Abyssal Acorn

"This is it, Duke." Dominique lets out, sounding serious. These creatures have been overrunning me for years. I need your help to take them down."

Duke's eyes widened as he gazed upon the bizarre creatures. He had never seen anything like them before. The mutant species he previously had an altercation with, were learning in terms of scary looks.

Duke's gaze slowly landed on Dominique, who was observing the creatures from behind a pillar. "Motherfucker, you brought me to hell?"

Dominique shot him a warning glance. "Shh! Are you trying to get us killed before we even make the first move?" he hissed, his eyes darting around the chamber as if anticipating an attack.

Duke's expression turned angry. "You're the one trying to get me killed by not informing me thoroughly about what we're up against," he whispered back, his voice laced with accusation. "I had no idea we'd be facing creatures like this! Or any creatures for that matter."

"Make any false move now, and you're dead." Dominique hissed. "The same cannot be said for me because I can easily teleport myself back before they attack me."

Duke's mouth opened, ready to unleash a torrent of foul words at Dominique, but he stopped himself just in time. He took a deep breath, his anger simmering just below the surface.

Dominique had a point, Duke mused. He was here already so he might as well get things done and over with. If he decided to act without reasoning, he might just end up dead. He was at a disadvantage.

"So what's your plan?" Duke decided to ask instead. Dominique hard expression settled into a neutral mode.

"The Deal is to get that big guy up there into the burrow, right there." Dominique gestured to the precise location with his hand, and continued. "I've tried and failed to do that for years, especially with those other creatures littering everywhere. And you can't just call the big guy and nicely ask him to get to this cave. Think you can give it a shot?"

Duke thought for a moment, his eyes fixed on the big guy Dominique was referring to. It was a massive, towering creature with razor-sharp claws and teeth. He couldn't just walk up to it and ask it to move into the burrow. He needed a plan.

"How about we use bait?" Duke suggested. "Something to lure it into the burrow without it noticing?"

"Already tried that on my second trial. Epic failure." Dominique said, dismissing the idea.

"Alright, no bait," Duke agreed. "We need something more… unconventional."

Duke's eyes glazed over as his mind wandered back to the abyss they had walked past earlier. He couldn't shake off the feeling that something was lurking in the depths, waiting to pounce. He snapped back to reality, focusing on the task at hand.

"Have you figured out something yet?"

Duke's gaze locked onto the big guy again, his mind working overtime. "Why isn't it growling?"

"I don't know, maybe we should go ask him?" Dominique whispered with sarcasm.

Duke paid no heed to Dominique's sarcasm. Instead, he continued observing the creature. "What if it's not looking for something or someone to prey on." Duke suddenly asked

"Believe me when I tell you, it is. I don't forget a near death experience easily." Dominique briefed him. But when he noticed Duke might have figured something out he decided to question him. "What do you have in mind, Duke?"

Duke turned to Dominique. "We need to use its aggression against it. We need to make it angry"

Dominique gave him a look that said. 'Really? That's your game plan?' With a skeptical tone, he asked Duke, "How do you intend to do that?"

Duke explained, his words tumbling out in a rush. "We'll create a feedback loop using its own roar against it. We'll record its sound, amplify it, and then play it back to it. The big guy will think it's hearing itself, but it'll be so loud and distorted that it'll become disoriented and enraged."

Dominique's confusion grew as he tried to understand how Duke's suggestion was going to work out. "How are we going to pull that off, Duke? We can't just record its roar and play it back through a speaker. It'll never be convincing enough to fool the big guy. And speakers aren't exactly attached to the cloaks we are wearing."

"That's where the Abyssal Acorn comes in."

Dominique raised an eyebrow. "The what?"

"The Abyssal Acorn," Duke repeated, pointing to the path he had seen the artifact. "It's a rare, ancient artifact that can amplify and manipulate sound waves in ways you can't even imagine. I've heard it can create sonic blasts that can shatter stone, or even create localized distortions in the fabric of reality itself"

Dominique obviously didn't buy Duke's story. He knew there was something more Duke wasn't telling him. Dominique had been in the cave and out and he was still yet to figure out the name of the creature he had to tackle, and talk more about the artifact.

One thing was certain to Dominique, Duke was receiving help, but what Dominique couldn't comprehend was how.

"So how do we get it?" Dominique decided to ask.

A sly smirk appeared on Duke's lips. "Oh, I've already taken care of that. I, uh, 'acquired' it earlier when we were exploring the cave. It's right here, in my cloak."

Dominique's eyes narrowed, his skepticism growing. "And how exactly did you manage that? You were right behind me."

Duke shrugged, before he brought out the artifact.

The artifact was in the form of a stake. A shimmering blue stake. "It is as you said, I was right behind you. Waiting for a perfect opportunity to utilize it." Duke muttered the last part with a hint of a smile playing on his lips.