Chapter 24 – Birds of a Feather

A vrock lunges, swiping wildly with its vicious claws. Alya ducks, pivots, and pops up beside the demon. With a jumping kick, she hits the fiend in the back of its head, sending it sprawling.

Then all hells – or the Abyss, in this case – breaks loose.

The entire flock of vrocks seem to attack all at once. Caught amidst a horde of the towering, birdlike creatures, and lost in the mayhem of flying feathers and flailing talons, the monk loses sight of her companions.

But the vrocks, big as they are, are slow and clumsy on the ground, and Alya has no doubt that, like her, Elanee and Neeshka will be fully exploiting that disadvantage.

She whips out Liang Yi, her mentor's gift to her. Holding one of the two jade rods, she snaps the other end forwards. It connects with the beak of a vrock with a resounding crack! before withdrawing as quickly as it had shot out. Then, she swings the nunchakus around herself, catching another demon square on its chin. The rebound generated on impact carries the chuck onwards, to hit yet another beast, this time with a sharp rap on the knuckles.

Alternating between twirling and flicking, Alya strikes at each creature's vulnerable points: head, legs, arms, and any bony body part, on which contact with a piece of solid jade would hurt like hells. The nunchucks, picking up speed and momentum with every impact, almost appears to gain a life of its own, as it whizzes about in a blur, mesmerising the vrocks, who are having trouble keeping up with the weapon's rapid movements.

One particularly painful looking whack across the temple sends a winged demon staggering back and collapsing, like a sack of potatoes. Spying the opening among the crush of plumed bodies, Alya pushes through the gap. Finally, she catches sight of the druid, the rogue and the wolf. All of them appear to have their opponents sufficiently under control.

"Let's go!" she shouts, hoping they could slip away whilst the flock of avian demons is in disarray. She breaks into a run with Karnwyr alongside her, and with the two women bringing up the rear.

"Did I mention that I hate vultures?" she quips, once they are a safe distance away from the vrock camp.

Just then, the party is eclipsed by an ominous shadow. Alya hears a shrill screech, accompanied by a flurry of beating wings, coming up behind them.

Fast.

"Get down!" she warns, diving for cover. There is a muffled thud, and a puff of red dirt, as Neeshka hits the ground beside her, but a startled cry from Elanee tells the monk that the druidess had reacted too late.

She glances up just in time to see the elf, caught by her shoulders, being borne aloft and carried away.

"Ela!" Neeshka jumps up, and just about manages to grab hold of one of Elanee's ankles before the wood elf is out of reach. The tiefling's tug-of-war with the colossal beast is brief, before, with a surprised yelp, she, too, is lifted off the ground, clinging on to Elanee's leg.

"Nee!" Alya cries in turn, as she latches on to the rogue. The vrock cannot possibly bear the weight of three people.

Wrong.

The monk feels herself take off, her arms wound tightly around Neeshka's waist. With a jubilant squawk, the vrock turns around, taking them back to its hilltop aerie.

And to the other waiting demons.

Grabbing onto Neeshka's belt, Alya begins to haul herself up.

"Hey, careful!" Neeshka protests. "Loose trousers!"

The monk is now on the tiefling's shoulders, and practically nose-to-nose with Elanee. With one arm hanging on to the winged creature's leg, she could see where the beast's sharp talons have dug into the druidess' flesh.

Up ahead, the rock formations come into view, with their demonic inhabitants circling expectantly.

She still has Liang Yi in her hand. She makes a move to strike at their captive's legs, but thinks twice when she realises just how high up they are.

Falling from this height is not going to be pretty.

Below them, Neeshka squeaks as she narrowly misses colliding into the tip of an enormous stalagmite.

Must do something…

The monk starts climbing again, up the back of the vrock's legs, and onto its haunches. When the giant bird beast feels her weight upon its back, it begins to buck, attempting to throw her off. Neeshka screams again, as she is swung dangerously from side to side.

Alya loses her footing, scrabbling desperately as she slides off the demon's back. She finds traction in a tuft of feathers, and manages to right herself.

They are now only yards away from the horde of chittering bird demons.

Now or never…

She throws the metal chain connecting her twin jade sticks around the vrock's sinuous neck. Crossing the chucks, she grips tightly with both hands.

And squeezes.

The vrock lets out a surprised, strangled "Garrgh?!" Tossing its head, it tries to loosen the vicelike hold on its windpipe, but Alya, like a Longrider astride a bucking bronco, hangs on for dear life.

"Aaalyaaa…!!" Elanee and Neeshka squeal in unison, as the thrashing creature flings them about like a rag doll, threatening to either drop them, or slam them against a rock face.

Then they see the massive outcrop looming ahead of them, a behemoth of a structure, dotted by jagged stone abutments.

Blinded by panic, the vrock is careening straight into it.

With everyone on board.