The Old Man and the Owl

Drowning the regret of the past week with mead, a ragged young man kept to himself, observing both the cramped building around him and the band of vagabonds he now surrounded himself with. Deserting was only the second most foolish choice he’d made this week. The young man’s face was stained with mud, blonde hair shaggy. Despite this, he was accoutred well with fresh armor, the coat of arms on his breastplate crossed out. Looking at the people around him, he had to face one simple fact--these were not good men. Murderers, thieves, and deserters like him had banded together in this remote area, doing anything they had to to survive. Deserting was one thing, but this? How could he justif--

“Hey, Ed!” A bellowing voice interrupted his thought. Edin looked to the other side of the room to see Rodin, a man as wide as he was tall, whose friendly demeanor failed to mask his sinister aura. Rodin was sitting with a few of the others he’d gotten to know. Walking over, Edin noticed the men crowded around something, giddy with excitement. A bag overflowing with shining rocks.

“Jewels… so many. W-where did this come from?” Edin asked the group.

“Raax brought it back.” Minax, a man around Edin’s age, was the one to respond. “He nabbed some geriatric old fart wandering the roads between cities. Brought him back here and found all this loot on him. We’re splitting it evenly, with an extra jewel for the boss himself, whenever he gets back.” Minax turned back to his jewel, eyeing it with a covetous gaze. Edin barely had time to consider this new fortune when the door to the room slammed open. A tall figure with mangy gray hair stepped forward. Raax, a deserter like Edin, but with decades longer to lose his soul after giving everything up. His cold eyes met the room.

“I’d like to propose we decide as a group what to do with the old man and his pet.” Raax asserted.

“Pet? What pet?” Rodin asked.

“The man I took in had an owl on his shoulder. Provoking beasts is unbecoming work, so I took them in together without a fight.”

“And he just let you take him in? Might be the smartest mark we’ve ever had!” one of the men cackled.

“Yes, it is curious that he did not put up a fight, but he probably realizes how outclassed he is. We’ll kill him anyways, provided we’re all on board. Now come on!”

The group of vagabonds followed the tall man out of the room with hungry expressions, Edin towards the back. Walking through the door that led to the basement-turned-dungeon, Edin felt his stomach churn.

I was scared, he thought, that’s why I deserted in the first place. . . Why am I getting caught up in this now? Killing an old man who’s put up no fight? It’s wrong, isn’t it?

Approaching the cell, he could see the man. The man was old, but fit, and sat with a compliant air. More notably, though, was the beast atop his shoulder. At first glance, it was a barn owl like any other, but it didn’t take long to notice what set it apart. For one, it was a great creature, portly and wide, massive wings tucked at its side. Secondly, this creature had a cold stare, relentless in its malice. These seemed not to be the eyes of a common beast, but the calculated gaze of a creature confident in its intelligence. Edin was the first to notice the frightful aura around the owl. After all, most of these men carried a frightful aura themselves. Emboldened by the protection of numbers, Raax stepped forward with Rodin and Kallum, a man Edin knew little about, except that he’d been a lifelong criminal, spending his youth as a mountain bandit up north.

“Where do you reckon he’s from?” Rodin asked.

“Doesn’t matter. I can’t get him to speak, anyways. The important thing is that this vagrant happened to be carrying some riches.” Raax growled. “Grab the owl. The boss may take a liking to it.”

Nodding, Kallum stepped towards the owl, outstretching his arm. The old man sat unmoving with his head down. The owl simply stared at him, before outstretching a foot to the outstretched arm of Kallum, who wore a nervous expression. It was impossible to overlook the owl’s massive talons, larger than daggers and curved in a way that suggested malice. Despite its host’s nervousness, the owl gripped the man’s arm and relaxed. Edin noticed the old man raising his head to speak.

“Be careful with that one. He doesn’t take kindly to strange men touching his property.” The old man said this with a sly grin.

Raax did not reply, only giving a derisive gesture for the owl to be taken back into the common room. Then, as the men of the room dispersed, he withdrew into the crowd. Edin was one of the first people back in the common room, where people gathered for recreation. His stomach felt swirling and agape. Something about that owl wasn’t right; its form was too opulent, its gaze too penetrating. He glanced over to Raax, who had affixed a chain to the great bird’s ankle, binding it to the stone wall, and now stood with some of the men near the owl. For one instant, Edin’s eyes locked with the owl, whose gaze displayed a quiet malice. Edin found himself walking over to the owl.

Standing only a foot away, he felt he should be able to distinguish the owl’s features, but somehow felt unable to comprehend its form; it was as if there was a haze around its squat form, which only manifested when one tried to recall the bird’s appearance in its head. He was lost in thought when he felt a presence next to him.

“Hey, Ed.” It was Rodin. In the short time he’d spent with these outlaws, only Rodin had fully accepted him. “What do you make of this thing? Something feels...off. Why did that man and this owl have so much jewelry on them? And what is this thing? Doesn’t look like any owl I’ve seen.”

“Hell if I know.” Edin replied. He found himself at a loss for words, despite agreeing with the sentiment.

“Well. . .” Rodin murmured, looking around, “Have you heard of the Demon Tamers that once walked these lands?” Edin’s eyes widened. It was true, urban legends of Demon Tamers, those who brought frightful creatures under their control, had been a mainstay in these parts. Never, though, did Edin expect that these rumors would be lent credence.

A real Demon Tamer? That has to be lunacy--right? Edin’s expression hardened.

“We need to rid ourselves of this bird.” He said decisively. “If we can convince Raax, he may allow us to let this thing go. You guys can take the jewels if you want, I won’t touch them. I’m trusting my gut on this one.” Before Rodin could respond, Raax had interjected.

“You,” he said, pointing at Edin, “you’re the new guy, right? You must be shaken. You too, Rodin. This beast, though, while large, is nothing but a bird! My, how I wonder at the superstition of you Din.”

“With respect, sir, I’m not convinced.” Edin said flatly. “Didn’t the old bum mention the bird’s “property?” There’ll be other passerby to rob, caravans to loot in the future. The promise of a few jewels isn’t worth the risk.”

“Very well,” Raax growled, “then we gather the jewels here and disperse them now amongst us, right in front of the beast. You can see for yourself that these superstitions serve to do nothing but hinder us.” With this, another of the bandits came running, jewels gleaming through the tattered bag in his arms.

“Alright, we all get one, and the rest we save for the boss. Let’s go!” Raax barked.

The man carrying the bag stuck his arm in, pulled out a shining pink jewel, then dropped the bag on the ground and withdrew. Like beasts the men descended upon the jewels scattered on the floor, pushing, shoving, and clambering over each other in a desperate attempt to secure the finest jewel. Edin alone stood near the back, watching as their greed fueled them. Even Rodin had joined in on the chaos, holding a jewel the size of his hand and gazing with awed eyes.

Raax stood tall above the chaos, clutching a jewel in his palm. Edin noticed something happening to the lanky man, as his form shrunk, slowly at first. In fact, this change was happening to all those in the room, Edin alone noticing. Then, he noticed it. The jewels had begun to shake, before violently pulling away from the ground and careening toward the owl, who seemed to absorb each one into its feathers, growing larger with each it absorbed. The desperate men, elated by the spoils then shocked at the sudden turn of fortune, looked around with frantic eyes, realizing that something was happening to them.

Edin saw one man basically evaporate, before he went to inspect and in his clothes found a mouse. Before long, everyone in the room had been transformed by the jewels, save for Edin, who simply watched. The owl looked at him intensely. Edin recoiled slightly.

When did it escape its bondage? The chain was in two pieces on the floor.

“What. . . are you?” Edin asked, voice shaking. The creature flew towards the front door, gesturing to the doorknob. Edin walked with light steps to the door, then opened. Even after the events of this day, he was still shocked to see the old prisoner on the other side of the door.

Nodding, the ragged man looked at Edin with hardened eyes, but said nothing. The owl perched up on his shoulder, and Edin stood and watched as their silhouettes slowly, thankfully, moved into the distance.