I made my way through the town of Strongbridge at a leisurely pace with my duo of monsters in tow. I had even tried to teach them to strut as we made our three-person parade through the streets. As we went, I looked at the people, animals, and monsters of Strongbridge with a smile on my face as I did.

It took me some time to realize that it actually was animals, alongside the people and monsters. Some of the birds, cats, and dogs I had seen on the first day were exactly that. I wasn't a presumption on my part either. I had analyzed several of those animals we had come across, be they pets, livestock, or wild animals, and not a single one I had first thought to be an animal proved otherwise. At least I knew the analysis skills worked on them too though.

"This is a cat, cats go meow. Though resembling some breeds of monsters, this is not one. Be nice to cats."

It had been much the same with other animals I had analyzed, and it led me to take to the maxim "If it looks like a pig, oinks like a pig, and rolls in mud like a pig, it's probably a pig" to its end point logically. I am aware the saying is about ducks but I had not seen a single duck yet.

What I had seen were several of the great beasts of burden favored by many in town. I stood in front of one of those ox-headed, hooved and crab armored leg, and floppy dog-eared crab-like monsters.

With a focus on it, as it chewed cud and mud, I used the force of will and thought to summon my analysis skill by pointing at it with the word "analyze" in my mind.

"Tauraceans are pack monsters and beasts of burden favored throughout many coastal regions. Generally docile, tauraceans can be dangerous if angered and are profoundly stubborn, especially if not fed their favorite foods. This tauracean is female. All tauraceans are water and earth-primarily aligned monsters. This tauracean has a secondary artifice alignment. Its tertiary alignment is nature. Taurceans are an evolved form of [redacted]."

As I finished reading through it, her owner stormed out of a nearby shop's front door, "Leave Betsy alone, kid! I don't care how funny you and your friends think tipping tauraceans is, it's not good for them! If you do it I will report you to the guard!"

I stood there for a second and then threw a shrug at the old man who had just shouted at me.

"Sorry, never saw a Tauraceans before, I was analyzing her."

As I said it, the increasingly familiar sensation of the green prompt window came across my vision with a simple remark:

"You have gained one skill point in Analysis. Your skill rating is now six. As of reaching six skill points in Analysis, you must now identify at least two additional monsters or six people to further increase your skill."

Then I began to shuffle off with Baloo the Cerbearus and Bagheera the Ossicarn. Well, I shuffled and they kept their strut.

That was one of them, and it made me notice that it was giving me more information than it had been before, at least by a little bit. Enough that I resolved to reanalyze Baloo and Bagheera.

Next, we found ourselves walking through an alley near one of Strongbridge's taverns and I saw a clutch of Cindnutum smaller than even the one I had spent time with, scurrying about and herded by a bossy redhead teenager and her steed, which was one of the creatures I had seen assisting the blacksmiths on my first trip through town.

"Hey, sneaky! Don't you go scuttling about and try to feed one of my Cindnutum any sticks! It will ruin their supper!"

As she shouted at me, I analyzed the massive creature that she rode and that I presumed was the mother of the group Cindnutums.

Instantly a window popped up, giving me information on the creature and confirming my assumption.

"Fornyosoma are the cornerstone monster partner of any respectable smithy or forge within Hekatondrona. Sometimes called Bellows Toads or Forge Turtles, these monsters are capable of withstanding Volcanic temperatures. This fornyosoma is female. All fornyosoma are fire and wind primary aligned monsters. This fornyosoma has a secondary nature alignment. Its tertiary alignment is artifice. Fornyosoma are an evolved form of Cindnutum."

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I had just gotten the confirmation of my thought when a rock flew by me and Baloo the Cerbearus threw himself in the way of the rock with a mighty leap. As the speckled black bear cub-like monster came to the ground in a roll and the rock it had stopped rolled away as well I was taken out of my stupor.

Bagheera let out a meow of warning and charged at the Fornyosoma despite it being twenty times Bagheera's size.

"Stop, right now!" I shouted to the Ossicarn and felt a warmth against my left shoulder blade as its instincts battled against my command. The disc itself was warming from it apparently and there were a tense few seconds before it tossed a hateful glare at the redhead girl and her bellows toad steed.

As the saber-toothed jaguar kitten loped back to me I tossed the girl an accusatory look.

"What in the world is your problem? You can't chuck rocks at people for no reason!"

She glared as if accusing me of something untoward, "You were being a weirdo, a certified Grade A weirdo in fact! And I know, my family owns the only Grade A smithy in the whole region! Creep."

I was dumbfounded before shaking my head. Was she accusing me of checking her out? Ew.

"Firstly, I am married. Secondly, I have never seen a Fornyosoma before and was interested in learning more."

That made her laugh.

"Yeah right! You are like eight!"

I narrowed my eyes in irritation. I deeply wanted to shout insults and disparaging remarks and point out that she had to know outworlders did not generally end up in bodies that were equivalent to their original ages. However, I was more grown-up than that.

I ran to a nearby pile of sticks and threw one after another after another overhand in the direction of the Cindnutum clutch and as they rushed after I smiled.

"Oh no, your herd of precious little ducklings is about to spoil their dinner running after those sticks that I couldn't help but throw!"

I didn't even bother to add a 'get out of my way'. I had more of Strongbridge to see, so I scooped up Baloo the Cerbearus and began to walk rapidly in the direction I had been headed before being interrupted. I could practically feel the heated glare on the back of my neck.

It was not until we were some distance away that I put the bear cub monster down and looked him over. Despite the size of the rock that had been tossed at me and it had taken in my place the little food wasn't even slightly hurt. It decided to take me checking it for wounds as an excuse to slobber in my face like a puppy.

I put him down and after I did found myself petting an insistent Bagheera the Ossicarn for a solid minute before she acquiesced to us turning around back on our path.

***

One hour later.

Seven hours until Sundown.

Two days since arrival.

My monster menagerie and I found ourselves having strolled through the market stalls of the town and down to the riverside bridges that spiderwebbed around a river delta inside the town's walls that overlooked its docks and marina.

Bagheera was perched across my shoulders and back like a jungle cat where I was the tree, and Baloo stared at the river below as if just staring would summon fish. Maybe it wanted to dive into the water below. I couldn't be sure given the way it was looking from the water to me and back again with a tongue-lolling grin that practically emoted "Well can I?" It was probably both.

I stared at the horizon, the sky and its way too many moons, and the body of water that stretched out past the river delta, town, and coast. This place would have been beautiful to vacation to or live in if only I had my family with me. The kids would love the scenery and the creatures. I could practically hear Gwen and Osbert marveling at the four-meter-high walls, the well-built brick, wood, stone, and thatch buildings of the town, and the well-paved cobblestone streets accompanied by the castle on the hill. Osbert pointed out the spots a dragon would be at or where I would have put gargoyles in this town in a tabletop RPG campaign I ran for my kids. His sister Gwen, demanding to see a joust which she would have been sure was somewhere around such a place. Alec would have meanwhile tried to pocket one of that maniac's Cindnutum in his shirt and be trying to tame it- my son loved lizards. Bridget would have probably been draped upon me like Bagheera; probably even cuddling the creature and demanding I tell the cat and the bear that sort that had been such a favorite of mine and of my children's.

Melody meanwhile? She would have cackled out her maniac laugh with glee at the sights; she loved the seaside, boats, and breeze. She would have challenged me to a fishing contest too; one she would have won. She had a knack and unlike me, she didn't get flashbacks of cousins hooking them instead of fish with faulty reel launches.

It left me with a bitter smile. It was a shame I couldn't share it with them, yet. As the monsters that were to be my partners in these coming endeavors, both kept me company, I allowed myself the time to stop trying to think rationally and fight against how I felt. I watched the sky as the moons and sun slowly trudged across it and pent-up emotions flowed, and I cried.