Foraging In the Jungle

[Kayleigh]

Foraging In the Jungle

Ash 27th, 122nd Year, A.o.S.

No amount of preparation suggested that she'd be out in the wilderness once they arrived, though, Kayleigh also had no real idea that she'd actually be out in the wilderness either. Though the others had been wonderful enough to share their tents as shelter, she'd felt largely out of place and far out of her element since their arrival. Others had already started to scout the surrounding area just beyond their camp, while the bookworm herself could hardly work up the nerve to just explore the jungle. She had no real knowledge about the wilderness, barely any real research on the matter to work up her confidence on the matter...

But what was a girl to do?

The bookworm checked her leather rucksack to make sure all her necessary belongings were packed within, since she didn't have all the exact gear necessary for exploring the woods. Kayleigh knew better than to throw on any of her older clothing, since most of it also wasn't suited for the wilderness. Thus she wore a sleeveless doublet with a pair of cropped trousers, and the leather boots she'd also bought before the voyage on the duck. Sorting through her inventory she had the essentials, bare as they felt to her, she at least felt certain she'd be able to find her way back if she did wound up lost.

She had her compass, insect repellent, and other materials stashed in the leather bag, and with the pouched belt strapped around her waist, Kayleigh also had her other 'tools' stashed where they seemed logical to place. Her slingshot remained holstered next to the pouch filled with bullets for it, while the dagger she'd also bought rested attached on the other side of her hip. Such little tools though felt more like children's toys, compared to what the bookworm had seen everybody else bring along. Nonetheless, she had everything necessary to at least head out and explore.

So with the rucksack hung on her shoulder, Kayleigh strolled from the beach toward the forefront of the jungle. Her heart pounded in her chest as she stared at the unknown, as sounds of birds and wildlife echoed from within already. Kayleigh checked the sky to note the position of the sun, as it hung high in the sky at a midday point above the jungle. It's just a quick venture... Going for a quick forage in the wilderness, and then coming straight back to camp. She assured herself quietly with a reluctant step, the bookworm steadily weaving her way through the undergrowth of the forest canopy.

"Dialogue" Thought
"Common" "Kathalan"

"Keep your hopes up high, and your head down low."

[Imogen]

It had been just a day since Imogen had volunteered to undertake the long trip north to confirm the expedition's whereabouts, and she was putting it off hard. In the form of an albatross, Imogen had traveled for days to return from Sangen to Zaichaer, and frankly, it sucked. It was said that albatross could sleep on the wing, but it was less sleep and more like... an advanced case of flying while stoned, practically unresponsive to stimuli. It did help to push back the biological imperative for slumber, but it was not half so convenient as a Traverser's portal.

Thankfully, she had a natural excuse to explore the environs for a little while longer. She certainly wasn't going to abandon Carina for days until she'd thoroughly confirmed that nothing nearby posed a threat to the encampment's survival. Why, the very thought of her little friend cowering beneath a tent with some beast outside, totally helpless (aside from her collection of firearms and her combat training since childhood and her teleportation magic), filled Imogen with a possessive fear.

So there it was, the official reason for her present patrol through the brush and trees- it wasn't that she was lazy or apprehensive, no, it was purely virtuous concern for the security of others.

"Ach! Fuck!" Imogen cursed as she accidentally walked directly into a mass of moss hanging beneath a tree bough. The witch had gotten used to traveling over brush in lemur-shape, jumping from tree to tree or scampering adroitly across the forest floor, but to identify any predators which might be interested in humanoid prey, she had resolved to trudge through the muck in her genuine shape.

(Frankly, being bait better suited her talents than trying to espy predators first anyway.)

As she slogged through the wet grasses and straining twigs, however, a sound caught her ear. Imogen stopped moving as she strained to listen, hoping to catch the noise of- there! The sounds of disturbed brush, off to the southeast. The Ork wished, and not for the first time, that she had a form better-suited to tracking things by sound, but she brushed the distracting thought away. She invoked the powers of both her Runes, filling herself with the presence of the cat-totem. Carefully, lightly, she made her way towards the noise, treading as softly as housecat pads. Above her head, a seven-foot spear of burnished gold faded silently into being. It hung without motion in the air above her as she tried to spot the source of the noise, the spellbreaker fire limning it so slightly as to be nigh-invisible.

The sounds of movement drew closer and closer as the Ork beat a stealthy course for interception. Then, once she was very close, Imogen reached up and grasped her spear firmly- then pushed quickly through the bush, ready to p-

~~~

Kayleigh's walk through the woods was interrupted when, without warning, a 6'6'' Orkhan warrior-woman burst out of the trees, waving an enormous partisan overhead. For a moment, the woman's face and aspect were fierce and violent- then she took in Kayleigh's face, blinked a few times, and dropped her weapon-arm to her side, shoulders sagging abashedly.

"Ah! Sorry!" the Ork apologized, her Common bearing a heavy Zaichaeri accent, "Thought you were some bloody beast."

[Kayleigh]

Foraging In the Jungle

Ash 27th, 122nd Year, A.o.S.

The rustling of wildlife in the thickets around her were startling, however, Kayleigh wasn't going to let her inhibitions get the best of her. She was out here to brave the world in her own way, to learn and explore the experiences that awaited her! Most importantly though.... she was out here to forage.

Thus the bookworm peered at all her surroundings the further away from camp she walked, her eyes wide with a sense of awe and anxiety as she put on her brave face. She hadn't the slightest clue what she'd find out here, nor what awaited her, but somehow that only generated thrill and exhilaration. She was actually doing this! A fact she couldn't believe now that she'd started, though, the question remained as to what exactly should she forage for.

Fruit? Fungi? Something edible at the least? She hadn't the slightest clue what she could find out here, nor did she know of anything she could take back to research specifically. I guess I better start looking, and just wait to see if I find anything useful. She figured with her eyes fallen on some of the layers of moss coating the tree trunks, her eyebrows raised as she contemplated which direction to follow.

Kayleigh took out her compass first and looked back the way she came, noting that the camp was to her south when she realized the compass needle pointed north. Well, that was reassuring enough, so anytime she wandered in a different direction, she only needed to account for which way the camp ought to be from her position. For the time being she kept it simple and started moving northward bound, tucking the compass back into one of her spare pouches as she walked.

Goodness though it's hot out here... The thought stemmed from the warmth on her skin as she started to feel a bead of sweat drip from her forehead, the locks of her hair pulled back over her shoulder as she cursed not bringing a ribbon or something to tie it up with. But that soon became the least of her problems, when the rustling of nearby shrubs and tall grass marked the approach of something. The bookworm froze with a deer in headlights glance, her eyes locked toward the direction of the noise, before more rustles warned her that it was coming; whatever it was so to speak. Oh no... not now!

Kayleigh stood warily with a hand down on her dagger, already forgetting she had a slingshot to use, as she pulled the small blade from the holster with a shaky hand. The panic stemmed in her core as she knew she hadn't the slightest idea how to use it, just that the pointy end was used to jab into whatever attacked a person. Little did she know that she was also briefly being hunted, until the sight of a tall Orkhan came through with her spear raised. The bookworm tensed.

Imogen came out with a look of surprise and for a moment, the dread in Kay's eyes lingered before her shoulders finally dropped. "Oh thank the Fates it's just you!" She sighed with exasperation now that she realized it was Imogen, having seen the Orkhan work on the beach as well as sharing ghost stories with the group a few nights ago. Kayleigh didn't really include herself that night but she'd remember hearing bits of the stories shared from beyond her tent, and quite frankly, she was rather glad another Zaichaeri was in her midst out of everyone else within the group.

"Call me fortunate for not being one then, I'd hate to see what you'd do with that spear otherwise..." She remarked gently, with her own accent noticeable and with the lowering of her dagger, near tempted to put it back to rest in its holster when she did. "I apologize, I probably should've announced myself. I had only thought to forage for... well, resources if anything." Though she had still yet to see anything that stood out, between being overwhelmed with literally the entire environment, and of course trying to keep her own life from being cut short too soon.

"You're... from Zaichaer, the same as I am? You must be a pretty strong warrior, if you're out here by yourself." The remark was followed by the beat of wings over the jungle canopy, as the winds that propelled through them shook some of the tree leaves overhead. Something large had flown through and it was headed northwest from their position, something that generated wind that felt rather unusual compared to the natural breezes felt coming through. "Goodness! What do you suppose that was?"

"Dialogue" Thought
"Common" "Kathalan"

"Keep your hopes up high, and your head down low."

[Imogen]

Imogen recognized the other woman, of course, though she couldn't recall having heard her name. As far as she could tell, the only other people around had come to these shores on The Duck, so there wasn't much room for confusion about that either way. She was small, adorable in the same way as Carina, but she lacked the peculiar aura of barely-contained violence the little ballerina had. That was probably for the best.

The Ork deposited her huge spear against a nearby tree, leaning it into a crook between bough and trunk. It was rude to talk to someone with a weapon bared, after all, unless there was some good reason for it. "No cause to apologize, not like I own the jungle." Come to think of it, if this really was Ecith, you weren't meant to claim any land at all. She supposed that she ought to keep that in mind, just in case.

"Ah, right, I was born just a bit south of the High City, spent most of my life in it. Imogen's the name- or at least I've never been convicted." It was a stupid pun, but she'd always liked it.

Imogen didn't bother opining whether she was a strong warrior. It was unprofessional to brag, and it was counter to her order's tenants to lie, so silence was the only thing which wouldn't be gauche. Thankfully, she didn't have to maintain an awkward pause in the conversation.

~wooooooooooooosshhhh~

The witch's hair blew around the sides of her head as the sudden gust overtook the two jungle explorers, and she instinctively squinted against the sudden air moving, mind involuntarily cast back to the sudden sonic attack last year in Northern Ecith which had left her battered on the jungle floor. After a moment, however, she regained her composure completely; evidently this was just the wind. Or, well... something wind-related, anyway.

"No idea, but it could be exactly what I was looking around for! I'm going to chase it, no time to lose."

With that, the Sunsinger sprinted into the jungle, abandoning the (admittedly poor) stealth approach to crash noisily through the jungle. Scales erupted across her skin beneath her shirt, a thousand little shields against the vines and branches snapping against her. A moment later, her gilded spear rose from the hollow embrace of the trees and spun off behind her, like a forgotten dog trying to catch back up to its master.

[Kayleigh]

Foraging In the Jungle

Ash 27th, 122nd Year, A.o.S.

Kay could only chuckle, if politely, from the way Imogen introduced herself. The responses between the pair of them seemed off to a decent start, that is until it seemed as though something flew overhead with a wicked gale to boot. The scholar had never seen or heard such a creature make violent gusts, let alone read about such fantasies in the books she always clung to.

Yet it seemed the warrior Orkhan had been invested in this likely beast, determined to give chase in the general direction it flew toward, and quick enough to leave behind her own weapon in the process. "Um... hey! Your weap-" And then out of nowhere the pointed pole developed a will of its own, eagerly whirling after it's master as she stormed through shrubbery and vine wall without relent.

"Oh! Oh dear..." The scholar murmured to herself a little flabbergasted by the scene, still unaccustomed to the whims of magic wherever she went. "I swear! If I'm ever to understand anything about magic, it'll be when they've lit my pyre and sent my soul into the great beyond." Wherever that may reside... Regardless, after seeing what she'd just witnessed, she definitely did not wish to be alone out here. Not when there were likely other large predators she'd have trouble fighting off.

If anything... learning more about this place would pay off if she went after Imogen; much to the scholar's utter detriment. She knew she'd be useless already, even so, Kayleigh would not let those feelings confound her to the beach. Not if she could help it anyway! "Wait!" The hesitant bookworm reached out after the already absent Imogen, before her feet felt the soles of her shoes pound across the ground to give chase after the woman. Blades of grass itched at her shins when she ran, and while Imogen had her own source of protection against the elements; Kayleigh certainly had to tread a bit more safely through such obstacles where she followed.

The vines and high grass might've slowed her down extensively, however, the bookworm ran in the same direction as her fellow explorer had. That is until she finally reached what seemed to be the edge of the jungle, almost, where a clearing came into view and the canopy of trees parted to reveal an opening above. There were several large sharp boulders jutting out one edge of the clearing, and from everywhere else where the trees bordered the area, a scattering of both stone and fallen trees seemed to provide shelter to the area.

And Imogen stood at the center. "There you are!" Kayleigh called out with relief as she approached the woman, panting sharply as she clearly needed to catch her breath after that run. "Did you find the creature?"

"Dialogue" Thought
"Common" "Kathalan"

"Keep your hopes up high, and your head down low."

[Imogen]

Imogen pressed through the brush, lumbering about with only a little less grace than a blind elephant might have mustered. Now that she'd confirmed that the quarry was airborne, it didn't matter much. You couldn't hide from a bird... or something moving like a bird, at any rate. Thankfully, flighted creatures were generally less concerned about letting you see them, since they tended to assume that you still couldn't reach them.

It would be wrong to say that the Ork tracked the creature. Truthfully, she was just going in the same direction as the beast and vaguely hoping that it had been flying straight. But... that was a kind of tracking, if you thought about it. It was relying on information you had about a creature's behavior and former location and locomotion to try to divine its present course.

Yeah, that made her feel a little better about herself.

Thankfully, this stratagem actually worked in this situation. Fortuitous, as she wasn't at all sure what she'd be doing as a backup plan. Scent-based tracking didn't hold in the sky, at least not well, and you certainly couldn't track footprints through the clouds.

When the ork arrived at the edge of the clearing, she immediately scanned her surroundings for any manner of predators. It was a wide clearing, the sea of jungle trees evidently having been disrupted by the placement of rocks and poor soils, but the perimeter trees were impressively tall. The lack of moss on the stones told her that creatures of some type probably sunned themselves here, but there was no immediate sign of them.

"There you are!" a voice called, "Did you find the creature?"

Imogen turned to face Kayleigh once more, bringing an insistent finger to her lips.

"It's here somewhere." Imogen said softly, lowering her usually-boisterous volume to avoid startling any birds above, "I reckon it's in the perimeter trees, or maybe one of the taller rocks. If it's nesting, we've gotta give it a minute to settle before we get any closer, or it'll take off again."

The ork shifted slowly around the clearing, trying to get better views of the top.

"With the amount of noise it made, it ought to be huge, but I don't see a damn thing. Tell you what-"

Imogen shifted the spear in her hand and twirled it a few times, experimentally, like a baton. After a few rotations, she released her weapon, letting it arc gently into the air among the rocks and trees- where it suddenly paused, floating. The witch covered her right eye with her left hand and the enchanted weapon began slowly circling the clearing as she tried to spot any hidden beasts or nests.

"Grah- still not seeing-"

As Imogen's pact spear approached one of the rocks, the clearing was suddenly filled with the sound of a great gale. The Reaved weapon went flying, clattering into a tree and bouncing back down to the clearing floor.

[Kayleigh]

Foraging In the Jungle

Ash 27th, 122nd Year, A.o.S.

The bookworm realized the importance of lowering her voice, once Imogen had quickly raised a finger to her lips to gesture for silence. Clearly, when hunting a beast such as this, there was much that Kayleigh had to bear in mind. Not that she was thrilled by the concept, but if she wanted to learn how to survive out here, then it remained imperative she learned all she could from the experience.

The scholar looked around at the possible places Imogen indicated, pondering which one the creature could have hidden away in, or perhaps considered more appropriate as part of its nesting grounds. "Where do you think...?" Her observant gaze fell back on the Orkhan, as Kayleigh had no means of gleaning such information for herself. Thankfully, she had a rather insightful character to learn from, albeit Imogen proved that yet again magic somehow beheld the solution.

Or at least, aided in the effort. As great of a beast as this feathery fiend ought to have been, hiding out in the open somewhere should not have been easy; or at least that was what the scholar had perceived. But then again, this was wild animal territory to her, therefore, anything that lived out here long enough clearly had tactile means of surviving on its own. This was the perfect learning experience for her then, to adapt and learn how to assess a situation where she stood.

Kayleigh just couldn't shrug off the feeling she was helpless, however. What good would a mere refugee clearly out of her element would do? Now wasn't the time to question that, not when she had a comrade already keen to search out the beast. Imogen had started to voice her frustration a little, leading Kayleigh to clamp her fists a bit in response. Maybe it's not- The gush of wind quickly threw that thought of the window, and any hope of a peaceful resolution left when Kayleigh felt the gusts stagger her several feet back.

Taking into the air once more, a massive bird with dark plumage gradually rose into the air, as the beat of it's wings generated gale after gale throughout the clearing. It took everything in Kayleigh just to stay on her feet, and even then, the mere strength and power of this creature alone nearly overwhelmed her. "Oh no, is that-" Twigs and underbrush that went swept against her form as Kayleigh had to cover herself, her eyes narrowed as she tried to observe the oversized condor between the protection of her arms.

From what she could tell it was just a massive condor, which she had only read about in some of her books back home. They were a larger species of the vulture according to Johnathan Kruzilli, who wrote a bestiary on avian creatures found throughout the Wildking's Forge. But the one wailing them with gusts now was nearly five times the reported size she read about, and for whatever reason, those gales were far too powerful for even the beat of this winged beast.

"Imogen!" She called over the roar of another gust as the beast flew overhead, taking into the sky before gradually circling around to soar downward to their vicinity. "I'm afraid this creature may have an elemental affinity to it! It's difficult to say but, by the force of those wings, the gales it unleashes give it a greater wind affinity." It was just their luck, her's especially, that they would cross a beast with a natural affinity. Having wind when you were an avian surely had to have been a boon, making this condor a very threatening predator for someone as helpless as Kayleigh.

As useless as she was physically though, the scholar intended to do everything she could to help support her comrade. "Do you have a plan?" She thought to inquire earnestly, eager to carry out whatever idea Imogen may yet have.

"Dialogue" Thought
"Common" "Kathalan"

"Keep your hopes up high, and your head down low."

[Imogen]

Now that was a big damned bird, and no mistake. For once in her life, Imogen was momentarily at a loss for words.

Well, for once, but not for long. "A plan? No, not on me."

The witch raised a hand and materialized her shield, interposing in between the two explorers and the great beast. The huge metal circle hung in the air through an act of will, breaking the tearing gusts- but a moment later, Imogen's brows rose in shock as she felt the winds of the condor's wingbeats driving the shield backwards, bit by bit. Apparently even the will of a master Sunsinger was not enough to stand ground against a tempest.

Still, granted that brief reprieve as the air battered her shield, Imogen's eyes wandered the surroundings, finally fixing on the high rock the condor had been spooked from.

"Scratch that, I've got a plan. Get on my back."

Imogen turned to present her back to Kayleigh, squatting slightly to make the process easier. When the other woman hesitated, the Ork nodded urgently; she could feel her Pact shield giving way against the gale, and this would never work once that had happened.

As soon as the witch felt Kayleigh's arms around her shoulders, her long white tail wrapped about the other woman's waist. "I don't think you have to be told not to let go, but... uh... well, we're off."

The Ork invoked the rune of Animus, letting the power of her totems fill her body without changing it. Once she was sure the process of Catabolism was well underway, she darted out from behind her shield, allowing the pact to give way under the condor's winds and clatter to the forest floor. Imogen raced towards the high rock and leapt onto it, clinging to the sheer surface and scampering upwards like a monkey might.

The monstrous bird turned its attention to the two intruders, but too late. Imogen moved in a zig-zag pattern up the face of the rock, and Kayleigh could only feel the rushes of deflected breezes slamming into the rocks behind and below. In a matter of seconds, Imogen had ascended the face of the rock and vaulted over the top.

The rock's top bore a rounded hollow indentation, the work of erosion (though natural or condor-wrought, there was no immediate way to know). Inside, the condor had stacked boughs and large branches, and even green yearling trees and saplings, to create a broad nest. Imogen touched down in the middle, feet crunching as she landed atop the layer of dried leaves and twigs which the condor had strewn across its nest.

Most pertinently, of course, was the single enormous egg resting atop that, which Imogen managed to just miss.

The bird screamed in absolute rage, floating upwards to get a better look at the intruders. It- she- circled the nest, clearly searching for an opportune moment to strike and rip the two explorers limb from limb.

"Whoo-" Imogen said, panting, as she let Kayleigh down. "I'm getting out of shape."

The Ork gestured at the angry condor circling above. "Figured it couldn't risk using that wind in its own nest. You said you knew something about this, right? We're pretty close to the beach- is this thing dangerous? Do I need to kill it?"

[Kayleigh]

Foraging In the Jungle

Ash 27th, 122nd Year, A.o.S.

There came a look of apprehension from Kayleigh when Imogen said she had no plan, further cementing the horror that the bookworm had with their situation. This was absolutely perfect! A guarantee that she was going to die soon! With the magic shield that Imogen had created out of thin air though, maybe Kayleigh's death wasn't going to be so immediate as she thought. Even so, her heart pounded out of her chest, and already felt the overwhelming weight of defeat on her shoulders.

That is until... "Scratch that, I've got a plan. Get on my back."

"What?!" It had to be one of the most ridiculous ideas she had ever heard. Riding on a person's back? Unless, Imogen intended on fleeing somehow, and she was fast enough to carry Kayleigh with her. The bookworm was aware of how light she could be after all, but when she glanced at the direction Imogen had focused toward, things started to make a little bit more sense. It was an essence of time at this rate, and so, Kay reluctantly did as the Ork had instructed of her.

Getting situated on Imogen's back the girl did her best to straddle the lady, her thighs pressed over the woman's hips as she wrapped arms around Imogen's shoulders. This had to be the most rather ridiculous thing Kay had ever done with someone, then again, it was no different than riding the shoulders of her father when she had been a little girl.

At the word of them being off, Kay lowered her face to nearly bury it in the nook of Imogen's nape, determined not to let go in the event she might slip and fall. That would've been another end that the bookworm clearly didn't want to experience! But the way Imogen could quickly scale the slopes of the high rock before them, it was sheer and utter madness how the woman possessed such innate talents with magic! Yet it was also saving their lives in a way that Kayleigh could not have anticipated, for once they finally reached the top where the nest resided, the Condor seemed less inclined to unleash the torrential winds that would beat from its wings.

Clearly, this was a day of many firsts for Kayleigh. The first time she'd braved the jungle, the first time she'd gone on a hunt, the first she'd ever ridden the back of an Ork, and now, the first time she'd ever stood within a giant bird's nest. The fact there resided a sole massive egg was proof enough, that the beastly condor wasn't intent on ripping them apart so quickly. But now, it would surely look to feast on the two once given the chance, now that both women stood in the very home the massive bird sought to protect.

"Th- Thank you!" Kayleigh said despite Imogen's sudden weariness, apparently, her physicality wasn't in peak form as the Orkhan indicated. If the woman was out of shape now, then the bookworm could only imagine what that was like at the time. When Imogen expressed her thoughts about the condor, Kayleigh looked around at the varying elements involved in their situation. "O-oh, well..." Her heart was about ready to slam through her rib cage at this rate, and although her legs still felt like jelly beneath her, Kay knew she had to at least assess the situation with that intellective mind of hers.

"I've only read about condors from some of Johnathan Kruzilli's works. He was an ecologist on avian creatures of the Wildking's Forge." She would've sounded enthusiastic were it not for the terror flying around the skies, which led Kayleigh to glance at the egg and nest they were in, then back toward the beach where the both of them came from. "Condors are cousins to the vultures, they typically don't hunt live prey. That said, we are dealing with a massive hunter right now."

Kay then looked to Imogen with a bit more stout in her expression, albeit, her heart still thudded with anxiety when she continued. "You had the right idea bringing us here! But I think it will be a danger to us, especially if it discovers our camp at the beach. Do you have any ideas on how we might...?" She trailed off as it wasn't like her to want to slaughter creatures, no matter how dangerous they may seem they were only innocently living in accordance with their nature. Regardless, Kayleigh understood the gravity of their dilemma at the moment, therefore, knew it was in their best interest to look out for their own.

Plus if they were successful in killing a big bird, then they'd have breakfast and dinner covered for days.

"Dialogue" Thought
"Common" "Kathalan"

"Keep your hopes up high, and your head down low."

[Imogen]

Imogen kept her eyes firmly on the circling condor as Kayleigh worked through her response, face grim. As the other woman finished, the ork sighed, as though it were the answer she'd been hoping not to get. "Yeah. Yeah, I can kill it."

With the need confirmed, there was only the execution to see to. Imogen watched the condor circle, her pale lavender eyes tracking its every movement as she waited for a notion to come to her. How did it work, did she suppose? Kayleigh had said that it seemed imbued with air elemental aether, and the force of the winds its wingbeats had unleashed was certainly evidence for that conclusion. Was it only buffeting air that it could summon, though, or did it hide other tricks up its feathers?

It was circling for now, unwilling to use its winds for fear of harming the egg, but such a stalemate was unstable. Eventually it would grow frustrated, see some movement it thought was threatening to its offspring, or a sign of weakness, and attack. Doubtless it would dive in, hoping to grab and pin one of them and peck the two girls to bloody pulp. And that meant...

Light dawned in Imogen's usually-empty stare, and she turned her head to the side, keeping one eye on the condor and one on Kayleigh.

"Got it. Here's the bad news- you're going to be the bait." The Orkhan witch let that sink in, but only for a moment, "-but you won't be in any danger. Not too much danger. It will give me a chance to strike while it cannot guard or retaliate. I would explain more, but I'm afraid we must do this quite quickly. I would duck when it swoops.""

Imogen gave Kayleigh a tusk-framed smile which she hoped would be taken as encouraging- and then rapidly shrunk, collapsing into a pile of clothes right in front of the scholar. In a matter of seconds, the solid Ork woman was simply gone, with nothing but a pile of cloth and bags remaining on the floor of the nest. The sudden movement caught the condor's attention and it began to circle closer, clearly having suddenly realized that its instinctive "pin one of them to the ground and peck her to death" plan was suddenly a lot easier.

~~~

Meanwhile, Beetlegen ward trundled as quickly as possible up out of the hole in her tunic meant for her neck. The insect's eyes were short-sighted, so Imogen quickly adjusted them, returning her ocular powers to the ordinary course.

She would have to time her attack perfectly, for if she missed her opportunity by just a second or two, it could well be a fatal mistake.