Even though any living situation under an actual roof was…null and void, the Bugbears, resourceful as they were, scouted the new plot of land until they found a small abandoned quarry about 10 acres away with a small cave at the bottom. Upon inspection, they discovered that it was not very deep within and was structurally sound, so it was safe. Finding a place to sleep, they began to make arrangements to make it more livable, and by that, they grabbed as much tall grass as they could and lay it over every available space in the cave. By nightfall, they had made a halfway decent place to sleep. As usual, the male and female slept beside their mates while the children and Basil slept separately.
When morning's first light showed through their new home, the chief Burr, as usual, woke up first. As usual, his first task of the day was to take account of the children to ensure none had left early or got stolen, which was a more common occurrence than one would think. When he did, he noticed that two spots were empty. Spots previously slept in by his son and Basil. He looked around the spot where they were, hoping they had simply moved positions, but there was no sign of them.
Taking this in stride and not panicking, he walked back to his wife and shook her awake, saying, "Misses. Misses wake up."
"Five more ticks, Mister.", Brex moaned, half asleep.
Narrowing his eyes, he calmly asked, "Where is man scrimp and pup?"
Upon asking this question, Brex's eyes shot open, and she sat up while looking at their sleeping spot, confirming to herself that both were not present. Without missing a moment, the two of them rushed out of the cave and began to search the property, calling out for the two missing children. After a seemingly unsuccessful search from the quarry down to the area where the cottage house once stood, Burr caught the sound of something loud banging against one another. Pointing it out to his wife, the two Bugbears ran towards the source until they saw Basil tirelessly working on something.
Relief and confusion washed over both as they approached to get a closer look. They had gotten within smelling distance of Basil, which was pretty far considering how smelly they were, and yet he still didn't notice them. Only continuing to work away on…something strange and poorly made? He had several nails in between his teeth, a homemade hammer crafted from a branch and a stone, and his clothes and face were filthy, but he looked happy.
Eventually, Burr pipes up and says, "Man scrimp."
Snapping his neck to the two confused Bugbears, Basil joyfully greeted them with a scrappy and dirty face, "Oh! Good morning Burr, good morning, Brex. You two sure are up early."
"What man scrimp doing?", Burr asked.
"Did man scrimp sleep?", Brex asked.
"I don't need to sleep, magic stuff, and I couldn't. I've been too excited!", Basil explained to them with a squeal while shaking his hands.
After asking this, they get to their next concern, where Burr inquires, "Where is the pup?"
Giving a confused look at first before realizing what he meant and Basil told him, "Wander? He's over there by the junk pile we're gonna burn later."
Looking over to where he was pointing, the two Bugbears saw their child playing amongst the pile of house parts in his little world. He was utterly ignorant of his parents, who were angry and relieved. Once Brex went to go collect their child, Burr looked over what Basil was crafting, or at least…trying to.
In all honesty, he couldn't make heads or tails of it as it was crafted from bent nails, broken and half-rotted beams and planks, and some rope. In addition, it looked crooked and like it was barely balancing at the same time.
"What form of goo-gack man scrimp make?", Burr asked while pointing at the thing.
Basil blushes in pride at him noticing, rubbing the back of his head and balancing on the balls of his heels like a schoolgirl as he answered, "I'm not much of a carpenter or a crafter, but I think I did well with my very first…", he drew out, making Burr glare at him in irritation, before standing off to the side and exclaiming, "Concessions stall!"
Only for the motley-built structure to fall apart in front of them. Everyone stood still in silence as eyes traveled from the discount stall to Basil and back to the pile.
Basile threw his hammer on the ground and yelled with great anger as he jumped all over his broken creation, "Oh for fucks sake! That's the tenth time today! I'll never make anything! Never!", he moped as he sat on the ground with his knees in his chest.
Burr came over and patted his shoulder in pity as he told him, "Maybe man scrimp should stick to making food and let Goblins build."
As he said this, he waved his wife over, leaving Basil to wallow in his self-pity. Basil tried hard to hold back the tears from spilling out and staying firm in his emotional resolve; he didn't take note of the construction sounds going on behind him. He wallowed and sniffled back as he attempted to get his frustration under control.
After sniffling a bit, he commented on Burr's previous statement, "Psh! Yeah right! The nomadic warriors are better at building than the guy who…who…", he tripped off his own words as he turned around to complain to the Bugbear, only to be shocked by the sight of a well made and nearly new looking concession stand.
Mouth open in shock and eyes wide, he glanced over to see Burr and Brex smile proudly and egotistically at him. Blinking a few times to regain his sense of self, he asked the monsters, "How did you do that?"
"Goblins good at building stuffs.", Burr answered quickly and honestly.
Closing his mouth and standing up Basil admits, "But….how? No offense, but I thought you could only build ratty clothing and simple weapons."
Burr looks insulted by this and proclaims with a grunt while striking his chest, "Goblins capable of many things! Goblins once lived in great city-dell long, long time ago! Massive! Made entirely by Goblins."
Basil wondered what he meant by City-dell but then pieced it together from his months of travel with them and knew he was trying to say citadel. So the Bugbears or Goblins had a massive mega-city they all lived in--something like a utopia from what little Basil could infer until a question poked his mind.
"If that's true, then what happened to it?", Basil prompted.
"Mans and Poky ears came and destroyed city-dell.", Burr answered in a growl, saying it like it was an old and sour memory still fresh in his head.
"That about checks out.", Basil comments under his breath, realizing why Bugbears and Goblins generally distrust humans.
"But all Goblins know how to make, and make well.", Brex interjected, trying to ensure her husband did not rant.
"Well, that's awesome…but I think we should move it closer to the roadside. Don't want customers coming through all this mess just for a loaf of bread.", Basil tells them while pointing towards the main road nearly choked out and covered up by weeds taller than the Bugbears and just as wide. "After that, I'll make food for you guys, and you can start clearing the land while I sell off the extras you guys don't eat.", he tells them as the two Bugbears nod in agreement, while Wander lifted the whole stall by himself, carrying it out towards the spot needed.
After the stall was set on a nice clear part of the path facing the main road, Basil got to work on preparing food and much more than he usually did! Thanks to his travels across the Empty Lands, he had stockpiled various ingredients, from grains and herbs to salt and meat. He even learned to place water from a racing river into his magic pocket! Now, he had to make a measuring cup, put it into the pocket, and think about how much he needed and what amount would appear within.
And because of all his diligent cooking with the monsters, his Magic Cooking leveled up. This gained him the "Magic Timer" feature, which allows him to keep track of what's been in the oven for however long it needs to be, and "Magic Counter," which enables him to see the progress of foods being cooked and how long they have until they are perfect, alongside unlocking more kitchen tools to bake and cook with. He even had this new skill linked to Magic Cooking called Assign. He had no idea what it meant, but he'd find out later.
Much of his food was still ranked F, but only because all his ingredients were wild. He's sure it will increase once he gets an actual kitchen farm going. He couldn't wait for that day to come! And so, as the Bugbears worked hard on clearing and flattening the land, Basil worked hard to provide food for them and his stall. He worked like the wind and even faster with a newfound excitement in his soul! He was so fast and diligent at his work that to the Bugbears, he looked like a super speed machine…if they knew what a machine was.
Eventually, he did what he set out to do and made more food than ever. He called the Bugbears over and first gave them their fill. No surprise, but they ended up eating so much! Not just because of their need for food but also because of its deliciousness. And Basil was showered with satisfaction sounds, compliments, and other praise. Making Basil smile happy from having a small portion of his dream come true. But compliments didn't pay for the bills or more ingredients, so he took what was left and headed to his stall to sell.
And there he sat and waited, and waited, and waited some more, and waited…even longer. So much so that the late morning had turned to dusk, yet not one person passed by. He was gone so long that Brex came looking for him. She approached when she saw him still sitting at the stall without his usual cheerful expression.
Standing beside him she pointed out, "Man scrimp been out here a while."
"Well, you know what they say, Rome wasn't built in a day.", he tried to joke and laugh with her, only to see a confused expression in response. Stopping his chuckling, he awkwardly stated, "Oh yeah, you don't know what Rome is."
Trying to find a way to break the awkwardness, he looks around for something until he sees something he did not expect. Nothing. Nothing but nothing behind him. Just a clear, flat area with no eye-high weeds.
He did a double take of this before congratulating Brex, "And wow! You guys do great work! I can actually see where that death trap called a cottage used to sit."
Not paying attention to his praise, Brex inquired, "What's the point in selling foodstuffs?"
"To make money, of course.", Basil answered.
"Why not just steal it?", Brex asks again like it's the most typical response.
Basil sighs at her seeming innocence of doing wrong and informs her with a shake of his head, "Not everyone wants a life of crime, and not every human immediately turns to that line of work. Some of us want to work hard for some coin. Plus, we need it if we're going to build a place to sleep and not in that dingy little cave you guys found by the abandoned quarry on a pile of dry grass."
"But man scrimp has coins from fat man scrimp and stuffs to build good with.", Brex argued while pointing to the pouch of coins tied around his rope belt.
Basil was a patient person, but even his patients had limits. Talking to Bugbears felt like talking to children. It's too bad he never knew what that was like since his ex-wife raised them. But he knew he had to teach the Bugbears so they wouldn't get the wrong idea about things, or do something other humans would try to kill them for.
So he sighs and explains to her, "It'll take time for that building material to get here, plus more stuff is going to be put onto this land, and we'll need the money for it. Also, it's nice to feel a sense of self-accomplishment for once. Not having someone harp on you to do something and just set your own goals to achieve. Even if it's small.", he said with a soulful and distant gaze as he looked off into the sky.
However, his dreamy state vanishes as he sighs dejectedly and states while putting a handcrafted "closed" sign on the stall, "Though I'll admit business is slow, er, real slow. I probably should've thought about location, and I'm sure no one besides merchants and immigrants use this road. I mean, the time I've traveled this path with you guys, I've only met five other people. Not counting the Pomfret's.", he sighs sadly as he leans against the stall, getting a pity pat from Brex as he lamented, "Guess I should figure out a way to market my products and location before I go bust! Tomorrow is always another day, I guess."
Unbeknownst to either of them, Burr had secretly watched this whole exchange unfold. While in his mind, he began to think of a plan of action, and action he knew precisely how to take.
Back at the camp, just shy of an hour after closing his stall, Basil made a large pot of soup with the female Bugbears from the things they forged from their day of land clearing. Suddenly, everyone's attention was grabbed by the sound of many voices calling out or making some kind of strange noise, but it was pretty muffled. Spooked by this noise so much that he nearly turned off the giant magic pot holding the soup, Basil quickly looked around to see if they were being attacked! Fortunately, the Bugbears weren't reacting to this, so it wasn't dangerous.
So he asked, "Hey, do you guys hear that?"
"Screaming.", Brex confirms.
"Wonder who's screaming?", Basil asks as his question is answered in the form of Burr walking towards the camp with a wriggling sack of something flung over his back. "Burr?", Basil asked aloud to make sure it was real and not a trick.
As Burr silently walks up to Basil with a proud smile on his face, an even more confused Basil asks him, "Burr, what in the world is in that sack?"
"Customs to have foodstuffs for coins.", Burr stated proudly as he placed the wriggling screaming sack beside himself.
Rolling his eyes, fully knowing that Bugbears could say human words but didn't know how to pronounce them correctly, Basil corrected him, "The word you're looking for is customers…CUSTOMERS!?", he exclaimed in a shocked yell as he realized the sack was full of people! Burr eagerly nods with a sharp-faced grin, only for Basil to yell at him, "Burr, let them go!"
Unsure why Basil was acting like this, and feeling his good mood sour, he dumps the contents of the sack in front of Basil's feet instead of just opening it. Over a dozen people of all ages spilled forth like a bag of clumpy dirt, and Basil froze up, unsure of what to do next in this situation.
Before the people could take into account where they were or what was happening, Burr got into their collective faces and roared, "Now man scrimps buy foodstuffs!"
The people cowered and screamed in fear as Basil ran in front of the huge Chief and told him off, "Burr, stop that! This is not how you get customers or treat them! And where did you even get this many people!?"
"From human town, miles up road.", Burr stated proudly.
Trying to repress a groan, Basil explained to the huge hairy Goblin, "Burr, while it's good you found a town, you can't just kidnap people and force them to buy my stuff!"
"Why not?", Burr argued back.
"Because that's not how it works.", Basil exclaimed while slapping his face before rubbing it, taking a breath and waving his hands in a calming motion, he told the chief, "Look, I appreciate your trying to help market my business, but my market can't involve human trafficking.", Burr looks as though he still doesn't understand or chooses not to. So he pushes his hair back while fixing his sweat rag and tells him, "Just let me take care of this, please."
Surprisingly Burr allows this, and he steps away to let Basil deal with the terrified humans. Turning to them, Basil didn't know what to say in a situation like this. So he treated it like a business deal about to go south.
Helping the people up to their feet, then handing them all a whole fresh loaf of his special basil bread to each one before bowing to them and apologetically saying, "I am so sorry about my friend! He doesn't quite understand human culture and etiquette.", he stands up straight and taking a stone while putting the Lantern spell on it, offering one to every person, "I know it isn't much but please, all of you accept this as a small token of my apology, and I'll provide you with all the lights to navigate your way back to your town."
From here, he begins to collect enough stones for the people and places the Lantern spell on each one as he watches the sky's many colors start to darken.
"Hang on.", a voice calls to him as he stops picking up stones and turns to a man holding a half-eaten loaf of the bread he just handed out. "Did you make this?", the man asks him.
"I did. Is there a problem?", Basil asks back with a quivering tone, thinking that maybe rank F meant it was so bad that only monsters liked it.
But before the man could answer immediately, he saw all the Bugbears glaring at him with tooth snarls and Brex cracking her knuckles right behind Basil.
So the man waved his hand while backing away and assuring him, "Ah! No no no, no problem! It's just…this is amazing.", he said with a starry-eyed gaze as he took another bite.
"It is? I mean, of course it is!", Basil stated boldly.
After finishing the loaf, the man cautiously approaches Basil and asks him, "Tell me, do you have more goods?"
A huge and bright smile appeared over his face at the question, and in a small, overly excited tone, he confirmed, "I do."
From there, Basil began selling all his remaining products to the once-kidnapped people, who quickly became obsessed with his cuisine. With every first-time purchase, everyone got a free cup of soup from the pot. As this happened, the Bugbear watched this scene with their soup like it was some sort of TV dinner show. To them, it was entertaining to watch humans exchange coins for food. Fighting was natural for them, but this was entertaining and comical. Once everyone's stomachs were full and pockets empty from whatever coin they had on them, they left for their town in the night with the lantern stones provided by Basil's magic.
Basil waved them off, the same wide smile spread across his face as he called to the people, "Thank you all for your kind patronage. Have a safe trip back home, and I hope to see you again…under different circumstances."
Once they left, Basil let out a sigh of relief, and he exclaimed while fanning himself in excitement, "My first day of business was a success! Look at all this money!", he cried to the nearest Bugbear while holding up a sack of money so thick it looked ready to burst.
After strapping the coin pouch to his belt, he ran over to the Chief and embraced him in a hug as he exclaimed, "Oh, thank you, Burr! If it weren't for your gross misunderstanding of human culture, this never would've happened."
"Yous welcome…I guess.", Burr replied, now sure what way he should take that backward compliment.
Releasing the goblin, he jumped up and down, saying, "I can't wait for tomorrow! I don't think ill-."
However, he didn't get to finish that thought as he was cut off and knocked clean out by Burr whacking him on the head. Seeing this happen, Brex ran over and scolded in shock, "Mister!"
"What?! Man scrimp needs sleep. Yous wants to roar about it?", Burr argued back.
Brex opened her mouth to retort, finger raised to make her point but stopped when she could think of nothing in return and realized her husband had a point. She could already see the smug expression on his face without looking at him. So she resorted to picking the young man up and bringing him to the cave.
xXx
Late into the dead of night, when the fire was out and all the Bugbears were fast asleep, including Basil, none were any the wiser as a small figure carefully snuck around the lightly resting adults, searching their bodies and always coming up with nothing. The adults slept near the entrance while the children and Basil were at the back. The figure would've left at this point if it weren't for Basil letting out a loud snore.
Turning its attention to the sleeping young man, the figure carefully and elegantly snuck over to the children and investigated. Without having to look for long, the figures' eyes fell upon the bursting-at-the-seams bag of coins placed on the sleeping young man's body! Caution was thrown to the wind for such a find, and a small hand grabbed and broke the coin pouch clean off.
"Huh wha-? What's happening?", Basil awoke to the feeling of something jerking him, and the figure hid. Half asleep and groggy, Basil asked aloud while sitting up, "Wander? Is that you?"
He looks to his side and sees the Bugbear child all curled up around his side, so he crosses that explanation off the list and stands up while rubbing his eyes. After rubbing his eyes awake, he notices how his side feels lighter, and he pats himself around while asking, "Hey, where is my…", before he can finish that thought, he gets his answer as he notices a shadow that isn't his and yells while pointing, "THIEF!"
At this, the Bugbears awaken, and the thief tries to run! But picking up quickly to the situation, everyone attempted to catch the slippery thing! Ducking and weaving, bobbing and sliding, dodging hands, bodies, and short legs as the thief tries to make it for the exit! And to its credit, he makes it…for about two seconds when it's tackled from behind and pinned to the ground!
"I got him!", the Bugbear who caught it called out.
"Bring it in so wes can skin it!", Burr called as the Bugbears lifted the squirmy thing and brought it inside the cave that was now lit with torches.
As the thief was brought back inside, the pouch of coins stolen from Basil was sent up an assembly line of long limbs to be returned. But Basil wasn't so interested in the money as he was in the would-be thief. Who was it, and why? He wanted some answers and a good look at whoever it was! It was hard to do that right now with all the Bugbears crowding around where the thief was held. So he had to use all his might and more petite frame to squeeze past until he finally made it to the front, where he saw Burr readying a spiked club as the thief catching Bugbear held the squirmy crook. Only to be surprised by the sight of a small bird-like creature in rags.
Just as he saw Burr raise his club to strike it down on the bird, something came over Basil, and he rushed out while exclaiming, "Hold on a second!", Burr stops for him as the cave goes quiet and takes a deep breath with all eyes on him, he inquired, "What is that thing?"
"Don't know, all it is is a dirty thief.", Burr replied in a vague and waving-off kinda way.
"Just humor me.", Basil pressed him.
Rolling his eyes at this, Burr explained a bit more, "Mans call it, um…Cain-poo."
"Cain-poo?", Basil repeated the word before activating his Appraisal skill, where a window popped up and told him.
Kenku- a small intelligent bipedal race of avians that resemble corvids. Despite being similar to birds, they are incapable of flight and speech. However, they can mimic any noise they hear. Due to their inability to create anything independently, they usually turn to a life of crime and thievery to get by but have excellent memories.
After seeing this, Basil couldn't help but feel pity and sadness for the pathetic creature, especially when it looked at him with sad, soulful blue eyes. He almost wanted to cry at looking at such a helpless thing with all thoughts of payback for the theft gone.
Getting bored of waiting, Burr impatiently asked him, "Yous done? Now wes can finally pluck this little bird, feather after feather!", he said sinisterly while plucking a single feather from the bird's head, causing it to croak in pain.
Without thinking, Basil sprang into action, grabbed the bird from the Bugbear's hands, and rolled away before holding it in his arms and exclaiming with one hand out in a stop motion, "Wait! Don't kill it! It's so cute!"
"Cute?! It's pest!", Burr argued back, looking at him like he was crazy.
Holding the small child-sized bird person up to him, Basil insisted, "Just look at him, Burr. He's just a child. He didn't know better. His whole species doesn't know any better."
From one of the nature documentaries he watched in his old life, he remembered that crows are easily distinguishable from children and adults, even when both can fly and fend for themselves. Their eyes and beaks are the most dead giveaway to their age. Young crows have pink colors around the corners of their beaks and striking blue eyes. This one has both of those features.
"Pest tried to steal from us.", Burr argues.
"Yeah, but only because he's desperate. Right little guy? You're just hungry and want to get some food and a bed to sleep in, right?", he asked the bird in a baby voice, where it gave him an affirmative nod. "See.", Basil exclaimed.
"Pest is lying through his teeth!", Burr roared.
"Beak.", Basil corrected him, only to get an irritated growl. "Sorry.", Basil backtracked.
Burr rubs his eyes and then tells the young man, "Wes can't keep it. No reason to. It's useless."
That's when Basil held up a finger and insisted, "Not so fast. It could have one use for us."
"Emergency food.", Burr stated nonchalantly and uncaringly.
The Kenku sweats at this but is quickly thrown into a turbulent loop of emotions as Basil replies, "No. Well, maybe.", hearing this, the Kenku looks up at Basil with betrayal on his face. The young man explains further, "But these guys have amazing memories. They can recall anything they have seen or heard! He could be our treasurer and look out for other crooks when you guys are busy clearing out the land.", Burr still didn't look convinced so Basil told him, "I'll be the one to take care of him, I promise!"
Burr slaps his face and finally gives up as he says, "Fine. But pest sleeps outside the cave!"
"Then I guess I'm sleeping outside as well.", Basil agrees as he takes himself and the bird outside the cave, but only going as far as the outside lip. From here, he sits down with the bird standing on his lap and looking at him with his big blue eyes, where Basil asks him, "What do you say, little guy? I'll give you a place to stay and food to eat if you help my business. Sounds good?"
Even though he didn't like being treated like a pet or a plaything by Basil, the offer wasn't so bad. The Kenku had been living on the streets for a long time, and a permanent home sounded nice. Plus, he could use his skills without being considered a pest or a ruiner. So, living with this guy would be alright; he was forgiving. He was lovely, especially since he had tried to steal from him not even five minutes before. He hadn't felt a gentle touch in such a long time that it almost seemed foreign.
So he nodded, and Basil tried and failed to repress a squeak of joy. Before his face shifted expressions and he inquired, "Oh yeah, I nearly forgot, do you have a name?", this is when the bird begrudgingly and sadly shook his head. Leading Basil to pull a sad look and offer, "Would you like me to give you one?"
One rapid head shake later, Basil was trying to think up a name as he stroked his head, all before hearing Burr offer from inside the cave, "How about Pests."
Basil waves him off with a magic spoon and tells him, "How about being quiet, peanut gallery. What about….Teto? I used to have a pet bird called that.", Basil offers as the bird thinks on it and then nods in agreement. The young man smiles and says in exuberance, "Teto it is then!"
"Man scrimp is ridiculous.", Burr moaned in a grunt from the inside of the cave.
Suddenly, a new window showed up, telling him the following.
Congratulations- name successfully imprinted onto nameless monster
Monster-Human Bond- successfully linked
Teto skills have been added to the stat block
Basil wondered what this could mean, so he appraised Teto and noticed how he had a filled name column alongside a few of Basil's lesser skills. He next pulled up the description of the second window box and found that he and Teto, in short, had been linked through some magical means. Their souls were connected and now shared everything with one another, gained or lost, with Basil being the primary.
Through this, he felt he and the bird now understood one another on more than a fundamental level. He could see the slightest movement in his face and determine his true expression, feelings, and words without speaking. Naming him gave him the benefit of being what could only be described as his soul owner, and he also gained a copy of all the bird's personal skills. Looking back at his stat block, he noted how he acquired the following skills and traits: Eagle's Eye, Worth of Value, Silent Step, Quick Hide, Fast Retreat, Slippery Fingers, Kenku Recall, and Mimicry. So he pulled up the description of each one to understand each.
Eagle's Eye: allows the user to see or detect small things or hidden details on a person or object.
Worth of Value: the user can see an object and know its worth in money.
Silent Step: allows the user to walk with completely mute footsteps.
Quick Hide: allows the user to use a large portion of their brain power to find and ideally disappear into or behind a hiding place.
Fast Retreat: allows the user to bolster their speed for a short time. (The time limit is two seconds)
Slippery Fingers: the user can take any small hand-sized object without being noticed, in addition to quickly picking locks.
Kenku Recall: the natural ability of Kenku allows them to memorize anything they have seen and recreate it on the fly so long as they have a baseline understanding of said thing.
Mimicry: the natural ability of the Kenku's that allows them to copy any word, noise, or sound they hear and remember it.
To say that Basil was surprised by this was an understatement! He never would've guessed he could play this life like a monster-catching game where he gets their stats! Thinking about that, he looked at his stat block and noticed that not only had his fortitude gone up, but so had his stamina! Looking back at Teto, he noted how they now had similar stats!
There was so much about this world he didn't know, and so much more he wanted to, but that would be a question for another day. It was late; he was tired after so much excitement, and he would undoubtedly have a busy day tomorrow with the news of his stall. So he later sat down with Teto in his arms, wrapped himself in his cape, and drifted off to sleep.
xXx
The next day, when morning's first light began to pester Basil's eyes, he begrudgingly woke up in a terrible state. Between waking up and going back to sleep, followed by all the adrenaline from the day prior and all the new knowledge rushing through his head, not to mention sleeping on the hard ground, needless to say, he wasn't a happy camper. After trying to rub the pain from his everything and crack any bone that reasonably could, he breathed deeply and took in the new day.
Today was going to be a good day, and he knew it. Since his food got so much love from those kidnapped people, he knew they had gone home to tell their families, and no doubt are telling their neighbors this morning…hopefully not about the kidnapping part. So, after stretching and taking something fresh from his Magic Pocket to eat as a quick breakfast, he smiled while looking up towards the clearing sky with excitement for the true beginnings of his new life. He knew he had to work hard and quickly! No doubt his stall would be overrun before the early afternoon.
So when the Bugbears woke up, he got to work. Like yesterday, he moved like a whirlwind of power as he made food with his stockpile of ingredients. As he did this, the Bugbears separated into two teams, one going out to hunt and forage while the others stayed behind to help clear any more land out or help Basil with his cooking. Within the hour alone and a nice haul of fresh meat, wild fruits, and greens from the Bugbears, Basil made more than enough food for them to chow down on. While they ate, Basil packed all the extra food in his Magic Pocket and went off to his stall with Teto.
They hadn't even gotten halfway when they saw a large crowd surrounding the stall. Both bird and boy looked at each other, and Basil smiled excitedly while Teto looked on with a bit of reprimand, unsure of the whole thing, even as Basil happily skipped to his stall.
Throughout the day, Basil quickly sold just about anything he offered to anyone, and anyone who smelled his food was taken in with mouth-watering temptations. Things had gone well; actually, they had gone better than well and not a sign of trouble, thanks in no small part to Teto.
The little bird snuck around the many legs of the many people and studied each one to ensure they had no ill intent. And so far, he had seen nothing but people excited to finally get their place in line. That is until a rough group of people walked up with the crowd. It was a group of four men with different body shapes and sizes. But the one thing that stood out was their general aura. They just ooze bad intentions alongside their garish rogue attire.
So Teto kept a close eye on them, especially when the thin one cut through the crowd to the front, where he appeared to purchase a single loaf of bread. But things weren't as they seemed when Teto watched as the man stole Basil's coin pouch from under his nose. And made off with the pouch alongside the loaf given and another one he snuck! The man left to meet his friends, and Teto sprang into action.
"Did you get it?", a fat man asked the skinny one.
The skinny man chuckled at the question and replied, "Are you kidding? That schmuck didn't even see it coming! I got the bread and his whole purse of coins.", he stated proudly as he held out his hand, turning his nose up in pride.
"And air?", a very tall man questions while looking at the open hand.
"Yes. Wait, what!?", the skinny man exclaimed while looking at his hand before searching himself over, only to realize, "I swear I just had his coin purse and the bread and….", after patting himself over once more with a panicked expression, he asked himself, "Where's my coin pouch!"
"And mine!", the fat one asked.
"Mine too!", the tall one added.
"What's going on!?", the short one exclaimed as he noticed his missing pouch.
Meanwhile, Teto was back behind the stall, placing Basil's stolen coin pouch, the stolen coin pouches from the crooks, and the two loaves of bread back onto the stall or in Basil's hand. Receiving a head pat and beak flick, Basil told the bird off, "Nice job, Teto. But you know it's not nice to steal from those who try to steal from us and…", before he could finish, he saw Teto with four sets of strings in his hands and inquired, "Wait, what's that?"
Suddenly, a roar of laughter was heard from the crowd, and the two boys went to investigate. When they got close enough to peek through the crowds, they saw the four crooks with their pants down and trying to hold them up as they ran away in shame. Basil looked to Teto, who smiled smugly at him, making Basil sigh as he said while rubbing his head, "But in this case, I'll let it slide."
xXx
Meanwhile, deep within a continent-sized swamp that held a foreboding sense, far, far away. An unusual scene was taking place by no one but its inhabitants. Within the heart of the swamp was the only raised piece of land, a small mountain, but this was no mountain at all. It was a ring of large boulders stacked around and high with many abnormally large trees, roots, and vines holding it all together and causing a natural roof to form.
Within this unnaturally natural environment, the plants were so thick that nearly any sunlight from outside didn't make it through. Nothing more but tiny cracks shimmered within. And within this space was a horrible and gruesome sight! Deep puddles of foul-smelling green pools dissolved anything that fell in and littered all over the place. While hanging off every wall, dangling from the ceiling, scattered across many wooden stakes were the remains, heads, and bodies of various creatures! All of them were strung up in gruesome ways with horrific expressions on what few still had faces left!
Amongst this horror was the only solid spot of land that held an enormous pile of gold and other shiny trinkets! The gold was the only thing not harmed by the area around it. And approaching this gold was a congregation of hidden figures clad in robes and hoods. As they stood before the gold, all but one of the figures bowed down as the one closest to the front stood up with black wings spread.
They spread their arms while the others began to chant something, and after a bit of chanting, a male voice came from the winged figure as he bellowed, "Awaken my Mistress, Anaya the Black!"
Suddenly, the gold pile began to shake, and a new form emerged from the riches. First, it was spikes, then wings, and then the partially exposed face of a scaly creature.
In a raspy, irritated, feminine voice that sizzles like acid, demanding from the pile, "Who dares disturb my slumber."
The winged person took off his hood, revealing a human man who seemed to be in the process of transforming into something. His face was partially covered in black scales, with one eye turning yellow and two horns beginning to emerge from his head. His hands were completely covered in scales and tipped with claws. This man was a Cultist who, the object of his devout worship, had touched him with its power. It's a tricky endeavor, but one worth the many risks.
With the demand of his mistress, the man boldly replied, "It is I, your humble servant, Etern."
A single green eye opened amongst the wealth, and the voice again commanded, "Speak, slave."
"Our search across the lands has finally borne fruit, my mistress. A Chosen Touch has been located near, very near.", Etern explained to her.
With this knowledge brought before her, the mistress finally showed herself. What came out from the gold was none other than a dragon! But this was no ordinary dragon; this one was horrifying to look at! Scales black as night, horns curved to the front of her face, and skin pulled so tight over her face and body that it appeared little more than a skeleton! A small crown of black horns adorned her head, and a green sack dangled under her jaw.
Stretching out a snake-like neck, she ordered her Dragon Cultist, "Speak more."
"Near the border of the Empty Lands and Mid Lands in the continent of Xagrington. A powerful magic signal has been spotted.", the dragon-touched man explained.
Narrowing her venomous green eyes, Anaya answers impatiently, "And how do you know it's not just another Arch Wizard bolstering his years of magic prowess."
Etern gives his lips with a quick lick before answering, "We know because of the stationary location of the signal. An Arch Wizard would have left the Empty Lands by now, alongside the rapid growth of magic at an unnatural rate. Arch Wizards magic doesn't continue to grow and fluctuate."
Anaya initially said nothing as her gaze trailed to the skull of a slain beast nearby, and she inquired, "What more do you know?"
"It has become stationary in one spot between the borders of both lands and near a small human town known as Ash End. That is all we know for now.", Etern once again informs her as she continues to admire and brush her claws against the massive skull. "Should we send scouts to investigate?", Etern offered.
Leaving a deep slash mark in the skull with one of her claws, Anaya answers, "No. I shall see to it myself. But first…", she said in a sinister tone, her evil eyes wandering back to her, still bowing worshipers as she stated with a crooked smile, "I do believe my palace could use another…decoration."
All the cultists stopped chanting as they got up and backed away from the encouraging claw of the manically grinning dragon. An evil chuckle escapes through her teeth as she slowly reaches for another addition, such as the life of a Cultist who worships a dragon, an unpredictable life full of danger and death.