by Tamryn Tamer
“I suppose that’s nice,” Frost grumbled while thinking that it had been a full twenty-four hours since the last time that he was completely dry. “Let’s get things set up then.”
CHAPTER 4
Priscilla’s previous approach must have made the harpies more cautious because they didn’t arrive until after three in the morning.
Frost kept his distance while maintaining invisibility, an ability he learned from Slade in exchange for allowing him to stay in the village. It was surprisingly time consuming to learn since it required mastery of various light and dark spells but it was well worth the effort. The spell essentially bent the light around him while simultaneously preventing light from reflecting off of him. Although the spell could be easily countered with fog or droplets of rain which was why he waited under a canopy.
He watched the harpies swoop down and grab the four baskets of vegetables before flying off and sprinted after them. They moved surprisingly fast despite the heavy rain and he quickly regretted leaving Witch stabled.
Frost dashed through the woods, leaping over gullies and stones while endeavoring to maintain his balance on the slick forest floor. It was normally impossible for him to slip but he was sprinting through mud and wet grass while tracking a small group of harpies. The amount he needed to concentrate surprised him.
Even while sprinting, Frost couldn’t run nearly as fast as the harpies could fly. Fortunately, he only needed to stay close enough to detect them with Aura of the Divine. The real challenge was going to be the northern mountains and didn’t take long before he reached them. He needed the harpies to stay in range of his aura as he made his way up.
He initially hoped to use a combination of a glider he had crafted and wind magic to try gliding over the mountains but the heavy rain prevented that. He came up with several alternatives while waiting for the harpies to arrive but he wasn’t thrilled about any of them. The only one that seemed viable to him wasn’t the smartest but was definitely the fastest. Given the speed the harpies were flying and the height of the mountain he didn’t have much choice.
“Really wish I could have used the barrier,” Frost groaned as he approached the start of the mountains.
Frost pulled out his bow and nocked an arrow with a finely woven arachne-silk line attached to it and aimed for a tree near the top of the mountain. He loosed the arrow and seconds later it was embedded in the tree.
He sighed as he contemplated whether he really wanted to perform the next step but as he felt the harpies approaching the edge of his aura he didn’t have time to think through the alternatives. He wrapped the silk rope around his hands several times and opened his internal grimoire to the pages on primal magic.
His internal grimoire was what he called the part of his mind devoted to memorizing spells. Every school of magic had its own ability for memorization and all of his defaulted to level ten. He could memorize one thousand spells of each school of magic. He could also erase spells he’d memorized or replace them with new ones.
Each spell was made up of a combination of runes from their respective magic school. Holy magic utilized divine runes and elemental magic utilized primal runes. Light and dark magic used light and shadow runes respectively. Every group of runes had nuances that were exclusive to them.
A spell was made up of runes and could be altered by adding or altering the runes. Some would increase the size while others would increase the speed. Some of them would even change the nature of a spell. Water bolts and ice bolts were almost identical while ice spears were more similar to earth lances. Naturally, there were potentially an infinite number of spells to master which was why despite being able to memorize a thousand spells Frost still kept physical grimoires.
Frost pulled up a specific spell and started channeling his mental energy, watching it pass through a series of primal rules, fueling them. Moments later Earth Blast Lvl. 7 exploded beneath the tree launching it over the other side of the mountain.
“This was a stupid fucking idea you idiot,” Frost groaned as he ran up the side of the mountain while being dragged by the rope. He jumped to avoid outcroppings of rocks and trees as he tried to sprint faster than gravity could pull a tree down a mountain. As he ran he began charging the divine runes for a barrier.
He released the rope as he arrived near the top of the mountain leapt while targeting the sky in front of him and releasing his barrier spell. Frost nearly overshot the translucent square barrier floating in the sky as he landed.
Divine barriers were different from elemental barriers in that they could either be bound to an object or a place in space. Elemental barriers were typically more powerful against specific types of magic but were bound by significantly more rules making them less versatile.
Frost sensed the harpies had vanished from his aura but he knew the direction that they disappeared into and quickly created a series of barriers to serve as his platforms. Most of his divine magic grimoire was devoted to barriers as well as paralysis spells. Despite being low tier spells, they were arguably the most powerful divine magic spells he knew of.
There were other spells like Smite, Regeneration, Mend, and Cure Paralysis but none of them had the same versatility that barrier and paralysis spells offered. Paralysis could hold his enemies in place while he slit their throats or force them to drop their weapons by targeting their arms. As for barriers, they provided defense in the form of walls, offense in the form of thin razor-like projectiles, and mobility in the form of platforms.
After a few minutes of jumping between translucent barriers the harpies were once again within range of Aura of the Divine. The small group appeared to have stopped moving.
Frost advanced on their encampment while maintaining his invisibility spell. He double checked his mental strength to make sure he could maintain all of his spells. He’d depleted a fair amount in the chase but he had more than enough to sustain all of his spells.
He worried that they might notice him since rain revealed invisibility but due to the dark night and heaviness of the rain, he and his platforms were undetectable. He eventually found his way to a small comfortable ledge that overlooked the plateau where the harpies made their home.
Frost sighed as he looked down at the depressing village, if it could even be called a village. There were around twenty poorly constructed buildings made of gathered wood, cloth, and stones. A handful had already fallen to pieces due to the storm and several harpies flew around the encampment gathering the scraps before the wind or water took them away.
In the center of the plateau was a larger tent but the construction was hardly better than the other buildings. It was about four times larger than the rest with a small stone wall protecting the base of the structure but the rest of it was the same sticks and cloth that the others were made of. Right outside of that central shanty was what appeared to be a lavishly decorated scarecrow.
Frost scanned the harpies flying around. All of their levels were in the teens which wasn’t surprising. The harpies in his village were only level seventeen and among harpies they were considered higher level and most of their experience was earned by fishing.
He sensed the harpies that stole the food huddled in the central tent along with several others that he imagined were the ones whose homes had fallen apart in the rain.
“I suppose I can get some sleep,” Frost sighed as he quietly used a weak earth spell to create a stone ledge above him to block the rain. He followed up by creating a small warm whirlwind that blew any rain beneath him until the stone ledge was mostly dry. He pulled out a pillow and large furry blanket from one of his packs and started to lay down. “This isn’t quite right.”
Frost grumbled to himself as he sorted through his spells to find one that would be useful to him. He picked out an earth spell that transformed stone and used it to create a sand pathway from a bush a few yards away to his small outcropping. Once it was created, he magically moved the plant through the sandy ground until it blocked his hiding spot and the
n turned the sand back into stone.
After he was convinced that his hiding place was good enough, he pulled out some dry clothing to sleep in. He figured he could try to get five or six hours of sleep before he approached them and shut his eyes.
He was wrong.
Frost woke up as the sun was rising to the sound of sticks and stones clumsily banging against each other and harpies barking orders. He’d forgotten that the winged demihumans didn’t sleep very much and were always up before dawn. The ones in his village only slept for three to four hours a night.
“Dammit,” Frost groaned as he stretched. Based on the position of the sun he figured he got a little less than two hours of sleep. He’d operated on less but he’d been on the road for days, and as much as he enjoyed sharing a tent with the elves, he really didn’t get much proper sleep. “I suppose I should be happy the rain stopped,” he sighed to himself.
He grunted as he activated his invisibility spell so the harpies wouldn’t notice any movement as he packed up his bedding. Although they weren’t particularly great at a lot of things, they had exceptional vision and he didn’t want to risk them seeing him before he knew what he was going to say.
“Now, what should I do next?” Frost said to himself as he sat up on his small ledge and watched the harpies. A quick scan determined that most of the harpies had levels in their teens like the ones from the previous night and only a few had formal classes which made sense. The thief class could be unlocked with unarmed combat and the fighter class only required some leather armor and experience with a cudgel. Classes that required heavier armor like knights were understandably not represented among the winged demihumans.
The small village was surprisingly pleasant in the daylight compared to how it looked during the storm.
The entire plateau was covered in small glittering rocks making it sparkle in the sunlight. Even the structures that looked like depressing hovels at night, while still hovels, looked much nicer due to the wide range of brightly colored fabrics decorating them.
Then there were the harpies themselves.
Ke, Kie, and Ki in his village looked nearly identical to each other and according to the three women all of the harpies from their flock were of similar sizes, wingspans, and colors. Although they insisted they all looked completely unique. Because of that, he assumed that the harpy village he was looking at was assembled from a variety of flocks.
Ke, Kie, and Ki all had pale skin and their feathers were all nearly identical combinations of blue, white, and yellow. The harpies on the plateau had dozens of different skin colors as well as sizes. The combinations ranged from small tan crimson-feathered harpies to large pale harpies with wings that looked like rainbows. The group flying around the plateau was surprisingly varied and vibrant.
Their clothing was as colorful as their feathers, although the quality of the clothing was similar to the quality of the houses.
They all wore makeshift tunics that appeared to be crafted from sheets or blankets. The sides were clearly torn apart and he would have guessed the holes for their heads were chewed open by wild animals with how rough they looked. The only thing holding the torn-up tunics together were poorly tied ropes or for a few lucky harpies, scavenged belts.
Despite the poor construction of the tunics the materials appeared to be carefully chosen. Several of the harpies seemed to prioritize elegant designs with elaborate patterns and if they weren’t wearing patterned fabric it was at least brightly colored. Much like the ones in his village, the creatures seemed to prioritize looks over utility.
That was a good sign because it indicated that the harpies on the plateau could like the same things as the ones in his village. At the very least the ones that looked similar to the ones in his village might.
Most of the harpies were busy gathering things that blew away in the storm while others were working together to rebuild the homes that collapsed.
Frost cringed as he watched the winged men and women attempt to reassemble the broken homes. A small group of them were piling rocks around the bases of long sticks as others held the sticks in place. Another harpy flew above them and attempted to occasionally hammer the stick into the ground with a large rock while trying not to break it. It seemed like a fairly time-consuming process since the harpy only managed to hit the stick a third of the time.
After what seemed like an eternity the harpies in charge of holding and hammering the stick seemed content with their effort and signaled a pair of others with a large cloth. The two harpies holding the cloth took flight and carefully maneuvered themselves above the structure before slowly draping the soaked heavy blanket on the sticks.
“Oh no,” Frost said, resisting the urge to look away as the structure fell over.
“Idiots!” a harpy snapped. “You did it too hard again! Dumb! Dumb! Dumb!”
“It’s not our fault!” one of the harpies that dropped the cloth snapped. “The sticks aren’t deep enough in the ground! If anybody is dumb, dumb, dumb it’s you!”
“They’re deeper than they were yesterday!” the first argued. “Again! This time be sure to set the roof on gently! Gentle like a feather! Not clumsy like a rock!”
“This time make sure the sticks are far enough in the ground!” one of the flying ones said before throwing more insults at the hammering harpies.
Frost couldn’t stop watching as the harpies continued attempting to place the heavy soaked blanket on the structure, each time having the same argument. He was starting to become curious about how long it would take them to figure out that the drenched blanket was too heavy for the sticks.
“Shit. I’m starting to think like them so I suppose that’s enough of that,” Frost said while laughing at himself. Obviously, the problem wasn’t the blanket or the sticks, but everything. He decided it was time to introduce himself to the harpies.
Frost started to slide down the ledge and quickly regretted it as his foot landed on a loose rock causing a small cluster to roll down the mountain with him. Once he reached the ground plateau he stood perfectly still and waited.
Under normal circumstances nobody would have noticed but harpies were unnaturally observant. Dozens of eyes were immediately staring directly at him, or more accurately at six small rocks on the ground in front of him as he maintained his invisibility. He considered revealing himself immediately but given their alerted state he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea.
“Something’s there,” a harpy said. “Surely.”
“I don’t see anything,” another replied.
“Something’s there,” another said while growing increasingly worried. “It looks sort of like a human but not a human.”
“It can’t be a human. It’s definitely not a human.”
Frost stood still and tried to think of the best way to reveal himself as the harpies continued to stare directly at him. He didn’t want them to panic and fly off and he would potentially sour their relationship if he tried paralyzing them. Harpies were surprisingly proud creatures despite being considered pests by humans and most other demihumans.
“Maybe it’s a clear rock,” a harpy suggested. “Rocks are sometimes clear.”
“In the shape of a human?”
“A human shaped clear rock,” the harpy nodded.
Frost realized that their vision was sharp enough to notice the curving light. Their eyes still couldn’t see things that didn’t reflect light but they could tell that the light was acting strangely around him.
“Should we get Ka?” a small harpy female asked.
“We should check first,” a harpy male said. “Who wants to check?”
“I’m not checking,” a green-winged male replied while shaking his head. “You do it.”
“It might be dangerous. I’m not. You’re a faster flyer than I am. You should do it.”
“It might just be a clear rock in the shape of a human,” a violet and yellow female harpy suggested while staring at Frost. He was being perfectly still since even the s
lightest movement would result in them realizing he wasn’t a rock. Although he still wasn’t sure of the best way to reveal himself.
“Stop being cowards and go together to look at it!” another harpy female snapped.
“Why do the men always have to go check?” a black and silver feathered male asked as the other males rallied behind him. He was more muscular than the others and the long feathers growing from his head nearly reached his tail feathers. “There are more females than males. You should check.”
“You’re bigger,” a gold-feathered female harpy argued. “You have a better chance to scare it away.”
“It might just be a human shaped clear rock,” a small green and silver feathered woman added.
“If it’s a clear rock then us being bigger doesn’t matter,” the black and silver harpy replied stubbornly. “It might be a tricky monster. Like one of those tricky snakes.”
“That is not the shape of a snake!”
“Snakes have twisty bodies that can make any shape they want! Maybe it’s a mountain of snakes!”
“How would a snake climb the plateau?”
“Snakes get everywhere,” the black and silver male said confidently. “I’ve never seen a place without snakes. They can’t be trusted. They are the trickiest of predators.”
“I’ve seen tricky spiders that look like rocks,” another harpy said. “And they create traps. Spiders are much trickier than snakes.”
Several harpies nodded in agreement.
“Fine!” a white feathered female harpy bitterly snapped while staring at Frost. “I’ll check! But I want everybody to tell Ka that I am much braver than Bo!”
“Wait!” Bo shouted while spreading his black and silver wings, easily increasing his size tenfold. “Lady Ka will not hear of this! Nobody is braver than I am! I will inspect the clear human shaped rock!”
