V. Forward (Chapter One)

You pant as you try to keep up with Soraya’s pace. Having grown up mostly in the city, the dense forests of Borozon are a nightmare for you to travel through under normal circumstances. But tearing through them while fearing for your friend’s life is near impossible, and your sense of direction is all but gone.

You call out to Soraya to slow down.

“Just a little more, Adventurer,” she calls back.

Your chest feels like it’s about to rip apart, but you trust in her and urge your feet forward as all manners of vegetation slap at your body. You suddenly realize that the smokey Lyrebird you had been following is nowhere to be seen. You look about and see that the forest has actually thinned. You had expected to plunge deeper into the Eastern Forests in search of Burt. Soraya turns to check on you and sees your utter confusion.

“I dispelled our guide for the time being when I realized where it was headed,” Soraya says. She doesn’t seem a bit out of breath. “Also, to catch something that flies, we need a set of wings ourselves.”

She takes your hand and pulls you along until finally you burst through the final shrub and roll into the clearing. You look to your left and see a row of fat carrots poking out of the ground. You’re back at Maeflorian’s vegetable garden. You look around for Soraya, but she is already running up the ladder to the druidess’ treehouse. The thought of climbing right now makes you feel even more nauseous than you already are, so you opt to lie back down next to the vegetables and close your eyes.

The next moment, Soraya is shaking you awake. You get up, embarrassed. It seems you had passed out from exhaustion.

“Are you okay?” she asks. “We don’t have to run like that anymore.”

You look up to the treehouse to see Maeflorian leaning out of her window. She waves and tosses a satchel down to Soraya, who catches it deftly.

“She’s such a dear, she wouldn’t let us go without a batch of her carrot cake.”

You ask her what is going on and why you have wound up back here.

“I suspect the Watcher was leading us to the Altreca Mountains,” Soraya says. “And that is on the other side of the continent. It would take us at least a week on foot to get there, not to mention climbing them. The Skullpicker would be nesting quite high up, if that’s where it took Burt.”

Soraya peeks into Maeflorian’s satchel and pulls out some slices of cake. She hands one to you while chomping on her own. You take a bite. The scent of walnut and cinnamon is heavenly. You share a piece with the baby bird in your hood, and it tears at the cake ravenously.

“I remembered a beautiful owl Maeflorian is friendly with. His name is Strix. He’s quite old, but still flies her around in a makeshift basket when she needs to visit a distant village or something. He’d be perfect to get us to the Altreca Mountains but unfortunately, he’s not in at the moment.”

She takes another thoughtful bite of cake.

“He’ll probably be at his favorite hideout. Come on, we need to get there. But no running; it might startle him.”

You follow Soraya as she heads into a different section of the forest, away from the forsaken Marshes. As you pick your way through the trees, you notice the surrounding flora beginning to change. Broad, ground-hugging flowers cover the forest floor, and the vines are thicker and greener, with trumpet-like blooms down their lengths.

“There’s a small village up ahead,” Soraya whispers, stepping carefully around the flowers. You also feel the urge to tread softer. There was a tingle about the place, as though the very leaves had ears and passed secrets to one another.

“It has a bit of a sad history, actually. It was burned down in a raid a long time ago. One of the greatest clerics in Borozon used to live there, from the family Phloemender, but he perished in the village fire. I heard his son, who was a mighty fine sharpshooter, survived the raid and continues his travels to this day. Anyway, the remains of the village are quite beautiful in the daytime, and Strix likes the area for its peace and quiet.”

The flowers seem to bloom with even greater variety as you approach the village. Not far off, you see the charred remains of treehouses overgrown with vines high up in the trees, but Soraya pulls you to the right.

“Maeflorian told me there’s a particular one Strix likes; we’ll probably find him there. But first…”

She hoists her cloak and shimmies up the nearest oak in the blink of an eye. You stand there, gaping at her.

“Just take it a branch at a time; come on, we don’t have all day!”

You tentatively reach for the lowest branch and barely manage to pull yourself up. You make a mental note to lay off the carrot cake for some time. With much grunting and sweating, you make it up to where Soraya is waiting.

“Hold onto this,” she says, passing a thick rope into your hands. You tug at it. It seems to be fastened somewhere way up in the canopy.

“The only way there is to swing through the trees, unfortunately,” Soraya says, and then, grabbing a rope for herself, takes off into the greenery. “Try to keep up!”

With only the rustling of leaves up ahead to guide you, you swing nervously from tree to tree until you land with wobbly knees on the wooden platform of a decaying treehouse. There are cracked targets hanging around the nearby boughs. You wonder if this is where the sharpshooter Soraya mentioned once lived. You peer into the treehouse, but it is empty. You look at Soraya inquiringly. She nods and cups her hands to her mouth. She lets out a series of hoots, sounding much like an owl, and before long, the same call echoes back from somewhere in the trees.

“Strix!” Soraya calls. “Strix!”

There is a rushing wind, and a shadow swoops on you. You cover your head and duck, then, as you peer between your hands, a thickset, stately bird stands on the platform, looking soberly down its beak at you. Though flecked with the grays of age, its plumage is a resplendent brown and silver. As you look closely, you see that the feathers are actually long-bladed leaves, rippling and catching the rays of the sun as he leisurely stretches his wings.

“Who calls?” Strix says. “Oh, it’s you, Soraya. I should have known.”

“Strix is a Borozon barn owl,” Soraya says to you in a way of introduction. She whirls back to the tall bird. “We need your help.”

“Slow down, young Mudpearl,” Strix replies, preening his chest. “The Blooming Season ishere, and the flowers sing in unison like a grand chorus. If the dear whiskers of the village were still around, they’d be busy preparing for their Lunar Bloom. Ah, no finer ale was to be poured, and do not get me started on the feasts they prepared…”

“Strix!” Soraya bursts out. She had been hopping from one foot to the other, waiting for the owl to finish his monologue. “Our friend is in danger. Can you fly us to the Altreca Mountains?”

“Danger?” Strix’s eyebrows shoot up in surprise. “Who is in danger?”

“Our friend, Burt,” Soraya says. You can tell she is doing her best to contain her exasperation out of respect for the old owl. “The Skullpicker took him.”

"Oh, dear,” Strix says, shaking his magnificent head. “That won’t do at all.”

“Yes, so please, can you help us? I will activate my Watcher, and all you have to do is follow it. I’m almost certain the Skullpicker nests within those mountains.”

“The Altreca Mountains,” Strix says. “I have not been there for many years. It is a dangerous journey, particularly if the Skullpicker is still around. But this old owl is always ready to help young Mudpearl’s friends. Hop on, little whiskers, and hold tight.”

“Thank you, dear Strix,” Soraya says, sighing a breath of relief. She conjures the smokey Lyrebird which takes off immediately towards the northwest and climbs onto Strix’s back. You carefully take a seat behind Soraya and cling onto her.

“Hold tight,” Strix says. “The weather is fair today, but the winds remain strong up above. Like the arrow of the Borozons, we’ll fly true to our course as quickly as possible.”

“Strix, please,” Soraya urges.

“Here we go!” Strix takes a couple of steps to the edge of the platform and leaps into a steep nosedive.

You scream and clutch at Soraya, who grabs at Strix’s feathers, but the owl soon expands his long wings, and you are off, shooting into the sky. You can hardly breathe as the wind beats against your face and howls in your ears. You release one hand from Soraya to grab at your hood so your baby bird doesn’t fall out. Strix flies through the air like a bullet, and you try to look down to see where you are, but everything is a mush of colors.

“There!” Strix slows his pace, and you are able to see what Soraya is pointing at: a series of massive rocky protrusions jutting tall from the dense forests below can be seen in the distance.

“Altreca Mountains,” Strix says in his halting voice. “The Watcher has indeed guided us there. Let us fly closer.”

The golden Lyrebird zooms to the tallest of these stone structures, and Strix glides after it.

“We’re looking for the Skullpicker’s nest,” Soraya says. “If I know anything about those giant herons, they’ll take anything they think is edible back to their nest first.”

You shudder at these words, and Soraya quickly says, “But I feel Burt is still alive, so don’t worry, Adventurer. It’s just that, what if his captor is there with him?”

The Watcher leads you to the tip of the structure, and as you lean out to see what is ahead, you spot a motley nest in one of the alcoves in the rock. You urgently tug at Soraya’s cloak and point.

“That’s where we’re going, Strix,” Soraya calls.

“Let us see if your friend is there,” Strix replies. As you approach, you spot a green hood peeking over the edge of the nest.

“There he is!” Soraya screams. Burt seems to have heard her voice as he perks up and waves desperately.

“We’re coming, Burt!” You and Soraya tightly hold hands as Strix weaves between the surrounding rocky structures, when a sudden piercing screech from somewhere above draws your attention.

“We have company,” Strix says, veering off course. You and Soraya look at each other in despair. The Skullpicker heron is bearing down on you at incredible speed, and the glint in its remaining eye tells you that he is ready to fight tooth and nail to defend his prey.

“It’s moving too fast,” Soraya shouts. “And I don’t have any spells powerful enough to take it down!”

You attempt to fire a Frozen Spear at the Skullpicker, but it dodges easily.

“I got it!” Soraya reaches into her cloak and pulls something out. It is the spell scroll King Bates had given her: the Lullaby. “Strix, get us near the Skullpicker, I’m going to cast a spell on it.”

“Excuse me?” Strix replies. “Though I am already quite old, I still intend to live to a ripe old age of…”

“Just do it!”

Strix changes trajectory again and, in an instant, flies alongside the Skullpicker heron. It tries to peck and swipe at Strix, but Strix is too nimble and stays just out of reach every time.

“It’s now or never,” Soraya yells. She pulls out her lyre from her pack and holds it in both hands. “I’ve already learned the Lullaby, but I need you to draw the creature rune to activate the scroll as I play it!”

You look down at the empty space below the music notes on the scroll. You cast an inking spell on your finger, but what creature do you draw?