Nicknames

Joe was late to the party, having been working on forging his new lance. He was new to the whole hunting business, and his friends had been helping him along the way, teaching him what weapons and armors to prioritize, and showing him the weaknesses of monsters. Oftentimes they would have a quest ready for him when he arrived for the day, and wouldn't tell him much about it, other than what kind of weapon to bring. Today, though, they had just told him to bring the strongest lance he had, and thick armor. Whatever they were fighting was going to be strong, that much was clear.

"Yo, Joe!" Michael called out as Joe came into the guild hall. Michael had been hunting the longest, and was the most relaxed about the whole thing. He fought with a simple sword and shield, but he moved swiftly and adeptly, and almost never got hit. "Today's a big day for you, my friend. Today, you're going to fight the pickle."

Joe blinked, confused by the statement. "The pickle?" he asked. "What's so impressive about a pickle?" But as he looked at his other two friends, he saw that they weren't as relaxed as Michael. They weren't even as relaxed as they normally were. They seemed to have a grim air about them, as though they were dreading what was to come. Matt usually brought a hammer with him, which he used to crush the heads of their foes, but was wearing a massive great sword on his back instead. Ian was still wearing his long sword, though he had also upgraded to a more powerful looking one, as Joe had.

"You'll be glad you fought the pickle when we're done," Matt said, his voice heavy. "But I'd really rather not go through this again." Ian silently nodded his agreement. Michael just kept smiling though, and rushed them out of the hall and into the field.

The air about Matt and Ian was tense as the group headed into the forest, Michael leading the way, knowing the pickle's nesting grounds. The slipped into a cave deep in the forest, and as they passed through the darkness to an open area where the sun shone through, Joe saw it.

The beast was massive, easily three times as tall as he was, and seven times as long. It was covered in green scales, though it had some kind of red and yellow sponge substance around its enormous jaw. As hard as its scales appeared, it was also covered in a layer of slime that oozed off of its body and onto the ground, leaving disgusting, mucky pools around the area. It had crushed a deer as they were walking in with its chin, and unhinged its jaw to scoop the innocent creature into its mouth in a single motion, slobbering as it chewed the flesh and bone.

Joe could see that it would not be an easy fight. He could see why his two friends were scared. But he could also clearly see that it was, in fact, a pickle.