{1}
"Maybe we should just head back," Mia cautioned, looking warily at the dense vegetation that surrounded the three of them. "I'm getting a bad vibe from this place."
"You gettin' scared?" Aaron chuckled.
Though he'd never admit it to his comrades, he too was uneasy about being here. He could feel a... presence that he'd hadn't when they'd cut through this same part of the jungle earlier. It was as though the environment itself was not only alive, but sentient. There was definitely something here.
"Shut up Aaron," she shot back.
"Both of you idiots shut up," Ace hissed. "Keep your heads on a swivel, we don't know what else is out here."
This was true. Despite this region technically falling under their territory, there was still a full scale war taking place and their enemies had proven to be quite crafty. Yorick sent the trio of minions to comb the area and eliminate any concealed wards. They'd found nothing thus far, but...
Ssshing!
Aaron wheeled around to see that Mia had drawn her sword and held her shield out in front of her. Her focus was trained on a family of raptors nesting in an alcove.
"Mia, what the hell are you doing? Leave those birds alone."
She rolled her eyes at him and gestured to the flock of ratites with her sword, saying, "Look stupid. You see their eyes? These raptors have been enchanted."
"By who?"
"Dunno. But they can't stay here."
"Agreed," Ace cut in. He reversed, pivoted, and leveled the barrel of his siege vehicle's cannon at the raptors. "Clear 'em out."