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"Outrages and Misconceptions" (Muse - > near Muse/Matilda border) The city...was huge. Feather couldn't think of any other term for it, as he watched. Huge. He'd never seen anything so big. It quite boggled his mind. It has to be larger than Forest Village and Greenhill put together! He tried to put those thoughts aside for the moment, so he could study the city. Well defended from the ground...but I could fly in without a problem, if I chose. I really should get another map...perhaps one I can make sense of. Perhaps, just perhaps, one that I wouldn't end up ripping to shreds... Feather took to the air, flying easily and unchallenged over the defenses, What human in their right mind would challenge ME?!?, and landed on a sturdy-looking building without being seen by the general populace. For some reason, humans seem to have this powerful aversion towards looking up...No matter. Now, to find a sign or something, so I can figure out what city this is...then I try for a map. Feather watched the passers-by for a few minutes, relaxing himself by wondering what bizarre errands they must be running. Humans never really seem to do the sensible thing. If you're hungry, eat. Don't flit off on a hundred other things that don't involve eating. Ridiculous! Then, Voice spoke up in his head. Feather...I want you to notice something...this will illustrate one of my points that I've made to you. See those two women walking together? Take their scent Tell me what your nose tells you. Feather saw nothing wrong with this, so he stuck his head over the edge of the roof, startling a fair number of humans that spotted him, and breathed in the scents. He pulled his head out of sight again, and settled down to ruminate. After thinking about it, he managed to separate the ladies' scents from everything else, and analyze it. What his nose told him, made him freeze in surprise. He felt faintly ill, a feeling which increased as he realized the full impact of what the scents were. Voice!!! You KNEW what I'd smell from them, didn't you? Faugh! Revolting! That is the most disgusting....Argghhhh!!! Words quite failed the griffon, but Voice spoke to him again. I knew. What did you smell, Feather? Tell me exactly. Feather grimaced to himself and wondered if this was going to make him lose his lunch. I...smelled a mating musk...from both women...but it was directed at...at each other!!! Feather fiercely scowled, finding just the memory to be unpleasant. Humans that are very far removed from my influence...they lose all equilibrium, even in their own instincts. And so they do horrible things, from cruelty, to turning on their own sex for mating, and even to killing their own kind. They can't tell what's good for them and others very well at all, any more. Feather was...disgusted was too mild. That...is the most revolting thing I have EVER... Words failed him again, and struggled to find some way to express his thoughts. Yughh!!! This proves my point...unless humans are brought closer to me again, they will drift farther away, and simply die out as a race. People like you just smelled will become more and more common, as the human instinct in general goes all out of proportion. Obviously, only a mating with the opposite of sex can produce offspring, so the human race would kill themselves by simply ceasing to breed. There must be some way to halt this...I do not wish to see them die. It would not be right. It would not be...balanced. Feather nodded, agreeing entirely. He still felt a little queasy, however. That is just so.... Feather pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Signs. He needed signs. He also needed to get out of this place, where humans went totally and completely insane...maybe he should just sneak a few signs so that noone would see him. Feather shook himself, wondering just what kind of griffon he was. Why bother sneaking the signs? I can just fly down one street, pick off all the signs, and be gone before any of these slow humans could react! Feather ignored the cautionary words from Voice, and leaped off the edge of the building. Immediately, there were a large number of shrieks and shouts as Feather scared a good two dozen citizens out of their shoes. He flew about 7 feet above the ground, which caused the terrified passers-by to duck and dive to the ground. Feather zipped by a number of shops, snatching their signs away with the sounds of ripping wood and snapping twine. Six should be enough His task completed, Feather flew higher into the air, and headed northwest, to a nearby hill. Through it all, he hadn't once noticed the citizens' reactions to him - namely terror, outrage, and anger. When Feather landed on the hill, he spread out the signs before him and studied them intently. After a while of much effort, he finally managed to read them all. The Dead Dog, Item Shop, Blacksmithing, The Traveler's Rest, Appraising Shop, Muse Armor Shop. Hmm...well, the most common word used is 'Shop' and of course, that would be the name of the city. 'Muse' looks out of place...guess it must be someone's name or something. Feather turned to look back at "Shop" city. Odd name for a city...but then humans are odd people. Oh well. Feather realized he was tired, so he curled up and fell asleep, right there on the hill top.
Feather dreamt of axe bunnies, cut into steaks, and roasted over a fire in the style of humans. He dreamt of axe bunny salad, axe bunny fried with rice, and even axe bunny bits mixed with ice cream. Asleep, Feather started to drool. The parade of axe bunny recipes and dishes continued through the drooling griffon's mind for some time, before he was startled awake by the sound of something cutting the air past his head. Could it be an axe bunny? Approaching the hill from the direction of the city was a group of humans...one of them had a bow. Feather didn't know if these were city guards, regular citizens, or even shopkeepers come for their signs. He didn't care either. He really didn't want to mess around with a human with a bow. Arrows tended to leave painful punctures that took forever to go away. Feather decided to abandoned the signs, take to the air and travel northwest...away from these people. And that city! It's as good a direction as any, and I'm lost anyway, so what does it matter. But first... Feather leaped upwards and back, twisting in the air, and ending up with enough speed to take off, oriented right side up, and away from the people apparently hunting him. Stupid humans. They think they can get me. Ha! I've been doing this a lot longer than they have! He was flying higher now, and he craned his neck down and back to call mockingly to the humans below. Ha ha ha! Can't get me! An arrow interrupted him, ricocheting off his beak and sticking into his right upper foreleg. It stung, but was not serious. Um...right. I'll just be moving right along then... Feather picked up his speed frantically, dodging left and right, rolling down and pulling up sharply. Through all his aerial tricks, he managed to get away without getting hit again. He pulled the arrow out with his beak and dropped it to the ground below. That's what happens when you get cocky, young one. Try not to do it again. Feather grimaced as only a griffon can. Yeah yeah...you've made your point, and so did the humans. Just leave me alone, huh? I don't know how far I'm going to have to go to reach another city, here. Hopefully it won't be as bad as "Shop" city, back there. Feather and Voice both lapsed into silence as the griffon flew steadily northwest, away from Muse. In a ruined cabin some miles north of Rockaxe, a sleeping man with a very specialized rune embedded in his forehead slept with a smile on his face. As the night continued, his mind was filled with images of the air and ground, and all the world flying by as Feather cut his way through the sky.
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