From the bottom of my heart, thank you to my p4tr0ns: Morpheaus, and RTB <3 <3 <3
Become a p4tr0n too and read up to FOUR chapters ahead!:
h t t p s : / / w w w . p a t r e o n . c o m / t r a s h w i t h g l a s s e s
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As we took on the direction of the Rock with Wings and got away from the river, the landscape changed drastically, from a sparsely arborized scenario to a land of reddish sand and rock, and nothing growing taller than withered yellowish bushes that fought dehydration. It was a landscape of grand mesas of escarpment that made me rethink my position in the world, verdant canyons that displayed hope even in such a harsh environment, and barren hills that seemed to extend for eternity.
As I felt warm the breeze move my hair and the sand rolling beneath my boots, my ears perked up.
"Something is coming", I whispered to myself only.
And then, it came. A flying water bird bone!
I jumped just in time to catch it with my mouth before it hit the dirty ground, however, sliding on my belly over the sand. With a sigh, I got back up, munching on the bones and patting the sand that covered my clothes away.
"Dude, you don't need to throw yourself on the ground for a literal bare bone…" Spruce said, throwing me a weirded-out glance, being the one who threw the bone away.
"Coyotes are omnivores!"
"…Forget it", he sighed and continued to walk.
I powdered the bone with my teeth, and ate it all, following after the little person and the awkward swordsman, who awkwardly was examining a map of the region he had done during our preparations. Ike, however, stopped once he got on top of tall hill, his cape stained by the reddish sand all around us wavering on the wind.
"Uhm, well, we should be about two-fourths of the way after we cross… that", he pointed to yet another escarpment, but this time one so big it put to shame anything any nation could build, a giant stone wall that seemed to support the heavens themselves, extending itself to the left and to the right until where the eyes could see. Right in the middle of it, however, a blemish, a crack that from that distance seemed too little.
"So? Why are we waiting here, let's just cross it!", Spruce shrugged and started marching forward.
Ike and I exchanged one tired glance, and that spoke it all.
"You go in the middle, Spruce", I told the little person as I walked behind him, and the awkward swordsman hurried to get ahead of him.
As we approached the fault in the mesa, it seemed to grow in size and was enough to accommodate two or three people side by side, and once inside the path turned into an "s" and into a "z" and into an "N", fine sand on the bottom, and light turning the rock way above our head shinning white. On both sides, the rock walls also had branching paths, and chambers above, and tunnels below.
Then, as we were getting to the tightest path the crack in the mesa, I felt cold the breeze move my hair and the sand rolling beneath my boots, my ears perked up.
"Something is coming" I warned the entire group.
Soon after, the rest of the group members with smaller ears started to hear them too: the scratching noises, and clicking chirpings.
And not long after, there they came: huge red birds with maws filled with teeth instead of beaks, and curved claws bigger than my entire hand on each foot.
They were in a pack, and had encircled us from all sides.
Ike and I gave our backs to each other, and made sure Spruce was safely squeezed in between us.
"Hey! I- I can't even move here! What's- What's going on?!", the little person tried to say, but neither of us moved.
"Raagh!", the closest creature jumped towards me with its long curving claws in its feet. "Ga- Garrrrr…!", I stopped it by creating a pointy stalagmite and letting the creature impale itself on the thing.
There were more of them, however, and from a tunnel to my left another one of the animals tried to bite my leg, but I covered it with stone, and then shot a fireball right onto its face, which quickly scattered across the creature's fluffy feathers.
"Gra gra gra gra gra...!" The beast screamed while retreating back into the tunnel and rolling on the sand, trying to stop the flames from consuming all of its body.
"Gyargh!", Ike screamed, but I couldn't turn around to check on him, for there was still one more of the birds, this one coming from a hollow in the rock above.
"Ike! Are you okay?!", I screamed, conjuring a handful of pebbles, and shooting them towards the jumping enemy.
This one was tougher, or had learned with the previous creatures, however, and instead of falling right above me, it hid behind the stalagmite I created, and then dashed into one of the tunnels that ran beneath my feet.
"I- I am!", the awkward swordsman replied, and it quelled my anxiety a little. But I still couldn't find the damn bird, no matter which hole on the walls I looked to!
"Has it gone away?" I asked myself. Then, my ears twitched. "Beware!", I quickly turned around, and pulled the little person away from the maws of the bird, which was coming from beneath his feat, splashing the sand everywhere.
Instead of having Spruce gnawed at, then I had myself: the teeth sank deep into my right thigh, ripping through my skin, muscle and scratching my femur.
"AARGH!", I cried as the beast almost ripped my leg of trying to pull it to the tunnel beneath. "DIE!", I cried again, but this time pushing my hand into the hole, and conjuring as much flames as I could inside of the place, so much so that fire came off a myriad of tunnels around me.
I immediately felt the grip on my thigh lose down, and I fell on my bum, holding my wounded tight.
"You alright?", Ike asked, holding a scratched right arm. His wound didn't seem to be so deep, but it still dripped blood. "Your leg! Let me take a look", he immediately conjured some herbs, cloth and water, and knelled beside me.
"Thanks", I said, sweating in pain. "What about spruce?!", I turned around. And found the little person staring at us with tightened fists and a puzzling expression.