Pecking, pecking, scratching, tapping, the noises filtered down to us through the shelter, almost like being in a hard rain. This rain however was a rain of beaks, of potentially very intelligent animals. I really just wanted the birds to go away, but the chances of that at this juncture seemed low.
“They're ripping up the shelter!” Chien yelled.
“But why!?” Isha asked.
“They eat ice, particularly the edges of the ice. Maybe they find it easier to take on things that have edges already, and if that's so our little hut is perfect for them. They're probably hungry, and I'd wager they had a good hand in making that crevice.”
“What do we do boss?”
“Pack everything quickly, and get ready.”
I threw up a bubble around us as I dressed, it was cold out there and I didn't want to get a face full of icy wind or have this hut collapse on us. It was fortunate that I did too, as they quickly made a hole in our little home, a pair of eyes peaking through and looking down.
“CAW!?” said the surprised looking bird, peering in at us.
As it did the noise increased, sounding like we were caught in a hailstorm of beaks. There was cracking as bit by bit our shelter collapsed under the weight of the pecking, and I could see them, hundreds, maybe even thousands of the little beasts, munching away at our house.
The ice sloughed away, disappearing into the gullets of the ice crows and piles around what used to be our shelter and Chien looked at me. “Fight?”
“I don't think they're after us, just the ice,” I replied right before one of them started pecking at my shield bubble. “Then again I could be wrong, let me try to be nice first.”
Who knew if the bird-brains thought my shield was just some really hard delicious ice, or if they actually wanted to fight, but I wasn't willing to find out. I started with a pulse, trying to push them back without going too violent.
That was apparently a mistake as the enraged flock cawed loudly before one of them made a strange movement, sending several of it's feathers at us like icy darts. One led to several, led to dozens, led to all of them.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“Alright, no more nice, hit 'em hard!”
Chien and I both let loose a barrage of darts, fire from me, and force from him, all of them striking into the horde and some of the flying irritants. Of course Isha outdid both of us, screaming loudly at them and taking whole sections down. Apparently they didn't have much defense against sound, as wings and beaks simply shattered under the auditory assault.
As I watched one of the ones I'd struck with fire struggled on the ground, bits and pieces of the others attracting to it like iron shavings to a magnet. Seconds passed and it began to form into some unholy frozen abomination.
“Don't use fire!” I shouted.
“You were the only one doing that!” Chien replied.
Several of the beasts I thought I'd taken down rose, excess wings, beaks, feathers, and strangely shaped appendages sticking out of them at odd angles. Of course they could still fly, it was only natural right? As they rose into the air we bombarded the now larger creatures, sending them flapping with waves of sound and physical force.
“Abso-fucking-lutely not!” I screamed as I blasted another as it tried to rise from the ground with the hardest kinetic bolt I could manage, we were not having any more eldritch ice bird abominations here today, that was a hard no.
The battle felt like it had gone on for hours, though realistically it'd probably only been a few minutes when the last living birds decided to retreat, ceding the field to us. Everywhere I looked there were bits of them, feathers and broken bodies littering the ground. A few were still moving, making pained noises as their injuries prevented them from rising. We quickly went about putting them out of their misery, as dangerous or not they were living things and shouldn't be made to suffer needlessly.
“Alright,” I said to my sweat soaked companions. “I vote we get as far away from here as possible before remaking camp.”
“I'll second that,” Isha chimed in.
“Thirded.”
“Good, it's unanimous then. I'd rather lose the sleep than have that happen ever again.”
Even as I spoke I noted the place mentally. Sure I didn't want to risk carrying these monsters away with us now, but in the future who knew? They seemed fairly tame... at first at least, and it might be possible to use them one day. Not today though, as there was no chance I was trying to capture and carry those things off now that they'd been all worked up, even if I had a way, which I didn't.
We fled to the south, hoping to find our way across, agreeing that if we couldn't we'd go back west to get away from here before continuing. As a hope of speeding thing along we all hopped on the sled and I propelled it with magic. The sensation was odd, trying to move something you were on was subtly disorienting, but it was possible. I'd have to note that if I ever wanted to fly properly, which I did one day.
A small murder of the ice-crows followed us at a distance, watching our moves and shadowing from high above. None got too close though, seemed they too realized that we were dangerous and wanted nothing more to do with us. Those that were munching away at the crevice itself were quickly sent into the air as we approached by a series of caws from our escorts. That boded poorly for how smart these things actually were if they were doing something that complex. At least they weren't using tools, yet.
All night and day we traveled, Chien occasionally switching out with me so I could regain mana. We even had to get out and push a few times, but after far too long we found the far end of the canyon and managed to make our way across it. How long had these things been here? How did the ice keep coming back? How many were there? I didn't know, and didn't need to know. All I wanted was to get past this blockade and back to our mission, long though it may be.
Once we actually started moving away the birds only followed us for a bit longer. They could see we were leaving their territory behind, having not attacked any more since our battle, and seemed content once it was clear we wouldn't be hunting them down today.
We even managed to find outcroppings with a good overhang before going to sleep, only having to use snow (decidedly not ice) to form a doorway. All of us were exhausted and as I slept I had nightmares, dreams of hundred foot tall balls of flapping wings and ice bearing down on us with avian hatred. Those alone were enough to make me wake several times in a cold sweat, something my companions seemed to do a few times themselves.