- 55 -

The merchant marched along the road to the west whistling a tune. He took the next left fork, and then the right fork after that.

He must know where he is going.

Drew tried chipping away at the corners of his cage, where the woven wood met and interlaced, but it was fused firmly.

Maurice spoke very little for the first hour as he covered several kilometers without needing a break.

The merchant passed the time mumbling to himself and checking a screen that Drew could not see.

They passed fields of grain that looked like wheat and corn had a baby. Other fields that had what looked like watermelons, that had grown legs and were trying to climb up off the ground, but the farmers had tied them in place with ropes and stakes.

Where are we going? This isn’t a main road. Are we leaving the valley? Will I end up sold to some rich nobles kid as a novelty? Do they have circuses here?

Then they took a right fork and their path cut between fields flooded with water where they were growing starchy grains.

They came upon a gate and a dirt road leading up to a farm house and a large outbuilding. The buildings were well cared for, repaired and recently painted.

The gate and surrounding fence were warded for monsters, and Drew could see that they were charging their own crystals on the roof of the barn behind the house.

The house was almost an inn, it had two stories, and possibly an attic and basement. The porch wrapped around from the front steps and around to the right of the house.

I could have been a simple farmers son if I had put my mind off the idea of being a hero.

The merchant reached into his coat and produced a hand bell. He rang it three times, then three more times. A bell replied from the farmhouse and a woman walked out on the porch. She was stunning, with the pointed ears of an elf, amber hair, and a sun dress with a pattern of yellow flowers.

“Oh wow, she’s beautiful.” Drew said.

“You are not wrong my friend. I am not partial to Elvish women myself but her beauty is undeniable. Her husband is a very lucky man.”

“Hail fair m’lady, is your mother home? I am Maurice, a traveling merchant and I have goods to trade if your family will have them. I coin to buy fresh produce if you can spare it.”

“You flatter me merchant, I’ll fetch my husband from the fields to barter with you. He is busy this week with a ripe bumper crop of Spider Melons we would trade for coin or goods.” She said, her voice had a soft melody to it that left Drew’s beak hanging open.

A young boy, nearly the height of a man, came running up to the porch and spoke with her. He bolted off again shortly after.

“Cross the threshold Maurice, my son is fetching his father. I have a list of things we need from the market, if you have any of it we would be glad to do business.”

She went back inside the house and Maurice brought his cart into their yard.

The man that came around the side of the house was the spitting image of the boy that dogged his heels. Only 20 years older, with the broad shoulders and muscular arms that came from farming. He was Ressian and tan and considered the merchant with hard blue eyes. He wiped his forehead with a cloth and walked over to a well to get a drink of cool water before he gave a nod.

“Well met sir, I am Maurice a traveling merchant I come fresh from Rottervale and was hoping to buy produce at a fair price.”

“Good day Maurice, my name is Laurent, and it sounds like you have met my wife Isabella. It’s always good to get a visit from a merchant when you have been wrestling spider melons in the back fields all morning.” He wet his cloth in the well and tied it around his neck to keep cool.

“Alder, go and mind the fields, we may have a few unruly ones feeling ripe now that I am distracted.” Laurent turned to his son and sent him running.

“You passed our fields on the way here. Is there something you are looking for in particular? Would you take Spider Melon? We have more than enough for our commitments.” Laurent said.

“I can sell melon well enough in the capital. If you have grain to spare I would take it off your hands for a fair price.”

The Elvish woman Isabella returned with a sheet of paper in one hand and a cold pitcher dripping with perspiration in the other.

“Laurent I have a shopping list. Bring him up to the porch and out of the sun.” She called.

“Now you mind the cart my friend. Maurice needs to go to work.” Maurice said to Drew with a wolfish grin.

This guy gives me Grinch vibes. If he attacks these nice people I’m breaking out of here.

After 10 minutes, Drew couldn’t watch the two men haggling on the porch anymore. He tried pecking the lock but couldn’t activate the ability, and the angle still wasn’t very good for his beak or his claws to reach inside.

What ever they are drinking looks delicious. Is it tea? Or juice? Damn this guy, enjoying himself in the shade while he’s got me locked up in here out in the sun.

A noise behind the cart caught Drew’s attention. It was the farmers son creeping up through the tall grass.

He moved slowly with his eyes on his father. He tried to open up some of the cabinets on the outside of the cart. When they all proved locked, he tried the back gate to get inside. That was locked too. He came around to the front and tried lift the cart by the poles Maurice had used but couldn’t lift them at all.

“Hey kid.” Drew whispered. “What was your name? Alden! What are you doing?”

“Oh hey, you can talk? That’s neat.” Alder said. "I’ve not met a talking Skurr before. Most just screech or caw and steal our crops. How did you learn to talk?”

“By being smart. Hey anyways. Can you open my cage?" Drew said. "I want to stretch my wings.”

“Naw I better not. You Skurr are a sneaky lot. Why, it was only yesterday you all were here stealing our crops. And if it’s not Skurr it’s some other wild monster trying to break in. Too bad it’s bad luck to cook and eat you, we killed more than a few hale birds in the scuffle.” Alder said.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Yeah most Skurr are tough and stringy anyways, not good eating. Hey if you let me out I’ll give you a gold coin.” Drew said.

“Yea right, you ain’t got a gold coin.” The boy said but he seemed interested.

“I do, in fact I have 2 and they could both be yours if you let me out.” Drew said.

"Well now little friend, what’s going on over here?” Maurice said as he returned to the cart with Laurent.

“Your Skurr says its going to pay me 2 gold coin to let it out. But I ain’t fooled.” Alder said as his father and the merchant stepped up to the cart.

“The Skurr can talk?” Laurent asked.

“He can. I picked him up just this morning as a curiosity eh? He would make a good familiar for a noble in the capital, that was my idea. If you are interested I could part with him here. Only 50 gold.” Maurice said.

“Ha! No thank you. For that price we could expand our northern fields. We have no need for more Skurr. Especially smart ones.” Laurent said.

"I'll pay you back." Drew said.

The farmer gave him a look. “No we will stay with what the missus needs and leave it at that."

Laurent stopped in his tracks and looked at a prompt only he could see. Then swiped it away.

“Alder help the merchant unload what we purchased. Your mother will be out shortly with payment. Since you are here and not in the backfields like I asked. There’s been a rank up and I’ve got to get back to work.” He took off running past the house and Drew could hear something roaring.

“Oh now I’m going to be in trouble later.” Alder said as Maurice chuckled. He started opening cabinets and pulling down bags of goods.

“Young man, you are perhaps too smart for your own good. Maurice knows. You are right to not be fooled by monsters, you must stay vigilant in the fields, and on the roads. This Skurr here is also a tricky one, he may be a demon in disguise, but not smarter than you or I yes?” Maurice Laughed.

We will see.

- 56 -

Maurice led them out the front gate again waving goodbye to the family of farmers.

“Such a nice family. And shrewd hagglers. Anyone else would have taken a loss there, but not Maurice.” He eyed the cages in the back of the cart filled to the brim with Spider Melons. One was reaching out with it’s vine to pluck at Drew’s tailfeathers. But he snapped the tip off with his beak and it left him alone.

“They will sell well even a day down the road. Fresh and a great color. You can tell they are ripe by their aroma.” Maurice said.

They do smell extremely sweet. I’m not sure I could eat them. They look like watermelons, but are they full of meat? Or are they full of pulp? And their eyestalks. Too much like a crabs for my taste.

“Now my friend, tell me about your gold coins you promised the boy. Where are you keeping them? Are they stashed somewhere?” Maurice asked looking back over his shoulder as he walked.

“Let me out and I’ll show you.” Drew said.

Maurice laughed and set a brisk pace for almost an hour.

After they came to a crossroads and chose the road heading north up into the hills around Rottervale the merchant pulled over to rest in the shade of the forest.

“A gallow bird like you likely knows more about these ranges than I do eh? Any secrets I should know about?”

Drew shook his head no.

“Fine with me if you want to be cagey, eh?” Maurice said and laughed at his own joke.

He pulled a large cooking stone from a cabinet in the side of his cart. It had two smooth spots, each large enough for the teapot he brought out. Each one had an enchantment inscribed around it. He set it up on the ground and powered it with a mana crystal. He boiled water for tea and then pulled out a loaf of bread, a fist of soft cheese, and a roasted leg that could have been from a bird or beast.

He tore into his meal with gusto and moaned about how delicious it all was.

“A feast fit for a king yes? Would you like some? Then tell Maurice some secrets eh?” He said.

I wouldn’t tell you a secret if your life depended on it.

When Drew kept his beak shut he gobbled the rest down.

He poured himself tea and set it down to steep then turned to look at the tree line behind him.

“Oh now, who comes to see Maurice eh?” He called into the trees.

At first Drew thought the leaves had fallen off of the trees closest to them. But they were actually small winged people, each only 10 centimeters tall. They were dressed like leaves, and they dropped down from the trees and launched a volley of arrows at the merchant.

Maurice pulled a tower shield from his satchel and planted it in the ground. As the hundreds of toothpick sized arrows bounced harmlessly off the shield he pulled out a vial of fire red liquid.

“Pixens! You won’t be eating Maurice today!”

“Let me out! I can help.” Drew said.

He tried activating his Mage Hand but nothing happened.

Gahh! The cage! I cant use my spells!

Maurice took a deep breathe and filled his mouth with the liquid from the vial, careful not to swallow any of it.

The swarm of Pixens bore down on the merchant and he stood his ground until the last moment. He spat the liquid out directly into the swarm and it immediately burst into flame. His attack lasted for ten seconds and the Pixens fell by the dozens. But there were a hundred more pouring out of the trees.

The ground behind Maurice erupted and Drew got his first real look at the Pixens as they stabbed, clawed, and bit the merchant.

They pulled him down into the ditch beside the road and the ground enveloped him like water. The only trace that Maurice had been there at all was his tea steeping.

What the hell was that? Were those fox pixies? They had fox heads and canine feet, and armor made of leaves and bark.

The Pixens started ransacking the cart. They easily broke the hidden enchantments on the cabinets, tearing the wood panels from the frame, taking everything. Among the first things they took were the spider melons. If something was too heavy for ten Pixens to carry then they would bring 10 more and carry it off into the trees together.

Two came over to his cage and chattered to each other. They spoke with a kind of squirrel like chattering and high pitched yips.

They gestured at Drew and his cage.

“Hey, can you let me out? I’m captured. I can heal anyone that is injured. Can you guys understand me?” Drew flapped frantically in his cage.

They argued a bit longer then flew away.

One group of Pixens was fiddling around with the wheels of the cart until they pulled it off it’s axle. The cart tipped and Drew’s cage toppled out. He landed in the dirt and struggled to right himself.

“Hey watch it!” Drew said.

How am I going to get out of this with my spells and abilities blocked by this captured debuff.

He took another look at the lock on his cage and tried using a stick he grabbed to pick at the lock.

Not good. Note to self, don’t get captured until after I learn lock picking.

Racial Quest: Learn [Lock Picking]

Yeah, thanks, whole lot of good this will do me now.

Another Pixien arrived, this one had some small metal tools and goggles. It hovered over by the lock to Drew’s cage and eyed him suspiciously.

“Yes! Thank you! Can you open the lock?” Drew said excitedly and tapped on the lock with his beak.

The little monster fiddled with the metal tools for a few seconds and drew tried to watch and see what he could learn.

Did he make those little tools?

The Pixen flew back and gestured for Drew to back up.

“Alright no problem just let me out.” Drew said as he moved to the far back of his cage, away from the lock.

The Pixen returned to the lock tried a few different tools. When none of them worked he pulled out some tacky sappy substance and started stuffing it into the lock.

What’s that gum he’s stuffing into the lock?

“Swueek squeek. yip-yip.” The Pixen said.

“Sure thing, yip yip or whatever.” Drew said.

The lock exploded.

HP: 85%

Debuff: [Concussed] (0:15) - You are concussed, a loud noise has rattled you. You cannot hear or walk strait.

“Oh crap!” Drew said as he staggered out of the cage. “Big yip-yip man! What was that stuff?”

Debuff Resolved: [Captured]

“Freedom! Wahoo!” Drew shouted as he dusted himself off and equipped his armor from his gathering ring.

Wow, I really missed not having my full stats.

He activated his healing abilities and they topped off his health and resolved the Concussed debuff in a few seconds.

There was very little of the cart left standing in the road and Drew turned to thank the Pixen that released him to find 20 Pixens glaring at him, their bows drawn.

“Whoa wait. We are cool right guys? Here, do you want some coins?” Drew dropped 5 coppers on the ground but the arrows were all still trained on him.

“Or how about some Slime Jelly?” Drew dropped all 9 of the slime jelly globs out of his inventory and the Pixens swarmed on them.

In the chaos he ran off down the road.

Arrows started to rain around him and he ran in an zig zagging pattern until he got enough speed to get in the air.

HP: 80%

Debuff: [Poisoned] x 3: HP - 3 points / second.

HP: 50%

Ouch they got me a few times. I guess you can’t dodge them all when there are a hundred of them.

Drew activated his healing spells again and flew as fast as he could easily out pacing the Pixens.