“Could we really not have found a bigger cage?” asked Edmond. “It looks as if it were made for a small dog.”

“It was the best I could cobble together on short notice,” snapped Raina. “Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts?”

“Well, no. It just seems a bit… undignified is all.”

“He doesn’t seem to mind.”

“Yeah, that’s what worries me.”

Jun, for his part, was simply having the time of his life!

Not only had his new friends fashioned him a personalized conveyance—a clear indication of their rapidly budding friendship—but they’d actually insisted on carrying him the entire way here.

They wouldn’t even hear of letting him out of the nice box, with its robust frame and privacy insuring bars, so that he might pull his own weight as a member of the team.

Not even when he’d asked them to!

Never relenting in their rather transparent attempts to drape him in all manner of style and opulence. Gifts he wasn’t entirely sure he deserved. An insistence which he’d only really begun to understand once they’d stepped foot in this similarly appointed anti chamber.

Truly, he couldn’t have wished for better friends.

Although, that wasn’t to say there wasn’t always room for one more.

And taking in the hectic antechamber, filled to the brim with potential friends, Jun couldn’t help but feel spoiled for choice. Now, that being said, for the time being at least, he’d have to settle for the more four-legged variety. Seeing as they were, typically, the only ones at his eye level. He was confident that this was only a temporary setback, however.

Taking in the clamorous hall in all its totality, he couldn’t help but smile broadly.

Ahh, the sweet sound of barn animals in the air.

Not to be outdone, were the sweet smells of barn animals in the air.

And let us not forget the sweet taste of barn animals in the air.

It was such a delicate blend of sensory experiences, that he almost felt as if he were back in the barn again. This truly was such a wondrous treat. And then there were the other people standing about—hovering over similar conveyances to his own.

Each of them housing animals of all shapes and sizes.

Though, perhaps only a few of them were as big as him.

Boisterous and filled with all kinds of vigor, the people, all women strangely enough, shuffled forward a single step at a time, following a somewhat haphazard line. One which tracked muddy steps from the entrance, all the way to the grand double doors, and, presumably, beyond.

At a glance, it looked like it’d still be a while yet before they reach the front of the queue, and so Jun turned his immediate attention to his fifth best friend in the making. Who knew? The way this day was going they might even turn out to be rivals.

“It would appear you’ve stepped in quite the mess, huh kitty? That’s fine, big brother Jun will have it fixed right up in no time!”

Jun addressed the furry feline curled up in the conveyance opposite his own. A cat which looked to have been drenched quite liberally with what could only have been a rather large bucket of paint.

Now why would someone go and do something like that?

Jun stretched his fingers through the privacy bars. The little cat hissed its acquiescence. He took this as tacit permission.

The sharp sting of its claws had him retracting his fingers far faster than he’d extended them. An electric charge of anticipation thrummed through his veins. So, they were destined to be rivals after all, then?

Truly, could this day get any better?

“I see! Well, if it was a test of strength you wanted all along, you needed only to ask!”

The cat hissed its challenge. And it was a true challenge at that. Oh, how oblivious he had been! To think he’d underestimated such a willful and fearsome opponent! Only now did he recognize the fierce pride evident in its bearing, where he’d been utterly blind to it before.

“But of course! Believe me when I say I would not dream of making such a demonstrable error twice! Come my furry friend! Let our grand clash of burning hearts and striving spirits be one sung about for many ages yet to come!”

And so it was. And it was glorious.

“Boy! Stop playing with the cat,” encouraged friend Raina. “We’re up next. Oh, and if you wouldn’t mind being… you know, a little more impressive when we get in there? If you managed to pull that off, it’d help our chances here immensely.”

Jun looked up from his contest only to find that they’d somehow reached the head of the line. In the heat of battle, he must have lost track of time.

Be impressive?

Yeah. He thought he could manage that. But before anything of the sort however…? Jun locked eyes with his erstwhile enemy turned lifelong companion and smiled. It took some effort, but he managed to ignore the sharp stinging sensation emanating from his shredded fingers. Bringing his fists together in a sign of respect.

“It would appear you’ve gotten the better of me this time. I look forward to clashing wills again with you again in the future. When next our paths meet, my good friend.”

Then, giving as deep a bow as he was able within the cramped, though still genuinely appreciated, confines, Jun held that position and didn’t waver once. Not even as his conveyance was set into motion. Maintaining the gesture of respect between equals until the grand doors slammed shut behind them, and a brand-new chapter of his ever-expanding story was stretched out before him.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

image [https://i.ibb.co/rw6tMBB/IMG-2711.png]

Meredith watched in quiet disbelief, as the older woman wearing the odd hat that jingled as she walked, first tried to wrangle, then attempted to cajole, and finally began to beg the otherwise uncooperative bear to balance on the largely inflated ball.

The minor functionary did so with a frozen, slack jawed expression, and a feeling of exasperation bordering on outright hysteria. Surely this entire extended fever dream was just some overly elaborate jest had at her expense. It was the only thing that really made sense!

Anything else too closely resembled some creeping onset of insanity for her liking.

“Enough!”

Meredith dismissed both the bawling midwife and the untalented bear with a sharp wave of her hand. Feelings of disgust making her very glad she’d skipped breakfast this morning. Once they’d finally gone, her standing attendant hesitantly spoke up.

“I can postpone the queue if you’d like, great mistress. No one ever said you must bear such a burdensome weight without surcease.”

She honestly gave the idea some thought, before she ultimately dismissed it.

“No. You’d best send in the next. It’s better we get this over with now, before my patience well and truly runs thin.”

“As you wish, great mistress.”

After indicating for her standing guard to usher in the next of the wastrels, her attendant quickly returned to her place below the raised dais, just as a group of four hooded figures wheeled in a rather small looking cage. Meredith felt her attendant stiffen at her side.

“What is the meaning of this?!” came the uncharacteristically shrill voice of her attendant. “You will lower your hoods when in the presence of the great mistress!”

Meredith started, then blinked in surprise. She had not been expecting that reaction, and it immediately captured her attention. It didn’t escape her that, while the presence of a bear standing not twenty paces away hadn’t even made the former adventurer, turned indentured servant, bat an eye, these four hooded individuals were apparently enough to make her hackles raise.

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” came the hooded figure at the front of their procession. “Tell you what though? Lucky for you, your hectic little search has officially come to a close. I’ve got the answer to your princess's special decree right here,” she casually patted the small cage.

Her attendant visibly bristled, but before she could explode, Meredith raised a hand. The woman immediately bit her tongue, but then, against all known master servant protocol, looked directly up at Meredith with a pensive expression.

“I would stress caution, great mistress. These four are not to be underestimated.”

Raising an eyebrow, she chose not to punish the attendant for her impertinence.

It was likely it came from a good place after all. That said, it wasn’t as if she’d just blindly acquiesce to the every whim and fancy of a mere serf either. No matter how well intentioned.

Taking in the small group of unarmed travelers, then her own well armored guard detail—nearly twice their number and their size—she wasn’t overly concerned. Still, they had held her attention, if briefly. She decided she’d have some fun with them.

“I feel compelled to inform you that there have been hundreds who entered through those same doors, making almost identical claims. I’m sure you can see why I might be a bit… skeptical. You should know that not a single one of them has even come close to impressing me. And I have to imagine that my standards don’t even hold a candle to that of the heir apparent’s—inheritor of the realm. Tell me, what makes you so confident you’ll do any better?”

“Patience, grit, and a damn good product. This here,” she wrapped on the metal cage once more. “Is what I like to call our resident wild card. Very low maintenance, as you can clearly see. Not to mention compact. Highly versatile and easy to use, he’s perfect for all your rift spawn slaying needs. Heck! He even comes with his own built in bottle opener! So long as you don’t mind a mess. Oh, but before we get to the proper introductions, you’ll probably be wanting proof as to the veracity of my claims, yada yada yada, etc. etc.”

“That would be nice, yes.”

“Right! Well… but you see? The thing is, in order for us to do that, we’ll need a quick change of scenery first. Arthur?”

“Are we taking the guard along with us?”

“Eh! Why not?”

“But-!”

“If you didn’t want the answer then you shouldn’t have asked the fucking question! Less talky, more teleporty. Chop chop purple man!”

Grumbling, the hooded figure began to weave their hands in ways that were unmistakably occult.

Then, before their words had fully registered, exactly as the woman had implied, their collective scenery just… changed. Meredith lurched to her feet in a full-on panic, before vertigo made her sit right back down again.

Gone were the stuffy confines of her reception hall, and in its place was a rocky ledge hemmed in by sickly green foliage. Barely ten paces from a sheer drop, she looked out over a flat expanse of packed earth.

A long stretch of barren nothing which seemed to proceed the greater forest beyond, like the sandy beach before an endless ocean. She was outside…? No… worse than that. She… no it couldn’t be…! Was she on the blasted frontier!?

How?! Just…! How?!

Meredith began to hyperventilate.

Behind her, there came the brief sounds of a scuffle, a sharp cry of pain, immediately followed by eerie silence.

By the time she’d collected herself enough to be functional, and so turn around and see what all the commotion was about, the fight was already over. Lying at the feet of one of the hooded travelers—the one holding what she immediately recognized as a sword scabbard—were the remainder of what she’d thought were her elite guard, in addition to one unmoving female attendant.

Taking a deep breath, the minor functionary stilled her racing heart, and spoke with a calm composure that even her harshest tutors would’ve likely found impressive.

“Are they dead?” she asked, as if the answer was only of fleeting interest.

“They’d better not be. Viv?”

“Oh, they’re alive, alright. Although, weak as they were, it would’ve actually been far easier to kill them. I held back, obviously.”

“Ah. Yes, I see,” Meredith gulped. “Well, that’s good then.”

Outwardly, Meredith affected calm, though internally her mind was working furiously. They hadn’t killed her guard, not even the serf, if she understood things correctly. That was important. They’d made it clear that they could have, if they’d wanted to, and yet they’d refrained. Now, was it really accomplished as effortlessly as they’d like to make out?

It could still be a bluff…?

But, given what she’d seen, she didn’t fancy taking the risk. Why had they brought her here? To assess their chosen candidate. Which meant that they needed her. And so long as she had value, she had longevity. Now the only question was, did she accept their offer immediately, regardless of the rift spawn’s merit?

It was money that would be coming out of her own coffers, and yet if the alternative was death…?

“Lady! Hey!”

“Y-yes!” she stuttered.

Whipping her head up and to the side, she locked onto the silhouette of what she’d pinned down as the leader. Meredith’s expression showed both hope and nervousness respectively as the woman stepped up to stand beside her.

“If you keep on muttering to yourself like that, you’re liable to miss out on the show.”

“W-what? Show? I don’t-!”

“Shhhh…”

An extended finger slowly smooshed her lips to her face.

“It’s starting. We can leave the questions for after.”

And so, with nothing better to do than wait, Meredith followed their collective attention down onto the packed earth below, praying all the while that her presumed usefulness would last just a little while longer.

A richly devised jest held exclusively at her expense. She could just imagine it now. The universe in stitches, practically brought to tears by her plight.