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LEUR: The Unsung Tales
Chapter 3: The Vesper Woods Skirmish

Chapter 3: The Vesper Woods Skirmish

Hope's blade rings through the air, carving a nasty gash through one ostrich as another charges, its thick wedged face burying in her shield with a heavy 'clang'! She shoves it back. "Not today!"

From above launches a bolt, catching the poor beast in the neck. "Thanks for keeping em distracted!" Tyrion shouts, loading another bolt and preparing for a second attack.

Anna clutches the orb around her neck, a radiant flame blazing from the sky to strike one of the ostriches in the back. "Ha!" She beams proudly before realizing there's still others and backing behind a tree.

Amadeo readies a spell as two more of the angry turkeys bear down on him. There's a crackle like a brewing storm, and the wizard unleashes a wave of thunder that blasts them backward. The thunderous boom echoes all around, startling the birds temporarily before they renew the fierce defense of their nests despite the might of their foes.

Hope sighs. "Come on, just give up already!" She raises her shield and stabs around it at one of the birds as they close ranks. "It's only a matter of time anyway." The bird squawks and jams it's beak into the shield, using leverage to wrench it away from the devilkin.

"Gotcha covered!" Another bolt rings out and the beast falls. The last three males squawk at each other as if deciding their next move, before the sound of stomping announces the arrival of the females, bloodied and bruised from their hunt but otherwise still ready for a fight.

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"Amadeo, you've got this, right?" Anna pops off another shot of glowing force into the face of one of the males as the females prepare to charge the attackers.

Amadeo weaves a thread of arcane energy and releases it into the air. A glittering shimmer comes to rest on the collection of adult birds, and one after another, they collapse into the dirt. "Targets ensnared", the wizard responds with a sigh of relief, leaning back against a tree.

"Good job! Now what do we do with em?" Hope moves closer to get a better look at the beasts.

"Maybe we should get someone to come collect them." Tyrion offers, coming back down from the tree. "On the other hand, maybe not. There's alot of them, and they're so aggressive."

"We did show up unannounced and proceed to attack their nests. I'd probably punch someone who ran into my house and started throwing things at me too." Anna shrugs, looking around the nests curiously.

"They could be moved to a better location, allowing the population to drop to more manageable levels. " Amadeo suggests, scratching his chin. "I agree with the initial assessment to not do more harm than necessary."

"So how many can we allow to live?" Tyrion frowns, counting the still living adults. "Eleven? Twelve? Will that be enough or too much?"

Hope sighs. "I dunno. Now that we've actually faced them, I fully admit I wasn't certain what we were getting ourselves into."

"This isn't right... Lemme try something." Anna reaches into her pack and removes a potion vial with a muddy liquid. She gives it a little shake, a small feather floating amidst the goop before she pops the cork and gives it a chug.