Monster wrangler 2 a lit.., p.1
Monster Wrangler 2: A LitRPG Fantasy, page 1
MONSTER WRANGLER 2
A LITRPG HAREM FANTASY
HEALER, TAMER, BUILDER
BOOK TWO
HUNTER DANE
Copyright © 2025 by Hunter Dane
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
CONTENTS
1. The Game is Afoot Again
2. This Time it’s Personal
3. Five Limbs Down, One to Go
4. Putting Beast Empathy to Work
5. Diplomacy and Deal Making
6. Keeping the Home Fires Burning
7. The Dryad and the Syanti
8. Night of the Blue Star
9. Preparing to Tie the Knots
10. Playing Host and Protector
11. Smoke, Fire, and a Cutting Discussion
12. A Meeting with the Goddess
13. Butter, Biscuits, and a Black Stone
14. All Roads Point to Damanhur
15. Return, Rebuild, and Redraft
16. Magic for the All-Monster Sanctuary
17. Practice at the Posts
18. Farewell and Parting
19. A Very Unexpected Destination
20. Ridden by the Dragonkin
21. Hunting Horns and Hippogriffs
22. Ambush from Above and Below
23. Eleven to Three Odds
24. The Griffin Rider of Damanhur
25. Sutures for Sativa
26. Information and Interrogation
27. First Night’s Camp
28. The Twice Daily Deadeye Shot
29. The Realm of Damanhur
30. A Room at The Quiet Merchant
31. The Great Market of Canopus
32. Negotiation by Finger and Talon
33. The Archcleric Kemet
34. A Greater Conspiracy at Work
35. Battle in the Sun Temple
36. Consummation and Homecoming
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CHAPTER ONE
THE GAME IS AFOOT AGAIN
Jack Wilder’s silver-gray mare let out a loud whinny as he leaned forward and touched her sides with his spurs to encourage her to leap into a gallop. True to his usual form, he pushed the horse’s limits as he took her upslope at her best speed.
“Come on, Boda!” he encouraged her. “Come on girl, get me to the top of that rise!”
Wilder’s mount fought her way up the steep slope towards the summit. Her churning hooves kicked up and left a trail of moist earthen clods in her wake. Her chest heaved with the effort, but she covered the ground even faster than he’d dared hope.
Maybe I’ll get more than a glimpse of my quarry this time, Wilder thought hopefully. The villagers weren’t kidding when they called this thing the Ghost of the Tall Grass.
As soon as Boda crested the rise, he shifted his weight back and gave a gentle tug on her reins. A whoa, and the mare slowed into a wide, sweeping turn.
The sun came out from behind the clouds, turning the view into a rainbow of sparkles amidst the late summer green. Even at this early hour, the bright Navishalan sunshine hinted at the dull heat of oncoming day.
To the west and northwest, the range of mountains known as the Farramores provided the border of the nearby Zarahina Valley. They also provided most of the sparkle effect.
The masses of granite that made up these mountains held various shades of pink or gray. Either they were shot through with brilliant seams of mica or striped vividly like a barber pole.
Closer in, a dense mass of trees merged into a massive forest of mixed pines and deciduous trees that carpeted the slopes in brilliant shades of blue-green. That forest petered out into a mixture of thick groves, damp-looking meadows, and open grassy fields that stretched out below.
It could have been a landscape straight out of high summer in Montana’s back country around Missoula or Helena. However, the sweet smells of butterscotch and cotton candy that rose from the forests quickly reminded him of the fantastical nature of Navishala.
Due north, about a half-day’s ride, lay the All-Monster Sanctuary at Foxford. Finishing off the points of the compass, due east lay one of the main roads leading into Kells Town. And just to the south sat the local village of Waterford.
That name must be someone’s idea of a joke, he thought to himself, as his mount came to a complete stop. That village isn’t next to any body of water, and there’s no fords anywhere nearby, either. Then again, they certainly weren’t joking about there being a predator out here, tearing up and eating their flocks of ‘pink sheep’.
“Steady, big girl,” Wilder said, as he leaned down and patted Boda’s neck. “Let’s see what we can see from up here.”
He pulled a little bronze disk out of his jacket pocket. The center of the disk gleamed with a reddish circle of crystal that had been cut and sanded smooth.
“Time to see if this spyglass thing actually works,” Wilder said to himself. “Zara sounded doubtful that magic and metalwork can function properly together.”
He gave the disk a flick, and it telescoped out into a six-inch tube with a second, smaller red disk at the end. Wilder put it to his dominant eye and looked downslope into the middle distance.
After only a couple seconds, he grinned.
The view turned out to be razor-sharp, only with a red tint. Even this rose-tinted way of looking at the world impressed him, as it cut down on the glare from the sun. Wilder slowly panned along the base of the ridgeline below, hoping to catch a glimpse of something.
Then he saw it full on.
His quarry lay draped over a smooth boulder at the bottom of the slope. The creature’s dark fur glistened like liquid tar as it sprawled out, soaking up the sun as it lay basking on the rock.
Wilder let out a breath as his arms goose-pimpled. Unbidden, his mind flashed back to the first time he’d seen a jaguarundi in the jungles of Mexico’s Yucatan region.
He’d felt the same feeling of accomplishment and awe upon seeing that hard-to-spot feline. And he felt the same tightening of his jaw as he realized what a superbly designed predator his quarry turned out to be.
“So you’re the ‘Ghost of the Tall Grass’,” he murmured to himself, even as he focused on the details of the animal’s form.
Like the jaguarundi, the feline he viewed through the crystal spyglass was slender in build. It had an elongated body with legs that a cheetah would’ve envied. Round ears punctuated the short-muzzled head. Curled up next to the creature’s body was a long tail that ended in a sharp point, like that of a giant otter.
Unlike the jaguarundi, it appeared to be roughly the size of a black panther. Nearly six feet long from nose to the tip of its tail and weighing at least a hundred and fifty pounds.
Solid cords of muscle wrapped in fur so black that it seemed to swallow the light and heat of the noonday sun.
The very tip of the creature’s tail twitched, indicating a very light sleep – a literal cat nap. Wilder let out a low whistle as he noted the completely alien, completely Navishalan feature of the animal.
A pair of sinuous, fur-covered tentacles extended from just behind the feline’s shoulder blades. These were easily four or five feet long, and each ended in an oblong pad of rugged spikes. Right now, each extension lay curled next to the creature like two lengths of thick black rope.
“You don’t see that on any kind of leopard back home,” Wilder muttered. “What the hell am I dealing with here?”
Wilder put the spyglass under his arm. Then he squinted, activating the triple set of questions that acted as the entry screen to his Tally Sheet, Map Location, and Loremaster Guide. Three words hovered in the air before him.
Who – Where – What
Mentally, he touched the WHAT that hovered in mid-air. A blink, and the word was replaced with yet another semi-transparent, parchment-colored screen floating in midair. As he had many times once arriving in Navishala, he gave thanks to the Goddess Artemis for gifting him the Master-Level skill of Loremaster.
Species: Displacer Beast; also known colloquially as a ‘Shift Cat’ or ‘Mirage Cat’
Knowledge Class: High Animal Intelligence
Fighting Class: Apex Predator (Claws and Teeth), Predatory Magical Animal (Tentacle Strike)
Alignment: Neutral
Displacer beasts are large cat-like creatures, with black fur and six limbs – four legs and a pair of tentacles that sprout from their shoulders. The tentacles end in pads with prickly-edged spikes that they can use to knock down or wound prey.
They are extremely rare outside the Realm of Damanhur, but can be found across Navishala in very small numbers. Aside from their formidable armory of fang, claw, and tentacle pad, their magical abilities include the ability to elude hunters via their talent of…
Wilder looked up and closed the Loremaster page as he spotted motion out of the corner of his eye. The movement hadn’t come from his quarry, but from the back side of the slope where he’d ridden Boda up to the summit.
A young, tow-headed lad urged his own gray horse up the trail. The lad wore typical Navishalan farm clothes, while the horse huffed and puffed as it bore his weight and a couple of heavily laden saddle bags.
Next to him, a low-slung, brown and gree
The young bramble wolf got up on his hind legs and put his front paws on Wilder’s leg. Wilder couldn’t help but grin as he leaned over to one side to scratch the canine behind the ears.
The one-time cub was growing, as Wilder’s father would have put it, ‘like a weed’. Which was actually pretty appropriate, since bramble wolves were a magical hybrid creature, being part plant as well as animal.
Since his adoption as a pup, Bucky had rapidly expanded to the size of a large border collie. Muscular, but still lean and nimble, he’d taken to learning verbal commands from Wilder and Zara like a fish to water.
“Hey there, partner,” Wilder said, as Bucky leaned into his touch. He felt the dry, papery swipe of the wolf’s brown, leaf-like tongue against his palm. “Wasn’t exactly expecting to see you up here.”
“Beggin’ your pardon, Warden, I’m right sorry about that,” the young man said to Wilder, as he pulled his horse up next to them. “Truth be told, he doesn’t really listen to any of your Wildmen. Only to you.”
“Yeah, I reckon that you’re right about that, Quinn,” Wilder acknowledged, as he gave Bucky a critical look. “Ever since he lost his bramble ‘baby fangs’, he’s been listening to me a lot. Not sure how much he understands quite yet, but it’s a fair amount.”
Wilder squinted at Bucky for a moment as the canine got back down. He brought up the wolf’s species information sheet through his Loremaster ability. He glanced briefly at the opening paragraphs’ worth of information.
Species: Bramble Wolf; also known colloquially as a ‘Bramble Dog’ or a ‘Bramble’
Knowledge Class: High Animal Intelligence
Fighting Class: Predatory Magical Animal, Apex Predator
Alignment: Neutral
Like that cat down below, Bucky’s supposedly got High Animal Intelligence, Wilder mused. I’m going to have to ask Zara how close to human that intellect really is. Ever since I’ve come to Navishala, I’ve met more sapient species – hell, I’ve slept with more sapient non-human species – than ever existed back on good old Earth.
“You bring up the catch pole pieces like I asked?” Wilder said aloud. “Our ‘Ghost of the Meadows’ is snoozing on a rock downslope. Perfect time to try to snare him.”
Quinn’s eyes went wide at that.
“You spotted the displacer beast?” he breathed. “Finally, after all our searching!”
“Damn straight,” Wilder replied. “I’ll give you a look-see once you assemble the gear I’m using today.”
Quinn hurriedly turned in the saddle and pulled out some lengths of flexible wood, which he fitted together into an eight-foot-long pole. The wood was actually harvested steeltails, the cattail-like plant that had a shaft as hard as steel.
Zara had gathered these lengths and enchanted them to both fit together as well as flex under serious pressure. Quinn fit the special feeder attachment at the tip and ran a length of rope through the pole’s length. Then he handed it and an accompanying coil of rope over to his boss.
Wilder held it up, admiring his handiwork. The long brown rod terminated in a noose that he could draw tight in an instant, or pay out via its rope coil.
While it looked more than a little like an oversized fishing rod, the device was a reasonable facsimile of what game wranglers called either a ‘catch pole’ or ‘snare staff’.
The eight-foot-long pole would allow Wilder to keep some distance between him and the animal he wanted to bring under control. Then, once he got the noose around the animal’s neck, he could pull it tight and subdue it quickly.
“Nice,” Wilder remarked. “Now, as for the rest of the team…”
“Patrick and Pendry are scouting the opposite ridge line, as you told ‘em,” Quinn said, before pointing towards said ridge. “In fact, I think I see them right now!”
“What?” Wilder balanced the snare staff across the saddle as he pulled the spyglass out again. “You’ve got the eyes of an eagle, Quinn. I don’t see where–”
Then Wilder spotted his last two helpers. The pair of Wildmen emerged from the tree line across the narrow valley, their horses moving at little more than a walk.
Still, from their vantage point, they couldn’t see how close they were drawing to the so-called shift cat.
Wilder cursed under his breath.
Damn it to the six hells of Navishala, he thought. Those two are either going to stumble on that beast and get hurt. Worse they’ll scare it off, and there goes our chance of capturing it!
CHAPTER TWO
THIS TIME IT’S PERSONAL
As two of Wilder’s helpers at the All-Monster Sanctuary, both Patrick and Pendry were among the most useful. Not only were they each strong as a full-grown ox, they were the most familiar with caring for horses and had even delivered foals on their own.
But right now, as the pair emerged on horseback from the tree line across the narrow valley, Wilder saw one of three possibilities happening imminently.
One: The pair of Wildmen would awaken the displacer beast as they drew near. The animal would then flee, leaving him empty handed.
Two: The pair of Wildmen would awaken the displacer beast as they drew near. The animal would leap to its feet and attack, mauling both Wildmen and their horses with claws, fangs, and tentacle pads.
Three: The pair of Wildmen would awaken the displacer beast as they drew near. The animal would leap to its feet, mauling both Wildmen and their horses. Once that bloody job was completed, the so-called ‘Shift’ or ‘Mirage’ cat would flee, leaving him empty handed.
Wilder grimaced.
This does not look good. He tucked away the spyglass and sat up tall in the saddle. He began waving his arms, hoping that the two men would see him.
“What is it?” Quinn asked, as he watched his boss flailing away. “What’s going on?”
“Trying to get Pendry and Patrick’s attention. They’re all but walkin’ right up to our quarry!”
“Maybe I can call to them?” Quinn cupped his hands to his mouth, but Wilder shook his head.
“Hellfire, that’ll wake up the shift cat for sure,” he said. “Try waving at them, maybe the two of us can catch their eye.”
Son of a bitch, Wilder cursed to himself. It’s bad enough that I can’t get aerial recon to find the big game for me. It’s worse not being able to signal or talk with my team over shouting distance. Times like this, I really miss Juma, Billie, and Darwin. Not to mention my old boom truck, helicopter, and radio transceivers!
Quinn paused for a moment, then shucked off his jacket. Then he began waving again with the clothing flopping back and forth in one hand, hoping it would make the movement more visible.
To Wilder’s surprise, it worked.
Pendry tugged on the reins of his horse, bringing it to a stop. He motioned to Patrick, then pointed towards the top of the ridge opposite them. The two waved back enthusiastically.
“Aye, that’s done it!” Quinn enthused. “Now they see us!”
“Yeah, and now what?” Wilder grumped. He nudged Boda’s flanks so that they moved forward a few steps. “All right, here goes nothing.”
Wilder began by pointing down towards the sleeping quarry. Then he raised his arms high and made an ‘X’. Finally, he swept his arms down as if he were waving off an incoming aircraft while shaking his head side to side.
He grinned. Okay, spur of the moment, but that should work. I pointed towards the threat and used all the signals to warn them to back off.
The two Wildmen across from them stared blankly. Patrick turned to Pendry with a puzzled look. They exchanged a few words. Pendry made an all-too-eloquent shrug.
Then he cupped his hands to his mouth, as Quinn had done a moment earlier.
Wilder’s heart leaped into his throat.
Wait a minute! He’s not going to do what I think he’s going to…
Pendry inhaled a big breath, then bellowed COOO-EEEE! The sound, resonating through his cupped hands, echoed like a thunderclap between the two ridges.
The displacer beast went from fast asleep to wide-awake and alert in a tenth of a second. It sat up, limbs coiled like a quartet of springs. A pair of emerald green eyes swept the landscape for threats.
