Rep and Zalan made their way across the rocky terrain to the south of Oriton. With the sea to their right, they could see a clearer view of the Port of Oriton the further they traveled away from the city. Zalan was especially vigilant, not having traveled without someone stronger than him before. Rep was watchful, but feeling more at ease than usual.

The path they traveled curved slightly uphill, leading out into the distant curve of rock over water. Peering, Zalan could get a glimpse of what looked like cliffs over the edge of the sea a few miles away from them. Rep was right, it wouldn’t take long at all to reach their destination. He wondered what lay at the top of the cliffs, trying to see if he could spot it from so far away.

“What are we gonna do if we realize we can’t take on whatever monster is up there?” Zalan asked.

“Use the Homeseeker, I suppose,” Rep said nonchalantly.

“But I mean, like, what if it’s an Elemental Dragon?” Zalan asked. “I couldn’t even hurt it when I stabbed it in the eye. And their hide is immune to your Elemental Fire.”

“Again, I would suggest we use the Homeseeker to escape and reassess the situation,” Rep shrugged.

Looking over Rep’s face, Zalan was interested to see it smooth, free from worry lines.

“You sound pretty relaxed about all this,” Zalan noted.

“It feels good to be outside and free, rather than at Ma’s whims. I am also confident in our abilities. We are both capable fighters and can overcome whatever it is in the cliffs that Ma’s men could not. I anticipate that we may not even have to battle with whatever is atop the cliffs. It could be that all we need to do is pluck flowers and stealthily flee without a fight. Perhaps they never thought to run with the prize, instead taking on a monster much stronger than them,” Rep suggested.

“Yeah. That’s a good point,” Zalan said, looking proudly at Rep.

Rep had shown himself how accomplished of a fighter he was in the Elemental Rage Tournament. While not aloof to potential dangers, he was more confident in his abilities to take on any oncoming threat. Zalan was happy to see his friend finally have some conviction in his power.

“Careful,” Rep warned. “Monsters ahead.”

Zalan looked out at the earth ahead of them, rocks dotting the unmarked path, and saw nothing. He tried to scour the rocks for evidence of things hiding behind them, but still saw no signs. He came to the conclusion that the rocks themselves must have been the monsters, like the Giant Gargoyle he had once fought. He looked back at Rep. But Rep was looking upward.

Zalan first thought they were seagulls like he saw on the port. Taking a closer look, he realized the birds were much larger than any animal he recognized. Definitely monsters. They reminded him somewhat of Razortongues, but this time the color yellow. They looked like sickly birds, with disheveled, unkempt feathers all over their large bodies. Their beaks were long and spotted with grotesque teeth. They were swirling aboveRep and Zalan like vultures. Very slowly descending.

“What are they?” Zalan asked.

“Those are Bloodbeaks. As you may be able to tell from their names, their favorite meal is human blood,” Rep said, pulling out his sword. Zalan did the same.

“Should we pass by under them? Or can I start shooting them with lightning?” Zalan asked. He was counting them as he asked the question. Seven of them were spinning overhead.

“We cannot sneak away from Bloodbeaks if they have our scent. And I suspect they are already attuned to us by the way they circle above,” Rep responded.

“So, lighting?”

“Indeed.”

Zalan imbued himself and his sword with lightning first. He was covered in a thin layer of potent electricity. He looked up and pointed out a hand, then released a blast of electricity. It shocked one of the Bloodbeaks, causing it to cry out and spiral downward. It collapsed to the floor, floundering around as it tried to get to its feet.

“Here they come!” Rep said.

Like fighter pilots, the Bloodbeaks came down in a formation, each of them in a nose dive. Rep threw out a column of flame and Zalan combined it with a bolt of lighting. It exploded in the face of the first Bloodbeak, obliterating it. The others came through the smoke unabated. Rep and Zalan held up their swords.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The Bloodbeaks were efficient, each one coming the moment after the last one attacked, giving the fighters very little room to defend. Had Rep and Zalan not been drilled by Nold, they would have succumbed to at least a few cuts and bites. But as agile as they were, they were able to both dodge all attacks and kill two of the oncoming Bloodbeaks. Only three remained in the air and one on the ground, screeching and complaining loudly about Zalan’s original electric blast.

“I almost feel bad killing them. This is pretty easy,” Zalan said, blasting another out of the sky with impunity.

“Do not. They enjoy attacking those that are most helpless. I have heard that their favorite meal is people who are drifting out at sea, unable to properly fend for themselves,” Rep said gravely.

“Oh.”

Zalan didn’t hold back his last two blasts toward the sky birds, the air cracking as it burst with power. They spiraled downward, crashing and dying on impact with the ground.

“Well, let’s try not to get stranded at sea and get…” Zalan covered his face as Rep threw fire right toward him.

Rep redirected the fire, curving it harmlessly around his friend and burning the last remaining Bloodbeak. It was darting toward Zalan, trying to get an easy bite while his back was turned. Zalan gradually untensed, looked up at Rep and then back at the burned Bloodbeak.

“Saved my life?” Zalan guessed.

“More or less.” Rep shrugged.

“Thanks.”

Zalan began to make his way toward the cliffs, but stopped when he realized Rep wasn’t behind him for some reason. Rep was rummaging through the birds, picking around at their innards in search of Artifacts. It had been so long since Zalan was last in search of Artifacts that he didn’t even think about it. He waited patiently as Rep sifted through each of the creatures. To both of their surprise, Rep came up standing with an Artifact in hand.

“A Wind Wand,” Rep said, amused.

“Isn’t that thing worthless? It just makes a light breeze,” Zalan said, remembering the first time he found one in Castle Docrun’s treasure hoard.

“No Artifact is truly worthless,” Rep said wisely. He looked it over with an inquisitive gaze. “But this is about as close to worthless as you can come. Perhaps it will come in handy when we are on the water and need the wind to turn in our favor.”

“Oh yeah, that would be pretty useful,” Zalan agreed.

“Except, of course, a ship’s crew is considered incomplete if there is not an Elemental Air user among them,” Rep shrugged.

“Back to being worthless,” Zalan shrugged as Rep tucked it away.

“How much Experience have you reached now? Close to a new Level?” Rep asked.

Zalan tapped his fingers together to check.

“Looks like I’m at 16.”

“And I have 87,” Rep responded.

“Thirteen points to a new Level,” Zalan said.

“Indeed. It occurs to me to save the Level until we reach the top of the Cliffs of Shadow,” Rep said.

“You wanna gain a Level to take down whatever is up there?” Zalan asked. It was exactly what he had done to take down the Elemental Dragon.

“If I can. Perhaps the explosion that comes with gaining a Level will be enough to overcome whatever it was that a Level 17 fighter could not do,” Rep said.

With that, Rep took the lead and continued toward the Cliffs of Shadow, Zalan close behind. Now that he knew how to look out for them, Zalan could notice Bloodbeaks above them at a distance, circling over prey of their own. Zalan started to consider whether he should be shooting them down at a distance. They were easy enough to kill and gave more than a single point of Experience. It might be a good way to grow stronger and gain more Strength and Wisdom. He had never considered taking time to hunt things and gain Experience like that. He was always trying to complete the next quest to get him closer to home. But maybe higher Levels would be the best way to facilitate a way home.

As he was eyeing them, Rep caught on to what he was thinking and answered the unasked question.

“You can take them out yourself if you like. But keep in mind that it might alert the creatures on the Cliffs of Shadow at this distance,” Rep warned.

“How do we even know that there are creatures on the cliffs?” Zalan asked.

“We do not. I am being cautious,” Rep admitted.

Zalan peered out at the Bloodbeaks, then shook his head to himself. If Rep thought it was a good idea, he would have encouraged Zalan to fight all the Bloodbeaks he could. As for now, he trusted that Rep had a better idea of what to do. He didn’t want to accidentally force Rep’s hand and make him have to gain a Level too early. The act of gaining a Level would be a huge boon in combat if they were totally outmatched.

“I guess I won’t take them on. How much further is it to the cliffs, though?” Zalan asked.

“Not long. Especially considering we have arrived,” Rep said, tapping his foot on the ground confidently.

Zalan looked around in surprise. The area around them looked about the same as it did when they were a few miles out of Oriton. But they had been on an incline for so long that they were in the middle of a massive cliff overlooking the water. A lip of the cliff towered over them on one side, causing it to be completely blocked from the sun and leaving them in shadow.

They could see over the top of Oriton from their vantage point. Zalan smiled at the view. Both the ocean and the town looked incredible from above. The ocean gleamed in the afternoon sun, awash in enough sunlight to look like liquid gold. The town looked like a toy or model city at this distance. Pristine, and too far to be able to see any of the ruffians on the port side.

Rep was picking through what little plantlife he could see on the cliffside. There were a few flowers that he scrutinized with narrow eyes.

“I do not see any Nightbloom,” Rep sighed, disappointed. “We must travel higher up.”

And so they continued up the dark cliffs, anxious to take on whatever lay at the top.