“Hmm?” Meebur said, casually putting his tea down on the ground. “Did a Cotton Cricket just fly into me?”
When Meebur turned around he saw the passed out, young man splayed out in the road. Even though clearly unconscious, his green eyes were wide open, staring up at the sky. His simple clothes and tanned skin were covered in twigs and leaves. Before my tamer could reach down to help the kid, he noticed something else in the bushes. I turned to look as well, and saw what had been chasing the boy.
It was (and I say this objectively) the cutest thing that ever existed.
Sitting at the edge of the road was a small bunny made of pink clouds with emerald eyes that warmed my heart. Though it had long sharp claws sticking out from under its poofy fur, you'd never notice them because of how distractingly adorable it was. It made me feel foolish to call my current form cute, when this being was the only thing truly deserving of the word.
Species - Bouncy Bunny
Type - Earth > Forest > Field
Rank - E
Level - 3
Tamer - N/A
Status - Normal
Skills - ??
The bunny monster took one look at Meebur and I, turning its head quizzically, before hopping away. Meebur smiled, and reached down to lift up the passed out boy. After some time spent resting by the warmth of our fire, he slowly began to wake up. Though a look of calm was on his face as he slept, it quickly turned back to fear when he opened his eyes.
“Run! It’s right behind me-”
As if anticipating he would try to run again, Meebur placed one large hand on the boy’s chest to keep him in place.
“Don’t worry, lad. The monster’s gone. Well, that monster is gone.” Meebur looked over at me, who was coiled up near the boy’s head. “My new monster friend is here. Don’t worry, he doesn’t bite.”
Even in my cute form, I looked scarier than the bunny, but the boy didn’t pass out when he noticed me. In fact, he actually smiled and seemed to calm down a bit. Which was probably the first time someone had ever gotten calmer seeing a snake monster near their head.
“H-hello.” The boy said to me with a shaky smile.
Meebur handed the boy a mug of tea and a piece of bread with soft cheese spread along the top. The boy hesitated, but quickly let his empty stomach make the decisions and grabbed both. He downed the tea and gobbled up the bread immediately. Meebur refilled the cup and handed him another piece of bread. Just as he was about to consume both as quickly as the first, he stopped and placed them down.
“I’m sorry I troubled you.” He said and stood up. “I’ve taken enough from you already. I’ll be sure to repay you when I can-”
“What’s your name?” Meebur asked, and picked up the bread and forced it back into the boy’s hand.
“Uh, s-sorry, my name’s Frey.” He said and slowly sat back down. I could tell he wanted to avoid accepting more free food. He spent a few moments looking everywhere but at the bread. However, his stomach must have spoken louder than his manners, for he soon ate the second piece of bread in one mouthful.
“Besides in the opposite direction of any bunnies, where are you going?” Meebur asked. “It isn’t often you see someone alone on Ratatosk’s Highway. This road can be dangerous.”
Frey opened his mouth to answer, but something stopped him. He started blushing as though embarrassed.
“Consider your answer payment for the food,” Meebur said.
“I…” Frey closed his eyes. “I’m heading to the city of Artemis to become a tamer.”
“A tamer?” Meebur looked genuinely surprised. “You understand that tamers tame monsters, right? Monsters like that bunny?”
Monsters much worse than that bunny, I thought, imagining how long Frey would have lasted in the forest of death.
“I know, but it’s what I’ve always wanted to do.” Frey said.
“Why Artemis, then? You know it’s one of the top guilds in the country, right?”
“Yes, but it’s also the closest one to my village. I don’t know if I could make the journey to any of the others.” Frey held the cup of tea in his hand, looking down at it with a solemn expression.
“If you want to be a tamer, especially in Artemis, you’re going to be seeing much scarier monsters than bunnies.”
“I know, I just wish…” Frey said. “Why can’t all monsters be as cute as your little snake?”
Meebur and I shared a look of both surprise and amusement. We didn’t need to speak the same language to know what each other was thinking.
I wonder if he’d think the same if he saw my true form. Would it kill him immediately?
Would you like to create and activate the
No! No, please don’t activate that skill.
Confirmed.
“Have you always been afraid of monsters?” Meebur asked, unaware of how close I had come to accidentally killing our new friend. It was a good question, but I was a little more curious as to why he wasn’t afraid of me.
Maybe he just likes snakes. Everyone has their preferences.
“For as long as I can remember I’ve been afraid of them. The people in my village call me ‘Frey the Prey’ because the only way I can get close to a monster is if I’m its meal.”
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
Meebur chuckled at this. It was cruel, but clever.
“Well, you are close to my monster and not afraid. That is a very big step.”
Bigger than you know, I thought.
“Snakes are different,” Frey said. If he had been able to see monster stat screens like I could thanks to my Twiceborn title, then he probably wouldn’t think that way about me.
He reached a hand over to gently pet my head. When I was a human in my past life, no one ever petted my head like that. It made me a little embarrassed, but it also kind of felt nice.
“Why do you want to be a tamer?” Meebur asked, clearly happy to know his newest monster was able to sit casually with another person. It boded well for our future in Artemis.
“My parents were both tamers. I want to be more like them and less like…well, less like me.” He said, looking down in shame. Frey took a small sip of the tea, but there was none of the enjoyment on his face like when he had drunk the first cup.
“What are your parents' names? If I may ask.”
“My father was Odell, and I was named after my mother Freya.” He answered without looking up from the cup of tea.
Meebur suddenly became very still. His expression reminded me a little of when I first saw him by the empty nests of my hatching zone.
“Your village isn’t named Vanir, by chance?” He asked.
“Yes, that’s correct. How did you know?”
“Your parents were at the Dungeon of Bright Crown, weren’t they?”
Frey suddenly went very pale. Behind his eyes was a fear much deeper than when he had fled from the bunny monster. I felt a sudden kinship with him. It was likely the same fear that was in my eyes when I first saw the Harrowhawk.
“You don’t have to answer that.” Meebur said. “You are welcome to sleep here by the fire. I promise to keep watch.”
As the suns set, the light of the campfire mixed with that of the two moons and the countless stars. Meebur looked like he wanted to ask Frey more. But there was enough wisdom in my tamer to know that he had already asked too much.
Frey curled up next to the fire, turning his back to both Meebur and I. Not only did he not answer Meebur’s question, but Frey didn’t say another word for the rest of the night.
* * * *
The next morning, Frey had a much happier expression on his face.
He woke up early, fetched water, and cleaned up the camp with a smile as though nothing had happened the day before. I admired his attitude and determination.
Meebur had kept his promise to keep watch, not sleeping for even a minute throughout the night. I knew that because I also hadn’t slept. Not out of fear or a desire to be vigilant, but because it turned out I had a skill called
As we all ate a bit of breakfast, I was happy to know that Frey would be going towards Artemis as well. The boy seemed to be almost as inexperienced in this world as I was, so I hoped he would ask Meebur some of the questions that I wanted to ask.
However, just as the two finished packing up their gear, Meebur’s demeanor became serious. He looked out into a different section of the road that led to some other part of the country.
“I’m sorry, Frey,” he said suddenly. “There is something I must attend to in the city of Styx. Thus, I cannot join you on the rest of your journey towards Artemis. I had intended on bringing my new monster with me there, as this journey pertains to him, but I think there is something else he is meant to do now. I will still ensure you reach Artemis safely.” Meebur took me off of his own shoulder and wrapped me around Frey’s. “You don’t mind, do you?” Frey shook his head no, but I could tell that Meebur wasn’t asking him, but asking me. I shook my head. It would be my first time seeing the city as well, so I was happy to do so with Frey.
But why is Meebur leaving us? What’s in Styx?
“I don’t understand. Why are you going there?” Frey asked. I was thankful he was voicing the same concern I had.
“That little snake monster is special. And there is someone very wise I must confer with in Styx. I shouldn’t say anything more than that.”
“But, I don’t know if I can-”
“You can. Continue along this road for another half a day. Do not stray from the path for any reason. Unless you wish to see more bunnies.” Frey’s eyes went wide just thinking about it. “When you get to the guild in Artemis, you will meet a man with green hair. He may look scary, but he’s really very kind. Give him this.” And Meebur reached into his bag and pulled out a piece of parchment and a writing utensil. He quickly wrote some things down, folded the parchment and sealed it with a unique wax seal. “This is my personal seal. Do not let anyone but him open it. This won’t guarantee you entry into the guild, but it will at least ensure you have a place to stay in the city.”
“But-no, you can't go! What if I went with you?” Frey asked, clearly afraid to journey without Meebur's protection.
“No, the road to Artemis is safer than where I'm going. You'll be fine. Trust me.” Meebur said to Frey, and then looked at me. He gave me a quick wink, and we didn't need to speak the same language to know he wanted me to protect Frey.
And with that, Meebur dashed away from us. He wasn’t hiking in the opposite direction, but running as fast as he could across the fields towards another section of road leading beyond. His giant spear wasn’t secured across his back, instead held in his hand while he ran.
I didn’t know who he was going to meet with, but if it was to discuss me being one of these “deity monsters”, I wished I could join him.
But my tamer gave me a task: to protect Frey.
I have to see him safely to Artemis. Not just because Meebur trusted me with this, but to prove to myself that I can use this body’s power for good.
“Oh no.” Frey said, his voice coated in a mix of frustration and worry. “This isn't right…”
I slithered around his shoulder to look him in the eye, giving him the closest thing to a smile a snake-with-scary-powers could give. It actually seemed to calm him down, strangely enough.
Most people would have been terrified by that look, I bet.
Would you like to use the
No! No, don't-wait a minute, that isn't one of my skills. You just made that up!
The Almanac has been updated with the entry for the word “humor”.
Please read it.
Stupid, sarcastic text box…
Continuing on without my tamer, it took Frey and I a few hours more than Meebur said to reach the city of Artemis. Frey wasn’t nearly as quick and confident with the hike as my tamer had been. After spending a lot of that time reading my menu and thinking of Meebur, I felt like I had more questions than answers. Especially since I didn't get any new memories of my past life during the journey.
Luckily, the slow hike was mostly uneventful. There was one encounter with a few more of those bunnies while Frey was fetching water from a stream. But I was able to scare them off with a single
The only other thing I noticed as we trekked along Ratatosk’s Highway was what looked like a massive white tower in the distance. It was out of the way so I knew it wasn’t the city, but it was still a very strange sight. Like a giant white needle had pierced the wilderness. I was curious what it was, but the Almanac didn’t update with any new entry, and Frey didn’t seem to notice it.
We continued walking for hours. Though much of that time was spent thinking of Meebur and keeping Frey safe, all of that took a back seat when I got my first look at our destination. From the top of a hill we got a perfect look at what we had been hiking towards all this time.
“Well, buddy,” Frey said, “welcome to Artemis, the city that grows tall.”
I couldn't have picked a better name if I tried.
In many ways, Artemis looked like a classic medieval city. It was encircled by a tall stone wall that kept out the encroaching wild fields and forests. And within, you could see sprawling streets lined with wooden homes, and a castle with at least one tall tower visible. Beyond the city was a background of mountains that framed the suns as they were just beginning to set.
But all of that paled in comparison to a tree nearly the size of a mountain in the center of the city. Its branches covered much of Artemis as it spread out over the sky, and its massive roots merged into the outer walls, wrapping around stone towers as it embraced the city. Sunbeams burst through its hanging branches, bathing the city in equal parts lights and shadow.
It took my breath away.
This is the place where my new life will truly begin!