Heidi
We went towards the gate and saw some of the people running towards us to get away from the fighting. “This is a terrible idea.” I felt like a lamb going to the slaughter as I was forced to move to a jog to keep up with the rest of the group. We reached the doors that were closed when we arrived and saw that there was a seven-foot-tall hole busted where the two doors met. “Seems like a bit of overkill.” I thought as I caught sight of the attackers.
There were five enemies that I could make out. They stood an average of five feet and below the neck, they had the same basic structure as any normal human. The arms and legs were a glossy black color and appeared to be covered in small feathers. The build of these creatures was thin and topped with bird-like heads. Foot-long beaks extended from the heads the color of bone. In the short time that I surveyed the scene, the defenders defeated one leaving only four. The last of the attackers saw us come into the area and began to retreat through the hole. “Finally, something went right and we don’t even need to fight.” The thought flashed through my head, and I audibly groaned before the prompt even appeared.
[Quest: Track down and defeat the attackers before they can return to their base]
“Of-freaking-course! There is a quest that forces us to fight instead of enjoying the victory.” Me and my big freaking mind. I looked over at Janet and she was shaking her head as the boys were already moving forward. “Guess we go with them?” I asked while internally hoping she would call me crazy and tell me no.
“Guess we don’t have much choice,” Janet said through a sigh as she started walking. “I should have played more games apparently.”
Dax and Aiden stopped at the hole in the gate and waited for us. “They aren’t running very fast.” Dax was pointing at the receding backs of the birdmen
“And they are leaving quite the trail.” Aiden gestured to the path of broken branches and cut bushes that marked their route. “I saw we follow but let them tire themselves out.”
Dax shrugged and we left the safety of the compound. “I already hate this. The heat is even worse in this armor.” “There had better be baby powder here.” I walked into the back of Janet, whom I was following. She had stopped to turn and look at me.
“What did you say?” Janet was looking at me with a mix of confusion from my rambling and annoyance from being plowed into.
“Heat, leather, chaffing.” I pointed at the sky, then lifted the shoulders of my armor, and then gestured at my thighs. “I said I hope there’s baby powder here.” The look of awe followed by laughter and a shake of her head told me that Janet was not impressed with my reasoning. A few minutes passed and I decided to try connecting with her on a more basic level. “So, I spoke to Urdo about the.” I paused trying to think of how to speak delicately. “The monthly sanitation situation.” I blushed as I spoke. I am used to being around mostly guys, so this kind of conversation did not come naturally to me.
“Oh god. Please tell me they have something here. I do not want to have to deal with period cramps on top of everything else.” Janet didn’t seem nearly as embarrassed, which made me a little envious.
"I guess they have some primitive options, but they haven't focused on that because after your constitution score hits 15, it doesn't come anymore." I pulled my screen up to check where I was.
“WHAT?!” Janet stopped in her tracks and grabbed my arm turning me to look at her. “Are you telling me we get sterilized?” Anger and fear twisted her face as she stared at me.
“No no no.” I backed away slowly as I spoke, “It has something to do with your body not working unnecessarily and not having the dead layers to lose.” I was looking at my feet by the time I finished speaking, trying to avoid her wrath. “This is not a conversation I want to have. Why do I keep opening my big mouth.”
Janet relaxed as she let go of my arm and realization set in. “I might learn to love this place!” She laughed and looped her arm through mine, steering me and forcing me to walk faster to catch up to the boys.
“What’s taking you two so long?” Aiden looked back smiling as we caught up.
“We were talking about periods and how to handle the cramps and the blood” Janet gave me a sly smile as she spoke, and Aiden's face turned so red I thought Michael mixed up and gave him the fire affinity. Dax overheard and shook his head laughing at the antics. Janet leaned in to just whisper in my ear. "That one is going to be fun."
We had been walking for what felt like hours and the sun was setting. We could easily see three moons coming into the sky from 3 different directions. The four birdmen we were following had stopped and a fire could be seen as the light went away.
“Let’s stop here,” Dax pointed at an area just off the path that had fewer trees and shrubs. "I will try to get a fire going. Heidi can get some water. Janet, look for something that seems edible and Aiden, help me get some wood."
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Who made you boss? And also, why not have me do the fire and Aiden look for water?” Janet crossed her arms and stared daggers at Dax after he split up the tasks.
"I figured you probably had better attention to detail, so maybe you would spot something poisonous before the rest of us. Also with your time on the internet, I was hoping you picked up on some kind of saying or tip for food in the woods." Dax raised his hands as he spoke as if surrendering. "I also figured a pampered guy like Aiden could get wood just fine but looking for water might be a bit beyond his skill set currently.”
Aiden looked like he was about to defend himself before closing his mouth and nodding. “At least he knows his limits. He might not be a complete moron after all.” I looked at Janet who was visibly deflating after hearing the reasoning. "Shall we go?" I put my hand on her shoulder and nodded towards the woods trying to give her a way out of the conversation. Genuinely interacting with people has never been my strong suit. I could smile and be nice for the five seconds it took to get someone on a ride, but this was way beyond my interpersonal skill level.
With a smile and a silent mouthed “thank you” Janet turned and marched off on the hunt for something to eat.
“What if we don’t find anything?” My fear was mounting as I realized the tea was the only thing we had to eat or drink since we arrived.
“I haven’t even felt a little hungry or thirsty since the mad hatter’s tea party.” Dax looked at the sky and laughed. “Didn’t you feel that funny energy flood your body while we drank?”
The content feeling returned as I remembered the way the tea made me feel. “Magic tea! I could have used that as a traveling carnie.” I nodded, keeping my wandering thoughts to myself. “Alright, be back soon.” I disappeared into the woods trying to figure out how I would even begin to look for water.
I stumbled around in the woods for 20 minutes without any luck. “Maybe I listen for bubbly sounds or splashes or..” My mind was trying to play every scene from every movie that depicted water at once. To say it wasn’t helpful would be an understatement. “Waterfall maybe. But that would need a cliff. This land is very flat it seems. I bet it would be a fun place for a haunted house. Oh god, there could be so many killers hiding out here at night." I shuddered as the thoughts turned even darker in my head. I should not have been such a big horror movie fan. I wrapped my arms around myself. Every small noise caused me to jump a little and turn my head quickly. My neck had started hurting and I had to convince myself I was paranoid. After another ten minutes of inattentive searching, I decided I had scared myself enough and started to head back to camp. That is when I heard a stick crunch, and my world went black.
I groaned as I slowly sat up, the back of my head was sore and my whole head was throbbing. I looked over to my side and saw Dax on his knees with his hand raised, both of his weapons sat at his side on the ground as if he dropped them when he raised his hands. In front of his neck was the tip of a sword. I let my eyes follow the tip back along the blade to the bird creature holding it and then his other arm. The second arm reached out holding another sword, and as my eyes traced down the blade, I realized it was pointing right at me. “Shit!” I almost screamed and jumped while my hands shot into the air to mimic Dax.
As we sat there, Aiden marched back into camp with his arms full of wood he had collected. He stopped next to the shield he had left lying on the ground. “Drop the wood and hands up!” Aiden complied with the screechy voice that gave the order. The smaller creature must have been obscured by the dimming light and Aiden’s bigger body.
“Well, it wasn’t fun while it lasted.” I silently wished I was back with those kids I hated so much as I prepared to meet my end.
Janet
I started heading back towards what was hopefully a camp by now. I was just about to shout out about how there was still no fire when I caught sight of Aiden with his hands up, one of the birdmen stood behind him with a spear pressed into his back. Dax and Heidi were on their knees and a second enemy was holding two swords leveled at their necks. It didn’t appear as though anyone had been hurt yet, but it was clear that wouldn’t last long.
As best as I could, I tried to sneak up from behind the birdmen. They were talking to themselves in low tones, and both looking out towards their camp so it shouldn't have been that hard, but I was also used to carpeted floors and slippers, so it took more concentration than I anticipated.
I lined up almost directly behind the one with the spear and took a deep steading breath before acting on my terrible idea. I was going to try to use the length of my weapon to eliminate both with a single move. I channeled all the self-defense videos I had seen online and made my move.
In less than a second, I swung the weighted end of my chain dart at the one holding the two swords and it hit him in the head. “Yes! Perfect aim!” I silently praised myself as I lunged at the spear wielder with the dagger. He was alerted to my actions when he saw the hit and heard his partner’s pained grunt. The reflex to turn meant his spear was not pressed against Aiden’s back anymore. It also meant that my aim was off, and my dagger slid over his arm leaving barely a scratch. “Well, so much for perfect aim,” I thought as pitch black eyes locked onto me. I was expecting the spear to come for me, but Aiden had moved fast and was slamming his shield into the spear birdman. The force of the shield and lunge of Aiden cause them both to fall to the ground, pinning the creature under Aiden who tried to punch it.
“Ow, what the…” Aiden cried out as his fist bounced off of the white beak and I dropped to my knees. I didn’t hear the last of his sentence though as I focused on driving my dagger home into the enemy’s skull.
“Well, that sucked.” Heidi was leaning on her bo staff looking down at the dented skull of the second attacker.
“Yep.” Dax barely managed to say as he fought to catch his breath while pulling his kamas from the chest of the same birdman.
“Oh, Hey!” I perked up as a system prompt appeared.
[Name] Janet Vicario
[Level] 2
[Race] Human
[Strength] 6
[Agility] 6
[Endurance] 7
[Constitution] 7
[Mind] 9
[Stat points to distribute: 2]
“Two to constitution thank you very much! Going to solve at least one problem if I can help it.”