The group backs up slowly and cautiously, until Anna stops and looks about. "Wait. There's no big ones here." Indeed, the normally territorial axebeaks are making no ruckus. Tyrion moves to a nest and looks in it before shaking his head. "Just eggs. The adults have gone hunting, I imagine."
"So what now? We wait for them to come back?" Anna shrugs.
Amadeo nods and gestures around them to the nests. "Once the hunt's complete, the males will swiftly return to protect the young while the females carve up the kill and bring it back piece by piece."
"So the ladies do all the work here too, huh?" Hope smirks, a jest to which Amadeo can't help but chuckle. The tiefling does a quick scan of the area, pointing toward the treeline where they came from. "The undergrowth is pretty thick where they haven't stomped around. We'll get some cover until they come back. When they're gathered around, we can take out a decent chunk of them, and hopefully put the rest to sleep. Not sure what to do about the eggs, though."
"They'll sell for an ok amount. Tend to make pretty good omelettes. We could also leave them for whoever's left to run off with." Amadeo sits down with his back to a tree on the border of the nests, flipping through his book. Reading an incantation, he holds a strip of cured leather and waves his hands over his form, an ethereal glowing armor seeming to envelop him. The others also sit, taking in the sounds of the forest.
Hope just soaks in the air, occasionally messing with her horns and tail.
Tyrion fiddles with his gear for a bit before sitting back, taking a nap in the warmth of the sun.
Anna's mind winds back to what she saw across the river earlier. She shivers despite the warm air, wrapping herself up tightly in her cloak and looking out to the nests, waiting for the return of the birds.
After a few minutes of silence, the elf clears her throat. "So, uhhh...What got you guys into this line of work?" Playing with her hair, she looks over her companions with curiosity.
"I wanted to get out and travel. And I don't really have any other skills." Hope states, drawing a whetstone over her blade. "Couldn't stay home anymore, anyway. I've got someone I need to find."
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"I'm just in this for the money so I can eat and sleep in peace. But you seem like a lovely pair of ladies, plus the wizard. So maybe we can do this again if all goes well." Tyrion grins.
Hope shakes her head. "Easy there, Romeo. You aren't my type."
The halfling laughs at her response and just nods his head in agreement. "Nor you mine, lass. But you are still quite lovely." The tiefling looks away with a small smile
"What about you, Mr. Ravenwood?" Anna turns to Amadeo, who yawns. "I'm just waiting for word from my mentor about a letter I sent out this morning. It'll probably take a few days before it reaches him, though. This is a good way to earn money with my skills in the meantime. Not to mention the chance to learn new magic I don't have access to. And what about you?"
"Huh? Me? Well, I'm just here for the fun of it. Everything is so shiny and new to me. And I kinda can't go back home. Just want to experience anything interesting." The dark elf plays with her hair, and Hope raises an eyebrow before sitting back.
Silence fills the party once again. Then Anna's ears perk up. "Something's coming." She whispers. From the opposite side of the nests, the sound of stomping approaches through the undergrowth. Then comes the squawking.
"Large" does not do them justice. Nearly 10 feet tall, the male axebeaks stride into their nesting ground, the rings of unfeathered skin around their eyes highlighting their predatory gaze as they stalk the area on long, strong legs good for chasing prey. Their prominent beaks clack softly as each male enters a specific nest, sitting to warm the eggs under the feathery rumps of their fathers.
"Alright...That's a really big chicken." Hope grips her sword. "Are we ready?"
"Might as well do it while they're settling in." Tyrion fits a bolt to a hand crossbow and proceeds to steadily climb the tree they've been hiding behind.
One of the birds lifts his head with a quizzical squawk, nostrils huffing as he takes an unfamiliar scent in, only to find a blast of brightly colored energy slamming into his face. Anna lowers her right hand, her left holding a small amber colored orb on a chain around her neck that had been previously tucked under her tunic. The orb shines with a golden light, baring an emblem shaped like a sunburst. "Right, that got their attention!"
A flabbergasted Hope looks from Anna to the now very angry bird, then back to Anna before drawing her blade and shield. "Gods, warn me before you do that next time!"
"Focus on the present, or we won't have a 'next time'!" Amadeo unleashes a bolt of flame, the blazing orb soaring through the air to burn Anna's target to the bone before he backs up, the whole nest beginning to rise up to meet their foes. "Oh, this isn't good."
