Chapter 2 [The One Eyed Tamer]

   Clara and Brian didn't quite understand what they were looking at as they saw the hall getting turned inside out by a bunch of tough looking guys who were on their knees and sliding around.

   ‘CAUGHT IT!!’ Yelled a muscular red headed woman with one eye.’ Good job everyone. Back to your work.’ She said as she threw the rat into a cage. 

   Right on command everyone went back to their work like nothing happened. One of the tough looking guys took the cage away with him.

   ‘Oh, sorry. Didn't see you two there.’ The one eyed woman said to the two confused new pioneers as she removed her leather gloves. ’Come in, come in. You must be here to learn where your lodgings are.’

   ‘Yes but, umm, what was that all about?’ Clara asked apprehensively.

   ‘What are you talking about?’ The woman was genuinely confused.

   ‘I mean that, umm, rat hunt.’

   ‘Oh, you are new here so I suppose you wouldn't know. This is a new colony. Our food supplies are a bit, how do I put it, precarious. If one rat gets into the wrong room then the whole town could starve or worse die. As the head of Solstun, it is my responsibility to stop that.’

   ‘You are the head?!’ 

   ‘Ah, I suppose I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Aria Alvana, the current head of Solstun.’ She said as she thrust her hand forward for a handshake. The same hand that she had just used to catch that rat.

   Clara flinched at this, Aria had taken off the glove that she was wearing but it still gave her an yick. ‘Well umm-’

   ‘My name is Brian. Our party will be in your care.’ Brian had gone ahead and shook her hand before Clara could think of a way to refuse.

   ‘The name is Clara. Nice to meet you.’ She said with a forced smile as she made a mental note to always wash her hands after interacting with this wild woman.

   ‘Clara and Brian. Old man Will told me that he would bring a party of three with him. Don’t tell me he is going senile already!’

   ‘No, there are three of us. The other one went out to scope the town.’ Brian said.

   ‘Wait! By old man Will do you mean the carriage driver who brought us here?’ Clara asked.

   ‘Unless there is some other gentleman by the name Will that I am not aware of then yes.’

   ‘But how? We came here at the same time and he hasn’t come to the town hall yet. How did he tell you about us?’

   ‘Oh that!’ She said with a wide grin and then gave out a high pitched whistle. A giant red and brown feathered falcon came soaring into the room and landed on Aria’s hand.

   ‘Wha- That is huge.’

   ‘Of course he is. Introducing Carry. He is one of my biggest delivery birds. I send him with old man Will whenever he goes to get us supplies. He sends him back to me with a letter detailing all the stuff and people that he is bringing.’

   ‘How do you have a falcon this big? Raising one to such a size is no easy feat.’ Brian said.

  ‘Ah! You know a thing or two about animal care?’ Aria asked.

   ‘I heard it from a friend.’ He said with an obtuse expression.

   Aria seemed to be staring intently at Brian. Then after a small nod she went back to her cheerful mood.

   ‘Yes, you are right. I have been taking care of this one since all the way back when I was an apprentice handler in one of the first expeditions into these lands. He was just a little chick back then. Now, he is one of the few birds big enough to fly through that forest safely. Though he is getting up there in the years, I might have to retire him pretty soon.’

   ‘So, you were an animal handler.’

   ‘Still am to some capacity but that's enough about me. You wanted to know where your lodgings are, yeah? We have made lodging for you on the east end for you close to the back gate that you came in through. We didn’t have enough space to place the young lady in a different building so we separated a room for her by adding a small wall. Once we expand the town we will look into getting you a more permanent house.’

   Clara nodded in acknowledgement, sad that she wouldn’t be with Brian as much as she used to be but glad that she wouldn’t have to see Dylan as much too.

   ‘Ok, thanks for that. But before we go, that story about the witch of Novaria, did you ask Mr Will to tell us that?’ Brian asked

   Aria blinked in surprise after hearing that. ‘Sharp one, aren’t you? Yeah, I did.’

   ‘Wait, What? But why? And how did you know that Brian?’ Clara looked at the two of them dumbfounded.

   ‘Well, the way Mr Will kept emphasizing the danger of the witch felt unnatural. Almost as if he had been put up to it by someone and you are the only one who could do something like that. So, why? Why do that?’

   With a soft smile Aria said, ’A lot of different people come here. I just ask Mr. Will to pass on some cautionary advice before they learn them the hard way.’

   ‘Wait, so the stuff about a woman luring new adventurers into the dangerous forest is true?’ Clara asked.

   ‘I don't know, maybe.’

   ‘How can you allow this? Aren’t you worried about the safety of the people here.’

   ‘I am, young lady. That is why I warn them beforehand.’

   ‘Shouldn’t you stop the one behind this. You know who it is right? Tell me who.’

   ‘I can’t, miss. Many people come here looking to escape their past. I can’t have you interrogating them about that past'.

   ‘That is absolute nonsense! So what do you want us to forget what everyone did before coming here?’

   ‘Well, your friend here would surely appreciate that.’ She said while pointing at Brian. His face was still as a rock.

   ‘Wha- what are you talking about?’ Clara stuttered.

   Aria ignored her and leaned into Brian’s ear and whispered, ‘Surprised, are you? Don’t be, this isn’t my first time talking to your type. People with pasts they would rather not talk about. Let me assure you are not the one with the most messed up history here, not even close.’

   ‘I was finally on a date with a perfect prince charming and then you had to come and ruin it. Thanks to you he ran away like the other 967 liars who said they were brave before, too.’

   Millie’s reputation as the witch of Novaria wasn't built in a day. Since she came to the new continent the strong willed girl had only one goal. Find herself a strong, brave princely figure like from a fairy tale. But for some reason every time they seemed to run away instead of standing their ground against danger like in those fairy tales.

   Now the poor creature who had just happened to express curiosity towards a person who happened to wander into his home was facing her anger.

   ‘What! Don't give me that face.’

   The creature was somehow giving puppy dog eyes despite the fact that its eyes were separate from its face.

   ‘Ok, ok, I guess it wasn't completely your fault. You can go now.’

   It wasn't his fault. Millie had, after so many failures, picked a ‘danger’ that was actually kinda tame. A shame then that she had picked someone like Dylan.

   After receiving the permission to leave, the creature got up on its long legs and started climbing into the trees with its long limbs until it disappeared into the foliage.

   ‘Well, I guess that's that. I should head back to Solstun. Ari would want an exp- HOLY SHIT ARI IS GONNA KILL ME!!’

   A small explanation for those who are feeling a little lost. Five days ago, the chief called for Millie and told her, ‘Millie, some new adventurers are gonna come here. I know your, umm, habits. Whatever you do, don't get anyone killed the first day they come here.’

   ‘But I haven't killed anyone. They keep running away in the middle of our date.’

   ‘I don't know what you think a date is but it isn't taking people into dangerous areas that they aren't familiar with. Just be happy that you haven't killed anyone yet.’

   ‘But-’

   ‘No buts. The new adventurers are gonna come and you are going to leave them alone.’

   Despite this very clear instructions, the moment Millie saw Dylan alone on the streets her fantasies of meeting a knight in shining armor overwhelmed her mind and the result of that is plain for everyone to see 

   ‘Ok, let's calm down. That guy didn't actually die, probably. Ari is still going to be pissed at me so if I can take a gift for her then she would probably forgive me, maybe.’

   With this brilliant solution she could probably survive the town head’s wrath. There is just one small hole in that plan, she was currently in the middle of the forest and gifts aren't exactly known for growing on trees.

   ‘What to give her? What to give her? The town only sells necessity and I am kinda broke anyway. Think Millie, think!’

   She pushed her lone brain cell to its limits until it finally gave her an answer.

   ‘Yeah! I can do that. She is an animal enthusiast. If I go grab a rare animal then she should let me off easy.’

   This… should not have been that difficult to think of but then again this girl did believe the nonsense that Dylan was spouting so, what did you expect?

   But jokes aside, her idea was not flawed. One of the reasons behind Aria being given the position of head was to have her study the animals unique to this forest. Even the less rare species had their uses. Poisonous insects were used to make medicines, bigger animals could feed the town for a day and the most useful creatures were used to make spell items and magic potions.

   But sadly for Millie, most animals knew to avoid her like the plague. Great for traveling through the forest safely. Not so great for hunting.

   There was only one thing she could do. Travel deeper into the forest. Stronger and more dangerous creatures lived there, creatures less likely to fear her.

   She had an idea for the kind of creature to bring in. After she reached a particularly thick part of the forest where it was genuinely hard to tell whether it was day or night, she started climbing the trees. She didn't have to climb very long before she saw what she was looking for. A round hole in one of the tree trunks. The perfect nest for her target.

   She calmly walked up to the big tree and gave it one strong kick. Branches snapped, leaves fell and the tree tilted down. Then she kicked it again and again. The decades old tree that so many storms had failed to take down, was about to be taken down in a few kicks from Millie.

   Once the tree fell on the forest floor out of the hole in its trunk flew out the creature that Millie knew would help appease the angry head.

   The pop bird, as Millie called it, was a medium sized flying creature. Its main body looked like a human face. Its ears extended into large wings and its neck ended in owl-like claws but aside from that it looked just like a disembodied flying head. And what face it had. Jet black silky hair, Perfectly proportioned nose and mouth, sparkly pretty eyes and a sharp jawline. In another world, this face would have been on a K- pop star. Sad then that no one in this world could appreciate that.

   The weird bird-like creature flew into the sky annoyed at having its home destroyed. This creature is usually nocturnal so being awakened now was not good. Things were about to get ugly.

   The thing opened its mouth and started singing.

    ‘⁠♪⁠♪You’re my soda pop⁠♪⁠♪’

    The birds singing was in no way less than any k pop idols in the previously mentioned hypothetical other world. Its sweet voice had hypnotized so many souls before with those few words. And with following lines their death would be sealed.

   ‘♪⁠♪My little soda pop♪⁠♪’

   Done! This is around the point where the victim’s ears start bleeding and th… wait, wait! Why is she not bleeding? Why is she still conscious? WHY IS SHE COMING CLOSER?

   ‘Such a great voice these birds have! And such a great face on top of that! Yup Ari is gonna love you. Now the question is how do I catch it.’

   The bird stopped singing. A cold sweat ran down its sexy k pop face. It didn't know what her deal was and it was smart enough to not want to learn. It had to fly away. Now!

   ‘Hey! Don't run! I have enough men running off on me already! He-’

   Suddenly a dark shadow jumped out of the trees and caught the escaping bird.   ‘Wha-’ Millie was too confused to even figure out what her question was.   In front of her was something. It had dirty, long black hair. It was holding the bird's ear-like wings with its dirty hands. Its long nails were stabbing into the bird's wings. Its whole body was caked in a layer of dirt and he had something in his chest that Millie couldn’t make out. There was a dirty old rag around its hips and it had crimson feral eyes.

   ‘Is that a little boy?’ Millie thought.   No matter how she looked at it. The thing in front of her looked like a human boy. Around 12 or 13 years of age. His appearance suggested that he had been in the forest for a long time. His behavior was completely animalistic. 

   ‘Umm, hey.’ Millie said 

   The boy turned around on all fours and started hissing. 

   ‘Not very friendly, this one.’ Millie thought.

   ‘I mean you no harm.’ she said, throwing up her arms.

   He did not seem to understand the message as he ran away at lightning speed the moment she moved her hands. Running after him would be pointless as he was too fast.

   ‘What was a young boy like him doing here?’ she thought to herself.

   She had seen some pretty weird stuff on this continent but this didn't seem right to her. A boy of that age shouldn't be alone in the jungle. And he seemed pretty famished too.

   Millie searched around in her bag for something to give to that. She found some dried fish in her bag. It was her snack for the day but that boy needed it more than she did. She laid down a handkerchief on the ground and placed the dried fish on it. The boy was hiding in the trees somewhere but he won't come out as long as she is there. The only thing she could do now was leave him be.

   After walking for a bit, she looked back at the food she had left. The boy was there eating the food she had left. ‘So, he likes dried fish.’ she thought to herself as she continued walking back to Solstun.