Lucas shook his head. “No, I think it’ll be that one,” he said, pointing to Fiddle. “I’m just wondering if you’re going to want to eat the other one at the same time, perhaps like a ritual?” He was attempting to buy time as he tried his best to prepare himself for what had to be done for this quest, all while listening to his inner monologue scream against it. We can get another monster. This is going to ruin my appetite for a week.

“Of course,” Linnaeus chirped. “That sounds wonderful. Here, I’ll extract them for us. I have experience in the matter.” The primate picked up Fiddle’s body by the throat as if it were a cotton-stuffed doll and snapped his neck in the process. He then plucked out each of the eyes in one fluid motion with two of his other hands as if he had just yanked buttons off the same doll. It was a brutal but quick process that very clearly demonstrated exactly how strong Linnaeus was. Then, turning back to Lucas, the creature stuck out one of his hands, offering the eyeball for Lucas to take. “Here you go. I saved the right one for you. It’s always the tastier of the two.”

One eye can taste better than the other? He took the “tastier” eye in his hand without looking down at it, keeping his own eyes focused on the prize: the new addition he was about to get for his dungeon.

“You know, if you don’t want to eat it, and it’s necessary for the dungeon, I will,” Katie offered.

“No, I’m not about to turn down a chance to break bread with a new friend,” Lucas replied, quickly cutting her off. He knew she meant well, but if he didn’t take the eye and eat it, then the quest was a failure. Linnaeus obviously had some trauma from people rejecting him because of his choice in dinner, so even without the quest prompt, Lucas knew how he needed to behave and the words he needed to say.

“Excellent. Now, shall we?” Linnaeus’s tongue flicked out and licked around the edges of his beak as he stared at the eye in his hand, clearly eager to enjoy the flavor.

“You don’t want to bless this momentous occasion, the day my manor gets a chance to welcome a new—” Lucas had started off stalling, hoping to throw several flattering words at Linnaeus while he finished readying himself to eat the eyeball, when out an arrow soared past him, nearly blowing his head off and killing him on the spot.

“What in the—?!” Lucas shouted, looking over to Bonnie.