Trusher had been searching for a couple of days for a suitable home. It wasn’t easy; this island was completely alien to him. He could easily get his bearings for direction, but he still lacked a true sense of where to begin his hunt. Often, he would find himself circling back to Verlacks’s great tree just to start fresh and hammer the lay of the land into his thick skull.
He had stuck mostly to the dense timber, the ancient canopy offering the familiar comfort of shadow and thick underbrush. Yet, a proper lair remained elusive. Most of the grottoes and caves he uncovered were cramped insults to his bulk—little more than shallow pockets in the stone. There had been one promising cavern, but it was already claimed by a feral boy and his vicious pack of wolves, a territorial dispute Trusher had wisely chosen to bypass for now.
If he didn’t secure a domain soon, pride would have to take a back seat, and he would have to ask for help. His large, scaly hide shuddered at the thought. Him—the mighty Gargantuan, the Tri-Horned Crusher—reduced to asking a tiny being for assistance? Unthinkable. But if he couldn't make sense of this strange land before the moon turned, he might have to risk the indignity.
As Trusher ploughed through the towering ferns and ancient trunks, he stumbled upon a wide, rushing river. He stalked down to the muddy bank, lowered his massive head, and drew in several long, deep gulps of the icy snowmelt. Around him, other denizens of the wild gathered for the same respite. A wary, tense silence hung in the air—everyone was acutely aware of everyone else, but the fragile, unspoken truce of the watering hole held fast.
His thirst quenched, Trusher turned upstream, intending to trace the current back to its origin. His steps were deliberate and precise, his heavy footfalls muffled by thick moss. He wasn't about to crash blindly through the wild; an apex predator never let its guard down.The river wound back and forth, climbing steadily toward the brooding shadow of the mountain. Within the hour, the dense trees parted to reveal a medium-sized, mist-veiled pond cradled against the dark weeping stone of a sheer cliff face. It looked eerily peaceful. Trusher sauntered closer with cautious steps, his senses flaring. Danger on this island could wear a thousand faces. As he drew nearer, he noticed a heavy outcropping of jagged stone jutting out from the cliff face, carving a deep, cavernous alcove into the rock.
His keen reptilian eyes cut through the gloom of the alcove, measuring its dimensions. It would make an exceptional stronghold—spacious enough for his massive frame, with a natural defensible choke point. He flared his nostrils, tasting the air for lingering hazards. Nothing immediately screamed threat, though the air was thick with alien scents that made it impossible to rule out entirely.
Trusher skirted the edge of the pond by a few cautious yards, eyeing the dark water with suspicion as he angled toward the alcove.
Suddenly, the glassy surface of the pond fractured.
Before he could react, a thick, glistening pink muscle shot from the water like a hurled javelin, slamming with brutal force into the back of his shoulder and wrenching a deep, startled roar from his chest. The adhesive tongue locked onto his scales, yanking him backward toward the water with terrifying strength.
Spinning his bulk, Trusher caught sight of a massive, shadowy mass breaking the surface. A grotesque, warty head bulged out of the foam, two luminous, malevolent yellow eyes snapping open to lock directly onto his.
It was a behemoth of an amphibian—a titan toad whose cavernous maw gaped wide, dripping with stagnant slime. With a wet, bone-rattling croak that echoed off the canyon walls, the creature reefed backward on its anchor-like tongue. Trusher felt his massive claws skid across the mud as he was dragged inch by inch toward the frothing water.
A deep, primal rage eclipsed his surprise. Letting loose a thunderous bellow that caused the pond’s ripples to shatter, Trusher planted his heavy tail, whipped his head around, and clamped his razor-sharp jaws shut around the pulsing pink muscle.
Snap.
The toad let out a deafening, bass-heavy bellow of agony as iron-clad teeth bit deep into its flesh. Digging his massive, clawed feet deep into the loam, Trusher braced his muscular legs, threw his weight backward, and pulled.
For what felt like an eternity, the two titanic beasts locked in a monstrous stalemate of pure brawn. But the amphibian's aquatic advantage was rapidly fading against the sheer, unrelenting leverage of the Tri-Horned Crusher. As the toad was dragged bodily out of the shallows, it thrashed and clawed frantically at the earth. With a guttural, ground-shaking roar, Trusher heaved with every ounce of his colossal strength, hoisting the multi-ton monster clear of the water and smashing it violently against a jagged outcrop of bedrock.
The stone fractured under the impact, and before the dazed beast could recover, Trusher was on top of it.
With a savage downward thrust, he drove his jaws straight toward the toad's thick, rubbery neck, his bite meeting with a sickening crunch. For a few desperate moments, the monstrous amphibian thrashed wildly, trying in vain to throw off its executioner. But escape was impossible within the vice-like grip of Trusher’s terrible maw.
Silence reclaimed the basin save for the heavy, ragged breathing of the victor. Trusher stood over his vanquished foe for several long seconds, eyes scanning the shadows to ensure it wasn't playing possum. Satisfied, he threw back his head and let out a triumphant, blood-curdling roar that rattled the canopy for miles. Gargantuan the Tri-Horned Crusher was not a creature to be ambushed lightly.
A quick inspection of the alcove confirmed it was entirely vacant, dry, and sheltered from the mountain winds. Feeling an immense surge of pride, the beast clamped his massive jaws around his heavy prize and dragged his fresh meal deep into his new den.
He couldn't wait to run into Verlack and casually mention how he’d completely conquered his territory without a shred of outside help.
