Their boots crunched against the damp earth as they moved along the winding path, the morning light spilling pale gold across the open land.

The air was fresh and cold, carrying the faint scent of pine that still lingered from the mountains behind. It makes the mood light and Eccar even smiled while glancing at the sun and closing his eyes.

For a while, the walk was calm, almost too calm.

The forest's edge opened into stretches of meadow broken by scattered trees, and silence draped over the group save for the steady thump of the red giant's footsteps behind them. Even though they are already out from the mountain range where he lives, somehow he is still following them.

Then a sound split the air.

It was the sounds of wings. Dozens of them.

Those wings beating in rhythm overhead. Shadows passed across the ground.

The group lifted their eyes. From the clear sky above, a formation of dark shapes descended rapidly, their movements sharp and disciplined.

Eccar narrowed his eyes, the Dragonborn sight cutting through the distance.

"Bird wings with humanoid bodies but heads of birds." His tone was wary. "Huh, I've seen those before."

Krono and Aesa both saw the same, their gazes were still calm as they tracked the swift approach.

Lyrel's face was drained of color, she said. "No, it can't be."

Beside her, Caelthar stiffened, his hands curling into fists as fear flickered across his features.

"Arakocra," he muttered, the word heavy with dread.

Eccar's jaw tightened, his hand resting lazily on the hilt at his hip. "Arakocra? So that is their name? What are they doing here?"

Lyrel's bow was already in her grip, her fingers trembling on the string. Her voice shook but carried certainty. "They're not passing through. They'll attack us. They were always our nemesis, worse than humans."

Eccar groaned softly, dragging a hand over his face. "Oh, wonderful. And here I thought we'd actually get a nice walk back."

His sigh carried the weight of someone already resigned to the trouble ahead.

The wingbeats grew louder, the shadows grew sharper. The sky seemed to churn with feathers and talons as the flock descended in unison.

When they broke formation, the group could finally see their numbers clearly. There were twenty-one of them in sleek feathers and armors glinting in the light. They also had beaks sharp like blades.

Their wings stretched wide as they circled once before diving low.

One figure led them. This one was larger and broader, his wings streaked with black and crimson.

The leader folded his wings at the last moment and landed with a thunderous gust of wind, talons digging into the dirt.

The others followed, touching down in disciplined formation behind their commander.

The grass trembled beneath their arrival, feathers scattering across the path.

The leader straightened, his sharp eyes gleaming beneath the avian mask of its head.

The Arakocra leader stepped forward. His talons gouged the soil.

In his clawed hand gleamed a curved sword with its edge looking jagged. He raised it without hesitation, pointing straight at Lyrel and Caelthar.

"You are not going from here," he declared, his voice deep and grating.

Lyrel and Caelthar stiffened instantly.

Lyrel's bow was already drawn, the string pulled taut with an arrow gleaming in the morning sun. Caelthar's hand snapped to his quiver, his face tight and his jaw clenched.

"You filthy birds think ambushing us with numbers makes this honorable?" Lyrel's voice cracked like a whip, sharp and angry.

The leader barked out a laugh.

"Honor?" His beak clicked as he sneered. "We do not care for honor when dealing with your kind. Honor is wasted on vermin."

Eccar frowned, his hand tightening on his hilt. "I know that they hate the Elves. But how did they even know the Elves were here? We've been traveling as just four. No one should've noticed us."

His brow furrowed, his golden-brown eyes narrowing with suspicion.

The Arakocra leader's gaze swept over the others. Eccar, Krono, Aesa, and the towering red giant.

His wings flexed once rattling his feathers.

"You four. Step aside. Hand the Elves over. Do so, and you may walk away with your lives. If you refuse…" His beak parted in a grin full of malice. "And you will die with them."

Aesa exhaled sharply, tilting her head back with a groan of exasperation.

"This is why I do not like to leave my caverns…" Her silver eyes narrowed as frost began to seep faintly across her shoulders showing that her power was waking. She raised her hand, ready to unleash it.

But Krono's calm voice cut through. "Wait."

His golden eyes fixed firmly on her. "We must ask first."

Aesa paused, her lips pressing thin. She let out another long sigh and stepped back, lowering her hand, though the frost still clung to her.

Krono turned toward the Arakocra leader and asked, "How did you find us here?"

The leader's feathers bristled, and his grip tightened on his blade. For a moment he looked at him in contemplation. Then he said, "Our oracle saw it in a dream. She told us where to come and who to kill. So we came."

Eccar's eyes widened slightly. "A dream? That's not a chance. That's planted."

He exchanged a quick glance with Krono, and the same thought was reflected in the other Dragonborn's sharp gaze.

"Who gave your oracle this dream?" Krono pressed, his tone dipping colder and sounds heavier.

The leader screeched, his wings flaring wide.

"You do not have the right to ask too much!" he spat. "I said you may leave or you may die. And by the looks of it you've already made your choice." His beak clicked sharply, his talons digging into the earth.

Krono's gaze flicked briefly to Eccar and Aesa. "We must know where that dream came from." he said.

Eccar gritted his teeth, his fists curling. He knew exactly what Krono was thinking.

"That dream could be from the very thing we've been watching for. The entity we've feared."

He exhaled slowly, the tension heavy in his chest.

"Yeah," he muttered under his breath. "This isn't just an ambush. It's like a message that they are watching us."

—