangular shaped head, kind of like a bullet, its body was tubular and covered in a carapace that reminded Joe of a lobster. It had two pairs of spindly limbs free of the dirt around it and it seemed like more was still underground. The head split open into three sections to reveal rows of serrated teeth and a tongue that flicked out like a snake. Joe saw no eyes on it as it swayed its body and its head searched around. Joe took a few crucial seconds to Inspect it.
Burrowing Horror (??)
HP: ????
Status: Hungr
“Bixby, this thing is insanely tough! Be careful!” Joe called out, which turned out to be a mistake. The thing swung its head in his direction, opened its mouth and let out a horrific sound.
Congratulations! Your ability, Mental Fortress, has increased to 16%.
Joe stood transfixed as his head swam and he felt completely disoriented. The horrors’ tongue lashed out and the end splayed open much like its mouth and attached itself to Joe’s chest. The next moment, Joe was pulled off his feet and dragged towards the monster. This knocked him out of the fugue he was in, and he began hacking at the tongue with his axe. It was like hitting a steel beam. The tongue was incredibly tough, and he barely scratched it. He saw that the monster had lowered its head to ground level and was pulling itself back into the ground. He only had a few moments before he would be face to face with the creature’s maw. He needed to do something quickly.
Joe heard Bixby howl and then he appeared in front of Joe, biting the tongue and doing far more damage than Joe’s axe could. The tongue released Joe as the beast reared up and let out a shriek of pain. Joe wasted no time and got to his feet. He was back pedaling towards the tree line when a series of dark shapes came rocketing out of the forest all around him. It was Bixby’s Void Wolves. They ran in and bit the thing’s legs and dashed about causing it to sway its head back and forth to try and track all of its enemies. Unfortunately, the thing was too well armored for them to make a dent and all they did was keep its attention away from Joe. Bixby occasionally dashed in and tried a bite but even he couldn’t do much damage. Joe took careful aim and let loose with a void bolt which scored along one side of the thing. Joe looked on dismayed. Crap! All I did was scratch its paint! The monster lashed out with one of its arms and hit Bixby, slamming him into one of the wolves. They both went spinning into the trees with a crash. And now it’s pissed off, Joe amended mentally.
Joe skirted the battle to check on Bixby and took his eyes off the horror for just a split second, which was enough for it to push its body forward and slam its head into him. The power in the hit was exceptional and Joe found himself flung into the base of a tree. Something cracked and Joe could not tell if it was the tree or himself. Either way, it hurt monumentally.
Congratulations! Your ability, True Grit, has increased to 38%.
Congratulations! Your ability, Tough as Nails, has increased to 43%.
Joe closed the notices and checked his health. Two hundred points?! Holy shit! The beast did nearly a quarter of Joe’s health in one hit, even through his Tough as Nails ability. I can’t take more of those kinds of shots. Joe dragged himself to his feet once again. And I really hate getting knocked on my ass all the time. By the time Joe got to where he saw Bixby sail into the trees, the wolves had taken a few more losses. Joe watched in horror as the beast dragged a wolf into its maw and swallowed it whole. “Jesus!” He whispered.
Just then, Bixby came roaring out of the tree line and body slammed the beast, knocking its head back and exposing the underside. Joe saw that the underside was not armored, and he yelled out, “Bixby, try to do that again!” He took aim at the beast with his ring and waited for Bixby to turn around. His shout had caught the things attention and it moved in Joe’s direction. Perfect! Bixby tore around the clearing and gained some speed and then slammed into the beast again. As soon as the thing reared up, Joe fired. The void bolt struck true and hit it where the head joined the torso. It screamed its rage. Joe yelled, “Take that you monstrous fuck!” He moved a few feet to his left as the beast tracked his voice and Joe shouted, “Bixby, again!”
Once more Bixby built up speed and dashed towards the horrible creature. But just as he was about to collide with it, the thing lashed out with a front arm and grabbed Bixby by one of his front legs. Bixby let out an awful noise of fright and pain as he was dashed bodily into a tree.
“Bixby!” Joe yelled, his intent to fire a shot forgotten. This proved to be a mistake as the creature’s tongue shot out, capturing Joe’s arm, and dragging him towards its ferocious looking mouth. “Double fuck!” Joe shouted as he squirmed and tried to dig his heels into the ground to stop the inexorable pull into the rows of bloody teeth. Joe looked at Bixby, but he was laying there stunned or unconscious. The other wolves, having lost a few of their own and with Bixby out of the fight, lost heart and slunk back into the forest with their tails between their legs. Joe was out of options and out of help.
The monster braced itself and lowered its head to get better leverage to drag Joe into its waiting mouth. Joe warred with its tongue but could not dislodge it. He was only a foot away from his arm being drawn into the teeth, he could smell its breath like a fetid, warm breeze across his face when the trees behind the monster crashed apart and with a colossal roar, the giant strode into the clearing.
Joe watched in fascination as everything seemed to slow down. The giant took two steps into the clearing and brought a massive club the size of a small tree down onto the beasts back. The impact shook the ground and caused leaves and branches from the nearby trees to drop to the ground. The club met the burrowing horror’s carapace with a thunderous crack and Joe was awash in some nasty, foul smelling, green goo that gushed from under the beast’s shell. Another hit from the club and the monster’s tongue let go of Joes arm as another wave of goop sloshed over Joe. The huge, armored monster then lay still as a familiar tingling briefly made itself known in the back of Joes mind.
The giant studied the beast for a moment and then turned his attention on Joe. Joe was petrified. The giant dropped to one knee and looked him over then he looked at Bixby who was just now trying to get to his feet. The giant squinted his eyes and seemed lost in thought for a bit then stood up and in a deep booming voice said, “Come.” He pointed at Bixby and added, “Bring.”
Joe let out a breath he did not know he was holding. Holy shit! Holy fuckballs! It talks! Joe sat stunned in silence as the giant pushed its way through the trees. Joe could hear the sounds of its passage as it walked back to its camp.
Aching all over, Joe made his way over to Bixby. He checked him for wounds and saw that Bixby was down to half of his health. And even though nothing was broken, Bixby walked with a limp as Joe led the two over to the monster carcass. Joe laid a hand on it and looted it and then put the entire monster in his inventory. Bixby cocked an eye at Joe but didn’t seem too perturbed by it. He retrieved his axe and then they began following in the giants wake.
“Dude. It talked. In English. How the fuck does a giant know English?” Bixby, of course had no answer and the two continued following the giant. It took a while as the giant began pushing trees out of its way which left the route torn up and hard to navigate. Abstractedly, Joe wondered why the forest wasn’t already torn up from the giant’s initial trek to their camp, but he was not about to look a gift giant in the mouth.
As they approached the giant’s camp, even in the middle of the night, Joe realized that they had walked around to the far side where he had not seen before and that there were a set of five-foot-tall steps carved into the mountain’s face. Instead of climbing, he and Bixby blink stepped up to the clearing. God, I hope he’s not luring us here to eat us. Joe crouched next to Bixby, “If it attacks, just run. Head West and if we get separated, keep going along the river and we’ll find each other.”
The giant set his tree trunk club next to the entrance to his cave then dragged a small log close to the fire, “Sit.” His tone did not indicate that arguing would be tolerated. He then went into the cave. Joe could hear him rummaging around and a few minutes later, he came out and set down a bowl the size of small bathtub next to Joe. It had a venison stew in it. Joe could also see large chunks of meat as well as other vegetable looking things in it. It smelled amazing. “Eat.” The giant ordered.
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Joe hesitated, “Um, thank you.” He held up a finger to indicate that he needed a minute, but then was unsure if the gesture would translate. He got up and went over to the pile of firewood and picked out the smallest stump that he could. He took it back to the fire and used his axe to carve out a rough bowl. He then went to the pool of water at the base of the waterfall. The pool was much larger than he originally guessed. Joe washed his hands and cleaned his bowie knife as best as he could.
He returned to the tub of stew and without any other way, he scooped handfuls of stew and put it in the bowl for Bixby then he took time for himself to eat. As he ate, he began to feel much better. He checked his status and watched his health visibly go up. Wow. This stew is like the healing water from the creek. Next to him, Bixby was letting off the occasional growl. When he was done, he bumped Joe with his nose until Joe refilled his bowl. Once they were done eating, Bixby lay down next to Joe and Joe in turn let out a huge burp. He looked up at the gigantic man sitting across from him, “Excuse me.” He said sheepishly.
The giant nodded, got up and grabbed the bowl of stew. “Stay. Safe.” He said and went into the cave. Joe expected the giant to return, but ten minutes later, Joe could hear a loud snoring coming from the cave.
“Well, Bix, I think we made a new friend.” Joe put his hand on Bixby’s ruff and realized that his friend was also sound asleep. Joe thought that if Bixby felt safe enough to sleep then they were probably safe enough for now. Although Joe was tired, his mind was racing at the events of the evening. If not for this guy, we’d probably be dead. How do you pay that kind of thing back? And why did he come to the rescue anyway? And how does he speak English? Too damn many questions.
After cleaning himself up at the pool, Joe decided to check his notifications. His abilities, True Grit and Tough as Nails were almost at their fifty percent maximum, and he had a few things that he had looted from the Burrowing Horror. Checking his loot first, he found that he had a significant uptick in his gold as well as four flawless diamonds in his gemstone storage slot. He checked the two newest additions as well.
Never Empty Flask
This Epic leather flask is etched with ornate runes. Once filled with a liquid, it will continuously produce that specific liquid. Make your drink choice wisely.
If only I had some whiskey. He thought. Then I could get stupid drunk and pretend that all of this was a fever dream. He then moved on to the notices.
Congratulations! You have defeated a foe fifty levels higher than your own. Exp earned, 120,000 (Banked).
Title Unlocked! Monster Bane! Defeat a monster at least thirty levels or more above your own. Rewards Unlocked! You and your companion gain +4 Strength, +4 Constitution, +4 Agility and +10% Damage vs Monsters. Exp earned, 80,000 (Banked). Gold earned 30,000.
Fifty times my level?! Joe’s eyes widened as he read. I just can’t with this place. This is absolutely batshit insane! He closed his screens and lay down with his head on Bixby’s stomach. It took him a while to fall asleep.
Joe and Bixby both woke when the giant began moving around. Joe was nervous but was determined to remain polite. As soon as the giant emerged from his cave, Joe smiled and said, “Good morning, sir.”
The giant looked down at Joe while scratching his groin and yawning. He walked over to a pile of woven baskets and tossed a familiar one down next to Joe, “Not fish basket.” He grumbled. He set a shallower basket next to Joe as he sat down with a heavy thud on the log he had occupied earlier. “Fish basket.”
“Oh, um, sorry. I didn’t mean to use the wrong basket. I was just trying to be neighborly.”
The giant stretched and yawned again then began stoking up the fire, “Talk too fast.”
“Sorry. I’m nervous.”
The giant gave Joe a discerning look then went back to tending the fire. “Gharak.”
Joe was unsure of what to say. Was that a word, his name or a command? Assuming it was his name, Joe pointed to himself and said, “Joe.” Then he pointed to his companion who was busy licking himself unabashedly, “Bixby.”
Gharak grunted in acknowledgement.
“So, uh, Gharak, how is it that you know English?” Joe ventured.
Gharak peered down at Joe. “Gharak speaks common man tongue. Gharak is…” He trailed off looking for the right word. “Smart.”
“No doubt.” Said Joe. “If you don’t mind my asking, why did you save us?”
Gharak poked at the fire lazily, “Used seeing stone. Saw Joe kill gobos. Gobos bad things. Gobos eat Gharak’s baby.”
“Oh wow. I am sorry to hear that. That’s horrible.” Joe sat stunned that he was having a conversation with a twenty-foot-tall man about goblins. This is so surreal.
“Gharak laughed when Bigsbee killed gobos. Gharak happy when Joe killed gobo chief.” The giant leaned to the side and let out a booming fart. “Gharak like Joe and Bigsbee.”
Joe winced at the pronunciation of Bixby’s name but held his tongue. He also held his breath for a moment as the smell from Gharak’s flatulence assailed his nostrils. Bixby shook his head and moved to the other side of the fire. “So, what now?”
“What mean, what now?” Gharak replied.
“I mean, what would you like from Bixby and I? We’re happy to help around your camp or fish or whatever else you may need us to do.”
Gharak studied Joe and leaned down closer to him, “Joe not scared of Gharak?”
“Um, well. Yes, Joe is scared of Gharak, but Gharak seems nice, and Joe wants to be nice too.”
Gharak sat back up and grunted, “Joe speaks truth. Gharak likes truth.” Gharak began humming to himself as he fed more logs to the fire. After a while with a somber voice he said, “Gharak is lonely. Will Joe and Bigsbee stay?”
Surprised, Joe looked over to Bixby who was wagging his tail, Joe asked, “You want us to stay and keep you company?”
“Yes.” Gharak seemed to consider then looked at Joe again. “Please.”
Whoa! Does he want to keep us like pets? Well, what’s the alternative, being out in the extremely dangerous forest where the odds of getting eaten at any given moment are astronomical? Joe answered for both he and Bixby, “We would be happy to stay.”
Gharak sighed in a way that Joe felt was in relief. “Good.” Gharak stood up abruptly, startling Joe and then he walked over the cliffside and in a moment let out a mighty stream of urine.
Remind me not to climb that part of the cliff. Joe thought, then he added, you know, when in Rome. Joe got up and went over to the cliffside and he also took a turn peeing over the side.
Gharak peered down at him and nodded.
Once they were done, Gharak returned to his seat and so Joe did the same. Bixby walked over to Gharak and licked the side of his foot. Gharak reached out a hand, and with his index finger, gently petted Bixby. Watching, Joe realized that Gharak could pick up a full-grown horse in his hands like Joe could pick up a small cat. Gharak was simply colossal. Up close and in the daylight, Joe could see more detail about Gharak as well. His skin was definitely like that of an elephant. It was gray and wrinkled with knobby knees and elbows. He was not overly muscular, he had more of a lanky appearance to him. His eyes were the same blue as Joes with a bulbous nose and his hair and beard were a salt and pepper gray, leaning more towards the salt than pepper. His pants and sleeveless tunic were all hides and furs stitched together and Joe noticed that he wore three rings on his left hand. Overall, Joe figured that he looked very much like what a giant should look like.
Joe sat in thought for a while as Gharak went back into the cave and came out with the bowl of stew again. He placed the bowl down next to the fire to heat it up. And placed a spoon the size of a snow shovel into it. That gave Joe an idea and he went to the wood pile and searched around for a bit until he came up with something that would suit his needs. As the stew heated up, Joe used his bowie knife to carve two wooden bowls and a crude spoon.
Gharak watched him with interest. When Joe was done Gharak leaned in close to inspect Joe’s handiwork. “Is good.” He hummed to himself and then asked, “Joe make Gharak a spear?”
“Um, sure. Do you have a,” Joe looked at Gharak’s size, “tree that you want to use as a spear?”
Gharak went back into the cave and came out with a small tree trunk that looked like it would be more of a javelin in Gharak’s hands rather than a spear. Surprisingly, Joe was able to heft the trunk without too much difficulty. Damn, I’m really strong now. Huh. Cool. Joe inspected the wood and pulled out his axe and began shaping the end into a long, thin point. After half an hour, he was satisfied with his efforts and then held the tip of the spear over the fire and began rotating it to harden the wood. Gharak watched Joe the entire time, softly humming and occasionally singing a few words in the deep Russian sounding language that Joe had heard before.
It took about half an hour before Joe felt he had the spear where he wanted it. He went over to the large pile of hides and found a cured hide that was a bit softer than the rest. He held it up and asked Gharak, “May I?” Gharak nodded his assent and Joe took the time to cut some long strips from it, then he went to the pool of water and soaked the leather to make it softer. Finally, he wrapped the leather around the haft of the spear to give Gharak a sold grip and presented the finished product to the giant. Overall, it took a few hours, but Joe was more than happy to have spent them doing something rather than fighting or running away from monsters.
Gharak took the spear and inspected it from all angles. He gave it a few practice thrusts and spun it about. Eventually, he grunted and then grinned at Joe, which was both rewarding and disturbing. “Is good.” He set it next to his club by the cave entrance, “Thank you.”
“You are very welcome. I am glad I could make it for you.”
“Yes?” Gharak, seemed surprised. “You speak truth.” Gharak said with a bit of surprise in his voice.
“Well, yeah. You were kind enough to let us stay with you, I would be a poor guest if I did not help in any way that I can.” Joe then got an idea, “Oh, hey.” Joe removed the bag of Cleric’s Moss from his inventory, “Do you know what this is?” He asked, holding it up for Gharak to see.
The giant leaned close and closed one eye to better see the tiny bag, then he sat back up. “No.”
“Oh, well, it’s healing moss. And if I plant it around your pool, it should turn your pool into healing water.” Joe said excitedly. Gharak looked on in confusion, so Joe added, “Like your stew, the water will heal you if you drink it. May I plant it there?”
Gharak pondered it for a short time then nodded, “Is good then.”
“Great.” Joe jumped up and went over to the pool. He didn’t know exactly how it worked, so he hedged his bets and spaced the moss out around the lip of the pool as far as he could make it reach. During this time, Gharak came over to watch. When he was done, Joe looked up and said, “It may take some time. Days or maybe weeks, but I hope that it helps your camp.”
“Joe is good human. Bigsbee is good wolf. Gharak is happy.”
“Gharak is a good giant. Joe is happy too.” Joe said with a genuine smile.
Gharak stretched and Joe could hear his muscles and tendons stretch. He twisted his back and the loud popping noises sounded like shotguns going off. Gharak peered down at Joe, “Now we hunt.”