03 - Sycoraptors

“Hey look!” Ishrin said. “A city! We don’t need to waste magic on a ritual!”

They were at the top of a small hill, where no more trees could grow except for only a few blades of grass and tall weeds that still managed to poke out from among the sharp rocks. There was a light breeze, cool and sharp, that swept through the hilltop. It caressed Ishrin’s face, and made Liù hang onto his hair tightly as not to fly away, although he doubted that she could actually be swept away by a wind this weak. The city was a small circle of walls not too far away from here, and inside the walls Ishrin could barely make out the shape of a few houses and stone towers that looked tiny and small from this far. He couldn’t see more of the city, but he spotted a road that snaked out of the city through a large gate and cut through the fields before disappearing into the forest. It was in his general direction.

“With some luck, we will find the city!” Ishrin told the pixie, but the last couple of words were slurry. “I’m a bit tired, I didn’t sleep last night after all.”

Liù flew in circles.

“I know pixies don’t sleep; I know. But humans do, and I am tired.” He laughed. “You will have to bear the boredom of watching me sleep at least once a day!”

The pixie chirped, the sound like the melody of wind chimes.

“I could do a ritual to get rid of sleep if you want. But it’s not cheap, and I am missing a couple of ingredients.” He rechecked the inventory, but found no ingredients of the kind he needed. “How weird. I mean, they are not commonly used but I was sure I had some.” He scratched the back of his head. “No biggie. They should be common enough.”

Liù turned her back to him, arms crossed.

“I don’t know what you meeeean! Do you want me to do it or not?”

No response.

“Okay, you do you. Let’s move out now, hoping that I don’t get lost.”

They descended back in the forest, amidst the tall trees. There was no more wind here, and the silent greenery was immersed in a still air rich of humidity and the smell of healthy decay. It was almost eerie how peaceful it was, and Ishrin took it in with a big smile on his face, walking slowly and without hurry towards where he thought was the city.  Liù was flying beside him, her pout long forgotten as she regarded the forest with wide eyes full of wonder and awe. In her realm, Ishrin knew, everything was made of light. It didn’t make for an interesting sight, especially after centuries spent seeing the same rainbows every single day. He could totally relate.

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Suddenly a loud noise, like an explosion in the distance rocked the still air. The trees shivered, and birds flew off in a ruffle of feathers and falling leaves.

“What’s that?” Ishrin said. “Let’s go see.”

A young girl emerged from the thick of the forest and into the clearing where Ishrin was walking. She took notice of him in her mad dash, and seeing how relaxed he was, her eyes grew wide.

“Run!” She yelled.

He frowned. She was wearing leather armor that was cut and singed in many places, and she was wearing dirty leather pants that missed a whole boot. Bruises and cuts could be seen where the leather was torn and her skin was showing, and the grimace on her bloody and sweaty face all but confirmed that she was running away from something very dangerous.

She stopped suddenly, putting her hands on Ishrin’s shoulders and squeezing him hard.

“What are you doing? Are you crazy? Run!”

Liù was about to snarl at her for touching her master when the reason for this whole commotion suddenly burst through the forest, disintegrating a trio of secular trees with trunks so thick as to look like stone without even slowing down. It approached barreling through the clearing like a runaway truck, kicking up dirt and rocks and it snarled and roared at them, spittle flying out of its sharp maw. The breath was foul and rotten, and it washed over the two like a hurricane wind. The beast, easily five meters tall or more, lowered its huge head to take a bite at them, and swallow them whole.

Liù immediately incinerated it, leaving behind nothing but a charred smoldering flesh statue that was frozen in place like it was made of obsidian. It was not over, however, for as soon as Ishrin tried to walk over to the mysterious girl another creature suddenly cut his path and came to a stop between the two of them. Liu only stared at it with a scared expression on her face, tears welling up at the corner of her eyes. She struggled to flutter her wings but, exhausted, fell and was promptly caught in Ishrin’s hand.

“Don’t worry Liù, I got this.” Ishrin said. “Ever since that traitor of a bunny bit me, I’ve been keeping this thing ready.”

He fished a rolled-up scroll from his inventory. It didn’t look like the other scrolls he had used so far: instead of being old, yellowing rolled up parchment this seemed to be made of glass, with three large gems clearly visible inside it. It was a ready-made ritual, about to go off at a moment’s notice.