The Fantastical Menagerie

Qin Feng walked down the road briskly, eyes focused onto the distance. Suddenly, he stopped and winced as the clamoring and cries of what seemed to both common and exotic animals filled. He turned and noticed a gigantic tent some distance away, sticking out from the landscape like a red and white striped thumb.

The sounds filled Qin with a sense of nostalgia, reminding him of the many animals in the garden of his childhood home, a happy memory from before he had been forced to leave.

Perhaps he could make a little detour.

He began to head away from his intended destination and towards the tent, pulling out a notebook and a pen. After all, there was no rush, and he could always chalk this up to information gathering, as long as he did write down some notes.

Man, he loved loopholes.

Amaya was alert, even a bit tense from the cries from inside the tent. Never before had she heard such manner of beasts. It reminded her of the precious few moments she had spent below in her father's company. She glanced over at the human at her side and carefully adjusted her hood to make sure he did not see her horns. She simply had to see what was going on inside the curious structure though.

She hummed as she reached for her purse and looked through it, clicking her tongue in frustration after a moment looking at the girl. "My apologies. I only seem to have gold pieces on me. How many would suffice?" Amaya still wasn't that well versed in the human concept of money, mostly as it had never really caused her problems before.

The woman stared at the odd pair, crunching on her peanuts for a moment as she considered the pair. She scanned between the two of them, like a bored cat watching an owner's best attempts to coax them with a piece of ribbon. After a moment, she spoke once more.

"Two strangers, arriving at once and paying in gold...sounds like the start to a prophecy, doesn't it? No prophecies to be found here, though...only muck and sawdust. Still, gold will do fine as payment. For a single gold piece each...I guess you're entitled to admission and an exclusive tour. And peanuts."

She held out her hand to collect the gold coins, which vanished into a hidden pocket. Sighing heavily, she stepped away from her counter and poked her head past the curtain into the depths of the tent.

"Father! We've got a pair of visitors. They'd like a tour of the place, if you please."

Rummaging behind the counter, she produced two small wicker baskets full of roasted peanuts, which she handed to each of the two customers. No sooner did their hands touch the baskets than a wrinkled, grey-haired man burst through the curtain, one spindly hand holding his hat to his head to avoid it falling off in his hurry. He beamed at the pair through an unkempt, steely-grey beard adorned with assorted beads and braids. He wore a long brown overcoat, heavily stained and on fire on the left sleeve. Noticing the small blaze, he patted it out before turning back to his customers.

"Hello, visitors! Customers! Guests! Friends! Welcome to Darling's Menagerie. I'm Jonathan Darling, and I see you've already met Lynne. I take it you're interested in seeing my wondrous collection of exotic beasts that I've gathered throughout my travels? Well, if so...you're in for a treat! I have creatures that nobody here can even imagine, oddities from lands far and wide. Have you ever seen an Ukuluk, mighty steed of the Goborian Riders from the icy northern tundras of Ik'ali? Or a beautiful Floovi Bird, famed for its iridescent feathers and elaborate mating displays? Or maybe even a Mihiki, fabled by the Cthuli Tribes of the Yarmin Jungles for stealing babies and snatching women? I'll bet you haven't. Come inside, and prepare to be amazed!"

Indeed, none of the places or creatures he mentioned would sound even slightly familiar to either one of the newcomers, no matter how worldly or well-educated they happened to be. He stepped past his daughter and pulled the curtain aside with a dramatic sweep of his arm, revealing the inside of the tent. It was lit by thousands of flickering lights that buzzed and twirled up above in the canopy, and was filled with rows upon rows of cages, some as large as a cottage and others smaller than a tankard of ale. Each one contained one or more creatures, each more unique than the last. They bellowed and roared, stomped and squawked. Not a single one would be familiar to either Amaya or Qin, although Mr. Darling seemed to know each one personally. He stepped up to the first cage, about the size of a child's crib. Inside, an apple-sized orange blob sat in the center, glistening slimily in the firefly's light. Mr. Darling plucked a sliver of meat from a pouch on his belt, tossing it into the cage. The blob extended a squishy tendril towards the meat, which sizzled and dissolved upon contact. Moments later, the meat was gone, and the blob looked ever-so-slightly bigger.


"Marvelous, isn't it? It's like a jellyfish, but on land! I've decided to name it...a jellybeast. I cut this one off of a much larger one some years back, in a dark cave on the Island of Hemo. Interesting place, Hemo. I've got quite a few specimens from there...as I'm sure you'll see. Come come, we've got much more interesting things to see!"

Qin slung the basket on his arm like a purse, followed the old man inside, and took in the scene behind the curtain. For as far as the eye could see were cages and tanks filled with animals completely foreign to him. The cacophony of yells, screams, screeches, and howls reminded him of a poorly coordinated band, where each individual animal tried to outdo the one next to it.


Although he wished to get a much closer look at the many specimens, Qin kept his distance, in case one got hungry and thought he looked like a snack.

He began to scribble furiously in his notebook, trying to sketch the many beasts he saw in the flickering lights and jot down as much about each one as he could. Occasionally, he threw some peanuts near any particularly exotic looking creature and noted its reaction. He had never seen any of the many animals inside the tent before, much less heard about where they originated, and learning about them now could save him in the future if he ever encountered a similar one.

As the older Darling moved farther into the tent, Qin grabbed a peanut from the basket and popped it into his own mouth, chewing absentmindedly, before heading after the man who seemed to run the place.

Amaya's face had fallen as she listened to Darling's explanation, her eyes falling down to the opened nut in her hands. To have these creatures confined here, this was like... a prison was it not? That certainly did not sit well with the young woman and she turned to Lynne, crushing the nut in her hand into powder again that sifted through her knuckles.

"I'm sorry, I... don't believe I understood your father's meaning. If these creatures are not here by choice.... Why do you have them here in these cages? Are they ill? Or were they causing some damage to the places where they originate from? It just... I am quite confused. No living creature should be forced to be confined against their will. Is that not against human sentiment and nature?" She asked looking baffled as she turned to the other stranger, golden eyes searching his face as she addressed him.

"Is this not...wrong?" She asked again searching for an answer.

Lynne chuckled at Amaya's questions, turning away from the long-nosed creature. It let out a disappointed snuffle as she stopped petting it, but she ignored it.

"Well well well, aren't you cute. If you think that's human nature, I guess you don't really have a very good grasp of the concept. People love to be amused, shocked, and entertained. We provide that service, with these here animals. We take good care of them, and they live longer and safer lives than they would in the wild. Out there, they have to find food and worry about being eaten. In here, we feed them regularly and keep them away from predators. Not a bad tradeoff, don't you think?"

She stepped over to Amaya, gazing curiously at her horns. She seemed to be appraising the blue-haired woman, sizing her up.

"Is it wrong? I don't think so. But if it is...well, you know what? I don't care. It puts food on the table for us. We've all got to make sacrifices sometimes, you know. How is this any different from keeping cows for milk, or riding horses? Compared to farm animals, our creatures are pampered."

Turning to Qin, she considered his request for a moment before speaking.

"Something like a tiger...well, I suppose we've got something or other like that. And I'm glad that you like the tour so far. It's a good thing that father didn't bore you to death talking about that book of his...'The Adventures of Johnny Darling'. He's always going on and on about it, never wants to talk about anything else...anyways, follow me this way."

Taking a complex and confusing path through the maze of cages, she led them to a large cage with a pile of wooden crates sitting inside. A massive red-and-black striped lizard lounged on the crates, fifteen feet long with a wickedly sharp collection of spikes at the end of its tail. A single eye stared at the trio, following them as they approached and circled the cage. Lynne walked up to the bars and the lizard opened its mouth, revealing a cluster of needle-like teeth. A thick black fluid dripped from the tips of the needles, sizzling as they hit the bottom of the cage.

"This is our U'hurak-alun. Its name means 'that-which-causes-madness'. It's said that its bite inflicts so much pain that there are reports of people throwing themselves into bonfires to alleviate their suffering. Uh, it's kind of like a tiger, I guess. It has stripes."

The U'hurak-alun was not exactly the tiger Qin had wanted, but it was close enough. Watching with morbid curiosity as the fluid sizzled on the metal cage below, his mind began to race with the possible uses of the liquid. An arrow coated with the liquid could spell the end of anyone that was pierced, a perfect trump card. He made sure to note that in his notebook, as the counsel would surely be pleased to find a new biological weapon. And then they would give him tons of gold coins and he could go lay around for a while, eating and drinking as much as he wanted.

Qin shook himself out of his daydream, then turned to Lynne, curiosity shining in his eyes. “So, is there anyway I could get a sample of the fluid from the U’harak-alun? Just for scientific purposes or what not. Nothing malicious.”

Although he was focused mostly on the girl, he kept the stranger in the corner of his eye, watching cautiously. He was not sure why exactly the stranger was so close to the cage, but he silently checked that his bow and arrows were positioned correctly. Just in case.

Amaya's teeth set as she reached around and gently stroked the beasts head, righteous anger igniting in her chest as she saw the broken look in the creatures eyes.

"It's because we both know the feeling of being caught in a cage. And despite having been broken by you lot, the beast knows still to listen to those with inherent strength." She said as she gently stroked the beasts head again kneeling to look the beast in the eye, pulling it's head down to focus on her. Her earlier brightness and easygoing attitude had vanished completely, replaced by a chilly, dangerous calm.

She looked at the beast and ignoring whatever the humans might be saying she addressed the beast directly. "Can you still be free? Or has your spirit of the wild left you? Answer me truthfully." She said her eyes focused on the beast waiting for it's response in it's eyes.

The beast slowly lowered its head towards Amaya, snorting softly. It stared at her, falling silent aside from the sharp sizzle of its venom as it scorched the floor. Somewhere in its dull, glazed eyes, Amaya would be able to pick up the faintest glimmer of intelligence, a mere hint of the fiery spirit of a wild animal. Still, it was there, despite being suppressed by years of imprisonment. It snarled at her touch, but didn't resist. However, the sound caused Lynne to jump, and she quickly hurried to Amaya's side. Grasping the horned woman's shoulder, she pulled her back, trying to get her away from the cage.

"Miss, please don't do that! It really isn't safe, and you're upsetting the creature. Who knows what could happen if you get it mad? Come on, there's much more to see. Let's go look at something else. Perhaps you'd like the Carol Birds from the Conservatory of Avia. They're quite sweet, and very pleasant to listen to. Come along now, let's leave this thing be..."

Meanwhile, the tense Qin would feel a soft tap on his left ankle. Looking down, he'd see a large orange-and-purple spotted frog staring up at him, bumping its nose against his ankle. It opened its mouth and croaked, revealing a disturbingly human tongue. Every now and then, it would glance over towards Lynne, who hadn't noticed it yet.