As Calf made his way up the first slope he encountered, he mulled over the River King's parting words, replaying them over and over in his head. There was no way he would take it and its words lightly having learnt on the journey that nothing was ever as simple as it seemed, and that crocodile was about the most bizarre being he'd encountered so far. He assumed the knowledge the River King had referred to was about the blood stones, and though he couldn't know how extensive the 'wisdom' the crocodile would impart would be, given the crocodiles nature there were no doubts he'd find good use for it.

Though brutal in conflict the River King had had a fairness to him in their interactions after, as seen when he proposed trades over force. The crocodile had left quite the impression on him and though he hated to admit it, he couldn't help looking forward to their next interaction. Hopefully, he'd have a worthy price to trade for passage back to the western bank and if not, he'd at least gain wisdom that might aid in future ventures.

The climb was brutal, and it took all he had to persevere and not give in. The gradient had been unforgiving and at some point, he'd taken out the knobbed cane for assistance, putting a lot of weight into his forward lean lest he fall backwards. By the time he crested the slope he was hunched over the cane and panting hard with all his thoughts drifting to gathering twigs and dry grass for a soft spot to rest his worn body. Those would have to remain wishes for the foreseeable future however, for in the center of the flat area below he spotted a recent acquaintance of his, the ebony rooster. It occupied the bulk of an elaborate nest fenced by haphazard branches. It lay head down with its wings curled protectively around most of its mass, oblivious to its observer.

Its state allowed Calf to scope the area freely from his vantage, mentally marking all the possible exits and shielded areas should this become a protracted battle. He hoped to begin the engagement while it was unawares, nicking it all over with arrows before dipping the broadhead's points in the fallen blood before it congealed. Though its enlarged state made for a larger target, he wasn't under any illusions that it would be easy to dispatch, seeing as how the creature had taken his arrow with limited damage while in its smaller form. He'd come with every intention of returning alive so he would direct his efforts to earning enough drops for the coating and a bit extra for his passage, retreating as soon as it became too dangerous to continue.

With his plan and the area below mapped he slunk toward the edge of his platform looking for a way to slide down to the rooster. The rooster abruptly lifted its head and pointedly stared at the area he was in. Calf dove behind the tree next to him at its motion, lying still and listening for any signs of approach. The rooster clucked an alarming rhythm as its feathers ruffled audibly. The ruffles became brief flapping before the clucks decreased in frequency and volume, completely stopping a few seconds later.

The calm was eventually restored, and Calf waited a minute longer before peeking at the rooster again. He shimmied around the tree, wrapping his left arm around it before leaning his head to the left to take a look. The moment he managed to peek into the valley his left eye met with the rooster's, dissolving all prospects of stealth. The rooster breathed in, and its chest expanded in a way reminiscent of their last encounter. He stood transfixed and dreading the prospect of an even larger foe but the rooster broke pattern, surprising him. Instead of breathing out and increasing in size the exhalation was accompanied by the ruffling of its crest feathers. Its top briefly resembled a vibrating moss-head the sight of which seemed to mesmerize Calf. In that brief lull a jet of water shot from the bristling feathers, striking underneath the cliff that was his vantage. Calf found himself holding onto the tree trunk as the rent cliff tilted and slid, rocks, tree, and all.

Risking a one-armed grip, he took a loop of rope and slapped it around the tree's trunk, looping it once before knotting it for a better grip and holding on with both arms. Though turbulent, the descent had been bearable till the final impact, which had resulted in a sore shoulder and deep vine burns. He'd let go of the rope at the sting as it seared into his skin. Propelled by the momentum, he'd tumbled down the rest of the slope till he lay flat, level with the roosters looming nest. He didn't dawdle, rolling to a crouch before jumping back to create distance between the rooster and himself.

The rooster drew itself to its full height and stared him down, periodically beating its wings. It cocked its head back and watched Calf, poised to strike at a moment's notice. Calf clenched his fists wishing he had his weapons at hand and at that moment the rooster hopped forward and shot its head out in a devastating peck. Calf managed to dodge most of the attack, but the beak managed to graze him. He grabbed for his burning right shoulder after the close-call and immediately knew panic, for his head would've been forfeit had he been even a split second too slow to dodge. He needed to get to his weapons fast.

He back peddled from the rooster and slowly inched for the slope in hopes he'd be close enough to cover by the time the rooster caught on. The rooster inched a hop forward for every 10 steps he made and paid close attention to his actions. As Calf was all but twenty steps to the trees, the rooster changed up its rhythm, hopping 2 steps forward before pecking at him with little build-up. Calf managed to dodge the attack but as the downward motion of his step-back dodge started, the rooster suddenly breathed in and the feathers on its lowered head puffed up, accompanied by a strong gust that threw Calf off-balance, lifting him mid-descent.

He watched in dismay as the rooster cocked its head back, puffing up briefly before pelting him to the ground with heavy droplets. The brief barrage had been painful albeit not devastatingly so but what he saw coming at him from above gave him pause. The rooster had leapt into the air, intent on flattening him where he lay and as he made to crouch, he slipped, only noticing the sticky mud under him at that moment. As a last resort he rolled to the right, barely avoiding the rooster's ample underside. He wiped the mud from his face and spotted a surface root he could grab onto. He rolled to the root before crawl-walking along the root's path to the tree trunk. The rooster had inspected its crash site and failed to spot the flat and bloody intruder it expected there. Looking around, it spotted Calf already at the tree's trunk and surprisingly, it stopped its pursuit, heading back to its nest instead.

Though a bit surprised at the rooster's lack of interest in pursuing him further he welcomed the reprieve and vowed to make the best of it. He made his way up the slope all the while ensuring his figure was only in the open for the time it took to shimmy between covers. He knelt down to retrieve his equipment, hanging the loops over his shoulder again before tying the long spear to his latest cover. He hung his arrow pouch on a tree branch at torso height and palmed five of his older arrows before nocking the sixth. With a deep breath he left cover to face his foe and loosed consecutive arrows that whizzed towards its right breast. The rooster knocked two of the arrows off course with a flap of its wings while catching another with its beak and snapping the shaft with authority. The last three found their mark only to bounce off its chest.

Seeing how useless his old arrows had been in penetrating its feathered exterior he switched to the new arrows. He loosed four shots and as the rooster tried to replicate its previous tactic, the arrows penetrated the wall of air produced by the rooster's flapping wings. The efforts only managed to move each arrow slightly off course, but they still found feather and flesh at the end of their flight, lodging into the rooster’s chest at radial points. The rooster released a string of pained clucks and as Calf loosed three more arrows towards the area he’d estimated its heart to be, it flapped its wings violently producing a gust that knocked Calf onto his butt. The arrows penetrated the gust and though they missed their original mark they still sunk deep into the rooster's chest. Excited at having found the perfect strategy to take on the rooster, Calf lined his next shots and aimed for the heart again but this time the rooster hopped into the air to avoid the shorts.

When it landed it, immediately breathed in, chest ballooning to ridiculous proportions and wings stretching to curve in his direction. Single-mindedly pursuing the next shot, he almost missed the arrows that hurtled in his direction, only managing to fall backwards at the last second. Reviewing what he'd seen he assumed those were the arrows dislodged by the rooster's expanding chest. The rooster had propelled them with a gust from its wings, curving them towards his position as counter-fire. The arrows lodged deep into the trunks around him, and he retrieved one to inspect, gasping in despair at what he saw. He'd come with the objective of silvering his broadhead but when he checked for silver all he found was a red, bloodied tip and shaft instead.