A Short Story - Part 1
I scrambled hurriedly up the rock face, trying desperately to get away from the bird people chasing me, screeching for my blood. Thanks to the adrenaline coursing through my veins the heavy suit of armour (which I had cursed constantly on the trip up to the nest) no longer seemed to weigh me down.
Or perhaps it was fear.
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Another javelin flew past me. I felt the wind from the weapon fly past my hand. I watched it fly higher and connect with the rocks above me. For a horrifying moment imagined the javelin bringing a small avalanche down with it. Luckily only the javelin came down, bouncing harmlessly off my armour and plunging back towards the terrifying bird-men below.
鈥淚 hope it hits one of them鈥 I thought, grinning. Higher I climbed.
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聽I鈥檇 been sent to the nest of bird-men to capture one of their young. They had often raided nearby settlements, reportedly stealing children in the night.聽The governor of the township had decided to get vengeance on the bird-people, which is why he hired me to steal one of their young in return.
鈥淓asy,鈥 I had stupidly thought then 鈥渋t鈥檒l be just like snatching chicks from a nest鈥
So I suited up and headed towards the hills where their nests allegedly were. They really didn鈥檛 seem such steep hills until I was there.
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BOOM! A portion of the rock face two yards to my right exploded violently. It appears that they have explosives as well. Great鈥
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Getting in to the nest was easy. The bird-people were flightless, so it didn鈥檛 take long to find a path to their nest. Along the way I saw pole with numerous skulls impaled on them. They were mostly human; occasionally a pig or a troll somewhere amongst them. I felt a chill run down my spine as realised that the skulls were smaller than normal鈥 they were children鈥檚 skulls.
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I crept closer to their nesting area, straining every muscle in my body to stop my armour from making noise. The area was empty and quiet. The rest of the dense forest I walked through was buzzing with sounds but here in their nest鈥 nothing. 聽I could see small nests made of twigs and leaves littered across the ground. I silently crept over to one and snatched one of the large eggs out of it.
Then I realised my mistake鈥
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I could feel them pecking at my hands as I tried to climb. Though the bird-people couldn鈥檛 fly the large birds they kept as pets could, and now several of them were viciously attacking me as I climbed. I tried to grab a few loose rocks to throw at them but they were far too agile.
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BOOM! Another, larger explosion rang out directly above me. I used my free hand to try to shield myself from the falling debris. The explosion scared off the flying birds.
I used this opportunity to scramble up onto the small plateau at the top of the hill.
I looked back down at the mob of bird-people amassed at the bottom of the cliff. 聽I grinned again, not realising how dead I would be if they were able to climb that rock face. I thought about the egg again. It shook when I picked it up and it startled me so much that I called out in surprise. As a response to my yelp, a blood-curdling screech pierced the silence in the forest and the bird-people began to creep out from their hiding places. They were all dressed in brightly coloured purple and blue rags; I wondered briefly how I didn鈥檛 spot them on the way in. They began to creep towards me, carefully, waiting for me to flee or attack. I stood paralysed in fear. Their beady eyes were all hungrily fixed on me. Closer and closer they came, I began to imagine I could hear their thoughts鈥 or perhaps I actually could hear them.
We come for you, they thought as they crept, we come and we shall feast.
I stood there entranced by their slow movements and waving purple rags鈥 Perhaps I was frozen with fear. There I stood, helpless, hearing them behind me, slowly shuffling closer.
There I stood as one of them slowly reached out with its long, thin talons to grab my shoulder. I felt its claws find their way around my armour and sink into my flesh while the others closed in around me.
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That was when something in my mind snapped. I threw the egg I was holding at one of the bird-men in front of me and ran as fast as I could. I ran blindly through the thick forest with their loud squawking haunting my every step. I had no idea where I was going鈥 they apparently did though. Occasionally they would jump out at me from the trees or dense bushes, which only increased my panic. At least they weren鈥檛 good runners. Then I came to the cliff鈥
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So here I stand now, looking down upon my pursuers. Their screams ring out across the hills, calling for my blood. I think they want to kill me for breaking their egg, rather than wanting to eat me now. Probably both.
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As I turn to find my way back to the settlement my jaw drops. Before me, a sprawling city reaches out across the horizon, between me and my way home. Gigantic birds fly circles above it as the sun slowly sets, darkening the horizon. So now I have a choice:
Head back the way I came and fight my way through the pack of birdmen below, or sneak through their city praying they don鈥檛 find me.
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I really don鈥檛 like my choices.
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鈥nd I still don鈥檛 have one of their damn eggs.
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-Tob
PS.聽 There's more to come! I am聽making a point with this, so stay tuned or something!
