It was the next day and Grizz had rekindled the fire from last night. He was cooking one of the beast’s leg while Orou was slowly digesting the rest of the body. He still didn’t understand why he couldn’t eat it raw, after all, the beastmen in the village did it. As Orou spent more time with Grizz, he could see many similarities between humans and beastmen, so why were there enslaved beastmen in the human kingdom?

Grizz was singing some sort of song about travel and adventure while roasting the leg, but the words of the song were lost to Orou, while he was reflecting on yesterday’s battle. If he was a bit more proficient in controlling the ribbon, he wouldn’t even have to fight it himself and put himself in such a deadly situation. There was also the matter of Grizz’s combat ability and if he actually knew how to fight, but Orou wouldn’t like to find out at the price of Grizz’s dead body.

“You don’t get to eat such delicacies each day, Tri-beasts are uncommon this close to the town and even if one was spotted, they’re tough enough to warrant people avoiding them, or rallying a group of soldiers.” Grizz interrupted Orou’s thoughts mid-way as he started tasting the leg, it was a bit burnt on one side and undercooked on the other, but he was enjoying it nonetheless.

They resumed their travels when Grizz finished eating, their pace slightly slower than yesterdays. Grizz, as usual, was complaining about something or other, about his sore back or his dirty hands, but it was the norm for Orou at this point. Ignoring Grizz’s protests, Orou wandered off and started sneaking through the woods, still keeping an eye on Grizz. He was trying to locate any smaller prey and get away from Grizz’s voice at the same time.

Today the air was humid, but they were protected from the sun ray’s thanks to the large trees. More and more cracks of sunlight fell onto them as they continued along the path, the area becoming less dense the further they went. Another uneventful day was on the verge of passing as the sun started setting. Orou had caught a rabbit for Grizz to eat and as Orou returned back to Grizz, he saw that Grizz was munching on some berries he had found while wandering off. Dropping the rabbit next to Grizz’s feet, Orou was preparing for another spellcasting session when Grizz spoke to him.

“We should reach Lium tomorrow, but it might not be that easy to get you into the city. I’ll need to sneak into the city and procure a few items before you can even be seen with me, so don’t be surprised if I suddenly vanish. It shouldn’t take more than a day, but you never know, that’s why I’m warning you now.” Grizz offered a few berries to Orou as he told him that, but Orou simply hissed at them. Orou could observe something for days on end, not to mention simply waiting for a day, so he threw Grizz’s comment to the back of his head and started practicing his spells.

The soft glow of the moon accompanied the red ribbon dancing in the air as Grizz went to sleep, the ribbon made circles in the air and flew through the air like a magnificent bird and before Orou even knew it, it was morning. As if entranced he had spent the entire night controlling the ribbon, enjoying the beautiful show no one but him could see. Orou was still in deep thought when Grizz started roasting the rabbit Orou caught earlier, his mind thinking about all the different nuances of controlling the ribbon.

The trek through the forest ended during the 3rd day when Orou finally got a glimpse of a beastman city. The sky was cloudless and the sun was high in the sky, fully illuminating the city in full display. The city itself had no walls to speak of, tall buildings made from some sort of stone marked the edges of the city. The buildings looked pristine as if having been only recently built. Orou could see all sorts of beastmen, travelling in groups and chatting with each other. Multiple groups featured beastmen with the same sort of features, likely descended from a common beast. What immediately stood out to Orou was the fact that beastmen from one group didn’t seem to approach other beastmen, only talking with their kinsmen and avoiding contact with others.

Surprisingly, travelling next to various beastmen were beasts, exactly like those he had seen in the forest. They weren’t chained nor did they have any sort of collar on them, wolves, lions and panthers were freely wandering around the city while none of the beastmen spared them any second glances. Orou looked at Grizz for any explanation, but Grizz was already sneaking off in the direction of the city, a smile plastered all over his face. Orou sighed as best as a snake can sigh and started to move from tree to tree in order to see what else he could spot.

The city wasn’t as bustling as the human city, but it seemed on another level compared to it. All the buildings he saw were in pristine condition, the skill and the work required to construct each building was evident to even Orou. The beastmen walking around the city were decently dressed, most of them having some sort of weapon by their sides. Even the weapons were decorated and Orou mused that they probably wouldn’t be too effective in combat. The city seemed a lot calmer and more peaceful than Belor, where every other person was shouting and advertising their wares.

What truly surprised Orou was that beastmen regularly travelled in and out of the forest, one of them even nearly spotting Orou. The beastmen that went out weren’t well armed, a single dagger or even nothing at all by their sides. How would they survive if a beast attacked them? Orou’s mind wandered over to tracking one of them and seeing why they were going out, but then he remembered that he had to wait for Grizz.

If Orou could speak, he would have grumbled about being forced to wait, but as he was, he was simply moving from one tree to another in search of any food. He saw all sorts of berries and trees bearing fruit at the edge of the forest, but he was having a bit of trouble finding any living beings. That being said, a beastman did just recently enter the forest, and all sorts of accidents happen in the forest.

Orou seriously pondered about this issue, but Grizz’s words rang in his ear and he rationalised to himself that he shouldn’t eat beastmen until he was starving, after all, who knew what magic they used in this land and if someone would find out what he did. Still looking for food, he spent hours simply wandering close to the edge and looking for food while observing the beastmen that passed him. He saw a beastman with a pocket full of berries walking towards the city and a beastman coming back with a rabbit on his shoulder, munching on a carrot and being oblivious to the rest of the world around it.

He finally couldn’t resist an urge to follow one of the beastmen into the forest, but all that did was leave Orou disappointed. The beastmen wandered into the forest and came out a few minutes later, in his hands a wicker basket full of berries and fruits. Orou’s mood slightly dropped, though he still wondered about how they didn’t get attacked by beasts.

Figuring it was about time to return back to his original position, Orou turned around and saw Grizz standing there, a grin even wider than when he entered the village on his face. In his hands, he held a single piece of paper and a small silver bell. Orou couldn’t read any of the words, but the silver bell was quite interesting. Using his spirit vision, Orou could determine that a spirit dwelled inside of the bell and some form of formation was inscribed into the bell, though he couldn’t make out what it was. The spirit seemed indifferent to its predicament, though spirits didn’t really have emotions to base it off of.

“I’m now an official beast tamer, that’s what the paper here says at least. It would have been much easier in the future if I could get a shaman’s permit, but those aren’t readily available.” Grizz pointed at one bit of text that Orou couldn’t understand and put the piece of paper away, he placed the bell on his palm and let Orou take a closer look at it, before continuing: “This thing is to calm normal beasts down, though I’m not sure it will work on you, seeing that you know magic and all.”

Grizz had a mischievous smile on his face and all of the sudden, he rang the bell in his hand. The spirit inside moved with the bell and Orou could swear he heard the spirit almost talking to him, the voice in his hand calming him down and telling him that everything would be alright. He quickly shook his head and cleared his mind, his eyes still staring intently at the spirit.

“Thought so. Shall we enter the city then?” Grizz placed the silver bell into his pocket and started walking forwards, beckoning over for Orou to join him. Orou slithered over next to him and slowly, they started approaching the city.