Swamped

You glance down at the ground and find a loose cobblestone. Loose enough to pick up.

You consider throwing it at the beast as a distraction. After all, what you remember of muckbeasts is that they don't move especially fast on land, as their legs are more developed for swimming. If you angered it, you could probably outrun it. And even if you're underestimating it, well, you could definitely escape with a little time magic. That would be a desperate enough situation to take the risk.

Still, you feel hesitant. Perhaps because it hasn't shown any actual signs of aggression. You're not even all that sure of what's going on.

Maybe you can just hit it in the shell. From the side, so the stone won't bounce off onto anything more sensitive.

You position yourself for the throw, and are just about to make it, when you're startled by a shrill cry from behind. The beast makes its own identical cry, and turns towards you.

You step to the side, and glance at the space behind you.

There's another beast. And the two of them are shrieking at each other. They're slowly approaching, each eyeing the other.

On the one hand, that technically qualifies as the distraction you were hoping for. On the other hand, you're not sure if it's a good idea to be nearby if they start fighting.

You also can't help but notice that Sunflower isn't around. Probably done the sensible thing and gotten out of the way. So you're probably not getting much help out of him or Black.

Maybe it would be better if you stayed back, too. You could wait for a better opportunity to grab the book. Then again, it could end up a casualty of the fight.

Whatever you do, it's probably best to decide quickly.