Chapter 34 - Restoring Caisleán (Part Five).

Søren wandered deeper into the woods, following a glimmer of light outlining tracks here and there, a pile of scat covered in Pudding Cups, though none were ripe, and finally a new sign he couldn't figure out what made it, at the edge of a flower covered clearing. The scratches in the bark a dozen feet up the trunk had turned yellow when he tried inspecting them. A warning message in his chat log informed him that his skill level was too low to identify the tracks.

A scraping sound on the bark of a tree to his left alerted him to the presence of something in the area. He dashed away from the sound and slammed his back against a large, grey barked tree that he could completely hide behind. The smooth bark whispered against his jumpsuit as he slid around the opposite side to try and get an eye on whatever was in the tree.

A horrible screech drew his attention further up the tree with the scratch marks to a dirty white feathered creature with wings for arms attached to the nude upper body of a dusky skinned woman. Her hair was bound with crude ribbons and bangles in the front which gave way to a crest of crimson dyed feathers running down her back.

He lifted the [Artemis Scout Rifle (Silver I)] reflexively and pointed it in the direction of the tree, but a pair of answering screeches, followed by a loud thump in the center of the clearing drew his attention. Two more of the winged women had appeared. One in the center, half-again taller than the first, and the third landed on a branch on the other side of the clearing. He inspected the largest of the three... [Bloodcrest Harpy (Copper XI)] …and felt his perk for bravery trigger, keeping him from running off into the forest and abandoning Neeka.

Good as time as any to see what this rifle can do, he thought as he took aim at the harpy in the clearing. Movement in the shadows beyond the other side of the clearing caught his eye. It was Neeka, charging into the clearing and shouting at him to take the others down. He nodded, though he doubted she noticed, and shifted his aim to the one to his left whose back was still turned towards him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Neeka fly through the air. He almost felt sorry for the Bloodcrest Harpy, having been on the receiving end of that attack several times today, but the sense of menace from the creature banished that thought.

He lined up the rifle on the head of the harpy in the tree and laid his finger on the trigger. A holographic targeting reticle appeared, glowing an angry red. It had a small symbol in the bottom left corner which Søren understood to be a 2x zoom level. Opposite in the bottom right corner was a short column of three different types of ammo. He mentally selected explosive ammo. As he shifted the end of the rifle slightly, the reticle shifted to orange, yellow and then finally green. He squeezed the triggering mechanism and the stock of the rifle.

Your party has defeated a Bloodcrest Harpy (Copper IX).

You have earned 1000 TEK. (2650 / 3600)

You have gained 100 reputation with Water Finders.

You have lost 1000 reputation with Bloodcrest Harpies.

You have lost 100 reputation with the Enclave of Feathers.

The harpy's head dispersed into red mist with a muffled explosion, leaving a jagged edge around the neck. -696 (critical hit) Søren stood absolutely still for a moment as memories of first-person shooter games in his youth intruded into his stunned mind. The nostalgia was so overpowering, he couldn't help himself.

"Boom! Head shot!" He said as he danced in a little circle, wiggling side to side. The absurdity of his dancing soon caught up to his reminiscing and he ducked back behind the tree trunk next to him. Just in time for the Copper XI harpy to slam into the tree and rattle loose a half-dozen branches above him. The broken limbs got tangled up in other branches or fell to the ground with a whoosh.

Neeka had punished the harpy for its decision to chase after Søren, taking the opportunity to attack when it lowered its guard. Its right wing hung askew at an odd angle, flapping uselessly and throwing the harpy off balance. The foul stench of the filth-covered harpy made his eyes water and nose burn. It screeched in fury as it clawed at the tree, trying to get to Søren. The other harpy had taken to the air and was circling above.

Søren risked an attack against his back as he bolted from cover and triggered the Soaring Hawk skill. He felt his legs tense and then push his body up and forwards towards a tree he had targeted on the other side of the clearing. His landing wasn't nearly as graceful as Neeka's had been and he stumbled and slammed into the tree trunk, taking a bit of damage. -15 (bludgeoning)

He staggered to his feet and shoved his body around the tree before risking a glance back across the clearing. Neeka had managed to trip up the enraged harpy and sent it tumbling onto the ground. A swath of the flowers and the dirt in the forest glade had been torn up from the harpy's talons. Søren rested the barrel housing of the rifle against the tree to brace it and took aim at the downed harpy. The holographic reticle flashed yellow, he selected the frangible type of ammo, and he took the shot. -122 (piercing)

The bullet struck the Bloodcrest Harpy in the thickest section of its left thigh. A portion of its leg seemed to melt from the attack as the fractured ammo split inside the flesh and tore it to pieces. The foul creature staggered to the left as its leg could no longer support its body. The attack triggered an ability of some kind, as the harpy screeched a long, piercing note and Søren felt his bravery perk trigger again.

SYSTEM > You have critically resisted the Harpy's Screech of Terror. You are immune to all fear, horror, and terror effects of equal rank or lower for one 24 hours.

Neeka was not so lucky however and ran from the glade, both hands over her ears. Her spear lay discarded, forgotten at the Bloodcrest Harpy's feet. Søren took aim at the harpy again, lined up the reticule on its torso until the sight turned green and squeezed the trigger. Again. And again. Three nearly silent shots exited the barrel of the slug thrower rifle at subsonic speeds, muffled and dampened by Atlantean technology. The harpy was already lunging to the side at a speed Søren couldn't believe possible for a creature of that size. The first attack struck her lower abdomen -142 (piercing), the second a little higher and to the right, glancing off her ribcage -84 (glancing, piercing), and the last passing harmlessly through the feathers of her wing.

The Bloodcrest Harpy dug its talons into the loam of the forest glade and cracked her functional wing like a whip, catapulting herself at Søren. Søren staggered backwards and tripped over an exposed root. He fell to the ground and dropped his rifle. Søren then lifted up his hand and a pair of Atlantean words bubbled into the forefront of his mind.

"[Shield Self]!" he shouted, his mind bent on creating a barrier between him and the harpy.

A wave of light blue force burst from his outstretched hand and created a concave lens of hexagonal shapes in front of him. He felt a wave of cold pass through his body and saw the bright silver bar of his TEK drop by two hundred. The harpy crashed into his shield and was instantly halted as her body struck and then rebounded backwards from the shield. -77 (bludgeoning)

The shield hovered in front of Søren, moving to interpose itself between him and the harpy as he scrambled to his feet and grabbed the rifle. He dashed past the momentarily stunned harpy and dove for Neeka's spear. The harpy lunged towards Søren and swiped at him with a ten inch talon. The talon scraped against the shield of light which dimmed. Several of the hexes making up the shield shattered into shards of light that dissipated into the air moments later.

Søren left his back exposed, hoping to lure the harpy into another leap, as he continued running across the glade. The harpy launched itself through the air again, aiming for Søren's shield and leading with outstretch talons instead of her body this time. Søren spun around and set the spear into the ground, butt wedged under his foot, and the tip pointed at the harpy's chest. He dismissed the shield at the last instant and the harpy plunged into the spear, slamming into Søren, and knocking them both to the ground. The harpy's screech of pain echoed over the forest.

Neeka ran from the glade, terror making her scales go white and then fade into the many colors of the dappled shadow and light beneath the boughs of the forest. When her mind finally cleared, she cursed herself for fleeing and retraced her steps back to the glade. She alternately cursed the Lifegiver and the Devourer between breaths, bounding around trees and over roots to get back to the fight. As she neared the glade, the harpy's screech brought back memories of the sheer terror she had just experienced, but this screech was different. It had screeched a curse on the gods with its dying breath.

Your party has defeated a Bloodcrest Harpy (Copper XI).

You have earned 1200 TEK.

You have gained 120 reputation with Water Finders.

You have lost 1200 reputation with Bloodcrest Harpies.

You have lost 120 reputation with the Enclave of Feathers.

Congratulations! Your party has defeated an elite enemy of five ranks or more! You have earned a [Rare Engram] as a bonus reward.