The peoples have been talking for a while. Some sound angry, but they’re not hurting the human.

They’re going to use him to capture me as well.

‘I didn’t know people were in the business of capturing monsters alive. I’ll have to be extra careful from now on.’

I creep along the edges of the walls, barely making a sound.

‘Guess I don’t have to worry about the human anymore, those bounty hunters seem peaceful enough towards their own kind. Even if he is locked away for good, maybe there’s a reason.’

I keep a close eye on the peoples down below. They’re still talking.

Wyrrm Bait is showing them my drawing.

'No, don’t expose me!'

This is so embarrassing, they’re probably laughing at me.

I quicken my pace, not wanting to bear the shame any longer.

A pebble slips out from under padded feet.

‘I hope no one heard that.’

Slowly, I turn around to see the large bear of a man, stare directly at me.

‘This is bad, I have to go now!’

I leap down from the wall and dart away as fast as I can.

Using the same strategy I had beforehand, I should be able to get away just fine on my own.

“Daedalus!!”

‘Sorry Human, I did my best. May you live the rest of your life well.’

Then something bright struck me from behind.

I let out a yelp of surprise, before tumbling forward several tail lengths.

I can’t move!

My body is wrapped in a chaotic bundle of glowing yellow thread.

‘Magic.’

I turn my head around to find wisps of yellow sparks fade away from the cloaked figure’s staff.

‘Magicians are scary.’

In moments, the people are upon me. I can’t break free.

They’re all talking at once, so noisy.

‘This is it for me, I’m going to be turned into some rich lord’s pet.’

----------------------------------------

“Did you have to be so rough?”

“It was getting away; I don’t see you moving faster than a scared catilyss.”

“Ignore them, you did great.”

“Daedalus hates me now…”

“Will you stop whining? It was going to get away and we would have never found it again.”

Red Mountain lifts up the sad looking catilyss by the golden bindings and slings him over his back.

“Let’s go. Nothing we can do about it now.”

The group make their way up the stairs and continue their trip through the dungeon, on their way back home.

Along the way, Karth and Dedicantus try different ways to communicate with the small beast.

Daedalus dangles over the beastborn’s back, staring at the ground and not looking either of them in the eye.

Through several different drawings, they attempt to elicit a response from the monster.

“Do you understand this? Try nodding your head.”

“…”

“No?”

“Let me try. Can you meow? Let out a little, ‘meow~’.”

At that moment, Daedalus smiled slightly.

“Ah, see see! It smiled!”

“‘He’ smiled.”

Red Mountain turns his head to speak to the pair behind him.

“How do you know it’s a boy?”

“I uh… I don’t. Should we ask a veterinarian?”

Stone’s Throw groans in annoyance.

“Uuuhh! Just look for its balls or something, stupid.”

“I don’t think I can, not under all this string and messy fur. When we get back, we should really give him a bath or something, he stinks.”

“You stink.”

“Yeah, I slept in his den. It reeked.”

Red Mountain chimes in with some praise.

“It was a good idea to mask your scent with a grimm caller’s odor. It kept other monsters off your back, but it also made tracking you more difficult.”

“That was Daedalus’s idea.”

“So, it’s HIS fault we had so much trouble!”

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Stone’s Throw gives the catilyss a rude hand gesture.

He gives a small smirk in response.

“See?! He does understand us, he’s just playing dumb!”

“You can’t be upset with him for that? Lots of adventurers disguise their smell when they want to avoid a fight.”

“Still, he sicced his friends on us.”

“He might have a good reason, but we don’t really know what that is right now. If we can communicate with him, maybe we can teach him how to speak. He tried talking to me before.”

The group stops dead in their tracks and goes silent.

Red Mountain turns to look at his companions.

Dedicantus speaks in a low voice.

“What do you mean he tried to speak?”

“Just that. It sounded like he was speaking some foreign language.”

“Monsters don’t have a spoken language.”

“Then what was it? It certainly didn’t sound like any of the common tongues.”

Red Mountain pulls the dirty bundle of fur off his back, and everyone gives the small monster a suspicious look.

Daedalus looks like he might cry. He shuts his eyes not wanting to look at anyone.

“Doesn’t really look the demon lord type.”

“You think Daedalus is a demon lord?”

“No, not really. Given how this catilyss has done nothing but help adventurers, I doubt he could ever become something that dangerous. Maybe he was once the pet of some demon lord before, due to how his intelligence is much higher than your average monster.”

Red Mountain carries Daedalus like before and the group continues moving on.

“So, you’ve realized it too?”

“Yeah. The monster we carry now is the same one that’s been rescuing other adventurers in the dungeon.”

“Then shouldn’t we leave him here, if he’s been nothing but help?”

Silver Lining quickly speaks up before anyone else has the chance.

“No. We’re taking him with us. He’s far too valuable to die alone saving a few adventurers every now and then.”

“Was my life not worth saving?!”

“He can save many more lives with the information that he holds.”

“You think he knows something, don’t you?”

“Karth, you’re the only one here that doesn’t get it. What you found down there is a grand discovery unlike anything the world has ever seen. Chances like this don’t come by twice in a million years!”

The human looks around his friends, gauging their reactions.

“Guys..? Is that how you see Daedalus?”

Stone’s Throw scoffs.

“Honestly, you should think of a more suitable name.”

“Dedicantus?”

*sigh* “Silver Lining has a point. As much as I hate to make your rescuer, a prisoner against his will, he looks like he won’t survive for much longer, given the way things have been going. The boy is starved to the bone, and if we were able to catch him, who knows what another adventurer would do to him.”

Red Mountain joins in too.

“Think of it as repaying kindness with kindness. We can feed him, educate him, and learn what he really wants. If saving lives is what he enjoys doing, then we can help him achieve that after he’s recovered.”

“Kindness sure looks a lot like imprisonment.”

“Maybe for now, but like teaching a child about the world, sometimes there are things we have to do that we don’t like.”

Understanding that his allies won’t change their minds, he watches the young catilyss with guilt and concern.

The monster’s eyes are glued to the floor below.

Stone’s Throw whispers to Silver Lining.

“Won’t we get in trouble for bringing a monster above ground?”

“Yes, actually. If found out, we’ll be exiled from town and removed from the guild.”

“Where should we keep it?”

Red Mountain’s ears burn with curiosity. He joins in the hushed conversation as well, making it known.

“How about a home in the country?”

“That would be too convenient.”

“No wait. Let the man speak.”

“Thank you, Silver Lining. I grew up in the country, just a few miles from Altena. My folks passed away a few years ago and I inherited the house I was raised in. We can bring the catilyss there without any complaints, right?”

“That’s too far. We can’t keep Daedalus tied up like this for that long, the spell doesn’t last for more than an hour.”

“I can always recast it.”

Silver Lining said with confidence.

“It’s not even about that. Think of Daedalus. He’ll be upset with us if we keep him tied up for much longer.”

Stone’s Throw begins to raise her voice.

“Say we bring him to town, then what? He goes wild, starts attacking people, or worse yet, just simply exposes himself and us.”

“… Leina… Yeah, I have a sister who–“

“You want to leave the monster with your sister?! Do you really not see the threat he poses?”

“Silver Lining, please!”

“What?”

“You must have some sort of invention that can help right?”

“How?”

“I don’t know… maybe something to make him a bit more docile? If anything, I think he’s just scared of people, he hasn’t hurt anyone–“

“Yet! He hasn’t hurt anyone ‘yet’!”

The dwarf woman sharply interjects, to add to the end of Karth’s sentence.

----------------------------------------

Those noisy peoples were arguing for a while. It was unbearable.

Even after they finished their noisy bout, there was still a lot of tension in the air.

They slew monsters, crossed chasms, and even ate food with one another. The tension was slowly fading, but I could tell that it was not about to go away anytime soon.

Wyrrm Bait offered me food as well. I wanted to eat, but my anxiety made it impossible to do more than lap at the water offered in a cup.

The others didn’t look happy that I rejected their food. I don’t care about what a bunch of bounty hunters thought, I was caught up in this mess together with the human.

I felt the binding spell begin to slip. Soon, I could make my escape.

The reptilian looking man noticed too. Before the spell had time to fall apart, he bound me once again in another layer of glowing thread.

‘This is getting real annoying.’

They won’t let me escape. I’ll just have to bide my time and wait for another opportunity.

* * *

I’m scared.

We’ve been ascending the levels of the dungeon, some of these parts I haven’t seen for a long time.

I take in the surrounding forests, swamps, and other underground plant growth with familiarity. It’s so nostalgic.

Then our eyes meet. Wyrrm Bait.

We look at one another for only a moment. Time seems to slow as questions run through my mind.

“Don’t look at me.”

I mutter under my breath and sharply turn away.

The human is shocked by my sudden aversion. It doesn’t matter.

We may have similar circumstances, but I haven’t given up and turned myself over to these bounty hunters.

If I didn’t know any better, I would have assumed they were friends; given how much “freedom” they allow their human prisoner.

Though, all of this is just a distraction. No, what lies ahead is worse than any nightmare I have dreamt up.

They’re taking me to the surface. The world beyond this expansive dungeon.

I’m not ready. I haven’t trained enough.

Maybe I shouldn’t have been so kind to all those people, they think me soft and weak. A plaything for nobles.

They’re going to sell me off to the highest bidder. A foul nobleman, or king, to put on display for their even fouler guests.

Then when they get tired of me, they’re going to cook me up and eat me, as some sort of show of wealth.

I have to find a way to escape, but… I can’t let these peoples know I’m planning something.

I have to remain calm and cool – or… at the very least, not let my panic show too much.

They’re talking amongst themselves again and looking at me. I let too much panic show.

Calm down. Think. What do I have to my advantage?

I—!

A flash of light emanates from the reptilian man’s staff. All at once, the accumulated exhaustion that I have been pushing through, weighs upon my body, multiplied several fold.

In an instant, my thoughts and worries melt away into nothing, my eyelids fall against my will, and I fall into the sweet embrace of a peaceful sleep. Oh, how I longed for such a feeling.