The laughter died. "No, we don't!" Lewis's wife said poignantly. "We'd rather have our men safe and uninjured, young man."

The woman went around the table and picked the sack from my hand. She moved the growling, resource-guarding monster. The matron shushed and the Wolfertinger acquiesced.

"Drink all the milk you want, see if I care," she said. "But while you are in my house, you will behave!"

I felt a wave of compulsion push over me. Was it one of her Perks? It didn't feel like a spell. In any case, the monster pup became noticeably quiet and wary. But he didn't stop drinking the milk.

"Now, let me see this wound!" She pushed the rags of my tunic aside to examine the lightning burns on my chest. "This won't do, it will scar. Lewis, go get the healing balm!"

"Sure thing, wife," Lewis said and hurried to fetch the requested medicine.

"Thank you, I will surely repay you. I'm Scout George, with the Adventurer's Guild," I introduced myself.

"Housemaker Myrna, wife of Farmer Lewis. I heard your talk with my husband, Scout George. You ain't gonna worry your pretty face about nonsense such as repaying us. It is an honor to have someone of your stature as a Guest."

At the last word, another subtle wave of power washed over the house. I felt more at ease, more relaxed, and more importantly, more protected.

"Thank you," I said with sincerity. I knew what they were doing. By forging a connection with me, they hoped I would come around more often to, scout for monsters and keep them safe. It was working.

Lewis came back with a silvery tin. Myrna slathered my chest with the smelly balm, which had a cooling effect on my skin.

After that, she served me tea to keep me seated while the ointment dried. Then a bowl of reheated stew, which tasted divine. Finally, she insisted on washing me, claiming she didn't care about seeing naked men after giving birth to nine over her lifetime.

Of which only three were still alive. Our world was a harsh one, especially for people with low rarity classes. Both Farmer and Homemaker were Common. Though I suspected Myrna had an Uncommon variant.

Anyway, I got the guest of honor treatment. Hours later, I was fed, clean, clothed, and relaxing on the front porch with the Lewis couple. The satiated Wolfertinger pup, still wrapped in the burlap sack, was sleeping on my lap. It was mid-afternoon.

"Is there anything I can do to show my gratitude?" I asked. "I must depart now if I want to get back to the city with my report."

"I would like a bolt of fancy fabric," Myrna said. "To make a dress for my daughter."

"Consider it done. Farmer Lewis?"

"Stay safe, kid. Your parents… your late parents," he corrected after seeing my reaction, " still wish you to be safe, watching over you in the heavens."

I tipped an imaginary hat. "I'll try my best. But my calling in life brings me close to danger. My father once said that it is our vigilance that keeps the people safe." I petted the pup between the ears. "I have important information the Guild needs to know. And I have some perishable trophies that need specialized attention sooner rather than later."

"Then may the Three Gods watch you in your journeys, Scout George," Myrna said. "You have our prayers and our thanks."

"I will use your farm as a reference point for Adventurers. I will also make sure they are to stay in their best behavior, Homemaker Myrna."

"Bess you and godspeed, Scout George," Lewis sent me off.

I shouldered my heavy pack and ran down the trail home.

*

*

I was thankful the Guild doors were wide enough for three people side-by-side. These antlers were wide. When I entered, one of the receptionists rushed upstairs. Most likely to warn Alice I had returned.

While everyone waited to see what the Guild Master's reaction would be, I delivered my notes, asking a Clerk to update the Quest notices with the new data. It meant better understanding of the threat strength and location, less time searching, and better efficiency.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

Then I went to the board and ripped the Warg quest. Some Adventurers glared at me but they didn't say anything. I went back to the Clerk.

"Was this quest reported by a Farmer named Mc Donovan?"

He checked the ledger. "Yes. Is something wrong with it?"

"Yes. Farmer Mc Donovan believed it to be Wargs but in reality, is a more dangerous creature. He didn't act in bad faith. Nobody should take this one until I talk with Alice."

The receptionist who went upstairs came back. "George, the Guild Master wants to see you."

"That's my cue," I said with a forced grin. "Do you have everything you need?"

The Clerk nodded. "Yes, just go see her. She's been in a bad mood for a couple of days now."

*

*

"A WHAT?" Alice screeched as I told her my tale.

"Wolfertinger," I said as I unraveled the antlered wolf head. "Legendary, body of a wolf, hindquarters of a hare, wings and tail of an eagle, antlers of a deer. It shoots lightning. HP threshold factor of five. I also have four corpses of their young."

I tried to hide the pup but the damn monster whined loudly as I rummaged through my pack to retrieve the corpses.

Alice pinched the bridge of her nose. "Please tell me you don't have a living Legendary monster in your pack."

I nodded.

"I have, among other things I won't disclose in my pack, four dead infant legendary monsters," I replied with a deadpan expression.

The pup yipped.

"What made that sound?" She demanded.

I replied with a "dunno" face and a shrug. Then I showed her the leather sack with the four pup corpses. This one was waterproof because I was sure the corpses had leaked some disgusting fluid. I tapped the bottom and it sloshed.

"Legendary. Are you sure of it?"

"Scout's Honor."

She bit her lip. "I never heard of it."

"Well, there's one chance of confirming it. The male is out in the wilds."

"There's two," Alice glared at my pack.

"You hurt the creature that I won't say is in my pack, we are done. I gained a Beast Bond Perk I intend to use on it."

"Have you named it yet?" She asked seriously.

"No. I have no idea what will happen if I do."

Names had power. It was hard to use correctly or even at all but Name magic was among the strongest in this world.

"Good. I know of a buyer that will pay at least a hundred platinum coins for it."

"You can tell them to fuck off. Or not tell them at all," I said while clamping down on my inner goblin. Five thousand gold for a sick wolf pup? "You know this is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

A Legendary monster companion? Bloody Hell. I would gladly pay the five thousand gold (if I had) for one such creature.

"Are you hoping for an evolution?"

"Mine or his?"

Monsters could evolve if they leveled up enough. People could evolve their Classes if they did some amazing feat. It all depended on the rarity. A Villager, the lowest of the low, could evolve their Class by sneezing the right way, some said.

"Either."

"Let me see the corpses," she said. I nodded.

Alice cast a spell and the dead pups floated out of the sack, covered in a sticky goo. A sphere of water formed around the four and then the water became red. With deft hand movements, the corpses went left while the spheres of water went right. She placed the dry and clean corpses on a steel table and had the water fold on itself and vanish with the gunk. No. Actually, a grey powder remained behind, which she deposited back in the leather sack.

"Is this how you cleaned the bandit heads?" I had to ask.

She replied with a nod. In silence, Alice examined the dead pups. Her eyes glowed with white light. Minutes later, she stopped.

"I can see the antler nubs. It is quite the find, a chimeric creature like this. Would you want me to find buyers for the corpses and the head? I have no idea if it is more valuable as a taxidermy trophy or alchemical ingredients. On one hand, whoever displays this head shouldn't claim they hunted it themselves but nobles be nobles. On the other hand, if we don't know about the creature, we don't know the antler's properties.

It would take some time to research it though I can tell it is a potent material."

"Can we sell the information on the male?"

"Unless you know his location, no."

"Can't we find it out with magic?"

She gave me the death stare. "Sure! Go find a powerful Seer or Diviner."

"Sorry," I said with genuine contrition.

She either didn't know the spells or worse, tried to learn them and failed. Differently from Perks, Traits, or Skills, spells needed to be learned through hard study. Depending on your tradition, one either could learn the spell or not. People had different talents and affinities. Some magic was beyond one's abilities and that was it.

"I need to inform the authorities. Tell me what you know about the male Wolfertinger."

"I estimate its level to be above thirty but below fifty. It is the size of a big Warg, more than two meters tall at the shoulder. It can fire lightning through the antlers with little warning and almost no time to react. Even when the lightning is discharged through a grounded metallic conductor, it can still stun in a medium radius around the conductor. Wolfertingers can leap big distances fast. I believe they can use it to take off fast. Their wingspan is about three times the length of the body. From below, they might be mistaken for griffin, especially if the front paws are kept close to the body and there's no good visibility to the head. The male was last seen…"

I gave coordinates and direction of the male's expected flight path.

"Let me handle your trophies. Keep the critter you never told me about hidden. Stay home for a couple of e. You need to work hard to bond with it anyway. Better start earlier. Some trustworthy scholar friends of mine might want to see and examine a living specimen. And if this creature does not exist in any bestiary, you might be credited with the discovery. This is big."

I let out a long huff. Seeing the meddlesome elf flustered like that was concerning to say the least.

"I trust your judgement."

"Good. Take your pack and go home. Also, you might owe that Guard Clerk an apology."

"Kara?" I gasped. "Why?"

Alice looked away. "I might have broken a few laws when I thought you were AWOL at her residence."

My jaw dropped. "YOU DID WHAT?"

Alice refused to elaborate as she kicked me out of her office. Almost literally.