Beast Planet by Aaron Oster

Author:Aaron Oster [Oster, Aaron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: GFS Publishing Inc
Published: 2023-04-29T16:00:00+00:00

24

“You sure about this, mate? This place doesn’t exactly look like a stand-up establishment.”

“Don’t worry, Hopps. If anyone bothers you, I’ll smash their heads in,” Talia reassured the nervous frog.

“Let’s avoid any head-smashing,” Dan said, eyeing the seedy entrance to the Boarmaid. “We’re trying not to attract any attention, remember?”

It was dark out, and the only light available came streaming out of the cracks and foggy glass of the dilapidated shack hidden behind a tall mound of earth. They were on the far outskirts of the city, the moss-covered wall just thirty feet from them.

The area smelled rancid, like rotting vegetation and week-old garbage. Mixed in with that unpleasant smell was the now-recognizable scent of blood. There were sounds of crashing furniture and raucous laughter from within, which didn’t exactly sound welcoming.

The sign above the doorway was equally dilapidated, depicting a painting of a beastling boar-woman, with chunks of the wood having rotted away, distorting the already-faded image.

“Don’t be such a wimp, frog boy. If they sense weakness in a place like this, they’ll eat you alive. Now come on.”

She pushed past him easily, shoving the door open with just a little too much enthusiasm. The door slammed open, sending a shower of splinters into the air and immediately attracting the attention of everyone within.

Talia didn’t seem to care, ignoring all the hostile stares and marching straight up to the filthy bar. Dan trailed after her, doing his best to look intimidating but keeping his gaze sweeping over the room for the first sign of trouble.

Hopps wasn’t as reserved. He tended to say whatever popped into his mind, regardless of the situation and this time was no different.

“By all the freaking Spirits! It smells better out there than it does in here, and the outside is a freaking dump! Does everyone here just do their business on the floor and leave it there?”

All eyes turned on Hopps and Dan had to suppress a groan of annoyance. He’d been hoping to avoid a fight, but Hopps had just come in here and basically asked for it.

“You’ve got a real mouth on you, frog!” said one of the patrons, a five-foot-tall ram with massive curling horns, turning to glare at him.

Dan saw that the ram’s wool had been blackened on one side of his face and an eyepatch sat where the eye should have been. If it weren’t for the dangerous situation they now found themselves in, he might have found a sheep wearing an eye patch hilarious.

“Oh, come off it, you ugly sheep!” Hopps said, gesturing around. “It reeks and you know it.”

The rest of the patrons burst out laughing at that.

“He got you there! You are an ugly brute!” another one of the patrons said, pounding the table so hard that Dan thought she might break it.

The ram stared at him for another long moment before a very disturbing grin spread across his face. It was hard to tell that it was a smile – with the eyepatch, it just looked like he was baring his teeth at them.

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