chapter two! I almost forgot I was going to post this today, but never fear, I remembered! I hope you guys liked the first chapter, and will enjoy this one as well. I do not have a plan for how long this story will be, I'm trying to write more, but I'm at a little bit of a block. Please let me know what you think! and thank you to the guest who reviewed this!

-owl

"I am Tarik," the man said as he entered the room and closed the door. "I imagine that you are confused about what has happened."

Footsteps could be heard receding from the door. They were likely from the young Greencloak who had not followed Tarik into the room.

Rollan sized him up. By looks alone, Tarik was someone he would not trust on the streets. But, he wasn't on the streets right now. "I appear to have summoned Essix. I'm not sure what is so confusing about that."

Tarik raised his eyebrows. "You don't have any questions about the fact that you summoned a Great Beast?"

Rollan shook his head. "I've learned to roll with the punches."

The tall Greencloak sighed softly, but didn't acknowledge the comment other than a quick flash of pity crossing his face.

"You will accompany myself and Lumeo back to Greenhaven." It was a statement, not a question.

"I thought I had the option to go to an orphanage. Besides, what if I don't want to be a Greencloak?" Rollan was confused now, his options had been to join the Greencloaks or go to an orphanage. Emphasis on options.

Tarik shook his head, as he did so, the otter leapt from his neck and scooted around the room, Essix watching the smaller animal as it moved. "You summoned Essix —"

"State the obvious, why don't you?"

"— And I highly doubt that someone like you would wish to return to an orphanage." he carried on as though Rollan had not interrupted him at all.

Tarik was smart, Rollan would give him that. But could he give his freedom? "What if I don't wish to join the Greencloaks?" he asked again.

Tarik tilted his head slightly. "I suppose you wouldn't need to take the vows if you truly don't want to," he said. "But the truth of the matter is that we — the Greencloaks — need your help."

"My help?"

Tarik nodded. "Your help. We fear that the Devourer is back. Our seer, Lenori, could tell the Great Beasts were going to be returning to the world. She saw you, Rollan, summoning Essix. She has also been having visions of an evil rising, led by the Devourer. If the people of Erdas saw you aligned with us, even if not having taken the vows, it would do wonders for the war effort."

Tarik paused to take a breath before adding his finishing statement. "You don't need to take the vows, Rollan, but we need you."

"Give me a minute to think first," Rollan said.

From what he could gather, they wanted him to be their poster boy. Tarik seemed to be ready to offer him anything to get him to go with him. This was a big decision.

On the one hand, going with Tarik would give him a few perks. There would be no orphanage he would need to go to, and things such as food and shelter and clothing would likely be provided for him. After all, they couldn't run the risk of their precious poster boy not looking the part. It would be nice to have food that was (hopefully) better than what was served at orphanages, or the things that Rollan had scrounged from the trash. A room to call his own would be nice, and it would likely be better quality than any of the crowded rooms at the orphanages.

However, on the other hand, going with Tarik could mean being kept in Greenhaven and never allowed to wander, therefore losing his freedom. That was the one thing he could not give up; being able to move about as he pleased. Rollan also felt that while Tarik had been incredibly forthcoming with information, there was still something that hadn't been disclosed.

"What do you think?" Rollan asked Essix, muttering to the falcon on his shoulder. Great, now he felt incredibly foolish for talking to a bird. What kind of nut job spoke to a bird?

Essix stared at him unblinking, then took off from his shoulder and landed on Tarik's. She cast her lot with the Greencloaks, it seemed.

"I guess we'll come with you, but I'm making no promises about becoming a Greencloak," Rollan said. "I'm assuming we will begin traveling right away?"

Tarik nodded and led him from the room. Essix took off from his shoulder and flew along with the pair. Lumeo scampered along behind them. As soon as they were all out of the room, the door slammed shut with a loud crash, the sound echoing through the hall.

Tarik clearly knew his way through the hallways of the city hall building. Even though the building was nearly maze-like, there was no trace of hesitation in his step. Rollan was reasonably sure that he could have gotten out of the building if it was a life or death scenario, though he was quite glad he wasn't the one currently navigating. Just in case .

Outside the city hall, two horses were tied up on the hitching posts. Both were tall and slim mares, their shoulders the same height as the top of Rollan's head. One of them was bay except for its nose which was black like its mane and tail. The other was light gray with brown spots, neck, head, mane, and tail.

After untying the bay, Tarik mounted it with ease, and with a soft flash of light, Lumeo was no longer on the ground and a tattoo appeared on his shoulder. The horse looked up once, but didn't otherwise seem to care that it now had a rider.

This was the first time Rollan had ever ridden a horse. Truth be told, he was nervous about it. Animals had never seemed to get along with him, and with an animal that was much larger than him, Rollan really didn't want this to go badly. Maybe this would be the time an animal didn't hate him.