Private - Something fishy | Page 2

Oh, Savannah replied, immediately turning her attention back to the fishing pole gripped between her two hands. She’s not at all interesting, she said as way of a follow up before clearing her throat and shrugging her shoulders. However, the quiet that seeped between them was unnerving, at best, and the Knight found herself unable to keep still. She wiggled back and forth, uncrossed her legs and then recrossed them, lifted a hand to her face so her index finger could scratch her eyebrow.

Fine, she said after a moment. Of course, as luck or fate would have it, the moment she decided to open up to another person about her shitty life outside the game, the mechanics of the game brought her right back into its fold. She could only glance toward Scon before eyeing the bobbed at her the end of her fishing line. It sunk beneath the surface of the tepid lake and she immediately perked up, her chest leaning forward as the fishing pole began to vibrate in her hands.

Whatever it was that had latched onto the bait, it was strong. Savannah was having trouble holding onto her fishing pole. A few times, the damn thing nearly jumped from her hands or yanked her into the water, but she was quick to stand up and dig her heels into the wharf. She grunted, pulling backwards with all her strength until the pole suddenly went slack and a giant clam erupted from the water and landed on the wharf in front of the two players.

Savannah fell backwards, her back and ass hitting the ground hard, a yelp of pain passing from her while her fishing pole skittered off and out of reach. She blinked at the huge creature, the purple spikes that protruded from its shell, the inner grey which seemed to be a weak spot and, at the very center, a vibrant ivory pearl just waiting to be taken.

Of course, they’d have to fight the damned thing because stealing a pearl from a giant clam was no easy feat…​

 

Finally Scon thought to himself as the quiet treatment worked into his fishing partner. She had begun fidgeting in response to his demeanour; apparently the silence was too much to bear for the supposedly tough female and she was about to crack, about to share with him her human life. Not at all interesting was about to be elaborated upon, when Scon had to stop her with his notification. He swore to himself as she began tugging. If it had been a normal haul, he could definitely have encouraged her to continue while reeling it in.

This was no normal haul.

"You can tell me while you fish..." he had started to say, but trailed off as the knight rose dramatically to her feet. He had caught the occasional foe when fishing like this, a contributing factor to his choice to adorn armour when redressing, but he had never had to struggle like she was as she pulled at the line. For a moment the idea that she was exaggerating to avoid answering the for-some-reason hard questions crossed his mind. But, when Savannah gave one last triumphant tug up out of the water, Scon's worry was immediately put to ease.

And replaced with awe.

"Look at the size of that mussel-fuc-" his words were cut off as the apparently sentient being lurched forward across the pier and attempted to clamp onto Savannah, who lay sprawled out on her behind. Scon, without thinking, dashed forward and extended his gauntlet-donned right arm, subsequently watching as the entire limb was engulfed in the maw of the mauve monster's shell. Indeed, the whole shell was the maw, clasping down on him in its entirety. Pain shot through Scon's upper arm, and he let out a growl.

"Get your shit together..." He yelled out behind him, knowing Savannah needed a few seconds to don her own battle gear. He didn't have his polearm equipped, either, so he was going to need to delay until she could take over. His free hand moved around to grip one of the rims of the clam's shell, trying with all his strength to pry it off him. A heavy roar left his mouth as he pushed, met by a gutteral cry from the clam. "Argh... I can't get it off!"

Save me, Savannah.

 

Savannah screamed.

It was the least heroic thing that could’ve come from her mouth, but the sudden appearance of the giant clam on the wharf startled her. More like scared her shitless and sent her scrambling backwards as fast as she could, but that’s just semantics. The fact of the matter was that there was a giant clam that was intending to engage in battle with them and here Savannah was, on her ass, while Scon rushed in and took the brunt of the first hit.

She blinked, surprised. The only time she had fought alongside the Felis was in the same moment when she was killed, by him no less, so she immediately had placed him as a coward in her mind. This immediately was dashed against the rocks of reality when he heroically stepped between them and began to fight. Well…not fight right away. He had his arm caught in the mouth of the beast, but it was a start!

R-Right, right! she voiced, scrambling to stand up and dawn her armor. Her hands were shaking and it took her more time than she was comfortable admitting to drag on the dark metal armor that would protect her. Great axe in hand, she exhaled a sharp sound before charging into battle, intending to cleave off one of the protruding…spikes. The blade of her axe connected with the spike and immediately bounced off, the force starting Savannah enough that she was forced to take a few steps back.

Wh-What is going on! I think it might be resistant to physical damage. Which sucked for them considering Savannah didn’t know a damn thing about magic and, she assumed, Scon didn’t either. Panicked silver eyes went from beast to friend and back again, her grip tightening on the haft of her weapon.​

 

"What's going on is it's a tough enemy!" Scon shouted over his shoulder, competing with the clam to get his sounds out over its unnatural noise. This was some sort of nonstandard enemy, as far as he could tell; the male still not completely escaping his metagaming way of analysing what he encountered. He had, once or twice, fished up a smaller aquatic foe and summarily beaten them senseless, but never had he triggered an encounter like this... Maybe it was like a field boss that they were supposed to organise a group to take down. He shook out the Silvestre thoughts, focusing on battling as a Scon would.

After Savannah had struck the outer casing of the opponent a dull, ineffective thud had rung out from the lacking impact she made. It didn't do what Scon wanted in forcing the beast to release him and instead the clam had actually tightened the clamp down on him. He bellowed and attempted to better the grip of his second hand around it, though he suspected his own hold was significantly less effective. He began levering down his caught arm on one side as his free hand pulled up on the other. If Savannah wasn't able to free him he would have to take matters into his own angry hands - a brief glance over at her showed she wasn't all together.

"Steel yourself, knighty!" He called, his voice firm as he channelled his pain and anger into both the words and his actions. His Berserk Mastery was boosting his strength. "If we can't damage its shell we'll have to find some way to hurt it otherwise." He was wincing, eyes closed as he spoke, the pressure on his tricep making his muscles cry out and weakening the torque he was trying to apply to open the... mouth. His own words echoed in his mind and he suddenly grinned, feline eyes widening open as he had a revelation. "The inside of its shell! Stab inside its mouth!" He had began to pry the clam open, his Berserk talent giving him just enough power to do so - There was now a gap of about 4 inches and he had managed to get both hands to grab at the shell line.

 

Steel herself? Just how in the hell was she supposed to do that. She had never fought a creature this size before and now, this one was trying to devour her friend right in front of her. She had no magic at her disposal, couldn’t cast a spell to save her life and this seemed to be the one encounter in the entire game where her choice of weapon prowess had been the wrong choice. A groan came from her and she took a single step back. She could retreat, leave Scon to his fate and hope for the best. It wouldn’t be the same as outright killing him as he had done her, but it was a death sentence all the same.

His words snapped her out of that singular dark place where her thoughts turned over and cackled. Revenge was a dish best served cold, as they said, and what a better revenge than enacting the same fate upon him that he had enacted upon her. But, she withstood that darkness, ground her molars together and tucked her chin against her chest. She was over that, she was moving past it and she wasn’t going to think about it again. Scon said they could beat this thing, then she might as well attempt to do so.

Swallowing her nerves, she had the bright idea to wrap her arms around his torso and merely tug. Surely two people pulling in the opposite direction than the clam would break the thing’s hold on Scon’s arm, right? But his words directed her to a different outcome. He wanted her to stab the soft, fleshy interior. She could only give him a glance before heaving her great axe over her head and slamming it down where he had indicated.

Surprise overcame her as the creature let out a bellow of pain and…hopped backwards, freeing Scon’s arm in the process. Okay, the interior was certainly where they wanted to aim if the shell was inaccessible.

Let’s lead it onto the sand proper, Savannah yelled toward the Felis, trying to overcome the painful sounds that the Giant Clam was currently making. It won’t be as slippery as the wharf and we’ll have more room to fight!​

 

He was free. Scon marvelled for a moment as Savannah acted on his direction and found their opponent's weakness - Her weapon had connected with a force that made the clam let loose a pained squeal. Real clams weren't capable of noise - they were basically slugs. But here, in this game, they had been programmed to have a sound on being critically hit and it served to bolster Scon's belief they had every chance to defeat the being. Especially seeing his partner follow his order, succeed at it and then propose her own follow-up action.

"Absolutely!" the Felis called in return to her as he stepped backwards. His hands moved through the air to summon his inventory and slide his weapon to be equipped. The polearm materialised instantly and he nodded confidently at Savannah. The surprise assault from their opponent had now completely subsided as the pair were fully equipped and ready. Scon remained assured they had the situation fully under control - the damage he had taken had hurt but it wasn't a huge amount of points. He pointed his weapon at the clam as he hopped down off the wooden structure in tandem with Savannah, jabbing harmlessly at the beast to keep it following.

"We need to draw it in for an attack - get it to open its shell so we can attack the soft spots." Scon didn't even consider that the being could understand them - clams didn't have ears and they certainly didn't speak English, or common or whatever language they were supposedly speaking. The clam had come forward at them, onto the steadier footing of the riverbank - gritty dirt filtered out of the grass at their backs, itself giving way to the edge of the water another couple of feet ahead of them. The river didn't flow especially quickly here, and Scon was satisfied with the conditions.

"If I draw it in, you attack. Yes?" And without waiting for a reply Scon closed in on their opponent, feinting an attack and then withdrawing to invite an attack.

 

Savannah was going to suggest the opposite! She wanted to draw the beast into attacking her so that Scon could get a jab in with his polearm. After all, it might’ve been easier to slip it between the lips of the clam’s shell and hit the soft interior. Her great axe would be a little more difficult…though, it could potentially deal more damage so his plan was sound. However, did he have any defensive masteries? The last thing Savannah wanted was Scon to go down in front of her because she wasn’t fast enough to save him.

So, in light of those thoughts, the most she could do was clench her jaw and nod her head. Without preamble, the Felis roared and charged in, the tip of his spear jabbing at the hard exterior as a ploy. The Death Knight could only smile because it was the same idea she had: jab at it, hit the shell, and then when it went in for a bite attack (clamp attack?), parry the damned thing and strike the inner mouth. Since she was the one needing to do the actual damage, she held still, exhaled and waited until it opened its mouth.

Scon withdrew in the perfect moment. He stepped back and Savannah watched the ease of his muscles transitioning through familiar movements, the smile on his face that indicated happiness and she couldn’t help but feel the same. Sure, he didn’t have any tact whatsoever and he was way too brash for real world Addison, but maybe TerraSphere Savannah could keep up with him. Hell, maybe TerraSphere Savannah could actually like him and call him a friend…unintentional PK in the past, of course.

So the Felis fighter shifted backwards and frustration made the giant clam lunge forward, the mouth open, the prized jewel sitting in plain sight on what would be considered its tongue (?!). Savannah darted in, muscles straining, and brought her great axe down in a massive arc, the blade impacting the soft interior as they planned. Another pained yelp came from the beast and it scurried backwards, a few cracks appearing in its outter shell.

Whoa, Savannah murmured, allowing distance between them and it so they could catch their breath. Maybe the inside is its super weak point? We’ve gotten it low with two good blows. One more should do the trick, yeah?​

 

A grin shot across Scon's face - this was what he lived for. Each battle was a journey, starting with a blank canvas of relative strengths and fighting uncertainties that needed to be filled in. You didn't know how powerful your opponent was; what weaknesses they had; any unique strengths they might possess and a myriad of other curios to uncover as the contest unfolded. Over the course, too, you discover how that opponent matches up to your own capabilities and, ultimately, whether they could contest you. When they can't, you win - victory follows.

Savannah's critical strike against their foe confirmed this particular villain didn't have the power necessary to defeat the pair of them, and therefore they would now proceed to defeat it. Scon enjoyed that tipping point of battle more than anything - Presumably the same was true for Silvestre, but honestly it didn't matter. The only time he was actually defeating anyone was as Scon, and as he charged forward at the oyster, that's all he was.

"You did amazing! My tuuuuurn..." The felis roared as he passed Savannah, striking in tandem with her to ensure the blows rained down continuously. They just had to finish the job, now.

Halberd raised, Scon swung into the splintering of the shell, the impact causing a resounding crack and subsequent wail as the beast's sturdy exterior gave way. It yelped and opened its shell wider, inviting Scon in for the finishing blow. He raised his weapon, vertical and pointed down, before he dug the pointed tip of the polearm down into the revealed innards of the shell, a victorious stance as the being fell still.

"Hah!" the cat cried contently as he twisted the blade into the corpse, before pulling it and stowing the weapon. He took a moment to inspect their loot, holding up the pearl to show it to Savannah. "Think this will suffice for the quest?" Hopefully it didn't just count as 1... And, without further ado, Scon headed back to the village, looking to end the trouble he had gotten them into.