Death's Favorite Child

29. Lost

The previous day Daniel was escorted around the village. This was the Second Settlement Village of the Panther tribe. He was... underwhelmed. It felt like he was touring one of the primitive settlements you would see on documentaries back on Earth. The whole village was less than 2 kilometers in diameter and was surrounded by a wooden fortification -- a fence would be a better description. The houses were wooden and looked like huts. Very few pieces of furniture, mostly made of wood and straws. The roads were dirt roads, no running water or sanitation facilities, and of course, no sewage system -- yes, it stunk.

When the two guards first showed around Daniel, a huge crowd surrounded them. It felt like the circus was in town. Everyone wanted to see the strange creature -- the human. Daniel watched their behavior. All the generations mingled, and the young talked to the old. It was a relatively liberal society. He didn't see any overweight people but, given the food they gave him, it was not strange. The food was awful, usually dried meat with dark hard bread and some wild fruit. Oh, and the lack of cutlery was not intentional -- they simply didn't use any.

Daniel was not enjoying himself. Back at the Thanatos territory, he got used to the excellent food and the cozy amenities. But, on the other hand, Jon...

'Cap, look! That one has more perky... ears! Her tail is longer too! Oh, oh! Did you see how she jumped over that step? Cap, do you think they'll allow us to stay here forever?'

"...," Daniel's splitting headache was still onset.

The Chief had arranged a meeting with the elder council. After several hours of questions, they were convinced he was not a spy or an enemy. However, they didn't know what to do with him. Since Daniel wanted to leave, they allowed him to pass through their territory. But this was a decision to be made by the Chief of the First Settlement Village, since it affected the entire tribe. Also, nobody could point him to the right direction.

Daniel didn't mind. He planned to wait until nighttime and have Jon use the star constellations to estimate the location of the Caliron kingdom and the Thanatos territory. Even if the wyvern that carried him flew in a straight line for two days, there was no way they could be more than a couple of weeks trekking from the border. After identifying the location and distance, he would leave the tribe behind and head back home. Surviving a few weeks in the wild on his own was easy for him. He did it even when he had no special powers.

What was weird, though, was that the Panther people had no idea about the Caliron kingdom or any of the human territories. If it was indeed so close, how could it be they never ventured out to the human countries?

(Beast) "Idiot human. Food," said the female warrior that was tasked to babysit him. She kept talking to him in the Beast language. Daniel could understand more or less what she meant by the gestures.

(Beast) "Alis, stop calling him an idiot! What if the Chief hears you?" Kyle interjected.

"Humph," Alis replied and put the plate with the horrible food in front of Daniel.

Daniel nodded his thanks and started eating. He had an inkling that Alis was swearing at him every time from how the other guard scolded her, but he didn't really care. By the second day, the circus crowd dissipated as well. It seemed that he didn't deliver the show they expected, so they left him alone.

After finishing his food, Daniel headed back to the hut they allocated for him. He waved good night to the male guard and closed the curtain -- yes, no door for him. The female guard scoffed.

(Beast) "Alis, what's your problem?" asked Kyle when they were alone.

(Beast) "Well, I thought he was a warrior! Someone that fought a wyvern -- the closest creature to a dragon! But he does nothing all day! He didn't even try to escape!" Alis replied agitated.