Advent of Eternity - Chapter 82 (Patreon)

Stix and Cyll returned around an hour later. Knell opened his eyes as the two sat down beside him. He and Maya hadn’t spoken again since their last exchange, which suited Knell just fine.

“What did you find?” Knell asked.

“A lot and a little,” Cyll replied. “The chicken is stronger than the dude in the tavern implied.”

“It’s apparently killed a few people too, and it’s pretty fast,” Stix added, glaring at Cyll for stealing her thunder. “But not so fast that people couldn’t see it either. Some bloke apparently outran it after it ate half his sheep.”

“That could be useful,” Knell said slowly. “What else?”

“Most of the attacks appear to happen a little to the north of the town,” Cyll said. “That’s its territory. It generally goes after livestock and doesn’t bother people often, but from what we found, at least five farmers have gotten killed trying to defend their flock.”

“Interesting,” Knell said. “We can work with that, and it lines up with what I was guessing as well. Any reports on its intelligence?”

“Nothing one way or the other,” Stix said, clearing her throat.

“You aren’t saying something.”

Cyll chuckled. “That’s because one idiot she talked to tried to seduce the damn thing and was more than happy to tell her about it. I watched her try to find a way to escape politely for nearly ten minutes before stepping in.”

“Wait, you were watching for ten minutes?” Stix asked, spinning on Cyll. “Why didn’t you do something earlier?”

“Because it was funny.”

“Please,” Knell said, raising a hand. “Did this idiot’s endeavor actually provide anything useful?”

“I mean… not really,” Stix said, running a hand through her hair and flushing. “He was very excited to talk about it, but he really didn’t get anywhere. The Clawraptor just grabbed his bait sheep and ran off with it while he chased.”

“It didn’t kill him?” Knell asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It was busy eating the sheep,” Stix replied. “I really wasn’t listening to what he was saying, to be honest. I was trying to find out how I could get away without stabbing the guy.”

“He had useful information,” Knell said. “And it backs up the other findings you’ve brought. Multiple people confirming the same thing means its far more likely to be true.”

“So the guy that tried to screw the bird was actually useful?” Stix asked, squinting.

“To a degree, yes,” Knell replied. “And I believe I know how we can deal with this without too much difficulty. We just have to find the monster and have suitable bait.”

“We’re going to get a sheep?” Stix asked.

“No,” Cyll said, screwing his nose up in distaste. “We’re going to use me, aren’t we?”

“Much cheaper than using a sheep,” Knell drawled. “And you’ll survive too. The bird really doesn’t pose any significant threat to you, and it has no way to restrain you. Honestly, you could probably kill this on your own, but we’ll do it a lot faster working together.”

“Wait, he could fight this monster on his own?” Maya asked. “What is Cyll’s Path?”

“Not telling you that,” Knell replied. “Just because I don’t view you as an enemy does not mean I’m going to start giving my crew’s secrets out. You’ll get more than I’d normally want to share just by spending time around us.”

Maya pressed her lips together but nodded her understanding.

“So what’s the full plan?” Cyll asked.

“First, we go to the area where the Clawraptor is supposed to be in and find it. Cyll distracts the monster and I keep him alive. While it’s distracted, Stix puts an arrow through its eye. Cyll finishes it off if that doesn’t kill it.”

“That’s… pretty simple,” Maya said. “I was kind of expecting something more complex.”

“Why?” Knell asked. “There’s no reason to make a simple thing complex. Simple is safer. A needlessly detailed plan will fall apart much faster than a simple one will.”

“I guess that makes sense. But what am I supposed to do?”

Knell raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t part of my crew, Maya. Do you want do be doing something? You’re here because we made a deal with Dread. My only expectations of you are to remain alive and avoid interfering with my work.”

Maya frowned. “I feel like doing something is better than nothing. I – I don’t want to be useless forever, and you were the one that told me that you don’t hold anything against me. If I just sit around and do nothing, I’ll have wasted all the time until Dread releases my Geas.”

Knell grunted. “Fine. This isn’t particularly important, so we can modify my plans.”

“Really?”

“No reason to turn down extra resources,” Knell said with a shrug. “You will now be the one distracting the bird.”

Maya paled. “Wait, what? I don’t even have a Path anymore! How am I supposed to do that without just getting clawed to ribbons and eaten?”

“There’s news for you, girl. Neither do I,” Cyll said with a guffaw. “No Path here either. Your mistake on asking to participate, but I appreciate you taking the blow for me. I wasn’t looking forward to getting picked out of the stupid bird’s teeth.”

“You’re welcome to back out,” Knell said, rising to his feet. “I don’t care either way, but it’s time to get moving. We’re wasting time.”

They set off through the city, heading toward the north exit and, hopefully, toward wherever the Clawraptor was hiding.

“You don’t have a Path?” Maya asked Cyll as they walked. “How is that possible? You’re a lot stronger than all the other people I’ve met without one.”

“Training goes a long way,” Cyll replied. “Just not long enough.”

“So how were you planning to survive the Clawraptor? If you’re just a normal man, that thing should be able to rip you apart.”

“First – I’m not normal. Second – I trust the Cap,” Cyll said, smoothly answering Maya’s question without giving her a hint of his actual abilities. “And he wants you alive.”

“So I’m not in any danger from doing this?”

“I never said that.” Cyll snorted, adjusting his grip on the axe slung over his shoulder. They passed through the gate and headed out into the countryside, following a winding trail that led off toward farmland. “He needs you alive, not unhurt. And trust me, half of his plans end up with us hurt.”

Knell grimaced at that. “Sorry. Necessary sacrifices.”

“Better hurt than dead,” Stix put in, but it took her a second longer than normal to answer. “Probably. I don’t think I’d want to go through what you did to Eliza.”

Maya’s gaze jerked to Knell, the question clear in her eyes. Knell sighed.

“Stix, try not to talk about anything that could be even slightly useful in discerning our abilities. Maya is not currently an enemy, but she isn’t our ally either.”

Stix reddened. “Sorry. I didn’t think.”

“The information you shared wasn’t critical. It’s fine,” Knell said. His thoughts were elsewhere, and the conversation held little interest for him. The bird did as well – it was just a means to an end. With the seeds of infamy sown at Mount Bloodwater, it would be time to start working on his full plan very shortly.

Maya made a face, then fell silent. The group walked on, passing farmland and making their way farther from the city. Sparse trees popped up in between the farms, but most of the land was flat and sloping.

As they traced along farm edges, Stix came to a stop and knelt by a print in the ground. It didn’t look any different from the rest of the wear and tear the old dirt road had to Knell, but he didn’t doubt her tracking.

A few minutes later, they were on the hunt.

“It’s not too far,” Stix said. “Probably hiding in the trees. Maybe there’s a thicker patch somewhere? This track smells fresh.”

“How fresh?” Knell asked.

“Thirty minutes, maybe an hour. It’s in the area,” Stix said. She nodded at a patch of trees beyond a large grassy field. “There, maybe? There’s enough cover for something large to hide, and there are some sheep in the area here.”

“Seems reasonable to me. Is everyone ready, then?”

“As ready as always,” Cyll confirmed. “I’ll put my axe through its neck.”

“So… how exactly am I supposed to distract it?” Maya asked. “The reports were that it wasn’t as fast after it was fed, but we don’t exactly have food.”

Knell gestured to the sheep dotting the farm in front of them. “Sure we do. Stix, care to do some scouting? See if you can find the Clawraptor and, if you can, check if it’s eaten already.”

“I can do that,” Stix said with a nod. “I’ll be back in an hour at most. There’s a slight chance the bird will be on my heels, though.”

“We’ll be ready.”

Stix pulled her hood over her head and padded off in the direction of the trees. He sat down to meditate. True to her word, a little under an hour passed before she returned. Knell opened his eyes as the crunch of grass announced her return.

“Found it. It’s in the tree patch that I thought it would be,” Stix said smugly. “And I don’t think it has eaten yet. The scent of blood on it was old. It won’t be long, though. When I found it, it was already eyeing some of the sheep in this field.”

“Perfect,” Knell said, rising to his feet with the aid of his staff. “Then we wait. When the monster attacks, Maya, wait until after it’s eaten one of the sheep. Then go get its attention. We’ll be right behind you.”

“And you’re sure this will work?”

“I don’t want you dead. Do you want to do it or not? Cyll can take your place like I had originally planned.”

“No, I’ll do it,” Maya said, setting her jaw as her eyes flashed defiantly.

They settled down to wait once more, this time moving a little closer so they’d have a better angle at the field when the Clawraptor emerged from the trees.

Just under ten minutes passed before the beast made its move. It slipped from the trees, its clawed feet thumping lightly on the ground as it made a beeline toward an unfortunate sheep. The Clawraptor certainly lived up to its name. The monster’s talons were just as large as the picture had indicated them to be. A red frill ran along the top of its head, and its large, gray eyes were full of killing intent.

The sheep never had a chance. It bleated out a cry as it spotted the monster bearing down on it, but the Clawraptor’s thick claws carved it to pieces before the sound even finished escaping its mouth.

With a birdlike squawk, the Clawraptor bent over and dug into the sheep, spraying blood everywhere as it ripped it apart and gulped down large pieces of the animal. It only took thirty seconds for the monster to completely finish the large sheep off.

“You’re up,” Knell said. “Bring it to the base of the hill. You’ve got one minute.”

Maya glanced at him, then nodded. She bounded down the hill, unaware of Knell aiming his staff at her back as she left. Knell cast Anchor on Maya as she slid down the rest of the hill and started yelling, waving her hand in the air as she ran at the Clawraptor.

Reaching the base of the hill, Maya darted across the farmland, quickly closing the distance between her and their quarry. The beast glanced up at her, its face covered with blood and viscera. It screeched, revealing large, jagged teeth, and flexed its talons. Then it charged.

Maya spun, stumbling for a moment before sprinting back toward them. Stix slipped an arrow into her bow and pulled the string back, nocking it.

“Don’t shoot until you’re certain it will hit,” Knell said. “We don’t need to spook it.”

The monster was quickly gaining on Maya. Her stride was thrown off by her missing arm, making it even harder for her to keep ahead of it. But their information about the beast seemed to be correct – its steps were heavier than they had been a minute ago, and Maya was just barely able to keep ahead of it, even though it was slowly gaining on her.

“She’s not going to make it,” Cyll observed, shifting his grip on his axe. “Not unless she gets some big burst of speed.”

“No reason to make her go through pain, then,” Knell said, nodding to Cyll. “Intervene early. You think you can kill it with one blow?”

“Probably not,” Cyll replied, squinting at the bird as it approached. “Those scales look pretty tough. I could in a few, but it might be pretty bloody.”

“Stix, how far away can you hit the thing?”

“About two hundred feet. Just past the base of the hill, near that patch of bushes.”

“I can stop it there,” Cyll said, rolling his shoulders. “Shall I?”

“Do it,” Knell said. “I’ll slow it to help line the shot up.”

Maya and the Clawraptor were only a few seconds away. Cyll darted down the hill, not making a sound beyond the thump of his feet as he accelerated. Stix sighted down her bow and Knell gathered his magic.

He tried to cast Slow early, but the spell resisted him. The Clawraptor was too far. He was pretty sure he could push the spell until it went off, his body really didn’t need the extra stress. Instead, he worked his way down the hill to close a little more distance. He’d be late, but Cyll would be able to hold the monster’s attention for long enough.

Cyll let out a whoop as he bounded into the air, using his elevated position at the bottom of the hill to launch right over Maya’s head. He brought the axe down on the top of the Clawraptor’s head with a resounding bang.

The creature screeched in pain, staggering. Its scales bent and shattered under the force of Cyll’s strike, and blood started to pour from the wound. Still, it wasn’t a threatening wound. The monster’s scales were seriously tough.

Maya ran up the hill, putting more distance between herself and the monster. The Clawraptor turned its attention from her to Cyll and swept at the man with its huge claws. Cyll batted the blow away with the flat side of his axe.

Knell got in range and cast Slow on the beast. Its jerky movements decreased and Cyll swung his axe at the same spot he’d hit it before. More scales cracked under the blow and the Clawraptor flinched back.

An arrow whistled through the air and bounced off the scales just above its eye. Another one followed after it, this time punching clean into the large orb. It ruptured with a pop and the monster’s head snapped to the side. Cyll jumped back as the monster collapsed, hitting the ground with a loud thud.