Fight. Level. Survive.

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a giant chicken named Crack Hen. She was different from other chickens because she was very, very big. Her feathers were a beautiful shade of rainbow, and her eyes were as bright as the sun. She lived in a forest where no one dared to venture because of the stories that were told about her.

It was said that Crack Hen was a very vengeful chicken. Whenever she found naughty children, she would snatch them up in her beak and carry them off to her lair, where she would keep them captive until they learned their lesson. The children would often come back home transformed, with good behaviour and kind hearts.

One day, there was a little boy named Timmy who was very naughty. He was constantly disobeying his parents and causing trouble for his friends. His parents warned him about Crack Hen, but he didn't believe them. One afternoon, while playing in the forest, Timmy heard a strange clucking sound coming from behind a bush. He walked closer to investigate and saw a giant chicken with beautiful rainbow feathers staring right at him.

Before Timmy knew what was happening, Crack Hen swooped down and grabbed him in her beak. Timmy was terrified, but he soon found out that Crack Hen was not as scary as he thought. She took him to her lair and taught him about kindness, respect, and responsibility.

Timmy spent a few days with Crack Hen, and he learned a lot from her. He helped her gather food, and they played games together. When it was time for Timmy to go back home, Crack Hen gave him a unique feather to remind him of the lessons he had learned.

From that day on, Timmy was a changed boy. He was kind to his friends and always listened to his parents. He told everyone about his adventure with Crack Hen and how she helped him become a better person.

And so, the legend of Crack Hen continued, but instead of being a scary tale, it became a story of redemption and transformation. Children who were naughty and disobedient would often find themselves in Crack Hen's lair, but they would always come back home as better versions of themselves. And Crack Hen was no longer feared but loved and respected by all the children in the land.

Children’s Bedtime Stories - Page 18

Chapter 21 - Featherless Flamingo

Mason,

I’m fine, no need to worry.

There is an old windmill outside of town,

Ask Nays. She probably knows where it is.

Know I’m sorry about what I said the last time we spoke.

Everyone knows I say things I don’t mean sometimes.

Not that that excuses it, I know.

Only, I have something to tell you.

There is a lot you don’t know yet.

Help me with something, and il tell you everything

Everything, even if you don’t like what you hear.

Really need to speak to you,

So I hope I see you soon.

Mayry.

“Fuck”

A few moments passed until Nays came other and read the note too.

“Oh wow, this is terrible.”

“Yeah… Something must have happened to her because she’s obviously lost her mind.” Staring at the page, he continued, “this is complete nonsense.”

Nays gave him a strange look. “I can’t tell if you’re being serious right now.”

“What do you mean of course I’m being serious!”

*DING*

Quest Update Mayry Mayry, wherefore art thou Mayry?

Quest Objective - Mayry had gone missing, and you are the prime suspect. Find her and clear your name.

Update: It’s a code, idiot.

Waving away the prompt, he stared at the note again. Finally, it clicked.

“Oh shit! She was taken by the Others,” he shouted, turning to Nays. “I need to rescue her!”

Nays was still staring at him, “I’m glad you finally noticed the code. But are you insane? Do you know what ‘The Others’ are?”

“Yeah, of course I do,” Mason said defensively. “They’re people who come from another world and are evil?”

“You’re an idiot. ‘The Others’ are a group of super-powerful people. They’ve supposedly been here for hundreds of years, roaming the world, slaughtering anyone they come across in an attempt to grow their powers. I don’t understand why they took her and didn’t just kill her?”

“I think…” Mason looked at Nays solemnly, “They took her to get to me. I shouldn’t really tell you this, but, you trusted me… I’m like them. I’m from another world.”

She looked at him, shocked for a moment. Then her face changed to show understanding. “That… actually makes sense. Starting to nod, she continued,” You were amazed to see an Elf, you tipped me an entire Iron like it was nothing, and your attempts at flirting were definitely from another world.”

Shooting her a dirty look, “Can we forget about that, please? Do you know where this old windmill is?

“Yeah, I can show you.”

I need to pick up some armour first. Do you think the armourer would know I’m a wanted man?”

“Probably not… It’s most likely only people who were questioned.”

“Okay, I’ll get the armour and then head to the windmill. If I’m going to be fighting some super-powerful ancient wankers, I might as well look the part. Not sure how I’m going to get out of here though….”

“Leave that to me. You do your spooky ghost thing and follow me.

==============

She was trying to play cool because it really did make sense, somewhat.

He had been the first guy she had liked in years, and it turned out he’s from another world. This had to be the universe telling her that she would be alone forever. He was weird, and she thought he was trying to proposition her when he gave her that tip, but she still thought he was cute.

When she heard that he had kidnapped that human girl, she hadn’t really believed it, but you never know with guys.

Heading towards the door, she peeked out and saw not only the extremely overweight guard but also two others. They were arguing amongst themselves about whether he really had seen her get the door open.

When she opened the door wide, she felt Mason’s invisible form brush past her.

When they saw her, she announced, “You can go in now, guys; I just wanted to clean up a little.”

“Idiot woman,” one of the other guards shouted, “ you could have destroyed evidence!”

The three rushed past her into the room, the door shutting behind them. Essentially trapping them inside.

“Mason? You’re gonna have to grant me permission to enter your room, so I can rescue them when I get back.”

A moment later, she heard, “ Nays, you have permission to enter my room. Let’s go.”

“Seeing as I can’t follow you, is it the Armourer with the Gnoll or the Half-Giant?”

“I bloody knew he was a Half-Giant!”

She smiled as she walked down the stairs, heading towards the half Giant’s armour shop. She stuck her head into an office and told her manager she was going on lunch.

She approached the front door and opened it wide, waiting a moment for Mason to go ahead.

Arriving at the armourer only a few minutes later, they were surprised when the armourer greeted them both.

“Hello there, Miss. And it is good to see you again, Basilisk slayer.” He said in his booming voice, making her cringe.

“How can you see him?” She asked.

“When you work with magic as much as I have, you tend to develop a sense for magic.” He replied proudly before continuing, “I may have done a ritual that allows me to see things that aren’t meant to be seen. Now, what can I help the two of you with?”

Nays wasn’t sure what to think of the huge man. He seemed nice enough if a bit odd.

Mason spoke up, his disembodied voice coming from beside her. “I wanted to pick up my sets of armour if they’re ready?”

“Of course!” The man chuckled, “absolute beauties they are! My finest work, if I do say so myself!”

He disappeared and returned a few minutes later carrying four bags under his arms. He opened one and pulled out the contents showing it to them.

Now, Nays hadn’t seen the Basilisk. She had heard stories about how big and scary it was, but in all those stories, they neglected to mention one thing. Its colour.

Geraint, the half-giant armourer, pulled out what looked to be a long piece of bright pink leather. He held it up, and Nays couldn’t help but laugh, earning her a hurt look from Geraint.

“I’m so sorry! It’s really beautifully made. It’s just that the colour doesn’t exactly scream ‘Monster Hunter’, does it?”

“You have something against the colour pink?” Masons accused, “I think it looks great!” Trying to appease the giant man who looked to be on the verge of tears, “All the monsters will run in fear when they see me in this. I’m going to try it on right away!”

Annoyed that her innocent comment had been taken so badly,

“I think it’s great! I didn’t mean anything by it I…”

Her face suddenly turned the exact shade of the armour when she realised that Mason was undressing right in front of her, albeit invisible.

“Mason! Are you getting changed right now!?”

“Yep, why? Did you want to watch?” She could almost imagine the cheeky grin he had on his face while he said that.

“No! You’re terrible! You know he can see you! Right?”

“Ah, he doesn’t mind, do ya, big guy?”

The giant just shrugged.

Mason appeared briefly in the armour, a full-body suit of pink leather

“What do you think?” Mason asked.

It fitted him very well. She thought it would have looked pretty cool if it were in black, or grey, even white, but In pink, it just looked overly flamboyant.

“It looks… good. Aren’t we in a bit of a rush?”

“Oh shit yeah. Enough messing around.”

After thanking the armourer profusely, Mason popped out of sight again, and they both headed towards the town gate.

=========================

His new armour was awesome. It was incredibly light; it felt like he was wearing nothing. The toughness was incredible too, he had used his dagger to try and cut it, and it eventually succeeded, but only after a severe amount of effort, plus the cut in the leather closed itself up almost immediately. Geraint had also mentioned something about a strength-boosting enchantment. Checking his menu, it seemed that Mason got a +15 to his strength stat while wearing the armour and a whopping + 25 to his resilience.

In all, it was unbelievably good armour. It just looked ridiculous, he had defended it in front of Geraint because it was obvious the man had worked hard on it, but truthfully, he looked like he had partly transformed into a featherless flamingo.

Putting the armour out of his mind, he was worried about Mayry. He had joked around with Nays to distract himself, but he was really worried. If they had hurt her, it would be all his fault. Maybe he never should have told Mayry about his appearance in this world, but it had been nice not being completely alone.

He had to save her, but how? He had no chance if these ‘Others’ were really that powerful. His only real advantage was that they didn’t know about his invisibility. It was a piss poor plan, but maybe he could sneak in, grab Mayry and sneak out. It was never going to work… but a man can dream.

He needed to get there as soon as possible. He and Nays headed towards Town. As they walked, he whispered to her. “Do you think you could cause a distraction so I can get through the gate?”

“What? No way I’m coming with you. I can help!” She protested.

“Do you have any Chaos abilities?”

“One… but nothing good in a fight.” She admitted

”Then I really think you should stay here. Tell one of the guards at the gate that you saw me running towards the Inn, then go and save those guards trapped in my room; make sure they didn’t touch my stuff.”

“What stuff? The room was empty.”

“Hey! I have stuff!” He said defensively.

“Fine! But come find me when you’ve cleared your name, so I know you aren’t dead!” As an afterthought, she added, “And you owe me, so if you survive, you’re taking me to dinner.”

“Deal!” He said, making a mental note not to mention that tidbit to Mayry.

He grabbed her shoulder and squeezed, “Thank you for trusting me.”

She put her hand on his and squeezed back.

After a moment, she let go and shouted, “Guards! I saw the man you’re after! He was heading that way!”

Mason watched as several guards and Malika ran past.

He slipped easily out of the gates and headed towards to old windmill, hoping he wasn’t heading towards his death.