Book 1: Chapter 13: Growing monsters.

Book 1: Chapter 13: Growing monsters.

Some men are content to raise crops and tame regular animals, I rumbled, arms folded as I gazed upon the two men that stared up at me. I am not. I raise monster-plants. I gave you fair warning, asked you to stay away from my crops.

Gods Above, man, Shtane hissed. I just want to know why?

Curiosity. An edge on opportunity. Profit, perhaps. I shrugged. Like I said, I am not other men.

It is not safe. Joram struggled to formulate the response. Im not trying to be incredulous here, ser, but raising monsters? Thats like tending to a wounded fiend, knowing full well it will attempt to kill you once it is physically able.

You see, that is where we differ, I gave the boy a tight smile. It is dangerous to you as a human, but I am not human.

And there it was. The rejection of my now-lost humanity. Not morally, of course, but physically. I had accepted that I would spend the rest of my life in this hulking form, forever stooping through doorways and a titan among men. It was strange. I had not at all even been interested in finding a cure or somesuch. Just accepted that this was my new lot in life and was trying to make the best of it. nôvel binz was the first platform to present this chapter.

It might have helped that I never really considered myself close-minded. Yes, I had my interests, beliefs, and circle of comfort I like to stay within. Yes, there had been some moments in my life where I reacted badly to circumstances, but I had not at all regretted the passing from a human body to another.

I saw no reason to return, in all honesty.

There was a lull in the conversation as I was lost in my thoughts. A polite cough from Joram snapped me back to reality.

As I was saying before, I uttered. This task might be dangerous for ordinary men, but not for me. And so long people can follow my very simple warnings, no harm should come to others.

Yes, so we have heard. Shtane sighed, frustrated. But why? I have no doubt in your ability to wrangle whatever things you have out there under control, but what do they yield?

To that, I could only shrug. Partly because I truly did not yet know what could be taken away from all this. Partly because I did not want to reveal everything I knew. Raffnyks men they might be, but I would not trust them with my secrets. And if the unnamed mans snooping had proved anything, it was that I was correct in my wariness.

You are down a man, until he recovers, I observed. How will you proceed with your mission tomorrow?

Jorams pensive expression vanished entirely, replaced by dread.

We shall have to decide that come the morrow. he grimaced. For now, I suggest we haul Colbrek into a comfortable position, give him plenty of water, and hope he is fit to ride when dawn comes.

A vain hope. Shtane hissed, but bent to grab the man nonetheless. They dragged him to sit upright against the tree, ignored his moans, and stuffed a waterskin into his trembling hands. With a grunt, I sat myself back down and scooped up some of the remaining broth from the pot. One of the things I disliked about this body was the massive, voracious appetite it had. One that it required to make all this function, I lamented. I consumed a ridiculous amount of food compared to what I had used to, yet always felt an edge of hunger for more.

Pardon my askin, se- the lad caught himself halfway through and fumbled for words. Mister Garek, but what was your callin before all this? We heard you spent time on the frontier.

I was a Berserker, lad. Good at what I did. Still am. And now I aim to be a Farmer. I shrugged between sips of hot broth. Simple. And you?

Im a Bleakwind Rider. He returned, proud look upon his face. Shtane abstained and informed me he didnt wish to share his Class. I nodded and soon the small talk petered off. With a sigh, I heaved myself up and looked around.

Shes also dry as a bone. No milk for the babes.

Ah. I winced. Blood-soaked as my hands were, the specifics of women and their bodies always did make me feel a little uncomfortable.

Well, tis a very opportune thing we have here then, isnt it? I glanced at at the several pails of milk we carried. We appear to be uniquely situated to offer a gift, then. Perhaps a gesture of goodwill to show people that the massive brute growing monsters up the road isnt so fearful after all.

Yeah, thats what I was thinkin. Ishila half-smiled. Youre a more than decent person, Garek, but theres a reason you havent had any more folks over to visit and welcome you. Appearances do matter, and you have many people frightened.

And yet you stopped by. I muttered, bemused.

I was taught not to judge strictly by appearance. Its often a good metric, mixed with a healthy dose of common sense. The orc girl nodded as we approached the house. But it aint the end-all.

Well. I remarked and stepped inside. I have plenty of milk. While I do have an appetite for it, it is more than I can consume. Perhaps a gift to this unfortunate young couple is in order.

Strictly from a point of profit, this was a mediocre idea. And yet, I figured a gesture of goodwill was worth more than the few coins I could make from selling this. Extend a good impression to the neighbors, perhaps open up some channels that would otherwise remain closed to me. And even without the business side of it, I thought it was the right thing to do.

I had the opportunity to, at little cost and effort to myself, help another in their time of need. And in a world where I could be anything, I chose to be generous.

Well then, I asked Ishila as I emerged, carrying the terracotta pot of milk, vines wrapped around it. How would you like to run an errand for me?

The smile on her face spoke in ways her words could not.

And make sure to get me a hat! I yelled at her back as the lass trudged off, pot secured and Gol wandering after her. What had she done to make the blasted beast like her?

The morning almost over, I walked over to my crops and sighed. Shtane had asked a good question. What did I intend to do with these crops of monster plants? Some, I could figure out immediate uses for. With some caution, I could potentially harvest the acid from the pepper-plant. The spores from the puffer seemed to make whatever they came into contact with slow and lethargic. The biter-plants' teeth seemed to easily pierce anything not strictly metal,

The armored ballplant was a volatile bomb, but I believed with enough experimentation, I might be able to harvest and harness its growths before they violently exploded. With a grunt, I squatted down to a plant I had not touched before. Purple leaves grew in a spread above the soil. With no discernable effect, we had elected to leave it where it had been originally planted.

I seized a handle of the leaves and yanked it free. My eyes widened upon the sight of what appeared to be a small, wrinkled humanoid form beneath the earth. That was all the warning I had before it screamed, and my world swam as the full, piercing shriek went straight through my skull and into the brain.

The world swam. Black spots gathered in my vision. There was blood in my ears. I could smell it.

Instinct took over and I slammed the thing back down and jammed it under the soil.

The scream mercifully ceased, and I was left in a deafening silence.

What the fuck?