12 – Feathered Friends

“Well, that’s a little frightening,” Bea said, holding her lantern higher and peering at the bloody tracks.

“Think it—er, maybe they are further down the tunnel?” Bella asked.

Andy shook his head. “Not sure. Let’s go have a look.”

Bella pointed toward the shredded black cloth with her spear. “So, whatever it was took the sword?”

“Yeah.” Andy frowned. “Guess that rules out animals.”

“Unless it’s a giant packrat…” Bea shook her head, adding, “No, actually, I can’t think of any mammals that only have three toes.”

Andy’s eyebrows lifted as he realized she was right. “Holy shit, that’s a good point.” He tried to think of what sorts of animals had three toes on their hind feet, and he came up blank.

It was Bella who asked, “Birds?”

Andy whirled to face the length of the tunnel leading down toward the waterfall. “That would explain how it got in here.”

“We should get the others,” Bella whispered.

“I dunno. We left them to watch our backs for a reason. We might be wrong—there might be nothing down here. I mean…birds? Why would a giant bird take a sword?” Andy looked at the tracks, shaking his head. “No, I guess it wouldn’t be a bird. That doesn’t look like a bird print, but maybe a mutated bird or…”

“Person,” Bea finished for him.

Andy nodded, gesturing down the tunnel. “It’s not far. Let’s just take a look.” No one objected, so Andy started forward and reached the first bend in the tunnel before pausing and turning back to Bea. “I still need your light, but let me get ahead a ways. I’ll scout.”

Bea nodded, and Andy slipped around the corner, but not before opening his mana flow and activating Unseen Stalker. The light faded as he pulled away from Bea and Bella, but his eyes adjusted, and he could make out the curves of the tunnel as he worked his way down and around. After just a minute of walking, he faced the long straightaway toward the waterfall. The moonlight flickering on the falling water was vivid in the dimness, and against that backdrop, Andy saw something bulky and noticed a faint movement.

He crept forward, but only made it a few steps before the wind shifted—a gust blew into the tunnel, and he caught the stench of something that reminded him of a hamster cage. It was an animal scent—musty and sharp, with a hint of rotting carrion. When Bea’s light began to pour around that last bend, gradually illuminating the far end of the tunnel, he recognized what he was looking at. It was a huge nest, built from mesquite branches, greasewood boughs, and grass.

The thing he’d seen moving was feathered, like a bird, but Andy saw unmistakable human flesh mixed in with those feathers. As he stared, the thing twitched, murmuring a soft warble in its sleep, and he caught a glimpse of its face. Sure enough, it had human-like eyes, but beneath them sprouted a sharp, hooked beak. Andy was just getting ready to turn and tell Bea and Bella to stop before the light gave them away, but then the thing’s eyes sprang open, and it leaped up, spreading brown-feathered wings.

As it stood, exposing its chest, it became abundantly clear that the creature was a female. As it danced toward the waterfall, Andy thought it would leap out and fly away, but it began to prance and pump its wings, cooing and warbling a strange song, peering out through the falling water. Andy looked over his shoulder and saw Bea and Bella staring with wide-eyed amazement. The older woman had a good head on her shoulders, though, and she’d tilted her lantern so the light shone mostly on the ground in front of her.

Andy looked back at the bird-woman, and it soon became evident what she was dancing about—another creature like her splashed through the falling water, landing in their huge nest with a squawk, and dropping its burden—a bloody human woman. “Craw!” it cried, grasping the woman’s ankle and lifting her high like a trophy.

“Craw!” the first bird-woman screamed.

“She’s alive!” Bea hissed, but her attempts at secrecy didn’t matter; the second creature had seen the light of her lantern. It dropped the woman, picked up a sword—unmistakable as it glinted in the light—and stalked up the tunnel, talons clicking on stone. Andy immediately knew the creature hadn’t spotted him. Its eyes were focused on the light, and Andy was on the edge of the tunnel, his shoulder brushing the stone.

He watched the bird-woman approach, sword held forward, point up. It didn’t look like an animal, wielding that sword; it looked like a bird-like woman who knew what she was doing. Andy pressed himself against the wall, waiting to see if it would spot him, but it didn’t. Looking over his shoulder, he could see Bea slowly stepping back, while Bella pressed forward, spear ready.

“Squaw!” the creature shrieked, and, right in front of Andy, it bunched its knees, getting ready to spring. Meanwhile, Andy’s eyes were drawn to several points on its body—the soft spot under its ribs, the inside of its feathered thigh, the crook of its neck, and a spot near its armpit. He knew he was looking at perfect critical strike locations. He vacillated for a second. This creature might have intelligence, but it was violent and had been about to share a human feast with its…partner? If he wanted to reason with it, could he? Could it even speak?

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All Andy could be sure of was that the bird-woman was about to attack Bella and Bea, and he had a perfect shot. He took it. Grimacing, he angled his spear and drove, pushing off the wall to increase his leverage. He slammed the long, smoke-clad length of his spear blade into the soft crease of the bird-woman’s armpit. It squawked in shocked surprise, dropped the sword with a clang, flapped its wings, and leaped straight up, slamming into the low, stone ceiling.

The wings buffeted once…twice…and then it fell to the ground, thudding softly as it twitched, streaming dark smoke. As a pool of blood, gleaming in the lantern light, slowly expanded around its feathered body, Andy stared for a second, holding his spear steady. Then rapid clicking and an outraged squawk broke him from his momentary trance. He yanked his spear free, spinning to face the other creature.

He barely got the point of his spear up in time before it leaped at him, beak-first. Andy thought he could menace it—get it to back away—but it was clearly enraged, all thought gone from its wild eyes as it charged into his spear, pecking at the shaft as the sharp point drove home into its chest. Eyes wide, fingers white from the strain, Andy watched as his caustic smoke poured into the deep wound, and the bird-woman coughed a gout of ash, thrashing in wild agony.

Andy pulled his spear back, ready to drive it home again, but Bella flew past him, screaming a guttural war cry as she stabbed her spear into the bird-woman’s throat. As the creature fell, Bella pressed forward, holding her spear haft under an arm, putting her weight on the weapon to ensure the bird-woman didn’t rise.

As the second creature fell still, Bea came near, and light fell on the bloody scene. Andy turned toward the older woman, but the Water Witch didn’t have any intention of stopping or talking to him. She hurried past, aiming for the bird’s nest. Suddenly, it clicked, and Andy said, “The woman!”

“I’ll check her!” Bea said, hurrying toward the tunnel mouth.

Bella pulled her spear free of the bird-woman, and then the System hit Andy with some notifications:

***Congratulations, Andy! You’ve slain a pair of harpies! You and your companions have managed to drive out a potential monster infestation! You’ve advanced to level 2 in your Brimstone Stalker class and earned further experience toward level 3! For your efforts, you’ve gained an Improvement Point and learned a new class spell: Smoke Sight.

Smoke Sight – bound: By drawing on the essences of smoke and shadow, you veil your ordinary sight and replace it with one attuned to subtle traces of heat and motion. In darkness, outlines and shapes become visible as drifting wisps, and living or warm objects glow warmly, while cooler objects radiate in darker shades. While active, you can navigate and identify creatures and hazards even without conventional light. Mana Cost: 5 per minute.***

“Yes!” Andy couldn’t contain his relief as he read the new spell, pumping his fist in the air. No longer would he have to rely on someone else’s light as he stalked in the dark.

“Level?” Bella asked, looking up from the sword she now held in her hand.

Andy opened his mouth to reply, but Bea shouted, “Help!”

Bella’s eyes widened, then she turned and ran toward the nest—sword in one hand, spear in the other. Andy was right behind her, and when they arrived, it quickly became evident why Bea had yelled—the wounded woman was face down in the nest, head buried in feathers and damp wood shavings that looked almost like mulch.

Andy grabbed her around the waist and pulled, while Bella and Bea each took one of her arms. As Andy stumbled back and fell, the others lowered the woman more gently, laying her onto her back on the tunnel floor.

“Open her mouth, Bella!” Bea reached into her coat and took out a small bottle—it looked like a vanilla extract bottle to Andy. Bea unscrewed the cap, and he watched as she drizzled the contents into the woman’s mouth. As she swallowed and murmured slightly, he realized he recognized her.

“She was one of the people who tried to ambush us that night,” he said, looking at Bella.

“You mean with the horses?”

“Yeah.” Andy glanced at the nest. “Weird coincidence, maybe, but she was the one with the pet owl that was spying on us.”

Bea clicked her tongue, gently rubbing the woman’s forehead. “Poor thing.” She looked at Bella and Andy. “You’re not allowed to kill her—not after I used my magic to save her!”

Andy recoiled. “What? Why would I kill her?”

“You said she was part of an ambush!”

Bella smiled, reaching over, gently smoothing back the older woman’s mussed white hair. “Relax, old lady. We’re not at war anymore, are we?”

Bea slapped at her hand. “Young lady, if you keep that up—”

“Who are you?” the woman asked, blinking up at Bea, and following the words with a soft, wheezing cough.

Bea put her hand on the woman’s forehead, and as her coughs subsided, said, “We’re friends, sweetheart. Do you remember what happened to you?”

“Um…” The woman looked around the dark tunnel mouth, blinking at Andy and Bella when she saw them. Her forehead creased as she scowled in confusion. “I was hiding out…” Suddenly her eyes flew wide, and she cried, “A giant bird! It grabbed me—Cheechee! My owl!” She struggled to stand, pushing herself into a sitting position and scrabbling to get her knees under herself.

“Relax, child,” Bea said, trying to hold her shoulders—still marked by the harpy’s talons, but no longer bleeding.

“Your bird’s not here,” Bella said, leaning on her spear as she watched the woman struggle.

“What’s your name?” Andy asked, trying to remember what he’d heard when he’d been spying on the ambush party. He remembered seeing the woman near the leader, answering his questions. “Starts with a B, right?”

Bella cocked an eyebrow, snorting softly. “Another one?”

The woman stopped struggling to stand, perhaps realizing she didn’t have the strength for it, and looked up at Andy, her eyes narrowing. “Do I know you?”

“Nah, but I know some people from your settlement. Lydia’s here right now.”

The woman’s scowl relaxed, but she looked even more confused. “Wait, what? Lydia? The uh, blacksmith chick?”

Andy tilted his head. “Did you miss the election? When’s the last time you were at Construction City?”

She rubbed her head, running her fingers through her short blonde hair. “It’s been…days, I guess. I didn’t want to go back.” She looked at Bea, then Bella, and Andy again. “Are you sure you haven’t seen a great horned owl? His name’s Cheechee.” She peered toward the tunnel opening. “I’m Bree, by the way.”

“Oh no!” Bella slapped Andy’s shoulder. “Andy, she can’t join the B-team. Bea and Bree?”