I had been worried about getting rid of the ogres' corpses at first. Only charred bones and a greasy stain on the ground were left of the big one but the other three were veritable mountains of meat and fat that would soon foul up the air and attract all kinds of attention the harpies probably didn't want. Crows and vultures would probably only be the first and the least troublesome. As the sun rose the next morning my worries were proven unfounded though. Well, no, that wasn't quite right. I had good reason to worry but the harpies decided on a very pragmatic course of action that made all my worries moot. They simply decided to move. I probably shouldn't have been surprised. They were a rather semi nomadic people of hunters and gatherers after all. As far as they were concerned it probably was only natural to pack their belongings and move elsewhere.

I watched on as I tightened the straps of my armor. The sun had barely risen above the horizon but the little settlement had already turned into a beehive. Everyone, even the children as far as I could tell was busy and up and about. Most would pack up their things and head for other nearby harpy settlements. They would spend the rest of the year there and come back next spring. By then scavengers should have taken care of the worst. There shouldn't be much left of the ogres by then. Right now Quu'za was breaking the fangs out of the ogres' jaws. She would accompany us to Caer'zha where she could turn them in to earn some money. There was a standing bounty on ogres after all. Hopefully the money would help her people to recover from the hardships they had to suffer at the hands of the gruesome man eaters.

No money in the world could bring back the loved ones they had lost though. Luckily the harpies took their losses in stride. They had recovered the bodies of their people, or what little remained of them in most cases, and performed their own burial rites, even if that was a little misnomer. They didn't bury them in the earth after all. They didn't build pyres for them either. Instead they laid them to rest on tall stone pillars or in some cases on high wooden frames. That way only ravens and vultures or other flying scavengers could get to them. I was no expert on their customs but as far as I could tell this allowed their lost loved ones to become one with the sky again. A very curious idea, considering that all harpies I knew were flightless.

Someone tugged at my free arm. It was one of Quu'za's younger sisters. The other little one was there as well, hiding halfway behind Khuu'za. Still the little one was peeking at me curiously. I flashed her a smile and she returned it. Khuu'za smiled as well and patted her little sister's head. Then she turned to me again. She handed me a piece of carefully worked leather. “The sheath for your weapon's blade that you wanted.” She looked self conscious. You could tell by the way the large feathers on her arms twitched. “I hope it fits. It is a bit of a rush job after all.” Her little sisters were nervous as well. They probably were the ones who had added the ornamental embroidery to the sheath. Those stitches weren't quite as tight and neat as some of the others but I could still clearly recognize the ornamental patterns.

I nodded. “Thank you.” With great care I lowered my weapon so I could sheath the blade. The three harpies moved away a little as well. They might have seen what the blade had done to the ogres. I sighed with great relief as the sheath slipped on without problem. It fit. At the same time it was loose enough that I could just whip it off with a good swing in an emergency situation. Only when I was done did I realize that my fingers trembled a little. I flexed them once and took a deep breath to calm down. I eyed the sheath once more to make sure it was not suffering from the blade. As far as I could tell all was well. Finally I nodded once more and flashed the three young harpies another smile. “It fits just fine. Thank you for helping me out with it on such short notice.”

I shouldered the glaive again and straightened myself out before briefly ruffling the feathers atop their heads. That took care of some of my worries. It wasn't just the effect on the one ogre I stabbed through mouth and tongue into the brain that had me worried. I had had a look at the wounds of the other one as well and those hadn't looked better. The tissue around the wounds had become necrotic even before the monsters had died and they had died pretty quick. The rot had spread along blood vessels small and large as well. It was quite troublesome. I needed to have the weapon properly analyzed. There was just no way around it with a weapon this dangerous. It was a good thing that we would reach the capital soon. I should have no problems finding capable wizards and crafters there. With a little luck we might even find someone in Caer'zha.

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Well, first we would have to get there. One step after the other. Quu'za approached us. Judging by the bulging pouch at her side she was done with the ogres' teeth. I greeted her with a nod and a smile. Still there was some uncertainty gnawing at me. “Are you sure you want to come with us?” I nodded in the direction of the younger harpies. “What about your sisters?”

She just shrugged. “Khuu'za isn't a little nestling anymore. She will manage.” Khuu'za puffed up a little bit at this sign of confidence. I couldn't help but notice that she was wearing steel claws like her older sister today. The older harpy kept talking while I was distracted. “She will take our younger sisters to another settlement where they can stay with one of our aunts for a while. Everything will work out in the end.”

I nodded reassured. “We should get our things and get going then. Shouldn't we?” Kaele was already waiting for us a little off to the side after all. She still busied herself, playing with her familiar but I didn't want to keep her waiting any longer than necessary. The three younger harpies set off like the wind at my words, even kicking up a little dust cloud. When they returned they had shouldered traveling packs and Khuu'za brought along another for her older sister. As far as I could tell they were traveling with light luggage but they probably knew what they were doing.

The leader of the harpies shouldered her pack as well and looked at me. “Let's go. Let's go!” She jumped from one leg to the other, running on the spot.

I could only smile at this display of enthusiasm. I signaled Kaele to get on her mount and cast Cat's Grace on myself again. Then we were off. Quu'za's sisters ran alongside us for a while before breaking off in a different direction. Then we were running along alone with our harpy guide leading the way. Damn, she was fast. Even under the influence of my favorite spell I had trouble keeping up with her. My gaze wandered heavenwards for a moment. All I could see was blue sky. Fallen trees blocking our path every once in a while where the only thing left still hinting at the storm that had torn at us yesterday. Now there was only a slight breeze. Just enough to make sure we wouldn't overheat anytime soon. We would make good time like this.