Bestiary, Book 1

Siege the castle? Not my style. Save the world? Never gonna happen. Create a bestiary business with a group of beautiful yet contrasting women? Now that’s more like it!

One minute I’m in a tree, pointing my camera at a tiger, the next I’m on my back in a medieval fantasy world, while a skittish blonde hovers over me, hoping I’m not dead.

I’ve never felt more alive.

Because although the dutiful smith’s assistant warns me away from the town’s sinful witch, I still have to go. The witch has the only bestiary book in town, and that’s my one hope of a comfortable life—I don’t feel like donning knight's armor.

Turns out, the bestiary is terrible—it's just primitive drawings, annotated by the tall tales of drunken adventurers. I know an opportunity when I see one. It’s a good thing I’ve been transported here with my camera.

If only I knew someone with magic powers, able to transfer film to parchment. Someone like the witch, currently scowling at me. How will she look when I turn her house into a walk-in bestiary?

And how about a scribe to pen beautiful prose beside the photos? The shy smith’s assistant wrote some incredible weaponry advertisements. I can find a few better uses for her.

It’s a shame the girls dislike each other. I’m gonna have to show them they’re more similar than they know. For starters, they’ve both taken a liking to me, and I don’t feel like choosing.