“I have to focus a lot,” Archer said. “I won’t be able to use my power in a battle, that’s for sure.”
“Don’t worry,” Aronicle said. “The power will take time to adjust with your body. Maybe minutes, maybe hours, maybe days, maybe weeks, or even years.”
“That’s motivating,” Archer said. “What’s our next step?”
“The Trident,” the Scavenger said, looking at Insanity. “Will you tell us where it is?”
Insanity nodded. “Under the Sea of Trion.”
“Wow, that makes it so clear,” James said. “Come on then, let’s go under the sea of Trion and get the Trident. Life is so simple, right?”
“Under the sea where?” Lynx stressed.
Insanity shook his head. “It’s not as you think. There is no place where the Trident is. The Trident is in possession of the guardian, and it goes where the guardian goes. The legendary Hothel has the Trident.”
“The legendary Hothel?” the Scavenger interrupted. He had a frightened expression. “Not him.”
Insanity nodded. “I’m afraid to say yes, but it is the truth.”
“The legendary hotel?” Matt was confused. “A hotel owns the Trident?”
“No!” Insanity sighed. “It’s Hothel, not hotel! What intolerable disrespect is this? How dare you disregard the name of one of the most powerful beings in the Dark World by comparing it to a simple hotel?!”
Matt apologized sheepishly. “Um... sorry…”
The Scavenger interrupted, “Please continue.”
“Anyway,” Insanity continued, calming himself. “Hothel lives deep under the sea of Trion. The first problem: you can’t reach there. You’re not fish. You can’t breathe in the water.”
“We can take breathing pills or something,” James said.
Insanity glared at him. “Pills won’t work. Even if you get one that can make you breathe in the water, as soon as Hothel sees you... Well, what can I say? Hothel is the most powerful being inside the sea. He can control water as easily as if it’s a... a... two-year-old child.”
“I don’t think a two-year-old child is easy to control,” James said.
“Whatever,” Insanity said. “You get my meaning, don’t you? If Hothel catches you in the sea, there is no escape. Hothel will have a hearty meal out of you.”
“All right,” the Scavenger said. “The bottom line is, Hothel inside the sea means the game is over.”
“Exactly,” Insanity said. “We need to come up with an out-of-the-box idea. And the out-of-the-box idea is that you need to lure him out of the sea, anyhow.”
“Okay.” Lynx held up a hand. “Wait a minute. Let’s first hear his weaknesses. Are there any?”
“Of course,” Insanity said. “Sea animals. Sea animals are his biggest and only weakness. He has a passion for collecting sea creatures.”
“All right, I have an idea,” James said. Everyone tuned in to listen. James’s ideas were the best.
“Is there any sea animal he has not captured?” James asked.
“The Scoshag,” Insanity replied at once. “It’s the only one he has not been able to capture.”
“The Devil of the Lake,” Lynx whispered in awe.
“The Jaw of Death,” the Scavenger said.
“The Amanthian Devil,” No One added.
Archer clutched his head. “All right, any more names and I am seriously going to faint.”
Insanity continued, “The Scoshag lives in the Gokru Lake, which merges into the Sea of Trion.”
Matt interrupted, “Gokru Lake! What kind of a name is Gokru?”
Insanity took a deep breath and looked at the Scavenger. “What kind of frustrating children are these?”
The Scavenger controlled his laughter. “I know they can be irritating, but most of the times they are not like this. Really.”
Insanity turned back to a scowling Matt. “How do I know? I haven’t kept this name for the lake. Well, just leave the name aside.” Insanity took another breath and spoke again, “Let’s focus on what’s important. The Scoshag is known to venture into the Sea of Trion to catch its prey. It is said that Hothel has made several attempts, but he has not been able to capture the Scoshag. Each time Hothel attempts, the Scoshag changes its shape and rushes back to Gokru Lake in which Hothel doesn’t enter.”
“Well, it’s easy, then,” James said. “We capture the Scoshag from Gokru Lake, get it to lure Hothel out of the Sea of Trion, then take the Trident from him.”
There was silence for a while. Then Insanity shook his head. “It can’t be done.”
“Why?” James questioned.
“Well, you wouldn’t be able to capture the Scoshag just like that,” Insanity said. “Even Hothel himself hasn’t been able to. The Scoshag is a shapeshifter. It will just change its shape and escape.”
James asked Lynx, “Do you have a picture of Scoshag’s original form?”
Lynx said, “I have a picture in which it looks like a crab. A bad crab.”
Lynx got up and went to the shelves. After a minute of rummaging around, he found a picture of a crab that looked unsettling. The crab was half-green, half-black with seventeen claws curved at the top that looked sharper than a razor.
“I can vouch that this is the picture of Scoshag in its original shape. I have seen it once. It is massive in size,” Insanity said. “As you can see, it has seventeen claws. The claws are so sharp that they can cut through steel easily.”
“What does it eat?” James asked.
“Sea animals, of course,” Insanity replied. “But it has a strong craving for humans. It is believed that once a fisherman fell into the sea accidentally, and the Scoshag ate him. From that day, it loves human meat.”
“How many Scoshags are there?” James asked.
“There were two.” Insanity said. “One died a long time ago. The only one left lives in the Gokru Lake.”
“I don’t understand,” Matt said. “If Hothel has the Trident, then he has access to great power. Why doesn’t he use his Trident to capture the Scoshag?”
“The Trident would be of no use. It can control water, but the Scoshag can shape-shift. Even in the water, it can jump to great heights. It will just turn into a bird or something and fly
