Chapter 54: Lizard Missiles & Harpies

We leave the camp at first light and head to the southeast, where a small mountain seems to rise out of the center of the jungle. Spike leads us up a rocky path that sticks to the right side of the mountain without climbing to its peak. Jack and Norman are up front with him while I’m bringing up the rear behind Seira and Celeste.

The orphan crew is entirely silent, and Celeste’s head is constantly moving and looking up at the sky. I can’t sense anything near us on the mountain. Maybe she’s looking out for birds to shoot down? She’d have to be a crack shot to take one down with fire magic.

I start looking around the skies, it’s a beautiful sunny day without a single cloud obscuring the view. Above the peak of the mountain, there is some kind of bird species circling, but even with my enhanced vision, it’s tough to tell what they are. I’m hoping it’s something that tastes like chicken and that they stray towards us.

We walk until the sun is overhead before I sense something moving towards us. Some kind of lizard, I think? It’s crawling up the side of the mountain towards the trail, and it’s the size of a large dog.

“Miss Celeste,” I whisper, and she turns to look at me, “what are those lizard things?” I ask and point down the mountain where the first has appeared.

Her eyes go wide, and she scrambles to the front of the group to inform Spike with a whisper. He turns and sees the lizard as the lizard sees us. It launches into the air like a missile, shattering the stone at its feet and making a beeline for Seira just in front of me. Celeste shoots a ball of fire towards it, but her aim is too far behind its speed.

I step in front of Seira and hold out my sword to intercept its path. The lizard bisects itself and spews purple blood over the rocks and Seira’s cloak.

“No, no, no no no.” Seira panics and spins in a circle as her cloak starts smoking. Spike and Celeste rush towards her as I douse the cloak with water magic.

“It’s fine, Seira,” I say to try to calm her down. The stone that’s covered in the lizard’s blood isn’t smoking - maybe the blood has a chemical that reacts with animal material? Synthetic clothing doesn’t exist here, so most things are animal-based.

“Seira!” Spike reaches her and pulls the cloak from her shoulders. Celeste stands beside him with a terrified expression.

“I neutralized the effect with water, it should be fine to wear,” I say.

The two look at me briefly, then back to Seira, who’s paler than she was yesterday.

“Are you alrigh-“ Celeste starts to ask.

“KREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE”

A cry comes down from the sky above us. The birds from the summit are circling our group. But they’re not birds.

“Harpies!” Spike screams, “Run for the end of the trail!”

The creatures in the air start flying lower and screeching louder.

“KREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

They have wingspans that are double their height and the general form of human females, but their faces are blood red. Five are higher in the air, but two are starting to dive at our front line. They collide with Norman and Jack’s shields with a bang.

“KREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHH!”

I grab at my ears and feel blood running from them. Jack and Norman are huddled under their shields while Spike, Celeste, and Seira are covering their ears in agony.

I put up barriers around my ears and allow magic to pour out without a care for efficiency. The harpies above Jack and Norman whip their heads up to me and open their mouths for another volley of ear terrorism.

“KREEEBURGLUGHBLUB”

I blast streams of water into their faces and make them both recoil. One flies up to rejoin its group while the other bounces off the rocks surrounding the trail. I jump over the orphan crew with sword in hand and swing across my body from left to right, lopping off its head. I swing back from the right and sever its legs, and before its torso falls to the ground, I swing up and down to sever both of its arms.

“Get up and move!” I shout to the group as I stick my sword into the trail at our feet.

Jack and Norman circle back to pick up Seira and Celeste while Spike gets to his feet. Blood is gushing from everyone’s ears, but Spike is quick to get the group in line and start running down the trail.

The harpies are focused on me, and all six are starting to descend. Good thing I’ve got six shots.

I take the dead harpy’s head by the hair and fling it at the lowest divebomber. It strikes her in the face and makes a little red cloud of blood that the injured harpy falls through.

“WHICH SKANK IS NEXT!?” I scream into the sky while amplifying my voice with wind magic and grabbing the dead harpy’s severed left leg.

Huh, it’s pretty toned, weird for a creature that flies.

I throw it overhand at the next harpy, but the odd shape disturbs my aim. It rips through her right wing, leaving a puff of white feathers in the air as she flails and drops to the ground.

“KREEEEEEEEE”

The remaining harpies cry, but stop their advance and ascend back towards the summit. I bend the remaining dead harpy leg over my shoulder and tuck the arms into my clothing, then run to catch up with the group.

The harpies reacted strongly to my magic output.. does sending out magic for detection actually give away the group’s position? The creatures here leave traces of magic all over, but there’s no mistaking what drew their attention.

I need to do more with less. My detection range is limited by how much magic I can keep track of, not how much I can throw from my body. If I can scan the area with less, I can also increase my range..

I reach the end of the trail, and the start of a new section of jungle is just ahead of me. I see Jack, Spike, Norman, and Celeste sitting with their backs against trees while Seira walks between them to heal their ears. I slow down to a normal human speed and jog up to the group.

“Hey, everyone,” I say.

Jack, Norman, and Spike give me a look of horror while Celeste looks like she’s holding in vomit. I walk closer to examine everyone, but they look worse the closer I get.

“Is everyone alright?” I ask.

Celeste looks up at me, her hand trembling in front of her mouth.

“Sio..” she says quietly, “are you planning to eat that?” she asks and points at me.

“Eat?” I cock my head at the question before realizing, “Oh, the harpy parts, no, I don’t. I was using them as projectiles to keep the others off of me while I ran,” I reply.

A collective sigh of relief comes from everyone as I toss the leg and arms back towards the mountain. Seira finishes her healing on Jack and walks over to me.

“Sio, do you want me to heal your ears?” she asks.

“No need,” I reply with a warm smile, “I healed them on the way over here.”

“Oh.. alright then,” she says.

Spike uses the tree behind him to stand up and steps in front of me.

“Beer is on me when we’re back, newbie,” he almost screams at me and pats me on the shoulder before turning to everyone else, “but we should be close to the next camp, let’s get moving.”

We resume formation with Jack shuffled to the rear and walk for an hour before reaching a set of stone pillars in a small clearing. There aren’t any visible structures, but the last camp had something underground. I send magic down to search, and sure enough, there’s a structure. It’s basically the same as where we stayed last night, though the access point is covered in layers of dirt.

“Newbie, we need the pack,” Spike says from the center of the clearing. I drop it in front of him, and he takes out several rolled animal hides.

“Jack, Norman,” he says while unrolling them, “collect sticks for tents and a fire.”

“On it,” Norman says, and Jack nods.

Hmm, there’s still a bit of light left.

“Spike, do you mind if I go for a little hunt?” I ask.

“Alone?” he asks and tenses his face.

“I won’t go far,” I reply calmly.

“It’s your funeral,” he says while shaking his head.

Seira and Celeste watch me as I walk away into the jungle. This area is different from where we fought the piecers. The ground foliage is denser, but the trees here let in far more light. I walk until the camp is at the edge of my detection range, jump onto the nearest tree branch, and close my eyes.

The only time I’ve had to worry about my magic being noticed was around city-staters, but if everything here is sensitive to magic, I need to be better. My normal magic detection blankets an area with particles of my magic that I can sense and control. This gives me an accurate three-dimensional view of what’s around me, but how perfect a picture do I need? How low can the density of my magic be while still allowing me to understand what’s around me?

I scatter the magic detection I’ve kept up and release a small burst of magic particles. The camp is fuzzy this way - it’s like a grainy picture, but I can still pick up everyone’s movements. I push the magic I’ve sent out further and release another small wave. Hmm, it’s weird. There’s some overlap, causing magic to be denser in some areas and scattered in others. Some areas are crystal clear while others are choppy.

I practice for around an hour until I find the right track. A consistent low amount of magic emission nearly doubles my detection range in this dense area. Shapes and outlines are fuzzy or jagged, but the amount of magic coming from me shouldn’t be much more than any creature around. And if I need to draw anything’s attention, I can throw out more.

I drop from the tree and walk further into the jungle. I sense some small creatures poking their heads from burrows that might make a good dinner. I approach the first and make an earth magic pedestal that pops it up into the air in front of me. It’s a tan rabbit with black stripes. I remove its head and jump around to collect two more before returning to camp.

“The chef got fresh meat!” Norman yells as I walk up with three rabbits hanging from my belt. Jack and Spike are standing near the pillars and watching our surroundings, while Norman, Celeste, and Seira are sitting around a fire.

“I told you I get tired of dried meat,” I reply sarcastically.

“So long as you’re not eating harpy..” Celeste says in an uncharacteristic, disgusted tone.

Spike pulls a spell stone from his pocket and inserts it into one of the pillars to create the camp barrier. I avert my eyes to not draw his ire again.

“Took you a while..” he mumbles as he walks over to the fire.

“They’re good at hiding,” I say with a shrug, then walk over to the group pack. I make a show of reaching deeper than Spike did earlier to pull potatoes, carrots, onions, salt, and pepper from spatial storage. I rummage around again to grab the pot that was packed by Spike.

I place the pot over the fire and toss in some fat I kept from cleaning the organs out of the rabbits. It renders into a small layer of oil, and I add the salted rabbit meat still on the bone to brown. I stir until an even color shows on all the meat, then add the onions and carrots. Once fragrant, I chop and add the potatoes, fill the pot with warm water, then sprinkle salt and pepper over top. I stir lightly, then sit back and let the flavors mix on their own.

Everyone’s.. staring at me? Norman, Jack, and Seira are smiling, but Spike and Celeste are giving me weird looks.

“What’s up, everyone?” I ask as my eyes dart around the crowd.

Spike speaks up first.

“We normally just throw everything in a pot with meat and vegetables.. but you had a whole process,” he says, bewildered.

“Aha, no critiquing the chef!” Norman chuckles, and Jack nods in agreement.

“It’s nice to have better food out here, thanks again for coming, Sio,” Seira says with a sweet smile.

“Indeed, it’s been a pleasure, Sio,” Celeste adds in her soothing voice.

“Aha, good food can make you stronger, so I hope this helps with the trip,” I say, somewhat nervously. It’s weird how closely everyone is looking at me. But feeling accepted is nice. Maybe there are hearts of gold under the rough edges of this group.

I’m treated to a series of food moans and slurps as everyone eats their first, second, then third helpings of rabbit stew.

Norman and Seira are sitting next to me around the fire.

“I’m glad everyone liked it,” I say cheerfully.

“We only eat that good after high-paying jobs,” Norman says, “aha, or when we get in trouble and forced to work in kitchens,” he adds while turning to look at Spike, who’s lying in the nearest tent with only his head poking out.

“Argh, don’t bring that up..” he groans, “we were kids who hadn’t eaten in days.”

“Oho, is there a story I’m missing here?” I ask and look between the two.

Norman smiles widely and puts his hand on my shoulder.

“Spike has been with my brother and me for a long time,” he says with fond memories rolling through his eyes, “we met as kids who were rummaging the streets of the Holy City for scraps.”

“He doesn’t need our life story, prick,” Spike says and rolls to face away from the group.

“Sio’s earned some orphan crew lore!” Norman protests, “Listen here, Spike liked stealing fruits that vendors would bring to the city, but my brother and I just couldn’t go without meat – aha, same for you, right?” he asks.

I nod and look at him intently. I'm invested in this story?

“One day, we all walked by an inn that was packed with dinner guests, and oh man, the smells coming out of that place were crazy. We were drooling like animals,” Norman says, “we went around the side of the building, and the kitchen door was wide open – what luck right?”

I nod again and lean closer to Norman.

“I sneak in while Jack and Spike watch the door and try to grab a cutting board that’s piled high with meat – but it’s too heavy. I wave them in to help me, and no sooner do we have it over our shoulders, some hag comes around with a broom and cracks our skulls!” he yells.

Jack stifles a laugh, hearing that part retold.

“The meat went everywhere! And the hag dragged us inside to scream at us and beat us with the broom some more when she stopped and gave us this awful look. She asked, ‘whose idea was this!?’ and Jack the traitor points right at my face!” Norman shouts and shoots daggers at Jack, who’s holding his belly from laughing so hard. Celeste and Seira can’t hide their amusement either.

“Next thing I know, Spike and I are in aprons helping out, while Jack got let go for being honest. The rat,” he says, then chuckles, “but jokes on him, we had real breakfast and dinner for the whole week that lady made us work there.”

Spike groans as the story ends, while Jack falls over from laughing.

“Sounds like you guys have been close for a long time,” I say with a bit of envy before curiosity strikes, “did Miss Celeste and Seira join up with you as kids?” I ask.

“Eh, that’s their story to tell if they want,” Norman says and throws his hands up.

I turn to the two. Celeste is still smiling, but Seira is grimacing.

“Sorry if that’s prying, you don’t have to share anything,” I say to backpedal as my face tightens.

“I’ll share Sio,” Celeste says, “my parents died when I was young, and I hung around a different group of adventurers who worked closely with the church, but they died on a mission a few years ago, so I joined up with Spike and the others,” she adds, calm as ever.

“Ah, I’m sorry to bring up those memories,” I reply solemnly and stare into the fire.

“It’s fine, I don’t remember my parents, and I’m honoring the people who raised me by continuing their work for the church,” Celeste says with a gentle smile.

We smile at each other for a moment when Seira speaks up.

“I can share too,” she says quietly, “I discovered I could use healing magic when I was really little,” she adds, and takes a deep breath.

“My mom was raising me on her own, but she didn’t come home from her job in the market one day so I went out to look for her,” Seira says in a cracking voice, “I ran around until dark, eventually I started looking in back alleys where I wasn’t supposed to go, but that’s where I found her, with a knife stuck into her stomach.”

Seira closes her eyes tightly as she remembers the image.

“I thought it was fine, because I can use healing magic. I pulled the knife out and worked my magic so hard it felt like I was on fire,” she says while trembling, “but it wasn’t enough, and I passed out while trying to heal her. Someone from the church found me in that alley and put me in a program they have for healers.. but I wasn’t good enough, so they kicked me out,” she adds as her breathing and body steady.

“I registered as an adventurer and ran into Spike right after that. I’ve been in the orphan crew ever since,” Seira says as she turns her watery eyes towards me.

“I’m sorry for bringing up something so painful, Seira, but I’m glad you found Spike,” I say with a slight frown on my face.

Spike pipes up from his tent and rolls to face us at the mention of his name.

“Oi, if you’re going to make the kid remember something so terrible, you better share too,” he says.

“Fair enough,” I reply and run my eyes over everyone, “I grew up on the southern continent, and I still live there most of the time, but all I’ve ever cared about is swinging my sword around, hunting and cooking whatever I manage to get,” I add with a shrug.

“That’s it?” Spike asks curtly, “No great story of suffering in poverty or life of riches as a noble?”

“Spike-“ Seira starts to interject and sighs.

“It’s fine,” I say and lift my hand to cut Seira off, “I do come from a noble family, but I’ve been disinherited, so I can live how I please now,” I say with a smirk.

“Whoa.. so you had it all and lost it?” Spike asks and gives me a sad look. Even Jack looks upset at my words.

“Sort of, I asked to be disinherited since being an heir comes with so much responsibility..” I explain while scratching my cheek.

“You what!?”

“Are you insane!?

“Interesting..”

Spike, Norman, and Celeste respond with a level of surprise.

“It’s not that weird!” I protest, “My Father has spent most of his life in a little office reading reports from governors and playing political games with other members of the nobility.”

“Yea and he did that from a mansion, didn’t he?” Spike retorts.

“Well.. yes,” I reply quietly.

Spike scoffs and flips onto his back to look up at the sky.

“You might be the dumbest person here.. giving up an easy life for something like this,” he says softly.

Celeste turns her head from Spike to me.

“I think it suits you, Sio. You don’t belong in an office,” she says.

“I agree,” Seira says with a bounce.

The rabbit dinner party fizzles out there, and everyone turns in for the night.