Friends and Solutions

  Morten spent weeks trying to figure out that stupid human contraption. Their suites were easy enough, but it was the ship that was the problem. His whole life he had known magic. These insects had none, and yet they were able to construct something as puzzling as this. Just one more way those two had outwitted him. Morten slammed his fist onto the ships console. Frustrated, he reached into a pocket to pull out his soul well. “No, I must not give in to the temptation.” He murmured exasperatedly. His home was nothing but magic, one that he could draw on, but was reluctant to do so. It was perpetual and permanent with one drawback. If Morten drew from it, then the magic holding it together would start to unravel, and without the artifact, he would have to draw on the soul well to fix it. The reward was not worth the risk. A button began to flash. Curious, he pushed it followed by a loud feminine voice. “Jack me off captain.” This caused him to jump out of his skin. Then raised an eyebrow. “Jack me off captain? What kind of sick people were they?” He knew the Makee Had some strange ways, but Morten never knew these things did as well. “THE MAKEE!” Morten yelled in excitement. “I'M sorry. I didn't get that. Let me search the Sol Net for... THE MAKEE!” The AI mimicked his voice's volume on the last part. Morten could not take any more of this things voice. “Maybe the universe would be better off without these creatures.” He grumbled to himself. He had his lead. He would just focus on that for now. To think he had almost missed such an important detail. These pests' technology was similar to theirs.

  Grisre awoke to a banging on her and the cat’s cage. “Wake up useless.” Came an agitated voice. It was Francis. “Good morning master.” Grisre gritted her teeth at those words. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Danny open an eye, looked at the Chimagriff and made a noise that was a combination of a yawn and a meow. Whatever he said to it pissed it off, because it launched itself at its own cage so hard it knocked it on its side. This caused Francis to jump. Instead of laughing, Grisre lowered her head to hide her smile. Francis picked up the Chimagriff's cage and gave it a few violent shakes with his freakish strength then set it back down once his anger had settled. “Why haven't you bonded this thing yet?” Francis said glaring at the now cowering Chimagriff. “It has resisted all my attempts... Master.” She rushed out that last part. “Then Gerwulf will put it in the pits. I also have no use for a beast that will not obey.” He emphasized the word obey. “I trust that you bonded this one?” Francis ask expectantly. Grisre nodded. The truth was she could not. The bonding was incomplete. After a long talk the two just decided to pretend that it had fully worked. Minus the lack of compulsion there were two sides to this. On the plus side they were telepathically linked. On the downside, if either of them died there was a chance the other would go mad. But Francis did not need to know that, or he would find new ways to torture her. he gave an approving grunt, then let Grisre out of the cage.

  Danny could have made a run for it, but he knew the collar would prevent his escape. The magic in his collar was about intent, much like his own, and it made its intent quite clear. Besides that, would defeat the purpose of this charade. He and Grisre had been locked in that cage together for three days. Danny learned a lot about her as well as this bonding thing. It turned out this was a way to keep all the beasts here under control. He had posed the question. “What's to stop you from using them to escape?” Thinking he could use that to help them escape. To which Grisre had responded. “Because I too am bonded.” Through her education on the subject Danny found out about soul bonding and slave bonding. What she had tried was soul bonding. “An opportunity not taken is wasted.” He had said sage like. At that point Danny had vowed to help her escape. So, they concocted a plan... A sort of... Ok! They didn't have one yet, but he was working on one. First Danny needed the lay of the land. His link with Grisre was key to that. That and the element of surprise. Often times she would describe where she was, where she was going as well as her position relative to his cage. It had turned out that this place was huge. Putting his old skills to work, he had estimated based on current information, the place could fit inside of one in a half football stadium. Granted the sport had not been played in over a century, but that was beside the point. Soon Danny wished he was human. His inner geek had a rebuttal for that though. If his inner geek was a separate entity its rebuttal would have been something like this. “You're living in a fantasy. This is every table-top RPG player’s wet dream.” His inner geek did have a point, but that still didn't change how challenging it was, let alone the problems that came with it. More to the point, would he be able to save a planet that was so unlivable that humanity forced to become a space fairing species? "What a weird and random thought." He mused.

  Danny's thoughts, if a little random, were interrupted by the passive-aggressive words that came from the Chimagriff. “I have not forgotten.” By now the creature had figured out it was no match when it came to intelligence. This had bothered the creature to no end. Somehow, it still believed that it was still going to fight Danny for the position of alpha. He concluded that the Chimagriff was a proud creature, but what if he could use that against it somehow. For now, he would just keep fanning that spark until that was figured out. “And you shouldn't underestimate me.” Danny countered. The Chimagriff just snorted in agitation. “Good!” Danny thought. Eventually he would have to do something about this creature.

  Ross and Karber had acquired quite the nice collection of dead mice. Who would have thought that Dragon had such a mean streak to him. For three days he had Ross out catching demon mice. Ross was very careful not to break skin less he became possessed himself. Really! He had gotten lucky those couple of times. Each mouse he caught was brought to the dragon who interrogated it. Each one spouted the same rhetoric. Your mine yata yata. It was almost like those old cheesy anime shows where the villain would mono log whenever they thought they had the upper hand. The difference here was Karber. Once he had decided they were of no use to him, he would kill them. This was where his mean streak came in. The mouse Ross caught on day one, the mouse the dragon first interrogated was kept alive and forced to watch. To the little fella’s credit, he held for a long while. Hope was a powerful thing. The same could not be said for Ross. It took him all he had not to dive into that mountain of mousy goodness. Thanks to his persistence along with Karber's constant reminders he gained a new ability called Iron Will. (Iron Will – Whenever you become subjected to the effects of compulsion or mind-altering abilities or spells, you gain resistance where effectiveness is based on your wisdom Ability score.) Unlike his other abilities and spells, it had question marks for a level, it was at master, and effectiveness was based on ability score. It did help a little, so there was that.

  When the mouse finally broke and begged to join his comrades, Karber asked the same question he always did. “Where is your demon master. Tell me and you can join them.” Instead of silence or talk of doom, it spilled the beans. “He left town after sensing an intriguing aura.” Karber gave the creature his undivided attention. Ross could not help but listen as well. This could be the lead he needed to find Danny. Not to mention he was curious as all hell about what a demon master was. “Where is this aura?” His Aura started to leak. Karber's victim shook. “A burnt Lizzorse, and its rider was ambushed. It carried something the master wanted.” It began to beg. “Just kill me I can't take it no more I'm so hungry.” Both Karber and Ross laughed after killing the last demon mouse. Karber had thought killing the mice in front of it broke it, but in reality, the hunger compulsion had overpowered it. No wonder the inn made so much money in the last 3 days.

  The unlikely pair disposed of their gruesome gore collection, paid the grateful innkeeper and left. They scouted the outskirts of Dauntless till they found a dead body. The poor bloke looked like a burn victim pin cushion. Ross caught a whiff of Danny's scent. At the same time Karber went over to the body. He cataloged Danny's scent and discovered two others along with it. His shock was a nine on the rector scale. One belonged to the women back at the pixie pond, and the other which trailed back to the body, which belonged to one of her men. Karber was not shocked, but instead gave the body a sniff. He dawned a look that conveyed regret and triumph. “Well, it seems he was hit with a paralytic so strong, it caused long term paralysis and starved to death. An exceptionally powerful one at that. To bad, I can't eat him.” Karber began to salivate. Ross would have sighed if he could. The Dragon stood. Ross took the opportunity to chime in. “I think I have a lead on who took my friend.” Ross said. “What do you mean?” Karber asked. I recognize two scents. One belongs to burn victim over there, and the other belongs to a woman who with help captured a lot of pixies. Also, my friend was with them.” Ross finished excitedly. The Dragon judiciously pulled out a notebook with a ball point pen and began taking some notes. “Where in the fuck did he get that pen?” Ross thought to himself. Ross hopped onto his shoulders to see what was being written, but the dragon snapped his notebook closed.

  Ross gave him the cat version of annoyed. Karber deflected by smelling the body. It worked, because the human part of Ross wanted to gag which was exacerbated by Karber transforming into his true form and eating it. As soon as the body was devoured, he heard a scream coming from down the road, toward the direction of the town. Karber grabbed the cat with a claw and took off before things got out of hand. “You need to learn control.” Ross yowled. “Would you rather I eat the villagers instead?” The Dragon chuckled. "Besides, he was the one who escaped from my territory. You confirmed that.” Karber let out a belch. “Which way?” Ross could not answer right that moment. He felt his stomach try to exit through his nose and mouth as bits of his latest kill tried to take its leave.

  Danny came to one conclusion during his time here. It sucked! All it seemed to consist of was fight some random thing, go back to his cage, eat, and repeat. He hated it. Where was Ross? How did they get separated? Why wouldn't that Chimagriff just shut up? He just needed something to take his mind off things. Puzzles usually did the trick, and he did have time to kill. Looking around, Danny felt the weight of his collar around his neck. “Well? It's better than nothing, and it would go a long way to escaping.” Danny exhaled. He knew that the collars were more than just that. He could feel a constant drain on his mana, but not so draining that it put him in a coma. Not only that, but he had asked Grisre through the link if she knew anything about them, but the only thing she was able to contribute was nothing. Grisre was a novice Beast Tamer after all. What Danny found frustrating, was this nagging feeling that he was able to circumvent it before. He just had no memories of it. “Some of earth's innovations were inspired by nature. So why not this right?” He thought to himself. The thing was, this world and its creatures were strange to him. So, he had nothing to reference right off hand. Considering his situation, he would just have to start from square one. He started channeling his mana the only way he knew how. His focus was suddenly drawn inward where he observed rivers of mana and potential mana. The sudden shock of what just happened threw him into his conscious self. After he collected himself, Danny did a self-analysis of what had happened, and repeated the process. He focused on his mana and began to channel more of his mana which, like before, brought him to the flow of his mana which, on a closer inspection, flowed throughout his body in what appeared to veins, from the mana entering his body from various collection points to the collar sucking it up. The question was, what did the collar do with that mana?

  Grisre's thoughts crossed their link with a tinge of panic, jolting him back to his conscious self. “What is it?” Danny asked concerned. “The second is here? You never told me you were his.” She blasted. “What does this mean?” He asked more concerned. She was in panic mode ten. He had never seen her this freaked out. “It means he is on his way to check your progress. Remember your bonded to me so if they want you to do something, then do it or our plans are done for, and do not forget the madness part.” Danny gulped. He remembered that night when Grisre told him about the partial soul bond. They had also placed him at deaths door. Though, he could not remember how exactly. He had a bad feeling about this whole affair.

  The door opened to revile two shadowy figures. Danny had no issues seeing them thanks to his dark vision. Why it was maxed out he did not know. Though he speculated that it was probably due to him being some kind of cat creature. One of the figures was Francis, and the other was a Beastkin. He surmised that the beastkin was the second that Grisre had mentioned. Coming up behind them was Grisre who he could tell was on edge. Suddenly, Danny got a brilliant idea. He had been trying to figure out how to make use of the Chimagriff. How could he be so dense. Grisre could not use the creature the way he needed due in part to her slave bond, but he could. "Thank you, knowledge skill," Danny thought. Also, Grisre could not soul bond it which seemed to make it useless in Francis's eyes. If Danny was human he would have frowned. “Crap!” He thought. He would have to fight the creature. That was a conundrum. By now the small group was almost upon him. Using the mental link he asked Grisre. “Who owns the Chimagriff, and what do you mean by progress?” Grisre responded with more panic bleeding into her thoughts. “The second. What are you planning?” Danny didn't respond. Instead, he waited until the group had gotten close enough, and in a low growl uttered 5 words he knew would piss off the now awake Chimagriff. “Your master loves me more.” It looked at the approaching group, observing the way Danny was receiving looks of approval by its' shared master. It didn't give any immediate indication that it was upset, but Danny could tell the seed had begun to take root.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  The second stopped in front of his cage, ignoring the Chimagriff. Francis stood next to Grisre. She sent several nervous commands through their shared link to which all but one beast complied. Per her commands, Danny laid down, and placed his head down in a submissive position. The Chimagriff got up lightning fast after noticing the dismissive attitude from the group, which only validated Danny's comment in the Chimagriff's mind. “That's right you dumb piece of shit. Dance for me.” He would not normally think or do something so messed up, but he and his friend were prisoners here. He would not be anyone's property, and if Danny could help it, Grisre either. “Open the cage for me.” The beastkin commanded. Grisre did not hesitate, and did as she was told. He picked Danny up, and began carrying him away. If not for Grisre, Danny would have attacked and made a run for it. That was the final straw. The Chimagriff let loose a bone chilling roar, and rammed itself full force into its own cage. What surprised Danny, was that it actually bent the bars on its decadent cage. Francis stepped in front of the beastkin ready to intercept the angry mass of death, but it never came. The cages magic kicked in. “Now that's interesting.” Danny thought to himself. It would seem there was a way to trick the magic on the cages. Once the group was satisfied the threat had passed, Francis then excused himself. He grabbed the cage using his freakish strength, and placed it back into its spot.

  The group proceeded out the door and to the appraisal room where they had placed him the first time. The door closed, and soon he could feel an invasive magic violate his identity. That aside, Danny could hear them talking. Beastkin: “I thought you had that Chimagriff bonded?” Francis: “I'M sorry. We tried but it is too strong-willed.” Beastkin: “It seems there is some good news. My little friend here could evolve pretty soon.” Francis: “What do you want me to do with your Chimagriff?” Beastkin: “Feed him to my divine beast.” Francis: “Are you sure? It could kill it.” Beastkin: “Look at its level, and besides, I have no use for a creature that can't be controlled.” Danny was dumbstruck at how easy it was for the second to discard his Chimagriff like a piece of trash, but who was he to look a gift beast in the mouth, so now he just had to kill the damn thing. Easier said than done. After thinking and observing the prideful beast he had discovered that it held a degree of control over the other creatures with an ability, that Grisre reluctantly assured him, that he would gain if he ate its' spirit stone.

  Danny was brought back to his cage. He could feel Grisre's relief through their shared telepathic link. He looked over to see that his soon-to-be adversary was seething at him. He felt no further need to goad the creature. He had achieved his goal. Now he needed to figure out how to win. He would either claim the ability or die, but given his captors faith in Danny's abilities, he had a degree of confidence. Every beast in this room respected the Alpha. A part of Danny that felt alien seemed to tell him that was the way to go. When Danny challenged the creature out of frustration, every beast in the room watched. That was how he knew it was the Alpha, and if being Alpha meant leader, then it might help in furthering his future plans of escape, or at the very least serve as a distraction. That was his thought process. He still didn't know if Grisre's slave bond would interfere, but he would not leave without her. To do so would tear him apart. He knew Grisre was not his Cathrin, but in his mind, it was comparable to abandoning his wife. For Danny, she was a second chance.

  How dare he cheat her like that. Rayna angrily marched over to where she stashed the Lizzorse only to find it missing. “GODS DAM IT!” She yelled in frustration. This just was not her day. Sure, Gerwulf gave her a ton of money for that damn thing, but that was not the point. This was supposed to set her for life, not set her up for a while. Rue poked her head out from an inner pocket in Rayna's armor. It gave a questioning squeak like squawk. Rayna gave the mini dragon an affectionate scratch under its chin. A privilege only reserved for those that it deemed worthy, or in Rayna's case it considered her its mother. “Its fine Rue. Mother is frustrated.” Rayna cooed. She couldn't help it. Rue was the only creature alive that she actually cared for. Not like Rayna's own family cared. So why should she? After all, her mom sold her off without a second thought after her dad died.

  As Rayna looked for the stable master, she could not help but think back to her interaction with Gerwulf. As infuriating as it was, something about it nagged at her. Something he said seemed to burrow its way to the for front of her mind. “I hope your trip back is a safe one. I hear it can be rough out there.” Surly her missing mount didn't have anything to do with that bastard. Right? He was mostly known for not being ambitious. Then again this wouldn't be ambition. This would be revenge. Rayna sighed. “How could I be so short-sighted.” Typical! Men always overreact to threats. Then again, she too had a reputation in the zoo which was why few people raked her over the coals. No, he probably overreacted. “Maybe it's a coincidence, and I'm just overthinking it.” She reassured herself. This sort of thing was known to happen from timed to time. Some thief would steal a mount, or the knot wasn't tied properly, and it would escape. Rayna rounded the corner to find the stable master standing outside yelling at what looked like a guard. “What the hell do I pay taxes for anyway.” She wanted nothing to do with that mess considering her profession wasn't exactly legal. So, she went the other direction. This was not good, but it didn't prov anything. Rayna made her way to the northern gate. If her mount was gone, then she would get a new one. There was no way she'd be caught without one. That was tantamount to suicide, because it made you an easy target for bandits and other brigands.

  Rayna almost cursed as she approached the north gate. There was one Lizzorse left. While she could not completely rule out Gerwulf, she knew better than to underestimate a man's pride. Let alone a man who was rumored to be running whole towns from the shadows. She was not sure about that last bit, but all rumors true or false had a basis in reality. She quickly purchased the mount and left. She could not breathe easy until there was some distance between herself and Coran. Whats more, she didn't have a place to go, but with the money she made, Rayna could disappear for a while. Normally, she was not so paranoid, but she had made a mistake whether she wanted to admit it or not, and experience had taught her that in some rare cases value meant something. She had caught a legendary creature. How many of the Zoo's poachers can claim that? Surely that means something. “First things first, I need to find a place to lie low, then I can figure this out.” Rayna conspired, unsure of the situation. Three miles past the gate Rayna hit the edge of the Kings wood. She tugged on the reins, bringing the Lizzorse to a halt fifty feet from the tree line. Now she had been through here many times. Each time she had made passage, the wild life could be heard from the tree line all the way to where Rayna had stopped. However, the forest did not sing today. “Gods dammit!” She angrily cursed.

  Rayna's dad always taught her to listen for the forests' song before going in, because if it is quiet, you are likely to be attacked. First her mount is gone, then the only mount available is at the north gate, and now armatures are trying to ambush her. Well, if that's how you want to play, then let the games begin. After all, she brings him something legendary, and this is how the esteemed Gerwulf treats her. Fuck that! Rayna opened her bag and pulled out a boomer stick, then she reached in pulling out some twine and an arrow. It would not take out a castle wall or anything, but it would take out a massive tree or two. In no time her arrow was complete and loaded into a heavy crossbow. Rayna's adversary(s) would not know what hit them. If they did work for that piece of shit, well then, they picked the wrong beastkin to work for. She couldn't just fire. Doing so would likely be a waste, so Rayna observed the woods, and listened. No beasts could be heard, so that was good. Less noise made finding their general direction easy. No more than 15 minutes into her renascence, and she heard multiple sticks snap. She lit the fuse and fired. One thunk later, and a voice could be heard yelling. “RUN!” It was followed by a loud KABOOM. Rayna let the corners of her mouth lift into a sick smile. After all, no one fucks with Rayna. Instead of continuing into the Kings wood as originally planned, she decided instead to go around. There was no way she could do that again anyway. Alchemists were petty when it came to their secrets. Even worse, was how expensive their services where, and that was for just one of their boomer sticks.

  Gerwulf had finally found time to sleep. Since he had returned from the arena it had been nonstop work. It helped take his mind off Rayna, if only a little. So, there was that, but he had not heard from his contact. He had talked with Francis at great length about what to do with Rayna. Francis had suggested that he was worrying too much, but Gerwulf had let her reputation get to him, and as a consequence it had cost him a valuable poacher. It was too late to curb her actions. Nor would he try. To do so would make King look weak, and that was guaranteed to make his already almost nonexistent sleep turn into either a permanent sleep or none at all. As tempting as the former was, he rather enjoyed breathing. Despite King knew how reliable he was, and would still threaten him with it on rare occasions. Gerwulf shuttered at the thought. Among his swirling pot of feelings was his worry about the Chimagriff he had purchased as a gift for king. Thank be the stars he had not told him about it. While Gerwulf had grown attached to it himself, he could not keep it. The boss wanted one badly, and would take it from him. Not like that Divine beast he purchased. Those were considered by the Zoo to be nothing but a myth, but he knew better. After all, he had one now, and soon it would evolve. Sure, it would cost him a very rare Chimagriff, but he could not give a vicious, and unbindable creature to King.

  As he turned the corner to deliver his report to the leader of the Zoo himself, Gerwulf checked his pocket. It was almost a reflex at this point. Thinking of either of the two creatures reminded him of what he had to do. To be fair, he was dealing with Rayna. One of the few people he had ever known in the Zoo to gain such notoriety which was why he had to take her out in the manner in which he had set up. Even King kept tabs on her progress. Even if Gerwulf was the one who updated him on that poacher turned problem. However, his comm crystal had not gone off. He sighed. “You get what you pay for.” His knock echoed through the stone and ebony brick passage way when he heard King's voice say “Come in.”, he respectfully opened the door. “What have you got for me?” King asked expectantly. “The Pixies have been rounded up, and transported to our various locations.” The beastkin said. “And what about the dragon that lives in the area?” King inquired. Sweat started to form under the beastkin's fur. Gerwulf had hoped that he would not have to answer that, but if he had not mentioned it, then he would not have been asked. Thankfully he had his notes. Flipping through his notes Gerwulf said. “It appears to have attacked and eaten several of our men then flew away. However, all product is accounted for.” While King did not exactly frown, he didn't seem happy either. “Well, there goes tonight's sleep.” Gerwulf thought to himself, face neutral. “And what of the Master poacher?” King inquired. Now he really wished he had gotten word back from his hired group of narduwells, so he could tell King that she was one of those who were killed and eaten, but that was not the case. So, as he had rehearsed in case this happened, he put on his act, because not only did he find King's concern for her a little sickening, but at the moment she was likely to outright kill him. “Rayna is one of the missing.” Gerwulf bowed his head in a fake act of reverence. “You know what to do.” King commanded. “Yes, it shall be done without fail.” he reassured before being dismissed.

  For crying out loud. She was a master poacher. What else did he not know about Rayna? “I've gotten too sloppy.” Gerwulf chided himself. It was no matter, because now he knew and could course correct. In short, there were loose ends that might need cutting. On top of that, he now had to make inquiries to the different branches, and that would take all night. He was right as usual. There would be no sleep tonight. While that in and of itself did present a problem, perhaps the inquiry could help. It would place more eyes out there to keep watch for her, and it would make killing her easier should the opportunity present itself. There was still one problem with that. What was King's interest in that woman? Until he knew what that connection was, He would just have to hold off on the killing part. As he opened the door to his home away from home, a strong smell of burnt flesh and blood wafted through the opening. Sitting pitifully in one of Gerwulf's chair was the leader of the very group he had hired to kill Rayna. His name was Roark, but unlike before he was covered in third degree burns with a missing arm. He led a group called the Reapers. Roark tiredly eyed Gerwulf, and kicked a chair over to the beastkin, then gestured for him to take a seat. “I take it she is dead then?” Gerwulf asked, surprised the human was still alive. Roark shook his head no. “She knew we were there, and fired a boomer stick at us, taking us by surprise.” “Perhaps this is for the best Roark. It turns out plans have changed...” He began bluntly, but Roark cut him off. “You do not get it. We no longer possess the man power for this task. The reaper's will refund your money since we could not complete the contract.” Gerwulf was furious. “I do not want my money back. I want you to listen.” Roark got to his feet holding out their contract in hand. “Once the contract is made, it can't be changed. You signed in blood.” The beast kin laughed. “Yes, I did.” Roark didn't know how to react, and he could tell the assassin was confused. So Gerwulf decided to help him navigate that confusion. He walked over to a desk, and pulled out a prosthetic fingertip and tossed it to Roark. His assassin guest examined it. “The deal you made was with a now dead pixie.” To emphasize the point, the beastkin pulled a struggling creature from a cage and snapped a its neck, and the contract burst into flames. Roark stood there staring at the now burning contract. Clarity and understanding dawning his features, telling Gerwulf that the assassin understood. “Now that is cleared, lets negotiate. Same price, but I throw in a new arm, and no not a prosthetic but the real thing.” To show how serious he was, Gerwulf held up a ring of regeneration.